Tag: self improvement

Let your experiences and adventures change you.

This year, I have had a tall flapjack stack of fun and interesting experiences outside of work.

  • I traveled to Nashville in May to visit colleges and enjoy some live music at the Grand Ole Opry. (Although I still have no idea what an opry is.)
  • I spent our family’s spring break in Arizona, splitting time between Scottsdale and Sedona. (I didn’t have time for standing on the corner in Winslow.)
  • I completed a circle tour of Lake Michigan, seeing many things that are not that far away by the way the crow flys or the salmon swims, but quite far away by the way the car drives.
  • I coached 2 great athletes at the Wisconsin State High School Track Championship on the other side of the state in La Crosse.
  • I attended a family reunion in southern Minnesota, in my mom’s hometown of Elkton, with a whole flock of reuning relatives.

How To Profit From Your Experiences

My goal, when I experience such things, is to come back different.

I don’t want these to be inert experiences.

You want the special experiences of your life to have impact.

You want them to expand your view of the world.

You want them to create new or deeper relationships.

You want new learning.

You want new ideas.

You want to grow through each one of your novel experiences and be better as a result. (Your novel experiences don’t have to include a novel.)

You want to be a different and more capable version of yourself after the experience than you were before. (And you want to maintain all of your limbs and phalanges.)

When you aim to grow, expand and improve through your experiences, you will always find your path to accomplish your aim.

You will spot things you have never seen before.

You will recognize the learning, the lessons and the insights when they arrive.

You will grab the opportunity to meet new people you encounter. And you will find that each new person you meet will change you in some way. Sometimes these changes are large and profound. Other times, they are small and seemingly insignificant. But if you genuinely try to get to know people in a greater way, you will walk away a greater person.

Key Takeaway

Throughout your human experience, always look for ways to grow. Collect and connect dots. Add new humans to your world. Expand your circle of friends. Upgrade your world view. Come back from your experiences and adventures smarter, wiser and more informed. It helps generate excitement and curiosity every time you leave home. And it brings you back better, wiser and more creative than you were when you left.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

How I screwed up my very first email, but lived to email you about it.

Do you remember writing your first email?

I do.

It was very confusing.

I composed my first email message when I was a college student. It was my second or third year of college at the University of Wisconsin. I wrote the email to my parents from the computer lab at college. Because back then, almost no students in my socio-economic subdivision owned their own computers.

I was awestruck by the idea of this new technology. It would allow me to send a written letter to my parents, but without having to find a sheet of paper or an envelope. I wouldn’t have to buy a stamp. Or lick a stamp. I wouldn’t have to find a mailbox. Or lick a mailbox. And I wouldn’t have to wait a week for them to get the letter. They would get it instantaneously! This was some kind of magic from the future. And I couldn’t wait to try it out.

But when I went to write my first high-tech email letter, something went wrong.

I quickly filled the small field provided for the message with my first sentence. Then, as I continued to type, the new words pushed the old words out of the field. It was very confusing. But, hey, this was magic mail. And I was just a regular human. So I figured I wasn’t supposed to fully understand the wizardry.

I stared at the email for a long time, trying to understand what was happening to my message. But finding no good explanation, I eventually poked the send button and sent my magic mail into the ether, hoping it would land as promised inside my parents’ home computer in the woods of Norwich, Vermont.

The next day, when I received a reply email from my parents, I realized what had gone wrong.

I wrote my entire email letter to them in the subject field.

Looking back, it is easy to laugh at that mistake. It is easy to say I was a dufus. Or a doofus. (Both of which are dictionarily acceptable.)

But I find inspiration in this story. Because it serves as a reminder that when you try new things, you will be bad at them. Or at least as bad as you will ever be.

But just because you are bad at things at first doesn’t mean you will be bad at them forever. In fact, the only way to greatness is to travel through badness and mediocrity. It’s like traveling through the wardrobe into Narnia.

My first email experience demonstrates that by trying, experimenting and exploring, you grow and expand your capabilities. You have to be willing to try new things to accomplish new things. You have to be willing to be bad to become good. You have to be willing to make mistakes to make yourself great.

