5 Ideas That Transformed My Life

Friday Faves #2

Hey friends —

This is Issue #2 of Friday Faves, a collection of my favorite finds from the previous weeks. In this edition, I share 5 ideas that have made tangible transformations in my life:

1. I don’t need to earn more in order to enjoy life.

2. I should do things for myself, not for the money.

3. An unoptimized life is a happy life.

4. Treat every goal as important to unlock hidden energy.

5. Do not be afraid of mistakes because there is no such thing.

I hope you find these ideas to be as useful as I did.

If there's even just one that has changed your life for the better, then it would make writing this newsletter all worth it.

Enjoy!

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💸 I Don't Need More Money to Enjoy Life

I’ve been struggling with my relationship with money lately. On one hand, I have a job that pays well, but on the other hand, I feel like my income isn’t enough to support our family’s needs and buy the things I want.

At the start of the year, one of my 90-day goals was to find ways to increase my monthly income. While that remains to be a relevant goal today, I needed to change my psychology around money to avoid being overwhelmed with stress.

Sherry Ning

made me think that maybe I don’t need more money in order to feel satisfied with life. If I learn to appreciate what I have right now, then maybe I’ll realize that I already have more than enough:

While indulgence is about excess, pleasure is the gentle savoring of life’s offerings. Luxury can be a measure of wealth, but past a relative amount, we realize that it’s just a state of mind (for example, you find mom’s cooking to be much more delightful than a Michelin dinner after living alone for a long time). How much money do you “need”? Enough to realize that money won’t ever be enough. The aroma of freshly baked bread, a walk in the park wrapped in a thick scarf, being hypnotized by a good book — these are petits luxuries that enrich the soul at very little cost.

I highly recommend reading the rest of her essay here:

On Not Having Enough Money

🤸🏼 Doing It For Myself, Not The Money

While working full-time on my day job, I intentionally carve out time to focus on writing and entrepreneurship—the latter being something I started recently.

I tell myself I do it out of passion and curiosity, but sometimes, I step back and ask myself, “What is my true purpose for doing all this?”

If I’m being honest, I guess I still do it with money in mind. When I started my Substack, the intention was to write and publish so that I can gain tons of subscribers, get deals or sponsorships, and earn income in the future. And when I chose to dive into entrepreneurship, I mainly thought of it as a way for me to make extra money.

I don’t think these motivations are necessarily bad, but if money or subscribers are the main motivation, then I don’t think I’ll be able to sustain writing or entrepreneurship in the long-term. It just wouldn’t feel good.

When

Paul Millerd

talked about why he writes his newsletter, he said:

I’m not writing here to get subscribers. I’m writing it because I genuinely enjoy it and so do at least 20-30 people who keep telling me so. I’m writing to those people. I’m writing to the 75 people who bought my book.

I’d love to arrive at a similar point where even I enjoy my own writing. But I guess I’m slowly getting there.

I’ve been seeing how writing is helping me clarify what I actually want to do, and I could use it as a tool to learn new things and meet cool, like-minded people. And with Noah Kagan’s business challenges, I realize that entrepreneurship could be a great way for me to learn more about myself as I confront my fears and experiment with problems I’d love to solve for other people.

So I think it’s great how my intentions are shifting as I continue exploring. That’s why I recommend trying things you have never done before. And if you feel like your job is holding you back from that, then Paul has some good advice:

Here is the thing I think more people should realize they are allowed to do: work on whatever you want to even when you’re in a full-time job.

If you’re currently exploring for the purpose of self-discovery, I think Paul’s essay is a great way to get yourself in the right direction:

The Long, Slow, Stupid, Fun Way | #259

🐌 An Unoptimized Life Is A Happy Life

Innovations and new technology have made significant optimizations in the way we live our life. But while they have their benefits, they also contribute to the dissatisfaction and unhappiness that we feel today.

Nat Eliason

gave a strong example of this in one of his essay, which made me consider living a more unoptimized life in the pursuit of a happier one:

When you had to walk or jog 20 miles a day for sustenance or spend all day carrying canoes and packs on your shoulders or drag bricks of limestone around for pharaoh, you were default strong. When you spend all day sitting in a chair getting enraged / entertained / aroused / whatever by algorithms, you are default flabby.

Life and fitness used to be deeply intertwined. You could not live without fitness. Now they are separate: fitness is a cute thing rich people do in their Lululemon after work or while jiggling their mouse to keep the Slack bubble green. You don’t do it to stay alive, you do it to get laid or not resent yourself or maybe if you’re particularly enlightened to “feel good.

I guarantee that the rest of Nat’s essay is at least as good as the text above. It will make you think and reflect. And after reading, maybe you’ll consider doing your routines a bit differently (because that’s what it did to me). I encourage reading the full essay here:

De-Atomization is the Secret to Happiness

⚡ Unlock Hidden Energy by Treating Every Goal As Important

The past few months have been all about energy for me. I've set ambitious goals, and I know I need energy to ensure that I can work on them.

In search of new ways to energize myself, I came across this essay by

Cory Allen

. The introduction quickly drew me in:

Have you ever noticed when a big moment is coming up, you gain an extra blast of energy, focus, and dedication? 

A job interview, first date, big presentation, vacation planning, special night out, or networking with someone you admire are all examples of things that push us into that next level of flow. 

I have no doubt you’ve felt it before. But why do these moments make us feel this way?

Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can see that it’s not so much what we’re doing that brings out this extra energy in us. It’s about how meaningful it is to us at the time. When we perceive an opportunity or goal as valuable, our mindset shifts, and we unlock our highest potential.

Cory argues that a simple mindset shift can give us overflowing energy to do the work we want to do—whether it’s on our day job or a project that is more personal and creative. You can read the rest of his essay here:

Respect Your Opponent

🍂 Do Not Fear Mistakes, There Are None

“Some wise words from synth pioneer Herbie Hancock.” If you have 5 minutes, spend the first minute watching this short clip. Then spend the rest of the remaining minutes reflecting on what you just watched.

synth_history

A post shared by @synth_history

How It’s Going:

💵 — Already accomplished 14 of Noah Kagan’s 34 business challenges. I have the option to diligently work on the remaining challenges, but I decided it’s better to enjoy the journey. So I’m taking a slower approach. Excited to write the sequel to the coffee challenge.

🌤️ — Talked to my friend

Nikki Layug

and she helped me realize I need to go out more. She shared this comic about how our thoughts become a tangled mess when we stay inside for too long. Staying at home is pretty cozy, but I think I’ll walk around a park this weekend.

👣 — I did my first coaching session with a friend. I’m the coach, but I don’t really like calling myself a coach. Anyway, my friend and I tackled his financial goals and how he can get back to exercising regularly. I thought it was a nice experience. I’m looking to coach 2 or 3 more people in the next month, so if you’re keen about living your best life and you’d like to support my coaching thing, pls reply to this email or send me a msg here: