WEEK 72: FIRST PRINCIPLES

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): In W70 I showed you a framework about how to take on any monumental task, ie achieve your dreams. I wanted to add a step in the process from something I learned from Elon Musk, one of the leading entrepreneurs on the planet. 

I read this from an article written by James Clear where he discussed a principle Elon Musks applies to solve complex problems called First Principles.

Elon explained the core principle in an interview with the internet entrepreneur, Kevin Rose.

I think it is important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. The normal way we conduct our lives is we reason by analogy. (When reasoning by analogy) we are doing this because it's like something else that was done or it is like what other people are doing - slight iterations on a theme.

First principles is kind of a physics way of looking at the world. You boil things down to their fundamental truths and say, " What are we sure is true?"...and then reason up from there.

Somebody could say, "Battery packs are really expensive and that's just the way they will always be...Historically, it has cost $600 per kilowatt hour. It's not going to be much better than that in the future."

With first principles, you say, "What are the material constituents of the batteries? What is the stock market value of the material constituents?"

It's got cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, some polymers for separation and a seal can.Break that down on a material basis and say, "If we bought that on the London Metal Exchange what would each of those things cost?"

It is like $80 per kilowatt hour. So clearly you just need to think of clever ways to take those materials and combine them into the shape of a battery cell and you can have batteries that are much , much cheaper than anyone realizes."

-Elon Musk

So how can first principles be used in the Leap Year process? Where does it fit in the framework of achieving monumental tasks? Let me show you below:

Step 1: Resist nothing, welcome everything by deepening awareness. Be present, as presence allows you to maximize the creativity in every moment.

Step 2: EMBRACING, or cultivating your Soft Zone. Sit with, observe, and use uncomfortable feelings to your advantage.

Step 3. Apply First Principles. Break the chain of thinking of what has been done before, and what others are doing. Boil things down into their fundamental truths and ask what are we sure is true? Then work up from there. 

Step 4: Break the difficult task down into simple steps, so you can take actions on a consistent basis.

Step 5: Iterate and focus on systems in order to make progress. 

Step 6: Gather regular feedback to ensure you are still on the path to achieving your greatest outcome. I have learned what you do not track, you can not change. Thus take the time to gather regular feedback in order to ensure you are still on the right path. 

Want to follow through and achieve amazing things through the Leap Year process? Use the steps in the framework to take the consistent steps to achieving your dreams. 

What Went Well?

Converting email accounts, sick, dealing with the bureaucracy of the Brazilian and Chinese governments to acquire a visa, and dealing with the daily challenges of everyday life and still completing the weekly task!

What is something we can improve? What actions can we take next week?

Tell people when you are tired, as this can help them understand if you snap at them inadvertently. Telling someone this also makes you more aware of your state, so you avoid making rash decisions. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Sacrificing a good night of sleep. SLEEP = GOOD. 

WEEK 71: RESIST NOTHING, WELCOME EVERYTHING

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Every week I have been writing the regular Leap Year post, but also have been writing an additional post in the site Medium. There is a difference of 30 weeks between the two and this week both ideas revolved around the same topic.

Dane Maxwell is one of the founders of The Foundation and a multi-million dollar software entrepreneur. They teach people how to solve massive pains in a niche market by creating software. A big part of their education deals with deals mindset. 

You might be thinking WHY is mindset needed to build software? Well, it actually has a huge part, as a majority of the people in the course have no idea how to code or even go into markets they have no expertise in to find massive pains to solve through software.

These challenges deal with the unknown, and you know from previous posts, the unknown fosters doubt, anxiety, and fear. That is why Dane and the lovely people at The Foundation have come up with a phrase which helps their students push past these uncomfortable emotions. Well what is the phrase?

RESIST NOTHING, WELCOME EVERYTHING.

Instead of resisting or trying to change the situation, you allow yourself to see to be fully present in the moment. This in turn, allows you to assess and ask better questions to deal with the current situation. 

Think about it, how did you act the last time you were presented with an unfavorable situation? Did you try to change the outcome? Or, even worse, did you work yourself up to the point you became super frustrated? 

