Transformation starts out as a spark.
New ideas are those creative sparks that can lead you where you want to go. Always be open to ideas and looking for new ones.
Here are a few kickass ideas to try (that I’ve spent 100+ hours sourcing):
Chase nostalgia
There are so many paths in life.
There are millions of different combinations of decisions you can make. That’s why I use nostalgia as a way to refine decisions. I ask myself, “Will this decision create nostalgia?”
It’s a great mental model.
The challenge is some of the best nostalgic moments can be unpredictable. Like how the most boring activities can lead to memories that last a lifetime.
So the point is to intentionally have experiences. And to say yes to random events with random people you might normally say no to.
When your life is almost over you won’t remember how much money you made or all the stupid job titles you held. You’ll remember nostalgia. Optimize for it.
Be unreasonable enough to ask for more than you deserve
This is a cheat code to the Matrix world we live in.
Learn to ask for stuff that’s not included because everything in life is negotiable and open to interpretation.
- Ask a business if you can have a discount.
- Ask your boss if you can do a better job as a trial.
- Ask for pay raises and bonuses when they’re not due.
- Ask successful people if you can take them out for lunch.
You don’t have to deserve anything. Or have earned it. You can skip ten steps ahead just by being unreasonable enough to ask for stuff.
The worst that can happen is a person says no. So what. Say thank you and move on. A “No” isn’t a death wish or curse. It’s a reply.
In sales the rule of thumb is you don’t let a prospect go until at least 5–6 follow-ups. Even then you only let them escape in the short term. Then a few months later you come back again and start over.
This ruthless mindset is how you grow faster in 6 months than most people do in 6 years.
Optimize for freedom instead of money
Our freedom is stolen one purchase at a time.
I’ve always wanted to make a million dollars. Why? Not to buy a Lambo but to buy back my freedom and stop working bullsh*t jobs that enslave us.
And I finally achieved the goal. One crucial step in this process was to ask myself these three questions:
- Will this purchase make me money?
- Will buying this give me more time with my daughter or less?
- Will this purchase get me closer to early retirement or further away?
Those questions became the criteria for financial decisions. As a result I stop getting tricked into things like upgrading cars all the time. It’s why I now drive an 8 year old Honda Civic and have no plans to upgrade.
Invest in your future freedom.
Look for what generates natural dopamine
Dopamine addiction is the real epidemic.
Social media, junk food, p*rn, Netflix, etc, all increase our baseline dopamine levels. Once they return to normal we crash. Then we need more dopamine to try and beat the previous high.
Dopamine is like heroin but even more addictive.
There are natural ways to get a hit of dopamine, though. One way is to read and write. When you do, it helps you see patterns. And pattern recognition gives you access to natural dopamine.
There’s a good way to measure if the dopamine you’re getting is good or bad. Ask this question: “Did this activity help me progress in life?”
If not, it’s probably the modern devil of cheap dopamine.
Rest as hard as you work
The sigma grindset mindset is a virus. Yes, you need to work hard but here’s what I’ve learned:
Rest as hard as you work.
A tired mind is a useless mind. A person who never stops to enjoy life will see it pass by and have regrets. There are no awards for hard work.
There are big prizes, though, for people who do things in life and have experiences. Interesting people are a result of their experiences.
The best rest is sleep. The second best is mindfulness.
Image credit- valuethe.mind via Instagram
Become a curator
Originality is overrated.
It’s hard to be original and it’s unlikely you’re a genius like Einstein. Instead, try to become a curator of ideas.
Find the best ideas online then share them. Take existing ideas and remix or blend them together with other ideas.
Go from planning to experimenting
Planning is what many people do for their entire lives.
They never get around to “doing” though. What holds us back is the idea that an action has to be perfect or A-grade. The challenge with planning is results are unpredictable.
You’re better off running small experiments in your life to see what works for you, than trying to overthink ways to have the perfect action take place.
Embrace this default state
There’s nothing worse than busy people.
Dan Koe says “Chaos is our default state.”
That’s why saying you’re busy, overwhelmed, or the time isn’t right are all useless excuses. If life is chaos then there will never be calm moments where it feels comfortable to change your life.
Embrace the chaos. Act in the middle of chaos.
Then you’ll be much better at dealing with adversity and your discomfort threshold will increase, allowing you to do bigger and better things.
Try a new industry in your career
An industry can get boring.
What I’ve done is change industries a few times. What I found is I was able to get promoted faster because I could take concepts from, say, online education and apply them to banking. Or take models from finance and apply them to a social media agency.
A mentor once said to me, “We hire people from airlines to inform us on how to evolve online education.” I found that fascinating.
Innovation lies at the intersection of industries.
And innovators get paid more and advance their careers faster.
Do something good for the local community
All of us live in a local community of some sort.
For years I’ve ignored mine. I’ve rarely spoken to neighbors or had the guts to socialize at a town planning event.
All this stopped a few months back. I took it upon myself to fix a big community issue caused by a well-known organization.
In the process I had to knock on front doors. I had to meet new people and communicate an idea. Then I had to engage with ministers, councilors, and the Mayor to get the issue resolved.
What I accidentally did was discover the vibrant community around me.
This has led to invites to social events, opportunities for my kiddo to meet other children, and to feel more connected to the place I live. Do one interesting thing in your community. See where it leads.
(Next step: Timbo for mayor. Joking not joking.)
Make your desk a blank canvas
A messy desk leads to a messy mind.
In the digital age there is no excuse for a messy desk. Most things should be stored digitally. Clean your desk to refresh your mind.
A clear mind is a mind ready for growth.
This deathbed helper is about to leave you speechless
Ready?
J.S. Park has worked as a hospital chaplain for 8 years and has been at the sides of hundreds of beds belonging to the dying. He said he’s had one huge realization.
Most of these people at the end of their lives realize they’ve spent most of their life hiding. They wished they were themselves more.
They wished they had taken a few more risks. They wished they didn’t worry so much about what people thought. They wished they stepped out of the dark and into the light. And it’s too late.
Stop hiding. Stop being so afraid. The worst that can happen isn’t what your brain imagines. Most of what you do will go unnoticed.
Live with more courage.
