the world wants you to win

one of the most bitter-tasting, hard, shitty pills i’ve ever had to swallow is the fact that the world isn’t out to get me, & every shortcoming in my life is my fault.

it’s nice to think of ourselves as underdogs who find a way to beat the odds & win.

it makes for a good story.

but reality is closer to the opposite of that.

the world wants you to win.

every job interview you go to, they want you to be the perfect fit who gets hired.

every date you’ve ever been on, they want you to be ‘the one.’

every movie that’s ever been made, the audience wants it to be amazing.

every book that’s ever been written, the reader wants it to be their new favourite.

every conversation you’ve ever had, the other person wants it to be a good one.

there is no plot against you.

99% of people aren’t ‘praying on your downfall’ or ‘hating.’ they aren’t even thinking about you in the first place.

you aren’t where you want to be because you aren’t skilled enough yet.

that’s a good thing.

because if something is a skill, it means it can be improved upon with practice.

& it doesn’t take much to be above average at anything.

it takes about 20 hours of learning the guitar to play better than 90% of people.

if you make 1 youtube video, you’re more of a ‘creator’ than the 100+ million people who only consume youtube videos each day.

if you ask just 1 more question than you normally would in each conversation, you massively boost your odds of getting a 2nd date or getting hired somewhere.

the only thing that separates you from your goals is skill.

& the only way to get that skill is to just show up & try.

because if the world wants you to win,

what’s actually stopping you?

some things i learned

1. what it feels like to face death (& survive)
   after being lined up blindfolded in front of a firing squad, 27y/o Fyodor Dostoevsky had his life saved by a last-second royal pardon. hours later, he wrote this letter to his brother:

   

2. straight A’s don’t mean much anymore
   ‘in 1970, only 7% of college freshmen nationwide had a high-school grade average of A or higher. today, the share is ~40%.’
   ~ CIRP Freshman Survey, UCLA
   
   the common assumption is that A grades = exceptional = above normal.
   & by definition, normal ≠ above normal.
   
   which means that either (a) students are way smarter than they were before, or (b) standards have dropped lower than they were before.
   
   i know what i’d bet on lol.

3. the ‘best’ liars don’t technically lie
   i’ve noticed that the most dangerous people are usually not the ones who tell blatant lies to you. it’s the people who tell a few carefully selected half-truths that mislead you on purpose, without ‘technically’ lying.
   
   pro tip: stay away from those people!

cool stuff i found

1. an artist who mastered paintings of water
   i just discovered the Norwegian painter Frits Thaulow (1847–1906), & he paints reflections on water better than anyone i’ve seen. check it out:

   

2. a good question

   

3. the (research-backed) most relaxing song on earth
   in 2011, the British Academy of Sound Therapy did a study to measure the relaxing effects of a bunch of different songs. this one came out on top:

that’s all for this week!

not gonna lie, i’ve done an embarrassingly small amount of real, productive work in the past month. i committed to a ton of social things (which i love), & my work suffered as a result.

on the bright side, i’m feeling super motivated & excited to get back on a consistent schedule that protects time for work & play.

my first youtube vid in a long time is coming out ASAP, & after that i’ll be restarting daily (raw, less-polished) uploads on my new 2nd channel.

go make yourself proud this week!

~ liam (:

PS - i’m opening up 0to1.club to the public as soon as i upload! keep an eye out (;