Marc and Angel Hack Life

10 Things You Don’t Owe to Anyone but Yourself

09.04.2026 by Marc Chernoff // 19 Comments

Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?

Let’s cut to the chase today! There will never be a perfect time to do anything in your life…

Nothing will ever feel 100% certain or make perfect sense to you. There will never be a perfect time to fall in love, or to start that side business, or to travel the world. You will never have enough training, enough preparation, or enough savings. And despite the challenges, even when you feel ready to take a bold step forward, others will likely try to talk you out of it. Because they won’t feel ready themselves, and your ambition and bravery will challenge their levels of comfort. But you know what? You don’t owe them an explanation. It’s just that simple. Yet it’s hard to process sometimes.

Waiting to feel 100% ready or validated is the easiest way in which we cheat ourselves out of wonderful life experiences. I challenge you to consciously free yourself from this self-limiting mentality. Book that plane ticket, even if you feel lots of uncertainty. Sign up for that educational course, even if you have [Read more…]

30 Mindful 5-Second Reminders to Bring You Calmness and Clarity

09.03.2026 by Angel Chernoff // 16 Comments

The goal is to grow so strong on the inside that nothing on the outside can affect your inner peace of mind without your conscious permission.

The ultimate measure of your wisdom and strength? How calm you are when facing any given situation. Yes, calmness is a human superpower. The ability to not overreact or take things personally keeps your thoughts clean and your heart at peace, which instantly gives you an upper hand regardless of your circumstances.

Thus, the biggest and most complex obstacle you will ever have to overcome is your own mind. If you can overcome that, you can overcome almost anything. And by “overcoming,” I’m referring to the skill of mindfulness, and learning to effectively control your emotional responses to life’s unexpected tests. Because most of your deepest pain and frustration on a daily basis will come from the way you respond, not the way life is.

Of course, being calm and mindful is [Read more…]

12 Signs You’re Holding On When You Need to Let It Go

09.03.2026 by Marc Chernoff // 16 Comments

Letting go is not giving up. It’s just acknowledging that the only thing you have control over is yourself in this moment.

The renowned psychologist Carl Rogers noted that people are often unhappy because of a lack of congruence in their lives, which is another way of saying that complexity blinds us to life’s simple and obvious solutions. For Rogers, simply sitting with a patient and having them talk through their problems, without the therapist leading them or making judgments or giving advice, was the best way for them to let go of their problems. Rogers determined that when you give a person a safe and supportive space to think through things, they tend to do so more effectively.

Right now, I want to give you a safe and supportive space to think, so you can let go of any extra baggage that’s been weighing you down. Try this: pause for a second to notice what’s going on in your body. Are your jaw muscles clenched? Are your shoulders or neck tightened? Do you notice [Read more…]

3 Essential Things to Remember When You’re Feeling Stuck in Life

09.02.2026 by Angel Chernoff // 12 Comments

Never assume that you’re stuck with the way things are. Life changes, and so can you.

Maybe it’s the life lessons I was forced to learn the hard way, or the toll of loss and failure I had recently endured, but fifteen years ago in the midst of a panic attack on my 29th birthday, I had to admit to myself right then and there that the youthful world of possibility I once felt now seemed dead inside me. I wanted to feel light and free and ambitious and passionate again, but I didn’t know how. Luckily my grandmother, who was always a true lifesaver, gave me some good advice. She told me that she could still see a positive energy inside of me, but that I needed to do some soul searching to reconnect myself to it.

As I attempted to follow my grandmother’s advice, I remembered that I used to have two quotes written on sticky notes hanging on my bedroom wall when I was a kid:

“Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in your journey.”
“Paths are made by walking, not waiting.”

So I wrote the two quotes down again, just as I remembered them, and posted them up on the wall over my nightstand. I woke up to those quotes every morning for a few years thereafter just to keep myself centered from the get-go each day. I also took small steps forward, one day at a time, until I knew I was finally moving down the right path again.

For anyone else who’s feeling stuck [Read more…]

7 Things to Remember When You Feel Betrayed

09.01.2026 by Angel Chernoff // 21 Comments

Sometimes we feel betrayed by others.

Sometimes we feel betrayed by our circumstances.

Sometimes we feel betrayed by life itself.

In any case, we are faced with the reality that things aren’t always what they seem, and we don’t always get what we expect.

So what can we do?

Accept the reality, and then do our best to make the most of it.

The truth is, we were promised trials and tribulations right from the beginning. They were always part of the program. Growing up we were told, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” And to a certain degree we’ve already realized and accepted it. The relationships, jobs, and projects that didn’t work out led us closer to the ones that did. The things we’ve lost too soon opened our minds to understandings and opportunities we never fathomed beforehand. So while we’ve rarely gotten exactly what we wanted, we have often received more than we bargained for.

Of course, in the heat of the moment, when incredibly disappointing things are happening to YOU, and the outcomes you’re dealing with are REAL, embracing reality and making the best of it is not easy…

You feel betrayed.

You feel victimized.

You feel crushed.

Which is why, first and foremost, it’s important to… [Read more…]