Do you experience that you have owned the day? Have you ever felt that you could change the world? In this episode Jimmy shares three strategies to help you become a conqueror of your day.
Episode Keys:
- The power of starting your day with a completed task.
- How to face the challenges of daily life and own your day!
- Why you must take risks in life to achieve your potential.
- How Jimmy learned a lifelong lesson as a young boy and used that lesson to propel him to success beyond his dreams.
- When you should quit on your dreams – never, ever, ever!!!
Podcast Transcript
One of the greatest things you’ll learn in life is that you are invincible if you choose to be. Good morning! This is Jimmy Williams with Live a Life By Design, your Monday morning moments of motivation, or as I like to say, the doctor of positivity. I can tell you today if you will lend your ear for just a few moments this morning, that it may possibly change your life in a big, big way. It’s often something we talk about, but it’s not a lot of what we experience in life that changes us in a profound way. Today I wanna share with you a few of the findings I’ve had in life, and I’m gonna share very personal experience with you today that did have such an impact on my life that it is now at the age of 57, still something I think about on almost a daily basis.
Hey, as I said Jimmy Williams here, you are an outstanding audience. We continue to grow in the number of listeners and subscribers, and thank you sincerely for sharing the good word that we spread about this world, about how people can be the captains of their own ships and they can select which way they wish to sell. They can land on the islands of extraordinary life, or they can sit down and settle for mediocrity. You know, we have the choice. I’m going to say to you today that this year’s been a challenge for me. In 2022, I set some BHAGs. You remember those big, hairy, audacious goals, and they have been coming to fruition, but not as easily as I’d hoped. So I had to look midyear back in June as we finished the second quarter, and I wasn’t happy with the pace of which my accomplishment was being taken.
And so I sat down and I gave some real thought on a Sunday afternoon. I’ll never forget this, and I pulled out my planner, I pulled out my goals, I looked at them sincerely, and I had judged myself on what I had contributed to the success of what I said was the most important goals for this year. These are the goals that moved me forward for my five and 10 and lifetime year goals. And so the point I’m bringing this to you is to say that no, not every day is a special easy day for me, but you know, I make them that way as much as I can because I believe that your day is made within the first few minutes of awaken. I believe what you put in your mind those first few moments of the day is how your remaining hours of the day while awake will function.
I don’t have scientific proof of this, I just have a lifetime of thinking and considering the possibilities when I start my day in a very positive manner, a powerful manner that the rest of my day goes pretty well. I’ve often been asking people do this on purpose, I think, but they keep asking me if I’m some kind of Baptist minister or something of that nature because I’m always smiling. Now, it would not shock you as the great listeners, you are of 59 countries now across this globe listening to this podcast. No, I love to be positive. It is just my frame of mind. It is how I am wired in life. And this person walked up to me just two days earlier and said, Are you a Baptist minister or something? I was sitting at a restaurant with one of dearest friends, I called him a brother from another mother, and we’re discussing life and how his children, my God children are growing up and facing some challenges of their own.
And I talked to him about my daughters and how they have had to overcome some challenges in their young lives. And as we sat there, we talked about what we could do as parents to help them understand and grow through this process and so that they will take the next challenge, a little better equipped. Well, these two people sitting on the other side in the booth behind my friend came up to us as they were leaving and I just smiled and I was do most of the time. I say, I hope you have a positively powerful day. This young lady stopped and she said, I gotta tell you, you must be a Baptist minister. So I said, No, ma’am, I’m I’m not. Now ma’am in Oklahoma, for those of you listening outside the United States or per possibly in the Northeast is not a derogatory term.
It’s a term of respect, an endearment. And she looked at me with a big smile, this young lady, beautiful young lady. She looked at me with a smile and she says, Well, I want you to know, I hope things always come out right for me because I’m an OB delivery nurse, and I’ll laugh after allowed my friends laughing. And I said, I do hope that everything comes out as it should as an OB delivery nurse, but you know, you never know in life what you’re gonna, you’re here or where who you’re gonna meet, I guess. But I just wanted to share with you, we’re here through the third quarter of this year. I have three months left and I still have about three really big goals I want to accomplish and have had some progress made, but I still lack a good portion of them.
So I’m gonna double down here and I’m gonna get these things accomplished. My goal is not to wait till Christmas. I’m gonna double down and see if I can’t really get these accomplished between now and the end of November. Motivation and, and to recommit to these goals are so important to me, and I’m gonna allude to that in a story in just a few moments. You know, I’ve often shared quotes from some of my mentors and others who have just inspired men life, and one of those individuals is a gentleman by the name of Napoleon Hill as it relates to self discipline and time management. He said, If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. To develop discipline in your life, you must practice a few simple actions each day until positive habits are formed. A powerful yet small book written by Admiral William McRaven has served as a guiding tool for me during 2022. The title of this book is Simplistic, Yet Powerful in its simplistic. The title is Simply This, Make Your Bed.
One of the best methods of conquering each and every day is to start your day with a task completed. To put that check in the box, to simply have something done that you completed fills your mind and your heart with a lot of motivation according to Admiral McRaven. If you want to change the world, start by making your bed each morning. It’s that one small step. This quick task has a sense of fulfillment in it, that you have a win at the earliest point in your day before the challenges of the world face you. A task you completed has filled you with dopamine and positivity. You know, this is something I have done all year when my wife is away and it is truly empowering. Now, just a side note, You heard me say parenthetically, when my wife is away, the reason being is I rise quite early in the day at, which is before she, I can only make my one half of the bed and then she gets up at a later time to make the remaining part of the bed.
