Author: DailyStack

5 steps for planning your success in 2021

by DailyStackDaily Habit / General / Planning

In the last blog post, I shared how I reviewed my 2020. In this blog post, I’ll share how I plan for the year ahead.

Essentially there are five steps that I follow when doing this planning. Before I jump into those points, there are a few best practices I want to sure.

Be sure to allow yourself some time to think and reflect. You don’t want to rush this process or try to complete it while distracted. If you have regular planning or couples retreats, you might want to think about combining your yearly planning process.

Avoid setting goals that are fashionable and instead focus on what is meaningful to you.

Now let’s jump into the 5 steps for planning your successful 2021:

  1. Review your low points in the past year or your regrets
  2. Review your high points and most positive experiences including where you were, what you were doing and you who were with
  3. Identify “three-month sprints” within the year and target a few areas to focus on. New habits take at least 21 days or longer to form. Rather than tackling too many at once, try to pick one or two areas to focus on.
  4. Remember to include your regular planning and couples’ retreats into the year. Schedule these in advance on your calendar.
  5. Break down your three-month sprints into well-defined actions by the week and by the day and get granular with it.

Reviewing low points and regrets

This is an obvious place to start given most people will want to “right their wrongs” from the past year. The biggest example for me from 2020 was not spending enough time with my family. COVID-19 certainly played a part in this but it was something I intended to improve on even before the pandemic. This is a MUST IMPROVE for me in 2021.

Reviewing high points and positivity

Compared to the low points where we are trying to “right our wrongs” or improve on something we didn’t do, this is all about doing MORE to create high points and positive experiences. Think about the great experiences you had last year. Where you were and what you were doing. The people you shared those experiences with. This will form the basis for scheduling out your year to make sure they include time with these same people doing the types of things that brought you joy.

Three-month sprint focus

Planning 12 months in advance can feel like a monumental task. Instead of trying to plan out all 365 days or even all 12 months try breaking it up into “three-month sprints”. This allows you some leeway and also provides a way to help you focus on a few areas versus accomplishing everything on your goals list. You always hear about people breaching work and life balance. I’ve found this to be a myth. Trying to balance it all results in spreading yourself way too thin and diluting your results. You will have to make sacrifices to achieve great things. The key is to make sure you don’t go too long without addressing a focus area. I “tune” my sprints based around key events such as relocating, starting a new job or the holidays.

As an example, this is what my sprints look like:

January to March: Focus on physical health, spirituality and physical environment. [starting a new role at work]

April to June: Focus on physical health, fun & recreation and physical environment. [preparation for relocation]

July to September: Focus on significant other and family. [transition and stablization]

October to December: Focus on significant other and family (holiday celebrations). [stabilization and investing in relationships]

Regular planning retreats

If you’re not already doing regular planning retreats then I absolutely you recommend starting this habit in 2021. There is a reason that companies adopt this practice in their planning cycles. Having clear milestones and review periods throughout the year provide you with focus and mile-markers along the journey. Knowing you are going to meet and review on progress ensures you keep your eyes where they need to be. I would recommend at least one yearly planning retreat but if you could do quarterly that’s even better. This allows you to time your three-month sprints to these reviews.

Breaking it down into tasks and actions

None of this planning leads to actual results unless you can break it down into its component parts and distill it into the actions you are takin on weekly and daily basis. I incorporate this into my weekly planning sessions that usually occur on Sunday. I break down all my key focus areas and map out what activities and actions I will take during each day of the week. As an example, for Physical Health I’ll track my meals and my exercise regimen. This helps me in my weekly review to see if I accomplished what I needed to do or if I am falling short and need to make adjustments.

This is an overview of my planning process. In the next blog post, I’ll show you my specific journals and charts so you can see how I translate planning into action.

Tagged : / / / / / /

My new year review process

by DailyStackFoundation / General / Uncategorized

Last year I started a new habit of reviewing the past year and looking ahead to the new year. I called this process the “Past Year Review” or “PYR” for short.

I’ll share with you what my review of 2020 looks like below and in future posts, I’ll detail my 2021 plans. But before I do, I want to highlight why I think this is a worthwhile task.

