This last weekend Thom and I drove to Carlsbad to visit with our friends John and Michelle. It took some gas money to get there, but once we arrived, we hunkered down with a couple of bottles of wine, a great dinner that Michelle prepared, and talked for hours, and hours. We eventually went to bed (lucky for us they have a guest room) and then got up and talked and laughed over breakfast before returning home to the desert. Once the overnight bag was put away, it occurred to me that our brief trip was one of those priceless moments with friends that takes relatively little money but offers huge returns. In fact, cultivating deep friendships may be one of the SMARTest things any of can do on a regular basis to live a great life. [Read more…]
Three Words That Enrich Your Life
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
Three SMART words to enrich your life.
I just read a short interview by author and activist Gloria Steinem. In it, she was asked to offer three words that have guided her life. They were: Hope, Ideas and Friends. And while I think all of them are indeed valuable and important in my life as well, it made me ask myself, what three words do I feel enrich my life the most? Whether you agree with Gloria, or me, it may be worth the time for you figure out three words that bring value to your life and help make them more prevalent in your life today. [Read more…]
Chop Wood, Do Taxes, Wash Dishes, Be Spiritual
Every year about this time, I begin working on getting my tax information ready for our accountant. As two self-employed people, this practice is far more involved than gathering our W-2s, and never what I consider fun. Yet, much as I dread it—and whine about the chore—in the end “doing taxes” is but one more detail of life that we all face on a regular basis. When you think about it, no matter how much we might try, we’ll never escape most of those particulars, so it is wise to mindfully embrace them in the present moment and recognize that collectively they all add up to creating a SMART life.
Googling For Good
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
Do you Google? Or do you prefer Bing, Yahoo, AOL, Ask or any of the other search engines available? Even if you use one or more of them every day, have you ever thought about how they continually direct our thoughts? And although there is an amazing amount of information out there, without the means to find it—it might as well not be there at all. That’s why Googling, or how we use any search engine, is a great metaphor for how we go about looking for those things we say we want and need in life. Plus, not only are our Google searches a mirror to what we think is important and worthy of our attention, it may also be SMART for us to remember that what we search for, we most often find. [Read more…]
Need A Raise? Cut Your Overhead!
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
Our new "shared" yard saves us about $7,000 a year!
When was your last raise? Everyone I know would love to have one, but they don’t usually come all that often. Still, if we consider that a raise is just a new inflow of money—we all have one readily available. That new inflow or “raise” in income is always within your grasp by simply cutting your overhead or monthly expenses. And even if the idea of cutting back sounds like a sacrifice, you may just discover that reducing overhead—especially when unnecessary or unused—can actually be a pleasure. And your pocketbook will thank you as well. [Read more…]
How Healthy is Your Curiosity?
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
The other day I got curious about curiosity. Surprisingly, it’s curious that there is actually only a little amount of information available. In fact, even scientists consider curiosity a bit of a mystery—with some believing curiosity is a character trait, and others believing it relates to emotions. They also aren’t sure whether it is completely inherent (meaning generated within us), or if it is stimulated and grown from outside us. Whatever curiosity is, I believe that a healthy and active sense of curiosity is an essential element for a SMART and happy life. [Read more…]
Five Essentials For A Long, Happy & Healthy Relationship
Real love takes more than flowers once a year!
I’ve never considered myself an expert on relationships. Instead, I’ve always thought of myself as extremely fortunate that I had such a great marriage and partnership. But this Valentine’s Day is a year when Thom and I will be celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary and I can honestly say I love him now much more than when we first got together. So, upon reflection, I might not be an expert, but I do believe that along the way I’ve learned a few things that makes for a happy life between two people.
Are You an Innie or an Outie? —Spiritually Speaking of Course!
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
Do you know whether you’re and innie or an outie? While those terms usually refer to a belly button, they apply even better when you are asking about a person’s spirituality. In other words, is your spiritual life inner-directed or outer-directed? And it doesn’t really matter what religion you practice. If you live your life based upon what others tell you to do, be, have or care about—even if that “other” is a spiritual leader of sorts—then you are outer-directed. If you instead listen to your own soul—especially in matters of the heart and spirit—then you are an innie. A huge part of living SMART 365 is learning the difference and then following the still, small voice within. [Read more…]
When Is Enough Enough? And Five Tips To Help Find Out
Click On Photo for Video
Over the weekend, Thom and I had dinner with a friend whose lifestyle changed dramatically in the last couple of years. Our friend, Tami* was single for most of the 30+ years we’ve known her. Then a couple of years ago she married a very wealthy man. Although Tami was always financially secure in her life, she now admitted how great it was to never have to worry about bills or finances ever again. Unfortunately, her joy was short-lived. Within five minutes, she began complaining about the high amount of taxes she and her new husband would be paying for 2011 along with the drain her new husband’s adult children were on the family. Later she grumbled about how unfair it was of the current political administration to even consider raising her tax rate. The conversation was a great reminder that it is easy to forget that our sense of well-being, comfort and peace of mind has less to do with how much money we have—and everything to do with how we think about it. In most cases, regardless of how much we actually have—we only have enough when we think we have enough. [Read more…]
Seven Surefire Reasons Why Everyone Should Start A Garden
“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden.” –Robert Brault
Starting a garden has been a goal of mine ever since we moved into our new house nearly a year and a half ago. Just like every one of us, I had dozens of great excuses for why it was easy to put it off and not get started. Still, slowly but surely Thom and I began taking steps towards creating the perfect space on our small urban lot. This last weekend I finally put the plants in the soil. Now I have a vegetable garden and regardless of whether anything actually bears fruit, I can begin reaping the many benefits offered by such a time-honored and humble activity. [Read more…]
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