Marc and Angel Hack Life

This morning I was reading a book at my favorite beach-side coffee shop when an 18-year-old kid sat down next to me and said, “That’s a great read, ain’t it?”  So we started chatting.

He told me he was getting ready to graduate from high school in a couple of weeks and then immediately starting his college career in the fall.  “But I have no clue what I want to do with my life,” he said.  “Right now I’m just going with the flow.”

And then, with eager, honest eyes, he began asking me one question after the next:

• “What do you do for a living?”
• “When and how did you decide what you wanted to do?”
• “Why did you do this?  Why didn’t you do that?”
• “Is there anything you wish you had done differently?”
• Etc, etc, etc…

I answered his questions as best as I could, and tried to give decent advice with the time I had.  And after a half-hour conversation, he thanked me and we parted ways.

But on the walk home I realized the conversation I had with him was actually quite nostalgic for me.  He reminded me of me ten years ago.  So I started thinking about his questions again, and I began imagining all of the things I wish someone had told me when I was 18.

Then I took it a step further and thought about all the things I would love to tell myself if I could travel back in time to give my 18-year-old self some advice about life.

So after a few cups of coffee and a couple hours of deliberation, here are 18 things I wish someone told me when I was 18:

1. Commit yourself to making lots of mistakes. – Mistakes teach you important lessons.  The biggest mistake you can make is doing nothing because you’re too scared to make a mistake.  So don’t hesitate – don’t doubt yourself.  In life, it’s rarely about getting a chance; it’s about taking a chance.  You’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.  Most of the time you just have to go for it!  And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should be.  Either you succeed or you learn something.  Win-Win.  Remember, if you never act, you will never know for sure, and you will be left standing in the same spot forever.
2. Find hard work you love doing. – If I could offer my 18-year-old self some real career advice, I’d tell myself not to base my career choice on other people’s ideas, goals and recommendations.  I’d tell myself not to pick a major because it’s popular, or statistically creates graduates who make the most money.  I’d tell myself that the right career choice is based on one key point: Finding hard work you love doing.  As long as you remain true to yourself, and follow your own interests and values, you can find success through passion.  Perhaps more importantly, you won’t wake up several years later working in a career field you despise, wondering “How the heck am I going to do this for the next 30 years?”  So if you catch yourself working hard and loving every minute of it, don’t stop.  You’re on to something big.  Because hard work ain’t hard when you concentrate on your passions.
3. Invest time, energy and money in yourself every day. – When you invest in yourself, you can never lose, and over time you will change the trajectory of your life.  You are simply the product of what you know.  The more time, energy and money you spend acquiring pertinent knowledge, the more control you have over your life.
4. Explore new ideas and opportunities often. – Your natural human fears of failure and embarrassment will sometimes stop you from trying new things.  But you must rise above these fears, for your life’s story is simply the culmination many small, unique experiences.  And the more unique experiences you have, the more interesting your story gets.  So seek as many new life experiences as possible and be sure to share them with the people you care about.  Not doing so is not living.
5. When sharpening your career skills, focus more on less. – Think in terms of Karate: A black belt seems far more impressive than a brown belt.  But does a brown belt really seem any more impressive than a red belt?  Probably not to most people.  Remember that society elevates experts high onto a pedestal.  Hard work matters, but not if it’s scattered in diverse directions.  So narrow your focus on learning fewer career related skills and master them all.
6. People are not mind readers.  Tell them what you’re thinking. – People will never know how you feel unless you tell them.  Your boss?  Yeah, he doesn’t know you’re hoping for a promotion because you haven’t told him yet.  That cute girl you haven’t talked to because you’re too shy?  Yeah, you guessed it; she hasn’t given you the time of day simply because you haven’t given her the time of day either.   In life, you have to communicate with others.  And often, you have to open your vocal cords and speak the first words.  You have to tell people what you’re thinking.  It’s as simple as that.
7. Make swift decisions and take immediate action. – Either you’re going to take action and seize new opportunities, or someone else will first.  You can’t change anything or make any sort of progress by sitting back and thinking about it.  Remember, there’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it.  Knowledge is basically useless without action.
8. Accept and embrace change. – However good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  That’s the one thing you can count on.  So embrace change, and realize that change happens for a reason.  It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.
9. Don’t worry too much about what other people think about you. – For the most part, what other people think and say about you doesn’t matter.  When I was 18, 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, ten 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.
10. Always be honest with yourself and others. – Living a life of honesty creates peace of mind, and peace of mind is priceless.  Period.
11. Talk to lots of people in college and early on in your career. – Bosses.  Colleagues.  Professors.  Classmates.  Social club members.  Other students outside of your major or social circle. Teaching assistants.  Career advisors.  College deans.  Friends of friends.  Everyone!  Why?  Professional networking.  I have worked for three employers since I graduated from college (I left my first two employers by choice on good terms), but I only interviewed with the first employer.  The other two employers offered me a job before I even had a formal interview, based strictly on the recommendation of a hiring manager (someone I had networked with over the years).  When employers look to fill a position, the first thing they do is ask the people they know and trust if they know someone who would do well in the position.  If you start building your professional network early, you’ll be set.  Over time, you’ll continue talking to new people you meet through your current network and your network’s reach and the associated opportunities will continue to snowball for the duration of your career.
12. Sit alone in silence for at least ten minutes every day. – Use this time to think, plan, reflect, and dream.  Creative and productive thinking flourish in solitude and silence.  With quiet, you can hear your thoughts, you can reach deep within yourself, and you can focus on mapping out the next logical, productive step in your life.
13. Ask lots of questions. – The greatest ‘adventure’ is the ability to inquire, to ask questions.  Sometimes in the process of inquiry, the search is more significant than the answers.  Answers come from other people, from the universe of knowledge and history, and from the intuition and deep wisdom inside yourself.  These answers will never surface if you never ask the right questions.  Thus, the simple act of asking the right questions is the answer.
14. Exploit the resources you do have access to. – The average person is usually astonished when they see a physically handicap person show intense signs of emotional happiness.  How could someone in such a restricted physical state be so happy?  The answer rests in how they use the resources they do have.  Stevie Wonder couldn’t see, so he exploited his sense of hearing into a passion for music, and he now has 25 Grammy Awards to prove it.
15. Live below your means. – Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one.  Do not spend to impress others.  Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.  Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you.  Always live well below your means.
16. Be respectful of others and make them feel good. – In life and business, it’s not so much what you say that counts, it’ how you make people feel.  So respect your elders, minors, and everyone in between.  There are no boundaries or classes that define a group of people that deserve to be respected.  Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother.  Supporting, guiding, and making contributions to other people is one of life’s greatest rewards.  In order to get, you have to give.
17. Excel at what you do. – There’s no point in doing something if you aren’t going to do it right.  Excel at your work and excel at your hobbies.  Develop a reputation for yourself, a reputation for consistent excellence.
18. Be who you were born to be. – You must follow your heart, and be who you were born to be.  Some of us were born to be musicians – to communicate intricate thoughts and rousing feelings with the strings of a guitar.  Some of us were born to be poets – to touch people’s hearts with exquisite prose.  Some of us were born to be entrepreneurs – to create growth and opportunity where others saw rubbish.  And still, some of us were born to be or do whatever it is, specifically, that moves you.  Regardless of what you decide to do in your lifetime, you better feel it in every fiber of your being.  You better be born to do it!  Don’t waste your life fulfilling someone else’s dreams and desires.

