Last year I worked four jobs (including writing.) I managed to put out five books in 2016. My favorite fiction has turned out to be Dream’s Dark Flight. It’s got a little more sci-fi packed into the fantasy. However, in the long term, the most important book for me is Do the Thing! I think it will be important to you, too. Please let me tell you how it has changed my life.

Last summer I got away from all my work for just two days. She Who Must Be Obeyed and I went off for a romantic getaway at a B&B an hour from home. It was fancy. We wandered around, held hands and talked about our lives. I had four jobs and so did she. Our schedules are such that sometimes we don’t get to talk much. When we took a step back, we realized how crazy that really is. Stress was high. We both work in fields where we are supposed to help others manage stress. We know quite a bit about it but for much of last year all that was more theory than practice.

In the first week of 2017, we flew to Cuba. It was just the kind of vacation we needed. We lay on the beach and waded in the ocean. I plotted podcasts and a new crime thriller. (That work is always fun for me.) I drank a lot of delicious Cuban coffee and watched the palm tree fronds swish in the wind. It was another reminder of the decisions we made about how to move forward with less friction from the daily grind. The resolutions from our weekend away got revisited. How could we live with less stress? (I want a palm tree in my backyard!) 

The night before we left for Cuba I had pulled an all-nighter to push Do the Thing! to market. The irony was not lost on me but I didn’t want to miss out on New Year’s resolution sales nor did I want to think about my unpublished books while I was on vacation. It took a year and a half to write Do the Thing! I wanted it out in the world. After that all-nighter, I pledged I’d never work that hard to a deadline again. Better planning would have saved me some grief and bought me more sleep. I spent the first couple of days in Cuba recovering from my old life. Now my new life has begun.

I’m back up to four jobs. That hasn’t changed…yet. We’ve got bills to pay. However, I have pledged to live up to my guidelines in Do the Thing! I have lots of great advice for anyone who wants to manage their stress, pain, time and energy. Now I’m living up to it, walking my talk and practicing what I preach. I’m having more fun and I’ve got more energy. I’m getting to the gym and finally making myself a priority. I’m taking care of myself better. The muscles on my meat wagon are coming back and I’m out of pain. My choices are much more conscious now.

That’s what Do the Thing! is all about: living better, living larger, being more effective and having fun doing it. I am a very ambitious and productive person but the frenzy is gone. It seemed that everything was urgent before. Now I’m no longer a hypocrite. I do the thing. And you know what else? Besides relaxing more, I’m saving my life.

That’s why I’m so glad I wrote Do the Thing! I’m living up to my ideals. Each week I talk about some aspect of life management on my podcast. Be assured, I’m not driving myself crazy behind the scenes anymore. I’m getting more sleep, drinking green smoothies. Despite some nagging health problems lately –I burst an eardrum on my descent into Cuba — I’m feeling better every day. 

I can’t wait to see what 2017 brings for me professionally and personally. I have a lot more energy to make things happen (without all the pain I put up with in the past.)

Please do read Do the Thing! Then do your thing, but better and easier. Let’s all have a better 2017. We all have a lot to do but we really can do it with less stress and pain and with more time and energy.

To get your copy of Do the Thing! Click on the link to Do the Thing! on top right. Cheers! ~ Rob