In this episode, we discuss that it is better to set the example of what a good person is than to explain it.
Full Transcript
Hi Everyone, welcome to the You’re Daily Cup of Joe Podcast, with your host Joe Bautista. In this podcast, my goal is to give you quick lessons that you can reflect on in your journal so you can grow yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and have a better career, better relationships, and better personal finances while you enjoy your morning cup of coffee.
I’m also the author of the book “More You Know, More You Grow: How to Get Better Every Day”. In this book, I wrote down over 30 tips to help you grow in those four cornerstones. I’m also the founder of Grow With Joe, where I combine self-development coaching and financial planning for Latino Professionals.
At the end of today’s podcast episode, I’m going to give you a prompt question to reflect on in your journal. The idea is to take one to five minutes to reflect on today’s lesson and write a minimum of one paragraph on how you can apply the lesson in your life life. You can use an actual journal, a word document like on Google Drive, or your note-taking app like Evernote. The idea is that you’re actually thinking about how to process the information to help you improve your life.
In today’s episode, we’re are going to talk about the Marcus Aurelius quote, “Waste no time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” I love this quote because it shows what really matters, which is just to be a good person. You show what a good person is by your actions, not with your words.
How many times have we’ve seen politicians say that we should abolish this type of behavior, but then behind the scenes, they are doing the same exact behavior they warned people against.
I hate being a hypocrite and if I think something is bad for someone else, it’s bad for me. It’s not fair to expect someone to do something while I get a free pass. I don’t care where someone came from, we all should have high standards for being a good person.
In past episodes, I’ve talked about sleeping well. Well for the past couple of months I haven’t been sleeping very well. I will try to go to sleep at 10 pm and then I would just toss and turn for the next 4 hours. I would check my phone and I just be like why I can’t I fall asleep. So now I’m going through a phase, where I’m not drinking coffee. I’m so tired right now but let’s see if it helps. I’m also going to put my phone as far away from my bed as possible.
If I say a good person should get sleep, then I’m going to set the example and get some sleep. I do enjoy coffee and can always switch to decaf. But I could argue for days on how to sleep better but then if I don’t follow the advice, then I’m being a hypocrite.
I remember there was another example where I was being a hypocrite. I gave a speech about my book and one of the things that I tell people is to write ten ideas a day. At the end of the speech, someone in the crowd asked me what were my ten ideas for the day and I didn’t write any for a couple of days. I was in the process of moving that week and I overbooked myself but it reminded me that it doesn’t take very long to write the ten ideas and I felt bad. But then I realized that I needed to get to writing in my journal with my ten ideas.
There are going to be times where you forget to be a good person, and it’s important to get those reminders. I’m just glad I got that reminder sooner than later. This is a big reason why I do this podcast because it also serves a reminder for me on how to be a good person. I already have all 365 days written for the daily cup of Joe, I just have to record them. Then once I record them, I’m reminded of how a good person should act. Then it’s time to get back into taking action.
Your example will be much more effective than just telling people. Yeah, don’t tell people, show them. If you don’t know already, I’m not a big fan of inaction. If you don’t like how something is going, or you wish something was happening for you, then you should go out and get it for yourself. And being a good person is something that we should all strive to do. It’s what the world needs. The world doesn’t need more jerks in it.
But if don’t know how not to be a jerk, then go out and seek some help. We all have some baggage in our life that doesn’t allow to be the best citizen at all times and we just need to be instructed how to do better. Life is complicated though and sometimes you need to be the jerk to get stuff done but if it comes from a good place, then that is how it is. For example, you might have to be the bad guy with your kids, or then they are not going to learn the right habits to become successful down the road. You can even lose your cool with your kids or spouse, but the key is that you return to being a good person as fast a possible.
Just remember that no one is perfect but that doesn’t mean you don’t have high standards for yourself. You’re a good person 9 out of 10 times, and if everyone did this, then the world would be so much better as off. I fail at time and I’m sure you fail at times, the key is that you recognize the mistake and you try to the best of your ability not to make the same mistake twice in a row.
That’s it for today’s episode, and to summarize it, waste no time arguing what a good man should be. Be one like Marcus Aurelius said 2000 years ago. We don’t need more talkers in the world, we need more people to take more action. If you said that we should protect the planet but own an SUV in the City and only use it for leisure and to drive it down the block to get your mail, then your words don’t match your actions. To be a good person takes discipline and it’s not always fun, but at least you can fall asleep know you did the right thing and won’t wake up in the middle of the night dealing with your conscience. If you were a good person today, that’s okay, but get back to being a good person as fast as possible.
So in your journal, ask yourself, am I being a good person? Is there anything where I tell myself I am but I’m not being a good person? This is your conscience that you’re dealing with and you’re the one that is going to have to deal with it. I know I will rather be okay with the voice in my head than trying to constantly avoid it, which you can’t. So in your journal, then ask how can you be the good person that you should be.
Thanks for listening today! To get a free copy of my book “More You Know, More You Grow: How to get better every day” just go to my website growwithjoe.me/book and just pay for shipping and handling.
I have a quiz on my website that grades your inner circle, so if you want to find out if your inner circle is an A, B, C, D, or F, you can take that quiz at growwithjoe.me/quiz
I’m also trying to do a feedback Friday episode, so if you have a question that you would like to have my answer on the air, just e-mail me at [email protected]
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Thanks for joining me today and remember if you go with Joe, you can grow with Joe, cause Joe knows Dough.
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