Just One Joey: success

Showing posts with label success. Show all posts

Thursday, October 20, 2016

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Sir Mix-A-Lot

This interview has been the most pleasant surprise so far. I only knew him as the “Baby Got Back” guy, but he is so much more.

I have taken his interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one they are on.

Please enjoy.

How Can I Be Great At Something?

The first step is you have to WANT something.

This takes some serious self-reflection, because you want to make sure YOU want it. Too many people “like” what they think they are supposed to, and end up unhappy. I started out messing with gadgets and electronics, and it opened doors to everything else. You run in to danger when the foundation is not set on something solid, on something that is truly you, tied to who you are.

Once you figure out what that something is that you want, you can start honing in on your identity. When you are growing up, you don’t really have a sense of who you are. You try on different hats. Some fit, some don’t. Some are good, some get you in trouble. As you have these experiences you start cutting out the things you know are not you so you can focus on the things that are you.

Everyone has a calling. There is something out there that you are supposed to do. You fight it, because different is uncomfortable, especially when you are younger. You are looking for a cookie cutter, easy approach to life. Fight this. There is something out there, you just need to find it. The more you do, the more you explore, the more you create, you start finding things you are good at, things you really enjoy, and that’s where greatness lies.

After I Find That “Something,” What Do I Do?

1. Talk to all the successful people you know.

It doesn’t matter what field they are in, success is success is success. There are bits and pieces that you can take from everyone around you and apply it.

One thing that I found in my discussions is work was work, but it was also leisure. Work is what they loved to do. From the outside it looked like they worked too much. From the inside, they were having a blast. All of that comes from my answer to question one. When you find that something, it changes everything.

2. Work hard.

Our life is our habits, and our habits are our life. Get in to the habit of busting your butt. Chances are you won’t have much money at the beginning, and that’s ok. One thing that I found, but didn’t realize until I got there, was that necessity breeds creativity. When I didn’t have much, I had to work with what I had available to me. Working with different sounds and equipment, taking on tasks because I didn’t have money to hire someone (like MCing my songs, not what I was looking to do. But look what happened!). Once I “made it” and had all the gear I could ever want, I got lazy. I wasn’t as creative. And my work suffered. Appreciate the creativity you will have to develop when you are starting out, when you are striving to make something from nothing. Remember that feeling for later.

Don’t let the amount of work deter you from your dream. If it was easy to be successful, everyone would be successful. Hard work is preparation for a lucky day. Get yourself ready!

Expose your work to as many people as possible, and expose yourself to as much work as possible. It is hard to get a true scope of your ability level until it is compared to other peoples’ work. I am not saying compare your work to others, but compare it (if you know what I mean). I thought we were killing it until I did shows with NWA. It took my vision for what I could be and wanted to be to a whole new level. Without it I would still be thinking small. Exposure forces you to think outside yourself, to something you didn’t even know you could be. You HAVE to give yourself that opportunity.

3. Be you.

No matter what level you get to, stay connected to the real you, the old you. Success can be the nail in your coffin. There is a lot of work that comes after that, but you need to be grounded in who you are.

Knowing who you are will help you pass on things that don’t fit you and focus on the things that are you. Success comes with new opportunities. Low hanging fruit and big paychecks will be tempting.

You need to make sure you are focusing on the long game. What is your brand? How are you going to grow that brand? Expand your name? Be thinking of that from day one. Chasing the dollar will only lead to heartbreak (and bank account-break).

Success

Once you gain success, you need to figure out how you did it. When you are coming up you are trying anything. Once you reach a certain point, you need to look back and evaluate how you got there, so you can recreate it.

Connecting with the real you will also keep you hungry. Success can breed laziness. Once you are there, success will be much harder to come by. Laziness is a success killer. You have to keep in the chase. You have to keep wanting. Keep striving. You need the journey. That’s the truly satisfying part of it.

Never forget that no matter what your level of success, you didn’t do it alone. Some people will have bigger parts than others, but it is a collective. Never forget those people. Forgetting them is forgetting yourself.

Quotes

“If you are comfortable with your success you won’t have it very long. Remain hungry.”

Sir Mix-A-Lot Links

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Generation Why Not?

