Archives for December 2016

4 Questions that Will Turn Your Day Around

12.18.2016 by Marc Chernoff // 37 Comments

4 Questions that Will Turn Your Day Around

Last night I met a tired and weary soul at a local charity event. We struck up a conversation after I helped her pick up some papers she had accidentally dropped on the floor. She said she was volunteering at the event, and several other charity events over the next few weeks, because she didn’t really have anywhere else to be for the holidays. Details aside, she basically told me she struggles with a lack of healthy relationships, a lack of self-confidence, and a lack of purpose in her life.

I consoled her as best I could during our 10-minute conversation, and assured her that the volunteer work she’s doing is making a difference. Then we hugged and I handed her my business card before departing. Hopefully she reaches out to me, because there’s so much more I’d like to share with her. I know what it’s like to feel tired and weary, to feel down and depressed, to have no one to talk to. I have desperately struggled with anxiety and self-confidence issues numerous times in the past.

So I’m writing this short post for her, and all my fellow souls out there who are tired and weary and struggling to find happiness today.

You are struggling, maybe even heartbroken, and this state of being is hard to deal with. It can feel lonely, draining, and even downright hopeless sometimes.

How do you motivate yourself when you feel defeated? How do you heal when you have little hope? How do you connect with others when you don’t feel the self-confidence needed to put yourself out there?

I know you want answers. And I’m [Read more…]

3 Powerful Rituals for Building New, Healthy Relationships

12.11.2016 by Angel Chernoff // 26 Comments

3 Powerful Rituals for Building New, Healthy Relationships

This is one of the most important posts I could ever write for you.

It’s super simple, but absolutely vital.

Recently, Marc and I had a conversation with our friend Thanh about the importance of establishing healthy, positive, supportive relationships. This is a topic that fascinates us, and it’s something we know a lot about.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts and emails, Marc and I met Thanh at a business conference in Las Vegas some years back. We hit it off as friends almost immediately – there was lots of synergy between our interests in personal development and in expanding our entrepreneurial business ventures.

But the kicker is the immense (and immediate) positive impact Thanh’s friendship has had on both our personal and professional growth.

The undeniable truth became crystal clear to us rather quickly: Who you associate with makes all the difference in your life.

In many ways we, as human beings, are like Koi fish. The Koi fish grows in proportion to its environment. If you keep it in a small bucket of water, it grows to only a few of inches in length. But if you let it loose in the wild it can grow up to two feet long.

So are you like the Koi fish that has been kept in a small bucket? Is your environment and social network stifling your personal and professional growth?

If so, how do you make changes and build healthier relationships? [Read more…]

16 Insanely Popular Ways to Waste a Beautiful Day

12.04.2016 by Marc Chernoff // 23 Comments

16 Insanely Popular Ways to Waste a Beautiful Day

How often are you stuck deep in a cycle of worry, fear, and other forms of destructive overthinking? How often are you aimlessly distracted from what matters most? And how often do you feel like you’re running in place, with zero to show for your efforts?

I used to struggle with all of the above.

But, after carefully working through these struggles, I’ve become reasonably proficient at making the most of my limited time each day.

Today, for example, I calmly visited my doctor to check up on a health issue I’ve been overcoming, edited a chapter in a new book Angel and I are co-writing, coached three of our Getting Back to Happy students, responded to emails from dozens of students, worked on business planning and strategizing for the upcoming year, meditated, exercised, spent a quality late afternoon and early evening with my family, and of course now I’m writing this blog post.

It might seem like a lot, but it happens one step at a time with presence and focus. My mind is tuned in to what matters, and my actions reflect it.

With that said, however, I’ll be the first to admit that certain detrimental habits still occasionally sneak up on me and get in the way of my inner faith and overall effectiveness. And these are super common habits among my friends, family, peers, and students alike – these are the little things we all do that end up wasting our precious time. The word “waste” may sound a bit dramatic, but it’s really not. After spending the past decade coaching thousands of people, and working through my own personal struggles, there’s little doubt that these are the most popular ways we all collectively waste the beautiful days of our lives: [Read more…]