Skipping and a Recap!

It happened. Just when you think nobody is paying attention. Just when you think the coast is clear. You're in the fast lane and you are cruising. Somebody taps you on the shoulder and says, "Hey, what are you doing?" This person just so happens to be my friend, Jeff Thomas.

Of all my friends that I shared this blog with (all three of them) I should have known that Jeff would pay attention. He very rarely misses anything and this was no exception. On one of our very rare opportunities to hang out, Jeff just asked this weekend how My Best Me was going and why he hadn't seen anything new for a couple of weeks. The first thing I wanted to do was to begrudge him for reminding me that I had not posted anything, but what happened next was far better. He asked another question...

"How is the list coming?" he asked. And I thought, what a great question. If somebody other than myself is going to be reading this, what a great opportunity to "keep myself honest." Every so often, I should check in on the entire list and see how I'm doing.

As I contemplated what today's entry would look like I was originally planning on putting a percentage of progress for each item, but I'd really only be guessing anyways, so I think instead, I'll just do a quick report after each one of the items in the list.

So here is the list and where I stand currently with each item. Next Monday I'll get back on track with a weekly entry.

1. See my chiropractor once a week at a minimum.
   Doing very well at this one. I think I've only missed one or two weeks so far.
   
2. Eat breakfast every day.
   Doing pretty well at this one. Only skipping occasionally and most recently I've started to eat more protein and less carbs in my breakfast.
   
3. Go to bed at 10pm every "school night".
   Let me just tell you that this one has been the worst. I haven't had this bed time since sometime in junior high school. I'm a late night person and it has been very difficult to stick to this one. I've done it pretty well, but my wife is probably tired of me keeping her awake talking to her for half the night. :)
   
4. Brush my teeth every night. (In addition to my daily morning brushing.)
   This one I'm killing it on. I've been all over this and I have to say, it is kinda nice.
   
5. Play my bass guitar 3 hours every week.
   This one has been a bit hit or miss, but it has been better over all. I don't know if I'm getting the full two hours, but my love for bass is improving and I'm very excited about music again. Time to find another band!
   
6. Do business invoicing once per week at a minimum.
   Mostly pretty good. Stupid bookkeeping. :P
   
7. No more sodas!
   I have probably had 1 or 2 sodas a week, maybe less. And to put it in perspective, I was having several per day. So this is improvement.
   
8. Every morning, out loud, be grateful for 3 things. Three different things, if you can.
   Who knew how difficult this one would be? The hardest part is not repeating things from days before.
   
9. Give myself a break. Allow for shortcomings and missteps.
   This one I've done pretty well at. I'm committed to My Best Me and I'm honoring the list for the most part. But I'm also leaving myself room to be imperfect.
   
10. Reduce fast food to two times per week maximum.
    I've been doing much, much better at this one. Eating much cleaner and feeling a little better about it too.
    
11. At the end of the day, say out loud three business accomplishments for the day.
    Somehow I keep forgetting this one. I'm going to have to put up a reminder or something.
    
12. Sunscreen. Everyday. On my face.
    Doing really good on this one. I'm not perfect, but I'm using it very regularly.
    
13. Read a minimum of 10 pages everyday.
    Doing much better at this than I expected. Some days its a bit of a grind, but I'm still working at it.

Hitting the Books

I love to read. Many people probably don't know that about me, but I love to read. I especially love to read fiction, whether it's cloak and dagger or fantasy/sci fi, I love to read. But I haven't done it for a very long time. I am far more inclined to sit on the couch and watch TV, but it's not just because I don't want to make time to read. The real reason is, I have an issue. I just don't stop once I start.

When I've decided to read a book, that's about the only thing that happens in my life until the book is finished. I become entangled in the book and really just let everything else around me go to hell in a hand-basket. Some might argue that this is a nice quality to have, but believe me, it's started more arguments in my life than it has solved.

Business books are another matter entirely; they mostly make me want to go to sleep. :) Given my shift in focus on my business, this has got to change. I simply have too much catching up to do. I need to be a master of my area of expertise and that requires me to get more education rapidly. And that is going to require dedication and discipline. So, as I have been doing all along with My Best Me, I am going to make a small adjustment in the name of making a bigger change.

So here is the new list item. Read a minimum of 10 pages every day from a business book. Even when I'm tired. Let's add a qualifier in here too... I KNOW I will want to read a fun book after I begin that process. I will only allow myself one fun book for every three business books I read.

Ok. Time to hit the books.

Sunscreen

Remember, the list is supposed to be simple. Many of the things on this list should be minor adjustments that I can easily adapt to. The whole point is to make these into habits, so I have to have the time to do them all.

So yeah, sunscreen. Something to note about sunscreen... I hate wearing it. No real good explanation other than it feels icky, but there it is all the same. Another important note about sunscreen... a few years ago I had a benign basal cell carcinoma removed from the right side of my face, right along the jawline. While the scar is almost invisible, it is there. I feel it everyday when I shave, and it serves as a reminder to me that I once had to have surgery there.

When I went to get the offending spot looked at by the dermatologist, she asked, "Have you had much sun exposure in your life." My response was "I grew up in Las Vegas in the 70's. What do you think?"

So anyways, the other, more contributing factor to this list item is my lovely wife. Seems she wants to keep me around for a long time, so I guess I'll honor her wishes too.

Sunscreen. Everyday. On my face, anyways. :)

Three Accomplishments

Alrighty then... The holidays are over, the new year is in full tilt, and I'm coming out the door swinging. Well, maybe I'm just heading out the door. Truth is, while I'm trying to manifest good thoughts, I'm having a little trouble powering up for the new year. While I am excited about the possibilities the new year is bringing, I'm still suffering a hangover from last year that has nothing to do with a New Year's Eve party.

I know my personal life is clouding the issue, because I'm still mourning several people that I cared for very deeply, but this really isn't so much about that. This is more tied to thoughts about business and career choices. It's about working hard and wondering if you're really just a hamster on a wheel.

One of the challenges from last year and years prior was having a sense of accomplishment in business. I worked my ass off all year last year, so you'd think I got some significant things done, but it's really difficult to put a finger on many of them. I know I'm not alone in this. How many times do we all end the day and can't figure out what we've done?

So this is the new addition to My Best Me. I am going to make sure I have some awareness to what I've done. I'm not much of a "tracker", but it should be relatively easy for me to look back on my day and find three things that I have done for that day. Three things that provide a sense of accomplishment. Finished projects, major steps forward on projects, closing sales, etc. I will say them out loud and take a moment to reflect on the good feeling it gives me to know that I have maybe improved somebody's business, improved my own business, or just plain checked something off the to-do list.
Speaking of which... I'd better get started on this day!