I have been there, and it happened this week. My wife and I had to go into Sao Paulo (1.5 hr drive) to the Chinese consulate to legalize some documents to start the process of getting our visas. We have been gathering documents for the last two months from two countries, getting them notarized, and thought we had done everything properly. Unfortunately we had not.

We arrived at the consulate and got introduced back the shock of no lines in Chinese culture. Once we fought our way to the front, we were told in broken Portuguese we were missing another requirement. Another requirement? 

This is where we became a little frustrated. Questions and accusations started to surface and tempers and tears started to emerge. To make a long story short, we had to get our US diplomas translated to Portuguese so the Brazilian government would authenticate them, which in turn would allow the Chinese Government to legalize them.The whole situation caused the morning to feel wasted and non-productive. 

Reflecting back, we were trying to change and resist what was being presented to us. We kept fighting the situation, and it only caused us more stress and frustration.

This ties back to what Dane said

RESIST NOTHING, WELCOME EVERYTHING.

Although it was not easy to hear we had more work to do, we could have taken a step back and assess the new situation to determine the next steps to move us forward.

This dovetails with something I read off the site Medium this week. The article identified a question the late Zig Ziglar, salesman and motivational l speaker, used to ask himself daily. 

WILL REACHING THIS GOAL BRING ME CLOSER TO OR FURTHER FROM MY MAJOR OBJECTIVE IN LIFE? 

I actually broke this down even more to fit the Leap Year process

DOES THIS ACTION TAKE ME CLOSER OR FURTHER AWAY FROM THE LEAP YEAR PROCESS? 

The path to your dreams will be difficult and challenging and there will be many decisions to make.  Should I bypass the weekly task? However, the answer to this question will determine your progress or lack there of.

Going back to our earlier example we could have taken Dane's advice to be fully present in the moment, and then ask if our actions take us closer or further away from our ultimate outcome?

Is this easy, no! However, you will strengthen your ability to do his over time by incorporating this two step strategy when presented with unfavorable situations.  Which in turn, will help you accelerate your growth on the path to achieving your dreams.

What Went Well?

There were more daily challenges to attend to, as work started back this week. However the weekly tasks was completed!

What is something we can improve? What actions can we take next week?

I have been meditating this week on Winnie the Pooh and received a great piece of advice to "Let Tigger be Tigger." I often times try to change the actions of those around me, but this only causes me more stress and frustration.

I want to observe others actions, not judge them by resisting nothing, welcoming everything. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Trying to change the actions of others.

WEEK 70: FRAMEWORK FOR ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): This week I am going to come full circle and tie in all the ideas I have been writing about in the past eight weeks. Below is a list of topics I have written about recently:

W63: Embrace. 

W64: Unknown, no clarity produces uncomfortable feelings. 

W66: 100% commitment.

W68: Embracing all situations, cultivating the Soft Zone. 

W69: Break monumental tasks into simple steps you can take on a consistent basis. Iterate and focus on systems, or processes, to make progress. Gather regular feedback to ensure you are on right path.

An AHA moment hit me when I saw the list of topics this week! Can you see it?  

Let me help. The Leap Year process has help me work through many difficult situations and make sense of some pretty abstract ideas, ie how to pursue and discover what you are passionate about in the face of everyday challenges. I thought I was writing about separate ideas in the past eight weeks, but I can see I was creating a framework to deal with taking on any difficult task.  

I have mentioned before the path to achieving your dreams will be unclear at times. This lack of clarity will cause uncomfortable feelings; doubt, hesitation, confusion, panic, anxiety, stress, procrastination, and fear. What I have learned is it is necessary for you to feel these on a consistent basis. They are a natural part of the process of achieving amazing things, as you are learning and growing from your previous self. 

It took me about 70 weeks of research, experimentation, failure, and success to clarify this framework, but here are the steps below you can take to achieve your dreams!

Step 1: Resist nothing, welcome everything by deepening awareness.

You do this by shining more light on the present moment. I have learned what you resist grows and decreases awareness so you see less. Where as, what you welcome and EMBRACE increases awareness so you see more. 

This is because you are able to assess situations and ask better questions when you are fully present. Where as, if you are focused on trying to control the situation you block out other information and are not able to see the opportunities in front of you. 

All you have to do is take a deep breath to start the process. This allows you to release what was, and be present to what is, as presence allows you to maximize the creativity in every moment. 