I am now 9 years into leading the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry. And I can draw a direct connection from my willingness to try to ride a bike, to my willingness to try to write my first email, to my eagerness to try to launch a startup business. They are all plunges into the unknown. They all involved missteps, mistakes, mistypes, or mispedals.

Here’s The Recipe:

You try.

You mess up.

You learn.

You correct.

You try again.

You improve.

You try again.

You improve again.

And you just keep trying.

Forgive my braggadocio, but today, I am freaking good at writing emails. I can fill in the To, CC, and BCC fields like a boss. I can write a subject that will tell the recipient why they should want to read the email. I can craft a clear, concise, compelling and occasionally comedic message. And I write that whole message in the body section. I can add an attachment. I can change the font size. I have a standard signature that includes my name, title, office location, and website address. My email also lets people know that I wrote a book called, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? And that I publish Adam’s Good Newsletter. Which is a newsletter that I send out regularly via email. Boom!

Key Takeaway

Don’t be afraid to try something new because you think you will be bad at it. You will be bad at it. At least as bad as you will ever be. But that is the price you pay to achieve greatness. You have to humble yourself at the beginning of the process. Which helps you appreciate your growth and ultimate success. The learning journey is the life journey. So learn as much as you can. It’s how you create the most rewarding life.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them. And if you want to show off your email skillz, send me a note at adam@theweaponry.com.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned, check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

This 4th of July, Remember That You Come From Brave People.

Happy 4th of July!

I love everything about this holiday.

The parades and fireworks.

The American flag swimsuits.

The hot dog eating contests, and imagining the parade and fireworks they must cause at the other end of the GI tract.

America

This year, as we celebrate the 249th 4th of July in America, my mind keeps returning to a piece of art I saw several years ago in California.

My family and I were celebrating my son Magnus’ birthday at Ivy At The Shore in Santa Monica. In the restaurant, there was a large image of a sailing ship with all sheets fully winded, plowing through rough seas.

Over the image were the words. ‘Brave Men Run In My Family.’

Ed Ruscha originally created this idea. I’m not sure who to credit this version to.

This piece really speaks to me.

Not because I come from a sailing family. (I come from more of a rummage saling family.)

I love it because the painting reminds me of all the brave decisions my forefathers and foremothers made to come to America and risk so much for a better life.

Their brave decisions gave me and my fellow American offspring better opportunities than we would have had in the non-American countries my people came from.

However, this truth is not unique to me and my family.

All Americans are descendants of brave Grandcestors who bet on themselves and came to America for the freedom to create better lives. Amazing lives. The kind of lives Robin Leach would have profiled, up close and personal.

As we celebrate Independence Day, remember that you come from brave men and women.

They left home, family, friends, and all that they knew to come to America, the land of the free, for the chance at something even greater.

Make sure to honor them by doing great things with your life.

Be brave and courageous.

Take calculated risks.

Live into your own dreams.

Bet on yourself.

It is the safest bet you will ever make.

Do if for yourself.

And do it for your family members who did it for you first.

Happy Independence Day.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

Wake Up And Take Control Of Your Day with This Simple Habit.

When I was a kid, I had a small, square alarm clock.

It was very simple.

It had a traditional analog face, with an hour hand and a minute hand. (They actually looked more like arms than hands. But I think that ship has sailed.)

On the back of the clock, there were two simple dials. One set the time. The other set the alarm.

On top, there was a single, mushroom-shaped button. (Which grew in the dark.)

You pulled the plastic mushroom up to set it.

You pushed it down to turn it off.

That’s all there was to it.

But what was really important about my alarm clock was its location, location, location.

I didn’t set it on my nightstand like normal alarmists.

I placed it on top of my dresser on the other side of the room.

Every morning when the alarm clock sounded, I hopped out of bed and hustled across the room to turn it off.

And just like that, I was up and out of bed for the day.

I never hit the non-existent snooze button.

I didn’t crawl back in bed.

I started my day.

