January 31, 2022.

Feeling good

These days bring so much intensity to our lives. These are some ideas I use to feel better:

• I listen to classical or uplifting music while I work, better if only instrumental.
• I read even for 5 minutes, a few pages from a book I had never read.
• I meditate once or twice a day for 10 minutes.
• I make myself comfortable.
• I make myself available to any friend that might need to know there is someone there for them.
• I enjoy slowly preparing a good tea with a nice cup and a lovely teapot.
• I try to do something different. Now I'm home-growing chilies and sprouting alfalfa and mustard seeds.
• I go for a walk close to nature.

What do you do to feel better?

Jose

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Success

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Do you feel like success always manages to escape you?

I think that some of the reasons why we might feel that way are related to the following ideas:

1. We think of success as a destination, a place to arrive, therefore isn't available today.
2. We project success to the future. We plan activities considered requisites for success; therefore, we spend our time doing things, adjusting plans, and creating more objectives to reach later on.
3. We use the future as a motivation to do things today. We dream big and use that image to inspire us to act now. We forget that there is much to celebrate, enjoy, and be grateful for every day.

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​Alan Watts, a master explainer of our relationship with time, advises us to Live Fully Now as a reminder that tells us that planning for the future is part of the equation, but there is much more than that:

https://youtu.be/HdqVF7-8wng

How to achieve success?

If you change your definition of success to something you can achieve each day, you will also likely succeed in the future. It is like compound interests.

If you think that defining what success means to you is a loss of time, you'll likely use a definition of success someone else made, and that definition might not be working well for you.

There are multiple sources of definitions for success, i.e., society, family, and our workplaces. Each of them addresses their particular interests, and the different definitions are compatible and complementary.

Is your definition for success addressing your interests?

Ready to define what success means for you?

Okay, don't forget your emotions; in the end, you will enjoy your success according to how you feel, right?

1. Which are the three most important emotions you associate with success?
2. How is your success helping you not feel depressed or anxious?
3. How is your success impacting others?

And please consider the following:

• On planet Earth, it is impossible to grant continuous safety and stability.
• Everything changes with time.
• The ups and downs are part of the nature of everything we do. Observe in retrospect, and you'll see clearly that even some daring experiences bring positive effects.
• Comfort is a distraction; it doesn't fix depression or anxiety.

If you have questions or comments, feel free to reply to this message. Let's start the conversation!

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Honoring Thich Nhat Hanh

“Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throw away your knowledge.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

Thay, as known by his friends, passed away a few days ago. His life and teachings have a profound impact in me, his influence helps me build a more present attitude for entrepreneurship as a lifestyle.

If you don't know about his life, I recommend you to listen to Krista Tippet's OnBeing podcast: Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Thay.

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I want to thank you for being part of this newsletter. It really means a lot to me, and I sincerely hope it is helpful to you.

Let me share one more thing before I leave. It is a song by Coldplay, part of an album that mixes hope, trust, innocence, imagination, fun masterfully and integrates them with simple yet profound lyrics that, at least in my view, remind us what is to be a human.

When listening to it, I could not avoid imagining than the melodic and childish voice was our planet singing to us. Enjoy! it's uplifting :)

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January passed very fast.

Stay safe, connected, loved, brave and successful!

Jose & Jernej.