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Winter is upon us, both in the seasonal sense and in the digital asset sense. The so-called crypto-winter has reared it's ugly head for months on end, keeping the bulls at bay and turning away truck-loads of hungry, over-zealous retail investors. Despite the circumstances, there are those who choose to make the best of the situation. The builders within the crypto space see the glass as half full instead of half empty, a white-covered canvas yet to be painted, a beautiful pile of clay yet to be sculpted.

The age of Web Monetization has arrived, a proposed browser API that replaces the old, outdated version of the web ridden with annoying ads and eye-blocking paywalls every direction you turn. We now have the technology that enables a cleaner, more user-friendly internet browsing experience, causing people to freely engage without privacy intrusion or data point collection.

During the winter months here in Ohio, the snow gets dense which makes for excellent snowball formation. Oftentimes snowballs will keep children occupied for hours on end as they tirelessly work to create a mound of frozen rain behind their base, perched and ready for the ultimate showdown. When they are finished fighting and a particular side has been deemed the winner, it's time to move on to building snowmen.

Snowmen start out as tiny, microscopic flakes that quickly become much larger, stronger, boulder-like structures. Some choose to not even build a snowman and instead keep rolling the ball until it becomes life size. Granted, a lot of snow is required to accomplish this feat, but it is far from impossible.

Web-Monetized content, just like a snowball, starts out small for content creators. It starts with a blog article here or a small website there, then blossoms into something much bigger than which it started. The creator must keep building and growing their portfolio, just like children rolling their snowball along the ground until it reaches its desired dimensions.

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A considerable difference between a physical snowball and Web-Monetized content is that Web-Monetized content is evergreen. Once it gets warm outside, a snowball melts, turning back into water and vanishing into mother earth. Content, on the other hand, that is evergreen means that its timeless, and, in the specific case of Web Monetization, it is content that never stops earning revenue.

Long after the snowball melts, Web-Monetized content continues to earn when subscribers view, even if it was published a week, a month, or a year ago. Here's where the snowball effect becomes prominent for content creators... Once you build up a considerable amount of content that is published on Coil or on a self-hosted, Web-Monetized site, content consumers will spend more time viewing each blog, video, or podcast simply because more exist.

Just like a child rolling a freezing cold ball across the yard, your content's reach, views, and revenue continue to grow as more gets published. Here's one more important nugget to swallow in regards to the snowball effect. Web Monetization is in it's infancy, and we are sitting at the forefront of a tech revolution. The number of content consumers will experience an exponential growth spurt over the next 5-10 years which has a direct effect on your evergreen content statistics.

So get started now, don't delay. If you've been thinking about starting a blog, a podcast, a video channel, don't procrastinate any further and start rolling that snowball along the ground. Today is the day to begin your journey so that 5-10 years from now you can look back at what you've accomplished and feel proud of the good work you did.

Already started publishing Web Monetized content? Way to go, keep it up. Moments of weakness will creep up that may cause you to slow down or halt altogether. What I'd suggest you do is spend time around other content creators who are on the same journey as you are. If you would like some guidance as to where to get started, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.

Thank you for reading. Never give up and always believe.

Related articles you may find interesting...

2020 Will Yield the Highest Return on Investment

YouTube Censorship: Where Do We Turn to Now?

The State of Web Monetization

Discover what my youngest (and mischievous) son was up to the other day...

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Notice that I did not mention “price” within the title. I left that word out intentionally because this article is going to focus on predictions other than price, which in my opinion is completely unpredictable in today's nascent market. Also, I am not a financial adviser and this is for entertainment purposes only.

A lot has happened since the launch of the digital asset eight years ago, back when the distributed ledger it runs on was called Ripple as payments would “ripple” through different hops and currencies. So, what is to come for XRP and how can we as investors stay on the cutting-edge of this emerging technology?

The following predictions are my opinion and are not to be taken as a guarantee. Please do your own research and come to your own conclusions on these matters.

Prediction #1

The ecosystem will continue to grow, solving real-world problems as it has for the past 9 years with new, strategically-built use-cases.

Xpring, Ripple's initiative to create an open developer platform for money, will continue to invest capital and development resources into new start-ups as well as into mature companies who desire to infuse the XRP Ledger, Interledger, and/or Web Monetization technology into their existing infrastructure.

