Charles Doublet

Conscious Living for a Chaotic Crazy World

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Feeling Like a Hamster on a Wheel? Here’s How to Take Control

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The Weekly Power Hour: Your Secret Weapon for Crushing Your Goals

Let me tell you something that might surprise you:

Most people I talk to feel stuck;

  • in their jobs

  • relationships

  • overall life direction

They haven’t the faintest clue how their daily actions stack up against their long-term dreams.

It’s like trying to build a championship physique by absentmindedly lifting weights whenever you feel like it.

You might see some random bicep growth, but a sculpted physique?

Forget about it.

Here’s the truth, warrior:

The secret to success isn’t some mystical force or lucky break.

It’s about intentionality.

It’s about deliberately aligning your daily actions with your long-term vision.

And that, my friend, is where the Weekly Power Hour comes in.

Now, before you roll your eyes and think, “Another hour I have to squeeze into my already overloaded schedule?” hear me out.

This isn’t about adding another burden.

This is about unlocking a secret weapon that will transform your week from a chaotic scramble to a laser-focused mission toward your goals.

Think about it;

How many times have you started the week with the best intentions, only to find yourself swamped with emails, sidetracked by distractions, and left feeling like you accomplished nothing of real importance?

It’s enough to make you want to throw in the towel, right?

But here’s the thing, brother — you’re not the problem, your system is.

The enemy?

A lack of structure.

The culprit?

That nagging feeling that you’re constantly playing catch-up.

The solution?

The Weekly Power Hour.

Here’s the beauty of it;

You only need 60 focused minutes each week to completely transform your approach.

From Constructing Multi-Million-Dollar Projects to Constructing a Well-Lived Life

I first learned about the power hour as an apprentice in construction.

Every week, the company would hold a weekly huddle with all the guys, sometimes this was well over 100 union electricians.

On some jobs even more, when we did the Tom Bradley Remodel in 2010, we had well over 400 electricians.

That’s about $20,000 per hour at union scale at that time standing around each week.

That’s how important it is for the weekly power hour.

It saves time, money, and energy to make sure the work being done is in alignment with the overall goals and conditions of the job.

You’re Building Something Much More Important Than an Airport Terminal

While working on big projects was cool.

I took the lessons from the job for a much more important project;

Building my life.

Here’s how I did it:

  1. Grab your calendar and a pen. Find a quiet hour where you won’t be interrupted (think of it as your weekly war room meeting).

  2. Pull up your vision board (or that scribbled list of dreams tucked away in your drawer). Remember those audacious goals that set your soul on fire? Let them be your guiding light.

  3. Ask yourself: What are the 3–5 most important things I need to accomplish this week to move the needle on those long-term goals? Be specific! Don’t just say “get healthy,” say “go for a 30-minute run 3 times this week.”

  4. Now, schedule those actions into your calendar. Block out dedicated time slots, treating them like important appointments you wouldn’t dare miss. Remember, your goals deserve your respect!

  5. Here’s the kicker: During your Weekly Power Hour, revisit your schedule and identify potential roadblocks. Maybe that social media scroll after work is a bigger time-suck than you realize. Block those distractions too!

That’s it.

That’s your Weekly Power Hour.

One hour of focused planning and intentionality can completely transform your week.

You’ll go from feeling like a hamster on a wheel to a strategic leader, steering your actions toward the life you truly desire.

And here’s the best part;

This system works even when things don’t go according to plan.

Life throws curveballs, that’s a given.

But with your Weekly Power Hour in place, you’ll have a clear roadmap to get back on track.

A missed workout doesn’t derail your entire fitness journey, a setback at work doesn’t spell doom — you just adjust your schedule and keep moving forward.

So, are you ready to ditch the chaos and take control?

Don’t let fear hold you back.

Remember, every successful person you admire started exactly where you are — with a dream and a desire for something more.

The Weekly Power Hour is your first step towards making that dream a reality.

Take action today, warrior.

Your future self will thank you for it.

P.S. If you’re looking to up-level your strategy and planning to build your life, I recommend two additional resources.

First, I have my FREE 3-week email course, ​Learn to Lead​. Because if you can’t lead yourself, there’s no way that you’ll be able to lead in anything else.

Secondly, I have the $47 100-page ebook, ​Design Your Ideal Week​. This isn’t some lame “workbook” filled with blank pages to fill out! It’s an action-packed step-by-step roadmap to design your life blueprint.

If you don’t like the direction your life is going in, I suggest you pause, assess, and pivot to where you want to go.

And my resources will help you with that.

2 Questions to Ask Yourself If You Want Your Life to Be Easier, Better, and Happier

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“Your problem is not your problem.”

Do you want to create more success in your life?

Do you want to feel safe and secure with a partner you love?

