Don't Break the Chain

If you know me, you know I love Jerry Seinfeld. He is a world renown comic that is extremely driven and seems to be one of the best in the business. I always wondered how determined that a person needs to be to reach that high of a level at anything (basketball, CEO, etc.). I imagine that in order to take your "skill" to a top level it takes a lot of consistency and perseverance.

This article was really cool on Jerry Seinfeld (if you don't want to read it, see below, I am highlighting what I am talking about).
Seinfeld Article

Highlights were:

He said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day. But his advice was better than that. He had a gem of a leverage technique he used on himself and you can use it to motivate yourself - even when you don't feel like it.

He then revealed a unique calendar system he was using pressure himself to write.

Here's how it worked.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

"Don't break the chain." He said again for emphasis.

I find that really neat that in something as creative as the comedic industry, it takes discipline and sticking to a system in order to take it to a new level.

Handling/Planning our money is extremely tough if you are just going to wait til 1 day a month to take care of everything. It is extremely overwhelming at times when you do this. I do not do the system that Jerry Seinfeld is talking about, however, I update my money system everyday. It takes me like 5 minutes. I am at the computer anyway (as I am sure many of you are right now...cause its a blog).

Consistency makes a HUGE difference in the way you see your money. Eventually it becomes natural to you and you enjoy the feeling of knowing where you stand with your money so much that you will hate not updating your money daily. Days that you can't get to your computer you will notice that you did not update and can't wait to get back and do it. I am not saying you should develop an OCD disorder, but like anything in life, consistency and determination can be a major contributing factor to success.