Category: the writing life

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Motivation: Don’t work so hard at the wrong things.

Motivation: What’s Yours? What works?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSWXzAnVe0

A comment about motivation being “all that matters” really got me going this week. It didn’t motivate me. It irritated me. Worse, it was in the first line of a self-help book. I suspect there are many self-help books out there that intimidate or try to shame people into fulfilling their dreams. 

I wrote a self-help book and I want to dispel a couple of ideas that are potentially dangerous. My book is called Do the Thing! It’s filled with tricks and tips to manage time and pain, cut stress and boost energy. Toward the end of the book, I include a surprise which I will boil down to the rich creamy point here: motivation is not everything. Work is not everything. To succeed, you need much more than motivation and someone hanging over your shoulder shouting at you to work harder. You need to work smarter, acquire skills, build alliances and take time off to recharge.

You see the symptoms of the rush to greatness everywhere. People are pushing so hard and trying to do too much. I see the problem on Facebook a lot. Idealized versions of our lives are on display there.

Meanwhile, a startling number of people think they’re the only ones who are working hard. They don’t want to support loafers. They don’t want their tax money going to undeserving people. I wish more people who got social assistance actually could goof off. Instead, their working as many hours at Walmart as they can. The “sharing economy” is really the “gig economy” and it seems everyone has to have a side hustle to get by.

I was reminded of this listening to one of my podcast recommendations this week. The 5 A.M. Miracle mastermind Jeff Sanders has a health scare. He’s a motivated, active and healthy guy who got a wake up call recently. A trip to the hospital in an ambulance reminded him that all work and no play makes Jack a dead boy. Listen to Mr. Sanders’ podcast here.

The other podcast recommendation I have for you this week comes from The Joe Rogan Experience. Joe interviewed journalist and documentarian Sebastian Junger. He talks about the dangers of affluence and the importance of movement and being social. (That’s where I got some of the ideas for this episode.) Go to the source at this link.

Key Question: What’s your motivation?

Is you dream to find fulfilling work? To control your time? To travel? To make enough money at what you love that you’ll still have time with your family and friends? (Don’t tell me you want to win the lottery. We all want that but, aside from buying a ticket, there’s nothing you can do to make that happen.)

Fear, anger and spite can get you going, but what will keep you motivated for the long-term? What inspires aspiration in you? What legacy do you want to leave? Are you working for security in retirement, putting off all fun until you’re old? 

I’ll tell you what motivates me. It used to be fear of failure. Once you fail enough, that’s not as scary as you might think. In fact, if I’m not careful, I could fall into resignation on that score. No, what motivates me now is that I don’t want to fear bills. I don’t want to fear for my health. I want to get paid for what I’m good at and do what I enjoy. I’m tired of being fearful. What motivates me as an entrepreneur and as an artist isn’t bravery. It’s becoming successful enough that I can do things for my family and not live in fear of the next VISA bill. 

I’m working on it. Despite that major tax bill I’ve complained about on the podcast, (Hear about that here,) I’m taking some time off from a couple of my side gigs so I can focus on writing and publishing books. That’s my long-term plan so I can retire from manual labor, anyway. That’s why I need to concentrate my energy on it. 

I hope this topic has stimulated your thinking. What motivates you? Are you doing what you need to be doing? Are you getting enough sleep and recharging with rest and information?

Let me know what motivates you in the comments at AllThatChazz.com.

Want to support this podcast by helping out with bandwidth costs? There are rewards for doing so! To earn stunning kickbacks for your generosity, click the Become a Patron link at AllThatChazz.com.

Here’s the direct link to my Patreon page.

Special thanks to RF Kacy for helping out with bandwidth costs.

~ Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist whose focus is stress management and rehabilitation from injury. His clinic link is MassageTherapyScience.com.

Best known for This Plague of Days, he is a writer of SFF, horror, crime thrillers and some non-fiction. His blog about writing is ChazzWrites.com and his author site for readers (with links to all his books) is AllThatChazz.com.

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Focus: How to relax in the moment, in a moment

Focus on this for ten minutes:

On today’s episode of the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast, we’re going back to basics with a visualization. We’ll quickly dig in on how to develop focus in the time it takes to take a breath. Be sure to hang in to the end of the podcast to get your taste and you’ll feel how quick and easy it can be to release your stress. I also have a comedy podcast recommendation and a link to a song that neuroscientists claim reduces anxiety by 65%!