Do you want to stop struggling in the day to day grind?

What would that all look like for you?

What do you want?

When I ask my clients that question, many of them respond with a litany list of complaints and negative situations going on in their lives.

I pause them and repeat the question, “Sorry, I didn’t ask what you don’t want, I asked you what you do want in life.”

What do you want?

I’ll ask you the same question.

What do you want?

Make a list.

Make a long list.

List everything and anything that you want.

You’re allowed.

Did you make a list? If not, stop here. Seriously, make a list of at least a dozen things, achievements, goals, relationships, or what have you that you want.

Got it?

Good.

Now pick one, pick your favorite one.

Here’s one of the two questions, “Why is that important to you?”

What’s your answer?

Good.

Let me ask you again based on your response, “Why is that important to you?”

What’s your answer?

Great!

Now again, “Why is that important to you?”

Are you beginning to see a pattern here?

This is called the 5 Whys of Root Cause Analysis. It is often used in business for problem-solving and management.

But I find it also works extremely well for helping my clients to live principle-based lives.

You see, a lot of people say they want to be wealthy, but if you dig down deep enough, it’s not the money they want, it’s the lifestyle they believe the money will provide.

Research has shown that after a certain point, having more money doesn’t equate to more happiness. And it’s a lot lower than you’d expect.

In a 2010 study in the US, researchers Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that your happiness increased as you made more money up until $75,000. After that, happiness levels tapered off even as the participants had more money.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? may have been a fun game show but winning it wouldn’t guarantee your happiness. It’s even worse if you play the lottery.

This is why the 5 Whys is so important. Too often, we chase goals and dreams without really diving into why they are important and what could give us the same results without wasting time, money, and effort chasing BHAGs.

So that’s the first question, knowing why something you want is important for you and your life.

What If It Is Important?

The second big challenge my clients face in life is overwhelm.

Too many plates spinning at once, getting ready to crash to the floor.

Or worse yet, not knowing what to do and lost in the daily confusion of what’s important, what’s urgent, and what’s a waste of time and energy.

Now the 5 Whys will reduce some of the overwhelm by removing the low-hanging fruit of time and energy wasters, but for the goals and dreams that are important, there can still be overwhelm and lack of clarity.

So in comes the next question, the 5 Hows.

From the list you already made, you did make one didn’t you?

Pick one of the goals on the list.

Write down everything you can on what it would look, feel, and be like when you achieve this goal? Write down as many metrics as you can so that you know when you achieve them, there will be no doubt that you succeeded.

Got it?

Okay.

Now for each one of those metrics, cut them in half.

And do it again.

And again.

Cut them down so small that there is no way you couldn’t take that one step. The how of it is too easy.

How to Earn a Black Belt from a Master

In 1987, soon after moving to LA from Honolulu, I walked through the doors of 3201 Santa Monica Bl. in Santa Monica CA. I had a book in my hand, that I bought a couple of years earlier, Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams.

My home away from home

In the book, Joe describes the Hapkido master Bong Soo Han as a phenomenal teacher and philosopher, who I meet for the first time that summer in ’87.

He gets up from behind his desk, with his intense eyes, and greets me warmly but stoically, if that makes sense, asking me why do I want to train in Hapkido. I reply, “I feel grounded when I train.”

Apparently, that was good enough for him and I enroll in his school. I didn’t have any starry-eyed dreams of being a master or even a black belt, all I knew was that I felt better emotionally and mentally when I trained.

Hapkido is a very interesting martial art, not as well-known as tae kwon do, karate, or now, BJJ, I would often describe it as the kicks of TKD and the joint locks and throws of judo. It’s an eclectic style that draws from many other schools.

As such, the training can be overwhelming. But GM Han and his instructors knew that breaking it down into easy manageable steps that progressively increase in difficulty and intensity, they would have a system of personal development and leadership.

And that’s what I did, without even trying, to be honest, I couldn’t picture myself as a black belt, I was just someone who liked to punch and kick and spar. But I kept training, I kept improving, and I kept getting higher in rank, until one day, in ’98 I’m testing for my 1st dan.

That’s the power of the 5 Hows. Breaking down your goals so that by just do the steps, you attain a BHAG, sometimes surprising even yourself.

So if it’s so simple, why do clients need coaches?

The two questions of the 5 Whys and the 5 Hows are great tools for streamlining and simplifying your life and goals.

But often that is not enough.

We all hit walls, stumble, and fall.

We all have fears, it doesn’t matter if your a noob or the most experienced badass guy in the room, as human beings when we face uncertainty and get out of our comfort zones, we all need support and help.

There is a book by executive coach, Marshall Goldsmith that I review regularly, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

You see, we all have strengths but sometimes those strengths become our biggest weaknesses.

