The Magic Number 50 Can Change Your Life

To survive and thrive in tough times, like the current economic crisis, you need to be able to reinvent yourself. According to Gail Blanke, best-selling author and motivational speaker, now more than ever, we need to free ourselves from “life plaque”—the physical and emotional debris that’s been cluttering up the arteries of our lives.

Blanke says to go home and throw out 50 things. “50 is a magic number,” she says, “because once you make it there, a kind of powerful momentum takes over…. And then something really wonderful happens. You take control of your life.”

Don’t think of it as de-cluttering, think of it as letting go of the past so you can get on with your future. Once you’re on a roll, she suggests moving on to harder things like regrets, anger and being right about how wrong everything is.

Read Blanke’s five tips on surviving clutter and finding your life.