Jumpstart Your Dream Life

How to Start Over Again After a Bad Ending

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In 1914, a massive fire burned through Thomas Edison’s life’s work.

The flames engulfed five city blocks in New Jersey, including Edison’s lab complex. Fueled by chemicals, flames licked the sky at 100 feet high. The firefighters fought the fire from a nearby building called the Battery Factory, which had been built with his durable Edison cement and produced batteries for experimental vehicles.

Nikola Tesla, a rival inventor, heard the tragic news. He sent his condolences in a telegraph: “As one of the millions of your admirers, I send you my sympathy. It is not only a personal and national loss, but a world loss, for you have been one of its greatest benefactors.”

Newspapers ran articles on the story, clamoring about how the fire was the worst thing to happen to Edison, who was 67 years old at the time. Was this it for him? Was this how he would see all his hard work go down?

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5 Ways to Prevent Cabin Fever When Working Remotely

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Working from home is the new norm.

What formerly caused eyebrows to rise and stir up feelings of envy has now become not only a benefit, but an expected part of work. People are working from home more than ever. In fact, research shows that remote work has grown by 159 percent from 2005 to 2017.

Companies and employees alike are increasingly recognizing the benefits of working remotely. Remote workers report being more satisfied, less stressed, and feeling healthier than the average worker. When you work within an environment of your own choosing, it’s understandable that you feel happier during the day.

But just as there are benefits, there are drawbacks.

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A Good Night’s Rest: How to Sleep Well and Wake Up Feeling Energized

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Sleep. We know it’s important to our well-being, and yet we do a poor job of translating theory into practice.

We whittle away the hours working on projects, watching late-night entertainment, and talking to other people when we should be calling it a night. Some of us pull all-nighters just to get something done right before a deadline. You might even hear someone brag about how little they sleep.

There are more things to do now than ever before. More obligations, more choices, more opportunities. But with the ever-present constraint of 24 hours in a day, the first thing we cut is sleep.

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The Matthew Effect: Why Small Initial Differences Lead to Large Gaps Later

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How would you help someone who is struggling in school?

Imagine you meet a high school student. The person doesn’t seem particularly enthused about school or learning in general. They struggle with understanding concepts in their classes, and their friends also don’t care much for school.

The sad truth is that a student’s fate is set in stone as early as first grade.

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How to Spend More Time Outdoors When You’re Stuck Indoors

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Being cooped up indoors is unpleasant, to say the least.

When you’re kept away from fresh air, green trees, and bright sunlight, it takes a toll on you and your body. Over long periods, you feel anxious, depressed, and lethargic. Your body’s various systems respond by increasing blood pressure, tensing up muscles, and producing stress hormones.

The good news is that these effects can quickly go away with exposure to a better environment. When stressed or unhappy, people often flock to nature for refuge. People are universally drawn to natural settings for the sense of calm and overall well-being they provide.

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The Entrepreneurship Myth: Scalable vs. Non-Scalable Professions

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Entrepreneurship. The word itself sounds magical. It conjures up all sorts of wonderful images. You imagine yourself coming up with a brilliant idea, building a great product, and resting on your laurels for eternity. You can earn more income without putting in extra effort.

Employee. What does that word feel like to you? Words such as “bland”, “unimaginative”, and “restrictive” come to mind. You picture someone breathing down your neck, telling you what to do.

Not only does being an employee sound unappealing, but there’s a ceiling to your earning potential. As an employee, your salary is fixed. Yes, you get raises, but they’re fixed and ultimately decided by someone else.

And what about professions that charge hourly rates? A consultant may earn hundreds, even thousands by the hour, but the consultant is still limited by something finite: time. At some point, the person’s earnings are capped by the number of hours worked. The moment the person stops working is the moment money stops coming in.

The relationship between time and earnings is the difference between scalable and non-scalable professions.

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8 Reasons Why Smart, Hardworking People Don’t Reach Their Full Potential

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What does it mean to reach your potential?

We all have different definitions. For some, reaching their potential involves getting recognition for their work. For others, it means creating a balanced life where both work and personal life are equally satisfying.

And then there are others who wish to create something so great, so useful, that it gets used widely. They feel satisfied knowing they’re making the world a better place.

The equation seems simple. Work smart, work hard, and you’ll get what you want. When we see someone fall short of expectations, we assume they either didn’t try hard enough or made poor decisions.

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ProWritingAid: Grammar Check Your Writing, Improve Your Style, and Become a Better Writer

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Have you ever felt that you were just naturally good at something?

It didn’t matter whether you were a fresh beginner or a seasoned expert. You had practiced a skill, gotten the hang of it, and since then, kept doing things the same way. Maybe you were learning to swim, cook, or perform a task at work.

Then someone comes along and tries to help. They offer a suggestion, advice, or some insight. Being used to your way, you brush the person off.

But after awhile, you hit a roadblock. You start to realize that you don’t know everything. You try implementing the person’s advice. And it works!

You begin looking at things in a different light. Gradually, it dawns on you that there is a whole other level… one you had no idea existed.

This is what writing is like. Easy to learn but hard to master, writing often takes a second pair of eyes to help you figure out what you’re doing right, and what needs fixing.

Today, I’m going to discuss ProWritingAid, a popular online grammar checker and style editor. I’ll cover what it does, how to use it, and whether it’s right for you.

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How to Promote Your Writing

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Going viral can be a fluky process.

Once in awhile, you write a piece that seems so-so, which ends up popular with readers. But more often, you think an article is going to be a hit, only for it to be a dud. You pour hours of work into something you think is brilliant. And yet it goes by unnoticed and unappreciated.

All that wasted time and effort feels disappointing.

Why does it happen? How can something that seems promising end up going nowhere? Is there a way to keep that from happening?

Let’s dive in.

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How to Write a Full-Length Article

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Imagine it’s the start of a car race.

All the cars are lined up, people are cheering, and engines are roaring. Everyone’s waiting for the race to begin. The tension is high.

Bang! goes the pistol. The cars speed off, leaving only a cloud of fumes that dissipates into the sky. The drivers feel the adrenaline through their veins as they accelerate.

They know exactly what to do. Hopefully, that’s the feeling you get when you write, too. You sit down, open up a document, and start typing away furiously.

Except that’s probably not what happens.

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