Marc and Angel Hack Life

We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.
- Marshall McLuhan

Last weekend Angel and I attended a show at a local comedy club.  During the last skit of the night, the comedian on stage delivered a fairly humorous rant on the age-old dispute of whether the pen is mightier than the sword.  “Some people think too much,” he said as he pulled out an imaginary sword from an imaginary holster.  “If you’re really dumb enough to think the pen is mightier than the sword, go ahead and arm yourself with a pen and I’ll take my chances with this sword… then we’ll see who’s left standing in ten seconds.”

His antics were hilarious, so naturally I chuckled.  All of the sudden, he pointed directly at me in the third row and said, “Hey son, do you think I’m a funny man?  You look like a pen-pushing, desk jockey!  Get out your pen!  Wanna fight?”

I was a bit startled.  This was the first time I’d ever been called out and put on the spot in front of a large audience at a comedy club.  The audience laughed and then silence swept over the auditorium.  Everyone waited for me to either cower in my chair or stand up to the challenge.  I stood up and spotlight shined down on me.

“Actually funny man, yes I do have a pen,” I said, pulling a fountain pen from my jeans pocket and holding it up for all to see.  “However, I don’t intend to physically fight you with this pen.  Instead, I’ll use the pen to sign a fat check that entitles me to a bazooka which I’ll use to blow your funny rear end right off that stage.”

The audience roared.  The comedian groaned and said, “You little punk, I’ll use my sword and my cat-like reflexes to cut you, your check, and that pretty girl next to you in half before you can even blink an eye!”  He looked at Angel who was sitting next to me and gave her a dirty wink.

The audience laughed again.  I smirked and waved my empty hand around in the air noting that the comedian was, in fact, waving an imaginary sword at me.  “I feel quite certain that your sword is incapable of doing any damage to anyone or anything,” I said.

Another short round of laughter escaped from the audience and I sat back down.  The comedian made a few more foolish comments and moved on with the remainder of his routine.  But I don’t really recall anything else he said or did.  I started thinking about the ease with which so many people use rhetoric to mislead and deceive each other.

The Right Tool for the Job

In the hands of a poetic pioneer laying the groundwork for positive change, the pen is mightier than the sword because it can be used to create literary masterpieces capable of motivating an army of fellow citizens to join the revolution.  In the hands of a foot soldier at the forefront of the battlefield, the sword is mightier than the pen because the soldier can use the sword to defend himself from imminent, physical danger.

Different people in different situations require different tools.  Any object can be mightier than another if it is used as a tool in the proper context.  A ply of soft tissue is mightier than a sword when you have a runny noise.  A glass of water and an apple are mightier than a pen when what’s needed is hydration and nourishment.

“The mighty”, I believe, are those people who know when to use the sword, and when to use the tissue.  They drink water when they’re thirsty and eat apples when they’re hungry.  They use a pen and paper (or a computer) when then want to inspire others.  And, I suppose, they invoke powerful, imaginary bazookas when they get called out and put on the spot in comedy clubs.

Photo by: Shoothead

 It is essential to understand that battles are
primarily won in the hearts of men.
- Vince Lombardi

Vance was an incredible guitarist.  In fact, he was so good, everyone who heard him play thought he’d grow up to be a professional musician.  In his heart, he thought so too.  “Life is music.  Keep on rocking!” he tagged in my high school yearbook.  Unfortunately, his parents thought otherwise.  They wanted him to get an MBA just like his father.  Vance respected his parents.  So once in college, he put away his guitar and committed himself fulltime to his studies.  “Music isn’t an option right now,” he told me during freshman year winter recess.  “My folks are paying my tuition and I can’t afford to be on my own.”

Madison dreamed of being an NCAA Women’s Soccer champion.  From the time she was a child she was swift and agile, with an obvious athletic gift.  In college, she dedicated herself to the sport.  During Madison’s freshman year, her team placed 3rd in the division.  In her sophomore year, her team placed 2nd, barely losing in the finals to a rival school.  Madison was named team captain at the start of her junior year, but immediately tore her ACL in the season opener.  She was devastated!  When she returned to the game the following season, she was no longer in championship form. “It’s not that my speed and agility isn’t there,” she admitted to me after a disappointing preseason practice. “It’s that I’m scared to go for it.  If I don’t seriously injure myself again, I may have a decent career ahead of me as a college coach.”

