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Enjoying Life – One Minute at a Time

June 25, 2009 By 4 Comments

I write a lot on robbsutton.com about enjoying life and ways to make your life better through self improvement. What you guys are not aware of…is why I write articles that center around this general concept. My #1 major goal in life is to live a happy life 24/7. For many, this seems like an unreasonable and unattainable goal and maybe trying for a perfect 100% is a little far fetched. But…keeping it as a goal…keeps me motivated.

When I write more “motivational” styled articles, I am writing them just as much for me as I am for you guys. For me, it becomes real when I put my thoughts on a page. I no longer have an excuse not to act on my random thoughts of self improvement. I have made them real by sharing with others and by that sharing…I have now put myself in a position of action. So as you see more posts on robbsutton.com that motivate you to do something different than the normal routine…just remember…I am right there with you every step of the way as I continue to try to act on the same goals. We are never going to be perfect and there is no end in this quest, but that does not mean we can’t try. By finding enjoyment in the simple things and working hard towards the bigger accomplishments, we are able to go through our one and only life with the knowledge that we are making the best of every minute.

As I go through each day, I try not to let the little things derail what could be another enjoyable day in the life of Robb Sutton. Instead, I try to enjoy life…one minute at a time…

Image by jontintinjordan

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This Is How We Live – The Mindless Escape

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

We tend to go through life based on repetition. Every morning you wake up to the same alarm clock sound with the same routine. You get out of bed, let the dogs out, jump in the shower, get dressed, fix your hair, put the dogs up and jump in the car with your morning coffee. As you sip on your jump start for the morning, you join hundreds of other road warriors that are all attempting to get a little peace in their car as they enjoy their coffee and prepare for the day. You get to work and start your same, repetitive job day in and day out with the hope that your somewhat hard work will go noticed and you will receive a raise or bonus at the end of the year. At home, your wife and kids (or just the dogs) are hoping that your hard work pays off so that you can have an enjoyable vacation this year to escape the mindless repetition that provides for your living.

Your entire life is solely dependent upon someone else determining your worth and when times get tough…you are one of the first on the chopping block as the company starts to make cuts. If you are lucky (or you have worked hard enough and produced results that far outweigh your salary), you get to keep the daily life that you have been so accustomed to with the hope that you get a small, cost of living increase at the end of the year. Even if you don’t get that small increase, you don’t complain…why? Because in times like this it is good to have a paycheck that just barely covers the bills at the end of the day and you don’t want to mess that up.

As you sit at your desk in the morning, creating a list of things to do for the day in your head, you sometimes wonder if this is all there is. Is this how we are supposed to live? Are we supposed to go through life just going through the motions praying that 5 o’clock will roll around sooner than yesterday? Are we really going to spend day in and day out of the best years of our lives making someone else rich?

We try not to complain because it could always be worse. We try to focus on the good things that this life has brought us instead of focusing on the bad. Maybe you are working a job you really enjoy…maybe you have a great family at home that makes it all worth it…maybe you see the potential in your current position and it might pay off in the future…maybe you are just happy to have a job. Far too often we use these great things in our lives as excuses and we get stuck. We get stuck in the repetitiveness of life and become scared of breaking that habit.

Break the Repetition and Free Your Life

Standing in a sunset - Freeing your life - Arms StretchedThe challenge for all of us is breaking out of the repetitive nature of life and take that chance. Can you imagine what it would be like if you changed one aspect of your life a week that had become just another part of your routine? You would be able to use that experience to learn and grow to become a better, happier person. Do you really want to be doing the same thing day in and day out with the hope that things will be better in the future, or do you want to start making the changes now? Why wait for someone else to bring you what you want out of life? If you are waiting for someone else to do their part, you are going to be waiting a REALLY LONG TIME. The time is now to stretch what you consider normal.

The #1 difference between successful and non-successful people (does not have to be monetary value) is that they were willing to take that step outside of their repetitive complacent lives. Are you?

Arms stretched picture by Jill Greenseth.

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The New iPhone 3GS – Better Than iPhone 3G?

