9 Habits to Transform Your Life

NO. 1 : MEDITATION 

Meditation leads to more PRESENCE and AWARENESS of your thoughts and emotions. It allows you to live and enjoy the PRESENT and every MOMENT.  You are never guaranteed to have the next moment, so relish the one you have.  The ultimate purpose of meditation is to become aware of your thoughts.  This awareness allows you to spot any negative mental chatter that is diminishing your life and hence empowers you to change your thoughts.  Change your thoughts, Change your life.

TIP: Start slow.  Start with 5-10 minutes every day.  Just google some meditations and follow them.  Another good option is the HeadSpace app.  

Make meditation a staple of your life, like food and water.  Every day.

NO.2 MINDVALLEY

Mindvalley is an incredible, affordable personal transformation platform that gives you access to leading authors and scientists in every field. It is designed brilliantly in a manner to help you learn and implement the concepts.  For me, it has led to tremendous personal transformation that has impacted my relationships, stress levels, outlook, and how I handle adversity. There are many topics from world leaders in meditation, personal growth, transformation, health, business, fitness, relationships, and parenting.

No.3 BULLETPROOF COFFEE/16 Hour Fast

Extensive research has shown the benefits of doing regular 16-hour fasts.  A great option to get the benefits of the 16-hour fast but still consume something in the morning that fills you (making it easier to get through) is making the Bulletproof Coffee (see books by David Asprey). This essentially means for 16 hours you only consume a bulletproof coffee in the morning:  Coffee, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon MCT Oil, blended.  16-hour fasting helps regulate your sugar and insulin levels. I do this 5-6 times a week.  It has COMPLETELY transformed my energy levels, my body fat percentage, my weight, my mental acuity, and my sharpness.  It’s a life changer.

NO.4 REGULAR EARLY MORNING ROUTINE:

I recommend doing the Miracle Morning Routine.  This entails six components as part of your morning routine: the SAVERS:  Silence (Meditation), Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (Journaling). This practice sets a rhythm of daily growth physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You practice meditation, which enhances your mental resilience; you practice affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and journaling. Within journaling, you write about things for which you are grateful.  It allows you to look at your life from the correct perspective. Make this part of your daily routine.

No. 5 ASSIGNING 20 MINUTES EVERY DAY TO PERSONAL GROWTH THROUGH MINDVALLEY.

Imagine your transformation if you are spending 120 hours EVERY year on personal growth. This will improve every aspect of your life and get you closer to your goals. Treat it like food and water.  It’s vital to your survival and health.  If you aren’t growing and learning, you are decaying and dying.  

NO.6 STOP LIVING A LIFE TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF OTHERS.

Free yourself from the bondage of living a life for others. Dance to the beat of your own drum.

No. 7: BECOME INTENTIONAL ABOUT SLEEP

Sleep affects EVERY aspect of your health and wellbeing, including mental health.  Study it and track your sleep.  I recommend getting an Oura ring.  Four sleep hacks to follow:

1.      No alcohol or coffee after 2 pm.

2.      No eating 2-3 hours before bedtime.

3.      Have a regular bedtime and waking time every day.

4.      Power down an hour before bedtime, avoiding screens and blue light (get blue light-blocking glasses to wear)

Improving the QUALITY and QUANTITY of your sleep will improve your overall health, help with insulin and weight control, increase mental acuity/sharpness, improve energy levels, and reduce the risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s (amongst others).  Be INTENTIONAL about your sleep.

No. 9 START LIVING IN THE PRESENT

The only thing that is real is the PRESENT.  The past is not real.  It is a creation of your mind based on experiences.  Your mind created your memory and the meaning of the event.  It’s not real.  Dwelling on the past can’t change it.  The FUTURE is a creation of your mind.  It’s also not real.  We live most of our lives ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.  Spend more time just experiencing the present.  This will tremendously increase your joy.

Twelve Game-Changing Insights from Alabama coach Nick Saban

 I was fortunate to be part of an amazing conference where Nick Saban gave a talk. This was a game changer, literally!

The Alabama Crimson Tide, under Coach Saban, have created a culture of high excellence and achievement.

