These three lessons, when applied correctly, help get clarity, focus on the right things and be persistent in action.
How Writing Daily Can Help you Free your Mind, Gain Clarity, and Boost Your Confidence
Cover Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
5 Tried and True Tips to Help you Write Daily and Reap its Benefits
I never thought I’d write on a regular basis, let alone make money from it. To be honest, I thought I’d have nothing interesting to say.
But then in January, I figured it was time for me to improve my writing skills, so I decided to write once a day on Medium.com, with the sole purpose of improving my skills.
But Medium is not the only place I started to write on — I started journaling that same month.
Every morning I would write anything that came to mind in my journal. Being an entrepreneur, a lot of the stuff I would write about was different projects, but also self-reflection, goals, and more.
I never meant to continue with either going forward, but it had been too beneficial to stop.
Some people travel to get clarity. When I traveled around the world for a year with my wife, we both got the opposite result. We were so damn lost. Traveling opened up new opportunities we never knew we had, and suddenly we didn’t know what to do anymore.
Has this happened to anyone else?
It’s when I started writing both publicly and privately that everything aligned and managed to gain much-needed clarity, and ultimately freed my mind from overthinking things.
Yesterday, I saw my cousin I had not seen for 5 years. He’s had very rough patches during that time. He recently managed to get back on his feet and took matters in his own hands. I asked him how he did it, and he said something like that (translated from French):
“It’s simple, I let go of my thoughts — good or bad. I trusted my subconscious to guide me where I needed to go. Suddenly, and effortlessly, I started getting ahold of myself, made more money and started being happier.” — Cousin Denis
One way he let his mind go free was by starting to write a book.
See the pattern?
If you’ve got demons, why not try writing — publicly and privately?
And if you’re an introvert like Denis and me, writing is a fantastic way to express yourself. And everyone needs to express themselves. I’m not comfortable telling my story in a group, especially if I don’t know everyone in the group. But in writing, I tell my story all the time, and it’s strangely liberating.
I’m willing to bet a lot of the writers we read on Medium.com are introverts like me.
Now that we agree writing daily can help gain clarity and free up your mind, how do we actually do that?
Read on for some personal tips I learned from the past seven months of writing every day (on average), writing over 300 stories during that time!
1. Don’t force it
That’s crucial! It’s when you overthink it that words don’t flow. For this story, like 98% of the 300 stories I’ve written, I started with a blank page, not knowing — at all — what I would write about.
If words don’t flow, don’t force it.
Step back and forget about writing entirely. I mostly write as soon as I wake up. That’s when I have the most clarity and my mind isn’t cluttered by thoughts from the day. But occasionally, it just doesn’t flow. So I don’t force it. Then when I least expect it, ideas start flowing.
In Learning to Learn, on Coursera, Dr. Terrence Sejnowski claims that by letting your mind free by doing activities like jogging or simply taking a shower, your subconscious works for you and gives you a new perspective on things.
I’ve seen that time and again. Most of what I consider my “genius” ideas come from taking what I call a “thinking shower”.
Remember Denis’ story from above?
It’s when you don’t overthink and let your mind go free that you get the clarity you seek.
2. Medium is a safe haven
Again, a very important point.
I have yet to see someone make fun of a writer who’s opening up. On the contrary, readers relate more. Medium is a place where readers seek genuine stories, not an opportunity to troll.
No one laughed at me when I said I grew up in a very poor family, when I said I didn’t learn to ride a bicycle until I was 21, when I said I was afraid of heights or drowning, and more.
Because of that, I opened up more and more, and suddenly my confidence got a boost.
If you’ve got a problem or an addiction, Medium is the place to write about it.
3. The more vulnerable you are, the more liberating it is for you
Tiffany Sun had a terrible boyfriend experience abroad, Anthony Moore suffered from addiction to pornography, Nicolas Cole was a compulsive video game player.
These people inspired me and many others to improve our lives. When they started writing about their problems, they weren’t “big” like they are today. They became what they are today because they swallowed their pride and shared their genuine stories, and people love them for it.
Can you imagine how liberating that must be?
Finally letting out a “big secret” you have is the foundation of finally accepting yourself the way you are.
4. Journaling is not a dumb thing
I was sure journaling would be a dumb thing, but everyone was talking about it, so I gave it a try. Back in January, I bought a pen and paper, and tried journaling at the co-working space in Málaga. I filled a page in what seemed like 2 seconds. So I continued. After 30 minutes, I realized that I actually really needed this. I decided to go to the beach to see what would happen.
I journaled for 3 hours straight!
It’s insane the number of things you have on your mind without even realizing it. Needless to say, I was proven wrong — it worked. To this day, I still write in my journal almost on a daily basis. Whenever I need clarity, I go to it.
5. Writing daily teaches the power of habits
I can’t prove the following claim, but I found that the more good habits you form, the easier it gets. Once I integrated writing and exercising into my daily habits, other habits seemed to form easier and faster.
And the good thing about writing as a habit is that it’s “very easy” to do. You don’t need to go anywhere or have fancy equipment. You don’t need money either. If words don’t flow, just write about your day at the end of the day. You know what you did — or didn’t do — so no need to think much on it.
Once you write for one, two, three months, it will be second nature. Then you can focus on the next good habit!
Conclusion
Remember, don’t force it, don’t be afraid to share your vulnerabilities, journal, and write daily.
When you do all that, you’ll free your mind, gain clarity, boost your confidence and form great habits.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
How a Self-Improvement Week Can More Than 3x Your Revenues in Less Than 90 Days
Cover Photo: Me along the Highway 1 coast
A detailed, 7-day plan to implement this yourself
Back in May, I was running seven projects and managing four teams, leading me to work 14 hours a day, at least six days per week. Obviously, that’s not sustainable. We all agree on that, yet I know so many others who do like I did.
Are you a workaholic like I was?
On May 5th, while switching to my Windows partition on my Mac, Windows decided to run updates. I was pressed for time. I waited five minutes — 10 minutes — 20 minutes… I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was mad, and; I never get mad! I stormed out of the coworking space, grabbed a notebook and a pen, and sat down in a quiet space.
I started jotting down things that bothered me. In the thick of the action, you think everything is going fine when in reality, things are going south. Way south. That’s what I realized after writing a full two pages of things I was not happy about.
I was shocked.
For the past 5 months, I was hacking away at my different projects, thinking everything was fine. I was losing money, making bad decisions, saying “yes” to too many things, I was surrounding myself with the wrong people, and was losing the respect of my collaborators.
Are you in a similar situation? Would you even know?
Needless to say, I felt down for a bit. But I couldn’t let it that way. I decided I needed a break to get some clarity around me. I decided to take a week-long break for two days from that time. Could I really leave everything hanging and not work? Not really at first glance, but there’s always a way when you think outside the box.
The inspiration for the self-improvement week came from Bill Gates who, every year, famously takes two-week-long vacations to read.
The results were even better than expected. In less than 90 days, I got increased clarity and focus, and more than tripled my revenues.
Here’s exactly how I did it and how you can do it too:
Day 1: Journal about yourself or your company
* In the following section, “you” refers to either yourself or your company, depending on what you need clarity on. I’d argue you need both.
Journaling is a powerful tool I dismissed for the longest time. I thought it would be meaningless when I started 7 months ago. I could not have been more wrong. Take the full first day doing a “brain dump” on paper.
Brainstorm about your burning desires, what your goals are for this week, what books you’d like to read in the next few months, what bothers you, who are the five people you spend the most time with and what you get from them, what’s your current chief aim, your 10-year chief aim and you life-long chief aim, your action plan to reaching your burning desires, what makes you great, who do you intend to become, what would you do if you had the money you need, why do you do each of the projects you’re working on currently, things you’ve learned by doing each project in the past few months, who you’d like to connect with, what are your biggest weaknesses, etc.
These are just ideas. The sky’s the limit!
Day 2: Find your chief aim
In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill asks: “What is your CHIEF AIM?”. Here it is, rephrased in a simple question: “Why do you do what you do?”.
Truly figuring this out is the first step to improving.
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” — Peter Drucker
That’s what this is about.
In my case, I split it into three different moments of my life: now, ten years from now, and lifetime. I kept it short for each. Here’s my lifetime chief aim: “Help people to thrive in the 21st century”.
Keep it short, using simple words. Remind yourself of it every day.
Day 3: Get clarity on your current situation vs your chief aim
This one can hurt depending on how far you are from your chief aim. Be precise about your current situation. Define what works and what doesn’t. List everything you’re currently doing and not currently doing towards your chief aim.
For today, focus on the “what” and the “why”, not the “how”. It’s impossible to come up with solutions before you have the full picture. This is where a lot of people go wrong. The best solutions are very rarely obvious, otherwise, you would have found them earlier.
Ask friends or employees you trust on their own personal views. Ask for the truth. The brutal honesty. “Fake truth” is not helping anyone.
Day 4: Plan how to get to your chief aim
With all the clarity you got from the previous day, and a good night’s sleep where your subconscious worked for you overnight, you’re ready to define the “how”.
List all the actions you need to take to get to your chief aim. Be as precise as you possibly can. Make sure you can quantify or qualify each action’s result.
Don’t worry about timeline and feasibility yet. Pretend you have all the resources in the world to make it happen. If you limit yourself to resources you think you have, these are the resources you’ll have.
“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” — Henry Ford
That’s the same principle here.
I personally create a list of goals and break them down into actionable items, which I then break down into 5–20-minute tasks.
Day 5: Put your plan into a calendar
Now that you know what you need to do, it’s time to figure out where to allocate your human and financial resources. This exercise is harder than it seems at first. I’d argue that the first step would be to define the resources you have available. If a resource is not immediately available, how can you get it, and is it worth the effort?
Once you’ve done that, open up a calendar and put the action tasks exactly when they need to be done. If you can specify a time, even better. My tool of choice is TeamWeek, but a regular calendar can work too.
It will seem overwhelming, but remember these two things:
“It is better to aim high and miss than aim low and hit.” — Les Brown
“To do anything to a high level, it has to be total obsession.” — Conor McGregor
Day 6 & 7: Read, do some physical activities, relax, and let your subconscious do the work
You’ve done all the hard work, now’s the time to take it slow and let your subconscious do the work.
During these two days, stimulate your brain by reading a good book, do some walking, jogging, hiking or biking, and relax in nature, not thinking about anything in particular. Try meditation or yoga to help with that.
In truth, you should do all of the above activities every day during your self-improvement week, but just at a lower intensity.
Conclusion
The self-improvement week dramatically improved my life and my business situation. I’m more successful and happier for it. In the end, it’s all about getting clarity and focusing on what really matters. What may seem like an unproductive week, in reality, turns into the most productive week you’ll have all year until you repeat it again the next year.
So try it out and see how it affects every aspect of your life.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
Have you done something similar?
Do you want to try it? Why? Why not?
3 Ways to Triumph Over Your Couch-Potato Habits
Cover Photo by Lukas Budimaier on Unsplash
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily” — Zig Ziglar
Even the best of us procrastinate sometimes. We are not programmed to do things that are hard for us. We’re creatures of habit. Creatures of comfort.
Almost everything we do, we do it to be in a state of comfort. And when we reach a satisfactory level of comfort, we stay there. We procrastinate doing things out of our comfort zone.
I’ve been there. You’ve been there. We’ve all been there.
In the last 9 months or so, I can’t think of a time when I’ve procrastinated.
I pondered how I stopped procrastinating, and it all came down to the 3 things that follow.
I should point out that none of these tips are new. Everyone talks about them. But I’ll share my own experience in hopes to illustrate just how good these tips are.
1. Sunk Cost Bias
This is a powerful one, and really, everyone knows it, but maybe doesn’t recognize it enough.
A sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.
Think about memberships. A gym membership is a good example.
You know why a yearly membership at anything sucks?
A year is just too long a period for a brain to “remember” the sunk cost. That’s why when you sign up for the gym in January, you stop going one or two months after.
It’s not frequent enough. By paying monthly, you’re always reminded that you are sinking money into the membership, therefore you’re more prone to do it.
I signed up for the gym in January. I went to the priciest gym in Málaga. Truth be told, I couldn’t really afford it. And that’s the point.
I had to do it. I sacrificed spending money on other things so I could afford it. I had to go.
15 days in, I wanted to go. It wasn’t just that I needed to. Now that it’s expired, I miss it. But I’ve built so much momentum that I created a fitness routine for myself that I can do from home.
But think about it though.
Think about things you’ve spent money on vs things you haven’t. Which one were you more motivated to do.
And it doesn’t have to just be money either. Anything that’s high stakes for you. Money is easy since it’s measurable, but basically anything you don’t want to part with should work.
2. Group activities
I’ve seen that almost on a daily basis back at the co-working space I was working from back in Málaga.
I accidentally started a fitness group in January.
I was so motivated in my fitness that I also did 100 pushups after work. That was a friend’s idea, which he had not executed on. But seeing me do it, he shortly joined in on my efforts.
Then people started joining. We grew from 2 “members” to 15 in one month.
And every morning, there was at least one person who didn’t feel like doing it. But then they see 7 other people go. And all of a sudden, they wanted to do it. They weren’t alone. The other’s motivation inspired them to also do it.
You see that effect in any team-based sport.
You see that effect in offices.
You see that everywhere.
A party where you’re alone is a freaking boring party. You just want to leave.
Surround yourself with like-minded people. Be accountable. Accomplish things with other people. Share your victories.
3. Point of no return
One of my favourite, but a harder one to pull off.
I’ll give three quick examples:
Getting a mortgage to buy a house;
Investing in your business or that of someone else; or
Having a baby.
Once you receive your mortgage, it’s go-time. You have to buy the house. The only way you’ll rid of the debt is by selling the house back. That requires a lot of time and effort.
It’s easier to go forward than go backward from there.
That is the key here. Going backward being the harder choice of the two.
If you open up a physical store, you have to buy all the equipment in order to be operational. As soon as you buy, the material depreciates in value. Selling it back comes at a cost you’re likely not willing to pay.
What are some of the points of no return you’ve had in your life?
Did you procrastinate?
Do you ever intentionally create points of no return for yourself?
Conclusion
So I challenge you here.
The next time you have a goal you’d like to accomplish but are prone to procrastinate working towards it, think about these 3 tips.
When planning for executing your goal, answer these questions:
Can you sink money, or something else you care for into the process of achieving your goal? Like a membership for examples.
Can you find a partner or a group of people to do it with?
Can you make it so it’s harder to go backward than to go forward?
If you can do all these 3 things, it’s almost guaranteed you won’t procrastinate.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
The 56 Most Inspiring Quotes According To Top Medium Influencers
Cover Photo by Danny Forest of contributor logos: Hackernoon, Thrive Global, The Writing Cooperative, Entrepreneur’s Handbook, Smedian, The Ascent, The Post-Grad Survival Guide, Miss Tiffany Sun, Redoubtable, Struggling Forward, and Power Level.
We’re All United by the Quotes We Live by
*This post is the result of a month-long interview period with some of Medium’s top influencers. Hope you like it!
Original post here: Medium.com
Quotes from influential people are powerful and unite us. They are like patterns for things we believe in and live by.
A while back, I wrote a post about my own personal favourite quotes. I had listed 41 of them. 41 quotes is nice, but which ones are keystone lessons?
Which ones have had the biggest impact in my personal life, but also in the lives of others?
I reached out to some of the top influencers on Medium across different publications to give us readers their most inspiring quotes and below is the result.
I hope you’ll enjoy this post!
Contributions by:
*Ordered by descending order of number of followers
Publication: Hacker Noon
Editors: David Smooke
“Where there is credit to be taken I’ll gladly take it and where there is blame… it’s your fault.” — Pawnee Mayor Gunderson, in his obituary video.
This is how platforms work. It’s how Facebook can go to a senate hearing, and say they’re not a publisher, and then, go to court in the EU and say they are a publisher.
“If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — Mr. Albert Einstein
There is purpose and brilliance to be had for everyone, but finding your niche is hard. I also love when complex minds make simple comparisons.
“Each of us is at one time young and weak and at another old and strong. It is indeed but a consolation that we evolve constantly!” -Painter Piet Mondrian
Change is the only constant. To not take it for granted when you are strong, and do not expect who is weak now to remain weak. I love how this one reminds me that life is a circle and every spot on the circle has a tangent.
“I recently took up ice sculpting. Last night I made an ice cube. This morning I made 12, I was prolific.” — Comedian Mitch Hedberg
This is my favorite joke about scaling. When you find a way to make something work, and then reduce the marginal cost, it’s funny because it’s profitable and it’s not quite the original thing.
“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?” — Author David Foster Wallace
Honestly, if you haven’t heard this commencement speech, I highly recommend stopping what you’re doing and listening to it. To me, it’s the coming of age essay about AWARENESS.
Publication: Thrive Global
Editor: Arianna Huffington
Source: Huffington Post
“True understanding is to see the events of life in this way: “You are here for my benefit, though rumor paints you otherwise.” And everything is turned to one’s advantage when he greets a situation like this: You are the very thing I was looking for. Truly whatever arises in life is the right material to bring about your growth and the growth of those around you. This, in a word, is art — and this art called “life” is a practice suitable to both men and gods. Everything contains some special purpose and a hidden blessing; what then could be strange or arduous when all of life is here to greet you like an old and faithful friend? “— Marcus Aurelius
“Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.” — Rumi
“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’”
And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.’” — Iain Thomas
“There were many terrible things in my life, but most of them never happened.” — Montaigne
“An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. ‘A fight is going on inside me,’ he said to the boy. ‘It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.’
He continued, ‘The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.’
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, ‘Which wolf will win?’ The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.’” — Cherokee legend
Publication: The Writing Cooperative
Editor: Justin Cox 🍩
“Absorb what is useful, disregard that which is useless.” — Bruce Lee
I don’t know where I first read this Bruce Lee quote, but it’s been on my Facebook “about me” section for over a decade. There’s so much useless stuff in our world that is easy to get enveloped in, yet like the master said, we should let it flow past us like water.
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”— Saint Francis of Assisi
When leaders are more concerned with ego than governing and when violence is at every turn, the world can seem pretty dark. Yet we each have the ability to drive out the darkness, we just have to be light.
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away. “— Philip K. Dick
The internet is a wonderful tool but it’s also driven us into segregated tribes. We’ve connected with our own version of reality, often to the detriment of actual reality. Truth is always there, waiting for us whether we like it or not.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Rob Siltanen
It seems cliché to use this quote since it’s been Apple’s brand statement since the famous 90’s ad campaign. But it stands out because we each have the ability to make a difference in our world. We just have to get off our butts and do something.
Editor: Jessica Jungton
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent Van Gogh
This mentally helps me overcome discouragement. When tasks are overwhelming or my goals feel far away, I focus on what I can do right now, even if seems unimportant in the larger scheme of things. Knowing that all of these “small” decisions and actions will combine to create something more significant helps me to keep going and not give up.
Publication: Entrepreneur’s Handbook
Editor: Dave Schools
“If you meet with Triumph and Disaster… treat those two impostors just the same.” — Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”
Success and failure are both the mere fuel of life. Pure success makes you lazy, pure failure makes you crazy. As Fantastic Mr. Fox would say, “Cuss” both. You are more than what you do and the results.
“You will learn more in three days of acting than in six months of researching.” — anonymous Redditor
I love this for entrepreneurs. To hades with your analysis paralysis and just do it. Take action — it’s always the more epic alternative to research and thinking.
“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” — Mark Twain
I always try to write what I want to say in the fewest, most exact words as possible. This is an ongoing, lifelong challenge.
“You can tell how smart a man is by the answers he gives, you can tell how wise he is by the questions he asks.” — Anonymous
When I first heard this in high school, I tattooed it onto my brain. I have a weird obsession with questions. I even made an app with interesting questions.
“Toohey: “Mr. Roark, we’re alone here. Why don’t you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No one will hear us.”
Roark: “But I don’t think of you.”
— Ayn Rand from her novel “The Fountainhead”
I believe we care too much about what people think of us. Howard Roark wasn’t afraid to do good, hard work, even if it was misunderstood and alienated people. His example is extreme, but there’s truth to not being afraid to take risks.
The Smedian Network: Contribute to Top Medium Publications. Chat with writers and editors.
Publication: Marketing & Growth Hacking
Editor: Lincoln W Daniel
Ubuntu, which translates to “I am because we are” — a Zulu proverb.
This quote is the cornerstone of my life and the work that I do. I strongly believe that if I can help others achieve their goals, we’ll succeed together.
“You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down.” — Bateke Proverb
I believe in learning by doing. Reading to learn is useful, however, in my experiences, it’s been more fruitful to attempt to learn a new skill by practicing that skill repeatedly.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” — A simplification of Einstein’s true statements
In designing software experiences and writing an educational book, I have learned that my simplest systems, designs, and explanations have had the greatest affect on the recipients of my efforts; this has also meant greater adoption.
