Category Archives: Life Lessons

Ichi-Go Ichi-E – The Best of Anthony Bourdain Part 1

June 11, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad Leave a comment

Remembering Tony – Part 1

If you follow my work, you know that I often write about legacy life topics in an attempt to inspire myself and others to consciously choose activities that will help us live our best lives possible. I first heard about the concept of Ichi-Go, Ichi-E while watching an Anthony Bourdain episode some months ago — and writing an article about that life lesson has been on my to-do list ever since.

It’s a shame that I waited until Tony’s passing to finally get around to writing it — clearly I have a lot to learn about the Ichi-Go, Ichi-E concept. My hope is that by bringing this life lesson to your attention, you’ll be able to apply it to your own life and reap the benefits it offers.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series of posts called “Remembering Tony” that focus on sharing snippets that remind us to savor The Best of Bourdain.

What is Ichi-Go, Ichi-E?

In episode 68 (season 8, show #7) his “Parts Unknown” show on CNN, Anthony Bourdain was again visiting his long-time friend Masa Takayama — the world renown ‘god’ of sushi. During the show, Masa and Tony were sharing a meal with friends and that’s when Masa started talking about concept of Ichi-Go, Ichi-I, teaching us that we must savor the special moments in life because they only happen once…

“Ichi-Go, Ichi-E: In This Moment, Never Again”

The all-knowing source that is Wikipedia naturally has more to say on this concept and it’s actually quite good so I’d like to share it with you. Among the notations about Ichi-Go, Ichi-E are the following:

The important of “treasuring meetings with people.”
Other definitions: “for this time only,” or “one chance in a lifetime.”
Critical Point —” even when the same group of people can get together again, a particular gathering will never be replicated, and thus, each moment is always once-in-a-lifetime.” Masa talked about this very thing with Tony too.

This is sage advice. This is life-changing, life-improving advice!

Imagine how much your life would be improved if you applied the wisdom of Ichi-Go, Ichi-E to the special moments of your life — those special moments that occur every day — if you merely pay attention to them and be present for them.

IchiGo, IchiE … In Pictures

All too often we left the moments of our life pass us by without truly savoring them. Sure we might enjoy them and have a good time, but if we’re honest with ourselves, a lot of the time our minds are elsewhere and we’re not fully engaged. We take the good times for life for granted because while we are living them we foolishly believe that they will occur again and again.

Ichi-Go, Ichi-E teaches us to think differently. It teaches us to recognize life for what it is — a precious gift that is not guaranteed. Once we understand that mindset, we can begin to appreciate the good times even more.

Whether it’s with family, friends, our favorite pet, or visiting a special place…

…If you live by the motto of Ichi-Go, Ichi-E, you’ll learn how to suck the marrow out of life and enjoy all that it has to offer — just as Anthony Bourdain did during the time he was with us.

RIP, Tony. Thanks for sharing your life with us, my friend.

What to Read Next?

https://thathelpfuldad.com/anthony-bourdain-books/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/there-is-beauty-everywhere-if-you-only-look/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/there-is-no-guarantee-of-tomorrow-dont-wait-to-enjoy-your-life/

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Life Lessons

Impatience Destroys Goal Achievement – How to Deal with Impatience

June 7, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad Leave a comment

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Impatience, Anxiety, Fear, and other negative emotions are powerful levers that often drive us to “push for closure” on a problem before a viable solution is realistic — this forcing of the issue then typically results in a whole host of negative consequences…

We fall short of our goals.
We often make the problem worse than what it already was.
And sadly we rob ourselves of a chance to live the best life possible.

But it doesn’t have to be that way for you. In this article, we’ll talk about some strategies you can use to overcome your impatience and achieve your goals.

Impatience Destroys Goal Achievement – Examples

Let’s consider some examples about this problem.

You want to get rich but instead of seeking the advice of trusted counselors and investing your money wisely, you decide to speculate on some ‘hot stocks’ a buddy told you about, dumping more than 50% of your savings into the play — only to see the stock flame out and take your nest egg with it. (Easy come, easy go).
You want to get married and have kids, but rather than take the time to get to know yourself first, or date a variety of people to learn what you like/don’t like, you rush into a relationship with someone you met online (“because he’s just so dreamy”), get married in a few months, and get pregnant shortly thereafter — only to learn that you’re actually not that compatible, you fight all the time, and you can’t wait to file for divorce. (At least there’s other fish in the sea).
A bunch of your friends at work invite you to join them for a mud race next month – you’re not in shape now but since one of your goals is to take better care of yourself, you agree to join them – only you don’t take the time to do train for the event and instead just decide to wing it (“after all, how hard can it be?”). You end up tearing your ACL while jumping down from one of the high walls and get laid up for 6 months, during which you balloon into a fat blob which spirals you further into depression. (Ouch!)