For example, being a leader requires the ability to take charge, tell people what to do, and sometimes make snap decisions. But those same qualities sometimes don’t work in the home where you have a family and not followers.

And the reverse can be true, some of the most loving helpful people I know struggle with boundaries and saying no, so they can often become doormats, letting other people walk all over them.

Coaching not only helps you to streamline and simplify your life but also to help be a mirror, allowing you to see things you may have missed. And also to support and encourage you when you’re feeling doubt and uncertainty.

Can you succeed without coaching? Sure of course!

I’m coming from the perspective that I’ve had many coaches throughout my personal and professional career, from my time on the mat heeding the wisdom of my master and his instructors, to on the job site seeking out some of the best craftsman, supervisors, and leaders in the industry, to my daily life, hiring the best teachers, executive, and personal-leadership coaches I could find to help me to take my life further.

It’s not for everyone. Some people are happy with where they are, but if you’re not, first use the 2 questions to see what kind of life you want to create, then find people who can help you to create that life.

The Key to Success Is Not How to Think, But Instead When to Think

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Your brain is truly amazing.

Inside your skull is a supercomputer composed of over 100 billion neurons with roughly 1 quadrillion synaptic connections.

That’s 1,000,000,000,000,000 ways that your brain interacts within itself, your body, and your environment!

Your brain weighs roughly 3 pounds, that’s about 2% of an average health adult BUT uses almost 20% of the energy-producing glucose that you’re body takes in.

That’s why it sometimes hurts to think, you’re literally burning calories like a furnace.

Your brain is a powerhouse of potential!

But…

If it’s so powerful, why are we so bad at using it?

You Use Your Brain Incorrectly

“The willing horse is always overworked.”

Pause for a minute.

Imagine or picture this scenario. You’re at work, your boss just dumped a huge problem on your lap and tells you that you need to fix this by next week.

What do you do?

Well, for most of us, we immediately dive deep and go into problem-solving mode. We look at all of the issues, the parameters, the constraints, the options, cost/benefit analysis, and possible outcomes.

And at the same time, you’re doing this, you’re also thinking of keeping the boss happy, not messing up, and being able to do all of this within the time you’ve been given, even though at the moment you don’t see how.

The brain goes into problem-solving, threat-reducing, amygdala-oriented survival response.

And that is the least creative or effective way to come up with solutions.

The Computer and the Programmer

Are you like most people?

You treat your brain as if it’s nothing more than a glorified calculator?

You punch in a problem and expect it to spit out an answer?

The problem is that the brain is so much more than a calculator, yet at the same time, on its own, it operates as mindlessly as one.

The reason the whole mindfulness movement is so popular is the realization that we often run on cruise-control, with no one at the wheel.

The Habit Poem
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to
failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half of the things you do you might as well turn
over to me and I will do them – quickly and
correctly.
I am easily managed – you must be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of great people,
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine though
I work with the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a person.
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin –
it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and
I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I?
I am Habit.

The fact of the matter is that your brain is not just a fancy computer running around on automatic.

Nor is your brain, the programmer, punching in lines of code into the computer, telling it what to do when and where.

You and your brain are actually both and that’s where the problem comes in, you do the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Worker Bee and Queen Bee Modes

Queen Bee being tended to

For over 30 years now, I’ve had this weekly ritual, and it’s something that I share with all of my coaching clients.

Every Sunday from 9 am to noon, it’s “Chuck Time.” The time I block off in my calendar every week to sit back, reflect, and plan the upcoming week.

Now you may not need 3 hours like I do but I find that window of time allows me to consistently relax, reflect, and renew myself for what’s on my plate.

I call it my Queen Bee mode.

In Queen Bee mode, the first thing I do is ask myself 3 questions:

  1. Where am I?
  2. How did I get here?
  3. Where do I want to go?

At first, I just sit and reflect, I don’t plan.

Planning is the critical part of the brain, not the creative. So, I let things circulate, percolate, and gestate. Creating an environment for my brain to relax and do what it does best, explore.

After it’s explored a bit, it’s only then that I begin to layout and plan the upcoming week or two. Preparing the necessary legwork and research so that when it is time to put on my Worker Bee overalls, I have as much in place so that I can be busy doing the work.

The Three Stages of Brain Function

The Salient Ties the Creative to the Executive

To grossly oversimplify it, your brain operates in 3 modes:

  1. The Default Creative Mode
  2. The Salient Prioritization Mode
  3. The Executive Action-Taking Mode

You know how when you’re relaxing in nature or while taking a shower, your brain floods you with new ideas, a-ha moments, and remembers things out of the blue that may have been nagging you for hours or days?

That’s your default creative mode. That is when those billions of neurons and quadrillions of connections are flowing and firing off, creating all sorts of amazing associations.

