look at this tattoo, & see if you can guess what i think the dumbest part about it is:
i don’t think it’s the spelling.
i don’t think it’s the style.
& i don’t think it’s the placement either.
it’s the idea that having ‘no regrets’ is a reasonable goal to aim for.
i know that might seem crazy to you, but i’d like to explain why with a very short story, courtesy of Chris Williamson:
one evening, there were two older men drinking whiskey & smoking cigars together in a room that probably looked like this:
one of the men was feeling tense, because he had a big decision to make the next day, & he couldn’t make his mind up.
‘i just don’t want to do something i’ll regret’ he said.
his friend looked at him, leaned back in his chair, & took a puff of his cigar,
& all he said was this:
‘in life, we must choose our regrets.’
that hit me like a truck.
in 1 simple sentence, that old man both diagnosed & cured a sickness that every single one of us is forced to live with:
opportunity cost.
basically, any time you make a decision, you’re not just deciding what you want to do — you’re deciding what you don’t want to do as well.
by deciding to spend Christmas in Tokyo, you’re also deciding not to spend Christmas in London.
by deciding to scroll in bed all morning, you’re also deciding not to spend your morning at the gym.
by deciding to eat Taco Bell, you’re also deciding not to have a functioning asshole the next day.
simply put, every choice you make is a quiet rejection of every other thing you could be doing in that moment, but are not.
do you see the problem here?
whenever things go wrong, our first response is to assume it was because of some bad decision that we made.
‘i should’ve gone to London instead.’
‘i should’ve gone to the gym instead.’
‘i shouldn’t have eaten that cheesy double bean 5-layer beef burrito.’
the problem is, even if every decision you made was the right decision to make, you’re still gonna have the open loop of ‘what if?’
you don’t know what could’ve happened if you made the other choice in that moment, & you never will know.
opportunity cost is baked into life — & with it, are regrets.
so what does that old man’s wisdom actually mean for you today?
it means that next time you’re faced with a tough decision to make, it just got a whole lot easier for you.
instead of asking ‘what do i want to do?’
just ask yourself ‘what regret am i willing to live with?’
you can regret the things you did, or you can regret the things you didn’t do.
you can regret taking the risk, or you can regret playing it safe.
you can regret going to Taco Bell… & you probably always will.
but you get the point.
‘in life, we must choose our regrets.’
some things i learned
people are having less sex than ever
depression hates a moving target
‘higher daily step counts were associated with fewer depressive symptoms in the general adult population.’ this is yet another penny tilting the scale towards the idea that exercise is the closest thing to a miracle drug that exists.‘shuttle diplomacy’ — how sneaky deals are made in politics & business
i’ll use Henry Kissinger’s example of how he would arrange a marriage between Rockefeller’s daughter & a Siberian peasant.Peasant: ‘why would i marry an American when we have great girls here?’
Kissinger: ‘she’s a billionaire’s daughter.’
Peasant: ‘oh, that changes everything.’Swiss Bank: ‘we don’t want a peasant as president.’
Kissinger: ‘he’s Rockefeller’s son-in-law.’
Swiss Bank: ‘oh, that changes everything.’Rockefeller: ‘my daughter marry a Russian peasant? no.’
Kissinger: ‘he’s president of a Swiss bank.’
Rockefeller: ‘oh, that changes everything.’
Rockefeller: ‘i found you a perfect fiancé — the Swiss Bank president!’
Daughter: ‘ew, all bankers are skinny and boring.’
Kissinger: ‘this one’s a big Siberian man.’
Daughter: ‘oh, that changes everything.’
this is obviously a crazy example, but the point stands — reality can become whatever people are convinced it is.
cool stuff i found
some nerd used lab-grade equipment to find the secret recipe for Coca-Cola
apparently, only a handful of people alive had ever been given access to the formula — it’s literally locked in a vault at their headquarters. but that’s what nerds are for. LabCoatz used a mass spectrometer to analyze every molecule in the drink, & he reverse-engineered it from there. here’s what he found:
the world’s first digital nails (?!?) can change colour instantly with an app
the way it works is so cool. there’s a thin layer of tiny coloured particles floating inside the nail, & the right electric current from the wand (included) puts whatever colour you want on top — until you want to change it!an email i re-read when progress feels slow & i’m being impatient
if you only click 1 link from this email today, make it this. it’s an email to Tim Ferris from his friend, Christopher Sommer, who coached the U.S. National Team for gymnastics.
that’s all for this week!
just a few quick updates about what’s going on behind-the-scenes here (for the 0 of you who asked lol):
this week: i’m working with a videographer for the first time to film footage way faster than before. the goal is weekly video uploads on my YT channel.
after that: once i’m able to post more often, i’ll have more leverage to negotiate with a few carefully-selected sponsors (i’m being very picky). that would allow me to keep creating stuff like this for a living!
after after that: i’m working on a project that i think would allow me to actually help you improve your life in a meaningful way, beyond just watching videos & reading these emails.
more updates on all of those things will be coming soon.
‘til next time!
~ liam (:
PS - i’m getting close to achieving my dream, which is creating stuff like this & helping people for a living. thank you so much for your support — every email you read, video you watch, & comment you type means the world to me. i don’t take any of this for granted.
PPS - i wasn’t joking about Taco Bell earlier
‘put yourself in environments where you have to perform to your utmost; if you can get by being average, you probably will.’
~Nabeel Qureshi