Author: jon

Jonathan is a Strategist, Entrepreneur, Coach, Adviser & Stay At Home Dad with a passion for helping people build organizations as a Coach, Adviser, Mentor, or Partner, and learning about success. Actively seeks opportunities to travel, sail, shoot pictures, play music & games, create art & run Obstacle Courses.
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6 Tactics for Better Mornings and Better Days. S.A.V.E.R.S.

Tim Ferriss has interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of high performers. He tracks their habits, tactics, strategies and one comes up over and over:

Prayer or meditation

When Hal Elrod was doing his research on success he settled on a word for this and made it the first of SAVERS:

Silence

No matter what you call it, silences, prayer, meditation, etc, it is a time to pause, slow down, process emotions, prepare for moving forward, and deal with deeper things.

At this moment in 2020, many are being encouraged to take a step back and disrupt the daily whirlwind. You have a choice:

Power forward
Or
Accept the gift and opportunity of silence … even if just for a moment.

Silence is simply allowing yourself an intentional time to be still and present in a moment. To check in on your insides, and be aware of all you take in around you. To be calm in your heart and mind before you run into external forces, no matter if that’s your kids, traffic, boss, customers, or “NEWS”. 

Affirmations

There are many forms of Affirmations. 

Hal Elrod, in The Miracle Morning, shows how to use a set of words, phrases, and ideas to remind yourself to develop, achieve, create, and overcome.

This is a practice for the more touchy feely things like dealing better with adversity, financial success, relationships, health improvement, weight loss, increased energy, self-confidence, and joy. 

Visualization

A practice of envisioning in your mind you in the future in the act of working towards your success or after you achieved it. 

Exercise

Especially in a time with extra down time, and less movement, it’s important to be intentional in this area. 

It could be a dance party with your kids, or a video streamed exercise class. 
1,000 Kettle Bell Swings, or 100 pushpus a day. 

Something, in the morning, to get your body moving … and develop a new habit for your kids. 

Reading

Now is the time to read a book. 

Fiction or Nonfiction. 

If you want one on success, you might start with the one SAVERS came from. I recommend the version for Entrepreneurs the most. Since you are reading this, you have a creative class element to you, you are or want to be an Artist, Entrepreneur, Investor or Owner. 

After that, here are a few of my top recommendations for this time:

Scribe

I use my mind for thinking, not for remembering.

“The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory”

The act of getting ideas, feelings, concepts, lists, and more out of your head is primarily to free up space to think and feel. It also helps you process. 

If you commit to one page per day and simply write down things you are grateful for – your world will improve. 

Ryan Holiday has many great thoughts on scribing, or journaling. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want.

My kids have journaled off and on for years now.

I have them do it for many reasons from processing to recording to simply practice writing to developing hand-eye coordination. 

At this point, in an ideal world:
Sundays – they set their intentions for the week – think goal setting or planning. Each month we are starting to talk about setting intentions for a month too. 

Each morning and when they get home from school they are to journal. When school is out, it’s morning and mid-afternoon as a reset. 

My intention for them is to be able to let go and be present. After school is to help them reset so that they don’t carry all the energy, frustrations, joy, and sorrow from school into the house. 

Reset is a key. Turn the page and go to the next. 

That’s what the whole world has the opportunity to do now. 

Will you take the opportunities you have and take the little steps to your next big success?

How will your measure success in this time? 

Whatever you are considering, let at least two people know. One can be me, the other should be someone you see on a regular basis. 

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How Will you Add Value?

To accomplish a greatness it takes more than just Action, Action, Action, Action …

Simple goals action might be all that is required.

Seth Godin shares an inspiring thought on adding value, or improving your world & breaks it down into three things.

  • Tasks
  • Decisions
  • Initiation

His short post is well worth reading now if you have not already.

Leading is more than just initiation, though all initiation falls under leadership, with some doing and choosing involved too.

