109. There are two sorts of people

The ambitious, and everyone else.

The 9-5er, the unconfrontational, the risk-averse.

Biting down on the pill that mediocrity is worth striving for.

Excitement isn’t born out of second best.

“Don’t dream- to dream is to be disappointed”

What then about the burden of untapped potential?

That film was never made, that book was never published, and those lives never changed.

The cowardice doesn’t just affect you.

But what about if I fail?

Then your true intentions are revealed - you want fame and fortune, not to grow in a process.

Nothing is promised.

There is no security in a desk job, no guaranteed 80 years, and no freedom from fear.

So do you crawl up into a ball?

The cardinal sin is not attempting anything- life is meaningless, woe is me.

The narrative of self-care and that there is success in the stagnancy. Why now is sloth to be celebrated?

Mediocrity remains in the vicious cycle of letting feelings dictate. The perspective must be shifted, one must attempt before one is ready.

Thinking is comforting, doing is hard, and consistency is inspiring.

The penniless practitioner is better than the everyday purposeless person - one celebrates his gifted talent another is scared of it.

Your calling may lead to a simple life, job, and partner.

Yet, the thirst for ambition remains to be quenched even in the ordinary.

The difference between one person’s hobbies, work, and romantic life and another’s can be night and day.

The friend who inspired you to not just watch Netflix.

The colleague who inspired you to go above and beyond in the office.

The couple who inspired you that a marriage can be exceptional.

Noble ambitions to inspire that sort of change.

In the future you will look back to where you are now - will you be content with your ambition?

108. Why I aspire to be a bad correspondent

I promise I’m not trying to be rude.

Like an easily accessible product is cheap, so our connection is when we are constantly available.

With the excuse of being caring, we put on the comfort blanket.

Being a soundboard to the daily gossip, weather chat, and the surface level- unique personal chats become a foreign entity.

Slowly but surely we become accustomed to how this is- not knowing there is another way.

Interesting ideas don’t come from watching the latest Netflix series or going down to the Pub.

A level of deep focus, reclusiveness, and contemplation is needed.

The uncomfortable silence is the beast to be attacked. The muscle has to be curated.

Removal of the notifications, immediate access, and need to be ‘in the loop’. This is the training ground.

Doubts occur upon receiving invites but the purpose must be remembered.

You aren’t trying to be a hermit but rather contribute in a different, deeper way.

Good mental and spiritual health.

Intellectual conversation.

Achievements and making a difference.

All bedmates to the technologically removed.

But we must remember that technophiles and technophobes are either sides of the alluring coin of distraction.

Deliberate clarity in these tools is needed- technology is advancing quicker than morality.

Exercising purpose, a controlled removal and usage, and then authenticity in action.

Your communication will be that book, art piece, or inspiring contribution.

Small minds talk about people, and great minds talk about ideas.

Create the space to formulate away from distraction then intentionally choose moments to share.

Be remembered for quality, not quantity.

107. It only gets more difficult

You’d think Nike was on to something when it said, just do it.

Today I was reading a few pages of Sun Tzu’s, ‘The Art of War’, and as well as it being a great guide to military strategy, it holds some pearls of wisdom for everyday life.

I was contemplating his quote;

“Though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays”,

It made me reflect on the times I have unjustifiably put things off.

Being too busy, tired, or ‘not ready’.

90% of the time it is a lack of priority that prohibits progress.

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I hate emails, and (until recently) had an inbox with around 6,000 and about 100+ unread.

Every day I found myself pushing clearing it to the next day, reading only the essential emails.

But the monster in the corner only got bigger.

Enough was enough when I had a message sent to me about a lack of a response to an email- I thought of Tim Ferriss’ quote on procrastination,

“Being busy is a form of laziness- lazy thinking and indiscriminate action”

I was not going to be lazy.

I can sometimes overthink something so much that nothing actually happens.

There is a place for action and another for contemplation, the latter should have a lot less time than I usually give it.

Counter to the mainstream narrative, I believe it’s okay to be unhappy. Feelings are often a bad indicator of what should happen, they are subjective and ever-changing. It shouldn’t be the driver of decision-making.

Better to be unhappy and move the needle forward in your life than stay stagnant.

The decision is the pain of change or of doing nothing. Either way, pain is felt.

But like my email example, despite the uncomfortable feeling of the change, the objective benefit could be felt by me and others I could respond to.

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Moving forward, I’m not going to delay stuff.

I’m going to recognise when my justification is an excuse.

I’m going to push the needle forward when emotions are high.

And as Mark Twain once said,

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”