What can we learn from these examples?

Impatience isn’t our friend. It’s time we came up with a plan for dealing with it so let’s do just that.

How to Deal with Impatience

When you have a plan for dealing with impatience, you realize that you can overcome your ‘patience’ problem and still achieve your goals.

The first step is to take the time to understand your goals in life. The second is to build solid plans for achieving them. After that it’s really just a matter of executing on those plans and letting life unfold in due course. Major goals are not achieved overnight. But they ARE achievable. The formula is simple…

Consistent Action + Time = Results.

When you know your goals, have our plan, and are actively working your plan, then you just need trust in the process, be patient, and know with confidence that things WILL go your way when the seeds you planted are ripe for harvesting. This is key wisdom so humor me as I try to drive it home with you…

Just like with any seeds, you can’t expect to them to grow without a little TLC from you… and time.

Overcoming Impatience – Examples Revisited

Let’s turn back to our examples and come up with some better strategies…

If you want to build your wealth, educate yourself on the topic, seek advice from trusted advisors, and invest your money in things YOU actually use.
- After years of trying to do things by myself, and following hot tips (which never worked!), I changed my approach and began investing in things I actually used — that’s what led me to invest in Google at $85/share, Amazon at $300ish, and Facebook under $30. Don’t get me wrong, I still make mistakes, but a lot less often. I also work with advisors to guide me now too. The result: I’m on the path to financial freedom.
If you want to get married and have kids, take your time getting to know your potential spouse first. What’s the big rush? Date for a few years and really make sure. Get to know each other at every level — you’ll be glad you did. As for the kids, enjoy married life for awhile, build up your finances, get your foundation in place, and then have the kids.
- The result: you’ll all be better off for having waited, because you’ll have had your ‘go-out’ fun, you’ll be wiser, you’ll be in a better position financially to provide for them, and you’ll have built up a great bank of wisdom that you can share with your kids (setting them up for success in life too!).
So you’re gonna run that mud race? Please do a bit of research first. You might want to check out my YouTube Tough Mudder library (you’ll find 50+ vids on the topic with tips on clothes, shoes, obstacles, and more). I can’t promise you wan’t get hurt, but at least you’ll know what you’re getting in to! Here’s a pic of me in action for your amusement…

Achieving Your Goals – With Action… and Tony Robbins

Success guru Tony Robbins talks about the importance of taking action as the primary way to achieve one’s goals. Here is one of his many videos on the topic:

In addition, Tony has also developed what he calls the “Massive Action Plan” – you can read more about it on his website here: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/how-to-make-a-massive-action-plan-map/

Dealing with Impatience – The Wisdom Way

I always love it when the wisdom of great teachers matches up – such is the case here. You’ve seen the opening quote from Lao Tzu, you’ve witnessed what Tony Robbins had to say, you know the famous line from Ben Franklin (“Haste Makes Waste“), but let’s take a look at a few other tidbits of wisdom on this topic.

John Wooden on Impatience…

And lest we think impatience is just a modern-day problem, think again. Consider what King Solomon had to say on this topic…

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. (Prov 19:2)

The plans of the diligent lead to profit, as surely as haste leads to poverty. (Prov 21:5)

Sage advice – if we take it to heart.

Overcoming Impatience – What’s the Bottom Line?

Prepare yourself for success.

Take action.

Reach your goals.

Rinse and repeat again and again.

Before you know it you’ll be living your best life right now.

What to Read Next?

For more on the subject of planning and goal achievement read the following…

https://thathelpfuldad.com/5-power-ful-tools-overcome-lifes-challenges/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/use-your-time-wisely/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/slow-and-steady-wins-the-race/

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Life Lessons

There is Beauty Everywhere… If You Only Look

May 30, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad 1 Comment

Life Lesson #19: Everything is beautiful in its own time

Today’s life lesson about beauty was inspired by Antoine de Saint Exupery (author) who wrote…

“One see clearly only with the heart; anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

BTW, that quote is from Saint Exupery’s legendary children’s’ book “The Little Prince” – one of my all time favorite ‘life lesson’ books – read it today!)

Let’s face it, we live in a world that places undue importance on physical beauty – all too often making people feel like they are unable to meet the ‘required standards’ of what society tells us beauty is supposed to be. As a result so many people feel discouraged when they look in the mirror. That’s a shame.

But it doesn’t have to be that way – if we can change our mindset, we can change our world. In this lesson, we’ll discuss different types of beauty – and I’ll give you some important things to think about.

Beauty – What’s on the Outside Changes Over Time

I’d wager your smart enough to know that everything changes with time.

