Words I Live By

Surrender to the Flow

There’s a lot of things we can’t control. The weather, traffic, politics, etc. Rather than let these bother me, I aim to focus on the things I can control.

Origin: Phish - The Lizards

Money Beats Soul

You know how much your soul’s worth?
Your soul’s worth about as much as you can get on Wall Street, my dear
— Jim Morrison¹

It’s a rather unfortunate fact. Our society revolves around money. Without this case, we wouldn’t progress nearly as quickly as we do. Money is granularly measurable, soul is not. I’d argue its the very reason why today’s attention economy runs on social media, and why it’s A-OK.

(Physical) Cash is King

Cash is easy to verify, easy to split, anonymous, and unbiased. Sure, it has to be government maintained, but we’re nowhere close to life without government. The past, cash-dominated, world had a lot of benefits that got obliterated with the introduction of debit cards. Cryptocurrency is better, but still no cash. Unfortunately for me, the days of the cash-dominated world are numbered.

The Journey is the Prize

Many people are willing to suffer for the right goal. I don’t operate like that. Rather than dreaming of the destination, I choose a journey I can enjoy along the way. Plus, if there’s failure, at least I enjoyed the journey!

Everything is Okay in Moderation, Even Excess

A simple one. A glass of wine a day? No problem. Get wasted once a month? No problem. Just don’t flip them around!

If you’re not growing, you’re dying

This one is pretty self explanatory, but an important note is that stability means stagnation. If you don’t have plans for the future, you’ve set yourself up to live in the yesterday of tomorrow. America is a land of high risk, high reward.

Perception is Reality

It doesn’t matter if you’re technically correct, other than for self pride. In a world where news is just headlines and false information spreads faster by design, the perception of something has far more impact than facts. A negative perception is hard to shake, just look at Chicago!

The People Make a Place

Attitude is an easy to overlook attribute. Companies, clubs, cities, schools, these are all things that have lots of facts on paper that simply may not match how the people there act. A natural day in the life is far more valuable than a crafted tour when it comes to assesing a group.