By “own pocket” I mean a space where you lay down your words, your ideas, your art. A way to find, develop then reinvent your voice.
I’ve been spending too much time consuming. Gorging myself on media. A video about the homeless of California, a podcast with Alex Hormozi, the book Everything is Figureoutable and a documentary about an ordinary locksmith from Brooklyn.
Alex Hormozi talked about reading about ‘wantrepreneurs’ and how this pissed him off because that’s exactly what he was. This got me thinking about the information I was consuming and whether I was actually turning information into action.
If you consume too much food you become fat and the unhealthier the food is the more you accelerate the process. Whereas if you consume nutritious food with the plan of fuelling your body for energy and exercise, you become healthier and stronger.
So what did I learn from these?
Homeless in the Desert
- That there are alternative ways of living. Not everyone lives in the city you live in, or country, or style of house. Many people have it ‘better’ and many have it ‘worse.’ Be grateful for what you have.
- Not adhering to societal norms can have disastrous consequences. Not having the means to produce an income thus failing to pay your bills results in losing your home. Actions have consequences.
- Homelessness is a fascinating topic and is usually coupled with addiction and mental illness. We all have addictions and mental proclivities. Most of us are just fortunate that they haven’t caused us to lose our homes, again, be thankful.
- There are always options, maybe not the first choice or dream life but options nonetheless.
Alex Hormozi
- There are views of the world out there that have value, regardless of whether you agree with them or not. Even those ideas you feel are immoral can have value in the world. Hormozi said he thought he wasn’t a good person but learnt how that didn’t matter. He didn’t have to be a good person to be successful.
- You don’t see the world as it is, you see it as you are. If you feel everyone is out to get you, that doesn’t mean they are but it will impact what you get out of the world.
- It’s not difficult to be the top 1% or outdo most people but it does require work. Consistent effort. You have to want to be better than everyone else.
- The man who loves walking will go further than the man who loves the destination.
- You can go a long way not by being smart but by avoiding being stupid.
Everything is Figureoutable
- Examine the viewpoint of those outside of your scope of interest. All beliefs are choices and choices can be changed.
- Asking “What can I learn from this?” from any situation will allow you to grow and help you from being ingrained in a fixed mindset.
- Breaking down bigger tasks into manageable chunks is the way to begin. Go step by step.
Many of our most deeply held convictions are hand me downs. Old, unexamined ideas.
The Locksmith
- Ordinary life can be interesting. Much more than the fabricated, perfectly manicured face of influencing. I find the mundanity of regular life much more interesting than regurgitation.
- Most people have hurdles or daemons that hold them back from a better life, it’s about getting through them and not looking back.
- Success is measured in many ways, one of which is by how many people you help and by how you treat those you meet.
A few days after consuming, I’d forgotten most of the content. My new rule is that I will summarise what I’ve consumed after watching because otherwise they’re empty calories. It may be nutritious, but it’s not being put to good use.