The beautiful people
What you give your attention to is who you will become
![PEOPLE's Most Beautiful: Past Cover Stars Then and Now [PHOTOS]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8eb671d-42b5-4fbc-bc35-c3034f1086c8_435x580.jpeg "PEOPLE's Most Beautiful: Past Cover Stars Then and Now [PHOTOS]")
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7
Confession time: There was a period in the 90s when People Magazine came to our house. I have no idea why. Well, actually, I do. I’m to blame. Perhaps I was flipping through a magazine in a doctor’s office and found a free 6-month subscription card. Why did I want to read People? It was an escape —getting out of the day-to-day grind and thinking about how the other half lives (Note: Tom Cruise looks the same today as he did in the 90s! Weird.)
I know. You don’t have to say it. I can’t get that time back. Left to my own devices, I gravitate toward whatever is easy. It’s easy for me to binge Seinfeld to watch Jerry and Neumann go at it. Or scroll through Instagram and get caught up in the perfect lives of others — watching them get just the right selfie angle to show their best side or humble-bragging about their perfect family. Or perhaps you’ve been caught up in the 24-hour news cycle and are constantly angry about the latest “outrage” in our strange political landscape.
I read this quote recently, and it hit me between the eyes:
What you give your attention to is the person you become.
-John Mark Comer
Wait. Stop and read that again.
Whatever you choose to give your attention to is who you will become. Perhaps it’s who you already are. Your habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results.1
I no longer read People. Well, not that I’ll admit. There are lots of things I’ve done that I regret paying attention to. I wish I had read more books that would have caused me to think and grow earlier in life.2 Every time I read, the author mentors me. I may agree or disagree with what I read, but I won’t finish a book and remain the same person.
I have one big idea for you today.
YOU get to decide who you want to become.
If you’ve been paying attention to things that take you away from your ideal, it’s not too late! As the Chinese proverb says, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is now! Make it an impactful week!
It means so much to me that you would read my newsletter. If it served you, please hit the ❤️ button so more people can see it. Thanks for reading!
James Clear
I am thankful for my sweet mom, who “threw out” our TV when I was a kid to make us read more. I didn’t like missing out on Fantasy Island and Million Dollar Man, but I wouldn’t have read The Chronicles of Narnia otherwise!
I love this Tarek. The idea of not finishing a book and staying the same is so good. As a fellow Maxwell Leadership Teammate, when we use John Maxwell's ACT system as we read, we can really dig in. Using the acronym ACT as I read is so helpful to me to really make sure I don't lose or forget key ideas in what I just read, noting "A" for those things I want to apply in my life, "C" next to those things I want to change in my life and a "T" next to those items that I want to transfer or teach to someone else.