Last week my focus was money. About that…

Like the podcast? If you want to support this show and earn stunning rewards for your generosity, click the  Become a Patron link at AllThatChazz.com. Here’s the link directly to my Patreon page.

Special thanks to RF Kacy for helping out with bandwidth costs.

Useful links:

Can a Song Chill You Out?

Neuroscientists claim the music at this link will reduce your stress and anxiety and slow your heartbeat. (Thanks to author Andrew F. Butters for the link.) It’s not Enya (and I swear I won’t Rick Roll you.) Click here and have a listen to the song yourself.

Do the Thing!

Do the Thing! is my stress management book. You’ll find out how to reduce stress, relieve pain and boost your energy, too. This is the perfect bathroom book. Packed with quick nuggets of information, each short chapter will motivate you to make positive changes and fix what’s not working.

Dump what doesn’t serve you and read Do the Thing! by Robert Chute. Click here to grab it now!

 

Stress Less with Comedy

Long time listeners will know that I enjoy the Scathing Atheist, the Skepticrat and the God Awful Movies podcasts. There is a new podcast in the mix: Citation Needed. Tom and Cecil from Cognitive Dissonance explore one new subject each week with the funny guys behind those three shows. Plumbing they’re pseudo-expertise through the wonder of Wikipedia, they break down weird happenings in the world and have a lot of fun doing it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it will become a part of you (or at least a part of every week.)

To find Citation Needed:

Make sure you find the right podcast called Citation Needed. (You’re looking for the one with Eli Bosnick, Noah Lugeons and Heath Enwright.) Here’s their link: http://citationpod.com/

~ Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist whose focus is stress management and rehabilitation from injury. His clinic link is MassageTherapyScience.com.

Best known for This Plague of Days, he is a writer of SFF, horror, crime thrillers and some non-fiction. His blog about writing is ChazzWrites.com and his author site for readers (with links to all his books) is AllThatChazz.com.

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Choices: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Choices Must be Based on Good Data

In my continuing quest to make better choices (a la Do the Thing) I need data. You probably need it, too. Let’s talk about some things you need to know to make those improved choices.

I got quite a blow last week. The tax bill came due and, after too long at the accountant’s, the hammer fell. It turns out I need to pay twice as much to the government as I expected. In the past the tax bill has been an annoyance but not that big a deal. This is a big deal. Time to alter a few things!

First, what would help? Tracking things more closely and getting the spreadsheets to the accountant earlier in the year would have helped somewhat. Here we are in mid-May and pretty far along the path to paying the next tax bill. Alarming, isn’t it?

What now?

Besides tracking income and outgo, I have to reevaluate what I’m doing and where the time goes. Aside from running a podcast about stress management, I have several income streams to cobble together an income. Some streams are better than others but that’s not all about the amount of money coming in. It’s also about the amount of time invested to get to that income, the hassles thereof and the dependability of each stream.

Tough Choices

In coming weeks, I expect I’ll need to alter my career path to reflect new goals. Inertia isn’t a choice, it’s just coasting on inertia. One of the tenets of Do the Thing is a bit of wisdom that’s no less true even though it is well-word: That which is not measured is not changed. I think my answer will be found in cutting down an income stream that takes more time but pays less. I’ll also have to cast about for office space that is less expensive. I’m not enthused about changing my office space but much of what I do feels like one step forward and two steps back. 

I’m sharing all this not to whine but to encourage you, too, to be evaluative about what’s working and what’s not. What choices are worth your time and what’s not? Time, income, energy expenditure. It’s not just about income and outgo. 

Long-term, my plan is to depend on writing full-time. Passive income is what I need to retire on. I can’t continue to do manual rehab work forever but I can write for a long time yet. 

Recommendations:

For more on the importance of financial tracking, check out my article at ChazzWrites.com: “Real” Writers Don’t Just Write.

For the comedy: The 40 Year Old Boy Podcast with comedian Mike Schmidt.

For the shout out, my love and appreciation to Driftglass and Blue Gal of The Professional Left Podcast. Thanks for buying and enjoying my time travel novel, Wallflower. 

For making the income bigger than the outgo, be an entrepreneur. Also, read Multiple Streams of Income by Robert G. Allen.

Speaking of Income Streams…

If you’d like to contribute to this podcast and get rewards, please do click the Become a Patron button on the main page at AllThatChazz.com and see what your generosity could buy!

