Appearing Superhuman Vol. 28
My weekly newsletter brings together a collection of fascinating finds, challenges I'm tackling, and the automations, processes, and habits I employ to " appear superhuman."
Weekly Highlights:
How to Show Up When Nothing About Your Life Is Perfect
2 minutes | The Tiny Buddha
The article opens with an amazing quote by Angelita Lim: “I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect, and I loved you even more.”
If you're the type who's been hustling after perfection like it's the last train home, this piece will hit home. It's a wake-up call, slicing through the illusion that everything's got to be just so, and hammers home the point that your raw, unpolished efforts are pure gold, even when the world's a bit of a dumpster fire.
Weekly Highlights:
Back Ability Zero
5 minutes | Athletic Truth Group / KneesOverToesGuy
Back in Afghanistan, I did a number on my back bailing out of a Blackhawk with my gear and a small mountain of duffle bags. Fast forward through a decade of my back serving me constant grief, I stumbled upon the ATG, courtesy of the Kneesovertoesguy on Instagram, and gave the Back Ability Zero routine a whirl.
Three times a week for a month, and boom—my pain nosedived from a relentless 6-7 to a barely-there 1-2. It’s been a game-changer; mood’s up, workouts are smashing, and tossing the ball around with my kid never felt better. If back pain’s got you or someone you know in a chokehold, I’m telling you, this is the escape plan. Worth every damn dime.
Weekly Highlights:
This Workspace Setup Will Change Your Life
32 minutes | Rian Doris
Ditch the clutter, embrace the chaos of creativity with a setup that's as minimalist as a monk's living quarters but as functional as a Swiss Army knife. Your workspace should be a launchpad, not just a desk - a place where distractions go to die and your best work comes to play. It's about crafting a sanctum where every element screams focus, turning the daily grind into a relentless pursuit of flow.
The video's a bit much, but the core idea? Solid gold. I revamped my office jungle into a Zen garden this week—kicked the clutter to the curb, slapped up some art, welcomed in some greenery, and now I'm practically kissing the sunlight by the window. Suddenly, this isn't just an office; it's my arena, and I'm actually itching to dive into the fray. Work's about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Music, Movies, Shows, Recipes, & More
WATCH: Gemini AI with Gmail, Drive & Docs I'm so ready for this future
READ: Everyone is wrong about "love languages" Interesting points
WATCH: How to Win (At ANYTHING) Alex Hormozi at his finest
Quote I’m Revisiting:
“Any man can fight the battles of just one day,” begins a passage collected in Richmond Walker’s book of meditations for recovering alcoholics, Twenty-Four Hours a Day. “It is only when you and I add the burden of those two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives men mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday or the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore do our best to live but one day at a time.
Photo of the Week:
Last week, my crew and I hit up a live event that was a marathon of motivation—12 hours of wisdom, featuring the likes of David Goggins and Mark Cuban (yeah, that's him in the snapshot). Sure, not every speaker set the stage on fire with their insights, but I walked out with a notebook bursting at the seams and a hunger to level up. Call it a solid win. And let's be real, you can't slap a price tag on quality bro time.
Curating the best week of your life
There are books that cling to you, tracks that loop in your head, and of late, I revisit a select few YouTube dives. Leading the pack? "Day in the Life of a Stoic" by Ryan Holiday.
In it, he says life's not just about chasing the "good life"; it's about nailing those good days, one after the other, Stoic-style. Ryan lays it out with a day in his life, soaking up wisdom from the ancients like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, ditching the phone for a clear head, journaling for self-reflection, and soaking in those invaluable moments with family and nature. It's about discipline, deep work in the AM, and ending the day knowing you've squeezed every drop out of it, ready to do it all over again if the universe says yes.
MY PERFECT DAY
Pair this with Ali Abdaal's manifesto on crafting an "Ideal Week," and you're armed with the blueprint for mastering your hours and turning plans into action.
My archetype of a perfect day kicks off with a slice of solitude—reflection, journaling, weightlifting—quiet before the storm. Then, it's about rousing my son and setting the stage for breakfast. It's our moment. Our little bubble before the day unfolds.
As the morning unfolds, the household awakens fully, we scheme the day ahead, toss a few toys for the dogs, prep for conquest. A stellar workday? It's all about the morning hustle—writing, creating, the works—capped off with a home-cooked lunch in the sun while the dogs run and play.
Afternoons are for outreach, calls, helping people, and making a difference.
Evenings? Light dinner, quality time, as the night winds down our son's energy (I wish). Perhaps a bit more tinkering on personal passions, then it's quality time for the wife and me until I retreat to bed with a book before dozing off.
That's the rhythm of my ideal existence—play it on loop, with the occasional high note of a concert, the adrenaline of an F1 race, a friendly game of hoops, the challenge of a 5K, the allure of fine dining, or the escape of a vacation to spice things up. That's all I need.
Ali's wisdom has me scrutinizing the blueprint of my daily grind, measuring each habit and task against this utopia. It's about figuring out how close I can consistently orbit this dream and identifying any daily drift that doesn't fuel the journey.
Question(s) to you:
Our days stitch together the tapestry of our lives. Take a beat and replay this day (or yesterday, depending on when you read this) from when your eyes snapped open to this very second—and what’s yet to happen before the end of your day.
Tally up the victories, the stumbles, the trade-offs. Now, pause and ponder:
If I were to repeat this exact day 100x over would my life be better or worse?