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” — Steve Jobs
It’s lazy and, perhaps, harmful to think that a successful entity came by its success easily, especially if you’re an entrepreneur. I have learned the hard way that true success comes with time, planning, and sacrifice. Fairy tales are easy to write after the fact, especially when the grueling details are omitted.
“The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well.” — John D. Rockefeller Jr.
This one is self explanatory. How I apply this is by only embarking on projects I plan to deliver better than anyone else can in the long term.
Publication: The Ascent
Editor: Steve Campbell
“If information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.” — Derek Sivers
I love this message and others like it because it really puts things into perspective for me. Knowledge is power, sure, but at some point you have to act on it. Otherwise, your brain is just a fancy car you’re thrilled to show off but never ends up leaving the driveway.
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West
If I ever were to get a quote tattooed on me as a daily reminder, this would probably be the one. You can’t take your life for granted. As far as we know, we only get one, so make it count, each and every day.
“Failure sucks, but the pain that is failure does not exceed the pain that is not trying at all.” — Casey Neistat
This serves as a simple reminder that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Looking back on my life once I’m old and frail and can no longer do things, the last thing I ever want to feel deep in my heart is regret from not trying. Regret from failure is also tough, but that I know I can live with.
“My goal is to learn things once and use them forever.” — Tim Ferriss
I love Tim’s philosophy of experimentation and treating himself like a human guinea pig. This quote often reminds me that learning is, in fact, a tool, and when used properly, can be a lifelong one. That wouldn’t be the case if you had to constantly relearn chapter three each and every day.
“There is always time to get practical.” — Gary Vaynerchuk
There are a lot of things in life that frighten us into being more conservative than we’d sometimes like to be, especially the older we get. For me, diving into entrepreneurship at age 30 was one of those scary things. But even though it’s a daily struggle, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and I keep this quote constantly in the back of my mind.
Publication: Post-Grad Survival Guide
Editor: Tom Kuegler
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” — Anne Lamott
A reminder that we can’t censor ourselves when writing. We write to tell the truth, not to be liked. Be ruthless with what you say and don’t be afraid to say it because you might hurt someone. This is art, and our hearts deserve to sing our song.
“Adventures are never fun while you’re having them.” — C.S. Lewis
Seriously f*ck all the travel Instagrammers out there that make traveling look like a dream. Take a selfie at the airport 20 hours into your overseas trip. Let me see that horrible in-flight meal. Adventures are not always meant to be fun — they’re meant to teach us something. I love the Chronicles of Narnia series.
“Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.” — Tim Ferriss
A call to do. The 4-Hour Workweek was probably the most influential book I ever read.
“After all this time?”
“Always,” said Snape.
-J.K. Rowling
This quote reminds me of my Mom. The best quotes are so often a sentence or two, but J.K. manages to tell us so much about Snape through just one word. It’s heartbreaking. To me she’s the greatest writer of my generation.
“Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
-Steve Jobs
I remember this quote hitting me like a right hook from Mike Tyson. I don’t listen to people much. I don’t really read blog posts. I try to stick to my guns no matter what and it all stems from me reading this quote about 4–5 years ago in college. No quote has had a bigger impact on me.
Publication: Miss Tiffany Sun
Editor: Tiffany Sun
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” — Jim Rohn
Too many people expect to accomplish something overnight so they try it once but give up once they realized nothing has happened. The truth is, you need to constantly change direction and learn to bypass obstacles that might block you from what you want. Success is not a straight line; it’s a continuous tangle of experiences, failures and hard work.
Publication: Redoubtable
Editor: Jonathan Greene
“He who knows others is intelligent; he who understands himself is enlightened” — Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (The Book of the Way)
We can learn so much from others, but until we understand ourselves we will never reach our peak. I have learned this first-hand and have finally gotten to a place in my life where I can be open with myself. What makes me tick. Why I get up. What drives me. It provided a level of confidence in life that you can’t get any other way.
“There’s no one to perform for. There is just work to be done and lessons to be learned, in all that is around us.” — Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy
Social media is a performance. People creating their best self. Curating a life that doesn’t really exist. But it doesn’t matter because they are performing for the wrong audience. You don’t need an audience in life. You need be fulfilled by doing things that matter. I’ve taken that approach to writing in that I just let it go out there and whatever happens is just fine.
“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.” — Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
We all like to talk about what we are going to do. Read articles on being productive. Make a to-do list of all the things we have to do. But unless we actually do it, we are accomplishing nothing. I broke this habit by tracking everything I did every day. How long I meditated, how many pages I read, how long I worked out, how many words I wrote. Looking at all zeroes didn’t just feel like failure, it was failure.
“The most important thing is to express your true nature in the simplest, most adequate way and to appreciate it in the smallest existence.” — Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Read that again. It’s so beautiful. Be yourself. Simply, but adequately. And appreciate it in the tiniest way possible. To be humble is to understand your place in the universe. But to express your true nature is freedom.
“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do — even when it doesn’t look like it makes any difference. And they do it long enough for the compounding effect to start to kick in.” — Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge
People don’t talk about momentum enough, but this is it. People give up too easily because something is boring or because it doesn’t pay them back right away. But those that persist and keep doing what they know is a good thing, get rewarded by momentum. And once momentum begins, it is very hard to stop.
Publication: Struggling Forward
Editor: Jordan Gross
“If information alone could change people, everybody would be rich skinny and happy” — Mike Williams
I love to tell people that the fear of the what if should always be greater than the fear of actually doing. People should fear more what would happen to them if they didn’t pursue their dreams, rather than what is going to happen when they do. When given any sort of information, guidance, advice, we must spring into action rather than sit back and let things come to us.
“Comfort is the enemy of progress” — PT Barnum
Complacency is one of the scariest words out there. We must never feel like we cannot improve, that we have made it, that there is nothing more to learn or do. Once we are comfortable in our lives, we lose track of new experience. If we are constantly trying to get better, we must constantly place ourselves in uncomfortable situations and thrive in them.
Editor: Tim Rettig
“The struggle against an obstacle inevitably propels the fighter to a new level of functioning. The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth.” — Ryan Holiday
Struggle is an inevitable part of life. Once you have learned that, once you embrace the fact that struggle is not your enemy, you don’t need to be scared of anything. The more you achieve the more difficult challenges you will face. And the more difficult challenges you will face the stronger are going to be become.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt
Never be a victim of your circumstances. It is in your control alone to make the most out of your circumstances. Most of the time, people who win a lottery lose all of the money right away. They simply haven’t develop the right mind set to build wealth and a good life for themselves. Learn to make the most out of what you have right now and you can achieve anything.
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
We get so quickly and easily distracted in life. Seemingly shiny opportunities will come up all the time and in all different kinds of formats. Most of the time, however, they are nothing but distractions from your main thing. Always make sure that you focus on the single most important thing in life and eventually you will succeed.
Publication: Power Level
Editor: Danny Forest
“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” — Jim Rohn
This has been the truest thing that happened in my life. Once you realize how true that is, you can “easily” turn your life around. I used to be a lazy kid playing video games on my couch all day, then I met my wife and hung out with people way smarter than me. It changed my life forever!
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all” — Peter Drucker
I realized that too late. I prided myself that I was a very productive guy, using proven productivity techniques. But until I mastered this, it was wasted time. I did a self-improvement week a few weeks ago, and even though I didn’t work, it was the most productive week of my entire life!
“Be so good they can’t ignore you.” — Steve Martin
I never aimed to write. Writing was just a skill I meant to improve for a month. Yet I got published after five days by The Startup, and became top writer in 12 categories, some of which after 23 days only. I had previously researched how to write good stories. That research made me good enough that I was noticed.
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.” — Jim Rohn
Simply put, work on improving yourself, and you’ll have a much higher chance at success, whatever that means to you. The success I’ve had in the past six months was due to myself focusing on learning three new skills per month and reading important non-fiction books, not because I sought it.
“It is not death man should fear, but he should fear never having beginning to live” — Marcus Aurelius
I used to be afraid to age or to die. Once I understood Marcus Aurelius’ quote, my life changed around. I started doing things. Anything. Everything. I’m no more afraid of death, as I’ve lived it and have no regrets.
Conclusion
Feeling inspired?
Reply in the comments below with answers to any or all these questions.
Which quotes spoke to you the most?
Which writer is most like you?
What are your own top 5 most inspiring quotes?
Don’t forget to be grateful to the authors who participated in this post. Follow them. Read their stories. Keep getting inspired by their wonderful journeys!
Live by these quotes and enjoy eternal wisdom!
For more inspirational quotes, check out 40+ Inspirational Quotes from Top Young Influencers.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading, sharing, and following the wonderful writers in this post (and myself)!
Looking forward to reading your comments!
Share with your friends!
Thinking of Ending a Project You Started? Read This To Learn How To Do it Right and Avoid Ending it Next Time
How I Instantly Doubled My Learning Speed Using This Most Simple Trick
The 5 Most Powerful Quotes That Changed My Life Forever — by Jim Rohn, Peter Drucker, Steve Martin, and Marcus Aurelius
Cover Photo: My wife and I looking at the Taj Mahal, India.
Maybe they will change yours too!
Quotes are a great way to capture important life lessons. When you understand them and live by them, you unlock potential you never knew you had before.
It’s no surprise then that quotes are what gets highlighted the most across every writer’s stories.
Below are the 5 that had the most positive impact in my life:
“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” — Jim Rohn
This has been the truest thing that happened in my life. Once you realize how true it is, you can “easily” turn your life around. I used to be a lazy kid playing video games on my couch all day, then I met my wife and hung out with people way smarter than me. It changed my life forever!
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all” — Peter Drucker
I realized that too late. I prided myself that I was a very productive guy, using proven productivity techniques. But until I mastered this, it was wasted time. I did a self-improvement week a few weeks ago, and even though I didn’t work, it was the most productive week of my entire life!
“Be so good they can’t ignore you.” — Steve Martin
I never aimed to write. Writing was just a skill I meant to improve for a month. Yet I got published after five days by The Startup, and became top writer in 15 categories, some of which after 23 days only. I had previously researched how to write good stories. That research made me good enough that I was noticed.
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.” — Jim Rohn
Simply put, work on improving yourself, and you’ll have a much higher chance at success, whatever that means to you. The success I’ve had in the past six months was due to myself focusing on learning three new skills per month and reading important non-fiction books, not because I sought it.
“It is not death man should fear, but he should fear never having beginning to live” — Marcus Aurelius
I used to be afraid to age or to die. Once I understood Marcus Aurelius’ quote, my life changed around. I started doing things. Anything. Everything. I’m no more afraid of death, as I’ve lived it and have no regrets.
