why you feel behind in life

if you feel like you’re falling behind in life, there are 2 truths worth knowing:

1. good things take time

2. time is money

basically, if you want to achieve anything big in life, it’s probably gonna take longer than you want it to.

but at the same time, life doesn’t care how much time you have.

you still need to put food on the table.

you still need to pay bills.

& you still need to do all those other things that we call ‘being an adult.’

it’s not a good thing or a bad thing — it just is the way it is.

so the question i was thinking about is this:

how do you build the future without losing the present?

to find the answer, i think it’s helpful to view things through the lens of finite vs infinite games.

i talk about this concept all the time, because it’s super important.

finite games are things with a clear goal that, if reached, ends the game.

• wanting to score more goals than your opponent —> doing that —> success

• chasing a promotion at work —> getting it —> success

• wanting a 1989 Toyota Pickup (anyone else?) —> owning one —> success

infinite games are different.

the rules aren’t clear, & the only goal is to keep playing.

• getting in shape (finite) —> staying in shape (infinite)

• learning something (finite) —> being smart (infinite)

• starting a business (finite) —> keeping a business open (infinite)

• getting a girlfriend (finite) —> having a happy relationship (infinite)

if you feel like you’re falling behind in life, i have a harsh truth for you:

you’re probably mixing up what type of game you’re playing.

every time i find myself feeling like i’m not doing ‘enough,’ or like progress isn’t coming as fast as it ‘should,’ i realize that i’ve made this mistake.

• do i want to get subscribers on youtube (finite), or be a youtuber (infinite)?

• do i want to make a bunch of money (finite), or be wealthy (infinite)?

• do i want to build more muscle (finite), or stay in shape (infinite)?

• do i want to own a 1989 Toyota Pickup (finite), o— actually yeah that’s exactly what i want.

my point is, i wake up every single day with this drive to ‘build my life’ & ‘make my dreams a reality’, & it makes me feel like i’m falling behind if i’m not moving fast enough.

but that’s only because i keep forgetting a simple truth:

i’m playing an infinite game.

& tomorrow, i can keep playing.

that means i’ve already won.

some things i learned

1. some perspective of how small we are

   

2. the word ‘brainrot’ isn’t even an exaggeration
   a recent meta-analysis study showed evidence that short form videos:
   - lower your IQ
   - make you anxious
   - make you stressed
   - induce mental illnesses
   yet another reason to stay away from that shit lol.

3. the batman effect
   on the busy Milan metro, researchers measured how often people gave up their seat for a pregnant woman normally vs when a man in a batman costume was on the train car. the results: 38% gave up their seat without batman present. 67% gave it up with him present.

cool stuff i found

1. one of the craziest gymnastic clips i’ve ever seen
   Tofig Aliyev from Azerbaijan just landed the world’s first triple backflip with a 360° twist in each flip. if it’s that hard to describe, i can’t imagine how hard it is to do. here’s the link.

2. a company with beautiful products that i want but don’t need
   there’s a Swedish electronics company called teenage engineering, & everything they make is designed with form & function in mind. if i had the need & money for their products, i’d buy them all. just look at this bro:

   

3. a weirdly emotional story from one of my fav shows growing up
   Top Gear was a fun show where these 3 British guys would do ridiculous challenges with all sorts of vehicles. but in this rare clip, one of the hosts tells the story of how a Porsche was the reason he got to see his dad before he died. idk why but it really made me feel some type of way lol.

that’s all for this week!

in case you missed it, i’m uploading a video on YT every single day until (at least) the end of the year.

it’s not my finest work, but that’s the whole point — i just want to get better at making videos in less time, & showing up every day no matter what.

you can check them out here if you want.

anyways, thanks for tuning in — being able to create stuff every day has been a dream of mine for a long time, & just by reading this, you’re keeping that dream alive.

go make yourself proud this week (:

~ liam

PS - if you haven’t already, look at my free list of 10 books that changed my life!