From Anxious to Action: How to Have What You Really Want

February 3, 2011 by

This guest post is by Brandon Yanofsky of TheSalonMarketer.com.

True anxiety can be difficult to imagine for those who have never experienced it deeply. I remember once, when I was studying film, sitting in front of a TV ready to pull my hair out, because I couldn’t figure out how they had lit a scene in an Ingmar Bergman movie. It wasn’t something I needed to know. I knew it wasn’t a big deal. But that’s what anxiety does to you. And that’s how most of my life was.

All of us experience fear or anxiety to some degree, though. These five simple tips helped me overcome my anxiety and do what I’ve wanted to do. I’m hoping they’ll inspire you to do what you’ve always wanted to do.

1. Realize there’s always a reason not to do it

Our brains naturally tell us all the reasons why we shouldn’t do something. We might fail, we might be embarrassed, and so on. But as soon as you embrace that negative thoughts are natural, they are much easier to overcome.

I saw Chris Brogan speak recently and had the opportunity to talk with him. And that’s when my negative thoughts started creeping up. I could have just sat there: it would have been much easier. What could I possibly say to him? What if I sound like an idiot?

There were so many reasons not to do what I wanted. I sat there for a few minutes and let them run through my head. And then I stood up, said “darn it!” and went up and talked with him.

What do you want to do, but have been talking yourself out of? Run through all the reasons not to do it. Make a list. Really acknowledge those reasons. Now, just do it!

2. Go with your first instinct

Remember when your teacher used to say, “Trust your instincts on your test. If you thought C first, choose C.”? Well, do the same with your life. The subconscious is pretty good at figuring out what we really want. So listen to it more often.

For about six years, I wanted to be a film director. I went to college for it, and spent a lot of money learning. Then one day, I just didn’t feel it any more. But I fought the feeling. I told myself, “You have to keep doing it.” And I kept myself miserable for an entire year. Then, I realized it wasn’t worth fighting any more. My instincts were right. They had told me what I really wanted. And I had ignored them.


From that moment on, I’ve listened much more closely to what my instincts say. And they’ve yet to lead me astray.

3. Accept that mistakes are inevitable, but failure is not

A big issue I’ve had is talking to people when I first meet them. I usually stumble, lose my train of thought, get nervous, and just look like a fool. So for a while, I would just sit in a corner and listen. It felt right—for a little while. Then I became impatient and said “I’ll try my best.”

I still mess up a lot. I say some words strangely. I get strange looks as I try to express myself. I’ve accepted that I’ll make mistakes. But I don’t think I’ve ever failed. Accept that you’ll make mistakes and you’ll be able to do a lot more. You only fail when you give up.

4. Get outside your nonexistent comfort zone

I know a lot of people who just get carried along with the flow of life. They have a routine. They take the same route to work every day. They get to work at the same time. They leave at the same time. Go to sleep at the same time. And repeat this for most of their lives. They are living within their comfort zone.

With anxiety, I never had a comfort zone. I was always uncomfortable. I spent a long time seeking my comfort zone. When I finally accepted it doesn’t exist, I became much more comfortable being uncomfortable. I started doing a lot more.

And here’s a secret: you don’t have a comfort zone either. Once you accept this, you can live life fully.

5. Don’t make things into a big deal

The average person fears public speaking more than death. But I feared walking in public areas more than death and public speaking combined.

When you have anxiety, everything seems like a big deal. You’ve probably heard people say, “If I just don’t get an A on that test, I’m screwed.” I was like that. Until I spent some time in Dominican Republic and saw first-hand how few things are a big deal. There, five-year-olds go all day out in the sun, without a drop of water, even though there are jugs of water behind lock and key. But they don’t care. They’re still outside having fun.

I didn’t get an A. That’s a big deal. You didn’t get that raise last week and can’t buy a new BMW. That’s a big deal. She goes all day without a drink of water. No problem…? Wouldn’t you say something’s a bit of out whack?

Live life realizing that most things aren’t that big a deal. You’ll find you are much happier.

I hope you found these tips useful. I love writing about this, so if you have any questions, I would love love love to answer any and all. Just remember, follow your instinct. If you want to email me, do it.

Brandon Yanofsky is a small business owner, entrepreneur, and marketing consultant, but loves talking and writing about life. He blogs for boutique salons at TheSalonMarketer.com and tweets as @byanofsky.

Why I Love … Ashtanga Yoga

February 2, 2011 by

This post is by Claudia Azula Altucher of Claudiayoga.com.

I was completely intrigued by Ashtanga yoga at first sight, starting with its brutal schedule, but also including its lack of poetry (no “feel the Earth’s energy flow through you” was ever heard in a class) and the mythological superstitions that some forms of yoga employ.

As the years went by and the practice deepened, I fell in love with it hopelessly and for many reasons. Here are some.

1. It’s no-nonsense

Ashtanga yoga plays no games. When I say it has a brutal schedule, I mean it. It is practiced six times a week for at least 1.5 hours. Rest days are Saturdays, full-moon days, and “ladies holidays”. Men have no holidays, sorry! The routine which one practices is pre-set and is called the primary series, which is a set of poses designed to release all toxins and heal the body at its gross level.

