Top 10 Lessons I Learned From 300 Books Lesson 10 Nobody Has It Figured Out Why We Exist Has Been Up For Debate Since The Dawn of Time? We have never been able to agree on a single answer. For some, this question doesn't face him and they go about their day as if existence isn't absolutely bizarre. But for others, they can be led into a maddening, existential depression where they battle with the same questions as the great thinkers did, such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Freud. No excuses by Robert Solomon was the last book I read on existentialism until I realized I had no choice but to create my own meaning for existing. I hadn't figured it out, but I was able to make peace with my existence. Lesson 9 Lucid Dreaming Could Be The Next Superpower Everyone is talking about colonizing Mars, but few are talking about colonizing the unconscious. To lose the dream is to be aware that you are dreaming. It was first scientifically proven in 1975 by Dr Keith Hurn after he recorded the predetermined eye movements of a subject while they were dreaming. It is thought to be a way to access your unconscious mind. In a Lucid Dream, you have experiences that are nearly identical to reality, but there are no consequences which is what gives it incredible potential. For example, I could jump off a building to experience flying without risk of dying. I could also practice public speaking without being ridiculed. One of my favorite activities is to eat boatloads of donuts without having to worry about the physical health consequences. But that raises a question. That by abusing my health and a Lucid Dream, could it cause me to reinforce reckless behavior in real life? I don't have the answer yet, but I do know that if the world's population maintained a Lucid Dream for one hour or a night, every night for one year, it would add $2,804,288, and $5,385 hours of potential productivity to the world. Lesson 8, the distribution revolution is here. Sally has lots of stuff that was made during the industrial revolution, but it's too much stuff. So the problem is not having stuff, it is distributing the stuff. And that's why ultra successful companies today, like Airbnb and Uber have figured out. Uber realized there was already tons of drivers driving around with spare seats, so they found a way to distribute those seats. The company is now worth $48 billion. It's the same story with Airbnb, except they created a system to distribute spare rooms in people's homes instead of passenger seats. Use this idea to crush a business. Lesson 7, life is really simple. The other day I went to a bar for a digital nomad meetup. I approached a man in the corner and sparked up conversation. I asked him what he was good at and proceeded to ask what the next three years looked like for him. He mentioned that his mission was to expand human consciousness. I then replied, what does it mean to expand human consciousness? And at this he was slightly startled. He got him thinking deeply. And the more and more I questioned him about it, the more and more I said he had no clue. Before we knew it, we were diving deep into his emotional issues about his relationships, upbringing and his family and his frequent trips to therapy. His face emberced into a stunted smile and he said quizzically, are you a life coach or something? I laughed at the idea as I'm only 23, but the point is that this man could not get over the fact that I seem to have it all figured out. And I told him that life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. For example, people on the health industry are confused. How do I be healthy? Do I do keto or a slow carb? Do I do kettlebells or crossfit? Do I take this supplement or that supplement? To be healthy, all you need to do is get 7 to 9 hours of high quality sleep, stay hydrated, eat healthy whole foods, don't eat processed crap and exercise five times a week. Do that and you're 90% there. Lesson 6. Perhaps someone who can't save himself can save others. Suppose I have the key to your chains. Why should my luck and your luck be the same? Friedrich Nietzsche. The contrary wisdom has always been that you can't save others if you can't save yourself. I don't think there is a black or white answer. What do you think? Can we really help someone even if we can't help ourselves? Lesson 5. The solution to contradictory advice. GaryVee says work hard. Tyle Opa says works smart. Who the heck do you listen to? Well the answer is that all the advice is usually useful. It's just different people tend to emphasize different things. So balance it out between listening to those who have a result you want to achieve and listening to yourself. Lesson 4. Your life is a product of your environment. Get born in an Islamic dominant country and you'll probably become a Muslim. Get born in a Jewish dominant country and you'll probably become a Jew. This is the power of environment on your life. Another example is the infamous Stanford prison experiment. The prison environment undoubtedly had an effect on the participant's erratic behavior. So forcing yourself to fall asleep at 9pm every night will be a difficult task if your environment isn't designed to support that. You may live in an area where artificial lights are booming into your room that suppresses your melatonin. The chemical that helps you fall asleep. You may be in a room where the temperature interferes with your body's thermostatic functions that help you fall asleep. So design your environment so that it supports a lifestyle you want to live and the person you want to become. I make my bed every day because it creates a clean environment. It affects the cleanliness of my thoughts and the way I conduct my life in general, which leads to the next lesson. How you do one thing is how you do everything. Paul is in the process of hiring his first employee here. He goes to his mentor Dave for his best piece of advice to hire the right guy for the job. Dave looks at Paul and says without hesitation. On the day of the interview, go out to the parking lot and look at the state of his car. Paul felt confused. What do you mean Dave? Look at the state of his car. Messi car. Messi life. Messi life. Messi employee. Messi employee. Messi business. So start off your days by making your bed in the morning and you'll see a dramatic change in your life over the next few months. Lesson 2. Focus on one thing. Distraction. The single biggest reason why you feel stuck and never achieve your goals. Picture this. Henry wants to be the number one bodybuilder in the world. Each day he has eight units of energy to spend. He puts one unit into watching inspirational YouTube videos, one unit into working out at the gym, two units into watching Netflix, two units into having a beer with his mates, and two more units into researching another business idea. This is chaos. Henry will never become the number one bodybuilder if he spreads his units thin. He must dedicate eight units every day into tasks that directly relate to becoming the number one bodybuilder. It's such a simple concept, yet most people get distracted by social media, chase the next opportunity, or have no clear goal in mind, so they run around like a headless chook. And finally, lesson 1. Reading is a waste of time. What? A waste? Yes. I read 134 books before realizing I had no real results in my life. I was still stuck at university studying something I hated, and I wasn't traveling a world like I wanted to. I was defaulting myself that I was becoming better by learning a bunch of random things. Ironically when I started reading less, my success went through the roof. How does that work? All you have to do is write things.