Leadership is a value add in getting more done than a single person can. It’s empowering, supporting, inspiring, influencing, connecting, and guiding.

All leaders do tasks.

All leaders make decisions.

All leaders must initiate.

 

Yet, not all who provide value through work, tasks, or doing

And, not all who provide value through making decisions, choosing, and picking the best

… have the same level of impact that leaders can have.

 

The choice of leadership is yours.

We are always looking for people who want to provide value & the more leaders we have in our networks the more we can make the world a better place.

 

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Smiling in the Valleys

When was your last win?

Smiling in the Valleys Ally Nation

That mountaintop experience that you drove hard to & accomplished. A milestone that caused you to shout to the heavens out of exhilaration.

Has it been a while?

Most of my life has seemed more like lost in a valley than reaching the summit.

 

One thing has really helped me … having a ‘Happy File’.

Why do you need to start a Happy File today?

All business owners need a Happy File, no matter if you have millions of clients or a single client you call “boss”. When you make the decision to take ownership for your life, you aim higher than the average person … you need a Happy File.

I call my Happy File “Pure Joy Fuel”. It’s an evernote notebook because it’s easy to add to no matter where I am.

I include posts, screenshots, text, and sometimes audio.

 

Whatever will show me …

You Made A Difference!

because making a difference is what fuels me & depression is the false belief “I don’t matter; the world would be better off without me.”

 

Imagine the most frustrating depressed time you can stand … now, what if you could go read something a friend sent you days, months, or years ago when you felt like you were not living to a level you could:

 

Few are brave enough to ask the question. Fewer still that dig for the honest answer. I will tell you that on the other side of the answer, whatever that may be, is more clarity about who you are, how you work and what you’re headed for.

I love you.

I appreciate you.

 

The world needs what you have to offer.

 

It’s a matter of figuring out where the problems are that you can solve.

The sweet spot where the right industry with problems needing solutions and your strengths and passions collide.

 

Did we think it would be easy to find this space?

You are strong.

You are tenacious.

You are steady.

 

Steady doesn’t mean there aren’t low moments and discouraging times.

It just means by your nature, you’re like a bobber in the water.

People look at people like us and think we have no issues.

 

It’s pretty tough to lead people when they feel like we’re unreachable. Ugly moments like this create additional notches in our leadership belt. They give us stories that we’ll use to connect with others in the future, to build their dreams and hope.

That even we have moments when life is grey and frustrating.

 

You know what I think is beautiful?

You immediately went to the things that nurture you.

THAT is remarkable

THAT is a linchpin move

THAT is wise

THAT is why you will win

Are you going to play small, or are you going to put in place one system that will help you get up when you have been knocked down or simply need a win?

 

Where will your Happy File live at the end of today?

 

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March 4th – morning work

Last night I sent the idea for this project to some core advisers of mine.

After a little encouragement I went and sent two types of messages out:

  1. To past Champions
  2. Posts in public

 

1. To Past Champions

I went and text’ed a handful of Real Estate Investors who had supported Project Lime, either by putting money in or were very close.

The message was simple:

You seeing a buyers market or sellers market in our area? ~Jon Nation

This is important because Project Lime was a clear winner in a buyers market, yet died in part because we had shifted into s sellers market. It also got the conversation started again with these handful of people who I had built some rapport with.

 

2. Posts in public

Went to some Facebook & LinkedIn groups I had already been a member of and posted something like this:

Is your area currently a buyers market or sellers market?
(what area do you focus on?)

I don’t know these groups anymore. Which are active, who the players are, etc yet with this question I can establish some contact with people to talk to in the groups (if people respond).

 

Setting Up This Area

Last thing I’ve done the past hour or so is set up this area of Ally Nation to document.

First thought was to put it in a Google+ Community.
I did not like that because it would be fine for people who follow the journey the entire time, yet did not work well for people wanting to catch up from the beginning.

Since I know how to run sites & have for others for years, setting up this little locked down area will provide a way I can record stuff as they happen and share with a small group still.