Conclusion
What are your top 5 quotes?
Which ones influenced you the most positively?
I personally asked these very same questions to some of the most influential writers on Medium and gathered all the answers into what I think is one of the best Medium post you’ll ever read (bold claim!).
That post will be published at the end of July, so follow me, because you won’t want to miss that!
Contributions by:
If this list doesn’t get your blood pumping, I don’t know what will! I was blown away by everyone’s quotes. And surprisingly, no one sent me the same quotes!
So again, follow me, you won’t want to miss that!
How These 23 Key Principles Helped Me Overcome My Challenges and Made Me Unstoppable
Cover Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash
The definitive guide to building lasting momentum
It’s Wednesday morning, 5:00am.
I’m pumped to start working. I did not hit the snooze button, and had no intention to.
For the past few days, I’ve felt it. I felt something was changing. Something positive was building up inside my mind.
The reason I hadn’t written much on that topic in the past few months is not because it was an untrue statement, on the contrary, it’s extremely powerful!
But I had lost it and couldn’t get it back.
Wanna know if you’ve ever felt it — True Momentum?
Have you seen the movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper? To a smaller degree, that’s how True Momentum feels.
But don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy to reach it. In Bradley’s case, he “cheated” with NZT. I’m talking about legit stuff here. Building it yourself. Doing everything you can to build it up.
Before we get into the guide on how to build it for yourself, here’s how I would define True Momentum in practical terms:
True Momentum is when you’re so invested in something that going in the opposite direction has become very difficult. Moving forward happens more easily and at a better pace.
It’s like pushing a boulder down a hill. At first, it goes slowly, but as it goes down the slope, it goes faster and faster, to a point where stopping it becomes much harder. It’s near-unstoppable.
Now that I’ve got True Momentum for the third time, it made me want to revisit the topic. I want to give you a definitive guide on how to build it yourself.
I wasn’t completely right in my first story on the subject back in January. I couldn’t see at the time. But now that I had lost it badly and regained it, I have a better idea of how it works to get it, and I’ll give you as many hands-on tips I can.
In this story, I’ll put other linked stories in-line, but please read the whole story first, then you can revisit the ones that interest you most. It’s better to keep the flow of reading.
Suggested Stories For After:
23 Key Principles For Building True Momentum
I’ll start by saying that doing everything on that list is near-impossible. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to building True Momentum, it’s a combination of many of the following things, and what works for one person may not for another.
So here’s how I would plan this if I were you:
Read the suggestions below and note those you think you can implement easily, or already have.
Try to implement them for 1 month straight.
At the end of the month, take note of what worked and what didn’t.
Read this guide again, start from 1.
It’s an iterative process, like most things in life. You won’t get it right the first time.
You’ll know it once you’ve reached True Momentum.
The list below is not in any particular order, pick and choose from there.
And take note of this very important thing:
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar
You have to keep doing the things on this list to have lasting True Momentum. I lost it twice. I’ll lose it again. It’s inevitable. But I’ll do everything I can to keep it as long as I can!
1. Keep or Make Good Habits, Drop The Bad Ones
This is the starting point, and most likely the most important one. Habits are strong. We’re creatures of habits. Good or bad. Keep the good ones. Make new, better ones. Drop the negative or ineffective ones.
Suggested Reading
Books:
The Power of Habits, by Charles Duhigg
Stories:
A Morning Routine Really Does Set You Up For Success — Here’s A 6 Step Process To Create One
Habits Are Indeed Powerful, Don’t Fall Behind On The Good Ones
2. Reading Uplifting Content Before Going To Bed
Don’t let yourself go to bed in a bad mood, or by filling your brain with “crap”. I understand that you need to decompress before going to bed. I completely get that.
But what you do before bed affects how you wake up, and the state of mind you’re going to be in for the first part of the day.
My top recommendation here is to read biographies or self-help books. I find them so uplifting. It’s always nice to hear that even the inspiring people in our lives are just as imperfect as we are, sometimes even more so.
Suggested Reading
Books:
Any biographies. I personally really like Tai Lopez’s book recommendations: https://www.tailopez.com/books.php
31 Stories To Motivate and Inspire You To Work Harder And Build Momentum, by Danny Forest
Stories:
In Need Of Motivation? Try These Simple Tried And True Productivity Tips
3. Listen To Uplifting Music, Podcasts And People
It might seem strange, but my most productive days seem to be when I’m dancing to music on my chair. Great music puts me in flow state. I feel like I can do anything!
In terms of podcasts, nothing gets me more than the Tim Ferriss Show.
For people, I like to listen to people smarter than I around myself. Or TED talks.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
4. Keep Inspiring Quotes Near You
Quotes are insanely powerful. One thing I had realized early on when I started writing was that things people highlighted most in my stories were the quotes I put in them.
And I get it. People far smarter than me have said far smarter things I have.
Reading at least one good quote a day puts you in the right mood. Keep it on your fridge/desk. Let it be in your face as frequently as possible.
The one I kept the longest the last time I had True Momentum was this one:
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” — Markus Aurelius
Suggested Website
https://addicted2success.com/category/quotes/
Suggested Reading
Stories:
5. Work Out, Even If Just A Little
The best months of my life was when I was doing physical activity. I was feeling great in my body.
I’ve always been a skinny guy, but when I’m working out and seeing even small gains in muscles, I feel incredible.
Whatever your goals are health-wise, be active, measure every little gain, and keep going.
Suggested Reading
Books:
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Story, By Arnold Schwarzenegger
Stories:
6. Have Monthly Goals And Track Them
New Year resolutions suck. They’re near-impossible to achieve.
Monthly goals, on the other hand, are excellent. Committing to goals for a month is doable, and leads to building great habits. It’s great to experiment and see what works for you, and what doesn’t.
Suggested Tools
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Make Next Month Your Most Productive Month Ever Using This 3 Steps Strategy
7. Make A Clear Task List
I work on at least 4 projects on a daily basis. A lot of people would say this is insane and counter-productive, and they would be mostly right.
I’ve been disorganized and lost many times. I was using simple To Do lists and had a really hard time tracking my progress on the various projects.
A few weeks ago, I started using TeamWeek and my productivity sky-rocketed!
My task list on TeamWeek
TeamWeek is basically a Gantt chart. The colours are different project. You can see a lot of tasks in there. But you’re missing about half of them…
Suggested Tools
Suggested Reading
Books:
Getting Things Done, by David Allen
Stories:
8. Aim Freaking High
Always make your lists bigger than you can chew. We, as humans, like comfort. If we allow ourselves to be comfortable, we end up doing close to nothing.
Make your lists big. But make sure the tasks are small and achievable. I have about 15–20 things to do every day. Most are 10 minute tasks.
If I aim to accomplish 10 tasks. I will. And I will be “satisfied”. Now if I aim to accomplish 20 tasks and complete 15–18 of them, I’ll be pumped. I won’t see time go by and the dopamine rush I’ll get rush for accomplishing so much will strongly contribute to building that True Momentum up.
Suggested Website
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Can You Handle the Obsession Needed to Reach Your Most Insane Goals?
9. Prepare Your Next Day The Night Before
What I’m proposing you here is to simply make a list of things you want to accomplish for the next day a few hours before bed, and then review it shortly before “calling it a night”.
Don’t make it too complex. Just a simple list. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. I usually come up with a list of anywhere between 10–20 things to do.
Here’s what happens when you prepare your next day the night before:
While you sleep, your subconscious is “working on” things you “fed it” before going to bed. When you feed it with things you want to accomplish for the next day, it will “prepare” you for them.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
This 5-Minute Habit Will Make You More Productive And Build Your Momentum
10. Write For Yourself
Writing has been a powerful medium for me to express myself. I never knew I had so much to say, let alone inspire people along the way.
I did it for myself, really.
Yet putting all my thoughts in writing has been a phenomenal way to free my mind and think clearly, ultimately leading to some momentum.
Suggested Website
https://findingtom.com/, by Tom Kuegler
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Should You Write One Story A Day? Here’s What I Learned From The Last Two Months
11. Delegate To People You Trust
This is WAY underrated! I thought people who delegated were lazy. I didn’t get the 4-Hour Workweek the first time I read it.
There was a guy I worked with who was so proud of letting others do the work for him. Turns out he was secretly a genius.
There are so many things I was doing that could easily be done by someone either more qualified, or with more time doing simpler things.
Since I hired my assistant in February, I was able to focus on the things I’m good at, and have increased my productivity up to 10x.
Suggested Reading
Books:
Stories:
12. Have A Semi-Strict Routine
My wife hates my daily schedule/routine. It’s pretty obsessive indeed. But damn it works. The more I stick to it, the more productive I am.
I tweak it every month. Here’s what it looks like for this month:
As you can see, most items in the list are not *that* detailed. I don’t say what I’ll be working on, what my workout is, what I’ll be eating, etc — that changes every day.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Make Next Month Your Most Productive Month Ever Using This 3 Steps Strategy
13. Don’t Stop When It Hurts
How do you build muscles? You continue when it starts hurting.
And you know what? That’s how you grow in anything in life. No pain no gain.
If you stop when it’s hard, you just wasted valuable energy and will NOT build momentum. Recognize when you’re in a dip, and then get out of it!
Suggested Reading
Books:
The Dip, but Seth Godin
Stories:
When You Think You Are An Impostor, You Are On The Right Track
14. Surround Yourself With Motivated People
Here’s one of my favourite quote of all times:
“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn
This is so true.
I seek mentors. I seek positive people. I seek people who get stuff done.
I can only work from co-working spaces, mostly because of that. This, along with delegating, are the main cause for intense productivity.
Suggested co-working spaces
The Living Room, by Ben Kolp
WeWork, by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey
Suggested Reading
Stories:
15. Walk To Work, and Limit Wasted Time
Walking to work is one of the most “meditative” things you can do. Going in, you can prepare for what’s to come. Going out, you can disconnect from work.
When back home, analyze how you spend your time. We all waste time on “useless” things. And I’m not saying to not watch TV or play video games, but realize that there’s a time when you need it, and a time when it’s a waste.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Want To Be More Productive? Start This Simple Daily Habit
Analyze How You Spend Your Time, And You will Realize There Is Plenty Of Free Time
16. Constantly Learn New Things
That’s probably what I’ve written the most about, and what contributed the most to the changes in my life.
“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery
Everything I’m doing today — my “successes”, my “failures” — it’s all because I had decided I wanted to consciously learn 3 new skills every month back in September 2017.
Suggested Website
Suggested Reading
Books:
Unlimited Memory, by Grandmaster Kevin Horsley
How We Learn, by Benedict Carey
Stories:
How To Learn 108 New Skills In The Next 3 Years
Learn More Skills, For Your Future’s Sake!
