Posted on

SLT017: Evernote Simplified (Part 1), & A Focus on Fitness

by

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Today’s show is about focus…from two very different perspectives. First, we’re going to focus on how to use Evernote, and then shift the focus to fitness.

How to use Evernote

Dan’s Topic: Evernote Simplified (Part 1)

  • OK so unless this is your first time listening to the podcast, you might know that I’m an Evernote fan. And one of the most requested things I’m asked to talk about is Evernote. So, by popular demand, my topic for this show and next week’s will be Evernote!  Read more…
Posted on

SLT 016: Making Decisions Like a Fighter Pilot & Frugal vs. Cheap

by

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Making Decisions Like a Fighter Pilot & Frugal vs. Cheap

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show!  Thanks!

Dan’s Topic: The OODA Loop

Our Decisions, Our Future

  • You’ll recall that the 5 pillars we focus on for OUR simple life together are Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness and Future
  • Well, our Future is determined every single day by decisions that we make
  • We make decisions all the time…daily in fact…most of them without any effort whatsoever
  • But isn’t it funny how simple these “automatic” decisions are when other decisions lead us to hours, days, and sometimes months or years of contemplation and struggle and hemming and hawing?

Introducing the OODA Loop

  • Today I want to talk about decision-making and a very simple framework that you can use to help with your decision-making
  • This process is called the OODA Loop, as in O-O-D-A
  • OODA stands for Observe-Orient-Decide and Act. The OODA Loop is a recurring decision-making process…a cycle, if necessary…developed by Col John Boyd, who was a fighter pilot and later a Pentagon consultant after he retired. Col Boyd is also credited with being the key planner for Operation DESERT STORM
  • While Boyd’s OODA loop concept began in fighter pilot circles, its also pretty popular in other combat ops units, too. It’s become so popular, in fact, that it has since spread to the civilian word…becoming popular in business, sports, and becoming quite popular with attorneys in the litigation process
  • So, if you’ve never heard of the OODA loop before and are wondering how this little tool can help simplify your life…well, I’m here to share that with you.

What’s the Scoop on the OODA Loop?

  • The premise of the OODA Loop is that through a recurring cycle of OBSERVE-ORIENT-DECIDE-ACT you can  “get inside” an opponent’s decision making cycle and gain the advantage.
  • But it’s not solely for use against what would traditionally be called “opponents”. In business, competitors would be a more appropriate term than “opponent’ or “enemy” and even more generically, in life, “situations” can be our opponent when we’re trying to achieve our goals.
  • And, well, we all know that clutter and complexity are our enemy, so I cover how the OODA loop can help you out there, too!
  • So, with the OODA Loop, if you can get through the observe-orient-decide-act cycle quicker than your opponent or faster than the situation unfolds, you’ll come out on top!
  • So, let’s break it down…

OODA Loop Phases

  • First, let’s talk about the phases of the OODA Loop
  • The first step is OBSERVE. Essentially, this is when you notice a situation that is a potential problem. It’s simple, you see something, you observe it. No judgements are made in this phase.
  • The next step is ORIENT. This phase is the biggie…this is where your entire past comes into play. We have to put what we’re seeing into a context so we can later make a decision. In the ORIENT phase, we use our hard-wired instincts, intuition, our history, our knowledge, our experience, new information, split-second analysis…even our mental predictions of what the outcome or impact of potential decisions could be…all to orient ourselves as to what we’re observing
  • Once we’ve OBSERVED and ORIENTED, we can then DECIDE. We make decisions every day, and when we do, our decisions aren’t just based on the current situation, as I just mentioned in the ORIENT phase, they’re based on everything we’ve soaked in over our lifetime. But our decisions are often limited to a reasonable, limited set of choices. We’ll get to that in a moment.
  • So…now it comes time to ACT. Acting is just following through with your decision. Simple as that.
  • But the OODA loop process doesn’t stop there. Remember, it’s a loop so it can be repeated over and over again until there’s a final outcome. Of course, in Colonel Boyd’s model, this would likely take place at altitude with two pilots dogfighting until one of them is the victor. In my former world it takes place on the ground as you and you enemy fire and maneuver until one no longer returns fire. Each step in these battle scenarios requires another cycle through the OODA Loop.

OK…So Here’s an Example

  • In your world, the OODA loop may help you as you battle your clutter or as you fight your consumeristic tendencies.
  • Let’s say you’re doing the Edit & Forget It Challenge and you’re going through a storage area. With each item, you can use the OODA loop to help your tackle the whole job.
  • With each item you’ll go throughout the phases…
    • Observe: OK, here’s a widget
    • Orient: Do I need this, have I used this, do I love this, can I see myself needing this soon, what will I do if I don’t have it, can I borrow it…etc
    • Decide: Keep it or not. If not, what am I going to do with it? KEEP-TOSS-RECYCLE-DONATE-TRASH (each one of these may require it’s own OODA loop
    • Act: Follow through! Don’t make the mistake of waiting!
      • oo-oo-oo you know what that is?

How Can I Use the OODA Loop?

  • Remember…this is a decision making framework. You can use this for decision making of almost any kind, not just in battle or in editing…in almost anything!
    • Use OODA Loop on your Inbox, when shopping, buying a new car
    • We have a good friend John over at LetsReverseObesity.com whose goal is to control the forces that allow him to overeat…anyone trying to change behavior or start a new habit will meet challenges and obstacles along the way
    • Each one of those is a decision point…and having a decision-making framework can help you make decisions that are aligned with your goals
    • The OODA loop can easily become a nearly instantaneous cycle or you can use it to make more detailed deliberate decisions

Don’t Forget the End State!

