Siim Land

What keeps people from taking action and accomplishing what they want is RESISTANCE. Inner turmoil and external obstacles. It's that voice of self-doubt that paralyzes us and causes anxiety. Steven Pressfield has an amazing account about this petrifying force. Check out my video about how to overcome it by turning PRO. Thanks!

@ULFBERHT Yes, I agree with you in this regard. You get the most benefit from this method if you aren't already fit and healthy. It's meant to be used for those who are simply stuck in their own rut. It's too difficult to do those extra push-ups as well if your basal strength is quite high.

Sitting and staying in one single position for a long time is extremely bad for our health, mobility and joint integrity. They're the biggest reason for back pain, crooked spines, weak knees and immobile shoulders. I have a ton of mobility exercises I do daily that help me stay strong and flexible. It's a lot more important than exercise. Check out my video in which I give you the mobility lessons learned from Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans and some of my own strategies, such as a standing workstation. Thanks!

@Damien Thanks! Yes, I know Ido Portal and I base a big part of my exercise around his style of movement. Although I do weightlifting and Crossfit stuff as well.

@Alex K I've practiced writing for 2-4 hours every day for the past 2 years. The same principles I find in working out, Yoga or reading. It comes through sheer repetition and deliberate practice.

In my own experience, I've felt what you're describing here. Sometimes when I'm writing, I have a brief moment of higher awareness about what I'm doing. It's difficult to explain but it's like looking at your activity from an external perspective while still staying in motion and not losing your thought. Whenever I get to this point, I try to get back into my groove because I do my best work in flow. But at the same time, it can't be said that I lose awareness of what I'm doing when in flow. It's like a transition or a projection wherein you shift in between being aware and in the zone constantly.

Setting goals and achieving them is great but they they still have massive flaws. A much better strategy is to focus on systems. The difference between them is that one focuses on DOING, whereas the other is based on who you are as a person. If you want to really take your life to the next level in 2017, then you should watch this video and make some conclusions. Thanks! Let me know what you think.

For holistic health - Paul Chek's How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy To optimize your biology - Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey Fasting - The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung I don't think you need a lot more

@Alicja_ Ye, I need to work on it but hey...at least I'm owning it @YaNanNallari I totally agree with you, speed-reading can cause a fear of missing out and slight anxiety. That's why it's important to know where your skill level is but to still try to challenge oneself. I'm not skimming everything in the book. I'm simply briefly looking into the context of each paragraph and if I already understand it, then I will move through it at a glance. If there's something I need more time to understand, then I will read as slowly as I need to and will do it several times if needed. @Morten Thanks! I agree, some books require a deeper state of concentration and enquiry. You don't want to skim through philosophy or science books and I read them as slowly I need to. I think it's easy to be misconceived by the idea that if you're speed-reading, then that's all you do. No, you use smart speed-reading whenever you already can grasp the topic. And for books, such as Tao Te Ching and Meditations, you would want to read those books over and over again because you will still find some golden nuggets from them. @Taavi Yes, you want to read as slowly as you need to. I read so many books this year not because I skimmed through them without retaining the necessary information. Being consistent and reading habitually every day is a lot more important and that is what I credit my progress to.

I read more than 300 books this year. Let me explain how I did it in my video. I've also included some tips for smart speed-reading.

Look into Mihalyi Cszikszentmihalyi's (that's a mouthful) books, such as FLOW and CREATIVITY. They've been the most fundamental reads for me in terms of understanding how you construct your creative process. There are also other great books that can help you spark your imagination, such as The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and Story by Robert McKee.

