Inspiration

An Open Letter to Those Who Have Lied to Impress Others

01.14.2020 by Marc Chernoff // 38 Comments

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
—Thomas Jefferson

This article was inspired by a short email we received recently from a new course student:

Dear Marc and Angel,

In one of your recent emails you asked your students to think about a weakness they’d like to change. Mine is telling lies. Although they’re usually just little lies, I’ve gotten carried away. I lie about things all the darn time mostly to just make myself appear better than I am… because I want to impress people. But it’s getting harder! I feel like every little lie leads to another one, and it’s wearing on me. I’m sick of my own dishonesty! Please help me break this habit. I need some motivation to make a change once and for all. Your wisdom on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
A Dishonest Student

Our reply (an open reply to all who have lied to impress people):

Dear Dishonest Student,

It’s time for a quick story about life…

Once upon a time, an aging king knew the end of his life was nearing, and he decided it was time to designate a successor. Since he had sadly lost his wife and children in a terrible accident, he chose to pass the throne on to [Read more…]

20 Five-Minute Journaling Prompts for a Mentally Strong Finish to January

01.10.2020 by Angel Chernoff // 17 Comments

The holidays are over. School and work are back in full swing. And it’s already mid-January.

Thus, it’s time to get our minds clear on all our big ideas for 2020, and what really matters in the days, weeks, and months ahead…

Let’s make a pact to finish January mentally strong!

How?

First, let’s remind ourselves that the best way to achieve anything worthwhile in life is to build small daily rituals that you practice every single day (or at least every day you’re physically able to). A small daily ritual is a practice you regard as special, an activity not to be taken lightly, that you prioritize and set apart from the rest of your routine. It’s something you willingly surrender yourself to, not allowing yourself to reject the parts of it you dislike, but instead pushing forward and committing to the full experience for a short time each day. And of course, the small bits of progress you make each day add up to something big, and ultimately change the trajectory of your life.

A good example might be a [Read more…]

20 Powerful Affirmations We Should Repeat to Ourselves This Year

01.06.2020 by Marc Chernoff // 18 Comments

Cheers to another beginning—a fresh moment—and a clear chance for us to make the very best of it! 😉

Undoubtedly, the days, weeks and months ahead will be filled with incredible highs and stressful lows. But in any case, we can train our minds to make the best of the present as it unfolds.

Remind yourself that the mind is like a muscle, and just like every muscle in the human body, it needs to be exercised to gain strength. It needs to be trained daily to grow and develop gradually over time. If you haven’t pushed your mind in thousands of little, positive ways over time, of course it’ll crumble on the one day things get overwhelmingly stressful. Positive affirmations are one of the simplest and most powerful tools for doing this. A mind well trained with positive affirmations has the right thoughts queued up and ready for retrieval at a moment’s notice.

Last year Angel wrote a short email newsletter about one of our first students, who graduated with a PhD a few years ago from one of the most prestigious universities in our country, and whom is now an executive for one of the world’s fastest growing tech companies. She continues to be my go-to example of why affirmations are so powerful…

Throughout grade school and high school she desperately wrestled with a form of dyslexia that made reading and writing a monumental challenge. She spent kindergarten through 12th grade in language-based ESE classes. And during a parent-teacher conference when she was in 10th grade, one of her ESE teachers informed her parents that it was extremely unlikely she would ever receive a high school diploma.

So, how did she do it? How did she push herself to rise up and overcome the odds? “Affirmations,” she confirmed with us when Angel and I interviewed her last year for a side project we were working on. “The daily affirmation rituals you guys set me up with, and held me accountable to, changed everything! While it may sound cliché to some people, it’s absolutely not—affirmations are powerful tools! I literally told myself that the naysayers were wrong about me. I told myself exactly what I needed to hear, every single day, to move my life forward.”

If you’d like to begin (or enhance) this ritual in your own life, here’s a handpicked selection of powerful, positive affirmations Angel and I often suggest to our course students as starting point: [Read more…]

20 Questions that Will Open Your Mind in 2020

01.02.2020 by Angel Chernoff // 20 Comments

Right now, remind yourself of the truth.

Remind yourself that the New Year means nothing if your mind is still boxed up in its comfort zone.

Don’t fool yourself into living the same year 90 times and calling it a life.

And don’t just think outside the box in 2020…

Think like there is no box.

Open your mind!

How?

Start by asking yourself better questions.

Questions that break you away from all the comfortable distractions in your life, so you can refocus your thinking on what matters most… [Read more…]

20 Uncomfortable Things You Need to Start Doing for Yourself in 2020

12.30.2019 by Marc Chernoff // 19 Comments

When you look back on 2019, don’t think of the pain you felt. Think of the strength you gained, and appreciate how far you’ve come. You’ve been through a lot in the past year, but you’ve grown a lot too. Give yourself credit for your resilience, and then step forward again with grace.

The next best step forward?

Start doing something uncomfortable today that will move your life forward in 2020. Let me explain… [Read more…]