Your Life – Your Standards
Lifesteading – It Starts Here
Dec 4th
This is a ‘STICKY’ Post explaining the concept behind ‘Lifesteading’…. Please scroll down for the most recent post
Most people have heard of ‘Homesteading’
It’s generally accepted to mean finding and staking a claim to a plot of land, building a place there, and living a simple life of self sufficiency.
Well I’m using the term ‘Lifesteading‘ to mean something similar but far more valuable.
Instead of finding a plot of land it’s about realising that you have a right to ‘life’ and staking a claim to your share of it.
Instead of building a physical place it’s about deciding what you want to be and how you’re going to contribute. Establishing your place in life and gaining reward from it.
Instead of simple day to day self sufficiency it’s about gaining the freedom to chose what you do and where you go without being tethered to a ‘job’, without being dictated to by others. Self sufficient on your own terms.
I want ‘Lifesteading‘ to come into general use
I want people to realise that they have the power to live rather than exist
I want to lead by example and make Lifesteading.com a valuable resource for those who chose to say ”Enough! I want something better!”.
For years I jokingly repeated the phrase ‘there’s got to be more to life than this’. It’s no joke…..there is ….. and it’s yours to take
Make Time To Watch This
Jan 18th
Do yourself a big favour, find 35 minutes, get a cup of coffee, get comfy and then let Mr Robbins have a little chat. Great content…perfect timing
New Year, New Life-Don’t be trapped by the calendar. Create the life you want right now. Here’s where to start.
Forget the resolutions that you may or may not have broken already; resolutions are nothing but a wish list of what you want to have happen. Instead resolve to make a real change this year.
Here’s a message to get you on the path to momentum, and true lasting change. (Here’s a hint: It’s about making progress happen in your life.)
Wake up and take action-a New Year and a New Life doesn’t just happen on January 1.
Stop Thinking – Start Doing
Jan 14th
I owe it to myself and others to try and explain why it is that, despite having 25 days off over the Christmas holidays I pretty much failed to do any productive work, I didn’t blog and I didn’t tweet. I ended up feeling guilty and depressed and with good reason, but why did I let it happen?
The best I can come up with is that I was tired and jaded and that I just switched off completely, but strangely, now, it doesn’t seem to matter because I actually think it was a good thing…why? Well if I hadn’t procrastinated and wasted so much time I wouldn’t have ended up feeling like I did, and if I hadn’t ended up feeling like I did I wouldn’t have given myself the massive kick up the arse that I did and I wouldn’t be where I am now. Since the holiday ended a few days ago I’ve really got myself together. I have my productivity and organisational tools sorted and operational, I’ve identified and started working on my main income generating project, and I’ve clarified the other money making activities that I’m going to work on. I’ve heard a phrase quite a lot recently “paralysis by analysis”, I now realise its something I’ve been guilty of.
In my defence this whole experience of being in complete control of my daily actions regarding work is completely alien to me. All my working life I have been ‘ordered’ or ‘directed’ by others to a greater or lesser degree and I’ve found it very hard to make the necessary adjustment to my mindset that would allow me to be efficient and productive as an individual. I therefore felt the need to investigate and evaluate every possible method of getting myself ‘ready’ to work. All I succeeded in doing was wasting time and getting myself completely overwhelmed. I really feel that I’ve passed a watershed in this regard. It’s easy to say it but very difficult to put into practice but it’s a stark truth… if it’s going to happen then YOU have to do the work, nobody is going to push you, nobody is going to help you, nobody is really going care if you don’t succeed. But now I am very clear on my goals, I know exactly what I want to happen over the next few months and years, where I want to be, who I want to be and, as I’ve said before I have the tools and knowledge to achieve those goals. If I didn’t make it happen I would be a total loser, not only in the minds of all who know me but, most importantly, in my own mind. I’ve been there before and it nearly destroyed me, it’s not going to happen again!
So here’s where I’m at. 2010 has started a few weeks late for me because I took my eye off the ball but now I’m totally on track. In my next post I’ll give you more details about exactly what I’m doing and how I’m doing it, for now just know that things are getting exciting and that this is a story worth following.
Cheers
On Lack of Direction
Dec 21st
As the year draws to a close it’s inevitable that thoughts turn to what has been achieved during the past 12 months and, far more importantly, what needs to be achieved during the next 12. For me 2009 has been a year of change and new experiences. I’ve had to make some big decisions and have struggled at times to keep the faith. It struck me fairly recently that for a number of reasons it feels like I am on the threshold of a new chapter. Its the Winter solstice today, the shortest day, from tomorrow the days start getting longer and we start moving back towards the sun, 2010 approaches, a new decade. Early in the New Year I am expecting an event that, after a number of years, will finally draw a line under one of the most traumatic and emotional periods of my life. 2010 will be the year when I stop working for others and start working for myself and the year in which ‘Gleda’ my boat, will take a huge leap forward towards launch.
