These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
In today’s Facebook live I talked about the direction I’m trying to take my business in, which is away from freelancing and towards creating more of my own stuff, videos especially. I’d like to tackle topics like Maria Popova and Tim Urban, but on video. Similar to what Tom Scott’s doing on YouTube. The goal is to create content that helps people live more free and think more deep.
2
Ninety minutes today talking to an astrologer friend about astrology. My head was hurting by the end of it. Not because of the topic specifically, though I’m still very skeptical about that. It’s just that giving someone your full attention for that amount of time and trying to follow every explanation and also keep an ear out for fishy stuff… takes its toll I tells ya.
3
From Farnam Street:
Imagine sitting on a commuter train and your stop is near the end of the line. If you were certain that you were on the right track, you wouldn’t get off simply because the train stopped from time to time. You know that stops are part of the journey. You can learn a lot from them, and eventually the train will start moving again. Yet when it comes to the goals that are most important to us in life, we tend to jump tracks the second we stop perceiving forward momentum. We’re choosing the illusion of progress over what really matters.
4
Before responding to someone who disagrees with you on social media, ask yourself:
- Are they trying to understand where I’m coming from?
- Am I trying to understand where they’re coming from?
If the answer is no to either of those questions, not much point in responding.
5
A skill I’m trying to develop is turning information into story, dry facts into entertaining narrative, and doing it quickly. Gave it a try today at a Toastmasters meeting. Talked about the Great Chinese Famine, which I’d only read about a few hours before. Also wove in some stuff about me in my underwear. Because, you know, entertainment.
6
Really didn’t feel like working this morning but set a goal to spend at least 3 hours on video. Once I got into it, I was hooked. Now it’s nine hours later and I’m just finishing up. I could keep going but best finish it off tomorrow with a fresh head. It’s a great feeling though, working away all day, lost in something creative.
7
Video finished, will make it public on Monday. I believe in letting small bad things happen so you can get big things done, but may have gone a bit overboard this time. I’ve been so obsessed with the video stuff that the rest of my life is starting to fall apart. Diet, exercise, client work. Though each time that happens, a week later I look back and everything is fine.
8
Here’s a scary news article about the dangerous health impacts of alcohol, based on a recent study. And here’s a sober response from Annie Duke:
If the rates are already really low for these diseases, large percentage increases can look scary even when the overall risk remains incredibly low. If a disease occurs in 1 out of 100,000 people, a 100% increase in the occurrence of the disease means an increase to just 2 out of 100,000. How you frame the data really matters.
9
Trying to shake off a lazy weekend, walking the terrace as night falls, listening to Joe smoke a spliff with Elon and learning that 20,000 horses used to die each year in Manhattan. Looking up I can see four planets with my naked eye: Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and that one Elon wants to live on.
10
Sprinting steps at the stadium, up and down, up and down. Three teens in Hasidic dress are watching. They ask at the peak of one run if I’m Jewish. No, I reply. How about you guys? They miss the joke and ask how long I’m running for. Twelve up and twelve down, I tell them. They don’t seem to know what to do with that information. Next time up they’ve disappeared.
11
Do you remember what it’s like to be bored? Thanks to these computers in our pockets we never have the chance anymore. How often do we just sit there nowadays and let our minds wander, or close our eyes and daydream, or go for a walk with nothing in our ears? How are we supposed to figure out what we really think things when we’re constantly plugged into the noise?
12
So I published that video two days ago, the one I spent so much time on last week. And so far… crickets. Very few views, no comments. Seems I missed the mark. But that’s okay. I won’t dwell on it. Putting together another video this week, and another one next week. So long as I can keep taking shots, I’m happy enough.
13
Shouting into the abyss about remote work opportunities in Ireland. The workforce is perfectly positioned for it but nobody seems to realize. Or so I thought. Found out today that there’s a remote work conference happening in Tralee in two weeks, and a chap named John Kennedy has been writing on the topic for the past two years. There’s a movement happening and I had no idea.
14
I sit at a computer all day then take a meal break and what do I often do? Sit back down at the computer to watch or read something while eating. Not good. But the massive terrace we have here has me doing something new: walking while eating. Get a bowl of food, line up a good podcast, and before you know I’ve gone twenty minutes and a thousand steps.
15
One of the best things about Las Palmas is being so close to the beach. We don’t go all that often, but always have the option. This morning we went to Las Canteras, rented a couple of loungers and lay for a while. Went for a swim and saw fancy fish on a carpet of green. Dried off and listened to Coach Raveling talk about books and basketball and being your best self.
