Two cognitive punches for lifelong, durable happiness...

[Raoul Duke]

Either one, either order. The Surrender Experiment has an entrepreneurial thread throughout it.

Have you listened to the audiobooks?

 

[Isaac Odongo]

If you're currently able to fight for your dreams because you're not busy fighting for your life, well, you're doing spectacularly well.

Thank you MJ

If you have a warm bed after a warm shower following a warm meal, congratulations; you have a lot to be thankful for.

Pretty simple. Need it now. Maybe it could part of my life.

If you're physically, mentally, and geographically able to pursue your dreams—your best life— you're already living the dream.

Thank you MJ

 

[SnowLava]

It’s so funny how having less can often force us to realize how privileged we are.

I’m coming to realize that every tool I have to survive and thrive while living in my car serves my needs so well (air mattered to sleep, car to get to work, bread I can eat without a fridge or fancy storage) and that I’m lucky to have any of this. There are people sleeping on the cold concrete, I could be just like that.

A fun way to practice gratitude besides gratitude journaling is to take pictures in moments you feel happy and grateful. After finishing a hike I was grateful to see my car clean so I snapped this

Where does one draw the line between being grateful and accepting the Script? For most people FTE comes due to not liking their current scenario (mediocre comfort). But if people are way too grateful for it they may never have their FTE(wouldnt it be selfish? Someone is dying to stay alive and you are hating your job that pays you monthly, come on). So how to actually navigate that balance?

 

[Raoul Duke]

Yes, both. Most of everything I "read" goes through audiobook.

You mentioned a while back in a thread. That listened to 2000+ hours while sleeping. Have you found a earbud that works best?

I found a few earbuds that mention "sleep" in the title. Soundcore by Anker Sleep A10 Earbuds.

 

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[srodrigo]

So when life beats you down—bills, tax increases, poor ad results—remember the THREE WARMS: If you have a warm bed after a warm shower following a warm meal, congratulations; you have a lot to be thankful for. You have an opportunity not just to survive but to pursue your dreams. Your best life.

Thank you for the reminder. Some times, we are never content because we want the Fastline life and yada yada. First world problems. Funny thing is some of the these people make more money they even need already. No need to give up on big dreams by any means, but good to remember that we aren't miserable either.

Keep working on your dreams and enjoy the ride even if you fail. And be grateful that you don't live in a shit hole where tomorrow is uncertain.

 

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[Raoul Duke]

I have some JBL earbuds, they are several years old but they work great for my sleep. Not sure if they even sell 'em any longer.

View attachment 52038

I tried sleeping with my Sony linkbuds s. They worked surprisingly well.

 

[Kevin88660]

From the Life in the Fastlane newsletter.

My wife hates that I have an affinity for watching and reading about true crime stories. Turns out I'm not alone.


Anyway, there's an odd reason I'm hooked on watching murder documentaries, and they lead to the two strategies I use to continually be happy and raise my baseline for happiness.


No, I don't have some twisted fascination with crime. But it reminds me to not sweat the "small stuff," and most everything is small.


When I watch true crime documentaries, I look beyond the human tragedy (which my wife cannot do) and instead experience immense gratitude and perspective, two things that scientifically can lead to happiness.


True crime shows me how lucky I am to have my loved ones while being able to pursue my best life. It gives me a punch of perspective, a mental knife that cuts through the fog of trivial complaints and zooms in on what truly matters.


I recently did a Cameo video, a pep-talk for a man who was enduring struggles in his life. In that video, I tried to share these two ideas of gratitude and perspective, as they were the strategies that guided me during my rough times, as they do today when I'm complaining about tax increases, corrupt politicians, and rude people.


Take war, for instance. There's someone, right now, literally fighting to survive. Conversely, you might be in a metaphorical battle to get that promotion or launch your startup. Recognize this for what it is—a privilege.


Think about that.


You're fighting for a dream, while others are fighting for food, shelter, and water. They're fighting to survive. If you're currently able to fight for your dreams because you're not busy fighting for your life, well, you're doing spectacularly well.


The same can be said about health. I might dread the idea of my early morning walk, but hey, I *can* walk without the threat of being bombed, mugged, or kidnapped. Whenever I lose perspective, I mutter to myself, "Well, you don't have pancreatic cancer," which, by most measures, is a death sentence. This simple, morbid statement is another mental punch that knocks sense into me.


Another cognitive gut-punch I use is freedom, which most of us take for granted. When faced with the angst of some trivial matter—someone cut me off, scammed, or misled me—I tell myself that I'm not pacing in a prison cell convicted of manslaughter or subject to reeducation in some gulag while doing back-breaking labor. I'm still free to think, speak, and exist as I am, as are you. This simple autonomy is a cornerstone of your well-being that we too often overlook.