Insight #1: THREE REQUIREMENTS TO WIN CONSISTENTLY

Nick Saban says there are three requirements to win consistently.

1. You must have good preparation. If you don’t spend a TON of time preparing, you won’t have a high level of success. PREPARATION, PREPARATION, PREPARATION.

2. Always have a good game plan. You need to have a good game plan outlining how to “win” your project, task, or endeavour.

3. You must have the ability to adjust and adapt. You may come in with excellent preparation and have a great game plan but sometimes things don’t go as you anticipated . You MUST MUST have the ability to adjust and adapt to the unforeseen circumstances or else you will fail.

Insight #2: MINDSET IS EVERYTHING

Above all, Coach Saban indicated how vitally critical it is to have the right mindset. Mindset is the key to everything. Do you have a growth and positive mindset? 

Insight #3: 3 Keys to Successful Teams

For those in leadership roles, he also talked about three keys that lead to successful teams:

Key # 1: Discipline to do the right things the right way.

Key #2: Accountability for yourself and fostering a culture of accountability so everyone is held accountable for the results they’re trying to create.

Key #3: Team first. Always thinking of the team first.

Insight #4: Discipline

You must have the discipline to do the right thing every day. This applies to both work and personal life. If there are certain things you want to accomplish on the personal side — which could be related to family, relationships, health, working out, etc. — you must be disciplined to do the right thing, every day, to be successful. Consistency leads to results, spontaneity does not. 

What does discipline mean? There are two elements to discipline.

1. Can you make yourself do the things you know you have to do, but don’t feel like doing?

2. Can you stop yourself from doing the things you want to do, but know you shouldn’t?

These are key things to keep in mind if you want to develop your discipline. This will impact every part of your life. Can you make yourself do the things you know you have to do, but don’t want to do? Can you stop yourself from doing the things you want to do to but know you shouldn’t? The answers to these questions will predict the level of success you will experience.

Insight #5: Close the gap on perfect every day

This relates to the concept of improving and getting better every day. You’re never going to be perfect every single day, but you should strive to get closer to perfect every day. Are you going to choose to do the things you know you need to, to get the goals you want? What kind of passion do you have to achieve those things?

Insight #6: Have a Compelling Vision

You always want to focus on the vision, not the circumstances. It’s the vision that helps you get to that point, not the circumstances you might be facing. Do you have a clear, powerful and concise vision of what you want?

So ultimately, you want to keep your focus on the goal you’re trying to attain and not focus on the individual things you need to do to get there. You don’t want to expend all your energy stressing about, and focusing on, all the tasks. If you focus on all the things you must do to get there, you will get discouraged and may stop trying. But if you keep your focus on the vision and put your head down and work on those things — that’s how you get the long-term vision.

Insight #7: You have to have intensity and a sense of urgency all the time

Focus on what’s important now and don’t let up in your intensity. Always have a sense of urgency so that you are always growing and moving. Be relentless.

Insight #8 : Set a high standard of expectations

You must set a high standard for yourself as well as those that you may lead. If you are a leader, YOU must set the example of the high standard for the team to follow your lead. True leaders must be individuals others want to emulate.

Insight #9: Hold Accountable

If you are a leader, you must expect your team to follow the high standard that you have set. Hold them accountable. No exceptions.

Insight #10: Be a Servant

If you are a leader, you must help people for the benefit of the people, not for your own benefit — that’s what a true leader is. A true leader serves people. A true leader should be a blessing to people. A true leader should always have the best interests of the people in mind. A true leader must always be positive. Finally, a true leader must always have gratitude.

Insight #11: Embrace Failure

Every failing is an opportunity to grow, that’s the mindset we need to have — do not be fearful of failure. You’re going to try things, and these things may not work out. That’s okay. It’s okay to fail. The key is to use that as a springboard: learn something new and then grow. And just be relentless.

Insight #12: High Work Ethic and Perseverance

The only way to really have success in anything in life is to have tremendous work ethic and perseverance. One thing you always want to consider is — and again this relates to personal and professional- are you investing your time, or are you spending it? Investing your time in your growth is a critical thing. We must have perseverance, even if you fall short of the things we want to accomplish. The key is to have perseverance and be able to overcome adversity. Have pride in performance.