Here’s an anti-hack I’ve read that you’ll probably chuckle at because it’s become a joke that us youngsters laugh at:

TUNE IN, TURN ON AND DROP OUT.

I realize I’ve got to do it now. I accidentally stumbled upon some of Mr. Leary’s work, and, never having taken any LSD or anything I find that what he says is absolutely true fascinating. LSD is not his entire point. In fact, meditation could be substituted for the substance. I suggest you read some of his work.

That’s a straight hack at the root, and I think Thoreau would agree (were he alive today).

Over 99% of the people who read this will be appalled, and the rest, who are open mined, will think “what on earth?”.

As for a ‘hack’ to perspective…. I have one potential nomination. You might at least find it interesting. It’s Genpo Roshi’s Big Mind process. You can check it out here:
http://www.genpo.org/Intro_Movie_Page.html

As for the ‘ruthless removing” things from your life…. I’ve found that developing a freakish bone marrow disorder, then acute leukemia…then having a bone marrow transplant….did this *for* me. Ruthless is a fantastic word for it. Talk about a short-cut to *perspective*. This is a truly effective one. I don’t actually recommend it, however! ;)

I think getting rid of stepping stones is very difficult for me – I’m planning to go to graduate school in the spring, another stepping stone. I chose to do this as the first step of breaking out of my rut of stability and comfort and trying to do what I really love – which is terrifying but also exhilarating. I think stepping stones can be okay, though, as long as we choose them mindfully, instead of just following the path that’s “expected”. Not sure I’ve done that in choosing my next stepping stone. I have to think about this some more.

Productivity in the corporate sense definitely feels dehumanizing to me. There’s a great post over at the Put Things Off blog about the end of the working week: http://putthingsoff.com/the-end-of-the-working-week/

Anyway, I only got about two hours of sleep last night, so I’m probably not making much sense, but thanks for a great post!

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.
“You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman, “you should be working rather than just lying on the beach!”

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will be my reward?”

“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer.”And then what will be my reward?” asked the fisherman, still smiling. The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!”

“And then what will be my reward?” asked the fisherman again. The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s seemingly dense questions. “You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said. “And then what will be my reward?” asked the fisherman.

The businessman was angry now. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”
Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will be my reward?”The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “And what do you think I’m doing now?”

p.s. I’m loving the site. I just found it today and I plan on visiting it regularly. Great content! Good comments/community! :D