Good Excuses are Still Excuses

Vance and Madison had fairly reasonable excuses for holding back.  Vance had commitments and debts to his parents who were shelling out big bucks each year for his college tuition.  He wasn’t willing to disappoint them.  Madison was considering the idea of becoming an NCAA soccer coach someday.  She was concerned about the risk of another major injury that could potentially inhibit her coaching abilities.

Yet despite these reasonable excuses for not following their hearts, they couldn’t change who they were… who they were born to be.

“I knew deep down, when I wrote a business case on marketing and promoting local musicians, that music was still part of who I was.  It never stopped pulsing through my veins, and choosing to ignore this passion would have eventually ruined me,” Vance recently told me.

“After my junior season came to an abrupt halt, I just couldn’t shake those late-season, freshman and sophomore losses out of my mind.  I knew I wasn’t done.  I didn’t want the injury to defeat me… I just couldn’t go out like that,” Madison told me after an NCAA sports convention last winter.

The Choice is Ultimately Yours

As his parents requested, Vance majored in business administration, but also secretly minored in music at the same time.  When he graduated, a talent scout from Disney sent him an invitation to play lead jazz guitar for several ongoing shows at Walt Disney World.  He accepted the invitation and currently makes a decent living playing guitar full-time.  His whole family is proud of his success.  “In hindsight, it’s strange to think of a time when I chose not to play because I thought it would indirectly damage my career,” he said recently.  “Because the true damage… the life altering damage, would have been to quit playing for good.”

Madison pulled it together and begged the coach to place her back in a starting position for her senior season.  Then she passionately attended two-a-day practices and fervent physical training sessions.  When game day finally came, every effort in every second of the game was a direct pronouncement of her love for the sport, the sport that was part of who she was.  Madison played well and the coach kept her in as a starter for the duration of the season.  Amazingly, her team made it all the way to the finals and placed 2nd in the division again.  No, she never won the NCAA championship she so deeply desired, but she walked away knowing she’d gained so much more. “In the end, I knew I did exactly what I was born to do, using every capability contained inside of me.”

The Only Way

Vance and Madison inspire me.  So do others like them who refuse the excuses and follow their hearts against all odds.  Because of them, I realize that being “me”, in exactly the way I was born to be, is the only way to truly live.

Photo by: Esparta

Because one without the other makes less sense than none at all…

Ideas rose in clouds; I felt them collide until pairs interlocked,
so to speak, making a stable combination.
- Jules H. Poincare

1. Money without Labor – We do not value what we do not earn.
2. Loyalty without Trust – Loyalty will vanish in the absence of trust.
3. Appreciation without Education – We cannot fully appreciate what we do not fully understand.
4. Wisdom without Experience – True wisdom is the product of many life experiences.
5. Power without Checks and Balances – Unfettered power leads to greed and corruption.
6. Business without Sincerity – Crooked businessmen are prison bound… if they’re lucky.
7. Success without Sacrifice – Success doesn’t find us, we find it.
8. Policy without Justification – Without justification, policy is just another form of tyranny.
9. Happiness without Peace of Mind – A mind at ease is already pleased.
10. Beginnings without Endings – A great, new beginning rises from another beginning’s end.

Agree?  Disagree?  Can you think of any more?

Photo by: FotoRita

When I was in elementary school my parents told me it didn’t matter what I did when I grew up, so long as it made me happy.  “Happiness is the whole point of life”, my father said.  “Your mother loves to help people, so she became a nurse.  I love reading, writing and poetry, so I became an English teacher.  We both find happiness in the work we do each day.”

A few years later when I was in junior high, my grumpy 6th grade homeroom teacher put me in detention for “being difficult”.  She went around the classroom and asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up.  When she got to me, I told her I wanted to be happy.  She told me I was missing the whole point of the question.  I told her she was missing the whole point of life.

What do we all want to be when we grow up?  Happy… that is all.  Find what makes you happy and do it until you die.

