Edge #22 - Оn sacrifice and progress
2 min read

Edge #22 - Оn sacrifice and progress

What I’m reading

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is easily the book I come back to and reread most frequently. It’s a collection of essays, insights and wisdom gleaned throughout the life of a former emperor of Rome.

Especially when I’m having a tough week or feel a bit stuck I always feel like I have a better sense of perspective after reading.

Resource of the Week

With how good cameras on smartphones now are, creators can make professional-looking videos without the need to spend a lot of money on a dedicated DSLR.

To maximise the potential I use FiLMiC Pro, it just has a bit more functionality than the standard camera app.

Quote

Constant awareness that everything is born from change. The knowledge that there is nothing nature loves more than to alter what exists and make new things like it.

Marcus Aurelius

Thoughts

I’m working on a TikTok class at the moment, and as these things usually go, like writing my book last year, it’s taking far, far longer than I thought it would at the outset. I set a plan initially and split the milestones up into weekly and daily tasks. Then a combination of life getting in the way and being pulled in different directions with unexpected tasks popping up, estate agents, solicitors called etc and (admittedly mostly) procrastination has put progress back.

I get frustrated with myself sometimes, but what has helped me is to reframe things. As they say in investing ‘if in doubt zoom out’.

I remind myself when feel stagnated that it is part of the process. Working inefficiently on the right things is 1000x better than working productively on the wrong stuff. You might feel like you’re progressing in the short term, but it’s not getting you closer to where you want to be.

The biggest question I ask myself is: Am I working on the right stuff today? If something ‘urgent’ comes up, I ask is this really necessary? Is it urgent for me or for someone else? How many times have you put back that meaningful project or something you want to do, to put something or someone else first?

Also, one big lesson I’ve learnt as I’ve grown older is to know what to sacrifice. More specifically goals. As Ray Dalio said, “I learned that if you work hard and creatively, you can have just about anything you want, but not everything you want.”

Reminds me of freshers week in uni. I did the classic thing of signing up to about 5 different clubs/societies. Eighteen-year-old me somehow thought I could juggle studying for an engineering degree, a social life, family, dating, planning for a career and going to 5 clubs every week. Needless to say, most of that went to pot.

To this day I have a similar struggle but I understand it’s impossible to pursue everything you want to. Warren Buffet has the 5/25 rule which is basically getting you to write down 25 goals of things you want to achieve and then to get rid of 80% of them. So you narrow your focus and actually achieve the most important ones.

Currently, I’m focusing on family, my business, and fitness with rowing to help wind down from work. I’ve made a decision to devote less time to my social life, passions I had when I was younger and dating.

So what are your top goals and priorities right now? And what are you sacrificing to get there?

Sacrifice all sounds very negative, but on the contrary, knowing what’s important to me and actually progressing on them, relatively speaking I’m happier now than I’ve been in the past. So give it a go!

Drop me an Insta DM or hit reply, I read and respond to everyone. Have a great week!

Hans