Quote: “Live a life that would make you jealous.” – unknown
Bob Wayne and his trusty editor Fred. Practically twins, right? Except Fred hasn’t gone gray…
My name is Bob Wayne and that quote represents exactly what I hope to create for every reader who subscribes to my blog, and yes, for myself and my wife, Lisa Drew, a classical singer, and photo artist.
I know the marketers all say I’m supposed to tell you my sob story and then tell you I’ve “cracked the code” on creating the perfect life and I have all the answers.
Nope. Sorry. The only thing I’ve cracked is my knuckles figuring out all the things I’m writing about in my blog. I’m a work in progress and I certainly will be until the day I drop.
That said, I have done a ton of research in books, magazines, interviews, and personal experience (yep, life hacking), and made just about every mistake imaginable in the process of unraveling the mess I’ve made of my life.
I’ve struggled with anxiety (which I didn’t know I had until I was 63), ADHD, I’m on the autistic scale (found out about that when I was 63 also), and the fastest way for me to make a bad decision is to make a snap decision.
And I’ve made my share of them.
My blog is based around the ideas, personal experience, and research of many outstanding individuals whose books, articles, and essays I’ve studied, and in many cases, followed over the years.
I basically take the work of all these people who look at different areas of life from their own angle and synthesize the information to give a new perspective on how to create the Good Life.
Fast track To The Good Life is focused on many different paths to the Good Life as you define it. It is not about dictating to you what your Good Life is or should be.
Bob & Lisa in Stockholm, MN
I have my own ideas of what the Good Life is but that may not jibe with your definition of the Good Life. I am simply giving you various paths and strategies on how to achieve different aspects of what might be called “the good life.”
Yeah, I said that. But hear me out.
I believe in science. I believe in evidence-based programs proven by double-blind studies that verify whether something works or not.
Why?
Because “common sense” solutions have proven to be disastrous in too many cases and what seemed like common sense has ruined many people’s lives. The other reason is that there is so much misinformation out there that isn’t backed up by any science, proof, or evidence. Someone popular, or with a big title, said something and it caught on as “pop” wisdom.
A case in point: the Scared Straight programs, where teenagers who were on the wrong path were brought to a local prison and volunteer inmates would terrify them by getting in their faces, giving them the “boot camp drill sergeant” version of what they could expect in prison. They literally bullied them with horror stories about what they would do to the youngsters if they came to prison.
Politicians loved the idea and poured millions of dollars into these programs. And, yes, the kids were scared out of their wits by the experience. But when researchers did follow-up studies, they found that the politicians were dead wrong.
Once the kids got over their fright and thought about the experience, these kids realized that they had spent their whole lives feeling powerless. And the people they were exposed to in the prison had the power to strike fear into anyone.
That was exactly what these kids were looking for. To never feel frightened or powerless again. So they began committing crimes with the sole plan of getting to prison to learn how to be powerful. In other words, it had the exact opposite effect. The number of teens going to prison actually increased thanks to these programs.
The worst part is, politicians wouldn’t believe the research. They were convinced the researchers had to be wrong because “common sense” said it should work. These programs survived for over twenty years, ruining the lives of countless youngsters.
If an idea isn’t backed up by research, it won’t be in this blog.
For over two thousand years, doctors used “leeching” (putting leeches on patients to draw out their blood) as their primary cure for sickness. Right up to the beginning of the Twentieth Century, “doctors” were convinced that “leeching” worked.
Three reasons:
Have you ever had an idea to change the status quo and run into this kind of brick wall of “common sense”?
I’m far from flawless but I’ll really try not to hit you with that kind of nonsense in my blog. And I am always open to feedback of any kind (leave comments on posts, please.)
And if I’m wrong, I’ll make it right.
Here’s a few posts to get you started…
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