These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
I rarely post personal stuff on social media nowadays. Mainly because I don’t want to spend much time on there. If I post something, I’ll probably get comments, then I’ll feel obliged to respond to those comments, and that doesn’t seem like the best use of my time.
2
I’m something of a stranger having been away 2.5 years, especially with the kids. This little girl has never met me before. Her brother is older, remembers me a bit, warms to me quick. Before long he wants to show me his room and reads to me from a wimpy kid’s diary.
3
Tears in my eyes a few times today. Like right now, sitting to his right while he stands and gives a speech. No notes, straight from the heart, hits the mark. He’s come further than anyone I know, and I’m humbled to be his best friend, to be his best man.
4
He said it himself yesterday, how everything he has now, everything he loves and holds dear, came out of some very dark times. It’s as if a seed gets planted when life is tough, and if you can just nudge that seed out of the darkness and give it time, beautiful things will happen.
5
One of the big downsides to living the nomadic life is lack of community. Sure, you have your online communities, and friends you see semi-regularly. But there’s a lot to be said for having deep roots in a particular place, a sense of belonging that comes with many years stayed put.
6
My parents would rather I don’t write about them but I’ll say here anyway that they’re amazing. I lucked out big-time being their son. Many of the “risks” I’ve taken have been much easier with the knowledge that, worst-case scenario, I always have a safe haven back in Slieverue.
7
It’s after ten at night, first day back in Tbilisi, would be nice to head to bed now, tired from the travel yesterday. But I still haven’t done my stretching. I have to do a 25-minute routine every day or face a $200 penalty. So I guess I’ll go do that.
8
25 minutes is my minimum daily workout. But more often nowadays I’m doing closer to an hour. It’s not actually that much when you think about it. 1 hour out of 24 is only 4.2% of your day. Even if you subtract 9 hours for sleep, 1 hour out of 15 is only 6.7% of your time awake.
9
So you’re saying they made COVID in a lab so they could get people to take vaccines that will ultimately wipe out most of the human population. And they’ve somehow fooled every government and all the medical experts. But not you, a random person on the internet.
10
I started working for myself for 3 reasons: so I could be my own boss, travel the world, and get rich. Notice how it was all about me, all selfish motivations. No wonder my business struggled for years. Success came easier once I turned that focus outward.
11
Another course creator unhappy with our review. Granted, it’s fairly negative. But how are they surprised? If you use lots of shady marketing tactics, don’t act all indignant when you get called out on it. Especially when every other review calls you out on the same thing.
12
Was playing a game on my phone way too much. Didn’t really bother me until I looked up the developer and saw that they earn more than $2 billion a year. Meaning millions of people have spent a lot of time and money playing those games. And for what?
13
There was a study where people had to arrange words into sentences, then walk to the end of a hallway. When words like old, pensioner and geriatric were included, people walked slower down the hallway. Interviewed later, they weren’t at all conscious of the influence.
14
Trying to mediate more in the gaps. Did a 20 minute session Saturday afternoon and it refreshed me completely. Similar on Sunday in the taxi. Intense few hours of work today and was able to unwind with a walking meditation on the way to the dentist.
15
Last month it was Sean Lock. This month it’s Norm Macdonald. There’s something about a comedian dying that hits harder. At their best, they give us moments of pure joy, help us forget the serious business of life. Then they die, and the world feels a little colder.
16
First time at a DC Junto. Went ahead and organized it myself. Hanging with four other guys at a bar and then a restaurant. Conversation flows easy, lots of banter, plenty of laughs. Been missing this the past 18 months. But I drink only water and get home by nine.
17
In the marketing for many of these courses they’ll say, “you deserve to be your own boss, to have passive income, to live life on your own terms.” Why does random Joe Blow deserve those things? Nobody deserves to live a rich life until they work and sacrifice significantly for it.
18
Been meditating more, trying to increase awareness of when I need rest vs when I can keep pushing. Today I definitely need to rest. But healthy rest. Too easy on days like this to go off the rails completely, eating crap, watching crap, trying to dig my way out of a hole.
19
Watson describing Holmes:
Nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him; but now and again a reaction would seize him, and for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting-room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night.
20
Still on a downswing so I go for an afternoon Thai massage. My masseuse is tall with big hands. She tells me to take off all my clothes, says my body like stone. She’s so free with her fingers that I suspect I’ll have to speak up and draw a line…
21
Years back in Amsterdam I went to a meetup hosted by productivity celeb David Allen. Me and a bunch of other groupies standing around asking him countless questions he’d been asked before. Meanwhile his wife sat alone to the side, a better conversation unsparked.
22
I can hear a song a thousand times before the lyrics hit me. Like Take Me To Church… only now do I hear the influence from Hitchens. Or that Pixies song, Where Is My Mind… could be related to what Sam Harris talks about in guided meditations.
23
Amazing when you think about it, how your brain can instantly determine if a sound is loud but far away versus quiet and nearby. Turns out a big part of this is having two ears. Similar to how visual depth perception is dependent on having two eyes.
24
Spoiled for choice so I am. Can watch something on Netflix, YouTube, HBO Max, Disney+ or Curiosity Stream. Can listen to something on Audible, Scribd, Spotify or YouTube Music. Pretty much nothing I can’t learn with a few quick taps or clicks.
25
I’m almost 40 now and still have a six-pack. Not so much from exercise as from diet. At this point I can’t ever imagine having a big belly. A flat stomach has become a key part of how I see myself. Once something is part of your identity, it’s tough to change.
26
Places are much more interesting when you know the story. Like the ruined fortress we stopped at this afternoon. Doesn’t look all that special, but turns out it was first built some 1700 years ago. For a while it was the most important settlement in the country.
27
Took a boat out on the lake, floating here watching sunlight and shadow play on the mountains. Brought along two treats, one for the belly, one for the brain. No need for conversation. Just sit and enjoy the view, remind yourself to do this more often.
28
Email from a broker asking if I’d consider selling eBiz Facts, saying I could get as much as $992,550 for it. Doubt that. Maybe $500,000. But I don’t plan to sell anytime soon. I’m aiming to 10x that valuation in the next few years. And have plenty of fun along the way.
29
I’ve learned to take frequent stretch breaks from sitting at the laptop. Otherwise, my back gets messed up. This makes working from home much more appealing than working from a cafe or coworking space. Don’t want to be the guy busting out upward dog in public.
30
Probably a good idea to take more photos of boring, everyday things. For example, I wish I had a photo of the bathroom in my old apartment in New Orleans. Can’t remember how that looked and wish I could. Life feels longer when you can remember more of it.