January 2025 Shorts

January 1st, 2025

Rebel against weakness.

Develop a:

- strong body
- resilient mind
- unwavering spirit
- ferocious love
- unquenchable curiosity
- indomitable will
- relentless courage

Capability is the mark of a true rebel.

Reject your humanity.
Miss out on creating instead of consuming.
On embracing discomfort and finding growth.

Follow blindly.
Miss out on asking questions.
On marveling at the magic around you.

Be complacent.
Miss out on finding meaning in suffering.
On fighting for your life.

Or
reclaim that fire within you
and live life ablaze!

To remain human:

- Choose inquiry over obedience
- Choose connection over isolation
- Choose experience over convenience
- Choose thinking for yourself over being handed answers

It takes courage to be human.

January 2nd, 2025

Give in today
and you'll see that it's not robots who will replace humans
but humans who think like robots.

Keep it simple:

Think - Creation comes from thought
Train - Momentum comes from experimentation
Reflect - Validation comes from assessment
Repeat - Habit comes from consistency

You addiction to "doom and gloom" will create a life of one.

Choose wisely the mental paths you walk along.

January 3rd, 2025

Can you describe your philosophy on life in one sentence?

This is mine right now:
Search for meaning in a meaningless world and act on it to change yourself and the world.

Will revise as I continue the journey!

Growth is a form of change.
Change involves risk.
Risk requires courage.
Courage requires hope.

Hope to grow.

Your individuality is of utmost importance.

Some of the challenges you face maintaining your individuality:
- social conformity
- technological dependency
- physical decline

What you can do:
- Build a strong body
- Build a resilient mind
- Create an independent life
- Craft a purpose-driven spirit

At the end of the day, you can only maintain what you're prepared to defend.
Become capable!

January 4th, 2025

A strong body creates a strong mind, which creates a stronger body.
A beautiful and necessary cycle.

Stay on top of the things that are a threat to your way of life.
Control comes from knowledge.

Technology doesn't have to dehumanize you.

Maintain your ability to:
- feel: everything.
- think: critically.
- choose: authentically.

Have standards you want to maintain when you use any tool or resource.

January 5th, 2025

One of the most immediate things we need also takes a long time to grow:

A resilient mind.

Here are 3 daily tasks you can do to craft an unbreakable mind:

1. DO UNCOMFORTABLE THINGS
   Stuff happens. Most of the time we grow when we're put into tough situations and create a way out of it. But, we don't have to wait for these situations to arise. We can seek discomfort in small ways every day to force ourselves to question our beliefs, come up with solutions, reaffirm personal philosophies and create new opportunities.

2. BUILD EMOTIONAL SELF-RELIANCE
   Learn to understand and lean into your emotions. Each and every day assess how you feel during and after specific events. The first step to building emotional self-reliance is awareness of your emotions. We run on auto-pilot so much of the time that we sometimes need to create space to generate internal dialogues with ourselves as a mode of understanding ourselves.

3. CRAFT A BELIEF SYSTEM
   Each and every day build or break down your belief system. It is the one thing you can create for yourself and have mastery over. A belief system isn't something you can build once and forget. It is something that you will always be crafting. It is a system of systems. It is something that requires reflection, repair and constant construction. Use each action you take to edit your belief system.
   
   The things that are worth their weight are often the hardest to achieve. Keep at it!

It’s so easy to dread.
It’s so easy to regret.
It’s so easy to hate.
It’s so easy to avoid.

Easy is unattractive.

We are only inspired by what dares us to grow.

January 6th, 2025

We become aware of the things we need
at exactly the time we decide to look for them.

Awareness is closely linked to intention.

Reintroduce scarcity into your life.

It was a main driver of evolution for thousands of years.

Nowadays, we live in a society of abundance:
- food availability
- warmth
- clean water
- shelter
- nutritional variety

It's an amazing thing.
But, you're too comfortable.
Your body and mind need discomfort to grow.
It's how you're built.