The greatest athletes of today will become the has-beens of tomorrow,
That beautiful actress in your favorite movie will get old and wrinkled.
And the same goes for your looks too – they all fade away with time.

I say that not to make you sad, but just to give you some perspective – physical beauty changes with time.

It also develops at a different pace for different people. For example…

You see that girl whose face is covered in pimples in the class next door?
Or how about that boy who’s so awkward and gangly as he’s growing up in middle school?
Or even the kid who doesn’t take care of his appearance and is just a mess?

In all cases you’d probably not give any of them a second glance because you don’t think they are good looking and they are likely not part of the cool kids crowd, right? Well, my friend, that would be a mistake because I can’t tell you how many times one of these ‘ugly ducklings’ in school later turns out to be gorgeous later in life.

The fact is that not everybody develops their beauty at the same time – some simply take longer than others.

You have to give people a chance to grow into their beauty but I promise you this…

Everything is beautiful in it’s own time.

For some people it’s when they are young, for others they get more beautiful with age – but all people are beautiful at some season of their life. Keep that in mind – whether you are one of the glitterati now or you’re that kid with the pimples, your season of physical beauty will come (but it will end as well).

Look Inside for Real Beauty

Lest you think I am being totally superficial, let me level set things for you – I believe Beauty (real beauty that lasts forever) is actually on the inside. One of my favorite books is the one I mentioned above called The Little Prince and as I said it written by an author named Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I’m not going to go into the story itself because I hope you will take the time to read it yourself, but I do want to give you a takeaway from the book that applies for us here. You see, the fact is that many people will classify The Little Prince as only a children’s book and thus think its as ‘just for kids.’ I believe that you are making a mistake if you do that because the book has a very powerful life lesson to teach all of us and its so important I’m going to write it for you again…

“One sees clearly only with the heart, anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

Do you see the beauty of these words?

So many of us only judge people or things by what we see on the surface and we don’t take the time to look inside – even though we know it’s what’s inside that counts.

Maybe you are a person blessed with beauty on the outside – if so, that’s awesome – but the fact is that superficial beauty doesn’t last forever – everything on the outside fades away with time. Therefore it’s important for you to develop your inner beauty too – AND to take the time to see the other people’s inner beauty as well.

You know the old saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” well that’s true for people too. You can’t assume that just because someone is beautiful on the outside that they are beautiful on the inside too – and vice versa, just because someone may not look beautiful outside, doesn’t mean they are not beautiful inside – but if you never take the time to find out, you’ll never know – and that would be a shame because you’ll only be robbing yourself.

The same lesson applies for the way you look at the world.

Do you remember our life lesson about ‘changing your perspective?’ Well that lesson applies here as well: all too often we look at someone or something and if they don’t fit our narrow definition of what’s beautiful we quickly look away.

I want to challenge you to change your mindset – take the time to see the beauty in all things.

Here are some examples:

A spider? Most people would say yuck, but what if that spider could unlock the cure for cancer that might save your grandmother – would it be beautiful to you then?
A petrified tree? It may not look like much, but take a picture of that with your phone, turn it into a black and white print and hang it on your wall and you’ve got a work of art…

3. What about a crummy old plastic bag just floating in the wind? There’s no way that could be beautiful, right? Well, check out this clip from the movie American Beauty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB0th8vNLxo

4. What other examples can YOU think of? Share them with me please – I’d love to hear from you.

Are You Missing The Beauty of Your World

Please don’t shortchange your life and miss out on so much of the beauty of this world by not taking the time to appreciate it.

There is beauty everywhere – if you only look.

What to read next?

Did you know today’s lesson was adapted from a book Jax and I wrote called Diary of a Minecraft Dad? Read more here…

Diary of a Minecraft Dad

Want more Life Lessons? Try these…

https://thathelpfuldad.com/5-power-ful-tools-overcome-lifes-challenges/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/do-something-good-today-2/

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Life Lessons

Affirmations for Dads – Using the Power of Positive Self Talk to Become a Better Father

May 17, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad 1 Comment

Affirmations for Dads

I’ve known about affirmations for years, but (stupid me) I never really believed they were anything more than childish ‘I think… I can… I think, I can, I think I can!’ self-encouragement. It wasn’t until last year that I discovered that affirmations were something more…something truly powerful. I can honestly say that the Affirmations for Dads I’m going to share with you today have made me a better father – and I’m hopeful they can help you too.

If you’re not currently using affirmations as part of your daily routine, then this article is for you. If you’re already using them, then perhaps I can give you a few more ideas to expand your affirmations repertoire.

Editors Note: I talk a lot about “Living a Legacy Life” on this blog. If this is a topic that interests you, be sure to not only follow this blog but also join the Your Legacy Life Facebook Group.

Affirmations – What Are They?

