Marc and Angel Hack Life

I’m an advocate of simple living, clutter free environments and resource conservation.  I always choose quality of quantity, clean over complex, and sunlight over lamp light.  When I’m alone in my house during the day, I typically turn off all the lights, open up the blinds and blog or read in the glow of the natural light shining through the windows. 

In these moments of blissful relaxation all of the “stuff” I own means nothing.  Everything I need, I have.  This doesn’t mean the “stuff” I own is useless.  I’m just aware of its true level of importance in the grander scheme of my existence.  These moments act as my reminder. 

Buying “Stuff”

Of course, I do buy “stuff”.  And I don’t only buy things I need.  On occasion I will buy something, not because I need it, but because I want it.  Even for an advocate of simplicity, I don’t see any shame in buying “stuff” you like and want.  So long as you make sound decisions on your purchases and avoid impulse buying, there is nothing wrong with a little splurging.

“Stuff” Cannot Create Change

However, you should never buy “stuff” in an attempt to mold yourself or your lifestyle (unless it’s a book).  Likewise, you should never buy “stuff” to become accepted in any kind of social circle.  It is impossible to change or improve yourself by buying physical “stuff”.  Real change happens in the mind, the physical world simply follows suit.

My “Stuff”, a Reflection of Me

Although my house is fairly organized and not overcrowded, there is a noticeable amount of “stuff” on the walls, shelves, and countertops.  My office has bookcases with books stacked from floor to ceiling and miscellaneous sculptures and trinkets I’ve collected over the years.  My pool table room has several framed photographs and paintings on the walls and a few napkin holder sized bar signs on the counter tops.  A similar pattern can be seen throughout the rest of the house.

I certainly don’t need this “stuff” for survival.  I could live without it, and I’m mentally prepared to do so if necessary.  But these items are not impulse purchases from the local shopping mall.  Many of these items are a reflection of my past, such as items purchased during my travels, those representing my accomplishments, or photos from standout moments in my life.  They are the byproducts of great memories.  My memories do not rely on this “stuff”, but this stuff holds meaning because of these memories.

The “stuff’ in my house creates a sense of familiarity, and familiarity can be very relaxing.  My “stuff” is a reflection of me, where I’ve been, and what I’ve done with my life.  I never purchase “stuff” to feel a certain way.  I purchase “stuff” because I already DO feel a certain way.  Because of this, the items I own hold personal value, a value far greater than any monetary measurement.

Have you ever experienced a sudden burst of clarity?  You know, the brief, highly prolific moments when all the answers seem within reach.  These moments are filled with sparks of creative energy and productive awareness.  When operating from a mindset of clarity, you are in a mental state of abundance with no bounds or restrictive limitations to hold you back.  You are free.

Being in this mindset is like settling into a cocoon of tranquility, plugged directly into a network of immeasurable brainpower.  It is a gift of supreme potential in each of us just waiting to be aroused.  Every healthy human mind has this capability.  It’s just a matter of triggering it.

The mind is unpredictable.  Sometimes these moments of clarity grace our conscious at the most random times.  The mind cannot always be told when to be resourceful and innovative, it just happens.

For me the greatest beauty always lies in the greatest clarity.
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

So how do you exploit these bursts of clarity to their utmost potential?  Here are some suggestions to help you capitalize on these brief moments of elite perception.

