While we all want to believe that we know how to live our lives at some point we realize that our strategy probably wasn’t the best one. (Of course, you won’t have this realization if you already feel that your life is in balance.)

Change is an essential part of life balance because you can’t grow as a person without changing your habits, lifestyle and your attitude. However, making that change is not always easy.

The first, and most difficult, step is admitting that you were wrong. If the change involves only you then this first step is not too bad (for example, if you know that you need to lose weight you can admit that your diet previously wasn’t the best choice.) However, admitting that you were wrong in a relationship, in your attitude at or towards work as well as many other life situations becomes increasingly more difficult.

And, most importantly, no life balance can be achieved without the Change.

A blogging friend of mine Alex Blackwell of The BridgeMaker has just released his first book Saying Yes to Change: 10 Timeless Life Lessons for Creating Positive Change which is now available on Amazon. I had an opportunity to read the book and to ask Alex a few questions. I think that everyone will benefit from the lessons shared by Alex in his book and in this interview.

Alex, what motivated you to write a book about change?
It’s been a story in the making for the past nine years. In 2003, my life was at a crossroads. On the verge of losing my wife, I decided it was time to change. The spiritual and personal formation seminar I mention early in the book provided the kick start needed.

A few years after attending the seminar, I started The BridgeMaker. It was soon clear that my message, and personal journey, resonated with many readers. So, long answer short, I decided to put my story in one place, a book, to inspire others to begin walking their paths to positive change, too.

What was the most difficult change that you had to make in life? What gave you strength to do it?

The most difficult thing I had to do was to acknowledge that my life was no longer working. For several years leading up to my marital separation in 2003, I was on autopilot.

I stopped investing in personal relationships; my focus was too much on my career and I became depressed. It wasn’t until my wife told me how unhappy she was and that she didn’t see a future for us, did I become motivated to change.

I didn’t want to lose my family or wife so I took that first step outside of my comfort zone and into fear. A few steps after that, I could see Fear wasn’t going to kill me so I kept taking more steps until I started seeing the change that I knew lived inside, but was too scared to come out.

In the book you share 10 timeless lessons for positive change. What was the most important lesson that you learned in life?

I think the chapter (or lesson) that seems to provide its power to me whenever I need it most and makes me feel strong on the days I feel weak is Lesson Nine: Take Down the White Flag.

I’m tempted to raise the white flag in defeat when I begin listening to the enemy of my soul. The enemy waits patiently and then whispers the lie he knows will persuade me to give up: “You don’t deserve it. You can’t possibly achieve it. So, why bother?”

But, today I’m learning to replace the lie with the truth. When I do this, I’m able to take down the white flag and replace it with a beautiful, new flag.

What, in your opinion, is the biggest benefit that the readers will get from your book?
Saying Yes to Change: 10 Timeless Life Lessons for Creating Positive Change is for anyone who feels the nudge to change; and it’s for people who are already walking the paths to positive change. If you feel stuck, alone or scared, the book will inspire you to acknowledge what you need to heal or change so you can begin living a happier, more meaningful life – right now.

Alex, in the last lesson you talk about Faith. How does faith guide you in life?

I believe we are born to fulfill a purpose that is unique to each one of us. Early in blogging, there were many times I felt like giving up. But I felt a nudge that kept prompting me not to surrender. This nudge is my faith and it’s been a constant companion giving me strength in times of weakness.

My faith has given me the power to provide forgiveness and then to ask for forgiveness; it has helped me reframe my past and my faith is helping me create a beautiful life today.

Finally, we all know that change can be overwhelming and frustrating. Can you share several tips for a balanced life change?
There are three things I try to do every day to live a balanced life:

1. Look for the gray in every situation – things usually aren’t just black or white.
2. Don’t get too excited about the highs and don’t get too sad about the lows – life has a way of balancing itself out.
3. When someone asks for love – give it freely, unconditionally.

If you feel that Change is what you need in life today then check out Alex’s book Saying Yes to Change: 10 Timeless Life Lessons for Creating Positive Change. It’s definitely worth your time!

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Last week I was invited to my friend’s jewelry party. She is starting her Premier jewelry business so I wanted to support her during her first show (if you are interested, friend Abigail Russo on Facebook and you’ll get a chance to be invited to her Facebook jewelry party – coming soon.)

The show was fun and enjoyable but most of all it was very educational for me. I am definitely not a person who can start a business like this and be successful at it. I am not a saleswoman… But after the show I had one question “Should I really try to be more of a sales person?”

If you think about it, our entire life today is focused on sales. The idea of pretty much any business is to sell something.

If you are looking for a job, you are technically “selling” your skills to the employer and the better you can present yourself the better price/salary you will get.

When we start looking for a partner we are trying to “sell” ourselves to the person we like. I know it sounds a little weird, but when you start/ed dating didn’t you try to look “wow” every time you went out on a date? Didn’t you think carefully of what you wanted to say or how you wanted to behave during your first dates? You were trying to present yourself in the best possible way to gain the affection of your potential future wife or husband.

Even when we have a disagreement with someone we are still trying to “sell” our viewpoint to another person.

I remember sitting in my Sunday school class one day. We were talking about spreading the gospel of Jesus and our teacher had an interesting point. He said,

“Did you ever get into a situation when you get stuck with a Mary Kay sales person in one room? (If you sell or buy Mary Kay, please don’t take it personally. It’s just an example.) The minute you see this person you know that she will try to sell you something. She walks into a restaurant and tries to sell Mary Kay to her waiter. She sells it anywhere she can because she is trained to do that. Why can’t we be as productive promoting the gospel of Jesus?”

I am not going into the theological discussion here but the point is that the “selling” concept is even present in sharing the gospel.

If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard.
Estee lauder

Whether we like it or not, sales are a huge part of our lives.

That’s the idea that stood behind the book The Art of the Sale by Philip Delves Broughton that I had a chance to review last week.

The book runs smoothly through a series of real life examples and case studies (Steve Jobs being of course one of the culmination points of the book) that show how the great salespeople work as well as how they are made.

According to Philip Broughton great salesmen are made, not born. Some of the key traits like resilience, persistence, optimism and empathy are formed early on in life but they can be developed at later stages too. He compares learning the art of the sale to learning a foreign language.

You can do it when you are an adult, but it’s a lot easier when you are a child.

When we think about salesmen we usually envision used car dealers, snooty fashion store assistants or pushy real estate agents. All of these are examples of a bad salesperson that treats customers poorly and leaves them feeling robbed. Unfortunately, when we think about selling that’s what first jumps into our mind.
When I went to a jewelry show last week I was a little afraid that I will be pushed to buy something, However, I had a wonderful and fun experience. I ordered the cutest pair of earrings; it was love from first sight

That show definitely made me think about the book The Art of the Sale. There is a lot that we can learn from great salespeople and all parts of our lives can benefit from this knowledge.

I think a lot of the secrets to selling are in fact common sense, but they get buried by our enthusiasm for quasi-scientific techniques and answers. […] Common sense isn’t common practice.
Philip Delves Broughton, The Art of the Sale.

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Keep it balanced!

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Do you sometimes feel that certain events from your past just can’t disappear from your memory? No matter how much you try you just can’t shake them off and move on in life?

Sometimes it can be something very important like divorce of parents or a childhood trauma but in other cases a small event (that seems almost irrelevant when you think about it logically) keeps nagging you for many years, stealing your joy and ability to be happy.

That’s what doctors George Pratt and Peter Lambrou call the “distress fog” in their new book Code to Joy: the four step solution to unlocking your natural state of happiness. I got this book for review a couple of weeks ago and immediately got interested in it.

Code to Joy focuses on dealing with past experiences or limiting beliefs that can keep you from being happy. Doctor Pratt focuses on the most common limiting beliefs that most of us experiences in one form or another:

1. I am not safe.
2. I am worthless.
3. I am powerless.
4. I am not lovable.
5. I cannot trust anyone.
6. I am bad.
7. I am alone.

All it takes is one small event or one tiny remark at the “right” time to create a deep trauma that will haunt you your entire life. Unless you unlock the event that caused this “fog of distress” and learn to deal with it you will never be able to find your happiness or balance. At least that’s what doctors Pratt and Lambrou are saying and it makes perfect sense to me.

The book itself is full of success stories and clinical examples from the practice of the authors. These real life examples make the book compelling and actually interesting to read no matter whether you have any issues to deal with or not.

Of course it gets only better when the doctors start talking about the practical techniques of dealing with these past experiences (that emotional baggage that most of us have and just can’t find a proper way to let go of.) The book describes several neuromuscular techniques that will help you tap into your subconscious mind and unlock any experiences that you might not be aware of. The idea behind it is very simple: your body has an unerringly accurate self-knowledge.

As a Mind & Body practitioner I know how deep our mind and body are connected. Once you start teaching your body a mindful movement pattern you open a whole new approach to life – the lifestyle of inner and outer balance. And that’s exactly what Code to Joy will teach you to do.

There was one short chapter in the book that made me a believer in the method. Here is a quote:

This is why popular approaches to self-improvement, such as positive thinking and affirmations, are so rarely as effective as their adherents hope they will be.

I wrote about the myth of positive thinking before and I believe that it is hyped out of proportion these days and many people actually lose their balance because they spend too much energy on maintaining artificial positivity instead of living a full life.

If you’ve tried positive thinking before and didn’t see any improvement (like most people) then Code to Joy might give you the answers you were looking for.

I would like to share one simple exercise from the book – crosshand breathing. It is used to clear and relax your mind in just two minutes (we all deserve a little break.)

• In a seated position cross your left ankle over your right one.
• Place your left hand across your chest, so that the fingers rest over the right side of your collarbone. Then cross your right hand over your left, so that the fingers of your right hand rest over the left side of your collarbone.
• Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you breathe in, let your tongue touch the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. As you breathe out, let your tongue rest behind your lower front teeth.

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Keep it balanced!

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One of the biggest propellers of any thriving economy is innovation. If you look back at the history than any blooming economical epoch is associated with inventions, revolutions of some sorts and change.

Today most innovations seem to live in Silicon Valley. Best professionals in all technological fields work over there to bring us the coolest smartphones, best search results on the web and fastest computers. A friend of mine from Ukraine has moved to Silicon Valley just a few months ago when he was invited to work for one of the leading companies.

However, long before Silicon Valley, there was another place in the United States that brewed invention beyond imagination. It was located in New Jersey and it was called Bell Laboratories. Bell labs were the great AT&T research institution where the transistor, the laser and the first solar cell were invented.

“How does the story of Bell Labs apply to life balance?” you will ask. Frankly speaking, it has no connection at all. Some things that we read or do in life don’t serve a particular purpose, they are just there for us to enjoy. The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner was that exact type of book for me. It appealed to my inner technology-loving nerd. If you are interested in modern technology and would love to know a little history behind it and the men who made it happen then this book should be a must-read on your list.

Some of the things that I personally took from The Idea Factory:

1. Don’t be afraid to outsource. Thomas Edison (one of the most known inventors) relied heavily on his assistants. While he generated ideas he didn’t always have theoretical knowledge to put them into practice. Instead wasting his time doing math he gave those tasks to brilliant assistants. “I can always hire mathematicians,” he once said at the height of his fame, “but they can never hire me.”
   If Thomas Edison wasn’t too good to admit that he needed help, then why do we often bite off more than we can chew?
2. Brilliant collaboration is an essential part of progress. Bell Labs hired hundreds of talented scientists to work on the inventions. 13 employees went on to earn Nobel prizes and many others pioneered the principles that propel much of today’s technology. However, the success of the research institute was in bringing all of these people together and letting them learn and work together.
   Don’t always rely on independence in life. Sometimes knowing that someone has your back and that you have support and help of people around you will give you the push that you need to grow in a balanced way in life.
3. Embrace your talent. While reading the book, three men particularly stood out for me: Claude Shannon (the genius behind Bell Labs), Marvin Kelly (the manager who organized and made things happen) and John Pierce (the instigator.) Each one of these men had an extraordinary talent that was embraced and appreciated.
   You have your talents so make sure that you spend time embracing them with confidence.

What was the most amazing part about the book?

Jon Gertner, the author of the book, said

I was consistently surprised by how far ahead of their time so many of the researchers at Bell labs were. Claude Shannon, for instance, was thinking about how to send messages through digital technologies decades before most people even knew what digital technologies were. And 30 years before it came to pass, John Pierce imagined the future to be hand-held wireless phones and a single computer terminal in pour homes through which all date flowed in and out. Just amazing.

And while talking about the lessons that we can learn from the history of Bell Labs Jon Gertner noted

We seem to be living in a moment where we glorify the individual entrepreneur, but there is a lot to be said for the power and capabilities of large human organizations. I’d love for business leaders and officials to read the book and understand how large groups of talented scientists and engineers, assembled together in one entity and managed by smart, visionary leaders, can solve very big problems and accomplish things once believed to be unthinkable.