Compass
My girlfriend pointed out the other day that I’ve been ‘working’ on this Internet Marketing’ thing for over a year and yet I’ve got nothing to show for it, that’s not true, I have a large credit card bill!
She’s right though, I’ve spent countless hours and a lot of money ‘researching’ ‘learning’ ‘planning’ and ’starting’. I’ve told everyone of my plans and spoken enthusiastically of the huge benefits I’m going to reap more time, more freedom. more money etc. etc. Problem is it’s all been talk, the reality is that despite everything I’ve not made any money.
Over the past few days I’ve been thinking hard about what she said and I’ve come to realise that she was just telling me what I already knew but was choosing to ignore. Why is is it that having spent so many hours reading, listening and watching so many people telling me that the biggest cause of failure is inaction, that it’s not enough to learn, you have to take action, that I have still fallen into the trap? How is that possible?
I have all the ideas, knowledge, tools and time I need and yet I’ve done nothing, it’s crazy!
Well I’m not spending valuable time analysing it, there’s no point. The most important thing is to change and act.
I was reading the other day that one of the things that holds most people back is the lack of necessity. No matter how badly off we think we are, no matter how much we think we want change, if we are surviving, if we have food, a roof over our heads, a relatively ‘comfortable’ life, then our brains say ” Hey, what’s the rush, we’re fine, no need to stress and put yourself under pressure, we can do it when we need to “.
Isn’t it strange that given all the obstacles and problems the world can throw at us the biggest one is actually us!
What’s the solution? Well I think that by pure luck I’ve accidentally created a situation where inaction and failure is not an option, a situation that will cause me huge stress and discomfort, how? Well, as I said just now, I’ve told everyone what I’m doing. I’ve probably bored people with it and yes, there will be a lot of them that think I’m a dreamer and a waster, and that it will never work. So that kind of leaves only two possibilities for 2010.
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I pull my finger out, take action every day and make it work or
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I carry on doing what I’ve been doing this year and see all my dreams shattered and all the doubters vindicated
I’ll leave you to guess which route I’m taking!
Have a super Christmas everyone, I look forward to sharing the best year of my life with you next year!
The Road To Nowhere
Dec 13th
Cold hard fact – it’s virtually impossible to have the freedom to live your life the way that you want without money in the bank and some sort of income. We all know this, that’s why most of us work. Problem is that very few of us achieve the level of income that truly allows us to live life as we please. At best we get to a place where we have a decent home, a decent car, and are able to take expensive holidays in those few precious weeks a year when we can consider ourselves ‘free’.
For me the concept of being ‘rich’ in a moneytery sense holds no appeal, sure I’d like not to have to worry about paying for stuff bit the thought of big houses, luxury cars and loads of possessions holds no appeal. The riches I truly value are ‘time’ and ‘freedom’, I need enough money to give me both but no more than that. I just want my boat, the time and freedom to sail wherever and whenever I want, and enough cash to maintain that lifestyle and contribute in some way.
After much thought and research I believe there is only one area of business that I’m capable of working in that will generate sufficient income without tying me to a geographic loction or large chunks of time, and that’s Internet Marketing.
There’s a problem with this though. The Internet Marketing world is a huge one and it’s awash with rip off merchants, false prophets and distracting temptations that will have you turning off the road to success and getting lost in a maze of back alleys and dead ends. I know this because I’ve spent over a year in this world and have only recently found my way again.
My next posts will start to explore the mistakes I made and talk about how I survived and got on the right road again.
Jim Rohn
Dec 7th
Up until yesterday I’d not heard of Jim Rohn but I follow Tony Robbins on Twitter and he sent news of his passing and paid tribute to Jim as one of his mentors. I checked out a few of his videos and I can see why he was so well thought of.
Frank Kern just posted this video on his site and I thought it worth doing the same here. It shows how basic principles don’t change.
I particularly like Frank’s turn of phrase as highlighted in the re-printed text from his blog shown below the video. How about that for a motivational quote!
In order to make more money, we have to become more valuable as people. (A goal worth working towards …and often easier said than done.)
The video above contains one of Jim Rohn’s quotes that has always stuck with me. I’ll paraphrase here:
“IT is not too expensive. The problem is YOU cannot afford it.”
When I heard those words it was like being kicked in the ass with a size 15 boot. I realized all the bullshit stories I was telling myself about success and so forth were just that …stories.
And that the only way to really accomplish anything was to work hard, set goals, become a better person, and provide more value to the marketplace than anyone else.
(AKA “Quit screwing around and get your shit together”)
