Only a few days in and already watching the news makes me want to hide under the duvet, eating chocolate and re-watching Friends.

Still, despite the planet being literally on fire and the slight possibility of a world war three, we have to put ourselves together and make something out of this year, right?

If there is one thing I want to be in the next 12 months is to be completely unapologetic.
In my work and private life; in relationships with myself and others.
Not in an a-hole ‘I don’t care about anyone’, but in a ‘This is me, imperfect but doing my best, take it or leave it’ way.

And so, I made a conscious decision that this year, among other things…

…I won’t let other people’s mood affect mine (I’m terrible at it right now, I suck up other people’s vibes like a sponge)

…I will stop over-explaining my every idea and action

…I will remember that “No” is a complete sentence

… When making a decision, the thought ‘what others will think about it?’ is going to be the last one on the list

…I will take up more space in the world, unapologetically.

Unapologetic is my keyword for the next 12 months.

What word will define your 2020 and why?

I would really love to know so please share it the comments below.

Not only your answer might inspire others, but also the author of the comment that will move us (Cedric and me :)) the most will win full access to our passion business course Trailblazer worth $450!

Here’s to the kick-ass year and decade, no matter what!

The post One word that will define my whole year appeared first on Paid to Exist.

But I also think that the reason why so many of us fail to stick to it, despite best intentions, is that too often we try to use other people’s ideas of what a perfect morning ritual should include. All that “10 minutes meditation followed by a walk on the grass and journaling” advice sounds great but it doesn’t work for everybody. And morning routine does its magic only when it’s customised and unique to its owner.

So here are 6 fundamental elements that will help you to build a powerful but also truly unique morning routine you will actually enjoy.

IT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR LIFE
The point of the morning ritual is not to take over your life; it’s to be something that works for you and your life. It makes no sense to create an over-ambitious one-hour morning routine if all you have is 15 minutes before your kids and the dog start crying for your attention. The last thing you want is to begin the morning feeling frustrated about not being able to stick to your plan. Quality and consistency are more important than the amount of time you dedicate to your morning routine. 

YOU’D ACTUALLY BE SAD IF YOU MISSED IT
Create a morning ritual that you’re excited about and that’s on your own terms. No matter what others tell you, it really doesn’t have to include meditation or journaling or reading a chapter of Dalai Lama biography before breakfast. Sure, those things can be a great way to start a day but so dancing like crazy to Abba songs or watching 15 minutes of online knitting class. Try different things and see what works for you. 

IT GIVES YOU ENERGY AND ALIVENESS
Think of your routine as something that is going to refill you and charge you up. For me, it means including jogging and playing with my dog. But it can be a delicious breakfast, brisk walk, cuddles with your loved ones, listing to favourite music… anything you can think of that never fails to bring a smile on your face and makes you feel fully alive. 

IT’S WITHIN YOUR PERSONAL EDGES
Your routine has to work for you and your life, but it also should stretch and challenge you a little bit. It should cause you to grow. For me, getting up one hour early to go for a run and not looking at my phone until after breakfast is a challenge (I love to sleep and I’m mildly addicted to Instagram) but also gives me feeling of satisfaction and personal win that sets me up for a day. 

IT REINFORCES WHO YOU WANT TO BE
Do something that reminds you of the type of person that you want to become.
For example, I want to honour the commitments I’ve made to myself. And I want to be someone who can always say “Sure, I can do 10 km in less than an hour” So I stick to my running schedule and when I say “I will spend  20 minutes practising photo editing before breakfast” I do it, no matter what. Cause I also want to be a person who never stops learning. 

IT INCLUDES SOMETHING YOU DEEPLY WANT TO MAKE PROGRESS ON
Put all the energy toward something that you really want to make progress on and stick to it for at least 30 days. 20 minutes a day – that’s 10 hours per month. Hours that you can use to focus on something that might change your life, like learning a new skill or starting a passion business.

Over to you! Let me know your tips and tricks on building the best morning routine. What works for you and what doesn’t? 

photo by Roman Tymochko

The post 6 Elements Of A Perfect Morning Routine You Will Actually Stick To appeared first on Paid to Exist.

1. What you’re most passionate about, and…

2. What other people are willing to pay you for

Now, sometimes our dreams and passions will be completely personal and self-absorbed. And that’s perfectly fine, we shouldn’t expect to earn a living from those things.

But if you want to receive an income from a passionate contribution to the world, you need to make sure other people find it valuable as well.