At first the practice felt very competitive, which for my western mind was a good carrot on a stick. I wanted to be better, to advance fast, to move to the intermediate series of poses (there are six that grow in intensity). Little did I know how long it would take me to perfect the primary series, how much dedication and discipline it takes, and also that it is not about the next pose, but rather about the amazing changes that the practice brings into the practitioner’s life.

The Guru of Ashtanga yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois said: “Do your practice and all is coming.” I have found this to be a great incentive, and also a deep truth. The “all” in that statement really means all The “do your practice” means more than just the practice of the poses. It means learning to connect with spirit. The rest simply comes—it’s almost like magic.

2. It’s portable

When I first started practicing I had a demanding corporate job that required travel throughout Europe. I would be in London one week and in Spain the next one. I also traveled to Buenos Aires very often. Yet, because the practice is set, it is easy to simply roll out the mat wherever one is in the world. There is no need to find a teacher (although I did that too—and for fun).

I’m known for “doing it” in very odd places. I have performed the whole primary series in my brother’s terrace, and to the curious eyes of thousands of windows above me; in an inborn flight within the kitchenette area and until whenever the flight attendants kicked me out; and in Dubai airport while waiting for the next plane to Bangalore.

3. It is a breathing practice

Breathing is the most important and relevant thing within the practice. There’s no pause: one keeps breathing and flowing from one pose (asana) to the next, and the body is constantly moving while riding the breath.

Starting the day with such awareness of the breath has proven very helpful for my remaining waking hours. For example, I began to notice while in difficult corporate meetings that I could stop the talking and focus on the breathing. Just take a small pause, not a long one obviously, and take one long breath. This, believe it or not, has a psychological effect by which one seems to come across as centered—and that was what I was trying to do (get centered). I have found that by just breathing and not saying anything for, say, three to five seconds, problems have either solved themselves or disappeared.

4. Every single practice is a full body and mind workout

Each class is called a Mysore class because of its birth place in the city of Mysore, in South India. They are self-lead, meaning that one arrives and puts the mat out and starts, and nobody leads (except for specifically designated led classes once a week).

These Mysore classes can get really hot, especially when the rooms are crowded, it is summer, or you are in a tropical place. It is also hard, the poses are not easy, and there is nothing poetic about it. It is what it is, and one deals with it. Perspiration goes hand in hand with daily practice, and it is best to make peace with it, and do some research on good deodorants. I found the learning curve, although steep, very controlled, because a teacher will only add poses one by one, when the student is ready.

Ashtanga yoga is also a metaphor for life. I have noticed that just by attempting a difficult position like kurmasana, I would then dare to do challenging things in life, like planning a trip to India by myself, going for an extended silent meditation retreat, or trying to be kinder to all people.

5. It helps the body relax deeply

Through the new flock of friends Ashtanga brought into my life I learned about the Castor Oil bath. This practice is said to have so many benefits that if you were to believe them all, you’d think it is a potion that comes straight from the Gods.

The main benefit is in the heat that the oil produces in the body, and every time I bathe I feel the warmth. It feels almost as if I had a suit on me that is trapping, extracting, and then releasing impurities. Further benefits among others are the reduction of pain and inflammation, and a healthy glow. It is secrets like this one—traditions that in India have been passed around for generations—that opened my eyes to a completely different way of caring for the body.

6. It gave me the answer

At the most recent conference I attended in Mysore with the head of the lineage (Sharath Jois), I was surprised to see that for every question the students had, the answer was always the same, “do yoga.” Yes there are variations depending on the question, but the main focus is always brought back to this.

“Do yoga” does not just mean do the poses, it means being in touch with the divine within, it means self reflection, noticing where my intentions are, and what is it that I really want in life. It means noticing the areas where I am hoarding, weather it be energy, or possessions, and noticing where I am being truthful in my relationships and where I create intrigue just for self-satisfaction. “Do Yoga” means purifying every action I do.

In daily life, this has a profound effect. I notice for example that if I lose inspiration on what to write about, or I need guidance on how to handle a situation with my husband, it is by “coming back to spirit”, reflecting, and noticing what I am doing with my energy that brings the best answers.

7. It brought me to India

Any Ashtangi that enjoys the practice is eventually brought to its place of birth in Mysore, South India. The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute is located on a quiet street in the neighborhood of Gokulam, which is another planet, yet has some of the western comforts as it caters to the myriad of students that pour into it year after year to study at the source.

Coming to India worked within me as a restart button. It allowed me to see a whole different culture, to be bathed in colors, chants, smells, foods, and things that were completely different to anything I had seen before, and hence served as an inspiration. I am writing this article from my second trip, while staying in the household of an Indian family, and I sure hope I will be returning soon.

Practicing at the source, with the main teachers in the lineage, and knowing that they are watching makes people try harder, go a little deeper, focus on the practice (and I do not mean just the asana). So when I return home I feel like I have done more than one month of work.

8. It helped me understand the power of the word

Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned through yoga is the power of the word. Yoga teaches us to cleanse the body and the mind, so that we can eventually see the shinning light that was within us all along but we had kept covered with dust.

