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Living a Better Story is Easier than Most Realize

Living a Better Story is Easier than Most Realize

“And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”
― Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

I love this quote from Donald Miller’s book. When I read it, I couldn’t help to nod my head in agreement.

When you are not living a good story, you spend a lot of time wondering and hoping you find your purpose, your passion, something meaningful beyond your job, your circumstances. It’s like you feel deep inside you were destined for something more or something bigger, but you just can’t figure out which door to open and which door to shut.

My ah-ha moment about this didn’t come after I made a big shift or change in my life. It came after months of making 1% changes in areas of my life I simply wanted to improve. My business, my relationships, my health, and in my daily impact on others.

I committed to small improvements, and after a period of time, I realized I was living a better story.

I became emboldened after having so many small wins that I started aiming higher and thinking bigger.

The 1% improvements have compounded. Doors that were once hidden and out of sight are now in plain view, and it’s easier to see doors I need to shut.

As Donald Miller points out, once you live a better story, you get a taste of meaning in your life, and you can’t imagine going back to a less meaningful time.

If you’re struggling to find meaning or direction in life, I suggest that you don’t need to make a massive turn or change to find it. You simply start by making 1% improvements in all the important areas of your life.

For example, if your health is at the top of your list of areas to improve, I don’t suggest fasting for as long as you can or starting the latest popular diet, but rather pick one bad thing you can cut out of your diet. Once you get a series of small wins, then add another improvement, get wins, then add another improvement, and so on.

If you decide you want to read more but haven’t read a book in months, I strongly advise not setting a goal to suddenly read for 1 hour every day. Because you are likely to yo-yo on that plan and have more fails than wins.

But if you set an initial reading goal for 10 or 15 minutes, it’s much easier to stack up wins. And it should go without saying that wins feel awesome, and fails feel like…fails.

Tony Robbins frequently states, “Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.”

What he is describing is a real-life Hero’s Journey. Not a Hollywood version, but how each one of us can live a hero’s journey by living and pursuing a good life story over decades.

Our hero’s journey is going to be decades-long and realized by fighting for daily wins.

Living a better story is easier than most realize; it’s simply a matter of 1% daily improvements.

Join The Community!

Join our Facebook GroupJoin the quest for “The Sweet Life.”  Request access to our Facebook Group.  Let’s learn from each other!  GO HERE

Free Audio Book Download

Full Unabridged Audio Book “Vagabonding With Kids” by AK Turner!  GO HERE

Take The SWEET LIFE Assessment

See how you score? Identify your strengths. Discover areas in your life you want to improve. GO HERE.

Giving Back

Amanda and Mike launched an Impact Club in their hometown of Boise, Idaho in 2017, and have had a blast gathering like-minded individuals, families, and organizations to make significant impact in our community, raising over $200,000 locally and over $1.5 million nationally.  

Join Our Next Monthly CHALLENGE

Every month Amanda and Mike pick a month-long challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone so we can grow, learn, and become better versions of ourselves.  Sometimes we design our own unique challenge and other times we join pre-established challenges. Email us to find out about our next upcoming challenge. Us@BusinessofUs.com

About Us

Our Story | Mike and Amanda TurnerWe are Mike and Amanda Turner, founders of “The Business of Us.” We are fierce advocates of helping entrepreneurial couples and families improve their lives, livelihoods, and legacies… READ MORE

I Find the Pleasure in the Monotony

I Find the Pleasure in the Monotony

As I was lifting a kettlebell over my head for 6 rounds this morning, I couldn’t help to think of the monotony of regular exercising.

I thought about monotony again when I was doing my 100 burpee routine.

I don’t experience much pleasure in doing those exercises. But I do find pleasure completing them before 7am, knowing I still have a full day in front of me and I’ve already feel like I won a big part of my day.

I know that to change my body, to develop my skills as writer, to learn a new language, takes years and even a lifetime of dedicated practice.

This is not what most people want to hear; they want a quick fix. Amanda posted a great essay recently about how there is no finish line, and I agree entirely. But at times that can sound like a death sentence of monotony and struggle.

Signing up for an additional month of 28 Day GRIT Challenge is a good example of this. When you complete a 28-day challenge, you naturally want to celebrate a job well done, and we should celebrate our wins, but signing up for another one? And then another? And Another?

Who in their right mind would do that?

Only someone who finds pleasure in results and self-improvement, and who is willing to endure the monotony to experience those pleasures.

Join The Community!

Join our Facebook GroupJoin the quest for “The Sweet Life.”  Request access to our Facebook Group.  Let’s learn from each other!  GO HERE

Free Audio Book Download

Full Unabridged Audio Book “Vagabonding With Kids” by AK Turner!  GO HERE

Take The SWEET LIFE Assessment

See how you score? Identify your strengths. Discover areas in your life you want to improve. GO HERE.

Giving Back

Amanda and Mike launched an Impact Club in their hometown of Boise, Idaho in 2017, and have had a blast gathering like-minded individuals, families, and organizations to make significant impact in our community, raising over $200,000 locally and over $1.5 million nationally.  

