Escape Your Life Without Killing Yourself: A Simple Guide to Living Better

By David Smith

Take Control of Your Life and Start Living Better Today.

This Book Will Help You:

-Climb out of the rut you're in
-Get in better shape
-Have better relationships
-Find a job you love
-Demand more out of life
-Stop being broke
-Become more confident
-Change your habits
-Live a better life
-And more...

Who is This Book For?

This book is for everyone who wants to make changes in their lives. Whether you feel hopeless, don't know where to start, or just need a little nudge to get there, this book will help you redesign your life the way you want it to be, using a simple, common-sense approach and easy-to-follow strategies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Smith
• Release date: Jan 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370288472

David Smith

David Smith has over 48 years at CABI as Preservation Officer, Curator and latterly Director of Biological Resources and is now retired with the honour of being a CABI Emeritus Fellow. Having a long history of managing a living fungal collection; developing and managing projects on conservation and use of microorganisms; and microbiological regulatory environment particularly, the Nagoya protocol. In past roles as President of the World Federation for Culture Collections, President of the European Culture Collection's Organisation and the UK Federation of Culture Collections he has visited collections in 34 countries and helped set up and enhance collections in 19 countries. He has presented over 160 conference papers and has over 230 publications including 80 peer reviewed papers, 4 books and over 40 book chapters.

Book preview

Part I: Why Our Lives Suck, and What We Can Do About It.

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Chapter One: We're Stuck.

Often in life we just feel stuck. We get bogged down by all of life's daily demands, and we lack the energy, time, and direction necessary to move forward. Either we don't know how to escape the rut we're in, or we have a million excuses to stay in it. In the worst cases, we don't even believe we can do anything about it.

We get accustomed to the status quo. As children we are taught things like You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. The powers that be apparently want us to comply to their standards without question. When I was a child I had to memorize the Bible verse that says, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11)." This philosophy may have some positive applications, but I think it is overused and misinterpreted. For the Bible itself is chock-full of people who rose above the status quo, fought for better circumstances, and took great measures to achieve their goals. The movie Bruce Almighty had it right. Don't sit and pray for a miracle. Be the miracle. Nobody ever sat dormant for God's will. Great action was required.

Contentment is the killer of ambition. It is an excuse to live a sorry life. Don't think you are doing anything noble or virtuous by living passively. The world needs people who are willing to push themselves to reach their potential. Take time to appreciate all of the good things in your life, but don't let them distract or discourage you from wanting more. There is nothing wrong with wanting more for yourself.

Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) is a highly successful actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, screenwriter, comedian, producer, and more. He came from humble beginnings, but pushed himself hard to find success. He wasn't content just doing one thing with his life, nor would he settle for the same financial struggles he was raised with. Today he is worth millions of dollars and he continues to pursue greatness in many different areas of his life. He once explained in an interview that I just don't want to be okay with where I'm at. Had he accepted his upbringing as his unfortunate lot in life, he wouldn't be the inspiration that he is today, whose millions of fans are touched by his many works.

If you are truly happy, then great. But if not, don't kid yourself. Instead, ask yourself what it is that will make you happy. This may take some time to figure out. If you still aren't sure, then you're reading the right book. No matter how happy or successful you may or may not be, there is always room for improvement.

In fact, it is not the end result that makes anyone happy. We may dream of becoming rich, having a beautiful family, living in a modern castle and driving exotic cars, but none of that can truly make you fundamentally happy. Like Miley Cyrus said, it Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb. Yes, I did just quote Miley Cyrus. Get over it.

The point is, it's the process of growing and working toward your aspirations that is the fulfilling part. That is why so many people get to the top of it all and become rich in material wealth, but become depressed, empty, confused drug addicts.

The truly happy, successful people continue to set higher goals for themselves. They continue to grow throughout life. If they've gained all the material wealth they need, they continue their work to help others. They understand the keys to happiness lie in both personal growth and in serving others. They make a point to master various aspects of life. They don't lose momentum after hitting new plateaus. They keep pushing further.

Newton's first law of motion explains that an object at rest tends to remain at rest, while an object in motion tends to remain in motion in the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The same applies to the way we live our lives. If you are stuck, not moving, or are moving in a downward direction, you must find or create the unbalanced force that will change the course of your life. Once you start moving in the right direction, you will gain momentum to help you keep moving forward. You won't get stuck again so easily.

Don't wait for some golden opportunity or startling tragedy to shake up your life. The golden opportunity will never come unless you first prove yourself worthy of receiving it, and you don't want to let your life's story to be told by tragedies. Every protagonist must suffer through pain and hardship. He becomes a hero only by choosing to overcome adversity. The hero lets tragedy set the stage for her greatest triumph.

Zig Ziglar famously said, You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Show the world you are serious about something, give it your best, and keep at it. The opportunities will come to those who seek them, but you have to first start. You have to find within yourself that powerful, terrifying, unbalanced force to shake things up and push you outside of your comfort zone. Getting started is the hardest part. Once you find the means to give yourself that first little push, inertia will be on your side.

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Chapter Two: We're Fat.

How many people make New Years resolutions to lose weight but never follow through to get the results? A lot. We can see