The Adam Albrecht Approach to Alarm Clocking has trained me to get up and start my day the moment my alarm sounds for the rest of my life.

Go Ahead, Make Your Day.

By training yourself to start the day when your alarm goes off, every day, you train yourself to take control of your life.

Today, I have stacked a series of beneficial habits into my morning routine.

Here’s The First Hour+ Of My Day:

When my alarm goes off, I turn it off.

Then I put a big smile on my face for 10 seconds.

I get out of bed.

I make my half of the bed.

I go to the bathroom and drink a tall glass of water I set out the night before. (Which means today’s success began yesterday.)

I weigh myself. (The daily feedback helps me keep my weight between the ditches.)

I enter my weight in my Happy Scale app.

Then I sit down at my desk in my home office to write.

I write from 6:10am until 7 or 7:30am.

As a result of this morning routine, I wake up, smile, hydrate, track my weight, and produce new creative work every morning.

Not because I decide to each day.

But because I decided to once, 10 years ago.

By 7am, I am rolling. I have won the first hour of the day. And I roll into the rest of the day, and my next habit stacks, with momentum.

But it all starts with the way I respond to my alarm clock.

Key Takeaway

Get on top of your day before your day gets on top of you. When you control how you start each day, it helps you take control of your entire day. And when you are in control of your days, you are in control of your life. So get up when your alarm goes off. Set your alarm on the other side of the room if you have to. Put a big smile on your face. And go win the day.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

17 Ways To Develop Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

On Monday, I had the opportunity to talk to a talented group of young entrepreneurs about the entrepreneurial mindset. This 2025 cohort of Youth Mean Business was inspiring, engaging, curious, and full of good questions and good answers. They made me feel like a total Slackle Jack for waiting until I was in my 40s to start my own business.

To prepare for my talk, I combed through the things I feel have most helped me develop my entrepreneurial mindset. This mindset offers a valuable approach to life that enables you to create value for others. It’s not just about starting businesses. It’s about creating value, solving problems, and developing resilience in yourself. But like Trix Cereal, these approaches aren’t just for kids. Here are tips anyone can use. Even silly rabbits.

17 Ways To Help Develop Your Entrepreneurial Mindset

  1. Spend Time With Other Entrepreneurs.

 Jim Rohn famously declared, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

So, spend time with entrepreneurs to become more like them. Entrepreneurs think differently. They see the world through a different lens. Surround yourself with them. Read about them. Ask them questions. It’s the fastest way to transform your mindset. And for Pete’s sake, stop hanging out with Debbie Downer.

2. Tap Into Your Energy & Enthusiasm

They make things happen. And they attract customers, employees and partners.

3. Create Things

James Clear shared, ‘Education teaches you to analyze. Entrepreneurship teaches you to create.’

So always Be Creating.

Not just businesses:

  • Systems
  • Processes
  • Clubs
  • Blogs
  • Newsletters
  • Events
  • Content
  • Videos
  • Words
  • Lists of bullet points

4. Develop a Bias Towards Action

Nontrepreneurs Talk. Entrepreneurs Act.

Take action. When you see an opportunity that you think is right for you, take steps towards it. Each time you take a step, the next step is likely to reveal itself. It is more important to take action than to plan everything out ahead of time. The need to plan everything will prevent you from taking steps. And there is no elevator to success. You’ve got to take the steps.

5. Be An Imperfectionist.

Perfectionists have to get everything exactly right. They down’t lyke mayking missteaks. But entrepreneurship is quick, messy and full of janky solutions, until you can afford better solutions.

Create quick models, products, services, content and promotions. Then improve as you go. That is how life works. You don’t have to have everything figured out from the beginning.

6. Give Yourself Permission To Be An Amateur.

One of the greatest gifts I gave myself as an entrepreneur was the permission to be an amateur.

It took the pressure off. It allows me to learn as I go. And to not beat myself up over the mistakes I would surely make, Shirley.

In fact, I loved what this did for my entrepreneurial mindset so much that I have adopted this in all areas of my life.

