Question to set your compass:

If you woke up three years from now and were living your ideal life, what were the three things you did to get you there?

I'm a big fan of mental time travel.

It's a neat trick for creating gratitude (think about yourself five years ago and how amazed you would be at where you are today) or perspective (think about yourself 30 years from now and how much you'd long to be back where you are today).

I also like using mental time travel as an exercise to deconstruct necessary actions in the present.

If you imagine yourself in three years completely in the "flow" (personally, professionally, spiritually), what actions had you taken to get you there?

What did you do today, next week, next month, and next year that started you on the path to that future flow?

Be specific:

• What positive systems did you create?
• What bad habits did you eliminate?
• What positive environments did you enter?
• What negative environments did you exit?
• Who did you spend time with?
• Who did you create distance from?

Whether you're in the flow today or not, asking this question regularly will help you pause and set your present compass in the direction of a beautiful future reality.

Remember: Focus on direction, not speed. It's better to go slowly up the right mountain than fast up the wrong one.

Quote on the designed life:

"Some lack the fickleness to live as they wish and just live as they have begun." - Seneca

You can't control where you started, but you can control where you're headed.

Live by design, not default.

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Framework to avoid the lost war:

The Pyrrhic Victory

This framework comes with a bonus (very brief) history lesson for you:

In the 3rd century BC, King Pyrrhus of Epirus, a Greek king, led a series of valiant military campaigns against his Roman enemies. One battle, which was fought on a plain near the town of Heraclea, was extremely brutal. King Pyrrhus was able to declare victory, but at an exceptionally high cost, with losses of many of his best soldiers, including his lead general.

At the end of the battle, King Pyrrhus is said to have exclaimed, “Another such victory and we are undone!”

His hand effectively forced by the cost of these “victories”, King Pyrrhus of Epirus withdrew from Italy and returned home, where he would wage a few inconsequential campaigns before dying in relative obscurity in a battle five years later.

The term “Pyrrhic Victory” now refers to the victory won at such a steep cost to the victor that it feels like a defeat. The victory that damages the victor beyond repair—the battle won, but the war lost.

If you feel like you just participated in a primary school history lesson, I’m sorry, but this is important: the Pyrrhic victory is what we all need to avoid in life.

Too many people fall victim to it on their life journey—it’s an insidious trap.

Imagine your professional dream is to be a CEO. You grind your way through the years and make it to the top—you’re the CEO of a big company!

But along the way, you gain weight from the crazy work hours, drink too much from all the nights out, see your marriage fall apart from the stress you bring home at night, and fail to build a meaningful relationship with your kids because of all the travel.

The classic Pyrrhic Victory: You won the battle (becoming a CEO) but lost the war (building a balanced and fulfilling life).

So as you go forth on your journey, remember King Pyrrhus of Epirus:

Focus your energy on winning the war, not every single individual battle.

Tweet on the future:

Really neat thread on a variety of ideas. My reactions ranged from from "ok, that's insane" (texting deceased relatives) to "huh, that could actually work" (smart toilet).​

Article on the traps of wealth:

​Rich & Anonymous​

The central idea in this piece from Morgan Housel is stated in the opening line:

"I think there’s an 'ideal' net worth for everyone, when money not only stops bringing pleasure but becomes a social liability."

If you've been reading my writing for a while, you can probably guess that I wholeheartedly agree.

As German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer famously said, “Wealth is like seawater, the more we drink, the thirstier we become.”

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