June 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In the blogging world, you are in the business of sharing your life, experiences and random thought probing antidotes with the world. Any device that can make the transition from real life to the web world is worth its weight in gold. The iPhone from Apple has allowed bloggers to reach their audiences in ways they never thought possible with instant feedback and content.

I already owned the previous generation iPhone 3G and while I can come up with about a thousand reasons to justify owning the new iPhone 3GS, there was one reason that sealed the deal in my house. My wife had been using my old Blackberry Curve with no data plan for awhile now and she was ready to get an iPhone. When the wife is on board…things get done! We went to the Apple store, used her upgrade and bought the new iPhone 3GS.

Now…remember when I said that tools like the iPhone are essential to blogging? Well, I swapped the sim cards and gave my better half the 3G while I took over the new 3GS. So how does this compare to the 3G and was it worth the upgrade?

The new iPhone 3GS from Apple

So…with all of the published improvements on the iPhone 3GS vs. the 3G…how does it stack up?

S is for Speed

Right off the bat, you can tell an instant difference in speed on the 3GS as compared to the 3G. The extra ram and processor speed go a long way in everyday use and this becomes painfully obvious with 3rd party apps. The load times are significantly faster and you can actually see the genie effect and other graphical elements that were choppy before.

As for the new 3G network…I am not sure yet. Until they implement it in full force in Atlanta, I will just have to take AT&T’s world that it will be faster.

Camera – Cell Phone Photography

The camera is much better than the previous model 3G and the focus function works exactly as advertised, and the camera app loads much faster. The shutter speed could still be a little bit faster and low light shots are still going to be difficult. The up close and personal shots (macro) are drastically improved and as you can see by the unedited pictures below…overall image quality is impressive for a camera phone.

Video – Let the production begin!

One of the biggest advertising points behind the iPhone 3GS is the ability to record and cut video. I had jailbroken my previous 3G to enable 15 fps video recording and it was mediocre at best. While the 30 fps out of the new 3GS is not mind blowing by any means…it is good enough to share with friends and use for the web. The clip below is of my Boxers walking around the backyard. As you can see by the stripe of missing grass…they tend to do laps that ruin any form of sustainable lawn life!

This shot was uploaded to Vimeo, but you can also directly upload to YouTube from your iPhone 3GS. Historically…YouTube’s compression is terrible and as you can see by that same footage, it is only good for sharing with a large network. In all reality…the Vimeo clip above does not look as good as it did uploading to Facebook.

Conclusions on the iPhone 3GS

I bought the iPhone 3GS for several reasons, but the most important features were the camera and video as a blogger needs to be able to share his or her life with the world quickly and easily. The overall speed of he iPhone 3GS is much faster than the previous version (3G), but I do not think that is going to come into play until a later date when 3rd party apps can really tie into that speed.

If you are on a 1st gen iPhone and are ready to upgrade…this is the phone for you. If you have another member of the family that wants an iPhone and you can pass down your 3G for the new 3GS…this is the phone for you. If you have a 3G and are eligible for upgrade…the decision is not as clear. You will have to weigh out the features vs. benefit to your cell phone use to figure out if lengthening your upgrade and contract for another 2 years is worth it. If you are going to have to pay 400 dollars or more and you already have a 3G…I would probably wait…

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I am GPS stupid – Don't ask for directions

June 19, 2009 By 3 Comments

I had a friend ask me  a question the other day that should have had an easy answer.

Which way did you come to get here?

It took me a second and then I realized…I had no clue how I got to where I was standing. About 3 years ago, I received my first GPS unit as a Christmas present. Ever since then, getting from point A to point B has been as easy as hitting a couple of buttons. Now…it sounds crazy…but I am really GPS stupid. After using a GPS unit for 3 years straight, I no longer have any clue where I am going. What used to be simple questions about street names, what is located at the next turn or how to get to a restaurant are now difficult feats of mind dumping as I attempt to figure out where my mindless driving was. [Read more...]

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iPhone 3.0 Update and a Dirty Secret – Tethering

June 18, 2009 By 4 Comments

I use my iPhone for a number of different functions. One of those functions is to provide my MacBook Pro with an internet source while on the move. In previous generations of the iPhone software, I had to jailbreak my iPhone 3G and use PDAnet to basically (ok…technically illegally) tether my iPhone and my laptop.