Today, I give myself permission to be an amateur as a:

  • Parent
  • Husband
  • Speaker
  • Coach
  • Blogger
  • Author
  • Newsletterer
  • Content Creator
  • Brain Surgeon (Which is probably why my rating is so low on Health Grades.)

As a result, I am always learning a lot. And I remain open to suggestions.

7. Read

Read as much as you can. On a plane. On a train. In a box. With a Fox. Entrepreneurs need to know things about all areas of their business.

  • Read about business and entrepreneurship.
  • Read for motivation and inspiration.
  • Read biographies of successful people to pick up clues you can use to be more successful.
  • Read to practice the slow grind of reading.
  • Listen to audiobooks when you are commuting.

8. Be Trustworthy

The most important thing you need to do to become an entrepreneur is to have people trust you.

To earn your first customers, you have to sell on trust.

  • So do what you say you will do.
  • Show up on time.
  • Deliver what you said you would deliver
  • Catch people if you do that trust-fall team-building exercise. (But if you do drop someone, make sure to get it on video.)

9. Approach Your Business Like A Video Game

Entrepreneurs face endless challenges and obstacles. Embrace the challenges.

Video games are fun specifically because they offer a challenge. The deeper you get into them, the higher level you achieve, the more challenging they get.

That’s part of the fun.

When things get hard, think of it as a fun and interesting challenge that will help you level up and become even better. And remember, you get points for eating Inky, Pinky, Blinky and Clyde.

10. Collect Friends

All opportunities come through people.

The more people you know the better.

My very first client was a friend of mine I have known since 7th grade.

  • Always be meeting new people.
  • Introduce yourself to people.
  • Ask for introductions to people you think would be good to know.
  • If you don’t have business cards, get them printed and hand them out whenever you can.
  • Then, make a regular effort to reach out to your people.
  • Especially when you don’t want or need anything from them. (Read this bullet again. And then reach out to me to practice this.)
  • This is how you maintain relationships and make them valuable when either of you needs something later on.

11. Grab Chocolate Milk

Get together with people to talk.

Adults grab coffee or beer or wine or cocktails.

I don’t drink alcohol.

So I grab chocolate milk.

Or Ice Cream

Or Juice or Soda.

Or Carmels.

It all works the same way. These activities offer a good opportunity to get together and talk and develop your friendship, share ideas and discuss other opportunities.

12. Become A Problem Solver

Businesses are designed to solve problems.

So, become good at spotting problems.

And become good at solving them. Like Vanilla Ice.

This means replacing ‘I can’t do that.’ with ‘How could I do that?’

13. Focus

You will have the greatest success when you really focus on the most important thing at the moment.

FOCUS = Focus On Completely Until Solved

Focus fully on the important things you need to do or create. Do less. And do them better.

*Focus is the English word that many of my native French-speaking friends pronounce most hilariously. Listen for it. And let me know when you hear it.

14. Be Willing To Sacrifice

To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to sacrifice things you would like to do or have now. But you do this to get more freedom and more opportunities later. The delay of gratification means more gratification later. So don’t eat the first marshmallow right away.

15. Don’t worry about how much milk you spill as long as you don’t lose your cow.

You will lose money at times.

That’s ok.

Just don’t lose your money maker, and you will always be ok.

16. Bet On Yourself

You are the safest bet you will ever make. You can stack the odds in your favor through your hard work, determination, and creativity.

Bet!

17. Don’t Burnout

You need to pace yourself.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon. Not a sprint.

Key Takeaway

Entrepreneurship is a mindset. It is a way of approaching life. So develop yours. And it will empower you to create businesses and all kinds of other valuable things that make the world a better place. And remember to share what you know. When others approach you to share your knowledge, do it. It’s one of the best ways you can add value to the Universe and positively impact lives.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

How I Use An Annual Self-Evaluation As A Guide to Personal Growth.

I just had another birthday. Which I think is great. But it is easy to not think your birthday is great. When you are happy with your life, family, career, health and finances, birthdays can be enjoyable reminders that you are doing well. Because you are where you thought you would be at your stage of life. And not living in a van down by the river.