Join Our Next Monthly CHALLENGE

Every month Amanda and Mike pick a month-long challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone so we can grow, learn, and become better versions of ourselves.  Sometimes we design our own unique challenge and other times we join pre-established challenges. Email us to find out about our next upcoming challenge. Us@BusinessofUs.com

About Us

Our Story | Mike and Amanda TurnerWe are Mike and Amanda Turner, founders of “The Business of Us.” We are fierce advocates of helping entrepreneurial couples and families improve their lives, livelihoods, and legacies… READ MORE

Do It Now, Later Will Be Worse

Do It Now, Later Will Be Worse

“Later” should be four letters. It’s certainly a curse word. We should wince when hear it.

When I don’t want to do something, there is always a seductive voice telling me all kinds of rational reasons why I should put it off until “later.”

This voice says, “Your back is sore, if you go exercise now, you could make it worse.”

The next day it says, “You’re behind on your assignments, get caught up first. You can exercise later.” 

Pretty soon “later” becomes next week, month, next year, a decade can go by in the blink of an eye.

I believe our brains are hardwired to seek comfort as part of our natural survival instinct. The problem is that there is no off switch. There is always some voice in our head telling us to slow down, to eat that food loaded with calories, to rest on the couch instead of going for a walk.

The pain you are feeling could be serious, so it’s probably better to stop moving. Do you know what I’m talking about? When you know in the back of your head that it’s not serious pain and that you’re perfectly capable, but you let yourself entertain the possibility, because it provides a perfect excuse.

Each day is a battle to shut the voice up. I’ve listened to that voice too often in the past. I know what happens when I give in and push things off to “later.”

The best way I’ve found to overcome that seductive voice in my head, convincing me to do something later, is to simply do the opposite. I try to answer back with, “I’m going to do it now; it will be worse if I wait until later.”

My comfort-seeking brain does not like the sound of “worse.” And then there is always the wonderful feeling of satisfaction of having accomplished what you set out to do.

Later = Worse. Do it now.

Join The Community!

Join our Facebook GroupJoin the quest for “The Sweet Life.”  Request access to our Facebook Group.  Let’s learn from each other!  GO HERE

Free Audio Book Download

Full Unabridged Audio Book “Vagabonding With Kids” by AK Turner!  GO HERE

Take The SWEET LIFE Assessment

See how you score? Identify your strengths. Discover areas in your life you want to improve. GO HERE.

Giving Back

Amanda and Mike launched an Impact Club in their hometown of Boise, Idaho in 2017, and have had a blast gathering like-minded individuals, families, and organizations to make significant impact in our community, raising over $200,000 locally and over $1.5 million nationally.  

Join Our Next Monthly CHALLENGE

Every month Amanda and Mike pick a month-long challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone so we can grow, learn, and become better versions of ourselves.  Sometimes we design our own unique challenge and other times we join pre-established challenges. Email us to find out about our next upcoming challenge. Us@BusinessofUs.com

About Us

Our Story | Mike and Amanda TurnerWe are Mike and Amanda Turner, founders of “The Business of Us.” We are fierce advocates of helping entrepreneurial couples and families improve their lives, livelihoods, and legacies… READ MORE

Why Some Entrepreneurs Win More than Others

Why Some Entrepreneurs Win More than Others

A friend of mine has spent years trying to get a product that he invented to market. He has been close a few times. The main customer for his product would be large utility companies.

He has had few of them do a small batch test order, and they’ve been happy with the product. There have been recent discussions about a possible big order, and they have asked him to install the product because they don’t want to dedicate the manpower to getting the product installed.

This request is exciting but also presents some significant challenges for him, because he already has a full-time job and the installs of his product would be in a different state.

He shared his concerns about how he would be able to hire people to do these installs in remote parts of different states and how he was going to manage all of it.

I said, “Welcome to the exciting world of entrepreneurship” and basically explained how the best entrepreneurs tend to be the best problem solvers. Being a great problem solver often means knowing who to reach out to for advice and solutions.

A lot of good businesses fail because they struggle with situational strategizing and making decisions. Every business will be faced with frequent and unexpected events that could make or break them, and as the owner or leader of the company, they need to commit to “figuring it out.”

Entrepreneurs must have the attitude and resolve to “figure it out” because without that they are destined to fail from indecision and getting consumed with worry in the “what if” trap.

It’s kind of like when your computer or devices start giving you problems.
How do you react to that?

I’ve been labeled in my office and in my family as the person for tech issues. The reason why I’m good at fixing their tech issue is the same reason I’m good at business, as I apply my same “figure out a way to solve the problem, through trial and error,” mantra until I finally figure it out (in most cases).

Over time from performing so many decision, pivot, loops until I find the answer, I can now solve problems faster because I already know the decisions to avoid and proven solutions to try first.

You don’t have to solve problems on your own, but you do have to make the decisions. If you end up being wrong, learn from it, make another decision, and another and so on.

The best entrepreneurs are not necessarily right more often, but rather, they get to the right answer faster by making more decisions.

