Always put yourself first. Do everything you can to get to a place where you can feel at peace. This is the best way to actually make a positive impact on the world
When you like who you are and where you're going, you just naturally move differently. You don't have to think about providing value. Rather, your existence becomes the value itself
You're calmer, happier, more loving. Smiling at strangers becomes an unforced act. Giving compliments, genuine. Being comfortable in your own skin, energetically inspires anyone around you to have the courage to be the same
You create ripple effects of change in small ways that continuously compound. Someone ends up improving their life, you played an unconscious part in catalyzing it in the early stages. Be, then do, not the other way around
Sometimes, shit happens and it fucks you up for a while. Other times, you're left speechless wondering how in the world you managed to avoid catastrophe
In the grand scheme, it all kind of balances out. If there was actually a list of all the setbacks and lucky breaks you've ever experienced up until this point, there'd basically be an equal number of both
Life is just one massive casino. To live is to gamble. Expecting an outcome to happen doesn't guarantee it'll happen. Not expecting an outcome to happen doesn't guarantee it won't happen
You have to find peace in the unpredictable nature of reality. You have to take the heavy pressure off yourself of trying to get it right. All you can do is continue rolling the dice, and commit to having as much fun as you can
These guys who are seemingly ahead of you really aren't that much more capable than you. They're just not afraid to embarrass themselves
The entire time you've spent thinking about how to approach something, they've already cringemaxxed their way into a new relationship, income stream, and life altogether
You're aware of this because you reply more than you get replied to. You know their name, but they have no idea who you are. You try so hard to look hard, failing to realize that the softest thing you can do is nothing
The first to laugh never ends up as the last one laughing. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Just start doing things
Life always feels off because you're constantly betraying yourself. You know want to do something, but you don't. You know you don't want to do something, but you do. Every day, with everything
Send the text. Wait, maybe it'll come off weird. Explore the interest. On second thought, I don't have enough time. Move here, work there. Actually, I should get another opinion first
By a thousand cuts, your entire headspace overflows with external chatter. Genuine desire gets replaced by best practices and rules of thumbs. You've outsourced all of your personal agency to the ignorance of society
You have to take back your own power. Listen to your body, trust your intuition, and have faith in your ability to make decisions. Stop being afraid to live
Misery stems from thinking life is supposed to go a certain way. It's never a matter of having or not having something. Your only options are to either live up to your expectations, or get rid of them altogether. No wrong choice, except failing to accept that you have to choose
The greatest value you can provide to the world is literally just being yourself. It's the only gift that's simultaneously free and priceless, and able to be infinitely distributed at scale
Each time you do something for you and only you, it inspires someone else to do the same, which then inspires another person to also do the same
You become a perpetual dealer of the drug of extreme comfort in one's own skin, and all it requires of you is to simply exist without force
You already know what you want out of life. Always have. If I were to ask you to close your eyes and visualize in great detail what your ideal day would look like, what comes up? It's quite literally that simple
Just focus on actualizing that. It can be popping bottles on a yacht. It can be hugging your kids goodbye before dropping them off at school. Everyone has an opinion. Don't give a fuck about whether it's right or wrong, whether you should or shouldn't
The entire game of life is about having a ride or die relationship with your gut. Follow the inexplicable desire. Have the courage to lean into it. Embrace operating without seeking permission. Come back home
Friendships never die, they just go through phases. Once you're homies with someone, they'll always be your homie. Only sometimes natural human ebbs and flows morph the dynamic temporarily
Ton of people I was super tight with at one point but don't talk to as often as before. Tough times fall on a guy and he turns into a doomer. But happens to coincide with a period where I'm making a ton of progress
Other way around, life gifts me a fat L. I lose composure and let myself turn into a victim. Meanwhile my dog is thriving in the middle of a championship run
Takes a lot of awareness to just chill. You're my boy but I'm gonna let you deal with your shit. I trust that you'll get it together and I'll always be here when you're ready to send it again
I'm sorry man but I'm being a bitch. Appreciate the check in, I'll figure it out and hope you don't take it personally or think I'm not about it anymore
This is like one of a few things I've always been a bit insecure about. Fuck I'm dealing with stuff and being a bad friend. I'm becoming reclusive
But if I don't see others like that when they're in a similar position, have to trust that they don't either. All love. Perpetual gratitude for those in your life. Door is always open on both sides
@cbwritescopy I have had this exact conversation in the channelside starbucks when the cruise ships are in port.
“Must be nice to live here”
“Wish I lived here”
“I’m definitely moving here”
They never do.