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

Do not Blame External Triggers

Notifications like pings and dings of your phone are not the culprit for being distracted. We often encounter that external triggers like phone notifications are being blamed for being distracted. But in reality, there are internal triggers that bring more distractions than external ones. Internal triggers are the pains or discomfort that shift our attention and actions into something that could ease the pain. For example, if you are studying for an exam, then that pain of studying is being soothed by pseudo productivity like cleaning your room. When you can see your phone at the moment of hardship it is easier to submit yourself to the red dots of notifications. Those notifications however are easily ignored when you are having fun like watching Netflix. Just like what Tony Robbins said, we do what we do because we move away from pain and move towards pleasure.

You can manage your distractions if you can manage your pain. I am currently reading the book Indistractible by Nir Eyal and you can learn more about this kind of content in that book.

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How to be not Distracted

Checking and responding to emails even seems productive activities are distractions. Yes, those productive activities are distractions if they are not helping you achieve what you intend to do. If your goal is to spend quality dinner time with your family, then checking email is a distraction. If it is time to relax, then watching Netflix or taking a nap is not a distraction.

I am currently reading the book Indistractible by Nir Eyal. I learned that distractions are activities that move you from your tractions. It is better to define your tractions first. Be definite on what you want to achieve. After that, you can determine the activities that do not support you in achieving your goal at the moment. Those activities are distractions. We can focus more and be more productive in the absence of distractions. In the mental model of Charlie Munger, use inverse thinking. What are the activities that keep you away from your tractions?

Time Blocking and Life Domains

Nir Eyal suggested to time block in accordance with the three life domains: You, Relationships, and Work. He showed the three domains in diagrams of circle with You in the innermost of the circle followed by relationship and lastly your work. There is no relationship and work without You. Time blocking for You includes the basic way of nurturing ourselves like, eating healthy meals, sleeping, learning, and exercising. You have to put a time block on those activities.

Most people, spend a lot of time on one of those domains at the expense of the other. There are people who are so busy that they cannot give themselves time to sleep and exercise. Again, You are the foundation of other life domains. There is this saying that a sick person has only one wish and that is to get well.

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Brahamavira

The world today is more advanced, technological, and efficient than in any time in history. In almost every aspect from transportation and communication to medicine, we have witnessed how the world has gotten more safe, convenient, and accessible which is mostly thanks to the rise of scientific thinking.

Since the creation of the scientific method and the rise of movements emphasizing rationality and efficiency, society has turned its focus away from all the incalculable and vague things like religion and virtuosity and instead focused on math, science, and technology.

This type of revolutionary thinking has turned most people into efficient work-centered machines, All of a sudden everyone’s purpose was to be as rational and efficient as possible so that we can do our jobs well and produce as much as possible but with all great reforms and gains we have made there are consequential trade-offs.

Why is it that we live in an era with the most access to technology and information both of which can make us better and nobler than any of our ancestors yet crime is still increasing, racism and hate propaganda is still an issue and that is despite all the new information that we have today.

I am by no means justifying the horrible crimes of people from the past generations but what I am saying is that if they knew what we know right now, they probably wouldn’t have been as hateful and prejudiced as they were.

So what’s the problem? I believe the problem is that people today are too focused and too reliant on data, results, and numbers for solution to problems (all of which are measurable) and we have turned our backs on the things that make us human.

Acts like Love, Compassion, Equanimity, Joy are irrational true but they are what makes us human, these “immeasurable” acts that the Buddhists have been preaching for long have been the reason that we have gotten so far as a species and for us to survive and face the brave new world that’s filled with unknown dangers and threats.

We must come back to our roots, we must relearn the things that make us human and connects us to all the other things in nature.

the immeasurable acts of simple kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity may be the remedy to the surplus of depression and lack of compassion that has plagued the modern age.

I would like to conclude with the very wise words of Jacqueline Novogratz

“Sometimes the most important things that we do are things we cannot measure”

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

IG: @mebonleon3
FB: Mario Emmanuel T. Bonleon III

Not Sharing is a Disservice to Others

What you know is valuable to others even if it appears too easy for you. I had a conversation with a teenager, probably he is 15 years old. As an older man, I ask what are your plans in college. His options are a business course or being in the military. I asked who inspired him to be in the military. He shared that he was amazed by the mindset of those who are in special operations. He told me that he was listening to podcasts of Navy Seals like David Goggins and Jocko Willink.

