Running Week in Review: What we can’t do, we appreciate more

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christian lautenschleger running week in review appreciate

When we can’t do something, we start to appreciate it more. That quintessentially describes my last month of running. After the Philadelphia Marathon – the Sunday before Thanksgiving – I took a week off for recovery. Then, I got right back at it. I got new shoes. I sustained, what’s believed to be, Achilles tendinitis. I can nearly guarantee that the injury stemmed from tying my new shoes too tightly (it’s one of those injuries that comes from not knowing what the pain is, trying to run through it until it’s too late and becomes an actual problem; and that …

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Make the most of everyday

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Everyday needs to be something. We all have days better and worse than others. Some days everything is “clicking” the way we want. Some days are bogged down with activities, tasks, chores, and work that we would rather not do. But, we have only one life (YOLO, y’all). We have 24 hours each day. Today, I will be at my part-time “day job” for most of it. Some people would chalk today up as a “wasted” day. Especially with the freezing rain we had overnight. But isn’t that mindset self-defeating? Doesn’t that rationalize many days as “lost days” in which …

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Definiteness of purpose: it’s easy once you decide

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For all of my life, once I have a definiteness of purpose, it’s easy. Once I have made a decision to do something, I find that I’m already halfway done with the battle. I have only left to execute. One of Napoleon Hill’s principles is the concept of definiteness of purpose. With it comes the “burning desire” to accomplish what you want. He talks most specifically about careers, as his magnum opus is Think and Grow Rich, but the principle applies to our lives in general. Back when I wanted to backpacked, I read that the hardest part is deciding …

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What’s the one thing, for massive productivity?

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christian lautenschleger the one thing

Do you have a lot on your plate? Do you feel overwhelmed to get started? Do you want to change your approach? Instead of tackling four or five things at a time, think of what’s the one thing that will help you more than anything else. It’ll get the most important task out of the way, and get the ball rolling for more productivity. This inspiration of productivity came from the fairly-new book The One Thing by Gary Keller. It’s magnificent. I’m not getting paid to promote it, but it’s an amazing book and if there’s one book to read …

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Snowy day: photographic spontaneity

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I’m not the biggest fan of winter, but I love the sights of a snowy day on the trees. As a runner, snow can severely sidetrack training; as a photographer, snow majestically changes the landscape. You must take advantage of every opportunity given to you, as you don’t know when or if you get it again. Recently, it calmly snowed all day. The perfect “packing” snow that sticks to everything, for creating snowmen, and starting snowball fights. I needed to take advantage of the day with my camera. I wanted to try something new. With my new lighting knowledge, I …

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Lighting: Eye-Opening into the world of photography

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In an effort to increase my value for photography and a way to make money during the winter months in Ohio, I decided to invest in a lighting system for my Nikon. I’ve by-and-large been a natural light photographer up until this point, but thought that I needed to add lights. Maybe just because. I’ve shot for a newspaper and have a good camera and host of lenses, but thought I’d grab a speedlight and some softboxes for my new studio. Wow, I had no idea I missed so much with photography until I (re)discovered lighting. With natural light you …

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Do it: You probably already know

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How often are you stumped about what to do next? How often do you really wonder what you should be doing next? Instead, how often are you rationalizing putting something off? My guess is you probably know, but just don’t want to do it. So, are you really stumped, or do you just not want to do it? Maybe you are nervous about contacting your boss, contacting someone you’ve been referred to yet have never met, or maybe you just don’t really want to do it at all. I can honestly say there aren’t too many times I literally don’t …

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Consistency — make it easy, make it a habit

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bambootiger christian lautenschleger

Creating a new blog website is case in point #1 of building consistency. I had no consistency for my last website. It made no sense. I kind of put random things everywhere. It was unorganized. It looked like some kid from the ’90s slapped it together. I want a way to start blogging efficientl. I want to be able to write and put it online. I want consistency. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice (graphic link). You get good from practice. Through practice you improve and become better. The easier it is to do something, the more likely …

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Personal Branding in a Clickbait Age

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christian lautenschleger mugshot

This will be the last personal site that I create for myself (unless I can get a hold of lautenschleger.com). No more catchy, branding names, just my real name. My business brand? My personal brand? How about my brand? Acting different around different people? How about acting like me around other people? I created a website moniker of Achieving Millennial. I thought it’d be an online persona about someone who’s a millennial (great branding for my generation, by the way), and wants to achieve things. Intuitive enough. Catchy, but kind of embarrassing because it’s not about me, but what I …

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