1. Jot It All Down Immediately – Keep a pen and some scratch paper nearby at all times.  If clarity strikes, jot down every idea that crosses your mind.  Sometimes you might even sketch out illustrations and flow diagrams.  It doesn’t have to be pretty.  Just make sure you will be able to clearly comprehend your notes later on.
2. Record Contextual Details About the Moment – There have been times when I’ve attempted to review a note to no avail.  I stare at it, completely puzzled as to how the note is applicable to anything significant.  It seems irrelevant to my life.  Why?  I failed to record the contextual details.  Context is absolutely vital when it comes to associating ideas and thoughts with practical applications.  Recording the current time, location, and activity next to each note can help you recall its significance, allowing you to pick up right where you left off.
3. Take Your Time – Its way too easy to blaze through your routine without taking the time to accurately reflect on your thoughts.  You must take it slow enough to successfully capture moments of clarity when they arise.  Your mind needs to be operating at a pace that leaves enough mental capacity for thought reflection and initial evaluation.
4. Maintain an Optimistic, Open Mind – A closed mind is a wasted mind.  You should never prejudge an inspired idea without taking the necessary time to mindfully evaluate it.  Not every apparent moment of clarity will produce a brilliant idea or solution, but many will.  Furthermore, some flawed ideas may ignite your curiosity and imagination, both of which have the ability to change the dynamics of everything.
5. Escape to Silence and Brainstorm – If at all possible, immediately escape to a quite location when you have a bout of mental clarity.  This will allow you to accurately sort out your thoughts without the negative influence of external interruptions or distractions.
6. Take Instant Action – There are cases of clarity when taking instant action makes the most sense, especially if the thought process is based around creativity or self-confidence.  This mental state of clarity is sometimes referred to as “being in the zone”.  In order to maximize effectiveness, this “in the zone” state may require you to exist solely in the present moment, taking instantaneous action while your mind is clear.
7. Discuss It with Someone You Respect – Having an intellectual discussion with someone you respect is one of the best ways to evaluate the strength of your ideas.  Sometimes, just the simple act of verbally explaining an idea will shed light on something you had previously overlooked.  Obviously, the other person will also be able to deliver a third party point of view.
8. Store All Ideas in One Accessible Location – Documenting all your ideas during a sudden burst of clarity is worthless if you misplace your notes.  Organize a system for yourself that creates a single, centralized place to store every note you take.  Pacing around in circles saying “Where did I put my notes?” would be tragic as you sit down to finalize your formula for curing HIV.
9. Review Ideas as Soon as Realistically Feasible – Once you have an effifient system down for storing your ideas, you have to create a regular habit of reviewing them.  You should always review your notes as soon as you possibly can.  That way, if you missed a key point or forgot to record contextual details, you still have the idea fairly fresh in your mind.  This also makes assessing the value of your ideas much easier.

Bursts of mental clarity can be sudden and unpredictable.  But if you are prepared, you can exploit your mind’s capabilities to its max potential.

Practice your ABC’s daily to live a more productive and proficient life.

A.

Avoid negative people, negative habits and negative sources of information.

B.

Believe in yourself and your closest confidants.

C.

Create a healthy balance between career, family and social responsibilities.

D.

Dare to be unique and creative.

E.

Enjoy yourself everyday. It’s quite possible there will be no tomorrow.

F.

Find what you love and become an expert at it.

G.

Go the extra mile. A little extra effort separates the good from the great.

H.

Help others when given the chance.

I.

Ignore insults, but take heed to constructive criticism.

J.

Just do it. Action is the vehicle for success.

K.

Kindness always trumps intelligence in the long-term.

L.

Learn at least one practical lesson everyday.

M.

Manage your time effectively by prioritizing your obligations.

N.

Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal.

O.

Open your mind to fresh ideas and experiences.

P.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Q.

Quitting is not an option. Don’t give up on something or someone you believe in.

R.

Read as much as you can as often as you can.

S.

Stop procrastinating. Stop ignoring unsettled problems.

T.

Take responsibility for your actions, the good and the bad.

U.

Use your natural talents to open new doors of opportunity.

V.

Visualize your goals and map out an action plan for achieving them.

W.

Write stuff down.

X.

X-factors for success are always present. Keen awareness will uncover them.

Y.

You will never succeed if you never try.

Z.

Zero in on the truth by analyzing situations from every possible angle.

The following list contains 33 of my favorite inspirational and motivational YouTube videos.  Each video clip tells a different tale, a unique story conveying subtle lessons about life, love, happiness and success.  I’ve been bookmarking these slowly over the course of a year or so.  Each one is certainly worth watching at least once.  Enjoy.