And let's not forget the little black mirror we all carry—our smartphones. I preach a lot about social media toxicity but remember, the entire repository of human knowledge is literally in your pocket. Hell, if you had Elon Musk or Taylor Swift's telephone number, you could immediately reach them from your pocket. Again, think about amazing truth. Between this knowledge and access, previous generations would've killed for this privilege. Don't squander it with endless doom-scrolling on TikTok.

So when life beats you down—bills, tax increases, poor ad results—remember the THREE WARMS: If you have a warm bed after a warm shower following a warm meal, congratulations; you have a lot to be thankful for. You have an opportunity not just to survive but to pursue your dreams. Your best life.


None of this is some woo-woo I made up.

The psychological benefits of gratitude and perspective are well-documented. One seminal study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that participants who kept weekly gratitude journals were more optimistic, felt better about their lives, and exercised more than those who focused on neutral or negative aspects. The grass is already greener in your pasture. This research, led by Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough, lends scientific credence to the idea that focusing on what you're thankful for can positively impact well-being (source).

Another study delved into how the mere act of reframing a situation—again, perspective— to see the silver lining could foster better mental health. Published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, this study suggests that optimistic thinking styles, like positive reframing, are associated with various health benefits, including lower levels of depression and even better cardiovascular health (source).'


In a world where the narrative is often tuned to what we lack or how we could be better, flipping The Script is not radical but revolutionary. The powers-at-be want you to be angry, divided, and depressed as it makes you controllably monetizable. Don't be a slave to their whims.

So here's the mic-drop that only perspective and gratitude can deliver: If you're physically, mentally, and geographically able to pursue your dreams—your best life— you're already living the dream.

View attachment 52010

Best wishes,
MJ DeMarco, Entrepreneur, Author


PS: Here are some questions to ponder regarding perspective and gratitude in your life.

1 How can you practice gratitude daily beyond acknowledging our current treasures in life?
2 How do you balance a heightened sense of perspective for happiness so it does not deter you from achieving more?
3 How does the digital age contribute to our skewed perspective, and how can we counterbalance that?

I just need to read the news headline these days to feel immense gratitude.

Not being drafted into war. My roof not collapsing due to a random rocket hitting on it.

The massive humanitarian crisis in the Globe for the past 2-3 years almost make me feel like seeking early retirement kind of financial goal is a first world vanity/luxury.

You can easily find videos of children in parts of the world picking rubbish whole day with no food and shelter making less than 2 dollar usd per day.

Regarding crime stories, when I was a teenager I enjoyed watching it because I like to see what the victims/bad guys did wrong that end up causing them to get hurt/caught.

1) The murderer always makes the mistake thinking they need to destroy the body which end up creating more dna evidence against them.

2) A file deleted into the recycle bin isn’t gone until you overide it many times with strings of random codes or physically destroy the hardware.

3) For scam prevention. Choose iOS over Android, good old methods of transfer limit and accounts segregation help. When 2FA fails your bank might push the blame to you instead. If in doubt, assume scams until proven otherwise.

4) It is illegal to deploy “data analystics” against a physical casino. If you are caught with using digital device to gain an edge in a physical casino you can be charged with fraud.

5) Most importantly crimes never pay.

 

[Simon Angel]

Thank you for the sobering suggestions that should help many forum members.
Having entered this world while carrying a deadly Cystic Fibrosis (CF) gene that led to pneumonia at 3 weeks of age, and the family doctor's warning to my mother that I would not live until the next morning, I have been plagued by illness all of my life, but I am very grateful for the life that I have had, so far lasting almost double the usual death of CF sufferers in their early forties.

I have always been an optimist, as is evident in this thread: Walter Hay, Imp/Export Extraordinaire (Vandalay Industries)

Born into poverty, living in poverty as a child, bashed by every "brave" bully in the areas where I lived - on one occasion passing out near death as a couple of bullies were kicking me while I was on the pavement. At that stage they were kicking me in the head. Fortunately a passer - by pulled them off me and sent them running.

My CF gene resulted in chronic illness all my life, with pneumonia every 6 weeks or so, but I kept going. When selling for a chemical company I had to attend the office every Friday and hand over my call sheets. That was not a problem because my call rate was double that averaged by sales reps, even when feeling ill.

I would often head off to do my sales round even though I knew that pneumonia was developing, but I kept on selling until I was too ill to continue. I was too weak to drive normally, so I reclined my seat slightly, and drove while lying back in the seat, using third gear even for starting off and rounding corners. Changing gears exhausted me.

I made it home and tooted the horn as I entered our driveway. My wife came out and hauled me out of the car and held me up while I staggered inside where I collapsed on the floor.

But.... I never gave up and I never wallowed in self pity. I knew that most CF sufferers died at an early age, and here I am at 85 - a rarity being still alive, and grateful for all the successes in my life; not only business successes but also just staying alive.