Here are some simple ways to add scarcity into your life:
- fast (intermittent, 1 day, 2 day, seasonal)
- temperature exposure (get out there when it's hot, wear less when it's cold)
- resist every available food (many are heavily processed for convenience)
- be more active (it's tough)
- be monotonous (every so often pull away from all of the stimuli and live simply and routinely)

It is important to set boundaries in an era of abundance.

Want to speak better?
Write more.
Want to write better?
Read more.

We communicate through speech and text. Your ability to communicate dictates your ability to persuade others, inform others and express yourself accurately.

No self reliant, independent individual speaks or writes poorly.

Read. Write. Speak. Impact.

January 7th, 2025

Every new beginning feels like a leap into the unknown, but it’s also where growth lives.

I moved a lot growing up. Our family relocated whenever my father got a promotion.

We navigated a new town. Made new friends. Created new memories.

I never realized how that programmed my brain to be adaptable to new beginnings until I became a personal trainer.

And a health coach.

And a teacher.

And a music producer.

And a boxer.

And a web designer.

And a full stack engineer.

And a writer.

I've learned a lot and it has only been possible because I've become accustomed to creating and learning from new beginnings.

Don't be afraid to start again. Trust yourself to grow from your experiences.

You keep looking for the next nutrition scapegoat.

Something, you didn't know about, are made aware and can blame your lack of health up until this point on.

Seed oils
Fasting
Protein-rich snacks
Fats
Fermented things

When a majority of what you consume is working against you, your little nutrition hacks won't save you.

Master the basics. Stop the side quests.

A stellar immune system is a real flex in an age of:

• superficial "quick fixes"

• medicine-first solutions

• low-nutrient foods

• supplement dependency

• indoor lifestyles

While people chase shadows, go chase the real thing. Move well, eat well and interact with the world!

January 8th, 2025

Would you rather own your life or have other people/things run it for you?

The small decisions you make today will decide.

Poor posture is quietly ruining your potential.

Bad posture:
- shortens life expectancy
- damages self-perception
- Limits performance and mobility
- signals weakness and lack of confidence
- hinders physical health (through wear and tear)

Let's look at some ways to improve this:

PHYSICAL CUES
When I train clients on posture I use some of the following cues:
"Shoulders back"
"Tall chest"
"Chin in"
"Tight core"
"Press into the ground as you walk"
 
Try saying some of these as you look at yourself in the mirror and imagine you're trying to touch the ceiling with just your head while keeping your feet planted on the ground.

CORRECT POSITIONING
Ask yourself, "Where do I spend most of my time physically?"
Your desk chair?
Your couch?
Your bed?

REMINDER: Sitting is one of the worst things you can do for your physical and mental health.
First, think, "Can I stand or avoid sitting in these environments?"
A standing desk?
Limiting couch time?
Avoiding TV in bed?

And, if you have to sit, what is the optimal position?
- A straight back
- Engaged core
- Shoulders resting
- Feed planted on the floor
- Elbows and knees at 90 degrees
- Neutral neck (no leaning)

BETTER MINDSET
Correct posture exudes strength and promotes self-ownership.
A broad chest promotes confidence.
A neutral neck with a slightly raised chin tells you and everyone around you that you "look up".
When you look at yourself in the mirror, you see someone that is open instead of closed off.
When you walk, your stride is longer and firmer.

Do everything with purpose. Stand with purpose. Sit with purpose. Walk with purpose. Live with purpose.

Open up. How can you change if you don’t receive new information?

January 9th, 2025

It’s not that you’re not smart, you’re unskilled.

Googling is a skill.
Prompting is a skill.
Socializing is a skill.
Researching is a skill.
Awareness is a skill.
Reflection is a skill.
Hoping is a skill.
Acting is a skill.

Build up your skillset to learn more.

Then pick the right tool for the task at hand.

Master tools or be replaced by them.

And, by mastery, I mean, truly understand new tools so you can figure out how to implement them in your life in a way that allows you to continue unique, authentic work that is worth something to yourself and others.

You're afraid of AI, because you don't understand it.

Solving the mystery behind something, brings the thing out of the darkness and into a very unflattering, obvious light.

Learn the things you don't understand and are afraid of. Make them ordinary.

