11 Powerful Building Blocks For Living Your Happy Quiet Life

Welcome to Happy Quiet Life! Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Please share with a friend if you enjoy it!

As I've written before, our life comes down to our daily actions to move it forward, improve it, and make the most of it.

Every success story in history reveals highly intentional parts, not waiting for chance or circumstance. Action by action, step by step, one improves their life through intentional deeds. If you want to live that life you keep dreaming of, you better be willing to grab it by the proverbial horns.

Making the most of your life is a habit in itself. It strengthens your soul, provides constant insight, and gives you a tailwind when you need it most.

Here's a list of the most valuable tips I've found.

Listen. Zeno would tell us, "Better to trip with the feet than the tongue." We should often remind ourselves that we need to listen: to our hearts, instincts, and those around us. Our lives should feel like a rhythm, but we have to listen to live that way.

Journal. Scribbling your thoughts down on paper has become more mainstream in the last decade, but its effectiveness has occurred for thousands of years. Some of history's greatest leaders, statesmen, conquerors, and victors notoriously kept journals. The benefits far outweigh not doing it.

Go to bed. If you ever want to sum ignorance, arrogance, and immaturity up in 5 words, it goes like this, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Has anyone successful ever really said those foolish words? I doubt it. And I promise you, more often than not, if the thought crosses your mind to go to bed, you should go to bed.

Call a friend. When we are younger, friends feel more important than family. After all, that's who we spend much of our time with. This shifts as we age and build our own families. It's easy to let friendships fade; some might need to, but don't let the great ones fade. The best friendships are like an oak tree: strong to break, lasting forever, and impossible not to notice when they're gone.

Read a book. I could pull up hundreds of great quotes about reading I've saved over the years and hope it resonated with you or hit you in between the eyes. But if you don't currently read, it won't work. Reading is hard. No, not the actual reading of the words, but taking the time, avoiding our phones, and committing to learn. Wisdom comes with experience in life, but you multiply it exponentially with a few pages a day.

Get a sweat in. Living the good life is almost impossible if you don't have the strength and endurance in your body. You don't have to be a marathon runner, lift weights like a football player, or exhibit world-class athleticism to build a strong body—one prepared to live. Get a little sweat in as much as possible and build your endurance.

Take a long walk. Our minds renew after a good walk. As the British poet, Helen Dunmore said, "A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk." Whether you're a writer, teacher, CEO, or stay-at-home mom, walking will help guide you through what's bothering you and help you find clarity.

Ignore your inbox. Your inbox represents a dumpster fire full of distractions that will pull you away from your best life. Sure, some emails need your attention, but most are pointless. But the frequency you allow yourself to sip the drip of sugar, like a well-trained lab rat, is up to you. If a job "requires" you to sip the sugar at night, on the weekends, on vacation, or during a meal, here's a thought: there are better jobs.

Laugh with those you love. If we have yet to learn by now, at this point in history, how precious our moments are, we won't ever understand. Laughter is more than an outward emotion or internal happiness spark. It's a flash of presence. Nothing says 'being present' like enjoying a laugh about an inside joke with a tight friend or a moment with your deepest love, or the joy of a child innocently enjoying life. These moments deserve our presence. So smile, laugh, and soak it up.

Let yourself dream a little. Where would the world be if we all did what we were supposed to do? Our history is full of progress made by people who were dreamers, risk-takers, and crazy. So be crazy. As the great innovator Steve Jobs, said, "Everything around you that you call life was made by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use."

Work on something you want to master. Pursuing Mastery in something important to you will provide a growth curve you could never fathom. How? Because the Mastery of one thing forces a singular focus that benefits you in all the other parts of your life that truly matter. When this happens, your body, mind, and soul conspire to build something special. Give it a try.

If you enjoyed this edition, please forward it to a friend who you think would enjoy it!

Thanks for your support!