Summary

“A man’s accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail.” John Foster Dulles

The cumulative effect. Accumulation derives from the Latin work “pile up.” The cumulative effect is essentially that, the accumulation of an effect caused by repeated action, behaviors, or thoughts that become more pronounced as time progresses.

Think of it as the snowball effect. As the small ball begins to roll down the hill it expands in size at an ever increasing rate until it becomes a large mass of accumulated snow. Everything in life that we repeatedly do can have this effect with results both favorable in unfavorable outcomes.  (more…)

Summary

“Find your way out. Go home and master Death by becoming alive.” Don Miguel Ruiz

At the age of 14, don Miguel Ruiz Jr. apprenticed to his father don Miguel Sr. and his grandmother, Madre Sarita. From that early age, he was called upon to translate Madre Sarita’s prayers, lectures, and workshops from Spanish into English. Through interpreting for Madre Sarita, don Miguel Jr. came to understand the power of faith.

For the past eight years, don Miguel Jr. has applied the lessons learned from his father and grandmother to define and enjoy his own personal freedom while achieving peace. (more…)

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett

“Uncertainty means that things can be other than they appear. This realization brings hope in difficult times and can prompt gratitude in good times.”

This is an amazing book to read. It was quite over my head at points but Lisa has done a fantastic job and explaining the theories as to how emotions are made. The main elements of this book which I think is absolutely amazing to ponder is that number one – the brain is constantly predicting our future, and number two – we are the agents of the reality we live and the destiny we create. (more…)

Drop Your Schedules That Brings You Dissatisfaction

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” Lao Tzu

Healthy pressure is good in life. Having discipline and routine raises our levels of effectiveness. The benefits are that we are better able to pursue our aspirations and dreams. However, if the plans that we create cause us unnecessary displeasure or dissatisfaction in the process is it really worth it?

What if instead of being consumed by our schedules, thinking that they are our only options we take control back. Just as we own our plans and those things we wish to accomplish, let’s also control the journey. (more…)

Summary

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Why Numbing Emotions Isn’t Ideal for Progress

“We numb vulnerability. We are the most in debt, obese, addicted and over medicated adult cohort in US history. The problem is that we cannot selectively numb emotion.” Brene Brown

 In this episode, I share my thoughts on why numbing emotions isn’t ideal. It has been inspired by a TED Talk I heard recently by Brene Brown. I wrote a short article about it here.

The thought is that by numbing our emotions we numb all emotions even the good ones like happiness. This can place us in a vicious cycle that is certainly no benefit for living this experience as fully as possible.

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Summary

“Health is the fundamental building block, an Ultimate Life Principle, to living a free, fulfilled and happy life.”

In this episode of The Hidden Why podcast, I bring back to the show my mate Daniel Van Veluwen. Who is he? Just like you and I, he is a guy just trying to figure life out. Specifically, his interest is within the realms of health. On his personal journey, he has explored the “why” and “how” of health. He has adopted a holistic approach to health in efforts to optimise health and improve overall longevity.

Like my desire to exploring how to live life as fully as I can, his dedication is to health. He has been the catalyst for my personal and continuing improvement in health. As it relates to suffering, happiness, regret, and simply maximising out the ability to be capable and effective, I believe health a fundamental foundation to living a kick-ass life.  (more…)

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrowby Yuval Noah Harari

“This is the best reason to learn history: not in order to predict the future but to free yourself from the past and imagine alternative destinies. Of course, this is not total freedom – we cannot avoid being shaped by the past. But some freedom is better than none.”  

This is Yuval’s sequel to his New York Times bestseller, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. In this book, he brilliantly assembled Human kinds brief history in an attempt to highlight how the current socio-cultural climate of modern day life came to be. (more…)

Feeling A Little Low? Here’s What You Should Do.

“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” Joseph Campbell

If you’ve woken up feeling a little low, feeling a little crappy, a little uninspired or lacking motivation here is what you should do to snap yourself out of it.

#1, find something positive to focus on. Don’t watch the news, or talk shit to someone about negative trivial rubbish. Go fill the mind with something positive. (more…)