There are a few basic steps to getting started on this path:

• Make sure you give a damn. That is, follow your passion far enough to ensure that you have a longterm interest in it. The best paths have no end in sight, so make sure you can see yourself following them for many years, without the possibility of ever getting bored. 
• Make sure other people give a damn. Do a bit of renegade market research. See if there’s an existing market out there with people already paying for something you want to offer.
• Hone your skills. If you become insanely good at something and find a remarkable way to communicate it, it will be easy to get others to pay you for it. (hint: the way to become insanely good at something is to keep doing it)
• Focus on value. How can you help others? Identify a need and effectively convince others that you can fulfil that need. Demonstrate that what you have to offer is worth their money.
• Offer your services for free. Offering to help others for free is the easiest way to tell whether or not you’re good at something. It also helps to gain experience before charging others. If you offer your service for free and you get a good response, you’re ready to start charging people.

Do that and then… hang up that OPEN sign. Say out loud to the world, “If you have this problem, I have the solution.” Make that first, scary step to making your first love dollar. 

Because look… if you’re reading books on how to make money doing what you love or how to start a business, that’s great. But nothing can compensate for real-world experience.

photo Dark Indigo

The post 5 steps money & fulfilment business formula appeared first on Paid to Exist.

Welcome to the club.

I’m currently a woman on a mission, and that mission is to bring back more focus, creativity and calm into my life. 

Here are some of the things I’ve tried so far: 

• Lying on the bed and doing nothing else but listening to the music (I don’t think I’ve done that since I was a teenager);
• Leaving my phone at home, going to the park, sitting on the grass and watching people (amazing how many ideas I can come up with!);
• Eating the whole tub of salted caramel Häagen-Dazs instead of dinner just because I really felt like it; 
• Deleting the junk data from my laptop; The satisfaction of looking at the uncluttered desktop – priceless;
• Watching the whole second season of Big Little Lies in one day and not feeling bad about it (also confirming that we don’t deserve the genius that is Meryl Streep);
• Staying away from my phone as much as possible – that’s the hardest but also the most rewarding thing I’ve tried in order to regain my focus; 
• Stopped fooling myself that I’m good at multitasking. I’m not; In fact, I suck at it big time. So, doing one thing at a time, always. Amazing how much more productive and calm it made me. 

I’m basically trying to slow down and listen to the needs of my body and mind more. I stopped pushing the anxiety-inducing idea that I should feel busy every single minute of my day.

The more I allow my mind to wander and my body to rest, the calmer and more focused I feel. And – surprise, surprise – productivity, creativity and ideas follow right behind. 

If you feel stressed and the sucked out of creativity, do something that you secretly wanted to do for a while but deemed a ‘waste of time’.

Leave the mobile at home and go for a walk (granted, you will have at least one ‘where the hell is my phone??’ panic attack on the way but it will pass). Read a book; start writing a book; listen to the music; play with your dog; have a nap. 

Whatever you do, be present, enjoy it without guilt, savour like the best wine.

Your mind is creative. Your body is strong. If you listen to them bit more, they will tell you what it is that you need so you can truly shine.

image by @tayla

The post Is stress killing your focus & creativity? Try this. appeared first on Paid to Exist.

Sure, often it turns out that they create more distraction than focus (happened to me with Todoist for example) but some has been real game changers.

So, without further ado, here are the 13 productivity/creativity tools that I use in my work on almost daily basis (no affiliate links, promise):

Self Control – a must. Blocks access to chosen websites so I can focus on work instead of going down the Pinterest rabbit hole. It’s simple and doesn’t have a glamorous design (although I love the skull logo) but it’s free and does the job. Only for Macs, if you’re Windows user try Freedom.

Omm Writer – my favorite writing tool. Elegant, simple, with neat functions like different keyboard and background sounds. Make a one-off payment of around $7 (they let you decide how much you want to pay) and you’re good to go.

Typing.com – I always wanted to type like a pro – fast and without looking at the keyboard. Thanks to this great free typing course, I do. Give it 10-20 minutes a day and soon you’ll be a typing master, promise. I often redo some of the lessons just because it relaxes me.

Noisli – I don’t like working in total silence but the music distracts me. Enter Noisli, background noise generator. Rain, wind, coffee shop, forest… you can mix and match so options are endless.  You can also use it as a distraction-free text editor. Free!

Mind Meister – with this you can create all kinds of mind maps. It’s a perfect tool for brainstorming and creating projects, especially if you’re a visual person. A free version is limited to 3 maps,  $4.99 per month gives you unlimited access.

Evernote – good old Evernote… I have a free version and it’s all I need to keep my notes, links, screenshots in one place. It syncs with an app on my phone so I have access to all that stuff whenever I need.

Last Pass – as someone who usually forgets the password literally one minute after creating it, this is a life-saving tool. Stores all my passwords and the autofill option works really well. Their site makes you think it’s minimum $3 per month but you can sign up and use it for free.

Canva – basically lets you create professional looking designs without having to complete a Ph.D. in Photoshop. Get a free version or pay $12.95 per month for more advanced features. They also have a phone app, but I think the iOS version has more functions than the Android one.