  1. Reflection – this process reminds me to reflect on the entire year. I do this in several ways as it can be easy to forget things that happened over the course of twelve months unless you have something to trigger your memory.
    • One of the best ways that I have found is to go through your camera or cloud photos over the past year. It helps if you can scroll and see the month of when the events happened. I have an Android phone so I use Google Photos and this works particularly well.
    • Another trigger I use is my personal and work calendars. This helps to remind me of key meetings and events.
  2. Gratitude – 2020 was an unprecedented year for many reasons. Obviously, the year of COVID-19 but plenty of other bad things happened. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see all the positive things that happened during the year. This process allowed me to fully appreciate the year in an objective manner.
  3. Forward Focus – Following this process crystallizes my focus for the coming year because along with the positives that happen there will always be those things that I did not accomplish. I pay particular attention to these things so I can set myself up for success in the coming year.
past year review journal

As you can tell from my journal image above, the positive lines were about double the amount of negative or regret lines. I would not have expected this prior to doing the review which speaks to the value of gratitude #2 as I outlined above.

One of the other key insights for me was in some cases I had a positive because I started something but it became negative because I did not continue the habit or the process. This blog is one specific example, but there were others such as my fitness goals. I had done a good job on exercise and nutrition in the first half of the year but admittedly fell short of my standards towards the back half.

The next step in this process is to plan for success in the coming year. I’ll write about that in another post to come (soon I promise)!

Tagged : / / / / /

Embracing the struggles of my journey

by DailyStackGeneral

I recently had a conversation with my great long-time friend (more like a brother) the other day and he reminded me how people rarely talk about the struggles.

I realized that I have been so focused on daily habits, routines and being positive that I completely gloss over the doubts and struggles that we ALL go through.

My struggle recently is just staying focused on my grind despite not always knowing what direction I want to go. Although I found my purpose and I know what I want to do, I don’t always know how to go about it. I’ve been sticking to my daily routine of exercise, meditation, journaling and reading. The routine is meant to get me to move forward and to maintain discipline. But I shouldn’t confuse the routine of personal development with progress.

As an example, my friend was talking about how he bought some courses and never finished them and it reminded me that I had done the same thing in the last few months TWICE! I got all motivated bought a course about value creation and for the first day spent a few hours later. Since that day a month ago, I have never touched it again. A few weeks later, I found another course that someone was selling on Twitter and I bought that as well. Now here we are at the end of May and I still haven’t finished that one either.

I have told myself now that I can’t buy another course until I complete the ones I already have and I apply it to creating something of my own. Afterall this is what I got into this journey for. I wanted to create and not just consume. I wanted to build and stack on a dailiy basis.

Talking about the struggle now makes me appreciate the journey because I know struggles happen when you are just about to do something great.

Now back to work.

Tagged : / / / /

Revision to Rule #1: DON’T DIE

by DailyStackDaily Habit / Foundation / Health1 Comment on Revision to Rule #1: DON’T DIE

Upon further thought – rule #1 is now DON’T DIE.

This foundational principal is loosely based on “if you want to help others, you have to help yourself first.”

Achieving an extraordinary life requires longevity. You have to stick around to support those that rely on you. And like me, if your mission is to help people, having a healthy body and mind are critical.

What I explain below is my current set of Life “Apps” curated throughout the last few years. I keep what works for me and discard the rest.

The first book that really set me on this path was Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani. This helped me to understand the power of reprogramming my mind as well as downloading “Apps” to use for various purposes. It was in this book that I picked up the “6 Phase Guided Meditation” that I still use to this day. I also came to realize that if I wanted to change something about myself that the best thing I could do was to take action every single day.

Next came The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. For those of you that have read the book, he talks about the “SAVERS” routine which is an acronym for:

Silence (meditation)

Affirmations

Visualization

Exercise

Reading

Scribing (Journaling)

This got me in the habit of a morning ritual. I still used Vishen’s 6 Phase Guided Meditation for the meditation portion, but I started adding the other elements including a morning run for my exercise portion which I actually did first thing in the morning. I also substituted listening to a podcast during my run instead of reading. It helped me to make the most out of my morning ritual. I adopted this routine and it became a part of my daily habit over the next 18 months. I didn’t always do every step in SAVERS. And there were days I didn’t do the routine at all, but it helped me in my journey of personal development.

