40: Notes To Self

Yo, it’s Luke!

Did you miss me? Well I missed you. I’ve been off the grid for a little bit and wanted to update you (plus send you some banger notes).

Quick Update

I’ve been quite the rambling man.

After I graduated, I hopped on a plane to Indonesia with my friends Will and Tommy. We hiked a volcano, got terribly sick, made some great memories, & then flew to Bangkok to meet more friends. After a few adventurous days there, I flew to a northern Vietnamese city called Chiang Mai. It was refreshingly serendipitous. I scootered in the mountains, meditated in temples, sang in jazz clubs, treated myself to a lot of smoothies, and bought a new suit.

I then flew home and hung out with my family and friends. But after 2 days, I caught a flight to Minneapolis. I then drove a van 5 hours north and found myself at Camp Chippewa — an outdoorsy boys camp with a rich history and wonderful culture. I’ll be a camp counselor here for the next 10 weeks.

I’ll also have very little cell reception.

You may not here from me for a bit, but I will be back! Also, I threw some pictures at the bottom from my adventures.

That said, here is your dose of 5 noteworthy ideas & things I learned about last week. Click on each link to dive further on that topic.

1. Smart Words From Smart People (Morgan Housel)

“Schopenhauer’s ideal is to be wealthy enough to have expansive free time and the intellectual capabilities to fill it with contemplation and activity in the service of mankind.” – Derren Brown

“We are built with an almost infinite capacity to believe things because the beliefs are advantageous for us to hold, rather than because they are even remotely related to the truth.” – Dee Hock

“Everything feels unprecedented when you haven’t engaged with history.” – Kelly Hayes

“Join no creed, but respect all for the truth that is in them.” – Robert Henri

“All behavior makes sense with enough information.”

2. The Greatest Life Hacks in the World, for Now (David Brooks)

Some of my favorites:

• Purchase a tourist guidebook to your hometown.

• If you're traveling in a place you've never been before, listen to an album you've never heard before. Forever after that music will remind you of that place.

3. I Love Humans

4. Memorized Life Rules (Julian Shapiro)

I really like this concept. Basically, we never follow the advice we say we want to follow. If you really want to grow in some way, you need to act on it every day. So, pick a few rules that resonate with you and will expand who you are. Then write them down and read them every day.

Here’s my rules as a camp counselor:

• Lead with love, positivity, & curiosity.

• Take pride in your work.

• Monkey’s like empathy, not logic.

• Have fun and remember to play!

• Build meaningful connections. Explore everyone’s inner universe.

And future rules I’ll use after camp:

• Keep your identity small. Detach and let go.

• Bias to action and build on your momentum. Action, action, action.

• Assume positive intent.

• Be an intentional observer. Become sensitive to the actual experience of living, to how things really feel.

• We create our own stress due to the perception of what we must do

5. Friends & Family Are Awesome!

Pics from my recent adventures

Thanks for wanting to know more today than you did yesterday! If you liked this edition, send it over to a friend who would like it too 🤝 

Cheers,

Luke

PS: Have a topic you think I’d like learning about? Send it to me here.

PPS: Got questions you want me to answer? I made an anonymous form for that.

PPPS: you can find more rabbit holes here & my writing here.