Turn trials to triumph

Following a series of devastating losses, Marc and Angel Chernoff turned their pain into astonishing success. Now they’re helping others do the same. Here, what to remember when everything goes wrong

Marc & Angel Chernoff reveal the 7 steps that transform challenges into new levels of joy

Ten years ago, married couple Marc and Angel Chernoff felt like they were drowning in tragic news: They’d just lost a best friend to a heart attack, a sibling to suicide and their livelihood following a layoff. “We didn’t know how to sleep and cry at the same time,” Marc recalls of how their broken hearts hit rock-bottom. There, numbed by depression, grief and fear of becoming homeless, they were unsure of how to regain their footing. Angel shares, “You can’t see the silver lining. You can’t see how you’re going to get out of that storm.” And yet, as impossible as it seemed, the duo successfully reinvented their lives. How? By creating small daily rituals that gradually allowed them to see hope and beauty in their lives. The key? “Focus a little less on managing your problems and a little more on managing your mind-set.”

Now with their blog, “Marc & Angel Hack Life” (MarcAndAngel.com), the couple is helping millions of people move past setbacks. They don’t deny that painful events happen, but say, “If we can learn to think better, we can ultimately live better.” And there’s healing on the other side. “It’s crazy to see all the beauty that came from those incredibly painful life changes that we would never in a million years wish on somebody else,” notes Marc. “Life is unpredictable, but that doesn’t mean we are powerless or we don’t have many, many options to create meaning and find joy.” Best of all, this type of healing is possible for anyone. Read on for Marc and Angel’s tips to regain perspective when you’re feeling beaten-down or stuck in a rut. The couple promises, “You might look back on today as the day your whole life changed.”