Personal-Development on ngmarley.com

Precious

Sat, 28 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Our cat Precious passed away today. She’d been with us for the past 5 years (almost to the date). It seems like much longer than that. She was around 18 years old, and we’re not 100% sure of her exact age.

She was white with a bit of grey, mostly on her ears and face. And her tail was really beautiful, w/dark grey rings all the length of it.

She was a generally scared being, most likely from some early trauma or maybe a fight with a brother or sister at an early age. Precious, or “the princess” as we sometimes called her, was very selective of who she would approach, and only a few people were ever able to get close enough for comfort — her “inner circle.”

Success Habits

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Some Random Sunset that has Nothing to do with this Post

I started reading Robert Ringer’s Million Dollar Habits this afternoon and just got inspired to make a list of success habits myself, before even reading any of his own. Only one came to mind at the time I started writing, which was to rise early. Then the rest of this list just sorta… rolled out onto the page. But I think they’re good habits that compound, especially if one is consistent over several days or weeks. I tried to be practical, with pragmatic advice that anyone can implement immediately (and I myself need to start implementing my own advice, for most of these).

In transit to Taiwan

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The last 2 weeks of life have been a complete blur. I’ve been running around like crazy trying to get loose ends tied up in Arkansas, get assets moved around and re-allocated, and sell my big stuff (e.g. car) that I won’t need abroad.

Right now I’m in the Narita airport in Japan, about 80 or so km east of Tokyo.

And unlike my last short visit to Japan, this trip’s layover is only about 3 hours, so there’s really no time to get out and see any of Japan. So I’m staying in the international terminal, getting some food in my stomach and waiting for my evening flight to Taipei.

Just Do the Thing.

Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes you just gotta Do the Thing you’re putting off.

After a recent serious bout of email anxiety, I’ve finally got to Inbox Zero. Tonight.

I wasn’t going to do it tonight. I almost left my house. Had something else to do – I still do! But I had been putting off emailing Valeska for too long. I had to at least get some momentum. Before I left the house, I had to at least prepare for emailing her upon my return tonight. Then I thought – no, I have to get started on the email. At least to write the initial greeting, formalities, etc.

Email Anxiety

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Breathe while reading your email!

I don’t know if email anxiety is a real thing, but I definitely have it, regardless.

When composing an email, sometimes it takes me one, two, … up to three hours or more. To write an email. Not a long email of a few thousand words (I don’t believe most emails should be that long). Just a simple, short introductory email.

“Hey, how are you? I’m Nathan. I see you’re doing [INSERT COOL THING HERE], I think that’s cool because [REASONS] and just wanted to connect with you. I’d love to help if you need it with [SOME THINGS I CAN HELP WITH].

Anyway, take care,
Nathan
"

On Being Prolific

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Cut to the chase - I’ve decided to commit to being prolific. YOLO, and I’ve got so much stuff that I’ve worked 80% on, then just left it there. Articles that I’ve left it on my hard drive, never published. Ideas for amazing things, workshops, businesses, just left in my notebook.

A couple weeks ago, I had an idea for a non-profit. It just came to me in the shower, but it was so detailed, and the potential upside so big, that I had to write it out. It’s just sitting in Evernote now, but I’ll be publishing that publicly very soon.

Foundations

Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Foundations - Name of a non-profit organization to work with young people and teach them to make good decisions.

The basic idea is that the decisions we make, big and small, are the very reason that we’re exactly who & where we are at this moment in life. So, for people to affect their future in a positive way, they’ve to have a solid base of decisions. The non-profit would organize a workshop for juveniles (both delinquents and school children) to not only demonstrate the power of decisions, but give very specific tactics for pragmatic implementation of making good decisions. Teaches basic entrepreneurship and community involvement.

Feeling of Significance, and Early Access to Pumpkin Spice Latte

Fri, 04 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Oh, hello autumn. I see you there, peeking around the corner. Come on out, it’s ok. Stay a while.

“You’ll just have to wait until next week.”

YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!! NARRGGGGHHHOOOOOOO!!!!

Wait. Let’s back up.

So I walked into a Starbucks today to get some work done - a usual location for me, and at this point I can probably be described as a “regular” for this location.

Finally, some solid goals.

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Sunset on a Highway in Alabama

Feel like I’ve had a breakthrough tonight. Maybe it’s a combination of being alone for a few hours (INTJ - I charge up on being alone), or maybe it’s the slight lift that I got from the cup o’ tea that I had a little bit ago, but it’s starting to click.

For years, I’ve wanted to “travel the world” and be mobile, yet make an income at the same time. But it was so hard to envision without getting a time-consuming and draining customer support job.

Gratitude

Sat, 25 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

An Abundance of Peaches

Today I had 11 dollars to spend @ the Farmer’s Market. It was the perfect amount, because I planned to spend $7 on a 1/4 peck of peaches, and the remaining $4 on tomatoes. I was so grateful that I had exactly the right amount to purchase my peaches and tomatoes (black cherry and sungold, my favorites!).

