the rule of 1000

i think about time all the time.

when i wake up in the morning, the first thing i see on the wall in front of me is a massive 4x3’ calendar.

my apartment is full of whiteboards, to-do lists, & journals with ‘review/previews’ that Emma & i write together.

one of the most-used apps on my laptop is the calendar, because i’ve tracked almost every second of my life on it for the past few years.

i know it’s a bit crazy, but this stuff has served me well in a few ways — & i found an idea that captures why:

the rule of 1000.

you already have the body of your last 1000 meals, the mind of your last 1000 conversations, & the bank account of your last 1000 decisions. nothing about your current situation is a mystery. it’s a receipt.

i used to hate that i was working dead-end jobs for minimum wage.

then i realized i hadn’t tried anything different in the 1000+ days before.

so i changed my behaviour, started my first business, & quit my job.

less than 1000 days of entrepreneurship later, i hit early-stage financial freedom (~4h workweek pays for my life) & get to spend my days doing work i love.

i hate writing stuff like that because it sounds braggy & makes it seem like i’m doing better than i really am.

but i’m doing better than i was.

& that’s what i hope you can take from this:

your last 1000 days built the life you have.

your next 1000 can build the life you want.

so stop complaining about results you’re not getting from work you’re not doing,

& go build that life (:

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some things i learned

1. happiness is a choice (fight me)
   top 5 statements linked to high life satisfaction:
   (1) i have a lot of fun
   (2) i am usually active & full of energy
   (3) i am able to control my cravings
   (4) i rarely complain
   (5) i remain calm under pressure
   
   top 5 statements linked to low life satisfaction:
   (1) i often feel that others misunderstand me
   (2) i find that nothing excites me
   (3) i am afraid of being left alone
   (4) i often feel tired
   (5) i am afraid of many things
   
   i’d argue that everything on both lists is at least partially within our control.
   [source]

2. how to always have energy in the morning
   i’ve been reading Protocols by Andrew Huberman, & one of the first things he recommends is going outside & getting sunlight ASAP after waking up.
   it’s a good idea to go outside in general, but when the sun is low, there’s a special blend of red + blue light that hits your eye & works some magic.
   try it tomorrow morning & see how you feel.

3. the simplest way to stop wasting days
   if you want to make tomorrow a good day, it starts with what you do today.
   that’s why i stole Sharran Srivatsaa’s weekly review/preview concept & started using it as a daily ritual.
   all i do is take 5 minutes each night to recap my day (bullet points), & plan what i want tomorrow to look like.
   you’d be surprised how big of a difference it makes.

cool stuff i found

it’s hard to go 24h without putting microplastics in your nuts these days, & i think that’s crazy, so i’m trying to use more natural stuff instead.

but since replacing all of my fancy skin + hair products with just 3 all-natural ones, people have started asking what my routine is for the first time ever.

so let me put you on rn — not sponsored i promise:

1. 18-in-1 soap (lol trust me bro)
   i’ve spent years looking for a shampoo that doesn’t dry the fuck out of my scalp, & i finally found the one.
   Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap has clean ingredients, replaces any type of soap you’d ever need, & it makes my hair + skin feel so good that i’m genuinely mad i didn’t try it sooner.
   when you learn how soap works at a molecular level, it makes you wonder why we ever stopped using natural soaps like this (‘profit’ is why lol).

   

2. the best way to wash your face
   washing your face is about (1) getting dirt off & (2) rehydrating the skin.
   to do the first step, i use Indian Healing Clay. it’s a powder that you mix with water, smear on your face, & then wash off after it dries.
   nothing fancy, it just works.

   

3. the secret to ‘glowing’ skin
   nothing has ever made my skin look as good as Whipped Tallow Balm, & there’s some fancy science explaining why.
   basically, your skin is made of fatty molecules that are almost identical to the ones in beef tallow. that means your skin absorbs this stuff really well.
   since this one is whipped & scented (with essential oils), it doesn’t have the weird texture & smell that some people hate about ‘normal’ tallow.
   probably a top 10 purchase i’ve ever made.

   

4. (bonus) this might get rid of your acne
   i never had acne, but some people swear the only thing to clear their skin up was a probiotic spray like this one.

   since acne happens when ‘bad’ bacteria overgrows inside clogged pores, probiotic sprays work by adding ‘good’ bacteria to balance things out.
   to be clear, i haven’t used this. just thought it was worth mentioning.

that’s all for today!

we just had Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, & i feel so grateful to have people like you who support my work.

i know i say it all the time, but i really do mean it.

go make yourself proud this week!

~ liam (:

PS - the best skincare ‘hack’ is a clean diet, but that’s not exciting lol