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Keep it balanced!

Farnoosh Brock

Did you ever think of a healthy habit that you wanted to try but was a little afraid of it at the same time? Green juicing was that habit for me. I’ve heard and read a lot about it but could never master up the will power to try it. One of the main reasons I never gave it a try was because I didn’t know where to start.

• What vegetables should I use?
• What juicer should I buy?
• How much green juice can I drink?
• How can I make green juice taste good (the only time in my life that I could stomach a simple tomato juice was during my pregnancy, all other times the very thought of it makes my stomach turn.)

Fortunately, a blogging friend of mine – Farnoosh Brock of Prolific Living – has done the hard work for me and published the Comprehensive Guide to Green Juicing. I asked her to answer the most important questions about green juicing and share her favorite recipe that all of us can try this week. Bon appétit!

1. Farnoosh, why did you decide to try green juicing? What are the most appealing benefits of it?

Anastasiya, I got turned on to green juicing by watching a Jack Lalanne infomercial! Two funny things about that: I never ever watch TV and I certainly don’t make life-changing decisions based on what I watch…. so it’s ironic how that commercial led me to buy a juicer – an Omega juicer, not a Jack Lalanne one! – and to start experimenting. It was really driven mainly by curiosity. I was also starting to get seriously back into great shape and top health in 2007, after my Dad’s bouts with cancer and with the pressures of my declining and stressful career, and juicing just agreed with me.

I am amazed at how delicious the green juices can be so that’s just great to know but as for the most appealing benefits, the way your body feels after drinking juices. You are fully but happy and satisfied, and you have less cravings for bad food. You are also fully hydrated; it works much better than water. And it really helps your body come back to balance through detoxing, getting rid of waste and bringing your inside organs and cells back to life. It’s an inside process that you truly feel on the outside. Plus, great skin! Who doesn’t want that?

2. How would recommend to start a juicing habit? I am sure it takes some time to get used to the taste of green juice (especially if you’ve been drinking only OJ or soda your entire life.) Do you have any secrets to stay on track?

Starting is the hardest step and the most important one. Yes, if you do not have a lot of healthy traits right now as to what you consume, then this will be more drastic than if you do. For me, I was already relatively healthy – I chose to give up coffee, I chose to start drinking Oolong tea, and I chose to also experiment a lot with raw food diets – not completely, but partially – and so all of those just combine really well with green juicing. If your body is not used to raw foods or healthy foods, then you should start slower.

The best way to start is to actually stop your other habits or tone them down. Say you drink soda, well, ditch it for a week. Say you drink alcohol, ditch that for a week too. Say you drink dozens of cups of coffee, ditch that too. And try to get your body in better shape *before* you start juicing. Then the second week, add some green juices to your diet. Start with very simple recipes such as carrot-celery-apple or orange-celery-spinach, those are both sweet and delicious and not as hard on your stomach. And drink small quantities, say one cup a day. Then increase to two cups a day for the second week and just watch how your body reacts.

The secret to staying on track is two fold: First, to forgive yourself truly and completely when you fall off and believe me, all of us fall off. And second, to have a schedule, say Tuesday mornings you juice at 8am or 10am. If you put it on the calendar like all other things and treat it like a meeting or an appointment, as long as you are reasonable – juicing daily is very intense work! – then you will be able to stay on track much better.

3. Will anyone benefit from green juicing or should some people stay away from it?

Good question. Would everyone benefit? Based on all the books and websites I have read, everyone can benefit from it but to their own ideal measure. For instance, children would enjoy orange juice or citrus juices and green juices are probably going to be better for them if they are older.

I haven’t heard any warnings for pregnant women or senior citizens to stay away from juicing but if you have doubts, and if you have any health conditions, please check with your doctor.

Also, if you know you have allergies to some fruits or vegetables, naturally, stay far away from those. Most of all, just listen to your body and watch how your body reacts. Start slow and small but be steady and consistent.

4. How can we make green juicing budget friendly?

Last month we’ve been focusing on healthy eating on a budget here on BalanceInMe. Fresh vegetables can sometimes be pricy especially if you are buying organic. Do you have any tips or special ingredients that will remain budget-friendly no matter what?

Great point, Anastasiya. Juicing can be expensive but it doesn’t have to be. For instance, you don’t have to buy organic or from Farmer’s Market or Whole Foods. I do on occasion but I certainly don’t make it a rule. If you want to buy something organic, try to get your dark leafy vegetables organic but other fruits and vegetables are fine either way. Because you won’t be using or at least drinking the pulp, some of the vegetables and fruits are wasted so don’t worry about getting the very finest.

I can tell you that for my taste buds, it makes little difference if something is organic or not but it makes a huge difference if it’s not fresh. Go for freshness. Go to your local grocery store and get the freshest looking fruits and vegetables that are on sale that day. I also have noticed that Trader Joe’s, if it’s available in your city, is more reasonable than these large health-store chains so that also helps.

After a while, you will find out what to get from where, and you will find your own system. For instance, some leafy vegetables are far more expensive than others but the nutritional benefits are about the same.

Collard greens are very cheap but Kale and Swiss Chard can be slightly more expensive.

Apples are a wide range of prices so buy the cheaper priced ones; they will give the same sweetness to your juices.

I hope this helps!

5. In your guide you share 10 delicious green juice recipes. Can you share your favorite one with us and tell us why you like it the most?

Oh I have so many favorites but forget the 10 green juice recipes for a moment. I’ll give you something better. I discovered a new green juice recipe recently that is not even in the book so you guys are the first to hear about it. It is my current favorite, even though I love the ones in the book.

½ to ⅓ Pineapple
1 Large Red Apple
4-5 Kale leaves
3-4 Swiss Chard leaves
1 Large Italian cucumber
A handful of fresh mint

Delicious. This makes several cups or a medium jar that gives you at least 4-5 servings. Enjoy!

6. What are your top tips on keeping your health in balance no matter what?

Oh this is such a relevant question to my life right now because I am working so hard. You know, I think that it varies. Some weeks I focus on stretching, others on juicing and yet others on daily meditation. To do everything everyday is really challenging. Now I am in the hard-core cardio mode with yoga. I believe more than anything, I drink my water, my tea, and some raw foods every day in my diet, even if I am just eating a kale leaf or a swiss chard leaf or a raw carrot!

