Category: Thinking Clearly

Use The Damn Tool(s)

Published on August 20, 2024

In reply to my post on one lesson from 35 years, my uncle replied with the following:

“It’s funny, most of the educated, ‘smart people’ I know told me not to retire early… ‘you’ll be sorry.’ Funny that they text me to see if it’s actually working… why??? Because they don’t get job satisfaction anymore and want to jump. It’s not about getting rich, it’s not about all the zeros in that account… it’s about having enough, having health, and being able to savor the flavor of life. I, we, take things slow, and my old way of looking at life is/has changed. Money can’t buy health or time.”

Pair this with a nugget of wisdom from my great grandmother (that my mom shared at my birthday party this past weekend): “If your problems can be solved with money… you don’t really have problems” and two thoughts come to mind.

(1) Damn, I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such incredible role models in my life. It makes such an impact (probably one of the biggest impacts) on a person’s life… and if you’re not surrounded by good role models… do everything in your power to change that.

(2) Get rich, quick! is the current of modern day society—swim against it. Which isn’t to say you should disregard money. There’s no doubting the fact that money is a powerful tool. But, that’s just it… it’s a tool. Don’t become so obsessed with hoarding the tool that you forget to use the damn thing to do amazing things!

The handyman who merely collects and stores tools is no handyman at all.

Ask yourself… Is the person who merely collects and hoards money really living at all?

The Modern Day Solution

Published on August 18, 2024

A tip from a friend on what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed:

“The best advice I ever got from my 5th grade teacher stuck with me until this day. If you have a list of 10 things to do, don’t look at them all at once. Pick one and go from there. We’re only one person and if we train our minds to slow down when we have a meticulous or time consuming project, I find it relaxes the anxiety of feeling like I’ll never get it done. Hope this helps.”

I particularly like this idea of not looking at them all at once.

…Sure, make your list and get yourself organized on what all needs to get done. And sure, prioritize so you can distinguish between what needs to get done, what you want to get done, what doesn’t really need to get done, what can be delegated, and what can be deleted. And sure, take a quick look at it all.

But after that… stop.

Enough looking at the list.

The longer you look at the list, the more likely the list will paralyze you to inaction (and lead you to a modern day distraction).

Just pick something.

Go from there.

Train your mind to slow down.

Having a lot to get done is the modern day dilemma.

Getting one thing done at a time with a calm, clear intention is the modern day solution.

Long Days

Published on August 16, 2024

Sometimes the best way to go into a long day… is completely relaxed and accepting.

What makes a long day long is the relentless desire for it to be finished.

The next time you have a long day ahead… try to shift your perspective.

Instead of meeting it with dread, anxiety, and stress… try calming your nervous system and surrendering to the path ahead as it has laid itself out for you.

Meet each moment with a relaxed, calm, clear energy that’ll carry you smoothly forward to the next.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll discover that your long days suddenly don’t feel so long anymore.

Relentless Counter-Messaging

Published on August 15, 2024

Never forget the power you have in this moment.

As much as you might think you’re “stuck”—you’re really only a few decisions away from unstuck.

As much as you might think you’re “lost”—you’re really only a few decisions away from picking a destination and/or direction.

As much as you might think it’s “too late”—you’re really only a few decisions away from “better late than never.”

A lot of what you think and how you perceive your current situation is a result of consistent, relentless messaging—from family, school, media, work, friends, etc.

When you hear something over and over again enough—you start to believe it.

And once you start to believe it, and you hear yourself say it to you over and over again enough—you start to internalize it and take it for reality.

Today, I want you to challenge those beliefs, mute the messaging that’s reaffirming those limitations, and start telling yourself something different.

The way to undo the effects of relentless messaging is to be relentless in your counter-messaging.

P.s. My guides can help give you a powerful jump start in the counter-messaging of your life.

Relatively Scary

Published on August 13, 2024

One of the less acknowledged benefits of being bold and doing things that are scary to you… is that it can forever change your perception of what “scary” is.

As a martial artist, you don’t often remember the “comfort zone” fights, when you’ve sparred or worked against people who were easy for you to compete against. But, you definitely remember the biggest, baddest, toughest opponents you ever had to face down.

As a recreational basketball player, I can’t tell you much about the recreational games I play week to week with the other recreational ball players. But, I can definitely tell you about the competitive games I’ve been playing against dudes who hoop at a seemingly D1 level.

As an occasional long distance runner, I can tell you that 8k used to feel like a lot. That is, until I ran a half marathon. Which felt long until I ran a marathon. Which still feels really damn long… but, definitely more doable after I did a 50k.

See, “scary” is defined in relation to your other worldly experiences that you’ve found to be scary.

But, when you lean into the scary, do something relatively bold, or just take a leap way outside of your comfort zone altogether… sure, some of the consequences might be to panic, get rejected, or to fall…

But, another key consequence—that shouldn’t be ignored—is that your definition of what’s “scary” might be forever rewritten.

Tasks Minus Intention

Published on August 12, 2024

One of my daily goals is to upload 2-3 quotes from books/emails and 2-3 picture quotes to MoveMe Quotes each day.

It can take me anywhere from 15 – 45 minutes to do this.

Lately, I’ve been questioning whether this is a good time investment or not as I could very well invest that time into other priority tasks like more writing/meditation/productivity/etc.

What I’ve decided is this: it all comes down to the intention I bring to the tasks.

There are days when I’m rushing and I’m just trying to cross each item off my list—and on these days, it isn’t worth the investment.

And there are days when I’m more calm and present and I’m genuinely trying to absorb the message each quote is trying to convey—and on these days, it’s undoubtedly worth it.

I can remember assignments I was given in school that I absolutely didn’t want to do or majorly rushed, and guess what? I got very little, if anything, out of them.

And on the flip side, there are things I became curious about while I was a student, that I wasn’t assigned to learn about at all, that I learned so much about because I wanted to. Things that I still remember vividly today.

It’s good practice to question the tasks built into your daily routine. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this thing?” “Am I just trying to cross this off my list or am I actually invested?” “What’s the level of intention behind this task?”

…And if the intention isn’t there… maybe the task shouldn’t be either.

Start The Timer

Published on August 8, 2024

When dealing with a problem, it’s helpful to list clearly what’s within your control and what’s outside of your control in regards to its resolution.

Then, with everything that’s within your control, an excellent second step is to do your part and, as Ryan Holiday would say, start the timer on doing those things.

It’s likely that after you do your part, there’s going to be another part that’s outside of your control, that’ll take time to unfold, which is exactly the timer being referred to.

Today, for example, I’m having an issue with my phone bill.

I’m getting charged for a phone that was supposed to be covered by a promo.

What’s outside of my control? Fixing the bill myself.

What’s inside my control? Talking to a representative who can fix my bill.

The longer I wait to do my part and act on what’s within my control, the more the problem will linger and agitate my mind. I also know that getting problems like these resolved can be royal pains in the butt:

“Please hold while we transfer you 5x to the proper representative.” “What was your order ID? What was the location ID? Did you take a picture of that promo?” “We can’t help you with that problem here, you need to go to this other store.”

…And procrastinating is a highly tempting option.

But, if we want the problem resolved, we need to start the timer. And looking at problem resolution this way can help. The longer we wait to act on what’s within our control, the more our problems will compound. Keep it focused. Get the ball out of your court. Start the timer.