I wrote a more detailed article about all the ins and outs of affirmations in general and you can read it here:

https://thathelpfuldad.com/79-affirmations-that-will-transform-your-reality/

In the interest of time today, let’s just define affirmations as ‘positive self talk that has the power of change your life.’

Now if that sounds like a bit of overhype, don’t take my word for all this. Let me tell you about two triggers that created a change for me as far as affirmations are concerned.

The first was Tim Ferris’ book Tools of Titans. If you are not familiar with it, I suggest you read my review here:

https://thathelpfuldad.com/product/tim-ferris-tools-of-titans-book-review/

The second trigger was the website balanceinme.com and specifically the many free affirmations audio and video meditations they offer. Here is one example: http://balanceinme.com/positive-thinking-affirmations

After reading Tim’s book and then consistently listening to the affirmations on the BalanceInMe website I started to notice some positive changes in my outlook on life. That’s when it hit me…

Affirmations are more than just words. They are form of positive self-talk that carries the power of self-hypnosis with them.

Look, I’m no psychologist (actually my sister is!), and I can’t tell you any scientific research behind this. I’m just an Average Joe who discovered that affirmations made a difference in my life. In fact, the difference was so profound (my anger, frustration, and stress decreased, and my productivity, happiness, and focus increased) that I was able to learn how to be more present and live ‘in the moment’ more with my family. As a father in his mid-40’s who has 2 young (read high energy) boys, that’s kind of a big deal.

My hope is that by sharing these affirmations with you today, you will be able to create positive change in your life too.

Here’s my son Jax and I planting a tree – a fun, in-the-moment activity

10 Life-Changing Affirmations for Dads

I am an awesome father.
My children KNOW I love them and that I BELIEVE they can accomplish ANYTHING.
My children love me and I actively support their dreams.
I actively support my children’s goals and DO the things they want to do.
My legacy life goal is to help my children achieve their dreams.
I choose to spend time with my children and I seek out their company.
I am actively engaged with my family and they KNOW I love them because I spend time with them and I am fully present when I am with them.
I know that where I spend my time, there my heart is, so I choose to spend time with my family.
I am a source of wisdom, love, and encouragement for my children.
My children and I have a special connection of spirit that goes beyond just father-child, we are eternal spirits who will always be together.

This is just a small list of Affirmations for Dads. I’m sure you can come up with a lot more.

Now that you have the affirmations, you need to know how to use them too.

Here’s what I do…

How to Use Affirmations for Dads Effectively

A Simple Three Step Process

First I write the affirmations as part of my “SMART” Morning Routine. I write THREE affirmations each morning and I use them to specifically focus myself on key areas that I believe will help me ‘win’ the day.
Next, I incorporate some simple Breath Meditation into the process — I sit quietly, use my breath meditation, and repeat each of the Affirmations for Dads three times. I try to visual each affirmation in my mind’s eye — my goal is to see myself living the affirmation. At the same time, I try to get my mind, body, and soul (yes, all three) to encode what it feels like deep within my personal DNA, because I know that when I do this, the affirmation has a greater chance to become a reality.
I also try to keep every one of my Affirmations for Dads on a google doc that is connected to all my mobile devices. Throughout the day, when I have downtime, I refer back to the doc, remind myself of the affirmations and repeat them to myself.

Use this process, or a version of it that works for you, and you’ll soon realize the true power that affirmations hold.

I wish you all the best.

Want More Wisdom Tips?

For more practical solutions to real life problems, connect with me here…

Life Lessons

Gaps in proximity to breakout

May 10, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad Leave a comment

How do you interpret gaps on a stock chart?

This is the third in a 5-part series of blog articles, all about gaps and what they mean.

Some traders think gaps are anomalies and should just be ignored. But in fact, gaps often provide excellent signals or act as part of other signals. Some gaps can be ignored, others cannot. The key is knowing the difference.

Check out our sister website

Do you want to learn all about using Options as part of your investing tool kit? Visit our sister site – Thomsett’s Investment Guide

Proximity for reversal

When gaps occur at the point of resistance or support and take price through those important price borders, they provide strong indication of coming reversal. The longer a trading range has lasted, the more difficult it is for price to break through. When that is seen with a gap, reversal is most likely. This gives you an excellent timing observation for entering a short-term swing trade.

An example of failed breakout

For example, on the chart of Amazon.com (AMZN), support was indicated at $1,480 per share from mid-February through the end of April. At the end of March, price gapped more than 50 points down, taking price more than 40 points under support.

This is precisely the type of pattern where you would expect to see price reverse and move back into range. It took a full month, but that is exactly what occurred. A second pattern that occurs frequently is a strong move in the opposite direction after the failed gap. Once price returned above the support level, it gapped 50 points higher at the end of April, potentially setting up a successful breakout to the upside.

