I have had a routine I have developed naturally. I did not do it intentionally, I wish I was smart enough to start it on purpose, but alas, I was not. However, my routine is incredibly important and I can attribute quite a bit of success to what my routine. My routine is part of each evening. It is the last thing I do each day.

At the end of every day, I prep for the next day. It takes me maybe twenty minutes or less but it makes all the difference in setting myself up for success. I get my clothes to wear at the gym ready, I prep my bag to take to work, I pack my breakfast, pack my lunch, and I pack my gym bag with clothes to wear to work. My routine is moderately mundane, but it is also a decision I make every night. Every night I decide how the next day will start.

Every day I decide how the next day is going to start. It does not take anything extra from me. I am out of function for the most part. I am in routine, almost automated, setting the next day up for success.

Making this decision every night allows me to wake up and not even think about starting the next day. I roll out of bed, put the clothes on I set aside. pick up my gym bag, backpack, and food. Then I roll out to start the day.

At this point, I have done nothing but ride the rails I laid the night before. I am more successful for it. I have been able to stay disciplined and productive each morning. I have reaped from this forethought for months, if not more than a year now.

Succeeding today started last night and succeeding tomorrow starts tonight. Laying these tracks each night before bed has allowed me to start every morning coasting into discipline and progress towards my goals. Coasting on these tracks every morning sets the tone for every day.

What tracks do you need to lay today to coast on tomorrow? How can you better set the tone for each day?

Coasting,

–JT

Have you ever been to a Soap Box Derby? I actually have not, so kudos to you if you have. The concept behind this type of race bugs me.

I grew up watching Nascar and Indy cars. More horsepower than most people will ever need or experience in their lifetimes or ever need to experience. These types of races have always made sense to me, probably because I grew up with them being overly important.

I take a look at soap box derbies and wonder how they interest so many people, not in a negative sense where I am looking to ‘hate on’ their passion or dreams. Quite literally from an analytic point of view, I do not think I could enjoy roller cart derbies as a hobby or even a spectator really. These soap boxes on wheels are not self driven. They are driven by gravity, the angle of hill, the aerodynamics of the soap box, and who knows how many other factors I am not qualified to guess at or discuss. There is an impressive amount of craftsmanship and science I am not going to discount. However, at the end of the day, the car will never propel itself. As soon as you run out of hill and science–motion, inertia and things, you are done. You are not going anywhere.

Similarly, I have been coasting on the hill built by those who have come before me. They put in the leg work and prepared the way for the success I have experienced. I have never had to do much more than show up and work hard. Those two elements have allowed me to coast on the same science–motion. Oddly enough, I have been coasting uphill. I have been traveling uphill as others have towed me along. I did not have vision or plans.

The people who have come before me have built the hill for me to coast on. They built the racer I get to sit in. They towed me to the top of the hill and pushed me down it. They did the science of how to build the car, found the best materials, and greased all my axels.

It is time for me to start contributing to the hill building, soap box car building, science calculations, and wheel greasings. It is time for me to use my team to continue develop direction and height to the hill so others might be able to coast down it as well.

For a while I might be left to drive back up the hill I just rolled down. However, when learning to drive, it is probably best to do so in a familiar environment.

Where are you coasting? What does it look like to start putting in the work to build a new soap box racer for the people who come after you?

Working,

–JT