Push your limits.
Fear never knowing fear.
Be curious of your potential.

January 10th, 2025

Wake up and get something done.
Set the tone.
Keep going.

If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.
Intuition matters.
Feel it out.
Decide.

And, if need be, find a different solution.

Never sacrifice what you stand for.

What actions did you take today that were based on choices you actually made yourself?

We talk about working out so much because activity and physical excellence is no longer THE way of life.

It is ONE way. But, today people can choose to be incredibly unhealthy and survive.

Not thrive.

But, survive.

In order to create meaningful change in your life you must act as though your fitness, nutrition and mental fortitude are necessities.

Raw milk.
Organic spinach.
Grass-fed meat.
Pasture-raised eggs.

We label what used to be the default.

What do we do about art in an era of AI?

Literature?
Music?

100% human-made rock album.
100% human-made photographic art collection.
100% human-made epic fantasy novel.

If this is what’s necessary to support creators who understand that creating isn’t prompting, it’s:
- plucking strings
- getting paint underneath your fingernails
- tweaking synths for the perfect sound
- writing terrible first drafts
- spending days, weeks, months on the smallest details

Then, let’s do it!

Remain human. Create authentically.

This post was 100% human-made.

January 12th, 2025

Keep asking, “what else do I have in me?”

If you feel like you’re stuck
gamify your life

Create challenges
Find milestones
Reward yourself
Go on the occasional side quest
Level up
And most of all:

Enjoy the game.

You aren’t seeing meaningful gains in the gym because you:
- lift for looks
- take too damn long
- look for short term satisfaction

Move on:
- lift for longevity
- time your exercises and rest periods
- have long-term goals

Examples:
Longevity workouts are ones that focus on the main movement patterns like:
- squatting
- hinging (deadlifting, swings)
- pushing (pushups, presses)
- pulling (pull-ups, rows)
- lunging
- rotation/anti-rotation
- carrying
- gait (sprinting, crawling)

Appropriate Rest
Lifting for power: rest 2 - 5 mins
Lifting for strength: rest 1:30 - 2 mins
Lifting for hypertrophy: rest 60 - 90s
Lifting for endurance: 30 - 45s

Long term goals:
- reduce joint pain (take increase in mobility, muscular strength and better movement patterns)
- be able to play with my kids (take cardiovascular and muscular endurance, agility, stabilization)
- regulate my stress levels (requires demanding efforts and weekly effort)
- be able to help in an emergency (might require carrying injured people, moving heavy things, running long distances, sustained focus)

A self reliant individual is someone who can use his/her body and mind effectively in various situations and be capable of finding the necessary resources when he/she is lacking.

Change it up.

Demand more from your body and mind.

January 13th, 2025

Victim or Victor. Your choice.

January 14th, 2025

Call to action
that inner child,
screaming for a chance
to discover something novel.

You can predict the future.

First, prime your mind:
- Understand your past (reflection, reflection, reflection)
- Understand the past of your community (your family, friends, or other people who affect you)
- Understand the history of your nation (and the world)
- Become tuned to recent events

Why?

Once you do, you will be more aware of the cycles and patterns that are created from our actions and the actions of others.

There are reasons why certain people come into power.
There are reasons why you finally got the job you wanted.
There are reasons why the economy does well.

The world is heavily predictive.

We can predict what microorganisms will do in a specific environment. We can predict what humans will do in a given situation.

Why is this important?

When you become more aware of the patterns and cycles that build your environment, you'll be more tuned to the actions that you need to take to create the life you want.

Self reliant individuals use their understanding of the inner workings of the world to shape their futures.

NVIDIA and OpenAI recently revealed their predictions for the advancement of AI.

Here are the next phases for AI and what you can do to stay relevant during these phases:

1. Generative AI (current)
Generative AI is where AI creates text, images, and videos from user input. Most AI apps you interact with are generative AI apps.

Stay relevant:
- Understand how to prompt effectively. This has to do with your ability to communicate. Deepen your ability to express your questions, queries, and clarifications.
- Use generative AI as you would a search engine. Aggregate information, understand it, get more specific, and deepen your understanding.
- position yourself as someone who has mastery over these emerging tools.