This analysis is typically what you see with gaps at the point of breakout.

career advice, Life Lessons, Money, Career, and Finances

Choose Happiness Over Money – It’s the Path to True Wealth

May 9, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad 9 Comments

Happiness or Money?

Whether you are just starting out in your career, you’re considering relocating for work, or perhaps even a complete career change at mid-life, you’re going to face the question “Should I choose Happiness or chase the Money?” In this article we’ll discuss why the choice does NOT have to be one or the other — let me show you how you can have BOTH Happiness AND Money.

Want to Watch This as a Video?

Life Lesson #3: Do what makes you happy and the rest will take care of itself.

Today’s life lesson was inspire by two of my favorite wisdom teachers – Confucius and King Solomon.

First let’s look at what Confucius has to say on this topic…

I think it’s easy to see which way the Chinese Master would answer our “Happiness or Money” question, don’t you?

Now what about King Solomon? He is held by many to be the wisest man who ever lived so we should probably ask him this important question too, right?

What wisdom can we glean from both of these teachers?

That if you choose a job you love doing, not only will you be happy, but you will be earning money doing what you love. The next question then is HOW do we do this?

Happiness or Money – Choose Now.

I’ve talked to countless friends, co-workers, and soon-to-be graduating students who all too often feel trapped in their lives because they are working at a job (or about to start one) that they only took because of the money, not because they are passionate about it. Does that sound like anyone YOU know?

Don’t get me wrong, most of us (myself included) are not so financially free that we can just do whatever we want and not worry about money. But just because we need money, doesn’t mean we have to be ruled by it.

Are You Just Starting Your Career?

If you are young and just starting out in life, and you’re in a position where you have no family/obligations to attend you then you’re in a prime position to choose to do what you love. Don’t waste this opportunity.

It’s possible you even have the luxury of being able to live at home to save on expenses while you pursue your dream job – if so, make the most of your home base and use this to your advantage.

Follow your passion right from the beginning and don’t give away any of your precious life towards something that takes away from your dreams!

Are You Already In a Career? Married With Kids?

If however you already have a family and/or lots of bills to pay such that you need to earn a certain income to make ends meet, then obviously it’s a bit more difficult to pursue your passion – but it’s not impossible.

The sooner you recognize that life could offer you something more, the sooner you can break free of the rat race and pursue what really makes you happy in life.

For those of us already at our mid-life point, it’s even more critical that we don’t give up on our dreams. Time is fast dripping away. There is no guarantee of tomorrow. If you don’t pursue your dreams now, you may never do so.

If you are not happy doing what you do, that’s a recipe for a bitterness, resentment, and an early grave, so instead find a way to make a change. Even a small change that allows you to spend time doing what you love is better than not doing it at all. You’ll be happier for it!

What’s the first step to making a change? Why not start first with a hobby and once you generate some income, pursue it as side hustle income as part of a transition to your dream job/lifestyle? This way you keep income coming from your current job, while you make the move to your new Legacy Life (and you prove to yourself and your family that it IS possible). Many people have followed this proven path and you can to – IF you just take action and get started.

A Great Resource for Any Age

Tim Ferris 4 Hour WorkWeek — Click Here to Learn How You can Break Free of The Rat Race.

If you’ve never read Tim Ferris’ Book The 4-Hour Workweek you are missing out. It’s a great resource to help you break free of the rat race of corporate life.

Meanwhile, let’s continue our lesson with some REAL WORLD examples of people who chose Happiness over Money and ended up find True Wealth.

Happiness AND Money – Examples

Did you ever hear the story of the boy who dropped out of college and started playing with broken computer parts in his garage? People around town thought he was a loser and even his parents were afraid he wouldn’t amount too much.

His name was Bill Gates and he went on to invent some of the most important software for personal computers (ever hear of Windows?) and of course founded Microsoft – now he’s one of the richest men in the entire world.

Why does he matter to us?
Because Bill Gates didn’t follow the normal path in life. Instead he was a man who followed his dreams — even when the rest of the world didn’t think Bill knew anything at all. But Bill persevered in the pursuit of doing what he loved and in the end, he changed the world.

Or how about a guy who didn’t even finish high school and instead dropped out at age 15 to spend more time learning about what he loved – physics. I know, you and 99% of the rest of the world may not like the subject of physics, but this guy did.

His name was Albert Einstein and I’m guessing you’ve heard of him too. Like Bill Gates, Einstein also pursued his own path in life — one which the rest of the world didn’t think much of — and like Mr. Gates, Einstein also changed the world.

There’s no reason you can’t do it too!

Do What You Love – The Path

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not by any means telling you to not finish high school, or to drop out of college, or to quit your job (today).