Access in America has never been more readily available than it is right now.

You can pretty much do whatever you want whenever you want it.

Write a book?

Make a movie?

Be a photographer?

Singer-songwriter?

Start a business?

Whatever!

Can you think of any legitimate obstacle to doing any of those things that doesn’t make you sound like a total puss?

I sort of lead you to the answer no, but you would have gotten there anyways, I am sure of it.

Some of you are naysayers. You will come up with some totally rare or over exaggerated scenario as to why someone, somewhere, wouldn’t be able to do it, but I am talking in generalities. If you are reading this at all, you either have a phone or computer, or access to one, which means you can do it too.

All of the information you need is at your fingertips, and all the tools you need to create just about anything you want to do is also at said fingertips. Even better, it’s in the same place you got the information from.

Your phone, computer or tablet.

Can you feel the excuses slipping away from you? I hope so.

The Why Generation

I think this the wrong name.

It generates a feeling that they don’t care.

Why should I do this? Why should I do that?

What is really happening is they are, or will be asking, why not?

Why can’t I do this?

Why can’t I do that?

Why do we have to do it that way?

Why can’t we try something different?

It’s not The Why Generation.

It’s The Why Not Generation.

The Fault In Their Stars

The issues that they will face will be the same ones that each of us are facing in this ever-expanding, ever-informing, atom bomb of access to everything you could ever want access to, and all of those things having access to you: self slavery.

We can eat anything we want.

We can read, watch, and consume anything we want.

What have we done with that freedom?

We are fatter than ever, more diabetes than ever, more dependent on the government than ever, and taking less responsibility than ever. On top of all this mess, there is a YUGE population in America that think Donald Trump is the answer to their perceived problems with the economy, their jobs, and their government.

Mr. Grab Them In The Pussy himself.

We are idiots.

Collectively.

Not you, specifically.

Us.

The Longer The Rope The Tighter The Noose

This is the time in history where we need to be more self-aware than ever. More disciplined than ever. More willing to ask ourselves the tough questions and make the changes necessary to max out our potential, than ever. We are a pathetic fraction of what we could be. There is always room for improvement, but so many of us are willing to hover around the 50% (if not lower) mark.

Other questions Generation Why Not needs to ask themselves is: How can this be better? Am I doing my best? Am I putting in the work? Am I in this for the right reasons? Is this the job for me? What are my strengths? (and more importantly) what are my weaknesses? And many, many more.

If they don’t ask themselves those questions, the rope will just get tighter and tighter. They will put themselves in situations they shouldn’t be in, with people they shouldn’t be in them with, and it could prove disastrous.

Don’t just be the “why?” generation.

Be the: Why not? How? When? Where? Which? Who? Generation.

We go as you go.

We are tomorrow as you are today.

Why not?

Friday, October 14, 2016

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Gabby Bernstein

This interview may have been my favorite so far. I didn’t know who Gabby Bernstein was before this, but learning what her mindset is on who we are and what we can be is beautiful. That is the best way I can describe it. Absolutely beautiful.

I have taken her interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one there are on.

Please enjoy.

Why Do I Have Such A Hard Time All The Time?

Collectively, we are hitting our wits end.

The news and media, the things on our phones, TVs, and radios are driving a toxic culture. Fear, terror, negativity, and chaos are cyclical, and we are in the eye of the tornado. All of these things culminate and hold us down. It’s pressure, it’s a weight, and we feel it whether or not we know where it is coming from.

All of this trauma, this chaos, manifests itself in the physical body. Aches and pains, headaches, poor sleep, irritability, etc. It comes out, and it’s always bad.

How Do I Fix Myself?

Meditation. Love and spirituality. Bring yourself back to yourself.

This allows you to filter everything through love. You come back to love, and it’s a ripple effect. Your life changes because you have changed, your vibration has changed, and the ripple extends out from you to your world, to the people you encounter, and everything changes.

It is not an overnight thing, and it is not an easy thing.

It is something you need to do every day. Just a few minutes a day, every day will help you reorganize and reframe decades of crap, a lifetime of unlearning that must get done in order to move forward.

Consistency wins. Engaging with your spirit daily is inspiring. It is unblocking the goodness that is already inside you, unlearning the fear and chaos that piles on top of you in this toxic culture.

