There is money, time and energy. You can use any of the 3 of them to acquire the things you want.
The exchange rate for these 3 currencies can vary greatly. And just like wampum, travelers checks and Chuck E Cheese tickets, there are good uses for each.
If you use money, you can have things quickly.
If you use energy you can force the things you want into existence.
If you use enough time you can get anything you want. But squander your time and you will get nothing, and not like it.
The combination of time and energy creates force. It is the amount of force you create that determines how quickly you attain the things you want.Including money.
Key Takeaway
Understand your currencies. Know which of them is most accessible to you right now. Know which one is most valuable for each of your needs. And budget them to get everything you want in the proper order.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message please share it with them.
There are a lot of great days in the year. In each 365-pack there are 52 Fridays, 52 Saturdays, and 52 Sundays to enjoy. Which means you have 156 golden days before you throw in banner days like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and the days you get free stuff from stores.
Then there are your personal vacation days, which are diamond days that enable you to live your best life. Add blockbuster days like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, and Taco Tuesday, and there is a lot to look forward to each year. (Note: substitute your favorite religious, national, and food holidays for any days mentioned above that mean nothing to you.)
Daylight Saving Day!
Today is among my very favorite days of the year. Because there is nothing quite like Daylight Saving Day. I think of today as the day that the house landed on The End-Of-Daylight-Saving Day. And now all the Sunchkins are dancing and singing and slathering on more SPF.
Today the sun sets an hour later than yesterday. This simple shift of an hour of sunlight makes everything better. Starting today, we have more light in our lives. Which means more useful, productive and enjoyable time. It means you will still have daylight to enjoy when you get home from work, school or jury duty.
Sunshine is a gift. It illuminates and provides hope. It energizes. It makes the world feel more positive. With an extra hour of sun gold, we are all able to do more. Live more. And see more.
Today is a day for us all to recalibrate too. Take a moment to enjoy and appreciate the extra light. There is much more good ahead. And there is a little less darkness every day.
Key Takeaway
Today is a great day to recognize the power of sunshine. Sunshine is gold. It energizes us. It provides hope. It makes everything better. But remember, you have the power to provide sunshine every day too. Share your energy and positivity with others. Never forget that you have the ability to make every day the best day of the year.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
I love the way a good quote can quickly and simply summarize a complicated idea. I recently discovered a quote that tries to summarize the meaning and purpose of life. Which is an ambitious undertaking for a quote. Here it is:
“The purpose of life is to discover your gift; the work of life is to develop it; and the meaning of life is to give your gift away.” — David Viscott.
I first wrote about this quote in the post Are You Sharing Your Gift With The World? If you prefer to digest a series in order, you should click on that post and read it before you proceed here. Because this is a follow-up. Like Terminator 2. Or the calls you keep getting about your car’s extended warranty. If you don’t like being told what to read, or when to read it, I admire your willingness to totally ignore the value in the previous post. Read on, Reader!
Discovering Gifts
I am not sure if I have one great gift. But I have discovered that I have been blessed with several smaller gifts. By blessed I mean that I am not responsible for their existence. However, I have worked on developing them. Sort of. Those gifts include the ability to misinterpret any word that has an alternative meaning. In fact, I have recently suggested that one of my co-workers, Adam Emory, should start a scrap booking business, and call it Add A Memory, because that is what I hear every time I hear his name.
Writing
I have a little gift for writing. I’m no Hemingway, Rowling, or Seuss. But I like to think my writings are easier to read than The Bible. Plus they are funnier than the Bible. And that’s the best selling book of all time. So I write the Adam Albrecht Blog to both develop my little gift and to share it with the world. And at a minimum, I know my Mom will read this if no one else does. Thanks Mama.
Renewable Energy
One of my other gifts is my personal energy. I take no credit for it, but I also can’t deny it. Cause baby, I was born this way. Literally. When I was born the doctor gave me an Apgar Test, which measures your aliveness. And the doctor told my mom, ‘I don’t do this very often, but this baby is a 10 out of 10 if I have ever seen one.’
So like David Viscott said, I have enjoyed sharing my energy with the world. Because I sure can’t keep all of this to myself. Or I am likely to blow an O-ring.
Wait A Minute Mrs. Postwoman.
On the 15th I had to make a run to my local post office to mail out my Q3 estimated taxes. There were 2 women working behind the new plexiglass-enhanced counter. Based on their reaction to my enthusiasm to be mailing 3 envelopes, I surmised that my excitement for the post office experience was outside the normal range.
It was fun to witness their mood shift and lift as we interacted. They smiled, they engaged, they seemed much more interested in me than they had been in the visitors I saw them interact with before my turn at the counter. That’s because I took more interest in them. So they took more interest in me.
As I completed my postal transaction, said my thank yous, goodbyes and bon voyages, I smiled, turned and walked towards the exit. Behind me I heard one of the women laugh and say, ‘He gotta lot of energy!’
