Category / change

by Nathan Coumbe

It’s not about discipline

Having all the discipline in the world won’t help you eat better if the candy is the first thing you see on the counter.

Being disciplined with your time is useless if your phone is set up to make social media easy to access.

Discipline, like motivation, is fleeting and finite. Better to rely on systems and environments that support you instead.

Take social media off your phone. Make it hard to access on your computer by not saving your password and manually typing it in each time.

Keep candy hidden in the back of the cupboard (or if you’re like me, out of the house completely). And keep fresh fruits and easy protein at the front of the fridge.

It’s much easier to build things that support what you want to do rather than trying to muscle your way through.

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by Nathan Coumbe

No vote, no complaint

I overheard a couple of people from an older generation (you know which one) debating about why the country is falling apart. 

Their main argument was that Gen X and Millennials aren’t turning out to vote. 

They summed up their argument by saying, “if they don’t vote, they don’t have anything to complain about.”

That’s patently untrue. 

When the choices suck, you get to complain. 

When you feel like your vote doesn’t matter, you get to complain. 

When the system is so skewed toward extremism that no reasonable people get a say, you get to complain. 

When you have to publicly declare your allegiance to a roomful of strangers before receiving your “secret” ballot, you get to complain.

There are serious, systemic issues as to why people don’t turn out to vote. 

That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t vote. But it’s completely understandable why they don’t.

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by Nathan Coumbe

The silent woods

Henry David Thoreau wrote:

“The woods would be silent if no bird sang but the best.”

If all of us waited around until we believed ourselves to be the best at what we did, the world would stand still.

Stop waiting to be the best—heck, stop waiting to get better—and start doing something instead.

“Better” will come with action.

by Nathan Coumbe

Better to try and fail? (Or never try at all?)

In the movie Lions for Lambs, Robert Redford’s character asks his professor a poignant question:

“Is there any difference in trying but failing, and simply failing to try—if you end up in the same place anyway?”

Of course there is. 

If you try to do something, you at least have a chance at succeeding, however small it may be. 

But if you don’t try because you’re too scared of failing… Then you’ve already failed. In that scenario, you’ve guaranteed your failure. You’ve taken possibility and luck out of the equation.

If everyone adopted that nihilistic attitude, then nothing would ever happen. Our lives, businesses, relationships—literally everything—would come to a screeching halt. We’d be living in entropy, slowly withering away to nothing. 

Our lives are built on failure. The striving for worthwhile goals is what helps us grow, not the achievement of those goals. 

So if you have a choice between trying and failing, or not trying because you’ll end up in the same place either way, make the choice to try. 

by Nathan Coumbe

The first thing to do when you get laid off…

I lost my job yesterday – nothing to do with me. Something happened with the company, and I was one of the casualties.

There’s nothing I can do about it but to accept the reality of the situation and figure out how I’ll respond, rather than react, to this setback.

And the first thing I did?

I went for a walk.

Even though I really didn’t want to. I did it anyway – and I felt better for it.

When something like this happens, the best thing you can do is to get in some movement. Any form of exercise will do:

  • A long walk
  • A few laps at the pool
  • A great strength session

Get the heart pumping, the blood flowing to your brain, and the endorphins storming throughout your body.

There’s another thing you need to do, too—take your daily dose of motivational vitamins.

I love to listen to Seth Godin and Zig Ziglar on a daily basis – the same messages over and over again until I can repeat them verbatim. Why?

Because when I start repeating what they say—when I can finish their sentences—it means I’ve changed the way I talk to myself. Their messages of hope and success become my thoughts on the same topics.

So, if you’re about to lose (or already have lost) your job, take these two steps immediately.

  1. Get in some exercise (and do something physical EVERY SINGLE DAY)
  2. Take your daily motivational vitamin

By the way, here are two great recommendations from Seth & Zig to get you started:

P.S. Check out my cute little video talking about this very topic.

by Nathan Coumbe

Is your frying pan too small?

If you ever go fishing, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to say that you’ll keep the big fish you catch and throw the little ones back…

But not for this one guy.

Zig Ziglar tells a story about a fisherman who was found throwing all his big fish back and only keeping the little ones. 

When asked why he was doing such a ridiculous thing, the man had this to say:

“Boy I sure hate to do it… But I’ve only got this itty bitty frying pan to cook ’em in!”

Now, you might laugh, but you and I CONSTANTLY do the same thing on a daily basis. 

Here’s what I mean:

We say we want big opportunities. We want to achieve big goals and leave our mark. 

We want more responsibility at work, a chance to prove (or practice) our skills, and the chance to make “the big bucks” (or a big difference). 

We pray to God or ask the Universe to help us…

And we get an affirmative reply!

You get a huge opportunity to do everything you asked for…

Then what do you do?

You say, “Well… That’s too big. I don’t think I can’t handle that. I’m not [insert your adjective here] enough.”

We’re given the big fish… And we throw it back because we don’t think we have what it takes to cook it. 

My advice?

Buy a bigger frying pan. 

In other words, take the opportunity and run with it! The worst thing that’ll happen is you’ll fail. 

But failure isn’t fatal in most cases. You’ll be alright. 

And you’ll learn and do it better the next time you have a big opportunity come your way.

by Nathan Coumbe

Act “as if”

Acting “as if” is the only way to change. 

Reading, studying, thinking—none of that will create change without action. 

People are afraid to take the actions necessary because they don’t feel like they’re “THAT” type of person yet.

But you don’t become “that guy” until you start acting like that guy.

So act as if.

…As if you ARE patient, kind, and understanding.

…As if you ARE lean, strong, and healthy.

…As if you ARE a confident entrepreneur.

…As if you ARE a loving spouse or parent.

Acting as if, a little bit each day, will eventually become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

by Nathan Coumbe

Change your story, change your results

Each of us has an internal narrative constantly chattering about who we are. 

But what we don’t always realize is that internal narrative influences how we behave.

If you tell yourself the story that, “Overeating makes me feel happy,” that story might be a stand-in for the real story—“I’m unhappy with different aspects of my life and overeating gives me a small dose of pleasure.”

Until you realize this, you’ll continue to overeat and live on greasy fast food multiple times each week.

(I know this because it’s a story I’m trying to rewrite myself). 

If you tell yourself a story that says, “I’m not skilled at sales or business,” you might never realize your unresolved dream of starting your own venture and working for yourself. 

The first step to overcoming many of our chronic issues is to start telling ourselves a different story. 

Changing what you do starts by changing your identity—who you believe yourself to be. 

Change the story, change the person.

by Nathan Coumbe

Plant a new tree every 11 days

You’re a dedicated internet user, which also means you’re an experienced “searcher.” 

But what if those searches could help make a dent in our little carbon problem? 

You can take a tiny action today and switch your default search engine over to Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees. 

For every 45 searches you make, Ecosia’s team will plant a tree where it’s both needed and will thrive. And it’s powered by Bing, so your search result quality won’t change at all!

According to HubSpot, the average person makes four searches each day. That means if you switch, on average, you’ll plant one new tree every 11 days. Imagine the difference that could make to your carbon footprint.

Make this one small change. Click here and start planting trees now.

by Nathan Coumbe

Fix your complaining

I learned a great technique from Dr. John Berardi which has really helped improve my outlook on life. 

Here’s what I learned from him:

“It feels silly, but every time I find myself complaining, I immediately stop and list off three good things about my day.”

Read the article about this gratitude technique here, then try it for yourself and let me know how it goes.