The way we word things is one of those areas that needs immediate purification. Words are powerful, they cast spells, they provoke emotional reactions, they can hurt or nurture others, they can bring peace or discomfort.

A few weeks ago in one of my articles I had a very sarcastic comment from a reader, and I realized that I had a choice, I could continue the hurt by being rude or I could do something different. I replied to his comment by saying two things: one, that I got the sarcasm, and two, that I liked the way he wrote. He was indeed a good writer, he was just using the power of the word in an attempt to hurt. Perhaps the yoga was working for me as I was able to put the attention on what was good about him—the writing—and deflecting the negativity by just acknowledging it.

9. I released 30 pounds and never saw them again

Perhaps a better wording for that would be that I came into my ideal weight, and it was not done by following a diet or any kind of program, or being tough or firm. No, it actually all started by learning to love myself in a rather gentle way.

I used Louise Hay’s exercise, by which one looks into a mirror and says “I love you”. In the beginning I felt very out of sorts, stupid almost. Do you know why? Because I did not believe it. After a while, however, I came to the understanding that maybe I was worth of my own respect, maybe I was deserving of my own love.

I find that loving myself was the first step in bringing about many important changes in my life, not just attaining my ideal weight, but also getting clear about relationships, using my time and energy more effectively, considering the possessions I had which I did not really need, and discerning what good friendships meant.

10. I went down the rabbit hole

As titillating as it is to watch long-term practitioners perform difficult poses, the really amazing part of the practice for me has come through seeing the changes it brought in my life and how they manifested. Coincidences these days fill my days to the point where it feels like a science fiction novel—I follow clues from the plates of cars, images, things I hear, and so on. Clues about the right direction come to me, and I am blessed to be open enough to listen. This happens, of course, as long as I keep the connection with God (however it is that I understand it) alive.

This is what, for me, makes yoga a practice rather than a workout, it has a spiritual deep connection and an element of surrendering and surprise that keeps me wondering and in awe. It is magical.

Have you ever tried yoga in any form? What was your experience of it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Claudia Azula Altucher has studied yoga for over a decade and all over the world including the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India, and at Centered Yoga in Thailand. She writes daily at Claudiayoga.com.

Five Lessons that Teaching Music Taught Me About Success

January 31, 2011 by

This post is by Bradford Werner of Classical Guitar Canada.

I teach classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. I teach about 25 one-on-one students, give lectures on occasion, and coach a few ensembles as well.

One thing I love about teaching is making the study of music a positive experience where learning is exciting, and there is no need to build motivation or discipline because it develops on its own. I think the tenets of this philosophy can be applied with success in other areas of our lives. Let me explain.

1. Just keep practicing

My students have taught me a lot about the importance of routine and consistency. They show up to lessons every week and practice on average 45 minutes to one hour each day. After a year of lessons, they are good little classical guitarists—they’re happy, I’m happy, their parents are happy. All they had to do was practice regularly. They didn’t doubt themselves in their practice sessions because practicing is like brushing their teeth—they just do it every day.

Some of the greatest people in history weren’t the smartest ones or the most talented—they were people who simply did whatever they set out to do. While the rest of us were watching six hours of Star Trek episodes, those guys were out there practicing.

Sometimes when I’m facing challenges in life, I like to think of my students. If I’m being negative or feeling self-doubt I just remember that if I simply do the work I’ll end up with something to show for it.

One of my best students didn’t start as the most promising. When the student came to me she was young, relatively untrained, and rather unfocused too. She joked about in lessons quite a bit and I wasn’t sure she was suited to one-on-one training of the classical kind. But guess what? She stuck with the lessons and so did I. She is now an amazing student and becoming an independent, head-strong musician who practices more than I’d ever ask

In Scott Tenant’s book on classical guitar technique, humorously called Pumping Nylon, he quotes Yoda from Star Wars who sums up the point: “Do or do not, there is no try.”

2. Make your work positive

Youth and adult students often come to the first lesson with fear, insecurity, and a lack of motivation. However, as we get into the groove of weekly lessons, the successful students always find ways to make the grind of practicing enjoyable.

Reward yourself well when you practice or work. It’s not all about self-discipline. Make your practice sessions into something special. I usually treat myself to a gourmet coffee, which I get to drink when I actually sit down to practice. Others might take the time to get away from everyone and have a bit of quiet time just before practicing. Whatever you do, consider making it a habit that will encourage you to sit down and get to work with a smile, because starting is the hardest part.

Here’s another trick (replace these musical references with your own chosen work or activity): make your practice session positive by working on ultra-small amounts of music, but playing well, and exactly the way you want it to sound. If that means only being able to play one tiny bit at a time, then so be it. Choose your ideal aesthetic and make it happen in your playing.

This is a way to make sure you feel good after every session, and a way for you to know that you’re on the right track. Reach your full potential, if only in small amounts—it will become easier to get through more material at this new high level of quality each time your try it.

3. Collaborate and share

Working with others is like having multiple brains working for you at once. When I play in groups, I get exposed to all sorts of new ideas and fresh perspectives. I often see people wanting to hide their ideas and protect their intellectual activity but they slowly become closed-off and secluded. In my teaching studio, the students who play ensemble music are more dynamic, more inspired, have better listening skills, and continue playing for longer periods of time due to the extra stimulation.

