You have to expect it.

I named my cat Frodo, so of course I'm going to quote The Lord of the Rings more than is wise or necessary. But also, J.R.R. Tolkien injected lots of inspiration and wisdom into these very quotable books.

To start off, I promise I'm not trying to beat you over the head too much with the fact that I've had a difficult year. Nobody likes a complainer! But the latest thing is so bizarre (and frankly, hilarious) that I have to share it.

I was recently accused of "ripping off" a book that was published five years after my book. Effectively, I was accused of time traveling plagiarism, which is pretty cool in a way. But the really odd thing? This happened twice in July.

If it happens once, it's like, "Okay, I guess this person just didn't look at the publication dates." But to be unironically accused of time traveling crime twice in the same month suggests I might actually be cursed. (Bright side: I assume this is a world record.)

I will probably talk more about this later, as this story goes deeper than just these reviews (there was copying, but I'm the victim per laws of physics). In a nutshell, my reputation is currently being harmed (and my writing career threatened) because someone else copied my book. Nice. Put it on my tab.

For now, the point is that my time machine is amazing life can become dreadful suddenly, for no good reason, and without warning. It can hit you with one thing after another.

But I'm not special or cursed or unlucky. I know you have had to deal with terrible frustrations, challenges, and injustices of your own. Who hasn't? Hard times strike everyone. So it isn't a matter of if but when hard times come and how you respond to them.

For all of the bad stuff that's happened to me this last year, I continue to thrive in more ways than not. Oddly enough, I'm doing better than ever overall. You may have even noticed that my articles have been higher quality lately and that the Mini Habits website is beautiful. That's no coincidence!

Through trial by fire in the last year, I've learned the best response to hard times. It's a simple combination of two ideas. You can read about it in the new article below. Just brace yourself for some awesome The Lord of the Rings quotes. It's short, simple, and powerful. Enjoy!

Two Ideas for Getting Through Hard Times

Share this article: Facebook | Twitter

Cheers,

Stephen Guise

---------

Have You Read My Books?

If you like my newsletters and blog posts, you'll love my books. I'll spend hours on a post, but I spend years researching and writing my books to make them as useful and actionable as possible. I promise you they are worth the small investment!

The Magic of Momentum (New!): eBook | Paperback | Audiobook​

Momentum is the way to build winning streaks and resilience. It affects our behavior at all times—this book will help you to leverage it to change your life!

Mini Habits: eBook | Paperback | Audiobook​

My first book is in 21 languages! It details the easy habit formation strategy that has changed thousands of lives (including mine)! Also on iBooks, Nook, KOBO, & Google.

​

Mini Habits for Weight Loss: eBook | Paperback | Audiobook​

Finally, an alternative to dieting that works. Mini Habits for Weight Loss will show you how to make dietary changes in a sustainable, permanent way that doesn’t trigger biological or neurological resistance. Also on iBooks, KOBO, & Google.

How to Be an Imperfectionist: eBook | Paperback | Audiobook​

Discover 20+ creative mini habit solutions to overcome perfectionism and get things done! Imperfectionists accomplish more with less stress.

Elastic Habits: eBook | Paperback | Audiobook​

Read Elastic Habits if you want to know how to give your (mini) habits the superpower of elasticity! This is the ultimate habit-building strategy.

More Resources

• ​Subscriber Treasures: Read the first chapter of Mini Habits, download the set of 40 free focus wallpapers, read my full anti-stress eBook, or check out some great focusing tools. They're all here and they're free for you!
• ​Minihabits.com: The place for mini habit ideas, elastic habit products, tutorials, and more!
• ​Stephenguise.com: My primary blog. As a subscriber, you see just about everything I write, but I've been writing here since 2011, so the blog contains hundreds of posts to peruse (many of which are gems).
• ​Facebook community: Discuss this post and/or my books!

​

PS. You're receiving this email because you signed up for the Mini Habits newsletter. Thank you for reading and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!