Burnout is Beautiful

Everyone experiences burnout.

Maybe you feel overworked, sick of your marriage or stressed about money. Maybe you’re living a daily cliché: one step forward, two steps back. Life can be tricky like that.

Believe it or not, burnout can be a beautiful thing. Instead of surrendering to burnout, what if you could use it to transform your life? Just like the story of the Phoenix, what if burnout was a chance for rebirth?

Four years ago I was overworked, stressed and a bit burned out. Now, I’m in a much different place. Here’s what I’ve done since 2007 to help redefine my life.

Quit smoking for good (after failing more than eight times)Eliminated over $42,000 in debt.Convinced my employer to let me work from home two days a week.Stuck to a budget so we could live on one income which allowed me to …Quit my day job.Started to eat right and exercise.Ended my relationship with stuff.Wrote a novel in a month.Defined myself as a hybrid homemaker. Now, I am home when my step kids return from school. I’ve also kept my professional identity through freelance writing.Showed others how to live the same way in my first ebook, The Hybrid Homemaker.

None of this would have been possible without burnout. If I hadn’t reached a point where I felt exhausted, beaten down, burned out … I never would have come up from the ashes.

I’m here to show you how you can rise from the ashes, too. If your path in life feels crooked, you can turn around and take one step forward. That’s the beauty of this story. If I can do it, so can you.

Burnout is beautiful. It gives you the chance to:

I never thought we could live on one income until I imagined a life without debt. Really? People lived on one income? “What if,” I thought and the rest is history. Burnout led me to imagine a life where I didn’t have to work to support the family. That changed everything. What could your life look like? If you’re unhappy at work, there is another way to make money. Start imagining it. Even a simple internet search can help. If you are crushed by debt, there is a way to change that. Imagine your life without limits. Someone else is already living your dream life – start wondering, “How did they do that?”

The desire to change starts with you. Once you feel it, use that passion to experiment and try new things. Become the artist – life is the masterpiece. To get healthy, you might challenge yourself to 10 minutes of exercise each morning. Looking to transform your diet? Eat like Leo. Take a stand against debt by cutting up your credit cards. Burnout brings strong emotions like anger, fear, jealousy and sadness. Use those feelings to light your creativity on fire. Keep mixing it up with new ideas and projects.

Don’t expect your employer to relieve stress at work. Don’t expect your lover to make you happy. Your burnout is not their responsibility. Give yourself permission to do all the work. Setting people free from your expectations will put you back in control. You can be burnout’s victim or victor. Find one reason to do something, not a million reasons to quit. Now, no one stands in your way.

That’s all it takes to change your life. If you want to quit smoking, you can stop putting a cigarette in your mouth and lighting the end. Once you master the way you move, you can do anything. You can decide to write instead of go out to lunch. You can put away the beer and go to bed early. You can feel your feet on the ground for a run. Movements, no matter how small, shape your entire life. How you go through the motions is up to you. Ask yourself today: Is the way I move beautiful? Or destructive?

Change can be slow, but it has to start somewhere. For me, burnout became beautiful when I fed new ideas to my broken spirit. Inspiration was everywhere once I wanted to look. Sites like The Happiness Project and Zen Habits gave me courage to begin a new life.

I know now: Burnout is just the beginning. It might feel awful at times. If it didn’t, how would you know when to try something new? Let your imagination fly. Learn what lights up your world before burnout defines it. Ask yourself for help first. Then, start with tiny movements. Tiny actions. Like building a new foundation, brick by brick, you can create something strong and beautiful.

Read more from Melissa at her blog, Peace & Projects, or follow her on Twitter.

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The Magic of Thinking Big

Dr. David J. Schwartz, an expert on motivation, will help you sell better, manage better, earn more money,and -- most important of all -- find greater happiness and peace ofmind.The Magic of Thinking Big gives you methods and a programfor getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life,and your community. He proves that you don t need to be an intellectualor have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction -- butyou do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behavingin ways that will get you there. Believe you can succeed and you will Cure yourself of the fear of failure Think and dream creatively You are what you think you are Make your attitudes your allies Learn how to think positively Turn defeat into victory Use goals to help you grow Think like a leader Publisher: Simon amp Schuster 1987 Author: Dr. David J. Schwartz Format: 320 pages, paperback ISBN: 9780671646783

Price: $14.95

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Anger Management Subliminal CD

Control your anger, and live completely free from anger and aggression with our ground breaking subliminal CD!

Use our anger management soundtrack to resolve the negative anger issues in your life. Our album will help you to:

* Learn to manage and control your anger instead of acting upon it.