Step 2: EMBRACING, or cultivating your Soft Zone. 

To fully embrace situations, cultivate your Soft Zone. Sit with, observe, and use uncomfortable feelings to your advantage. Do not try to avoid or change uncomfortable feelings, sit with them, observe them, and use them to enhance your creativity. 

For example, be ok feeling nervous before talking in front of others. Do not try to change it, use it to your advantage. Nerves actually make you alert, so embrace that energy to power your speech.

Step 3: Break the difficult task down into simple steps, so you can take actions on a consistent basis.

Abstract or monumental tasks will always seem difficult unless you break it down into simple steps you can take on a consistent basis. Impossible things seem possible, once you take those actions consistently. 

Step 4: Iterate and focus on systems in order to make progress. 

Focusing on goals are great to plan success, but focusing on the systems, or the process, will help you achieve it!

Step 5: Gather regular feedback to ensure you are on the right path. 

I have learned what you do not track, you cannot change. Thus take the time to gather regular feedback in order to ensure you are still on the right path. 

What went well?

On vacation, no set schedule, but still completed the weekly task.

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

I have set out to be 100% committed to certain areas of my life this year; family, body, The Foundation, and The Leap Year process. I have already been tested and have not been able to be fully committed. Perspective is key here and I want to view situations that test my commitment as opportunities to strengthen my commitment, not a deterrent. 

What is something to avoid next week? (Add to DO NOT DO LIST)

Energy takers. I am learning to identify activities which zap my energy and steal me of the most valuable commodity, time. 

 

WEEK 69: BREAK MONUMENTAL TASKS INTO SIMPLE STEPS

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W39 post into the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM in study. I plan to turn those small WTs into Grateful Time, where I look to see what I can be grateful for in those situations. For example, last week I thought how great it was to be able to access information so freely. The continual process of learning new things is much easier than it was 10 years ago.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Last week I discussed the importance of cultivating the Soft Zone in order to achieve your dreams. It requires you to sit with, observe, and use uncomfortable feelings to your advantage. 

I want to go a step further this week and solidify the next steps you need to take in order to truly EMBRACE anything in order to make it easier to complete.

The first step is to always have a bias towards action. I learned this from Dane Maxwell and Andy Drish from The Foundation. There have been many times throughout my Leap Year process where I did not know what to do next, but in those times of uncertainty, I always decided to act. Even if it was a small step, the momentum created helped me move closer to finishing my book. Funny thing, is doors that I did not see before or people I had never expected to meet suddenly appeared, just by taking action.

Second, break complex ideas into simple parts. I have been teaching advanced math to high school students for well over 13 years now, and have learned students are more apt to take on difficult problems when you break it down into simple parts. For example, derivatives become much easier to work with when you look at then as a process that involves, slope, limits, and their basic rules. They are able to see it not as a complex whole, but as a combination of simple parts. 

The same is true about the Leap Year process. It is a little hard to conceive how you will pursue and identify what you are passionate about and achieve your dreams in the face of everyday challenges. However, using the structures within the Leap Year process can help you break down this monumental task into simple steps you can follow on a weekly basis.

Third, is to iterate and focus on systems to make progress. I learned this from James Clear, who writes on behavioral phycology. He wrote a great article where he showed great results can be achieved if you focus solely on the systems or processes, rather than the end result. Additionally, the great folks at The Foundation ingrain in your mind to keep iterating the process over and over to improve it. The first time you do something it will not be perfect, probably far from it. However, the more you do something and modify the process the better it will become. 

In the Leap Year process, that means you focus on completing the weekly task and complete your PER week in order to identify what you can modify to improve the progress from week to week. I can guarantee you will produce amazing results if you can do this on a consistent basis. 

Lastly, you need to gather regular feedback to ensure you are on the right path. This is crucial as you might have intended to go one way in the beginning and you focus all of your energy on achieving this result, but come to find out it is not where you actually wanted to be. Thus, it is important to gather regular feedback from yourself and others to ensure you are on the right path. 

For me, I like to have regular meetings with the most important individuals in my life on a weekly basis to see what has gone well, but also to see where I can improve. In the Leap Year process, that it is why it is important to recorded your PER week so you can identify what went well, what you can improve, and what to avoid to accelerate your progress. 