Improve Everything In Your Life by Learning 3 New Skills Every Month
17. Learn To Power Nap
Power napping is a skill, and it’s hard to master. I’ve mastered it over the years, and it’s been a key ingredient to my productivity.
We can’t be alert 100% of the time during the day. When my energy levels are low, I power nap. Once. Twice. Three times a day! Who cares.
15 minutes after power napping, I’m back in peak state and accomplish so much more than if I didn’t nap.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Quick Tip On How To Stay Awake During The Day When Waking Up Really Early
18. Learn To Meditate and Journal
I knew meditation would be hard when I decided to start doing it. But what I didn’t realize was that it’s a skill and it needs practice. I quickly learned that I had the wrong expectations, and that held me back. Meditation is not about “not thinking”, it’s about being aware.
When I started journaling, I had the preconception that it was a dumb idea and that I wouldn’t have anything to say. I could not have been more wrong. On my first journaling session, I wrote for 3 hours without even noticing.
It’s a powerful tool that frees up your mind and aligns your goals together. You become more aware and focused.
Suggested Tools
Suggested Reading
Books:
Willpower Doesn’t Work, by Benjamin P. Hardy
19. Take A Well-Deserved Vacation
It’s hard to brake when your pedal is all the way back. But you know what, sometimes that’s exactly when you need to brake.
You can’t function at peak state when you’re constantly under pressure.
Dare take vacations, you need them!
Suggested Reading
Stories:
Resting Really Is A Crucial Part Of Your Success — Embrace It
20. Don’t Be Alone
I’m an introvert. I like solitude. I’m so drained whenever I’m surrounded by people.
But I need to have people around me once in a while, to share my stories, my experiences, my “successes”, my “failures”, etc. Everyone does.
Everyone needs to be uplifted, and you can’t (easily) do it alone.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
We All Need Someone Who Truly Understands Us
How Many Meaningful Relationships Do You Have, And Why Does It Matter?
21. Meet New People, Attend Events, Do Things Outside Of Work
Meeting new people and doing things outside of work is very important both for your sanity and for making important connections.
I voluntarily go out to seek and talk to people that are now helping with some of my projects. And of course, I help in return!
You gotta have things outside of work. You can’t be all work and no play. Work hard, play hard. Cliché I know, but it’s true.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
22. Do Good, Be Grateful
I don’t know of anyone who has True Momentum and are not doing good. Doing good is so rewarding and gives you such a high.
And when someone does good to you, be grateful. Gratefulness is almost as powerful as doing good yourself.
Suggested Reading
Stories:
I Helped Someone, And I Liked It
Become Happier By Recognizing And Thanking People Who Inspire You
23. Celebrate The Small Wins
If you’re like most of us, you don’t get many big wins in a month. It’s hard to keep our motivation when we don’t win frequently. It’s not by accident that people, including myself, rush to video games — you are constantly being rewarded. That’s also why we’re trying to gamify everything now.
So I say to you, every time a small event happens where it could be considered a “win”, acknowledge it. Take note of it. Have a “success” journal. Here’s an example of things I saved yesterday:
Comments on one my Instagram photos, by Erin Zaikis and Julia Gao Miller
That’s it! These are not big wins, but they totally uplifted me, and is the main reason I’m writing on this topic today!
Suggested Reading
Books:
Reality Is Broken, by Jane McGonigal
Stories:
Conclusion
Here’s what I suggest you do:
Bookmark this, and refer to it regularly.
Here’s a quick recap of ideas to build True Momentum (makes for a good list on your fridge!):
Keep or Make Good Habits, Drop The Bad Ones
Reading Uplifting Content Before Going To Bed
Listen To Uplifting Music, Podcasts And People
Keep Inspiring Quotes Near You
Work Out, Even If Just A Little
Have Monthly Goals And Track Them
Make A Clear Task List
Aim Freaking High
Prepare Your Next Day The Night Before
Write For Yourself
Delegate To People You Trust
Have A Semi-Strict Routine
Don’t Stop When It Hurts
Surround Yourself With Motivated People
Walk To Work, and Limit Wasted Time
Constantly Learn New Things
Learn To Power Nap
Learn To Meditate and Journal
Take A Well-Deserved Vacation
Don’t Be Alone
Meet New People, Attend Events, Do Things Outside Of Work
Do Good, Be Grateful
Celebrate The Small Wins
Be consistent in working towards your goals. Don’t skip. Do. Even when you don’t want to. Every small gain builds your momentum. Momentum makes you unstoppable!
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
How Truly Understanding This Quote Turned Me Into a Successful Serial Entrepreneur
Cover Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash
Top Skill-Learning Lessons Learned from One Year of Experimentation
For the sake of this article, we’ll define the word “Skill” as such: “the ability to do something well”. “Well”, doesn’t necessarily mean professionally.
The moment I read and understood the following quote is the moment I knew I had to turn my life around and become a more skilled individual:
“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery
Now imagine the scenario where you learn more than 35 skills in a year:
How much more “successful” do you think you could be?
How many ways can you combine those in creative ways?
A lot of times we can’t see how two or more skills may come together until we have acquired the knowledge.
And then one day you wake up and realize that by using a multitude of skills you’ve acquired over the years, you come up with a brilliant idea that could change your future forever.
Just 7 months ago, I didn’t really know how to write good stories. Writing was just one of the skills I wanted to learn over the course of the month of January.
During that month only, I:
got published by The Startup (after 5 days in fact!);
became a top writer in 7 categories on Medium.com;
learned to build mass and gained 5kg of pure muscles (and lost 2% body fat);
started a fitness group that grew from 2 people to 13 in just a few days;
became way more proficient at day-to-day Spanish conversations;
made a new partner for a side-business I was working on; and
built my personal brand website.
The next month, I learned how to do Social Media Marketing (with emphasis on Facebook), how to speak/write basic Tagalog and how to grow muscle mass in the legs for someone with chicken legs.
I also released my video game, launched my Viking store, read more books, attended toastmasters events, and grew my networks.
So how can I learn that many skills so quickly and accomplish more?
Simple. In theory at least:
I learn 3 new skills every month.
Let my story above inspire you to try this approach.
Keep reading to learn how I choose the skills, when and how to practice them, why this approach works so well and some of the criticism I’ve received concerning this approach.
How I Choose My Skills
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash
First off, I choose 3 skills that use completely different sections of the brain. I’m certainly no brain expert, but here are a few categories of skills that I’m almost 100% sure use different parts of the brain:
Logic/Science (Programming, Math, Physics, etc.)
Creative (Art, Music, Writing, Design, Movies, etc.)
Languages
Health (Nutrition, Body-building, Sports)
Speech (public speaking, speed, tone, etc.)
The first month I tried Logic, Creative and Languages, more specifically: Categorization using Machine Learning, Drawing using Photoshop, and Past and Future tenses in Spanish.
Be Specific and Realistic
As you can see, these are very specific subsets of skills.
Always be realistic.
What if I chose Programming, Drawing and Spanish? This is way too broad! Where do I start? What is it really? How the heck can I learn all that in one month! How do you track progress on that?
Being realistic and specific will help you focus and stay motivated, and ultimately help you stay consistent in your practice.
When And How To Practice Them
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Practice each skill 30 minutes per day
Thirty minutes for each skill is achievable. If it’s unreasonable for you, just reduce to 1–2 skills instead.
Sometimes I do 2 skills in a month, sometimes I do 4, but I do 3 on average.
And is 30 minutes each day enough to learn a skill? I say yes.
Remember our definition at the top: “the ability to do something well”.
In 15 hours (30 minutes X 30 days), you can learn A LOT.
Have a schedule
Be extreme in telling your brain that you HAVE TO do it or something bad will happen.
This is made easier if you do it consistently at the same time every day. I practice on weekends also. I don’t want to break the momentum.
Learning new skills requires energy, much more than doing things you know.
For that reason, I do them when I’ve got the highest amount of energy. For me, that’s 30 minutes each skill, starting at 5:00am every morning.
Passive Learning
Most skills can be practiced passively. That is, without you actually “spending” time practicing them.
During your day, you spend a lot of time doing passive things: Commuting to work, basic cooking, doing the dishing, health hygiene, etc. I bet for most people, that’s at least one hour of their day.
Use this time to learn passively. Most skills have good theoretical knowledge required. It’s not hard to find good articles online, podcasts and videos to teach you the theory required to learn a skill. Just put your headphones on and learn while doing those passive activities. Learn the jargon, the techniques, etc.
Of course, don’t spend all your time on theory! I spend at least 75% of my time on practice over the course of a month.
4 Reasons Why This Approach Works
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Learning 3 new skills every month completely changed my life for the better. I’m a much better person than I was a year ago. And trust me, it’s not as hard as you think it is. In fact, most of us do learn 3 new skills every month without knowing it. Being aware of it makes all the difference.
1. Because All Skills Are Useful
I will start by saying there are (almost) no useless skills.
Everything I aim to learn has a purpose. The first skills I chose were: classifying documents using Machine Learning, Drawing using Photoshop and Learning The Past and Future Tenses In Spanish.
In one of the current startups I’m working on right now requires my acquired ML skills.
When working on my game, I can now draw decent enough sketches/drafts for my artists to understand my vision.
I moved to Spain 2 months after learning the past and future tenses. I had no idea I would go to Spain at the time.
I use and improve these skills pretty much every day now. The progress has become organic.
2. Because I Build Stronger Connections
I work in co-working spaces. I work with people from all over the globe with different backgrounds. As such, it’s not always easy to have deep conversations if you have nothing in common.
By learning so many skills, there’s a much higher chance that I’m going to find something that unites me with another person.
I’ve connected with people I would never connect with normally, and these connections ended up being some of my strongest connections.
3. Because I Discover Hidden Talents Or Passions
I didn’t aim to write. I didn’t aim to take photos.
Yet I’m now getting paid to do both.
If I didn’t try them as new skills, I would never have known that 1. I’d be good enough at them, and 2. I’d really grow to like them.
4. Because The More You Know, The Faster You Learn
And for me, that is the best reason: learning constantly, at a faster pace.
There’s (almost) nothing I enjoy more in life than learning. It’s such a great feeling when you reach a level of mastery you never knew you could reach before.
“The person who can learn from everything will beat out the person who judges harshly who and what to learn from.” — James Altucher
2 Critics To This Approach
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1. I Don’t Have That Much Time!
Yes, you do.
