Better Human - Dec 26, 2020
How To Win Friends & The Power of The Mind
Fellow Human,
I’ve been rereading How To Win Friends and Influence People, and it’s blowing my mind.
I read it ten years ago, and the difference in impact it’s having on my brain is profound. This is reaffirming the idea that I need to focus on rereading the best books of all time rather than focusing on the vanity metric of ‘new books read.’
I heard from a friend of a friend that this book is “common sense,” and everyone agrees on it, which I guess meant he believed it would be a waste of time to read it. (Apparently, he hasn’t even read it, lol.)
So if that’s the case, how many people apply these principles in their daily interactions with people?
How many people listen intently and focus on the other person? How many people are praising liberally and avoiding criticism as much as possible in their home life and workplace?
How many people are asking genuine questions of interest so they can get to know someone?
How many people sit and listen intently?
Well, in my experience, most people do none of this. Most are just waiting for their turn to talk. Most can’t even hold eye contact for more than a few seconds before checking their phone.
We all make many of these mistakes regularly when dealing with people.
I hope you’ll read it if you haven’t and reread it if you have.
-Colin
“There is one all-important law of human conduct. If we obey that law, we shall almost never get into trouble. In fact, that law, if obeyed, will bring us countless friends and constant happiness. But the very instant we break the law, we shall get into endless trouble. The law is this: Always make the other person feel important.”
-How To Win Friends and Influence People
Something I Improved This Week
Mindset going into allergy season
I started getting a terrible case of Cedar Fever after moving to Texas. It’s been a bit better each year, but it still consistently knocks me out each winter.
I decided this year I’d had enough.
A couple of days ago, it struck—constant eye-itching, weakness, stuffy nose, etc.
So I kicked my positive affirmations, visualizations, and breath meditation practice into high-gear. I also started expressing gratitude for my health and for how I felt “great” even though I didn’t.
After taking it easy for two days, I’m on the upswing, feeling better and grateful for feeling better. I felt grateful for feeling better before I felt better and now that I feel better I’m grateful for feeling better.
In the past, I obsessed over how I felt. I dwelled in this negative state, constantly worrying about how long it would take to get better.
What I realized is how these negative thought patterns made it worse and my recovery longer.
Forget that.
This year, I decided it wasn’t going to happen.
The second my mind goes there, I direct it elsewhere. The second my hand rises to itch my eye, I stop it.
This is the power of the mind.
Something I Enjoyed This Week
Seeing the joy on my son’s face opening up his Lego Duplo set and us building it together.
Something I've Been Thinking About
How to improve online education, which in its current state tends to reward self-motivated learners. This is why most online courses fail most people—there are a sea of options yet little accountability, direction, and method.
My next venture, The Better Human School, is going to be focused on solving the online education model so more people can change themselves and lead better lives as a result.
Something Worth Watching
One of the Most Important Lessons of My Life by Kamal Ravikant
A short video with an impactful lesson about life.
Something Worth Knowing
I just started building this public spreadsheet full of my favorite resources.
I will continue to build this for years to come. If you have any game-changing bits of content you believe should go here, please leave a comment or email me and I’ll consider adding it.
Bookmark it and watch it grow!
A Big Idea
Your mind is the root of everything.
Have you thought about how your mind is the root of everything in your life?
It’s also the place that tells you whether you are happy or sad.
Every single thing you’ve ever done first originated as an electrical signal in your brain.
And every single thing you will ever do will start the same way.
Isn’t it ironic that few of us consider our thoughts and how they direct our lives?
Where is the “How To Think” class in traditional education?
Why don’t more people talk and think about controlling the mind?
Why isn’t it a common thing for us all to consider our thoughts and feelings and help each other improve?
Podcasts
YouTube
If you want different results you have to become a different person
A Life of Quiet Desperation: Why Following Society Ruins Your Life
Product Feature
Wild Elderberry Caps with Vitamin C and Zinc - I’m taking 2-4 of these a day and they are DEFINITELY helping me with allergy season.
Wild Multivitamin For Men and Women - WHOLE FOOD SOURCED - This took us a year to develop to our Wild standard. I had no idea it would be that difficult, but I’m happy we finally got it right.
Resouces
Free Skillshare Course 100 slots available: 📷 How To Start a YouTube Channel With Your Phone... Today... Now... And Why You Should!
The app I use to buy gold and silver bullion and keep it stored in vaults outside of the US: One Gold
Crowd Cow: One of my monthly beef suppliers - $25 off using this link
My new book is only $2.99 in the Kindle shop: 50 Tips For Real Food
Free Skillshare Course 50 links available: 🧠 The Productive Mind: How To Think About And Build Your Productivity Routine LINK
Who am I again? I’m a CEO - Entrepreneur - Father - Podcaster - Thinker - YouTuber - Writer - Obsessed with building better humans. Bio page
Thank you for reading… it means a lot to me…
If you enjoyed this issue, would you mind sharing it with someone you think will enjoy it as well? <3