Personal Development of any kind is one nonnegotiable habit that you need to intentionally engage in every day... and if you do, I promise you, it will completely change your life!
Some people call it self-improvement, some call it self-help, or personal growth, self-actualization, self-transcendence, or even spirituality. Whatever you want to call it, it's about setting time aside for reading books, listening to podcasts or audio books, or reading blogs that help motivate and inspire you to become a better person and live your best life.
The fact is, each one of us has some area of life that we need a little inspiration and motivation in. We all have aspirations, dreams, goals that we want to reach, whether it be success in your career, wealth, your health, relationships, living a happier lifestyle and so on. But like I explained back in episode #56 of Life Made Simple, it is almost impossible to wake up every day feeling motivated to reach those goals and aspirations in life. Motivation doesn't always just happen naturally. It doesn't consistently find us every day. We need to find motivation!
And how do we do that? Well, we need to continually surround ourselves with things and people that keep us motivated to push us to reach those goals and accomplish the things that we really want in life. We can't wait for those feelings of motivation to just magically appear. We need help sometimes.
Daily personal development is one way to do that. We all should devote just a little bit of time every single day to some sort of personal development. Even if it's just a couple minutes.
Examples of personal development include reading books, watching videos, or listening to Podcasts. If you want more specific ideas, you can go back and listen to episode #9 or #56.
Now, I have to admit, I'm not a big reader. I actually prefer to spend my daily personal development time listening to other podcast shows while I drive, shower, or do the dishes. But sometimes, I do enjoy reading a chapter here and there of a really good book.
On today's episode of Life Made Simple I share with you 3 of my favorite personal development books.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Episode #9: Why You Must Make Personal Development A Daily Habit
Episode #56: One Habit That Will Completely Change Your Life
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Buy on Amazon: Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy
Buy on Amazon: The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley
Buy on Amazon: The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John Maxwell
Free Guide: "9 Ways to Simplify Your Life"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word 9SIMPLIFY
Simplicity University: SimplicityU.com
Website: CarlaRaeArneson.com
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Submit Questions: CarlaRaeArneson.com/AskCarlaRae
Last week I confessed to you that I am a collector of good ideas and good intentions. And then for this Monday's Episode #75, I introduced you to one of my new favorite life strategies... the Rose Bush Analogy.
If you haven't listened to either of those episodes yet, go back and check them out before you push play on this one (which is essential the third one in the series).
If you're all caught up, here's a quick review....
Our lives are like rose bushes. There are parts of our lives that need to be consistently and constantly pruned and trimmed down.
Ideas, to-dos, things, and even people in our lives are all like rose buds. And just like a rose bush, pruning away many of those ideas, projects, and relationships — even if they have really good potential — allows the remaining ones to fully blossom.
But how do we know which ones to prune? Especially when they all seem really good?
During this episode, I give you questions that you need to ask yourself in order to figure out exactly what to "prune" from your life.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Episode #74: I Collect Too Many Ideas & Good Intentions
Episode #75: Treat Your Life Like A Rose Bush - "It's Time To Prune!"
Episode #8: How to Make a "Perfect Day Itinerary"
Free Worksheet: CarlaRaeArneson.com/8download
Or send a text to 44222 with the word PERFECTDAY
Share this Episode: CarlaRaeArneson.com/episode76
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Simplicity University: SimplicityU.com
Free Guide: "9 Ways to Simplify Your Life"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word 9SIMPLIFY
Website: CarlaRaeArneson.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/CarlaRaeArneson
Submit Questions: CarlaRaeArneson.com/AskCarlaRae
On last week's 3 Minute Thursday episode of Life Simple, I confessed to you one area of life that I've struggled with for many years. Like many other people out there, I battle with having way too many good projects ideas and not enough time or energy to tackle them all. In that episode, I explained how all those ideas are GOOD ideas and they are all GOOD intentions.
But for the sake of my sanity and for the sake of my journey to find simplicity, I need to somehow pull the reins on my tendency to collect good intentions and somehow let go of many of them that I have hoarded over the years.
But the big question is, how do you do that?
On today's episode, I share with one amazing analogy I recently learned that has become a total game changer for me. It's a strategy I'm still trying to wrap my head around and apply to my own "crazy busy" life.