However, the opposite is also true. When you reach your birthday, but feel that you are not where you expected to be at your age, it can make you feel like you are behind the pace you set for yourself. And the farther off pace you feel you are, the more likely it is to affect your happiness.

A great exercise to do when you feel off pace is an honest self-evaluation. This helps you identify where you are feeling short of your expectations, which gives you an area to focus on for greater happiness and accomplishment.

The other benefit of the self-evaluation is that it often highlights all the things that are going well in your world. This can help you shift your focus from your shortcomings to your longcomings. (I don’t think I will use that parallel phrasing again.)

Despite the fact that I am feeling good about my life right now, I find the annual self-evaluation valuable. It serves as a reminder of the good in my life. And it highlights areas for growth and improvement and helps me prioritize experiences and actions that I identify as important. Remember, what is important to you is both highly personal and fluid. Like your blood, sweat and tears. So your list can change significantly from year to year. Just like your hairstyle or the style of your fashionable jeans.

So without any more color commentary, here’s Adam’s Annual Self-Evaluation 2025.

Doing Well

  • I am happy.
  • I smile a lot (Smiling’s my favorite.)
  • I am very happy in my marriage.
  • I have a good relationship with my 3 kids.
  • I enjoy my work.
  • I have seen my doctor and my dentist in the past year. (And I play Doctor My Eyes by Jackson Browne as my appointment walkup music.)
  • My health labs and screenings are all up to date and in the right zones.
  • I continue to both develop and maintain good relationships .
  • I seek out a lot of knowledge and self-improvement.
  • I believe in myself (Someone has to.)
  • I gather people (Kinda like Noah, but without the ark and the imminent doom.)
  • I read dozens of books each year.
  • I talk to my parents regularly.
  • I believe in my ability to improve.
  • I exercise regularly.
  • I feel strong for my advanced age.
  • I have relatively good endurance. (but not for long boring meetings)
  • I don’t drink or do drugs. (But I understand why others do. #raisingteenagers)
  • I have hobbies and activities I enjoy.
  • I have added to my investments in the past year.
  • I vote regularly. (Typically for Pedro)
  • I travel regularly.
  • The Weaponry is healthy with a great outlook.
  • My speaking opportunities are exciting.
  • I have prioritized my annual guys trip for several years now, making it a real thing.
  • I typically get good sleep.
  • I volunteer a lot of my time.
  • I am sharing my knowledge with youth.
  • I think I am pretty good at admitting when I am wrong.

Want To Do Better

  • Be more patient and tolerant.
  • Be a better Christian. (And a better Adam.)
  • Less time on my phone.
  • Be more present. (Because the present is a present.)
  • Follow through on all the things I say I will do.
  • Get better at giving gifts.
  • I want to drop below my snoring weight. (I’m about 5 pounds over my snore-free weight now.)
  • Get in better shape (But I still want to be human-shaped.)
  • Think bigger.
  • Create a better system for giving to charities and other worthy causes.

Things I have done.

  • Started a business (The Weaponry LLC. This was on my Life List when I turned 40.)
  • Wrote a book (What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? This was on my Life List when I turned 40.)
  • Created a blog (AdamAlbrecht.Blog) (I tried starting a blog 6 times before it finally took.)
  • Created a newsletter (Adam’s Good Newsletter) (This was on my life list last year. Now there are 16 issues.)
  • Traveled extensively across America (49 Countries and Puerto Rico – no Hawaii by the time I turned 5-0.)
  • Traveled to 6 countries in Europe
  • Traveled to India and Argentina
  • Been married for 22+ years
  • Own a home
  • Paid off my cars
  • Coached Track & Field at a proficient level
  • Coached youth football
  • Helped kids improve their skills and confidence
  • Made people smile and laugh. (I don’t know if they were laughing with me or at me, but I’ll take it.)
  • Found a great wife (Yes, it is you, Dawn!)
  • Created and partially raised 3 pretty great kids
  • I have ridden a snowmobile 113 mph
  • I have bounced back from failure. (And I am still bouncing.)
  • I have volunteered for hard jobs when I knew I was the best person for the job
  • Donated blood regularly (Which I had never done until COVID. This was on my list of things I regretted never having done when I turned 40. Now I give regularly, which is proof that this evaluation helps. And that I have blood.)