I run a website called Classical Guitar Canada, where I post pretty much anything for anyone about their Canadian classical guitar activities. The site makes virtually no money since I don’t run ads. However, by creating a central place to share ideas, I’ve been introduced to nearly all the classical guitar contacts in Canada. I’m now getting invited to adjudicate festivals all over, and it’s been nothing but fun. Plus, all the ideas and interaction really keeps me interested in my profession.

One of the joys of modern technology is that learning tips from others has never been easier. Sometimes, if I need to find a way of making my practice session more efficient, I ask my Facebook friends or the Classical Guitar Canada friends. They always are dying to share their tips and strategies at practicing.

4. Practicing is problem solving

The best students are the ones who don’t repeat their mistakes. That’s one reason why we have teachers. Teachers teach students to learn how to solve problems, and introduce alternative ways of approaching issues based on their own experience.

When I teach students how to practice, I tell them that they must isolate problems and get to solving them right away. Find out what the aesthetic is (the particular sound, style, or ideal) and try accomplishing it in small amounts. Make a list a of your “problems” and tackle them one at a time. If you have a problem either professionally or personally you need to solve it a.s.a.p. or it will waste your precious time again and again.

5. Be efficient and realize your potential

The great classical guitarist John Williams once said that as a child he only practiced 30 minutes a day. John Williams is one of those flawless players whom I would have expected to have been a strung-out child addicted to practice by age five. But instead, he only practiced 30 minutes a day? I can only imagine that during those 30 minutes he used his time ultra-wisely. I tell my students that you don’t have to practice very much, but you do have to practice very well.

After a student recital last year, I complimented one of my young students on how well they played. It was their first year of playing and first public performance in their life. They were only practicing about 15 minutes a day at the time (now they are up to 45 minutes). They replied to my compliment with, “I didn’t know I could do that!”

My teaching has taught me these tenets of success. What has your experience showed you about learning, improving, and achieving what you want?

Bradford Werner blogs about the classical guitar at Classical Guitar Canada and just started blogging about teaching, life, and the arts on www.bradfordwerner.ca.

3 Steps to Better Running

January 29, 2011 by

This post is by Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running.

Distance running inspires the joy of movement, freedom, and celebration of health. The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other is hypnotic, peaceful, and a powerful form of meditation. Many runners do their best thinking while out running, when they think of nothing but what’s important to them.

Running is what I love to do every day. It makes me feel alive and healthy. Running provides a powerful shot of adrenaline that too many people go without in our modern times. When was the last time you confidently ran over a wooded trail, thinking of nothing but the sounds of nature?

Being able to enjoy running is a precious gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s true: running can be hard on your joints, as every step shoots impact forces of 1.5–3 times your body weight through your legs. Overuse injuries are common in runners, as more than half of them are injured every year.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You can enjoy running with simple preventative exercises and an approach that emphasizes strength, efficiency, and recovery.

A stronger runner is a better runner

Runners usually have big engines—they need to, in order to run so much! Your engine is your endurance or your aerobic capacity; it’s what enables you to keep running farther than your couch-potato friends.

As you cruise along enjoying the freedom of running, you’re going to need strong legs to help you continue running without injuries. To stay healthy and keep getting as much joy from running as possible, the right strength exercises are a must.

The best strength workouts for runners focus on the basics: compound, multi-joint exercises that train movements (not muscles). Squats, dead lifts, different types of lunges, and hay bales with a medicine ball are my favorites for the lower legs. For your upper body, focus on the bench press, pull ups, military press, chin ups, and dips. Don’t get fancy: get basic.

Run correctly to run easily

There is definitely a right way to run. If you’re over-striding, landing on your heel, or bent too far at the waist then you’re asking for an injury that could prevent you from running for days or weeks. Let’s prevent that—I want you to be able to run every day.

The five best strategies for running effortlessly include having a stride rate of about 180 steps per minute, landing underneath your center of mass, keeping your back tall, running quietly with no foot stomping, and landing on your midfoot.

Don’t try to change your running stride all at once—work on one thing at a time. When you’re comfortable running with a faster cadence, then you can practice another aspect of good running form. Put it together and you’re going to be more efficient and less injury-prone.

Healthy runners are mindful runners

Being mindful of your body is the most important aspect of enjoying the freedom of running. As you run day after day, are you being conscious of how your body is feeling? Take care to avoid the “three toos” of distance running: too much, too soon, too fast.

Increasing your running volume or intensity too quickly can put you at a higher risk for injury that would require you to take time off. Exercise good judgment with introducing a new training stress into your running. Judge how you feel after every run. Take a day off or run more slowly if you need to. Use my motto if you like: “You have to live to run another day.”

Running is a gift—a celebration of vitality that enables us to connect with ourselves on a deep level. By exercising some caution with training increases, skill in running form, and prevention with strength exercises you will virtually injury-proof your body.

Enjoy running for what it is: a powerful expression of what your body is capable of. It’s fun, isn’t it?

