Marc and Angel Hack Life

Here’s a selection of 60 tiny love stories recently submitted to our sister site, Makes Me Think, that not only made us think, but warmed our hearts and made us smile too.  We hope they do the same for you.

1. Today, my 75-year-old grandpa who has been blind from cataracts for almost 15 years said to me, “Your grandma is just the most beautiful thing, isn’t she?” I paused for a second and said, “Yes she is. I bet you miss seeing that beauty on a daily basis.” “Sweety,” my grandpa said, “I still see her beauty every day. In fact, I see it more now than I used to when we were young.” MMT
2. Today, I walked my daughter down the aisle. Ten years ago I pulled a 14 year old boy out of his mom’s fire-engulfed SUV after a serious accident. Doctors initially said he would never walk again. My daughter came with me several times to visit him at the hospital. Then she started going on her own. Today, seeing him defy the odds and smile widely, standing on his own two feet at the altar as he placed a ring on my daughter’s finger MMT.
3. Today, I walked up to the door of my office (I’m a florist) at 7AM to find a uniformed Army soldier standing out front waiting. He was on his way to the airport to go to Afghanistan for a year. He said, “I usually bring home a bouquet of flowers for my wife every Friday and I don’t want to let her down when I’m away.” He then placed an order for 52 Friday afternoon deliveries of flowers to his wife’s office and asked me to schedule one for each week until he returns. I gave him a 50% discount because it made my day to see something so sweet. MMT
4. Today, I told my 18 year old grandson that nobody asked me to prom when I was in high school, so I didn’t attend. He showed up at my house this evening dressed in a tuxedo and took me as his date to his prom. MMT
5. Today, when she woke up from an eleven month coma, she kissed me and Keep reading →

In various ways, these 30 books convey some of the philosophy of how Angel and I live our lives.  I honestly credit a fraction of who I am today to each title.  Thus, they have indirectly influenced much of what I write about on this site.  A medley of both fiction and nonfiction, these great reads challenged my internal status quo, opening my mind to new ideas and opportunities, and together they gave me a basic framework for living, loving, learning and working successfully.

If you haven’t read these books yet, I highly recommend doing so.  They will enrich your library and your life.

1. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert – Gilbert, a Harvard professor of psychology has studied happiness for decades, and he shares scientific findings that just might change the way you look at the world.  His primary goal is to persuade you into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where you imagined it would be.  This is my favorite book on happiness by a long shot.
2. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck – Pretty much the granddaddy of all self-improvement books, it’s easily one of the best nonfiction works I’ve ever read.  By melding love, science and spirituality into a primer for personal growth, Peck guides the reader through lessons on delaying gratification, accepting responsibility for decisions, dedicating oneself to truth and reality, and creating a balanced lifestyle.
3. Getting Things Done by David Allen – The ultimate ‘organize your life’ book.  Allen’s ideas and processes are for all those people who are overwhelmed with too many things to do, too little time to do them, and a general sense of unease that something important is being missed.  The primary goal of this book is to teach you how to effectively get your ‘to-do inbox’ to empty.
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey – Covey presents a principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems by delivering a step-by-step guide for living with integrity and honesty and adapting to the inevitable change life brings us everyday.  It’s a must-read.
5. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand – This novel is an explanation of what has Keep reading →

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress,
you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.

If you start implementing these seven habits today, you will see a positive change in your life within a week’s time, guaranteed.

1.  Choose happiness with words.

Happiness is simply a state of mind.  No, I’m not implying that we can instantly heal the pain of a severe or unexpected personal tragedy just by thinking about being happy.  Rather, I am referring to our levels of happiness on routine days when things in our lives are close to normal.  In these neutral times, when we are neither ecstatic nor extremely sad, the slightest change in attitude can swing our happiness balance drastically in either a positive or negative direction. One of the primary factors that affect our attitude is our choice of words.

Words have a lot of power and influence on both the speaker and the listener.  When we speak we sometimes unintentionally choose words that have a negative undertone.  This can make us seem unhappy (and negative) in the eyes of others.  Even worse, after we have spoken these words our unconscious mind starts believing in them.  “If this is what came out of my mouth, it must be the way I truly feel.”

However, this is not always true.  The first fleeting words that come to mind are Keep reading →

It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what
you do that is the secret of happiness.
- James M. Barrie

You should never be too busy to smile, because creating happiness in your life does not take a lot of time.  You just have to do a few things right.

1.  Smile at perfect strangers.

Don’t wait for people to smile.  Show them how.

Let your guard down.  Talk to someone you don’t know straight from your heart.  Compliment them.  Don’t anticipate awkwardness.  Just be you in that beautiful way only you know and give them the chance to smile and connect with you.

The more you smile at others, the more others will smile at you.  And life’s a lot more pleasant when everyone around you is smiling.  Read How To Win Friends and Influence People.

2.  Pretend today is going to be a great.

Do so, and it will be.  Research shows that although we think that we act because Keep reading →

“Live with intention.  Walk to the edge.  Listen hard.  Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.  Laugh.  Choose with no regret.  Appreciate your friends.  Continue to learn.  Do what you love.  Live as if this is all there is.”
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Many moons from now, just before you take your final breath, I hope, for your sake, that you are able to repeat the following ten headlines to yourself, honestly.

1.  I followed my heart and intuition.

As our friend Steve Jobs says:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.”

This is your life, and it’s a short one.  Don’t accept false choices.  Don’t let others put a cage around you.  Try what you want to try.  Go where you want to go.  Follow your own intuition.  Read Quitter.