  • So, armed with your news OODA loop, let’s get back to where I started when I said “our Future is determined every day by decisions we make”
  • If you’re a regular listener, and we hope you are, then like us you’re on a journey to simplify your life
  • And hopefully you’ve taken some time to really reflect on your life plan…what you want your life to look like down the road
  • We always talk about the “desired end state” or what you want things to look like in the end as the best place to start out.
  • Imagine starting out on a long road trip without a destination in mind. It’s kind of hard to plan things out, isn’t it? Why take that chance with your life?
  • The reason I bring all this back up is that if “our Future is determined every day by decisions we make” then we need to keep that desired future in mind when we go through our decision making process. So, in the OODA loop, our desired end state should certainly be a consideration when during the ORIENT and DECIDE phases.
  • Just like your personal values and morals shape your decisions, so too should plans for your future as they’ll be directly effected by those decisions

Final Thoughts

  • So, give the OODA loop a shot and see if it works for you
  • Maybe having your goals well thought out, and a solid framework in place will lead you further down the path on your journey with a few less stumbling points along the way
  • So, give the OODA loop a shot and let us know how it works out for you!

Vanessa’s Topic: Being Frugal vs. Being Cheap

A couple of weeks ago I was with a group of women and the subject of makeup and the best facial skin care products came up. One of the gals said the best lipstick was made by Chanel. When I asked her how much it cost she said $38…with other lipsticks up to $50! I was like….that’s nearly half my electric bill for this month! I can get 3-5 decent lipsticks for the price of one!

I was shocked at the price because I just can’t justify (personally) spending that kind of money for lipstick.  Probably because I came from humble beginnings and was never really exposed to high-end/designer labels and such. Let me just say…just because I don’t shop high-end designer labels, doesn’t mean I don’t care about how I look or about quality.  I do!  But just on a budget.

The whole situation got me to thinking…do I sound like I’m being cheap?  Do my friends and colleagues think I’m cheap because I don’t have designer sunglasses, handbags, or shoes?  Do my clients judge me?  Well I decided to jump on the internet to see if I could answer the question: “Am I being frugal…or am I being cheap?”

As I sifted through the various articles I found a few that for me, clearly explained the difference, so I thought I would highlight some of the better explanations and examples of what I found….because I think it’s bound to be a question or topic that comes up with this type of lifestyle that we are living or striving to live.

Definitions of Being Frugal and Being Cheap.  Here are a couple of definitions I found on a couple of different sites:

  • “Frugality is in the center of the money spectrum, between cheapness and extravagance.  Like most good things, frugality taken to either extreme is not a good thing. It is the wise and intentional use of money whether saving or spending.” (from Life Renewed)
  • “Being cheap is a reluctance to spend money, even on things that are necessary and needed. Cheapness is selfishness and often results from fear; fear of running out of money and not being able to take care of yourself and your family. Cheapness is only concerned about spending the least amount of money possible” (from Life Renewed)
  • “Cheap people care about the cost of something; frugal people care about the value of something.” (from AskMen.com)

Examples of Being Cheap vs Being Frugal (From Life Renewed):

  • “Cheap is buying stuff on sale just because it’s probably the best or only time to get this item at such a cheap price….Frugal is buying only what is needed, wanted and by researching the best deal.”
  •  “Cheap is buying the cheapest food (restaurants or grocery stores) without any care for quality or nutrition…Frugal considers cost of food but with regard to quality and health benefits.”
  •  “Cheap is not tipping at restaurants or not paying your share of the tip on a group ticket…Frugal budgets for eating out which includes tax and tip.”
  •  “Cheap is suffering living in a hot or cold house because you don’t want to spend too much on the utilities…Frugal finds the right temperature that is economical and within a budget and not wasteful.”
  • “Cheap is lying about your kids’ age to get a discount…Frugal is planning and budgeting outings with your family that consider the costs of such outings.”

Examples and Thoughts on Frugal vs Cheap from Mr. Money Moustache:

  • “It’s all in your head….many of the worst spending addicts do so because of their imaginary fantasies about social status.”
  • “Frugal doesn’t mean owning mostly crap.  Cheap people will keep things like old appliances even though they are not efficient, energy efficient or even safe.  They just don’t want to buy new.  A frugal person will buy a newer one product because it’ll probably save time and energy.”
  • “Frugal doesn’t mean you don’t spend on yourself.” You should still enjoy a date night here and there with your spouse…treat friends or family to dinner every now and again…get a massage every once in a while….just don’t become a pamper-me addict!

Example from Choosing Voluntary Simplicity: 

  • “Frugality has become almost synonymous with deprivation and denial and understandably, this kind of negative frugality turns most people off….when frugality is base on your own values and what You want out of life, it can only be a positive influence.  It’s not about spending less money…how you choose to spend your time and how you choose to conserve other resources should all be part of the total equation.”

Frugality…What’s It All Worth?

  • “It is balancing your needs and wants of today with those needs and wants of tomorrow…it is not a destination but a journey.” (Life Renewed)
  • I totally agree with this!  I say all the time that it’s ok to spend money on things you need and even want…as long as it’s deliberate, thoughtful and won’t hurt you or interfere with your long-term goals.  It’s the spending every dime you have the second you get it with no regard for your future…or saving every dime you have and not enjoying a damn thing in life….that’s what will get you in trouble or living a life of regret.