Jason Fitzgerald (or Fitz) is the founder of Strength Running, a 2:44 marathoner, and online running coach. He loves running the trails, strong coffee, and cycling. Strength Running unleashes Fitz’s passion for helping runners achieve their best and prevent running injuries. Subscribe to get instant updates from Strength Running.

Why I Love … Magic

January 26, 2011 by

This post is by Mystical Matthew, one of the professional magicians at Shizzle Dizzle Magic.

Being a professional magician means being a little eccentric. Who else would walk around with a fake goose that can supposedly read minds?

Mystical Matthew, The Great Nancini, and Miss. Cleo the Mind Reading Goose

Why do I love magic? The answer seems obvious … or is it? Most people assume I love magic because I love tricking people. They think I get a thrill out of feeling superior to someone else. That somehow knowing a “secret” makes me smarter.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is a bit more complicated. Let’s start here:

“All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.”—T.E. Lawrence

As children, the world is a brand new place for each of us. Everything’s a mystery. We embrace the unknown simply because we have no other option. Children are dreamers by design. That’s why they’re so enthusiastic about magic.

Then something happens. We grow up.

Wonder is replaced by fear. We learn that the unknown is a dangerous thing. We discover the hard way that what you don’t know really can hurt you.

We respond by pushing our dreams into the void of darkness and sleep where they’re left to rot. We replace them with the illusion of security.

Somehow we figure that if we can push the unknown out of our consciousness it will stop existing. We go about our daily lives believing that every question can be answered with a Google search.

That’s a pathetic way to live. Dreams are the foundation of what makes us human. They’re powerful things. Look around you. Everything from your car to your cell phone started out as a dream in somebody’s head.

Just because you can’t hold it, see it, or touch it doesn’t mean it’s not real. Those dreams you have that could change the world? They’re real and they’re more powerful than you can imagine.

The only question is whether you’ll embrace them. Let them take over your waking existence. Do what it takes to pull them from your mind and push them into the physical realm.

The first step to doing that is accepting the unknown. Understand that the more we learn, the more questions we’ll have. Accept the danger of the unknown, but don’t let it replace wonder with fear.

I do magic to remind people of this fact. To “jolt them awake.” Ironically, I’m trying to shatter the illusion they’ve built for themselves that their lives are totally in control.

The responses I get are all over the map. Some people respond enthusiastically. They embrace my art because they love the possibilities of their own imagination.

Other people respond negatively. I’ve just shattered their feelings of safety. They don’t like that. They want nothing more than to push my art (and me) out of their minds.

Then there’s a third group in the middle. They start out not really knowing what to expect, but slowly it dawns on them. The feeling of wonder seeps back into their consciousness and they walk away transformed.

These people are dangerous. These people are why I do magic.

I’m not here to “trick” you. I’m here to remind you of the power of your own imagination. I’m here to help you change the world. To make this place better. To leave something worthwhile behind for the next generation.

That’s why I love magic.

Mystical Matthew is one of the professional magicians at Shizzle Dizzle Magic. They specialize in corporate event entertainment. Be sure to check out their blog for that latest about what they’re up to!

Declutter Your Finances in Five Steps

January 25, 2011 by

This post is by David Boyd of CreditCardCompare.com.au

Decluttering might not seem like an important item on the old to-do list. However, whilst it can make the world of difference to your living space, wardrobe (closet), and kitchen you might be surprised at the difference a little bit of work can do in the overall organization of your personal finances.

Image by lordsutch

With a little planning, a few modifications, and a couple of readjustments on your part, you could find that dealing with your finances becomes a much more efficient as well as effective process. Here are a couple of tips that could make it easier for you to get a grasp on your financial life.

1. Reduction and combination

By reducing the number of bills and statements you receive, you may begin to get a better handle upon your finances. Items like newspaper and magazine subscription bills and offers alone can begin to inundate you after a while.

Add in items like the Internet, cable, utilities, health insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance, mortgage, property tax, and lawn service bills, and add to all those the bills and statements for which you might receive multiple issues of for things like phone (if you have several services or providers for your family phones), credit cards, bank and retirement statements, and similar items, and you could be talking about dozens of items each month that you’re having to sort through.

By doing things such as bundling phone, Internet, and cable services, asking to be billed for certain items on a bi-monthly or quarterly basis, or just ditching some of those items like the magazine and newspaper subscriptions, you can begin to reduce the amount of clutter that arrives in the mail. You will definitely want to consider requesting online notification for certain bills and bank statements.

2. Know your bills

Knowing when your bills and statements typically arrive, as well as when they are due, can help you better keep your financial affairs organized. The fewer items you have to do this with, the easier it makes it to track them, especially when those items arrive on a consistent basis.

If you find that you have a difficult time knowing when you bills are likely to arrive or when they are due, consider using a calendar. This can make it easier to track your finances and help you plan out payment systems or just know what you might need to prepay before you go away on vacation for several weeks.

3. Payroll planning

Sometimes when it comes to your personal finances, it’s just easier to have someone else do the work for you. While automated bill payment can be helpful, it might also reduce your ability to catch errors or know when money is coming out of your account, which could leave you with costly overdraft fees

But when it comes to the items you may be able to have deducted directly from your paycheck, such as health insurance or a health savings account, retirement savings, direct deposit payments to bank accounts, and similar items, payroll deduction could make your financial life much more efficient and easier to handle.

