A Life-Hacker’s Call to Action: Start Early, Finish First, Win More

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“Diligence is the mother of good luck. Energy and persistence conquer all things.” –Benjamin Franklin

I’m a self-proclaimed “life-hacker.” I like to fiddle with stuff; I’ve found that there’s a lot on this earth that we can focus on, and most of it isn’t worth our time. Since I started blogging, I’ve been able get more “things” done than I’d ever thought possible.

I’ve reached a moment of clarity in my life. Namely, I’ve started building a blog that people seem to care about, I lost over 12 pounds in just over two weeks, and I finished a novel. Many of you have been in a position similar to where I was before all of this; a place of goals, dreams, and aspirations that were destined to be unfulfilled. But there was a reason I wasn’t able to get anything worthwhile done, and it had to do with a lack of clarity.

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How One Book Changed My Perspective On Life

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how one book changed my perspective on life

“Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled ‘This could change your life.'” – Helen Exley

I have always been an avid reader; it’s like Legos for adults, it cultivates the mind and ignites the imagination. I knew of a used bookstore downtown and decided to take a mid-afternoon trek to fill some of my abundant time. The shop was an eclectic mix of post-it notes directing consumer traffic and stale air unique only to old books and nursing homes.

I wandered the aisles occasionally flipping through topics of interest, but soon realized this endeavor was not shaving off much of my day. Suddenly, I turned a corner and found myself in a U-shaped corridor brimming with self-help books. Help with divorce? Check. Should I spank my kids? Check. Conquer Stress-induced Depression? Check. It was a bookstore’s pharmacy for the modern-day self-help seeker. And since I was coming off a recent end to an otherwise healthy relationship I thought I may need to tweak my mindset…so I began to browse.

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How I Finally Got Myself Out of Debt

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Let me be the first to admit to you that facing personal debt isn’t easy. I remember being worried about debt collectors and being tempted by credit card offers coming in the mail, thinking that if I could use the new card to pay down my old debts just for a little while, everything would turn out alright in the end.

Most of all, I remember being ashamed. I didn’t want anyone to know about my situation, but I didn’t quite know how to help myself out of the situation, either.

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From Depression to Happiness: The 4 Steps That Helped to Change My Life

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I always thought happy people were fakers. Growing up with clinical depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), I never knew what it was like to be happy for more than a few moments at a time. I was so used to struggling that I couldn’t imagine a life in which every day was easy. I couldn’t grasp the idea that other people’s happiness could be real. Or maybe I just didn’t want to.

Because I didn’t want to burden other people with my depression, I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I tried to act normal. I tried to be like everyone else. I drank heavily and took diet pills to make myself more attractive so that people would concentrate on my outsides (heaven forbid they find out how much was actually wrong with me). I felt trapped by my disorders, by everything I thought was wrong with me. It got to the point of holding so much in, I didn’t think I could handle it anymore.

In 2005, I tried to kill myself.

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How to Maintain Composure in the Face of Adversity

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how to maintain composure

The other morning I hit a major setback on something big that I’ve been working on. When I learned about it my immediate impulse was to panic. That was followed by anxiety, and it wasn’t long before I found myself in somewhat of a frenzy.

Fortunately the day ended and eventually I fell asleep. When I woke up the next day I realized just how useless all of that had been. I knew that in order to pick myself up and move forward I had to maintain my composure in the face of adversity.

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Are You Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?

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Are You Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?

In 2007, I left my finance job as a VP and opted for an entrepreneurial career as a Business/Life Coach, Speaker, and author. This meant saying goodbye to a good salary, bi-monthly pay checks, a life in New York City and living 15 minutes away from my mom and brother. I moved to California in 2009, wrote a book, Living in YOUR Top 1%, and this past week spoke to over 400 people at three different companies ranging from real estate to a Fortune 500 company in healthcare to an investment company. I never regret my decision because I wake up the majority of mornings being excited about my work and the opportunity to make a difference.

As an entrepreneur and the CEO of my own business (like every entrepreneur), I am in charge and directly responsible for developing new coaching programs, marketing, business development, giving talks to various companies and every other area. Some days are great and other moments are frustrating but I know this is my path. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way both from my experiences and coaching other entrepreneurs and companies to help them excel.

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How Dreaming Changed My Life

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Were you one of those kids who was always told off for looking out of the window at school? I wasn’t. I was usually looking at the teacher.

You see, I’ve never been a natural dreamer. Dreaming wasn’t part of my upbringing. Security and down-to-earth practicality were. Dreaming was one of those indulgent, ‘waste of time’ activities.

Thing are different now though. Now I know that dreaming is one of the most powerful activities I can engage with.

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How to Handle Criticism

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criticism

No one likes criticism, and why should we? By its very nature, criticism means that something is missing, that you have flaws, that someone has found you lacking. Even constructive criticism, given with every intent to help you rather than harm you, can plant seeds of doubt in your head. What if I can’t get better? What if I’m just not good enough?

Unfortunately, if you never receive criticism, you put yourself in the dangerous position of never improving. That’s fine if you’re the definitive expert at what you do, but for most of us, we’re working hard to get better at something every day. It would be great if we could criticize ourselves, but it generally takes an objective person to give us solid tips to improve.

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I Don’t Know Where I’m Going, But I Trust How I’m Getting There

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where i'm going

You know that feeling when you’re in an interview and the spiffy looking professional on the other side of the table folds her hands, leans forward, and asks you a question you haven’t a bloody clue how to answer?

You do? Great!, because that’s where this story starts.

“Tell me about where you see yourself in ten years.”

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