Obligation to Your Blood Line

For most of the diseases, one of the most common reasons is genetics. With that, I understand that we have obligation to our successors, to our blood line. 

Whenever you pick unhealthy food, think, and consider that it will affect your bloodline. Whenever you have that obligation in mind, you will think twice. I learned from someone (I can’t remember who said this), “we will do more and exert more effort if the things we are doing are for others than doing things for ourselves.”

Maybe it will be more helpful for you not to only take it as an obligation but might as well an honor. An honor to have the chance to make your blood line better.

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Just Do It Small and Simple

I was inspired by Seth Godin’s daily practice of publishing a blog. He had done it for many years consistently.

I have tried doing it before and I quit after 30 days. But the result was enormous. It has built the character of consistency and commitment. It also helped me improve not only my writing skills but also processing my thoughts and being articulate.

Again, I am now at day 4 of publishing content every day. The main lesson so far is to think by starting small. My goal is just to write a few sentences and then suddenly the momentum of writing kicks in and a lot of thoughts are pouring in. So whatever it is that you want to do. Just do it, small and simple at first. Motivation does not have to precede action as action itself also creates motivation.

Double Your Productivity with Pareto Law and Parkinson’s Law

The two principles that when combined can 10x your productivity are Pareto Principle and Parkinsons Law. I first encountered these two concepts when I read the book 4 hour work week by Tim Ferris.

Pareto principle suggests that the 20% of input is responsible to 80% of output while 80% of input is responsible to 20% of output. With that, it is more productive to focus and deliver first the 20%(vital few).

Parkinson’s law suggests that the amount of work expands relative to the time allocated to it. For example, if you plan to clean your room in 10 hours you can finish it in 10 hours while when you just allocate 1 hour, then you can also do it.

Combining Pareto principle and Parkinson’s Law means you allocate minimal time on vital few activities. It is all about putting constraints in a smart way. We can see that through constraints we humans tend to be more disciplined and productive.

Notes from Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones

I have started watching the Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones and after two episodes here are the patterns I have noted:

1. They eat whole food that is nutrient dense.

2. They have a sense of purpose in what they do.

3. They unknowingly do exercises based on daily routines and work.

4. They have a continuous human connection through a community, friends and extended family.

To sum it up, we can increase the probability of living longer by eating nutrient dense whole food, moving every day, having a purpose in life’s work and continuously connecting with other human beings.

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Notes from Monk Mode Vlog of Iman Ghadzhi

I initially encountered the idea of monk mode from Sam Ovens. It is about being focused and regimented in following success habits.

Then,  I encountered the vlog of Iman Ghadzhi about monk mode which is in a way similar. The main difference was the monk mode approach of Iman is much simpler.

Iman suggested to have 3 non negotiable habits and 3-4 variable habits. He suggested to follow it continuously in minimum 21 days and maximum 90 days.

His 3 nonnegotiable habits are:

  1. 10 minute meditation
  2. 30 min exercise
  3. No alcohol and weeds

The pros of following monk mode includes setting expectations from people around you that they respect your habits as you are doing monk mode. It appears that it is also an effective tool to have dopamine detox.

I will be doing this monk mode and instead of monitoring it by encoding in excel file as Sam Ovens did I will be adapting the pocket journal style of MJ Demarco. MJ Demarco shared in his forum that he used a pocket journal to track his daily food intake. It worked as it is a simple approach in tracking.

Tracking is very important in achieving goal as it makes you accountable. Alex Hormozi said, “track don’t slack”.

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Here is the video of Iman Gadzhi

Journey to BHAG

The goal is the journey itself. Enjoy the journey to your big hairy audacious goals(BHAG). The goal is the hard work itself, said by top entrepreneurs. If you are an achiever, it is very painful to do nothing in achieving your BHAG. It is better to fail by trying rather than enduring the pain of regret that you have not done anything to achieve your BHAG.

Be happy now while pursuing your BHAG. Live in the moment but think long term. Successful people think 10 years but ultra-successful people think for the next generations.

All or Nothing

We were too early for a breakfast as we have to drop someone at the airport. We can’t find any restaurants that were open at that time. So we opted for McDonald’s. As I am currently reading the book How Not to Die I am excited to have a healthy breakfast but I can’t find any in McDonald’s. Here are my key takeaways and plan on how to proceed in my healthy lifestyle plan:

1. All or Nothing

This mindset holds a lot of people back. If they can’t do it all in, they just do not do it at all. It was a struggle to look for healthy food but a gradual change is way better than not trying. I will start by changing one meal out of three meals a day. If I can’t go all-in in the meantime, I will keep on trying and changing gradually.

2. No Regrets

I read a poem that says, no one had a regret by eating few. It is a simple but mind-changing thought. If there is no healthy food available then it can be a good chance to have fasting. There are also benefits to fasting.

3. Better Environment

Jim Rhon said, “We are the average of five people we spend the most time with.” I will look for people who are into whole food plant-based diet (WFPB) and will associate with them.

4. Better Structure

We can easily build new habits by decreasing friction. I will make it easier for me to eat healthier. I will not buy unhealthy food. I will make healthy food very accessible.

