There are plenty of books on habits. Too many, if you ask me. You don’t need books to start habits. In my experience, self-awareness will get you farther. In particular, starting new behavior creates new emotions and reactions. Paying attention to them will guide you how to follow up to improve them more than reading—if you pay attention to everything you can. That level of self-awareness takes time and effort[…] Keep reading →

Yesterday’s rowing session on the rowing machine took me to 999,316 meters. My next rowing session will be my next cold shower day, May 4, unless it’s as beautiful a day as today and I feel like running outdoors, and I’ll hit 1,000,000 meters. One million meters is a nice milestone. It’s small compared to a competitive rower, but that’s the point. I’m not a serious rower. I’m 45. I[…] Keep reading →

I wish I could convey how much fun Daniel Gefen and I had talking before the podcast. I think it comes out in the conversation. Beyond being fun, Daniel went into depth nobody has about something I long wished someone would—the motivation behind the burpees and sidchas. Most interviewers ask about what I do, less about why or the effects. Daniel delved into consistency and how much it can create[…] Keep reading →

Bill Couzens founded Less Cancer. He also founded National Cancer Prevention Day & Forum and initiated the US Congressional Cancer Prevention Caucus. In other words, he cares about an important issue and gets things done. He was also recently diagnosed with diabetes. He sought medical and dietary help. He also sensed he could use help with motivation and leading his life. Type 2 diabetes often results from behaviors that, when[…] Keep reading →

People who feel inspired to start sidchas sometimes ask me for ideas. Burpees, cold showers, and blog posts seem too much for many to do daily. I thought of a new one, especially for city dwellers: Pick up at least one piece of trash per day from the ground and put it in a trash can. This one has been formulating in my mind for a while. New York City[…] Keep reading →

Yesterday my guest post, “How I Wake Up in Under One Minute Every Day,” posted in Lidiya K‘s Let’s Reach Success blog. It begins For most of my life, certainly the past decade, I’d take twenty-plus minutes to get out of bed after my alarm, often forty minutes or more. Since November I’ve gotten out of bed in under sixty seconds, without fail, each day, at 6:15am. When a mutual[…] Keep reading →

I’ve wanted to share some of my views on mindfulness, which connects with leadership, especially personal leadership, for a long time. Bruce Langford, who hosts the Mindfulness Mode podcast gave me the chance. If you care about mindfulness, leadership, mindful leadership, you’ll value listening to this conversation. We talked about Starting mindfulness What mindfulness is Getting more done through mindfulness Habits and mindfulness Food, eating, and mindfulness The counterproductive results[…] Keep reading →