4. Cut credit cards

While you probably don’t want to eliminate credit cards altogether, if you are only using one for the majority of your purchases, it can make it much easier to keep track of purchases as well as help to reduce financial clutter.

Just utilizing one credit card can reduce the number of statements you receive each month, make it easier to track spending and find discrepancies or errors, as well as remember what interest rate or finance charges you are being charged on that particular card.

5. Make a simple spreadsheet

With all the personal finance sites out there to help you get organized by way of the Internet, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need such bells and whistles to help you declutter your finances.

Financial tracking and organizing software may be as simple as a Excel spreadsheet or Google Doc. The main thing is that you understand the software you are using and that it facilitates the decluttering and knowledge of your finances. All the charts, graphs, and nifty graphics in the world won’t necessarily help you organize your finances. Your ability to make efficient use of those items however, can.

These are my tips for decluttering your finances. What others can you add?

David Boyd writes for CreditCardCompare.com.au where users can compare credit cards, including balance transfer offers that help simplify and declutter your monthly finances.

Cabin Fever Antidotes (Or: How to Feel Great About Your Accomplishments)

January 22, 2011 by

This post is by Kirsten Simmons of Multi-Passionate.

Last week, five inches of snow topped by an inch of ice kept my movements confined within a 500-yard radius of my front door.

Image by Dennis Matheson

We’ll pause here so those of you from colder climes can laugh at the large metropolitan city that went into a winter storm with a grand total of ten snow plows and no salt. Done now?

As I was saying, Atlanta’s ice storm singlehandedly cleared my week.

At first, I was excited. “I’ll finish the layout for my new ebook, write the sales page, set up a guest posting campaign to market it, write enough blog posts to get me through the next semester, and go through that book on infectious disease modeling and research that website my supervisor wants me to make,” I thought.

Then, round about mid-week, I hit something of a low. “I still haven’t sent those pitch emails, the modeling book is buried under papers on my desk, I’ve hit a dead end with the website, and I haven’t had a substantial conversation with another human in over 24 hours!”

This continued for about a day, until I realized what was going on and did two things that made all the difference.

I went out and found some human contact

I watched the parking lot until I saw someone come out, then suited up and picked my way across the ice to say hello. We ended up talking for a good twenty minutes, and it turns out he owns a local jewelry gallery and gave me some great advice on marketing my line. But even if it had just been a ten-minute conversation about the weather, the roads, and the continuing lack of ice removal, it would have had the intended effect—I needed human contact to anchor my own life in reality.

I made a list of everything I had done.

You know what? It was a pretty long list. I finished creating a value packed ebook with a snazzy layout; I wrote my first ever sales page, and created a website and a banner to go with it; I reached out to the only other person in my niche to discuss a potential partnership; I read two books and my backlog of Bloomberg Businessweek and National Geographic; I cooked so much food that I ran out of Tupperware; and I spent some time participating over at the Third Tribe forums, where I appear to have made some connections that will last me well into the future.

Not too shabby. And that was just the list from the middle of the week—with four more iced in days to go.

So the next time you feel like beating yourself up about what you haven’t accomplished yet, make a list of what you have. You may well find that your accomplishments add up to more than you think they do.

Kirsten Simmons is the polymath behind Multi-Passionate and Written Insight. Her new e-book, The Multi-Passionate Resume Manual teaches polymaths how to use their passions to create a compelling job application and bypass the entry level.

Why I Love … Journaling

January 19, 2011 by

This guest post is by Maria Walters of Rejournaling Me.

It was August or September, 1999, when I finally realized that then next year was going to be The Year Two Thousand. Being twelve, I loved being involved in anything that I felt like was “making history,” and my anticipation for the New Year rose with the media hype.

At that time I was also avidly collecting novels in the Dear America series, which told the stories of girls growing up at different points in American history. If you couldn’t tell by the name, the novels were in diary form—but they were fiction, a fact that seemed unfortunate in my eyes.

So, on the precipice of what I knew was going to be a new, amazing time in history, I decided that the journal of a real, live, almost-teenage girl would be absolutely fascinating to historians and readers everywhere. And thus, my new year’s resolution was born: to journal every night, to create something that would last for millennia to come.

Yes, a little melodramatic, perhaps, but isn’t that how all dreams seem when you’re twelve? Maybe that’s been a secret of my success: more than eleven years later, I still roll over in bed right before I turn off my light and hand-write a page or two about my day.

Why I journal

Though I started journaling through a naive desire to be famous and make history, I’ve grown to appreciate it much more than that. My journals are my reference books for my life—I can remind myself how much I’ve grown, how far I’ve come, or just how my handwriting has changed by simply flipping through the pages.

My journal is somewhere where I can think out loud and say things without worrying who is reading or how ridiculous my dreams are. I can rant, be frustrated, and think through issues without picking a fight with anyone. And, most of all, I can review my day, even in its dullness, and reflect on what has been good or bad.