Notegraphy – neat tool to create cool looking, stylized text notes. Great to make those Insta quotes really stand out. Free.

Grammarly – fixes all my grammar mistakes, what more can you want? ;)

Momentum – I like the beautiful photos, the welcoming line (Good morning, Dominika!) and the “what is your main focus for today?” question. Free for Chrome and Firefox.

Tomighty – I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro Technique and this is the timer I use. I tried many others and found this one to have the cleanest, most hassle-free design.

And last but not least…

Alarmy – if, like me, you’re a professional snoozer, then this app will change your life – an alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed. Just take a photo of an area in your house and set up the alarm. When it starts ringing, the only way to make it stop is to get out of bed and take a photo of that registered area. It can be a photo of a shower or a coffee machine, or if you want to go hardcore, your neighbor’s front door ;) Anything but the view from your bed of course! Free for iOS and Android.

So that’s my lucky 13! I would love to know your go-to tools that make you work faster and better. Please share!

The post 13 Productivity Tools I Can’t Live Without appeared first on Paid to Exist.

The President of the United Stated of America

Just like the insecure person who wrote this tweet, society dumbly associates “smart” with high IQ.

Or with good grades at school.

The problem is IQ and school tests always reward the same kind of logical and problem solving oriented intelligence.

But what about emotional intelligence and the natural talent to connect with people?

What about the incredible artistic ability to create beauty and harmony?

And what about the 6^th sense type of intuition some of us have?

These incredible forms of intelligence are not always rewarded as they should.

If you are feeling a bit stuck and constrained in your current job, chances are you have some type of alternative intelligence or talents that cannot shine in the current template you are being asked to fit in.

We created a free workbook to help you assess these alternative intelligences and better understand how you could use them to live on your own terms.

Download the free alternative genius workbook here.

P.S. Let us know in the comments what you think about these alternative types of intelligence.

The post Are You An Alternative Genius? appeared first on Paid to Exist.

The piles and piles of stuff we forgot we even had. Looking at dozens of bags filled with things we decided to give away, sell or throw away was overwhelming. As I was carrying my old life downstairs, bag after bag, one thought was running through my head: “We paid for all this unnecessary stuff. With money, we worked so hard to earn”.

It reminded me of something that Jose Mujica, ex-president of Uruguay said: “When you buy something you’re not paying money for it. You’re paying with the hours of life you had to spend earning that money.”

I realized we let ourselves to be sucked into a spending spiral. The more we were earing the more things suddenly seemed absolutely necessary to have. Spending was fun; it was easy (hello, Amazon Prime). And most importantly, it worked as a stress release after a shit day.

It was only after we decided to seriously start working on making a change in our lives, that we saw clearly how fucked up our relationship with money was. How it blocked us, how it convinced us that we could never afford to live life on our own terms. Because we needed all this money, right? Exactly this amount and not a penny less, our monthly bank statements were proof of that. But the reality was that we only really needed enough to cover our non-negotiable expenses and the rest was just a frivolity. Nice to have, but not necessary.

To change our spending habits and relationship with money, in general, wasn’t easy. Living in a big city and with 24/7 access to the internet, the temptation was always there. But in the end, it was about the simple choice between what we wanted right now and what we wanted our future to look like. And how much we were willing to sacrifice to make it a reality.

One of the tricks that saved me lots of money was asking myself “Do I really, really need it?” before every purchase. Because it turned out that 90% of the time the answer was “no”.

The final step – getting rid of all those unnecessary stuff before the move felt liberating. It’s when I promised myself that I’d never again let myself fall into the “earn more to buy more” trap…

If money is there at the top of the list of the things that stop you from building the life that you want, I encourage you to have a long hard look at your spending habits and answer this question – How much of your hard work and precious time do you trade for the things you don’t really need?

And what could you do with this saved time and money instead?

Go on that dream trip?

Buy and read more books?

Start building a life filled with passion and work you love?

Look, it’s not about suddenly stopping all your expenses and live on a diet canned beans. It’s about taking steps to become your money’s master, not a slave.

The post One question you should to ask yourself to take back control over your money appeared first on Paid to Exist.

IT engineer, vegan, human rights and animal welfare activist. He also happened to be into BDSM scene. After he left the company we lost touch.

Then, maybe two years ago, a friend of mine who also knew him sent me a link to a website with a note “Look what Stu is up to!”. It was a link to a blog and an online shop that was selling… “Cruelty-free BDSM gear produced without exploiting people, animals or the environment”.

Wow, well freakin’ done Stu I thought – you’ve nailed it: you sure picked a busy market…

But by combining your skills and biggest passions, you’ve created a unique niche, your perfect offer to the world.

