Aspirations

3 Daily Habits that Often Drain 90 Percent of Our True Potential in Life

12.10.2023 by Angel Chernoff // 14 Comments

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
— Abraham Lincoln

As you age you will learn to value your time, genuine relationships, meaningful work, and peace of mind, much more. Little else will matter.

Deep down you know that already, right?

Yet on most days, just like the majority of us, you are distracted by so many others things. You give your time to lots of meaningless time-wasters. You take your important relationships for granted. You get to work skeptically with inner resistance. And you let everyday stress get the best of you…

Why?

Because you’re human, and human beings are [Read more…]

10 Difficult Things that Are Always Worth Doing for Yourself (Before it’s Too Late)

12.05.2023 by Marc Chernoff // 18 Comments

Even when the struggle is real, remind yourself that it almost always feels better to be exhausted from taking tiny steps forward, than it does to be tired of doing absolutely nothing.

In 1911 two explorers, Amundsen and Scott, embarked on a race against each other to become the first known human being to set foot upon the southernmost point of Earth. It was the age of Antarctic exploration, as the South Pole represented one of the last uncharted areas in the world. Amundsen wished to plant the Norwegian flag there on behalf of his country, while Scott hoped to stake his claim for England.

The journey there and back from their base camps was about 1,400 miles, which is roughly equivalent to a round-trip hike from New York City to Chicago. Both men would be traveling the same exact distance on foot through extremely cold and harsh weather conditions. And both men were equally equipped with experience, supplies, and a supporting team of fellow explorers. But what wasn’t certain is how each of them would approach the inevitable challenges they faced on the road ahead.

As it turned out, Amundsen and Scott took entirely different approaches to the very same challenges.

Scott directed his team to hike as far as possible on the good weather days and then rest on bad weather days to conserve energy. Conversely, Amundsen directed his team to follow a strict regimen of consistent daily progress by hiking exactly 20 miles every day, regardless of weather conditions. Even on the warmest, clear-sky days, when Amundsen’s team was capable of hiking much farther, Amundsen was absolutely adamant that they travel no more than 20 miles to conserve their energy for the following day’s hike.

Which team succeeded in the end?

The team that [Read more…]

16 Life Choices You Shouldn’t Have to Justify to Everyone Else

12.04.2023 by Angel Chernoff // 17 Comments

Sometimes it’s healthy to let go of other people’s opinions, and to operate with your own intuition and wisdom as your guide.

Your life is yours alone. Others can try to persuade you, but they can’t decide for you. They can walk with you, but not in your shoes. So make sure the path you decide to walk aligns with your intuition and values. And don’t be scared to pave your own path when you know it’s the right thing to do.

Will the people in your life always support your decisions? No, they likely won’t. But you need to remember that life is not about justifying yourself — it’s about creating yourself.

So make this your lifelong motto: “I respectfully do not care.” Say it to anyone who [Read more…]

10 Daily Habits that Often Drain 90 Percent of Our Joy and Peace

12.01.2023 by Marc Chernoff // 24 Comments

You ultimately become what you repeatedly do. If your habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you. Here are some fairly common and widespread examples of the latter that will drain all your joy and peace if you let them:

1. Focusing on how life “should” be every step of the way.

Try to use frustration and inconvenience to motivate you rather than annoy you. You are in control of the way you look at life. Instead of getting angry, find the lesson. In place of envy, feel admiration. In place of worry, take action. In place of doubt, have faith. Remember that your response is always more powerful than your present circumstance. A small part of your life is decided by completely uncontrollable circumstances, while the vast majority of your life is decided by your responses. Where you ultimately end up is heavily dependent on [Read more…]

12 Quiet Daily Rituals of Enormously Successful People

11.29.2023 by Angel Chernoff // 16 Comments

May your actions speak louder than your words. May your life preach louder than your lips. May your success be your noise in the end.

The result of enormous success is often pretty noisy — lots of people talking, writing, and sharing stories about it. The actual process of achieving enormous success, on the other hand, is far more discreet. But it’s this process that happens quietly, behind-the-scenes, that makes all the difference in the world.

Marc and I are fortunate enough to know a number of enormously successful human beings. Regardless of lifestyle, industry or profession, they share many of the same subtle yet powerful daily rituals. And that’s precisely what I want to discuss with you today. Here are twelve key things the most successful people we know do quietly and diligently: [Read more…]