Photo by: Mareen Fischinger

We’ll kick-off this list of reminders with one of our favorite poems, “The Guy in the Glass” by Dale Wimbrow.

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgment upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.

1. Everyone and everything seems normal from a distance.
2. When you die you can’t take anything or anyone with you.  This includes your family, friends, money and belongings.  Memories are all that remain.  Make them count.
3. If you are breathing now, congratulations!  You still have a chance to fulfill your bucket list.  Don’t hesitate.
4. Don’t make public generalizations about sex, race or age.  Doing so will almost certainly bite you in the ass.
5. When something is troubling your worried mind, ask yourself this question:  “Will this issue really make a difference in my life one year from now?”  If the answer is no, move on.
6. The key to saving and maintaining a relationship starts with two simple words:  “I’m sorry.”
7. Never underestimate the joy of life’s simple pleasures… like the pull-through parking spot.
8. Live in a few different cities, states, or even countries before your time is up.  The life experiences gained in each location will open your eyes again and again for the first time.
9. Beginnings and endings… Both are powerful.  Both are memorable.  Both are necessary.  Don’t be afraid to start.  Don’t be afraid to bring something to an end.
10. Alcohol fogs your judgment… Sometimes for the best, and sometimes for the worst.  Use accordingly.
11. Why wait to look back on it and laugh?  You may as well laugh about it now.
12. You will appear far smarter in the eyes of others if you simply pay attention to the details they care about, rather than attempting to impress them with your wits.  For example, if your boss always has Johnny Cash playing in the background when you walk past his office, mention it to him.  Ask him what his favorite album is.  Share your favorite song, etc.
13. Lessons cannot be taught, they can only be learned.
14. Compliments go a long way.  When given the chance, always make people feel good about themselves.
15. True wisdom is achieved through life experience.  No book or classroom can teach this.
16. Don’t give other people advice in the gym unless they ask for it.
17. Don’t argue or flirt with someone via email or text messaging.  Most people are not poets.  The message will get lost in translation, and may end up in the wrong hands altogether.
18. Appearance isn’t everything, but it’s something.  Purposely neglecting your appearance for the sake of it is just as foolish as judging a book by its cover.
19. A little preparation will always save you a lot of grief.
20. The better mood your boss is in at work, the better mood you’re in at work.  Help him or her help you.
21. You cannot do everything, but you can do something.  Make it count.
22. A small gift from the heart is always better than a large gift from a shopping list.
23. Dreams will remain dreams forever if you don’t take action.
24. As long as you are alive, there is always more to learn.
25. Enjoy yourself.  The situation is always lighter than you think.
26. What you learn in school does matter.  While you may not use the specifics of every classroom lesson, every lesson does expand the core thought process of your mind. Over time you will develop problem solving skills that are universally applicable.  No single classroom lesson can teach this, and no single classroom lesson is more important.
27. Own up to your mistakes the instant you realize you’ve made them.  People will respect your honesty, and your conscience will thank you.
28. Concentrate on the things that you can change, forget about the rest.
29. Maintain your body, but never be ashamed of it.  It’s the greatest tool you’ll ever own.
30. Don’t let mistakes from the past corrupt your future ambitions.
31. In life and in love, you get what you put in.
32. Don’t spend your whole life waiting for the ‘right time’.
33. In many cases you will learn more from failure than you will from success.
34. Become a critical thinker and always be skeptical of those who dish-out advice.  As such, weigh each of these tips against your own experience and judgment.

Photo by: Your Guide

Constraints make us focus.  They force us to zero-in on a specific purpose.  The less material we have to work with, the more resourceful we must be.  Can you sum up your entire outlook on life in one sentence?  Do you have a personal motto you live your life by?  How about a maxim that perfectly summarizes your thoughts and beliefs, the very principles and values you uphold and apply on a daily basis? 

‘You’ in a Few Words

This is your inner dictum, the adage with which you conduct yourself.  Maybe you unconsciously put it together when you were young by watching a childhood hero, or perhaps you were inspired by someone you knew who struggled and succeeded against all odds.

Whether you call it a slogan, a motto, or a mission sentence, the idea is to use the advantage of constraints to capture ‘you’ and all that you stand for in as few words as possible.

