JD | never wish for less time

𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚢

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

Never wish for less time

We’re all guilty of prematurely wishing for the next thing in life to come or go.

When singer-songwriter John Mayer was on his Solo Tour, he said something that stuck with me:

I wait for most things to be over. I wait for this to be over to do the next thing and the next thing and the next thing…Everything you love and hate leaves at the same speed.

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I’m reminded of Ecclesiastes 3 written by King Solomon in the 10th century on the seasons of life, a text that The Byrds made popular in the song Turn! Turn! Turn!

There’s a time to weep and a time to be joyful.

There’s a time for funerals and a time of weddings.

There will be times of misery and times of euphoria.

Difficult and pleasant seasons come and go, regardless of our readiness for them.

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Mayer’s realization aligns with recent neuroscientific findings explained by Dr. Anna Lembke in her book “Dopamine Nation”:

One of the most remarkable neuroscientific findings in the past century is that the brain processes pleasure and pain in the same place…pleasure and pain work like opposite sides of a balance.”

You know as kid, when you’d try and push together the opposite sides of a magnet — they repel each other, always seeking balance — that’s your brain finding homeostasis.

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This balancing act is like the changing seasons in the natural world.

As someone who grew up in New England, the seasons have always been before me.

Just as summer turns to fall and winter gives way to new life in spring, so the cycles of life unfold themselves.

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Whether you live in an area of vivid season changes or not — we intuitively understand the cycle.
Whether that’s getting married, finding a new job, starting a business, buying a house, or moving to a new place.

Pain and pleasure, good and bad days, the things you’re dreading and the things you’re looking forward are all coming and going like the seasons.

As a comfort in times of adversity, I remember the words made famous in Edward Fitzgerald’s “Solomon’s Seal”. In it, King Solomon aims to create a sentence that will always be true — whether times are good or bad:

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This too, will pass away.
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The problem is, we’re always ‘nexting’.

‘Nexting’ is the tendency to focus on future events, at the expense of the now.

Finished school, what’s next?

Got married, what’s next?

In my late 20s, I chased contentment through house flipping. I thought that achieving my goal would bring me happiness, but 15 flips later, I was still ‘nexting.’

It left me feeling exhausted, always looking to the future instead of appreciating the present.

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Psychologist Daniel Gilbert notes that the average person spends about 12% of daily thought on what’s ahead — That’s 12 minutes of every hour of your day.

But what are the consequences of this constant ‘nexting’?

It neuters the now.

Not only does it neutralize the present moment, but it also creates an illusion that whatever is next will bring satisfaction.

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Think about it, we’re always a bit disappointed with what comes next in life — it always seems to fall short of what we expected from it.

It’s like I want to put that thing on the witness stand and interrogate it, demanding to know why it didn’t live up to my expectations.

Expectation: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

We expected something different, but it left us looking to the next thing.

To counter the tendency to constantly wait for things to be over, Mayer implemented a new rule in his life:

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Never wish for less time
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Because waiting for things to be over is actually wishing for less time.

Instead — fully engage in your experience.

Like Jim Elliot said:

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Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation…
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John Mayer’s realization is not new.

It’s deeply seated in our nature, recognized by philosophers throughout history.

Life is a flickering candle, burning brightly one moment and extinguished the next, with wisps of smoke that linger in the air.

As James, a Biblical author and brother of Jesus puts it:

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What is your life?

You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
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Never wish for less time.

[NVIDIA RTX Spark @NVIDIARTXSpark]

When @jensenhuang asks for a somersault, you deliver. 🦆

See how AI agents on NVIDIA RTX Spark help bring @huggingface's Microduck from simulation to the real world.

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

"Life begins at 40" was written in 1932 by a man promising machines would free us to live.

Aristotle wanted the shuttle to weave itself so nobody had to be a slave.

Wilde in 1891 wanted machines to do "all the necessary and unpleasant work."

Keynes in 1930 promised a fifteen-hour week within a hundred years

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

the days you'll ache for are the ones annoying you right now

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

A better future can always be "imagined", but can only be "built" in this present moment.

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@bobby_jamieson Congrats! BTW so enjoyed everything is never enough, I can’t get enough Ecclesiastes books

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@coreyganim +gbrain?

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

Helping others is the quickest path to happiness.

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@heyneighbor @steipete Yes sir, selectively with people I know and that beg me to. DM’ing you

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

you can talk your way out of almost anything.

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

Any successes I’ve had in life has been surrounded by problems.

