Once again, another month has rolled around.
With a big milestone ticked over also! 

The one year anniversary of the $10m, 10 year challenge. I’m now 1 year in and less than 9 years to go.

I also turned 40 which I feel is a milestone event, if I’m honest, I’m not feeling great about it. I feel frustrated about where I’m at currently in terms of progress and regardless of how much gratitude I apply to the situation I can’t help but feel I’m not where I want to be. The key will be to channel this frustration into action.

Over the last year I’ve talked to a number of people about the challenge, both friends and strangers. I thought I’d share some things below that I’ve either learnt or that have been emphasised to me. 

3 Things I’ve learnt:

 

1. Change isn’t easy 

The number one thing I’ve learnt is that change is hard, it’s one thing to talk about change and growth but to actually change and to grow is both massively hard and also requires some discomfort. There’s so many analogies I could use here but if you think of the lobster growing and bursting out of its shell, that’s the one that comes to mind and is the most visual. I don’t even know if it’s true but the idea of some creature physically growing and busting out of a shell that won’t expand makes sense. 

Think of the amount of people that go to the gym and then consider the ones that actually change physiologically, either losing weight or getting abs. Not many (if i were to guess).

The modern world is designed to keep us comfortable. The environments we’re in. The friend groups we spend time with. The communities we’re apart of. They’re generally safe and consistent but with that can come complacency.

I’ve often said that I love growth and I love change but the more I question that the more I wonder if it’s the idea of growth that I’m more into.  I think this is why I love a challenge and why I got so much out of 75Hard, more on that below.

2. Alcohol is a MASSIVE handicap 

Early 2022 I completed 75Hard, it’s a 75 day long program with several requirements, one involves zero alcohol. Prior to this I wouldn’t have done 75 days of alcohol since starting drinking, probably at around age 18. 

Most of 2022 was spent not drinking with a deviations to “celebrate” or two experiment with re introducing it back in. Between October 2022 and August 2023 I went cold turkey, fully off it. Around 300 days off it. There was the occasional moment during that time that I found it consciously difficult to say no but for the most part it was a new way of life, not drinking. 

I broke the seal so to speak on Waiheke Island early this month, it was perfect, a nice lunch, perfect weather overlooking the water at a beachside restaurant with Emily. This then lead to a gin tasting night which then lead to having a few more drinks on my birthday day, which then lead to having even more at a party the day after, this lead to a fairly whopping hangover the following day and a realisation that for me, the consequences were far, far larger than the reward or benefit of drinking that night + it’s a slippery slope.

I think as a society we’re conditioned to think that drinking is normal and that not drinking is weird and that you must have a problem if you don’t drink. I challenge you to question these assumptions and if you haven’t done an extended amount of time off the alcohol, at least 100 days to experience the difference. 

The only conclusion I can reach here is that drinking is a waste of future happiness, money and performance. It’s not to say I’ll never drink again as I do think there’s a time and a place for it but I am going to be VERY conscious of when I drink, how much and at what time of the day. 

3. Environment is the most powerful factor in change or success 

This is a recurring theme that gets brought up on the podcast, I’ve been lucky to have had a diverse range of guests on the podcast, from radically different backgrounds and professions and the topic that almost always get’s brought up is the influence that an environment has on a person in terms of formation at a younger age or results and habits in later years. 

As with point number 1, if change is hard, changing your environment in my mind is a short cut to growth. The saying show me your friends and I’ll show you, your future comes to mind. Or the other theory that if you take your 5 closest friends income and divide it by 5 that’ll likely be around what you’re earning. 

Again, this requires focus, attention and getting outside of your comfort zone to change your environment and friend circles. I experience it regularly and notice it with reference to podcast guests, If the person has more money or more “success” than me I’m instantly apprehensive but pushing through this I believe is the key. 

So there you have it friends, my top learnings from the last year. We’ll see what 2023/2024 can bring and what I can learn in the next 12 months. 

Thanks for reading + I’m curious to hear any breakthrough learning’s you’ve discovered recently.