Happiness Life Hack (HLH)- Music

I am going to give you one of the simplest ways to start off your day on the right foot every day. It’s something I do everyday and it puts me in the right mindset for the day and centers me for anything. It puts me in a great mood and just begins everything perfectly. It only takes a couple of minutes to do and everyone can do it. All you need is a phone/iPod/mp3 player and a set of headphones/speakers.

 

What you are doing is simple. Create a playlist of your favorite songs ever that always put you in a good mood that you always love hearing and never get tired of listening to. It doesn’t matter how long or short the playlist is, mine for example right now is 76 songs and it is expanding.

 

Now every morning, I have the routine that when I am getting up, the first thing I do is put in headphones to block out the world. Get some ME time going RIGHT AWAY. I go out, brew some coffee, grab a cup and step outside. Music, coffee, and fresh air in the mornings (no matter the weather) is a glorious threesome. It’s serene and centers you. It gives you time to think and mentally prepare for your day without much care at the same time.

 

My playlist is always on shuffle so the songs are always different or in different orders at least. The range of music is all over the place. It will go from classical to heavy metal, from gangster rap to dubstep to country and back to smooth jazz. It’s just music that I enjoy listening to that puts me in a good mood. It’s my daily playlist. You don’t have to get through the whole thing every single day, but if you, good for you. Listen to it in your car on your way to work (keep the good vibe going). Just be sure to do it right when you get up in the mornings, it will change your attitude about having to wake up.

 

I used to be a night owl (don’t get me wrong, I still am) but nowadays, I am becoming more of a morning person because I feel like I enjoy waking up. I get to wake up into a good environment because I CREATE a good environment. Even if you love who you are around anyway, this is still better, trust me.

 

So what are you waiting for? Start tomorrow! Hell, start right now! It’s never to late to create more happiness and create better environments for yourself. And what is a better environment than the one you wake up in? It’s where the day starts, so start every day off in the right direction.

Manic Monday – Volume III

CRIPPITY CRAP, IT’S MANIC MONDAY!! That’s right, it’s the worst day of the week for most people so I enlighten the mood by telling you some of the crazy shit that went on in my head this week and actually remembered to write it down for your enjoyment! Buckle up you literate reader because chances are, even I have no idea what’s about to be published!!

 

First of all, I would like to begin by painting a picture. One that everyone knows because we have all seen. Imagine driving, or riding in a car and passing by a hitchhiker. A real homeless person or someone who is just trying to get a ride somewhere else. A person on the side of the road with a bag or two but nothing much with their thumb up, kind of dirty looking. You know the person who looks like if you stop, they are going to murder you. Okay, now that you have that visual, we can proceed. Let me ask you this: what does it mean to truly have nothing and/or no one? Even that hitchhiker has some stuff, hell, even bums in big cities have some things. Yet, they all claim they have nothing… So what does it truly mean to have NOTHING? Do they mean they have no purpose? Maybe they are just searching for a purpose and that’s what landed them on the streets and it wasn’t drugs/alcohol. If so, sign me up! I’m still unsure on a lot of days and I do not have narcotic problems, maybe I need to live on the streets. Does that mean that I have nothing? Fuck I don’t know.

 

Which brings me to my next point. We have touched on this in previous posts (The White Picket Fence). We all feel the need to buy materialistic goods to make us feel good. Now I understand that every now and then that doing so is okay to gradually just have nice things to have a nice place to come home to, but I feel living like a minimalist is the way to go. What point do you have to prove to people? “Look at all my shit!” Oh man, you’re so cool!! No, no you’re not, you’re an idiot who could have went somewhere and did something or gave some money to someone who could have used that money to go somewhere to really find themselves and their niche in this world, but instead you had to buy a worthless thing that you have no use for. Now your place is more crowded and feels less home-like because you’re a fucking imbecile. Moving right along…

 

The art of moving on with life. This can be taken in so many ways; it makes me even crazier than I already am. It applies to relationships, jobs, money, belongings, pets, vehicles, etc., etc., etc. all the way down the list of life’s shit. If you need to cut ties with something to be truly happy for either party, do the right thing and just end it already. Believe me, it’s harder said than done sometimes and I need practice myself with this. However, at least I am working on it. I see people day in and day out that are so miserable in life because they put up with the same SHIT that they despise. Cut your losses, cut your ties, set yourself free. Even if you are setting the other party free, you will feel better too (yes, it will hurt for a hot minute, but in the long run, it will feel even better).

