Spice

There is nothing I hate more working hard, investing time and energy, towards something that is unfruitful, or does not serve an intentional purpose. So in this episode, we break down Epictetus key lesson, so we can understand what is the end towards which we are moving. First, we’ll understand what Epictetus meant by his advice, and I will give you my interpretation of it. Second, you and I will understand how we can define for ourselves clear, relatable ‘ends’ or rather goals. When we think about Epictetus' advice, we truly need to think about everything we do. A goal could be overarching, like our life’s mission. But it could also be more specific, like losing weight, or learning a new skill.  Then, we will learn how to work backwards from a goal, design the path we should take, making sure every effort we put in is in service of that goal.

This week we break down the key lesson of IKEA's founder, who once said: "one of the cornerstones of IKEA's success has been our willingness to take risks and make mistakes. I have always believed that it is better to take action and fail than to do nothing at all. This philosophy has allowed us to innovate and grow, learning from each mistake and improving along the way. For instance, when we first introduced the concept of flat-pack furniture, it was a disaster. The instructions were confusing, and many customers struggled to assemble their furniture. But instead of giving up, we took the feedback seriously, refined the process, and eventually turned it into one of our greatest strengths." Make mistakes, often, and remember what mastery looks like. It looks like being the man in the arena: It is not the critic who counts, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. Make mistakes, and march on.

How many times have I wished I could roll back time, and undo my stupid mistakes. But the will can only will forward, and life could only be lived forward. In today's episode I am breaking down Nietzsche's important key-lesson - redeeming our pasts, our mistakes, our failures, our regrets, so we could focus on what's important - our future. In the first part we’ll understand why we must find redemption, the kind Nietzsche is talking about, redeeming our past so we can achieve mastery in the future. Then we’ll understand what Nietzsche is telling us we must do to achieve it - there are three parts to this: To redeem the past, we must have responsibility. Responsibility is self governance, and it is freedom, and freedom means: ‘I wanted it thus!’ The second part is ownership. Owning our actions, their outcomes, our failures and successes.  The last part, which will allow us to have better options to choose from, increasing our ability to choose wisely, and feel empowered to own our lives, is positioning.

Today's key lesson all about, I believe, it’s about a basic human craving for confirmation. We need external confirmation from our loved ones, from our peers, from our community. Robert Greene, in his book the Laws of Human Nature, is telling us - From the moment we are born, we humans feel a never-ending need for attention. We are social animals to the core. Our survival and happiness depend on the bonds we form with others. In this episode, I breakdown how can you and I use this law, and key lesson, to our benefit.

This very simple key lesson which we will be speaking about today, is one of my favorites. It sounds like a no brainer, it sounds simple and even too simple, idiotic almost - but it is a genius approach to business and life.  We should break Monish's observation into three part:  The first part is about risk. In everything we do in life, in every decision we take about an unknown future, there’s an inherent risk we cannot avoid.  The second and the third parts are how to deal with that risk. First, to reduce that risk, we need to make a few Bets, big Bets, and make these bets infrequently Second, we will reduce risk if we learn how to play games where the odds are overwhelmingly in our favor I try to take Monish’s lesson and implement it in every part of my life. I think it applies to relationships, to business, to the way I select the books or podcasts I read and listen to even. How I invest my time. Take this knowledge and use it, transform it into wisdom by practice and repetition. 

I am actually very excited about today's episode because today’s key lesson is not a piece of advice, but a warning.  In our work, in our path, in our sacrifice to achieve mastery, we must not be those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. The souls who avoided their battles. Instead, we want to be the man, and woman who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who is making mistakes, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. If you are not failing, you are not even trying!  Be the man in the arena, or be the man who bears the wounds of all the battles he avoided.  

I am actually very excited about today’s lesson, because this is my kryptonite. It is the single most difficult thing for me to do. No one, outside maybe inhuman creatures like Elon Musk, can retain high levels of intensity for a long period of time. And when you are no longer as excited about that thing you started, when you captured the first hill of the battle you’re in, or when things suddenly become harder than you originally expected - then, all of a sudden, you’re bored, you can’t find motivation, you are anxiously looking for something to push you forward. You are losing pace. And for us to find success, and to reach mastery - we must learn how to build sustainable, long term commitment. Because, true, in the short term, you are as good as your intensity. In the long term, you are only as good as your consistency.

Today we break down Charlie Munger's key lesson for success, and it is about the power of simplicity. If we take a simple idea, and we take it seriously, and consistently, I'll add - we will sure to find success! Listen how successful people like Steve Jobs, or Henry Ford, the Boston Consulting Group, simplified to create the most compelling, easy to use, memorable, and successful products in the world.

Excellence is the capacity to take pain. This line has been called the best maxim in the history of entrepreneurship. Only two weeks ago, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia shared with Stanford grads - “One of my great advantages is that I have very low expectations. Most of the Stanford graduates have very high expectations. And you deserve to have high expectations because you came from a great school. People with high expectations have very low resilience”. And unfortunately, Jensen says, resilience matters in success. I don’t know how to teach it to you, except that I hope suffering happens to you”. What does he wish us to experience? Suffering. Why? Because if we can withstand suffering, it means we are resilient, and resilient matters a lot, in business and in finding success! If we learn to deal with pain, and suffering, we will find success. Because, Excellence is the capacity to take pain. 

Delve into the transformative power of self-belief as key figures throughout history show how it governs success. Personal anecdotes and examples, like Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey, illustrate that true success is rooted in unwavering faith in oneself. Learn how belief shapes identity and fosters resilience against external skepticism. Discover the distinction between mere hope and genuine faith, with insights on cultivating confidence during challenging times all while exploring the essence of ambition and personal transformation.