Question for a life by design:

Do I actually want the successful version of this?

Fact: Most of us spend a lot of time climbing a mountain, but rarely give thought to whether the prize of the summit is actually something we want.

There are two potential problems with this:

• You get to the top of the mountain and realize you didn't want the prize. You wasted your life on a climb that wasn't yours. This is the worst case scenario.
• You get halfway up the mountain and realize you don't want the prize that sits at the top. It becomes painful to walk back down and start a new climb somewhere else. Most people will just keep climbing on the existing one to avoid the pain. This is an all-too-common, similarly damning scenario.

The goal should be to address the mountain in its entirety prior to beginning the ascent. To assist with that, I love this question from my friend Corey Wilks:

Do I actually want the successful version of this? In other words, if I scale this mountain successfully, am I going to feel fulfilled?

The exercise requires you to envision what the summit looks and feels like—to place yourself in your future shoes and think deeply on whether it meets your (hopefully high!) expectations for yourself.

This question should be a staple of your journey to live by design, rather than by default. Use it regularly.

Quote from one of the greats:

"I think luck falls on not just the brave but also the ones who believe they belong there." - Novak Djokovic

Your beliefs shape your entire reality.

Choose them wisely.

(Share this on Twitter!)

One Framework:

The BS Asymmetry Principle

In 2013, an Italian programmer named Alberto Brandolini expressed frustration with the abundance of misinformation and the challenges of debunking it during a discussion on Twitter.

His (astute) observation was that it required significantly more energy and effort to refute nonsense than it seemed to require to create it in the first place.

This observation led to his formulation of Brandolini's Law, more colloquially known as the BS Asymmetry Principle:

The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.

This principle is particularly important and challenging in the age of high velocity information sharing that social media has brought on.

Misinformation can spread at incredible speeds, as it takes much longer for research, fact-checking, and logic-based reasoning to catch up and refute it.

The principle should serve as a reminder to us all of the importance of evaluating information before accepting it as fact or sharing it with others. It may take a bit longer and require more thought, but it is incredibly important in the context of the greater good.​

Tweet to inspire action:

Very cool long-form tweet on James Cameron, who has now written and directed three of the top four grossing films of all time.

Lesson: Bias for action is everything.

Video breakdown of the tech future:

​Apple Vision Pro Impressions - MKBHD​

This was a superb breakdown of the insanely futuristic Apple Vision Pro device that was just announced for 2024 release.

Some of the features are a bit mind-boggling for me, especially how he describes the eye-tracking and finger gesture technology. Simply incredible. I can't wait to use this when it comes out.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I had never watched an MKBHD video until now. He is wonderful. This was also really interesting...​