Yes, it’s already Tuesday here in Japan! I live in the future!!🤣 Anyways, today I would like to discuss the ‘Law of Attraction.’ I imagine most of you have at least heard of it at some point. Regardless of how much you know, here is a great summary of it that I really recommend reading: What Is the Law of Attraction? Now, for a bit of a story… Back in my early 20s, I worked in the summer, between university semesters, for a friend I met at the chess club (chess has allowed me to meet so many interesting people, but that’s a topic for another post!). He is a very successful small-scale entrepreneur, who owns and runs a high-end woodworking shop just outside of my hometown. Next to his shop, he lives in a beautiful house right by the river, has some nice cars, plays golf most weekends in the summer, etc. You get the picture – a successful entrepreneurial boomer. I did landscaping for him, building rock walls, pouring cement, etc., with him mentoring me, and during our time working together, he would sometimes try to teach me things about life. One of the things he told me, referring to the Law of Attraction, was “you can have anything you want in life, but you must be patient, and you gotta work hard,” or something along those lines (he also had a CD about the Law of Attraction in his truck, which I would listen to while running errands in it). Naturally, as a ‘university educated,’ ‘rational’ person, with a background in psychology and a good understanding of research, statistics and probability, I objected: “But, but…Plenty of people who work hard don’t get anywhere! The system is against them! Bad things happen to plenty of good people! Simply thinking about a Porsche won’t magically bring it into your life!” were some of the things I said confidently, in retort. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I was missing the point… He wasn’t trying to tell me that for sure my dream car would appear one day if I thought about it hard enough, even though that’s what his words may have said on the surface level…

Hey Everyone, Hope you’re all having a great weekend thus far! I’ve been a fan of neuroscience / biopsychology ever since taking a course on it in university, and am especially interested in how we can apply it to ourselves for our own benefit. Incidentally, a year or two ago I listened to an interesting podcast (see resources below) featuring Dr. Andrew Huberman and David Goggins (perhaps known more than anyone for being relentless in his training and doing things he really doesn’t want to do). They were discussing the role of the anterior mid cingulate cortex (let’s just be easy on ourselves and refer to it as the AMCC) in doing things you don’t want to do / tenacity / persistence / etc. Science seems to suggest that the size of this brain region correlates with one’s ability to do things they do not want to do / tenacity. Furthermore, forcing yourself to do things that you do not want to do, especially those that take you out of your comfort zone, increases the size of the AMCC, which leads to stronger will power over time! Furthermore, according to Dr. Huberman: “Leaning into challenges, whether physical or intellectual, promotes brain health and helps maintain cognitive function as you age. This kind of practice is associated with ‘super agers’, people who maintain their cognitive abilities well into later life by consistently engaging in challenging activities. Through consistent effort and facing challenges head-on, we can strengthen our minds without relying on shortcuts or hacks.” Who else wants to be a ‘super ager’? I am going to add that one to my list of long-term goals!😁 Of course, the path towards increased AMCC size and health is not easy. It takes a lot of consistent effort to grow this region, and the journey is unpleasant because, after all, we have to do things we don’t want to do on a consistent basis. The more we detest them, the better! Yet, I think it is worth trying. Here are two quotes from a research article (see below) on the AMCC and tenacity:

Huge thank you to everyone who showed up, asked thoughtful questions, and truly engaged. This honestly went way beyond my expectations, and that’s 100% because of the people in this room. The energy, the honesty, the depth of the conversation… it was special. A massive thanks to Eric for generously sharing his experience, wisdom, and perspective. From building businesses to navigating relationships, family, and the long game of life, this was real, grounded, and incredibly valuable. For those who couldn’t make it live, I strongly recommend watching the recording. There’s so much value in there, and I guarantee different things will click for you depending on where you’re at in your journey right now. 😎 Feel free to send him a thank-you message and connect with him. 📱 904.314.2911 📸 Eric's Instagram Thank you all for showing up the way you did. Seriously. This is why this community exists. 🙏🏽 Feel free to share your feedback if you’d like.

Hey Everyone, Happy Thursday! I hope you’re crushing this week! I wanted to share something I have been thinking about a bit recently: the human need for meaningful work and creative expression. If I recall correctly, several prominent intellectuals have discussed this / written about it. I think I first came across the concept while reading Noam Chomsky, back in my university days… There was an interesting and very cruel Nazi study I read about in Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” He described how, in a concentration camp, the prisoners were made to move a huge pile of dirt every day from one end of the camp to the other. There was absolutely no purpose to this work, and the task was never complete because every day they were forced to move it again. After a while, some of the prisoners became mentally ill and/or suicidal. The meaningless task (likely compounded with everything else in their environment) literally pushed them over the edge into insanity. That got me thinking again about meaningful work, and its essentialism for our mental, emotional and spiritual health. Would you agree with me that having meaningful work is absolutely essential for human beings, and that without it, we are headed for a dark place? Let me tell you a bit of a story… After I graduated high school, I got my first job, as I decided to take at least a year off before going to college. I worked at a nearby car wire harness factory. Being in Canada, the working conditions were certainly decent – it was clean, the employees got quarterly or bi-annual raises, health benefits, even their birthday off paid! Thus, it was much better than factory jobs in many parts of the world… That said, I remember the nihilism in the place, especially amongst the long-term employees. Several of them had that ‘soulless look’ in their eyes, literally, as they’d extend a wire to cut, load a machine, or assemble a harness for the millionth time. There were also plenty of chain smokers, and a large number of people just looked unhappy in general as they ground through day after day, year after year, at that place. My heart wept for them, and for people around the world who are stuck in such jobs.

I’ve listened to Jocko Willink on YouTube sporadically over the years (info about him here: Jocko Willink - Wikipedia) and I’ve always liked the following quote from him: “Discipline equals Freedom.” He even wrote a book with that title (which I have yet to read, along with so many other great books). To onlookers, discipline might appear like suffering / an overly-restrictive way of living. However, applying strict protocols to oneself, as Jocko argues, is actually liberating. Here are some examples: If I am disciplined about my diet and exercise, I will achieve freedom from chronic diseases, medication, being a complete wreck by the time I am in my 70s, etc. If I am disciplined about saving money, building my own business and investing, I will eventually achieve freedom from financial burden and reliance on employers to survive. If I am disciplined regarding my education, I will be free from having to work menial, entry-level jobs forever. Etc.… Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but you get the point. Putting in the work now creates freedom in the future. Inputs equal outputs, as I’ve read both in this Skool and elsewhere. What’s your opinion? Do you agree with Jocko regarding his claim that ‘discipline equals freedom’? How has discipline made you free? How do you see it freeing you in the future? How strict should one be, in your opinion? When should we break the rules and promises we set for ourselves and just ‘live a little’ (many people have told me to do that over the years, haha🤣)? On a related note, I often like to apply what I call the ‘zero policy,’ for lack of a better term. This reduces ambiguity regarding things, such as eating sugar or drinking alcohol. If I simply follow a ‘zero sugar lifestyle’, there is no ambiguity regarding how much I should eat, should the opportunity arise. ‘Moderation’ is ambiguous, and doesn’t work. For some people, it could be one sweet per week. For others, it could be two per day. Zero is zero – simple, clear and liberating.