2. Agentic AI
Agentic AI or AI agents can act autonomously utilizing LLMs (large language models) and complex architectures or customizable blueprints to make decisions or solve complex problems. They will manifest as assistants or task managers. Booking vacations, supporting customers, secretarial work, and other similar tasks will be done by these agents with great efficiency.

Stay relevant:
- Humans will still be needed to maintain ethical, creative and authoritative positions for what is produced by agents. Be one of those people.
- Develop skills in AI interfacing, critical thinking, and AI supervision.

3. Physical AI
Physical AI is AI integrated with physical systems like robotics and other interactive hardware. Laborious and iterative physical tasks will be accomplished by agents using sensory data from the environment.

Stay relevant:
- Higher-order skills will take priority for humans. Humans need to be creative, have skills in supervision, and be able to collaborate, control and understand robotics and other physical systems where AI is integrated
- Have a deep opinion on the ethics surrounding AI. Many of today's positions surrounding the ethics of humans will shift to the ethics of humans alongside AI and robotics.

Regardless of your current career or job position, if you do not adapt and grow to understand the tooling and needs of the environment you live in you will be made obsolete.

Self-reliance is using your abilities to create the life you want. Be resourceful, understand your strengths and weaknesses, and become skilled in many areas.

Humans will prevail. Lean into what makes you uniquely human! You got this!

Turn doubt into skepticism.
Turn skepticism into hope.
Turn hope into courage.
Turn courage into action.
Turn action into reflection.
Turn reflection into curiosity.

This is how you turn a doubtful mindset into a curious one.

January 15th, 2025

Start the day
One task down
One small success

Set a tone. Build on it.

We always a have choice.
No matter how limited.

Own your life, by owning your choices.

Mimic your future self until you no longer see the difference.

The truly independent are those who:

• workout like their lives depend on it (because they do)

• understand their bodies and what to put in them

• have high energy

• know how to know

• can communicate to build relationships and attain resources

You are not free if you do not have command over yourself.

The foundation is freedom.

I’ve been rung out like a wet towel
left to dry in a cool, damp breeze
waiting for that single moment
when the the world stops spinning
and I can feel the stars.

Time to sleep.

January 16th, 2025

If you want to feel confident, fight.

• learn to throw a punch

• learn boxing footwork

• learn rhythm and tempo

• master your bodyweight

• enhance your cardio output

• learn how to make people miss

• build strong bones and tough skin

Do these things and you’ll end up wanting to advance in your ability to control your own body and protect yourself.

Gaining these skills translates to a posture and vibe that reeks of confidence and power.

Write your thoughts down. Talk about what you write with others.

We cannot understand ourselves in a vacuum.

You are built to overcome whatever you are going through.

Conjure yourself.

A lack of understanding stimulates a curious mind and scares off an intolerable one.

Be curious.

Steer your ship into the unknown.

Shake yourself out of that autopilot mentality.

Numbness wears off. When it does, do something invigorating!

Remind yourself what it feels like to live freely!

Who you look up to plays a big part in what your aspirations are.

Don’t just look up to anyone. Have standards.

You limit yourself by limiting what you hope for.

January 17th, 2025

There’s a huge difference between someone who cares about their work and someone who doesn’t.

• The attention to detail

• The cleanliness of their space

• The energy in every movement

• The curiosity with the unknown

• The way they carry themselves, with a sense of ownership and pride

You can’t fake these things. You either have passion or you don’t.

Find something you’re passionate about

OR

find a way to be passionate about what you’re doing!

January 19th, 2025

You’re never too old to learn a new instrument.

You’re never too old to find out what your body is capable of.

You’re never too old to find love.

You’re never too old to make it.

Get out there and do it.

January 20th, 2025

Being comfortable is temporary.

Discomfort will find you if you don’t first seek it out on your own terms.

To be self-reliant you must be self-sufficient and resourceful in each of the following aspects of life:

- Emotional
- Physical
- Intellectual
- Social
- Environmental
- Spiritual
- Professional
- Technological
- Creative
- Financial

How many are you proficient in?