Meditation allows you to clear the space for you to receive. You are stepping away from the crazy, and you are able to breathe. It reorganizes your energy and nervous system, pulls you out of the fight or flight that we live in. It uncovers the present, and presence, allows you to acknowledge the pain, the suffering, the chaos, and deal with it. True power lies in acknowledgement. Pain, unhappiness, suffering, it all has to be acknowledged in order to be remedied.

What Is The Best Way To Start Meditating?

Start with a mantra.

Find your pulse, and repeat “satnam” with the beat of your pulse.

Then take time every morning, 20 minutes, 10 minutes, 2 minutes, it doesn’t matter, just do it every day.

You will lose concentration, but that’s ok, keep coming back. Return to your pulse and the mantra.

The best part of all of this is once you learn the skill, and practice it, it will always work for you. It’s not a cup of coffee, it’s not a pill, or a drink. You never have to chase anything. It is all you, and it works every time. You will always be there, ready to meditate, and ready to center yourself, every single time.

You can’t get that with anything else.

Quotes

“Whatever trauma you face as a child, it dictates the path you take in life: terror, failure, not good enough, etc.“

“Your wounds are the place where the light enters you.”

“You have to have a commitment of growth.”

“Prayer is the medium of miracles.”

“When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off.”

“Be in the action.”

Gabby Bernstein Links

Website

YouTube

HerFuture.com

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Thursday, October 13, 2016

The Top Of Your Game

What does success mean?

What does it look like?

How do you know when you are on the top of your game?

Ironically, I have the perfect example of individuals being on top of their game.

In fact, they are on the top of the top of their game.

And not ironically that I have an example, ironically because of who the two people are.

Gary Vaynerchuk & Bill Belichick

Uh, me squeeze me?

Uhhh, a baking powder?

Gary Vee and Billy Bee?

Oh yeah.

Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) and Bill Belichick are one and the same.

One does football.

One does business.

(I don’t need to explain which is which do I?)

Both are extremely successful.

Both are machine-like in their work ethic and study.

Both focus on getting better and stronger.

Both leave failures or shortcomings in the past where they belong, focusing on the future.

How Did This Even Cross My Mind?

Good question.

I am a huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuk (who, ironically is a Jets fan. Sorry bud). I read his books, listen to his keynotes, and study his social media strategies. His knowledge of business and consumer behavior is so on point, he can take situations at random, and be able to pull out a comprehensive plan for success on the spot.

He loves Q&A at his keynotes. Why? Because he doesn’t need to plan out an entire speech to bring immense value to a room full of people. He studies the group he is going to be speaking to, uses his foundational knowledge, and is able to change lives one question at a time, one person at a time, at random, in every room he walks in to.

Total flexibility.

He takes what you have, and can use it.

He takes what you don’t have, and uses that too.

His ability to maneuver is not unlike a football coach, without his Hall Of Fame QB, or his backup QB, or his Hall Of Fame tight end, and still going 3–1. A situation where other teams implode, he continues to thrive.

Total flexibility.

He takes what you have, and he manipulates it with what he has.

He takes what you don’t have, and exploits it.

The only difference between these two is Gary Vee uses his powers for good. Billy Bee uses his powers to dominate the NFL for the last 15 years. I’m not saying he is using his powers for evil, but there are a lot of people he makes unhappy every season, Gary Vee included.

Both show you how to do it.

Both have been doing it for years.

But no one can do it like them.

Belichick does the same thing on the field that GaryVee does in meetings, during Q&As, and with his clients at VaynerMedia. When you know something inside and out the way these guys do you are able to adjust and adapt it to various situations and scenarios, never being out of the game. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Like the John Lennon quote in The Departed, “I’m an artist, give me a fuckin’ tuba and I’ll get you something out of it.”

Bill Belichick and Gary Vaynerchuk are artists.

All you have to do is give them a fucking tuba.

Friday, July 15, 2016

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Marie Forleo

The combination of energy, intelligence and ambition are a powerful team. If you take that and add compassion and teaching, you get Marie Forleo.

Please enjoy.

Why me?

Why not you?

Why shouldn’t your dreams come true?

