On Living a Life of Intent

Hey kiddos,

This past week has been a blast. Been trying to work on some things regarding time and life management and will possibly develop them in a more formal process in the future. I just wanted to give you some background on the stuff that has been hitting me lately and see if I can’t help you on the learning curve.

One of my cousins was talking to me about their attempt to join the Navy SEALs, which is known the be the most amazing fighting force on the planet. He was talking about how his perspective on life has changed since they had to crawl through mud while vomiting and pooping their pants. I guess experiencing that sort of event turns down the volume on everything else. He suggested that I do the same and quote someone (don’t recall who said it) that being smart is learning from your own experience but being wise is learning from someone else’s.

Anyways, I was listening to this podcast where Tim Ferriss interviews Tony Robins (look them up on Wikipedia for 2 minutes) and there was a conversation regarding the difference between achievement and fulfillment and how the latter is the one to be sought after. They give some striking examples but one thing that stuck out to me was how gratitude, in practice, is the opposite of fear and anger. If you’re truly being grateful for the things you have it’s impossible to live in a negative state. I’m sure there is loads of deep philosophical thought on what you can be grateful for and comparing your station in life to those less fortunate, etc. but if you’re reading this; you have plenty to be grateful for.

So what’s my tip for the week?

1. Organize your life – prioritize the way that you spend your time and money and make sure that what you think is the most important is reflecting with your monetary and time budget. For instance, if you have a relationship you care about and you don’t spend time out on dates or listening to stories (your mother can tell a freaking story) and you do spend time watching television/Netflix/etc. then it’s time to make a change.
2. Have a process – it becomes very easy to break down where things are falling apart in your life if you’re following a process. I like to compare this to dietary issues. Everyone is on a diet (meaning everyone eats some food) but most people’s diets are called “chaos” and consist of just eating whatever you want, whenever you want.
3. Details matter – plan your mornings and evenings down to the minute. I use 5-minute increments to plan what my schedule looks like and I have found it extremely liberating. There is less time to think and decide so you are forced into action. 

Anyways, these posts are morphing into a self-help column so I’ll try to control myself with the next blog and talk about something else but the truth is if you aren’t improving then you’re already dead.

Have a great rest of the day.

Love always,

Dad