For most people, earning a high school/college diploma and/or earning a solid income at work are part of the path to success in life – but not for everybody, and perhaps not for YOU specifically.

Regardless of how long you go through some form of school or put your time in on the job, the key thing I’m trying to teach my sons and what I hope YOU take away here is this – when you find something you are truly interested in (whether it be computers, music, or perhaps sharing wisdom with the world), if you can become a true expert in your field, then not only will you be happier in your life, but the money will eventually find you.

In fact, I would advise you that regardless of how much money you make in life…

If you do what you love, then you will find happiness — even if the rest of the world doesn’t understand you.

After all, let’s not forget, there was no market for computer software before Bill Gates came around.

There was no Theory of Relativity before Einstein.

And the same goes for a list of inventions longer than I can ever list.

What would have happened if Bill Gates didn’t pursue his passion for computers and instead became an accountant?

Or if Einstein had worked at the post office for the rest of his life and given up on his far-fetched dreams of being a physicist?

Would the world be a better place?

I think not.

So let these trailblazers be an inspiration to you.

Do what you love and happiness will follow.

So what will your contribution to the world be?

Who knows, you might just change the world!

Don’t Wait, Use This Wisdom Today

It’s starts with a simple question – what makes you happy?

Once you know the answer, find a way to pursue that passion a little bit today – and then tomorrow — and the next day too. Before you know it, you’ll be climbing the mountain of your dreams.

More Life Lessons

https://thathelpfuldad.com/life-lessons/

Did You Know?

Today’s lesson came from a book Jax and I wrote called Diary of a Minecraft Dad. Read it for free here…

Diary of a Minecraft Dad

Life Lessons, Productivity and Planning

Use This Ridiculously Simple Time Management Cheat Sheet and Get Your To-Do List Done!

May 7, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad 4 Comments

Time Management – It’s a Bear

If time management was easy, we’d all be super productive and we wouldn’t need all those To Do Lists we love to make (but hate to actually do). Unfortunately the ability to use time wisely is a challenge for many people and most of the To Do lists we make just end up in the trash, half done at best.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, in this article I’ll share a simple cheat sheet you can use to better manage your time and get that To Do List done! BTW you can download the cheatsheet yourself using the link at the bottom of the page.

Editor’s Note: If you like practical solutions tips like this, be sure to subscribe to my blog and you can get access to all my other life hacks too.

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Time Management – Words of Wisdom

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the ideas you read here were inspired from two main sources – Ben Franklin and the book “The Time Trap.” More on the latter in a moment, but first a great quote from old Ben…

Lost time is never found again.

What is Time Management to You?

When you get overwhelmed with a lot of things on your To Do List (be it for school, work, or anything else), do you know how to decide what to do FIRST?

Do you understand the importance of prioritizing your to-do list so that you can accomplish what’s most important in the long run?

Are you always getting your day interrupted by urgent ‘fires’ that require your immediate attention?

If any of these are a problem for you, the advice on this page can help you.

Time Management – An Example

Because this tool is so ridiculously simple I’m going to use the example of a high school student. I think we can agree, most teenagers are probably the last people on earth to care about time management right? Well, let’s put this tool to the test…

Say your a 15-year old boy, it’s Friday afternoon, and you have the following items on your weekend to-do list:

Clean your room by Sunday night
Study for History Exam on Monday
Go to baseball practice today at 5pm
Watch the latest episode of Tosh.o
Walk the dog today

How do you decide what to do and when?

Do all of these tasks have to be done immediately?

Are all of these tasks equal in terms of importance?

If you feel like the woman in this picture, then have no fear, because your solution is here…

A Ridiculously Simple Cheat Sheet to Help Your Prioritize Your To Do List

I like to use a technique from a book called “The Time Trap: The Classic Book on Time Management” which assigns a number value to each task in terms of it’s “Importance” (I) to the LONG-TERM goals of your life — the most important is given a 1, the next most a 2, and so on.

Next you consider the task’s “Urgency” (U) as relates to your SHORT-TERM duties where the most urgent is a 1, next most is a 2, and so on.

Then you simply add up the numbers and take a look at the results to determine how you should prioritize your To Do list.

Let’s try it in our example:

A couple notes on my scales.

While the new episode of Tosh.0 might come out today, I assume you’ll have a DVR and thus can watch is anytime – therefore it’s not urgent, and compared with the other items on this list, not important either (although it IS funny!).
Baseball practice today and walking the dog today must be done TODAY, therefore they are the most urgent tasks.
The rest I assume you can figure out – nobody likes cleaning so it takes a back seat. 🙂

And so, using our totals, we can thus prioritize our To Do list as follows:

Go to baseball practice first.
Come home and study a bit for your history exam.
Walk the dog.
After that, as the weekend unfolds you can study more for your history exam, then clean your room.
And finally reward yourself by watching Tosh.

