November 10th, 2008 by Jack Rugile -
Just came across this site, 43Things.com, that helps you track and share your life goals. It has been around for awhile (I live under a rock, get me out from under this rock!) and reached 1,000,000 registered users in April of 2007.
The concept and interface are very simple. Let me give you a run down of some of the site features.
- Easy to register - You just fill out a very simple form and you are on your way. Then add a profile picture, a small bio, and start adding to your life goal list.
- List and track your life goals - It gives you the option to list up to 43 things on your goal list. The coolest part is that it tells you how many other people have that exact same goal!
- Share your goals with people - Send your friends and family a link to your profile, post your list to your blog, or share them with other users on the site.
- Meet people with the same goals - After you add your goal to your list, you can click on it and be taken to a page dedicated to that particular goal. There you can find other people with the same goals, write entries about how your goal is coming along, read entries from other people about their progress, and receive advice on how to achieve your goals from users who have already accomplished them.
- Receive inspiration from other users - You can “cheer” on other users and receive “cheers” on your goals. They also have a giant goal cloud that is similar to a tag cloud. It rotates through different goals on peoples’ lists, giving a bigger font to the really popular goals. There is a user to user message system as well.
Read the full post…
October 3rd, 2008 by Jack Rugile -
My biggest passion in life is music. Whether it be listening to it or playing it, I just can’t get enough. It inspires me. It relaxes me. It invigorates me. It fuels me. It captivates me. It validates me. It challenges me. It understands me. It IS me.
In dedication to my love for music and the way it inspires me to live a simple, creative, and fulfilling life, I would love to share my music with you.
But more importantly, I want you to share your music with me! What music moves you and entrances you? What music helps you get through the tough days? List your top 5 bands or musicians that are currently affecting your life. Here are mine: Read the full post…
October 1st, 2008 by Jack Rugile -
Everyone enjoys receiving recognition or some sort of credit for doing a high quality job. It is so easy to get lazy and neglect the quality of some tasks, or not even do them at all when recognition is not given. We need to remember that it is important to go that extra mile, even when there is no one waiting at the finish line to congratulate us or pat us on the back.
I have always seen myself as two different people. No, I don’t have multiple personality disorder… “yes you do”… no I don’t! Shh. Anyway, one person is living out my life, making all the decisions and thinking all of the thoughts. The other person is hidden on the inside, deep inside, judging and watching my actions.
In that sense, I never feel alone. I never feel like I can get away with anything bad, immoral, cheap, or disrespectful. Not that I would want to, I am just saying that I can’t. That inner part of me is always watching my every move, making sure I am doing the best I can and guiding me to do the right thing. That other person sees what you do and appreciates it. That other person will always give you recognition.
Read the full post…
September 20th, 2008 by Jack Rugile -
Here is a small compilation of simplicity quotes that I found inspiring and interesting. It is so great that such brilliant minds existed. They take human thought, emotion, and expression and put it perfectly into words. That is not an easy task.
I encourage you to add your own simplicity quotes in the comments section. I know there are plenty of good ones I missed. Enjoy!
- Thomas Kempis - “Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.”
- Frank Lloyd Wright - “Simplicity and repose are the qualities that measure the true value of any work of art.”
- Henry David Thoreau - “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.”
- Henry David Thoreau - “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
- Henry David Thoreau - “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have even lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.”
- Richard Holloway - “Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art. They seem to be the purpose of God for his whole creation.”
- Charles Dudley Warner - “Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.”
- Plato - “Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity.”
- Leonardo da Vinci - “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
- Albert Einstein - “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
- Henry Wadsworth - “In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”
- Hans Hofmann - “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
- E.F. Schumacker - “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt - “A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.”
- Charles Mingus - “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”
- John Burroughs - “To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter … to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”
- D.H. Mondfleur - “Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter.”
- Elise Boulding - “Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.”
- William Morris - “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
- Annie Dillard - “If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson - “Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.”
- Alexander Pope - “There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit.”
- Richard Bach - “The simplest things are often the truest.”
Read the full post…
