May 29 2025
- Mindset, Motivation
You can’t change people;
We don’t reason by logic, we make decisions based on emotion, then build our identity around our opinions.
Debate and argument are very rarely effective.
The only person we can truly change is ourselves.
So stop telling, and start asking.
Asking good questions is how you get people to make changes themselves.
Reminder:
You are just a hairless ape, hurtling through infinite spacetime at 514,000 mph on a small ball of rock & mud.
Be ready for disappointment today.
And be ready to adapt and move on.
It’s much easier to change your mindset, than to try and change the world around you.
Spend your time & attention learning top level thinking.
Learn how to think;
all else is just tactics
You have the power to choose.
It feels powerful to choose.
Choose to start, regardless of willpower, excuses or feelings.
Start now,
start small,
and the rest will follow.
There’s a popular saying about your attitude to tasks:
“How you do anything is how you do everything”.
But this is false:
I don’t make my bed, but my office is very tidy.
I’m not a snappy dresser, but I pay attention to detail when it comes to design.
Chasing perfection in all areas is an impossible waste of energy.
Not all tasks deserve an equal amount of your attention
There are times during the work when it’s fine to relax and put in less effort.
And other times when focus and diligence is critical.
No-one will notice the blemish the carpenter leaves on the back of the chair leg where they forgot to sand it down.
But one small slip of the blade can ruin the sharp continuous line of a perfect bevelled edge on the most important corner.
Do the least amount of effort on menial tasks,
In order to reserve your focus for the small but critical moments that matter.
April 14, 2026❓ What worries and tasks have you been focussing on that are undeserving of so much attention?
❓ What is your “critical moment” that makes the biggest difference?
I am indeed living the dream:
Just a few hundred years ago even the richest king couldn’t imagine having the luxuries that your average person in a 1st world country enjoys.
Nice cars, a good house, the feel good factor from new clothes:
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying nice things…
So long as you don’t take them for granted.
The issue is spending money on objects, just to play the status game.
The issue is building your identify around things instead of actions.
The issue is tying your self-worth to what others think about your things.
If the cause is not knowing when you have enough,
And the problem is feeling unfullfilled because you want things you can’t have,
The solution is learning to want the things you already have.
People think they will be happy “when”…
But if I can be happy with things I already have,
instead of wanting things I don’t,
then I can be happy with now, instead of thinking I’ll be happy in some theoretical future.
The problem with the future is that it’s always in the future.
It’s impossible to experience.
So we delay our happiness into an imagined time which never comes.
So I’m taking note of things I appreciate and enjoy in my life.
And it does genuinely make you happier if applied over time.
Some are expensive, others free.
Some are bought, others earned.
Some are obtained, others experienced.
Some are simple, some obscure.
I’ll return and update this periodically…
In a world of convenience, and virtual living,
money and success are the only goals deemed to be important.
We are kept in an endless ratrace for more money,
and we sacrifice ever more time in the pursuit of success.
But there’s a sense of control that can be found
in possessing the ability to fix your own problems
Pick up the practical skills we’ve lost,
that let you survive in the world were the cost of living is crushing us.
June 23, 2025Self sufficiency is a free source of wealth and power
Everyday we are teased on social with FOMO for the lives we could have led.
Our culture would have us believe we can have it all.
We are permanently dissatisfied with where we are and what we have.
This paradox of choice didn’t exist just a generation ago.
You picked a career for life,
rewarded if your worked hard.
People had fewer options.
Options are good.
But only when you can take action.
Too many options leads to
paralysis and dissatisfaction.
Which = anxiety.
The answer is to learn to be happy with the life you already have.
yes, you could pivot into a new life.
But it doesn’t mean you should.
June 23, 2025If the grass always looks greener on the other side…
tend your own grass before you jump the fence.
After months of endless rain in winter, I prayed the rain would stop for even just one frikking second, so I could go out walks with Ramsey.
Yet after 2 weeks of drought in Summer,
There’s a sudden downpour of rain,
and I’m suddenly excited to go out a walk in the rain,
to listen to the pattering, feel the cold drops on my cheeks, to breathe in that petrichor scent.
Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer said, “Maybe.”
The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”
The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors then said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.”
The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbors came around and said, “Isn’t that great!” Again, he said, “Maybe.”
Keep an open mind on “good” or “bad”, try to think simply in terms of what is.
In winter, rain is bad.
In Summer a bit of rain is good.
Often what comes just before or after a thing can shift your perspective on it.
May 26, 2025Whether something is “good” or “bad” is often just a matter of perspective.
Your contact details will be private. The answer to your Question will be public so other solopreneurs learn from it.