Mastery, Writing Music, Escaping the Inescapable, and More
Friday, June 16, 2023
Happy Friday everyone!
Here are 10 things I found interesting from the last week or so.
On Mastery
Still slowly working through Mastery by Robert Greene and came across a great analogy for attaining mastery: “Mastery is like swimming— it is too difficult to move forward when we are creating our own resistance or swimming against the current. Know your strengths and move with them."
PHATJAZZ Takes NYC
Shout out to PHATJAZZ on playing at the Governors Ball Music Festival —congrats dude!! If you don't know, now you know.
Millionaires Galore
Speaking of Vietnam last week, according to the Henley and Partners report, Ho Chi Minh City (82%) ranks 9th for cities that have had the largest increase in millionaires over the last decade. The top cities in the US are Austin, TX (102%), West Palm Beach (90%), and Scottsdale, AZ (88%) and the top city in the world is Hangzhou, China (105%)
This Must Be The Place
This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads has been stuck in my head this whole week, so I figured I would share it—that way it’s stuck in yours too!
Write Music, Not Just Words
Some great writing advice from Gary Provost in his book, “100 Ways To Improve Your Writing.” Sometimes the best advice is the simplest advice and sometimes there’s even a nice picture with different colors on it to explain it even better.
Don’t Bet Against the Joker
Another shout out to the Denver Nuggets for winning the 2023 NBA Championship for the first time in 47 years! Nikola Jokic became the lowest-drafted NBA Finals MVP and the first player to lead the playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists. As Jokic said in an interview with Malika Andrews, “Don’t bet against the fat boy.” Oh yeah and Nike released the perfect ad to sum all this up.
On Procrastination
Danny Miranda made an interesting point here by posing a simple question, "What do you do when you procrastinate?" In other words, what do you tend to do when you don’t want to do anything? Perhaps there may be more to your procrastination tendencies than you think. Check out the video here with Paul Millerd.
Unfamiliar Not Incapable
A short but important reminder from Mitchell C. Clark, "It's scary because it's unfamiliar, not because you’re incapable."
Escaping the Inescapable
A quote from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations that I often return to goes, “Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions — not outside.” It seems as though although anxiety is a feeling we’ll do anything to escape from, ultimately, it is inescapable. I would argue you will never not be worried about something. That said, your anxiety is something that can be reframed by changing your perceptions of the outside world. Only you can do this. Only you can escape the inescapable.
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
Left San Diego yesterday for a cross-country road trip across the US. Never done it before. Haven’t driven in years. But, either way, as Hunter S. Thompson would say, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
Enjoy the weekend and see you next Friday.
—Garrett