* Develop the ability to stay calm and collected even when you are put in a situation which normally makes you explode.

* Develop an inbuilt anger control mechanism to keep you balanced at all times.

* Develop the ability to rise above your anger and stop reacting to every small issue.

* Replace the negative thoughts within your mind which are the root of all your anger issues - replace them with positive thoughts which will keep you calm and end your anger problems forever!

You do not have to live like this forever. You can stop alienating your family and friends right now, instead developing healthier relationships with your family, friends, family and loved ones today with help from our subliminal CD.

Price:

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The Secret Art of Self-Development

Stop being a seeker - Start being a finder!

Self-development is an amazing quest. It's the desire to find your own freedom and happiness. It's about letting go of limitations, and learning how to live successfully.

This audio CD is a series of 16 simple "pep talks" for that self-development journey.

No hype, no rituals, no follow-on courses. Just a series of conversations to help you finally discover your own true freedom.

Forget The Secret, set aside religious texts and ignore the so-called gurus.

This audio CD will guide you straight to the only true authority on your own self-development.

You.

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Price: $13.95

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Can’t Find a Dream Job? Create Your Own

I was once unemployed, and I know the debilitating depression and the feelings of frustration and helplessness that can come with that. I’ve been stuck in a job I hate, and I felt imprisoned, trapped doing work that bored me while following orders of others and helping them achieve their goals.

Those times were … less than ideal. In fact, those were some of the worst periods in the story of my life.

Luckily I rose above those traps, but I have to admit it wasn’t easy. The solution has been one of the most liberating, empowering, joyous things in my life.

I wanted to share that little secret with those of you who are having a hard time finding a job, or who feel trapped in a job you hate:

Create your own dream job. Don’t wait for someone to hand it to you. Don’t hope that you’ll win the lottery. Don’t give up and consign yourself to a fate of misery and (worse) dullness.

Create your job! It might sound far-fetched for some of you (while others have already done it) but it’s very possible. Not easy, mind you: it takes hard work and smarts and passion and a crap-ton of learning and a willingness to take risks and make mistakes. If that sounds like you, read on. If not, stop reading.

You might already know this but if you haven’t given it much thought, start to consider: what do you truly love doing? What are you passionate about? If you’re lucky you’ll have multiple answers. If you have no answers, it’s time to start finding things to be passionate about. Read more: The Short But Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion.

If you have multiple answers, just choose one. Or find ways to combine two of them (if you love sewing and Star Wars, sew Star Wars costumes and put them on Etsy). Don’t be paralyzed by this choice: if it turns out this isn’t what you want then you can always start another business later. You learn by doing and making mistakes, not by analyzing every possible outcome and factor.

This passion will become your dream job.

This is how I did it. I love writing and I love taking steps to change my habits and my life. I started Zen Habits just for fun and it turned into my dream job.

You need a lot of money to get started, right? No. I explicitly reject the idea that “you have to spend money to make money”. Sure, that can work, or it can lead to a mountain of debt and monthly expenses that greatly exceed your income and possibly failure before you’ve had the chance to succeed.

I started my business with nothing. Zero dollars. In fact I had less than nothing: I was highly in debt and broke. I started with free online services (there are plenty — I used Blogger.com and Google Adsense and Google Analytics, but those are just a few examples). I refused to even buy my own domain until I made more money from my business than the cost of that purchase. I refused to pay for my site design or to use a paid host until I was making much more money than those purchases required.

My rule: spend much less than you make. It works for personal finances too.

Actually I didn’t start with nothing. While I had no money, I had some pretty big assets: my mind and talents and hard work and life experience. Those translated into a strong business, it turned out.

How can you start your business with nothing? I won’t create an exhaustive list but here are some examples:

Someone I know wanted to start a marketing business. She didn’t need an office and staff and stationary — all she needed was her laptop (she had one), her skills (she had the experience), her contacts (she had a lot of them), and for people to know she was out there. And for that last bit, it just takes some … marketing skills. Hit businesses up and offer her services. Network online and gain clients that way. If she has expenses for a job she can charge those to the client.My sister wanted to start a ballet school. I suggested instead of building a studio and being hugely in debt, she start by going to private schools and offering to create an after-school ballet program at the schools. Parents would love it, the schools would benefit because parents want services like that, and she has practically no expenses.My other sister wanted to become a personal trainer. I encouraged her to start in her home, with minimal equipment, or go to her clients’ homes and businesses, or do outdoor bootcamps. She did and is amazing at it.Love to play video games? Start a site where you show people how to become elite players. Offer coaching.Start an online store where you sell stuff you make.Teach people how to do whatever you’re good at. They’ll pay you.Want to be a chef? Host dinner parties with gourmet cuisine, and charge $50 a head. Sell tickets in advance and use some of that money to buy the food and some dishes.

