New Year, New Perspective

Watch the episode here:

• Discover how a simple shift to gratitude can transform your daily life.
• Learn practical steps to cultivate a mindset of gratitude every day.
• Gain insights into how gratitude can turn frustrations into opportunities.
• Get inspired to lead a more positive and impactful life in 2024.
• Hear a powerful story about how gratitude can change your perspective in unexpected situations.

What’s shakin, hey, I’m Rick Jordan. Today, we’re going all in. We’re going into a brand new year. And you probably expected an episode like this today, especially with the new year right around the corner. I want to tell you what I’m going to be doing for this next year. And I want to challenge you to do some of the same things. Because it will absolutely change the way that you view the world. This means when you change your perspective of things that are around you, you’re going to be able to change your perspective of what you are capable of, what your potential can be, and what you can actually see as a desired end state as an outcome for yourself. In this coming year. I’m telling you, and I guarantee you that when you change your view of things that are going on around you, things will begin to increase in your life. I’m gonna start with a story. I was sitting in the Las Vegas airport heading out I was recording some episodes of office hours, which is a David Meltzer. 

So it’s on Apple TV. My company was unstoppable I know, you’ve heard me talk about them. It’s the unstoppable sponsor for this, we donate a good amount of cash to Unstoppable because we support them, and we support the mission. And right about the time we’re supposed to board, I’m looking out the window and I see security vehicles just driving around, you know, and all kind of going in the same direction. This was just two days after the shootings at the University of Las Vegas UNLV and I’m seeing all this happen and no planes are moving. And now there’s like a couple of emergency vehicles kind of lined up where the runway is. It’s the kind of stuff that you see in the movies really like when like a plane is coming in. And there’s like an emergency landing or something. You kind of see him lined up there think diehard. Okay. You see that when that plane was coming down, and I think it was diehard, I don’t know. But maybe it was diehard to who knows, I can’t remember right, John McLean’s flying the plane, I think that was the movie, correct me if I’m wrong, you can post in the comments, right? But when the planes come in for an emergency landing, all the emergency vehicles are kind of lined up right there ready to do what they need to do, whether it’s a fire truck from a fire, you know, ambulance, all of those things are just ready to go. 

And I see these things lined up on the runway. And I look over at one of the one of the gate agents. I’m like, There’s a ground stop, isn’t there? He’s like, Yeah, there is it’s VIP movement, like, whoa, I’ve never heard that phrase before. And I’m guessing a lot of you probably haven’t some of you probably have. So I’m thinking, what is the VIP that is causing this scenario here? So I Google it like anybody would, and I find out that typically speaking, it’s a government official. I’m like, Alright, so I look it up. And sure enough, President Joe Biden was there that day in Las Vegas, to speak at UNLV because of the shootings. And because of this whole thing, right? It was pretty cool because everything stopped and the reason why there was a ground stop was because Air Force One was about to leave, it was about to take off. And I caught about six seconds of the video because I’m looking out there and all of a sudden, there it is just going down the runway, Air Force One takes off, right kind of majestic. It’s the first time I’ve actually ever seen it active like that in person, maybe you have but I was just in the right place at the right time. Looking out the right window facing the correct runway that Air Force One was going to be taking off and subsequently did it was really cool to see never saw a plane in in movement like that before, at least in real life. 

So then a couple of minutes after that, everything starts moving again. And the first thing I noticed that was moving was the baggage trucks. And they’re going around, you know, they’re putting more baggage and some of the planes collecting baggage off but it was literally everything stopped. Even the baggage trucks that load and unload the planes stopped even those little transports with a dude on them, right? For the ground crew that goes from plane to plane, the guy on the planes in those things, there was nothing moving, except for these security vehicles. That’s it. I mean, it was a total ground stop, literally, everything on the ground was not moving except for the security vehicles. Now when this all happened, it was a ground stop. That means that no planes can land either, though, by the time that took off, I was looking at my watch. I’m like, Cool. We’re only 10 minutes behind no big deal, right? And then the gate agent comes on and says, I just need to fill you in. We’re not going to be boarding for a while yet because we’re missing one crew member. Like what? Like yeah, we’re missing Ron crew member because there’s a flight attendant that is still on a plane up in the air that was circling when the President was here because they stop all planes from being able to land and take off when it comes to a ground stop. 

So she was up there circling along with, you know, many, many, many other flights and this flight attendant was supposed to go from there. plane she was on, come over and join the crew of the plane that I was taking off in. And I’m starting to look at this like, Man, I’m already getting home a little late I was I picked this flight time, just because it was the best possible one coming from the west coast coming back to Chicago where I live, four o’clock, or 430 on the West Coast, we’ll land at a little after 10 o’clock because of the timezone difference in Chicago. So now I’m looking at this, I’m like, Oh, this is gonna push this out almost till like midnight landing now, which is what I was trying to avoid. But I’m looking at this, and I’m thinking, whatever, it’s all good, I’m still going to get home, I still have a plane, I’m not going to be sitting here for hours, I’m still going to get home. And a lot of you may think, well, what’s the point of you telling me the story, man? And the reason is, is because I’m looking around. And there are so many people that were sitting there that were so frustrated, so angry about what was going on that all of these reasons, right, I understand that the President was taking off, you know, obviously, there’s nothing to do about that. That’s how things happen for security reasons, literally no control over that, especially on the airline’s part, they just can’t, they just cannot. It is the leader of the free world that is there. And that’s just the security measures that take place. And then, of course, airlines transfer crews. They have the logistics timed out, right? 

