968 days ago the first post on this blog went live. When I started almost three years ago, the plan was clear:
How do you think that worked out? Well, you’re right. If you want to start something online too, today’s book review and summary will save you a lot of time. A LOT.
“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.” — Seneca
Every month, 550,000 people want to know more about procrastination via Google. An interesting question about this phenomenon I asked myself is this:
“If I could send each of those 550,000 people just one book to help them deal with procrastination, which one would it be?”
One book instantly shot to the top of my mind.
What if I told you that someone has already solved the procrastination puzzle, once and for all?
What’s more, what if he’d done so 2,000 years ago?
Well…someone has.
Read MoreOn January 21st, 2016, my uncle Martin did something that changed me forever. At 7 AM, he woke up, walked to the bathroom, went to the toilet and then back to sleep.
He never woke up again. At 52 years old, he died peacefully in his sleep. No pain, no heart problems detected. He had lost 60 lbs the year before and was in better shape than ever.
Seneca said that “life is long, if you know how to use it.” But sometimes life truly is short. Not everyone gets the time they may deserve.
Since I didn’t know how to deal with his death, I did what I always do to process things: I wrote.
One of the saddest things in life is that often, it takes a tragedy to pierce our clouded vision. In his case, I could only now see stark and clear two powerful lessons from how he lived his life:
Just two days before, he sat in our kitchen and had his cappuccino, like always.
Carnival season was coming up and his in-laws (my Mom’s parents and sister) are huge carnival nerds. My grandpa founded the local club so all year round, they plan and prepare for carnival week.
It just wasn’t Martin’s thing. He hated the dressing up, the music, the corny jokes. So he wouldn’t have any of it and that was okay.
What quitting things you don’t like or just feel obligated to allows you to do is to focus on what really matters.
So while the rest of the family was carnivaling all over the place, Martin was content to stay at home, relax, build a play house for my cousin or a new fireplace to have BBQs at, since he was a carpenter.
Screw tending to C-class relationships or that one, half-related aunt of yours who only complains and tells you to “get a real job” every time you see her anyways.
When you think about the people you call family and friends, who really feels like family? Who really feels like a friend?
Only if you cut out 90% of the people that don’t matter can you show the 10% that do the love they deserve.
Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.
— Michael J. Fox
Two songs were played at my uncle’s funeral, one he would’ve picked and one my cousin selected.
The first song was Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” You couldn’t find a better song to highlight the first lesson if you tried.
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I’ve traveled each and every highway
But more, much more than this
I did it my way
The second song played as we all walked to the grave and said our last goodbye. “See You Again” from The Fast & The Furious. As if I needed another reason to cry next to Paul Walker driving off into the sunset.
Just like Paul, my uncle didn’t get the 70, 80, 90 years most of us nowadays take for granted. But just like the Fast & Furious movies, Martin’s life was all about family. Real family.
How can we not talk about family when family’s all that we got?
Everything I went through you were standing there by my side
And now you gon’ be with me for the last ride
Every time I listen to one of those two songs now, it stings a bit inside. But after the sting, a rush of gratitude floods my heart. It’s a constant reminder.
“Life is short Nik. Use it well. Don’t do shit you don’t like. Be with family. You never know how much you’re gonna get.”
That’s what I learned from my uncle and it’s changed me forever.
Once every blue moon I come up with a good quote. Most of the time it’s less a result of me being smart than me finding a way to spin someone else’s words just enough so that it sounds like something new. The last time it happened, a quote from The Obstacle is the Way became:
Design a life that lets you come closer to your perfect day, every day.
Since today is a day that’s somewhat antithetical to this idea, it’s a good opportunity to expand on it with a very short exercise in life design: Let’s craft the perfect schedule of your perfect day.
It’s the second week of classes of the Spring term here at Technical University of Munich. The weather’s picking up, materials are slow to emerge and exams are a long way away.
However, judging by the first week alone, I can tell there will be a lot of faces filled with regret at the end of this semester. Exams will be postponed, grades will be worse than expected and credits will be missing.
I realize not everyone wants to make an all-encompassing commitment to work like me. But even if you just want to be a normal, full-time student, get decent grades and secure a solid job, there are certain things you can do. So this week, I decided to go super practical and ask myself:
If I could recommend only three good habits to students, what would they be?
Here are the three rules I’ve come up with.