Vision

@Average Investor I've done a lot for my gut issues already. I tested for SIBO a year ago, it was positive. Then I tested for SIBO again this year, and it came out negative after treating for it for more than half a year with antimicrobials and Rifaximin. However, I still have my symptoms. The symptoms are not necessarily from SIBO which is what I had unfortunately assumed last year, which led to me overtreating it. The only thing I can think of that's left for me to do with gut issues is doing the comprehensive stool test which I had just recently purchased, and consulting with a gastroenterologist which I've been waiting for over a year for. It might take a while before I resolve my gut issues as I've probably had them for a long time given that I've had eczema since I was a baby (which is often linked to gut issues). I was also born via C-section, never breast-fed, had to take antibiotics when I was 1, so my microbiome was likely messed up for my entire life. What could I gain from doing an IgE test? What other tests could I do for my gut? I'm willing to go all in. What could potentially go wrong with heavy metal chelation while I have some issues with my gut?

@Average Investor I've been in the process of trying to fix them for a year and a half. I don't know how long it could take, but in the mean time it wouldn't hurt to do heavy metal chelation at the same time, would it? @Matt23 Thanks.

It might be good, but not the best way to live life, right?

It’s absolutely worth it and is much better than physical books for non-fiction in my opinion. You can highlight and take notes much easier and faster. By far one of the best technology purchases I’ve made. @Leo Gura Yes, you can. You can see the table of contents of the book you’re reading by clicking on a button at the top right. Is that how you read books Leo? Do you just read the table of contents and skip to the chapter that you find interesting? I often do that too as many books are filled with fluff or multiple examples of the main ideas.

Treat them like scaffolding. You can't build a building without scaffolding, but once the building is complete, you no longer need the scaffolding. Use them as a guide, but eventually you'll find that your best answers will come from yourself, since you are your own authority. Still, asking others and reading books can help with gaining new perspectives. So it's not all black and white.

Haha were you meant to refer to me?

@Consept Do you have a podcast episode on this topic? Would be interested in it. A lot of people don't have a long time-horizon, so they end up selling out.

Glad I could help

Introspect and determine how much ROI (return on investment) you are getting from spending the amount of time you do on the forum. Are you getting diminishing returns? How much do you value your time? What is the dollar value of your time? In other words, what’s your aspirational hourly rate? E.g. If your aspirational hourly rate is $500/hr, and you spend an hour a day on this forum, are you getting $500 worth of value from this forum? Or would that time be better spent in doing things that have a higher ROI such as taking action (or more action) on what brings you closer to your goals?

Happy birthday Leo. Hope you find a way to resolve your health issues.

In what ways would it be different?

@Leo Gura Have you tried? I assume so given your solo meditation retreats. Is it a vision you have? Do you see yourself going full Monk mode and becoming a recluse at some point in the future? I recall you making a post on your blog saying something along the lines of "A monk is just a practicing metaphysician". I saw it a couple of years ago.

The pattern I want to break is masturbating. I've started doing it again and I do it every week or two. Why does my subconscious need me to pay attention to this and fully feel it? Is it sort of like video games? E.g. in a game like GTA V, when you're already rich and have everything, then there's nothing left to do and you get bored. But what makes the game enjoyable is the challenge from making as much money as possible? Or another example is having cheats or hacking in video games. When you can do anything and everything, you become too overpowered and that takes the fun out of the game. If it was fun to have cheats in video games, then video game developers would have developed them that way, but instead they make it so that the players are challenged. So the challenge is what is stimulating and puts one into the flow state, not having everything and sitting at the top of the mountain. They are Thanks for your input. What would the best resources be for these things? How does healing take you away from living your life? What type of work does healing entail anyway?

@integral I actually replied to this but I had made a post right before and it said I had to wait for a period of time to post again like normal. Then I ended up never sending it because I forgot. Sorry about that. I saw your list of possible paths before they were edited out so here is my reply to that. It seems like it'd be 1), 2), and 9). I'm still interested in knowing what the ones I've barely heard of are like databases development, data mining and artificial intelligence.

But, ideally, one would always be in that state, right? And consciousness work is the best way to get to the point where you are always in that state? This is good. I will do this right now. Why am I feeling stress and worried about the future? Because I am dealing with debilitating health problems that are already destroying my quality of life, and if they go on for longer at this rate, they will destroy my life. What is my plan? What are the steps I'm going to take? I will continue researching and experimenting with courses of action that could potentially help me. Right now I am experimenting with treating Candida overgrowth as I match a lot of the symptoms. I haven't lost all hope as there are a few more things I haven't tried yet. How can you fully accept and be okay with feeling these emotions? I don't fully understand. The way you're saying it makes it seem like I can "just do it". How?

@integral No, I don’t know if I’d be interested in that. I barely know what those things are. What I said was a reference to how Fearey and I have the exact same MBTI type and Enneagram type+subtype. So what would you recommend?

What do you recommend?

@Fearey It’d be interesting to have a conversation with my twin, if you know what I mean ?