@quantum I don't think so, I haven't looked into all of the list, but I doubt it because I haven't read that many books abour spirituality. @Neo That's unfortunate. Is there any surgery or medicine that could help you? @IndependantKouhai I totally agree with you - you want to understand what you've read and apply it to your life - that's what I'm focusing on myself. However, I feel like it's wrong to get caught up in pure comprehension. Knowing the factual information of the book is only relevant if you're taking a test. What you're really after is wisdom, which is knowledge put into use and gained through experience. And it can't be said that speed-reading neglects comprehension either because you're simply habituating yourself with consistent reading and going through paragraphs faster. You skim through the irrelevant clutter and if you need more time for the harder parts, then you can take all the time you need and write down some notes. At the end of the day, you don't want to look back at your life and be proud of the books you read or the information you remember from them. Instead, you want to be proud of your achievements and the person you had become. For this, you don't need to read anything. Books are simply great ways of exposing yourself to certain ideas and motivations.

Tools of Titans is the newest book by Tim Ferriss. It's based on over 200 interviews he has had on his podcast and is a collection of habits, tricks and techniques of all of the greatest guests on the show. The secret to their great performance isn't superpowers but a set of rules and routines that allow them to achieve what others can't. Some of them include meditation, skipping breakfast, intense concentration skills and persistence. I've made a video reviewing the first preview chapter of the book and will cover the rest of the book in the future as well. Check it out.

What is the bliss point? It's the specific amount of satisfaction or stimulation, in which happiness is optimized - the perfect volume of magic fairy dust, that makes you content and happy. Any more, or slightly less will tip you off balance and isn’t as great anymore. Michael Moss used the concept in his book Salt, Sugar and Fat to show how the food corporations have tricked their consumers into getting addicted to their products via bliss point manipulation. This bliss point doesn’t apply only to food, it can be found in almost anything else as well – clothing, relationships, sex, entertainment, fast cars, money, fancy houses etc. There’s nothing wrong with having a high bliss point, it’s just that it can become our downfall. If we aren’t able to be content, then we will never be truly happy either. On the other hand, if your bliss point is lower, then you’ll get incredible joy from even the smallest of things. Paradoxically, your happiness increases, as your bliss point decreases. Here are 4 strategies I use to hack my bliss point and optimize happiness effortlessly. Fasting Gratitude Mindfulness Minimalism You can also check out the video about it where I also reveal a fifth strategy. Thanks!

@Preango From the perspective of the first law of themodynamics - that is calories in vs calories out - it doesn't matter which option you choose. However, weight loss is more than calories in vs calories out because not all calories are created equal nor do they cause the same metabolic reactions. With that being said, I still think that intermittent fasting is a better option for not only fat loss but also as a healthy eating strategy. Fact of the matter is that your body won't starve or begin to slow down its metabolism. In fact, it does the opposite and turns your body into a fat burning machine. What's even more, fasting improves other hormones, such growth hormone, IGF-1 and insulin sensitivity, which are essential for sustainable weight loss and longevity. The reason why people gain weight with skipping meals isn't that fasting puts them into starvation mode or anything the like. It's just that they gorge themselves like animals after breaking the fast, don't count their caloric intake and are randomly winging it, expecting to get results. You have to choose which option suits you better. Do you like to eat small meals more often because of not being able to stand a bit of hunger or do you prefer large meals less frequently. From the perspective of health, eating less often is always better with occasional exceptional cases. I've made some videos explaining some science about these topics as well. Check them out. Difference Between Fasting and Starvation: The Breakfast Myth: Thanks. Maybe this helps.

I think you had to listen to the prologue only during your first session. Afterwards, you go straight to the dive. At least that's how I remember it.

Tell us something to work with. What's your age, weight, health condition, goals and so on. Nutrition is sooo individual and context based.