Imagine if David and Jocko decided not to share their mindsets, then that will be a disservice to a young guy whom they have just inspired and influenced.

Whenever you feel like giving up on sharing your thoughts, stories, knowledge, experience, passion, and skills online, think of it as a disservice to other people. Go ahead and keep on creating.

How to Bounce Back

You can bounce back from challenges even if you feel stuck. I met a guy, probably 11 years younger than me. But this guy inspired me. He had challenges in school that made him late in his school years compared to his age. After having a conversation with him, I can say he is now more advanced compared to his age group and he can be successful.

He caught my attention as I can overhear his conversation with his friend in the gym. They were talking about self-help books that I just read when I started working. He started reading self-development books at the age of 17. I told him that if I can go back at his age then I would do what he is doing. He is on the right path. He is reading books and consistently working out. He strengthens his body and mind.

He shared that lockdown has helped him as he had a lot of time reading books and working out. His way of thinking is advanced. He told me that he was thankful for the setback he experienced at a young age. He shared that it made him tougher. Even if there will be challenges in the future, which is unavoidable as he said, he can surpass them too. Kudos to you bro.

My key takeaway is that you just have to divert your attention and activities from bad to good habits. Everything will follow.

The Lollapalooza Effect

Charlie Munger shared in his speech at Harvard University the lollapalooza effect. It occurs when different tendencies or mental models combined to act in the same direction provide a greater result. It is like synergy, 1 plus 1 is not 2 but 3 or more. The outcome is much bigger than the sum of the parts.

One of their investments that yielded great returns was their investment in Coca-Cola. Here are the factors that contributed to the Lollapalooza effect on Coca Cola:

1. Great product

2. Powerful stimulants – sugar and caffeine

3. Availability – it is available in every supermarket

4. Clever marketing – “the brain of man yearns for the type of beverage held by the pretty woman he can’t have”

5. Social proofing – almost everybody drinks it

Identify the Dont’s

Always start by identifying the dont’s. This is applicable in life and investing as well. Most of the ideas here came from the book of Billionaire Charlie Munger Poor Charlie’s Almanack. It is better to stay within the circle of your competencies and be consistently not stupid than to be intelligent with many things. In investing, identify the industries or niches wherein you have an edge. After you have identified your circle of competence work on expanding it. I can relate this to the ideas from the book Unfair Advantage wherein it was discussed that it is better to use and leverage your unfair advantage. Many successful entrepreneurs also say that focus on your strengths and delegate your weaknesses. It is counterintuitive to what I have learned in school. I was advised to always improve my weaknesses. 

With this thinking model of identifying the don’ts. You may start by identifying the industries or niches that you have to avoid. You may also apply this in your career or business. For example, billionaires Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet have avoided tech companies for many years. To simplify this thinking model, Charlie Munger said “All I want to know is where I’m going to die so I’ll never go there.”

If you like more content like this, I invite you to join me in my book club for free, just visit KevinUmali.com/free

Aim for Less to Have More

If you aim for 1 million dollars and you just have 100,000 dollars, you might feel 900,000 dollars lacking. That 900,000 dollars make more people empty as they slave away in achieving and working towards the 900,000 dollars.

The better approach is to be happy and grateful for what you have while being excited about things you would like to achieve. Keep on dreaming big but remember it is not the outcome but the journey. The million dollars is not the goal but the hard work itself must be the goal. What you feel right now will just be the same when you reach your goal.

Begin the With an End in Mind

I found the podcast Y combinator that shares lessons on how to start a start-up. My key takeaway is that we have to focus on what matters most and that is providing solutions to end-users. Paul Graham discusses that most of the new founders focus on tricks and hacks like how to grow the business and how to get funding. As an investor, Paul Graham says that everything follows when you are valuable or offering solutions to your customers.

One of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is that they begin with an end in mind. I can relate this from what Paul Graham shared. Whether we are in starting a start-up or working as an employee we must make everything lean by focusing on what is our main objective.