I also try to stretch at least a few minutes daily and sit still just for a few minutes.

And I focus on love. I make sure that I am mentally happy and in a good place and if not, my husband helps me come back to a place of inner peace and that has the greatest affect on my health, and I am sure on yours too.

Learn more about green juicing and the benefits that it offers by checking out Farnoosh’s Comprehensive Guide to Green Juicing.

Do you have any questions or have you tried green juicing before? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

P.S. Do you ever struggle with issues related to self-confidence or self-worth? Having low self-esteem can make achieving your personal life balance impossible that is why it is important to address these issues right now. Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom and Erin Falconer of Pick the Brain have created a Simple Self Confidence course to help you find your eternal source of self empowerment. The course starts on March 3rd, so if you are even slightly interested then click here to find out more details about the course.

Tess Marshall

Three years ago I moved to the US not quite comprehending that living here will depend on my ability to drive. I drove a few times in Ukraine (my native country) but I was never an independent driver. When the plane landed and my in-laws picked all of us up we drove down a huge 5-lane interstate with a 70mph speed limit in rush hour. I was terrified.

Thankfully my husband was very patient with me while teaching me how to drive. In Ukraine I drove a tiny VW Rabbit and in the US I had to get used to a ginormous Toyota 4Runner (at least that’s how it seemed to me back then.) I was terrified of getting out on the road in this huge tank that I felt I had no control of. And most importantly I was afraid of other cars on the road (every time a jacked up Ford F-350 flew by I felt my heart sink into my heels.) I couldn’t even imagine taking my girls (the most precious cargo) anywhere in the car by myself.

It took me two years to start driving independently. Some might call me a slow learner but it was the time I needed to overcome my fear and become comfortable behind the wheel of a car.

Do you have fears that you have to overcome?

Some of our fears are obvious (like mine) but others can disguise themselves as excuses, traditions, habits and many other things. If I hadn’t learned to drive a car then I obviously couldn’t have survived normally in the US (unless my husband and I struck oil and we could hire a private chauffeur to take me anywhere.) I had no choice but overcome this fear.

Overcoming some fears is not imperative to our survival though (like a fear of public speaking – the number 1 fear or a fear of starting your own business.) However living with those fears robs us of the possibilities that we are capable of, it robs of realizing our potential and living a bold and fulfilling life.

A friend of mine, Tess Marshall of The Bold Life, had her share of fears in life. As a personal coach and therapist she decided to put her knowledge and experience into one extensive e-course Take Your Fear and Shove It that could help anyone overcome their fears (no matter how obvious or hidden they are.) I wanted to invite her here, to Balance In Me, to share her most valuable advice about conquering fears and living a bold and bright life.

1. Tess, what was the biggest fear that you managed to overcome? How did you do it?

My dad had an 8th grade education and my mom a 6th grade. My nine siblings and I grew up on a farm. Going to college wasn’t discussed as a possibility, ever. I got married when I was 17 and pregnant, was the mom to 4 little girls by age 22.

The priest at our church saw something in me nobody else had before. He suggested that I attend the local college when the twins went to kindergarten. I was 27 by that time and I was so terrified that he went with me and helped me sign up for my first two classes, Speed Reading and How to Study.

It took me nine years to finish by taking a couple classes each semester while raising the girls! I then went on to get my master’s degree in counseling psychology and two years after graduation, as a therapist began building my private practice.

That one decision to overcome the fear of not being capable to attend college was beyond life-changing!

2. Why did you decide to create a course about Fear? Why do people need it?

Everyone is afraid, that’s normal. However due to our economic times, more people than ever, fear the future, fear losing a job or never finding one. The list goes on.
In order to change ourselves, believe in our future again, and make the world a better place – we have to get over our fears and use our talents and gifts. It’s imperative! Instead of asking, “When will things change?” we need to ask, “When will I change so I can become part of the solution?”

The first change we can make is learning to overcome fear!

3. A lot of people don’t think that they have fears in life. Do you have a quick method to identify “hidden” fears that sabotage happy and bold living?

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have fear. They are either subconscious or they don’t want to admit or talk about them. We’re wired for fear, it’s genetic.

4. Tess, can you share your favorite technique of fighting fear in life?

When I fight my fear I don’t get anywhere. It’s like denying it. We become fearful by identifying with our negative thoughts. When you reexamine your beliefs to see where the thought is coming from it keeps you from staying stuck in action and fear.

I have two core beliefs and most of my fears fall under one or another. They both come from being the sixth child in a family of ten children. One is, “I’m going to be left behind” and the other is “There’s not enough for me.” Makes sense, doesn’t it?

As soon as I can identify which belief my fear is coming from, my fear has lost some of its power over me. I’m a creative person, my favorite technique is to write down my fear with my dominant hand and ask a question about it. Then I switch my pen in my non-dominant hand and answer the question with the first thing that comes to mind. (It’s sloppy looking, like that of a child’s). The answer is usually very powerful.

The exercise sounds simple enough but most people won’t do it. On some level it scares them, as if they fear the answer.

I have a morning routine that consists of many exercises. I describe each exercise I do in, Take Your Fear and Shove It!

The course has over 100 different techniques and action steps to overcome fear. If you don’t like one, you can try another. It’s set up so you can refer back to it again and again.

5. How can you keep fears from coming back into your life?

Once you work through a particular fear and it comes back again, you can identify it and remind yourself that you’ve already dealt with it. Then simply breathe through the fear.

On the other hand think of an iceberg. The ice you see above the water is your conscious mind. The ice you can’t see hidden under the water, is your subconscious fear. It runs deeper than you think. It means you have more work to do around that particular fear.

Helen Keller said,

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature…. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

None of us are ever safe. We create the concept of it and believe it in order to feel safe. Safety is a superstition or an illusion. What is real is uncertainty. What is real is the unknown.

We have no idea what the next minute, hour, day or year will bring. Somebody will get in an accident, get sick or die. Somebody will lose a job or a lover. Anything can happen. A superstition of safety allows us to function in our world.

Humans like to live in the pain of the past or the fear of the future. I like to live in the present moment as much as possible. Like Helen Keller, I would rather have my life be a daring adventure rather than nothing!

What fears are you trying to overcome? Ask your questions and Tess and I will be happy to answer them.

And don’t forget to find out more about Take Your Fear and Shove It! It’s a great course and I wish I had it when I was learning to drive a car Maybe it could have cut my learning period to normal two months instead of two years.