My Thoughts:

  • Being frugal helps you to have a better understanding of, appreciation for and relationship with your money.  Being frugal usually means that you’ll have a better understanding of what “living within your means” really means…with benefits of avoiding debt, avoiding bad purchases, avoiding foreclosures, etc.
  • It helps you to analyze, and focus on your “important goals and priorities.” 
  • I also think that when you’re frugal..you usually end up with more time and means to do things you really want to do…not just living paycheck to paycheck. It can allow you to allocate those resources (time and money) to other causes or priorities….donating to charities…giving your time to help others…etc.
  • Yet again, we come to an idea or concept that isn’t “cookie-cutter” perfect.  Frugality is different for everyone.  But after reading these articles and many ideas on the topic I’ve come to conclude that the idea of being frugal is a concept of being in control, being more mindful, and being deliberate so that you can live a life on purpose…without the pressure of trying to achieve what society or mainstream America defines as success. It’s about living in the moment (responsibly of course) and also looking forward to the good things that lay ahead.  It’s not about being selfish, stingy or living in fear.  It’s all about defining life on your own terms and securing your freedom to live a life with meaning.

The “Thing” Segment:

Dan’s Thing:  The GOOD-FAST-CHEAP Conundrum

I’ve noticed in life that products you need typically only meet 2 of the 3 criteria on the FAST-GOOD-CHEAP model.

  • You can have Good/Fast: Usually that’s usually an expensive option…so be prepared to pay
  • You can have it Good/Cheap: But typically not available within your timeframe…so planning is a must
  • The worst products typically fall into the Fast/Cheap category: They usually also end up as a “clutter producing” option…or are the result of an “impulse buy”

The best way to avoid the FAST-GOOD-CHEAP conundrum? Identify your true needs, do some research, and plan in advance.

Vanessa: Brene Brown’s book: Daring Greatly.

In the book she was talking about practicing courage and facing our shame and vulnerabilities…in particular she was describing a moment where she experienced shame and that her advice to people who experience the same thing is to “own the story ” and not bury it.  She quoted Carl Jung (famous psychotherapist) who said, “I am not what has happened to me.  I am what I choose to become.”  I thought that was so powerful because too often we let shame control and silence us.  By owning your pain, and admitting your vulnerabilities, somehow you  become stronger.  Highly recommend anything by Brene Brown…I’m a total fan!

 Edit & Forget It Update!

Lots of new folks to the Facebook Edit & Forget It page this past week! So if you signed up for Edit & Forget It, join the fun over on FB, too! It’s never too late to join the Challenge, it’s going on all year so if you’re ready to edit 2013 things from your life, head on over to SimpleLifeTogether.com and  sign up!

A special shout out to Former President George Bush for his support in the video he did for the Edit & Forget It Challenge Facebook page. Regardless of your politics toward the former Prez, it’s nice to know he supports our efforts at Simplificatin’.

Feedback:

Thanks so much from the following for leaving such amazing feedback!:

Lisa Johnson, Mohamed Tohami from midwaysimplicity.com, NicJames, Tawny_lynne, Angora from the UK, Mark from London, UK, Eren from Brazil, Erin who heard us on Joel Zaslofsky’s podcast Smart and Simple Matters, which you can also find on iTunes or at ValueOfSimple.com.

Wanted to thank everyone that has given us fantastic feedback on iTunes, thru email, on the website and even several “shout outs” on different blogs and podcasts. It’s great to hear how you enjoy the podcast and to get your ideas and suggestions for future ones as well.  Thank you so much!

Closing Thoughts:

We’re blessed to be able to share some ideas and some of our experiences as we journey toward a simpler life in the modern world and we’d like to hear some of your experiences, too.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

  • Go to SimpleLifeTogether.com/iTunes
  • Click on”Write a Review”
  • Write your review…
  • Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.  

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

Connect with us on Twitter, Dan is @DanielHayes and Vanessa is @GetSimplifized. You can find links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles on the left side of the home page.

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Here are the links we mentioned in the show:

Posted on

SLT015: Creating Your Morning Routine, and Living Without a Printer

by

Wouldn’t you love to simplify your morning routine? What? You don’t have one? Well, in this episode Vanessa shares some tips to help you create your morning routine so you can start of each morning on the right path.

Morning Routine

But even if you start out on the right path, sometimes little things can become big irritants, can’t they? One thing that can be really frustrating is printer problems. Do you think you could digitize your life to the point where you don’t even need a printer? Well, Dan shares his thoughts on that very subject! Read more… 

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted on

SLT 014: How Typical Is Your Home & A Gateway Gadget Intervention

by

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

How Typical is Your Home? And…A Gateway Gadget Intervention

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show!  Thanks!

Website guide update:

The way, the Simple Life Guide to building your “Side Gig” is ready and we’ve had a bunch of people sign up. So if you’re ready to start on the path to shaping your life a bit more by starting a lifestyle business on the side and you don’t have any experience starting a website, well this guide and the video links will lead you through how to set up your site, step by step, and it even includes some fantastic branding information, too!  It’s completely free and you can sign up at SimpleLifeTogether.com/websiteguide.

Vanessa’s Topic: How Typical Is Your Home?

Dan and I were interviewed a couple of times last week and during one of the interviews we were talking about how much stuff we have in our homes. Dan started talking about a study conducted by UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families. They sent a team of professional archaeologists, anthropologists and other social scientists to conduct a systematic study of home life in 32 middle-class, dual-income families in Los Angeles.

Based off of this study they created a book: Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors. UCLA also created 3 short video ethnographies for their university television station which are now on YouTube. The book and the videos highlight their major findings which I thought were absolutely fascinating!

