Letting Go Of The Clutter In Our Lives
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Victor Habbick
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I get a commission from recommending books on Amazon. I only recommend books that I have read or I believe that will benefit you, the reader.
This post is in response to Natalie Sisson’s question, “What work and life clutter are you going to remove in order to be a minimalist? #paraphrased.
It is part of Natalie’s “15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.”
We were “raised” up to believe that we needed things in our life in order to be happy.
If someone has a new iPhone 6, then you need to get one.
Or the fact that you need to have a house in order to believe that you have made it.
The problem is that once you accumulate a whole lot of stuff, then you have less choices.
In the case of owning a house, all that will do is put you in a bind because of mortgage, maintainance, and limited choices.
Plus, they will have to work even harder to make more money so that they can keep the house and hopefully pay off the mortgage.
James Altucher elaborated further with this quote in his LinkedIn article, “Why Entrepreneurs Should Not Buy Homes,”
“Corporations didn’t want their employees to have many job choices. So they encouraged them to own homes. So they can’t move away and get new jobs.”
The most interesting thing is that people had second thoughts on owning a home after the 2008 Recession and wondered if it is viable to own a home.
Some of those people are deciding to not stay in one place and travel the world.
People like Rolf Potts, who spent over 18 months traveling throughout Asia and the Middle East after making about $20,000 dollars from teaching English in South Korea for two years.
Mr. Potts was a globe trotter when the economy was booming in the United States.
Another person is Ms. Sisson, who runs her online business from anywhere in the world and lives out of her suitcase.
Or Rob and Nadine Pisani.
The Pisanis had what seemingly were “successful” careers as chiropractors and was living the American Dream.
However, they both realized that they needed a change of scenery, so they moved to Costa Rica in 2007 and are now living life to the fullest.
Nadine documented their journey to Costa Rica in her books, “Happier Than A Billionaire: The Escape Manual” and “Happier Than A Billionaire: The Sequel.”
Reading these stories on how people like Mr. Potts, Ms. Sisson and the Pisanis shows everyone including me that it is possible to enjoy life and be happy without having the big houses, college degree or the 9-5 job, though it is not bad to have the 9-5 job.
However, you must be very careful of not falling for the trap that the big houses, a college degree or the 9-5 is the only way to enjoy life.
So for me, I am already trying not to have too much stuff in my life.
However, the one stuff I will declutter is printed books.
The reason is because I can read these books on Kindle and I don’t have to worry about carry them whenever I move somewhere.
And I have already decluttered people who are always negative about the world and always feels sorry for themselves.
As for traveling, my goal is to spend a year on 6 different continents because I got a glimpse of living overseas after spending a month in Mexico and three months in Chile.
What is the one clutter/s are you going to get rid of in your life? You can leave your comments below.
Setting Some Time For Yourself
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of 2nix.
This post is in response to Natalie Sisson’s question, “What One Thing You Do Each Day To Get More You Time This Year?” #paraphrased.
It is part of Natalie’s “15 Day To Freedom Blog Challenge”
The blog challenge is very close to being over, so if you still want to join, you can visit here.
However, you will have a really tough task of catching up.
People have different hobbies that allows them to relax and recharge from their work.
Whether it is going for a walk, spending time with their friends or even going to the rodeo, these activities will keep them from burning out.
The one thing I will do to get some me time is sightseeing at airports twice a month.
The reason is because it allows me to relax and enjoy the view of airplanes landing and taking off.
I love traveling because it allows me to experience new cultures and see how people live differently from the way you live in your hometown.
Sightseeing at airports is one way for me to see the possibilities of travel.
What is the one thing you will do each day to get more you time? You can leave your comments below.
Outsourcing Your Life
By Cheval John
Photo Courtesy of Stuart Miles
This blog post is in response to Natalie Sisson’s question, “What’s The One Task That You Will Outsource?” #paraphrased.
It is part of her “15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.”
Though the blog challenge is close to being over, if you want to join in on the challenge, you can visit here.
You hear a lot about how large businesses are closing different departments and outsourcing it overseas.
In a lot of ways, it makes sense because they are saving money for their businesses.
