Quotes
“Progress has a price. Pruning is the price of progress. The more we understand the need for a thing to end, the less difficult it will be when this time comes.” — Jerome Meikle
"Don't let success get to your head and don't let failure get to your heart" — Anonymous
"You have no obligation to your former self"— Ralph Smart
"Your brain needs proof, not promises" — Ayodeji Awosika
“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.” — Steven Pressfield
"Believe in yourself and many great things have a way of happening" — Teronie J. Donaldson (Yup, that's me - cool right?)
Notes/Observations
Your brain needs proof, not promises.
You can’t convince yourself that you’re a higher version of yourself until you actually do something toward that end.
The bits of action you take are what build up your courage. The more courage you build, the more fearless you will work towards becoming. You will never eliminate fear, but you will be able to handle it a bit better day by day.
Remember this - there’s no way to psych yourself up enough to become that person without any effort. The action matters, all the time. And every day.
Question
Am I using my mental ability to make history or am I using it merely to record history made by others?
Articles
Watched
Chairman Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced a petty criminal named William O’Neal to help them silence him and the Black Panther Party. But they could not kill Fred Hampton’s legacy and, 50 years later, his words still echo…louder than ever.
Book of the Week
How to break up with your Phone by Catherine Price
Youtube summary and PDF in the link above
This book was quite helpful and humorous. Cell phone usage is an addiction. The quicker we can use tips to stem back the tide of cell phone addiction all the better we will be.
Strategy
I have been struggling to get workouts in. I specifically like pushups and haven't done them in a while. So this week I have combined pushups with my writing.
I set a timer for 15 minutes and write, create content.
After the timer rings _ get down and do pushups (50--75)
then I reset the timer and start writing/creating again
I do this for an hour - repeating the process
I am on my 5th day of doing and it helps in 2 ways
1- It forces me on a deadline to quickly get my content done within the time frame.
2- It forces me to exercise. At first, it is hard but after 3 pushups it's easy. the biggest challenge is feeling like doing the pushups
Running this loop has made me focused on writing and exercise when I don't feel like it.
I will keep you posted after 30 days of doing this strategy.
Music
I really like the Tiny Desk Series. Incredible music and performances.