You rest in-between if you have to – like going for 12 reps on a weight where you can only bang out 8 with strict form – sure, you rest-pause until you get those last 4 reps out, never dropping the bar…
There’s times when you’ll get fed up, pissed off, frustrated, and feel like you’re moving at a snail’s rate.
But don’t ever quit.
The minute you quit going after something you want for yourself is the minute you’ve chosen to take your life, your free will…and put it in someone else’s hands.
Rest if you must, re-position yourself if you make mistakes…but don’t quit.
So I took the time out to browse through some of my old posts on here and realised it’s literally been almost half a decade since I’ve done a travel essentials post (feel old yet?).
Yeah.
Time’s have changed.
Let’s fix that.
For The Weekenders: Travel Essentials – The Sequel….
Technological advances over the past few years have made things insanely effortless when it comes to travelling – despite allowing us to have a severe dependence on that same technology.
The only thing that probably hasn’t advanced is airport security…at least not for the better. Who knows, maybe it’ll improve in the future.
Maybe…maybe not.
Anyway. Travel’s gotten easier. A lot easier.
Especially when it comes to electronics.
Travel Essentials 1 – No Strings Attached.
I remember the days of carrying a huge backpack for my photography equipment, numerous cables and cords attached to chargers, and bulky equipment.
With wireless, that’s all gotten so much….neater.
Most noticeably when it comes to headphones, or earbuds.
While I’ve always been neat in appearance, earbuds were always one sticking point that I just couldn’t master keeping tidy.
So naturally, when wireless earbuds and headphones came out, I was elated.
I’ve always been a fan of headphones over earbuds – largely because I have awkward ears that can’t seem to hold onto earbuds.
Plus, when it comes to working out, headphones just seem to stay on way easier.
But when it comes to travel, I strongly prefer earbuds – because they’re small…and easy to carry (like fitting into your pocket).
You get it – different things for different purposes. So when I’m travelling, if I know I’ll be working out, I’ll pack headphones in a carry-on bag, and earbuds in my pocket. If I had to choose in regards to price and quality, these are the ones I recommend…
There’s a plethora of reasons why I like these. Besides the insane amount of bass they provide, I’m a huge fan of listening to LoFi music on HiFi headphones – everything’s so clear, the sounds around you disappear.
They’ve got up to 40 hours worth of play time for music, and 45 hours of talk time, with standby time being 1000+ hours…but I think one thing I really love about them is their frequency response. If you know anything about music, you’ll know that a frequency response of 20Hz-20Khz allows for hearing everything the artist wants you to hear.
Combine that with their reasonable price and you’ve got a practical purchase that’s worth its weight in gold.
For earbuds, I recommend the TREBLAB X2 4.2 Bluetooth earbuds.
While not having as much play time as Bluedio, I do like the fact that they have a portable charging box. These workout really well during workouts where I don’t feel like the bulk of headphones, as they’re sweat-proof (meaning I’m not wiping headphones down with a gym towel).
Speaking of bulk, they’re easy to fit in your pocket whether it’s your jeans or coat – just be careful…sometimes they can get lost and you have to rummage (or maybe that’s just me).
They’ve also got a longer play time than others I’ve found which usually top out at 2.5 hours when you’re looking for something reasonably priced.
I’m also really keen on the fact that they come with different ear inserts so they fit everything from the smallest ears to those of Dumbo.
Need I say more?
Travel Essentials 2 – These Days, You Can Make Money Out of Thin Air.
I’m serious. With contactless payment cards, Google, and Apple pay, your money is floating around while you go about your day. If you’ve ever ridden the underground/metro and paid with the reloadable cards they issue, you’ve also probably at some point been too lazy to get your card out and have just pressed your wallet against the machine.
That’s great and all, but sometimes those same machines can accidentally take money from your bank cards as well.
So naturally, when you’re travelling, the same thing can happen if someone trailing behind you wants to make some extra cash for the day.
It’s one of the reasons why a few years back I decided to invest in an RFID wallet – it blocks readers from taking small amounts of cash off your cards.
Sleek. Small. Discreet. I love this one largely because I’m a minimalist.
Wallets have always had a tendency to be fat. Bulky. Cumbersome. Obvious. Just generally something that draws attention to itself when you don’t want it drawing attention to itself.
