Welcome to The Curiosity Chronicle, a weekly newsletter where I provide actionable ideas to help you build a high-performing, healthy, wealthy life.
Today at a Glance:
Last week, I went on a whirlwind event tour of India. 2,000+ attendees at 6 events in 6 days across 3 different cities.
I met and spent time with hundreds of people, doing my best to provide perspectives and guidance on the questions they asked. I believe that the questions are universal, so in today's piece, I'd like to share the insights and perspectives that I offered in response to them.
6 insights from 6 days: (1) Discipline is the ultimate act of service to your future self, (2) Lifelong learners will always find a way to thrive, (3) Information is abundant, action is scarce, (4) Celebrate every win (no matter how tiny), (5) You have to fight back against the Centipede's Dilemma, and (6) Dive through the cracks.
How do I find the time to write, eat well, run & lift?
Delegation.
Here are the 5 Principles of Delegation:
Cardinal sin of delegation (thinking it'll be faster/better to do yourself)
Long-term experimenting + commitment
Giving deep access
Avoiding the guilt trap
Leveraging ambition
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Last week, I went on a whirlwind event tour of India.
The full stats of the energizing experience:
6 days
3 different cities
6 live events
2,000+ attendees
When I announced the events, I promised that I would stay, meet, and take photos with everyone who attended—I stood by that promise, having conversations with many of the 2,000+ people who came out to hear me speak.
Interestingly, while there was tremendous diversity in age, gender, career track, and socioeconomic status of the attendees, there were a common set of questions, pain points, and anxieties that rose to the surface in those personal conversations.
I believe that the questions are universal, so in today's piece, I'd like to share the insights and perspectives that I offered in response to them.
Note: While I cannot claim to have "the answers" on any of these challenging questions, I will share how I have navigated them on my journey—I hope you pick up one tiny insight that leaves you better equipped for action on yours.
1. Discipline is the ultimate act of service to your future self.
Discipline was undoubtedly the word of the week.
The most common question I heard was on how to develop discipline across different areas of your life.
My perspective:
On a macro scale, you need to reframe discipline as an act of service to your future self.
Your future self is the most important stakeholder in your life. No one cares more about your actions in the present than your future self. Every single hard thing you push yourself to do today compounds into the future.
On a micro scale, you need to bring the after into the before.
Discipline is required when an action feels bad now but good later:
Doing that hard workout
Eating that healthy meal
Having that hard conversation
Doing that focused work
Waking up on time
When you find yourself slipping—when the mental gymnastics start and you tell yourself you don't need to do that thing—remind yourself how good it will feel after.
Bring the after into the before and change your life.
2. Lifelong learners will always find a way to thrive.
There was a common trend of anxiety over the lack of a clearly defined path—particularly among people in their 20s.
I remember that feeling, but I also recall receiving great advice from a successful mentor that really helped:
Focus on voracious learning and you'll always find a way to thrive.
You can't sit in your current position and plan out the future. You can't identify your passion or purpose from a standstill.
Lifelong learning is the effort engine that uncovers the answers to those questions.
If you pursue your genuine curiosity, go down those interest rabbit holes, and learn with breadth and depth, you'll uncover the asymmetric opportunities, passions, and purpose that will create a life of fulfillment.
3. Information is abundant, action is scarce.
After the event in Bangalore, one of the attendees asked me for career guidance. I had just finished a 2+ hour talk in which I had conservatively shared 100 ideas and insights—yet here he was, asking for more.
What I told him:
"You don't need more information, you need more action. Tomorrow, go act on one of the things you learned today. Start there and build."
We live in a modern era where information is abundant—you can literally access the best information from the smartest minds on any topic at the touch of a button.
If information were sufficient, everyone would be rich, fit, and madly in love.
Most of us fall into a trap of thinking that more information equals more progress—in reality, the information is cheap and the action is expensive.
Instead of focusing on gathering information, ask yourself how you can take some tiny action against the information you already have.
4. Celebrate every win (no matter how tiny).
Building off of the tiny action, you need to give yourself credit for these wins.
Self-doubt is natural—it never really goes away—but you can limit its negative impact by celebrating your small wins just as much as your big ones.
If you ever feel crippled with self-doubt, here's an exercise that helps:
Each evening, write down one thing you are proud of from the day. It can be as big as achieving some goal, or as small as getting up at the time you said you would.
Self-doubt thrives when you let perfect be the enemy of good—celebrate every win and fight back against its influence in your life.
5. You have to fight back against the Centipede's Dilemma.
There's an old fable of the centipede and the rabbit that I love:
A centipede is walking along when a rabbit comes alongside it and asks, "Which one of your legs is the fastest?"
The centipede starts thinking about the question and quickly becomes paralyzed, unable to move.
The once subconscious action of walking becomes a conscious thought, leaving the centipede stuck in place.
A lot of us are the centipede in this story: Overthinking is holding us back from building the life we want.
When you think every decision has to be perfect, you become afraid to move.
One powerful realization for life: Decisions are generally reversible, but inaction is not.
Note: I'm planning to write an entire piece on my framework for fighting back against overthinking. If you're interested in seeing that, reply YES to this email.
6. Dive through the cracks.
If you think that the opportunities you want in life are just going to be staring you in the face, you're crazy.
If you want to win:
Be diligent to spot tiny openings.
Be relentless in diving through them.
One attendee was interested in joining my team as a researcher and asked how to apply. My business partner asked him to send us three content ideas with a short research breakdown on each one. He gave him a deadline of 72 hours. I've hired several people onto my team through successful execution on a similar test—for video editing, research, and more.
Well, it's been 100+ hours and we haven't received anything.
The opportunities are out there, but you have to be willing to dive through the cracks to capitalize on them.
Every great story starts with a tiny crack. Spot it. Dive through it.
The whirlwind week in India was simultaneously exhausting and energizing.
I was reminded of one fact: The magic of in-person energy is truly unmatched.
There is nothing better than looking someone in the eye in a world where we spend most of our time with our faces down in our phones.
The luck in those rooms is incredible:
So many chance encounters.
So many ideas shared.
So many ripples created.
Always remember my luck razor:
When choosing between two paths, always choose the path that has the larger luck surface area. It's hard to get lucky sitting at home on the couch. It's easy to get lucky when you spend time engaging with curious people.
I get asked about my morning routine all the time. It changes from time to time, but AG1 has been the one constant since 2011. I drink it with a big glass of water every single morning to start my day on a positive tone.
It replaced an entire cabinet of supplements for me in one daily scoop—seriously, its latest iteration covers a multivitamin, multi-mineral, prebiotics, probiotics, adaptogens, greens, and more. It keeps me feeling healthy and strong throughout the year, even when I'm traveling (thanks to the travel packs).
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