P.S. The BalanceInMe 2011 Survey is till on. Please click here to share your life balance experience in 2011 and download a free 10-minute Balance Workout.

Did you ever ask yourself a hard question? Something beyond “What am I going to have for supper?” or “How can I get a promotion at work?”

I’ve been in a situation before when a long-term relationship wasn’t working out and the only question on my mind was “Why are relationships so hard?”

Another time my plans were ruined and I felt completely helpless. My question then was “Does everything happen for a reason? Because I definitely don’t see any reason for THIS.”

And sometimes I read news headlines or simply hear a heart-breaking story that makes me wonder “Why is there suffering in the world?”

Did you ever ask yourself questions like that?

About a month ago I got an email from Lori Deschene from Tiny Buddha asking if I would like to review her book Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions. I am usually very picky about the books that I agree to review but this one was a no-brainer. I’ve been following Tiny Buddha for about 2 years now and my posts were featured there twice (click here and here to read them.) Of course I was excited about reading Lori’s book and actually finding answers to the questions mentioned above.

The book exceeded all my expectations. From the first sentences you get completely absorbed into smooth flow of Lori’s writing and it only gets better as you travel from one page to the next one. The book is interwoven with personal experiences from Lori’s life, age-old wisdom, tweets from Lori’s followers and practical tips (and you know that I am all about practical advice.) I simply loved it!

I asked Lori to answer several questions about life balance and her book. Read the interview and find out how you can win a free copy of Lori’s book.

1. In your book you share universal wisdom and your personal life experiences when answering life’s hardest questions. What was the most difficult answer for you to learn personally?

The most challenging question for me has always been how to let go of pain. The exact question in my book is, “Why is there suffering in the world?” However, that section explores all aspects of pain—why we resist it, how that can create even more pain, why we sometimes feel ashamed of it, and how accepting and learning from it can make a positive difference in the world.

I’ve had some incredibly low lows in my lifetime. For years I exacerbated my pain by clinging to negative stories and expecting the worst in everyone and everything. I let my pain define me for most of my teens and twenties, and for a while, I felt hesitant to change. That identity became comforting to me.

I don’t know why there’s suffering in the world, but I do know that a lot of good can come from pain if we’re willing to learn, grow, recycle our hurts to help other people, and in doing so, find a sense of peace and empowerment in the present moment.

That doesn’t mean every moment will feel peaceful and empowering. I still hurt at times, as we all will all through our lives. But I have a different perspective now, and as a result, I’m less frequently the cause of my pain.

2. How do you think people can use advice from your book to improve their lives?

The book explores the universal challenges that are relevant to all of us. It includes questions about letting go of pain, finding meaning in life, choosing happiness, creating positive change, maintaining healthy relationships, living life to the fullest, and accepting uncertainty.

Because I shaped Tiny Buddha around a wide range of responses to these questions (from Twitter followers who tweeted their answers) it offers a broad exploration of these topics and provides various empowering perspectives.

Tiny Buddha also includes practical, concrete action steps relevant to the different themes to help readers create meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and peace in their relationships, one moment at a time.

It’s not a book of concrete answers; it’s a book of possibilities, often supported by scientific, psychological, and sociological research. I also shared my own experiences in learning to answer these questions for myself, in hopes of helping readers do the same thing: identify and utilize the answers that make sense to them individually.

3. One of the great things about your book (in my opinion) is that you used tweets from your Twitter followers to broaden each and every answer in your book. In real life though social media can be quite distracting and can keep us from being present. How do you balance social media with your everyday meaningful life?

When I first got on Twitter, I often tweeted all through the day from my personal account, while frequently updating my Facebook page and engaging with other people on theirs. That quickly felt overwhelming, as I felt a constant need to monitor the stream and stay involved.

Over time, I’ve become far less immersed in social media. I updated the Tiny Buddha accounts 2–4 times each week day, and I tweet from my personal account every few days. I’m on my personal Facebook page a little more often, but I don’t feel tied to social media, as I once did.

One thing that helps me is that I don’t update my accounts from my phone. Though I now have Internet access on there (I held out for a while!) it’s not a smart phone, which makes it a pretty slow connection. Because it’s not as convenient, I just don’t do it, and I know that contributes to my overall well-being.

Since I work from home on my computer, I would far prefer to simply disconnect when I’m out. That’s not to say I think everyone should do this. I think we all need to identify what level of engagement and disconnection contributes to our overall well-being, and then honor what we know to be true.

4. I would love to ask you one more Hard Life Question. How do you live your life in balance?

That is a hard one! I think what makes it hard is that it’s so much easier to recognize what balance looks like than it is to honor that with consistency.

So the first part of my answer is what balance looks like for me. It’s a lot like that essay Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I need to “learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.”

Essentially, I need to be sure I don’t get too wrapped up in any one part of my life—as if my work defines me, or my relationships defines me, or my hobbies define me—and I need to remember that self-care is a priority, not a luxury.

The second part is how I honor those things with consistency, and the answer is: I don’t always do that. There are times when I do get a little caught up in one part of my life, and then I start to feel off-balance. Where I feel I’ve made massive improvements is that I now do this far less often than I used to.

I think accepting that we’ll stumble occasionally but knowing we’re improving over time is the key to emotional balance. And ultimately, that’s what helps us get back on track when we’ve lost our way.

Thank you Lori!

Two readers of BalanceInMe can win a free hard-cover copy of the book Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions.

Just leave a comment here saying What Life’s Hard Question you are trying to answer. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, Dec 27th.

Keep it balanced!

Winners of the book Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions are comment #11 – Sara L and comment #20 – Marta. (The winners were picked using a random number generator.) Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who shared their questions and thoughts on this post. Since now I know your questions I will try my best to find answers for them and share those answers on Balance In Me. Thank you for being part of this balanced community!

BTW, comments are now closed on this post.

Can you stay balanced if you hate what you do every day? Of course not, no matter how much effort you put into balancing your lifestyle.

One of the key aspects of balanced living is finding your passion and following it every day. Some people might be lucky to have an occupation that they are passionate about; others can have a hobby-passion that brightens every day. No matter how you choose to follow your passion, one thing stays the same – you must have passion in your life.

When you set your sail towards passionate living you first face the biggest challenge “What is my passion?” Have you ever asked yourself this question? I had trouble finding an answer to this question myself for a while and then miraculously the idea of Balance In Me popped up in my head. 3 ½ years later I am still enjoying my hobby-passion and I know that this blog contributes to my personal life balance.