Yes. Their business model is giving extra services for a monthly price. In terms of the niche this particular app is in, there really isn’t. Seemingly similar apps fulfil different needs. This app is currently unmatched, and that’s why it’s so valuable. The more irreplaceable the value you provide is, the more people want to pay you. Look at Leo or Peter Ralston as an example, the value they provide is irreplaceable. Whereas something like working at McDonald’s is easily replaceable, and the pay of such jobs reflects that. Oh that’s interesting. You said you would have done things differently, are you still planning on doing those things you would’ve done at some point? That’s nice to hear for me because I see that a lot of programmers who enjoy what they do have been doing it as a hobby since they were kids. What advice would you give to someone who has never tried Software Development but wants to dabble in it to see if they like it?

@integral Reinventing the wheel with a SaaS? Isn't the point of a SaaS the opposite of reinventing the wheel? If there is a software solution you could create that would solve a problem or satisfy a need, you'd have created something that doesn't exist. Then you can productize it and make a business or even a Life Purpose out of it. Personally my favourite SaaS is Obsidian. It's the perfect example of two people using SaaS as a medium for their Life Purpose. But to each their own. Not everyone wants to make a SaaS. I have three more questions: What does your work entail? Do you mainly work for other people? If so, is it still enjoyable? At what age did you start?

@something_else Do you still do web development? And how would web development teach you online marketing and design? Is it just from working for people who do these things?

@integral Some questions: How long have you been doing it for? What made you pick it over something else? Do you plan on making a SaaS down the line? Who would you recommend it to?

A Kindle or any type of E-Reader. You can find old used ones for $50 and have an entire library in your hands. eBooks are much cheaper than physical books too. It’s an asymmetric return. You’ll still have some money left over, which you can use to get a good pair of wireless headphones. These would be best used to listen to audiobooks and podcasts while you’re exercising or at the gym. You can get through an entire book in a week or less just by listening to an audiobook while you’re exercising. Ideally you’d want one with noise cancelling, but that might be outside of the $200 budget.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Krishnamurti It's almost a cultural norm in my school for people my age to be drinking alcohol and habitually partying. When I first learned this, I was in disbelief, because my entire life I grew up thinking such things were taboo (my parents are religious) and seeing this be such a normalized thing for people at 15-17 years of age was a culture shock to me. One person in particular even told me his parents go out of their way to buy alcohol for him whenever he asks. It felt like I was talking to a person on another planet. I've always been the outcast out of my peers, and I was completely okay with that. I was always too busy working on my business and working towards my freedom to even consider drinking alcohol or partying. Our school had a yearly ball which I didn't attend because the opportunity cost of going there instead of working wasn't worth it to me. I've never attended any big invitations like that in general, and it paid off because I've built a mini nest egg now, but I can't do much with it because of my health (which is another topic). I've never felt lonely. I've always just preferred solitude --- or being a "lone wolf" --- over hanging out with people I don't want to be around. Of course, if I find a group of like-minded people in person, that would be a dream come true. But the only like-minded "friends" (more like acquaintances) I'd found were other people online that were in the same space as my business. I've always felt dragged down by quite literally everyone I know in person, which might sound condescending, but it's how I truly feel. I have never had alcohol before, and I've never been to a party/club before. I've just never had the desire to live that "partying" type of lifestyle. I don't ever want to drink alcohol in my life, but with people asking me, "WTF YOU DON'T DRINK???", "Dude... you're never even going to try it???", it's a bit alienating. I fear that I will give in to this type of peer pressure with how commonplace it is. I know that I will never want to talk to these people again once I graduate high school, but even my family's friends' kids are into this type of stuff; they just keep it a secret from their parents. It's the norm in the environment I'm in, but I don't want to be a part of this environment. Ideally I would just move to another country or area, but I feel trapped because my health problems have practically immobilized me, so until I resolve my health problems I'm going to have to put up with this environment, where I feel like I'm being constantly being dragged down by crabs in a bucket. How can I overcome this downward pull from my environment? The only thing I can think of is putting all my focus on my own vision and goals, which is what I did previously and what I'm still trying to do with my main goal right now being to resolve my health. But even with that, I still have to inevitably still talk to these people because I'm still in high school. The library in my school is closed for the year so there's no spot for me to just be by myself. What can I do to mitigate the influence an undesirable environment has on me? I don't want to end up drinking or even trying alcohol from all this peer pressure, that's what I fear. I don't want to take the chance of getting addicted to it, which might be likely given that my ADHD makes me more prone to addictions.

@Leo Gura Maybe it is easy to say no. But I feel like I'm being dragged down when I'm around such people. It feels like I am being anti-mentored; being mentored but it's making my life worse rather than better. I just came up with that term on the fly but I hope it makes sense. I've obviously never been to bars and nightclubs before but I fear that, if I ever do, I'll give in and just say "F*ck it, you only live once" and then drown in hedonism. Have you ever had alcohol before? @Twentyfirst That's the point of my post. I want to know how I can make the best of where I currently am. I still have a lot of time left in high school and there's not much I can do to control that. @Dryas F*ck no. I'm telling you, as someone with ADHD, I'm much more prone to addictions. I used to not be able to go 2 weeks without masturbating, and all it would take for me to fall into the addiction again is to masturbate once a day for 2-3 days. That's how thin the line I'm walking on is.