Over at Copyblogger, a blunt marketer tells the truth.
Ms. Trunk breaks down my dreams a manager’s purpose.
At a time when it’s easy to hate America, Hunter pulls this out.
Muddled transparency of life with in-laws over at A Good Husband.
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Years and years ago man was only concerned with his survival.
His day to day consisted of clubbing wild beasts and avoiding being eaten. He wasn’t intellectually advanced enough to know the impact he could make on this world. Man’s purpose was simply to be for as long as he could. It was with evolution and developing societies that we become aware of our own mortality. And with this mortality came an unjust fear of the unknown.
What was to come upon our deaths, and with that, what stamp could we make for ourself while our short existence ran its course?
If even today we settled into survival alone (as many still do), the simplicity of our lives would most likely bring us happiness we’d only dreamed of. It is our obsessions with “perfection” and “success” that takes away from our human experience. These ideas of what we should be hang over our heads like unreachable meat to a starving animal. We are plagued by them and we will die wishing to obtain them.
It is our awareness of our impending demise that leads us to wish for a remarkable life. Shouldn’t knowing that we have this great opportunity be enough to appreciate it?
Doesn’t that alone make it remarkable?
We live in a time when we could (literally) be whomever and whatever we choose to be because our society has become so wonderful that we can become prosperous doing things we love. Our basic needs can be supplied with much less work and more efficiency than our ancestors could have ever known. Yet, still we squander resources and whine about circumstance.
Knowing the limitation time brings us shouldn’t create fears of mediocrity and failure, it should further illustrate the gift of life. To exist and know of it is our most valued treasure.
Evolution was a such a thoughtful present. It gave humans mortality. Perhaps it is best we honor every moment of it.
psst - Have you stimulated someone else today?
photo by Emuisphere Peliculas
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I recently received my stimulus check.
I originally intended to save the entire $600 bucks for my first vacation in seven years.
But I’ve given it some thought, and since I don’t really NEED the money (as in the real definition of neediness), I’ve decided to use a portion of it to help stimulate someone else.
I am going to donate $100 of my check to Kiva.org and I hope I can get other people to do the same.
Now if you’d rather donate it to another organization or individual, so be it. If you didn’t receive a stimulus or aren’t an American getting fed a few hundred bucks in hush money, I still encourage you to consider the idea.
I could give the speel about giving rather than receiving, but you’ve been fed that line before.
This is an easy way to do something for somebody else with money we otherwise wouldn’t have had in the first place.
Any attempt to Just MakeItBetter is one worth doing.
I’m gonna try to get other bloggers in on the action. So do harass your favorites about it and/or please click on the links below to attract my blogger friends’ attention as well.
Thanks all, I appreciate your support.
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I’ve been feeling a bit unmotivated lately.
Sometimes, I lose the pep in my step. More often than that, I get anxious about whatever so-called plateau I’ve created for myself.
It feels like I am in all three right now. I’ve been working on waking up my internal cheerleader, but she’s become a lazy bitch. So I’m resorting to bragging on my blog.
Now, what does this do for you?
I mean, that is the reason I do this whole blogging thing. (So my obsession with making this world a better place can help others learn from my life and avoid these debacles - in case you weren’t sure.)
It helps to look at your life for all the greatness you have in it. For what you’ve created in it.
I’m in a lazy mood, (remember?) so I’m going with a list for this one.
1. People know not what they do. My father was an abusive drunk and I was a loud kid. You get the picture. I’ve forgiven him. All is well now. I decided not to drink that self-inflicted poison.
2. I have a few great friends. I’ve managed to keep the good ones and weed out the toxic ones. Yaay!
3. Saying no to cake. I have a sweet tooth. It’s under control. I could be better, but considering my friend once hurled a Snickers bar across the store because I couldn’t resist, I’d say there’s been significant improvement.
4. No consumer debt. Besides the 10k in student loans, I’m totally financially free. In less than two years I’ve paid off 4k in credit cards and almost 8k in a car loan. And I probably make less than you.
5. Spilled milk isn’t worth crying over. “Get over it Nicole, it’s not that bad. Seriously, just get over it.” I did and will continue too. Once you get the habit of it, it’s no big deal.
6. Mommie Dearest. My mother drives me crazy. She’s amazing though. I’ve learned to deal, breathe or leave the room. It’s okay, karma will just give me a kid just like me.
7. Scary stuff. Fear is just your body’s way of letting you know you really want something, but it doesn’t believe you can do it. I make sure to let my body know who’s boss.
8. Small town girl. I am proud I escaped the sandbox that is my hometown. I could’ve stuck my head it in and continued to suffocate. Instead I took the best lessons it could teach and followed my heart.
Amen baby.
No go, write your own list. You’re a raging success too. Success isn’t a future event, it’s happening to you right now.
photo by Exfordy
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My feed is now working. So go subscribe before it’s too cool and you feel like a poser b/c you’re getting on the bandwagon late in the game.
Btw, until I find a programmer who likes being paid in cookies and smiles please bear with me as I learn this blogging stuff. Who knows what interesting issues lie ahead so I appreciate your patience and understanding.
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Here are many ways to decide how to be a woman:
Years ago in American society, what it meant to be a woman was decided by men and society.
