The Exploration

“You never know what you have until it’s gone.” As I stood working my monotonous nine to five a few days ago, I started talking about music with my good friend. We got deep into conversation about a certain song to the point where we even pulled up the lyrics to dissect them. At that moment, I realized that all I wanted to do was to hear that song. I was so bored of the same music that played every single day that I felt like hearing that song just once would turn my day around.  After work, I instantly turned the song on in my car to listen to it. It was great, but not as great as I anticipated it would be. WHY? The scarcity effect . DEFINITION: Scarcity effect A cognitive bias that makes people place a higher value on an object that is scarce and a lower value on one that is available in abundance. When I couldn’t hear that song I wanted to, I craved it. I lusted to hear this one simple song. I felt like it could cure my craving. But as soon as I had the ability to hear the song ...

“A good example has twice the value of good advice.” As a kid, you are constantly being told what to do. You have parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, siblings, pastors, friends all giving you advice on how to behave. This is confusing. You don’t know what is right and what is wrong. You can only rely on what people tell you. Growing older allows you to gain more experience. You see how certain actions make people feel. You start to associate certain actions with certain responses. This gives you a better idea of how to act.  You are able to form your behaviors based on what you see, not what you are told. If people tell you to do something but don’t do that thing themselves, you will not do it. It’s simple human nature. I have seen the importance of good examples in my life. When I was a kid, there were many things my parents told me to do that I didn’t understand. I always questioned what they said in my head because I’m a deep thinker. But as I grew, I replicated exactly what my p...

“Luck is when an opportunity comes around and you’re prepared for it.” Want to have good luck? Then you need to prepare yourself for when it comes. The reason you are “unlucky” is because you have not prepared yourself.  Luck is a simple formula of 4 variables, 3 of which are in your control. Luck = Preparation + Attitude + Action + Opportunity The only aspect of this formula that you don’t control is the opportunity.  You may say “well, I never GET the opportunity.”  No, the truth is, you never RECOGNIZE the opportunity because you haven’t taken control of the other 3 pieces of the formula. Opportunities come by every single day. Lucky people recognize them, unlucky people don’t. Be lucky and take the opportunity. Let’s break down each part step by step. PREPARATION How do you know if you’re prepared? You don’t. Everybody wants a step-by-step guide of how they can prepare themselves for any opportunity that comes by. Sorry, but I can’t prepare you for life. Life just h...

“Sometimes you can’t pay it back so you just have to pay it forward.” The starting point was set further forward for me than others. I was blessed with two loving parents who cared constantly. They did and still do everything they possibly can for their kids. Because of this, I was given a head start. Never have I ever thought this as much as now. I used to think that my privilege was lacking compared to others. Now I have realized that my beginning was the best beginning imaginable. I am able to remember being loved unconditionally.  Kids go through a lot of stuff. They are always looking for answers. When I was a kid, my parents gave me those answers. I was given the opportunity to learn, to grow, to excel. Not everyone has those opportunities and I recognize that. Because of the life that was gifted to me, I must give back. I must pay forward the love I was given with love of my own. My parents showed their love to me with the work they put into raising me. They showed their lov...

  Seek to understand  “There is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own.” Water put inside of any container forms to the shape of its container. Ice, on the other hand, will not form into any container. But, with some change in condition, ice can become water. Therefore, it will form into the container it is in. Obviously a metaphor is buried in here: Ice=closed mind. Water=open mind. The reason this metaphor is perfect is because it shows how easily a mind can change. Every closed mind has the ability to be opened, just like all ice can form into water. But the conditions must change. A catalyst must be added into the equation to turn ice into water. The most interesting thing about the mind is that it can be its own catalyst. The mind has complete free will. It may dream as it wants, think as it wants, feel as it wants. There is no bound on what the mind can do. The mind can be opened to understanding just as easily as ice can be melted.  T...

“To influence a person is to give one’s own soul.” Epiphany comes when you realize that none of your thoughts are truly your own. Every single thought that has come to your mind has been influenced by some outward source. If you were trapped in a vacuum, you would not be able to think the way you do. Knowing this, ask yourself: WHO HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON ME? When the answer comes, figure out why. People have a grand influence for a variety of reasons. But in my life, the biggest influencers have been the people who push me to achieve my dreams. Pushing someone to achieve their dreams requires making them realize that they are better than most at something. The people that made a genuine effort to tell me I am good at what I love, are the people that had the biggest influence on me. This comes down to one of the simple human desires: THE FEELING OF IMPORTANCE. When somebody goes out of their way to make you feel important, you remember them. You remember the people who love yo...

“Boredom is perhaps the greatest villain on the quest to self-improvement.” WHAT IS YOUR DEFAULT ACTION? A default action is something you do when you are not actively trying to do anything. Your mind will naturally tell you to do this thing when you don’t have anything else to do. Does your hand naturally grab for the remote? Or the controller? Or the mouse? Or the phone?  Or do you reach for a book? Or a journal? Or your athletic shoes? Once you established what this action is, ask yourself: IS IT PRODUCTIVE OR UNPRODUCTIVE? More than likely if you have not thought about it before, your default action is unproductive. The majority of bad decisions stem from boredom. Too much down time will get you into trouble.  To combat this, you must structure your time strategically. I am not saying you must work 24/7, but when you have down time, give yourself actions you would like to complete. Each person has a dream, most have many dreams. Pinpoint what you can do to achieve each dre...