In Analyze How You Spend Your Time, And You will Realize There Is Plenty Of Free Time, I talk about strategies to help you figure out where you can get more time.
One of the realizations I made for myself a few years ago is that I can’t do anything productive after work. I’m too drained mentally. Because of that, I had decided that I’d wake up earlier to work on side projects. It worked great.
Today, I wake up between 4am and 5am depending on the month and the schedule I make for it. I’m productive from 5am to 7pm.
Sounds difficult, right?
Here are key lessons I learned to make waking up early easier:
Wake up at the end of a REM cycle. Experiment to see what it is for you, because it’s different for everyone. For me, it’s about 90 minutes. So I usually sleep between 10pm and 4am, which is 6 hours, or 4 full cycles.
Take power naps (10–15 minutes rest) during the day. 6 hours is not enough. I take one power nap in the morning and one in the afternoon. Again, this takes practice. It’s hard to pull off initially. More tips in Pro Tips For Power Napping Like A King.
2. You Never Master Anything
This is not entirely true.
On the moment, it’s true that I just become good at the skill, without reaching for mastery.
But what’s the point in mastering something you don’t yet know is going to be useful for you?
The key here is that as the months go by, I practice complementary skills and eventually become great at it. Skills are a series of sub-skills. I learn sub-skills every month that add to a whole.
For example, I learn different aspects of a language over the course of a few months, and eventually I “master” it.
So even though the next month’s skills may be completely unrelated to the previous month, it doesn’t mean it will never be connected to a skill I’ve previously learned.
Eventually, the skills that matter will reach mastery.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you’ve learned something and it will inspire you to become more skilled. It had an incredible impact on my life and I hope it will do the same for you too.
36 skills in a year is definitely attainable. Of course, it requires dedication, good planning, and execution.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
The Only Things You Should Say “Yes” to to Become the Person You Want to Be in Life and Business
Cover Photo by Avi Richards on Unsplash
All your choices affect who you ultimately become
A few months ago, I posted the opposite of this story:
41 Things You Should Say “No” To To Become The Person You Want To Be In Life And Business
That ended up being my most popular post. And I like to think that it’s not only because of the cute puppy, though I’m sure it helps!
The choices we make define who we are or what we’ll become. It’s true for both the things we say “yes” to and the things we say “no” to.
In general, we are very good at saying “yes” to things, oftentimes leading to overcommitment, which can be detrimental to our health.
That’s why it’s very important to learn to say “no” to things. Once you’ve finished reading this story, please get back to my story on saying “no”, as they complement each other.
The Only Things You Should Say “Yes” to
Only say “yes” to things that work towards your chief aim.
It’s that simple. While it may sound selfish at first, it really isn’t if your chief aim is not selfish in nature.
What is a chief aim?
A chief aim provides clarity and focus towards a single endeavour. It also serves as a compass you can use to assess any job, business investment or decision. A chief aim helps you to prepare for finding like-minded people who are interested in accomplishing similar feats in life. It can also help provide direction on where to go from here. — anthillonline.com
The idea came from Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.
Obviously, the first step is then to define your chief aim. It’s a requirement if you want to succeed in anything. You need clarity and self-awareness.
In fact, it’s so monumental that Brendon Burchard included clarity as one of the top 6 habits of high performers in High Performance Habits.
Once you’ve defined your chief aim, you have your roadmap. Whenever you’re presented with a choice of saying “yes” or “no”, you can refer back to your chief aim and ask yourself this question:
Does that work towards my chief aim?
For example, here’s my chief aim:
Help people thrive in the 21st century.
Simple, short, and to the point, yet still broad enough that I’m leaving room for great opportunities.
Once I defined this, I was able to say “no” to “incredible” opportunities that brought me no value. I became a master at saying “no” to things I should never have said “yes” in the first place.
And because my chief aim is not selfish, there’s plenty of room to not be a jerk and say “no” to everyone because it doesn’t benefit me.
Conclusion
Saying “yes” is easy. Saying “no” is hard.
When you know your chief aim, suddenly that flips around. You have more clarity as to what you should accept or not. When you start saying “yes” to the right things, you will then become what you really want to become, both in life and in business.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
How Being Accountable Got Me Off the Couch Once and for All
Cover Photo by Naomi Hébert on Unsplash
And it’s not as hard as you think
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” — Dalai Lama
It was a hot summer, 16 years ago, I still see the image in my head. I think about it frequently, especially when I reflect on what I’ve become.
I was laying on the couch, playing my video games on my Gameboy Advance. That was my ritual after school or after work.
My older brother came back from work and saw me there. He looked at me and said this sentence I can never forget:
“You’ll never do anything in life.” — nameless brother
Ouch.
But he wasn’t completely wrong though. After all, all he was seeing was this kid “wasting” his life playing video games on the couch every single day.
From that moment, I decided I would do something with my life. I had to prove him wrong. It’s been 16 years, and every time I think about a new achievement in my life, I think of that moment and can’t help but think to myself: “Ha! Proved you wrong!”.
I’ve actually never told him that story. He probably doesn’t recall telling me this anyway.
My point is, I had something to prove to someone, and that has carried me far.
Accountability in the More Recent Years
I was in a similar dip a little over a year ago when I was still working at my 9–5 job. It was a great job, but I really needed to satisfy my entrepreneurship itch.
Everything changed when I received a grant to work on Soul Reaper, my company’s first ambitious game project. And around the same time, my wife was about to start a new adventure and go on her first Medecins Sans Frontiere mission. That meant we would be apart for 6 months.
It’s around that time I started making all my goals public, with the people around me at coworking spaces, but also publicly on Medium.com. By telling people about what I set out to do, I couldn’t let them down. I didn’t want to be perceived as someone who’s all talk and no game.
Essentially, I started being more accountable for my actions and goals.
In the short span of six months, I was able to accomplish the following:
I learned 18 new skills, including fiction and non-fiction writing, drawing, NGO photography, storytelling, public speaking, day-to-day Spanish conversations, learning to learn, eComm management, and more;
I got involved in more than 7 projects, most of which I’ve started;
I met prolific writers and other personalities;
I gained 7kg of muscles;
I wrote and published 2 books;
I released a video game;
I opened up the world’s first and only story-driven online store;
I diversified my revenue sources, getting paid for 4+ different projects;
I got published by top Medium publications like The Startup;
I contributed to Entrepreneur Magazine, Thought Catalog, and Thrive Global;
I became a top writer in 15 categories on Medium;
and more!
That’s the power of accountability!
How YOU Can Be Accountable Too and Get Out of Bed
Step 1: Low-risk, low-effort, low-effectiveness
Involve a friend in you weekly and monthly goal-setting. Meet weekly and discuss what went right, what went wrong, how you can do better, what your goals are for next week, and what actions will you take towards these goals.
Step 2: Medium-risk, medium-effort, medium-effectiveness
Make your goals and progress public, just like I did around the coworking space and through my writing on Medium. No one wants to look like a fool in public.
Step 3: High-risk, medium-effort, high-effectiveness
Join an accountability program. An accountability program is a system that puts incentives for you to do things. There are many different approaches to this, including gamification, fear of loss, social recognition, coaching, and more.
Conclusion
Being accountable changed my life forever. I went from a completely unambitious kid to a serial entrepreneur. I went from having no credibility to being a mentor to people.
If you feel stuck in life, start being accountable. It’s a great first step towards taking back control of your life.
Start by involving friends. Then make your goals and progress public. When you’re ready for the next step, give an accountability program a try.
Like me, you CAN get out of bed and achieve more!
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
Life Changing Lessons Learned From Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, and Max McKeown
Cover Photo credit: thetimes.com
If You Can Learn Something New Every Day, You Can Better Adapt to the Future
Lesson Learned from Charles Darwin
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin. Photo credit: biography.com
This is a great lesson learned from how nature works. In Principles, Ray Dalio also mentions the importance of learning from how nature works and how it evolves.
Adaptability is key to our own survival and development.
This has been monumental in my own personal growth. There are many things I used to think I couldn’t do something. When came time to do things out of my comfort zone, I would simply accept that it wasn’t for me or that I couldn’t do it.
One day I said to myself: “Enough is enough!”.
I decided NOW was the time to conquer my fears of height and drowning. I did rock climbing for a bit. I’m still scared, but less so than before. I practiced swimming a few times. I tried surfing and jet-skiing. Again, I’m still scared, but it doesn’t paralyze me anymore.
Eight months ago, I started to deliberately learn three new skills every month. It changed my life forever. I became more versatile. I became more adaptable. Little did I know that practicing three completely different skills for 15 hours each every month would I become that adaptable and start learning a lot faster.
Today, I feel like I’m more ready than ever to tackle the rapid changes in society.
Lesson Learned From Thomas A. Edison
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” — Thomas A. Edison
Thomas A. Edison. Photo credit: biography.com
This is a brilliant display of how persistence is key to achieving anything in life, no matter how smart you are.
No one can deny everything we owe to Edison, yet few realize that he “failed” many more times than any of us will ever “fail”.
In the field of experimentation (aka life), there is no such thing as a failure. The moment we realize that, no matter what we try, if it doesn’t endanger our life or the life of others, we are free to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. If it doesn’t work, great, you learned something.
Because of how all of us were educated, we are afraid of failure. We don’t want to get an “F” in life. When you get an “F” in school, you then work harder and get a “B”. If you hadn’t “failed” in the first place, you may have gotten a “C”.
The problem is, we stop at the first, second or third failure — rarely going much further than that. Dare go beyond that. Edison did, many times, and so did pretty much all the other successful people you and I know.
Lessons Learned From Max McKeown
“All failure is failure to adapt, all success is successful adaptation.” — Max McKeown
Max McKeown. Photo credit: spark.me
I love this quote. It’s at the intersection of what Darwin and Edison said in the previous two quotes, touching on both failure and adaptability.
You cannot adapt without doing. You cannot fail or succeed without doing. You cannot adapt without failing. Only once you’ve adapted will you succeed.
There is no one set of principles you can apply to every situation. That’s why, in some ways, everything you read about self-development on the internet is BS. The person who will succeed is the person who applies the right set of principles for the right situation.
If you haven’t read Principles, by Ray Dalio, it’s a great reference for learning important principles both in life and business. Once you understand and remember the principles, you can start applying them to the right situations.
Conclusion
In short, here are the three lessons I learned from the quotes above:
Adaptability is key to our own survival and development;
Only once you’ve adapted will you succeed; and
Persistence is key to achieving anything in life.
These are three of the most important lessons one can learn. They were applied by Charles Darwin, Thomas A. Edison, Max McKeown, and pretty much all other successful people we’ve known throughout history.