Anything amazing that has ever been done has been done by someone who was thinking the exact same thing you are thinking now: why me? What do I have to offer? What makes me different?

The fact that you are you is exactly what makes you different.

When you are true to yourself. When you are not comparing yourself to any and every one on social media. When you are taking your personality, your experiences and your perspective and combining it with your dreams, that is exactly what will make you stand out. There is no other you. But you need to show it. Don’t hide behind what other people are doing, how they look, what they are showing on Instagram. You just worry about you.

The world needs the special gifts that only you have.

How Do I Get Over My Fears?

This sounds like terrible advice, but you just do it.

Simple, but not easy.

Don’t be scared of being judged. This is your dream, no one else needs to understand it.

There are so many tools and resources that are readily and inexpensively available. Failure is not a big deal. As long as you keep getting back up, and you keep challenging yourself, soon you will start seeing little successes. Over time those accumulate, they build up and pretty soon you are miles from where you started, all because you believed in yourself.

Hooray you!

Make sure you have clarity on your focus.

Use the Painted Picture Exercise:

Lean in to your life 3 years.

Write out everything you want to see, hear, have, feel.

Start with these questions:

What do you want to create? What does your business look like? What are you doing on a daily basis? How are you making money? What are the products and services that you sell? What does your team look like? How much time are you taking off? What are you doing with your time off?

Do this exercise with 3 different “lives.” Lean in to all of them. The more detail the better. Now look them over. How do they feel? How do they look? It’s like trying on pants, but it’s your life!

Because you are using so much detail, you will be able to feel the different futures. You are giving yourself the chance to feel them before you commit. Is it awesome? Or does it suck? Now you know which “life” to pursue and which one to put back on the rack.

Having trouble starting? Start each aspect of your “life” with “wouldn’t it be cool if….” Then finish the sentence and visualize. You will be creating your future world in no time.

Once you have your goal you can start moving. It is easier to focus and distinguish what helps reach the goal and what doesn’t when you have a clear end game in mind. You can streamline your life to help you reach those goals.

All you do after that is grind daily.

You got this.

I know you do.

Tip

Always create before you consume. Do work before you jump on social media and see a bunch of manicured photos, staged lifestyles, and motivational quotes. Produce, produce, produce! You don’t want to focus on anything before work except for your work. Who cares what anyone else is doing?

You have stuff to do!

Quotes

“What does that little voice say? Never ignore it”

“Everything is figureoutable.”

"Do you hard”

“If you don’t set the direction, you are just living by default.”

Marie Forleo Links

Website

MarieTV

B-School

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Happy 18th Birthday - 20 Steps To Separate Yourself

Happy Birthday to you….

Happy Birthday TO YOU ……

Happy Biiiiiirthdaaaaaay you’re either a winner or loooooserrrrrr!!!

Happy birthday tooooooo yyyoooouuuuu!!!!

You are an adult now.

Congratulations.

Still feel like a kid? Of course you do, but you aren’t. And you don’t have to act like it.

Today is decision day.

Decision 2016, or 2017, or whenever you read this.

This is your Independence Day. The day you seize independence from…… yourself.

How much longer will you play the “kid” card?

What’s wrong? Adults aren’t fun?

You can still hang out.

You can still have friends.

You can still be fun.

If you are a lame adult, you were probably a lame kid too.

You can be anything you want to be, but if you want to excel you need to decide when to cut out all the bullshit. Trim the fat. Solidify your goals. Focus on the long game. Work with grit. Move with determination.

“Why do I have to grow up so fast?”

“What’s wrong with having fun?”

“You are only young once.”

Wwwwaaaaa, wwwaaaaaaaaa.

Are these things you say to yourself? You want to wait until you are 22 and done with college, or 23, or 24? Go ahead.

I am not here to tell you there is anything wrong with that. But if you want to dominate, if you want to crush it, be the top 10% of the top 10%, you need to act like an adult starting…..yesterday.

I am not telling you there is anything wrong with being “young,” or being just like everyone else. But if you want to win, you shouldn’t want to be like everyone else. You should want to be a superstar. You should want to stand out. It’s hard to be a superstar when you surround yourself with “everyone else.” Weekends start on Thursdays. Detoxing Sunday night. Groggy on Monday. Waiting for the weekend by Tuesday. Skipping class, skipping work, work is for work hours, etc. That’s not how you do it. It’s fun, but it’s not how you do it. That’s not how you become great.