What went well?

Weekly task completed and clarifying a structure to EMBRACE and deal with any difficult tasks. 

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Continue to be fully present in conversations with others. Facing them directly and giving them my full attention. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Thinking about the next thing, when talking to someone. 

WEEK 68: HAPPY NEW YEAR & THE SOFT ZONE

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W38 post into the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM instudy. I plan to turn those small WTs into Grateful Time, where I look to see what I can be grateful for in those situations. For example, last week I thought how great it was have free time on vacations to enjoy with my wife and Tae.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Welcome to 2017! Wow, 2016 was full of some amazing events...first manuscript done, book cover made, starting software company, getting in best shape of my life, all thanks to the Leap Year process. Can not wait to see what 2017 has in store! 

I wanted to dive deeper into a topic I have mentioned before in previous posts and it deals with the idea of EMBRACING challenge. In W63 I explained you have to be ok with uncomfortable feelings in order to embrace challenge and today I want to clarify this a little more. I have gained this knowledge from Josh Waitzkin from his book The Art of Learning. Josh discusses a strategy which can help maximize the creativity in every situation, either positive or negative, and he calls it the Soft Zone.

What is the Soft Zone you might ask? The Soft Zone is the ability to sit with, observe, and use uncomfortable feelings to your advantage. Now Josh is a world champion chess and martial arts competitor and has to deal with many players who did not play by the rules. At higher levels, these competitors could easily get under neath the skin of any novice player, and cause them to loose control. This would allow them to take advantage of the over extension and easily go in for the attack. 

Josh explained the story of match in martial arts where he had to go against an individual who head butted his opponents, not allowed in competitions, subtly until they opened themselves. He lost the first match when he lost his composure after being head butted numerous times with the referee not seeing it. Josh could not take it anymore and rushed his opponent with a mad fury and opened himself up for a series of attacks which led to him loose the match. 

After his anger subsided, he reflected on while he lost his composure and decided he had two choices. One, say this was a happen chance occurrence and believe all competitors are not like this and continue. Thus not changing his training routines. Or two, decide to dive deeper and learn from going up against less than fair opponents. 

He chose the latter and decided to train with an individual at his gym who was known for being aggressive and not following the rules. It took about a month of continual poundings, but Josh started to realize his partner only used dirty moves to get underneath his skin. His foundation was not that great, but he was just superb at using cheap tricks to irritate Josh so he would open himself up for easy attacks. Once Josh realized this he could see his partner move in slow motion and could now see everything coming from a mile a way. The training matches started to shift and Josh was able to thwart all of his partners tricks and was easily able to defeat him. After a few sessions of this, the partner said he was hurt or found other partners he could easily take advantage of. 

Josh learned a very valuable lesson from his training and it actually improved his overall martial arts abilities. The lesson was to embrace uncomfortable feelings. Going deeper, he learned to sit with, observe, and use them to his advantage. Instead of trying to avoid all the dirty moves and not getting thrown into the mats, Josh took the punishment until he could seem them in slow motion. Then he was able to use this to thwart the attacks and then use them to his advantage. 

We often times try to avoid uncomfortable feelings at all costs. We don't want to feel nervous before talking in public. We don't want to be wrong in front of a group of people. Or we avoid difficult people as this takes us out of our comfort zone.

Being ok with uncomfortable feelings means you will sit with, observe, and use them to your advantage. If it serves you use it to fuel your creativity, if not, then drop it. This is what the Soft Zone is. 

You do not have to go to your local martial arts studio and find a partner who will pummel you using deceiving tricks to learn this lesson. Furthermore, you do not have to enter major competitions as well. You can cultivate the Soft Zone with any situation where you might feel uncomfortable. The first reaction will be to avoid it, but try to sit with, observe, and then use it to your advantage. 

For example, I would always try to calm myself down before giving a speech in front of strangers. I would try breathing slowly and change my breathing patterns to avoid these feelings. Recently I have embraced them and just sat there with my nerves, as they are telling me I am alive and alert. This in turn helps me turn these feelings into energy for my speech. This perspective of sitting and not trying to change the feelings has allowed me to start using them to my advantage and cultivate the Soft Zone.

