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Category: Living Well

Daydreaming and Sleepwalking

Published on January 29, 2025

You probably won’t ever realize how many opportunities there are in the world, until you define what type of opportunities you most want to realize.

To define is to put on your radar. And to recalibrate your radar is to get alerted to what you didn’t see before.

To define is to give shape to. And to shape the world is to more easily identify what shapes fit into your mold.

To define is to manifest. And not in any kind of passive way. In the way that alerts you to when the shape that fits your mold comes onto your radar so that you can channel the courage required to act in proportion to what each opportunity requires.

…Did you catch that?

You have to know exactly what you want (and not what the world wants for you)… so you can actually see all that’s there… so you can finally act with initiative and courage and with a deliberateness that was never there before.

Until then… you can keep on daydreaming and sleepwalking.

Stitching Together Life Experiences

Published on January 28, 2025

Like a DJ, I love the idea of seamlessly stitching together one beat of one experience of my life to another beat of an upcoming life experience.

…How can I take what I learned and play it like music in my everyday life?

…How can I stay in touch with the people I’ve met and turn single beats into a rhythm?

…At which point in my life’s track am I—the intro, the build, the drop, the breakdown, the second build, the second drop, the second breakdown, the outro, etc—and how can I fully embrace this section of it while also planning ahead where I want the next phase to take me?

What I love about watching great DJs is that they masterfully balance being present and dancing to their sound while properly planning ahead where they want to go.

And whether you realize it or not… what you do daily shouldn’t feel so much different.

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Playing At Boiler Room

Published on January 23, 2025

There’s a young, up-and-coming DJ who has popped into my feed over the past few days who posts short clips of him DJing with a simple message overlay that says:

“Day 29 of posting sick transitions until I play at Boiler Room.”
“Day 30 of posting sick transitions until I play at Boiler Room.”
“Day 31 of posting sick transitions until I play at Boiler Room.”

…And so on.

I love this so much for a few reasons:

1. He’s making his goal known. To the world, yes—but, most of all, to himself.
2. He’s actively doing something that’ll lead him towards that goal—he’s not just puffing air.
3. He understands that it’s going to be a process and has committed to a daily practice that—at the very least—is going to make him into an incredible DJ… and at the very best—is going to result in him playing at Boiler Room… and more.

Inner Work Prompt: What’s one of your big goals? And what might you commit to doing daily that’ll get you there?

Keep On Playing

Published on January 21, 2025

One of my young employees told me yesterday that he’s not sure he wants to be a martial arts instructor when he gets older because he feels a pull towards science.

“…You’re 14,” I told him.

And then proceed to say something along the lines of: Of course you’re not sure what you want to do when you grow up. To think you should know what you want to do for a living at 14 is crazy. And anyone who tells you or makes you think you should know that by 14 is crazy.

…Lean into your interests. If you feel a pull, follow up. But, keep your doors open. You just don’t know how things will play out… the key, I think, is to just keep on playing.

And this is advice that I think is as true at 35 as it is at 14 as it is at 44 as it is at 76.

We aren’t carved from rocks. We’re constantly flowing as a river.

I’ve been surprising myself lately with my sudden interest in music—something I’ve never really been drawn to… and I’m 35. My current plan is to play around with it and see how it plays out.

…Advice I’d pass along to you if you’re feeling any sudden pulls in life, too.

The Job Of The Teacher

Published on January 20, 2025

“The job of the teacher is to create the conditions for the student to explore their incompetence long enough to learn something useful.”

Seth Godin

The job of the teacher isn’t to make the student feel bad about their incompetence. Nor is it their job to paint incompetence as a kind of failure. And it’s definitely not about creating conditions where the student feels worse about their incompetence than when they started.

The job of the teacher, as Seth outlines above (and is worth stating again), is to create the conditions for the student to explore their incompetence long enough to learn something useful.

The job of the teacher is to spark a curiosity about an incompetence and show the student where competence could lead them. The job of the teacher is to make the student feel safe, seen, and heard and create the type of environment that allows for experimentation, mistakes, and expression (for growth isn’t possible without them). The job of the teacher is to inspire the student to want to come back to another session after each one is finished—to be future focused and not overly zealous at the current one.

And whether you want to admit it or not—what all of us need to come to terms with is—we’re all teachers. And each of us is either helping those around us learn something useful… or we’re—either knowingly or unknowingly—facilitating incompetence.

…Who are the students in your life?

Temporary Status

Published on January 19, 2025

In victory, we remain humble… and hungry. Because victory is only a temporary status. And arrogance only makes it more so. Maybe even immediately so.

In defeat, we remain hungry… and humble. Because defeat is only a temporary status. And self-loathing only makes it less so. Maybe even permanently so.

Because most of all, the goal should always be to keep on playing. Because life is only a temporary status. And spectating only makes it feel more so. Maybe even unknowingly so.

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week here.

What To Do In The Calm Before The Storm

Published on January 17, 2025

Tomorrow there’s a black belt and higher degree test for almost 50 of my martial arts students.

Tonight, we had one final open workout.

At the end, I gathered them together and gave them three simple pieces of advice:

1. Drink lots of water. Hard physical performances are made proportionally harder based on how dehydrated our body is. And hydration doesn’t happen 20 minutes before a really hard physical performance… it happens 20 hours before.

2. Don’t forget electrolytes. Many of the students will be fasting prior to the test so this reminder is key. Without electrolytes our muscles won’t function properly and can oftentimes lead to cramps, spasms, less fine motor control, and general fatigue or dizziness. Electrolytes are the key to strong performances and can be consumed in a capsule.

3. Get as much rest as you can. The day before the test is not the day for hard practice. It’s the day to trust in your hard practice. It’s the day to take your mind off of the hard practice. It’s the day to appreciate all of the hard practice you’ve done and just allow your body to… soften.

…In the calm before the storm, we need to learn how to allow ourselves to be calm.

…So that when the storm comes, we can RAGE and give it our undeniable all.