Not only will the current ecosystem grow in terms of cross-border payments, micropayments, wallets, content, gaming, apps, and more, but brand new use-cases will arise that haven't even been thought of yet. Traditional payment systems are broken, the Internet of Value mends them in harmony with one another.

Prediction #2

On-demand liquidity will become an unstoppable force as banks and FI's can't deny the power of high speed, low-cost transactions.

On-Demand Liquidity, formerly known as xRapid, is a core component of Ripple's flagship software, RippleNet, along with xCurrent and xVia.

As more banks and financial institutions catch wind of the speed and cost savings ODL provides, the word will spread like never before, causing XRP to become highly desired to facilitate cross-border settlement. XRP is the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable way to settle payments. Thousands of enterprise customers will come to this realization.

Prediction #3

The bridge asset's volume will increase by leaps and bounds through a mass series of transactions via Interledger.

Interledger Protocol provides a way to connect a series of payment networks, the coveted interoperability factor, allowing any unit of value to be transferred from the sender to the receiver with ease.

XRP will serve as the fastest and most cost-effective asset to move through the Interledger Protocol. The amount of volume will sky-rocket over the next 10 years as micropayments by the thousands pour in through Web Monetization and new avenues that are yet to be discovered.

Prediction #4

Grant for the Web will eradicate the web's traditional ad-revenue model, causing a cataclysmic shift in how content creators are paid for their work.

We've already seen this begin with services such as Coil and Cinnamon that stream micropayments to creators as subscribers view their content. Over the duration of this decade, it is expected that prominent Web Monetization providers other than Coil will arise and compete for consumer's business.

Currently, Coil connects to 2 Interledger-based services, Stronghold and XRP Tip Bot. A large majority of XRP Community members choose the Tip Bot because the native asset is XRP. As Grant for the Web pushes out more funding to boost innovation for Web Monetization, XRP will naturally get utilized more over time.

Prediction #5

RippleNet Home will drive new and existing RippleNet customers towards additional revenue streams and partnerships.

The announcement of RippleNet Home was seen from the announcement at Swell last year in Singapore. Home serves as a central hub for any and all customers connected to RippleNet, supplying high-end market data analysis and superior reporting to help customers grow their impact across the globe. Home also allows customers to interact with one another and identify new opportunities for possible partnerships.

As written in a tweet of mine recently, all roads lead to ODL. In other words, customers on RippleNet get exposed to On-Demand Liquidity as they are using xCurrent. RippleNet Home will help to spread Ripple's software in a unique way, exposing each customer to the option of utilizing the digital asset, XRP.

Analysis

The above 5 predictions are based upon the facts that currently exist today. It is my belief that countless other events will occur this decade that will completely blow our minds. The key to staying excited and confident about our investments is to keep our eyes away from the short-term price movements, and direct our sight towards the progress being made within the ecosystem.

The fact that XRP has a fixed supply of 100 billion units, combined with deflationary measures such as burn rate and lost private keys, combined with the high-demand created from a massive utility outbreak, the laws of economics can only work in our favor.

Find out the scenario I want to witness at the tail end of the 20's...

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Bombings, shootings, rapes, stabbings, starvation, fires, famines, homelessness, drugs, alcohol abuse, depression, anxiety. What was just described is the world we live in. We live in a world that is dominated by sin, a world that is in constant and utter peril that is tough for one to digest.

We live in a world where nothing is “secure”. At any time, a thief could break in and steal away our most precious possessions, never seeing them again. At any time we could lose our jobs. At any time, something catastrophic and destructive could happen that feels like a hammer hitting us right between the eyes.

Scared yet? Fearful yet?

Here's the thing, we don't have to be scared or fearful. You know why? Because we can choose to direct our focus towards confidence instead of fear. Freedom instead of bondage. Happiness instead of depression. We can begin to ask different questions and begin telling a different story.

We can begin asking important questions such as:

What can I fill my mind with that will make me feel happy in this moment?

What are my gifts and talents I have been blessed with?

How can I use my unique gifts to bless others and improve their life situations?

What actions can I take today that will positively impact future generations?

