Life Hacks, Tips & Tricks

Do you know that app called Zillow that you can search for places to buy or rent? Yes, that one. What if I told you that it can be used as motivation for the life you want even if you are not thinking about buying a property or renting a new place in the near future. You can go from just browsing potential dream homes in areas you dream of, to turning it into a strategic tool for life inspiration and what it takes to get there. Here’s how to do it: Do you Dream about a Change in Life? If you live in the city and see yourself living in a farm with chickens, cows and horses, or if you live in a small town but would love to have the experience of living in a big city like New York City, or if you currently live in a big house but dream about getting rid of all your belongings and moving to a tiny house in the middle of the woods or are you tired of long winters and want to live in Florida? Then use Zillow to find the place or places that would make that life vision come true. Save your Vision Now that you have a vision in your mind of the life and place you want, make sure you keep it handy. Add the Zillow links to your list of favorites or send it to a person close to you like your significant other. I always send Zillow links to my husband and we love talking about our life dreams. Being able to see your life vision will help you stay motivated on the actions to get there. Always remember that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it and that everything starts with a vision. Create an Action Plan Now that you have a life vision, create an action plan for what it takes to get to that vision. Break it down into categories and by order of completion. For example, start with a timeframe, do you see yourself in a farm 3 years from now? Once you have a timeframe, you’ll be able to create an action plan based on that. For example, do you need to work on your credit score? In which case, get a copy of your official credit report and create a list of items to clean up. Another example, based on the prices you found on Zillow, how much money will you need to put aside each paycheck in order to have a good enough down payment for your farmhouse? Once you know that, then you can create a plan like opening a savings account and start saving money, always keeping your vision in mind. Allow Yourself to Change your Mind Once you are saving money for your life vision, allow yourself to change your mind. You are not locked to a vision you had a couple years ago. People change and so do life visions. It’s never too late to have a new life vision with a new timeframe and a new action plan. The important part is to always keep looking ahead while enjoying the present moment. Regardless of where you are in life right now, it is always a great thing to have life dreams, visions and aspirations as they keep us motivated to keep us pushing forward and working hard. I enjoy browsing through Zillow and dreaming away to different lives I want, some days I feel like a farmer, some I feel like a Disney adult and some days I feel like a New Yorker at heart and this is called living.  

Are you a bread lover like me? Do you love a good sandwich on a French baguette or Cuban roll but do not want to be eating all those carbs? If so, this is the right trick for you. Some people might think it’s silly but it really works because your brain thinks you are eating the entire bread so you feel satisfied when in reality you are eating mostly the outside crust. Instructions Only One Step: Open the bread that you will be using to make your sandwich and remove the inside of the bread. The amount you remove is the amount you prefer to avoid eating.  The end result is a sandwich that is leaner with less carbs.  

The term “Chase your Dreams” sounds like something so unreachable, something that we all want to do but it feels more like a dream in itself specially when all the daily responsibilities and the chaos of life hit us, believe me I know how it feels. One thing to remember is that life is short, very short, and that we owe it to ourselves to live it and not only survive it. Chasing your Dreams means having a vision of what you want for yourself and taking actions to achieve that vision. Your dreams and the desire to achieve them will make you wake up every morning with a big smile on your face eager to take the next step to chase those dreams. Here are my five tips:  Tip # 1 – Dream Big but Don’t Tell Everyone     This might be a cultural thing but my mother always told me to not tell everyone about your plans for the future because unfortunately most people won’t be happy for you and their negative comments towards your dreams can bring you down and discourage you. The best approach is to only share your dreams and aspirations with your closest loved ones, people that you know will support you and will provide the positivity that you need to go on your dream chasing journey. To the others, let them know about your dreams with your actions not with words.   Tip # 2 – Write Down what Dream you want to Chase     Have a vision on how your dream will be. Write down what’s on your vision of that desirable future state. Describe the goal you want to accomplish in your life, but write it down either on a piece of paper that you will pin to a board on your wall, your daily planner or diary, or even on our smart phone notes. You must write it down on a place that you will see often so your dream is not forgotten.    Tip # 3 – Picture your Dream     Now that you have a vision in your mind of what your dream looks like, make your eyes see it too. This can be as simple as having a picture of that final state dream put in a place that you will always see like the fridge or on your desk. The “picture” can be anything that will help you visualize your dream, like a magazine cutout, a magnet, a printed page from online, or an actual picture. Being able to see your dream will help you stay motivated on the actions to get there.    Tip # 4 – Break your Dream down into Smaller Goals     From that vision, start breaking it down into several smaller goals. Write them down in a list format to create an action plan. This action plan aka the list of things you need to do to achieve your dreams needs to be simple enough that you can easily follow. I recommend having dates for each goal so that you can keep track on the progress and hold yourself accountable. This list of goals can be as long as it needs to be because the important part of this tip is that these are not big tasks but rather small tasks that are much easier to complete. Keeping them simple and small will help you not get overwhelmed of the work involved to achieve your final state dream.    Tip # 5 – Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes and Learn from Them     Let me tell you, there will be mistakes or things just won't go as planned because it’s life. Regardless on the situation, do not get discouraged. You need to get up, try again and always learn from your mistakes. By learning I mean sometimes you will need to adjust, maybe one of the smaller goals to get to your dream need to be re-planned and redone. Mistakes and failures are life’s way of teaching us so embrace them and keep growing. These five tips will help you but always remember that the “chasing” journey is the most important part of it all regardless of the end state dream because it means you are LIVING so make sure to enjoy the moments along the way, make unexpected lifetime friends, dance like no one is watching, feel the breeze of the ocean, always include things that make you happy because as my friend Steven Tyler would say “Life’s a journey, not a destination”.