Laying the Foundation
This is my inaugural journal entry for my PrisonProfessorsTalent.com profile. With this post, I’d like to explain the basic format for what I plan to include in my future journal entries as a way of documenting the deliberate strategies, tactics, and specific steps I’m employing on a daily basis in order to achieve my desired outcome – which is ultimately to return home to my family, my community, and society-at-large a better man than I was when I arrived at the prison.
In order to achieve this goal, there are a number of tools and resources that I use everyday. The primary resource I use is my ability to communicate with The Source of Life, The Creator of All Things, God, The Father, Whom I have access to through my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and by His Spirit that lives in me. So, prayer is the foundation of every successful day.
There are two primary definitions I use to describe “success”.
1. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy idea or predetermined goal.
2. Success is the degree and quantity of significant accomplishment that we are able to achieve, within a specific time, using the resources available to us, in keeping with our highest values, dreams, and goals.
I also use a High-Performance Planner to structure my day so that I can be most effective and maximize my time to achieve the best possible results that I can during the course of each day. With my journal entries, I intend to share “excerpts” from my daily, weekly, and monthly High-Performance Planner entries which include: “Today’s Message To Myself”, “Morning Mindset”, “Today’s Top 3 Goals/Priorities”, “Tasks That Absolutely Must Be Done Today”, “Evening Journal”, and “Daily Habits Scorecard”. Sharing these excerpts will provide “real-time” insight into my days and the preparations I’m making to lead a high-impact life of purpose, service, and contribution now and after I leave prison.
My “Message To Myself” for Friday, July 28, 2023 was – “Use wisely your power to choose how you use your time.”
During the assessment or establishment of my “Morning Mindset” each day, I complete ten statements. Here are a few from today’s entry:
1. One thing I can get excited about today is…
Writing my release plan to post on PrisonProfessorsTalent.com
2. If one word could describe the kind of person I want to be today, that word is…and why I chose it is…
Determined, because I have made a decision and I am determined to live a life of purpose and contribution.
3. If I was a high-performance coach looking at my life from a high level, I would tell myself to remember that…
Being consistent will help you attain and maintain the long-term success you desire.
“Today’s Top 3 Goals/Priorities” were:
1. Complete my submissions for the main pages of my profile at PrisonProfessorsTalent.com
2. Complete my SPEED Work (Spiritual Personal/professional Enlightenment Enrichment Development)
3. Learn Something New
In future journal entries, I will highlight excerpts from other sections of my High-Performance Planner. I hope this peek into my day is of some value to you.
I intend to close each journal entry with the following encouragement:
Use each day to “Strive for Mastery, Pursue Your Passion, and Live On Purpose!” – DaRayl D. Davis