With plastic being used more and more to pay for things, wallets are now getting thinner. You grab a few cards, some cash, your spouse’s picture you’re currently in a love-hate relationship with, and you’re good to go.
I don’t really get why anyone would want pants that you have to try and get off with a chisel and hammer, but these things are popular – so much so that slim fit seems to fit like skinny fit (or maybe that’s just the size of my quads). Meaning you can see everything that’s in a person’s pockets (you know, if you don’t carry a handbag/manbag)
So when you come across something like the iMossi, you realise it’s a smart investment. What are you waiting for?
Travel Essentials 3 – Being Punctual is Important.
So it’s wise to make sure you have something that doesn’t need recharging.
Ditch the Apple Watch, the WearOS, and your mobile phone.
Society already has enough anxiety on its hands – should we really make being nervous about not knowing the time once your battery goes dead something else to worry about?
I’m a huge fan of wrist watches. Wrist watches that have “old-fashioned” batteries. You know, the ones that don’t need replacing but every 2-3 years? Yeah – Apple and Google ain’t got nothin’ on that.
Over the last decade or so, I’ve stuck with two brands…Freestyle and Nixon.
Why?
Because I don’t like taking off my watch.
If I want to go swimming, or jump in the shower, or go diving, maybe wash my car (while whispering sweet nothings into its…side mirrors)…I don’t like taking off something as important as that which keeps my time management on point.
Both Freestyle and Nixon understand those sentiments…because they make waterproof watches.
When I say waterproof, I don’t mean splashing around in a bird bath. I mean real, proper, deep diving watches.
This may seem like a pretty pointless feature but ask yourself this – if you can spend 10 grand on a Rolex that can get messed up if you get the slightest bit rough with it – why not spend less than 2/100ths of that on something that won’t crack under pressure?
I’m all for luxury, and only like to pin that word to things that deserve it…but when it comes to wrist watches…
A friend and I were discussing the meme culture that’s grown over the years and how really, when you think about it, there are an alarming rate of memes that older people would consider “dark/depressing humor”.
But let’s be honest…rather than focusing on that – isn’t that screaming a message loud and clear?
People’s human security in the developed world (like economic, for instance), is clearly not as great as politicians are pretending like it is.
We live in an age where we’re bombarded with advertising – it’s on YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, SoundCloud, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc, etc…you really can’t get away from it.
Advertisements quietly streamlined into your “social” media accounts, looking as if they’re part of your timelines or the videos you watch.
Don’t get me wrong – I get that ads were always around, especially on TV and radio, and I understand that services that offer free listening/watching need ads to pay for what they serve up to you, but these days it all seems like it’s so much more…intense.
Not in a good way – in a pushy way.
Ads that scream at you across the screen or through your ear buds with enthusiastic messages of “lease this! buy that!“.
…but the damn irony of it all is that half the time these messages are being pounded into a generation’s head that’s struggling just to pay the rent or have a nice holiday.
Ads are being pushed across as if every person being advertised to, has the disposable income to go and buy everything they’re told to – most of it being useless shit.
“Don’t have cash? Just use credit. Get yourself a store card,” they suggest.
Yeah alright, you get to drive a different car every so many months but…who the hell came up with the bright idea it’s cool to pay for something you have to give back and get penalized for overusing because you “went over your mileage” when you do give it back, because you fancied going on a road trip?
What I’m trying to say is, I feel like with the way the “developed” world has become so commercialized, older generations are coming down a little hard on the millennials as to why they don’t have their shit together.
Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008/9, we’ve been living in a time where every electronic device is practically blaring at people in their teens and 20s that they should be living life a certain way – then ironicallynot providing adequate income or opportunities for them to live those certain lifestyles.
When you’re in a job, standing your ground can sometimes mean you’re going to piss a few people off – whether you care or not is entirely up to you – but it can swing both ways.
Either you gain more respect, or your head gets closer to the chopping block.
I was raised to be one stubborn, head strong son of a bitch.
I’ve realized over the years it’s probably the biggest blessing in my life – A) because it sure as shit does help a lot when it comes to getting through my workouts….and B) because honestly, I probably would’ve abandoned the thought of being an entrepreneur long ago.
