When preparing these weekly emails, I often have no idea what I want to write until I sit down at my computer. Sometimes my first idea doesn’t amount to much and I have to work with it a while. Other times the entire concept seems to effortlessly spill out as my fingertips tap the keyboard. I’ve gone from zero idea one moment, to full pages about the intricacies of life the next. Writing out my thoughts has not only been therapeutic, but has also reminded me how important it is to allow myself time away from distractions—television, social media, podcasts, music, alcohol, work, socializing—to just sit, think, write and see what arrives. Ironically, with the amount of distractions and busyness in my life, it takes actual effort to do nothing but think. Yet it's worth it every single time.
"The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy, they come when the mind is still." -Leon Brown
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I was recently talking with a friend about travel. And we both agreed that there's something incredibly educational about going to completely foreign countries. I'm not talking about going somewhere to hang out at the resort with a bunch of other tourists. That can be fun and relaxing, but those aren’t the trips that we learn a lot from. I’m referring to being dropped somewhere with completely different customs, currencies, foods, smells, styles, music and languages. Places that force you out of your comfort zone; where simple things like ordering food, crossing the street, asking directions or hailing a cab can be an actual challenge. This might be terrifying for people that feel the need to constantly control their surroundings. But those are the people that would benefit most from this. Ironically, the sooner you realize that you’re out of control, the more in control you’ll feel and the more enjoyable the experience becomes. While traveling, you will look silly at times—get over it. You will make mistakes—get over it. You will be embarrassed—get over it. You will waste money—get over it. It’s empowering to feel calm while surrounded by chaos. It’s liberating to let go. And I believe that, with time, you’ll realize that you can navigate most situations in life, as long as you maintain a desire to learn from every situation, a willingness to go with the flow, an eagerness to explore new things and a resolution to always keep a smile on your face.
"Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don't." -Steve Maraboli One of my favorite business minds, Tom Bilyeu, shares his stance that, in order to achieve greatness, we should only chase things that give us more energy than they take. His rationale is simple: things that are truly worth chasing are inevitably hard. And hard things require a ton of energy. If we are chasing something that is both hard and depletes our energy we will eventually quit because it's not sustainable. But if we instead chase things that energize us, even when they get hard we will never run out of energy; we'll be left with more.
I feel this way about photography. It takes a ton of my time and energy, and challenges me constantly. In order to elevate my photography to the level I envision, it will require serious commitment and sacrifice. But I know I'm on the right path, because I love every second of it; missing hours of sleep to catch the sunrise, enduring frigid fingers and toes while out in windy, snowy or rainy weather, dedicating hours of time and energy hiking to a location in hopes of capturing a shot that never quite comes together, or actually getting the shot and then having to spend hours editing the photos. Even on the roughest days I am left with more energy than when I started. Even on the roughest days I can't wait to go do it again. "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." -Pele I'm fascinated by the duality of life. Specifically, how something that is necessary for life can also take life. Water, for example. It is one of the most important molecules on earth. All plants eventually die without water and humans typically only survive three days without it. It is absolutely vital. Yet it can end our life effortlessly. If we ingest it we live, if we ingest too much of it we die. Similarly, oxygen is imperative - to us and to the planet. Even just a few minutes without oxygen and our human brain will likely never be the same. Much longer than that and we die completely. We need it desperately, however too much oxygen can lead to cellular damage and death. Food is another example. We not only need food in order to survive, but also to thrive. Within weeks without food, our body processes begin to shut down. If that continues long enough, we die. Food provides our body with the nutrients and energy necessary to fend off illness and disease. Yet continual overconsumption of food can increase illness and disease. It can cause the exact thing it prevents. Sleep is incredibly important for mental and physical health. Similar to food, it allows our body to perform systems vital for surviving and thriving. We eventually die without sleep, and too little sleep can cause heart disease, anxiety, depression and obesity. Yet, as you may have already guessed, too much sleep can also lead to heart disease, anxiety, depression and obesity. As I’ve been writing this, a phrase that doctor Peter Attia often mentions has been stuck in my head: “the dose makes the poison.” Meaning that something healthy may be toxic in high doses. Conversely, something toxic may be healthy in low doses. "What is there that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing is without poison. Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison." -Paracelsus |
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