My own adaptability came from deliberately learning three new skills every month. It didn’t matter how many times I failed during the month, I had to keep going. I learned things that put me out of my comfort zone and made me the versatile person that I am today.
And that’s what I want for you too.
It may seem hard or daunting at first because we’re conditioned to think in black and white when it comes to success, but the more you do get out of your comfort zone, the easier it gets. In fact, make going out of your comfort zone a habit. Remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
Are You Introvert? Here’s Why You Should Write
Cover Photo by Daria Tumanova on Unsplash
3 Ways Writing Has Been Therapeutic for Me and Could Be for You Too
“Life isn’t about just talking, it’s about thinking too.”
― Marie Symeou
As an introvert, social interactions can be draining for me. If people don’t ask me questions about myself or what I do, chances are I won’t open up and tell them. If you’ve been reading my stories, it may come as a surprise to you since I’m pretty much on open book when it comes to writing.
I’ve been at my wife’s cousin’s place for the past two days. I’ve been feeling a little awkward, not really knowing what to say in most situations. I’ve known her for the past 14 years, so it’s not like we don’t know each other, but I realized that two things last night:
I don’t open up when people don’t ask me questions
I ask questions, but I feel awkward following up on subjects I don’t know.
If you’re an introvert, you may have noticed the same.
That made me reflect back on my writing. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to talk about myself when I so easily do it in writing.
For the longest time, because of my introversion, I thought I had nothing “original” to say. I thought I was just a timid guy and that what I had to say was not necessarily important. Obviously, I’m being a little over-dramatic here.
And of course, I was wrong.
Introverts have so much to say. Potentially more so than extroverts.
3 Ways Writing Has Been Therapeutic for Me and Could Be for You Too
1. It allows you to express yourself the way you really feel
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes”―C.G. Jung
As introverts, we tend to keep our good and bad emotions inside. We have close friends we can talk to, but sometimes we don’t want to bother them.
Writing is a phenomenal way to express oneself.
Back in January, I decided to write online on Medium.com. The purpose for me was just to improve my writing, not really focusing on the self-expression aspect. I expressed myself unknowingly and, in hindsight, has been such a liberating exercise.
Outside of Medium, I had started journaling during that time, after following Benjamin P. Hardy’s course. Writing in my journal has dramatically increased my self-awareness, and in general just made me a better person.
2. It helps you connect with other like-minded people
“A small group of like-minded people can change the course of history.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Extroverts have it a little easier when it comes to meeting new people and making friends, if not simply by the fact that they like to surround themselves with people more frequently.
Ever since I started writing, more people have opened up to me because they can relate to my stories. I’ve made deeper connections and met amazing people.
But more importantly, it showed me that there are many others like me, and that introversion is not a bad thing. In fact, I’m happy to be introverted.
3. It makes you go out of your comfort zone and expands your horizons
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Neale Donald Walsh
I love the quote above. I found that to be so true. Expressing my feelings is certainly not in my comfort zone, but writing as made it easier. As a result, I’ve been able to drastically expand my network and skillset.
When you’re able to get out of your comfort zone, suddenly you’re more in peace with the idea that you’re more than you thought you were. Your self-esteem goes up and you’re more willing to try new things.
Conclusion
Writing allows you to express yourself freely, helps you connect with like-minded people, make you go outside your comfort zone and expands your horizons.
I found that to be extremely beneficial in my life. In fact, it was so beneficial that after my first month writing, I decided to keep going and have been doing it for over 6 months now.
I can’t stop writing now. Every morning I must write. It’s my way of always being myself and staying out of my comfort zone.
Are you an introvert?
Have you tried writing?
Where do you write?
What do you write about?
What benefits have you gotten from writing?
If you don’t write, why not?
What’s holding you back?
Writing is not for everyone. But if you’re an in introvert, I dare you to try it. Start with a journal. It may sound ridiculous at first, but you’ll realize soon enough that it isn’t. Write about your life. Write about who you are. What you want to be. Dare publish, if only for yourself.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
For the Reader in Pain: How to Elevate Your Happiness Starting With This Simple Reflection
Cover Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
What makes you proud makes you happy
“Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.” — Coach Paul Bryant
This morning I had a chat with a friend I met in Cambodia last year. We hadn’t spoken for 4 months.
And when he asked me what’s new in my life, there was just way to much to give a proper answer.
So we caught up on each other’s life, and he asked me that question:
What are you most proud of from the last 3 months?
It’s a great question.
I had not thought about it. Of all the things I learned. Of all the things I did. It was hard to pick one I’m most proud of.
My answer was: sticking to the habit of learning 3 new skills a month. It’s a great habit. I’m proud of it.
Sometimes in life we’re lost and think we’re not good at anything. Most people have been through that.
But I like this question.
3 months is a long enough period that it’s likely you did something you’re proud of. Recognize it. Hang on to it.
Pride is a strong feeling. It can lift you up. In day-to-day life, we don’t spend enough time recognizing the things we’re proud of.
Pride brings happiness. Pride builds confidence.
What are you most proud of from the last 3 months?
Hopefully you don’t have to think too hard. Good habits are a good start. Stopping a bad habit is also a good starting point. Earning praise for something you did, finishing something you started, acting on something you didn’t think you could, etc.
These are all good.
Conclusion
Review your last 3 months:
What are you most proud of?
Why are you proud of it?
How did you get to it?
How can you replicate this pride going forward?
Pride is a strong feeling all of us should have. Hang on to it.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
How Setting My Ego Aside Got Me Immense Growth In A Short Timeframe
Cover Photo by christian ferrer on Unsplash
“When the ego dies, the soul awakes.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Iam certainly not the most “successful” person out there, but over the course of the last 12 months, I’ve grown to be a better person.
Just like everyone else, I have flaws and weaknesses, which at the time, I thought was my reason for not being particularly interesting, and was probably the cause for me to not be as “successful” as I hoped I would be.
I was wrong.
Why is it that, even though I write about the same things as others and I don’t have any particular writing talents, I still managed write two books, contributed to top publications and wrote once a day on average?
Why is it that, even though I’m a skinny ectomorph, I still managed to gain 5kg in one month?
Why is it that, even though I’m almost purely a logical person, I can now draw, take photos and write semi-professionally?
I didn’t have the answers to those questions until quite recently.
Most people are pretty good at telling their strengths, whether they are right or not. But who truly recognizes their weaknesses and dare challenge the thought that you can’t change them?
Well, I did. And a lot of people you and I consider “successful” also did.
Making Yourself Vulnerable
That is a good starting point for your journey to growth.
“Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure.” — Bob Marley
Start by recognizing your weaknesses and bring them forward. Stop hiding them. Show them to the world.
Arnold Schwarzenegger became the top bodybuilder because he recognized he had weak calves, and started exposing them to the world. He was ashamed of them. He didn’t really want people to see them. He had to work hard on them so people would stop judging.
How often do you dare to be so vulnerable and show your weaknesses to the world?
Very rarely right?
In our society, we always have to show ourselves in our best light. Yet that is precisely what’s holding us back in our growth.
We are who we are because of both our strengths and weaknesses. And if you lie to yourself and to the world about your weaknesses, you won’t ever grow into what you really want to be.
I started showing my more vulnerable side over 6 months ago when I started writing. Writing about myself still makes me uncomfortable.
But by exposing that less-than-perfect side of me, I’ve grown in ways I never thought I would.
Because it’s out in the open and everyone can see what I write, I’m accountable for the things I say and do. I don’t want to write about things I don’t do or don’t believe in. I write about my experiences, good or bad, and 90% of the time, it’s when I expose the bad that I grow as a person.
People who read what I write appreciate the honesty and vulnerability I show in my writing. They relate to my failures.
I gained 5kg of mass in one month by daring to show my weaknesses and by working extremely hard on them.
I managed to do creative things like drawing, taking photos and writing by recognizing it was “against my personality” and finding ways to make it work for me. I didn’t give up because it was hard or “impossible” for a person with my personality.
Conclusion
I reject the idea that we’re stuck with the personality we have at any point in time. We’re very adaptable people and we can change, for better or worse. In fact, we change on a daily basis.
Recognize your weaknesses, make yourself vulnerable, and work on your pain points. You’ll see your growth accelerate at a pace you never imagined would be possible.
Anyone can do this. Don’t hide in the dark. Set your ego or modesty aside and show the world that, like everyone else, you are not perfect. You are vulnerable like everyone else.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
Why Most People Will Never Get What They Want From Others
Cover Photo by Bryan Minear on Unsplash
Don’t be afraid to ask
“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” — Oprah Winfrey
We live in a world where we depend on others to get what we want out of life. Not everyone has the same thing to offer and collaboration is key to achieving more.
But getting someone to commit to saying “yes” to you is not always an easy endeavour.
How many times have you been rejected?
How many times have you feared getting rejected?
When has your fear of the dreadful “no” word prevented you from even trying in the first place?
At least a few times right?
We get a “no” more frequently than we get a “yes”. After a point, it’s hard to handle another “no”.
So here’s my “secret” to you:
Never stop asking.
I’ve been surprised how many times I asked for things and actually received a “yes”, against all odds.
I’ve received competitive grants, made partners and incredible collaborators in my businesses, and established important business relations.
Learn From Rejection
Getting a “yes” is a combination of hard work, perseverance, awareness, circumstance, and luck. Probably a whole bunch of other things too.
The worst thing you can do when getting a “no” is to assume it’s their fault. There are hundreds of variables at any point in time.
Try to figure the variables out.
Was it just bad timing?
Was it how you presented yourself?
How was your language? Your body language?
Were they giving signs it wouldn’t work, but you weren’t aware enough?
Did you have the right contact?
It could just be bad luck, but I’d leave that excuse as a last resort.
Never blindly ask the same person/business multiple times without at least trying to understand why you got rejected in the first place. Learn from your rejections.
Conclusion
Don’t let your fear of rejection prevent you from asking. Do your best and dare ask for what you need.
Learn from your rejections. With practice, you’ll see that your “yes” streak will start to increase.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
A Guaranteed Formula for True Happiness and Success
Cover Photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash
How To Have A Good Life According To Buddha
“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” — Buddha
Buddha needs no introduction. He’s the main figure of one of the most practiced religion in the world. Everyone has at least heard of him.
But I’m going to say that right away: this is NOT a post about religion. I do not pretend to understand buddhism, or any other religion for that matter.
I simply believe that inspiration can be found anywhere, wether it’s your environment, your friends, your family, your experiences, your beliefs, etc. It doesn’t matter. There are good lessons to learn from everywhere.
1. What you think, you become
What do you think of yourself?