Again, these are just a few ideas. Sure, there are some businesses that require an initial investment but I suggest you find ones that don’t. Start free or cheap, borrow space from friends if necessary, and get started.

If you want to make a living at what you love doing, you need to get good at it. Some of you are already good at what you love — you’ve been doing it for years, either on the job or as a personal passion. Others are just starting out, but that’s not a barrier — you just have to put in more time and effort.

I was already an experienced writer when I started Zen Habits (I’d been a journalist for about 18 years), but I didn’t know a thing about blogging or teaching people to simplify, improve their lives, change their habits. I knew about how to do that myself (though I was still learning) but I’d never taught anyone. So I learned: I read other blogs, read personal development sites and books, read blogs about blogging, studied the best, figured out what they did that made them successful. It takes a lot of study, a lot of analysis, a lot of trying and doing and seeing what works and what doesn’t.

I made a ton of mistakes. That’s a good thing. You can’t get good at anything without making a huge amount of mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes — they’re stepping stones to greatness. Try everything, see what works, see what doesn’t. Stick with the things that work.

Put in a lot of hours of practice and doing. The more, the better. Reflect on what you’ve done and what you’ve learned, write it down. Put it in your blog so you can help others learn, but more importantly you’ll force yourself to learn from your own experience.

Get good. Others will gladly pay you if you’re good.

Any business, big or small, benefits from an audience. That’s different than a customer base — an audience is a group of people who you help and who love you. They might not pay you. Some will want to pay you for more of what you offer, but many will just love you, and that’s a great thing.

Building an audience is tough. It takes time, it takes a lot of giving, it takes a willingness to wither criticism and to learn from that criticism (though ignore the idiots).

I highly recommend you check out Traffic School by my friend Corbett Barr. He’s built an amazing online business and has helped others do the same. This new course will show you how to grow an online audience, attract more visitors and increase sales. It’s very effective, and I’ve contributed to the course myself. Read more: Traffic School (this is an affiliate link that will help support Zen Habits).

OK, you’re pursuing your passion, you’ve developed your skills, you’ve built an audience. Now what? How does that pay your bills?

You build income streams. There are many, many ways to do that, including:

Give away free articles but charge for ebooks or other digital products (that’s what I do).Create a subscription or membership service for powerful content.Create online courses.Sell ads or run ads from ad networks.Do consulting or freelancing.Do speaking engagements or training seminars.Sell physical stuff online or on a site such as Etsy.Create an app and sell it on the Apple or Android platforms.Build a web app and charge for the premium version.Provide a service where you go to people’s houses and do something for them (yardwork, massage, fitness training, houspainting, etc.).Sell T-shirts or coffee mugs or stickers with your slogan or logo.Sell other people’s stuff as an affiliate and get commissions.

Which of these should you do? Try one, see how that works, then try another, then another. See what works best and be willing to build multiple income streams.

I’ve only given you a rough outline but if I gave away every step that would be taking away all the fun. The fun is learning how to do it yourself!

There is something incredibly empowering about seizing control of your life and creating the job you want, rather than waiting for it to happen or waiting for someone to give it to you. You are no longer a passive viewer of the world, but someone actively changing it. You become your own boss, pursuing your own goals. That’s incredible.

If you’re out of a job or stuck in a lousy job, I feel for you. But look at your horrible situation as a wonderful opportunity to change your life and do something great. It could be the best thing you’ve ever done.
—
Twitter.

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New " True Personal Development Teacher " License Plate Occupations

Made of high impact plastic.This Sing is made of indoor/outdoor weatherproof.040 polystryrene (plastic as thick as 2 credit cards on top each other).This license plate comes with rounded corners and 4 hole for hanging.This is a great gift and a way very good for giving identity to your car!

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Capturing waves of electricity

BBC Radio 4's Case Notes has an excellent edition on epilepsy that covers everything from the changes in consciousness during seizures to the use of brain surgery to treat the condition.

It’s a pretty straightforward discussion but you’ll likely not find a better introduction to the neurological disorder, what it does and how it’s treated. Just well explained, no nonsense and comprehensive.

Great stuff.

Link to epilepsy edition page with streamed audio.
mp3 of podcast.

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