Hello, and welcome to my weekly newsletter! I'm thrilled you were able to be there. Every day I keep my Zap Pad with me and jot down everything I learned this week or thought was interesting. On Mondays, I review my top 5–10 entries and write about them in order to share what I learned. It's what I refer to as "Muse Monday."
Wisdom Is What's Left Over
This week I discovered a new podcast called "The Diary of a CEO," where Steven Bartlett talks to some of the most influential people alive today, and it is nothing short of amazing. The first guest I had to listen to was Neil Degrass. Tison, who I am a big fan of. He said something that really stuck with me, so I had to write it down: "Wisdom is what's left over after we forget everything else." I thought about this and what it truly meant. In a world where our attention is constantly being taken in new directions and we are bombarded with information, it's impossible to remember it all, but maybe having the best memory isn't what we should be looking for. Perhaps we should focus on the life lessons that those things teach us because, at the end of the day, that is what wisdom is and what we can give others. I have a horrible memory, but I have been told I am very wise for my age. Whether that is true or not, I wonder how much of that has to do with the things I have remembered that I just don't know about.
It Is Never Perfect
I have been going through some things, dealing with perfectionism in my videos, articles, and overall life. I have been feeling like no matter how hard I try, it may never be enough, but I find that we often get too emotional when we have problems in our lives, me included, so when I am struggling, I tell myself to think about it in the most logical way possible, and it usually works. I thought to myself that nothing is ever perfect, and if Vincent van Gogh were to come back to life, he would tell us how horrible his paintings are and what he could have done better. So why beat yourself up? Why try to be perfect? You can always try to be the best version of yourself, but that's not perfect. So, instead of trying to make it perfect, I've been experimenting with something new. Just try to be 70% perfect. Yes, I know this is the exact opposite of what you are told in gym class, but that way, you don't have to worry about the flaws that will always be there. I don't know if this will work for everyone, but I recommend you give it a try.
You Don't Know Who You Will Be
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what it was called or who was speaking, but I was listening to a podcast about setting goals for the future, and I heard them say that making long-term goals isn't fair to your future self because we are constantly changing. You don't know who you will be in a few years, and you don't know what the world will look like in a few years, so you are making decisions for someone you don't even know in a world that you don't even know, and it is set up to fail. I don't know if I completely agree, but I think it is a very interesting view of how we set goals and even view ourselves. I think we often think we will never change, and to an extent, we won't, but the world around us will, and knowing that can prepare us not only in our goal-setting but in the way we see ourselves moving forward.
Give The Glory
For those of you who don't know, I am really big on entrepreneurship, so I am always wanting to learn from the greats who came before me, so when I saw Noah Keegan's video talking to a billionaire, I had to watch. And in that interview, Paule Orfalea said, "Give the glory; keep the money." At first, that seemed very insensitive and evil, and so I thought, but he explained that people don't want money; they want glory. If you offer someone 1,000 dollars to go risk their lives fighting in the military, they will say no. But if you give them a badge and tell them how much they will be honored, then suddenly everyone is signing up. It is amazing to me what people will do to give their egos a boost. And it got me thinking about other instances where we care more about what things mean than what is best for us. People will spend their life savings on a nice car and a pair of shoes just to be able to say "I have status" and have their peers respect them. I'm curious how much better off we'd be if we gave others the glory and didn't care what others thought of us.
Is Mindset A Privilege
This is something I have been thinking about for some time now. Oftentimes, my friends will be going through a hard time, and I will try to give them advice, but they will say they can't do it or that it doesn't work. The problematic life advice aside, this got me wondering: what if I'm just mentally privileged? Don't get me wrong, I have had my fair share of pain and suffering, but I have always been that person to look on the brighter side of things, and I have always believed that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. But is that something that comes naturally to a select few people? I would hate to be telling someone they need to look on the bright side of things if they truly can't. Maybe it is just that our brains are wired differently. But then you also hear about people in dire situations who turned their lives around, going from someone who didn't believe they could do anything to someone who helps others. I guess the big question is: can anyone train their minds to think positively, or is it just some people?
Question of the week: Can anyone train their minds to think positively, or is it just some people?
Leave a comment and let me know your answer or just let me know what you thought of this week's Muse Monday. I'm Ace, and thanks for reading.