5 Minutes | 3 Ideas, Quotes, and Questions | 1 Challenge

1 IDEA

The goal isn’t to find the perfect time to do something, the goal is to make the most out of the imperfect moment you get.

A friend of mine once said there’s never a right time for something — just as there’s never a wrong one. There’s just the current moment and what you do with it is up to you.

Of course, some moments are better suited than others — you don’t want to run a marathon after you downed double-digit vodka shots the night before or go on a date when you’ve got a stomach bug and herpes on your face.

But most men are stuck waiting for the perfect moment, which will never come. “I’ll get to it — once the weather is right, I feel good, there’s money in my bank account, and Jupiter has aligned with Mars and the moon.”

We’ve all been there and let many life-changing opportunities slip.

I’ve missed out on countless beautiful women because I thought the moment wasn’t right to approach them. I’ve missed a bunch of opportunities to speak my heart because I thought it wasn’t a good time. I’ve missed many business opportunities because I didn’t feel ready yet.

Would all of these have worked out if I just said fuck it and went for it? I don’t know. But what I know is that there is no such thing as a perfect moment. There will always be something that speaks against it, but life rewards those who take bold action even when things look grim.

Whatever you’re trying to achieve, don’t wait for the perfect moment to happen — take action and make the most out of what you have.

1 QUOTE

“Most of the excuses I made — not enough time, not enough money, not enough knowledge, not the right connections — were just ways to avoid the real bottleneck: not enough courage. There was always a small step I could have taken — if I had the guts to take it.” — James Clear

We decide with emotion but explain with logic.

As men, we often pride ourselves on our strong analytical skills and being smart rational thinkers. We can explain how machinery works, what happens when you put air into a tire, or why water turns into steam when it hits its boiling point. Yet, our emotions influence us a lot more than we’d like to admit.

Think about quitting your job, jumping out of a plane, or approaching random people at a party. What comes first, the uneasy feeling or the thoughts about everything that could go wrong?

Your mind is great at coming up with explanations, but don’t mistake them for the real reasons.

Be honest with yourself. Are the obstacles and challenges you face the real reasons why you can’t do something or just excuses your mind creates as a cover-up?

Once you find out what the real issue is, you can stop aiming at the dummies and get to the core of the matter.

1 QUESTION

Do the people around me act the way I wish to act?

This question is often posed the other way around: Do I act like I want people around me to act? As so often, social dynamics go both ways.

You’re familiar with Jim Rohn’s “you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” It’s nothing new. Yet, most people still miss its significance.

Your tribe influences you in many ways you don’t even recognize. If the people around you don’t act like you wish to, they’ll get you off track.

How can you expect to find meaning and purpose if the people around you mindlessly chase money and consumption?

How can you become a better man if the men around you are stuck in toxic patterns and unwilling to change?

How can you live a bigger life if everyone around you is playing it small?

I’m not saying you should turn your back on everyone you know — don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

But look at who you spend your time with and you know where you’re headed. It’s pretty hard to go up when they pull you down. If the people around you don’t act the way you wish to, find someone who does.

You can’t change the people around you, but you can change the people around you.

THE CHALLENGE

Don’t use your phone in the morning.

The last two weeks have been a roller coaster ride for me.

After my girlfriend and I broke up, I slipped into a few bad habits. One of them was to check my phone in the morning, something I haven’t been doing for over a year. Five minutes quickly turned into hour-long scrolling sessions. I felt drained, lost valuable time I could’ve used to work on what matters, and had trouble focusing throughout the day.

According to Jim Kwik, brain coach and author of the New York Times bestseller Limitless, checking your phone in the morning is the mental equivalent of putting a shotgun to your dick. All the notifications, messages, and colorful screens physically rewire your brain. You become reactive, get addicted to dopamine, and waste the most important part of your day.

That’s why your challenge for the next two weeks will be to not use your phone until lunchtime — or at least until you get to work and there’s absolutely no other way to do what you have to.

Two things to add:

1. Yes, it will feel uncomfortable. You’re probably so used to it your brain will scream at you and tell you all sorts of funny stories about missing out on something “important.” You don’t. Whatever it is, it can wait a few hours. The world will keep turning regardless.
2. Ditch the excuses. Yes, you need your phone for such-and-such. Work emails. Listening to music. Liking raunchy photos on Instagram. There are ways around it. I know tons of super busy business owners who manage without. I also need my phone to track my meditation and listen to podcasts — but I’ve dug up an old one with nothing but these two apps, so there are no tempting distractions.

This is like a Black Friday deal on productivity and happiness. You get a huge return with minimal investment.

Stay off your phone in the first hour of the morning (ideally until lunchtime) and see the impact it has on your life over the next two weeks.

I wish you all the best!

Until next time,

Moreno