Things I haven’t done yet that I really want to do.

  • Write more books.
  • Give a commencement address.
  • Travel to East Asia.
  • Travel to Africa (And bless the rains, like Toto.)
  • Travel to Australia & New Zealand.
  • Travel to Italy and Norway.
  • Rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon. (While drinking Brim)
  • Walk a marathon.
  • Attend a Super Bowl, The Grammys and The Oscars.
  • Become proficient at an instrument. (Preferably a musical instrument.)
  • Become reasonably fluent in another language.
  • Do everything I say I will do.
  • Own enough rental properties to support my retirement.
  • Hike to Havasu Falls.
  • Create a self-sustaining business that doesn’t need me anymore.
  • Go hunting. (Like Good Will)
  • Create my own highly successful brand.
  • Become embarrassingly rich.
  • Go skydiving (I’m waiting for that sweet spot when my dependents don’t depend on me anymore, but I’m still not wearing Depends.)

Key Takeaway

To create the life you want, give yourself an annual self-evaluation. Focus on the positive. Note your accomplishments and what is going well. Then consider areas of improvement, experiences, actions, and accomplishments that would be meaningful to you. Identify them. Prioritize them. And deadline them. It’s the best way to do more of the things you value in the year ahead.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

The simple steps to achieve not-so-simple goals.

First, the bad news:

You can’t reach your goals in a day.

Boo.

At least not any meaningful goals that stretch your current skillz and abilities.

Now, for the good news:

You can do something every day to make meaningful progress towards your goals.

Boom!

When you have a clearly identified goal, you can clearly identify actions that will help you make progress towards that goal every single day. Even if you are not single. Or ready to mingle.

If you want to get in great shape, you can make time each day to lift weights, do cardio, eat well, or get good sleep. All of which are steps towards your goal. Even the sleeping part. (How sweet is that?)

If you want to write a book, blog, newsletter, song or screenplay, you can write a few lines every day. That’s how it is done. (And it’s how the 27 lines of this blog post ended up in your eyeballs.)

If you want to start a business, you can work on your offerings, plan your business, map out your next steps, put some money away, talk to other entrepreneurs, or read relevant books every day. That is the business of developing a business.

Recognize that your goals are destinations. You can make progress towards them every day through productive actions. And when you arrive at your goals, you’ll be happy that you started taking those daily steps. Because simple daily steps get you to the finish line.

Key Takeaway

Today is a great day to make progress towards your biggest goals. Make the small investment of your time and energy today that will compound with your small investment tomorrow, and the day after that. Start now. You’ll thank yourself tomorrow.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Here’s the other reason reading is so good for you.

Reading is better for you than you know. Yes, reading is a great way to learn things. That’s why I read Judy Blume novels in middle school. But that’s only part of the benefit. Just as importantly, reading is mental exercise that helps you maintain your mental strength and fitness. Which means that reading can help prevent your brain from getting any softer and flabbier than it already is.

One of the most important reasons to read books is that reading for long periods of time is hard. Reading is a grind. And not the kind R. Kelly sang about. Reading is not something you can rush through. It is slow, deliberate, unrushable work. Reading is something you have to do at a walking pace. And walking a great distance takes time and steady effort. That slow, steady effort is how things get done. It is how learning happens. It is how knowledge gets accumulated. It is how brains and the humans that walk them around transform into better versions.

Remember, success, like reading, is slow. So is growth. And wisdom accumulation.

Reading helps you develop your patient pursuit of greatness. Word by word, day by day, you learn to stay with your self-improvement tasks.

If you hired someone else to read for you, which is essentially what you do when you listen to an audiobook, your pace is basically the same. You just read with your ears, rather than your eyes. Which means there really isn’t a way around the pedestrian pace of reading. There is no hack, other than hacking your way through a book like a slow, steady walk from Hackensack to Hacksaw Ridge.

