Hey I just released the 67 steps, check it out here: https://www.tailopez.com/product.php?id=FS-0998&source=podcast&sid=danieltosh

My brain has been in a whirlwind. Many books, many great thinkers whispering in my thoughts...

So instead of focusing on one specific book today I think I'll share 4 or 5 great concepts on living the "Good Life" I have run across recently. 

They are in no specific order but they will show you the value of diversifying your learning base:

1. "(While Leonardo DA Vinci was painting the Last Supper) The prior complained of Leonardo's apparent sloth, and wondered why he would sometimes sit before the walls for hours without painting a stroke. Leonardo has no trouble explaining to the Duke that an artists most important work lies in conception rather than in execution, and 'men of genius do most when they work least'." -- Will Durant "The Renaissance"

I talk about this a lot in my 67 steps program (the new version will be out later this week). Most humans pride themselves on their 'flurries' of activity. But in the end it's not the person who loads their day with pointless activity that wins. Clearly, if Da Vinci, needed one hour of thought to execute, you and I should think more deeply before we proceed.



2. "Let thy house be a meeting-place for the wise; cover thyself with the dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.” Pirke Avot

I'm going to make this the door mat to my house. Watch the movie "Midnight In Paris" from Woody Allen (Check out my movie review pageI just started on), and its message about the value of literally turning some physical location into a meeting place for the sharpest people you know to come hang out.

Try a movie night at your place, or a poker night, anything that will make your house a meeting place for the best local people you can talk into coming over.


3. “Ask God for a great assistant. No joke. A great one can make your life a whole lot easier —or, in my case, almost manageable. Norma Foerderer has been with me for twenty-three years.” --Donald Trump:"How to Get Rich.”

You can't really get more practical advice than this. I have 3 assistants and every time I meet someone who doesn't have at least one, I literally think they are either insane or possess some super power I can not fathom. Apparently billionaires feel the same way.


4. "Love is indeed much less exacting than it thinks itself. Nine-tenths of its cause are in the lover, for one-tenth that may be in the object.”George Santayana: “The Life of Reason"

This is not a viewpoint on love many people want to hear but even scientists would agree it's probably the truth. If you ever feel heartbroken or lonely, remember that even the most sincere love that you feel from another human is probably still more about them then you.

Santayana is saying that 90% of the reason people love you is because of what they get from it, it's not really about you (the 10%). That doesn't have to be a depressing message. It can help you see clearly through the inevitable loneliness all humans must experience at some time in their life.

It's ironic but once you realize in a certain sense we are always
alone you will gain a new sense of boldness that will actually make more humans interested in getting to know you. Independence leads to stronger social ties.


5. “One way for genes to solve the problem of making predictions in rather unpredictable environments is to build in a capacity for learning... Survival machines that can simulate the future are one jump ahead of survival machines who can only learn on the basis of overt trial and error. The trouble with overt trial is that it takes time and energy. The trouble with overt error is that it is often fatal. Simulation is both safer and faster. The evolution of the capacity to simulate seems to have culminated in subjective consciousness." -- Richard Dawkins: "The Selfish Gene"

This book is a whole other email by itself. But this is a life changing quote if you get his point. He is saying genetically we are programmed to NOT be completely pre-programmed. Our genes know that in an ever changing world we could not possibly be born with all of the instincts needed to cope with diverse environments. So our genes gave us a powerful coping mechanism.

You are programmed to LEARN on the fly! Anytime you hear someone say, "You should love me for who I am", you can call BS on them. You and I are NOT static beings. We were hardwired to continually morph and simulate the future and adjust to it. 


What's the practical takeaway? Simple, you better read more my
friend, hehe...