SIXTEEN THINGS YOU CAN DO IN ONE DAY TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
Alright, it’s a new year and a new decade so let’s put the past behind us and hit the ground running. 2010 is going to be AWESOME! Plus, if the world is going to end in 2012, it’s time to put on the afterburners and go out in style. So let’s sprint for the finish line and make January, 2010 the most productive month of your recent life by getting some often neglected tasks accomplished.
To start with, how about a little plagiarism. Kidding, but I did want to pass on this email that I received from Niel Strauss, author of Emergency (among other, ahem, enlightening books). It’s a great “To Do” list to make the most of 2010, so here you go and don’t forget to sign-up for Neil Strauss’ email list to receive more lessons for life success.
Enjoy.
-Lance
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SIXTEEN THINGS YOU CAN DO IN ONE DAY TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
1. Register your full name as a web domain if you haven’t yet.
You never know when you’re going to want your personal website.
If www.[yourname].com is already taken, don’t worry – there are
alternatives.
For example, who owns jamesjoyce.com? Answer: A bar in Dublin beat
the author’s estate to it. But there are always other options, like
hyphenating the name and getting james-joyce.net or james-joyce.org
(check those sites now if you’d like), or choosing less common
TLDs (or end letters) like .ws or .me. For more information,
godaddy.com and networksolutions.com are among the most popular
sites to register domain names.
2. Call your cell phone provider. Ask if you can get a better
calling plan based on your usage. This way you can afford to do the
next item on this list.
(Hey, it’s Lance here and I am making an amendment to this one. As I was frequently going over my limit of allotted minutes on my cell phone plan, I purchased a ~$3/month unlimited long distance calling plan from Skype that allows me UNLIMITED calls to ANY land line or mobile phone in the US or Canada. Sure, you have to make the calls from a computer or from the incredible Skype iPhone app, but since computers nowadays all have integrated microphones and webcams, it’s super easy. It’s so easy that even my dad is doing it! So save yourself some money and join the 21st century with Skype!)
3. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Choose a topic that you
don’t know about – be it politics, fashion, culture, or technology
- and sign up for the best periodical covering that topic. Rather
than choosing the most popular magazine, select one that offers
the most in-depth and interesting coverage, like Wired for
technology or Foreign Affairs for politics or Mental Floss for
culture. Yes, you could read it all online, but it’s great to have
a physical magazine to read when you’re on the subway or on an
airplane or waiting in line somewhere.
4. Get a passport if you don’t have one. If yours has expired, get
it renewed now. You never know when that great travel opportunity
is going to occur, and you don’t want to get stuck at home while
your friends are at some great concert at the Acropolis in Greece.
If you’re in America, you can simply go to most post offices with
two acceptable photos of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a
valid form of photo identification. You can find more information
here: http://travel.state.gov/passport. And, for those of you
who’ve read Emergency and qualify for a passport to a second
country (if, for example, you have a parent or grandparent who was
born in Ireland), take advantage of that opportunity now, before
the rules change.
5. Back it up. Most people don’t take the time to do this,
and regret it later. So copy your entire hard drive onto an
external drive immediately; if possible, download a program like
Acronis True Image that will simplify the restoring process and
regularly make backups (or for Mac owners, start using Time
Machine or SuperDuper). Also backup your cellphone, PDA, and
any other personal-information-storing device.
6. While you’re at it, make photocopies of your credit
cards, passport, drivers license, social security card, birth
certificate, and other important papers. If you keep a journal or
anything similarly irreplaceable, photocopy that. Keep these in a
safe deposit box, parent’s house, locked file cabinet, or any other
secure location, preferably outside your own house. They’ll be
invaluable in the event of theft, loss, fire, or any other
unplanned incident.
7. Look through your refrigerator and cabinets. Read the labels on
the food. Stop buying anything high in saturated fats, trans fats,
cholesterol, and sodium. And start shopping healthier today. Here’s
a handy free e-book from the government on how to eat healthy:
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/pdf/DGA2005.pdf
8. Get business cards. Don’t have a business? It doesn’t matter.
Sites like vistaprint.com will send you 250 free ones (though
there’s a shipping fee of under $6). Never hurts to look
professional. And if you know the number close from Rules
of the Game, these will come in particularly handy.
9. Sign up for US Airway’s E-Saver, Southwest’s Ding, or any other
airline program that offers last-minute, low-cost travel options so
you can take quick weekend getaways whenever you feel like it.
Flights can be as low as $15.
10. Check your credit report for identity theft, or any other
misinformation or errors that could harm your financial status and
options. You are entitled to one free check a year at
www.annualcreditreport.com.
11. Learn how you work: I’m often asked at signings what books I
found the most useful for learning The Game. Here are the ones
I’ve recommended:
Mastering Your Hidden Self by Serge “Kahili” King; The Art of
Seduction by Robert Greene; Introducing NLP by Joseph O’Connor and
John Seymour; and a book on evolutionary psychology, such as The
Red Queen, Sperm Wars, or The Selfish Gene.
12. Make an appointment to get a physical checkup. Head off any
potential medical problems that may hinder an active, fun year.
Also recommended: make an appointment with a dentist to get your
teeth cleaned if you haven’t done so in the last six months. You
may also want to call for an eye exam if you haven’t had one in the
last five years.
13. This is not for everyone, but some of you–and you know who you
are–definitely need to do this: Throw out all your socks. Every
last one. Now go buy new pairs that actually match and don’t have
holes in them. You’ll feel like a new man. Remember, get black
socks. White socks are for athletic activities only. I don’t want
to catch any of you guys here wearing white socks in the bars or
clubs!
14. Get prepped: You’ve read Emergency by now, so go sign up for
a local CERT class (or an equivalent if you live outside the U.S.).
It’s free and will teach you the basics of survival and disaster
preparedness so you can be a local hero. Plus you’ll get a nifty
green uniform like in this photo: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/
While you’re there, enter your zip code in the box to find CERT
classes in your area.
15. Buy a suit. (Or a dress if you’re a woman.) But don’t just get
any suit or dress. Get one that’s slightly closer to the size you
want to be this year, whether it be a little bigger or a little
smaller than your current measurements. Try it on every Saturday
morning as a reminder to yourself to get in shape this year;
until, one day, it fits perfectly, and you wear it out and feel
like a million dollars.
16. Then decide to actually become a millionaire. You can find out
how much money you’ll need to save here:
http://partners.leadfusion.com/tools/kiplinger/savings01/tool.fcs
And, afterward, it’s always good to find out what you’re worth:
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/networth/networth.html
Alright, get cracking.
And have a great 2010.