We come into this life armed with potential.

Go to war with yourself.
Win.
Lose.
Doesn’t matter.

Do not watch your life pass you by without testing what you have within you.

January 21, 2025

If you can't help yourself you have no business helping others.

Build yourself up so you can be a reliable pillar others lean on.

Deep rest requires deep work.

Sleep well!

January 22nd, 2025

Be the hero you wanted as a child.

January 23rd, 2025

Stop trying to not die.
Start trying to live.

The two are not the same.

Every action you take or don't take incurs risk.

Life is risky business and acting to find resolution is how you absolve yourself of risk.

You’re a machine.
You build systems.
Create routines.
Analyze for performance.
Adjust based on data.

But, you’re also human.
You build communities.
Create hope.
Get lost in dreams.
Adjust based on emotion.

Don’t forget your humanity.

January 24th, 2025

Unintentional physical pain today, is surgery tomorrow.

Don’t ignore those lingering signals that something is not right with your body.

- correct form during exercise
- reduce time sitting
- be aware of your resting posture
- focus on joint mobility
- strengthen weaker muscles

You’re in control.

Seize the opportunity to fix your physical problems before someone else has to fix them for you.

Hope is best kept close to your heart.

Hold your head high,
Dig deep,
And stand tall.

There is no conquering those who refuse to surrender.

January 26th, 2025

Things go your way when you forge the way.

Get out there and make it happen for yourself!

If you aren’t prepared to defend your way of life, don’t be upset when it’s taken from you.

Take control.

January 27th, 2025

Until you can stand firmly on your own feet, you cannot bear the weight of others.

The things you take for granted now will be the things you lose tomorrow:

- family: communicate and appreciate
- health: maintain and prioritize
- wealth: build and invest
- sleep: quality over quantity
- time: use it wisely

You have to take an active stance on the things you hold dearly.

Life is a project of projects.

Some projects you collaborate on.
Others you must tackle yourself.

Those who understand how to build with others AND rely on themselves will create the life they want.

January 28th, 2025

No great story is made of a victim’s life.

Great stories are made from the tales of those who rise up against adversity and take control of their own lives.

Drop the role of the victim.

Rise up against yourself.

Failure sometimes signals an area for growth.
Other times it signals an area to avoid.

Know the difference.

Reflect on your failures and spend time building upon the ones that show you where to take the next step.

you’ve found her
someone to help you grow
someone to grow for.

— reminiscing

January 29th, 2025

Rise and start with:

- a rejection of doubt
- a small win
- setting a daily goal

Saying no to the doubts that rise as a result of the anticipation of the day, reframing the morning with a theme of success and driving towards a goal makes all the difference.

Some days you have to convince yourself you’re happy.

Other days you have to be okay with being sad.

And, when you actually feel happy, it’s like sunlight hitting your face.

Close your eyes and take it all in.

You are born dependent.

Part of your evolution is becoming independent.

Independence comes in many forms:

- physical: strength and coordination
- emotional: regulation and self-esteem
- cognitive: critical thinking and education
- financial: wealth and financial literacy
- social: relationship management and living independently

Gaining independence is one of the most important things we can do to grow and gain control over our lives.

January 30th, 2025

Stop.

Turn around.
Face your demons.

No more running.

If you drank coffee this morning and it was anything other than:

1. black
2. w/ a splash of milk/butter
3. espresso or similar

You not only detracted from the benefits of coffee, you created lingering harm:

- Caffeine boosts cognitive function while sugars lead to crashes
- Sugars, sweeteners and other liquids might dilute antioxidants found in coffee
- Coffee boosts metabolism while sugars, sweeteners, creams, etc. spike blood sugar and add calories to your drink

Most people use coffee to "wake up" or to energize, but if your coffee is really just "liquid dessert" you're not doing yourself any good.

How you start your day matters.

You won't see the light at the end of the tunnel if you don't look for it.

You have to hope.

The alternative is to spend life wandering in the dark.

January 31st, 2025

Your true perspective on life is displayed when you experience adversity.

You are who you are when you’re at your best AND worst.