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You see, if we don't feel happy and joy-filled FIRST, then we can't share that emotion with others who NEED it most. If we are constantly filling ourselves with fear by exposing ourselves to the news 24/7, then we become another victim incapable of spreading cheer to a hurting world. If the first thing we do in the morning is turn on the news, then talk about it all day at work, then go home and watch more news, then we are living the entire day in a poisonous state of worry and fear.

Are the bombings, shootings, rapes, stabbings, fires, famines, homelessness, drugs, and alcohol abuse still happening every day around the globe? Of course they are and will continue to do so until Christ returns. Let's not be ignorant of the darkness. The point though is this... we need to be intentional with the way we live. It's my belief that what we do in this life will leave footprints that last into eternity. How will we choose to live our days here on earth? For ourselves or for others?

So how can we go about living an intentional life? We start by asking the right questions and then answering them in a truthful manner. Use the bold questions above as a starting point, and feel free to add more to the list after you're done. Living an intentional life is found in setting the right priorities and defining what is truly important. It comes from stripping down the influences of society and what THEY deem as popular.

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If we are lucky, each human being will get around 80 years, give or take, to meander the earth. That's the equivalent of 2,522,880,000 seconds, or 42,048,000 minutes. When we come to realize how short life actually is, we can appreciate the present moment in a deeper, more intimate manner. We then will WANT to prioritize what's most important and do more of what is important and of what truly brings us joy and fulfillment.

Contrary to popular belief, living a self-centered life is NOT what brings joy or fulfillment. Living to please others or impress others on social media will in fact DRAIN the life out of us, making us slaves to the opinions of others. When we begin taking control of our lives, being intentional with our thoughts and actions, we begin to see different results that match up with our core values and beliefs. We begin dismissing distractions and welcoming our true callings.

No matter how old you are right now, 18 or 65, you can begin living your life in an intentional manner. Now granted, not every moment of every day will be intentional as we will find ourselves performing mindless activities at times to decompress. But, living intentionally starts with getting yourself in the right mental and emotional state. A state that is primed and ready to pour into others in ways that your gifting and talents help propel you forward.

Place a majority of your focus towards aspects of life that matter deeply such as meaningful relationships, health and vitality, spirituality, joy and fulfillment, legacy. Our attention will have a tendency to move towards frivolous notions such as an unfollow on Twitter or a unfriend on Facebook, but it is in those moments when we can stop and realize how petty and irrelevant that is compared to the higher calling on your life.

Never give up and always believe. Thank you for reading.

A paraphrased case study...

Jonah, our first-born son, turned 6 years old yesterday. All week long he was asking how many days it would be until his party. He would ask us who was going to be there and what activities he would be doing. My wife and I counted down the days with him as he grew more and more eager for the long-awaited celebration day.

The magical day finally arrived, as my wife frantically gathered the much needed supplies and finished baking the egg casserole. Egg casserole, unlike the common pizza, was an appropriate main dish since the party began at 9:30 in the morning. It was quite the sight, an assortment of muffins, crescent rolls, danish, and grapes.

The room was filled with eagles as it took place at a nature preserve at a local metro parks. It was a bit stuffy when we walked in so I opened up a couple windows to let the breeze flow in. Unfortunately one of the windows would not stay opened so we only felt the fresh air from the other one.

In addition to the main food table, my thoughtful wife put together a drink area that contained water bottles, milk boxes, juice boxes, and coffee. The coffee went together really well with not only the main dish but also the cake towards the end of the party.

The activity the kids (and some adults) did was make signs with paint and cool sayings. The reserve also had an area for the kids to play that was filled with dinosaur decorations. They had a lot of fun going through the tunnels and running around inside the room.

Last but not least, the cake was served. All the kids gathered around as we sang the happy birthday song to Jonah and celebrated him turning 6 years old. Jonah loves Batman, so having a Batman-themed party seemed fitting for the occasion. Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

View additional photos and find out the special guest that crashed the party...

ℍi there, welcome back to the blog. If you are reading this right now, more than likely you are a good friend of mine that I've met either online or in person. The Coil community is fairly small at the moment being as the platform just launched last year. The message contained in this article goes out to moms and dads who are raising a family while working to make ends meet AND chase entrepreneurial pursuits at the same time.