Today I invited a career coach and a talented blogger Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom to share her best advice about passionate living. Barrie wrote a fabulous and extremely helpful course Discover Your Passion that already helped hundreds of people to ignite a passion spark in their lives.

Please feel free to ask Barrie any questions in the comments below. Also, if you are not satisfied with your current job or you are just looking for a new occupation then take a look at 34 questions to prepare for the work you love in the homework section.

1. Barrie, one of the key ingredients of life balance is following your heart and living with passion. If you completely do not know what your passion is, where can you start?

A great place to start is by allowing yourself the time and space for self-exploration and self-discovery. Sometimes we are so caught up in the busy-ness of life or in fulfilling expectations for ourselves, that we lose touch with who we are and what we are deeply longing for. Some of the specifics for that self-discovery work could include taking some self-assessments (ie: personality, career, values, skills, etc.); reflecting on some specific questions about what makes you happy and fulfilled and what drains your energy; and also looking at why you might be holding yourself back from your passion with limiting beliefs and fears. I cover all of this extensively in my Discover Your Passion course.

2. Do you think that everyone can (and should) use their passion to make their living? Where is the fine line of balance between financial needs and passion?

I think everyone will find more joy and fulfillment in daily life if they at least enjoy their work. Feeling passionate about it is even better. Most of us spend a third of our life at work, so why would we want to squander that precious time doing something we hate? I think it is worth giving up a lot of material things in order to be happy with your career. However, you do have to survive, and sometimes circumstances require us to work in jobs we don’t like. I would do everything in my power to change those circumstances – and to make sure that the rest of my time is spent joyfully. If you can’t have passion in work, then have it in life.

3. A lot of people find it difficult to devote time to their passions or to their personal interests (after all, all of us have plenty of things to do every day.) How can one stop procrastinating and start making time for this passion?

We fill our lives with so many things that don’t fulfill our passions. It’s a matter of prioritizing and recognizing that things we think are so very important aren’t really that important after all. For the most part, it is relationships, great experiences, and meaningful work that are the most fulfilling and bring us sustainable happiness. If you prioritize those, and then create the rest of your life around those, you won’t have to procrastinate or “find time” for passionate living. Will that require some uncomfortable change or sacrifices? Probably. But the pay-off is huge in the long-run.

4. What are the signs that it is time to change your career? As a career coach with years of experience, what first steps can you advice to take to change the occupation or start your own business? How can one transition while still satisfying all of his/her financial needs?

• When you start to dread going to work.
• When you feel bored most of the time.
• When you feel your integrity is compromised.
• When you feel that the work isn’t a reflection of who you are.
• When you feel restless and empty, but you’re not quite sure why.

The first steps I’d advise anyone to take is to do the self-discovery work I mentioned above. Really defining and clarifying your vision of an ideal work situation will serve as a blueprint for you as you begin a job search or think about starting a business. That transition can be tricky, but you can start doing the work of self-discovery in your off-hours. You will have to prioritize it, and let some other things go during this time.

• If you are trying to build a business, you may need to find ways to work part-time or cut back your hours while growing the business.
• You may need to start saving money so you can quit your job in order to start the business.
• You may need to simplify your lifestyle, sell some things, or even take out a business loan.
• You may need to change your entire perspective on how you and your family live.
• Do you really have to have two cars, a big house, etc.? You can live very simply and be really happy. Tim Ferriss’s book The 4-Hour Work Week has some fantastic specific tips on how to back out of your current job to start working for yourself.

5. Finally, what is one piece of advice that you would love to pass on to as many people as possible? I’m sure as a coach you hear a certain question or notice a certain pattern in a lot of your clients. What is the most important change that will help people live in balance, with passion and boldness?

Do not define your life by fear. Fear is what holds most people back from going for their passion or even looking for it. Most of our fears are just projections into the future – what if ‘s. You have this one life, a relatively short span of time on this beautiful Earth. Make the most of it. Create it the way you want it and don’t look back!

Thank you Barrie!

Homework

Feel free to ask Barrie any questions that you have about changing careers or finding your passion.

If you are looking for a new career then make some time to answer these questions (the questions were originally posted by Barrie Davenport on her blog)

1. On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being total passion and fulfillment and 1 being complete job dissatisfaction, how would you rate your current job?
2. What elements of your current job do you enjoy and would you want to keep in any future career? List everything you can think of, including your commute time, the physical environment, the people you work with, etc.
3. What elements of your current job would you wish never to have again in any future job?
4. Do you know or have an inkling about the kind of work that would excite and fulfill you?
5. If so, why have you not pursued this work or found a career in it?
6. If not, would you be willing and able to invest a few hours a week into research and self-discovery to find the type of work that would excite you?
7. Do you currently live within your financial means and have a cushion of savings?
8. If not, would you be willing to adjust your lifestyle and spending habits to live within your means and/or save money?
9. If so, what elements of your current lifestyle are more important to you than job satisfaction. List everything that trumps job satisfaction for you (ie: children’s education, taking care of elderly parents, living in a particular neighborhood or house).
10. Would you be willing to downsize your home for a job you love?
11. Would you be willing to move to another city for a job you love?
12. Would you be willing to disappoint or upset someone close to you to change careers for a job you love?
13. Is there anything you could change about your current job that would make it more exciting and fulfilling?
14. What are the possible consequences of asking for change at your current job? Could you live with those consequences?
15. If you were to lose your current job today, what would you do?
16. How long could you maintain your current lifestyle if you were unemployed?
17. If you were starting over right out of school, what career would you pursue?
18. Would you be willing and/or able to get additional education or training for a job you love?
19. Would your spouse support you in a career change?
20. Would your spouse be willing to make lifestyle sacrifices in order for you to make a career change?
21. What have you done toward finding a job or career that you love? (ie: research, updating your resume, looking at job openings, etc.)
22. How could you find or create the time to research and/or look for a job you love?
23. In the past, when have you felt the most fulfilled in your personal and professional life?
24. If you were writing a vision for your ideal life and work, what would it look like?
25. Do you believe it is possible to create your life in a way that is close to that ideal?
26. If you were aged 90, looking back on your life, what would you like to have accomplished personally and professionally?
27. Would you be willing and able to try out a few jobs before you found one that is deeply fulfilling?
28. Do you feel like you know yourself well enough to know what makes you happy and fulfilled? If not, where do you need some self-discovery work?
29. Do you have beliefs or fears about yourself or your abilities that prevent you from acting? If so, how could you begin to address these?
30. What is the least amount of money you’d be willing to make?
31. What is most important to you, job satisfaction or prestige?
32. How is your dissatisfaction with your current job impacting the rest of your life? (ie: stress, relationships, life balance, etc.)
33. If you didn’t have to work at all, what would you do?
34. What one thing could you do today to move toward finding work you love?

