Today I’m doing EBL a bit differently. I’m going to be sharing some links to some fantastic posts at various blogs. I’m also going to be tweeting my EBL post suggestions on Twitter {@bitsofbeauty}. If you have a post or a tip you’d like to share, just tag it #EBL. I’d love to see what you come up with!

Also, I’m going to be updating this post throughout the next 24 hours, so be sure to check back!

You want to make a crap load of money, but before you do that…

Have you ever heard of the Theory of Relative Depravity ? Ya, neither had I until about 5 years ago during my political theory class.  We might not know it by name, but we sure know what it is. It’s what we call, “keeping up with the Joneses” and what keeps most of us from feeling satisfied with what we have. It can influence us into decisions that put us into debt and keep us in a rat race.

So, what’s an EBLer to do with the Joneses? Tell them to peace the **** out!

Two great posts to get started:

+ Waving Goodbye to the Joneses from Get Rich Slowly

+ When you take it all away, what are you? from Far Beyond the Stars

You want to take risks, but you’re afraid…

Oh dear, you read this blog and you haven’t read the Alchemist? Stop being lazy and read it. It isn’t long; you can thank me later. Until then, I’ll bring you up to speed with this quote from the book:

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.”

It’s absolutely true.

“But how do YOU know? Why should I believe YOU?”

I know. I live by this. You don’t have to believe me, in fact you shouldn’t. You should find out for yourself and try. I’m not a god, so I’m not asking you to have faith in me.

I’m asking you to have faith in yourself.

Besides reading the Alchemist and just going for it, get started with these:

+ Become the Best by being the worst from Untemplater

+ Reclaim ownership of your mind from Illuminated Mind

+ A guide to beating the fears that are holding you back from Zen Habits

+ Overcoming suffering and acheiving lasting happiness – words fromt he dalai lama from the Business Backpacker

You want to follow your dreams, but everyone thinks you’re crazy…

… sometimes, including yourself.

Stop justifying yourself.

Stop rationalizing so much.

If you know you want a change, that’s all you need to know. Who cares about what anyone else says? Sure, it’s great to get advice from friends. I encourage it. But, you need to learn your own lessons. You need to be daring. This isn’t about them. It’s about your life. If you’re not hurting anyone {and by that I mean beating, killing, or devastating someone}, than you’re free to do as you please.

Get started and get crazy:

+ Why they try to zap your dreams from The Middle Finger Project

+ The perils of justifying yourself from White Hot Truth

+ The ultimate guide to not caring from Almost Fearless

+ Be strange, be very strange from Explore Truth

You really want to, but you don’t have the time!

Sure you do.

“No, I don’t.”

Yes you do.

In fact, saying you don’t is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. If it’s important to you, if it truly matters in the grand scheme of your life, then you have time for it. We’re given 24 beautiful hours every day until we die to fill. You should sleep at least 6 of those hours. {If you’re truly resourceful, you’ll find a way to get things done for you while you sleep.} So, that leaves you with 18 hours for your family, yourself, your dog, your dreams, whatever!

The problem is we get distracted. We let other things that aren’t important get in our way. We’re taught not to be selfish, but there’s a point that not focusing on what matters to you is just plain stupid.

So stop saying you don’t have time for the important things. The truth is, it’s ALL you have time for.

Take back your time, get focused, and maybe even save some money:

+ Reclaim your attention from Zen Habits

+ How to reclaim ownership of your mind from Illuminated Mind

+ How you spend your time, how you spend your money from Simple Dollar

So you want to travel around the world, but…

You have a family. You’re in debt. It’s scary. Blah, blah, blah. Yes, I hear you. I’m scared, too. It’s scary and we all have responsibilities, but that’s not enough of a reason to not go for it.

Stop making excuses. If they can do it, so can you.

Need more examples of being location independent? Or, maybe you want to be an entrepreneur? Funny enough, these folks will inspire you because they’re both:

+ Thrilling Heroics

+ JetSet Citizen

+ Chris Guillebeau {who has these awesome guides to help you do what he does}

+ Exile Lifestyle

Ok, so maybe you don’t want to quit your job, you just want to be a little happier.

So, you LOVE what you do, but you’re not opposed to more happiness. {Really, who would be?} Besides following the example of our past EBL guests , you might want to go to the authority on pursuing happiness in daily life. No, not Thomas Jefferson and that bunch. No, not Confucius. I’m talking about Gretchen Rubin!

Hopefully, this post will get you going in the right direction for you.

Have a favorite post?
Agree? Disagree?
Hell, maybe you don’t believe happiness is a good priority. Just leave it below or tweet it with #EBL.

photo by Elena Kalis