This is usually not an issue, but because the President was taking off now became an issue and the flight attendant who was supposed to join the crew was not there. So many people were upset. And I’m looking around, I’m like, there’s really nothing to do and I’m just thinking, it’s like, we’re all gonna get home. It’s not like the planes broke. You know, I’ve been in that situation before, that’s a little frustrating, but at the same time, it’s like still gonna get home. And it’s not that big of a deal. There are so many other things that should be able, to get you frustrated and angry. And anger isn’t okay, emotion, right? anger, it’s, a lot of times it can be validated. It’s what you do with that that matters, of course, and how you manage those emotions, but have your emotions, that’s all good. But so many people were like, we’re just going after the flight attendants, I’m like, Come on people, we’re all gonna get home, be grateful that we actually have a plane, be grateful that you will still be getting home tonight, it might be a little bit later, but be grateful that you’re still gonna get there, you’re still going to be safe, you’re still gonna be alive, you’re still gonna see your family’s tomorrow. 

Everything is all good. So as I’m thinking about this, it’s like next year, and I’ve been teaching a lot of people on my team at the company, this and just people around me and I’ve been coaching this, it’s like next year is going to be the year of gratitude. And I’ve been doing this for a long time in my own life because I look around and the positivity that I have. Everyone’s like, oh man, you’re always so positive. And I’m like, you would never guess why. Because you probably heard people talk about this before. But the reason is because I always have something to be grateful for. Always, no matter how bad things get, there’s always something that I can be grateful for that’s in my life, that never goes away for you. There will always be something even if you are in the darkest places, even when I was on a table in the operating table dying and going through eight months of hell with my health for a dead organ inside of me that nobody could tell what was going on. I still had so many things to be grateful for. I might have had just one wish. And that was to be healthy. I just did an episode on this right my only wish was to be healthy versus a healthy person having 1000 wishes because they feel like they can do anything. But still, even though I only wanted one thing which was to be healthy. I was still grateful for everything else that I still had. And even through that, that’s what kept me positive. 

Even though I was obviously dealing with anxiety. I believe that I was depressed because of it because eight months is a long time but wears you down when he can’t figure out why you’re sick. At the same time, I still have things to look around and be ungrateful just like this flight, just like when the President of the United States delays everything. For everybody that’s in large active airports. I’m still getting home tonight, safe. I’m still going to see my family tomorrow.

The Power of Gratitude is something that’s very real, and very tangible. And you’ve probably seen memes, short videos, YouTube shorts, tic TOCs everything out there about this phrase called practicing gratitude. And there’s a reason why it’s called practicing gratitude. I’ve talked about neural connections in your head and how those formed like muscles and how there are even cells that go around your brain and destroy and clean up the leftovers of neural pathways that are no longer used because the ones that are active are the ones that continuously build strength and become thicker and stronger, which means more thoughts can go through more electrical transmissions, neural connections can go through that pathway that you create. This is why it’s called practicing gratitude because it should be and needs to be in your life, a daily activity, just like you’re building muscles, in your arms, in your abs anywhere else in your core, this needs to be part of the exercising of the core of your soul is practicing gratitude. 

That’s what 2024 is going to be for me, even though I already practice gratitude. And now this is the year to put it out there and lead for me and bring others along with me. Just like people who work for me, just like my family members who love me, just like you who choose to listen to me. Next year is the year of gratitude in 2024. And I’m going to challenge you now to do a few things to practice that and watch your life change. It is powerful. The first thing you need to do first thing, I would say start out with five. But you know what, I’m gonna be realistic here. Okay, this is not by the way, this is not a New Year’s resolution. If you’ve ever listened to me for a while, right, you would know that I feel very strongly against New Year’s resolutions because they can start at any point in time. Most people who start in January, fall off by February. That’s why I’m not calling this a New Year’s resolution because you can start this now. Right? Even though it’s a couple of days before you could start this now you could have started this practice six months ago, it doesn’t matter when but something about a new year, right? Even when it comes to business. 