It is often said that the average CEO reads a very above-average number of books each year. That number has been reported to be as high as 5 or 6 books per month, or 60 books per year. The question is, do CEOs start to read a lot once they become CEOs? Or do people who have trained themselves to slowly and steadily accumulate knowledge through reading become CEOs? The answer should be clear.

Brain coach and speed-reading expert Jim Kwik breaks it down like this:

“I went to Amazon and looked at the medium average number of words per book, and it came out to about 64,000 words. So let’s say the average person reads 200 words per minute. We’re talking about 320 minutes to get through a book, which is about 45 minutes a day, to read a book per week. That makes it a little more realistic.”

-Jim Kwik

Have you ever thought about reading in terms of distance? I have. Because I am curious, like George. If all those lines you read in an average book were laid out in a straight line, on the earth, you would read for half a mile. This is according to my calculations of width per line (4 inches) multiplied by number of lines per page (27) multiplied by pages in book (263). Then I converted the inches into miles. Because I read on American roads. And always on the right side.

That steady mental march along mile after mile of words laid out in books improves you along the journey. As you travel that great literary distance, you pick up new words and expand your vocabulary. You gain new knowledge. You learn about people and places and things. (Oh, my!) You improve your understanding of people, history and problems. That’s why reading creates such a valuable adventure.

As you read, you collect knowledge to draw upon to create new and novel products, services, and art. You collect tools that can be used to solve problems. And you accumulate best practices and all the things that people before you learned in much harder ways than reading.

Strengthening your reading muscles helps you develop mental stamina to focus on all kinds of tasks longer. Reading helps you write for longer stretches. It helps you sit still and quiet. (And if I can sit still and quiet, you can too.)

By learning to read books, you become better at reading reports, studies, and briefings. All of which help make you smarter and more informed. And if you ever find yourself in court and they try to throw the book at you, being able to read that book is highly beneficial to you and your lawyer.

But patiently reading books also helps you learn to read the world. Including nature, people, weather, and art. You learn to slow down and pick up on clues all around you. You learn to slowly and patiently observe how the world works and how humans and animals feel. You notice the health of plants. And countless quiet signs and signals from the universe.

So put down your phone and your other electronics. (After you finish this post.) Find books on bestseller lists. Find the greatest books you haven’t read. They get you on track for developing those very valuable reading muscles that will improve your life.

Key Takeaway

Dedicate time to the slow, deliberate process of reading. It helps train your brain to work at its most effective pace. It teaches you patience and rewards you with a steady, long-term return on your invested time. It strengthens your focus and task stamina. And it provides a road map to reach your most important long-term goals.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. Don’t worry, it’s a quick read.

The best way to get back on course.

There are proven ways to get results in every area of your life. Some methods are universally true. Some are proven to work for you. But when you discover a process that gets you results, use it. And don’t lose it.

I have proven processes:

  • To help me shed pounds when I creep above my target weight. (Like a creeper.)
  • To help me gain strength.
  • To help me put out 3 blog posts per week. (Which is a safe way to put out.)
  • To help me grow my business.
  • To feel closer to God.
  • To wake up well-rested. (Instead of feeling like I rested in a well.)
  • To make my hedges look good.
  • To read 3 books every month
  • To make sure my teeth don’t fall out

But sometimes I get away from my processes. And I gain weight, lose strength, fall off my reading pace, wake up tired, think less about God, write less, and give the Cavity Creeps a shot at my teeth.

When these things happen, and I realize I have strayed from my ideals, goals and norms, it is time to get back on track, Jack. And to get back on track, I give myself a 3-word reminder:

‘Trust The Process.‘

You have developed great habits that are proven to get great results over time. But only when you follow the process. If you are not getting the results you have come to expect, chances are that you have gotten away from your best habits.

In those times, return to the process. Resume the great habits. Trust the process. The results won’t come the same day. (Like Amazon.) Or overnight. (Like FedEx.) But be patient. The results will come.

