Stay present, stop bottlenecking, beat the scroll

🌱 HEALTHY

Peace Lives in the Present

"If you're depressed, you're living in the past. If you're anxious, you're living in the future. If you're at peace, you're living in the present." — Lao Tzu

Life gets heavy sometimes. You replay what already happened or stress about what might happen. Both pull you out of the only place where you actually have power.

You can't rewrite the past. You can't predict the future. But you can do something right now.

Being present isn't about ignoring problems or pretending everything's fine. It's about focusing on what's in front of you instead of spinning out over things you can't change.

Trust the process you're in. The future gets shaped by what you do today, not by how much you worry about it.

Takeaway: When your mind starts spiraling backward or forward, pull yourself back to right now. What can you actually do in this moment? Start there.

🪙 WEALTHY

Stop Being Your Own Bottleneck

Most solopreneurs stay solo way longer than they should.

You're doing the marketing, handling the tech stuff, managing client communication, creating the actual product or service, and somehow trying to grow the business at the same time.

It feels productive because you're busy. But you're also the reason things aren't moving faster.

You can only learn so much. Only do so much. Only be in so many places at once.

At some point, trying to be good at everything means you're not great at anything. And your business growth stalls because everything runs through you.

The fix isn't complicated. Build a small team.

I'm not talking about hiring 20 people and managing a corporation. I mean 2-5 people who work with you consistently. People who actually care about what you're building.

This range is the sweet spot for lifestyle businesses. Small enough to stay manageable and keep costs reasonable. Big enough to actually get things moving.

If budget's tight, start with one or two people. If you've got more work and revenue, bring on a few more. There's no magic number. The point is getting help from people who know their stuff so you can focus on what you're actually good at.

A few things change when you do this.

Work gets done faster because you're not the only one doing it. Fresh ideas show up because someone else is thinking about your business too. And honestly, it just feels better to build something alongside people who are invested in it.

There's an energy shift that happens when you're not grinding alone. You've got someone to bounce ideas off. Someone who's motivated about the same thing you are. It makes the whole process less isolating and more interesting.

Staying solo keeps you in control. But it also keeps you stuck doing everything yourself.

Takeaway: If you're stretched thin trying to handle every part of your business, it might be time to bring someone in. Even one person can change how fast you move and how the work feels. Start small, but start.

📚 AND WISE

What Did You Just Watch?

I was scrolling the other day and a video popped up with a challenge: "What was the video before the last one you watched about?"

It paused to give me time to think.

I couldn't remember. Not even close. I had literally just watched it two videos ago and had zero recollection of what it was about.

The video went on to explain why this happens. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts are designed around something called a dopamine loop. You never know what's coming next, so your brain gets hooked on the act of scrolling itself, not the actual content.

Your brain is chasing novelty. That's why you can watch 20 videos in a row and forget all of them. The platform rewards you for scrolling, not for retaining information.

If you're traveling or exploring, you've got even more downtime than usual. Airports, long train rides, waiting around between activities. It's easy to kill an hour scrolling without realizing it.

You don't need to force yourself into productivity mode with a podcast or book. Sometimes your brain just wants something light with zero pressure.

Here's a fun way to use that time instead.

Trivia and games hit that sweet spot. Engaging enough to keep you off social media, but still just messing around.

Open ChatGPT and play trivia. Tell it to quiz you on whatever sounds interesting and it'll fire off questions. Answer a few rounds and you've probably learned something that actually sticks.

You can also play guessing games. Think of a person, real or made up, and see if ChatGPT can figure out who it is. Sounds simple, but it's way more engaging than passive scrolling.

The point isn't that these games are life-changing. It's just that if you're going to be on your phone anyway, you might as well do something that engages your brain instead of feeding a loop you won't remember.

Ten minutes of trivia beats ten minutes of content that disappears from your memory the second you swipe past it.

Takeaway: Next time you catch yourself scrolling, try opening ChatGPT instead. Play trivia, try a guessing game, or find something else that sounds fun. Your brain will actually have something to show for it.