But, at a certain point, you need to make sense of it all, or else you run the risk of rabbit-holes and butterflies. Flitting about and digging around, but not getting anywhere.

That’s when the Salient mode of the brain needs to take over. It needs to look at all of the wonderful ideas you have gathered and put them into some kind of meaningful framework, a game plan.

Once that is done, then the Executive Mode of the brain can take over, rallying the forces, overcoming fear and doubt, and charging into the fray.

And the key to all of this is doing the right thinking at the right time. Salient and Executive thinking requires more energy and willpower, they need to be done when your energy is high and you are rested.

While your default thinking happens when you are relaxing and does not require much mental energy, after all, it is our default mode. It is where our brain settles to when it isn’t given something to do.

But what can kill all of this is worry, lack of rest, and feeling overwhelmed. That is why I recommend to everybody I coach that they schedule a regular time slot for “Me Time.”

It creates the space to set worry aside, get a little bit of mental and physical rest, and organize your life, and chip away at the overwhelm.

Another tool I recommend is to track your daily activity and energy levels to notice patterns and situations when you are at your best and your not-so-best, you can download one here.

When are you most creative?

And when are you a ball of fire, ready to tackle the world?

When you know these times, you can create a powerful framework to get more done with less effort.

Let me know how that works for you.

A Simple Tracking System That Helps You to Create Success

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Your FREE Daily Energy TrackerDownload
Track What’s Important

Over the many years of teaching and coaching people how to best manage their time and energy, I came to realize that many of us have a hard time tracking our day-to-day activities.

Sure, many of us use calendars and planners, setting goals on what we want to accomplish.

But often, at the end of the busy day, we wonder what actually got done and where did all the time go.

Years ago, to address this issue, David Seah, created an Emergent Task Planner, a simple printable page to track what you were doing throughout the day. You can find it here; Emergent Task Planner.

This was a great start but I felt something was missing.

Each of us have a limited amount of valuable resources and sometimes the ones we track are not the most important.

Money, time, and energy for many of us are in short supply, and more often than not, we focus on the money and time aspects. And the reason is that those are easier to measure.

But they’re not the most important, energy is.

If your energy is high, it doesn’t matter as much where you spend your time and money, because regardless, you’re happier.

I’m not saying money and time is not important and that have a shortage of each can certainly create a drop in energy, but if you focus on, monitor, and track when your energy is highest and make that the benchmark for your priorities, inevitably you will create more success and happiness.

So I created a very simple, no-frills, template, to track a few things;

  • The time of the day;
  • What activity are you engaged in;
  • Who, if anyone, are you with during this activity
  • How do you feel emotionally during this time slot;
  • And, how high is your energy on a scale of 1-10.
Click to Get your FREE Daily Energy TrackerDownload

When you use it, set up a alarm reminder that chimes every 15 minutes during the day to remind you to track what you are doing.

I know it can seem tedious but think of it as a Mindfulness Meditation practice, where a few times each hour, you give yourself a timeout to pause and observe what is going on and how you feel about it.

An alternative method for using the Daily Tracker is if you are already using the Pomodoro Technique for focus and productivity; at the end of his Pomodoro, when you’re taking your break, use the time to use the Tracker.

I also find that using the Tracker is a great way to take advantage of Cal Newport’s hack on the importance of measuring activity more than milestones.

Cal believes that if we wait until something is actually completed, it may be disheartening to not see the box ticked off the to-do list. But, instead, if you are marking off the boxes showing how much you are working toward your goal, that can actually feel empowering, showing your hard work.

This is especially important when pursuing goals that are completely new for you, there’s no way to know ahead of time how long it will take to complete. You’ve never have done it before. But if you can measure your deliberate effort toward it, you can take solace that you’re doing your best.

And that’s where energy comes into play.

The Simple Beauty of the Tracker

Tracking what you’re doing, when you’re doing it, who you’re doing it with, and how you’re feeling about it can reveal a lot of interesting patterns when used regularly;

  • You can discover your circadian rhythm, what times of the day are you in low energy and high energy.
  • You will notice which activities you enjoy more and less, you probably already know this but now you will also know how much of your day is involved in these activities – giving you insight on making healthier changes
  • You can begin tracking how you feel around certain individuals, how much time you spend around them and how you feel around them – again giving you insight on changes you may want to make
  • But most of all, you can begin noticing how you are feeling on a day-to-day basis, something most of us do not do or take into account
Click to Get Your FREE Daily Energy TrackerDownload

“What gets measured, get’s managed.” – Peter Drucker

I hope you use this tool.

I hope it helps you to get better insight on how you are living your life.

More importantly, I hope using this tool helps you to be more successful, happy, and mindful.