I get the pleasure of advising dozens of people every week in one-on-one interactions. When you factor in my podcast distribution, I interact with hundreds of thousands of people every week. And there's one question I always get.

Who advises you? 

Who is your coach? 

Who is your mastermind?

The simple answer may be broader than you'd like, especially if you are looking for a specific solution to apply to yourself. 

The number one member of my mastermind is the person I listen to most. The person I respect the most. The person that will have the most impact on my life is ME. 

Why?

Because there is nobody, I listen to more than I listen to myself. 

Having self-awareness about how your mind works, how you think, how you choose to act, what works for you, and what doesn't work for you is key to a happy and successful life. Like it or not, you are all by yourself regarding what's happening inside your head. And what happens inside of your head is what dictates what will happen in your life.

Besides myself, who is in my mastermind?

Every person, every situation, every piece of reading, anything and everything, that catches my attention, passes into my ears, around my mind, and everything in between is my mastermind.

When you're self-aware and paying attention to your thoughts, the world becomes your mastermind. The more aware you are, the more you can sift and sort those knowledge bombs being dropped into your life into what works for you. 

So how about people? 

Are they in my mastermind?

The answer is yes. I have a select group of people, it's not too large, and it changes over time. I would estimate between five and seven that I can call anytime, ask questions, and seek wisdom. These people can contact me as well. If they have my respect and I have theirs, we pay attention to what we have to say.

Mastermind is defined as many minds working together. But, to take advantage of that power, you must master your mind first.

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A long time ago, it occurred to me that life is nothing more than a giant scavenger hunt. Yes, life is full of questions, and it’s long enough for you to figure out all the essential answers. And the winners are the people who figure out the solution for what you are seeking.

Here are a few that I use on a regular basis to get me thinking:

1) What do you want to do?

2) What do you want to have?

3) Where do you want to go?

4) What contribution do you want to make?

5) What do you want to become?

6) What do you want to learn?

7) Who do you want to spend my time?

8) How much money do you want to earn, save, invest?

9) How much time do you want off?

10) What will you do to create optimum health?

I’ll repeat it. Life is full of questions, and it’s long enough for you to figure out all the essential answers. It’s time to get busy.

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If you spend any time listening to me at all, it won’t take long before you hear me screaming from the tops of the mountains to ignore the agenda and propaganda-filled world we live in and focus on yourself. 

Here’s the truth...

Nobody is thinking about you and what you do. That means that you need to pay attention to yourself because nobody else will.

Some folks find that way of thinking difficult because society would make you believe that you must do what everybody else is doing to be successful. 

Let’s think about that for a minute.

Is everybody more successful than you or is everybody pretty much in the same boat as you?

You know the answer. So, who is more successful than you?

It’s the people that are out in front leading the masses. You know, the ones who paid attention to what they wanted, thought it through and convinced everybody else to support them on their mission.

Here’s another truth…

When you think about yourself first, you’ll have time to think about others too. Like they say, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!”

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I have an admission to make. 

I'm a bit lazy. Yes, I also like to work harder than most people. Still, I'm lazy when doing things I don't want to be doing.

It's been said that when you do what you love to do, you will never work another day in your life. Frankly, I've found it to be quite the opposite. What I do is difficult and takes a lot of time and effort. 

But I enjoy it? 

Still, I'm lazy. I want everything to be easy, and I want it now. I don't think I'm different than anybody else. I'm lazy. I'm driven. I'm lazy.

I think I made my point. And if you know me well, you may be thinking; he's not that lazy. 

Oh yes, I am…

While it may take a long time to master the skill required to make things easy for myself, I'm only willing to go through the hard work if it allows me to be lazy - eventually.

And do you know what the coolest thing is about being lazy?

Your initial hard work allows you to be lazy and makes what you do look easy to others. Too bad for them. I guess they were sleeping and binging Netflix when you were preparing to make it look easy and be lazy.

Here's today's life lesson.

It's good to be lazy, as long as you are willing to do the work required to allow you to be lazy - someday.

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Imagine how your life would improve if everybody in your world understood what to expect.

Expectations are powerful. Pay attention to these three:

1) What do you expect of yourself? You get to decide how you approach the world.

2) What do you expect of others? Clearly, understand what you expect of others. That allows you to avoid surprises - and toxic relationships.

3) What do others expect of you? When you let others know what they can expect of you - and walk your talk - you are living in integrity.

Your life will always be more comfortable when you know what to expect of yourself and others. 

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When I was in broadcast school, we spent a lot of time learning the rules of journalism. While that subject fills books, most everything we needed to know was -

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

If you know that information, you can tell a complete story.

Years later, I re-arranged the formula for my personal growth. Every time I set goals and consider a different direction I ask -

Why? What? When? Where? Who? 

Occasionally I need to ask HOW I’m going to accomplish my goal - but that usually takes care of itself.

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Steven Covey called it sharpening the saw. If you take a break to sharpen the blade, you will always cut more wood. The same applies to life.

My formula is Ritual, Rest, Rejuvenate, Reactivate. Repeat

1) Success comes when you perform ritual actions every day. Figure out what works and do it.

2) Running full-out all the time is not sustainable. You must stop and rest.

3) Resting allows your body and mind to rejuvenate and become healthy again.

4) When you are ready, it's time to reactive into action mode.

5) Repeat until you get what you want.

It's easier to cut more wood when you take a break to sharpen your saw. A walk in the park on a busy day counts too.

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Whatever you get in life is a result of your daily habits. What is a habit?

According to the dictionary, it is a settled or regular tendency or practice. It is also something that is especially one that is hard to give up.

Good habits or bad - habits are hard to give up. If that’s the case, you may as well choose good habits.

In a survey of 233 self-made millionaires, here’s what people who are successful at anything have in common:

They get up early, read, a lot, spend 15 - 30 minutes each day on focused thinking.

Good habits, done daily, create success.

They make exercise a priority, spend time with people who inspire them, pursue their own goals.

Settled habits maintain success.

They get enough sleep, have multiple income streams, avoid time-wasters.

If you want better results you want, it’s simple as having a solid list of good habits that you do every day.

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