Circling back around to millennials – they get so much shit.
They really do. Especially from some baby boomers.
I remember watching a political talk with Trae Crowder some months back where the host of the show said “millennials are a very confused generation”.
…….
You’d be confused too growing up in a time where you witnessed the biggest financial downturn since The Great Depression of the 1920s.
Back when that happened you had people trying to cope with alcohol, suicide, and any other means.
These days you get people coping through substance abuse, depression, suicide….and then joking about serious life situations through fucking memes.
You really think that can’t tip either way?
Healthily pushing back or just turning completely nihilistic?
Which pretty much brings me around to the point that in order for things to start changing, people have to start standing their ground.
Coping is fine, but it’s only meant to be temporary.
Learning to stand your ground in life can have a huge impact – can you imagine if everyone was so disgusted with the way things are being run they pushed back?
Companies can’t fire everyone.
They’re already making getting a job feel like winning the lottery.
….or like money is something “optional”.
Then when you get the job, literally trying to condition you that the harder you work the better you are.
Even Machiavelli’s writings came to the conclusion you push a man too hard after a while he’ll feel like he has nothing left to lose.
There’s also the belief that millennials act entitled.
I wholly disagree with this.
Millennials don’t feel entitled – with globalization and the exponential growth in commercialization, they work more hours than earlier generations ever had to contend with, maybe stopping shy of people who worked in factories that supported the war efforts during WWII.
Despite having more “human rights” laws that have been put in place since that time.
You’ll need to if you really want to be in top form for the things suggested in this week’s For The Weekenders.
Let’s start.
For The Weekenders: Rhodes to Greece, Absinthe Gummy Bears, Vinho Fuelled Polo in Argentina…
There’s so many things to do in this life it’s a wonder why people ever say they’re bored.
Even though the weather’s been pretty crappy and cold in a lot of different areas, there’s always a sun behind the clouds and warmth beyond the cold.
Like in Greece.
Ahh, Greece…despite what the EU may say about it financially, it’s one of those places that you just have to love.
Which begs the question – who’s more rich – the country with the most financial stability, or the country who’s environment nourishes your heart and soul?
I’d say both.
Why can’t we just have both in one place?
Or more accurately…can’t, or won’t?
Whichever way you want to answer that question, in the end all roads lead to Greece – Rhodes, Greece, that is (see what I did there?).
So here’s what you’ll do. Say you’re taking a personal day…which is really a week, and charter a flight to Rhodes Airport. Don’t worry about packing too much here – just comfy clothes (linen? Maybe a nice light chambray weave?), and other bare essentials.
Check-in to Casa Cook Rhodes, and be escorted to your suite with private pool and terrace that you booked prior to arrival.
I seriously hope you brought someone along with you.
Complete with outdoor rain shower, premium quality mattresses (*wink*), a minibar, and an indoor whirlpool, you’ll find it easy to melt the jet lag away so you can enjoy your stay to the fullest extent humanly possible.
I recommend having a hot shower then going for a quick soak, before refuelling after a (not really at all that gruelling) flight over.
If you can get your play date to join you then hey, the more the merrier.
You’ll probably want to rest up for what lies in store – there’s a lot to do in Rhodes.
Or, if you’re feeling adventurous and athletic, play the night away – just remember to be ready in the morning.
“For what“, you ask?
A full day of sailing…duh.
Well, technically sailing…but mostly lounging, for you.
You’ll have a wonderful little skipper who’ll steer you through various bays and springs, while you lounge on the deck absorbing some seriously glorious sun waves, sipping something cool and refreshing, before convincing your play date to go for a swim, as naturally, while staying dry is great and all, things are much more fun in the water.
I’m thinking maybe Feta Lagoridani with a salad to start, a mixed grill platter to share for 2, and some Kataifi for dessert…naturally, polished off with an Espresso Highball.
You’ll need a couple of hours to digest all that food you stuffed your smug face with, so feel free to lounge on your terrace, before slipping into the pool for a late night swim with someone sexy.
I recommend sharing a carafe of Pathos, consisting of Metaxa Greek Spirit, Greek dry red wine, some seasonal fruit and traditional botanicals.
A private pool is important.