1. Life and Music
Life Lesson: Don’t sacrifice your life for someone else’s idea of success.

2. Commencement Address by Steve Jobs
Life Lesson: Find what you love, trust in your instincts, and follow your heart.

3. Ninja Almost Defeated by a Bug
Life Lesson: Change your thoughts to change your world.

Keep reading →

On occasion, we all find ourselves knee deep in a heated discussion that seems to be escalating rapidly without any sign of resolution or agreement.  As soon as the intensity elevates, agitated personal emotions are bound to influence the direction and tone of the conversation.  These emotional influences usually cloud the open-minded exchange of information with a series of scripted, opinionated statements.  Once this happens, you can be fairly certain the discussion will result in little practical value.

In a heated argument we are apt to lose sight of the truth.
- Publilius Syrus

Emotional People Think via Known Scripts

When people become inundated with a rush of emotion, they tend to fall back on predetermined personal beliefs as a foundation for their reasoning.  Some physiologists and cognition experts refer to these predetermined personal beliefs as “scripts”.  Someone consumed in an emotional state will think and communicate in a scripted fashion based entirely on what they presently believe to be true, instead of keeping their mind open to new information.

Break the Script to Ease Emotions

How do you ease emotions and restore order in a heated discussion so that the focus of communication realigns with the original intended purpose?  The key is to ask a specific question that forces the emotional communicators to break out of their emotionally scripted thought process.  I call this “The Break Script Technique”.  If you can break their script, they will typically become cognizant of the current communication problem.

Questions with Known Answers Work Best

To successfully implement “The Break Script Technique”, you have to ask a simple, familiar, off-topic question.  Your question should be so common that most people, including the emotional communicators, have a reflexive, scripted way of answering it.  You are essentially breaking them out of one script by substituting it for another script they are familiar and comfortable with.

Here are a few example questions that can assist in breaking the emotional script:

• “Sorry to interrupt, but do you know the time?”
• “How are you doing?” (or some variation… may be a bit odd in the middle of a conversation.)
• “What time do you usually break for lunch?”

Although off-topic, these questions will not seem unreasonable or inconvenient to the emotional communicators because they already know the answers to each.  The goal is to interrupt their train of thought just long enough to make them aware of their emotional state.

“The Break Script Technique” is not applicable in all situations, especially when untamed emotions have turned a civil discussion into a full-fledged argument.  However, if used correctly in the context of a fairly civil discussion, I have found this simple technique to be extremely effective.

Writing the perfect love letter can be quite a challenge. After all, love is an emotion, and it can be extremely difficult to accurately transcribe your emotions into a meaningful set of words. It’s easy to spell out the phrase “I love you”, but those words are relatively hollow without a little contextual substantiation.

3 Simple Questions

So, how do you substantiate the authenticity and depth of your love without writing a lengthy novel depicting every detail of your relationship? It’s actually quite simple. Just ask yourself 3 questions:

1. What feelings are inspiring me to write this love letter?
2. If I write only one short paragraph expressing my love, how will I convince my significant other that this paragraph is all I needed to write?
3. What will this one paragraph say?

Answer for Your Significant Other

Answer each question for your significant other as if she or he asked you the question. In other words, direct your answers toward the recipient of your love letter. Take some time and put sincere thought into each of your answers, but limit each answer to a short paragraph between 3 to 5 sentences in length.

Finalize the Love Letter

Put a greeting before paragraph #1 and a few romantic closing remarks after paragraph #3. Proofread and sign your name at the bottom. It’s a wrap.

Here’s an example, a love letter I recently wrote to my wife:

Angel,

I found myself sitting here tonight on our first anniversary reminiscing about all the unforgettable times we’ve shared together. Just thinking about it makes me glow inside. More so than being happy, I am proud to be part of something extraordinary, you.

I was going to write a lengthy, detailed letter confessing my unconditional love to you, but it would be somewhat of a waste. It would be a waste to write a letter so extensive when my feelings remain so logically simple in my mind. It only takes a few words to clearly describe how I feel about you.

To everyone else who knows you, you are a bright, capable over-achiever who is beautiful and remarkably confident. Without you, their lives would be a little more difficult and a little less pleasant. To me, you are me. Without you, I would not be me. I would not faintly resemble the man I am today.

