Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
– T. S. Eliot
Greetings from LA and Oahu!
This week we share some thoughts about life from a man who recently lost his battle with ALS, explain the cycle of success (belief > investment > success > belief), and discuss Aristotle’s “golden mean” (the balance between extremes).
Enjoy!
In a Hurry?
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Living Now
Warren Osborn, the man pictured above, passed away a few weeks ago on November 2nd after a pain-staking battle with ALS.
He was a very successful entrepreneur, investor, and businessman.
In 2018, after he received his diagnosis, Osborn shared his thoughts about why happiness is all about living in the moment.
Here’s his conclusion…
“Some might say, my body hurts everywhere, I lost my close friend, my loved one has cancer, etc. We are all going to experience these types of difficulties. Focus on good things and good people around you. See my grandchildren here. They bring me joy. You have friends and loved ones too. Find joy in them when your own life is full of pain. The flowers, the mountains — everywhere there is beauty to be found and enjoyed.
Here is to living life to its fullest, living in the NOW, and not worrying and mourning over the regrets of the past or the hard potential things of the future. Right now is what matters. And every one of us can make a huge difference every single day. We can be happy living in the NOW.”
Here is the article if you want to read it in full.
The Success Cycle
What’s the main ambition of your life?
Do you believe — really believe — that you’re going to succeed?
That’s where success begins: in your head. When you believe you’re going to succeed, you invest (time and money) into the pursuit. When you invest, you are more likely to succeed. And finally, when you do succeed… that fuels further belief in yourself and the cycle starts again.
The goal is to plug yourself into that cycle by believing in yourself.
How?
By learning.
Because learning fuels belief.
When we learn, new information changes our perspective of what’s possible. We learn how to do new things or how to think about things in a new way. We find out that what we’re trying to do is possible because other people just like us have done it. And we learn how to do it.
Then, belief in ourselves and our pursuits surges and we become capable of far more than we originally thought.
That’s the key.
But…
What about when we fail?
Isn’t that sure to derail our belief in ourselves?
Maybe…
Unless we learn from the failure and try again.
The Golden Mean
Life is about balance.
We need to eat, but we don’t need to gorge ourselves. We need friendships, but we don’t need to become codependent. We need to work, but we don’t need to work all the time.
Aristotle called this “the golden mean” — the place of balance found in between extremes.
Daily Stoic published an article sharing the balanced virtues we should all strive for, as well as their extremist counterparts.
Here’s the list…
- Ambition: Between Lazy and Insatiable
- Empathy: Between Cold and Codependent
- Endurance: Between Fragile and Depleted
- Self-confidence: Between Insecure and Arrogant
- Adaptability: Between Rigid and Soft
- Self-sufficiency: Between Dependent and Isolated
- Discipline: Between Impetuous and Repressed
- Composure: Between Frenzied and Stagnant
- Calculated: Between Reckless and Timid
- Euthymia: Between Nihilism and Grand Narrative
How do you measure up?
Which qualities need improvement?
This Week’s Photo
“A crane lifts a car that was damaged by the July flooding disaster in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, on November 8, 2021.” via The Atlantic
This Week’s Riddle
Here’s this week’s riddle — the answer is at the bottom of the email!
I’m lighter than what I am made of, and more of me is hidden than is seen. What am I?
This Week’s Question & Answers
Answer this question — either privately or by replying to this email. If your answer inspires us, then we’ll ask for permission to include it in a future email!
What’s one thing that you’d like to change about yourself?
This Week’s Challenge
Look at the list of qualities under “The Golden Mean” section of this email and choose one to work on. Balance is important for living a healthy life. And we all have areas where we could improve.
Until next week,
Mike & Alec
Riddle Answer: An iceberg.