One Week, Lifetime Impact

"Life ain't short, life is LONG!" - Chris Rock

"All it takes is one week and your life changes." - Justin Thomas

Live each day deeply and you'll agree. Often, Mondays arrive and people struggle to focus and do the work that must get done. Live a life of meaning and you'll agree. It starts with attention to what you can control.

These 7 examples help me make the best of each week, and may help you, too:

#1 Choose healthy data and information inputs to read, learn, and absorb. It is what you'll become.

• In ~40 days, I've read close to 3 books: Working Backwards, High Output Management, and Deep Work. I've scribbled notes in the margins, underlined full paragraphs, and taken copious notes. I read every day.

• I've also stumbled across Vicky Zhao's BEEAMP channel on YouTube, where she teaches how to think using frameworks.

#2 Visualize the days ahead as successful ones. Don't "hope it all works out," but "see" exactly how you'll approach and respond to situations.

• Every Sunday, I reflect on the previous week and outline the week ahead. I use Roam Research to log my notes. It allows me to chronicle networked thought.

• Instead of desired results, I focus on my energy level, self-talk, and consistency.

#3 Measure progress against your Wildly Important Goals. After all, you have goals, yes? And you have systems for achieving those goals, yes?

• "Wildly Important Goals" comes from The 4 Disciplines of Execution, a book about getting things done - on time and with excellence. Imagine what a book with "discipline" and "execution" in its title is about!

• Keep score and hold yourself accountable for making progress each day.

#4 Encourage others. If you're feeling discouraged, use it as a trigger to pay less attention to you, and more to others.

• Sometimes we must get out of our head and remove ourselves as the center of everything. Instead, face outward and be mindful of others.

• An effective one-liner is "You've got this. You can do it. I'm rooting for you."

#5 Thank people. The handwritten card, for example, is unparalleled.

• Class it up and invest in personalized stationery. I use the Dylan card by Crane and Co.

• Keep postage stamps nearby at all times.

#6 Tell those you love that you love them. All of us can improve here.

• Forgiveness goes a long way, too. There are former colleagues of mine reading this that have chosen not to like me, my style, my brand, my example, or much else. Despite it all, I still pray for them and wish them the best in life.

#7 Do what you say you'll do. People won't tell you, but you're always setting an example, whether you want to or not.

• Set an example that's first class and set an example that inspires others.

Life is long. All it takes is one week and your life changes.