It’s that simple.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

Love always,
Marc

If we fail to appropriately manage our time and health needs, mornings can be the most stressful part of our day.  Many of us deal with the dizziness of an unpleasant, hectic rush every morning in preparation for work or school, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  With a little sensible time management your morning stress can be drastically abbreviated.  Here are 11 simple steps you can follow to proactively reduce your level of morning stress.

Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.
-Richard Whately

1. Create an Evening Preparation Routine - An evening routine in preparation for the morning, that is.  Iron your clothes, prepare your lunch, locate your keys, plan a nutritious breakfast, etc.  These simple tasks will take you less than 30 minutes to complete each evening and will save you a huge headache every morning.
2. Plan a Realistic Day – Write a short “Must Do Today” list every evening for the following day.  Never fill your mind with unnecessary worries in the excess of this list.  Write down anything that cannot be pushed off to the following day.  Avoid the tendency to overpopulate this list, and thus your schedule, with unrealistic goals.
3. Eliminate Known Aggravations - If your alarm clock makes a horribly annoying sound, the electric razor burns your skin, and your car’s windshield wipers are faulty… fix the problems and eliminate the stress factors permanently from your life.  There is absolutely no reason to deal with habitual aggravations that can easily be resolved with a little time and money.
4. Get a Good Night’s Sleep – Make sure you start winding down for bed at a reasonable hour to allow enough time for a healthy night’s sleep.  Most people require between 7 and 8 hours each night.  If needed, set a bedtime reminder alarm on your alarm clock.  Always keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortably cool.  Studies from the National Sleep Foundation suggest the ideal temperature for sleeping is somewhere between 54 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  Also, go easy on afternoon caffeine intake.  When caffeine is consumed late in the day the quality of your sleep usually suffers.  
5. Wake Up 30 Minutes Earlier – An extra 30 minutes in the morning is the difference between peaceful harmony and rapid-fire pandemonium.  As long as you get to bed on time, waking up 30 minutes earlier should seem natural after just a few days.  Use this time to think, stretch, shower, eat breakfast, and account for any unanticipated bumps in your morning routine.
6. Drink a Glass of Water First Thing – Water makes up between 60% - 70% of your body composition.  It is absolutely vital to stay properly hydrated.  Even mild dehydration can cause your blood to thicken.  This forces your heart to work double-time in order to push the necessary blood to your organs, which will result in noticeable mental fatigue.  Also, a hydrated body is more efficient at dispersing energy-building nutrients to all its extremities.  Since the average human body becomes slightly dehydrated over the course of a long sleep, you should drink a tall glass of water first thing when you wake up.
7. Do a Light 10 Minute Stretching Workout – Do you feel a little groggy when you first wake up?  This is completely normal.  All you need to do is get your blood flowing, which will assist your body in transitioning between the sleeping and awake states.  Once you do, you’ll feel great.  Place a matt or towel on a carpeted floor.  Lie on your back and stretch your arms as far as you can in one direction while stretching your toes out in the opposite direction.  Then stand up and do some knee raises and toe touches.  If you are feeling up to it, add in a few sit-ups and push-ups.
8. Listen to Music and Take a Hot Shower – Music injects positive, motivational influence into your mind.  You should listen to music that makes you happy every morning while you progress through your routine.  Also, a hot shower can be one of the most soothing experiences early in the morning.  The fresh, revitalized feeling you have stepping out of the shower will spill over as positivity into your first few tasks of the day.
9. Keep a Clean, Organized Living Space – Create order in your life and living space.  Organize your home so that you always know exactly where your belongings are.  Then, consciously put your belongings away in their proper place each time you use them.  Doing so will eliminate the unproductive, stress filled moments of searching for something you’ve misplaced.
10. Never Drive Home with an Empty Gas Tank – Filling up a car’s gas tank is so darn easy, but it does take a few minutes of your time.  Why then, do so many people procrastinate on filling up their cars with gas until the busy mornings when they can’t spare any time without being late?  Never do this!  Check your gas tank level on the way home.  If it’s getting low, pull into a gas station and fill it up immediately.
11. Schedule Something You Love Daily – Getting up to face a new day is far more satisfying when you have something to look forward to.  Life is short.  Make sure you manage your time effectively so that you have time to engage in something you love on a daily basis.

