We've been watching the History Channel series, "America, The Story of Us," and have learned a few lessons from our founding fathers, especially the rebels who fought for our independence. In this episode, we talk specifically about rules, and why your future depends on you breaking them. | Subscribe with iTunes | Download (120 MB) Share Your Thoughts... What do you think about this month's show? Do you have a review of "America, The Story of Us?" What rules do you often find yourself inadvertently abiding by? We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or in the video itself by …
Rules That Don't Exist
We are constantly bombarded with rules that don't exist. This collection of “rules” comes from everywhere: parents, grandparents, politicians, first grade teachers, old dead white guys, and young celebrity trendsetters. We follow them (often subconsciously) for reasons that range from irrelevant to superstitious to downright stupid. Sadly, they often limit us from living better stories. Below are some we've identified so far. Did we miss one?
The Danger of Cartwheels and Car Dancing
It wasn't long after she learned to walk that Lucy started dancing. It began with little head bobs and knee bends. Now, when a fast beat is bursting from our living room stereo, Lucy is the first one to come running. Spinning, twirling, and bouncing, she's a whirling dervish of dance moves. I hate it that we lose that free-spiritedness as we get older. Most of us, anyway. Me included. …
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A New (Really Old) Way to Create Calm In Your World
Meetings. Recitals. Soccer practice. Grocery shopping. Day care drop-offs and pickups. Birthday parties. With all the busyness that is running rampant in our lives, wouldn’t it be awesome to have one day a week just for you and your family to lay low, sleep in, hang out, and pretty much do nothing? Does it sound like the perfect antidote to all of the stresses that keep you perpetually running on fumes? Does it also sound as likely as waking up tomorrow morning with your head stapled to the carpet? …
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What Is Your Word for 2010?
When our world officially admits it's another year older, lots of people come up with resolutions. "I resolve to lose 90 pounds." "I resolve to quit smoking once and for all." "I resolve to win the lottery." Considering how many resolutions are upended by the consumption of an entire bag of Doritos in one sitting or how many gyms look like ghost towns on March 1st, it's amazing that we go through the trouble of of making them in the first place. Indeed, the mandate that we should all come up with some sort of New Year's Resolution is a rule that doesn't exist. …
What Business Card Design Has to Do With Making Your Life Better
How many business cards have you collected over the years? A handful? A hundred? Enough to wallpaper the bathrooms of every house on your block? Even if you're not involved in "Business," chances are you've received a number of business cards over the years, from the auto mechanic to your neighbor who sells Mary Kay. Most business cards are, frankly, forgettable. …
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Are You Living By Rules That Don’t Exist?
Life is filled with countless rules that need to be broken. No, I'm not talking about running red lights or robbing banks. I'm talking about simple assumptions that we live by in order to fit in and stay comfortable. Kids like to break the mold and a great way to stay childlike, leaving Adultitis in the dust, is to follow their lead. Here are a few thoughts about the rules that don't exist. …
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How to Experience More by Doing Less
We live in a culture of more. We are conditioned to want more stuff, sure, but also to be involved in more and more activities. Our schedules are bursting with everything from meetings, extracurriculars, and charitable activities to projects, practices, and parties of all kinds, including birthdays, baptisms, weddings and showers. And of course, we can't say no, for fear that we will appear selfish, offend somebody, or cripple our children's chance of getting into Harvard or the NBA. Sometimes it's as simple as not wanting to miss out on something fun. Having to say yes to all of these …
Rules That Don’t Exist
I love this picture. The boy's name is Henry, the son of a blogger named Sabra, who explained the photo like this: Because some days you should get what you want. That's my explanation for this picture. Henry is wearing the PJ bottoms he begged to keep on, the shoes he insisted on (one a rain boot and the other a pair of sandals). He's eating peanut butter from a spoon and enjoying his binky. Throughout our lives, starting at the very beginning, we are bombarded with rules. Many of which don't exist. …
Share a Rule That Doesn’t Exist
There are a ton of rules that don't exist. You know, passed-down traditions, silly wives tales, societal expectations, and self-limiting beliefs that people adhere to even though there are not real consequences for breaking them (at least once in a while.) Thou shall not eat dessert first. Thou shall always make thy bed. Thou shall take yourself seriously. It is our deep hope that calling them out will open the eyes of people to the limitations they are needlessly living under and inspire them to break free and live better stories. Got a rule that doesn’t exist you’d like to …
Jump off the Conveyer Belt
We recently started back on the road for a fall filled with speaking gigs. One thing Jason talks about is to "Stop living by rules that don't exist." This is a major way to fight your Adultitis. Living by this philosophy is exactly what gives the typical two-year-old the bad rap as "terrible." In defense of parents of toddlers everywhere, let me point out that two-year-olds are in the business of testing everything, discovering the world around them and how they fit into it... which doesn't always look pretty. Jason and I joke that inevitably there's always a two or three-year-old throwing a …