It reminded me of something I read once:

“Our perspective working lives are like Russian dolls. There are at least five utterly plausible career selves within each of us. We are multiple beings in vain search of singular identities.” 

Nice, right? And so true.

We are complex creatures with tons of skills and life experience, and yet often when we think of a new career path…

We limit ourselves to just one identity – usually one that links to the job we currently do.

That’s why so many people struggle with finding the business idea that they feel comfortable with. And that’s why one of the first things we do in Trailblazer, is showing our students how to find, recognize and appreciate all their identities (even the ones that at the first glace don’t fit together, like BDSM and veganism for example!), and then use them to create the business that they can feel truly passionate about. One that fully uses all of their internal and external resources.

It’s not about finding the unique, nobody-has-ever-done-it business idea.
It’s about turning one that already exists into something so truly yours that it will be simply impossible for others to copy.
And you do that by gathering all the powers you have – life experience, skills,  interests, values, and beliefs, and using them in your offer.
That’s how you crate your offer to the world. That’s how you get paid.
That’s how you go through life blazing your own trail.

Uncover your very own Offer To The World here.

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Of all inspirational quotes you can find all over the internet this is one I dislike the most.

First of all, it assumes that work itself is a bad thing, something you should try to escape from. It’s a concept I disagree with but I am not going to delve on that here; we have an excellent post on our blog that talks more about why this is the wrong way to think about work.

But what irks me most is that it assumes that we can only find happiness and fulfillment in our professional life, if what we do brings out only positive emotions.

It is a very black and white way of seeing things. Because in real life, doing what you love doesn’t mean loving every minute of it.  On the contrary – it means working hard and often feeling frustrated, lost, tired and discouraged.

The difference between feeling like this when doing something you love and something that you don’t like and care much about is that, despite those low moments, you still want to carry on.

It’s a bit like being in a couple. I love Cedric more than anything, but I’ll be first to admit that this relationship stuff can feel like hard work sometimes. Yet, it never crossed my mind to look for something or someone else, because I know that what we have is so darn good. The difficult moments are just part of it,  in many cases making our relationship stronger.

It is really the same thing with that one and only job/business/career. It will become part of your life in a way a 9-5 job could never be and as a result, you’ll be determined to succeed and work harder.

You will simply care more.

So please, don’t believe anyone who tells you that doing what you love should feel like you’re on a cloud nine all the time. It shouldn’t and it won’t.

But also… do I really have to say it…? This feeling that you’re are finally doing the right thing… That you are in control of your present and your future…

It’s worth every damn second of even the biggest discomfort you will experience on the way.

If you’re cool with that, it’s time to step on the trail.

Start building your imperfectly perfect passion business today

The post The battle of passion vs work appeared first on Paid to Exist.

It’s something I’ve asked one of my coaching clients to do when we talked about her struggle to find her offer to the world.

It’s very simple.

Imagine that in three days from today you have to give a Ted talk in front of a thousand people.

3 days. That’s all the time you have to pick a topic and prepare for it.

You can talk about anything you want. There are no limits.

Ok?

But that’s not all.

You also have to make sure that your talk is not just a boring summary of Wikipedia facts.

Remember, the reason why people love to watch TED talks is because they are more than just a knowledge show off.

The speakers not only present facts, they also share their personal take on them –

Their own perspective, ideas, stories…

Making the audience think “Wow, I’ve never looked at it this way”.

You see, when I asked my client about her TED talk, the topic she picked sounded a bit dull to me.

Not my cup of tea, I thought.

But then she started going into details of what exactly she would say, and… bloody hell!

She made it sound fascinating!

An unexciting subject was filtered through her unique experiences, beliefs and ideas…

Suddenly I wanted to listen and know more about it!

That’s what happens when we allow our true selves to emerge, when we let our emotions, beliefs, ideas and values shine.

People stop and listen.

So if you’re still looking for your passion – your offer to the world –  don’t look too hard:

As many of our students have said, the answer is within you.

It is just a matter of finding the right angle, that little twist that let your emotions, beliefs, ideas and values shine.

Find your unique twist and get paid to be you.

Your first fan,

Dominika

P.S. Your mission for today is to come up with a TED Talk title and share it in the comments below:

– Pick a topic that is close to your heart,

– Come up with a catchy title,

– Think about your own, unique perspective you have on the subject.

Be as raw and honest as possible.

That’s what people crave… in the world full of fakery

Remember, no topic is too small, too silly, too unimportant or too trivial.

All that counts is that you’d feel comfortable talking about it.

So… close your eyes and imagine yourself 3 days from now…

Standing at the stage in front of a friendly, curious crowd….

TED logo behind you…

You start talking…

And people at the audience think… “Wow, I’ve never thought about it that way!”

The post You are guest speaking on TED in 3 days (you’re ready, right?) appeared first on Paid to Exist.