In February 2020 my sister-in-law Wanda let me borrow a book she had just gotten called the 5am Club by Robin Sharma. I was leaving on a short business trip and she knew I would likely be done with the book by the time I returned.

Personally, I thought the book got off to a very slow start. Some might like it because it was written a story format. I just thought it took forever to get to the “meat” of it. The good stuff that I could apply to my own life.

When I finally did get there I picked up on the very simple 20/20/20 formula. When combined, I call this my “hour of power” that I execute every morning during the workweek. However, I must admit, didn’t adopt the “5am” part of it all. Yet since March, I have consistently been doing the routine at least five days a week and in many cases on Saturdays and Sundays as well. COVID-19 certainly helped me to cement the habit, but I found that even when I go into the office that it is easy to stick to.

In the remainder of this post, I’ll focus on what I do in the first 20-minute block which is exercise.

I haven’t been too good about my morning runs but I have found during this COVID-19 pandemic something that has worked well for me: YouTube videos. For me, this is a steady rotation of 20 to 30-minute Kettlebell, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), yoga and a basic push-up/pull-up routine. I tend to look for routines I can do within the 15 to 25-minute window. On weekends or days, I work from home I will pick a longer or more intense workout.

I’ve included the links to the ones I use the most below:

Besides the YouTube videos I also do a simple push-up and pull-up routine. All that is needed is a mat for the push-ups and a pull-up bar that you can put over your door.

Here is the routine which is essentially four sets of each:

30 Push-Ups

10 to 12 Classic (Shoulder Width) Pull-Ups

30 Push-Ups

10 to 12 Chin-up Pull-Ups

30 Push-Ups

10 to 12 Classic (Shoulder Width) Pull-Ups

30 Push-Ups

10 to 12 Chin-up Pull-Ups

Besides the working out I’ve also adopted a 16 hour fast twice a week. Now that the weather is getting nicer where we live, I am trying to take a walk with my family two or three times a week.

As far as eating, I have found Paleo/Primal Diet to be the most effective but I haven’t quite found the consistency as yet. I’ve done one round of the Keto diet. While it helped to quickly burn off some fat and get me to my target weight range, I found it wasn’t something I could sustain.

That’s my DailyStack habit for health. In the next post, I’ll dive more into the second 20-minute section which is meditation and journal time.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Step 2: Define your values

by DailyStackFoundation

The second step in the Daily Stack method is to define your values. If you haven’t done step 1, please go back to my original post on that.

This is about building habits so why am I talking about values?

While vision and purpose answer the why, our values determine the how. One analogy is the vision and purpose are the foundation and the values are the pillars to the structure.

Gandhi actually flipped the structure. He said your habits become your values. I agree with this. However, I would say you can predetermine what you want your values to be and drive your actions to reflect those values. Ultimately what we do is the expression of our values.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.”

― Gandhi

No matter where you start, values are critical to living the life that you want to live. As an example, people ask me how to save money. I tell them to decide what is most important for them to spend money on and then figure out to cut costs on everything else. How you spend your money (your actions and habits) is indeed a reflection on what you value.

So where did I start? I wrote down ten things that are important to me. I then distilled it further and further until I could get into the essence or the “core” of those values. My values are as follows:

  • Health
  • Family
  • Living with no regrets
  • Gratitude
  • Growth and learning
  • Valuing time
  • Hard work
  • Protecting dreams

What isn’t listed there that I should add is helping people. However I suppose that would have already been stated in my vision and purpose in Step 1.

What are your values? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or subscribe to the blog to keep in touch!

Tagged : / / /

Daily stack explained

by DailyStackGeneral

The purpose of this blog is to help my readers develop daily habits and practices to achieve their dreams. I firmly believe success in life is about consistency over a long period of time.