But above all, laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change.  Life is short, yet amazing.  Enjoy the ride.

Photo by: Taylor McBride

How To Avoid The Personal Development Plateau was written by Ross Hudgens, author of Authentic Marketing.

What’s your specialty?  How long have you been doing it?

When you started learning this specialty, your growth cycle was dramatic.  Every article you read brought on new insights.  When you practiced, implementation ingrained the information quickly in your head.  Repetition allowed you to find new ways to improve the process, and eventually, somewhere along that cycle, you hit the 90% completion rate of absolute expertise.

Then, the path to 100% learning slowed.  You burrowed in and spent tireless hours, but most of the time you spent working brought little improvement.  Whether or not you were internally aware of this is irrelevant – it nonetheless happened.

Immediate, quick growth is a reaction for any new field, but similarly, a plateau of improvement is always reached.  At this point, you’ll have to put in hundreds of hours to squeak out the next improvement up the percentage scale, and even if you do, the time invested may not be worth the improvement gained.

This happens everywhere, but similarly, most people never act on it.  If you’re in a job working the same position for 3 years, there’s a good chance your learning has all but halted.  You have to get out.  Your growth depends on it.

Why You Should Come Up Short

How about those people who spend tireless hours in the gym?  You can improve your body, sure, but to what point?  If you’re not a bodybuilder, the return on 2 hours in the gym every day hits a ceiling.  When you’re around your “perfect body”, your time should be shifted down to maintain, because your body has little room left for improvement, and the time spent to reach that improvement isn’t worth the investment back in.

Technology has changed things.  Before, your career might have called for a single investment towards the 100% goal.  However, as more and more career fields become commoditized and there’s increased room for “linchpins”, those who can expend emotional labor, solve problems, and do what can’t be measured, every business needs a “90%er”.

In small companies, it’s intensely important to be able to wear multiple hats.  Instead of wasting countless hours researching your field after you’ve hit that 90%, pivot.  Your time invested will be much better spent, and your company and business will love you for it.

How do I know when I’ve reached 90%?

Now that you’ve put a name on it, you’ll be aware of it.  I especially respect Seth Godin for this – he puts names on the things that didn’t have them, and that allows us to face them and conquer.  This may be enough for the less OCD-enabled, but for those who want to realize the moment to enable a pivot, real tools exist.

• Track your productivity. – Rescue Time is a great program to track time measurement online.  You can associate productivity variables to various tasks, and from there, you have a real gauge on how you’re improving within each undertaking, at least from a speed point of view.
• Jump back. – Return to your past work. Look at the stuff you did six months ago.  How does it compare to now?  Four months?  Last month?  If the improvement hit a plateau at some point, you have strong evidence to support a development shift.
• Measure. – If you start measuring what you’re doing, you can start comparing.  If you can put a number on it, you have the gauge to quickly establish a plateau.  Buy a notebook.  Write everything down.  Be consistent.  Be careful in areas like weight lifting, though, as plateaus often occur in the natural growth cycle, and can quickly be burst through.

Climb at Least One Hill

There’s a need to be a 100%er in one area, at least initially.  It’s a marketing pull.  People buy specialties.  Jobs want experience.  Much of it, though, is just time commitment on the resume.  If you’re running a small web-based business for instance, do your job, get the experience that requires “doing”, but out of the office, stop worrying about the caveats of accounting vernacular or what 1% improvement you can make to your SEO technique.

Your time would be much better spent developing programming knowledge, web design or marketing ability to create traffic (and accounting leads) in multiple ways.  There’s real value, now, in being a jack of all trades.  In this internet world, where accessibility is easier than ever, it’s the best way to improve your value, both in the workplace and as a person.

Ross Hudgens is a marketer.  His primary responsibility involves driving traffic to some of the biggest websites on the Internet.  His secondary responsibility is writing about all of it on his blog Authentic Marketing.  For additional information like this, subscribe to his feed or follow him on Twitter here.

Creating a Life

The head chef at my favorite local diner was once a mobster.  The first time I ate there he showed me the scars on his chest, arms, and back. Most of them were from his final night as a member of the mafia – a night that ended in a horrific battle with another mob group.  He was stabbed multiple times and then beaten mercilessly with a steel pipe.  Both of his lungs were punctured and a knife was lodged less than a centimeter from his heart.

According to the paramedics, his heart stopped beating twice in the ambulance.  During those “outages,” he had out-of-body experiences.  He saw God, who told him that he wasn’t done living, that he had obligations to his family, and that it was time for him to turn his life around.

He stayed in the hospital for almost six months.  When he was released, he immediately proposed marriage to his girlfriend, with whom he’d already had two children.  Days later, he moved all the way to the opposite end of the city, attended his first day of culinary school, and began creating a life devoted to peace and spirituality, his wife, and his two baby girls.