Older society members would dictate how a woman was supposed to act, how she looked, what she did and who she became. Typically instituted by men, limitations and boundaries were set to reinforce the era’s model representation.
Women were never free to express their femininity on their own terms.
Our society might seem like it has its grasp on female freedom, but that’s only instilled in those who allow fear to hold them back. A phenomenal woman doesn’t allow social pressure and expectation to keep her from accomplishing her dreams. How to be a woman means to be whatever you want it to be. You can be the prude, the slut, the working mom, the smoldering sex kitten, or a little bit of everything.
Unlike before, this is our time to define feminine perfection. However we see fit.
Start crafting.
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This will be the last post in The Ultimate Crap Detox series. I hope this process has helped even one person reevaluate their relationship with money and things. I hope it helps many others too.
Here are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 for those of you who are interested in participating.
It’s been almost two years since I went through my own crap detox. I remember how difficult it was and how much I believed I would feel down forever. Now, like most hard times, I am thankful for having gone through it.
Life is so much better without consumerism (unconsciously) plaguing me.
Settled in on the other side, here’s what I’ve learned so far:
1. I Love Stuff
Things can never bring true happiness. They can’t prove love. They can’t fulfill or define, but they sure can add that cherry on top. Material possessions can enhance your life. Just because I don’t need to buy things, doesn’t mean I still don’t freak out over an adorable sun dress.
2. Quantity Is Meaningless.
These are a few of my favorite things: nice cards, great books, big TV’s, Kate Spade, pretty packaging, nifty containers, yummy smells, a good stylist, talented chefs, natural foods, BCBG, cashmere, anything pink, comfy couches, amazing patisseries.
I am no rich girl (yet) but I have a lot more money then the average person. It’s only because I stopped spending it. Sometimes, just because I love it, I’ll have dinner at an expensive restaurant or buy an overpriced, but exquisite item.
I always longed for certain experiences and luxuries, but because I don’t squander my money on the compulsive need to consume, I can actually afford some of them. Now I can have what I no longer need, but still want.
3. Resourceful meets Thoughtful.
When holidays and other times of gifting come around, I now see how arbitrary these situations can be. Gifting was always one of my favorite things, but the expense of forced thoughtfulness had taken its luster.
Outside of the consumerist bubble I see just how generic holidays can be. With frugality, resourcefulness sets in and the real effort starts. Not using cash to fix the gift quandary allows for sincerity to breathe through.
4. Oh Gluttony.
Before my crap detox I didn’t see how other parts of my life were overindulgent too. I can now see and detox them with greater ease.
For example:
I’ve always loved sweets and I always knew I gave into my cravings more than a nutritionist would allow. It wasn’t until recently that I started noticing how unnecessary it really was. I ate too much of it and was not really enjoying it. It was soothing something else, and it wasn’t my sweet tooth.
It was enough for me to start paying closer attention.
I want to thoroughly enjoy every minute here and that includes my time with cake.
Well, that’s it for now.
I hope this journey has been good to you. Continue it and you’ll forever be grateful for it. Subscribe here if you ever need a pick-me-up.
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Hello All,
This is a friendly request for feedback.
I would really love to hear what everyone thinks of the site, my content and topics.
Be critical but constructive. Lay it on. I know there’s many lurkers who never comment. I’d especially love to hear from you - the quiet majority.
I really appreciate it and if you don’t want to comment, feel free to email: makeitbetterblog @ gmail DOT c o m
And don’t forget to subscribe. It would make this whole keeping-up-on-content thing a lot easier!
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Our minds are designed to make us remember things we wouldn’t consciously remember otherwise.
They are stuffed inside, waiting to be excavated.
It’s incredible, really.
How the brain will do things we otherwise have no idea it is doing, but it manages to get things done for us no matter what.
Last night I watched an episode of Darren Brown. He’s a famous psychological illusionist from England and he is brilliant.
Darren taught the Joe Blow volunteer how to memorize mounds of material so he may compete in a Jeopardy-like British game show one weeks later. One week later Mr. Blow came in 2nd place.
He said it was one of the best experiences he’s ever had.
He said it was something he would have never tried nor had he believed he’d be able to do anything like it.
With the thrill of the show and with a master like Darren Brown’s support, this average man accomplished an incredibly task he wouldn’t have conceived of doing weeks before.
Shit.
Imagine what you could do.
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I truly dislike my job.
Like many Americans, it drains me of all my energy, leaving me empty and unfulfilled. I wake up and feel like I am showering with shackles. Facing the day with an invisible burden.
I’ve read the advice. Often scouring the Internet for some ingenious insights. I’ve blamed myself, my youth, and my grip on the past. I cried self-pityingly, disturbed by myself.
Over time I came to accept the structure, the corporate crap, the rules, the industry, the lack of ingenuity. I found peace with my situation. Battling my distaste wasn’t giving me anything but stomach cramps.
Despite this, each morning I still carry gratuitous weight. The knowing inside me that this just isn’t for me. That it’s just wrong.
Sometimes acceptance is the one thing we need to find, but sometimes all we really need is to accept what is true for us. That this (whatever it may be) just isn’t what we want.
Listen to your instincts, sometimes you don’t need to accept the situation. You just need to get the fuck out of it.
Now go read someone else’s stuff.
Please subscribe first!
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