~ Robert Chazz Chute wrote a book called Do the Thing! It’s about managing stress, time, energy and pain. He also writes about zombies, time travellers, robots, guys with guns and heroic women with swords. Grab yourself many hours of entertainment (in ebook and paperback) at AllThatChazz.com. There are no bad choices there.

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Sensory Deprivation

Sensory deprivation tanks and more


If you have ever wanted to float on your back in the Dead Sea or get out of gravity and become an astronaut, you’re going to love today’s podcast. Sensory deprivation tanks are slowly growing in popularity again. If you can get to one, or if you are Joe Rogan and are lucky enough to have one in your basement, it might help you with stress, sleep disorders or even chronic pain.

On today’s podcast I discuss my experience using sensory deprivation tanks. I also want to say little bit about stress relief, vegging out and watching old movies. Finally, I have an update on the latest addition to the SleepCycle app.

Sorry for the delay releasing this ep of the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast. Between some issues with technology and broadband costs, I could not publish a podcast last week. To contribute to this podcast, please click the “Become a patron” button at AllThatChazz.com. There are various rewards for sponsorship from free books to advertising.

Catch Phrase Contest

This podcast is still desperately in need of a catchphrase to finish the show. Send me your suggestions at expartepress@gmail.com. The winner will get a free paperback copy of Do the Thing!

Here is the obligatory disclaimer:

Do not take medical advice from a podcast. If you need medical attention or if you are not sure whether you need medical attention, get medical attention.

The obligatory come on:

On this podcast I discuss a variety of topics related to reducing pain and stress while better managing time and energy. For more on these topics, I suggest you pick up my book Do the Thing, available on Amazon in paperback or e-book. Do the thing and start managing your life better right away. It is the last stress busting book you will ever need.

Life management skills.
Do the Thing! Get your copy today.

~ Robert Chazz Chute is primarily a science fiction writer. He also writes crime thrillers, urban fantasy and some nonfiction. From May 4 to May 6 you can pick up his time travel novel, Wallflower, for free on Amazon.

 

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Vacations: Problems, Solutions and More Questions to Consider

Is it time for your next vacation? What if you can’t afford a vacation. Pop quiz, hotshot! What do you do? What do you do? (I love me a very dated reference from the movie Speed. Such a dumb, fun movie! Also, it was the last time Jeff Daniels was badass in a physical way.)

Sorry for the delay in releasing this podcast. After updating my software, my computer is screwing up in a huge way! Onward!

On this week’s show, we consider your alternatives to a tropical vacation. Staycations are, of course, an option for many. But maybe you can’t afford that, either. When tax season rolls around, I’m cranky for just that reason: I have to work harder to make sure I can pay the government’s bill on time.

Here’s the vacation information we cover on this show:

  1. Cheaper alternatives (camping, staycations and day trips.)
  2. Enjoying what you’ve got (be a tourist in your own town.)
  3. Don’t vacate and save the stress.
  4. Vacating might mean more work and more stress. Make your work more pleasant instead.
  5. Get a new job, retire into part-time work, seek fulfillment or wait for a universal minimum wage.

Finally I discuss the value of work and The Dirty Jobs conundrum. (Host of Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe, is the name that escaped me as I was recording this podcast. Sorry to Mike and his fans.) There’s the work we have to do, the work we want to do and the work in between the extremes. It’s a lot to cover in 15 minutes or less!

Catch phrase Contest

This podcast needs a catch phrase. Got a suggestion for the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast? Snd your suggestions my way at expartepress@gmail.com. If I choose yours to end the show each week, you’ll get bragging rights, a shout out and I’ll send you a paperback of my time travel novel, Wallflower, or a hard copy of Do the Thing! Your choice!

Want more Reward Choices?

Check out my Patreon page to see all the rewards that sponsorship gets you! Just click the Become a Patron button at AllThatChazz.com and see what you can get for being cool.

Not everybody has the money to give money so please leave a review wherever you picked up this podcast! Cheers!

The Obligatory Disclaimer

I wrote Do the Thing! for anyone interested in better managing their time, pain, stress and energy. I podcast each week for the same reason. However, don’t take medical advice from a podcast. For that, you need in person help from a professional. If you’re in doubt as to whether you require assistance in person, ask your doctor in person. No podcast can replace a proper professional health consultation. So there.