A Free Man

He’d been cooking at the diner for ten years when I met him two years ago.  And although he’d chosen the culinary vocation simply because cooking was the only thing he thought he could do well, he quickly found out that it was also a great way to make a difference in people’s lives.  “I serve healthy, nutritious food everyday at reasonable prices,” he’d tell me.  “And this is the cleanest kitchen in town.  I take care of this place and my customers like I take care of my family.”

Although the diner isn’t in the ghetto, it still isn’t in a best area of town.  Many of the kids who hang around there romanticize the mafia and gang cultures… until they meet him.  “It ain’t nothing to be proud of,” he’d tell the kids.  “Nothing!  So stay in school and out of trouble!”

Yesterday I went to the diner for lunch, like usual, but he wasn’t behind the counter.  I asked his assistant chef where he was, but he just looked towards the floor with a despondent expression on his face.  When I asked again, the diner’s only busboy came out from the back and said, “He was arrested for something he did fifteen years ago.  It’s really unfair and messed up.  We don’t think he’ll ever be a free man again.”

The Whole Story

Prosecutors love cases like the one he’s up against.  DNA evidence, a weapon, and multiple witnesses willing to corroborate their story (other ex-mod members already in jail, whom the country judge offered reduced sentences to if they agreed to cooperate).

But what if the facts surrounding the crime for which he was implicated weren’t the only facts that mattered?  What if those facts told a story, but not the whole story – not most relevant or truthful story about the human being in question?

The truth is, his father was in the mafia.  So were his three uncles, two older brothers, and most of the grown men he grew-up around.  As a young boy, as far as he knew, there was no alternative lifestyle.  “I was born into a war.  I started dodging bullets the day I learned to walk,” he once said on a quiet Tuesday afternoon.  “And that’s not some glamorized CNN bulls**t!  That lifestyle, my life, was always a part of a f**king war!”

Yet despite growing up in a war zone (which, by the way, happens to be a thirty-minute drive from one of the most affluent zip codes in the United States), and knowing no alternative, he managed to get his act together, become a productive member of society, and most importantly, become a positive influence to all the young people around him.

Guilty

Today I went back to the diner for some lunch and learned that he was facing a life sentence without the possibility of parole.  “They put an innocent man behind bars,” his assistant chef said.  But it sort of seemed like an absurd statement.

“We all know he’s guilty,” the busboy retorted. Some of the other regular customers in the diner nodded their heads in agreement.

“Screw that!  Society is f**king guilty!” his assistant chef exclaimed, hands shaking, jaw quivering. “Cause he’s still the most innocent, compassionate man I know!”

He waited for a response.  But there was none.

Only the sound of people thinking.

Photo by: Tom Conger

30 Ways To Live A Life Of Excellence was written by Celestine.

I’ve always been passionate about living a life of excellence.  Setting goals, overcoming challenges, getting results, celebrating the victories - these make living so rich and worthwhile.

When I was in college I was on the Dean’s List - an honorary roll awarded only to top students - in every academic year I was there.  When I graduated I was selected from over 1,000 applicants to enter a Fortune 100 company - one of the top 100 companies in the world recognized by Fortune.  Then when I quit to pursue my passion a year and a half ago, I started The Personal Excellence Blog to share my best advice to achieve excellence in life.

In the last year and a half I also founded my training school where I coach and train others to achieve excellence.  Life has never been more rewarding.  That being said, I have determined that excellence itself is a way of life, not a destination.  While I’ve made some accomplishments, I’m nowhere near where I envision myself to be in the future.  There’s always room for personal growth.  Our potential is limitless, and it’s up to us to tap into it.

Here are my top 30 ways to live a life of excellence:

1. Discover your purpose. – Our physical life started when we were born.  Our real life starts when we discover our purpose.  What is your purpose?  What is your mission statement for your life?  Mine is, “To touch others’ lives, help them achieve their highest potential and live their best lives.”  This one statement gives me clarity and focus on what to do, from my daily plans to my long-term goals.
2. Follow your passion. – To do what you love is truly the only way to live.  Don’t just pursue as a hobby; turn it into your career.  I didn’t use to be a personal development blogger or a coach.  I was a marketing major and I was working in brand management as a career.  However, it wasn’t my passion.  So a year and a half ago, I quit my regular job to pursue my real passion.  Despite having no experience in the personal development industry, I slowly carved my niche in this area and established myself and my expertise.  Today I’m pursuing my passion as a career, and loving it.
3. Set your goals. – If you can have whatever you want, what would you like?  What are your biggest goals and dreams?  Set them.  The life I’m living today is a result of goals I set in the past.  If you don’t set any goals, it’s safe to say that you’ll be running in place for the foreseeable future.  Is that what you want?
4. Create a life handbook. – A life handbook is a concept I created where you have a book to write your life purpose, goals, dreams, plans, values, mottos, and other things that are important to you as you pursue your best life.  I started my life handbook in 2007 and it has been my #1 tool to living my life to the fullest.  Learn more about my life handbook and how to create yours.
5. Have the right mindset. – The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.  If you think life sucks, life will indeed suck.  On the other hand, if you are set to live your best life, the paths will open up in front of you.  Maybe it’s all the ‘good triumphing over evil’ RPGs I’ve played since young, but I firmly believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way.  No one can stop you if you have the right mindset.
6. Create your bucket list. – A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die.  All of us are going to die one day.  What are all the things you want to do/see/say/experience before you die?  It can be seeing the world, living your dreams, going skydiving, falling in love, among countless others.  I created my bucket list last year with over 100 things, and every day I accomplish what’s on it and add new things I want to do.  Here’s a list of 101 Things To Do Before You Die for ideas on what to put in your bucket list.
7. Get mentors. – You have dreams and big visions, and there are people who have likely been there and done that.  Get them to mentor you.  It’ll definitely cut down the learning curve and ease your journey.  With a mentor, you can unlock your potential and achieve so much more.
8. Stop worrying so much. – The majority of our fears exist only in our head.  Get rid of them and spend the energy on something productive.
9. Get closer with your parents. – Many of us only have functional relationships with our family.  Some of us might even have estranged family relationships.  I know I used to have that, then I realized it was foolish.  Our parents went through a lot of hardship by bringing us up, and no one’s ever going to share a connection to us the way they do.  Today I’m much closer to my parents than I was in the past, and I’m grateful for that.
10. Let go of negative friendships. – If you have friends who discourage you and pull you down, it’s time to get rid of them.  Getting rid might be too harsh for some, so distancing is a good alternative.  I had several negative friends in the past, then I just reduced contact.  Instead of wasting time and energy resisting them, I was then able to focus my energy on people and things that make me happy.
11. Surround yourself with positive people. – Do you know you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with?  Your attitudes, beliefs, accomplishments and success are a function of the people you spend time around.  Think about the people who inspire you and spend more time with them.  You’ll be amazed at the effects they’ll have on you.
12. Release your limits. – They say the sky is the limit.  I disagree.  We are our own limits.  It’s then about releasing our limits so we can live our best lives.  What are you limiting yourself from doing?  Stop holding yourself back.  Go out and get what you want.
13. Believe in yourself. – The majority of the times I’ve been able to achieve something is because I started out believing I could do it, rather than acquiring that belief after I achieved it.  If I didn’t think I could do it, I probably would never have succeeded.  My past experiences have taught me that all you need to have in order to succeed is to have a sense of self-belief - a sense that you can control your own future.  That’s all.
14. Wake up early. – I used to wake up late every day, like 9-10am.  I never thought much about waking up early until a couple of years ago.  After I switched to waking early at 5am, my days have been incredible.  I feel more productive, I get more done, I’m more eager to work to keep the momentum going.  It’s something you have to try yourself to know the difference.
15. Eat a healthy diet. – A healthy diet just-starts a life of excellence.  What’s in your daily diet?  Junk?  Fast food?  Fried food?  Or healthy, nutritious food?  Fruits?  Vegetables?  I’ve been a vegan since 2008 and have been loving it.  While I tried it out as just a 30-day trial, I immediately saw the benefits of being a vegan and stayed the course ever since.  Also read: 9 Timeless Nutrition Tips for Any Age
16. Exercise regularly. – Aside from a regular gym routine, try other sports to spice it up your workouts.  Frisbee, badminton and swimming are some of my favorite sports.  These make exercising a lot more fun.
17. Plan your days. – Do you plan your days?  Did you wake up today knowing what you are supposed to do today?  If not, maybe it’s time you do.  Planning doesn’t have to be long and tedious, it can just be a 30 second process.  Every night, think about a few small things that you want to accomplish tomorrow and write them down.  When you wake up the next morning, review this list before you do anything else.
18. Nurture those whom you love. – The magical feeling of love.  The fluttering of your heart.  The internal smile you get when you think of those who you care for most.  It’s impossible to live a life of excellence without sharing quality time with those whom you love.
19. Try something new. – Routines stagnate us.  New experiences help us grow and they make life interesting.  Make an effort to try something new every week.  I get very invigorated whenever I’m doing something new.  It can be a whole new activity or just a small experience, such as talking to a stranger.
20. Stop watching TV. – Why stop watching TV?  The bulk of content on TV is consciousness lowering.  TV has been proven by research to be linked with lower life satisfaction.  TV ads motivate you spend more money frivolously.  TV wastes lots and lots of time.  I could go on forever.  I quit regular TV watching almost 5 years ago and never looked back.  I recently wrote an article on my blog called 10 Reasons To Stop Watching TV and found out a good number of my readers dropped TV in their lives as well.  Try it out for 21-days and see how you feel.  Be sure to read: Top 10 Reasons You Should Stop Watching TV  and 40 Positive Effects of a TV Free Week.
21. Stop obsessing over the news. – A lot of news today resonates with fear, guilt, shame and hate.  Depending on your news source, many are largely sensationalized and biased as well.  You don’t need to watch the news every day for an hour to know that there are car accidents, murders and wars out there.  Focus your energy on how you can address those problems instead.
22. Don’t be trapped by dogma. – Don’t feel compelled to follow others all the time.  Pave your own path.  Follow your heart.  Don’t fall into the trap of operating on everyone’s whim.  Listening is okay, but doing what everyone wants is simply unhealthy.  Execute the good feedback and follow your vision.
23. Be compassionate. – Show love and kindness to all the people around you.  Respect everyone.  They may not react in a kind way immediately, but they will notice and appreciate your kindness. To love is to be human.
24. Smile more. – It takes more muscles to frown than to smile.  So let’s smile more often. 
25. Criticize less, appreciate more. – Do you like overly critical people?  I’m sure you don’t.  They are a dread to be around.  So let’s be less critical.  Don’t stare so hard at what’s missing.  Learn to see and appreciate what’s there instead.
26. Keep a journal to self-reflect. – I had a paper journal for several years, but after I started The Personal Excellence Blog I use the blog as my journal.  By having a place to freely let out our thoughts and ponder over them, we get a lot more clarity about ourselves.  If you are not sure where to start with, try 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind, 20 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Sunday and check out the new site Thought Questions.
27. Forgive those who hurt you. – To forgive is to let go of a prisoner and to realize that the prisoner all along was you.  Don’t hold on to past hatred.  Let it go.  You’ll find new, wonderful things entering your life once you do.
28. Enrich your mind great books. – Books contain concentrated volumes of wisdom.  It’s not surprising then that most knowledgeable people are also very well-read.  Check out 40 Modern Nonfiction Books Everyone Should Read and 30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Their 30th Birthday.
29. Coach someone. – There’s no better way to learn than to teach others.  Is there someone who can benefit from your help?  Offer to coach them for free.  It’ll be an enlightening experience for both of you.
30. Meet new people. – Most humans have a habit of stagnating in a small circle of friends.  But it doesn’t help us grow.  Get out there and meet new people.  You’ll be surprised at the lessons they will teach you and the new opportunities they will inject into your life.

In case you can’t get enough, here are some related posts:

• How To Be The Best You Can Be (My guest post last year)
• How To Live Life
• 77 Keys to Living Well Before You Die

Act now.  We only live once.  Let’s live our lives in excellence.