You want it private.
Why? (Are you really that dense?)
Without sugar coating it…so you can have some private time, of course – without some old retired lady exclaiming, praying for you, then proceeding to throw holy water at you and your special someone.
Nobody likes holy water thrown at them.
Besides being mildly cold (the temperature, not the act), it’s also just like…really inconvenient.
Plus, it kills the buzz from those absinthe gummy bears you made with the silicon mold and absinthe you brought along, in addition to all those “essential items” you stepped out to go shopping for when you touched down.
Wait – you didn’t do that?
You’ve never HAD those?
Jesus Christ…where have you been living? The great depression?
(the 1920’s one – not the 2008 one.)
Well, let’s fix that…for starters, you don’t have to buy them anywhere – plus, they’re not really that easy to buy.
So here’s how to make your own.
You’re welcome.
Absinthe Gummy Bears
Absinthe isn’t something that just has to be enjoyed via a cocktail.
If childhood favorites, and adult indulgences had a baby, it would be this exact gummy bear treat.
You’ll need a few things, but nothing that’s too much of a hassle to acquire:
1 Cup of Water
.5 Cup of Absinthe
A quality one.
.25 Cup of Sugar
1 Vitamin B2 Tab
Food Coloring (Green)
Silicon mold to make all this stuff into actual gummy bears
Take your water and pour it into a saucepan with no heat under it.
Now dust your gelatin into there.
You’ll have to be a little patient, allowing for your gelatin to bloom for about 10 minutes. Only after that, do you want to put some medium heat under it.
While you’re waiting for that to reach a boil, now would be a good time to take that Vitamin B2 tab I told you about and crush it into a powder.
Once you’re done with that, grab your sugar and food coloring, and dust them slowly into the mixture in your saucepan, letting it simmer until the sugar dissolves completely.
Take your saucepan off the heat, then go ahead and add your powdered B2 and absinthe. Stir everything up until it’s all mixed well and the B2 has dissolved completely.
Fair warning – these gummy bears may provide a hallucinogenic affect.
Just a tad.
(Unless that is, you’re that much of an asshole one actually flips you the bird.)
So don’t go overboard with them, and definitely don’t eat the whole batch. Everything in moderation.
Nonetheless, they’re a great treat to share with your play date when you’re outside lounging in the pool and listening to some choice music.
…and by choice music I mean this.
Not Katy Perry. Not for this mood (sorry, Katy).
If you’re tired of lounging and are up for getting into something a little more adventurous, it’s probably time to kiss Greece goodbye and head Southwest.
As in, Argentina.
If you’re more of the athletic type, then naturally you’ll want a full day of Polo in Argentina.
First thing’s first. Charter a flight to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport, then get the guys at Argentina Polo Day to arrange transport to get you to this Polo paradise.
It’d probably be a good idea to bring some friends or family along with you, as Polo’s a team sport.
You’ll have some pretty cushy accommodation waiting, in addition to other activities in case you don’t just feel like playing Polo during your entire stay.
You should be flinching – the future is now old man, step aside.
Like watching the pros play the game for you. At night.
Or maybe some tango lessons to impress that person you’ve been seeing for a while now.
If you really feel like spreading your wings a little and taking in the sights, I’d opt for a bird’s eye view with a heli-tour.
Whatever you want to do these guys will do their best to accommodate (just don’t go overboard – they won’t be your therapist for that divorce you’re going through).
You may be a little nervous the first time around. Maybe you’re the shy type, and feel a little awkward when trying something new.
Especially if you’ve got someone you (feel you) have to impress.
Don’t sweat it – Argentina is known for serving up some great liquid courage, so a little vinho (that’s wine), might help before the official match.
I cannot, however, guarantee what the effects of said wine will be like during your match, though.
Either way, that counts as an energy drink, right?
Just…wing it whichever way you see fit – you get the idea.
When you’ve had your fill of polo, shower up and hit the pool.
Best way to soothe those achy muscles you (probably) haven’t used in years after such a rugged sport.
That and absinthe gummy bears.
Gummy bears for everyone.
Finding ways to enjoy yourself doesn’t have to be boring.
Work clever, play hard.