The emotional roller coaster is harder to ride than many realize. Outsiders looking in will only view the success points of your life, the tip of the iceberg, completely overlooking the years of mental, emotional, financial, relational, spiritual, and sometimes physical turmoil you endured. You decided long ago that constant denials of instant gratification would somehow, some way, result in long-term freedom, happiness, joy, and fulfillment.

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It's a battle sometimes to stay sane as you begin to question if you can even do this. You wonder if you can even succeed despite the years of failures that have brought you no further ahead financially or emotionally than when you first began the journey, at least that's how you feel in the current moment.

Storms come...

doubt creeps in...

failure mounts...

bank accounts dwindle...

anxiety kicks in...

relationships erode...

vehicles break down...

hope fades...

Through it all, in the back of your mind, and in the forefront of your soul... you hear a small voice telling you that it will be OK and that light does exist at the end of the dark tunnel. That voice could be God at times, other times it could be your own thoughts crying out for someone to pay attention.

In times of bleak and utter turmoil, and the storms are thrashing violently, TRUST is an essential component to pushing through. A small part of you knows, that beating yourself up, or caving into depression, will not get you any further ahead than where you are currently standing. You've been beaten, bruised, and are the host of multiple mental and emotional scars, but, you're not done.

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Trust the process, even when it feels like nothing is working and the negative emotions are building. Like that small voice says, everything will be OK. Talk to at least one person who understands what you are going through which will help take the emotional edge off, giving you a clearer mind to move forward with. Choose victory over defeat, focusing on what you want instead of the lack thereof.

You have to master the skill you enjoy performing before moving onto the next opportunity. You must go deep and continue improving your craft that is centered around your specific gifting. Mastery doesn't happen overnight, but is found in the repetitive habits that eventually build up over time, providing the results that you ultimately desire.

The road ahead will still be full of challenges, and the storms will continue to knock you down. The question is, how soon will you get back up, grab the storm by its balls, and continue on with your day. The answer to that will determine where you go from here and how quickly you reach your destination.

This is not the end for you, in fact, it is only the beginning.

When you've hit rock bottom, the only place to look is up. ✦

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The idea for this article came a result of me doing the very same thing I'm about to tell you not to do... procrastinate. There I was, browsing the web not getting anything productive done, when all of a sudden I realized, “Hey, I'm not getting anything productive done”. So, I decided to make a change and write an article about how procrastination is the mortal enemy of success.

Don't let your “crastination” go pro.

- Joshua Fields Millburn

In today's modern society, distractions are abundant. The phone call, the text message, the notification, the email, the Twitter feed, so on and so forth. It can be tough to shut out all distractions when we know we need to get work done so that we actually accomplish something of value by the end of the day. We want to feel like we purposefully and consciously contributed towards a brighter future.

Procrastination is the mortal enemy of success because it literally pushes our hopes and dreams away from us each second we give into its schemes. Many times we don't even realize we are procrastinating which is one of the most dangerous positions to find ourselves in. In order to be successful in any area of our lives, it requires relentless work, focus, and consistency.

If we allow procrastination to sneak in with petty, pacifying distractions, then we are ultimately saying (without verbalizing it), that the distractions are more important than our life's vision. More important than our mission. More important than leaving an impact on the planet. Deep down, we all know that our Twitter feed isn't more important than living a purpose-driven life, but it steals our attention regardless.

This article is going to provide you with specific steps on how to avoid procrastination, you'll need to work on them on your own time. The things that distract you on day-to-day will be different than the things that distract myself or someone else. Even so, take a look below to a few tips that could help you manage distractions a bit better than you may have in the past.

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Location

For me, the biggest change that has enabled me to be productive by limiting distractions is to choose my locations carefully. Since I am married with 3 children, working at home is not only distracting, but quite frustrating because my attention gets pulled in multiple directions multiple times by multiple humans.

What I like to do is either drive to the library or to a coffee shop with my laptop and a few snacks. The library I normally go to has a coffee machine which helps keep me energized throughout the day. If you don't have a library or a coffee shop close to your home, then try finding a spot that works well for you. Whichever location you choose, assess whether you're able to achieve a solid level of focus there or not.

Recently I discovered that Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn, The Minimalists, at one point during their journey moved to Montana, to a home on the side of a mountain to work on their writing projects. Even though this is a more extreme version of preventing procrastination and distractions, Joshua and Ryan went on to write 5 best-selling books as a result of their focus and determination.

