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“A good romantic partner makes everything in life easier. A bad romantic partner makes everything more difficult. Therefore, relationship skills are some of the most important skills for life.” – Mark Manson
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Happy Friday.
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​We’ve had some valuable discussions on dating, love and relationships inside The Path recently, so I wanted to share a few of the highlights today.
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Enjoy.

They Aren’t Teachers, They’re Triggers.
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Romantic partners are, in many cases, our most powerful teachers — but they rarely teach through words.
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Far more often, they teach experientially:
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By triggering parts of us (in pleasant and unpleasant ways) so we can look at ourselves more clearly.
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This is far more valuable than linear teaching, but we need to read between the lines to receive it…

Stop Approaching & Just Be Friendly​
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In the past I’ve found that “approaching” people is kind of the wrong angle…
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What felt better for me was just generally chatting with people, not hitting on anyone, just being friendly with everyone and seeing which seeds sprout.
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You could start with something really simple and add one sentence (“how’s your day going?”) every time you interact with a cashier or someone in your yoga class.
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Don’t make it about finding a date / soul mate, just make it about being friendly.

Crushing On Chicks Turns Our Brain Goofy​
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My working theory on love & neurochemistry:
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Liking a girl, at least in the early stages, turns our brain goofy.
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The serotonin / dopamine / oxytocin soup our brain cooks up when we’re crushing on someone makes us less productive, more reactive, prone to poor decisions, and overall, simply, dumber.
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And yet, in the end:
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​Life is still better for it. ​
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Monk mode is overrated fellas, get out there and mix it up.

Have an awesome weekend over there.
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You deserve it.
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• T
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  ​P.S. Many, many thanks to everyone who left a rating and review for the new podcast.
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  And, in case you missed it yesterday, here’s the deal:
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  Everyone who leaves a rating and review on Apple Podcasts (turns out Spotify doesn’t allow reviews, so Apple is best) and replies to this email with a screenshot will receive access to one of the best recordings from this year’s retreat:
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  ​Happiness: A practical guide to life strategy.​
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  (not even shared with our Path members, yet!)
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  Thank you, again and always, for your support of this work.

“I don’t believe in magic”, the young boy said. The old man smiled: “You will, when you see her.” – Atticus

“Degree of difficulty doesn’t count. There aren’t more points for accomplishing something really hard.” – Nick Huber
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Tattoo this one across your mind so it can never be forgotten:

Degree of difficulty doesn’t count.
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Nobody cares how many hours you spend in the gym, they only care how well you deliver on game day.
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And, the deeper truth separating big-game players from underperforming gym rats:
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​Big-game players get the biggest bang from the smallest spark.
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They squeeze the largest output from he smallest input; the most reward for the least work.
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If the goal can be accomplished with 1% effort, they don’t crank it to 100% just to tickle their own ego:
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They tick it off at 1% and move the fxck on.
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Which means — no calculator needed:
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​100x the result for the same amount of work.
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The scoreboard doesn’t lie, difficulty doesn’t matter, and work ethic without results is a waste.
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Take that, Goggins.
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• T
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  ​P.S. Along those lines:
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  ​Here’s a big-bang, no-cost, zero-time-investment habit that will multiply your results across every domain of life…​

“You are not in this world. This world is in you.” – Nisargadatta Maharaj
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There’s a goofy little meme working its way through pop-psychology circles that goes something like…
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“Life is not happening to you, life is happening for you.”
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It’s a cozy idea:
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A sort of psycho-spiritual Xanax (Spanax!) that spreads a soft film of pleasure around life’s sharp edges.
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(Spanax: When life sucks, it can feel good too!™)
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It’s also not true.
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Life is not happening to you, or for you:
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Life is responding to you.
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In other words:
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You’re getting what you’re giving. ​
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Walk into a party off-gassing a bunch of twisted-up negativity, and people will respond in kind.
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Now, scale that to the rest of reality, and we’re finally seeing through clear eyes:
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The universe speaks the language of energy, and it doesn’t respond the way we want it to, it responds the way we respond to it.​
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Said another way:
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​Our outer world is always directly and immediately reflecting of our inner world…​
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…Which means the responsibility to create it, shape it, and make it our own, is on us.
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Freeing, isn’t it?
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• T
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  ​P.S. This just dropped… ​

“Never assume that loud is strong and quiet is weak. The fiercest storms rise from the calmest seas.” – Tommy Shelby, Peaky Blinders
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Happy Friday.
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​Here are three (four) more recs for your weekend, including one that might go on our all-time list if we ever make one.
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Enjoy.

​The Most Dangerous Country On Earth​
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If life feels hard right now, watch this video.
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We all need to be reality-checked once in a while.

​Craig Ferguson: Stop Being Nervous Around Women​
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The communication God himself drops well-earned wisdom on how to stop being nervous around women.
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(originally shared in The Path during our Advanced Communication release)
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For extra points, here’s Craig in action.​

​Peaky Blinders (All Time)​
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I’m re-watching this show for the first time since 2019 (still haven’t seen the final season), and it’s blowing my mind all over again.
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It’s a little (lot) dark in spots, but what it lacks in warm-and-fuzziness is more than made up for in shining, world-class quality.

S-Tier.

​BONUS: Binaural beats for working​
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I like to listen to binaural beats / ambient sound while working, and this channel is my current favorite source.
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Cool visuals as well.

Have an awesome weekend over there.
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You deserve it.
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• T
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  ​P.S. In case you missed it earlier this week…

“What weapon will slay the dragon? Whatever weapon is in my hands.”
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A few weeks ago, we started keeping an Insight Log inside The Path:

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A special section where our members share short, quick-hitting insights, quotes, and ideas as they come to mind throughout the day.

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It is absolutely popping off.

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Here’s a peek at a few of my favorite insights from the past week:

The Real Value of Small Talk

shared by Adan Maldonado
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“Small talk is basically a short ritual that allows your nervous system to regulate in the presence of another human before you can begin to open up.”

The Ultimate Problem-Solving Frame

shared by me
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“None of this is a problem, and solutions are abundant.”
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The ultimate functional-and-accurate problem-solving frame; applies to damn near everything.
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Let it permeate your mind until you feel it in your energy.

Simon’s Insights

shared by Simon Bitan
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“What weapon will slay the dragon? Whatever weapon is in my hands.”
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“A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
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“Perhaps happiness is separate from wanting and not wanting.”

Feeding Your Awareness
​shared by Callum Suttie
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​“The more you feed into your awareness the less it can focus on anything; the less you feed into your awareness the sharper and more clear it becomes.”

The Shrinking Brain
​shared by me, via. Chris Williamson
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“The human brain, after growing for millions of years, has begun shrinking over the last ten thousand years.
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Such shrinkage is consistent with increased cultural innovation, which allows more people to survive even if they’re not particularly bright.
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They can get away with not coming up with the best answers but simply copying what most other people are doing.” – Rob Henderson & Michael Muthukrishna

There are many more, of course, inside The Path — these are just a few that resonated for me this past week.
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I hope you enjoy, and benefit.
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• T
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  ​P.S. In case you missed it…