As always…
Stay cool,
– Rego
Improve Your Lifestyle. Improve Yourself. This is Life. This is Rego’s Life.™
No fancy intro needed here today – let’s just jump right in.
Musings Episode 84: Running in Place…
You’ll remember last week’s episodic musing where I talked about having guts over fear and just getting whatever it is you want to move forward with or start done.
Reason being is because it’s better to start something than to just entertain the thought and never start at all.
Some of you may already be doing this, and that’s good.
Others may still be on the fence.
There’s two types of running in place. I think one of them is more frustrating than the other, but they can both be a thorn in one’s side.
The first, is keeping everything in your life the same.
Living “one day in seventy years,” my great uncle used to say.
Maybe this is self-perceived. Maybe you’re your own worst critic.
You get a lot accomplished, cover a lot of road, but somehow, at least in your mind, things feel stuck. The speedometer is stuck on slow and no matter how hard you press your foot to the pedal the damn thing won’t go any faster.
When you’re working a business, there’ll be times you never really feel satisfied with what you’re doing – in the sense that you never really feel satisfied with what you’re accomplishing.
People may feel the same way when it comes to a job, but there’s a difference.
The similarities in the two are just purely the dissatisfaction.
But the key difference is the source of dissatisfaction.
In the context of a job, someone could be dissatisfied with their pay, their boss, their work hours, or the higher ups not taking notice of their work.
In the context of a business, someone could be dissatisfied with the effort they’re putting in, their oversight on an idea they come up with later, their inability to turn into Superman and work around the clock with zero sleep.
I think the former is a dissatisfaction that centers around other people and their approval of a person.
While the latter is a dissatisfaction that centers around yourself and your approval of yourself.
There’s a certain drive that separates entrepreneurs from desk jockeys. Something that separates entrepreneurs from the pack.
Management in companies want this drive in each and everyone of their employees.
The job advert that screams “we want entrepreneurial minded people! Driven people! Motivated people!”
Yet they fail to realise that in the context of a company, that’s a double edged sword.
You’ll have people that have drive, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be submissive and obedient.
You can’t have someone driven and submissive. They’re opposite qualities.
It’s where sayings like “sheep get slaughtered and wolves eat” come from.
You may get certain people that are sheep masquerading as wolves, but it only lasts for so long – until they’re willing to crush someone else’s throat to appease their “boss,” in hopes of climbing the corporate ladder.
So really, their sheep masquerading as wolves, but really coyotes in their nature.
When you come across a real wolf, you’re really justplaying with fire.
Both types, sheep and wolves, have hopes and dreams. Both start out as motivated and driven. Both take different paths when it comes to progression.
The feeling of running in place may happen with both, but here’s a message to the entrepreneur:
You’re building your dream. Not some manager’s. Not an executive board’s. Not a company’s. Yours.
Learn to be objective with yourself. Take a step back and look at the progress you’ve made. Use timelines if you have to.
By doing this you’ll realise just how much you’ve moved forward – and if you haven’t moved forward, well then you’ll realise just how much more you should be putting in.
When it comes to discussing other countries, everyone has their own opinion…but please, for the love of all things holy, learn to have your own, too – by checking the pudding for proof.
Don’t just listen to the media.
Don’t just take anyone’s word for what a country is like.
You can listen all you want to what other people have to say about other countries – but don’t just blindly believe it. Technology today has us travel more than 5000+/- miles in just under a half day. There’s no excuse to just sit and listen to what your TV (or your friend who’s never been to their immediate neighbouring country) has to say.
For The Weekenders might be up a little late this week…but hopefully it’ll get you inspired to book your next flight.
Hope everyone’s having a great week.
As always…
Stay awesome.
– Rego
Improve Your Lifestyle. Improve Yourself. This is Life. This is Rego’s Life.™
I’m hoping everyone’s week is off to a good start. While I know I skipped For The Weekenders last week, it’ll run as usual this week…but for this episodic musing I’d like to throw some thoughts your way on something directly related to it – travel.
This time around I’ve really decided to start focusing on travelling abroad more though. Reason being is because I think with the sheer amount of craziness that’s been erupting in politics – xenophobia in particular – that people need to be doing a lot more of this than they currently are.
Every time I travel, there’s a certain trend I notice at least once during the trip.