The pictures and videos may not be as mouth-dropping as what you might see on the show Hoarders…but I think it does hit a little closer to home because it’s not highlighting those extreme cases of hoarding….it’s highlighting what is becoming…or rather…actually already has become the “norm” in the middle class America. So I reviewed some of the major findings and then discussed my thoughts.

Findings in relation to stuff:

  • With Family #27, they found 2,260 visible possessions in the first three rooms recorded (two bedrooms and the living room),” and that didn’t include “untold numbers of items tucked into dresser drawers, boxes and cabinets or items positioned behind other items.”
  • In another home, Family #1 they looked at a display shelf in a girl’s bedroom and found: 165 Beanie Babies, 36 Human/Animal Figurines, 22 Barbie dolls, 20 other types of dolls, 3 Porcelain dolls, 1 Troll, 1 miniature castle
  • America has 3.1% of the world’s kids…yet it owns 40% of the world’s toys.  As a matter of fact, toys were found everywhere in the home.  It’s as if the home had become primarily child-centered.
  • The average refrigerator front panel in the homes studied holds 52 objects. The most crowded refrigerator was covered with 166 different objects. In most cases there was a direct corollary to the amount of stuff on a fridge and the amount of stuff in the home (ie: a more cluttered fridge = a more cluttered home)
  • Only 25 percent of garages could be used to store cars because they were so packed with stuff. One article called this, “The New Junk Drawer” and rightfully so because that’s exactly what it’s become.
  • They found mountains of clutter in many of the homes. One family even had to resort to using a bathroom shower stall as a laundry hamper.
  • They also observed a huge trend in shopping at “big box” stores (like Sam’s Club, Costco, BJ’s) and how the items bought at these stores actually created more clutter and required a second refrigerator or freezer.

Findings in relation to the effects the stuff had on these families:

  • Managing the volume of possessions was such a crushing problem in many homes that it actually elevated levels of stress hormones for mothers. Ironically, it rarely affected the men because they didn’t have to clean it up!
  • There are several ways in which items come into a home but few processes on how to get it out.
  • So many of the parents sought a “refuge” to escape it all. The addition of costly “master suites” for parents proved the most common renovation in the homes that were studied, yet the spaces were hardly used. The average master suite “upgrade” at the time cost $80K…almost twice the average household income.
  • The families rarely devoted renovation dollars to remedying obvious problems such as consistent and troublesome bottlenecks in the homes.
  • Even in a region with clement year-round weather, the families hardly used their yards, and this was the case even among those who had invested in outdoor improvements and furnishings…¾ of parents and ½ of the kids spent no time outside.  The number 1 leisure activity was watching television…even for parents who had limited interaction time available.
  • Most of the families relied heavily on convenience foods like frozen meals and par-baked bread, yet they saved an average of only 10 to 12 minutes per meal in doing so.
  • And the dinners were fragmented dinners — those in which family members eat sequentially or in different rooms — which threaten to undermine what some would call the sacrosanct tradition of the family dinner.

My Thoughts:

  • I found this study fascinating, frustrating, sad and alarming.  It really made me think about how hyper-consumerism has affected us as individuals and as a society.
  • And what does it say about our society?  How superficial we are?  How we’ve outsourced nurturing by replacing it with television, toys and fast food? How we’ve allowed the time we spend with family and loved ones to be dictated by our stuff?
  •  I don’t think any of us planned on this.  Certainly parents aren’t purposefully raising their kids to be hyper-consumers….it’s just what’s been ingrained in us.
  • At least we are starting to build awareness and opening our eyes to the negative effects that this superficial lifestyle has and how it can negatively affect us mentally and physically and how it can rob us of the more important things in life like building relationships and experiences with friends and family.
  • The good news…people are seeing the benefits of living a life with less.  I know we are.  And we hope you are too!

What are your thoughts?

  • After listening to our summary of this study and after watching the videos, think about how they make you feel.  Are you angry, shocked, sad…what?
  • Why do you think you feel that way?  Is it because you can relate? Can you identify with these families too?  That’s ok…because I know Dan and I do!
  • Don’t beat yourself up though! Knowledge is the power to help you make change in your life.  If after studying living a life with less and armed with the belief that stuff isn’t what makes you happy…what are you going to do about it?
  • We’re very interested in hearing your thoughts.  Check out the links to the articles and videos below, and let us know your take on all of this.

Dan’s Topic: A Gateway Gadget Intervention

OK, so today I want to talk about  what I call “gateway” gadgets.  Well, remember back in high school health class when they taught us about “gateway drugs”. Well if you haven’t heard of gateway drugs or the gateway theory, essentially it’s that by doing something at a lower or “entry level”, it may make you more likely to do things at a more advanced level. So for drugs, the theory is that using (and I say this in quotations because they can be just as bad) but lesser drugs such as tobacco, alcohol or marijuana, it may make you more likely to use much more dangerous or hard drugs. The same goes for crime…if you allow yourself to be deceitful or engage in shoplifting or petty theft, it may lead to more serious and dangerous crimes later on.  It’s the act of initially opening yourself up or compromising yourself just a little bit at first, that may lead to additional and higher levels of compromise.

OK, so you get the idea…small things can lead to big things. I’m not here to talk about drugs, I’m here to talk about “stuff.” And I’m going to kind of “unwrap” how we…and especially, I, fell victim to this when it comes to our stuff. As I go through this, you might see a little of yourself in this situation too…because I think we all fall victim to this from time to time.