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Choosing one thing

Multi-tasking is not one of my strong suits as I tend to get more done when focused on one thing at a time. In order to avoid procrastination, it's important to avoid overwhelm as a result of trying to get too many things done at one time.

Sometimes, when there is too much to get done throughout the day, we will tend to avoid the pain associated with that hurdle and instead point our attention to small distractions that satisfy our dopamine quota for the day.

When you wake up in the morning and look at your list of to-do's, pay the most attention to one item that is the most important to work on that day. Make that your number one priority and knock it out before you start on another item. After it's completed, move on to the next one.

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Time of day

Avoiding procrastination is best done when you have the most energy and vigor in the day. For me, mornings are the best time to knock out my biggest projects because I have the most vitality. Normally by the late afternoon and evening, my creative juices have begun to run out, leaving my brain wide open for distractions.

Choosing a specific timeframe to get your most important work done will enable you to limit procrastination and welcome productivity. Are you a night owl that finds energy in staying up late? Use that to your advantage by planning your critical tasks around your wide-awake hours.

If you work a job and/or have a family, then scheduling and prioritizing important items is essential to your success. Using free tools such as Google Calendar and Trello can help you stay on track with planned tasks to complete at specific times.

Find out what type of work I've been doing lately besides writing...

Coil is a Web Monetization provider, meaning that they provide the means to pay creators when a user subscribes by paying the $5 monthly fee. Coil decides, using the browser API, how much to pay creators based upon the amount of time spent viewing their unique content.

When you sign up as a creator on Coil.com, you have the option to monetize not only the content placed on Coil's front-end interface, but also your own self-hosted blog using WordPress or another popular content management system. Inside of the settings tab > creator settings, users are given a meta tag to use on external sites after the payout method has been decided on.

A meta tag is basically a snippet of code that gives more detail to web pages, letting search engines know what type of content is contained on the site. Again, Coil will provide the code to you once your payout method is configured and Coil knows where to send your payments via an Interledger payment pointer.

Adding Web Monetization to an external site of yours won't make sense if you don't own one yet. Therefore, continue publishing your content on Coil.com and read on just in case you decide to create a site of your own down the road.

Let's walk through the steps to easily add a Web Monetization meta tag to your WordPress site in less than 5 minutes.

✪ 1. Copy the code from your creator settings tab in your settings menu on Coil.com.

✪ 2. Open WordPress and go to the Plugins menu. Search for and install a free plugin called Insert Headers and Footers. Activate the plugin.

✪ 3. Locate the plugin under Settings > Insert Headers and Footers

✪ 4. Paste your meta tag into header box as shown.

✪ 5. Hit the “save” button at the bottom

✪ 6. To verify that it works, visit your self-hosted site using a browser with the Coil extension installed. If you see the green dollar sign you are golden.

Any questions, please send them here via direct message.

Additional articles you may be interested in...

The State of Web Monetization

Interledger 2020 – The Protocol to Connect Them All

Ripple Pulse – The Age of Opportunity

Subscribers can discover how new, intimidating actions eventually become familiar...

The smell of the pages as they bristle through your emphatic fingers. The weight of the 9 ounce paperback binding on your wrist as you lift it up to explore the many letters that combine to form a string of brilliant words and phrases. Reading all of a sudden becomes an exhilarating adventure, one that gives you breath yet also takes your breath away. What a fascinating experience to embark upon as you drive from the beginning to the end of a work of art, a message that cannot be expressed as effectively in any other format.

Everything That Remains: A Memoir by the Minimalists, is a story that encapsulates the journey towards living a minimalistic lifestyle. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus were two gentleman in their upper 20's who had both climbed the corporate ladder in search of happiness, only to find the exact opposite. Joshua and Ryan were working countless hours per week, as they thought they should, to reach the pinnacle of their careers as well as their peak levels of fulfillment only to discover feelings of anxiety, stress, and an overarching stain of dissatisfaction.

Without giving too much of the story away, Joshua lost his mother to cancer and his marriage fell apart within a month's time, causing him to take a deep dive within himself to find what was truly important in life. Surely the corporate ladder, you know, the one we all hope to reach the top of, would prove as the ultimate victory crown worn proudly upon one's cranium. The more he searched the more he found that his things were tying him down like an anchor tightly ties down a ship, causing it to stay in one measly spot for extended periods of time.

