Words to live by

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This is a sad time for many, many people with the untimely passing of Steve Jobs yesterday. Sure, we all knew he was sick, but no one really ever expected him to die. Not so soon, anyway. He had a profound impact on many people’s lives, particularly those in creative industries and he will be greatly missed.

So rather than get all weepy, I thought we should look at it more positively and celebrate him. He was an incredibly insightful man and uttered some pretty powerful words on many occasions. Here are some of my favorites, many of which were taken from his commencement speech at Stanford in 2005.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. … Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

 

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

 

“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. … You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

 

”Ask yourself: If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today? When the answer is “no” for too many days in a row, you know you’ve got to make a change.”

 

The Book of Awesome is … well, awesome.

Snow days, finding money in a pocket you didn’t know you had, the smell of fresh rain baked bread, that first hot cup of morning coffee … these are really simple things that most of us take for granted on a daily basis. They are also really awesome things. I wrote about 1000 Awesome Things around this time back in 2009, when the project had been around for about a year. Neil Pasricha is the genius behind it and is kind of like the guru of small joys. What he started on his blog, has now made it into book form as The Book of Awesome. Some entries in the book are short and others quite lengthy, told as wonderfully funny and astutely observant tales.

Life can be incredibly overwhelming at times and this book is special in that it helps you see the small things that really do mean a lot. Simple joys by themselves can get lost in the shuffle, but put them all together (as in this book) and you’ve got plenty of things to brighten just about any day. And if 1000 awesome things isn’t enough, get more with Neil’s second book, The Book of (Even More) Awesome Things!

I am really looking forward to adding this book to my shelf. I may even use it as a coffee table book for a while. Or maybe even a bathroom book (TMI?). Small pleasures for me are putting on socks fresh from the dryer when its cold outside, waking up to find the coffee is already made, the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking; I could go on for days.

What simple pleasures get you going?

Made beautiful with type

The idea behind The Phraseology Project is simple — users submit letters, words or phrases and they’ll make it look beautiful with type. Beautiful is an understatement, I say. And not only have they made the words pretty, many of them are positive messages to begin with so they are doubly beautiful. From the inside out kinda thing. Just plain awesome!

See for yourself.

Everything is going to be okay.

It’s no secret that I have been on an emotional roller coaster over the last year or so. Spending 9 hours a day at a job that literally sucks the life out of me is draining. But I am employed and that’s what matters right now if I want to keep the lights on. So to fill some of those gaps, I’ve been putting more emphasis in bringing the happy back to my life in other ways and other areas. One of those ways is trying to see the glass half  full rather than half empty and surrounding myself with Jack Handy-esque messages. Proof is in the pudding which you can see here, here, and here. Which is why I simply must have (gift ideas, hint hint) this book, Everything is Going to be Okay.

The book is a pocket-sized anthology of positive artwork from a diverse lineup of indie artists, designers and illustrators. Some of the work included in the book are pieces I have admired independently before, so to have them all together in one place is like Christmas in July. Here are just a few pages of happy from the book.

via brain pickings

50 ways

Well, I’m back from a most lovely 10 days in the desert – Sedona, AZ to be precise. It was lovely and surprisingly, not all that hot. It was hotter on our way out than the whole time we were there. Most days hovered around 70 and were really quite pleasant. Perfect for hiking and taking in the sights! However, now I need a vacation from my vacation. And since I am forced to be back at work (that whole employment thing being kind of a necessity), I have a feeling this list will come in handy on more than one occasion this week!

via Ramblings of a Small Town Girl

WTF?

Ever think to yourself, “What the fuck is wrong with the world?” Or conversely, “What the fuck is right with the world?” Well, you’re not alone. And now there’s actually a source to answer those questions. I’m pretty cynical by nature so I can come up with my own ideas of what’s wrong. I want to know what’s right! Here’s the answer I got. I think they might be on to something…

via Thrillist

Six-word memoirs

image via David Comberg

Can you sum up a relationship in only 6 words? You’d be surprised that it’s not quite as complicated as it sounds. The readers of SMITH Magazine have proved that. And on more topics than just love. Here are just a few of the 6-word memoirs:

I’m gay, with a homophobic mother.

Looked like mermaid. Smelled like sardines.

In love with my best friend.

There’s nothing sex can not fix.

Living today, not past or future.

Hiding the pain behind the makeup.

I will quit making impossible resolutions.

I strongly believe in recycling men.

I’d like to contribute my own 6-word memoir: Fry it. I will eat it.

via Paper Hounds

Enough

There is no such thing as perfection. Let go of your prerequisites for worthiness and accept that you are worthy of love.

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Never go to bed with angry thoughts.

Or, with a ho. Words to live by.

via Wordboner

You are awesome!

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Yes, you are awesome and now you can be reminded of it on a daily basis with Awesomeness Reminders. It’s typically the people closest to us who believe in our awesomeness, yet somehow, forget to tell us just how awesome they think we are. But fret no more, for only $10 a month, a real person will call you every day to tell you how much you rock. And if you’re not around, they’ll leave you a voicemail! So give them to your family, your friends, hell – you can even gift them to yourself! Because everyone deserves a little pat on the back sometimes. Even if you have to pay for it…

via Thrillist