Hello again dear listener from the top of my garden with the Sun again high and bright I can get used to this very easily again I'm sitting here with my eyes closed because ain't got no pair of sunglasses with me at the moment

Well Ben Settle was right the ideas beget ideas and the thing I wanted to riff on this morning was around the idea of well there's a proverb whether it's Chinese or Japanese who knows but that the the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago the second best time to plant a tree is now.

And as I was thinking about that in relation to what I'm doing now this initial 30-day challenge there are a few things in my life that I wish I had started earlier and one of them interestingly is prompted by the guest of my not a straight line podcast that is live at the moment Ashley Harvey.

During the during the conversation she shared that something she learned in her early 20s was to put ten percent of everything she earned to one side basically to pay herself first and it took her a few years to get into it but she said she said basically every bit of income she's had since she was you know in her early 20s 24 25 I think she said when she started it properly she's she set aside and her current financial suit situation is proof of the wisdom of that approach she's reaping the benefits of of doing that.

And during the conversation for the not a straight line podcast I remember saying that I felt really pleased for her obviously but also sad at the time same time because I remember reading about that concept in a little book called the richest man in Babylon years and years ago I mean I first started reading self-development books you know in my late late teens probably 17 18 maybe and that was one that I read and remember thinking oh wow yeah that's really good but I didn't take the action that Ashley took and my financial situation current financial situation is very different to Ashley's and it's not right or wrong it's as I'm reflecting on it it's one of the things that I wish I had done earlier.

And interestingly fairly soon after I had a chat with Ashley for the podcast I ended up having a conversation with a gentleman in California called Renee I don't I can't remember his turn I'm off the top of my head I think it's Gabriel Renee Gabriel but I need to check put the name in the in the in the show notes and his his thing is all about wealth on any income and he was bankrupt for the third time when he was 50 I think and by 55 within five years I think he was financially independent financially free and largely down to this one concept of paying himself first.

And during our conversation he shared that he'd written a book called the attitudes of the wealthy and I asked him to share what the top three were if you like I'm not even sure we got beyond the top one because the first one he said was the the wealthy treat themselves like they matter I said what do you mean by that and he said they pay themselves first.

So from that straight after that conversation so interesting I didn't do anything about it after my chat with Ashley but after that conversation with Renee about a month or so ago every single little bit of money that has come through my account I've set 10% aside and it's amazing how quickly it adds up and part of me thinks well the best time to have done that is 20 years ago but the second best time is now so that's something that I've started.

The second thing is something that I did almost inadvertently yesterday as something that I've spread it sporadically done in the past and that is express gratitude daily I've lost count of the number of times I've read blog posts or seen videos or heard from people about the importance of gratitude and what it does physiologically and psychologically and energetically and all of the lees and like I say you know I've I've done it for little bursts you know I'll do it for a few days and then because I'm writing in a journal and like I said yesterday writing isn't a go-to medium for me I'll stop or get distracted with something else.

So so yesterday I expressed gratitude to Izzy Jason and Ben for kind of creating the the perfect storm if you like for me to do this 30-day challenge and on reflection that got me thinking that actually this is an opportunity in these daily episodes to express gratitude of of some description what am I grateful for well right now I'm grateful for this beautiful weather it's just nice for it not to be gray and raining so yes I'm gloriously grateful for this this weather and I'm also grateful for the opportunity to submit my self tape for the film that I mentioned yesterday I'm grateful for that opportunity I'm going to do this afternoon and I have decided I am going to follow up with an email I already drafted that this morning after my hypnobreath work and more on on that in another daily episode I'm sure.

So it's two things saying 10% saving 10% well putting 10% of my income aside expressing gratitude daily and the last thing is what I'm doing here in in these daily episodes is engaging with my thoughts in a specific concrete way every day you know I have done it to in different ways and to varying degrees over the years but not not consistently.

So you're not as consistently as the run streak that I I managed to put together so for the nine years up to the end of October 2023 I ran at least two miles every day two miles every day for nine years that's also part of what I was thinking about this these daily episodes the podcast it's like if I can get out in rain shine snow ice with kovat without kovat for nearly nine years then for goodness sake Pete you can record a an episode of your podcast.

So so yeah that's that's three things which I but the ideal time to start would have been 20 years ago but the best time to start the next best time is now so that's what I'm doing.

What about you what do you as you reflect think that if you started 20 years ago your non straight line life would have been different to the non straight line life that you that you did you did live not the others right nor wrong but if the best time to have started that was 20 years ago then maybe the next best time for you is now.

As always lovely chatting and I'll speak to you same time tomorrow love you bye Bye!