Self Improvement Daily Podcast

Spread kindness. 

I have been surrounded by so much kindness from so many people lately hat I want to make sure I am giving it back. I believe the first step to spreading kindness is to be kind. Kindness is contagious and rubs off on everyone who is a part of it. Not only does the recipient of the kindness feel better with the support, but you feel better as the giver knowing that you made a difference for someone else.

Now, to plug in a pop culture reference that embodies this thought, Drake is a very popular musician who came out with a song called, “God’s Plan” that was wildly successful. However, arguably the most successful part of the song was its message. When planning out what to do for the music video, Drake took the almost $1 million budget and handed it out to people in need, and basically recorded that process and turned into his music video. Random acts of kindness go a long way, especially when it comes from a public figure like that. This inspired Drake to start the “Kindness Challenge” where you take it upon yourself to make someone else’s day better for no reason other than to help out. 

This is a challenge I am taking to heart, and I encourage you to try it with me, at least for a day. 

We are all just one person in this world.  In order to find success, move forward, and make things happen, we can’t do it alone. It is extremely important to form a team around you that supports you on your way to your goals.

This message is to play your role. Everyone in a team has their own unique skill-sets and offerings. Being open and honest with yourself about what those might be not only provide the most for your team, but give you the best chance to find success in your own work. Even Kobe Bryant, one of the best basketball players of all time, knew that he just played his role for the Lakers in the many championships they won.

Playing your role starts with being honest with yourself about what you are most qualified or capable at doing, and then communicating that to your team. That way your talents can be managed as part of the bigger picture you are contributing toward.

“Believe that something wonderful is about to happen right now”.

I really like this quote because it talks about the spontaneity of life. Anything can happen at any moment. While many people are fearful of that and assume the worst, seeing this concept from a positive lens opens the door to the possibility of incredible opportunities.  

You can think about this from a professional or personal perspective. If you have been working hard with no real measurable product of your efforts, the next moment just might be that breakthrough you have been working for.  Or personally, you might meet the next love of your life, mentor, or best friend based on a random chance or circumstance. Sometimes when I am in a random place, I think about how all of our lives led us to be in the exact same place in the same moment of time. How incredible is that?  Seeing your current circumstance in a positive way might be what it takes to make whatever you have been waiting for happen.

The 50/10 work rest ratio is just a fancy, more concrete way of regulating the way you spend your time working. And with the 50/10 ratio your productivity just might sky rocket.

The premise of this is simple. Spend 50 minutes working completely focused and undistracted, no checking your phone, no emails, no nothing. Then at the end of that time, take 10 minutes to address all of the little things that came up all at once.

The thought is that this will help you stay focused and minimize distractions.  By setting aside those 10 minutes to revisit the random things that come up.

This all stems from our subthalamic nucleus, the region of our brain responsible for movement.  It turns out the subthalamic nucleus also monitors our cognition, reacting to distractions as a reason to stop.  Something that helps silence your subthalamic nucleus is to minimize the stimuli around us, the random chatter, phone buzzes, email notifications, among other things.

Like I said, I am going to give this a try for the first time today, and I encourage you to try it with me! 

This message is an old and fundamental skill. If you can do this, you will always have a job, and you will always be an asset. The skill is sales, and in this message Mark Cuban gives his take on the subject.

"people always ask me, "What do I need to know to be successful?". If you can't sell, you know you're SOL. Because you're always selling. When I say that you have to understand what sales means. Selling is not about convincing somebody to give you money for something they don't want. Right?. Selling is about knowing in your heart, your mind , and your soul that the product of service you have can help anybody in your potential customer service universe. And so, whether I was selling baseball cards, whether I was selling stamps, this was the best thing you could ever possibly have for your life. And the same thing applies to all my businesses now. I'm always selling because I believe in my products and believe they can help. And if I have something that I do not believe will help you then it's not a good product".

There you have it.  People can smell BS from a mile away so make sure you believe that what you are selling is valuable.  We all sell something in everything we do, and it is never too late to start developing that skill

Mentorship is a hot topic these days, and rightfully so. Having a mentor helps in all facets of your life both professionally and personally.  

But why is mentorship so valuable? First, the experience you gain in mentorship is very valuable. Having someone who has been in that situation before, with the ability to reflect as a third party, is an incredibly powerful opinion to have on your side. It helps you understand the implications of your decisions on a larger scale.

But, not only do mentors provide big picture advice, they are extremely effective working in specifics and specialties. In my experience in entrepreneurship, I have received incredible advice from mentors who provided direction in otherwise aimless situations. Shoutout to my brother and mentor, Brian Rashid, for that guidance!

So, spend some time this week really thinking about a few people that you want to work closer with as a mentor. 

Lets talk about not feeling bad for yourself, and I am going to use my story a bit to explain. I am obviously very disappointed with my GRE score, which is fine because I put a lot of hard work into it and I wanted to be better. Although I still feel bummed, I am doing a few things that is helping me move past it in a productive way.

First, ironically, I felt bad for myself.  But, I only gave myself a 10 minute window. I took the time to get all of the excuses and complaints out of my system so I could start doing something more actionable. Next, I wrote down my thoughts and reflected on my preparation, mental state, and impressions about my performance. I know this will be helpful to have in the future and it helped me realize some areas for improvement.  Next, I refocused my attention. I still have an application to complete, and having that task helped me realize that there is nothing else I can do about my score for now. Also, if I want to make up for it, I still have a way to do that in my application. After getting some quality work done, I went for a run to squeeze the remaining emotion I had left in me and also push my body. Reaching my physical goal for the day gave me a small win that is helping me build my momentum back up. Lastly, once I was in a more objective state, I called up a good friend of mine, whose opinion I really respect, and picked apart the takeaways from my experience for the day.

All in all, I am very happy with how I responded to the unfortunate news. The thesis is feeling bad for yourself is never going to help. 

The quote, “the best view comes after the hardest climb”, is something that fits perfectly into my life right now.

Recently, I took the GRE to improve my application for Business School. However, the story isn’t that simple. I spent 6 months studying for the GRE about a year ago, took it 3 times, and still didn’t end up with a score competitive enough for the schools I want to go to. So, I took some time off, refocused, and hit it again for the last 2 months to finally get my score where it needs to be. That, mixed in with enrolling and removing myself from different schools, has made for quite an emotional journey.

I am confident that the best view will come after this hardest climb that I have been enduring for over a year. I am a firm believer in having faith in the process, and I don’t see this quote as conflicting with that. I see the view at the end as a way of reflecting on the journey and appreciating it even more. When presented with challenges, you should know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All of the time you spend alone working hard at your office will lead you to the end product you wanted.  How is that for positive thinking?