Books On Purpose

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items

1.  Take some time and write down everything you need to get done that has been nagging at you. Literally everything.  This is also referred to as a brain dump.  Now, decide on just one task you’ll do each day and cross it off. If you want to do more, go for it, but have the goal to be just one at the minimum.
2. With what you are currently doing, what is the big why that you’re working towards.  Now, what is the how.  What are the systems you have in place to ensure you’re accomplishing the why.  This could be as simple as going to work and putting money away in a 401k.
3. I’m going to repeat the last portion of Phyllis’ words on growth before she died from cancer.  "But in the end, I see that growth is not so much about adding on as it Is about letting go.  That’s when you really soar, when you let go of obstacles in your life so that you can meet your true self again.”   What in life do you need to let go of.  Think and write down all you do, and be true with yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how important they are.  Then, see if you’re acting in accordance with your priority list. If not, it may be time to trim some things down. 

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items

1. Look at your environment, get a piece of paper, and write down everything that distracts you throughout the day.   Then, find a way to mitigate as much as possible.
2. Decide to try and do one thing at a time.  If you have a lot on your plate.  Write down the priority order of everything you need to do, and get one thing done at a time slowly going down the list.  If this method works well for you, then write down the priority order the night before. 
3. If you realize you’re getting tired, hold off on any activities that require critical thinking and deliberation.  Take a break, get some healthy food and drink water without checking your phone and getting sucked into it, then get back to it and notice the positive difference. 

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items

1. If you struggle with confidence, think about the one thing you want to accomplish but are scared to do so.  Now, think about the worst case scenario that could happen.  Then, on a scale of 1 - 100 ask yourself what the likelihood of each thing happening is.  
2. Now that you’ve written down the worst case scenario, let’s apply what we learned from the Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.  Create a game plan for exactly what you’ll do if those worst case scenarios will happen, and write them down.  While I was an officer in the Navy, we would brainstorm these, and then write down an action plan called pre planned responses from these and then run drills until we could do them from memory. 
3. If you want to practice willpower, try to do a task without having your phone nearby and it on airplane mode. The results may surprise you.

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items

1. What is the no kidding, honest to goodness definition of success for you in your life?  Try to be as specific as possible. From here, ask yourself how much it would realistically cost to have that, and I encourage you to be creative here.  For example, if a goal is to have a beach house, one thing you may do is ask yourself how much time you would spend there, get a condo, and rent it out for the times you’re not there.  After you’re done with this, ask yourself what actions you need to take this year, this quarter, this month, and this day in order for it to happen. Shoremates, this will take time if you’re being truthful with yourself, but I guarantee the amount of clarity and freedom you’ll feel from identifying it and moving towards it are worthy every second of your time.
2. If you have a partner, or are in a relationship, ask them to do the exact same thing.  One way that bitterness may rise in relationships or marriages is if one of the partners feels like they’re sacrificing their dreams for the other partner.  By being clear with each other, you’ll be able to brainstorm how both dreams are compatible, which will help strengthen your relationship. 
3. What is one new thing you resolve to try today and this week to help you get closer to your goal that you came up with in action item number 1. 

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to Chapters 2-4 in Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items

1. Think about everything you regularly do in life. Are you doing these things to move towards a goal, or to move away from an undesired consequence.   If you are doing things to try and avoid a consequence, just like the gym example how can you reframe what you’re doing to move towards a goal?
2. When you’re talking with others, try and avoid telling them what they should and should not do.  If you give them a couple of different choices and let them choose, the success rates will increase. 

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to Chapter 1 and the beginning of Chapter 2 in Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items

1. Now that we understand the C and X systems, ask yourself how much time is spent in the C system over the X system.  As a reminder, the x system is reflexive and the c system is reflective.  How can you spend more time in the C system?
2. Next time you’re feeling highly emotional and ready to explode, take a few deep breaths, count to 10, and if you can excuse yourself for a moment, go take a brief walk without any electronics. Notice how differently you’ll react when you come back after having a few moments to calm down.
3. Avoid making any important decisions when you are tired.  Being in the analytical C system takes a lot of energy, and making emotional decisions is almost always a recipe for disaster. 

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Hey Shoremates!

Welcome to the introduction of Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work — and your life by Scott G. Halford

Action Items: 

1.  What is something incredibly small to experiment with?  Does your desk need to be cleaned off? Do you have files that need to be cleared, or does the trash just need to be taken out? Choose something that has been nagging at you to get it done, and write it down.
2. After you accomplish that task, go to the handwritten item and cross it out.  How do you feel? Are you energized?  This is just the beginning that the power of activation can bring to your life.

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Shoremates,

Do you want to actually accomplish your goals this year (or start over)?  If so, this episode was made just for you.

We go over material from John Maxwell, Charles Duhigg, and Allison Sue from Compass My Life helping you with the following three areas:

1. Knowing obstacles that will come in the way
2. Setting Smart Goals
3. How to Choose a word for the year.

Shoremates,

Always, Always remember...you've got this!

J.D. Elliott

PS: Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Shoremates,

If you love this book, you can pick yourself up a copy right here.  If you want her free bonuses, check out moneyhoneyrachel.com/free

Action Items:

1. If you need help with accountability, Rachel has a free Facebook group found at  facebook.com/groups/moneyhonies

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com

Shoremates,

If you love this book, you can pick yourself up a copy right here.  If you want her free bonuses, check out moneyhoneyrachel.com/free

Action Items:

1. Does your company have a 401k?  If you’re not sure, head on down to HR, talk with them about it, and ensure you’re taking advantage of any matching contributions they offer.  This is quite literally free money and a reward for investing.
2. If something happened to you, would your loved ones be ok? Life and long term disability insurance are so critically important. If you already have them, make sure your family knows how to cash in the policy. Over $1 billion, goes unclaimed each year because the family doesn’t know what to do. 

Always, Always Remember,

You've got this!

-J.D. Elliott

PS  Love tea?  Be sure to check out nauticalteas.com for gourmet, loose leaf tea!
PPS: Want help getting your finances in order?  Check out more at thelifenavigator.com