The BOOK of JUDE – Chapter II 

Chapter II – JudeClyke.com

I am Jude. I continue the second chapter of my blogging journey in a bit of disbelief. JudeClyke.com is officially a thing. For many people, creating a domain name or website isn’t noteworthy. For me, it’s a big damn deal!!

I deliberately opted out of social media for the past fifteen years. I had no use for it. Don’t get me wrong, I had a Facebook account but I used a pseudonym and had no friends. I used it primarily for checking the accounts of the parolees I supervised, and if I’m gonna be honest, to creep your pages from time to time. 

I have realized that social media operates with many of the same principles as the internet. If you seek out negativity, conflict, meaningless content and ugliness in the world you will find it everywhere. However, there are countless individuals, groups and forums that choose to highlight the best in people and the beauty of the world. 

You have complete control of your feeds, tweets, posts. More importantly, these influences shape how you see and operate in the world so be vigilant and choose well!

Side Hustle Update

The concept of my primary side hustle continues to take shape. I know I want to help people find greater purpose and discipline in their lives. When I look back, I realize I have been attempting to inspire individuals all of my adult life. It brings me joy and fulfillment and I’m good at it. I am now looking for a new way to monetize my passion for assisting others. 

In the meantime, I’m developing a loose business plan and educating myself on how to become self-employed. I have reached out to some provincial resources and have connected with some local entrepreneurs to hear their origin stories and find inspiration. Everyone has been helpful. 

Although my ideas are still vague, I am becoming more and more confident about developing a rewarding side-hustle for me and my family. I need to continue learning as much as I can, maintain my resolve and TAKE ACTION – but it’s gonna happen. This means consistently completing small tasks that bring me closer to my goals. 

Please forward any Best Reads and effective resources, I might find beneficial. At 50, I am looking for as many credible shortcuts as possible. All constructive feedback and advice is welcome. 

Efforts to Be Better

One of the ways that I’m trying to grow is in being more present in my personal interactions with people. I want to be more attuned to what they are saying and feeling. However, it’s hard to listen more than you speak.

We generally want to talk about the things that are uniquely important to us and disregard everything else. Although I am learning amazing new things that I feel the need to share, I am attempting to be more attentive and mindful of others. I know I can learn something from every exchange but it’s a work in progress.. 

I am trying to be more grateful and to appreciate my growing self-awareness. Practicing gratitude requires you to identify and reflect on the things that are important to you. It reminds you of all the wonderful things in your life and centers you. However, it also fortifies you against adversity, toxic emotions and from feeling sorry for yourself.  You can’t be truly grateful for the blessings in your life and be complaining about shit. It’s impossible! Try it.

Over the past number of months I have been reading a number of books about developing better habits and living more deliberately. These books provide practical tips and tools to live more intentional. I am considering my own system for affecting change and Being Better. That’s kind of exciting.

Daily Disciplines

I have termed my new, all-important rituals, the ‘DAILY DISCIPLINES’. They are a set of behaviours that are allowing me to gain more control over my life. For instance, getting up at 5am provides me time to meditate, stretch, exercise, read and write. It’s alleviated most of the chaos that used to characterize my mornings. Instead, I now start most of my days with peace, purpose and a sense of accomplishment.

One of my major takeaways from a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear, was the idea of making daily behaviors part of your identity. It encourages us to redefine ourselves before we start new habits. The concept suggests that it’s more effective to develop new behaviours when you can re-imagine yourself first.

If you define yourself as a healthy person, it’s easier to adopt behaviours consistent with this identity – and consequently, loose weight. That makes sense to me.

The book also encourages the reader to adopt a systems-based approach to Being Better. It espouses small cumulative changes Anyone can make a 1% improvement in something. From parking one spot further away from a destination to getting up five minutes earlier every morning. Baby steps applied with consistency lead to big results.

It’s much easier to consider committing to behaviours that require minimal effort or motivation. However, over time, the compound effect of these small Daily Disciplines leads to significant self-improvement. Ultimately, they become part of your lifestyle and who you are.  The system creates the results, goals merely set the direction and identify the destination. 

Your Next Best Read

This segment will feature the books that are shaping my thinking and supporting my efforts to Be Better.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey 

Hands down, this is one of the best books I have ever read. For Real! It offers effective principles for creating a more meaningful and productive life. A must read.

Positive Reflections – WHAT’S GOOD?

It’s becoming a rare occasion to see large groups of young Afrikan people together in one space. I recently had the opportunity to engage a young group of high school students at CEC. I am not overstating it when I say the experience electrified me! It was powerful. The classroom was a spectrum of beautiful brown faces! It was invigorating and a wonderful reminder of the blessings you receive from being active in your community. Remember – what you give you receive tenfold.

My generation of fifty somethings are now the ‘Old Heads’ in our respective communities. We were provided with PHENOMENAL examples of role modelling, volunteerism and engagement.

It’s now our collective duty to do the same for these young brothers and sisters. We are responsible for passing on our wisdom and experience and providing ongoing direction and support. To whom much is given, much is expected. Just saying…..

As I sign off, I end the post with the same feeling I began with – disbelief. I never imagined I would be openly sharing my feelings and experiences with the world. It’s stressful but extremely liberating. Most days it feels like my confidence and self doubt are engaged in a pitched battle over my mind. I guess that’s life…..but the great thing is that my determination isn’t giving an inch.….I am Jude.