If you like contents about self-improvement, then I invite you to join me in my book club and mentor tips newsletter for free, just visit KevinUmali.com/free

How I Plan to Simply Manage my Blood Pressure

Are you not dizzy? The nurse who administered the blood pressure (BP) test asked me. I said no. It did not catch my attention at first. Suddenly I realized maybe the BP result was not good. And yes, it is at an elevated level. I am currently reading How Not to Die book and here are my key takeaways so far that can help me manage my elevated BP. I am looking at the changes that I can apply to my lifestyle. Here are the variables that are simple and I will try to incorporate them into my daily habits:

  1. Whole Food Plant-Based Diet
  2. Minimum of 30 minutes of work out every day

I will post here in my blog the updates. If you want to join me in my personal development journey, I invite you to join me in my book club and mentor tips newsletter, just visit KevinUmali.com/free

Vibrational Decluttering

You do not use most of the things you own. There are a few clothes that you keep on wearing. It seems we have favoritism on the things we own. I only use a few watches, shoes, pants etc. I just realized that I only use a few things. It turned out that most of the stuff I own just ended up taking so much space in my condo. This unnecessary stuff that I own also takes much of my energy and time. In other words, there are things that don’t serve me anymore. It appears that I am now serving those stuff that sits in my closets and cabinets as they collect dust.

One of the tips for a happy life is to be grateful. One way to be grateful is by realizing that there are people who are praying for what you have right now. I found one stone (solution) that hits two birds. I learn about the Segunda Mana, wherein they accept donations in goods. They sell those items and the proceeds are being used for charitable purposes like sending kids to school.

Vibrational Giving

I learn the concept of vibrational giving from the book Homeless to Billionaire by Andres Pira. He practices vibrational giving by giving to people that he meets that are in need. He has no rule or guide in vibrational giving. He gives because he feels like giving. My understanding is that he gives without feeling obliged. He gives without any negative emotions around the act of giving. When he gives, it is like motivation and affirmation to the recipient. Through vibrational giving, he is sending positive energy to the universe.

Everyone has their own way of giving back and it is personal. I tried vibrational giving and it turned out I gave more than the usual percentage of income that I give. It made me feel more like I am overflowing with blessings and love. Giving back is like a way to reverse engineer the gratefulness in our subconscious minds and our hearts.

Vibrational Decluttering

When I was thinking of ways to declutter, my first idea was to sell my old stuff. But I realized it would take much effort and time. Good thing, I’ve found about this Segunda Mana. They are the ones who will take care of selling the stuff that I do not use and the proceeds will be used to send kids to school. There is a lot of stuff that we barely use and is in very good condition.

I just call this practice vibrational decluttering. I enjoy the benefits of vibrational giving and decluttering at the same time. Letting go of the things I own is very hard to do. It is part of human nature, we give more weight to losing $100 compared to taking action to gain $1,000. Whenever I let go of things that I own, it practices my mind to have no attachment to things. As Marcus Aurelius said, “Accept humbly, let go easily.” I would also like to connect this from my key take away from the Fight Club movie, “Only when you’ve lost everything, you are free to do anything”.

Benefit of Letting Go

I would go back to my favorite saying, “How you do one thing is how you do everything”. If I can learn how to let go of the things I own, then I can also let go of attachments in praises, recognitions, and expectations that are the root causes of suffering. By letting go of the past and future expectations, we can truly live in the now where we can experience true happiness.

Through vibrational decluttering, I can happily and easily let go of things I own. I know it could be an answer to someone else prayers. We were taught that it is better to give money whenever we talk about giving back. I can say, donating the things you do not use is also a good idea in giving back.

I benefited from having a good education. It changed my life for the better. Whenever I donate to Segunda Mana, I know that there are kids whose lives may be changed for the better as they can attend school.

If you want to join me in my journey of personal development, I invite you to join my book club and mentor tips newsletter for free, just visit, KevinUmali.com/free

Blue Pill and Red Pill

The Matrix is a film series about a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped into a simulated reality called the Matrix, which uber-advanced and intelligent machines have programmed to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When Neo, the protagonist of the story uncovers the truth, he is drawn into a rebellion against the machines. Most of you probably have heard of it but instead of going into full detail, I’d like to talk about arguably the most iconic scene in the franchise. That still symbolizes one of the underlying philosophical problems that seem to be even more relevant today.

In the scene Neo was offered a choice by Morpheus involving two pills, the blue pill if taken meant that he would continue living in the simulated false reality maintaining a blissful state of ignorance without ever knowing what is real, or take the red pill and know the dark truth and be freed from the lies of the machines, but this comes with a consequence, his newfound discovery would lead him to a similar fate that Adam had when he bit the apple in the book of Genesis, he discovered the fundamental painful truth of life, that it is full of never-ending suffering and pain.

The Dilemma of Having to Choose

This may just be a movie but it shows the real-life dilemma of having to choose between taking the Blue Pill and continue living a life of blissful ignorance and clinging to ideologies and dogmas for answers or taking the hard-to-swallow red pill and face the harsh truth with guidance from philosophy, science, and most of all healthy skepticism to enlighten us and lessen the burden of the puzzle of life. The underlying question here is whether truth and knowledge are worth all the pain and anxiety, unlike in a blue-pilled life where you have beliefs that claim to give you absolute “truths” which then allow you to have a purpose and help distract you from the painful absurdities of life.

Red-Pilled Life

The red-pilled life will give you a herculean type of burden, the impossible task of trying to find out what is actually real and finding meaning in your existence. The painful truth is that if there is anything that can be said to be true about life is that it never stops sucking. Life is full of obstacles and sufferings and the looming threat of hopelessness and death plagues our very existence.

The Power to Choose

You still have a choice though, you can stay delusional and die blissfully ignorant by taking the blue pill or swallow the red pill and wake up consumed by the harshness of reality or fight back and find meaning in spite of all the suffering. I leave you with these questions: If there was a way of discovering the truth is it worth knowing? Now, what pill do you choose?

You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

~ Morpheus

This post was written by: Mario Emmanuel T. Bonleon III

FB: @Mario Emmanuel T. Bonleon III

IG: @mebonleon3