[Nikita Bier @nikitabier]

Technical moats are mostly over at this point. If you’re building something that is meant to be durable, the only moats now are:

• Proprietary data
• Network effects
• A physical component

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@miniapeur Specializations are collapsing….Deliberately expand in as many directions as you can

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

“One day, none of the money, the status, the followers, or the "things" we spent our lives chasing will matter.”

[Luc @investingluc]

My story with God.

I mostly talk markets on here, but today I want to share the story of the day I knew there was only one true King.

I grew up in church. Had a great foundation of what a relationship with God was supposed to look like.

Church on sundays. Bible study. Summer camps. Singing. Giving. Serving. Volunteering. You know the typa fam.

I was "doing good" in the world I guess, but didn't really feel like I truly knew Jesus or had a relationship with Him.

Felt like i was kinda larping as a christian to be honest. But then in my late teens & early 20s, life was getting ugly and I needed someone. Something. There was a gaping hole in my life/heart.

Because of my upbringing, i knew God was the answer but i didn't understand how to find or build a relationship with Him. Just felt like prayers were going unanswered.

^ spoiler: they weren't. I just needed to be patient. Here's where my story changes.

In the midst of struggles/trials in my life, i went to church one sunday and for whatever reason i felt different this day. Just off. Cant really explain it but whatever.

But the message from the pastor that day was about "miracles in the marketplace"...meaning the power of the Lord isn't just contained to the church walls or some building. I thought that was a cool idea.

Miracles can happen anywhere. So, as I got in the car after that church service. I was praying out loud (which I rarely do) for God to perform a miracle in the real world, my world, before I arrived home from that drive.

I had one stop during the drive. At an Aldi grocery store. I went in and did my shopping. Nothing crazy. Normal stuff.

But as I was walking out, i was thinking "wouldn't it be cool if a homeless person walked up so I could give them some money or something". Kinda a dumb thought in hindsight haha but whatver.

But if I gave a homeless person money then I could chalk that up as the "miracle" (was my thinking lol), but as I was walking out to this huge open parking lot, there was no other cars within 50 feet of my car. No people anywhere in sight...and I mean I was looking hard.

Not a soul was around.

Literally nobody. so I get to my car, open the trunk, toss my two bags of groceries in in less than 10 seconds...and as I'm swinging my big toyota rav4 trunk closed...

I kid you not, this man appears out of thin air. He did not exist. I have chills writing this. He appeared out of no where. He didn't ask for anything. He just said "hello".

I stood there for a sec and said "hey man, you scared me" (because it made me jump). He replied, "do not be afraid, i was just wanted to see if you wanted to grab a pizza. this is a little embarrassing but im hungry"

There was a domino's in the same parking lot, so I said of course. It was pouring rain but we walked over. I got him a pizza. His name was John. He was a homeless veteran. Just fallen on some bad luck.

As we were waiting for the pizza, he was telling me his story, and he said earlier that day he was praying for a sign from God. For someone to be kind to him. To eat with him. Treat him like a human again.

We sat for hours. He's weeping in the Domino's saying God has answered his prayers, and he's going back to the homeless shelter to tell everyone everything. Meanwhile, he just changed my life forever.

A miracle in the marketplace. An answer prayer. A supernatural encounter. A relatinship with the one true King.

So, on this Sunday, remember that while this life can be blast. Making money is fun. Traveling is cool.

But it's all fleeting. One day, none of the money, the status, the followers, or the "things" we spent our lives chasing will matter.

I spent years thinking I needed some massive sign from God to know He was real...turns out, all I needed was a pizza with a stranger. My DM's are always open.

Happy Sunday everyone, let's have a week this week!

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@signulll You can become more capable and still feel like you've gone nowhere.

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@stevemagness “could have if i'd tried" lets you stay talented forever.

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@waitbutwhy the book in your head is an adventure. the book on your desk is potatoes every morning

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

@Fathers_Diary 1. persuasion
2 Self -awareness
3 resilience
4. public speaking

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

“Specializations are collapsing. Come to terms with and take advantage of this reality.”

“Deliberately expand in as many directions as you can and become great at them (scope up vs just speeding up)”

@dabit3

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

Why "generalists" make more money than "specialists":

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

AI has not only revolutionized the way we play chess...

It has made humans better players:

🧵

[JD | never wish for less time @NeverWish4Less]

Technology creativity, like all creativity, is an act of rebellion. Without it, we would all still live nasty and short lives of toil, drudgery, and discomfort.

The lever of riches
Joel Mokyr