So the next time you feel uncomfortable, sit with, observe, and use them to your advantage to help you grow in ways never thought imaginable. 

What went well?

Weekly task completed and cultivating the Soft Zone to help me deal with uncomfortable situations. 

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Be fully present when talking to someone. I always feel I have one foot out the door to my next appointment when talking with someone. I want to make a conscious effort of facing someone when I talk to them so I can be fully present and listen.

What is something to avoid next week?

No being present during conversations. 

WEEK 67: STREAKS

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W37 post into the site Medium on Wednesday at 6 PM instudy. I plan to turn those small WTs into Grateful Time, where I look to see what I can be grateful for in those situations. For example, last week I thought how great it was to be able to have have extended vacations. We have had the abundance to spend a whole week at the beach. 

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions):  Merry Christmas everyone. I am writing to you from the beach this week and wanted to share two powerful things I learned.

First learning came from using the Streaks app. It is a simple app which tracks and gives you analytics on up to six behaviors or actions. For example I have told myself I need to drink more water each day for the last year, but only would keep track of my water consumption in my head. Problem is this is not the only thing I have to keep track of during the day. Thus, by the end of the day I would only have a rough idea of how many glasses I drank. Did I drink eight glasses a day consistently. NO! 

However, I was totally surprised to see I was drinking maybe four or five glasses a day once I started using he Streaks app. Wow! Now a hidden bonus was my sleep improved, just by drinking eight glasses of water a day consistently. I was very tired after sleeping 7.5 hours of sleep before monitoring my water consumption, where as now, I can sleep seven hours of sleep and feel much more refreshed. 

The key lesson I have learned is 

"What you do not track, you can not change." 

No matter how good or bad you think you are you will have no idea how to improve until you get a sense of where you are at. This can be applied to your Leap Year process as well. 

Now there will be times when you feel like NOT completing your weekly task and think it will not make a difference. However, if you track how many weeks you complete them consistently then you will be able to identify why you are either making progress or not. For example, you will make more progress and see significant results if you complete 10 weeks in a row, rather than being sporadic and completing the weekly task one week and then taking a week off. 

The Streaks app can help you with this as well. I have programmed completing my weekly tasks in as one of my activities and it pops up every Sunday to ask if I have completed my weekly task.

The second main idea I learned this week came to me while I was at the beach with my family and it deals with perspective. Our trip to the beach started out on the wrong foot, as the rental car I booked said it had enough room for seven people and come to find out it only seats five. I showed the agent the advertisement, but they said it was wrong. Argg!! Next, I was dealing with figuring out why we were not getting internet on our cell phones, even after I had paid. This was all done in Portuguese, so you can guess this only compounded the problem when I could not understand everything the representative was saying. Lastly, we had to go to the hospital to remove Tae's stitches before we left for the trip, and we waited over an hour just to remove three of them. 

To say the least, I was quite frustrated before we even left. This frustration carried over once we arrived to this amazing beach. I did not know it, but I had a perspective of 

"What could go wrong now?" 

Funny thing is that is all I saw. From Tae not listening to us, or my wife being upset at something, or me thinking the internet was not up to standard, and on and on. The first day continued like this until I was swimming in the ocean with our nanny's two daughters, who have never been to the beach, and time seemed to slow down. I could see the droplets of water coming down on us while we were playing in the water and thought how amazing it was to be here, right now, in this position. 

After this I changed my perspective to one of gratitude and started to see things differently. I was much more grateful for being able to provide this opportunity for the girls, my wife, and Tae. I was grateful to look out at the beach and ocean every morning when I wrote, and just thankful for all the great things in my life. 

I am reminded of a post I wrote earlier where all you to change your perspective is to change the phrase "I have to..." to "I get to..." So the next time you see things in a negative light or catch yourself judging things constantly, change you perspective by saying "I get to..." instead of "I have to..." Hopefully you can be present to the current situation and see things in a different light. 

What went well?

Weekly task completed while traveling and on vacation. New schedules and routines, but carved out time to complete the weekly task.

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?

Cultivate a sense of gratitude in all situations by changing the phrase "I have to..." to "I get to..."

What is something to avoid next week?

Judging things, people, or outcomes.