You want to be great don’t you?

You think you can accomplish greatness, don’t you?

You have to think it before you can do it.

You can start doing both of those things now.

Take it from someone who didn’t get it. Who didn’t realize the power you have with the proper mindset.

The power you have with your age. The power of separating strong and early. You could be ahead of

EVERYONE if you started today. If you start separating on your 18th birthday, you will leave everyone behind. No one will be able to accomplish what you can accomplish. You will be 7-8 years ahead of every single one of your friends. What do you need to do? Cut the bullshit. Trim the fat. Be goal oriented. Live with focus, grit, and determination. Lose the dead weight and move on. Shed your skin, spread your wings. Pick the analogy and go.

From this day forward, it’s ALL up to you.

Not up to the college you go to.

Not up to the company that hires you.

Not up to your mommy and daddy, your boyfriend or girlfriend.

You, and only you.

To be honest, you don’t need to be 18 to cut the bullshit. The sooner the better. Your 18th birthday seems to be a good one because the government says you are now old enough to die. Pleasant, huh?

I know what you are thinking, “But I don’t want to miss anything.” You have to trust me when I tell you that you aren’t going to miss shit. When your parents tell you nothing good happens after midnight, they are right. It sounds crazy, but they are. Puking at 4am? Banging an ugly girl you would never be interested in in a million years? Banging a dude you wouldn’t be caught dead with? Morning after pills? Horrible hangovers? DUIs? Too many cigarettes? $2 tacos from JB? Coke (not a-cola)? How many of those scenarios come from things that happen BEFORE 12am? Exactly.

What else will you be missing out on? Beach instead of class? Beer pong instead of studying? Is the tail wagging the dog?

You should have one goal if you want to kill it in life. That goal is: Success. That’s it.

Go to college or don’t do to college. The important thing is to act like you didn’t go. That way, you won’t expect anything to happen if you do or don’t go. People get so caught up in earning their degree, and making something of themselves, they forget to actually make something of themselves. The stuff you learn in school will transfer to 1% of anything you do for a living, so the sooner you start learning and cranking on your own, the better. The truly educated NEVER stop learning. The problem is a lot of people start learning too late. Start now.

Awwww, you want to enjoy your youth?

What does that mean?

That sounds like you’re scared? Masked in “fun” and “youth” but really scared.

Why would you be scared?

Because the world is scary and you’re not ready.

Mommy and Daddy’s house, the dorms, the frats, the sorority houses, much easier to deal with. Why are

they easy? Because they put all the pressure on something else, not you. You are a son, a “brother” or a “sister.” You don’t have to be “Jack The Adult” or “Jill The Adult.” You put it off. “It’s not time yet.” “I have my whole life to work, I want to have fun.” But it’s really because you are overwhelmed with the notion of being responsible for your own life. Get over it, and get over it soon.

How do you start? Where do you trim the fat? Cutting the bullshit? You probably aren’t even sure what is or isn’t bullshit in your life. That’s how little thought you have put in to this. You are just on a path, obviously someone else’s, taking a stroll.

Start with a goal. Where do you want to be at 30?

Now look at all the shit you do during a given week. What is not helping you reach that goal? Now stop doing those things.

Distinguish yourself. Separate.

Which of your friends don’t have aspirations like you? Stop hanging out with them. You are the product of the 5 people you surround yourself with. If you hang out with losers…….

Do I even need to say it?

Be THE guy. Be THE girl.

Be Brady instead of Manziel.

Be Steph instead of Swaggy P.

Be Zucks.

Be Sheryl Sandberg.

Be Tim Ferriss, Ryan Holiday, Carol Dweck, Tony Robbins, or anyone else who cut the BS, started killing it, and grinding.

Be Gary Vaynerchuk instead Larry Shmandershuk.

Stand up for yourself. You are 18. You can be anything you want. ANYTHING. But you can’t sabotage yourself. You can’t sell yourself short. You can’t give up on yourself. Or worse, never start.

Give yourself every opportunity to be everything you want to be.