What’s the point?

To construct a single sentence that embraces your aspirations, values, passions, and purpose.  All these points motivate us.  They shape who we are, the way we live, the choices we make, and the paths we follow.  They are extremely important to know because they impact our lives whether we are aware of them or not.  You have already been living according to your mission sentence even if you didn’t realize it. You just haven’t consciously defined it yet.

Bear in mind, a mission sentence is worthless if it isn’t true to ‘you’.  It should represent something you are, not something you aren’t, never have been, or never will be.

A Powerful Tool

When you define your mission sentence, you craft a powerful tool for yourself.  You create an abbreviation of all your goals, values, and passions… a guiding symbol of your life’s story.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be a phrase others will understand.  It’s not for them or for promotional purposes.  It’s for you.

Remember, words are not actually the things they represent. You cannot eat the word “delicious,”  “Delicious” is a just word that represents the sweet greatness of a tasty treat.

That’s what your mission sentence is all about, a clear representation of the greatness that is you.

Look inside yourself.  What’s your mission sentence?

As for me, I’ve lived by the same one for the last decade: “Trying is my business.”

Photo by: Mark78

Even in times of financial uncertainty, it’s always important to keep things in perspective.

Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.
- Henry David Thoreau

1. You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night.
2. You didn’t go to sleep outside.
3. You had a choice of what clothes to wear this morning.
4. You hardly broke a sweat today.
5. You didn’t spend a minute in fear.
6. You have access to clean drinking water.
7. You have access to medical care.
8. You have access to the Internet.
9. You can read.
10. You have the right to vote.

Some might say you are rich, so remember to be grateful for all the things you do have.

Photo by: Carfe

There are plenty of ways to sabotage your personal goals, dreams and desires.  Procrastination, however, is the number one killer.  Procrastinators self-destruct.  They hinder their own potential by placing colossal road-blocks along the path to success.  In other words, they subconsciously choose to fail.

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.
- William James

#1)  Beware of Perfectionism

“It’s almost perfect… but not quite there yet.  Just a few more tweaks next week.”

Sound familiar?  Perfectionism stirs procrastination.  It’s one of the easiest ways to blindly justify the act of putting things off.  When you’re knee deep in preparation, it can be difficult to decide when to stop “preparing” and start the process of actually “doing”. 

Remember, the state of perfection is an opinion.  Trying to verify that everything is subjectively perfect will paralyze you 100% of the time.

#2)  Start Right Now

The best way to know if you’re ready is to start right now.   Then, if something isn’t working properly, change it.  That’s the beauty of progress.

When I started my first side venture a few years ago I wasted a great deal of time waiting for the ideal moment, to get things just right, instead of spending more time on actionable steps to move my ideas forward.

Are you waiting for success to magically blossom like I was?  Hoping that the stars will align and present you with the perfect moment to act?  Guess what?  No moment is better than this moment, so start now!

The only way it will happen is if you make it happen.  So setup your goals, map out the necessary steps and start knocking them off one at a time.  You’ll be amazed by the power of momentum.  Once you start, it’s hard to stop.

#3)  Complete 3 Simple Steps Everyday

At first glance, some tasks may seem mind-numbingly overwhelming, thus discouraging you from taking action.  The solution is to break down complex tasks into simple, logical steps.  I’ve said it before, take one bite of the elephant at a time.

The key to success is the sum of 3 steps a day.  Dedicate yourself to completing 3 simple steps everyday that bring you closer to your goal.  That’s it.  It may only be 3 steps today, but you’ll complete 21 steps by this time next week and 84 steps by this time next month.  The more you get done, the faster you’ll go, the easier it will get, and the closer you will be to your desired end result.

Bottom Line

Your life is short!  Don’t waste it in a state of procrastination!

Photo by: emdot

Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one.  Do not spend to impress others.  Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.  Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you.  Always live well below your means.