My friend has always been good at “figuring things out.” He may have concerns about the next steps, but he doesn’t view the oncoming challenge as a reason to throw the towel in the ring and his hands in the air. Instead, he’s strategizing his situation and making decisions on how to put the right team in place. He’s moving forward and adapting to the changing circumstances. In doing so, he’s placing himself on the path to success.

Becoming a better problem solver is simply a by-product of the decision, pivot, loop.

Join The Community!

Join our Facebook GroupJoin the quest for “The Sweet Life.”  Request access to our Facebook Group.  Let’s learn from each other!  GO HERE

Free Audio Book Download

Full Unabridged Audio Book “Vagabonding With Kids” by AK Turner!  GO HERE

Take The SWEET LIFE Assessment

See how you score? Identify your strengths. Discover areas in your life you want to improve. GO HERE.

Giving Back

Amanda and Mike launched an Impact Club in their hometown of Boise, Idaho in 2017, and have had a blast gathering like-minded individuals, families, and organizations to make significant impact in our community, raising over $200,000 locally and over $1.5 million nationally.  

Join Our Next Monthly CHALLENGE

Every month Amanda and Mike pick a month-long challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone so we can grow, learn, and become better versions of ourselves.  Sometimes we design our own unique challenge and other times we join pre-established challenges. Email us to find out about our next upcoming challenge. Us@BusinessofUs.com

About Us

Our Story | Mike and Amanda TurnerWe are Mike and Amanda Turner, founders of “The Business of Us.” We are fierce advocates of helping entrepreneurial couples and families improve their lives, livelihoods, and legacies… READ MORE

Fixing My “Not Exercising Enough” Problem

Fixing My “Not Exercising Enough” Problem

I’m famous inside my household for “overdoing it” at the gym. In the past, I would miss weeks or even months without doing any consistent exercising, and when I would finally get that opportunity, I tried to make up for all that lost time in one session at the gym.

I would crawl home broken and not be able to move much for the next few days.

Part of my challenge with getting the gym consistently was the time investment it took. I always had seemingly more pressing things to take care of. Exercising was the award if I got them done. But for an entrepreneur, your work is never done; hence, I struggled with consistency.

But I now can say with pride that I’ve been exercising every day for the past 70 days, and I have no intention of breaking that streak anytime soon.

Exercising every day may sound extreme, and it certainly can be, but I’m doing a specifically designed workout each day as part of group fitness challenge called GRIT.

With GRIT workouts, I’ve found that I can push myself hard each day, and make significant gains physically, without “overdoing it” so I can come back the next day feeling strong.

The GRIT workouts are hard, but most of the time I can do them in 15-30 mins from my home. This saves me loads of time, not having to drive to the gym, find parking, figure out what to do, do it, then drive back home.

The workouts are different each day, but all of them are designed to work your entire body and achieve something called “Minimum Effective Dose” which is simply a way of getting all the benefits of a great workout while eliminating as much wasted time as possible to achieve the desired results.

The best part about committing to these daily GRIT workouts is the results I see in my body and my physical abilities. I can do things now (without pain) that I never thought I’d be able to do again.

These gains did not come easily, nor right away. There are many days when the last thing I want to do is go in my basement and crank out a GRIT workout.

But the secret weapon about GRIT, is the community behind it. I have a team that is relying on me to report my workout each day. If I don’t, not only am I booted from that month’s GRIT challenge, but my team would be penalized as well (and my pride would never allow that happen).

Having a team to check in with each day is not only great for accountability, but it also inspires you to want to keep fighting alongside of them. We are in it together. The team is there to a bright light on a dark day.

All in all, I believe the key for me to be more consistent with my exercising was making it a daily routine. I don’t have to make a decision if I should do it or not. It just has to happen. And to make it something I can do anywhere, that doesn’t require a gym or significant investment in time. I can do while traveling or on my busiest workday day at home.

My biggest take away with all of this is just realizing that willpower only goes so far, that I must commit to a routine to be consistent, and if possible, find a team to be accountable to.

Join The Community!

Join our Facebook GroupJoin the quest for “The Sweet Life.”  Request access to our Facebook Group.  Let’s learn from each other!  GO HERE

Free Audio Book Download

Full Unabridged Audio Book “Vagabonding With Kids” by AK Turner!  GO HERE

Take The SWEET LIFE Assessment

See how you score? Identify your strengths. Discover areas in your life you want to improve. GO HERE.

Giving Back

Amanda and Mike launched an Impact Club in their hometown of Boise, Idaho in 2017, and have had a blast gathering like-minded individuals, families, and organizations to make significant impact in our community, raising over $200,000 locally and over $1.5 million nationally.  

Join Our Next Monthly CHALLENGE

Every month Amanda and Mike pick a month-long challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone so we can grow, learn, and become better versions of ourselves.  Sometimes we design our own unique challenge and other times we join pre-established challenges. Email us to find out about our next upcoming challenge. Us@BusinessofUs.com

About Us

Our Story | Mike and Amanda TurnerWe are Mike and Amanda Turner, founders of “The Business of Us.” We are fierce advocates of helping entrepreneurial couples and families improve their lives, livelihoods, and legacies… READ MORE

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