Wisdom In My Youth #1

No matter how much you decide to bend and/or break the truth, someone knows the truth. And you don't even know it.

Read more

3 Reasons Why You'll Die Unfulfilled: Part 2.5

Last Time I talked about how money can't bring lasting happiness. The reason this post is part of that one is because not only will money not bring you happiness, but things won't either. What do I mean by this? Read on...

2.5) Things Bring Nothing

The world has to learn that the actual pleasure derived from material things is of rather low quality on the whole and less even in quantity than it looks to those who have not tried it.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes

Not only do things bring nothing in the form of lasting happiness, they mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

What do I mean by that? Well 'things' can bring joy, especially if they enable you to do the things you love to do. Let's say you love to ride your bike. Obviously you're going to love your bike. You might even buy the more expensive bike with all the newest features. But the thing you have to realize here is that the bike isn't what you love to do. It's the experience of riding your bike. The freedom, the speed, the tight turns, the workout. That's what you enjoy. If you hadn't bought the most expensive bike you'd still love to ride. Odds are that you bought the most expensive bike because it looked cool.

Now I'm not going to go too far into this aspect of materialism but let me say this:

Once you commit yourself to getting into a pissing contest with your fellow man over "who has the best stuff" you are doomed to a life of failure and unhappiness.

Someone always always always has more than you do in some area. You simply can't win this battle, and neither can they for that matter. Odds are that you're beating them at something else; someone is.

Things don't bring the happiness in life. You're experiences with them are what you'll remember. That touchdown catch at the superbowl party? You remember the catch and high fiving all of your friends and the look of utter disgust on the face of the other fans as you laughed in their face. Not the brand and size of the tv... It's the people and experiences in your life that matter, not the other way around.

Note: I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the best and the newest things. I'm saying to understand their place in your life. Secondary.

This is why you shouldn't base your value of your life on what you have, or even what you've accomplished for that matter. What's important is how much better you've made the world for your fellow human beings.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2

Don't forget to subscribe, to get free automatic updates!

Read more

How To Set Up Your Own Blog/Website

If I can get a blog up and running then ANYONE can. Do you want a space on the web to call your own? Somewhere you can vent, contribute, and gather a following? And on top of all this it's yours. YOU pull the strings. Sound good? Ok. Then lemme give you the quick rundown on what you need.

1) Domain Name

This is the address that you type in on your web browser. It's actually the most "work" you'll do in setting up your new website. I personally think this is the most important part of the process. People care a lot less about site without a legitimate domain name. They simply won't take anything you say seriously. Think about it which you would rather read for advice:

www.webmd.com

webmd.blogspot.com

One is simply official, and the other is just blah. Do yourself a favor and get a domain name.

You can check out your possible domain name at GoDaddy.com. I use them and it's quick and easy.

2) Web Hosting

Ok so you have your domain name. Now you need someone to host your website. All those pictures, text, and such you're gonna use need to go somewhere. Now if you aren't making a blog, then once again I recommend going the GoDaddy.com route to host your site.

But if all you want is a blog then there are a bunch of blogging sites that will host it for free. I use www.blogger.com, other people use www.wordpress.com. Those are the two most popular blogging platforms but WordPress will charge you money for using your own domain name. So now set up your account with who you choose and they'll walk you through the steps.

3) Use Your Domain Name

I chose the free route (who wouldn't) and went with blogger. So that's what I'll describe here.

If you haven't found how to already, you need to tell blogger about your domain name. You can find out how to do that here. Now the instructions may sound complicated, but take it one step at a time and you'll be fine.

4) Write!

Well now you have this fancy website and it's all blank! Fill if up with your thoughts, rants, and favorite pieces of the web!

Don't forget to subscribe and get automatic updates!

Read more

3 Reasons Why You'll Die Unfulfilled: Part 2

Last time I wrote about how relying on, and hoping for, the achievement of new milestones in live doesn't necessarily lead to lasting happiness. So what's on today's plate? Money.

2) Money Can't Buy Happiness

Everyone's heard that saying, yet no one actually listens. I used to disregard 'money can't buy you happiness' too and I made my number one goal in life get rich. I wanted to be defined by my wealth, and I hoped that the wealth would bring about my happiness.This ties into reason number one for why you'll die unfulfilled and unhappy. Even if you become successful and continually make more and more money, you'll never be satisfied. After a while, it's just money. You'll be able to buy whatever you want, own 4 houses, maybe even a boat. Yet you won't be satisfied. Why? Because now that you've become rich and reached this now milestone, you're at a new norm for your life. Having money will inevitably bring about its own unique set of problems as well.

Now don't get me wrong, striving for success is important, or is it? I'll talk about that another time. . . but don't confuse success with happiness. If anything, understand that.

Now I for one still want to we wildly successful and wealthy, but I won't allow that to define my sense of fulfillment and happiness in life.

Besides, if money brought happiness, people wouldn't be giving it away.

Now money brings nice things. And nice things may bring joy into your life, albeit temporarily. Check back for part 2.5 on things.

• Check out Part 1

Don't forget to subscribe and get automatic updates!

Read more