There’s always someone else who is also travelling, but is a complete ass to the people of the country they’re travelling to.
I say this not to rant, but because there’s a certain characteristic that, like I said earlier, each individual that acts like this is missing: an open mind.
When you travel with an open mind, you get to fully experience the culture. You get to taste, feel, breathe, and drink it. It goes beyond hotels and fancy restaurants, gift shops and clothing stores.
Which brings us to the point that there are two types of travellers – the tourist, and the culture enthusiast.
You might want to consider checking if you’re the latter, because you can learn a lot more when you travel if you are.
One’s open minded, one’s not.
What do I mean by open minded though?
Well I find the way most people travel to be rather…boring. Typical. Being a tourists usually goes like this…
You get on a plane. You check into a hotel. You stick to the touristy areas. You buy shit you don’t need. You buy more shit you don’t need. Both of which can actually be purchased at any touristy area in several countries.
You eat at the restaurants that cater to tourist the most.
You make a half assed effort at speaking the language but still really, really prefer English.
You explore local areas. You spend your money renting a car and checking out more areas.
You look for good restaurants off the beaten path.
You get a relatively decent grasp of the language, enough to at least be mildly conversational, and discourage using English unless absolutely necessary.
You find out what the locals like to do for fun.
You do what the locals do for fun.
You meet a few cool locals while doing what the locals like to do for fun.
You learn new things.
You avoid guided tours and tour buses like the plague.
What’s the difference between the two?
I like to think of the tourist as someone who observes from the outside – like watching a fish through a glass bowl.
Yeah, they’re in a country, they sleep, eat, and spend money in it, but rarely do they ever actually touch the culture. Rarely do they ever relate, or even find something or someone to relate to.
While the culture enthusiast actually feels the culture.
They may not end up befriending everyone in the city or area, but they take a little bit of something away while leaving something behind, in the abstract sense.
There’s a saying:
Engage with people from another country and you’ll come to better understand them.
When you begin to understand them more you begin to connect with them more.
And when you begin to relate to them more, all those walls, all those mental barriers that people put up, that politicians put up, that the media puts up…will slowly start to come down.
Travelling is more than just a good holiday.
It’s a chance to learn something.
A chance to connect with something outside of your comfort zone.
A chance to connect with people you might never get to connect with in your own space.
And when people start connecting with other people in a positive way, well some pretty epic, pretty significant changes to things, and the way you think, can happen.
Look out for Quote Wednesdays this week.
And as always…
Stay awesome.
– Rego
Improve Your Lifestyle. Improve Yourself. This is Life. This is Rego’s Life.™
I’m guessing everyone had a good weekend. Let’s just jump right into it.
Musings Episode 75: Relationships…
When you think about socialising, the term can be defined in many ways, and is really a multi-purpose thing. It fits into our daily life on many levels – platonically, romantically, etc.
People socialise for several reasons – maintaining friendships, getting acquainted with new people for the sake of acquiring new friends; reinforcing/building onto romantic relationships, creating new romantic relationships; expanding social networks for business purposes; maintaining family relationships; socialising to learn new things – maybe a skill you want to develop or just for the sake of honing your current skill in the art of conversation.
When you look at the list above, it’s more than obvious that socialising is primarily used for the sake of creating or maintaining relationships throughout life in general.
So if you’re spending something as precious as time on socialising, naturally you want the experience of socialising to be one of quality – because you want the relationships you form from socialising to be of quality.
And when you think about it, relationships are something people have and have had throughout their natural lives. For some, relationships have consisted of quantity over quality, and vice versa.
Time, socialising, and relationships are all intrinsically linked to each other. Meaning time is the metaphorical money you invest at life’s “investment firm” of socialising, in the hopes to see a good return on your investment in the form of relationships.
But unlike currency, your focus on your ROI isn’t about quantity, so much as it is quality.
You may want a large social network, as the natural way of thinking is that knowing a lot of people can help you get a lot of things accomplished.
However the main caveat of that is while you may know of a lot of people, the relationships formed may not give you the strongest return on your investment.
And in this game called life, you’ve gotta learn to invest. So you get your feet wet, take a few losses in the beginning, and become wiser for the next time around.