Alright, so here we go… when Vanessa was expecting our little girl, we decided (like a lot of parents do) to get a camcorder. We figured that since our son was getting bigger and the baby was about to be born, maybe it’s time we “invest” (yeah…how many times have you said that to yourself…invest) in a good camcorder. So we spent probably way more than we should have on this camera…HD was kinda new, it recorded right to an internal hard drive…you know…why skimp, right? We deserve the best of the best right. Sure we do.

Well, little did we know how little we would use this thing. After the initial glow of it faded, we realized that this thing was kind of a bear to use! I won’t mention the brand but they are notorious for using proprietary software and managing the files was just a pain the fourth point of contact.

So anyway, yeah, the video format wasn’t compatible, the files were huge and maxed out my crummy laptop which was all we had at the time…essentially, this thing just ended up sitting in it’s top-of-the-line camera bag (because a good camera deserves a good bag, “we’ll be carrying it around all the time, right?”)

The other thing was that we bought this thing right at the cusp of a technology boom where smart phones were coming out with decent video, too. So almost a total waste of money, right. “But wait, there’s more!”

So when Vanessa started up her Professional Organizer blog, Get Simplifized!, we finally wiped the dust off the camera to make a few videos, cuz what’s a blog that doesn’t have videos, right? In the interim, we had changed over to Apple Macs, so the once just clunky software was not unusable because they didn’t have Mac compatible software available. So it turned into “Work Around Fest 2009” and buying these conversion programs, backup drives that were large enough to hold the files, etc…

Then, and again the whole online business-blog thing was new to me….but every reputable person out there that I followed and trusted online was using the Kodak Zi8…a tiny little $120 video recorder like a flip camera. It was cheap, small, and recorded in HD. So, of course, we had to have that! All the cool kids had ’em! But when we got it, the sound was pretty bad if recording inside. No problem, just buy the lavalier microphone for $30! That solves that. And a case…you gotta have a case. And a little tripod. Just a little one. Oh yeah, we had the big one from the camcorder but who wants to lug that around? Get the little one.That’s a no brainer.

Well, a lot of our initial videos on Get Simplifized! were filmed with that little Kodak Zi8. But you know what? The zoom was bad and the aspect ratio of the screen seemed a little constrictive. Maybe we should try that old camcorder again now that decent conversion software was available. Yeah..that’s a great idea. Oh yeah, but we need a better microphone for the indoor shots. Most of Vanessa’s videos are indoors…she’s a Professional Organizer, not a landscaper.  So, yeah..a good microphone is a must. But why not use the $30 lavalier? Well, it leaves this little buzz and then there’s the “cord” thing to deal with. So a wireless lavalier would be best. Besides, it’s a business expense, right?

But then the same old angles and shots seemed to get old. Maybe a green screen setup so we can add cool backgrounds in editing…you know, like the weather guys on TV? Yeah…and some good lighting...you gotta have good lighting now that we have decent video and sound.  Crazy, huh?  But can’t you see yourself doing this with some area of your life? Maybe not video equipment, but maybe sports equipment or something?

Well we got really tired of having all this “stuff.”  Good quality stuff, but stuff nonetheless. So when the new iPhones came out with their upgraded camera lenses…it was another “no brainer” for sure! Let’s scrap most of what we have and start using the iPhone! Simplicity at it’s best, right? All we need is this little microphone adapter, this macro lens, this fish eye lest, this holder/grabber thingy for a tripod, this case so you can attach it to the tripod, this app, this “How to Make Amazing Video By Just Using Your iPhone” course...taught by a professional photographer who won an Academy Award for “Best iPhone Video”…finally…we had just what we wanted! Never again would we buy into the gateway gadget syndrome.  That is…until the Canon T4i came out!

Now THAT’S a camera…awesome stills, amazing video, auto focus video with the upgrade silent lenses. Oh, and King Size SD card that record for two light years, 1 Terra byte Thunderbolt hard drive to process the card’s huge videos, upgraded cloud storage plan, pro tripod, pro camera backpack, cool/sleek LED lighting to replace the old CFL lamps…besides, they were used like 10 times, extended battery pack with extra batteries, subscription to online video membership site, and extra lenses…you know, to make the edges look fuzzy.

All this camera, photography and video stuff…it’s like mainlining gadgets…it’s digital crack.  Now I’m not saying don’t start…maybe that’s not realistic…but what I am saying is to be careful of your predispositions, your triggers, and be mindful of your simplicity goals. Something as simple as “I’m going to start running” can turn into crazy expensive shoes, running clothes, hi-tech water bottles, $3 packets of goo, armbands for your iPhone, waterproof cases, tracking software, expensive GPS’s that are scrapped for apps, digital scales to track your weight loss, $125 entry fees to half marathons that give away cotton tee-shirts that you won’t wear running because they’re not “performance” t-shirts…all to be scrapped later for the ultra-expensive minimalist shoes that have individual toes…because that’s how cavemen walked, so it must be better for you. Oh, and then socks with toes because your toes chaff…and then paleo creme for your caveman toes…and then a pedicure…because you deserve it.

OK…that’s it. maybe this was a little bit of a rant…but at least I used myself as the example. You know where your weak points are, and you certainly won’t get any judgement from me…I’m just as guilty, if not more. Probably way more. But I’m workin’ at it. In the words of the great philosopher, Jules Winnfield, in the movie Pulp Fiction…I’m tryin’ Vincent…I’m tryin” real hard to be the shepherd!

The “Thing” Segment:

Vanessa: Stepping outside of her “comfort zone” to meet and connect with a neighbor.

Dan: The surprising, Simple Life Together listener demographic and how the idea of living a simple life is resonating with so many different folks here in the US and around the world!

Edit & Forget It Update!

