Sup friends 👋🏼,

I just wrapped up a trip in the wonderful city of Lisbon (80% work, 20% explore time), so we’re going with three 💎’s again this week.

A few of my snaps 📸 (yes, I know I said i’ll get better with my photography skills 😅):

While I haven’t been able to read as much as I usually do, I stumbled on a few interesting quotes and stories that stuck with me during my trip.

These themes typically centred around:

• Grit and resilience

• Curiosity and exploration

• Finding your Zone of Genius (I’ll write more about this in future editions)

Anyway, to get away from my rambling and onto my 💎’s for the week 🙂 

1/ 50 Things I Know

Came across Sasha Chapin, a writer on Substack and author of All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything, recently wrote a list of 50 things he knows. Some of my favourite:

• I know that people really and truly cannot read your mind. It’s easy to think that people are ignoring your wants or emotions because they don’t care about you. But it’s likely that they have no idea what those are. If you’ve told them, they’ve likely forgotten, and may need a reminder — they have their own whole crowded bubble of consciousness going on!

• I know that travel is valuable because most knowledge can’t be written down. The most crucial info about a society is how it feels to be there—the rhythms of street life, where and when people eat meals, how gender works.

• I know that environmental influence is the most effective form of behavioral control. Accordingly, if you want radical change, radically change your environment. Being in the wrong city will cancel out years of self-improvement. 

• I know that almost nobody hears too many sincere compliments. Compliment them to their face. Then, compliment them behind their back. Practice naming pleasant feelings you have about people, as soon as they bubble up, in the moment: “It’s always fun to see you.” Lower the resistance around this to zero.

/2 A 102-year-old’s secrets to Longevity

Lots of good lessons in this thread of some fundamentally good practices that we should incorporate in our lives.

1. Diet - He got diagnosed with Cancer and had 3 months to live. He read Cancer Prevention Diet and switched to a plant-based diet. After 2.5 years, the doctors found no metastases in his body.

   • Breakfast - Oatmeal, syrup & blueberries

   • Lunch - Beans

   • Dinner - Broccoli flowers with ketchup for taste

2. Live a low stress life

3. Exercise regularly (3x per week) - a mix of weights and cardio

4. Deal with grief using exercise

5. Live with purpose

6. Surround yourself with friends & loved ones

The clips in this thread are solid, so would advise reading the whole thing.

/3 Your Parents are Getting Old, Here’s What to Do

Loved this post of things we can do for our parents as we get older.

As they get older, I feel like it’s on us (and on me) to take care of them and help improve their quality of life. A few of the posts’ highlights:

1. Send a pic of what you’re working on

2. Spoil them (monthly movie tickets, flower delivery, coffee shop gift card)

3. Record a podcast with them (I plan to do this with them!)

4. Stop Sabotaging Yourself (more than buying them stuff, was just letting them be at peace because they know you’re going in the right direction)

That’s a wrap - let me know your favourite link 🙂 

Till next week,

Fahim ✌️