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Life

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The Movie of Your Life, Part II

A while back I wrote about the idea of your life as a movie, with you as the director. When you go through your archives in post-production, you might stumble on a scene that feels particularly surreal.

In those times, you may want to ask yourself, “Why did I put this scene in my movie?"

With the benefit of perspective, I realize that some of the scenes in my movie are a little surreal. Looking back on those scenes, it's easy to wonder, “Did that really happen?”

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Life

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The Myth of the Self-Made Man

Arnold Schwarzenegger on being a self-made man:

“I always tell people that you can call me anything that you want, but don’t ever, ever call me a self-made man. It gives the wrong impression, that we can do it alone. None of us can. The whole concept of the self-made man or woman is a myth. I would have never made it in my life without the help.

I want you to understand this because as soon as you know you are here because of a lot of help, then you also understand that now it’s time to help others. That’s what this is all about.”

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Escape for a Life-Changing Weekend or Build Your Small Business: Two Upcoming Events

As mentioned a few days ago, WDS 2017 is sold out, but you can still register for Academies. These are half-day workshops on a variety of topics, ranging from productivity to wellness and everything in between.

We've noticed that Academies are one of the most popular parts of the WDS experience. You'll learn new skills and make new friends. Oh, and if you're traveling in just for Academies, you won't be the only one—every year there are a lot of folks who make the trek.

--> Check out the lineup and join us in Portland next month!

Whether you're part of WDS or not, here are two other events you should consider attending.

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Academies - 1

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WDS 2017 Academies Are Open for Registration!

Link: Sign Up for WDS 2017 Academies

Our annual celebration known as the World Domination Summit (or just WDS if you prefer) kicks off again in just over a month! Tickets to the main-stage event are now SOLD OUT, and we're excited to welcome back another remarkable group of attendees.

If you didn't get a ticket, you can still participate in WDS Academies.

These half-day workshops feature some of our favorite alumni speakers and select WDS community members that are experts in their fields. Registration for Academies is separate from WDS itself, and is available to both WDS attendees (at a discounted rate) and to the general public.

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Work

This “1-3-5 Rule” Can Completely Change Your To-Do List

Do you have a cluttered and crowded to-do list? Do you try to get everything accomplished, only to burn out and end up feeling further behind? If so, you're not alone.

While reading The New Rules of Work, a new book by co-founders of The Muse, I stumbled on an alternative to-do list strategy that I thought was worth sharing:

On any given day, assume that you can only accomplish one big thing, three medium things, and five small things, and narrow down your to-do list to those nine items.

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This Canadian Woman Is Running a Half-Marathon Every Day for 70 Days in a Row

In January of this year, I heard from Emily Rudow in Toronto. Emily had just finished running 10k (6.1 miles) every day for 31 consecutive days. I thought that was pretty cool!

But it turns out she was just getting started. Emily is now undertaking a much bigger quest: to set a Guinness World Record by running a half-marathon for more consecutive days than anyone else.

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Work

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The Best Productivity Hack Is to Care About What You Do

I’m heading out to speak at a tech conference this week. The conference will undoubtedly have many smart people in attendance. In fact, I don’t think it’s self-depreciating to assume that most of them are a lot smarter than me. It's just true.

Continuing with the theme of “Is this really what it’s about in the world of productivity?”, a common question I get at these events is “Tell us about your productivity hacks.” This question usually comes from someone who’s not only smarter, but also most likely far more organized than me.

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HOP

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Limited Time: The Happiness of Pursuit is Just $1.99!

LINKS: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | iBooks

This just in from my publisher: the book version of The Happiness of Pursuit is on sale for $1.99 for a limited time only.

Book prices are set by publishers, not authors, so I don’t control when it’s on sale. But since it's usually $12.99, this might be a great time to buy it. Note that this special pricing may not be available in all markets. (If you're outside the U.S., see if you can buy it from a U.S. retailer, not your local one.) HOP EBOOK

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Life

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”If You Can Invest in Someone Else’s Company, You Can Invest in Yourself”

On an upcoming episode of Side Hustle School, I tell the story of someone who obtained a patent for a special kind of mittens for runners. Unlike a $100 Startup, getting a patent is not an easy or cheap process. It look several years and more than $5,000.

Still, she stuck with it because she believed in the idea and was convinced of its value. When she asked one friend where she was going to get the money, he said, “Do you own any stocks?” She said yes.

“If you can invest in someone else’s company,” he told her, "you can invest in yourself. Sell the stocks!”

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Emilie Headshot

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How to be Everything: A guide for those who (still) don’t know what they want to be when they grow up


"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

It's a familiar question we're all eventually asked as kids. While seemingly harmless, the question has unintended consequences. It can make you feel like you need to choose one job, one passion, one thing to be about.

Guess what? You don’t.

Having a lot of different interests, projects and curiosities doesn't make you a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none." Your endless curiosity doesn't mean you are broken or flaky. What you are is a multipotentialite: someone with many interests and creative pursuits. And as Emilie Wapnick would say, that may actually be your biggest strength.

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Work

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The Key to Productivity Isn’t More Rest, It’s Intentionality

It's tempting to think this is the answer. Just take it easy. It will come to you.

And sure, maybe it will.

I just know that for me, there’s more to it than "work in the morning, sit around and think in the afternoon." That’s how it’s always, always been.

The answer isn’t only “work hard all the time,” because of course you can work hard all the time on the wrong things. But I don’t think the answer is to coast either.

It’s more like: find the right thing, then give it all you’ve got. A two-step plan, essentially.

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The Met

Work

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101 Stories of People with Day Jobs Creating Side Hustles

On January 1, I began a new project: to publish a story every day of someone who starts an income-generating project (a "side hustle") without quitting their day job.

The project failed and I decided to give up. Just kidding! We are relentlessly moving along, publishing story after story—and it's getting better and better!

I recently completed the first 100 days. There's much more to come, but I'm excited about everything I've learned since beginning back in January.

If you're just joining in, you can also catch up on any recent episode from the links below.
Download all episodes from each month:

January | February | March | April

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3D Book Cover

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Can You Master “People Skills” By Reading a Book?

Have you ever wished that you could decode people? Do you want a formula for charisma? Do you want to know exactly what to say to your boss, your date or your networking partner? You need to know how people work.

As a human behavior investigator, Vanessa Van Edwards believes that people skills should never be considered "optional." Over the past decade, she's studied the hidden forces that drive our behavior patterns in her lab, the Science of People, and she's developed shortcuts, formulas, and blueprints for getting along with absolutely anyone you may encounter.

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Life

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“We Run Away from Desperation:” Thoughts on Pursuing a Creative Idea

I recently recorded a Side Hustle School episode about Michelle D’Avella, a designer who spent several years building a blog before turning it into a full-time income.

The first year she started her blog, she made $0. Last year, after experimenting with a series of virtual workshops and mentoring sessions, she made $50,000. The success isn’t just about making money, it’s also (maybe even more importantly) about finding work she believes in.

Her advice to others is to create from a place of joy.

"Don’t put so much pressure on figuring it all out, but make sure what you’re doing is something you can feel good about. When we create from joy, people feel it. When we create from lack, people feel it too. We run away from desperation."

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