Though I am a strong proponent of people having work, if a person is only specialized in a particular skill and it get outsourced, then they are in trouble.
The interesting thing is that small businesses, solopreneurs, etc. can outsource certain task that will allow them to focus on their strengths.
Thanks to the internet, people can work from their homes or from anywhere in the world as virtual assistants.
According to Wikepedia, they are an estimated 25,000 people who are virtual assistants.
Some are firms who manages a staff dedicated to virtual assistance.
One of the best virtual assistants out there includes Tina Forsyth, who is the author of two books.
I will be honest, I was planning on outsourcing some tasks that I was not good at last year, but the prices were out of my league.
The one task I will outsource is getting a virtual assistant who can put together my schedule because I think it will make it easier on me to focus on writing great content.
I also plan on signing up with Zirtual very soon because Jenny Blake recommended the company to me and I trust her word.
Also, Zirtual is very selective on who works for them, so you know that you will get quality service.
What is the one task you will outsource? You can leave your comments below.
Making Life Simplier With Social Media
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of digitalart
Today’s blog post is in response to Natalie Sisson’s question, “What Is The One Social Media Tool That You Will Make Your Life Easier.” #paraphrased.
This is part of Natalie’s 15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.
If you want to participate in the blog challenge, you can find out how here.
The one social media tool that I am using right now is Last Pass.
Last Pass keep all of your passwords in one place and remembers your passwords.
I found out about Last Pass through Natalie during her presentation on the blog challenge.
It is really amazing because you have so many different passwords and if you don’t remember them, then you are in trouble.
Last Pass is the one product that will allow me to not worry about focusing on remembering passwords.
As for the other social media tool that I will recommend is Buffer.
This social media platform is a great because it allows you to schedule your Tweets.
Also, the Tweets are very specific towards your audience.
Since Twitter is the social media platform where I spend most of my time, I want to share pertinent information that would benefit my friends.
Even though I don’t use Buffer on a consistent basis, but I will from today, I highly recommend Buffer because it will make your life easier.
What is the one social media tool that will make your life easier? You can leave your comments below.
Developing Successful Habits
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of krishna arts
Many believe that those who are rich or achieved ultra-success were lucky.
They might wonder why they are not achieving the same success like the rich.
One of the things that make the rich so successful is the fact that they are always learning new things that will help them maintain their success.
They use their time wisely in reading self-help books, listening to inspirational podcasts, surrounding themselves with other successful people who are smarter than them, etc.
Another example of how the rich achieve their success is setting goals.
According to the Business Insider article, “9 Things Rich People Do And Don’t Do Everyday,” 62% of the rich agreed that they focus on their goals everyday.
That is just one of the many habits that the rich do everyday.
However, the same ones who are saying that the rich are lucky do not develop the same habits that the rich does.
The same article from Business Insider says that only 6% of the poor believe that focusing on their goals is important.
In other words, the ones who are saying that the rich are lucky, are waiting for their breakthrough to happen instead of putting in the effort to make their dreams come true.
They have already put the wheels in motion of settling for the mediocre because they believe in their minds that nothing can go their way.
Also, they are feeding their minds with negative energy, a.k.a. the news which is mostly negative.
I am not saying not to watch the news because it is important to be informed.
However, watching too much of it will set you up for negative thinking.
They also surrounding themselves with people who only have negative things to say and wants to bring others along with their pity party.
If they could just for one second start saying positive affirmations, read a lot of self-help books, listen to inspirational podcasts, etc., then they will start to see some positive changes in their lives.
As for me, I have already surrounded myself around people who are more successful than me to learn from.
They understand that the only way to be really successful is to serve others, solve their customers/clients problems, and treat people right.
My goal everyday is to continously share other people’s content that will make everyone’s life better and to be fair to others.
The one thing that I want to make into a habit is to write a gratitude journal because I do not want to fall for the pity party trap if I experience failure in achieving my goals.
I want to keep in perspective that things happen for a reason and it was a lesson for me to become a better person everyday.
What is the one thing you will do that will help you to develop a successful habit? You can leave your comment below.
This post is part of Natalie Sisson’s “15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.” which I had the honor to respond to Natalie’s questions.
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