July 11th 2018

July 11, 2018

It’s strange how the universe has a way of surprising you when you make an effort to get out of your comfort zone. Yesterday, for example, I met up with a girl from my speed dating night last Saturday.

I don’t believe a relationship will come out of this- she seems to want kids, and leading her on would not be right. But it was fun to talk with her, we had sangria in a nice terrasse downtown. Good conversation, good laughs. My old self would have tried to get out of it- I had been walking around the city all day and was not expecting the weather to climb as high as it did. So by the time I reached our meeting spot, I was exhausted.

Plus, I have to be very careful about my budget these days. I thought of calling her and to cancel, tempted to save money and go home to relax with the dogs.

But I pushed through. Remembering that it was simply resistance trying to push me back to my old self… The lazy hermit who would rather do nothing than risk being tired, a little uncomfortable or out of his element. Fuck that. I’ve been down that road millions of times in the past decades. No more.

In this case, I was rewarded with a new friend, one with whom I could do fun activities… Stand up paddle boarding, going to the water slides, amusement parks, etc… Stuff that would suck to do alone. But the biggest surprise arrived later at night when I got home. I received a very nice message from a woman I had contacted a few weeks earlier on a dating site. Totally unrelated, but in some way, I believe that these two events were in fact related to my effort. Life seems to offer many serendipitous treats when you make efforts to improve your situation. It happens in business, personal relationships, everywhere!

So the next time you hesitate to try something new or uncomfortable,
don’t think… Just do it.

In a very mysterious and magical way, results have the potential of being out of all proportions to your efforts. My goal is for this to become a habit for me, which is why I’m actively focusing on this type of behaviour for the next 3 months. I want to change, in a big way.

Completely off topic… But one thing I’m noticing with this challenge is that I always use the same sentence structures and paragraph formatting. I don’t know how to switch it up. I guess it’s time to try emulating one of my favourite writers and mentors- Earl Nightingale. I’ll listen to one of his talks and transcribe it. This is sure to help me find new ideas and techniques.

It makes sense to copy your role models until you feel comfortable with the craft you’re trying to master. Once your skill level and confidence have improved, you can then forge your own style.

I’m already at 500 words, my daily minimum target. And this was done on a morning where I didn’t feel like getting out of bed at all but pushed through. The second the alarm went off I just got up and out of bed without thinking. It was brutal, my head felt heavy and I needed at least 1-2 hours extra to feel ok. But I did it anyway.

If I gave in to that temptation, my subconscious would paint a picture of me being weak and always look for the easy path. Which is not the case, but it starts with little things such as getting out of bed. Once I get into the habit of crushing the little temptations effortlessly, taking on the medium and big things will be much easier. Like anything else in life, it’s all about momentum.

This week I’ll contact suppliers and get the ball rolling on my new potty bell design. I’m excited about putting my first product on Amazon. I will make sure that this is THE BEST, NICEST doggie training bell on the market. The design will be flawless, I’ll have the best images, copy and listing.

My goal is to create something exceptional out of a very normal product. And then show it to a Ivelin. If everything is done exceptionally well, he, and other mentors will notice and help. The order has to be placed, samples in, and listing needs to be up by Aug 22.

Becoming the best version of yourself in 3 months is a daunting task. But, if you divide it into micro tasks and apply them one day at a time, it feels surprisingly good. Right now I feel much better than if I would have succumbed to the warm comfort of my bed.

Satan will not win, I own my mind and will master it. And by doing so, create the life of my dreams for my family and me.

(This was written on July 11th, but only posted 12 days later because something tragic happened that afternoon. It left me paralyzed with grief and unable to do anything productive until the 23rd.)