Learning a Language All By Yourself

Marc Bilodeau/ Bucket List, Subjectivity

Saluton kaj Bonvenon! For those that do not know, that means Hi and Welcome in Esperanto. Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. It was created by Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof in the late 19th century. I discovered it a couple of years ago, and after doing some research decided I wanted to speak it. The total number of speakers varies depending on the source. However, it’s estimated that there are less

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What I’ve Learned From Owning a Company

Marc Bilodeau/ Bucket List, Core Beliefs, Self Help, Subjectivity

I, like many other ambitious entrepreneurs, ventured forth to seek fortune and glory in the game of capitalism. Although, the entire journey of owning a company changes you, and not all changes are good. Regardless, everyone’s experiences from owning a company will be unique. You certainly grow as a person from the whole endeavor no matter what happens to the business. I first thought about owning my own company towards the

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Get things out of your head and build an external brain

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Self Help, Subjectivity

One of the best things I’ve done for myself is build and refine my external brain. All too often in my personal and professional life have I seen people try to remember details and rely on their memory. However for most of us, we overestimate our capacity to memorize things. An external brain takes advantage of tools to help keep track of daily life and important details. By writing things down,

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It’s Time To Think Milestones, Not Finish Lines

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Subjectivity

When it comes to things I do, I try to find the joy in the entire process. In my opinion, it’s a shame when someone just pushes through big projects while only focusing on the goal. It seems the excitement dies quickly once the main goal is achieved. I think it’s important to engage in long term endeavors where there isn’t an end, but a path of continuous improvement. Therefore, I set

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Learning seems easy, but it’s harder than you think

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Self Help, Subjectivity

Learning is fun. It’s one of my core beliefs that the meaning of life is to learn from the human experience and to share those experiences with others. In fact, it’s part of my personal mission statement. As I grow older, I’ve come to appreciate the accessibility of today’s world. It’s amazing how easy I can learn about anything I want. No matter what it is, there are infinite possibilities available

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The Joys of Mowing the Lawn

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Health, Subjectivity

Once again, it’s May in Maine. The snow is nowhere in sight, the days are getting longer, and the weather is warming. It’s a great feeling as green leaves and grass make their annual appearance. Consequently, this means the chore of mowing the lawn is part of my weekly ritual until late October. A grueling two and a half hour process of pushing the lawnmower around, while the afternoon sun beams

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A Beginner’s Guide to Compiling Perl Scripts

Marc Bilodeau/ ItsADevLife

I love Perl. It’s my first real language as a developer, and I’ve done very well with it over the past 19 years writing code much of those days. However, not all code can be open source and freely available. That’s why compiling perl scripts into binary files is a great way to share software without sharing the source code. Why Compile Perl Scripts? Perl is an interpreted and dynamic programming

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Health: The Number One Priority

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Health, Self Help, Subjectivity

What is health? Is it well-defined muscles? An athlete? How about a vegetarian or vegan? The idea of healthy living goes beyond the notion of eating right and exercising regularly. It’s not only about the physical self, it also includes mental and spiritual well-being. Being healthy is a lot of work. It requires daily practice and mindful thinking. Additionally, achieving a healthy lifestyle means discovering what works best through trial and error.

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A Personal Mission Statement

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Self Help, Subjectivity

A mission statement describes the purpose of an organization, and why it exists. More specifically, it answers three important questions. WHO the organization serves, WHAT kind of things it does, and HOW it does it. Every organization should have a mission statement. Not only to define itself, but serve as the basis for creating and managing an effective business plan. Additionally, it keeps the organization focused on its purpose and objectives. Once

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Core Beliefs and Personal Values

Marc Bilodeau/ Core Beliefs, Health, Subjectivity

In my forever quest to improve and understand myself at the deepest level, I’ve been contemplating why I think and do the things I do. At a high level, there are patterns to my reactions, decisions, and behaviors. Some would say this makes me predictable. Although, it seems we are all a little predictable. In truth, we live according to a set of codes and guidelines that are our core beliefs

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