I’ve noticed the older I get the more I prefer my social circle to be smaller.
Socialising with a lot of people is a great thing – don’t get me wrong. In socialising for friendships, romantic relationships, and even business, the more people you gain exposure to, the more you realise what type of people you want in your life.
It’s like having an essential wardrobe – everything in it complements you well, is versatile, is made with care and dedication, and you enjoy wearing everything in it.
For friendships, you want to know that your friends have your back, that they really know you – understand you, respect your time, and have your best interest at heart – in general they uplift you.
For romantic relationships, it’s the same thing, and an even bigger investment…more risks, more time. It’s one person getting to know you on an even deeper level, learning what your vulnerabilities are, learning what pushes your buttons, what makes you tick, and you coming to know the same about them.
For family, again the same thing – but probably the most taken for granted relationships of all. It’s interesting because sometimes, in people having the underlying assumption that they are family, they also assume there’s nothing left to learn about their family – which can actually make family relationships have a wider “knowledge gap” than when it comes to building friendships with people you’re just acquainted with.
For business, the game is similar but totally different at the same time. It’s an entirely different animal, a totally different investment. Not every follower is your fan, and sometimes (like many entrepreneurs know) you’ve got to keep things close to your vest.
Business relationships shouldn’t just be focused around your customer either, but all your stakeholders – everyone inside and outside an organisation. Get the wrong people who only look out for their self-interests or what’s comfortable for them, and you’ve got toxic investments ready to slowly strangle the lifeline of your company or your milestones.
Overall I like to think of quality relationships as small miracles. The human race has seen and participated in a lot (and I do mean a lot) of war…and they still do.
History has shown us that conflict has the potential to match cooperation – and vice versa…but really, relationships – the art of caring about, understanding, knowing, and working with each other – are essential to human survival; and entirely dependent on people making the effort to get to know each other on a deeper, more quality level.
Unfortunately in the past (and still today), this way of thinking has been known to be deliberately fragmented, further dividing the human race by separating each other based on a skin colour or location.
So when you think about relationships, they’re really like small miracles. Socialising is an attraction of energy, but sometimes you can have energy vampires.
Quality relationships are literally an attraction of higher energies towards each other, which can form a bond that has the potential to be unbreakable – if said energies stay at a positive, higher level.
And when you think about that and transfer it to something more “physical”, as people, we all wear different “masks”.
I wouldn’t say we act differently, but perform differently in different relationships.
You may still train hard, but you change your training, so you can tailor your performance for that particular sport, as you know different things can excel you in different ways.
And when you start thinking about relationships like sports teams and energy, you start to realise that you want players beside you who are in it to win it, but on a higher level.
You want players that know, and expect you to know, that by having your best interest at heart as well as theirs – that that thinking – pushes the whole team forward – it moves a whole team forward…and in moving a whole team forward, you can move mountains.
Think about it.
As always…
Stay awesome.
– Rego
Improve Your Lifestyle. Improve Yourself. This is Life. This is Rego’s Life.™
So I’m hoping everyone had an epic weekend. There are some thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head since the last episodic musing, in particular thoughts that revolve around what people define as being deserving of things.
You look on social media, and you listen to conversations…watch movies, listen to lyrics in songs…and I’ve realised something’s popping up more and more that I don’t entirely agree with. Alright here goes…
Musings Episode 74: Do You Deserve It?
It seems that people are starting to think it’s alright to gauge and dictate to other people whether they deserve something or not.
Now I mentioned in the previous episodic musing that when it comes to free will, no one has the right to really dictate to anyone what they should get out of life – Epictetus made this clear, and to paraphrase him once more, attempting to control or dictate another person’s free will takes tremendous effort as it goes against the natural law of things; things which are in our control, and things which are out of our control.
As a side note, if you haven’t read Epictectus’ “Enchiridion” – it’s basically a summarised version, a “manual” of his teaching of Stoicism – I highly recommend you pick it up from Amazon.
Seriously it cost less than coffee if you get the Dover Thrift Edition. Buy it.
Getting back to the subject, I saw something interesting the other day on Instagram. I didn’t screenshot it as it made me so disgusted it wasn’t worth a save in my phone, but ironically it pissed me off so bad I remember it clearly; so I’ll tell you what is said.
