How to Have a Richer Life

In This Issue:

How to Have a Richer Life

Learning from feedback while you muddle through is the whole point.

Tools and Talismans

• The Lycian Way

• The Power of Loving Kindness Meditation

• A Complete Education in Western Culture

How to Have a Richer Life

We’re going on a special journey today.

Or, rather, you’re going on a special journey.

You’re going to Greece. To an obscure island called Samothraki. (If you’re from Greece, or already familiar with the country, then feel free to substitute somewhere else that’s new and exotic)

Now here’s how this works. Regardless of your resources, there’s going to be some uncertainty.

It doesn’t matter if you spend a year reading guidebooks and learning the language before you go, or you head over there tomorrow morning…

Whether you barely have enough change for a coffee, or you go there with an American Express Centurion Card that you don’t have to pay back…

No matter how much money, preparation time, and support you have, there’s always a sense of excitement over the unknown.

By taking this trip, you’re accepting uncertainty and expressing your willingness to muddle through.

You know that if you get lost, mispronounce a word, or twist your ankle, you’re probably going to be okay. But there’s no guarantee…

How (And Why) to Have an Adventure

Remember Murphy’s Law? If something can go wrong, it will.

Something will go wrong on your trip to Greece. Don’t think of it as a setback. Think of it as feedback.

Learning from feedback while you muddle through is the whole point.

And as you step into the unknown and encounter a string of low-severity mishaps, you’ll start to feel a strange sense of control and a higher level of confidence.

Best of all, you can enjoy the same feeling anytime you face the unknown with a willingness to muddle through.

Whether it’s an audition or a date, whether you’re writing a book or posting a video, learning Aikido or getting certified, your next big adventure is your trip to Greece.

From now on, use Greece as a symbol of your next quest, your Hero’s Journey.

As you challenge yourself, master new skills, and engage in uncomfortable conversations, remember that you are climbing waterfalls and exploring marble ruins in wooded groves.

Each of these encounters with the unknown will make you wiser and more confident. Create more of these experiences and you’ll live a richer life.

Whatever happens, there’s a plate of fresh grapes and goat cheese waiting for you back at the Taverna.

The world is filled with would-be adventurers .

Smart people like you, with great ideas.

You just need a little bit of courage to take the first step. You could be one decision away from wealth, joy, and exhilirating freedom beyond anything you can imagine.

Don’t merely embrace uncertainty. Cultivate it.

Action Steps

1) Think of your major, long-term goals. Pick a big and important task that you need to accomplish in order to reach these goals.

2) Make a commitment to accomplish your chosen task as soon as possible, even if you have to muddle through it.

3) Break your task down into clear, specific steps you need to take (with the understanding that you may change some of these steps as you go)

4) Complete one of these steps in the next 24 hours. If you can’t, at least do one tiny thing that will get you closer to the goal.

5) Send a reply to this email to tell me about your adventure and how it’s going. I read every one of them.

Tools and Talismans

Download the Harvard Classics. Get a complete education in Western literature and history

A Meditation on Lovingkindness. This isn’t for everyone. But if you want to lower your stress and become more patient and compassionate, Jack Kornfield, a former Buddhist monk, shares his insights and how-to.

Follow the Lycian Way. This Journey included ancient ruins, breathtaking natural beauty, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s on my bucket list. What about yours?