Five Ways to Get Started on Anything

mountainMost people fail to do anything major because they see it as a big impossible task that needs to be tackled all at once. If you’re trying to climb a mountain, you can come up with dozens of excuses: you’re not feeling up to it, it’s not the right time to start your journey, you only have an hour and it takes days, etc…. I’m as guilty as anyone — I’ve got more unfinished projects than I care to admit. But these things can be all be tackled (even at once) if you have the desire and the focus. And I’ll show you how.

What I Learned from NaNoWriMo

What I Learned from NaNoWriMoI participated in NaNoWriMo this past November. If you’re unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and is an event held each November for writers and those aspiring to be writers. If you have ever wanted to write a book and you just haven’t been able to get started, I highly recommend you give it a try. I first learned of NaNoWriMo while checking Twitter on Thanksgiving of 2011. At that point, it was a little late for me to participate so I made it goal to participate in 2012. I’m really glad I did because it was a great experience.

Seven Ways to Live Life to Its Fullest

Seven Ways to Live Life to Its FullestI see a lot of motivational quotes from my friends on the various social media services that are related to living life to its fullest or making the most out of your day. Thinking like this is a great attitude to have but it is one of those things that are easier said than done. After all, we often get caught up with our day to day tasks and by the time we get around to making the most out of our day, it’s practically time for bed.

The Power of Power-Ups

The Power of Power-UpsI love video games (it’s one of my few addictions) and one of the ways games become exciting is the concept of a power-up. A power-up can be something that you earn (such as completing a task in a short amount of time) or that you find out of pure luck (looking in a container). Power-ups can give you special powers, send you to a bonus level or let you jump ahead so that you’re further along in the game. To add to the challenge of a game, many power-ups disappear after a few seconds or if you move off the screen, so you need to get to them right away — many gamers risk their lives (within the game) to get certain power-ups.

Always Be on the Lookout For Success

Always Be on the Lookout For SuccessIf there’s one thing we can learn from our politicians, it’s that you should always be on your best behavior because someone is always watching — especially now since most people carry cell phones that capable of taking still pictures and many can even capture high definition video. To spin that around and look on the bright side, that also means that you have a lot more opportunities than you often realize.

Weathering the Storm

Weathering the StormFor the past several years, we’ve all been subjected to the grim economic outlook that most media outlets are focused on. Even when a good report comes out, it’s often followed by more of the bad news thus neutralizing any positive effects. While it makes great news, it would be much better if instead of making it worse by constantly focusing on it, they instead reported on people who have learned to deal with it. Since they won’t do it, I guess we’ll just have to discuss how to stay focused on your goals while the rest of the world is screaming that the sky is falling.

Don’t Waste Your Time Seeking Approval

Don't Waste Your Time Seeking ApprovalIf you ever want to kill your mood or quickly go into depression, then spend your life seeking approval from others. When you look to others for a way to feel good, you’ll find yourself doing things to impress them in the hopes that they’ll complement you. At the same time, you’re handing the power to control your feelings over to them and taking it away from yourself.