Your Bullsh*t Blindspot.
😀 Plus: Wisdom from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tim Ferriss and Michael J. Fox
Hola my friend!
Welcome to the 143rd consecutive edition of the newsletter.
Each week I share mindset secrets from remarkable people doing extraordinary things. I also share mindsets I uncovered that have helped me transform my body, business and life.
Here are the five that got my brain juices flowing.
Steal shamelessly. Share generously.
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On a personal note…
I’m back in Toronto for a few days.
I drove my sister here to have back surgery this past Friday.
It’s amazing that we now live in a time where we can fix a damaged spine and walk out of the hospital (albeit with a walker) 3 days later.
The surgery went well and she is going to use this moment as a fresh start to begin the 2.0 version of her life.
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PS. Speaking of fresh starts, I do one-on-one weight loss coaching for people over 40 who are looking to lose weight, improve their physical and cognitive health and increase their longevity so they can spend more time with the people they love the most.
My approach is simple, reasonable and most important, gets results for everyone I work with no matter how old they are.
Here are the current results of a client/friend I am presently working with.
He’s 59, married with children, works full-time in sales and travels extensively.
And the only thing we have worked on so far is fixing his eating and we have done that without doing anything extreme.
We are only now looking at phasing in a training program to help him begin to reshape what his body looks like and what it can do.
If you would like to book a free call to learn more about how I can help you get results like this, click here.
Think of the call as the fresh start you need to transform your body and your life!
New to this newsletter? Consider subscribing my friend.
1/ On creating.
Where I got this.
Tim shared that wisdom in this post.
Why I love it.
I love the idea of allocating a set amount of time at the start of each day to make something that matters, before going off to do the thing that allows you to pay the bills.
What it makes me think of.
It reminds me of a story I read about author John Grisham, who was a lawyer before he became a bestselling novelist. He would show up at his office at 5am and write until 9am. He would then go off and be a lawyer for the rest of the day.
🧠 Mindset worth stealing → Create your art then do your job.2/ On creating rules that let you say no.
Where I got this.
Ryan Holiday shared this gem in a post he wrote back in 2020 about 33 things he stole from people way smarter than him.
Why I love this.
It’s a simple but valuable framework that allows you to gracefully bow out of things.
What it makes me think of.
It reminds me of a story from author and Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen. When he first started working as a consultant he was told there would be a meeting on the forthcoming Saturday. But Saturday was family day (his rule) so he said he could not make it. His manager was not happy and stormed off. He returned later with good news. He talked to everyone on the team and the meeting was moved to Sunday. But Sunday was Church day (another rule) and again he had to decline. He thought he was going to get fired, but he didn’t. And as a result of his rules, he was never again asked to work on a weekend.
🧠 Mindset worth stealing → Create rules that rule the life you desire.3/ On hope.
Where I got this.
I stumbled on this quote years ago, but it resurfaced last week while I went down my Michael J. Fox rabbit hole. He used that line in reference to how he deals with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Why I love it.
It’s a simple formula. HOPE = INFORMED OPTIMISM.
What it makes me think of.
As I shared above, on Friday my sister went for back surgery. She has been dealing with a bad back for over 18 months and things got so bad she had to use a cane to get around. After exhausting all other non-invasive treatments, it became clear surgery was her only option. My sister was terrified of having to go this route. She even refused it initially. And then one day her new physiotherapist revealed that he had the same surgery she was told to have with the same surgeon she had been consulting with. This changed everything. Knowing someone else had gone through the same surgery with the same surgeon gave her the informed optimism she needed to be hopeful. And even though Friday was a terrifying day for her, all has gone well and tomorrow we will head back to Sudbury so she can continue to rehabilitate her back and her life.
🧠 Mindset worth stealing → HOPE = INFORMED OPTIMISM. 4/ On how to think about saying no.
Where I got this.
This came from a recent interview Julia did on a YouTube show called First We Feast, where celebrities eat super spicy chicken wings while answering fascinating questions.
Why I love this.
This isn’t a quote that originates with Julia. It came from someone she interviewed her new podcast, Wiser than Me, where she interviews iconic Hollywood women over 70. And that’s why I love it. She has created a platform for women (and dudes like me) to be inspired by the vast wisdom of older women. AWESOME!!
What it makes me think of.
We don’t ever need to qualify our reason for saying no. Just end it with a period.
🧠 Mindset worth stealing → NO.5/ On thinking you know it all.
Where I got this.
From this article which reveals new psychology research about our bullshi*t blind spot.
Why I love this.
Because the antidote to being a fool is intellectual humility.
What this has me thinking about.
The moment I think I know everything about anything is the moment I’m setting myself up for a massive failure.
🧠 Mindset worth stealing → Protect yourself by practicing intellectual humility.That is all for today.
See you next Sunday my friend.
And hey — keep being awesome.
Dean 🇨🇦