Last week, I was indirectly bragging about getting up early and working out. I talked about being weird because normal is dumb.
Well, for most of the rest of the week, I didn’t wake up early and work out, and I didn’t do all that much writing or reading. Or healthy eating.
An example of why I need to give myself grace.
By the end of the week, I was feeling like a pretty big screwup. I started to chastise myself: Continue Reading…
I was pretty tired this morning when I woke up at 5. The fact that I had planned to ride my bike to gym to meet my friends there made me feel even more tired.
Reluctantly, I got my gym clothes on, checked the weather, and then put on my Vibram Five Fingers shoes, or “those weird toe-shoes” to most people. Continue Reading…
This is a guest post from the best mom ever, my wife, Sara. I’m so thankful for her!
I don’t know when I began our ritual, but it was sometime before Lylah’s first birthday. While she sat in her high chair, I would poke myself in the chest while saying “Mama.” Then I would poke her in the chest while saying “Lylah.” When Austin was around, I would repeat the ritual, adding in “Dada” as I poked him.
Raising this sweet, little one takes persistence.
I would do this almost daily, usually when she was in her high chair. I bet some days I did it at all 3 meals. Usually, Lylah would just smile at me, or giggle after I poked her. By the time she was 1, she was able to recognize me as “Mama” and Austin as “Dada.” These were her first words and I don’t know about Austin, but I cried with joy the first time she looked at me… really looked at me… and said “Mama.” Continue Reading…
I set this alarm for every day.
I woke up fifteen minutes before my alarm today. The clock read “4:45.”
I willingly got out of bed at 5:05am. And yes, this is the Austin D. Hill you know.
Even though I’m feeling a little groggy right now, and drinking some of the worst Starbucks coffee I’ve ever had, but am too lazy to go complain about it, I’m happy I woke up early today.
In truth, I never regret the mornings when I get up early.
Most of the time, I end up having more energy than I realized I had, and even when I am feeling a little tired, I’ve still always been glad for the time I had when I woke up early.
As much of a challenge as it is to wake up early, the benefits always outweigh the cost. Here are five reasons why I’m making it a habit to wake up early most days.
He made another $4,000 while I wrote this post.
Two days ago, Zach Braff started a Kickstarter campaign. As of the time I’m writing this, he’s raised $1,753,503.
He’s made almost a million bucks a day. I’m watching the amount of pledged money increase while I write. It’s amazing.
For those who don’t know who Zach Braff is, he played John Dorian, or JD, on the TV show, Scrubs. I remember laughing out loud throughout the first episode of the show that I saw. “I have to watch this series,” I resolved, and bought the first season on DVD as soon as possible. I was an instant fan.
It’s debatable, though, whether Zach is better known as JD from Scrubs or as Andrew Largeman from the first movie that Zach wrote and directed, Garden State. Either way, through his involvement in Scrubs and Garden State, he has accumulated a gargantuan following of dedicated, Indie fans. For example, he has over 1,000,000 Twitter followers.
But Garden State came out in 2004. And a ton of people (myself included) have been wondering why he hasn’t undertaken anything significant recently.
In his Kickstarter video, he explains that if he wants funding from large financial backers for a new movie, he would have to give up a significant portion of artistic rights, and he wouldn’t be able to make the movie that he feels passionate about making.
Enter Kickstarter.
Kickstarter is still a relatively new idea in the world, but not so new as far as internet time goes. Essentially, anybody with a great idea sets up a plan and asks people for pledges to make their idea become a reality. They set a target financial goal and have an allotted amount of time to reach the goal. People then can pledge various amounts of money toward the project and they receive varying degrees of rewards for their pledges. Some of Zach Braff’s look awesome, by the way.
If the goal amount is not pledged by the allotted time, then nothing happens (and Zach is sad, according to his page). But if the goal amount is reached within the allotted time, then everybody who pledged their money pays their pledged amount at the end of the campaign. And the great idea is now funded to become a reality.
Zach Braff teaches us a powerful lesson about building trust as a leader. Continue Reading…
I'm a pastor, writer, speaker, husband, father, and follower of Christ, to name a few titles. You can find my contact information in my About page.