Daily habits lead to stronger minds, bodies and spirits which lead to actions. When these actions are directed towards a higher purpose, anyone can achieve what they want in life. Dream big, make concrete plans, live each day to the max to move you forward towards those dreams.

I have been blessed in life to have the opportunities that I have. This blog is my way of passing those blessings along. I hope I can motivate, teach and inspire others to live each day to improve and outwork their potential. If I can even reach one person, I will have lived an even more blessed life.

I am also using this blog to hold myself accountable in my mission of providing the best value I can to anyone that chooses to read or follow me along my journey. Please keep in touch and follow me on social media if the spirit moves you.

Step 1: Start with your vision and purpose

by DailyStackFoundation

When designing a building, architects start with a vision that the client wants to achieve. In life, developing one’s self starts with a vision of what you want to become.

This seems pretty straightforward and is consistent with the advice given by many books on the topic. Take for example Stephen R. Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In his popular book, the author suggests to “begin with the end in mind.” Napoleon Hill in the classic book Think and Grow Rich uses the term “definite chief aim.”

Ten years ago I did this exercise so you would think I would have been on the right track, but I’ve come to realize I created a vision or legacy statement that lacked a purpose wasn’t aligned to what I wanted in life. As an example, in part of my definite chief aim, I had stated “$500K net worth by 2015”. I’ve come to realize that money IS NOT the same thing as purpose.

Purpose matters a lot because it means something deeply personal to you. It has to connect with your own values. You have to want it so bad that you are willing to push through and persevere through all the tough times. Yes, money is nice to have, but ultimately, it is a means to an end. Once you make enough money to comfortably live it stops becoming a source of motivation. That is why purpose matters so much more. I’m reading Winston Churchill’s three-part biography starting with The Last Lion so it is fitting I found this quote related to purpose.

“It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.” ―Winston S. Churchill

My advice is to spend a considerable amount of time getting to what your true purpose is. Once you do that, you will have a solid foundation to build everything else on.

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / /

The Return

by DailyStackGeneral

The first post is always so scary. What do I write? How can I make it perfect? Turns out, this is the WORST mindset to have when starting a blog (more on this later).

In 2011 I started a blog about financial advice called Cashflowheroes. This was when I was started my first entrepreneurial phase. At the time I was flipping a house, running a vending machine business and working on the blog. Then I had new priorities to take care of. My wife gave birth to a baby girl and everything changed. I went back to a steady 9-to-5 paycheck and health insurance. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. Maybe it was but I still had the feeling I was giving up to soon…

Now in 2020, it seems like I’m starting over once again. What’s different this time around?

ONE: I started a personal development kick and have stuck to it for almost two years now. This has resulted in my daily habit of meditation, exercise, reading, listening to podcasts, watching inspirational videos and journaling.

TWO: I grew up a huge Kobe Bryant fan and his passing in January deeply impacted me. Most importantly I was reminded about the fragility of life and it made me question what I wanted my own life to mean.

THREE: Coronavirus (COVID-19) has meant more time at home thinking and reflecting. I now have clarity that my true calling and purpose in life is to inspire others and help them live the best versions of themselves. With all this down time I’ve also been thinking about how to create and build versus consume. One suggestion that kept coming up in everything I was reading or watching was starting a blog. It turns out I was on the right track almost ten years ago.

Back to my original point about writing. One thing that stuck with me is something I heard on a Tim Ferris podcast interview with Safi Bahcall. His advice: “write fast, bad and wrong”. The acronym for this is FBR. I’ve also come to realize what is meant by “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good”. This is the approach I’m taking now.

Daily Stack to me is the epitome of where I am at right now. Habits and efforts on a daily basis over time will yield bigger results. Each day is focused on stacking or building onto the next. Since 2011, I’ve built a foundation to persevere through the challenging times ahead. Unlike my first time around, this blog is not just about making money or achieving financial success. This is about living the life that you want and not accepting “good enough”. Life is too short to be going through the motions. I plan on living each day and each moment with a clear mission and purpose. I hope you will join me on this journey. This time it will NOT be short-lived.

Tagged : / / / / / / /