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Joshua's material possessions that he has purchased with exuberance and glee quickly felt like a prison cell where the warden had swallowed the key, never to be seen again. It wasn't until he decided to let go and rid himself of his possessions that ironically possessed him, that his life began to shift down a path of meaning, of connection, of purpose, of passion. Reading Everything That Remains is like taking one's journal and diving into a sea of genuine rawness that only comes from the depths of their soul.

The book beautifully illustrates the discontent in Joshua's life that transformed into a life that is simple, joyful, exciting, and fulfilling. Even though it is a life far from perfect, it is a life that is much more manageable and meaningful. It is living with less stuff so that you actually end up with more of the things that truly matter. Forming deeper connections with other humans and pursuing your calling far outweigh the stress and associated burdens that come with climbing the corporate ladder or pursuing work that doesn't add value to yours or others' lives.

Many people spend their entire lives searching for meaning, for purpose, for fulfillment, for contentment, for happiness, but they are searching in all the wrong places. Nothing from the extrinsic world is going to satisfy that longing deep down in your soul which can only be found in pursuing what lights you up inside and in contributing to the lives of others. One of the main messages inside the book is this... You can decide to be happy today. Not tomorrow, not next week, but today is the day you can make that decision for yourself.

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Joshua faces many challenges along his journey, and it was a joy to discover how he faced those challenges head on in search of his ideal life. A culmination of events and introductions to other minimalists paved the way for theminimalists.com to be born alongside Ryan Nicodemus. The creation of this blog caused an avalanche of success to fall upon Joshua's and Ryan's lives after multiple months of time and energy focused on spreading their message to as many people as possible.

Ryan and Joshua have completed shifted my perspective on material possessions and the consumerism mindset as a whole. I am now, as a result, more focused on creating and contributing instead of being bogged down by things I don't need and more importantly, never wanted in the first place. One of the biggest shifts for me was realizing that it wasn't really me that wanted the fancy cars or the designer clothing, instead it was the slimy, culminating effect of clever advertising over the last 34 years of my existence.

Quick takeaways from

the book as a fellow author:

✪ Expanded vocabulary and deliberate sentence structure

Joshua, being the talented writer that he is, writes in an intricate, intimate manner that boldly captures each scene he illustrates throughout the book. One sentence in particular was the longest sentence I have ever read. While enjoying its structure, I couldn't help but wonder, “Will this sentence ever end”? My mind has been opened to a vocabulary full of descriptive, meaningful words that will enhance my ability to vividly articulate each moment.

✪ A strong resistance against materialism

Seeing advertisements on television, the internet, or on billboards driving down the highway, didn't seem to bother me too much in the past. Ever since reading Everything That Remains, I view advertisements in a negative light because they are showing me things that I don't want to own. I now am more deliberate in my spending, only purchasing items that add value to my life, oftentimes getting rid of one or more items I already own to make room in my home.

✪ A deeper longing for simple living

Life is more simple with less stuff to bog you down. When focus is put towards the important parts of life, everything else falls into place. Letting go of unneeded possessions is an ongoing process, but is one well-worth the journey. The truth of the matter is, we have limited time on this earth, so why waste that time on frivolous trinkets and toys that will end up collecting dust on a shelf somewhere? The longing for simple living has increased in my mind and in my heart since reading this book.

✪ Peace of mind

With my mindset shifted away from accumulating unnecessary things, it allows me as a writer to have a clear head when I dive into each creative session knowing I am managing less possessions. Peace of mind is extremely important, especially being a father and a husband who needs to remain calm in many, if not all situations. Keeping a clear head allows for a rush of positive emotions to flow through me while keeping negative emotions at bay. The result is a life filled with passionate, productive, meaningful moments to cherish long into the future.

Everything That Remains is a book that was not only read feverishly cover to cover, but it also gave me a much needed inspirational boost that transcends multiple facets of my life. Now that I have completed this book, I am going to start applying the lessons to my own habits and also start looking at the other books The Minimalists have published. Not only do they write books, but new podcasts are also available for listen on Spotify and YouTube for free.

