[COFFEE]
Thanks to my friend Zach, I’m enjoying some Ethiopian Guji from Bivouac Coffee in Evergreen, CO. Good friends always know just the perfect gift! It’s the little things. 👌
Bivouac is one of my favorite coffee shops - because they have amazing coffee, but also because they focus on beans that are natural processed: a more eco-friendly & sustainable method of processing the coffee cherry that saves water (and money) - a pretty big deal in coffee-producing countries, most of which aren’t exactly First World nations.
[MUSIC]
Polk Salad Annie Radio on Spotify (the original, Tony Joe White version)
Today’s musical selection is inspired by seeing the Elvis movie over the weekend. In the movie, Elvis covers this song in one of his International Hotel concerts. I’ve always been a fan of the song, so I queued it on this morning on Spotify.
On the topic of the Elvis movie… I have a new respect for Elvis as a person and an artist. Faced with possible jail time for continuing to be ourselves, most would cave to societal norms. Elvis didn’t. That’s impressive character. (Dave Chappelle is currently fighting the exact same battle for artistic freedom and expression.)
[BOOKS]
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant - The best selling author of Originals (great book BTW) is back again with another book that encourages us to think differently. One of my personal critical thinking tenets is “be less binary” and I find a lot of that in Grant’s teachings. Solid book, worth the read.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World by Adam Grant - Since I mentioned it above, here is the link.
[PODCAST]
The Mojo Sessions: Joe Navarro | The FBI Know What Makes The Exceptional, Exceptional
The Mojo Sessions host, Gary Bertwistle, has become a friend over the years (he has been a guest on the BHP) and he is one of the best interviewers I’ve ever heard. In this episode alone, the guest (an FBI communications expert) acknowledges his exceptional questions multiple times.
This is a great episode on what it takes to be exceptional. It also includes a lot of great information on communication, leadership, and more.
Performance, Productivity & Fulfillment
I recently had a chat with my friend Gary (from the Mojo Sessions podcast linked above) where he told me that I had a unique way of presenting performance, productivity and balancing it with fulfillment. 🤗
That got me thinking…
How do I do more of that?
Or "How can I be better at sharing those things?”
My idea:
Short, 5-10 minute episodes on the podcast where I share a single tip that improves performance, productivity, or fulfillment.
Here is what these episode titles & topics might look like:
Why you should wait 90 minutes after waking to have caffeine
How to free up time for what matters (& improve productivity) with Time Blocking
Why I ingest 1tsp (or 1g of sodium) immediately upon waking
Don’t store your coffee in the fridge (or freezer)
Rid your kitchen of plastics
The mindset tactic used by Navy SEALs to overcome fear
I think you get the idea. 1 topic, tip or tactic that will help you improve performance, productivity, &/or fulfillment.
This is where I need your help.
Is this a good idea? Would you listen to these podcasts?
Let me know by answering this poll. Thanks!
(Keep reading: more good stuff below the poll)
When to F*ck Your Feelings - And When To Listen To Them
I got a great question from one of our readers after the last edition of this newsletter.
I think the question is so good, that I want to share it (and the answer) with you.
Q: “Based on your last thread on Substack, I would like to take the opportunity to ask you something about Emotional Resiliency.
I really liked your last article about feeling the emotions and not seeking distractions - I've been trying to master and learn this myself [recently].
Here is my question:
Do you have any tips on when to ignore and "override" the emotional state that's arising and when to fully allow yourself to get into it and fully feel it? In other words, when to f*ck our feelings and emotions and when to take a step back, allow ourselves to feel them and not fight them?
I'm having a hard time knowing which approach to take in a certain situation, also because sometimes the first approach works very well, other times it leads down a negative spiral and worsen the emotional and mental state.
I hope you understand what I mean - I don't know how to put it any other way.
Any tips? It's something I've been struggling with lately...
A: Great question.
This is something that we all must learn and master.
To me, this is (generally) a matter of short-term vs long term (think weather vs. climate).
The time to F*ck Your Feelings & override them is when our transient ways of being (feelings/states) are misaligned with our goals & values (goals/values).
The time to "sit with" our thoughts and discomfort is when the discomfort is more existential than feelings. When they're more than "feelings"...
i.e. "I'm not satisfied with my progress in life" or "I want something different for my life" is different than "I don't feel like doing XYZ task right now."
So the question is really one of alignment with long term goals//values...
Are we actually questioning/re-evaluating our goals/values?
(This is good - even necessary - but not something we’ll do daily or weekly)
More of a “macro” thing
Remember climate vs. weather
Climate = macro (long term, characteristic, trait)
Weather = micro (short-term, transient…)
I’m not a certified Psychologist (nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) but my understanding is that in the macro, or climate change instances, what we perceive as “feelings” is really our self, or inner voice, shouting out to get our attention.
As noted last time, it’s best not to ignore this voice for too long.
Be like the bison and head straight into the storm.
Don’t run from the voice. Sit with our selves and listen.
The average person gets 4,000 weeks on this planet.
That’s a lot less time than we think we have.
We don’t have time to waste by running from our inner voice & true calling.