Do you love success stories? Reading personal success stories can be the best motivation to bring your life in balance and to find unconventional ways of getting over certain life hurdles.

As part of our Live a More Balanced Life Challenge I would love to present an interview with one of the most inspiring people that I know. Farnoosh Brock blogs at Prolific Living about smart habits for rich living. This year she gave up her decade plus career at a Fortune 500 company to start her voyage of entrepreneurship.

During the last year Farnoosh created several products that became extremely popular. Her latest project – 10 Minute Daily Invigorator – is a collection of 10 videos where she shows you step-by-step her quick and fun “secrets” to getting tons of natural energy and invigoration. She demos all the movements and breathing techniques that work for everyone and you can do all of them with her in just 10 minutes a day! To make your days more balanced you can download Day 1 of the program for free. It’s amazing!

I asked Farnoosh to share her experience of working in the corporate world and maintaining her balance. Also you might be interested to see why she quit her secure job and walked away from a lot of money and what lifestyle changes made this transition possible.

Important reminder: before you continue with the interview I wanted to remind you about your homework. I know that a lot of you are busy with your lives that is why I give you plenty of time to get from one exercise to the next one. Please don’t hesitate to ask me questions in the comments section or to share your reflections even about the first episodes of the challenge. Here is the list of LMBLC Episodes that are available to this date:

1. Farnoosh, do you believe that right now you live a life of balance and peace (in your understanding of course)? Can you give your personal definition of life balance?

You know, I live a more balanced life than I did years ago and even last year but I am working extremely hard during this period to get my new business off the ground and because it is a dream that has been with me for years, I don’t mind going off balance.

I put my health and well-being above working hard but I am not traveling and having a lot of fun these days because I am laser focused on my goals. It feels right so for how it works. And that brings me to the definition.

If you feel in balance in your life with what you are doing, go for it. Do not let others define balance for you, myself included.

If it feeds your mind and your body and your soul, then you must be doing something right, even if you work less than others or more or even if you are doing something to a degree that is far above and beyond the standard scales.

2. This year you made a drastic change in your life. You quit you your 6-figure corporate job to focus on your passion business. What roused you to make this change? What was the most difficult part of the transition and how did you manage it?

Yes, I made a very gutsy decision to give up a lot of comfort and security so I could live every minute of my life on my own terms. So many things brought me to this point.

On top of it all was constant state of frustration, lack of challenge, unhappiness with the state of the corporate world, and the mediocrity and hypocrisy that I had to live with everyday. It was not even worth an easy 6-figure income that I earned while working a few easy hours in my PJs at home, and trust me, I love money and I admit it proudly. So that was difficult.

Giving up the comfortable income was difficult but it was also the absolute right decision for me. So with the support of my husband, and with my own intention and belief that this is really the right path, and with living well below my means for years so that I have saved a nice nest egg, I was able to make the jump. In a way, I was preparing for this day for a decade behind the scenes!

3. On your blog you mentioned that being financially well-off is very important for you. Didn’t the transition from corporate world to entrepreneurship interfere with your lifestyle? How did you find your balance in your new lifestyle?

True, and to be honest, a temporary interference in the mode operandi does not imply that I have changed my values. I still enjoy the idea of a wealthy and comfortable lifestyle and I am still able to do that to some extent because of my preparation phases for this stage.

I have to admit, there are some adjustments that I am making only to be extremely cautious and not out of necessity and it is truly showing me that even though I would like to be financially well-off and extremely comfortable, some of the best things in life are simple and I enjoy them daily.

These are the freedom to do as I please with my day, the ability to create something that did not exist before, the ability to do my yoga stretches and meditation at a moment’s notice, to enjoy music and to explore new ways to improve my body and mind. I think the sum of those is bringing me a lot of focus, and perspective and in your words, balance in a beautiful new way.

4. Farnoosh, you spent 12 years in the corporate world. What are your top tips on maintaining your work/life balance while achieving career success?

You know, I have never liked that term “work/life” but it applies so aptly to the corporate world because work and life are indeed two separate things. I think they should be one and the same so the idea of “work/play” may make more sense but work is part of life, except when you are in the corporate world where work is sometimes so far outside the realm of a normal happy life that you have to balance the “good” and the “bad”. It’s a very sad picture.

I simply stopped caring about the little minutiae of my work, from the politics to the company news to the office gossip, I simply turned a deaf ear and did my job and did it well but beyond that, I did not care much at all about things that did not affect me – but used to really upset me.

So my advice would be to find a place and a job that gives you some level of satisfaction and find the people with whom you can work and respect and then do your best at your job but leave it behind when the day is over.

I think if you are pursuing a serious career in the corporate world, you will find that there is very little truth to the work/life balance especially, if you are going to rise up the corporate ladder. Some new modern and smart corporations may be respecting this but in most cases it is advertised on the surface but not very true.

You have got to define your own priorities and decide whether the extra hours and the extra weekends you want to give up, in hopes of rising the corporate ladder, are worth what you give up. The answer is entirely up to the individual. My answer used to be ‘absolutely yes’ and now, I look back and think that I chose the wrong answer. Luckily, I am turning that around now. Choose the right answer for you!

5. You have a wide range of interests: yoga, cycling, blogging, writing, traveling, photography and of course spending time with your hubby. How do you balance these interests and your goals without getting overwhelmed along the way? Do you have a “secret” technique of prolific living without draining yourself along the way?

Oh I do get overwhelmed! But living a rich and prolific life is so much fun, and the other option would be choosing very few thing and risk getting bored. I let my moods for the day drive my best productivity forward.

If I feel like taking photos and doing some editing on recent photo shoots, I listen. If I feel in the mood to record my next podcast, I do that. If I am in a writing zone, I write. If we are traveling, I arrange things that need to be done and most are mobile and can be done on the road.

There are certainly things I stick to such as my yoga, my meditation, and a good schedule with flexibility in terms of blog posts and podcast and now, product creation, but I give myself a lot of flexibility so that I can listen to my moods and do what feels right at the right time.

