Introduction
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” –Omar Khayyam
Chapters will have some repetitive information in them. This is by design. Our philosophy is repetition helps to create a habit. Each chapter has terrific information that all ties together for one thing. You!
When you think about your life do you ponder, you simply are where you are? Does life have little meaning or joy? If you answered yes to those two simple questions, you bought the right book. Here is why.
No matter where you are in life, you can change the trajectory of your life with a few changes. Get out of your head that you “Can’t.” I am living proof you can!
The first half of my life was spent doing what I had to do, not what I wanted to do! When my life fell apart, that is when I said enough-is-enough. Age, money, time, none of this must stand in the way of life change.
From the time we are small, limiting beliefs are indoctrinated into your minds. You hear statements like, “I am too old to change; life is where it is.” “I don’t have the money.” Years of excuses that stifle our life. Choking the life right out of our dreams.
You can change. Nothing in the world is stopping you but you. Take a moment and ask yourself this question:
If money, time, and knowledge were NOT the problem. What would you do?
Everything in that question can be gained. You can find the money. You can find the time, and you can achieve the knowledge. Honest question, how willing are you to try?
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I will hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.” –Erma Bombeck
Everyone, including you, can move their life in a different direction. With simple paradigm shifts, you will learn in this book. Take notes and highlight essential knowledge you will gain in this book.
Here is the KEY to change. When you begin, just know you will stink at changing. It will seem complicated, clumsy, and cumbersome. TOTALLY NORMAL!
The only caveat to this:
- Have an open mind; you can change no matter how difficult you think change will be.
- Do not be discouraged from learning. Everything has a learning curve.
- Never listen to someone that tells you “you cannot.” Naysayers are a dime-a-dozen, dismiss them with a smile and keep it moving!
- Organize your life to WIN! (more inside the book)
- Learn the difference between “Activity vs. Productivity” and “Resources vs. Resourcefulness.” (more inside the book)
This book is a continuation of my book Digital Nomad. Learning to turn side hustles into a full-time job. Taking what you love to do and running with it. Time to do what you want to do, not what you have to do!
Excuse me, hello, excuse me. Yes, you! Can you look this way, please? You’re looking at yesterday; I need you focused forward; thank you!
Are you looking forward to TODAY? When you woke up, did your feet hit the floor with a smile on your face? Most likely not read on.
“Never let yesterday use up too much of today.”—Will Rogers
Today is all you have. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is just that tomorrow. So, what can you do to make today a good day? Plan for it. Have a program that has tasks that need doing today. Prepare the night before at least three things you know for sure you can accomplish in a day.
Have small successes every day. Complete tasks that will help bring about big success in whatever aspect of your life that needs help the most right now. Learn productivity vs. activity; read on, you’ll see what I mean.
What happens is we tend to get too scattered out with all the things we need to fix. Like, relationships, jobs, ourselves, bills, and the list gets bigger. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Apply that to your life, and you will achieve much more.
This process of change has eluded me. By appearance, just organizing aspects of our life for success seem simple. The real test is, are you doing it now? Will you stay consistent?
Here are some tasks to help you get started:
- Set daily reminders on your phone to alert you to functions for that day.
- Use apps like Google Tasks, Google Calendar; they’re free. I use them, and they help me a lot.
- Make time in the evening to plan out tasks (minimum 3) for the next day.
- DON’T PROCRASTINATE!
- Use a calendar to help your track deadlines. Also, a Project Management app is a great way to keep track of your progress.
Five quick things you can do today!
It’s your turn to win! Get started right now. Don’t think, DO!!!
This book is the first step. Keep going.
Where to Begin
You are coming to a point in life where the outcome thus far is a disaster. If this is you, welcome, I welcome you to the beginning of your new life. Just reading this won’t bring change. If you want this, it’s going to take some work.
Before we begin, the importance of this one thing, Patience! It cannot be understated.
“Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”—Joyce Meyer
Without the patience to allow change to occur, you will stifle progress. My mother always told me this “it took you fifty years to break your life; give yourself time to change.” She was right, as most moms are.
Where a failure occurs, most is the lack of patience to allow change to occur. We live in the “I want it right now society.” Get that out of your head right now. Where I stumbled hard — not allowing the universe to set a new course for my life. Think of yourself as a large ship that needs turning around. It takes a wide berth to achieve a safe turn.
Beginning the process will have its trials and tribulations. Your mind will fill with self-doubt, where patience becomes a struggle. Misery loves the company, and your noodle will remind you that “we love pain, we’re comfortable here” because you are comfortable in pain. You won’t let go quickly.
We all find ourselves in reflection to have a relationship with our pain. It takes years to develop, and it will take time to employ a paradigm shift.
Here is the skinny because I can sense those saying, “I don’t like pain.” We get so comfortable that our minds and body accept it as usual. Therefore, forbearance will see you through.
Don’t get discouraged when it seems that nothing is changing — allowing change to occur. Imposing your own will over a situation only makes an excellent job more complicated than it must be. You’ve heard I’m sure on God’s time, not my time.
Change cannot come without discomfort.
Don’t quit because of trouble. Evolution is not occurring as quickly as hoped. The pain of loss or other stressors is not dissipating. The mind is continually in a barrage of negative thoughts, self-doubt and feels as though nothing is getting better.
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”–Muhammad Ali
Keeping an eye towards a positive outcome. Being grateful in advance of anything manifesting good in life. Meditate on the result.
If you take a trip around the world at some point in time, weather delays, airport delays, canceled flights, lost luggage, lost hotel reservations, something will happen. The chances are high than more than once.
Would you stop at an ounce in a lifetime around the world trip over a delay? No, you deal with it and keep going!
What could you tell the younger you if you could? When you’ve drifted out into life like a space void only to look back into the abyss. You get a pit in your stomach that gives way to wow; this sucks. Not exactly the experience you envisioned as a younger you.
Hitting the last half of life looking in a rear-view mirror that looks like an apocalyptic mess. Challenging our thoughts with “what a waste.” It begins to stifle any outlook because age has overtaken youth. The idea “I’m not the same as I once was.”
If you’re boldly marching into a mid-life crisis, menopause, or qualify for an AARP® membership. This story is for you. More importantly, if life has not turned out as you planned or hoped, does this give you a feeling of doom?
Everything we’ve read self-help-wise in our lives has said to look forward never look back. Easier said than done but perfectly accurate.
Over three years ago, I faced the questions I am posing to you now and staring divorce in the face that at the time, I did not want. With that situation at hand, my mind forced me to look back over my life. What I saw was not the beautiful painting I had hoped it would be — instead, everything past has illuminated for me to see very clearly — damned ugly!
The real kicker is a good bit; you don’t want to change, but the ugly is ugly. This also brings up a nasty, more hideous question because of the situation currently adding to our loss or stress.
Not only is loss bringing pain, but so is life as we’ve lived it to date. As you often see in text messages, WTF!
Where do we go from here? How can you pick yourself up out of hell and gaze into the mirror and say, I love you?
The strength needed to face you is perhaps the solidity you’ve searched for all your life. The power that comes from faith the best is yet to come and believe it. Facing you in the mirror. What do you see?
The choices of what you see can be boundless when in the depths of pain. The pain can become so unbearable that terrible darkness can overtake your thoughts. Damn, what a dark place. Are you sufficiently depressed?
Here is where we learn what advice we would have given our younger self. From this fountain of youth comes wisdom to carry us into our Senior years with a new brighter outlook. The struggle to realize life was not over. It merely takes recalibration of our thoughts.
The most important thing is to not stress over your why. It will come to you, and the most crucial aspect of all of this is to allow life to roll off your shoulders. Do not harbor fear, doubt, and stress.
Author Robert Bruton “Life’s Why”