Celestine Chua writes at The Personal Excellence Blog, where she shares her best advice on how to achieve personal excellence and live your best life.  Get her RSS feed directly and add her on Twitter @celestinechua.  If you like this article, you will likely enjoy one of her top articles: 101 Things To Do Before You Die.

Photo by: Glacier Tim

The web is a powerful resource that can easily help you learn new skills.  You just have to know where to look.  Sure, you can use Google, Yahoo, or Bing to search for sites where you can learn new skills, but I figured I’d save you some time.

Here are the top 40 sites I have personally used over the last few years when I want to learn something new.

1. Hack a Day - Hack a Day serves up fresh hacks (short tutorials) every day from around the web and one in-depth ‘How-To hack’ guide each week.
2. eHow - eHow is an online community dedicated to providing visitors the ability to research, share, and discuss solutions and tips for completing day-to-day tasks and projects.
3. Wired How-To Wiki - Collaborate with Wired editors and help them build their extensive library of projects, hacks, tricks and tips.  Browse through hundreds how-to articles and then add to them, or start a new one.
4. MAKE Magazine - Brings the do-it-yourself (DIY) mindset to all of the technology in your life.  MAKE is loaded with cool DIY projects that help you make the most of the technology you already own.
5. 50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do - While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.  It’s a great starting point to learn new skills.
6. wikiHow - A user based collaboration to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual.
7. Lifehacker - An award-winning daily blog that features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently.
8. 100+ Google Tricks That Will Save You Time - Today, knowing how to use Google effectively is a vital skill.  This list links out to enough Google related resources to make you an elite Google hacker.
9. Instructables - Similar to MAKE, Instructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others as the tackle new projects and learn new skills.
10. Merriam-Webster Online - In this digital age, your ability to communicate with written English is paramount skill.  And M-W.com is the perfect resource to improve your English now.
11. Lumosity - Learn to improve your memory by playing a series of fun and educational brain training games.
12. 100 Skills Every Man Should Know - Another compilation article with instructions to help you learn new skills.  This one says it’s geared for men, but I think most of these skills are applicable to women as well.
13. 5min Life Videopedia - Lot’s of great tutorials and DIY videos.
14. HowStuffWorks - Knowledge is power.  While this site isn’t exactly geared to help you learn new skills, it contains so much useful information that you’re bound to learn a skill or two while you browse.
15. StumbleUpon - A collective set of recommendations from thousands of hours of searching by web users who share your interests.  It’s basically a recommendation engine.  Users add to this engine by providing their personal recommendations on what sites are worth your time.  If you select topics and tags of interest like ‘Self-Improvement‘ and ‘DIY,’ you’ll be learning new skills in no time.
16. Work.com - An extensive directory of how-to guides for beginning entrepreneurs.
17. Howcast - Hosts professional how-to videos as well as how-to wiki tutorials.  Howcast combines user ideas with the expertise of professional studio video to deliver what is nothing short of amazing, informative content.
18. VideoJug - The video content on this site covers a variety of topics including informative ‘How To’ and ‘Ask The Expert’ films that guide you step-by-step through everything and anything in life.
19. MakeUseOf - A booming daily blog that features cool websites, computer tips, and downloads that make you more productive.  Lot’s of insightful tips and tricks to learn.
20. WonderHowTo - This site is focused on one clear organizing principle: aggregating and linking to truly great, free how-to videos from which you can learn new skills.
21. SuTree - Another useful aggregator of how-to videos from all around the web.
22. Zen Habits - The ultimate productivity and self-improvement blog.  Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives.  It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, and find happiness.  Lot’s of learning material here.
23. Academic Earth - Online degrees and video courses from leading universities.
24. About.com Videos - Another solid collection of how-to video tutorials.
25. PCWorld How-To - Lot’s of useful tutorials and guides related to fixing and modifying computers and other electronic gadgets.
26. Spreeder - This site is focused on teaching you one new skill:  speed reading.  And it does a great job of doing so.
27. Woopid - Watch free technology training videos.  Get help and answer your computer and gadget questions with thousands of video tutorials for PCs, Macs, and various software applications.
28. DIY Network - A go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement projects.  The site offers expert answers the most sought-after questions regarding creative projects for DIY enthusiasts.
29. Scitable - A free science library and personal learning tool that currently concentrates on genetics, the study of evolution, variation, and the rich complexity of living organisms.  The site also expects to expand into other topics of learning and education.
30. All Recipes - A complete guide to recipes and cooking tips.  If you’d like to learn to be a better cook, this site is for you.
31. 43 Folders - This site is more about inspiring you to follow-through with your goals than it is about learning new skills.  But I think following-through with your goals is a skill.  Most people never quite get there.
32. Dumb Little Man - Another awesome productivity and self-improvement blog hosting lots of useful information.
33. iTunes U - Hundreds of universities — including Stanford, Yale and MIT — distribute lectures, slide shows, PDFs, films, exhibit tours and audio books through iTunes U.  The Science section alone contains content on topics including agriculture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, ecology and geography.
34. American Sign Language Browser - Teach yourself sign language online.
35. BBC Languages - Teach yourself a new spoken language online.
36. Delicious Popular DIY - Lots of popular DIY articles bookmarked by users from all over the web.
37. Khan Academy - Over 1200 videos lessons covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology and finance.  Lot’s of educational material to help you learn new skills.
38. The Happiness Project - Learn the skills necessary to create happiness in your life.
39. How To Do Things - Another solid collection of how-to tutorials.
40. ShowMeDo - A peer-produced video-tutorials and screencasts site for free and open-source software.  The large majority are free to watch and download.

Also, check out these books for more ideas on pertinent life skills:

• 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn’t
• The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge
• The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do

Photo by: vramak

The Real Thing

Last night I saw Donny at a house party near the beach.  He was wearing an Armani sports jacket and loafers while the rest of us wore shorts and sandals.  I thought his choice of apparel was interesting, because back when we lived together he didn’t even own a sports jacket or loafers.