Looking back, my journal won’t be the most interesting read for most people—I include plenty of monotonous details about the schedule of my day without being able to encapsulate the funny moments, the tears shed, or the characters of people around me who make life worth living. But I treasure the ability to look back on “normal” days in my life that are completely different than today’s “normal” day.

Start your own journal

The combination of foreignness and familiarity is probably the reason people are often fascinated by the fact that I journal. Often, they mention wishing they had the same habit, or asking how I’ve kept going. Well, there are certainly things (like my spelling!) that I could have improved back in 1999, but here are a couple of things I think helped me keep writing.

Take a head start

I actually started journaling on December 21, 1999, ten days before Y2K. I could be a pretty cautious girl who didn’t like failure, so I decided to test out my new year’s resolution before deciding to make it. That way, if I decided it wasn’t working or wasn’t worth it, I could just not make the resolution, instead of failing right out of the gate. Playing with logic in that way still works for me—I will often start a practice before deciding to commit to it long-term.

Use something beautiful

I remember the process of elimination at the bookstore when I was looking for my new journal—weighing one book in my hand, then another, scrutinizing each carefully. And then I felt it—a slim book, with a satiny smooth, lightly padded cover, covered with an image of a Monet or other impressionistic painting. Since then, I’ve picked out at least three or four journals each year—and I still look for one that looks beautiful and feels right.

Do it every day

I took my journal on two or three sleepovers within the first month of starting it. I’ve written in the light of a flashlight, a closet, in the hallway or bathroom, surrounded by people or alone. I even remember staying up later than I was supposed to, lying on my bedroom floor and writing by the hall light coming in under the door. It was only five or ten minutes, but I found a time for it, every day.

And, yes, I have missed a day or two at a time, but I don’t think about my habit as being “writing almost every day,” because suddenly every day becomes the “almost” part instead of the “every day” part. Writing every day makes me look for ways past the excuses instead of looking for the excuses not to write.

Expect to be boring

As I mentioned before, the way I journal helps me to think back through the day, writing down what I did, who I was with, and sometimes it reads more like a calendar than a novel. Some days I have plenty of emotions to spill or thoughts to think, and I can go on for pages. But when I write, I don’t worry about what I’m going to say, having the perfect phrasing, or any other performance anxiety—I just write something down and know that whether it’s fascinating or boring, I’ll write again tomorrow.

I may not be as famous as 12-year-old me might have hoped, but I have lived through a new, amazing time in history. Now I have a chance to look back and acknowledge it, and I have plenty more new, amazing times to look forward to documenting—which is my hope for you, too, that you have a chance to reflect on what was good and hard, and look forward to it.

What about you? Do you keep a journal? Or do you have some other way to process what happens each day?

Maria shares her old journal entries, 11 years later, at her blog, Rejournaling Me.

How Investing Increases Your Self-Esteem

January 17, 2011 by

This guest post is by Andrea Travillian of Take a Smart Step.

Feel like you need a boost in self esteem?  Well you could follow the traditional advice and go get counseling or use positive affirmations. How about, instead of that, you try using investing to increase your self esteem?

How investing increases self esteem

  1. You get the opportunity to see something grow, that you helped produce. Investing is similar to planting a garden and getting the benefit of seeing your food grow and then enjoying the great taste. Anytime you create something from the ground up, you’ll have increased self esteem.
  2. You feel empowered that you are doing something to take control of your future and change your life. If you have ever started an exercise program, you’ll understand that as you made progress and changed your life you felt better, emotionally and physically.  Anytime you take action to make your life better, your self esteem increases.
  3. Investing decreases stress, which makes you feel like there is one less thing that you’re struggling with. How? Money creates a sound financial base, which decreases stress. Decreased stress allows you to be more creative and have more energy for the rest of your life, thus helping you increase self esteem.
  4. Investing gives you a sense of accomplishment.  Kids develop self esteem by doing things on their own, like tying their shoes.  You too can develop self esteem by investing on your own.

Alright, so you are with me on investing creates self esteem?  But you still have excuses popping up that won’t allow you to get started?  You don’t have enough money, enough time, or enough knowledge?  Well I have some answers to hopefully give you the boost you need to get going!

Not enough money?

If you’re interested in increasing your self esteem, then most likely you are willing to pay for things like counseling and books to help you.  Why not take that money and save it instead?  Consider it another form of therapy.

Another option would be to begin to budget. Budgeting has a tendency to make us feel like we have more money since we quit wasting it.  When we see that we spend four hundred dollars at the spa we might quickly decide that fifty dollars would be better put to our investment.

Not enough time?

Do you have time to watch an hour of TV?  Then you have time to set up an investment.  It really does not take much time!  Don’t have an hour to watch TV?  I am sure that you can find one hour somewhere else in the day—I know that I’d waste at least one hour a day.

You could try waking up one hour early to get your investment set up.  If you set it up on an automatic program, you will be done with just one day of waking early. Just one hour less sleep for one day and you are on your way to higher self esteem!

Don’t know how to invest?

This is one of the best parts of using investing to increase self esteem, because by learning something new you increase your self esteem. So not only do you get the benefit of increased self esteem from investing, but you get more self esteem from learning something new. Let’s look at how you can get started.

