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    #123 Never again

    What gets you going – and what keeps you going?

    Pain. Pleasure. Usually, a combination of both.


    I like being disciplined – it gives me pleasure.

    I also know very well that I don’t want to go back to jumping from one project to another, giving up before reaching any meaningful level of skill or results, and ending up frustrated with myself – the thought alone is painful.


    The pain often gets you going, later to be joined by pleasure in a cocktail of motivation, discipline, and persistence.

    And in this case, strong emotions, passion, and yes, also pain, often lead to more leverage – if you allow yourself to see the lessons it can teach you.

    I never want to be that person again – which helped me figure out that I really want to be this person.

    Living your never again might well help you figure out your yes, for as long as I shall live.

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    #120 A lifetime of practice ahead of you

    If you knew you’d write more words tomorrow anyway…

    If you knew you’d put your body in a yoga pose every day…

    If you knew you’d write the same song over and over again either way…

    If you knew there’d be no pressure to nail the guitar piece because tomorrow there’s another chance to play…

    If you knew you’d have a lifetime of practice ahead of you – what would you focus on today?

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    #31 Ignore, then highlight more

    A daily insight from Tony Robbins:

    Wherever focus goes, energy flows.

    Tony Robbins, https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/where-focus-goes-energy-flows/

    We’re always ignoring and highlighting parts of our experience to make sense of the world – and it determines the way we feel.

    To feel bad, you (temporarily) have to ignore all the events and things you consider positive.

    To feel good, you (temporarily) have to ignore events and circumstances that can be challenging.

    It all depends on context.

    Sometimes, just to function, it’s necessary to ignore.

    Sometimes you’re better off highlighting a bit more.

    The big challenge: most of the time, we’re not aware of where our focus goes – so we let old habits and patterns decide how we feel – even if they don’t serve us at all.

    Here’s an exercise I found useful: Tomorrow, focus on something that’s important for you once an hour (a post-it on your desk or a reminder on your phone can be useful). That way, it remains top of mind (and your energy will flow toward it).

    Every hour, also take a moment to become aware of what you’re deleting from your experience, and what you’re highlighting.

    • What am I trying to do today?
    • What am I trying to do right now?
    • What’s important to me?
    • What do I want to focus on… what do I intentionally ignore?
  • #149 Day 150: I started a podcast

    Day 150: I started a podcast

    First, I focused on becoming good at publishing my writing every day.

    Then, I started focusing on getting better at writing—a never-ending story.

    Now, 150 days later, the cycle starts over.

    First, I focus on becoming good at publishing a podcast every day, narrating the daily insights from the newsletter.

    And soon, I’ll start getting better at narrating the daily insights—a never-ending story.

    You can do me a massive favor by subscribing to the podcast on your favorite podcast app, leaving a 5-star rating, and sharing the podcast with anyone who may find these daily reminders helpful.

    The podcast schedule runs behind the newsletter schedule, so you won’t see audio narration for the newest Insights yet, but for older Insights, there’ll be audio embedded on the website.

    Thanks so much for being on this journey with me!

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