The 5 Most Valuable Things I Have Learned This Month:
1. Marriage is awesome, if…
About 60 days ago I married my best friend. It was truly one of the best decisions I ever made. She is kind, faithful, loving, joyful, and beautiful, and I enjoy coming home from work every day to see her.
I definitely recommend getting married – it’s awesome. However, I don’t think my wife and I would enjoy marriage so much if it wasn’t for our mutual faith in Jesus Christ, honest communication, and deep friendship.
I haven’t been married long, but I’ve already seen the fruit in our marriage from having these three areas in our marriage. Unfortunately, I’ve also known people – newly weds and people married for years – to have struggled with one, two, or all three of these areas which ended up damaging their relationships.
Mutual faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Honest communication.
Deep Friendship.
Marriage is awesome, if these three essential ingredients are present.
You definitely want to build those three things in your life and in your relationship before you get married. It makes problem solving together 10x easier, faithfulness and loyalty are cemented in the relationship, values and vision are joined together, and joy and laughter are abundant.
If these three areas weren’t present in our relationship, marriage would be way more difficult.
2. Daily action breeds progress, which makes your dreams and goals a reality
It’s one thing to have dreams and set goals, but it’s another thing to achieve those dreams and goals. So far in my life, daily progress -even if its slow and incremental – towards my dreams and goals have been one of the key factors in achieving them.
Acquiring a desired skill set. Getting a job I want. Feeling close to the Lord. Learning iOS development. Starting a busines and earning income outside of my 9-to-5 job. Starting a blog. Getting married. All of these dreams and goals (to name a few) have been birthed and achieved because of consistant, daily progress, and these goals continue to grow because of this.
I haven’t reached all of my dreams and goals, nor have I seen the complete fulfillment of the ones that have birthed. But because of daily action, some dreams and goals have already been achieved, and others have started to sprout and bloom.
Remember: daily action and progress on your dreams and goals – even if its slow and incremental – is better than no progress at all.
3. A side business is great insurance
Unfortunately, a lot of friends and people I know have been fired recently. Some of them have already found jobs, but some have not. I’ve thought to myself: what would I do if this were happen to me?
Thankfully, my web development business provides additional income for my wife and I, so I don’t need to be 100% reliant on my job for money.
No matter what you do – whether your an employee at a business or in a ministry – you should start a business. It’s a great way to make additional money and give you and your family ‘insurance’ in case something bad (like getting fired) were to occur.
4. Focus on one project at a time
This is something I am still learning (and struggling with), because there are so many projects I’d like to be working on at once. However, I’ve learned that I can make more progress and achieve results faster (on all the projects I ) if I focus on one at a time.
There’s a famous axiom: If you try to chase two rabbits at once, both will run away and you’ll catch neither.
Catch one rabbit first, then you can run after the second one and catch it too.
5. Your energy is a huge asset
When you have energy, you are empowered, motivated, focused, and driven to get things done. You also enjoy life when you’re not tired and groggy. When your tired, you lack motivation and focus. When you have energy, you can think clearly, stay motivated, can overcome mental blocks that try to stop you and weigh you down, and can push through psychological resistance.
Energy is a huge asset in life and business.
Get 7-8 hours of sleep. Eat healthy meals. Drink water (half your body weight in ounces). Pray. Work on your dreams and goals. Develop deep, rich relationships. Learn everyday.
These are the activities and habits I have found to jolt my mind, body, and spirit with energy, which empowers me to live smart, work diligently, reach my goals, be grateful and content, and enjoy life.
What gives you energy? What energizes your mind, body, and spirit? Whatever it is, make sure you are doing more of it (as long as it isn’t immoral and unethical).
Books Worth Reading
- The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
- The Essential Drucker by Peter Drucker
- The Dip by Seth Godin
Personal news
- I am working on finishing up my first iPhone app, and planning to submit it to Apple this month :) You can see a picture of it in the photo above.
- My wife’s new website is up. It’s not 100% complete yet, but you can listen to her music video, see upcoming events, and contact her to lead worship at your church or event. She is finishing up 3 songs in the studio; we hope to have those released in early 2015.
- My dog Jesse – whose been with us for the last 8 years – has a tumor, and the veterinarian says he only has about 1-3 months left to live :( I never thought I’d be sad about an animal dying, but it’s deeply sad and a bizarre feeling.
Best Articles of the Month:
- Faith In Eventually by Jason Fried
- Why Instagram Worked: A Co-Founder Looks Back At How A Stalled Project Turned Into A Holistic Success by Mike Krieger
- An Absolute Beginner’s Guide To Swift by Amit Bijlani
- Can You Do One Page A Day? by James Altucher
- Tim Ferris’s Podcast (specifically, the ones with Kevin Kelly, Ramit Sethi, and Tony Robbins)
Bible Verse of the Month:
The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.” – Proverbs 20:5
Quotes of the month:
It’s through writing that I learn what I think.” – Kevin Kelly
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter Drucker
Question of the month:
What’s one thing you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Leave a Reply