Be an adult. You are one now. Act like it.

Or don’t.

Life is all about choices. Tomorrow will be determined by the choices you make today, right now.

Write out everything you want to be doing when you are 30 or 40. Don’t plan for 2020, plan for 2050. Have some vision, some insight to see that far out TODAY. Attack now for later.

20 Strategies To Separate:

You can go out with your friends, but come home by 12am.
Have 2 drinks instead of 8, then use Uber to take you home.
Don’t do heroin, or crack, or crank, or molly. Do I really need to put this? Yes. You are 18.
Sleep 7-9 hours a night.
Eat right, eat clean. No fast food. Cut out all the sweets.
Be in class or at work on time. Be prepared. Be ready to grind.
Look at everything with your name on it as an individual representation of you. What’s online? What are you putting on social media? If you don’t care about you and what you represent, no one else will either. The internet is forever, whether you like or not. Whether you think it’s fair or not. Trust me.
Study hard. Work Hard. Learn when you don’t have to. Get better when no one is looking.
Don’t worry about failure. It’s all learning until you quit. Your mindset and approach will determine if you are a winner or a loser. Keep winning.
Be yourself. Have self-awareness. Have self-control. Have self-worth. Evaluate your outcomes, strategize accordingly.
Don’t blame anyone for any situation you are in. It’s your fault, and you are the only one who can change the circumstances. Grab your shovel and start digging.
Remove the things from your life that hinder your goals. It’s either a yes or a no. There is no maybe here. You know it. This includes people, environments, AND substances.
Surround yourself with people smarter than you.
Always be in a learning mode.
Always be in a growth mode.
Love yourself.
Appreciate what you have. There are people more grateful than you with much less.
Recognize that every day is a gift that allows you to try again, or try harder, and be better.
Always be moving forward.
Never give up.

Happy Birthday.

Written by Joey Reghitto, Author of Prison Diary(a): A San Quentin Comedy, Kinda.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The Process Of Happy

I wish I could be happy.

I don’t want to be sad.

I don’t want to feel like my life is going nowhere.

I don’t want to feel like I am wasting away.

How can I be happy?

The first step to being happy is recognizing that you have everything you need to be happy right now, right this second, you just need to access it. You are not happy because you are not allowing yourself to be happy. It is a choice you are making, whether you realize it or not. That can change right now.

Your life is a combination of habits.

Good habits. Bad habits.

Sleep habits, fat habits, thin habits, drinking habits, sad habits, and happy habits.

Happy and sad habits? How does that work? How can I have a happy habit?

It’s a process. You create habits of being happy, and in turn, you create a process of being happy.

The process of being happy is …………….. having a process.

A process to your morning.

A process to your day.

A process to your life.

Since this is primary election season, think of it like a checks and balances for your “Happy Meter.” You are the Happy Railroad Company and every time you get off the tracks there is a place to jump back on around every corner. You will never be off for too long. That in itself should make you pretty happy. Shitty morning? You don’t have to be sad, just jump right back on just around the corner. You have a process! Check it, and balance it. Someone ate your tuna fish sandwich? Don’t worry, you can jump right back on just up ahead. You don’t have to be unhappy for long, because happiness is a process throughout your day. You are “checking” and “balancing” all day long. Gotta love the Democratic life process we have going here.

Books to help your process:

Mental: The Miracle Morning, Radical Acceptance, Mindset, Choose Yourself, Awaken TheGiant Within, Love Yourself

Physical: Reboot Your Body, The 4 Hour Body

Productivity: The 4 Hour Work Week, Crush It, The Choose Yourself Guide To Wealth, Success Principals, Unlimited Power

Building Your Process

How do you get this process?

A lot of people I read and listen to will tell you to pick a destination and go full steam ahead until you get there. The process? Grind, grind, grind. That may work for success in a sense, maybe. It will almost definitely work in burning you out.

You don’t need a destination, you need a direction.

Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? Find your Northern Star, your guide, then start walking. Obstacles will be on your path. Weather may be an issue. Cloudy with a chance of assholes tomorrow? Snow flurries and shitheads next week? Its ok. It doesn’t change anything. Just look up, find your star, and keep moving. You have a direction. As long as you keep moving there is nothing to bring you down for too long.