2.  I said what I needed to say.

Everyone has this little watchdog inside their head.  It’s always there watching you.  It was born and raised by your family, friends, coworkers, bosses and society at large, and its sole purpose is to watch you and make sure you stay in line.  And once you become accustomed to the watchdog’s presence, you begin to Keep reading →

My father is one of the wisest men I know.  Over the past year he has been dispensing bits of wisdom to friends, business partners and family members via his Facebook wall and private Twitter stream.  Since much of what he posts is in line with the focus of our blog, I figured I’d share some of his advice with you today.  Here are my 30 favorite excerpts from his recent posts.

1. You can’t make choices for other people.  Don’t let other people make choices for you.
2. There are an unlimited number of ‘Dr. No’ folks that you will encounter in this life.  If you have a personal inspiration, idea or goal, don’t let a ‘Dr. No’ deter you!  Trust your gut, do the planning and then DO IT!
3. Opportunities are often disguised as work, so most people don’t recognize them.
4. The Chinese character for the word ‘crisis’ literally means ‘danger and opportunity.’
5. Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small pieces. -Henry Ford -  Same concept configured as a question:  How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bite at a time.  Read Getting Things Done.
6. Learn from the past, but don’t dwell in the past.  In other words, don’t abuse the precious ‘now’ by not being in it.
7. Worry is a misuse of the imagination.
8. Perfect is the enemy of good.
9. Education and knowledge are invaluable.  But do we need to know everything?  Is it possible in a specialized world to know everything?  For instance, do you need to have a comprehensive understanding of dentistry Keep reading →

Diligence is the mother of good luck.
-Benjamin Franklin 

I have great news!  Today could be your lucky day.  It’s not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice.  Lucky people are ordinary people who create their own good luck by practicing simple luck-producing habits.  Here’s what you need to do:

Constantly try new things.

There’s a saying that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  If you want to improve your luck, you have to try new things to see what works and what doesn’t.

Unlucky people tend to be creatures of habit.  They take the same route to and from work every single day, talk to the same types of people at social functions, and live out the same routine day in and day out.

In contrast, lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives.  For example, one lucky friend I know recently described how he thought of a color before arriving at a business convention and then introduced himself to people wearing that color.  This kind of behavior boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by Keep reading →

Every day is a new beginning.  But in life, sometimes you have to stop before you can truly begin.  So starting today…

Stop caring about everyone’s opinion of you.

For the most part, what other people think and say about you doesn’t matter.  When I was younger I let the opinions of my high school and early college peers influence my decisions.  And at times they steered me away from ideas and goals I strongly believed in.  I realize now, many years later, that this was a foolish way to live, especially when I consider that nearly all of these people whose opinions I cared so much about are no longer a part of my life.

Unless you’re trying to make a great first impression (job interview, first date, etc.), don’t let the opinions of others stand in your way.  What they think and say about you isn’t important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.  Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Stop caring about being politically correct.

I had a discussion with a friend yesterday about censorship and how speaking a certain way simply to please others contributes to the loss of one’s true inner voice.  During the discussion I watched him closely, and I could actually pinpoint the heated moment when he was about to give me a piece of his mind, but stopped himself.  It was so obvious!  So I called him out on it.  “You just censored yourself, didn’t you?”  He laughed and nodded.

Everyone has this little watchdog inside their head.  It’s always there watching you.  It was born and raised by your family, friends, coworkers, bosses and society at large, and its sole purpose is to watch you and make sure you stay in line.  And once you become accustomed to the watchdog’s presence, you begin to Keep reading →

Since today is my 30th birthday I thought it fitting to share 30 things I understand now that were complete mysteries to me just a few short years ago.  These are simple lessons about life in general that I picked up while traveling, living in different cities, working for different companies (and myself), and meeting remarkable and unusual people everywhere in between.

1. There comes a point in life when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything, but it’s not giving up.  It’s realizing you don’t need certain people and things and the drama they bring.
2. If a person wants to be a part of your life they will make an obvious effort to do so.  Don’t bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay.
3. If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.
4. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.
5. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You don’t fail by falling down.  You fail by never getting back up.  Sometimes you just have to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward.
6. When you get to know people with different ethnic backgrounds, from different cities and countries, who live at various socioeconomic levels, you begin to realize that everyone basically wants the same things.  They Keep reading →

How do we heighten our happiness?  There are many ways and one size does not fit all.  Below I discuss what has worked for me and those closest to me – how a small group of us went from downbeat and drained to a happy and hopeful in a few short years.

1. Look for happiness in the right places. – When we’re young we look for happiness in drugs, sex, alcohol, parties, fast cars, extreme sports, etc.  Then when we get a little older, we look for happiness in more ‘mature’ ways – a stable partner, romantic getaways, walks along the beach, jazz music, a night at the bar with some friends.  Do they work?  Do these things make us happy?  Sure they do.  They raise our happiness temporarily.  But people have a baseline of inner happiness.  Certain events and possessions, like an unexpected windfall, might raise or lower our happiness momentarily, but soon we return to our inner baseline.  The key is to gradually raise this baseline.  Enjoy the moment, but don’t completely ignore long-term goals.  What will you be proud to have accomplished, or disappointed that you didn’t do, five years from now?  Read The Happiness Project.
2. Acknowledge the lesson is every situation. – Everything is a life lesson.  Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc.  They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’  Never forget to acknowledge the lesson, especially when things don’t go your way.  If you don’t get a job that you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting.  And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it.
3. Be authentic.  Be true to yourself. – Judy Garland once said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of somebody else.”  Live by this statement.  There is no such thing as living in someone else’s shoes.  The only shoes you can occupy are your own.  If you Keep reading →