Day 9 and Planting Seeds

"I'm a firm believer that the good things we experience in life can be traced
WAY BACK in time when we planted good seeds.

When we planted the good seeds of treating others right.

When we planted the good seeds of discipline.

When we planted the good seeds of patience.

The fruits didn't appear 2 minutes after we planted.

They appeared when we planted and cultivated them for a long period of time.

All the more reason to keep on planting and cultivating today as much as we can."

- Brian Kim MIT of 9/19/11

www.briankim.net

Today is Day 9. I was tired yesterday night. Fell asleep around 9:30, that's right, fell asleep. And this morning, before my alarm went off, I could tell I was already decently refreshed as I was awake from my slumber and wondering how much longer I had until the alarm would go off in the bathroom. To be honest, there are still times when I wish I could just snooze and relax to whenever I finally felt completely rested. But I remember that even though that can feel good when laying in bed, those who rise early are more productive in the morning and throughout the day, and are higher correlated with success. I'm also up 3 extra hours per day compared to sleeping at 2 and waking at 12, so that makes about a surplus of 21 hours per week where I can work on myself. That's pretty much a whole day right there! That's the power of doing the small things as they accumulate quickly over time that is going to pass regardless if you're sleeping or not! I'm not saying that I'll never stay up late again. If I should be out doing something I enjoy, then certainly, but I want to set in the 30 day lock to ingrain the habit into my subconscious.

I also want to mention that our family is going healthy eating-wise after recently reading an article that I very briefly mentioned about yesterday by Tim O'Shea. We are only going to be consuming foods that do not contain MSG, hormones, pesticides, herbicides (so we're going organic), GMO's, additives, and preservatives. In terms of water, I was startled by the fact that the water we purchase from the water store reads a 007 on the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) water meter because the water filtered through Zero-Water's 5-Stage Ion Exchange Filter should read 000. When the TDS meter reads 006, the filter needs to be replaced with a new one. Yet the water from the water store read 007 consistently! So now we are filtering the water from the water store before we boil it and drink it. Perhaps in the water store's defense, it does say on the Zero-Water's box that: "It may also be used as a simple method to compare water quality by displaying the TDS in pars per million only. The meter does not specify what substances comprise the total. The meter should not be used to assess the safety or purity of water, which should only be undertaken by a qualified laboratory." I used to think tap water was safe to drink. I swear I read that from what I thought was a reputable source. After using the meter, our tap water scored in the 300's. Can't believe that what Lucky used to drink.

Plant the seeds of waking early and eating & drinking truly healthy Michael, as they will grow into giants in the future.