Simple Life Reboot - Transformational / Healthy / Minimalism / Lifestyle / Edit

Would you like to simplify at work but fear you cannot do so without jeopardizing your position or prospects?  If so, you are not alone.  This can be a paralyzing dilemma, particularly when others are dependent upon your work performance and/or income. Rather than take rash action or settle for permanent quiet desperation, consider whether […]

“You can do anything, but not everything. ”  David Allen   The Problem We live in an exciting time.  With easy access to the internet and quality podcasts, blogs, books, webcasts,  forums, and MOOCs, the sky is the limit for growth and service. The problem is our inability to deal with abundance. If we attempt […]

Close relationships are the bedrock of life.  If you have them, nurture them, appreciate them, treasure every moment you have with the people in your life. If you have lost touch with family, try to reconnect.  If you cannot reconnect, I hope you will consider reaching out to others near you who would benefit from […]

What are your primary objectives?  Is your daily experience something of  a “hit or miss” when it comes to making progress?  Would you like to hit your target with greater frequency? If you are like Dave and me,  and do not have the gifts of a Hawkeye, Annie Oakley, or Katniss Everdeen,  you might benefit […]

What does a beautiful life look like? It is different for each of us, but for many it includes things like family, faith, hard work, adventurous spirit, trips with people we love, creativity, humor, passion, celebrating traditions, and enjoying good health.  Truly, a beautiful life is all of these things, and maybe something more. PURPOSE […]

Any person making a significant life change will be familiar with that initial uncomfortable period between making sacrifice and seeing fruit.  It’s much like hiking up a mountain with an obscured summit.  As the intensity increases, we may start to wonder  1) if we’ll  reach a “better” place; and  2) if we do, will it be […]

Can a simple diagram help us understand the common inconsistencies between our intentions and actions? C. S. Lewis in his  Screwtape Letters uses a bulls-eye model of concentric circles to categorize human behavior.  Our model, described below, relates how we tend to lose focus on our inner values and become drawn to the deferred, displaced […]

Consider some of the reasons why debt is such an obstacle to our ability to realize our full potential. Debt impacts margin.  Debt has a debilitating effect on our daily decision-making and our quality of life. Debt can prompt behaviors that are counter-productive at best and self-destructive at worst. 1)  DEBT PUTS US BEHIND One […]

One of the surest ways to improve our lives is to create margin.  However,  when creating margin, it is crucial to keep in mind this principle from Aristotle. “Nature abhors a vacuum.” Recently created space is a magnet for less desirable replacement “fillers”. If you doubt this, please consider the following: Have you ever scheduled a […]

  Transitioning from a life with narrow margin to one that offers freedom and opportunity can be a slow-moving process.  Sheryl and I started on our journey in June of this year (2013).  We began by having two moving sales to reduce our belongings by about 80%.  We then updated floors, counter tops, interior paint, […]

Though we may not be conscious of the desire, we yearn to create.  Whether it is a special cupcake, a sculpture,  a song or a paper airplane,  we delight in making something to share with others. Unfortunately,  as the years go by,  we discard our creativity for consumption. Instead of sharing a special recipe with […]

For many of us, our reluctance to make needed changes stems not from an unwillingness to sacrifice for long term gain, but rather from a fear that such changes will lower us in the esteem of others.  We are deeply invested in activities and possessions which signal our status and abilities. We would rather suffer […]

Americanitus Is your home too large, but still too small for your possessions?  Is your income good, but still too little to pay all of the bills, retirement and savings?  Is your day a confused jumble of rushed projects and lost moments? Many of us suffer from what I call, Americanitus, a feeling of desperation and […]

I had just been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, and after four years as an Administrative Specialist, I could not leave Dover, Delaware, fast enough.  I drove towards Oregon in my hot, blood-red Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, making record time.  It took roughly two and a half days to cross the country, burning up 250 […]

I am profoundly fond of organization and yearn to replace chaos with order.  Though I have failed to maintain organized spaces and events on numerous occasions, I am never willing to abandon the quest.  Imagine my consternation when I learned that organization could be misused! It was not until I started cleaning other people’s houses […]

Voltaire had it right when he quipped that the problem with common sense is that it is not common enough. Far too often families are ending up in court.  In most of these situations,  the dispute could have, and should have been avoided. One of the objectives of Simple Life Reboot is to strengthen and […]

One of the biggest challenges in tackling a new project is the assembly of  pertinent information. When starting out, it is difficult to know what resources might be ultimately be helpful and how they will fit with the plan. As resources are gathered,  particularly from different mediums, organization and retrieval can also be difficult. Fortunately,  […]

Over the years we have heard time and again that stress is an enemy – a ubiquitous foe to performance and health.  To protect ourselves,  we are encouraged to  “manage” or  reduce stress. But…  what if we have it all wrong? Kelly McGonigal in her June 2013 TED talk on “How to Make Stress Your […]

Growth involves discomfort.  Whether it’s appropriate soreness after a workout or pre-speech butterflies, it is often not possible to make progress without experiencing this unpleasant sensation. Good parents recognize that their children’s health and growth is dependent upon trying healthy foods,  learning new skills and suffering a few uncomfortable moments along the way.  A child […]

The salesperson was the first person to know outside our immediate family.  No doubt my face lit up as I  shared why I  needed comfortable  shoes for the office.  It took some time,  but I ultimately selected a gorgeous pair of  green flats.  I was thrilled with the purchase and anticipated the amazing  path the […]