It’s like the calendar, stop the book, stop the financial stop. And now you start fresh again. And you got another turn almost like another inning in a baseball game, another quarter, and a football game, right? So whatever sport you watch, it’s like that refresh moment, another round, doesn’t matter what it is, you’re starting fresh. And this year, you’re starting fresh, and you’re going to continue with gratitude because you’re going to continue practicing. And that’s how I’m leading you right now, though, instead of five things, I’m just gonna ask you to do three, I’m gonna ask you to start with three. That’s it every single morning when you wake up. Or if you want to every single night before you go to bed, it’s actually really powerful at night. It’s pretty cool. It’s interesting because if you start your day with that, it sets you up for a great mood and a great perspective on things around you for the entire day. And then a night, you can look back and say, oh my gosh, I’m grateful for so many things that happened today. But I liked the looking forward method, pick whatever one you want. I like the looking forward method. Instead of five things which a lot of people say to do. I’m just gonna say start with three, just three. That’s it in the mornings. I am grateful today for what I am grateful this week for and it can be anything. And if you’re thinking, Well, you know what, it’s going to be the same stuff every single day, it’s really not going to be because there’s stuff that you can be grateful for every single day, even one day, you might be like, I’m grateful I got a great night’s sleep last night, I feel super refreshed today. 

That’s awesome. I’m grateful I get to do this thing today. I’m grateful that this happened over the past week. I’m grateful that I have this to look forward to next week. There are so many things because life changes all the time. And so many things take place. And it might even be something like I’m grateful because this stuff happens. I’m grateful that yesterday I was at a stoplight. And this car came by and they saw me at the very last minute and missed me by two inches. I’m grateful that I’ve got another day today to do a lot more for myself, for my family for a whole bunch of other people. That would have just happened yesterday, every single day, things that are good to be grateful for happen. That’s what I want you to do this coming year as a start-up every single day with three things that you’re grateful for that day. Now, the second part of this is I’m going to ask you to take one of those things, just one of them, and share it with somebody who’s close to you every day. Just share it with somebody who’s close to you, and then tell them what you’re doing. You can do it two ways. There’s a couple of fun ways. One, you can actively do it. Like I’m telling you right now, right? You can actively do it and say, Hey, this is what I’m doing this year. You want to do it with me. 

Do you want to come along on this ride with me? It’s gonna be pretty awesome. Let’s let’s share these things together. Just think about the spider web that goes on. I’m telling you write to 1000s of people right now. I’m telling you, and then you can tell somebody else and then they tell somebody else and this thing can just just frickin amplify out of control. Take a life of its own in a very, very good way, as you bring others along this ride with you this ride of gratitude this year. So tell somebody close to you every day, at least one of those things, one of those three things, because some things might be personal, right? And I understand that some things you might not want to share and are very personal to you. But you can still be grateful for him and still something to look at every single day. But tell somebody else, one of those things on your list every single day, and it can be different people to get creative with it because this is where it gets fun. And then when they ask, it’s like, oh, my gosh, it’s gonna be like me, I am always and I love this, right? There are two things that I really love. How I put myself out to the world because I hear these things all the time. It’s like, oh, Rick, you’re so positive all the time. I love being around you. Because you can just always lift me up just by the mood that you’re in. It’s like, well, that’s because I practice gratitude, quite literally, because people come to me. 

The second thing is like, Rick, you always show up. And I do. Those are two things that I pride myself on. Because those are two qualities of a leader that I feel that I need to exemplify and be consistent with. And also, it just feels good. No joke, you will change your mindset, the way that you feel in your heart change, and even what you feel in your body by practicing these things. And doing these two things that I’m challenging you for this next year the first again, write down three things every single morning that you are grateful for different things every day, in some kind of journal, there’s probably apps that will do this to look back and I’m every noun, and it’s awesome. And then the second thing is to tell somebody else, one of those things that you put on your list every single day, you can tell the same person, tell different people, whatever you want. And this will continuously build up those connections, that gratitude connection as you’re practicing gratitude, as you’re building that, quote, unquote, muscle, that neural connection inside your brain. And now all of a sudden, you will start to think more and more and more good things. 

And you know what the crap that used to bother you, they used to infuriate you, they used to set you off, they used to trigger you, all of a sudden, this is what’s going to happen. Imagine yourself six months from now, all of a sudden, you’re in that place. And you’re thinking looking back at today, it’s like holy moly, the stuff that used to bother me, it’s you will be able to tell, well, that used to set me off what’s going on here, you remember, Oh, that’s right, I got a lot more to be grateful for. But here’s the secret. You don’t actually have a lot more to be grateful for you are just being aware and intentional. And noticing it and thinking about it. And practicing it every single day. throughout every single year of your life that you’ve already had, you have had at least three things to be grateful for. I know this because I do it. Even being through some of the crap that I’ve been through, there was still things to be grateful for. It’s just now when you’re practicing this you’re starting to look around for things that you can be grateful for. And it changes your perspective on life.

It just straight-up changes your life. I would love to hear stories DM me and do whatever to get a hold of me because I would love to hear stories as you go through these and how you were able to lead other people down this incredible road of gratitude to make this your year of gratitude. I also want to hear about your successes. Because you’re gonna be writing these things down and like oh my gosh, this literally changed my life. And I want it to and at the same time, I want you to tell others what you’re doing so that you can change theirs as well. Have an amazing, amazing new year. I am grateful for you. Listening to this week in and week out listening to the show. Love you. Happy New Year.

GO ALL IN.