16
I reckon Wikipedia is the best website on the Internet. The amount of information is incredible, of course, but also how they’ve amassed that info. One of the best testaments to humanity I can think of. Oh, and today I learned on there that when Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded, the executioner lifted her by the hair for everyone to see. Then her wig came undone and her head fell on the floor.
17
Zapped today despite getting plenty of rest over the weekend. Was going to do a 24-hour fast but cracked in the afternoon, needed to get some food in me. Managed to do a good chunk of video editing, though not super satisfied with how this one’s coming out. But that’s probably just the tiredness talking. Everything seems worse than it is when you’re low on energy.
18
30-day challenge with the live videos complete. Today was 31 actually. And I’ll keep going, no sense stopping now. The whole reason I’m doing these is to increase my rate of failure. Watson talked about doubling it. I’m 10x-ing. Throw more ideas out there, see what sticks, what has legs, what’s hankering to be born. To have a few good ideas you first need to have a lot of ideas.
19
History of the workplace. Hunter-gatherers didn’t “work,” not in the traditional sense. Agriculture was the start, the farm was it. The industrial revolution moved us into factories. Blue collars became white and we sat at desks in big buildings, then got squeezed into cubicles, then dropped into open offices. Now we can increasingly work remote, free to roam once again.
20
It’s after midnight and I’m standing alone in the kitchen, knees bent, arms above my head, listening to Linkin Park. Been in this position for a few minutes, starting to sweat, legs getting shaky. Live call on my laptop, can see three other men doing the same thing, one at the beach, one in his living room, the other some place dark.
21
Been offered the emcee job at the Grow Remote conference in Ireland next week. Okay then, let’s do it. I’m a bit out of practice with the public speaking, but excited for the opportunity. Spent some time today visualizing how I want it to go, seeing myself up there all calm, confident, assertive, having fun.
22
In the sky listening to Ruairí interview Chuck gets me rethinking taxes. I haven’t paid in eight years. Haven’t had to, since I’ve kept moving every few months, never stayed any place long enough to be a tax resident. Wasn’t breaking any laws, accepted the trade-offs, felt fine about it. But perhaps there’s more to it than that.
23
I don’t always have the energy for it, but when I do it’s fascinating to just sit and talk with people about the work they do. Even people you’ve known for years. If they’ve been at it a while, they’ve easily put in 10,000+ hours, which makes them expert. Learned a lot chatting with a farmer today about hay and straw and silage and how much meat you get from an average cow.
24
One of the best things about travel is the perspective it gives you. For example, you hear people in Ireland complain how corrupt the government is, but you’ve seen and heard much worse than what goes on here. And a quick check confirms that Ireland is indeed one of the least corrupt countries in the world. For the most part, it’s a great country to be from and live in.
25
Visiting Cobh. Lots of history here. It was the Titanic’s last port of call. Spike Island in the harbor was once known as Ireland’s Alcatraz. And many ships have met their end in nearby waters, most famously the Lusitania, a passenger vessel sank by a German torpedo during World War I. Almost 1200 people died, many unidentified and buried in mass graves just outside the town.
26
Stressful week, keeping up with emails and freelance work and the video stuff while preparing as best I can for this conference and trying to be a good boyfriend and squeeze in seeing a few sights while we’re here in Cork and Kerry. Times like this I need to remind myself that I don’t have to do any of it. No, I get to do it. I choose to do it. And I can choose not to at any time.
27
West of Killarney, beyond the lake and over the mountain, there’s the Gap of Dunloe, a narrow winding road through the valley. Tourists can’t drive it. You have to go by foot or trap or bicycle. Almost had the whole place to ourselves this eve, strolled through for a couple of hours, admiring the views, ignoring the smells.
28
So here we are. The first ever remote working conference in Ireland. My first time as an emcee. Running the show for six hours in front of 100+ people at a fancy hotel. I introduce the speakers and moderate the panels. The latter has me sitting down with 3-4 folks at a time with no idea who they are or what questions to ask. Glad it’s me and not someone else.
29
Got back to Gran Canaria this eve after twelve hours and two thousand miles of travel and was excited to jump on another live video. Talked about the Seinfeld Strategy: if you want to get good at something, do it every day, don’t break the chain. These Momentos are an unbroken chain of 2,041 days. 42 consecutive days now for the live videos.
30
Sometimes I come across a YouTuber with 100k subscribers and watch one of their videos and come away unimpressed. But I try take it as a good sign: if they’re at that level, it’s only a matter of time for me. Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll never get there. But I’ll keep trying.
