Dear Friend

Happy Easter Monday!

As we celebrate the power of resurrection and new beginnings, I thought this would be a good time to share one of the most practical pieces of advice I’ve ever come across—something to help you build momentum and consistency in whatever area matters most to you this season.

Brad Isaac once shared this productivity advice he got from Jerry Seinfeld.

I had to ask Seinfeld if he had any tips for a young comic. What he told me was something that would benefit me for a lifetime.

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 revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here's how it works.

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.

Over the years, I've used his technique in many different areas. I've used it for exercise, to learn programming, to learn network administration, to build successful websites and to build successful businesses.

It works because it isn't the one-shot pushes that get us where we want to go; it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes. You may have heard "inch by inch, anything's a cinch." Inch by inch does work if you can move an inch every day.

Daily action builds habits. It gives you practice and will make you an expert in a short time. If you don't break the chain, you'll start to spot opportunities you otherwise wouldn't. Small improvements accumulate into large improvements rapidly because daily action provides "compounding interest."

Seinfeld understands that daily action yields greater benefits than sitting down and trying to knock out 1000 jokes in one day.

Think for a moment about what action would make the most profound impact on your life if you worked it every day. That is the action I recommend you put on your Seinfeld calendar. Start today and earn your big red X. And from here on out...

Don't break the chain!

As we embrace the hope and renewal Easter brings, may your daily steps, however small, lead to something truly transformative.

Shalom,