Habits are powerful indicators of success, because of the mindset required to adopt and execute on those habits. They require a disciplined approach. An extra 14 seconds before leaving your home because you have to take out the garbage, getting off the chair one more time even after you’ve settled in, taking a detour on the way home even when you’re starving and didn’t have lunch that day. It’s the relentless, no excuses, attitude that people observe when they come across you in your day-to-day behavior that stays with them. Helps tell the story of who you are. More importantly, it shapes the self image that you hold in your mind, that matters most. Are we the type of person that finds an excuse to complete a menial task, or is every task important because we decided, when setting our goals, that these daily tasks were important. We decided that only after the tasks were satisfied, were we allowed to do what we desire. That subtlety speaks volumes in the aggregate.

In life, I’ve noticed, as one of my favorite quotes proudly declares, “How you do anything, is how you do everything.” It’s so simple but I find it to be true. Holding yourself to a standard is presently underrated. Some people may even laugh at the notion of doing things that don’t matter, in isolation. However, when you reflect back on successfully meeting goals, it’s that very repetitive behavior that is so hard to ignore. We can’t attribute our success to any one thing without that action, not a single instance of behavior but the continuous habit.

Pay attention to your habits. Pay attention to what you do when no one is watching. Act as if daily optics matter and one day they actually will.

However, adult humans, apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, have an innate ability to ask questions. It’s truly been our key to species success, in some regard because we can challenge reality. We’ve created a world within a world that suits our needs. We see something and we ask why? We have a goal and we ask how? We have a commitment to fulfill and we was when? We need a person to engage with and we ask who? We’re hungry for a meal and we ask what? Suddenly, with the simple questions all the choices begin to appear.

This ability to choose and ask questions is nothing short of God like. In fact some people act as if they are God and continue to direct the world around them to fit their views of the world. Though, on an individual level, this doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. If the self became a God, choosing and asking all the questions, making the choices based on the will of our God, and acting everything out in accordance would make life way easier. We don’t have to contemplate about who is in charge. The problem is when we, the self, become a God, the world around us is viewed as a means to serve that God. Naturally we would want to serve that God in a way that makes that God happy, so we ask “ourselves” what do I feel like doing and then I go and do that. The problem with this life mantra is that it is creating a God within us that directs all of our behavior, speech and thought in the pursuit of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. This new God is great at first. We follow that prescription, and life becomes a simplified version without all the dogma and seemingly unnecessary effort that our parents and rEsPoNsIbLe pEoPlE tells us we should do to have a good life! Just intoxicate until the world around you starts to feel good. Any problems and consequences of today can be dealt with tomorrow. There’s always another way to soften the blow, take the edge off, continue down a rollercoaster path of highs and lows that will exhilarate the senses and fill your world with shiny things.

Who is making these choices? It’s the mastermind. He was fed this idea of how can we turn this situation from a boring one, in to a fun one and from that day forward he took control. How can we evade these responsibilities and just do the bare minimum to keep the sharks at bay. Sadly, this is a formidable opponent because life is full of tactics and maneuvers that the mastermind can draw from. He will always find a way to keep the pleasure party going. Maybe not all day every day but long enough to where you can waste your entire life fighting off the responsibilities of manhood. Let someone else fight the lion. Have someone else sail off into the unknown. It’s not that we don’t like the idea of those things or the people who do engage in that behavior. Quite the contrary, the mastermind within us just thinks that we can outsmart them. We can have our cake and eat it too. Everyone else, centuries of humanity before us didn’t have the same tools that we have available to us today so that is why they were never able to crack the code. But this mastermind, has the right plan, he can whip up a plan better than anyone who’s ever attempted it before and keep the kool aid flowing forever.

Eventually, the walls start to crack, the flood happens, the fire gets too big and the chaos of the universe rears its ugly head. That’s why the mastermind has to die. He is always looking for a shortcut when we need someone who starts building the boat on a sunny day. He’s always looking for the easy exit, when we need someone to reinforce the walls every time they get a little weak. The pain free way to get what we want, when the person who learns how to deal with the pain everyday is always ready for the fight. He wants to not make this hurt when the real authentic self knows how to overcome it. Every opportunity to feel pain is ‘avoidable’ if he is at the controls. Just give him the reigns and watch how fast things can start to feel better. That works when times are good but when times get bad we need the leader who was disciplined all along.

This mastermind won’t go down easy. His whole purpose to strategize around obstacles to his mission. So he needs to be put squarely into focus. Watched like a hawk. And when the moment is right…when he leasts expects it…you need to kill him.