A penny saved is a penny earned.
- Benjamin Franklin

1. Redefine your definition of “rich”. – “I remember sitting in a cubicle at my first professional job staring at a picture of an SUV I wanted to buy (and eventually did).  Now, I sit in my office and look at the pictures of my kids, and just outside my window I can see the beater I drive sitting in the company parking lot.  What a difference a decade makes!  To sum things up, my definition of being rich is having enough money to meet my family’s basic needs, a few of our wants, and to be able to give some away to others.” – via Frugal Dad
2. Borrow and share.  Everyone wins! – “We borrowed a DVD from a friend instead of renting or buying and had a little snack from our own fridge!  Way cheaper than using gas to drive to the theater/rental place, paying for a movie, and paying for a snack.” – via My Dollar Plan
3. Avoid the mall. – “Going to the mall is not entertainment!  We used to go when we were bored.  Of course, we usually ended up spending money while we were there.  If you need clothes, then shop sales or go to stores that offer name-brands at a discount.  You can save a ton on these items if you are a smart shopper.  Dave Ramsey says, “Never pay retail!”  We probably save $15 to $30 per month by staying away from the mall.” – via My Super-Charged Life
4. Limit your intake of advertisements. – “Advertising sucks.  That’s the cold, hard truth.  It’s engineered to make you feel like you’re incomplete, that you have an unfulfilled need, that you’re not good enough.” – via On Simplicity
5. Buy with cash. – “You can’t spend money you don’t have.  Many bank accounts provide overdraft protection, so even with a debit card, it’s easier to go over your account balance than you think.” – via Simple Mom
6. Find a better deal and actually SAVE the difference. – “Regardless of what they sell, if you’ve switched companies for price reasons, save the difference.  Think of phone companies, internet access, cell phones, credit cards, and others.” – via The Wisdom Journal
7. Adhere to a long-term investment strategy. – “I’m a long-term investor.  The stock portion of my portfolio is spread over several mutual funds, a few ETFs and a few individual stocks.  Each and every one of these holdings was carefully chosen, after thorough research.  I believe in these stocks and funds.  I consider them as my best bet in growing my money - LONG TERM.” – via MomGrind
8. Curb your consumerism! – “Have you ever watched how a child can play with a cardboard box for hours, and leave the toy that came in it by the wayside?  How is it that children can enjoy themselves without a lot of “stuff”, but we as adults feel the need to reward ourselves by buying more stuff?” – via Billionaire Woman
9. Stay Healthy!  Medical problems drain bank accounts. – “James M. Rippe, M.D is a best-selling author, world-renowned cardiologist, and founder of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute.   He explains that if you look at all the risk factors for dying, the one that is most predictive is fitness level.  In addition, an older person with high cardiovascular fitness is healthier than a younger person who is physically inactive.  By increasing your fitness level, you can actually roll back your biological clock.” – via Abundance Blog
10. Stay in and relax. – “So, think about it the next time you go out.  Are you going for with a purpose?  Maybe the solution is to not go out at all.  Stay home and save!  Save up for something you really want or need.” – via The Jungle of Life
11. Gradually prepare yourself for a rainy day. – “Even when things are going great, and you feel on top of the world, you must always be prepared for a change.  If you take the time and patience to set yourself up properly, then when things to take a turn for the worse, you will be prepared to handle it.  If you live above your means, then when the slightest change occurs, you will not be prepared to adapt.  Financial flexibility is more important then keeping up with the Jones’.” – via Yin vs. Yang
12. Stop competing.  Forget about the Jones’ altogether. – “If getting rich makes us happy, then why don’t countries as a whole get happier as they grow wealthier?  They discovered that as a country gets wealthier there’s no overall increase in happiness.  Why?  We continually compare our wealth against that of others.  We are competitive and envious. Add to that the fact that Western countries encourage people to strive for more and more, and you have a formula that spins many into depression.” – via Color Your Life Happy
13. Get out of the “easy street” mentality. – “I think there is too much emphasis on the quick fix or the easy option in today’s society.  For example taking diet pills to lose weight instead of the “hard option” - exercising and eating well…. money is sometimes being used as a substitute for hard work.  Do you think there is an increasing expectation that you can get want you want by throwing money around instead of working hard and “earning” it? – via Forever Change
14. Avoid impulse buying.  Buy things you truly need. – “Don’t you just love the excitement you feel after coming home with a new TV?  Driving home in a new car?  Opening the box on a new pair of shoes?  I sure do.  But, from watching the behavior of myself and my friends I’ve found that the new quickly becomes just another item.  The excitement of novelty passes quickly.” – via Think Simple Now
15. Time is money.  Properly manage your time. – “The fewer tasks you have, the less you have to do to organize them.  Focus only on those tasks that give you the absolute most return on your time investment, and you will become more productive and have less to do.  You will need only the simplest tools and system, and you will be much less stressed.  I think that’s a winning combination.  Focus always on simplifying, reducing, eliminating. And keep your focus on what’s important. Everything else is easy.” – via LifeDev
16. Find ways to give without spending. – “Want a quick, easy and (almost) free way to be guaranteed that you’ll make someone’s day special?  Send them a letter.  Why not set aside some time this weekend to sit down and write to a few people?  If you don’t enjoy writing, try buying some nice postcards of your home town.  If you’ve got an artistic streak, why not design your own note cards?  You don’t have to write a long letter for it to be effective.  It’s the thought that counts and the personal touch that makes it special.” –via Dumb Little Man
17. Don’t let greed and deceit get the best of you. – “According to Stephen R. Covey, if you reach an admirable end through the wrong means it will ultimately turn to dust in your hands.  This is due to unintended consequences that are not seen or evident at first.  The example he gives in The 8th Habit is:  The parent who yells at their kids to clean their rooms will accomplish the end of having a clean room.  But this very means has the potential to negatively affect relationships, and it is unlikely the room will stay clean when the parent leaves town for a few days.  Now, to return to the topic of wealth, I think it is possible to see much of the world’s current financial problems as stemming from people who wrongly believe the ends justify the means.  My advice?  It is fine to aspire to wealth, but don’t lose sight of the means to accomplishing it.” – via The Change Blog
18. Never ever pay retail. – “You can easily save hundreds of dollars a year on clothing purchases by waiting for sales or shopping at discount retailers like Marshalls.  Better yet, avoid name brand clothing all together.” – via Marc and Angel Hack Life 