A huge aspect of The Minimalists that speaks volumes to me is the fact that they practice what they preach. Joshua and Ryan demonstrate what it looks like to live a meaningful life with less by setting the example and minimizing their spaces first, then showing the world how to do it second. That fact is admirable and proves that genuine, transparent people on the internet do indeed exist.

Thank you for reading. ✦

*No compensation has been paid by The Minimalists for publishing this article. Everything was written out of pure gratitude for a message that changed me from the inside out.*

Additional articles you may be interested in...

Minimalism: Get Rid of Stress by Living with Less

Living with Freedom of Choice

Are Cell Phones Slowly Killing Us?

Subscribers can find out about where the world is heading...

Today is officially the first day of the ✭✭✭ new decade ✭✭✭, and what better way to kick it off then to recognize a couple outstanding members from the Content Builders Club. We've had an influx of new members recently as the blogging bug continues to spread and people realize they have a voice that needs heard, a powerful message to be shared with the world.

Blogging, and just writing in general, is an art-form that allows one to express themselves in a unique way that no other medium offers. Jotting ideas and concepts down on paper or a laptop is oftentimes a cathartic process, helping cleanse people of the toxins and negative emotions they are experiencing in their lives.

The Content Builders Club is an invite-only Telegram group focused on publishing works via Coil.com. Some members own their own websites and use Coil's Web Monetization code to add the monetization feature to all of their pages. The club is free of charge and open to anyone looking to join an engaging community full of encouragement and support for Coil bloggers.

In this edition of CBC Member Highlights, 2 members will be highlighted who have demonstrated regular participation in the club while also providing honest and genuine support to the rest of the group. The club's foundation is built upon members who truly care for others and have a heart to serve one another.

Not only have these highlighted members participated in the club, but they also produce blog content on a regular basis which is an important aspect of CBC involvement. We encourage publishing works to Coil.com to help grow the platform, and also to self-hosted blog sites that utilize the proposed Web Monetization API standard.

Let's find out who is being recognized in today's edition. Drum roll please...

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Dani Torres@DaniTorres

Dani is a new member of the CBC, and a long-standing member of the XRP community on Twitter. Dani is quite kind and thoughtful, delivering support and encouragement to other members in the club. At first, she wasn't sure if she wanted to start blogging or not, but she decided to take the leap anyways and we're glad she did.

Dani has a knack for crafting, as she creates beautiful artwork that she and everyone else truly enjoys. The talent and gifts that Dani brings to the table are second to none and it is an honor that she is sharing those gifts on her blog. Dani also publishes content around health, so stay tuned for more articles surrounding that topic.

Next up... ☕️☕️☕️

Benny @consistentbenny

Benny came onto the Coil blogging scene recently as well, expressing himself in a unique writing style that speaks volumes of his sound and professional demeanor. Benny is active within the CBC telegram group, providing constructive feedback to other members.

Not only does Benny publish incredible work on Coil.com, he also owns his own self-hosted blog over at consistentme.com. Content on his site consists of both life and business articles which are well-written and packed with value. The site has a really clean and simple feel which is quite inviting. Thank you Benny for all the good work you have done and continue to do.

Thank you for joining us here in edition 12 of the CBC member highlights. If you would like to be considered for one of the next editions, please continue blogging regularly and participating in the CBC. Active members always benefit the most from the club as they give and receive proper support.

The power of habits...

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Call me an optimist if you will, but 2020 will be the best year yet. We've already seen the blockchain and digital asset space make light years of progress leading up to this point. Consider the internet in the early days when the tools and resources of today didn't exist. The days when progress would drudge along slower than the painstaking experience of watching paint dry on a wall.

Right now we sit in the greatest time in the history of the world. We have the resources, the funding, and the technology necessary to fundamentally restructure the way the world functions, especially from an economic perspective. Distributed ledger technology allowed for the creation of digital assets to emerge onto the scene which gave people an alternative means to pay for goods and services.

Individuals can now control their money and have the option of storing it offline, keeping their assets safe from malicious hackers who are up to no good. We have seen the adoption of digital assets taking place, where people are more familiar with the term Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Popular news publications are talking about the space as they ask questions and wrestle with the new, non-correlated asset class that many use as a hedge against a possible economic downturn.