It's one life lesson that I honestly believe can be the key to achieving true simplicity in all areas of life.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Episode #10: "Can You Have Too Much of A Good Thing?"
Share this Episode: CarlaRaeArneson.com/episode75
Share this Podcast: LifeMadeSimplePodcast.com
Simplicity University: SimplicityU.com
Free Guide: "9 Ways to Simplify Your Life"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word 9SIMPLIFY
Free Download: "5 Steps to Organizing Your Home"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word ORGANIZE
Website: CarlaRaeArneson.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/CarlaRaeArneson
Submit Questions: CarlaRaeArneson.com/AskCarlaRae
Recently, one of our listeners reached out to me with an issue that she's been struggling with and she wanted some advice.
Abby from Columbus, Ohio struggles with having too many ideas and projects that she really wants to pursue yet she knows that there are just not enough hours in the day do them all. She feels overwhelmed and doesn't know how to let go of some of those really good ideas.
Well Abby I can completely relate and I'm sure that many other listeners struggle with the same issue.
I have a confession... I am a collector of ideas. And they are all GOOD ideas. Recipes I want to try, craft projects I want to do with my son, house projects that I really want to complete. I have paper files, pictures on my computer, and websites that I've bookmarked full of ideas that I've collected over the years. And don't get me started on all the fun stuff I have pinned on Pinterest... we all know that website is dangerous for an idea collector!
Then there are business ideas, goals, and dreams... I have a hundred of them waiting in the wings for when I finally have time to pursue them all. It seems that there is always another opportunity to chase or a new idea that sounds exciting.
Now, you would think that being a collector of GOOD ideas is a GOOD thing... but in many ways, it's not.
Tune in to this quick and brief episode about my struggles with having too many good ideas and good intentions.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Share this Episode: CarlaRaeArneson.com/episode74
Share this Podcast: LifeMadeSimplePodcast.com
Simplicity University: SimplicityU.com
Free Guide: "9 Ways to Simplify Your Life"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word 9SIMPLIFY
Free Download: "5 Steps to Organizing Your Home"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word ORGANIZE
Website: CarlaRaeArneson.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/CarlaRaeArneson
Submit Questions: CarlaRaeArneson.com/AskCarlaRae
It's no secret that one of the best ways to simplify your life is to get organized. And when it comes to organizing your home, one of the biggest factors is what to keep and where to keep it all.
We've all heard that famous saying, "A place for everything, and everything in its place."
It's obvious what the phrase means... it's the notion that everything should have a place to be stored and that it should be returned back to that place when it's not in use.
So, in our pursuit of simplicity, it is so important to designate a home for everything.
But, do you ever find that there are times during our endless efforts to get organized when we know we assigned a home for everything (we're sure of it!) but somehow, there are still piles of random stuff lying around?
Now yes, if we actually took inventory of those piles, we might just realize that most of the items do in fact have a particular home, but maybe we're just too crazy busy to actually take the time to tidy up and put them away.
I'll be honest, that happens to me more often than you think. Over the years, I've definitely developed the habit of tidying up every day, but sometimes life happens and I don't always make it a priority. Like I've always said, I'm not perfect... we're on this journey together!
But sometimes it's not a matter of not taking the time to put things away. Sometimes, those random piles of clutter are the result of not having a designated home for one particular category.
It's a category that most people don't ever even realize they need a designated home for.
What category am I referring to? It's your pending projects and to-dos.
We all have them. Little and big projects, that for whatever reason aren't completed, fixed, or finalized. And meanwhile, while we try to find the time to complete them, where do we put them? Well, anywhere of course! Anywhere we can see them as a reminder to ourselves to do them.
On today's episode of Life Made Simple I give you an inside look at some of those "pending to-do" items cluttering up my own home and how to find a special designated home to keep them all in.
Links Mentioned in this Show:
Share this Episode: CarlaRaeArneson.com/episode73
Share this Podcast: LifeMadeSimplePodcast.com
Simplicity University: SimplicityU.com
Free Guide: "9 Ways to Simplify Your Life"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word 9SIMPLIFY
Free Download: "5 Steps to Organizing Your Home"
Or send a text to 44222 with the word ORGANIZE
Website: CarlaRaeArneson.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/CarlaRaeArneson
Submit Questions: CarlaRaeArneson.com/AskCarlaRae