80% of success is just showing up.

If you keep walking, your success is inevitable. And isn’t that what happiness boils down to? Being successful? A successful parent? A successful child? Successful partner? Successful in business? That’s what we want. A successful life. Does that mean money? Maybe. It means being able to look at where you have been, where you are and where you are going and knowing that you are doing your best. Really doing your best. Not doing a shitty job, getting defensive and saying you are doing your best. I mean deep down, in your guts, “I am doing this” kind of doing your best.

A process allows you to say that. I am doing my best. I am showing up every day. I am here. I am constantly getting better, every day.

I am happy.

My process consists of (generally in this order): affirmation, meditation, education (not rhyming intentionally, this is not a Mike Dyson speech), cardio, healthy eating, working my ass off, weight lifting, family time, sleep.

Sounds like a lot, huh? I agree. It doesn’t feel like it though. And it really, really works. Really.

Affirmations: Write down 10 things you want to have or have accomplished in 10 years. Write them down every single morning. 7 days a week, 52 weeks, 365 days (don’t forget it’s leap year this year. That’s more days for affirmations!). Doing this reminds you every morning what you are striving for, what you are working so hard for, what you are focused on. They will slightly adjust, maybe a few things will be added by the end of the first month, but after that point, these are your affirmations. They are your babies. They are staring at you every day, at the beginning of the day, to keep you focused. Haven’t worked on one in a while? You will know it that morning, and every other morning.

After I write out my affirmations, I always make two lists of things I am grateful for. One is a list of things I was grateful for yesterday, and one is things I am looking forward to today. How can you be happy if you aren’t grateful? Exactly!

2. Meditation: After your affirmations, put on some headphones, some nice relaxing music or noises (I Iisten to the ocean), and just relax, for 10-20 minutes. Take deep breaths, get your blood moving through your lungs, push out the toxins that built up overnight. “In with the good, out with the bad.” I recommend a mantra, something positive. You don’t want to be telling yourself you are a piece of shit for 20 minutes. Something like, “I love myself.” “I am smart and I am going to figure this out.” “No one can stop me.” Something reassuring. Something to build yourself up. I know you will feel like a douchebag pumping yourself up like Stuart Smalley, but your brain loves it and will help your words and thoughts meet reality. You don’t have to tell people you sound like a hippy meditating every morning, just do it. It can be our little secret.

3. Education: READ READ READ!!!!!! What are your goals? What do you want to do? What do you want to be? Find people that have done it. Read their books. James Altucher says something along the lines of, “You only have one life, but you can live vicariously through all your heroes and have their lives too.” James, if I messed that up, I’m sorry, but it’s at least in the same spirit.

Stop reading the news. Who cares what crazy thing Trump said? Fighting in the Middle East? Wow. Same headline 100 years ago, 200 years ago, 300 years ago, 1000 years ago. I have a scroll from 34 B.C. (not really). The headline? “Fighting In The Middle East!”

Put down the People Magazine, stop looking at TMZ. Who gives a shit what the Duggars are doing? The Housewives? Who cares? They are probably fighting. Stop filling your brain with garbage. Stop filling the fridge with cakes. You aren’t leaving any room for the veggies man!

The more you read about your goals, the more you think about your goals. The more you think about your goals the more ideas you will have to reach your goals. All of a sudden, your goals are right in front of you. That doesn’t happen looking up Kimye. Get it? Got it? Good!

4. Cardio: Run, walk, ride a bike, swim, whatever, just move! Get your blood flowing! Flowing through your muscles, flowing to your brain. Some of my best thinking is while I am running. It is like an extended meditation. Have a problem at minute 2? Probably figured out by minute 54. Take walks in the middle of the day. It’s amazing for your body and your mind.

5. Healthy Eating: Drop the sugar and walk away. You need a healthy gut and healthy body in order to be your best. You can read and work out all you want, but if you eat like shit, you will be shit. Not literally. No one eats shit. Except my dog. She’s gross. Healthy food = healthy gut = less inflammation = less sickness = more dopamine released in your system = clearer thinking = happier. Boom! Healthy tummy time. Veggies, healthy fats, no breads (at least eat them after a workout or towards the end of the day). Be smart. No processed stuff.