The Facebook Edit & Forget It page is rockin’ so if you signed up for Edit & Forget It, join us on FB, too! For the folks that are there…it’s great to be able to see your photos and interact…we have some folks really raking up the numbers and posting some great stuff over there too so if you haven’t been on the page, you’re missing out!  It’s never too late to join the Challenge, so if you’re ready to edit 2013 things from your life, you can sign up right here! We have well over 70 people signed up, so come and join us!

Feedback:

Wanted to thank everyone that has given us fantastic feedback on iTunes, thru email, on the website and even several “shout outs” on different blogs and podcasts. It’s great to hear how you enjoy the podcast and to get your ideas and suggestions for future ones as well.  Thank you so much!

Closing Thoughts:

We’re blessed to be able to share some ideas and some of our experiences as we journey toward a simpler life in the modern world and we’d like to hear some of your experiences, too.

It sure would help if you you took just 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the higher the show is in the listings and that’s how people find us.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

  • Go to SimpleLifeTogether.com/iTunes
  • Click on”Write a Review”
  • Write your review…
  • Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.  

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

Connect with us on Twitter, Dan is @DanielHayes and Vanessa is @GetSimplifized. You can find links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles on the left side of the home page.

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Here are the links we mentioned in the show:

UCLA Center on Everyday Lives of Families

Trouble in paradise: UCLA book enumerates challenges faced by middle-class L.A. families

Article announcing University of California TV Series on YouTube

A Cluttered Life: Middle-Class Abundance (Ep.1) Stuff

A Cluttered Life: Middle-Class Abundance (Ep. 2) Food

A Cluttered Life: Middle-Class Abundance (Ep. 3) Space

Life At Home in the Twenty-first Century (book)

Posted on

SLT 013: Escaping My Shawshank Cubicle, and First Steps on the Road to Simplicity

by

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Escaping My Shawshank Cubicle, and First Steps on the Road to Simplicity

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show!  Thanks!

Main Topics  

Dan’s Topic: Escaping My Shawshank Cubicle

“Indoor” jobs have never been a good match for my personality. I did well at them…the tasks, anyways, but I felt like that “staff work” was slowly sucking the life out of me…stealing my soul. Plus, I’ve always been a pretty fast worker and some would say I’m a great time manager, and that’s how it may look. But the truth is, I just have an ability to get crazy focused and knock out some really quality stuff really really quickly. Some people think that’s a gift…but I always said it was a curse.

So, the reason I say it’s a curse is because I vividly remember…so many times…sitting at my desk, looking at the clock, it’s 2:30 pm, I’m not only caught up on my work but I’m way ahead. Yet there is no way I can leave. That’s just not how it worked. I’m essentially a prisoner….to a cubicle cell, and my master is $7 clock. A really, really slow clock that I swear sometimes ticked backwards, just to spite me.

It was in those times that the seed was planted that someday I would build a future for myself, us, and our family,where our lives were designed purposefully around what we love. And I’ll get to that in a bit.

But I’m just guessing that as you simplify your life, shaping how you work is important to you, too. You probably dream about creating a simpler life that includes a lifestyle business…you know, not a business that you work at 24/7 for a few years hoping someone buys you out…I’m talking a situation where you do something that helps other people, that you love doing, and that affords you the chance to live life on your terms. So, I wanted to share a couple of adages that will give you something to ponder this week as you listen to podcasts in your car or cubicle. Maybe they’ll prod you just enough to take some action.

The Frog in a Pot of Water:

The adage goes that if you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to jump right out. But if you place it gently in a pot of warm water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death. Crazy huh? Now don’t run out and try this. Be nice to frogs or they’ll keep you up all night when you’re camping. Seriously though, haven’t you felt like this at work some times?  I know I did. You get to the point where you’ll put up with anything because you’re comfortable with the “security”, “predictability”, whatever. But is that as good as it’s supposed to get?

Crabs in a Bucket:

So the story goes that if you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, most of the crabs will just clamor around at the bottom of the bucket making a fuss. But what happens when one of the crabs tries to climb out of the bucket? Do all the other crabs join in to help him escape? Nope. They pull him back down into the bucket. Now, I’m not going to draw any direct conclusions to your life, but how many times have you wanted to do something new, different or adventurous and all those around you who supposedly “care” about you say “that’s crazy”, or “no” or try to talk you out of it, or tell you how bad things could get. Now it’s certainly not because the they don’t want you to succeed. I think it’s because they DO care and just don’t want to see you fail. But sometimes, just like the crabs, they don’t know that if they just give you a lift then you might actually make it! That’s the crab mentality. Sure, there are some who might think “Well if I can’t have it then no one can.” But, I tend to trust in humanity, and I’d bet most cases are just people who care about you but are too scared to take action themselves, so they think they’re giving you good advice.

How I Wanted to Define My Work Life:

I decided that when I left my first career and started my next life, it would be by my rules. And I defined what I wanted this way:

  • Do work where I was paid for performance over presence
  • When possible, work on a project basis versus a time basis (the only clock I want to work on is nature’s clock)
  • Wear what I wanted, when I wanted
  • Innovate without permission
  • Gather my own toolset that best serves my craft
  • Don’t limit myself to vacation days or how long I can work
  • Choose who I want to work with and why

How It All Played Out:

  • Vanessa was doing the stay at home Mom thing at the time, but it was getting to that point that she was ready to go back to work.
  • Well when it comes to a Simple Life Together, it sure is a lot better when you can have the together part! So we tweaked the plans a bit to plan out what Vanessa really wanted to do with her career, too.
  • Vanessa decided that being a Professional Organizer was her calling
  • Before she even started doing hands-on organizing we set up a website for her to start blogging about organization and simplicity.
  • We focused on her making the transition to self employment first, with me supporting her efforts and then following along with my goals later.

