The next time you go to a river that you've already been to and step in it, realize that the river is not the same. It might look the same but sediment has changed under the water, the water is different, there might be new species in the river, and the temperature might be different. It will always be different. When you enter the river you won't be the same person either. You'll be older, have different thoughts, you might be physically different in some way, and you might be in a different relationship. You have to realize that you might look the same overall, you're never the same person. Every new experience that you have is changing you a tiny bit. The direction you go is dependent on the input that your body goes through.

So we should never expect things to stay the same because they are always changing. They might look the same or very similar but we shouldn’t be clinging onto the past because the past doesn't exist today. So enjoy the process of change and when you step into that river just enjoy the river as it is and don't worry about how it is not the same river as before. 

Journal Prompts

1. What would happen to your life if you try to keep everything the same?
2. How can you ensure that you don't cling onto the past by trying to keep things the same?

The things we buy will eventually break or become obsolete but a memory can bring us a lifetime of happiness. Things will never stay the same but we can be happy that they happened. You don't have to spend a lot of money on things to have a good time, you just need to figure out how to have a good time. That usually means just being present in the moment and bringing energy to it. 

If you build the right type of memories, you won’t want to trade them for anything else in the world. They made you into the person you are today and it’s something that can bring a smile to your face. And because that thing ended, now you have a great memory that you can draw on. In life, you should strive to have as many good memories as possible because when you're on your deathbed, those will be the last things you will take with you. 

Journal Prompts

1. How can you use being present and bring energy to create more great memories for yourself?
2. How can you use gratitude to bring more smiles to your face when it comes to your memories?

Small actions can lead to great results. Just going to bed early, brushing your teeth, meal prepping, writing in a journal, and going for walks can lead to big breakthroughs in your life. The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden would teach his players how to put on their socks because improperly worn socks would lead to blisters, and blisters would cause the player to play hurt or miss the game completely. So that small action can have huge implications if not done.

A lot of breakthroughs come from small actions done over and over again. Don't focus on the big stuff, even though it is more exciting, focus on doing the little things right first. Turn those little actions into big wins for yourself. If you have enough sleep, then you'll be more prepared for your work day and do better work, which will help you land that promotion, which will give you more money to spend on your family and give them financial security. You have the ability to to turn the ripple into waves but you can't make the waves without the ripples. 

Journal Prompts

1. What are some ripples that can turn into waves for yourself? What are the waves?
2. How can you be reminded to do the small actions on a daily basis?

If you look at your life, where are the parts where there are four lanes of traffic merging into one lane? If you ever sat in traffic before, you know lane mergers cause serious traffic. So you need to either expand the lanes or remove the cars from your road so you'll see more progress in your life. One major bottleneck is typing. If you're a slow typer, then it can take double the amount of work to get something done.

When you have bottlenecks in your life, it gives you less time to do other things in life. To prevent this, look at your day and see what is slowing you down from getting your stuff done. This might come from having to do too many things and you can’t concentrate. A great way to give yourself more time is to focus on less stuff and only do what is essential. This takes discipline but it will allow you to be able to live a life with more purpose and passion.

Journal Prompts

1. If you were able to get an extra two hours a day from alleviating your bottlenecks, how could you use this time to progress your life?
2. What are some bottlenecks in your life that need to be removed? How can you eliminate them?

When you have too many chefs in the kitchen, then that can create problems. They all want to do things their way but there is not enough resources to get everything done their way. So then productivity goes down. So the best solution is for either the chefs to find or create their own kitchen or for a majority of them to accept different roles. This will make things more productive and decisions can be made faster. 

If someone wants to go on and do their own thing, then that’s fine. Don’t hold any grudges because it will be the best for everyone involved. You can still do collaborations and bounce ideas off of each other. Just know what type of situation you’re getting in and see if you need to be the leader or the follower. It’s okay to be both at various parts of your life.

Journal Prompts

1. What happens when there are too many leaders on a project? What is the best way to delegate tasks in this type of situation?
2. When do you know you need to be a leader or follower in a situation?