Banks and financial institutions across the world are beginning to test and even adopt this technology to improve their businesses and even pass savings down to their customers. As more institutions come on-board and experience the sheer speed and reliability, it will further snowball the ripple effect resulting in a large majority utilizing this value-add on a consistent basis simply because it makes sense.

The digital asset market as it stands is currently heavily manipulated and speculative. Over time though, market sentiment is expected to shift as the fixed supply of these assets decrease and the demand quickly increases due to existing and new use-cases coming into play in a big way. It has taken 10 years for the space to mature and reach the point it is at today. The internet of information had to be built first to roll out the red carpet for the internet of value.

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The highest returns on investment

Let's keep this important notion in mind... investment is more than just money. Investment also includes time and energy. Although I cannot guarantee that the monetary investment you made in a particular digital asset will shoot to the moon in 2020, I can be confident your time and energy channeled into building something of purpose will reap a very high return.

What you are doing today, affects the type of life that you live tomorrow. Everything that you have thought or done this year effects how 2020 will play out for you. Every moment spend building an app, a website, a community, a blog, a relationship, a fitness regimen, a song list, or even a pixel art collection, is time well spent. At the end of your life, you won't look back and think about how many likes you got on your Instagram posts. Instead, you'll think about the impact and the value you provided to the world.

The returns you will see from building those passion areas of yours are joy, satisfaction, peace, clarity, purpose, fulfillment, and happiness. These types of returns are intangible, the ones that money cannot buy no matter how much stuff you accumulate in your home. In fact, the more items you acquire, the more you begin drowning in your own pool of anxiety and emptiness that entraps your soul in an endless void of fear and depression. It's like a metaphorical anchor tied around your neck weighing you down everywhere you go.

As I have been diving into this life of minimalism, I've come to realize that the things I thought I wanted, I never really wanted at all. Instead, I wanted the FEELINGS that were promised to me that I would feel when I received that item with open arms into my life experience. Feelings such as joy, contentment, and deep satisfaction don't come from the extrinsic world. They come from within. Possessions only have the ability to enhance your existing emotional state, not to fulfill your longing for meaning.

Will you receive a massive return on your digital asset investment next year? Maybe! In fact, I hope that we all do. But know this, even if we don't, putting our time and energy into things in life that truly matter will yield the highest and best returns that one could imagine. Monetary returns would surely enhance that experience if used in a way that brings satisfaction to our lives and we don't get stuck inside the viscous circle of consumerism.

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Keeping a clear head

No matter what your goals are and no matter which resolutions you decide on forming, return on investment is found in keeping a clear head. Keeping your thoughts and emotions in check will allow you to keep making progress. In other words, failures will come along your journey, but it's how you choose to look at those failures that will make all the difference. Winston Churchill, former British prime minister, says this...

Success is moving from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.

Of course, there will be moments when you feel defeated, but don't allow those moments to turn into days, weeks, and months. When you get knocked down, don't stay down long. Instead, get excited again by understanding that you can learn from failures and come back swinging stronger than ever before.

You have to believe in yourself and believe in what you are pursuing, even when no one else understands or supports you. When times get tough, and they will, focus on the reason why you started in the first place then point your attention towards the end goal you are working towards pursuing. Don't let the reason why you started become your biggest roadblock in the path of your success.

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Words of wisdom

If a top priority or focus of yours heading into the new year is finances, I have something of value I would like to share. One of the most powerful messages in regards to finances that has stuck with me the longest, I learned from Gary Vee. It is short and to the point and it is this...

Don't spend money on dumb s**t.

That line, combined with learning about minimalism, has shifted my mindset to the point where it needed to be in order to grow in that area of my life. If the ship of your life is leaking, plug up the holes. We as human do not need the junk advertised to us 24/7 on television, radio, internet, and so on.

With all of that being said, 2020 will be the greatest year and yield the highest return on time and energy the world has ever seen. Do I want digital assets to moon? That would be great. But, even if they don't, I have confidence in the fact that I and many others are helping to build out the ecosystem and provide meaningful contributions so that the space grows efficiently and organically.

Thank you readers for coming along on this incredible journey. Each and every one of you provide immense value to my life and I would not want to do this on my own. Exciting times are coming next year so stay off the bench and get in the game. Trophies are only handed out to hungry, active participants, not to the water boys. ✦

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What I look forward to most in 2020 ...