With the introduction of the iPhone 3.0 update, the iPhone saw laptop tethering as an OEM option for the first time ever! Great…fantastic…where do I sign up? Wait…you have AT&T? Sorry…no dice for you. You have to wait until AT&T releases their tethering service and at that point in time you are going to have to pay an arm and a leg for it. The whole idea really baffles me anyway as I pay for unlimited data as it is, but to not offer it out of the gate is semi-ridiculous too.

[Read more...]

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5 Years Ago Today – Things Were Much Different

June 17, 2009 By 36 Comments

Some people go through life and just repeat the motions until they get to the end.

Others…like myself…needed a life changing event that would forever change their path. 5 years ago today, I decided to make a huge change in my life that drastically altered everything I knew…and for the better.

There are those key points in your life where you are put at a decision and that decision can mean the difference between life and death. Are you going to get busy living or get busy dying? For me…5 years ago today was when I finally made the decision to get busy living.

For many…even some of my closest friends…this is the first insight into who Robb Sutton was several years ago. I am writing this now not to look for satisfaction in my accomplishments up to this point or to look for a pat on the back. The following depiction of the details covering the past years of my life are solely to prove that anyone can overcome anything if they make that decision and stick with it. There is nothing in life that we can not overcome and nothing is hopeless.

After spending several years caught up in the Athens, GA downtown nightlife, things were getting out of control. Without getting into the gory details that are really irrelevant to the purpose of this post, I had put myself into a position on this day 5 years ago that was going to have drastic negative results in my life for years to come.

  • I was failing out of school.
  • I had plowed my SUV into a tree doing 50 mph.
  • My habits had put me in a financial position that was horrendous.
  • I had alienated everyone around me.
  • I was slipping in to a depression that was getting dangerous for myself and those around me.
  • I was abusing substances to the amount that was going to put me in an early grave.

Change Your LifeWith the wreck that had happened two days prior, I was at a jumping off point where I had to make the ultimate decision…was I going to start living or get busy dying. At that point in my life, I couldn’t see much use of going on. Something inside of me wanted to keep going…and that is what I did. On this day…5 years ago…I decided to drop everything I knew and start my life over.

I was in such a state of wreckage that I knew it was going to be a long road out of the darkness, but…for the first time in my life…I had the fight to get out of it. The next couple of years proceeding this decision were filled with road blocks and repercussions due to past decisions. Through each of these hurdles, I focused on the end goal ignoring anything that would stand in my way.

So after all that has happened, where do I sit 5 years later?

  • I returned back to the University of Georgia and finished my degree in economics. It took taking classes at Kennesaw and then commuting from Marietta to Athens (1.5 hour drive) twice a week for two semesters to get it done, but it was worth every second. I actually checked and rechecked the list in our graduation books while sitting in Sanford stadium during graduation to make sure it really happened.
  • I stopped living the life that was going to kill me and started living healthier by dropping all bad habits. 5 years ago today…I stopped everything that needed to stop immediately and a year later I completely stopped the 1.5 packs a day of cigarettes. Today…I can ride a road bike for 100 miles in one sitting and I can enjoy the hobbies that I gave up in favor of a life that wasn’t worth living. I gained my health and happiness back.
  • I am now married to a wonderful woman that treats me better than I deserve and we have two houses and two dogs. This was something that I never thought would be possible and I am thankful everyday of my life that I have received such a great gift.
  • I have started my own projects that will carry my families financial freedom for years to come.
  • I am happy. I am starting my own family and my current family has their real son back. That alone is worth the price of admission.

It is amazing what has happened in just 5 years. My only hope is that someone else who can’t see a way out can read this and see that anything is possible. Even the most hopeless case can pull through with just a little bit of hard work. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday about an article here on robbsutton.com and I explained to him that I write these articles as much for me as I do others. Once it is down in print, it is real for me and that is the push I need to continue to live in action rather than complacency.

