The Daily Three!

The Daily Three!

Sometimes the best advice you can receive comes from a trusted colleague. Other times, quality advice and suggestions can come from close friends or your spouse. Once in a while you may get a superior idea or thought from someone you barely know. All of these sources are important and are part of your circle of positive influence. Nurture them, respond to them and most of all LISTEN to them – the nuggets of knowledge you need to succeed or make a better decision may be in that 3 minute phone call, a casual conversation or a 4 line text.

For me, one of the sources I rely on for great advice has always been my Dad. He hasn’t given me any new advice in over 27 years because he passed away from a heart attack in 1988. However, I have squirrelled away many of the insightful, unique, meaningful and occasionally brilliant ideas and philosophies that he had and often shared with me in many forms during the years.

Sometimes he communicated with me via a hand written note that he would slip into my tennis bag, reminding me to stay calm or focused during a junior tournament match. Once in a while, he would stop me in the hallway and put his hands on my shoulders to get my full attention and then share his thoughts with me with his incredible, deep, resonating, radio/TV/stage voice – in those moments, it felt like God was talking through him to me. But most of the time, his wisdom came to me in the form of a type written letter or note, straight from his ancient Royal manual typewriter – the same one he used to write newspaper articles, radio reports and TV newscasts from for dozens of years.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the foresight to keep all those letters – I wish I had. I would love to read them again and perhaps share them with my kids. However, I remember the true game changers – the ones that got my attention immediately and caused me to change a behavior or open up my mind to something new. I want to share one of those with you today – I hope it’s as meaningful for you as it has been for me through the years!

This one is called The Daily Three and it goes like this. Each day you should do these three things – the order doesn’t matter, the manner in which they are done doesn’t matter, but the intent of all them is to leave a positive impression or complete a necessary task. The point is to concentrate on achieving these three things each day – if you do so, you cannot help but have a great day…which leads to a great week…which builds into a great month and year…and ultimately allows you to live a full and happy life!

Here’s the list:

1. Do Something for Yourself! God made you and you are special. You must take care of your body, your mind and your spirit every day. Give yourself some credit for being who He made you to be and reward yourself with something fun, relaxing or educational every day. You deserve it! Laugh, enjoy and have fun – it makes your soul sing and gets you in the frame of mind to do the second of the Daily Three.

2. Do Something for Someone Else! Keep your eyes and ears open for the opportunity to help someone else each day. This could be something major like a household project for a neighbor or friend in need or participating on charity or civic club group to help deliver food or clothing to those less fortunate. But often this part of the Daily Three will be a small thing for someone you don’t know – opening the door for a lady, allowing someone to turn in front of you when you are driving, paying for the person behind you in line at a fast food restaurant, or simply listening and responding with something positive to someone you meet. Helping those around you is a Godly thing and is part of the reason you are here!3.

3. Do Something That Needs Doing! Yes, my Dad was all about task completion as well! He had to-do lists all over the house – on sticky notes, on chalk boards, typed out on paper – it didn’t matter how he had to remind himself, he always found a way to make sure he “moved the ball” each day on a project or list of things that had to be done. I am exactly like that now. I have always been known as the most organized person in any group I have ever worked with. I now teach organizational and time management skills to individuals and companies. Whatever your mechanism for checking a task off your list, make sure to do it every day. This one of the Daily Three doesn’t have to be laborious – far from it! I find great joy in seeing my to-do list shrink and it gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment, self-worth, and pride to know I have completed what I started out to do!

Try incorporating The Daily Three into your routine and see what a difference it can make in your productivity, happiness, and sense of well-being. If you need help with it, don’t hesitate to reach out to me – I’m happy to help!

Thanks!

Advertisement