There will always be exceptions, but faithfully following the steps above should help you conquer most of your mornings with reduced stress and a lot more grace.

They say the best things in life are free.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the list below proves that statement to be true.  Life is filled with simple pleasures, the little satisfying effects you never really anticipate, but always take great pleasure in.  They are the gifts of life that we each subconsciously celebrate in our own unique way.

Here are 30 of the most satisfying simple pleasures life has to offer:

Keep reading →

Kids live by their instincts openly and without hesitation.  They are enthusiastic about life, eager to learn, and curious about everything.  Even though kids still have a lot to learn, just observing them can teach us many practical life lessons.  These lessons are simple, yet pertinent to living a healthy, happy and productive life.  Spend an afternoon watching a group of kids interact with each other and the world around them.  You may be surprised at how clever they are.  They handle themselves differently than adults, and there is much we can learn from their behavior.

Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music.
- William Stafford

Here are 20 practical life lessons kids can teach us:

Keep reading →

Editor’s note:  This is a guest post from freelance writer Heather Johnson. 

If you are starting to feel your age it might be because your memory is slipping at the most inopportune times.  Or, maybe you already have a decent memory and would just like to improve it so you can beat your buddies at Trivial Pursuit.  Think of your mind as a series of disorganized file cabinets.  The information is already there.  If you follow the 10 steps below, you can access any file you want at a much quicker pace.

1. Read a Book Every Week – In order to keep your mind active you need to always be learning.  No, you don’t need to settle in with some Carl Sagan and a thesaurus every night.  Believe it or not, even some light “beach reading” will get your neurons firing more rapidly than whatever you have saved on your DVR.
2. Streamline Your Daily Tasks – Multitasking to the point of exhaustion is a memory killer.  Hone your ability to delegate tasks that are cluttering your work life and/or home life.  If you can get away with a little procrastination by pushing the less important tasks back, that will work also.  Over scheduling your life will induce major brain drain.
3. Find a Quiet Spot – If you would like to study, read, balance the checkbook, etc. you need to have a quiet spot where you can concentrate and soak up as much information as possible.   Just like multi-tasking, a loud and distracting environment will tire your brain.
4. Sleep Eight Hours Every Night – Uninterrupted sleep may be an impossibility for surgeons or parents of small children, but you really should aim for those eight hours each night.  Many of us have the opportunity to get a full night’s rest, yet opt to watch some television or catch up with something else.  You absolutely cannot sacrifice sleep and expect to have a good memory the next day.
5. Tap Into Your Creativity – If you’re not exercising your creativity there are areas of your brain that go wasted every day.  Take up a creative hobby or, at the very least, pick up a pencil on occasion and doodle.
6. Start a Journal or Blog – This might sound like a chore, but you don’t have to write a journal or blog entry every day.  Write when the mood strikes or when you actually have something interesting to say.  Documenting your life is one of the best ways to preserve your memory.
7. Take a Daily Multivitamin – Make sure you take the best vitamin for your gender and age.  Even if you can’t eat like a health nut all the time, at least you’ll get most of your necessary vitamins with the help of a supplement.
8. Drink Plenty of Water – Water does wonders for your mind and body.  Most people don’t realize that they walk around slightly dehydrated all the time.  Dehydration can be the source of a lot of problems.
9. Keep Your Home Tidy – Maybe you don’t subscribe to Feng Shui, but disorganized people often have a worse memory than those who keep their house clean.  An organized environment encourages clear thinking.
10. Don’t Smoke – If you do smoke, you now have one more reason to put those cigarettes down.  Studies have shown an increase in memory loss amongst regular smokers. 

At the very least, these 10 steps should help you attain and maintain a more healthy memory.

About the author:  Heather Johnson is a freelance business, finance and economics writer, as well as a regular contributor at Business Credit Cards, a site for tracking the best business credit card offers.  Heather welcomes comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.