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Why are so many people — in a world of advanced technology, incredible relative wealth, medical and health advances — still depressed, unmotivated, and searching for an a fulfilled, centered, amazing life? Perhaps we spend so much time checking things off our endless to do lists, that we don’t stop long enough to discern what should be on those lists in the first place. Lifestyle Design — as coined by Timothy Ferriss — is the philosophy that going with the flow is not enough. In order to live a the optimal life, we must consciously decide what is most important and design our lives (including our work) around those ideals rather than waiting until retirement — hoping we are still alive and well enough — to live our dreams. Most examples of this lifestyle focus on young singles or childless couples (or maybe a couple with very young children) often traveling the globe to live in remote places. We, however, embarked on this when we had six children (ages 4-20) and owned a home we actually wanted to live in! We employ the principles of lifestyle design with a focus on five key elements: Productivity, Organization, Systems, Goal setting, Analysis Our progress involves setting personalized goals (none of which include vagabonding!) in eight categories: Mind – education, training, logic, homeschooling Body – fitness, health, hygeine, beauty Spirit – religion, morality, ethics Love – relationships, marriage, family Money – finances, career, retirement Home – design, decor, organization Good – philanthropy, service, politics Fun – vacations, holidays, recreation In this blog project I am blogging our progress, moving from ideas and mental creation to the real world and physical creation. Who am I? Alison Moore Smith Wife of my dream man, Dr. Samuel M. Smith (electrical engineer and entrepreneur extraordinaire) Mom to six wondrous kids (ages 10-26) Mother-in-law to two awesome men (who call me “Mom” — :::cry:::) Primary caregiver for my wonderful, elderly daddy Mormon Web techie (20 years and counting) Blogger (11 years and counting) Public speaker Singer Ballroom dancer Actress Homeschooler Organizer BYU alum College graduate (BA in applied business) Just Dance! aficionado Chocolate magnet Marathoner (once, never again) The anti-craft Advertising Disclosure Pix2Brix is a for-profit business venture, created as the hub for moving toward a mortgage-free home. This means that, while there is no charge to you to access and read this blog, I depend on advertising revenues and other programs to monetize this site. The information below briefly describes the various methods I am currently using, or that I plan to implement, to monetize my blog. It is my hope that the information below will clear up any confusion over how I make money from this blog. Pixel Ads Our primary source of site monetization is to sell/exchange products/services for pixel advertising as explained in the FAQ. Paid Advertising Banner advertisement space is available to purchase on a subscription basis. This means that I rent the space out to an advertiser in exchange for a fee much like an advertisement in a magazine, newspaper, or billboard. I retain complete control over the appearance of these types of advertisements on my website. I try to make sure that whatever is being advertised is related to the content of this blog and helpful for my readers. Action Advertising As a publisher, I participate in the Google’s AdSense program. These advertisements will be always identify with “Ads by Google.” You may also see these ads in the rss feed of your reader. Page Impressions A page impression is simply having an ad appear in one of my banner advertisement areas. Advertisers pay Google to spread these ads out throughout the internet based on the content of the blog. I share in a tiny sliver of this when it appears on my site. Pay Per Click If you click on a Google ad, I receive a small referral fee. (Hint: this is a good thing.) Affiliate Programs I participate in numerous affiliate programs. I receive a commission on whatever you purchase through an affiliate program using my links. These links may appear as banner ads, widgets on my sidebar, in text links, or through a blog post endorsing or reviewing the product. Product or Service Compensation I may arrange a free product/service or a discount on a product/service in exchange for a thorough review of a product/service. Keyword Links Some in-text links are either manually or automatically generated on specific words for particular benefit of the destination company. These may be the result of direct compensation or discount.