I see CF sufferers hauling around a trolly carrying an oxygen bottle and I think how well off I am without that.

Walter

Walter, what kept you going? How did you avoid not feeling like a victim or being angry about your circumstances?

Although this is borderline metaphysical, I believe your mindset and optimism are the biggest factors that allowed you to lead the long and fulfilling life you've had. People often "jinx" or "curse" themselves with statistics... and they too become a statistic.

But not you. How did you avoid doing that?

 

[alee12]

From the Life in the Fastlane newsletter.

My wife hates that I have an affinity for watching and reading about true crime stories. Turns out I'm not alone.


Anyway, there's an odd reason I'm hooked on watching murder documentaries, and they lead to the two strategies I use to continually be happy and raise my baseline for happiness.


No, I don't have some twisted fascination with crime. But it reminds me to not sweat the "small stuff," and most everything is small.


When I watch true crime documentaries, I look beyond the human tragedy (which my wife cannot do) and instead experience immense gratitude and perspective, two things that scientifically can lead to happiness.


True crime shows me how lucky I am to have my loved ones while being able to pursue my best life. It gives me a punch of perspective, a mental knife that cuts through the fog of trivial complaints and zooms in on what truly matters.


I recently did a Cameo video, a pep-talk for a man who was enduring struggles in his life. In that video, I tried to share these two ideas of gratitude and perspective, as they were the strategies that guided me during my rough times, as they do today when I'm complaining about tax increases, corrupt politicians, and rude people.


Take war, for instance. There's someone, right now, literally fighting to survive. Conversely, you might be in a metaphorical battle to get that promotion or launch your startup. Recognize this for what it is—a privilege.


Think about that.


You're fighting for a dream, while others are fighting for food, shelter, and water. They're fighting to survive. If you're currently able to fight for your dreams because you're not busy fighting for your life, well, you're doing spectacularly well.


The same can be said about health. I might dread the idea of my early morning walk, but hey, I *can* walk without the threat of being bombed, mugged, or kidnapped. Whenever I lose perspective, I mutter to myself, "Well, you don't have pancreatic cancer," which, by most measures, is a death sentence. This simple, morbid statement is another mental punch that knocks sense into me.


Another cognitive gut-punch I use is freedom, which most of us take for granted. When faced with the angst of some trivial matter—someone cut me off, scammed, or misled me—I tell myself that I'm not pacing in a prison cell convicted of manslaughter or subject to reeducation in some gulag while doing back-breaking labor. I'm still free to think, speak, and exist as I am, as are you. This simple autonomy is a cornerstone of your well-being that we too often overlook.


And let's not forget the little black mirror we all carry—our smartphones. I preach a lot about social media toxicity but remember, the entire repository of human knowledge is literally in your pocket. Hell, if you had Elon Musk or Taylor Swift's telephone number, you could immediately reach them from your pocket. Again, think about amazing truth. Between this knowledge and access, previous generations would've killed for this privilege. Don't squander it with endless doom-scrolling on TikTok.

So when life beats you down—bills, tax increases, poor ad results—remember the THREE WARMS: If you have a warm bed after a warm shower following a warm meal, congratulations; you have a lot to be thankful for. You have an opportunity not just to survive but to pursue your dreams. Your best life.


None of this is some woo-woo I made up.

The psychological benefits of gratitude and perspective are well-documented. One seminal study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that participants who kept weekly gratitude journals were more optimistic, felt better about their lives, and exercised more than those who focused on neutral or negative aspects. The grass is already greener in your pasture. This research, led by Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough, lends scientific credence to the idea that focusing on what you're thankful for can positively impact well-being (source).

Another study delved into how the mere act of reframing a situation—again, perspective— to see the silver lining could foster better mental health. Published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, this study suggests that optimistic thinking styles, like positive reframing, are associated with various health benefits, including lower levels of depression and even better cardiovascular health (source).'


In a world where the narrative is often tuned to what we lack or how we could be better, flipping The Script is not radical but revolutionary. The powers-at-be want you to be angry, divided, and depressed as it makes you controllably monetizable. Don't be a slave to their whims.

So here's the mic-drop that only perspective and gratitude can deliver: If you're physically, mentally, and geographically able to pursue your dreams—your best life— you're already living the dream.

View attachment 52010

Best wishes,
MJ DeMarco, Entrepreneur, Author


PS: Here are some questions to ponder regarding perspective and gratitude in your life.

1 How can you practice gratitude daily beyond acknowledging our current treasures in life?
2 How do you balance a heightened sense of perspective for happiness so it does not deter you from achieving more?
3 How does the digital age contribute to our skewed perspective, and how can we counterbalance that?

Thank you for your perspective. Regardless of how difficult getting on the process of Fastlane path may feel like, I realize that I can enjoy and be grateful for each learning opportunity