Call it a bar, filter, whatever. Just don’t call it blue magic.
My New Modality: Relentlessly Pursue it All.
What This Is
The Bar or Low Pass Filter: As thoughts, ideas, and external influences bombard me, I am compelled to process them through a stringent filter. This filter is a validation checkpoint: does this relate to my top priorities directly, without tangential links, right here, right now? Future potential won’t cut it; it's about present value.
Pursuing all that I want is not about adding more - but rather reducing things down with an “anything but” heuristic.
Context (Recent):
I'm navigating the treacherous waters of a startup that's at the very precipice of success or failure, standing at the terminal point of our runway.
My past is littered with thrilling escapades, seemingly enriching experiences that, upon reflection, appear as mere distractions given our financial runway.
I recognize my own missteps. Despite knowing the "One Thing" – a nod to Dave Keller's concept – that my business requires, my focus hasn't been razor-sharp.
At my core, I desire it all. Not out of mere selfishness, but from a standpoint of entitlement. It's the life I've built, structured, and now vehemently yearn for.
Reasoning: The world is brimming with distractions. Carrots on sticks and the “girl in the red dress” all showing up at once.
The allure of side quests.
The constant external distractions.
The societal chains of 'must-dos' and 'should-haves'.
Even worse: are reinforcement mechanisms constantly poisoning your neural embeddings and influencing importance.
true importance is embodying and empowering your manifestations of intrinsic motivations.
I’m an ambitious person. I get uncomfortable being around people who don’t share that same intrinsic belief, and get exhausted by people who boast (instead of enacting upon) about their own.
I’m also a human. I have my own daily limits and
Defining The Bar and Criteria for The Filter:
As things come in, whether internally or externally, I will run my own classification system on each item being laid - stripping them down to the concretes of what do i need to do, what does this give me, what is the impact, and what does this take me away from. from there, if the item falls under the classes of the three that are at my threshold of worthiness, then I will engage. Otherwise, its table or reject.
The Three Items representing my bar:
Well-being: It encapsulates stress management, controlling anxiety, ensuring energy levels are optimal, maintaining proper sleep schedules, ensuring periods of rest, and aligning with what genuinely excites me.
Financial Stability: This revolves around:
The startup and its undying focus.
Accepting the humble realizations about the true challenges of establishing a startup.
The balance between seeking employment to maintain stability while investing energy into developing my startup.
Effective time management, especially in the startup sphere. Avoiding the pitfalls of justifying everything for the business and ensuring the axe remains sharp and directed.
Artistic and Cathartic Expression: Here, art and creativity emerge from:
The deep yearning for a state of play.
My forays into music production and the world of AI tools.
The drive to produce content that resonates with my soul, without the pressure of turning hobbies into hustles.
Closing Thoughts:
"The Bar" is more than just a concept; it's my beacon in an overwhelming sea. If something doesn't meet this threshold, it's not granted passage into my life.
Life is a continuous oscillation between my deepest desires of work, physical movement, culinary delights, personal hobbies, rabbit-hole deep dives into knowledge, and my drive for impactful philanthropy. It's this ambition that often sets me apart – an unsettling feeling in the midst of those who don't see or feel its intensity.
But beneath all this drive and ambition, there lies a simple human, craving the softer moments – the moments of fluff and mush, of love and cherishable experiences in both wakefulness and dreams.
