Goals – Equally Happy

Let Me Tell You About The Time I Almost Died…

August 29, 2011 By Gal 3 Comments

I found this document hidden away on my computer the other day. It had been written to a professor in graduate school who asked me to tell “the story of me”. This was only a few months after my divorce.

Here goes:

One month ago I stood on the fifth floor of a parking structure in San Jose and considered how easy it would be to just step forward into the air. It seemed so inviting, so perfect; an end to the pain and the suffering, a release from the pressure and the stress. Eventually I decided to turn back, to go downstairs and meet the person I was scheduled to have dinner with. I didn’t do it because I changed my mind, but because five stories seemed too low and I couldn’t live with the fear of living the rest of my life with the consequences of a failed attempt. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Confidence, Coping With Failure, Goals, Happiness, Introspection Tagged With: Coping, Divorce, Failure, Fear, Marriage, Suicide

Choose To Be Happy

August 16, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

I’m on a plane to Austin right now. I’m going to be meeting some customers there tomorrow and then flying back home tomorrow night. When I boarded the flight I saw a sign that said “free Wifi mid air” and it occurred to me just how wonderful these times are that we live in.

Sixty years ago it took my grandparents two weeks to escape from Romania to Israel. They huddled in trains and on ships, not quite sure where they were going or what was going to happen to them. They left behind all their belongings and faced a completely unknown future. And here I was, making a journey of about the same distance in comfort. I sip my complimentary drink and surf the web 30,000 feet above the American southwest. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Goals, Happiness, Making More Money, Step 1 - Priorities Tagged With: Goals, Happiness, My Cult

Screw Reminders and To Do Lists

July 18, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

I am one of those obsessive people who has to write down everything they need to do. If I don’t write it down, I obsess about it. I think about it over and over, visualizing all the bad things that will happen if I don’t get this done on time. I stress myself out imagining the ramifications of what will happen if I forget to this task and then I obsess about whether or not I will forget it. This is true for everything. From the most important task (get an officiant for my wedding) to the least (walk the dog). Luckily for me, I found a solution to this problem a long time ago. The solution was actually in a book by David Allen called Getting Things Done which I highly recommend for anyone wrestling with organizational issues. It was a simple solution and basically called for me to write things down.

I know, I know, sounds stupid simple, but it really works. Before you start obsessing over a task, just write it down. That way you have a reminder which you can deal with later. In the meantime, you’re free to go about whatever other work you needed to do without devoting extra brain cycles to other stuff. It’s an excellent tip and one that has stayed with me for years. Unfortunately, it’s also that drives me crazy sometimes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Goals, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Step 2 - Make A Plan, Stress Tagged With: Avoiding Stress, Projects, Reducing Stress, Stress, Tasks, To Do

1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration

May 22, 2011 By Gal 1 Comment

Over at 60 in 3, my personal fitness blog, one of the most frequent questions I get is a variation of “how do I lose weight fast?” It could be from someone trying to get ready for a wedding or someone who just realized summer is here and they want to look good in their swimsuit, but the bottom line is always the same; I want to lose weight and I want to lose it fast.

The same applies in other areas. I see people looking to make money quickly, find a girlfriend by next weekend, lose their virginity by next month and buy a house by the end of the year. All of these people are looking to accomplish a goal in a short amount of time. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Drive, Goals Tagged With: Drive, Hard work, The Secret, Weight loss

Oh What A Difference A Week Makes: Lessons In Focus

May 9, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

I wrote last week about my realization that I was compromising my goals and my newfound drive to achieve them. Well, it’s been less than a week since that post but the difference is remarkable. I don’t want to be cliched and say that I feel like a whole new person but I can definitely feel the difference in attitudes and how it’s changing my life.

In the past week I’ve:

Written a new guest post for a major personal finance blogger
Met with one of the CEO of a company I worked for and I’m now helping him out with his new idea for a company
Explored a new hiking trail with my fiancée, Julie
Started training for a marathon
Learned how to make a kick ass blueberry cobbler

Note that not all of these are career related. Some of these are just a lot of fun, but that’s the whole point. Being driven doesn’t mean you spend your entire life in front of a computer pounding out presentations and business plans. It means you throw yourself into the important things in life, whether work or fun, with everything you have, holding nothing back. It means not doing things half assed, including relaxation. If you’re going to relax, relax all the way and stop checking email. If you’re going to work, work hard and stop wasting time on the little things. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Achieving Success, Drive, Goals, Procrastination Tagged With: Drive, Focus, Goals, Success

Retired At 31, A Lesson In Purposeful Living

April 27, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

“I’m retired!” That’s what my friend Ray said to me on his 31st birthday.

