Do you use an Mac or a PC? If you’re using a Mac, do you use iCloud or Google? If you’re using iCloud or Google are you backing up your photos to one of the two? How about your contacts? How about your calendar? How much of our life is in an ecosystem? And once we’re in, how hard is it to get out? Here’s the thing with ecosystems: once you’re in, it’s hard to get out. This matters because we often find ourselves in ecosystems beyond our phones or our computers. The people we associate with, the news we consume, the blogs we read, our music taste, and our beliefs are each an ecosystem within a larger one. Our challenge is to leave what we know and try something new. How might you leave the safety of the ecosystems you know and explore something new? If you have progressive beliefs, spend time consuming conservative news. Vice versa.If you only read fiction, pick up a piece of nonfiction.If you only hang around one type of person, seek out a different type. Seek out different ecosystems, learn what you can from them, and find ways to incorporate them into your life. Spend more time understanding people, places, and things.That’s how we make things better.

“There is a detectable difference between the past and the future only when there is the flow of heat.” - Carlo Rovelli, “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.”Heat is a form of energy, andEnergy is a form of work, Work is action.Your work isn’t done - keep going!

Tomorrow is Monday.And Monday doesn’t have to be dreaded.You get to look forward to doing something that matters tomorrow.You get to decide to win your morning - get up early, make your bed, and take a walk.You get to start. Mondays are for starting - and starting anything is fun. What matters after starting is how you finish!

“I don’t know what it is… I guess I just don’t like what I’m doing.” My question back is: “What actions (or behaviors) are you not getting to do enough of?”A sense of responsibility is the cause for action.Action causes reaction (or impact).You seeing your impact validates the story you’re telling yourself about yourself.When you’re not getting to see enough impacts, you’re not doing enough of the right actions.If you’re not doing enough of the right actions, you’re not holding the right responsibilities. If you ‘re not responsible for the right things, demand more or look elsewhere.What are you not getting to do enough of every day? What if you could do more?

Stress is required for existence - it’s critical for survival - literally nothing grows without it. Stress invites us to journey through unknown and harsh circumstances with equanimity so that we may arrive at a kind of peace and acceptance where we can thrive. We are asked to still our thoughts, hold back action, and, like the third-person omniscient observer, watch life pass - and accept that life passed. On the contrary, too much of a good thing kills. Enjoy only enough to help you grow.

If you’re not used to doing deep squats, ease into them slowly. If you don’t, you’ll discover muscles you didn’t know you had, and you’ll also discover that your body has a way of letting you know to slow your roll. In the same, slow down as you move through life or start a new job or approach a problem - especially if you’re exercising some new mental muscles.

Your ability to master yourself.To not be a slave to yourself or others.To be able to, even in the darkest and worst of circumstances, find contentment and love. To be able, even in the darkest and worst of circumstances, show compassion and love - even to those that believe they are holding you down.To have the ability to intentionally do life - to control what you can and accept what you can’t.To control your mind - as Dr. Mike told me, “You are not your mind.” And if your mind might be ill, accept what you can’t control and work with what you can.To control your mouth - garbage in/garbage out - don’t eat/speak garbage. To control your thoughts - garbage in/garbage out - consume and use wisdom that will help you master yourself and show more love to others. As I think more and more about how to help people feel and be seen/perceived for all they can do, the more and more I see that what is needed is not someone to help them up. What I see is that people need a reason to believe in themselves, and a reason to demand responsibility (HT to Seth Godin).P.S. You can find tons of useful meditations on self-mastery through a few books that I have fallen in love with:Letters of a StoicMeditations (the book I recommend more than any other to people I coach)Mastery (musicians: this is like “Effortless Mastery” but far more in-depth and science-driven)

I love books. I find that having more books than I can read - to a healthy degree - motivates me to read. What motivates me is not the idea of reading or some type of vanity metric. No. I have intentionally chosen authors and thinkers to learn from, and when I look at their books staring me in the face I almost imagine those people looking at me and saying, “you made the investment, why won’t you make the most of it?”You could feel the same way about a record collection, craft supplies, spices, cast iron pots, seeds, or anything that brings you joy. Fill your life with things that bring you joy and push your development but not to excess, just enough that you have to reach a bit further.

I wasn’t feeling motivated to do anything earlier today - that’s no bueno. I was trying to find things to motivate me, and it was hard. I decided to take a walk and load up my car (I’ve got a gig tonight). Would you believe it? I suddenly became extremely motivated to act and get my work done.This must be how Richard Simmons stays so happy.If you’re feeling de-motivated, get up and move. (Filed under: advice David has heard 100000 of times and never listened to… until today)