Life

20 Morning Mantras to Start the Day Loving People (Instead of Judging or Ignoring Them)

01.26.2022 by Angel Chernoff // 27 Comments

You’d like Michelle a lot. Most people do. She’s the kind of person who listens when you talk, who smiles often, and who says things that make the people around her smile. She’s incredibly intelligent, but in a way that makes others feel comfortable. It’s the way she expresses herself in simple terms you can understand — almost like she’s articulating the thoughts you already have in your head, but haven’t quite found the right words to say aloud.

And it doesn’t matter who you are either. Michelle always has a way of relating to you. Because, in a way, she’s been there with you all along. She can think like you, so she understands you. It’s truly a special gift. So many of us have limitations in our perceptions. We understand the soldiers but not the politics governing the wars. We understand the people who go to the movies but not the ones who attend rodeos. But somehow, Michelle gets all of us. Again, it’s her gift.

If she hasn’t actually been to the rodeo you’re talking about — or any rodeo at all for that matter — she’ll be honest about it, but she’ll make you feel as if she was right there with you when you attended. And once you return home after spending a night with Michelle, you’ll catch yourself smiling and thinking about how there needs to be more people like her in the world. Because if there were, there would be far less to worry about.

Michelle passed away today. I don’t really want [Read more…]

19 Great Truths My Grandmother Told Me on Her 90th Birthday

01.18.2022 by Marc Chernoff // 44 Comments

“I have seen and touched and danced and sang and climbed and loved and meditated on a lifetime spent living honestly. Should it all end tonight, I can positively say there would be no regrets. I feel fortunate to have walked 90 years in my shoes. I am truly lucky. I really have lived 1,000 times over.”

Those are the opening lines of the final entry in my grandmother Zelda’s journal—a 270-page leather-bound journal she wrote small entries in almost every morning during the final decade of her life. In it, she reflected on lessons she had learned, lessons she was still learning, and the experiences that made these understandings possible.

When my grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer on her 90th birthday, I sat with her in a hospital room for the entire day, in silence, in laughter, in tears, and in awe. Although her body was weak, her mind was intensely strong. The terminal diagnosis inspired her to think about her life, everything she had journaled about over the years, and reflect aloud. So, I gave her the stage—my undivided attention—from sunrise until sunset.

As I sat beside her hospital bed, she [Read more…]

7 Powerful Yet Simple Metaphors that Will Change the Way You Think

01.11.2022 by Marc Chernoff // 31 Comments

A metaphor is not an ornament. It’s a necessary lens of perception that allows us to experience and think about ourselves and the world more clearly. Metaphors have a way of relating to us in the most profound way, by clarifying immense truths and intricate lessons in fairly minimal space.

Angel and I have shared the following metaphors and corresponding stories with our students, coaching clients, readers, and conference attendees dozens of times over the past decade, and we usually get thanked for doing so. The specifics differ slightly every time we share them, but the core lessons carry forth.

My challenge for you today is to read the first metaphor below. Then come back tomorrow and read the next one. Give yourself a little extra perspective every day this week. See how doing so gracefully changes your thinking [Read more…]

52 Good Morning Mantras (That Will Change Your Life)

01.04.2022 by Angel Chernoff // 43 Comments

“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.

Here are 52 morning mantras – one for each week of the year (note: you can start your year of morning mantras anytime you want). I choose one of these mantras every Sunday morning and sit quietly for two minutes, repeating it silently in my mind as if I were meditating. I also write it on a post-it note and stick it next to my computer monitor for the duration of the week. This weekly ritual has helped reduce unnecessary stress in my life by reminding me to keep things simple, peaceful and in perspective. [Read more…]

27 Simple Things to Start Doing for Your Happiness

12.28.2021 by Angel Chernoff // 36 Comments

It only takes one person to make you happy and change your life: YOU.

I am endlessly fascinated by the link between the way we choose to live our lives and the happiness we enjoy on a daily basis. There are choices that you make every day, some of which seem completely unrelated to your happiness, that dramatically impact the way you feel mentally and physically.

Over the years, through our coaching practice, live events, and happiness course, Marc and I have literally spoken to hundreds of people who are struggling to find happiness in their lives. And what we’ve found is that it usually isn’t what you have, where you are, or what you’ve been through that makes you happy or unhappy, it’s how you think about it all and what you do with it.

In our daily lives it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees and completely overlook some of the small, simple things that can disproportionally affect our levels of happiness and general fulfillment.

Luckily, you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself. Marc and I have spent the better part of a decade working one-on-one with our clients and finding the right habits and behaviors that support sustained happiness. Below, I take a quick look at some of the more actionable tips that can be easily worked into your daily routine. [Read more…]