 

That leads me to this, which I have brought up numerous times but it’s because it is something that I struggle with all the time. What is the point of relationships (especially at a young age)? Is it for companionship? Get a fucking dog, at least they are happy to see you. Is it to get your jollies off? Jerk it and twerk it, get social and find a one nighter because there is always someone who wants the same thing. Repopulate? Okay, there you have me pinned. Then get in a relationship… Maybe. People, and a lot of people at that, do it as single parents all the time. Adopt, or surrogate, or get creative and find a way (within the law of course). I just don’t understand the point of being in a relationship. Maybe I haven’t found my one and locked her in, shit I don’t know. Maybe I have found her and lost her, again, I do not know. The one thing I DO know, I am very done with relationships longer than like a week. They cause too much stress, too much crap, it’s too much work, too much money, way too much drama that I just do not want or need. I just don’t get the point.

 

Anyway, I’ll call that good for the week, even though this week has been crazy as balls. That last part got me a little ramped up though (that’s when you know you’re crazy, your own writing gets you ramped even though you think about it all the time). So, instead of turning Manic Monday into Why Relationships Should Die, I’ll just go drink some more coffee and leave you with this (if I were to recommend a coffee by the way, go with Gevalia Espresso Roast- Black, because black is better, if you need all the creamer and shit, why do you drink coffee, drink a red bull or something, seriously. The point of coffee is to drink that shit black, coffee shouldn’t be sweet unless it’s like a treat from Starbucks, and that’s supposed to be a TREAT not like a daily thing.) Anyway, I’ll leave you with this; Carpe Diem Creando. It means “Sieze The Day By Creating”. Whether you take it as creating like creating a piece of art, creating as in writing, or simply creating a better life by getting a raise, promotion, new job, etc. just create. That is all. 

Fandom Friday – Michael Shannon

Welcome to Fandom Friday, where I talk about something or someone that I like and why you should too. This week I will be writing about Michael Shannon.

 

For those of you who have absolutely no idea who he is, Mr. Shannon is an incredible actor in blockbuster movies such as: “Revolutionary Road”, “Take Shelter”, “The Runaways”, and the new Superman film “Man of Steel” just released in June of 2013. Shannon is best known for his roles where he plays the villain, especially where his character suffers from some kind of mental illness, permanent or temporary.

 

Michael Shannon is another long time hero of mine. I tell people he is related to me (which is TECHNICALLY true) as soon as he comes up in conversation. People ask what I want to do with my life, and I say, “Oh you know, the usual… Writing, acting, comedian… The basic stuff.” They laugh, then I laugh to break the awkward tension because I also realize I dream big, but hey, you can eat my ass if you don’t have any faith in my dreams.

 

Anyway, Shannon is the epitome of inspiring to me. Though it is his characters that are the “crazy” people, it brings me comfort. Knowing that I have some screws loose in the ol’ attic and then turning on “Premium Rush” brings me back to center ice for the ultimate face-off between me reaching my goals vs society. Michael Shannon brings a lot of hope to this entertainer, though he doesn’t even know I am his biggest fan, not just in the aspect of seeing all of his films.

 

Knowing some of his background, I know that Shannon didn’t come from a home where everything was handed down to him like Jaden Smith for example. Shannon has had to bust his ass to get to where he is today. Now I’m not saying Jaden hasn’t, but there is NO way that anybody can say that Will Smith didn’t have anything to do with Jaden’s success. That is complete and total B.S.

 

In the script I wrote two years ago, the father I created was about my biological father. However, when I was writing it, I had Michael Shannon pre casted the entire time I was scripting the film. The role is perfect for him and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s just right in his strike zone and I know he would knock it way out of the park.

 

If you have not yet seen or really looked into Michael Shannon, do YOURSELF a favor and watch his work (search YouTube for the trailer for The Iceman starring Michael Shannon). It’s like watching Heath Ledger as “The Joker” or watching Daniel Day-Lewis in anything really. Shannon really endeavors into his role and is fantastic at it.