He also brought two bottles of Cristal (really expensive champagne) to the party.  It was the first time I’d ever seen Cristal – outside of hip-hop music videos.  Actually, the closest I’d come to seeing it was on my first date with Angel several years ago.  After a nice dinner, I ran to the liquor store, bought a bottle of Cristalino (a cheap sparkling wine), cut the ‘ino’ off the label, and tried to make her laugh.

“Inventive,” she said, “Just not too smooth.”

But this was the real thing.  And several party goers circled around Donny hoping to grab a glass before it was gone. “Just like old times, man,” Sam said to me. “Donny is still the life of the party!”

Still So Crazy

After the two bottles were gone, and people were again drinking Keystone Light (a cheap beer), I stood on the patio with Donny, Sam, and Chad – my old college buddies.

“Do you remember that time when Donny got drunk and broke every lamp in our dorm?” Sam asked.  “We spent three whole nights studying and eating by candlelight until he bought us those ugly Victorian lamps he found at a garage sale.”

Sam, Chad and I laughed at the recollection.  Back then, it was normal for Donny to spontaneously smash little things (like beer cans and plastic cups) when he was drunk.  But that night he went on a rampage.  And we owned a set of gaudy Victorian lamps for the next two years to prove it.

Donny shook his head disapprovingly.  “Come on guys, not in front of my girlfriend,” he said, directing us with his eyes to the girl on his arm.  “I’ve moved on.  Respect me for that.”

I looked at the girl gripping Donny’s arm.  Though she’d been with him all night, I hadn’t really noticed her, and she hadn’t said a word.  I looked at Donny and smiled, but I didn’t know what to say.  Sam and Chad were smiling too, but they didn’t know what to say either.  Luckily, Donny broke the awkward silence.  “Why don’t I get another bottle of Cristal out of the car,” he said. “Ya know… for old times sake.”

“Yeah man, yeah!” Sam said. “You’re still so crazy!”

Nostalgia and Negation

When I got home last night I stayed up and thought about what happens to us as time passes.  We change.  And as we change, we grow and move toward new people and experiences, and we make decisions and judgments about the people and experiences that we move away from.

We typically either choose to engage and move closer (nostalgia), or we choose to disengage and move farther away (negation).  Nostalgia isn’t good because we’re holding onto what’s no longer there.  But negation isn’t good either because we’re pretending that what was once there never existed.

When we’re too close to something (nostalgia), we can’t see clearly.  Sometimes we even see things that aren’t there at all.  For example, Sam wanted to know Donny as he remembered him – a crazy party animal.  But the bottles of Cristal didn’t make Donny crazy, they made him high-priced.  Donny had long since stopped being the party animal we all knew in college.

When we’re too far away from something (negation), we can’t see it at all.  And we begin to lose a part of ourselves that can be a source of great happiness, understanding and direction.  For example, Donny had lots of good friends and experiences from his college years, and his girlfriend would have loved to share in them with him.  I know this because she told me before I left the party last night.

Clarity

Clarity comes, I think, in being able to recognize the perils of both nostalgia and negation.  It’s simply about appreciating the past without trying to relive it, learning from the past without running away from it, and seeing people and experiences as they are in this moment – sometimes happy, sometimes sad, never perfect, always a one of a kind.

Photo by: Gonzalo Ar

‘How To Achieve Your Goals’ was written by Vincent, author of Health Money Success.

So you have some goals, but you just can’t seem to achieve them.  You’re frustrated, right?  Well, why is it so hard?  Do only a few lucky people get to achieve their goals?  No…

It’s all about creating a logical plan and executing it.

There are three big reasons why people fail to achieve their goals:

1. They never set achievable goals to begin with.
2. They have no plan.
3. They never take any sort of logical action.

Do you think Steve Jobs and Bill gates were just lucky, or did they have a plan?  You better believe they had a plan – a long, long-term vision.  And then they worked hard and took a series of logical, actionable steps to achieve them.  They didn’t just ‘think it.’  They ‘did it.’

You don’t try to build a wall. You don’t set out and say, “I’m going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that has ever been built.” You say, “I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid.”
You do this every single day, and soon you have a wall.
-Will Smith

How To Achieve Your Goals

Over the years I have achieved many of my personal goals.  And in all cases this is the methodology I used.  It’s tried and true, and I assure you, it can help you achieve your goals as well.  There are four basic steps:

• Set achievable goals.
• Strategize and plan.
• Take action.
• Review your progress regularly.

Let’s go through them one at a time.

Set Achievable Goals

When you are climbing the ladder, ensure that
you are leaning against the right wall.

You can climb the ladder as fast as you want, but it’s going to be a giant waste of your time if you get to the top and realize you’re leaning against the wrong wall.  You will need to get this step right to ensure that you are not wasting your efforts on goals that you do not truly want to achieve.  We as humans have a tendency to try to bite off more than we can chew, and this usually causes us to feel frustrated and annoyed.

Because we only have a finite amount of time, it’s foolish to attempt to conquer the world in a day.  Yeah, you could set goals to be the best guitar player, basketball player, football player, lose weight, be financially savvy, earn $10,000 and join the public speaking club all at the same time.  But does that sound logical or achievable?  Not to me it doesn’t.  How can you excel at anything when you are juggling everything?

So the first key is to figure out a few (1 to 3) things that you truly want.  And make sure you truly understand why you want these things.  Otherwise you’ll just lose interest.

Strategize and Plan

Here are the basic strategies you will need to employ to keep your motivation burning and your progress on track:

A)  Paste up your goals where you can see them every day. – Without reminders, you will likely forget about your goals and become easily distracted by other stimuli.  So print them out 10, 20 or 30 times and paste them up in the most prominent, visible areas around your house, office, etc.

B)  Create a visualization board. – For most of us, our mind sees the world in images and we remember images more clearly compared to text and numbers.  A visualization board is basically a large bulletin board filled with clear images of what you want to achieve.  This added visual stimulation can help invoke powerful emotions that will constantly drive your motivation.

