This morning my son, Frank, walked into the bathroom when I was shaving. He noticed a stop watch next to the sink.
“Daddy, what are you timing yourself for,” he asked.
“So I get you to school on time,” I said. “I give myself four minutes to shave. If I don’t time myself I’ll take too much time and you’ll be late because of me. The timer keeps me honest.”
After shaving I walked into the living room and saw my daughter, waiting for me.
“Let’s go. Let’s go,” I said. “Get in the car now. We want to be on time. I’ll be out in a minute.”
My kids marched to the car, got in and I soon followed.
On the way to their respective schools I joked around with them and talked about the power of Imagination – and how they can imagine themselves getting smarter and smarter – learning faster and faster. I talked about SEEING the report card you want with the marks you’d like written all over it.
I can assure you this was not the first time I have told them this. Nor will it be the last.
In order to be successful, repetition is paramount. And you cannot repeat something valuable too often. First you plant the seed – then you water and fertilize it.
This is what you do when raising children; this is what you do when coaching yourself.
It’s not coincidental that many of our greatest thinkers can rattle off a string of their favorite quotes, from memory.
Ever wonder why. It’s because they continually reinforced the good things they needed to learn.
When John Wooden, the great coach at UCLA was in grade school, his father gave him a card entitled, 7 Suggestions to Follow.
They were:
1. Be true to yourself.
2. Help others.
3. Make each day your masterpiece.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Good Book.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter for a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance, and count and give thanks for your blessings each day.
Wooden, now 97, still keeps the card with him and recalls it often.
Such a simple thing, really.
Daily reinforcement of the basics can and will take you all the way to the top.
Why – because so much of being successful is remembering what to think and what to do. Most people forget far too soon.
The great ones don’t. They remember to remember.
Remember that.
Matthew Furey
P.S. The Zero Resistance Living program will help you remember to remember. It’s like a stop watch before you at all times. Keeping you aware of what your goals are; making sure you get where you want to go – on time.