So I count that with her here as a win. But when I am home alone and she is away, I make the entire bed. I’m looking at that neatly made bed when she’s away with the tight corners, pillows, fluff, just right to realize, yes, today I am going to conquer this day. Come on world, bring it on. This is my mentality. By simply making that bed, it just fills your mind with the progress that you already made, that you can take on bigger challenges that day. Another of Admiral McRaven methods for changing the world is to dare greatly. Don’t be timid at attacking your challenges. Face them head on with gusto and vigor to tame the challenge before you. With power. As humans, the obstacles of life will beat us every time unless we are willing to take risks to overcome them. Too often in my line of work as a specialist in a state planning and wealth management for retirees, I have conversations with clients who are in the later stage of life, and most of them state the same regret I wish I had.
And then they finish the sentence. Each of them take me back in time to a period in which they stood at a decisive moment. They could live their dream life, but it required some risks to be accepted or they could take the more timid approach and simply live out the status quo, never accomplishing their potential, never changing the world for their family as they had always hoped, but rather accepting consistent income. And mediocrity man was created to be a conqueror over life. You have been endowed with greatness and engineered for success. As Ziglar would say. Therein lies one big hurdle. Overcoming the fear of failure and the removal of doubt from the equation. What is it that you wished you had done? There is still time to achieve it. Think about your life in terms of already accomplishing this daring task. How does it make you feel? Does it embolden you to take greater opportunities with your life?
And lastly, McRaven gives the battle cry repeated many times earlier during World War II by Prime Minister Winston Churchill never ever quit. The admiral recalls a time during Navy SEAL training when the new recruits are tested beyond human limitations. One of the admissions of someone who quit the Navy SEAL program was to ring a bell in the middle of the training grounds. This symbolic peeling of the bell was assigned to the other recruits that one of them had given up, had reached his or her limits, and simply quit. In the game of life, you’ll be tested mercilessly. You will be embarrassed Beyond your mental capacity, you will be harassed by those around you that wish to bully you or cause you to see yourself as inferior. Your mind will tell you that quitting is the most rational act to accomplish, to bring some relief to your mind and body.
Today, folks do not believe the lie. If you quit once, you’ll find it easier to another challenge in the future. Thinking back on the days when I was a teenager, I offered to work for a family on their farm to earn money to buy two of the most important things a 13 year old boy would ever want or need. A Wilson A2000 baseball glove and a pair of Mizuno cleats. I know what you’re thinking, but I was a pretty good athlete in my day. And if George Brett had a Wilson A2000 glove, then I must have one since I played third base as well. Rising at 5:00 AM and working in the heat until dark each day, except on Sundays got one day off. I quickly realized that my summer was blowing past me and my friends were swimming, camping, and having a great time.
After the first couple of weeks, I talked with my dad and told him I was going to quit the job. He sat me down and gave me something to think about. He first talked with me about having integrity. Finish what you start. He said, He next mentioned about how life would always find a way to bring difficult to me. And if I quit something now at age 13, I would be a quitter my entire life. Now, this was pretty big talk for a 13 year old to accept, but the next sentence from his mouth is the one that motivated me to finish this summer. As I had agreed, he looked me in the eye and said, The most difficult statement for me to accept from myself made hardworking challenge overcoming father. He said, And I’m gonna quote, If you quit, I will be very disappointed in myself.
I looked at him very puzzled and didn’t understand the statement. I said, Dad, do you mean you would be disappointed in me? He’s filed a little and he clarified, No, son, I mean, I have let you down. As a father all my life, I’ve worked hard to set an example of honesty, integrity, commitment, and hard work as a means to a wonderful life. If you quit, it will confirm that I have failed you as a father. Now, I didn’t know a lot about parenting or psychology or any of that type of stuff. At the age of 13, I was mainly focused on sports and great grades in school. Literally the two facets of my life at that time.
But this statement hung in my throat and my mind for the rest of the night. I was never wanted to disappoint someone as important to me as my father. I woke the next day, not at 5:00 AM but rather at 4:30 AM I at the 30 minutes early and wore a smile no matter the temperature, regardless of the work in the mud or there, I say some worst biological matter on a farm, and finish the summer in this same mindset, this story’s a simple one about a difficult time in a young boy’s life. I don’t mean to change the world with these words. What I wish to do though is change one or two people’s minds about quitting and about achieving their ultimate goals in life, and then I hope they share that same story of their life to others. The compound effect of this well, that we can change an entire generation if we simply spread the good news.
The easiest road traveling life leads to a very little reward. Sometimes you must scale the heights of the mountain, swim the worst current, and endure the toughest challenges. To truly find your inner best person. If you wanna change the world, start with the one person you can directly impact today. You as Admiral McRaven so eloquently states in his book, “start the day by completing the task of making your bed.” You know, it’s an instant win. Take some risk in your life and dare greatly to achieve them, and most importantly, never, ever quit. You’re happiness in life is dependent on the manner in which you show up each day to do battle with the challenges you face. Be a conqueror. The challenges week is very simple. Review your goals for 2022. Make your bed each morning and dare yourself to conquer one of your challenging goals. Remind yourself that you will never ever quit you. My friends are conquerors. Now do me another favor. Share this podcast with your family and friends. Your colleagues at work help change their lives because all of us are facing challenges in some way. Some you may not know or even understand what they’re going through, but a simple story, a simple motivation may be the key to them succeeding and overcoming that challenge. Now do me another last favor. Go out and live a life by design.