Obviously this is only a guide. If you don’t agree with the totals, you can adjust the order of the tasks as you see fit. But the point is this by using this simple time management cheat sheet you’ll be giving yourself some help when it comes to figuring out how to spend your time wisely so you get the most out of it.

Never forget this important life lesson: Manage your time or it will manage you!

Still not convinced?

Let’s think about our example in reverse – what if you didn’t use a tool like this to manage your time and instead just did the tasks as they were told to you?

First off, hopefully you’d remember go to baseball practice at 4pm. But what then? Most likely you’d come home and watch Tosh. It’s likely you’d forget to walk the dog until it’s too late. And naturally your mother would get on your case because you didn’t clean your room yet. And worst of all you’d likely end up cramming for your history exam at the last minute because you spent of the weekend playing Roblox or Fortnite.

The result is that you’d end up doing your most important task LAST and probably not doing very good on that test. Not good.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Now you have an easy to use cheat sheet that can help you quickly identify how you should be prioritizing your day. Use it and start learning crushing your To Do list like a Pro.

Don’t Wait, Use this Wisdom Today…

Step 1: Click here to….

Download your free copy of this Time Management Cheat Sheet.

Step 2: Check out the book the “The Time Trap” by Pat Nickerson. This is a book I read nearly 20 years ago and it changed the way I manage my time in a big way. By using the techniques in this book, I was able to better understand how to decide the best way to tackle my daily to-do’s AND to ensure that I was not letting all the ‘little fires” that always seem to crop up every day sidetrack me from my long-term goals. You can find it lots of places, but if you want to save time, here’s a link to the book on Amazon…

Did You Know?

Today’s lesson was adapted from a book Jax and I wrote called Diary of a Minecraft Dad

More Time Management from Ben Franklin

Here’s a page from Ben Franklin’s daily planner – check out how he planned his day!

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Life Lessons

The Flower Blooms – When Will You?

May 4, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad Leave a comment

Foto Friday brings us back to a life lesson we can never get enough of. Contemplate the pic and then add to your wisdom by reviewing the following related articles:

That’s all for today. Foto Friday’s are short and sweet.

For more wisdom like this…

How To and What Is, Life Lessons

How to Create Your Child’s Dream Book

April 24, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad Leave a comment

Does your child have a Dream Book?

One of the things that is so magical about children is their sense of adventure and imagination; their imagination is without limitations. They come up with the wildest and spirited dreams and goals for themselves. Highlight their sense of adventure in this fun, literary, and historical activity by helping them create their own Dream Book.

Creating a Dream Book is a great way to spend some quality time with your child. For more fun and engaging reading and writing activities, visit my friends at Education.com who submitted this idea to us.

Creating a Dream Book – What You Need:

Paper
Pencil
Stapler

That’s it? Yup, nobody said it had to be hard. Gather your supplies and let’s focus on building that Dream Book.

Creating a Dream Book – What To Do:

The process of building a Dream Book is not hard. It starts with getting your child talking – once they begin to open up, their dreams will emerge. Here are some ideas to get the conversation started…

Talk with your student about her values. Which values does she treasure the most? Loyalty? Caring for others? Intelligence? Generosity?
What would she like to see in the world in the future (specifically, non-materialistic things)? World peace? People caring for one another? Different people having fun together?

Have her write down her answers to create a book of her dreams for her future. This is the core of the Dream Book process and capturing her dreams on paper will not only create a keepsake that you will both treasure, but it’s the first step to empowering your child to turn her dreams into reality.

Dream Book Discussion Starter Example

Discussion: Talk about Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

What was it about?
Are there any things your student’s dreams have in common with the speech?
Why was it important?
How did Martin Luther King Jr. turn his dreams into a reality. How can your child do the same?

Dream Book Enrichment/Variations/Modifications:

Your child’s Dream Book is only limited by their imagination – which means it has NO limits. But if you need a bit of help, consider the following ideas…

Talk about different dreams (goals and achievements) that people have. What do those dreams tell you about what kinds of values they treasure? What does your child treasure?

The possibilities are endless. But what isn’t endless is time – so don’t wait, get started on helping your child create their own Dream Book today!

A Message from That Helpful Dad

This article is from my friend’s at Education.com. As you know I’ve written multiple articles about the importance of having a plan to help you reach your dreams and spend more time on your Legacy Life goals. Since this article focuses on helping your child identify and achieve their dreams, I’m pleased to share it with you because it fits well with the goals of our website – it’s a great example of a practical solution to one of life’s little problems.