WORK YOUR ASS OFF!!!!!: Don’t leave anything on the table. There is no substitute for being a productive powerhouse. The best part about # 6, is if “life” happens one day and you don’t get everything accomplished that you wanted to, you have this process in place to make it up tomorrow. Then you can be happy!

Don’t text, Facebook, Tweet, or look at boobies online. This is productive time. Unless you work at one of those companies or are plastic surgeon, there is no reason to be looking at any of those things if you are really trying to get something. It is work time. Be productive the whole time. Every minute you waste is just more time in between you and your goals. And for what? So you can check your likes? Fuck your likes. Like work.

7. Weightlifting: The fountain of youth! Lifting heavy weights is shown to keep your body more youthful than anything else you can do (Botox is just a mask, it doesn’t do anything for you physiologically. That, and you look emotionless. Are you smiling or frowning? I can’t tell). Decompress the day by compressing your muscles. You need a release, do it in the gym. Or do it like me, put a gym in your garage. This allows for major productivity. Taking out drive time, changing time, parking, blah blah blah. It’s awesome. I listen to podcasts of people with information I want, which means I am learning and lifting at the same time. Booya.

8. Family: Spend time with your family or loved ones every day. Eat dinner together. Play board games. Read together. Tuck your kids in at night. Tell them you love them. Give love. Feel love. Do this every day. Love is wonderful. Remember to love yourself first. Be happy with where you are. Set yourself up for happiness and success and love. Share that with the people you love.

9. Sleep: You work hard all day. You are a grinder. You did all your steps, your whole process. Now you need to recover. The only way to do that is sleep. 8-9 hours. Get some good recovery sleep. Get the orange glasses so you can produce melatonin faster and recover more. Get some eye covers so you block out all the light so your brain doesn’t go nuts while you are sleeping. Prep your sleep. Don’t watch crazy shows right before bed. Read something. Not TMZ!! Read something you want to learn. That way you can think about it while you dream. Be calm before you go to bed. You need good sleep so you can be just a little bit better tomorrow.

This sounds like a lot of work Joey!!!

It is.

Aaaand it isn’t.

Stop being a baby.

If it was easy everyone would be doing it.

You are not everyone.

You are special.

You are happy.

These are “happy” markers throughout your whole day. Off the tracks? There is a happy marker around the corner to get you back on. No need to worry. No need to overreact. Things will soon be better. You are habitually happy now. Who the hell can say that? You can!

This process gets you to where you want to go. If you trust the process, you will be happy, because you know you are doing what you need to do to get to where you want to go.

Here is a breakdown of my day. Not much room to be unhappy.

5am-515am – affirmations

515am-535am – meditation

535am-615am – reading/drinking coffee

615am-620am – (hopefully) poopy time

620am-7am – breakfast with wife and daughter (making and eating)

7am-8am – cardio

8am-830am – shower/eat

830am-330pm – work my balls off

330pm-5pm – lift weights/listen to podcasts/take notes/write down ideas

5pm-530pm – shower/eat

530pm-630pm – make/eat dinner with family

630pm-7pm – play games/read with family

7pm-830pm – read/hang out with wife

9pm – sleepy time

To be honest, at any point during the day I could feel like a loser. Like I will not be successful in whatever I am working on. We all get down. The idea is to minimize that. The thing that allows me to be happy is knowing that I have done everything before than moment, and I will do everything after that moment to get better and be successful. I can be happy in trusting the process. Even if I was not successful that day, or that hour, I have everything in place to be successful tomorrow, and the day after, and next week. Failure is short term. It is part of the learning process. I can’t fail! I have slept, eaten well, worked out, etc. I am a machine. I keep pushing forward, and that makes me happy. That makes me VERY happy.

I am happy with the process, which allows me to be happy with my life.

I will always be ok, no matter what comes my way.

I trust the process:

The process of success.
The process of creativity.
The process of productivity.

The process of happy.

Talk to you soon,

Joey

Books to help your process:

Mental: The Miracle Morning, Radical Acceptance, Mindset, Choose Yourself, Awaken TheGiant Within, Love Yourself

Physical: Reboot Your Body, The 4 Hour Body