Connection

We’re in this together. If the lockdown has exposed anything, it’s that we can’t do this alone. We need each other’s love and connection.

Today connections can be made in unlikely places. For instance, for the past few weeks I’ve been watching Tea with GaryVee, a livestreamed Q&A with entrepreneurial legend Gary Vaynerchuk. I’ve hoped in the comments a few times and people interacted with me. Then I followed their social accounts and messaged them. Once I even called someone I met.

The viral nature of TikTok is nothing short of spectacular. I’ve been talking about it since last summer (like in this post from August 12, 2019). My videos haven’t gotten the most engagement, but it only takes one video before everything changes. One unlock to unimaginable connections.

Whether in YouTube comments or Reddit feeds or TikTok duets, there are connections to be made. Not to mention the old-fashioned connections, like a professor who taught you, or a friend’s friend you met at a party.

What’s the moral? Keep your heart open to the possibility of connection. You never know who will change your life.

Kevin Hart on Life

“We lose because we are not okay with accepting our faults. It is not until you can accept your faults, your bullshit, that you can grow and do better.” – Kevin Hart during his recent podcast with Joe Rogan.

He talked about the Game of Life and how understanding yourself, by yourself, is so essential for a good life. Then he reminded us that you don’t have to be cool; if you have a question, ask it. Be curious about possibility.

I don’t know, it just has me thinking. Fr. McNally used to say, “Life is complicated, Love is not.” Yeah, I think he’s right.

I did it for me

Last year I bought an Indo Board at a yard sale for $10. I could’ve sold it for around $130, but it meant more to me than that. I started really using it this past week and I love it.

One of my favorite workout tools is an Onnit Steel Mace. I bought a 20 pound one two years ago and I’m good with it, but it’s still heavy.

Today I had the idea of standing on the Indo Board while trying to swing the steel mace over my head, in both directions. It only took me 30 minutes to learn. Click here for the video.

What’s the point? I don’t really know. Hold onto your toys? Maybe spend more time outside? It’s okay to fall down?

Best $120 I didn’t make?

I’m a hypocrite

I was on a run today and I gave up. I stopped running because it hurt too bad. This happened a few times recently. My ego has been getting in the way and I think I’m a better runner than I am. I’ve become a hypocrite.

I gave myself a talking to on the shameful walk home. This isn’t the only way I’ve been slacking lately. From my diet to my exercise regimen to not waking up on time, I’ve been lacking discipline across the board. This isn’t who I want to be.

Currently, my dream is to be a physician and help people be healthy. Instead of strictly pharmaceuticals, I want to teach people how to use the Free Medicines available all around us. I want the cornerstones of my practice to be breathwork, cold showers, earthing, sunlight, drinking water, and loving yourself. But recently it’s been hard to implement these things.

If I can’t commit to it, what makes me think my future patients will? I can’t even convince myself to wake up and do breathwork right away, so how could I convince them? What makes me think I’m the kind of person who’s able to give other people advice?

There’s a solution to all this: become the man I want to be. Become the hero of my story, not a hypocrite. This starts with discipline. I must become the person others will listen to through my lived experience, not theories. Only then can I actually help.

Only then can I fulfill my mission.

Want to be a Master, but I love 25 things

Becoming a real master means you have to choose something to be masterful at. That’s a problem for me.

I like lifting, running, yoga, calisthenics, and jiu jitsu,

writing, thinking, flipping, creating, and innovating,

science, philosophy, theology, poetry, and leadership,

cooking, reading, hiking, praying, and creating photographs,

health, nature, farming, laughing, and cold showers.

And that’s just the start. I’m a jack of all trades but a master of one. I really have no idea what to pursue in my free time, so I end up spending hours on social media and watching TV.

I should probably work on one thing at a time. That’s how the masters do it.

Taken for granted

I never told my computer how much it meant to me. Then it didn’t turn on. I regretted ever taking it for granted. Just imagine how much we’d accomplished together: we got through college, started two businesses, and watched too many episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And I never said thank you.

Finally, after troubleshooting for three days (which included serenading it), I hit the screen in just the right spot, spurring a reluctant boot-up. I cheered like the Eagles won another Super Bowl. Childlike bliss and wonderment. How incredible it was to have my computer back.

Then I realized–how incredible is it to have a computer?

Maybe our possessions are more than utilities and commodities. Maybe they want to feel meaningful, too.

What if we started honoring our possessions instead of taking them for granted? Or at least said thank you?

Being Lazy

I just waiting until the last minute, then I wrote a post about being lazy. And it got deleted. Here’s the short version.

Being lazy may be helpful. Take some time to recharge after a stressful situation.

Being lazy for no particular reason isn’t good. Get back to work!

And don’t forget to forgive yourself if you slip up, like I did with this post.

Joe Rogan and Spotify

Today Joe Rogan announced that he’ll be moving his podcast exclusively to Spotify by the end of the year. People say the deal was over $100 million.

I love this move because it’s in full support of free speech and no censorship. For a few years Joe and his producer Young Jamie have been navigating strict, limiting YouTube community guidelines. Joe also has friends (like Alex Jones) who’ve been deplatformed by cancel-culture inspired companies.

But a move to Spotify is a slap in the face to YouTube. What happens when one of the biggest channels on YouTube leaves? Well, a lot less ad money. A lot less attention.

This is how business should be done: honest people with thoughtful voices gain attention, then they make decisions that align with their values. Joe Rogan is an American who respects the Constitution. More power to him.

Many more will follow suit. Uncle Joe once again leads the charge.

If I loved myself

What would I do? If you loved yourself, what would you do?

Since graduation, the days have seemed unproductive. Maybe I need a short break from work, or maybe I need a better schedule. Most likely it’s both.

In Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life, he shares perhaps the most helpful question you could ask to get your life back on track. And it’s simple: What could I do today to make life better? Then do that thing today. Then ask again tomorrow and do that thing tomorrow. Soon you’ll be miles ahead of where you are now.

What if we combined these two questions? How much could life change if each day we asked: If I loved myself, what would I do today to make life better?

Well, I know how I’m going to get back on track. Will you join me?

If There Is Love

Citizen Cope is an underrated artist. He makes more than music–he makes feelings. His song If There Is Love was stuck in my head today. The chorus goes like this: “If there is love, I just want to have something to do with it.”

Today’s homily was about love, too. Our parish priest (and my friend) Fr. Francesco was explaining God’s love. We are imperfect and we mess up. It’s hard for us to love God or others, but God loves us anyways. Unconditionally.

That’s a powerful message, but I keep thinking the Church is missing something when it comes to love. The two main commandments are to love God and love your neighbor. But what about loving yourself?

People think self love is narcissistic and selfish. That’s not true. When you love yourself, truly and deeply and unconditionally, it’s all you need. Your love becomes self-fulfilling; in no time, if your love is overflowing, you have no choice but to share it with others. That includes God.

If you love others without loving yourself, your love will run dry. You can’t sustain it, or at least I never could. Loving yourself is the key to loving others. Period.

Lately I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’m thinking my life’s mission may have to do with spreading this message far and wide: Love Yourself First, then Love Others. If there is love within you, love will flow from you.