More about Today’s Contributor:
Education.com aims to empower parents, teachers, and homeschoolers to help their children build essential skills and excel. With over 12 million members, Education.com provides educators of all kinds with high-quality learning resources, including worksheets, lesson plans, digital games, an online guided learning platform, and more.

That Helpful Dad’s favorite things about Education.com:
We enjoy the interactive stories and activity sections. What do you like best?

Life Lessons

3 Simple Ways to Do Something Good Today – Which Will YOU Choose?

April 17, 2018 ThatHelpfulDad Leave a comment

Life Lesson #8: Don’t just WISH to be helpful, DO something good today.

Do Something Good Today – Our Teachers

If you’ve read my blog for awhile you’ll know I don’t take credit for much of the wisdom I write about — instead, I view myself as more of a curator of helpful tips about life. From that perspective, my job is clear — to gather the wisdom from wherever it may be found and bring it to your attention.

Such is the case today’s lesson — inspired by Dr. Seuss, Robert Frost, and William Penn.

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Doing Good – Starts with a Choice

I know this may sound cliche but from a poetic standpoint, one of my favorite works is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

One piece of advice about poetry that I got looooong ago (from my 9th grade English Teacher) was that “to truly understand and appreciate a poem you need to read it at least seven times to even begin to unlock its mysteries.” Whether that’s true or not is perhaps a subject for another time (to be honest I’ve always thought that advice sounded a bit too much like it came from “J. Evans Prichard, Ph.D.” of Dead Poets Society infamy, but I digress).

The good news here is that you don’t need to read Frost’s poem 7 times to appreciate it’s wisdom — I promise you’ll love it from the first time because it’s that good.

And because this poem applies directly to our discussion today I’d like to share it with you in full…

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear; though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same, and both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Two Roads… Your Choice…

Life is full of different paths to choose from – some of those paths lead to you do something good to help others, other may seeing you deferring that helping hand till another day.

More often than not you will have every intention to return to those ‘other’ roads and do something good, but if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll soon discover that most of the time (in spite of your best intentions) you never actually do return to that ‘other’ path and thus you miss out on a lot of opportunities to be helpful. Why? Because as Frost writes ‘way leads on to way’ and life takes you elsewhere.

When we miss the opportunity to do something good, we diminish our part in the great play of Life.

Make the World Better – TODAY

To help ensure you don’t miss your opportunity to make the world a better place, I’d recommend you keep this other bit of verse in mind…

I may not pass this way again…

I first heard Penn’s(2) words 30 years ago… and the quote has stuck in my head ever since. I often repeat it to myself when I’m out and about running errands or at work – it reminds me to always be on the lookout to be helpful and more often than not it gives me that ‘extra kick’ I need to not just think about doing good but instead to actually take action and help out.

3 Simple Ways to Do Something Good Today

Being helpful is not hard. Here are some easy ones to get you started…

You’re on the elevator and you see a stranger who seems a bit sad or quiet.
- Perhaps a kind word from you will turn their day from gloomy to bright, perhaps even save their life?
- What did it cost you? Nothing.
- And while you may never know the outcome of your kindness, to that other person it could mean the world.

You’re in a store parking lot and you see an older person struggling to put their groceries in their car.
- Perhaps you take a moment out of your day and help them load their bags.
- Perhaps a passerby sees you and gets inspired to help someone they see later that day as well.
- Who knows – maybe someone else could see them and does the same.
- And so on and so forth.
- Suddenly, due to something YOU started with a small act of kindness, helps the world becomes a better place.

You’re a student and you notice a classmate is really struggling but nobody seems to know why or care.
- What nobody knows is that your classmate’s family doesn’t have enough money to put enough food on the table at home and thus your classmate is hungry – truly starving.
- Seeing your classmate has at the lunch table and seeing how they look at your food, you decide to quietly break your sandwich in half and slide some over to them.
- Nobody else has to know.
- Your classmate smiles and eats.
- Their day is a bit brighter…and so is yours.

You get the idea. It’s not rocket science.

I’m sure YOU have lots of examples you can share too — BTW I’d love to hear them and I DO read them so please add them to the comments below and we can all learn together.

Meanwhile, the point is this…

Do not wait to do your good deeds, do them NOW.

Remember, there is no guarantee that you or the person you are doing them for will meet again. The world is constantly moving and you with it.

Take every opportunity to do something good today and you’ll be making the world a better place for all of us.

And you’ll feel great about yourself too!

Notes:

Today’s lesson came from a book Jax and I wrote called Diary of a Minecraft Dad
There is some speculation ‘on the internet’ that this quote may not come directly from William Penn and his Quakers of Pennsylvania. To me it doesn’t really matter – regardless of who said it, the fact is that it is a wonderful piece of wisdom to remember and apply in your daily life, right?