Starting Our First Website. Ugh!!!!

I gotta tell you, setting up that first website was a bear! I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and everything I read got me more confused. But I kept plugging away at it and in the years since I can’t tell you how many sites I’ve set up for us and for clients. But I vividly remember feeling absolutely lost and almost helpless! It would take me hours to figure out some of the simplest tasks or collect the info to make an informed decision. And that website was so important to us.

  • It was a proving ground for me to get it set up and learn about things like hosting, WordPress, plugins, and a tiny little bit of code.
  • It was a proving ground for Vanessa to begin writing about her new found passion for organizing.
  • It was like this huge opportunity and major stumbling block rolled all into one.
  • But we did it! We were on our way to starting a lifestyle business, a “side gig” as many call it.

I Got Some Great Advice!

I’d certainly recommend that that’s how you start your lifestyle business, too. Some of the best advice I got was from Dan Miller, author of the best selling book 48 Days to the Work You Love.

  • I listened to his podcasts and studied what he had to say.
  • Often, he’d advise people to “start doing something on the side” and grow that side business…that “side gig”…until it can support you.
  • Along with that goes another piece of advice, and that is to “bootstrap” your business, meaning start with your own money and start without going into loads of debt.
  • I know that if this is one of your goals you’re probably so motivated to start that you want jump right in. But, just like consumerism…and we talk about this all the time here…sometimes patience helps you realize what you really need to get started versus what you want to get started.

Some Caveats…Please Take These Seriously

Just know before you start that it takes a LOT of work to work for yourself. And I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s really hard to make a business simple…but if it’s something you’ve absolutely decided to do then that’s great! Go for it!

  • To be clear, it took us a long time working in “normal” careers to support us getting started on our own.
  • If anyone or any website tries to sell you a lifestyle line and promises it to be easy…RUN! It’s not easy.
  • You can be as passionate as you want about something but if you’re not making money at it then it’s just a hobby!
  • That’s why it’s best to start out with a side gig to test the waters.

The Light At the End of the Tunnel

But if you’re ready to start on the path to shaping your life a bit more then there’s one thing I’d like to give you to help you get started. Something I wish I had…a guide to setting up your website. Like I said, for us getting that web presence going was one of the most intimidating things because we had no background in it whatsoever. Now we can do it pretty simply and I’ve copied all the background info down for you in Seven Modules, including what you need to know about…

  • Module 1: Creating a Website for Your Lifestyle Business
  • Module 2: Choosing a Domain Name
  • Module 3: Choosing a Hosting Provider
  • Module 4: Which Website Platform to Use
  • Module 5: Giving Your Site More Functionality
  • Module 6: Getting Creative with Your Brand (logos, headers, print materials, promotional merchandise, etc)
  • Module 7: Tapping the Power of Social Media

There are even links to videos to show you exactly how to get started on your site.

So, What’s the Catch?

No “catch”, it’s absolutely and completely free and it will be available next week or sooner.

  • It’s over 30 pages long and is packed with great tips to help you get that lifestyle business going on the side.
  • If you like the guide, and we think you will…especially for the low, low price of…FREE...we just ask that you consider using the affiliate links inside the guide to sign up for the web hosting you’ll need for your site.
  • You’ll get a fantastic rate, a free domain with top-notch hosting that all told will cost you around a hundred bucks for the the whole year.
  • Out of this, we get a small commission from the host that costs you nothing extra, and knowledge that we helped you get your lifestyle business started to support your Simple Life Together.
  • Everybody wins!  If starting up a website is new to you, I’ll guarantee you that if you follow the tips in the guide it will save you countless hours of research trying to figure the process out. Geez, I wish I had this a few years ago!

So that’s it…a bit about how we started on this path toward simplicity and how we’d like to help you too if you’re looking to start a lifestyle business of your own. You can sign up to download the guide here:  Yes…I want the Simple Life Guide to Building Your Website and as soon as it’s available I’ll send you a link! Simple as that!

Edit & Forget It Update!

Well, the Facebook Edit & Forget It page is alive and well so if you signed up for Edit & Forget It feel free to join us on FB, too! For the folks that are there…it’s great to be able to see your photos and interact…we have some folks making amazing progress on their challenge! There have been some pretty funny posts over there too so if you haven’t been on the page, you’re missing out.  It’s still 2013 so it’s never too late to join the Challenge, so if you’re ready to edit 2013 things from your life, you can sign up right here! We have people signing up every day and we’d love to have you join us!

Vanessa’s Topic: First Steps on the Road to Simplicity

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and former colleague of ours sent me a direct message on Facebook commenting on how much he liked our podcast and our messages about living a life of simplicity.  He said that he realizes these are great lessons not just for adults but for our kids as well, but was wondering how parents instill these ideas in their kids? Though I’m not an expert, I have learned through my experiences as a parent, teacher, daughter and student (of parenting and organizing) that there are some strategies that can help make that learning process…those first steps on the Road To Simplicity…a little bit easier for your kids (or even adults).  So, in no particular order (except for the first thing I mention below), here are some thoughts and strategies:

  •  Start with your values: When it comes to organizing and not buying into consumerism I recommend starting by looking at the values you want to instill in your children. Do you value spending time with and nurturing your family, exercising your faith, practicing financial responsibility, promoting a healthy lifestyle and personal fitness? Or exploring your creativity via hobbies, experiencing cultures via travel, practicing a good work ethic and earning your keep or giving back to others and practicing selflessness? What do you value most in life and what do you want to instill in your children? I recommend evaluating that first before getting into the “how tos” of it all because that will affect the way you act…the way you make decisions…and the way you parent.
  • Practice leadership by example: For instance…Stop working at a reasonable hour so that you can get home and spend time with your family. Curb your own spending. Pick up after yourself. Edit your own belongings. Read the bible and pray with your family. Let them see you exercise and eat healthy food. Sit down at the dinner table together when possible. Show them how to donate things and help the needy. By walking the walk they’ll see what’s important to you and in turn hopefully they’ll internalize that themselves.
  •  Get into instructor/teacher mode: If you want to teach your children new habits or a new way of thinking, try using some of the Laws of Learning: In particular: the Law of Repetition (repeating an action over and over again) and Law of Recency (the more recent or frequent an action is practiced the faster it’s learned). Of course the Law of Primacy sometimes gets in the way (this is trying to break bad habits if they were the first ones learned). The idea is to instruct them:  tell them what you want and expect…explain why it’s important…show them how (if applicable)…practice…repeat… and then hold them accountable.
  • Speaking of accountability…have a system of rewards and consequences. This is along the lines of teaching your kids to be organized.  Reward them if they do good….but exercise the consequences if they’re bad. The key is to back up those consequences to prove you are serious.
  • Take advantage of teachable moments: They want to buy that big, expensive toy or the one with a million pieces? Ok. They have to save up and pay for it with their own money….or lug it around the store while you shop…or carry it around the amusement park all day long….or clean all the play doh up themselves…or pick up all those millions of pieces before they can play or do anything else.
  • Praise when they make good choices: Shower your kids with affection when they don’t beg for toys, voluntarily put artwork in the recycle bin, clean up after themselves or donate a toy willingly. Your children want to make you proud! You’ve gotta show them that you are!
  • Less television is always a good thing! I took that quote directly from Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist during our interview a couple of podcasts ago.  This is one I’m personally working on because honestly…the television was giving me a break!   But I realized it’s more important I spend time with my child rather than tune her out (pun intended).  I started to limit the amount of television she watches so now we do a lot of other activities together. We try to opt for recorded shows without commercials…NickJR…Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, etc. to limit her exposure to commercials and advertisements…bonus!
  • Have a genuine conversation with your kids: Ask why they want things. Ask them how it will make their life better. Ask them if it will make them feel better about themselves and how. Let them explore their own feelings without putting words in their mouths. Let them come to the conclusions on why something is or isn’t important. It shows that you are not babying them and that you respect their thoughts.
  • Compliment your kids often and build their self-confidence: It will help curb the need to be like everyone else. Your children’s clothes and things don’t define them…it’s their beautiful spirits and caring personalities that do!

So…that was probably way more than my friend expected to get from his question… but I’m so glad he asked it because I think it something a lot of parents wonder about and don’t mind getting some ideas and suggestions on how they can teach their own children on how to appreciate what they have. I hope this was beneficial for all of you listening out there.

The “Thing” Segment:

Vanessa: A Shopping Trip With My Daughter And Her Grasping The Idea Of Less

A few days ago I decided to take my daughter to the store to buy a volleyball and football so we could play catch in the backyard.  As we were walking through the store to go pay, I told her: ”Ok Junior…remember what we do when we get something new?  We have to give away something old, right?”  She said, “Oh yeah I remember mommy.  Yes, I can give away something I don’t play with anymore. That would be a good idea, right mommy?” And as we were having this conversation I passed a woman (who appeared to be there with her family of six kids) and I think she overheard me talking to Junior because she did a double take.  I don’t know if she heard or was interested in what I said but I don’t mind at all if she overheard my message! I was just so extraordinarily proud of my little girl….SHE GETS IT! And you know what…she got rid of 25 items in place of those 3 new ones!  Not bad for a 5 year old!

Dan:  A Private Podcasting Community on Google+ 

My thing this week is this group of fellow podcasters that I belong to. We meet on Google+ every couple of weeks and talk about podcasting, technology, what’s going on with our shows, you name it. It’s great. It’s so important to have a group you can bounce ideas off of, learn from, gauge your reality against, and know they’ll tell you their true opinion. That’s one thing I miss from my military days was having that peer group I can go to where everyone contributes. I’ve often thought of starting a mastermind group online to have that for the business side of things or the simplicity side of things. If you’ve never heard of a mastermind group it was made popular by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich and the concept basically references the synergies created when several minds unite to work towards a common specific goal, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Basically, your own little think tank for ideas.  And so, hopefully you’re blessed to have people in your life to share and evaluate things with, too. If not…maybe you should take a look around. Start close to home with friends but maybe Google+ communities are a place to look, or Meetup.com…the key is to find a few people, with shared interests, and talk.  So, that’s my thing…

Closing Thoughts:

We’re blessed to be able to share some ideas and some of our experiences as we journey toward a simpler life in the modern world and we’d like to hear some of your experiences, too.

It sure would help if you you took just 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the higher the show is in the listings and that’s how people find us.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

  • In iTunes just search for Simple Life Together…
  • Click on the green “Simple Life Together” picture…
  • Scroll down to Customer Reviews where you’ll see “Write a Review”
  • Click on”Write a Review”
  • Write your review…
  • Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.  

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

Connect with us on Twitter, Dan is @DanielHayes and Vanessa is @GetSimplifized. You can find links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles on the left side of the home page.

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

So, here are the links we mentioned in the show:

Simple Life Guide to Building Your Website

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

48 Days To The Work You Love by Dan Miller