What I Learned This Week #4

What’s up legends,

Have you ever tried something new, and then shortly after become completely obsessed with it?

Yup, that is me right now with running. As some of you know, I have been into lifting and functional fitness with some running on and off.

I am not so much attracted to running itself, but more so the baggage that comes with it. Let me explain…

Preparedness and Challenge 🏃🏼

Recently I watched “More than the miles” which is a short film about endurance athlete Nick Bare running the Leadville 100 mile ultramarathon.

It is in those behind the scenes moments where you really see what goes into preparing for a race like that. Even then, you will never be fully prepared for that kind of challenge.

I learned that I am attracted to running because in simple terms, it forces you to get your shit together. If you sign up for a big race (I have a marathon in October) you are automatically bringing order to your life. What should you eat? How should you train? How should you recover? When do you have time to train? These are all questions that come up that force you to prepare.

On top of that, the race is a major challenge. And on the other end of that hardship is resilience. I ran a 5-mile race this weekend and did very well. I went to a dark place for the last two miles, one that can only be felt if put in that exact situation. But that dark place created a warrior, or as David Goggins would say “helped callous the mind”.

I learned that this goes for anything in life. Do stuff that forces you to prepare and do hard stuff for the sake of it being hard. It doesn't have to be running, but it seems to me that going after something hard translates very well to all aspects of life.

More Than The Miles Documentary (I very super highly recommend):

Life Hacks I Know at 30 I Wish I Knew At 20

This week Tim Ferriss reposted a thread called “Life Hacks I Know at 30 I Wish I Knew At 20”. The original thread was from Ben Meer, which I will share below.

As a 22 year old, this list was super insightful and left me pondering. It is not one of the bullshit self-help lists, there are some really good ideas. My favorite one is to score your day with music because it is a powerful mood enhancer. For example chill while working, metal while lifting, electronic at the club, it is cool to think that music could make your life a real-time movie.

The Greatest Bitcoin Explanation Of All Time

To an outsider, cryptocurrency can be intimidating, especially because of the negative stigma around it. But the reality is most people are just uninformed. They never peel one layer back to take a deeper look and ask “What actually is cryptocurrency?”

I know from personal experience that it is tough to get people like my Dad on board with the technology, until I showed my Dad this video.

The gist of the explanation is that Bitcoin is money available to everyone, everybody is in control of their own money, and it is global. It is not perfect, but it works.

You have probably heard a bunch of similar arguments for crypto before, but this is perfectly put in a short, concise way. I deeply believe that Bitcoin and crypto have the ability to solve some problems. If your friends or family are confused, send them this video.

I also think this speaks to the fact that putting things in simple terms is masterful skill. It shows true understanding of the topic and makes it easier for so many more people to get it.

Til Next Week, Stay Learning

-Zach

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