“Those who think they deserve it the most, usually don’t.”
…..Seriously?
What’s interesting is I’ve heard this once or twice in some songs I’ve stumbled across when discovering new music, and group conversations I’ve been involved in in the past.
And I wholeheartedly disagree with this.
Fair enough, there are some people who don’t put in any work for something they want; and there are people who are given everything they want without putting in any work, ergo feeling they deserve whatever they want.
But there are also those out there who bust their ass everyday – for months, years – grinding and meet rejection after rejection and know they deserve what they want.
And when I see people who state that people who think they deserve something don’t, it really gets under my skin, because when you think about it…it’s not a bold statement – it’s assumptive and asinine, a dash of ignorance, and just a sprinkle of arrogant.
When you take your attention away from mainstream – mainstream TV, movies, music, books, websites, everything…you begin to think about things differently…and when you think about it successful mainstream people don’t really elaborate on what their way up was like – not in a raw, real feel sense.
I’ve been listening to some less well-known music artists on YouTube lately when I get a chance and I’ve gotta say, some of their lyrics hit me like a brick wall.
They don’t talk about women, drugs, cars, sex, pumped up violence, all the regular bunk you hear on mainstream artists’ songs; but they talk about real things no one else wants to really discuss – things other artists probably know won’t sell as well:
Witt Lowry – The Ride
Ollie – Product
Witt Lowry – Dreaming With Our Eyes Open
And listening to the lyrics makes you realise, that the only person who has a right to ask you if you deserve it – if you deserve what you want – is you.
And anyone who has the audacity to make such a statement in my opinion is somebody who is consciously making an incompetent statement, has never even entertained the thought about considering what it’s like to walk in someone’s shoes, or simply thinks there’s not enough caviar to go around.
Having the gall enough to even make that statement, shows that someone is already spoilt rotten with a complete disregard for humanity.
Because there are three main paths that people who go after what they want and think they deserve end up taking:
The path of attaining what they deserve.
The path of settling for less than what they deserve (read: the path of becoming complacent).
The path of giving up on the FEELING of deserving what they’ve put effort into attaining (read: the path of becoming insecure).
At the end of the day it’s YOU who knows what efforts your putting in. It’s YOU who knows how much time you’ve put into going after your milestones. It’s YOU who knows what you’ve been through, what you’re going through, and where you want to go.
Don’t let anyone ever dictate that to you.
Because this deserves reiteration.
This is for the millennials, the 90s and the 80s kids.
You may not have the job security, the house, the car, the holidays, the balanced salary to living expense ratio, the opportunities your parents had when they were younger, you may not have all of that JUST YET…
…and it may seem a little harder to acquire those things in today’s time…
…and well shit, it is, with the way multinationals are making application processes for people increasingly unnecessarily long and complex…
…bending people over and trying to get them to take it up the @ss with no lube, by offering far-less-than square deals…
….essentially looking at humans as actual resources, rather than people.
Funny thing is while others are trying to dictate to you whether or not you deserve something, if we stripped away modern civilisation and tried our hand at something like growing a garden, there is a higher and near concrete chance nature itself would effortlessly allow us to reap the harvest of the effort we put in, compared to some people these days.
Notice how the term “personnel department” changed to “human resources”? Yeah. Worse thing to ever happen…
…but one thing you do have is willpower, and the right to believe in yourself.
If you’re putting in the effort; getting those top grades in university; doing the daily grind as entrepreneur; or making an effort to make your salary work for you, for something you want that’s bigger than you, bigger than the life you have now; no one but YOU, has the right to ask…
“Do you deserve it?”
Hope everyone has a great week, and don’t forget to check back for Quote Wednesdays.
As always…
Stay awesome.
– Rego
Improve Your Lifestyle. Improve Yourself. This is Life. This is Rego’s Life.™
Just a little mid-week inspiration. The strength of willpower isn’t static, or fixed, but can change or develop with time or experiences…how it does so, is up to you.
Look out for this week’s “For The Weekenders” tomorrow.
It’s good to be back.
As always…
Stay awesome.
– Rego
Improve Your Lifestyle. Improve Yourself. This is Rego’s Life.™
Rego's Life 