This is your one and only life. You have to make it…there is no other choice. If there are things in life that are trying to bring you down, make the decision to make the changes that will drastically change your outcomes. There is no hurdle that is too large to cross…you just have to make the decision to do it and take the necessary action. No one said it was going to be easy, but the rewards of hard work greatly outweigh the effort. Simply put…if I could do it…anyone can.

Fork image by Whatknot

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The Key To A Happy Life

June 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

It always surprises me when you ask people what makes them happy and their answer is “I don’t know…I’ll have to think about that.” How could you not know what makes you happy?

Most of us tend to separate our lives into two distinct areas; the working world and our personal life. In many cases, as long as one of those areas is joy filled and satisfying, we will stop there with the satisfaction that at least one area of our lives is going in the direction we want it to.This complacency keeps people in situations that they could make better, and eventually is the result of another “if I had only knew” story for the future.

You will often hear stories that start off like this:

  • My job makes me miserable, but coming home to my family makes it all worth it.
  • My personal life is a wreck, but work is going really well.

We like to think that the goodness from one area of our lives will bleed over into the other enough to make it bearable. We do this and ignore the ways in which we could truly make our lives better in both arenas by dealing with each separately. Why can’t we be happy in both areas of our lives? Do we really have to be unhappy with one to be happy with the other? It is not selfish to think that you can have the best of both worlds as this is your one and only life.

How do we obtain happiness in both work and home?

Being happy with your job and obtaining happiness at home starts with one simple concept…keep the separation. By separating your home and work life, you are not depending on the good aspects of one to bleed into the other. More importantly, you are not allowing the bad of one to upset the balance in the other. Have you ever had one of those days at work that you just couldn’t shake off? You came home to your happy family who is eager to see you after a long day only to spew the mess all over them only to ruin what could have been a great night. Did you fight with your wife from the day before affect your performance at an important sales call because your head wasn’t right? As you can see, by letting the positive and negative of each spill into each other, you are letting those circumstances affect outcomes.

Once you have found that separation, you need to really sit down and focus on what brings you happiness out of your personal and home life. Once you have found what really lights you up inside, you can start to grow and expand on those (given that they are healthy…don’t start smoking more crack!) aspects and create a better life for yourself.

This is your one and only life…take action…

When it boils down to it, it really is that easy to find out what you need to do to make a happier life for yourself. The hard part is taking action on those ideas and keeping your eye on the end goal. There are people in this world that do not like to see progress and you will see adversity in your quest, but you have to not let others stand in the way of your goals. After all…you don’t have to be satisfied with their ideals and life…only yours…

Photo by Daniel Gebhart

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The Hangover – Movie – Get Ready To Laugh Your Ass Off

June 13, 2009 By 2 Comments

So my wife and I had a difficult week…and we needed something to laugh at on a rainy Saturday night. We went on a date night and saw the movie “The Hangover”. Not knowing what to expect (other than the rave reviews I was hearing from others), we went to see “The Hangover” ready for a laugh.

It is not very often that I laugh this hard at a movie. The Hangover was seriously hilarious. It was not stupid Will Farrel humor…it was actual comedy that made me laugh my ass off throughout the entire film. I do not think there was a 5 min span throughout the entire movie that I didn’t laugh hard enough to make my face hurt.

You were not just waiting for the next one liner to hit that you can repeat over and over again to your friends for the next year…it was histarical throughout as you went on the journey with these guys to figure out what the hell happened the night before. Ed Helms (The Office) is absolutely classic.

I won’t ruin the movie for you by saying anymore…so go see it. Here is one of the trailers…

So who else is in my top 5?

In no particular order…

  • Old School
  • Caddy Shack
  • Boondock Saints – Yes…you are reading it right
  • and the last one always flops around with my mood at the time…
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My Whiteboard – The Key To Blogging Organization

June 10, 2009 By 1 Comment

I am a very visual learning by nature, so when it comes to organization…I have to find a way that appeals to my eyes as much as my brain. Typically, I go with the out of sight = out of mind theory for desk organization (don’t look inside my drawers), but when it comes to organizing thoughts and ideas for my blogs, I need to have everything right in front of me ready to go.

