34 things I've learned in 34 years

There's nothing for sale in this email. Just some good ol' fashioned content. This is a list of some of the most important lessons I've learned in my short 34 year stint on earth. 1. Empathy - You never know what someone is going through. You don’t know their past. Do your best to forgive people and understand where they’re coming from. To me, there is nothing more powerful than empathy. 2. You’re either the thermostat or the temperature. There are two types of people. One type is the thermostat. They set the energy for the people around them. The other type is the temperature. Their energy is set by the thermostat. Neither one is better than the other. Most people are temperature. Which shows you how important it is to surround yourself with right people. If you’re the thermostat, you carry a heavy burden. You’re responsible for your surroundings. Choose them wisely. 3. Judgement is different from observation. Judgement is when you attach value to something that’s happened, happening, or going to happen. Observation is looking at what happened without attaching value. 4. I’ve hit every goal I’ve set for myself…IF it mattered to me. I used to set goals just to set goals cuz that’s what I did. I didn’t hit those ones. But I’ve hit every goal I ever set that had a REAL WHY behind it. A WHY that mattered to ME. Not a why that was for someone else. 5. People want to be led. People want to follow. Few want to lead. But if you feel the call to lead, no matter how scary it may be, know that people are waiting for you to take the reins. They’re begging for you to lead. 6. The world is a hard place full of rough edges. If you stop challenging yourself willingly, the world will do it for you. People are softer than they’ve ever been. You must expose yourself to the rough edges. 7. It’s all going to be ok. Every time you’ve ever felt bad, it has gone away at some point. Nothing lasts forever. Good or bad. 8. The more you let go, the more you get. 9. Happiness comes from outside. Joy comes from inside. 10. Learn how to breathe. Most people have zero clue what it means to take a deep breath. 11. Ask yourself from time to time, what would you do if you were God? 12. Trust your gut…no matter how weird or insane it may seem. 13. Thrust yourself into the darkness to find the light. 14. Seek out the moments where time doesn’t seem to exist. 15. Money wants to find you. Right now there is someone out there who really wants to give you money. You just gotta pay attention or you’ll miss it. 16. Write a book. I don’t care if you’re a writer or not. I don’t care if no one ever reads your book. Everyone has a book in them. Write the damn thing. One word at a time. 17. Lift heavy shit, run fast, or sweat hard. Your body goes with you everywhere you go. Treat it well. Find the type of exercise that YOU love. Fuck the fads. Fuck what other people like. Find something YOU like and do it. It doesn’t matter how much you think you hate exercise, there’s something out there you’d enjoy. 18. Eat like an adult. Eat the stuff that makes your body look and feel good in the long-term. 19. The more fun I have, the more money I make. I know that’s not "normal" but it’s my reality. The more I chase fun, them more money chases me. For you it may not be fun, maybe it’s something else. But find the thing that makes money chase you. 20. You’re not gonna have it all figured out by 30. Nor do you have to. We have some weird idea in our society that you should have it all sorted by 30. Bollocks. I’ve figured out some stuff…but the more I know…the more I know I don’t know. 21. Know the difference between quitting and giving up. Quitting is when you stop something and you don’t want the end result. Giving up is when you stop something even though you still want the end result. Giving up means you aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want. Be a quitter. Leave the job you hate. Quit smoking. Quit beating yourself up. But never, ever, under any circumstances, give up. 22. Never Give Up. Always Surrender. 23. Learn how to tell great stories. Nothing is better at connecting humans than a great story. Everyone has great stories, but not everyone is great at telling them. Learn how to tell them properly and your life will be more fun. You’ll have better relationships. And you’ll rarely be bored. 24. Do a set of stand up comedy. Everyone has a funny 3-5 minute set. EVERYONE. Find that story you never thought you’d tell anyone, then tell it to a group of strangers. I’m yet to find anything in this world that’s scarier than stand up. Face that fear. 25. Do not seek to be without fear. Seek to be without fear of fear. Fear is inevitable. Perhaps the dumbest thing ever said was "The only thing to fear is fear itself." Fear is your friend. It’s your compass. It points you to your path. Find stuff that scares you then do that stuff. The fear of fear is crippling. The goal of being without fear is impossible. But you can be without fear of fear. Embrace it. It’s here to save your life. 26. Laugh as much as you can. Some people say laughter is the best medicine. Other people say medicine is the best medicine. Either way, laughter feels good. Find people that make you laugh. Shows that make you laugh. Comedians that make you laugh. Laughter is contagious. 27. Hit stuff. Humans were designed as aggressive creatures. That’s how we survived. Find healthy ways to hit stuff. It feels good. I don’t care if it’s hitting tennis balls, punching bags, or people in an octagon. Let ‘er rip. 28. Believe that everything happens for a reason. I don’t know if everything actually happens for a reason, but I believe it does. Why? Because life is a lot better when you trust that everything is exactly as it’s supposed to be. You can’t change the past. You can only change your perception of it. Whatever happened, happened. Accept it. Learn from it. 29. Stop resisting. The best description of enlightenment I’ve ever heard is this: "Things pretty much are what they are. Dealing with the world on that level is enlightenment." At any moment you can resist the past. You can resist the now. You can resist the future. You can always resist. It’s easy. It protects you. It’s a lot harder to trust. To let go. To surrender. But it’s so much better. In each and every moment of your life you really only have two options. 1. Resist. 2. Surrender. Resisting is safe. It’s comfortable. It’s what we know. But it’s the source of all your pain. Your shame. Your fear. Your guilt. Your anger. When you let go of the resistance you sink into joy. You swell with passion. You fill with love. This moment is exactly how it is. You can seek to change future moments. But this one? It’s happening. Become ok with it. Stop fighting it. Soon I’ll send you the last 5 things I’ve learned. I think they’re potentially more important than everything else I just said… Talk soon, Ian "34 now" Stanley Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Almost Passive Income, 13359 N. Hwy 183, Ste. 550, Austin, TX 78750, United States