Where does the time (and money) go? /  by steve goslin

For nearly a year now, my wife and I have been using a powerful and effective bugeting tool called You Need A Budget. It has drastically changed how both she and I spend our money, and has strengthened our financial health. (One of us is a 1099 employee and one of us held two part-time jobs, so it was critical in mapping a plan through unknown income).

Adam Lee Rosenfeld writes not only about budgeting money, referencing YNAB, but also referencing time. I suppose in some ways my wife and I think differently about our time, but even Rosenfeld's article challenges me to be more intentional. It's not merely our busyness, but the intentionality in how we spend our time, that is important.

I encourage you to read and consider it, and feel free to write/ask about YNAB, I'm a believer.

Work vs. Life /  by steve goslin

In her article, Life Balance, Maureen Taylor purports that "Work is not separate from life."

I believe a larger context would be helpful but I also agree with her theory insofar as work, and workers today are quite different from previous generations' 9-5 routine. Now we do see more a blend between business and pleasure, occupation and passion.

What do you think?

What are you doing? /  by steve goslin

When You're at the Crossroads of Should and Must.

Should is how others want us to show up in the world — how we’re supposed to think, what we ought to say, what we should or shouldn’t do...Must is who we are, what we believe, and what we do when we are alone with our truest, most authentic self...Must is what happens when we stop conforming to other people’s ideals and start connecting to our own.

Every now and then you read something which strikes you as true in a deeply rich and deeply personal sense. Some of that has to do with timing I suppose, but this piece from Elle Luna seems to strike hard regardless of timing.

If you're somone who, like me, tends to fall in the should camp of decision making, read this article. If you're someone like me who thinks about The Search for purpose, read this article. If you're someone trying to choose between different career/life paths, definitely do yourself a favor, and read this article.

Grit. /  by steve goslin

Difficult. Why are we so bad at it?

 "Doing the difficult thing is the secret to doing work that matters, to making art. It’s the driver of scarcity (and therefore value) in business."

Indeed. I'm sure there is a happy medium, but not always a "4-Hour" solution that does away with the blood sweat and tears. The stories we hear and celebrate too often glance over the difficult chapters in favor of the quick and decisive wins, unfortunately. Those are the chapters of conditioning and galvanizing without which no hero or lasting stories emerge. 

At least that's what I'm holding on to as I continue to galvanize for what I hope is not too much longer...