I have tried just about every technological advancement known to man in my quest to keep thoughts organized, but when it boils down to it…all of my fantastic, mind blowing, life altering ideas come straight off the whiteboard in my office. My Blackberry’s of old, my current iPhone and even Google Docs can not keep up with the productivity that my faithful whiteboard possesses.

After my failed attempts at keeping my random snippets of blog and eBook ideas in my head, I realized that I needed one central location to write everything down. The whiteboard turned out to be the tool that I needed the most. Not only can you erase items that are completed, but you can formulate complete projects easily and efficiently. Even with all of the incredible technology that we have today…I still go back to my trusty, handwritten whiteboard list to really put the hammer down on getting things accomplished. I can always tell if I haven’t had my whiteboard time as thoughts and weeks go somewhat randomly down the world wide web path.

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but…for me…I need it directly in front of my eyes.

Does this post have a point?

Absolutely! As your blogging and business building progresses, you are going to have multiple projects that are all flooding your brain at once. You are going to wake up in the morning, hit the shower and then BAM! A new thought is going to enter your brain and you need to get that down in some form of thought organization. As much as we try to tell ourselves that we will remember this fantastic idea later…we aren’t. Other things during the day are going to get in the way and you are going to forget that new idea that was going to set the world on fire.

You need to find a way that works for you when it comes to thought/idea management. If I am on the road, I go to the iPhone that keeps half my life in it, but as soon as I get back to my house…the thought hits the whiteboard. Finding your own system of thought management will keep those fantastic ideas that you get throughout the day fresh and it will free up your mind to come up with more that will grow your income and your business. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to remember that thought that came to you in traffic yesterday, so get it out of your head and into some sort of list.

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NoXQses – A vanity plate to live by

June 8, 2009 By 1 Comment

Have you ever just been going about your day when you see something that just slams you in the face? It is almost like the stars aligned and this moment was made just for you. At first glance, it is absolutely obvious that this was exactly the message that you needed to see that day. I had one of those moments that I have to pass along.

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I were driving to her company party when I saw the only vanity license plate I have ever liked. Gracing the back of a beautiful Ferrari F360 Modena Spider (in Ferrari red) was a license plate that read “NoXQses”. After seeing this car and plate combo, I could only imagine one source for the phrase’s meaning on this particular Ferrari. More than likely, this man had built himself up from nothing and has now found success through hard work and determination. This was a big assumption on my part, but its my imagination…so I’ll run with it! From a first hand point of view, he can see no excuse for going after what you want and creating a life that you can be proud of.

Everyday, you come across people that ALWAYS have an excuse for their place in life. These people often express their lack of “luck” in normal conversation. These phrases normally start with…

I would love to do that but…

I just can’t afford anything like that because…

I won’t be happy until…

I never get a break…

I wish I had that kind of luck…

What these people do not realize is that they are conditioning themselves to stay exactly where they are in life…or worse! Now…not everyone’s idea of the ideal life is jetting down the street in a Ferrari. Every person has a an image in their head of what they consider to be the perfect life in their eyes. For some, it might be working a job they love that covers the bills (and a little more), but it affords them the time off to spend with their family. Their neighbor might be starting his own business with the hope…that one day…he will be the king of a huge empire that he as built all by himself. Down the street, there might be a woman that wants to be able to help others by organizing charity events. What surprises me is that most people will come up with an excuse that explains why they can’t have that life instead of trying to take the steps necessary to realize their dream.

I am 100% convinced that the only thing that stands between you and your dreams…is YOU. If you want something bad enough, you can work hard, learn from your mistakes and adapt that knowledge to reach your goals. Where most people fall short…is working hard. It is much easier to be complacent and find an excuse than it is to shut up and work at it. I have seen many people in the working world that would rather spend 4 hours finding someone else to blame when doing the job correctly might only take an hour. The same theory applies here. If you really want something…no one is going to walk up to you tomorrow and just hand it over. It is up to you. You completely control your destiny.

Are you going to search out the successful life that you desire, or are you going to find another excuse why it will never happen to you? It is completely up to you…

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