Hey Everyone,

It's Daniel.

You've been fed a lie.

This lie lets dreams die in your mind.

It has you not doing things you love.

It has you doing things. (because of how it looks to others)

It's a curse that plagues many of us.

And has you do things out of obligation, rather than desire.

What is this?

It's caring what other people think of you.

Here’s my response: it's cool to care. (make caring cool again)

Confession time:

When everyone does something or likes something, I tend to be skeptical.

I say I love excitement. Yet when other people are high energy about things I have to work to not shut them down. Instead of fueling the flame. (what a shame!)

Maybe you're a bit like me in this.

Why do I do this? (you may be asking)

I'm living in fear.

I'm afraid I'll like the sport or hobby and it won't reflect well on who I am. (or who I want to be perceived as)

I don't let myself feel deeply.

Shaan Puri has a great quote for people like me: (and maybe like you)

I use logic because I have a picture of how things should be. And feeling deeply is not as easily controllable.

So if too many people are into it, I tend to not start. (out of fear that it will consume me fully)

But what if I'm wrong?

What if instead of consuming my life, it produces life. I try doing each of these things once a week for the next month and get a little bit better at each of them. I won't become amazing or world class. But If I can simply have fun, make some new friends and enjoy the process it could be an amazing thing for me.

So perhaps that's where I'll start. (a trial period)

Do ju-jitsu with some friends.

Play pickleball once a week.

Play magic once a week with a few friends.

Story time:

So… Here’s why this is hard for me:

Last summer I wanted my business to grow. (but It wasn’t)

I felt stuck and didn’t know what to do.

Then I had a conversation with my dad.

Side bar: Have you ever had a conversation where your parent said something you were already thinking about yourself, and it was really hard to hear…? (That was this conversation for me)

And he told me that I have so much potential. But my energy and efforts are scattered. Focus on one thing, let it grow, then branch out into other things.

So I did the only thing that made sense.

I wrote the priorities I wanted to have. (all the activities and areas of my life)

I wrote out what my current priorities were based on my actions and how I spent my time. (they were massively different)

I began to eliminate or limit the things that were lower on the list. My level of commitment and investment in my detailing business grew. As this happened, my results did too. The fewer other things I did, the more energy and creativity I had for my business. (Here was my list)

Do you have a hard time not going all in on things?

I don't want to do things as a hobby. I want to be world class.

Here's the thing:

I love trying new things. I balance this with limiting how many things steal focus from my business. (I only have so much creative energy)

If I'm just not as attached to anything it's easier to let it go. Most things in my life are leveraged towards my business growing in some capacity. I'm constantly trying to figure out how to take the things I want to do, and the things I need to do and put them together in smart ways so I can live the lifestyle I want to, and still grow my business in the process.

Here’s how to make caring cool again:

1. List out your ideal priorities.

2. Assess your current priorities (based on time and actions)

3. let yourself be excited about things. Whether it's "cool" or not. (and find friends who will celebrate you)

4. It's okay and necessary to care.

5. It's okay to like things that are popular.

6. Just because you’re doing something doesn't mean you have to be world class at it.

7. Use Trial periods: see if it adds to your life or takes away for a week or month. (this is all based on what you are choosing to prioritize)

8. It doesn't have to be a huge commitment either. (jiu-jitsu once a week, pickleball once a week) slower progress, but maybe equally fun. (I’ll let you know)

9. Few things are a life sentence. Try things, then adjust.

P.S. If you’re in Sacramento area and need your vehicle detailed or ceramic coated check out my detailing business: https://www.instagram.com/baarnsdetailing/