Well, not only did I have enough, but my peach guy threw in some extras and gave me a $2 discount. (Yeah, I have a guy, for peaches.) Two whole dollars! I was then so grateful because I not only had an extra dollar to tip him (he’s a good peach guy), but I also had an extra dollar to tip one of the wonderful groups entertaining the market with their music.

One-Week Arabic Challenge

Thu, 28 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Arabic text. I have no idea what this says.

I’ve decided to learn Arabic in a week. The entire language. Plus the alphabet. Not really.

But it’s no secret that I’m a language nut. I want to be able to speak 17 languages.

Why Arabic?

Most Saturdays my wife and I make the drive from Bentonville to Fayetteville to buy fresh produce at the farmer’s market. That’s in Arkansas, for any non-local readers. We love the Fayetteville market. Fresh local veggies sold by the farmers themselves, live music from local musicians. Good people. It’s just a great vibe overall.

How to Start Every Day Awesomely

Mon, 25 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Another 5-year-old post, but I believe the principle still applies. Routines like this also build discipline, one of my most important virtues.

The last 3 days have started awesomely for me because I follow the steps outlined below.

This is a modified version of “How You Should Start Every Day For The Rest Of Your Life!” by Gary Halbert.

I don’t recommend his steps for a couple of reasons. First, he recommends consuming dairy products, which are poisonous to humans. It’s just that most of us don’t know it yet. Second, he tells us to “scarf” down food a couple of times, and I don’t think “scarfing” is an appropriate way to eat anything unless you’re a dog.

How to Do Anything at All in Life

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Note: I originally wrote this in July 2010, 5 years ago, but never posted it. Five years! That’s crazy. Obviously a lot has changed since then, and I wish that I’d posted this waaay back then. But the point I was trying to make still holds true, even more now, since it’s like I was writing for myself. My future self. It’s like a time machine, but in reverse. Crazy, man.

Take Action. Now.

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Karma Machine

Note: This workshop in Wellington has been canceled by the school due to the low number of participants enrolled.

I just enrolled in a one-day Krav Maga workshop which will take place a month from now when I’m in Wellington, New Zealand.

Krav Maga has been on my life list for several months now, but it’s only been in the “some day” category. And after reading a bit about true-life stories of guys getting mugged (and after traveling in foreign counties quite a bit lately), I’ve come to realize that I might also get mugged, jumped, whatever. And when that happens, I’m not going to be able to say “Oh, wait… can we postpone this, I haven’t had my self-defense training yet. So… let’s take a rain-check and then you can mug me once I’m more prepared”. This is something I’ve needed to do for a while, but kept making excuses and putting it off.

Change is Good

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ok, I’m lazy as hell. That’s a good quality for a programmer, but not so good for other things. This was originally supposed to be published on 25 Oct 2010, exactly. So that’s when I’m going to set the publish date, even though it’s now 6 Nov 2010. Screw it.

Change is inevitable. Nothing ever stays the same. Change can either be for good or for bad, but it will always be.
– paraphrased from Coach Gothard (i think)

added a life list

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

A Moleskine Notebook

I was inspired by yearlyglot’s bucket list, so I decided to create one of my own. It’s not the first time I’ve had one, nor is it the first time I’ve published a life list on my blog. However, it is considerably shorter than my previous life list.

Check it out if you care to do so (also you can click the link in the nav bar at the top of this site):

How to be Physically Healthy

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t usually like list posts. I know, everyone adds that nowadays just before writing one. I just wrote it here because I’m really trying to like to be like everyone else. Anyway, here is the list:

Stop eating animals. No meat, no dairy, no honey.

Don’t eat out. This is probably quite difficult for most Americans, because we’ve styled our lives around being dependent on restaurants. Also, this means you’ll have to learn to cook.
Eat healthy foods. Purchase & cook quinoa. Look up quinoa. (No, seriously, click the wikipedia link & check it out.) Eat raw brazil nuts (one daily is fine) and learn to cook steel cut oats. Look up steel cut oats so you know what they are. Also, buy & eat Ezekiel 4:9 cereal. It’s like Grape Nuts but better. (I know it’s like $6 a box, but your health is worth it. And you’re saving a ton of money by not eating out anyway.) These things can be purchased from Whole Foods or any good health food store.
Daily physical activity. Also, you need to be doing stuff that makes you sweat at least 3-4 days a week, for at least 30 minutes each session.
Get enough sleep.

American Rendezvous 2k10

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I just returned home yesterday afternoon from 3 days of intense Parkour training event in Columbus, Ohio. The event was American Rendezvous 2010, presented by the Parkour Horizons group.

The instructors came from both Parkour Generations and three of the Yamakasi, also current members of Majestic Force.

Just a side note, as a result, my DCI tracker will be missing entries for a few days, due to the fact that it was a bit difficult to get them in during the event.