Today Matters--The Daily Dozen

I have developed the habit of listening to audiobooks on my commute. Since my commute is only about 20 minutes each way, I get less than an hour of "reading" in each day which usually is not enough time to finish a book in the 21 days I have before the library calls the audiobook due (I rent books on my smart phone from OverDrive). So I have gotten into the habit of listening while I do the dishes. This gives me extra listening time soI can finish a few books a month (somehow my wife and kids dirty a lot of dishes while I am at work:)). While I think this annoyed my wife at first because she was not always interested in my book, now I think she appreciates only having to do the dishes occasionally and has moved into the other room while I listen and clean. Now I only annoy her with conversations about the books...we can't win them all.

As an aside: according to Tom Corley http://richhabits.net/?s=read+non+fiction 63% of wealthy people listen to audio books during commute to work vs. 5% for poor people... I must be one of the 5% :) I wonder if when I become wealthy I'll pull the wealthy up to 64% and the poor people will drop to 4%...

I recently finished listening to a book Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success by John C. Maxwell. I really liked how he discussed how each practice affected him in each decade of his life. This sort of showed me a timeline of how practicing each of his "Daily Dozen" principles could affect my life if I start living them now. As a physical therapist I recognize how small changes in behavior can make large changes over time, but it's easy to give up before you see the fruits of your labor. Almost like a farmer giving up on his seeds because he doesn't see them germinating underground. Many times it takes a long time to see progress and it can be difficult to recognize the progress as it comes slowly. I often tell my patients that they may not notice the changes just like a child cannot see their growth in height day by day, but it is significant if measured against a standard scale every 6 months or year.

Maxwell recommends ranking the daily dozen from 1-12 with #1 your strongest and #12 your weakest. Then discuss your ranking with a friend. Then spending 60 days working on two practices from your top 6 and one from your bottom 6. I had trouble ranking them 1-12, but dividing them into top 6 and bottom 6 was easier. Below see the list of "daily dozen" in the order he covers them in the book. I am starting by working on #'s 2, 4, and 5. However, I find that they all are connected and I can't help but be working on others simultaneously. As part of #5 and in an attempt to not overly annoy my wife with random babblings about the books I am listening to, I will begin posting more frequently in this blog. I also feel that this will show my progress in much the same way Maxwell demonstrated his. Without further ado, the daily dozen:

1. Attitude --> Possibilities
2. Priorities --> Focus
3. Health --> Strength
4. Family --> Stability
5. Thinking --> Advantage
6. Commitment --> Tenacity
7. Finances --> Options
8. Faith --> Peace
9. Relationships --> Fulfillment
10. Generosity --> Significance
11. Values --> Direction
12. Growth --> Potential

Now get out there and live them every day...because Today Matters!