#006: Super Spiritual Productivity: An Interview with Bill Todd

August 5, 2013 ______Introduction ● The 5 am Miracle - Episode #6 [INTRO SONG] ● Good morning and welcome to the 6th episode of The 5 AM Miracle. ● I am Jeff Sanders and this is THE podcast dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast. ● My goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy. ● In today's episode I interview Spiritual Director Bill Todd and we discuss super spiritual productivity. ● But first, today’s episode is brought to you by The 5 am Blueprint - a customized coaching product that I think you will find very valuable. I’ll share more about this opportunity at the end of the episode, so stick around. ● Also, if you have not yet joined The 5 am Club, you can do this AND get a free copy of my eBook, which shows you exactly how to wake up each morning with vigor and make enormous progress on your biggest goals. ● Head on over to 5amMiracle.com and jump start your morning, today. ● Now, let’s get started with today’s feature segment! -7.5 db [MUSICAL INTERLUDE] Feature Segment Today’s episode is a little off the beaten path as we venture into the world of productivity from a spiritual perspective. Normally, I don’t discuss spiritual matters . . . but I realized that by ignoring spirituality I was neglecting a big piece of personal development. Religious faith is a big part of the lives of most people on earth, AND, in terms of developing the whole-person, I believe we should be discussing spirituality and how it can lead all of us to become the best version of ourselves. Also, this podcast is based in large part on effective daily habits. For many people, the morning hours are a calm and peaceful time where they intentionally reflect, contemplate, and pursue their own faith. Many people read, pray, write, or meet-up with a few friends over coffee to discuss fascinating spiritual topics. This interview is not slanted towards any particular religion, and even if you consider yourself to be a person without a faith, I think you will find the conversation very intriguing. So, today’s interview is with Bill Todd. Bill is a Spiritual Director, Pastor, and Host of the Red Backpack Show, a podcast about spirituality in the everyday lives of interesting people. Not always safe for work. Always engaging. And Now, here is my interview with Bill: PLAY INTERVIEW [MUSICAL INTERLUDE] Tip of the Week ● And now it’s time for the Tip of the Week ● Today tip is how to take notes in the Shower! ● That’s right, in order to maximize my own productivity I now have a waterproof notepad suction-cupped to the wall of my shower. ● This amazing notepad is called Aqua Notes and I will provide a link in the show notes. ● I have been using Aqua Notes for about two weeks and I have already taken quite a few notes with the included pencil on the waterproof paper. ● Now, you might be wondering: is this really necessary? ● Couldn’t I just remember a few to-do items and write them down after the shower? ● Yes, but I shouldn’t. ● Here’s why: ● When you try to remember something, even for a short time, your have to use quite a bit of your short-term memory on that one task, which prevents you from having too many future ideas. ● However, if you write down that one idea, your brain is now free to brainstorm new ideas, AND you have no fear of forgetting any of your previous ideas. ● Now, you might also be wondering how long does Jeff shower? ● Do I really get that many ideas in a few minutes? ● Here’s the best answer: my showers are short, but my brain is on fire ALL DAY. ● I don’t want to ever be caught without an ability to capture a good idea. ● Ask my wife and she will tell you that I used to frequently yell ideas at her from the shower and tell her to write them down. ● I also had a bad habit of trying to remember a good idea for my website and then finding myself distracted when I realize I am out of shampoo, which then makes me want to remember to buy more the next time I’m at the store. ● After the shower, my awesome website idea is gone and I have likely forgotten all about the shampoo because other distractions and ideas are flowing in. ● So, Aqua Notes is a great solution to this shower fiasco - on top of the reality that it’s a great idea to always have a way to capture your ideas - no matter where you are at any given time. ● Also, Aqua Notes is only $8 . . so it’s really hard to pass up. [FADE IN OUTRO SONG] Announcements ● Just 2 quick announcements here at the end of this episode. ● The first is that if your life is feeling a bit chaotic and you would like to gain more control, re-structure your day, and maximize every opportunity to work on your biggest goals, you will love The 5 AM Blueprint. ● The 5 AM Blueprint is an affordable way to get direct, customized feedback from me to create an effective schedule for your ideal day. ● This is a brand new offer and you can learn much more about it at 5amBlueprint.com. ● My 2nd announcement is that my next podcast episode will be an interview with an Ironman Triathlete and Entrepreneur, my friend, Tom Parling. ● If you have a question about running an Ironman, please leave me a voicemail message at JeffSanders.com/podcastquestion. ● This is an awesome way to get direct feedback from me and you can also promote your website because I will link to it in the show notes. Final Thoughts ● Also, I would be grateful if you would rate my podcast in iTunes with a full 5 stars. ● That helps tremendously with keeping my podcast visible so that people who have never heard of it can discover it. ● Just head on over to JeffSanders.com/itunes ● Also, if you would like to see all of the resources I mentioned in this show, please visit the show notes page at JeffSanders.com/006, as in Episode 6. ● The show notes of every episode provide a written description of everything I discuss in the podcast, complete with websites, announcements, and links to the best resources. ● Well, that's it for this episode of The 5 AM Miracle. ● Until next time remember, you have the power to change your life, and it begins bright and early.