Lean InWith Casey Grey
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Work and fun are interesting words. What is considered work to one person could be fun to another. Work can also carry some negative feelings around it as a good portion of the population does not like what they do for "work".
I find myself "working" a lot but it's not work to me in the typical way you may think of work. I love what I do. It's all fun for me. Yes, there are times, especially as an entrepreneur, when I need to focus on things that are not fun however those times usually set me up for even more fun down the road. Those are the times that I grow the most. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
I love Mondays!
What comes to mind when you hear, "Oh, looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays." It's unfortunate that most of our society associates this with a negative feeling. If somebody is in a bad mood and it's Monday, it's okay. That's expected because it's Monday. Why do we accept this? More importantly, if this is true, why would that person continuously put themselves through the pain of feeling this way every Monday? Mondays are the gauge for my life. If I ever start to dread waking up Monday or If I start living for the weekends, there's something wrong. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
Our environment has a huge impact on who we are and what we do. Our environments will force us to create habits whether we're aware of them or not. Habits can make us or break us. They're either serving us or hurting us.
One of the things I like to do is design my environment to win. If I want to start flossing, I will put the floss beside my toothbrush or in a location where it catches my eye. If I want to eat healthy, I will purchase healthy food and keep all the junk food out of the house. If I want to stay consistent with my workout, I will join a club where people pull me to be better. If I want to stay off social media then I will install a program on my computer which prevents me from going on social media. If I want to stop watching TV, I will get rid of my TV. If I want to read more, I will put books in places I will see them or listen to audiobooks while I drive. You get the point… I believe a big part of habits is self awareness. If you know what triggers your bad habits, you can avoid those triggers. On the flip side, if you know what triggers your empowering habits, you can put yourself in those situations more often. How can you improve your environment today? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
Trying... What a useless word.
I admit, I'm guilty of using this word. I'm trying to remove this from my vocabulary... Wait... I WILL remove this from my vocabulary. I don't see any use for it. I'm either going to do the task I have set out to do or I'm not. I'm committed or I'm not. I'm strong enough or I'm not. There's no in between. Do it or don't do it. If I think back to when I use this word, it's either when I don't really want to do something or I'm not confident I'm able to do it. In either case, it's usually just a mind shift that's required or a commitment. Let's work together to remove this word-that-shall-not-be-said from our lives. Let's replace it with something that empowers us! Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
I'm baffled when people tell me they CAN'T do something.
I can't lose weight. I can't quit my job. I can't start a business. I can't go on vacation. I can't quit smoking. I can't quit eating meat. I can't buy a new car. I can’t control my kid. I can't. I can't. I can't. The truth is that people do these things every single day. People who say they can't are CHOOSING not to do these things. They are choosing to prioritize something else. Which is totally fine if that's what they want to do! Just stop saying that you can't, because you can. Our brain is a powerful tool that, if used properly, can propel us. If used improperly, it will keep us stuck. The thing about our brain is that it does not want to be wrong. If you tell it you can't do something, it will say, "you're right! Let me tell you all the reasons you can't do that." BUT… The same thing is true when you say, "I can and I will." Your brain will say, "Alright! Let's figure out how to do this!" Just like going to the gym you need to exercise the brain. You need to train it. You need to start with the 5 pound dumbbells and work yourself up to the 100 pound dumbbells. Increase that weight every day. Remove CAN'T from your vocabulary and watch the magic that happens in your life. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
There is a big difference between marketing and branding. Marketing is a strategy whereas branding is a symbol of who you are as a company or a person.
Marketing can be implemented over night whereas a brand could take years to establish. Marketing is the short game whereas brand is the long game. Both are important. But don’t get them confused. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
I’ve spent the majority of my life thinking about the future. As an entrepreneur, I think this is a natural tendency.
How do I achieve my next goal? What do I need to do? Who do I need to know? Where do I need to be? And so forth… For the most part, I believe this is a strength. Visionaries need this and the world needs visionaries. With that in mind though, I believe there is tremendous power, if not more power, in being present. How would your life change if you lived every day knowing that you would look back on these days as the Good Old Days? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
Do you remember the excitement you would feel as a kid when you were anticipating something fun? Do you remember having to wait for just one more sleep?
Now, as an adult, it’s sad to say but I rarely lose sleep because of excitement. It’s usually because of anxiety, worry or stress. But what if we trained the mind to think like a kid again? What if we reconnected with that childlike imagination when anything was possible? When a fat man in a red suit could slide down a chimney and leave you exactly what you wanted under a tree covered in decorations? What would that do for you life? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
Trees that grow in protected conditions will not grow strong roots. A tree that stands out in the open, exposed to all the elements will grow to be stronger than a tree in the middle of a forest.
The tree adapts to its environment from a young age and take the time to grow accordingly. A tree in the middle of a forest may grow upwards quickly but will fail to grow strong roots. It will compete with the other trees to grow tall and get the rays from the sun. It’s constantly competing and trying to outreach the neighbouring trees. Yes, it’s protected from the storms and will likely stand tall but only as long as the surrounding trees are also standing tall. You get to choose... Do you want to stand in the middle of the forest and compete to be the tallest or do you want to stand out in the middle of a field and grow to be stronger than every other tree in that forest? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players.
On January 8 of 2019 I committed to a Daily Blog and I kept that commitment. Not only have I kept it but I will continue to write every day. I will commit to another year and I suspect it will continue on after that. But that’s not my commitment for 2020...
Today, January 8, 2020, I am committing to something new. I’m committing to a daily podcast. I will make sure that everyday you will hear my voice (if you choose to subscribe to Lean In with Casey Grey). Just like when I committed to writing daily, I am doing this because I want to be better than I was yesterday (or in this case, last year). I want to become a better speaker and storyteller so that I can help people find that inspiration inside of them and release it! I said it last year and I’ll say it again. New Years Resolutions are useless unless you are committed. What are you going to commit to today? Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher or any other of your favourite podcast players. |
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