Complaining is something that is ineffective. It does nothing to move the ball forward. To stop complaining, you can either stop focusing on that issue or complain but then say you're going to do something about it and actually do it. That's what entrepreneurs do, they see problems, they make them their own, and then they go out and build the thing to fix the problem. This is how we see change in the world. 

When you solely focus on complaining, you're draining all the energy from the room. People are going to feel less motivated and then the thing that needs to be fixed is not going to happen. If you stop complaining and start taking action, you'll be surprised how much more work you'll be able to get done in the day. To stop complaining, wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap yourself every time you catch yourself complaining. Eventually you'll get the hint to stop and start getting back to work. 

Journal Prompts

1. Can you go one day without complaining? Why or why not?
2. How can you ensure that you don’t complain and focus more on your energy on action?

If we want to fall down hard in life, a sure fire way is to let hubris, delusion, or your ego get out of control. It makes you think that everything is okay, when it really isn't. It can cause you to be in a relationship that is falling apart or stick with a project that is doomed for failure. 

To get a more gentle fall, you need to be real about the situation and have an honest conversation with yourself about what needs to happen. Success can make you think that you're unstoppable and nothing can harm you but that's a dangerous position to be in. It can cause you to get complacent in your acts and then the foundation of your success will slowly get cracks in it, and the longer it goes unnoticed, then your world can collapse. 

Journal Prompts

1. How can your ego, hubris, and delusion sabotage your life?
2. How can you have more realism and self-honesty within your life?

As people, we tend to make things worse in our heads than they actually are. We can give a presentation and we could develop an end of the world scenario if we don't perform well. You can ask someone out and they say no, but guess what, your life will continue onwards. At least you took a shot and the worst outcome was just a no, not a complete failure of your life.

By writing down the things that could go wrong on a piece of paper, it can give you the opportunity to really analyze the situation and see if you're being rational or not. More times than not, you're being irrational with your thoughts. If you need to follow-up with someone, don’t worry about sending out multiple emails to get their attention. Most of them are probably happy that you’re following up. You’re not going to spoil the relationship unless you’re being a jerk in your responses.

So when you think of a catastrophe scenario for things that haven’t happened yet, the only person that you're really hurting is yourself and that's a self-inflicted wound.

Journal Prompts

1. What good does suffering do for your life? What is your antidote to suffering?
2. How can you ensure that you don’t suffer more in imagination than in reality?

If you want to do something, follow the three second rule. If you see someone you want to talk to, you count to three and then you proceed to go to that person. If you wait any longer than three seconds, you're likely not going to do it. After enough three second rule attempts, you'll be able to walk up to anybody.

You can also use the three second rule when giving a presentation or to have a difficult conversation with someone. The idea is that you need to take action and sometimes we can have a little trouble getting started. So by giving us a rule, it allows us to follow through on what we want to do. The more you use this rule, the more action you will take, and the better life you will build because of that action.

Journal Prompts

1. How can you implement the three second rule into your life to do difficult tasks?
2. What is a penalty you can give yourself if you fail to do the three second rule? 

When it comes to becoming wealthy, there are two ways to become wealthy. To get everything you want or to be satisfied with what you have. Either one is a choice and that's fine but you have to realize that one is going to be easier to obtain. In the pursuit of more stuff, it can be a bottomless pit if you allow it. It's important to be ambitious and want to do more but if you choose to go the minimalist path, that's okay as well. You just have to be aware of your choice. 

If you choose the path of getting more, just make sure those things are really going to make you happy, and the thing you're doing to obtain those extra things is not killing you. Pursuing more can cost your relationships and your health. Both are bad to lose and heartbreaking when it happens. The best way to live is to be satisfied with where you are in life and with your progress. So enjoy the moment and make sure you're doing things that make you better. 

Journal Prompts

1. How is enough for you? How do you know this is the amount?
2. What are some reminders that can remind you when you’re pursuing more than you should be going after?