Today was tough. I didn’t sleep well last night. And for the past two weeks I’ve been getting up an hour earlier each morning to write.

Some days I just want to say screw it and go back to sleep. Today was one of those days.

But, I managed to convince myself to get up and start moving.

My routine of late has been to first pick up a book and read a chapter or two. This helps turn on my brain. I don’t always know what I’m going to write about each day, so reading is a good catalyst for ideas.

I have a stack of books next to my living room couch that I rotate through. This morning I was reading Tim Ferriss’ latest book, Tribe of Mentors. Tim reached out to hundreds of brilliant people and asked them the same set of questions and put their responses in a book.

This morning I read about Jerzy Gregorek, who emigrated from Poland to the United States as a political refugee in 1986. He has since won four World Weightlifting Championships and earned one world record. He has a slew of other amazing accomplishments, including writing poetry.

A couple of things he said struck a chord with me,

“Nothing is achieved because of easy choices. Hard choices make us wiser, smarter, stronger, and wealthier, and easy choices reverse our progress, focusing our energies on comfort and entertainment. In every difficult moment ask yourself, What is the hard choice and what is the easy choice? And you will know instantly what is right. Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”

It was the hard choice for me to wake up earlier today so I could have time write, but it’s what I’ve committed to. I’ve seen what the power of storytelling can do for my clients and how it can impact a community, so I’ve committed to practice it every day. Reading Jerzy Gregorek’s comment was just what I needed to hear to keep up my resolve.

I’m also really loving the responses I’m getting from you all.

Brad responded to last week’s story called “Never Break the Chain”.

I just wanted to say I appreciate your e-mails and have also committed to something this year. In what seems like a world full of negativity, I am making a commitment to focus on the positive. Each day I write in a journal at least one thing that I am thankful for or something that made me smile that day. It has only been a few days, but the impact has been tremendous. Thanks for sharing. Make it a great day! – Brad

Thanks for sharing, Brad.

Isn’t it amazing how such a simple task, when done consistently, can have such a significant impact on your life? Stick with it!

Let’s not forget that simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy.

Author and success coach Darren Hardy often says, “What is easy to do, is also easy not to do.”

It explains why we often don’t do the things we know we should. We plan to “get to them” but instead we allow ourselves to be distracted by a million other things.

For Brad, writing down something that he is thankful for once a day may only take a few minutes. It’s a simple task. But not easy to stick to consistently. That is why Brad used the word “committed.” The task is just as important to him now as brushing his teeth, or having a cup coffee in the morning.

Being committed means doing the task you’ve set out to even on your busiest, most crazy days.

Speaking of committed, have you ever watched this video clip of Herm Edwards, the former NFL coach and player, talk about the difference in being interested and committed? It’s priceless, and well worth the 2 minutes.

I’m off to a client’s house, but in the meantime, if you have a comment or even a story you’d like to share, I’d love to hear it.

Cheers

– Mike