It's not the quantity of your sleep that matter but the quality of it. I'm physically very active and workout basically every day. I also spend the majority of my time doing difficult cognitive and creative tasks. Despite that, I'm able to function at my peak with 6-8 hours of sleeping, without abusing caffeine. Here are a few quintessential things you have to do to improve your sleep. Once you try them out, you'll go through a massive shift in your energy levels and sleep. Adjust to the circadian rhythms - get up early at about 6-8 AM, go to bed between 9 and 11 PM Block out blue light in the evening - the brain doesn’t tell the difference between light coming from the Sun or an artificial source. Wear sunglasses or special blue blocking glasses at night. Install a software called F.lux on your computer that dims the light. Sleep in pitch black darkness - cover the windows, wear a sleeping mask Stimulate the vagus nerve - The vagus nerve is located inside our skull, at the back of our head. It’s part of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest aka sleep like a baby). Use a tennis ball to massage the back of your neck before bed. Sleep in a cooler environment - the perfect temperature is 20 degrees Celsius (65 Fahrenheit). Unwind your mind - don't think about your problems or the next day. Simply relax and don't go to bed stressed out. These are just the most fundamental things you should do. To truly optimize your sleep, then check out my article about this on my blog. I give you several other strategies, starting from sleep positions, sleep nutrition and essential oils. May your ZZZ's be merry! Thanks!

@Epiphany_Inspired Yes, the idea is to add to your life through subtraction. You go through via negativa to reach a more positive state. 6 bags? That's quite a lot @Extreme Z7 Ye, the thing is we will not notice all of our stuff anymore. They're just being there and decluttering our space. We should all have a decent and thorough cleaning every once in a while. @hedge This is so true. We tend to fall into the trap of gathering too much without ever using the knowledge we've gained. It doesn't matter how much we learn if we never act upon it. Being proactive is all about acting or being acted upon.

@Epiphany_Inspired I totally agree with you. You should focus on what you want. The idea behind via negativa is to simply hack away at the unessential, which in turn enables you to concentrate on what's most important to you. It's definitely a shedding of skin of some sorts. Both physical and mental.

@pluto Yes, I know bulletproof coffee. You put butter/coconut oil/ MCT oil into your cup, blend it and drink it. Dave Asprey who coined this idea also uses his own brain octane oil, which is basically highly concentrated coconut oil. But in general, the recipe doesn't require anything else other than some pure source of fat. What do I think about it? Well, it's both hype but it works at the same time. The satiety you get is quite amazing and gives you long-lasting energy., not to mention the great taste. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish by drinking it. Drinking bulletproof coffee is a quick and easy way to get some calories without having to eat or if you want to suppress hunger for many hours. It torches fat burning because it promotes ketosis but at the same time is still a source of calories, so you would have to be aware of how much you're consuming.

@pluto I guess people metabolize carbs differently. Fructose itself is basically useless to the body because it can be metabolized only by the liver. It can only replenish liver glycogen stores and won't do so with muscle glycogen. The liver can only deposit 100-150 grams of glycogen, any excess fructose will be deposited as short-term fat. I agree with you that coffee should be used for getting that extra kick into your workouts. But at the same time, you don't have to dose so strong with it and can drink it with less caffeine. This way you won't experience those jitters nor become dependent of it.

@brovakhiin It's a powerful stimulant indeed. That's why you have to consume it mindfully. I think that people simply fall victim to the great taste and satiety they get. As soon as they overstimulate themselves and become resistant to caffeine they begin to need it more and more. @Zane Yes, I think it would be a mistake not to take coffee because it's just such a powerful performance enhancer. You simply have to do it strategically. Great articles.

What do you guys think about Sam Harris' new TED talk? Basically, if we accept the idea that intelligence is a matter of information processing, then it's inevitable that we'll eventually build artificial technology that will exceed us in everything, including ethics, moral etc. In the end, we'll be simply overcome and doomed as a species. This is quite probable. What he wants us to think about is how we could build AI safely so that we wouldn't be destroyed by our own creation. It's definitely one of the most important questions of our generation. We're literally moving towards either our impending doom or salvation. Thoughts?

i think we're making the mistake of thinking that we know how this recursive AI is going to think and behave. Humans are cybernetic organisms, which means that we can adjust our own behavior. However, we're not completely so because we're still mostly governed by our emotions, thoughts etc. On the other hand, those things aren't guaranteed in a purely bayesian superintelligence. We can only predict what the actual situation is going to be because our mode of being is quite limited. Also, we can't underestimate the AI-s ability to influence human motivation and direct other people to do certain experiments for it.