To better understand this comment, let me describe Ray to you. Ray’s family came from a poor farming community in Asia. They had no money when they came to the US, a poor understanding of English and no real education. His father worked as a school janitor for many years, slowly saving up money until he could buy a home. Then he bought another home, and another, and another… In his 50′s, Ray’s father retired on income from his school pension and from the dozen or so properties he owned and rented out. He spends most of his days travelling or enjoying life with his extended family.

All of this was done through a lot of hard work and determination with no “luck” involved. Ray’s dad worked long hours and saved up all his money for this goal. The family rarely traveled, never “indulged” in luxuries and the kids were expected to pay their own way through college. However, it was also a very happy family. Aunts and uncles would stop by all the time, large family dinners were the norm and both parents were very involved with their kids and their community.

I still remember going over to Ray’s house on the evening after Thanksgiving. Before she passed away, his mother would always save leftovers for us. We would all show up around midnight and feast on leftover turkey, stuffing, corn and pies! It was a warm and happy house, even if they didn’t have the latest big screen TV. I think Ray saw all this and, being the competitive guy he is, decided he would do the same, only faster. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Goals, Step 1 - Priorities, Step 2 - Make A Plan Tagged With: Family, Goals, Happiness, Purposeful Living, Real Estate, Retirement

Optimize Your Life (And Your 101 Commute)

April 6, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

I used to hate my commute. If you’ve ever driven on the 101 during rush hour, you know exactly why. The only way in which commuting on the 101 during rush hour could possibly be worse is if zombies would attack my car and try to eat my brains at random overpasses. On second thought, that would probably make the commute better, at least with zombies I could legally try to hit them, something I can’t do with my fellow drivers. Plus zombies would probably drive better than some of my fellow commuters (yes, I’m talking to you, the asshole in the Prius, driving in the carpool lane at 55mph!), but I digress. Needless to say, I HATED my morning and afternoon commute.

Now I love my commute. Ok, maybe that’s an overstatement, I don’t think anyone loves their commute. But I no longer have barely controllable urges to smash my head into the steering wheel, which is a huge plus as far as I’m concerned. In fact, I’m relaxed, happy and quite calm. What changed you ask? The obvious answer most people would assume is distance. I am now commuting a shorter distance. That would be a very reasonable answer but it would also be a very wrong one. In fact, my commute is longer (29 miles versus 23 miles). So really, what changed?

The answer is optimization of all factors involved and that’s also what this website is all about.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Decision Making, Goals, Optimization, Risk Assessment Tagged With: Commute, Job vs. Kids, Optimization, Rent Vs. Buy

Be A Better Buyer or: “Why You Have A $1000 Home Gym Collecting Dust In Your Garage”

March 16, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

A few days ago I talked about the value of selling solutions from a seller’s perspective and I mentioned that you need to understand your buyer’s problem and solve it if you want them to buy. Since all of life is selling, this strategy is effective for anything from selling a product or asking for a raise, to getting a date or asking for a promotion. Always strive to understand the other party’s problem and present what you want as a solution to that problem.

Today, I’d like to talk about that from a buyer’s perspective.

Have you ever paused for a second and thought, “why did I just buy that?” Do you have one of those giant home gym machines collecting dust in your garage even though you spent a good amount of cash on it? Are you spending too much on shopping for things you don’t need? Do you keep finding yourself in a relationship where the other person is not quite what you’re looking for? If so, read on. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Decision Making, Goals, Honesty, Losing Weight, Procrastination, Step 1 - Priorities Tagged With: Buying, Dating, Decision Making, Money, Relationships, Saving Money, Selling

Guest Post: Act Like A Kid to Find True Happiness

February 17, 2011 By Gal 1 Comment

Have you ever visited to a park and watched kids playing in the playground? They seem so free and so happy. Often if you look at the adults, they are happy just watching the children play. It’s contagious. Why does this make adults happy? Is it because they are remembering the pure innocence of children? Or perhaps it’s because they can see the beauty in the freedom from worry

Gal’s Note – Anytime I’m feeling a bit down I take my dog to the nearest park. Watching her play and watching the adults & kids there having fun, never fails to cheer me up. If it’s too cold for the park, try the mall or anywhere else where happy people congregate. Happiness truly is infectious. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Goals, Introspection, Losing Weight, Step 1 - Priorities Tagged With: Happiness, Kids, Priorities, Reducing Stress, Starting Out, Stress

My Big Plans For 2011

January 18, 2011 By Gal Leave a Comment

A few months ago, I posted up my list of things to do. This week I took some time to really evaluate these projects and see which ones I want to tackle this year. By doing so, I’m basically coming up with a list of goals that I’d like to accomplish in the next 12 months. This will let me have something concrete to work towards.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Goals, Step 1 - Priorities, Step 2 - Make A Plan Tagged With: 2011, Goals, Planning