Do the Thing! is Robert’s book about many facets of better life management. It’s packed with tons of helpful ideas and points to ponder on the toilet. Available in ebook and paperback. 

A former journalist, Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist with 24 years experience helping people ease stress and rehabilitate pain issues. He’s also the author of many books of fiction. Check out his sci-fi, crime thrillers and apocalyptic epics at AllThatChazz.com.

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Death: How to Deal

Death is a fact of life but we’re generally not very well equipped to deal with it. In fact, most of us ignore it as long as possible. It’s not a satisfactory long-term strategy. Death comes for us all. I got quite a surprise in this regard this week and I want to share how I dealt with it. We’re going on a little field trip and I hope you will find the journey useful.

Stress, Death and Grieving is No Joke

If you’ve lost someone or are dealing with serious physical or emotional issues, a podcast or a book isn’t going to solve the problem. Seek professional help in person and do take care of yourself.

Today’s recommendations

If you missed my blog post about my favorite sleep hack, you’ll find it in the post previous to this one at AllThatChazz.com. If you want a lot more ways to get a better night’s sleep, I share lots more tips in my book, Do the Thing! Find it on Amazon under my author name, Robert Chute or click the link.

The quote I read today was from The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. It has a disorienting style that I’m liking more than On the Road. If you read the 50th Anniversary Edition, I recommend you don’t skip the introduction. Very worthwhile.

Looking for fiction to distract yourself from stress?

Check out my suspense, sci-fi and crime thrillers at the links down the right hand side of the page at AllThatChazz.com. As a fiction writer, my pen name is Robert Chazz Chute.

Hey, I still need a catch-phrase for this podcast! 

Please send me your suggestions to expartepress@gmail.com. If I use yours, I’ll send you a free paperback copy of Do the Thing!

Want more rewards?

Click the Become a Patron button at AllThatChazz.com and you’ll find your rewards for sponsorship on my Patreon page. Special thanks to RF Kacy for contributing to this podcast. You can sponsor the podcast, too, and get stuff! Check out the reward levels and find your comfort zone to help with bandwidth costs. 

Not everybody has the money to contribute money or buy a book so please leave a happy review wherever you pick up this podcast. Thanks!

~ Robert Chute is a former journalist and has been a massage therapist for 24 years. He works with clientele in need of stress and pain management and injury rehabilitation. For more on his practice in London, Ontario, go to MassageTherapyScience.com.

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The Big Calorie Lie and a Powerful Visualization

Visualization Makes a Better Day

A good diet is not as simple as calories in/calories out. The kind of calories (and the hormones released are variables, too.) On today’s show, I talk briefly about the big lies nutrition labels tell us. Then, to ease your stress, we dig into a powerful visualization designed to make your life easier.

Start with the key: a deep breath brings and an easy visualization slows your nervy nervous system and brings your mind back to the present moment.

On Sponsor, Patrons, Rewards and Advertising

This show is brought to you by my book, Do the Thing! I don’t cover everything in the book on the podcast. This is more of a complement to that. For a ton of ideas to improve your life and achieve a higher degree of productivity and success, go pick up Do the Thing!, available on Amazon in ebook or paperback.

Would you like to advertise your product or service on the show, get a poster or your name in my next book? Patreon rewards are for you! Find out more on my new Patreon page.

Your support helps cover bandwidth costs. I really need this podcast to pay for itself so if you’d like to support the show and earn rewards for your patronage, check out the treasures by clicking here or hit the orange Patreon button on the Home page at AllthatChazz.com. Thank you so much!

Extra special thanks to my first patron, RF Kacy!

Not everybody has the money to give money. If that’s you, no worries. Please support the podcast by giving it a happy review on iTunes, subscribe, tweet it and tell your friends! Sharing is caring. Cheers!

The disclaimer I stole from Tim Ferriss’s blog (because he’s so good):

“The material on this blog is for informational purposes only. As each individual situation is unique, you should use proper discretion, in consultation with a health care practitioner, before undertaking the protocols, diet, exercises, techniques, training methods, or otherwise described herein. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the information contained herein.”

Robert Chute is a massage therapist with 24 years experience who works in stress, pain management and injury rehabilitation. A former journalist, Robert is also the author of many books, ranging from non-fiction to science fiction, horror, fantasy and crime thrillers. If you’re interested in his fiction, you’ll find his books under his pen name, Robert Chazz Chute.