Secret is there is no secret. 13 rules. Modern science and ancient wisdom.
Move.
Eat whole foods.
Build community.
Care deeply.
Hold pain tenderly.
Give help.
Get help.
Stay on path.
Fall off path.
Get back on path.
Be patient.
Accept what is—keep going anyway.
Sleep when tired.
1) Move your body
Aim for at least 30 minutes every day. More is better. Walk. Run. Lift weights. Dance. Garden. If possible, do some of this outdoors. Whatever you do, don’t try to be a hero. Start small. Consistent effort compounds over time. Inertia works in both directions.
2) Eat whole foods
Do what you can to avoid stuff wrapped in plastic. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Pick one to three habitual eating patterns that aren’t great and upgrade them. Unless you find one that works for you AND fits the lifestyle you want, ignore diets.
3) Build deep community
The people with whom you surround yourself shape you. Being super productive is fine, but not if it crowds out time for cultivating meaningful relationships. Most people feel best in a tribe. Yearning for belonging runs deep in our DNA. Make time for it.
4) Care deeply
The things you care about will break your heart. That’s fine. It's the nature of the game. Keep caring. Stay in the arena. The depth of your life is directly proportional to the depth of your caring.
5) Hold pain tenderly: When it hurts, be kind to yourself. If you can’t, call upon your community and let them be your life boat.
6) Give help: We’re all in this together. What comes around goes around.
7) Get help: We’re all in this together. What comes around goes around.
8) Stay on the path: Know your core values. Let them serve as guideposts.
9) Fall off the path: Mess up. Because you are human.
10) Get back on the path: Do not judge yourself too harshly, but learn from your mistakes. Go to the place where you fell off. Start walking again.
11) Be patient
It’s a nine-inning game. We often think we’re in the bottom of the seventh when we’re really only in the top of the third. Weather patterns change.
12) Accept what is—and keep going anyways: Somewhere between burying your head in the sand and pollyanna delusion is wise hope. That’s a good place to be.
13) Sleep when you’re tired: Machines are hard. Humans are soft. These are the facts.
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Struggling to read a book, sit through a meal without checking your phone, or resist the urge to scroll during a pause in conversation? You’re not alone.
Internet brain is making us all dumber.
Here’s why it’s happening—and what to do about it:
Our phones are like slot machines.
Every time you swipe to see if you received a notification, like, DM, or news ping you’re pulling that lever.
Sometimes you win—someone likes your post, sends you a funny reel, or you learn something super important.
But most times you don’t. And that’s the point.
Decades of research show that intermittent rewards are far more addictive than predictable ones.
The reward isn’t just digital—it’s existential.
It says: You matter. You exist. You're seen.
And so we check again.
And again. And again.
It fractures and fragments our attention, and our very sense of self.
We become less who we are—and more what the algorithm reflects back at us.
Balance is overrated. Never apologize for caring deeply about something. The path to greatness—and to fulfillment, happiness, and satisfaction—requires it.
What follows are the most important ideas to help you on the path:
1. Outcomes matter—it’s normal to want to do well, but if you are to have meaningful longevity you’ve got to learn to enjoy the process. The only zen on mountaintops is the zen you bring up along the way.
2. Community is key. Nobody reaches the top alone.
3. Consistency is more important than intensity. Embrace the dull and mundane act of showing up every day. It is the path to greatness.
4. You can’t always control what happens but you can control how you respond. Focus there.
In mid-life you define your path, forge your identity, and set the tone for what’s to come.
If you’re in your 30's or 40's, read this:
1. It’s a crazy world. It always has been and always will be. The best way to stay sane is to find the people and activities you love and give them your all. Full stop.
2. It’s tempting to sacrifice your health but you always regret it. Your health is the most important investment there is.
3. Consistency is more important than intensity. It’s true in work, craft, and relationships. Be the kind of person who shows up consistently, and good things will happen.
4. If you don’t define your own version of success someone else will for you; take time every year to reflect on your values; do everything you can to live in accordance with them.
5. There is no bigger trap than thinking the accomplishment of some goal will change your life. But what will change your life is the person you become in the process of going for it.
6. The people with whom you surround yourself shape you. We are all mirrors reflecting onto each other. Choose wisely. This is everything.
Anyone can be consistent for a few days. It’s harder to be consistent for years upon years, through ups, downs, everything in between.
Here are 7 ideas from Master of Change that resonate with readers most.
On what it takes to stay steady amidst challenge and grow from change:
1. View life as a continuous cycle of order, disorder, reorder.
You may crave order and stability, but that stability is a moving target—it's always somewhere new. It doesn't come from resisting change. It comes from working with it.
You are always somewhere in the cycle of order, disorder, reorder.