Key Takeaway

Trust your proven processes to get you the results you seek. Give your processes time to work their magic. Your good habits are like the processes in an assembly plant, creating great results. You have to run the process through the full line. And when you do, you will be happy with the final product that rolls out of the factory.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Embracing Vulnerability: My Sunday Lesson.

On Sunday at church, I sat unusually close to the front of the sanctuary. My wife Dawn and I started a walk n’ talk with Pastor Bill Knapp in the narthex, and ended up walking him down the aisle until we got to the altar. Since we didn’t qualify for the exclusive seating on the altar, we sat in the second pew. Or the second row, if you don’t use the word pew. To me, this is the real first row. Because who sits in the row without a pew rack in front of them? People with nothing to hide from God?

I noticed things from that ultra-close vantage point that I had never noticed before.

  • There were more people wearing jeans to church than I realized.
  • I saw people who walk to the altar for communion but didn’t kneel to partake, presumably because their kneelers no longer kneel.
  • I noticed how the choir files out to the choir-itorium up front, then circles to the back of the church to grab a little bread n’ wine. (Emphasis on the little.)
    • I discovered the patterns the distributors use to return to the beginning of their side of the altar after working across the altar to distribute the Jesus goodies.

The Children’s Sermon

But I also witnessed something interesting during the children’s sermon. About 20% of the way through the service, our pastor invited the wee folk to come up to the altar for the children’s sermon.

Within seconds, I saw a young boy dash down the aisle like an eager bride on her wedding day. The boy sprinted to the altar, jumped the 2 steps to the main stage, and hit a hook slide across the wooden floor to a spot at the dead center. And just a foot in front of Pastor Bill. It was such an amazingly enthusiastic Dukes of Hazard way to show up for the word of the Lord that I couldn’t help but admire the young boy’s enthusiasm and aggressiveness.

After all the other kids filed up to the altar and took their seats crisscross applesauce-style, I saw another very young boy slowly approach the altar. This boy looked very timid, and unsure. He squeezed his father’s hand. And as he passed just in front of me, I heard him whisper to his dad, ‘Stay with me, ok?’ I then watched the loving father sit on the edge of the altar, with his arm around his son, so that the boy felt comforted in this scary, vulnerable and foreign situation.

After witnessing both boys approaching the same children’s sermon in the same church with such drastically different styles, I couldn’t help but consider which of these boys I identified with.

The answer came to me quickly and obviously:

Both.

While I love the eager, enthusiastic approach of Hook Slide Sven, and often employ a similarly energetic entrance, there are times when I feel like Timid Teddy.

When I was young, I felt that way a lot in specific new and confusing situations. Over the years, the balance has shifted dramatically. My moments of timidity today are few and far between. But they still happen. I don’t look meek. But I feel like I have no idea what I am walking into. But like Timid Teddy, I go anyway.

It’s important to recognize the value of experience. Anything you do can be scary and intimidating the first time. But do it anyway. Because everything you do is easier the second time. I see Hook Slide Sven at church all the time. He’s altared countless times for the children’s sermon and to sing in the children’s choir. He’s very comfortable in that environment. Which makes it easy for him to show up as his authentic hook-sliding self.

Timid Teddy was trying. Good for him. And good for you when you try something new, go somewhere new, eat something new or wear something new and bedazzled. It’s ok to show up feeling uncomfortable. That’s how you grow, learn, expand your world, and develop life skills and confidence. And once you are confident in a situation, help bring others along.

Key Takeaway

Sometimes you will feel confident, energetic and aggressive going into situations. That’s great. That is you at your best. Embrace and enjoy when you feel like that. It comes with experience. But know that it is ok to feel unsure, unprepared, apprehensive and cautious. The world does a good job of making us feel like that when we are out of our element and out of our comfort zone. When you feel unsure, but go, do, try, ask, join or partake anyway, you are growing. And that is just as valuable. Because when you do, you gain comfort and confidence. And you will soon be sliding into the same situation like Bo Duke, Rickey Henderson, or the boy at my church.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.