Indeed I do. It’s a gift. I take no credit for it. But I have developed it. It’s part of my life’s work. And I take great enjoyment in sharing it with others. But the funny thing is that the more I share the more I get back. Which means I can’t seem to get rid of it.
Key Takeaway
Discover your gifts. Develop your gifts. Share then with others. In my recent situation I wasn’t sharing my energy with my family, or friends. It wasn’t with my coworkers or clients. I was bringing energy to the post office. As I mailed 3 envelopes. You can do the same thing. I think you will like what is returned to sender.
*If you know someone who would benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Being an entrepreneur is as close as I will get to knowing what it was like to be Bruce Lee. Because entrepreneurs face a nonstop onslaught of challenges that come from all angles. It requires you to remain sharp and on your toes. And that is just to play defense.
Getting Offensive
But like Deion Sanders, entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of simply playing defense. Since I first launched The Weaponry, my advertising and idea agency, I have been constantly on offense. It is how you create something out of nothing, and then grow it into something worth talking about. It requires vision, focus, persistence. And a whole lot of energy.
Pure Energy
I am a naturally high-energy human. But my job, like yours, will take as much energy as I have to give. I have lofty goals that will take a tremendous amount of work to achieve. That’s why I have been focused lately on keeping my energy reserves high by taking care of myself physically. Here’s what I am doing.
The 5 Things I Do To Keep My Energy Up
1. Sleep
Sleep is the key to great energy. If you do just one thing on this list, I recommend saturating yourself with sleep. It is how the human body recharges. Most Americans sleep far too little. Then again most American’s aren’t thinking about operating at their optimal level. #StateFairObservation
I probably don’t look like this when I sleep. But I like to think I sleep pretty, on a log, in the woods.
I am an Early Owl, which is a cross between an Early Bird and a Night Owl. So I naturally feel great early in the morning, and energized late at night. I enjoy staying up late feeding my curiosity. Which is why I now have a curiosity curfew.
However, I recognize that I feel much better with good sleep. So I have been trying to get to bed by 10:30 or 11pm so I am well rested when my non-negotiable alarm goes off at 6am. I have found 7.5 hours to be my prime sleep number. Although when I plugged it into a Sleep Number Bed I found 7.5 to be waaaaay too soft.
2. Eating
We all know that we get better energy by eating better food. But right now I am focusing not just on what I am eating, but when I am eating. Eating at the right times helps me keep my energy levels where I need them to perform at my best throughout each day. Bill Cosby taught me this lesson in a Public Service Announcement on TV when I was a kid. And we all know Bill Cosby had enough energy to pave his own 4 lane highway to hell.
This is an overly romanticized view of breakfast. My actual breakfast has far more Frank’s Red Hot. I put that shiznit on everything!
I typically eat breakfast (and I always eat breakfast) at just about 8am. But I have often pushed my lunch back to 1 or 2pm, because I have been on a roll at work. But I am making a concentrated effort to create a hard stop for lunch at noon. Because it helps maintain a more consistent energy level throughout my afternoon. And it prevents me from becoming a hangry, hangry hippo. I have also tried to eat dinner between 6pm and 7pm. My family’s hectic evening schedule often tempts me to push off dinner until 8pm or 9pm. But when I wait that long I feel like a skateboarder who took too long between kicks and lost all momentum. Don’t be that skateboarder.
Eating is like kicking while skateboarding. Do it regularly or you’ll lose your momentum.
3. Drinking
I am working on more and better hydration. Water is my go-to drink. I have heard that you should start your day with a drink of water to wake up your machinery. So lately I have been starting my day with a tall glass of water, first thing, before I start writing in the morning. I can tell it helps get me flowing faster.
This is a fancy pic of fancy water. I drink the generic stuff that comes out of the tap and it works the same way.
4. Exercise
My energy is higher when I exercise regularly. Even when I am exhausted at the end of a day, making time to exercise helps me elevate my energy. As a result I enter each new day with a deeper energy reserve when I exercise regularly. #RichardSimmonsStyle
This is kinda what I look like when I exercise, because I also work out under fluorescent lights.
5. Downtime
You need downtime and rest to restore your energy, passion and love for what you do at work. I take weekends completely off from work whenever I can. I take vacations with my family. I try to spend a considerable amount of time when I am not working not thinking about work. I do this by becoming totally engrossed in other activities that range from reading to boogie boarding. The downtime helps me increase my enthusiasm for my day job when I come back to it.
Boogie boarding is one of my favorite downtime activities to do with my family, including my daughter Ava.
Key Takeaway
You are your most important business machine. If you want to accomplish great things you have to keep yourself running in top condition. While money may make the world go round, it is your energy level that helps you get that bread. So take care of yourself. And make sure you have the energy to take on the kind of work your ambitions demand.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this story, please share it with them.
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