Do you act according to this belief?
How did you get there?
Work backwards in your thinking. Start from where you are now, and rewind a year.
Did you become what you thought?
I’m quite different from what I was a year ago. I had good ideas of what I wanted to become. At least on a broad scale.
I have become it, and a little more.
BUT!
Thinking without action doesn’t make you become. Neither does acting without thinking.
As I wrote in:
You Are, Or Will Become What You Do
Most of us want to be more than what we currently are. Yet we do nothing to make it happen.
Plan your days, at least one day in advance (Think). Be precise with time. Execute consistently (Do).
Before you know it, you’ll have become the things you have been thinking and doing.
2. What you feel, you attract
We are so emotionally influenced by our surroundings.
Everyone is happy at a party.
Everyone is sad at a funeral.
If you’re negative, you’ll attract negativity. If you’re positive, you’ll attract positivity.
I’m a positive guy. Especially outwardly. The truth is, I fake it sometimes. And it’s a hack I propose to you.
When something negative happens to you, force yourself to think positively, however hard that may be. Your brain will need convincing. Act it out long enough and you’ll convince it.
Here’s a quote I really like from Conor McGregor:
“At the end of the day, you’ve gotta feel some way. So why not feel unbeatable? Why not feel untouchable?” — Conor McGregor
When I feel unstoppable, people around me catch my vibe.
I un-intentionally started a fitness group at the co-working space I worked from. I just wanted to be more fit, so I thought, and acted. I started doing push-ups.
People laughed. People judged. Then people got curious and joined.
I started a movement, simply because I felt I was unstoppable at fitness.
3. What you imagine, you create
Reflexion is an incredibly powerful tool to motivate you to act and create whatever it is you want to create.
In our busy day-to-day routine, we rarely take the time to reflect. Reflect on ourselves, reflect on our day, reflect on our environment, reflect on our future.
We don’t take the time to let our imagination run wild through reflexion, or deep thinking.
I’ve picked up Meditation and Journaling as some of the 3 skills I learn every month.
My mind has never been so clear. With the fog gone, I am free to imagine anything.
By doing this consciously, I can write all my ideas that pass by. Good or bad. Sometimes, from bad ideas stem great ideas. It’s a process.
Let your imagination run wild. There are no boundaries. No impossible.
If you let yourself think something is impossible, it will be.
If you let yourself imagine the path to success, you will create that path.
Conclusion
Become: Thinking without action doesn’t make you become. Neither does acting without thinking.
Attract: If you’re negative, you’ll attract negativity. If you’re positive, you’ll attract positivity.
Create: If you let yourself think something is impossible, it will be.
Think and Become. Feel and Attract. Imagine and Create.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
Why Most People Don’t Achieve Their Dreams
Cover Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash
6 True Ways To Become Your Better Self
“Excellence is not a skill. Excellence is an attitude.” — Conor McGregor
The best thing you can for your productivity is to start with a positive mindset.
Have you ever been productive when you were negative about things in your environment?
Probably not, right?
I personally found that it’s when I feel unstoppable that I accomplish the most things in life.
The problem is getting to that peak state frequently to have that feeling of being unstoppable.
Reaching that state and building momentum starts with finding sources of inspiration. Things that give you the power to change from any mindset to a positive one.
When you see the world in a bright light, things are clearer. The path to “success” is clearer and seems more achievable.
1. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals
Have you ever noticed how your mood is strongly affected by the people you surround yourself with?
It’s good to be around people with a positive mindset, but that’s not enough.
I have positive friends that think differently than I do. It’s not them that will find the words to uplift me, but someone who truly understands me.
Someone who has been through similar experiences, who is currently experiencing similar things, or who is having similar life goals.
I’m constantly reminding myself of this quote:
“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn.
2. Invest in a mentor-mentee relationship
Ever since I discovered the importance of having mentors to jump ahead of the curve and learn better and faster, I’ve been seeking out good mentor-mentee relationships.
A lot of articles mention having mentors has a key to “success”. I’d say this is just one piece of that key.
Be a mentor yourself.
There’s nothing more uplifting than doing your best to help someone else.
Until a few months ago, I had never given any thought about being a mentor myself. Yet a new friend started calling me his mentor. I was definitely humbled by that. Helping him and hopefully making a positive impact in his life uplifts me to new heights.
And you don’t need to feel like you’re exceptional to mentor someone. All of us have been through hardships that made us stronger.
Mentoring someone is about telling your lessons learned in hopes the other person avoids such hardship. But most importantly, it’s about guiding them to the answers. Helping them find the answers themselves.
3. Read Biographies Near The End-of-Day
Do you read biographies?
These are probably my favourite types of books personally.
There’s something about reading about someone you idolize and seeing that, just like you, they’re not perfect.
I like reading that I have similar thoughts or habits as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk for example. I like to read that I like the same food as Winston Churchill or grew up in similar situations as Angelina Jolie, Kanye West or Barack Obama.
To me, it gives me hope that I can achieve more, like them.
Reading it near the end of the day lets your subconscious be inspired by their stories. You wake up uplifted the next morning.
4. Listen To Uplifting Music
This one means something different for everyone.
For me, it’s all about French Horn, with a mix of violin, flute, and guitar. And bagpipes, because why not!
My favourite composers are Hans Zimmer, Thomas Bergerson, and Antti Martikainen, all of which compose “epic” music.
I read one day that some people are strongly affected by music and get goosebumps when they listen to music they like. I’m one of those people, and maybe you are too.
When that happens, I feel unstoppable, and immediately go into flow state.
I do it for work, but sometimes before going to bed too. Though it’s hard to fall asleep in flow state!
5. Watch Motivational Videos
There are millions of motivational videos out there.
If You Want to Change the World, Start Off by Making Your Bed, by US Navy Admiral William McRaven is one that really works for me.
If you need uplifting, watch one or two a day.
But just be careful though, they can be quite addicting.
Watch, get inspired, then start achieving your own goals.
6. Read Inspirational Stories
I first started reading on Medium about a year ago. It is the stories of the people that got me addicted.
Much like reading biographies, you learn that you’re not alone in your hardships. But the difference here is that people on Medium are more approachable.
There are many writers here I can relate to and feel like I have a connection to them without necessarily having met them yet.
Reading about their struggles and vulnerabilities makes me feel alive, and then seeing where they are today and how they grew from hardships just lifts me up.
Conclusion
A positive mindset doesn’t last forever.
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar
There are many things in life that work against you, and that will ultimately affect your mindset.
Recognize when that happens.
When you feel like you don’t achieve what you want to anymore, don’t despair. Remember that you can achieve much more by uplifting yourself. Continually.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)
How to Effortlessly Meet New People and Boost Your Network In Life and Business
Cover Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
4 Ways to Meet More Interesting People
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn
How different would your life be if you met with your idols?
What if you were to hang out with them frequently?
What would your life be like if that was the case?
I’m sure you realize your life would be quite different, right?
Then why is it that we don’t realize that, even just around us, there are already great people that can change our lives for the better. We are too blind, fantasizing about idols that we don’t realize the incredible people around us.
Today I went to a coworking event where the speaker was giving his top tips on how to handle social media marketing, a topic I’m very interested about for Soul Reaper and Viking Boutique.
I was fascinated by his tips, and him as a person. When he entered the field, he realized he had to seek expert advice to accelerate his learning. He sought out mentors who showed him the way.
Now I’m benefiting from his learnings, but that’s not all! A few of us stayed after the presentation and discussed our projects, ideas and more. I met incredible people doing incredible things.
I didn’t even have to step out the door from the office!
Here are 4 tested ways to meet more interesting people:
1. Get Off Your Couch and Attend Events
When’s the last time you attended an even in a field you’re interested in?
In every major city, there are always events you can go to meet new people. Sometimes it will be a waste of time, but sometimes you’ll hit jackpot and make a strong connection.
If I didn’t go to the event, I wouldn’t have met the speaker and the other attendees. Now, he invited me to work from his office for a day. Just being around these geniuses at what they do, I will learn so much about social media marketing.
2. Recognize All the Greatness Around You
How often do you inquire about other people?
Sometimes you don’t realize that someone around you is actually amazing.
I mean, be truly interested in what they have to say. A lot of times you’ll realize people you’ve known for a while are actually quite amazing. But in this day and age, we rarely take time to catch up, for real, with people we know.
Most people will not tell you their stories unless you ask them. Probably surprisingly to you, I’m guilty of not opening up in person. If you don’t ask me what I do, I probably will just ask about you. Dare ask deep questions!
3. Don’t Listen to Mom, Talk to Strangers
How often do you engage in a conversation with a random stranger?
Just the day before, I was at another WeWork location, and I saw this Viking-looking Indian guy, I was fascinated by his looks, especially since I own Viking Boutique. Without really thinking, I arranged to meet him. Turns out he’s in charge of brand and events for WeWork. He is one of the most interesting people I met. And he’s got connections at Comic-Con, which is perfect for Viking Boutique.
If I listened to the advice of not talking to strangers, I would not have met him. And now he could turn out to be one of the most important connections I made it India.
4. The World Isn’t So Scary, Go Out and Travel
Are there any destinations you haven’t been too because someone told you it was unsafe?
When I left Toronto to travel the world for a year, I tried to stay with locals as much as possible. I did that by using Couchsurfing and Airbnb mostly.
When the trip was over and my wife and I reflected on our trip, we both agreed that the best thing about our travels was not the sights we saw or the things we did, but the incredible people we met.
And you don’t need to leave for as long as we did. Just make sure that when you travel, make it your missions statement to embrace the culture, meet the people, and be open-minded. You’ll meet the most incredible people and come out happier and more grateful for it.
Conclusion
Do you realize now that life is all about the people you meet and how you interact with them?
Do you feel the need to connect, or reconnect with people you know? Hear their stories out?
The people you met yesterday shaped who you are today, the people you meet today will shape who you’ll be tomorrow.
The more events you attend, the more you recognize greatness around you, the more you talk to strangers and the more you travel, the more interesting people you’ll meet.
Take note of any events you might be interested in happening this month;
Take note of people you surround yourself with, at work, at home, for your hobbies;
Take note of the strangers you meet and would like to at least just say “hi” to them; and
Take note of places you’d like to travel to.
With all this exercise, you should have a good list of people that can help you expand your network. Remember, you never know the greatness around you until 1. you reflect on your surroundings, and 2. you dare talking to other people.
If you’re an introvert like me, try connecting one-on-one. I promise it’s much easier!
Making meaningful connections. Building better relationships. Surrounding yourself with the right people. All that starts with doing what is necessary to meet people.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)