Photo by: CayUSA

What you don’t know just might help you.  Being unaware of presently accepted, communal beliefs can put you a step ahead of the herd.  It’s like an artist building a masterpiece from a blank canvas.  Sometimes it’s better to begin from a clean slate, to create your own way without polluting your mind with external inputs.  Here are a couple examples:

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel Boorstin

The Route Less Traveled

In the late 1990’s my father got an itch to start investing.  He had a decent sum of cash sitting in a savings account and decided it was time to put his money to work.  The savings account returned about 1.5% a year, so any return above that would be a successful investment. 

At the time, the dot com boom was at its inception and everyone was pumping money into tech stocks.  My father didn’t fully understand the stock market and its inherent risks, so instead of investing in tech stocks, he purchased 15 acres of land in an upcoming neighborhood near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.  He never lost a dime when the dot com bubble busted, and even after the recent downturn in the housing market, his property is currently worth 8 times what he paid for it.

She Didn’t Know Any Better

About a year ago a friend of mine wrote an eBook and put it up for sale on her blog.  I jokingly pointed out to her that all of the information in the eBook was readily available on other blogs/websites for free and indexed correctly by Google.  She was disappointed when I mentioned this, but she left her eBook up for sale anyway.  We both assumed it wouldn’t sell.  We were wrong.  The eBook has sold to the sum of nearly $4K since last summer.

The Lessons

These two stories carry two significant lessons:

• The popular way of doing things is not always the best way.
• Sometimes taking action based on ignorance beats taking no action at all.

Knowledge is important.  But occasionally what we know (or what we think we know) hinders our ability to take action and make sound judgments.  We become consumed with commonly accepted practices and thus fail to innovate.  We follow the herd instead of thinking for ourselves.

Doing things the same way they’ve always been done is a sure way to never get ahead.  Just because other people have done things a certain way doesn’t make it right.  Quite often you will find the exact opposite to be true.

Being ignorant of popular opinion is a good mindset to be in.  It allows you to form your own opinions based on firsthand experience.  It gives you the freedom to think and to innovate.  Oddly enough, the right kind of ignorance can give you the power to succeed.

Photo by: Xabier Martinez