If you want to lose weight and get back down a few pants sizes, put an old photo of yourself up on the board.  If you want your blog to start making a thousand dollars a month, find a few success stories online of people that have achieved that goal and stick it up on the board.  You get the idea.  Position the board right next to your work area so you can see it while you work toward your goals.

C)  Form a small mastermind group. – A mastermind group is your support group.  And believe me, this group is a vital entity to your success.  The group can consist of any amount of people (at least 2), but the important thing is that everyone in the group must share similar goals.  It doesn’t help much when you are trying to lose 30 lbs and other members in the group have goals of setting up their own company.

A mastermind group helps to hold all its members accountable.  This will help you maintain consistency in taking action even when laziness gets the best of you.  Be sure to meet with your mastermind group at least once a week.

D)  Create a daily action plan with actionable tasks. – Bullet points A, B and C help you to sustain the desire and motivation to achieve your goals.  This will ensure that you will not give up halfway though and fall backwards on your rear end.  But you also need a real, actionable plan that you can follow every day until you actually do achieve your goals.

Every morning, brainstorm for tasks that will help to bring you closer to your goals and write them down.  Try to create three small actionable tasks each morning and complete them before you go to sleep.  Make them a priority and fit them into your schedule.  Whether you complete them or not makes a big difference in whether or not you will succeed.

If you find it hard to generate the small daily tasks or an actionable plan that will bring you closer to your goals, seek out a mentor, search online, or purchase a book on goal setting.

Here are three books I highly recommend:

• Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
• Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Breaking down your goals will help you avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed.  When you are creating your action plan, keep the short-term tasks in mind instead of obsessing over the long-term end result.  Obsessing over long-term results just creates stress.  It is far easier to think on a short-term task-related basis. And as long as you complete your tasks, the results will take care of themselves.  For instance, if you want to write a book, don’t obsess about completing the book (long-term results oriented), just focus on writing a page or two a day (short-term task-related) and soon you will have your book completed.

E)  Set a deadline. – You will also need to set a deadline for your goal.  A long-term goal without a deadline will not instill any sense of urgency in you.  And defining a deadline also gives you something to look forward to.

Take Action

This step doesn’t need a long explanation.  Just take your daily action plan that we created above and DO IT!  More than anything, successfully achieving any goal hinges on the simple act of making a decision to absorb yourself fully in the process of getting things done – actually taking action.

Review Your Progress Regularly

An airplane goes slightly off its set course 70 to 80 percent of the time during an average flight, but the pilots always manage to land it in the exact location they intended.  How?  It’s quite simple.  Every time they go off course, they make a slight adjustment to correct it.

Reviewing your goals regularly will help you to check your progress to determine if any adjustments are required. In addition, monitoring your progress will also likely motivate you to try even harder.  Whenever we see positive results, we have the tendency to take more action so we can see more positive results.

Parting Words

This article was inspired by one of the comments I recently received over on my blog.  It seems that people are often frustrated that they can’t stick to their goals and achieve the results they want in life.  I hope this article helps.  I would love to hear some feedback from you in the comments section below.  I’ll be sure to follow-up.  Cheers.

Author’s Bio: Vincent writes about personal development over at Health Money Success.  His aim is to help people awaken the sleeping genius within them so they can achieve their desired success in life.  He has also created a free ebook called Unleash Your Maximum Potential.

Photo by: James Jordan

I’ve been racking up quite a few frequent flyer miles on business travel lately.  So today I figured I’d share some of the essential tools and gadgets from my road warrior toolbox.  These are the tools and gadgets I’ve come to absolutely rely on – the ones that make me more productive when I’m sky-riding at 35,000 feet, waiting in an airport lounge, or driving a rental car somewhere between here and there.  And since I’m a bit of a geek, the list certainly has a geeky twist to it.

1. Travelpro Crew 7 Expandable Rollaboard Suitcase – Hey, if it was good enough for George Clooney in the movie ‘Up in the Air,’ it’s good enough for me.  But in all seriousness, I have gone through my fair share of luggage and this is the perfect suitcase for the hardcore road warrior.  It’s big enough to cram a week’s worth of clothing into and small enough to use as a carry-on.
2. Cradlepoint CTR-350 Cellular Travel Router – The CTR-350 is a great mobile Broadband/Wi-Fi router.  It’s designed to use a mobile broadband data device (I’m using Sprint’s 595U) and provide access to it via Wi-Fi.  It works right out of the box in the default configuration, though you probably want to enable wireless security after testing it out, or else everyone will have access to it.
3. Sprint Aircard 595U – Okay, so I figured I couldn’t make my CTR-350 recommendation in bullet #2 without also mentioning the awesome mobile broadband device I use with it.  I been through a few different mobile broadband devices over the last few years and this is by far my favorite.  It’s fast, reliable, and easy to configure.  It gives me endless hours of fast broadband access on the go, which is precisely what I require.  Note: My company also let me try the Sierra Wireless Overdrive Hotspot. And while cool in concept, it just doesn’t work as reliably as the CTR-350 and 595U do in combination.
4. Apple iPad or Amazon Kindle – I know, I know… Why own both, right?  Well, I owned a Kindle for reading books and then I went out and bought an iPad for everything else.  The Kindle is still better for reading books, but the iPad is much more versatile.  I rarely take both with me on the road at the same time, but I always have one or the other.  It just depends on whether I think I’ll be doing more book reading or more online reading, tweeting, etc.
5. MacBook Pro 13.3 Inch Laptop – It’s small, super quick, reliable, versatile… pretty much the best darn laptop I have ever owned.  And it looks sexy too.  If you don’t own a MacBook yet, you should consider giving this one a try.
6. Kensington iPhone Battery Pack and Charger (and my iPhone) – The iPhone is a no-brainer.  But what’s the best accessory I’ve ever purchased for my iPhone?  Well, that would be the Kensington iPhone Battery Pack and Charger.  It’s compatible with the iPhone 3GS/3G/2G, some iPods, and any mobile device with a mini-USB connector.  I have charged my iPhone from empty to full with this life saving road warrior device many times.
7. Dropbox – This online file storage service works flawlessly and is extremely easy to integrate.  It allows me to grab documents, presentations, custom scripts, etc. and view them on my iPad or Macbook on the go.  Dropbox also allows me to create public links to my files (even really large files) so I can share them with others via email or social media.
8. Persol 2720 Sunglasses – Polarized crystal lens guaranteed to protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays wherever you are.  Oh, and James Bond wears them too.  So yeah, I feel ten times cooler when I have them on.
9. Multi-Use Car Charger – Because a cell phone with no battery juice is useless when your rental car breaks down on the side of the road during a long road trip.  My multi-use car charger allows me to charge up to four devices at once.  This unit turns one auto cigarette lighter port into two, has two USB charging ports, and provides a heavy-duty 20 amp capacity.
10. Small Moleskine Notebook – These days, almost all of my work is performed digitally on my Macbook or iPad, but when it comes time for a brainstorming session my Moleskine notebook is my tool of choice.  The analog nature of the Moleskine notebook and a ballpoint pen somehow sets my mind free when I need to grind out a few new ideas.  And it’s so ultra portable, I pretty much bring it with me wherever I go.

