1. Align your will with nature. This month I talked about how the Stoics aligned their will with nature by accepting what was outside of their control. This is how Epictetus might have advised me if my intention was to go to a football game and keep my will aligned with nature: Mentally rehearse what a football game entails—obnoxious people, expensive food, maybe someone will spill their beer on you. Remind yourself that nothing can go contrary to your wishes if you wish for things to happen the way they happen. If someone ends up spilling beer on you, remember that your intention was to keep your will aligned with nature, “which is impossible if [you] go all to pieces whenever anything bad happens.”
2. It’s just a number. Dr. Edith Eva Eger confided in her principal that she was considering getting her doctorate in psychology. Her only hesitation, she told him, was that by the time she earned it, she would be fifty years old. Her principal smiled at her and said, “You’re going to be fifty anyhow.” From that moment, she decided never again would her age keep her from doing what she wanted. She went on to earn her Ph.D. and become a world-renowned psychologist. She’s 95 years old and still practicing.
(Source: The Choice, Dr. Edith Eva Eger)
3. What you do after you hit the wall is where you gain the advantage. There was a time in each race when cyclist Lance Armstrong would hit the wall. Legs on fire, body screaming for a reprieve, he knew his competitors were feeling the same. This low point was precisely where he would gain the advantage. He would push past his limits and win the race. “No one is better at suffering than me,” he’d say.
(Source: The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy)
4. What you do after you hit the wall is where you multiply the results. Arnold Schwarzenegger, like Armstrong, exploited this power that existed on the other side of the wall. Lifting weights, he wouldn’t stop after his last rep; when he maxed out, he would use other muscles to “cheat” and pump out a few more reps—exponentially multiplying his results.
(Source: The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy)
5. It’s much better to read books that will enrich your life, rather than your career.
6. Focus on insignificant things, get insignificant results
7. The higher tempo wins. The world’s greatest American fighter pilot John Boyd said the side with the higher tempo (quickness in tactical changes, staying one or two steps ahead of the enemy) wins. Ten-time championship-winning college basketball coach John Wooden conducted all his practices at a high tempo. In fact, his players were so accustomed to the quick pace of practice that the actual games felt slow in comparison. Opponents couldn’t keep up with their high tempo.
(Source: Boyd, Robert Coram, & Wooden, Coach John Wooden)
8. Balance fast and slow. Similar to make haste, slowly, and keeping a higher tempo, John Wooden said, “Act quickly, but don’t hurry.” He explains, “When you hurry, you tend to make mistakes. On the other hand, if you can’t execute quickly, you may be too late to accomplish your task. It’s a delicate but critical balance.”
(Source: Wooden, Coach John Wooden)
9. My favorite author Ryan Holiday released his newest book this month: Discipline is Destiny.
10. Notable books I read this month:Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis, A Better Man by Michael Ian Black, How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith, Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be by Steven Pressfield