The only secret I have, one which I discovered for myself not too long ago and one that you have no doubt heard before, do what you love. The more of that that you do, and the more of it that you build in your life, the more you are able to tap into your true inner happiness and achieve that beautiful balance in your own unique way.

Thank you, Farnoosh for this wonderful interview.

Please feel free to ask Farnoosh any questions in the comments below. She gladly agreed to talk to you and share her experience with the participants of the challenge.

Homework:

• Look through the previous episodes of the LMBLC and complete your homework;
• Ask Farnoosh your questions in the comments below;
• Feel free to ask me any questions;
• Share this interview;
• Have a balanced and restful weekend!

Photo credit: Pascal Monmoine

Do you make a to-do list? Do you follow up on it?

To-do list is a standard tool if you are trying to stay productive. Even if you do not believe in living your life by the list it is still a great way to clear your mind of unnecessary information and make sure that you do not forget any important tasks or dates. I have written before about smart to-do lists but today I want to share with you an interview with the biggest expert on to-do lists that I know, a motivational speaker, life coach and an inspiring blogger behind the Personal Excellence Blog – Celestine Chua.

I have been following Celes’s blog for over two years and was constantly inspired by her articles and her remarkable personality. Celes is the fountain of productivity and creative ideas. Last year she ran her first 30 Days to Live a Better Life Challenge, which she followed up with the Fasting Experiment (21 days, WOW!) and The Million Dollar Challenge which is in progress right now. I asked Celes several questions about how she manages to stay so productive and still keep her life in balance.

1. Celes, you seem to really have a lot on your plate (running challenges on your blog, always thinking of new and exciting projects, maintaining a healthy lifestyle.) How do you manage to keep your To-Do list under control?

Hey Anastasiya! First off, thanks for inviting me for this interview, and I’m very excited to be “speaking” to everyone here!

It’s interesting you used the words “under control”, because how I manage my to-do list is that I don’t attempt to control it. I see the to-do list as a “bucket” or a placeholder to dump all my pending ideas/tasks, but that’s about it. I don’t let this list dictate my life or determine what I have to do for the day. That means I don’t attempt to clear up my list every day – I just do whatever I’m inspired to do at the moment, and then work in that flow zone. Whatever gets done will be done in the day; whatever that doesn’t get covered will just be rolled over to the next day.

While it sounds unorganized and ineffective way of handling the tasks, it actually isn’t. Because I’m working by inspiration, I’m actually a lot more productive today than I was in the past, when I was using a very time/calendar driven approach method of getting things done. I get from one item to the next very quickly. And most importantly, I’m incredibly happy and excited every second of the day because I’m doing what I love every second.

One thing I find helpful is scheduling time-bound tasks (i.e. tasks with specific deadlines that have to be done on a certain time/day) in the calendar, then removing them from the list (so it doesn’t clutter up). With these things out of the way, it then leaves my schedule fluid for whatever I’m most inspired to work on at that moment.

It’s important that we see to-do lists as an support system to help us become more effective, vs. something that we’re obligated to finish. Else, it’s easy to become trapped by our own to-do lists, which is ironic given that they are supposed to help us be more productive in the first place.

2. In one of your posts you were talking about the 20/80 To-Do list. What does it mean and how can it be helpful?

The 20/80 list is one of my favorite productivity tools that I share with my readers. There is a 80/20 rule popularized by an Italian economist that states that 80% of the wealth in the world is actually owned by 20% of the world’s population. This rule extends beyond economics – you can see the unequal, disproportionate 80/20 relationship everywhere in life.

Similarly, even though we may have a hundred and one things in our to-do list, not all of them have the same importance. Some are more important than the others – in a 80/20 way. If you analyze your list, you’ll find that 20% of the tasks contribute to 80% of results in your life.

These are what I call the 20% high value tasks – such as working on life-long goals, starting your business, creating your 10-year plan, improving your relationships with your family, and so on. The remaining are the 80% low value tasks. Typically these are tasks like checking facebook, running errands, checking/rechecking email, administrative work, watching TV, etc. For this same reason, you should prioritize the bulk of your efforts on your 20% high value tasks, and stop wasting time on the other 80% which may take a lot of time but don’t generate any concrete outcome.

3. A lot of people find To-Do lists frustrating (they plan too much and then they have a long list of tasks that never get done.) What are some tips to not overplan?

Plan to the extent where you get clarity on what you have to do next, then take action right away. The role of planning is to empower you to take action. So if you’re finding planning a chore, then clearly something isn’t right. You shouldn’t be planning for the sake of planning.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do I have sufficient information to proceed? (If yes, then you should proceed)
• What am I planning for? Is there a positive output that’s going to come out of this planning process? (If no, you should cut it short and take action)
• Will this plan help me in achieving my end goal? (If yes, then continue working on the plan, but always be mindful that action needs to occur at some point for the goal to manifest)

4. Celes, what would be your most important advice to people who want to simplify their daily schedule?

Start small first, and go slow as you build it up. With each item in your calendar, ask yourself if you really need to do that. Does this make a difference in your life 1 year, 5 years from now? If not, then take that out. At the same time, introduce a few 20% high value tasks to your life – those tasks that matter the most and will create the most impact in your life when you do them.

As you do them, your fulfillment in your daily life will start to increase. Keep doing that and building on this as you go along. Never forget to experience the joy of what you’re doing and experiencing vs. getting caught up in to-dos. That’s what life is about – living life to the fullest in every moment, whereby the moments are created by you yourself.

5. What type of a To-Do list do you personally use? Is it just a piece of paper or some digital type? Do you have any tips on how to pick the best type of To-Do list for each person?

I use whatever tools that are most conducive at that point in time. Usually that means either a new notepad file, or a writing pad. I’ve never been a big user of complex GTD productivity systems – I tried using them and it felt like I was trying to make the system work out for me vs. truly being productive using it. That said, I’m sure the systems work for the others – the key here is to use whatever works best for you.

Ultimately, there is no one size fits all solution. The best productivity system is the one you create for yourself, whether by combining multiple tools, or by custom creating yours through Excel, and so on. My tips would be to use what makes you feel most comfortable. If you like using pen/paper and you usually work away from the computer, then stick to the traditional writing pads. If you prefer storing information digitally and you spend a lot of time at the computer, then going digital might be more conducive.

Thanks Celes for an awesome interview!

How about you? What’s your opinion about to-do lists? Leave your smart thoughts below and share this article with your friends.

Keep it balanced!