What are some of the best travel gadgets and tools you’ve used recently?  Do you have any additional recommendations for us geeky business travelers?  Please share them with us in the comments.

Photo by: Victor

The difference between fiction and reality?  Fiction has to make sense.
-Tom Clancy

This evening I met a friend at a local bar.  She brought her laptop along so she could show me some of her latest digital art designs.  As we chatted and scrolled through her artwork, the laptop suddenly started making an unhealthy buzzing noise, then the screen flickered on and off and then cut off completely.  And as we both stared at one another in dismay, the funky smell of fried computer circuits consumed our nostrils.

I grabbed the laptop off the bar to inspect it and the problem instantly revealed itself. The bottom of the laptop was soaking wet and an empty, spilt water glass rested against the side of her purse just behind where the laptop was sitting.  In the midst of us chatting and shifting the laptop’s 17 inch screen back and forth, we somehow spilt a glass of water that the bartender had inadvertently placed behind the screen, which was out of our view.

When life throws us nasty curveballs like this, it typically doesn’t make any sense to us, and our natural emotional reaction might be to get extremely upset and scream obscenities at the top of our lungs.  But how does this help our dilemma?  Obviously, it doesn’t.

The smartest, and oftentimes hardest, thing we can do in these kinds of situations is to be more tempered in our reactions.  To want to scream obscenities, but to wiser and more disciplined than that.  To remember that emotional rage only makes matters worse.  And to remember that tragedies are rarely as bad as they seem, and even when they are, they give us an opportunity to grow stronger.

Every difficult moment in our lives is accompanied by an opportunity for personal growth and creativity.  But in order to attain this growth and creativity, we must first learn to control our emotions.  We must recognize that difficulties pass like everything else in life.  And once they pass, all we’re left with are our unique experiences with each other and this crazy world, and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Life is short.  Our thoughts steer our reality.  We already know this.  The choice is ours to make.

Photo by: Gary

I’m an advocate of productivity and simplicity, and I assume most readers of this blog are as well.  So today I figured I’d hit two birds with one stone and give you the best productivity advice possible in five words or less.  After all, simple, straightforward advice is often the best advice.

1. Define realistic goals.
2. Start now.
3. Plan, but not too much.
4. Do important things first.
5. One thing at a time.
6. Break complex goals into tasks.
7. Disconnect yourself from distractions.
8. Love what you do.
9. Learn from your failures.
10. Celebrate your successes.
11. Be early.
12. Handle small tasks immediately.
13. Batch process similar tasks.
14. Manage your time.
15. Use a planner.
16. Take notes.
17. Focus more on less.
18. Find and follow efficient patterns.
19. Learn productive shortcuts.
20. Tomorrow is today’s result.
21. Organize your space.
22. Clear clutter.
23. Be productive while you wait.
24. Automate tasks and reminders.
25. Read the manual.
26. Learn from others.
27. Teach others to help you.
28. Delegate.
29. Allocate and maximize your resources.
30. Use the right tools.
31. Work on goals every day.
32. Keep it fun.
33. Establish and maintain strong relationships.
34. Spend time with your family.
35. Take care of your health.
36. Get enough sleep.
37. Delete the unnecessary.
38. Trust your gut instincts.
39. Face your fears.
40. Solve problems.
41. Make your own decisions.
42. Take your own advice.
43. Try something new.
44. Follow your values.
45. Learn to say, “No.”
46. Spend minutes to save hours.
47. Validate your assumptions.
48. Follow and speak the truth.
49. Never cheat.
50. Never give up on yourself.
51. Small steps add up fast.
52. Be meaningful.
53. Ask questions.
54. Identify and strengthen your weaknesses.
55. Over-deliver on your promises.
56. Adapt to change.
57. Pay it forward.
58. Stay flexible.
59. Be open to new ideas.
60. Challenge yourself.
61. Be positive.
62. Disregard negative people.
63. Live below your means.
64. Listen more, speak less.
65. Think.
66. Continuously educate yourself.
67. Lead by example.
68. Always do your best.
69. Don’t settle.
70. Communicate clearly.
71. Treat everyone with respect.
72. Act when opportunities arise.
73. Quality over quantity.
74. Do the hard stuff first.
75. Set deadlines.
76. Reflect on your progress.
77. Keep track of important milestones.
78. Follow the 80-20 rule.
79. Urgent is not always important.
80. Done is better than perfect.
81. Learn skills few people know.
82. Provide tangible value.
83. Time trumps money.
84. Be yourself.
85. Find people with similar goals.
86. Reuse and recycle what works.
87. Patience is a virtue.
88. Ask yourself: “Why do this?”
89. Don’t worry about the uncontrollable.
90. Your thoughts create your reality.
91. Complaining just wastes time.
92. Excel at what you do.
93. Slow and steady.
94. Be here now.
95. Perform tasks with multiple positives.
96. View things from different angles.
97. Use your imagination.
98. Visualize your success.
99. Smile.
100. Keep it simple.
101. Finish what you start.

Please expand on this list by adding your own advice in five words or less in the comments section below.

Also, I highly recommend these best selling productivity books:

• Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
• Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Photo by: Veo