Getting Started

So are you ready to start investing to build your self esteem?  Following is a short list of how to get going.

Learn how to invest

If you don’t know how to invest, start learning. Do this by starting to read about investing.  There are many ways to do this, read a magazine  like Smart Money, read a book (I recommend Investing for Dummies), or start studying blogs and websites like Morning Star.  Even small doses of five or ten minutes each day will help you start to learn.

Start saving

Start putting aside a small amount each month to start building your investment experience.  You would not start your first garden by planting an entire acre; you would most likely start out with a few plants and expand your garden each year.  This allows you to learn about what works and what doesn’t while building your knowledge and confidence.  Your investment can even be as small as $25 a month—every little bit helps.

Create a way to track your investment growth

Your tracking tool might be very simple—it could even involve taking out a piece of paper and writing down how much you have at the end of each month.  By posting this you will get to visually see your investments growing.  Watching something grow, like a garden, gives you a sense of achievement. Now you can begin to bask in the glow of your increased self esteem, and your growing wealth.

Do you have an investment? How have saving and investing helped your self-esteem? Share your experiences in the comments.

Andrea Travillian teaches personal finance with the goal of building your financial confidence.   Get your free copy ebook and mp3 on money and contentment at Take a Smart Step.

3 Ways Not to Look Like an Idiot at the Gym

January 16, 2011 by

Growing up, I was always the “Fat Kid.” When I graduated from High School, I weighed over 400lbs. Then, a couple years ago I decided to take control of my health. Through a combination of low-fat vegetarianism and regular exercise, I lost 175lbs. No surgery, just lifestyle changes.

I’m a professional magician and I wanted to look good on stage. The effect on my appearance was dramatic. Check out these before and after pictures.

Before...

After!

Naturally, I get a lot of questions about this. One thing I hear regularly is, “I don’t like going to the gym! I feel like an idiot!”

If you’re not used to working out, your local gym can be an intimidating place. If you’re really that afraid of looking like an idiot, here’s a handy guide to help you out.

Don’t obsess over how you look

The regulars are there for precisely one purpose: to get a workout in. Most of us have lives outside of the gym and would like to get on with them. Don’t let the movies fool you—there’s nobody on the planet that looks sexy while getting a workout.

I’m not saying you should look like a bum, but every January you’d be forgiven for thinking your gym was a fashion runway instead of a gym. People walk around with matching shoes, shorts, tops, hair ties, and ear buds. Even their iPods match their outfits! It’s not just the ladies that do this. Guys do it too.

Oh, and do you wear makeup? Keep in mind that you’re showing up to sweat! I don’t care if you look like the grim reaper without it. It’s just not practical.

See the buff guy over in the corner with the clean-but-well-used shirt and worn sneakers? I can almost guarantee you he’s a regular.

Be considerate to others

You’re in a room with dozens of other people. This isn’t your living room, so be considerate.

Gym etiquette isn’t rocket science. Nobody wants to work out on a machine that’s covered in your sweat. Wipe it down when you’re done.

I know you’ll take a shower after your workout, but if you stink, please wash up before hitting the gym floor. Your stench will waft through the building until some poor soul (probably me) passes out from it and flies off the treadmill.

If you see a friend and want to have a chat, please talk off to the side—don’t do it while you’re on the equipment. If the gym is busy, chances are there’s a line of people behind you who are getting wicked irritated.

Guys, just because we all change together in the locker room doesn’t mean I want to see your junk. Have some modesty and wear a towel. (I assume the ladies have similar modesty issues, but since I haven’t had the privilege of hanging out in the women’s locker room I don’t know for sure…)

Get some training on the equipment you’re about to use

Most gyms will give you a one-time tutorial without making you pay for personal training. Even if they don’t, do whatever it takes to make sure you know what you’re doing. If you don’t bother, the best case scenario is you’ll look like an idiot. The worst case scenario is that you’ll injure yourself.

I’ll never forget the time I saw a guy just start whomping on a punching bag Jackie-Chan style. He threw out his shoulder and got hauled out in an ambulance. Good times!

If you’re serious about getting fit, you’re going to spend a lot of time working at it. At least take the time to learn how to do it right.

The one thing you shouldn’t worry about…

…is your actual fitness level. Most people have this pre-conceived notion that the gym is filled with beautiful people with perfect bodies. This just isn’t true. The matching-earbud brigade comes the closest, but for the most part there are people of all shapes and sizes there. Every gym has a jerk or two, but everyone else is just trying to live a healthy lifestyle.

Even if you’re really out of shape like I was, don’t worry about it. Many folks are actually silently supportive. I didn’t realize this until a few months had passed and I had shed some of the weight. I started getting a lot of comments along the lines of:

“Hey! I see you here every day… I’m seeing the results! I’m really happy for you, keep up the good work!”

Bottom line? You don’t need to obsess over your appearance or have the perfect body. Just be yourself and be courteous to others. You’ll discover the gym isn’t scary at all, and who knows? You might even find you like it!

Matthew Jones is one of the professional Ohio magicians at Shizzle Dizzle Magic. They provide clean comedy magic for corporate events, festivals, and anti-bullying school assemblies! Check out their blog for more details!

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