First and foremost I am grateful to have my health and to live in this amazing country we call the USA. I am grateful and thankful for all the amazing and hard working doctors, nurses, health workers, first responders, scientists, delivery drivers, food service providers and everyone else who’s out there in the front lines of this covId-19 battle. I really and truly appreciate your hard work and sacrifices.
Some of you probably share a similar story as mine. On March 11th and 12th I went from being the busiest I've ever been to losing almost all my work. I was getting ready to embark on a year long tour (march 19th) where I’d probably be making more money than I’d ever have before. Well we all know that went out the window and the following days were a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from fear, sadness, stress to a small little panic attack. Pretty much me going through puberty and high school again.
I took a step back and wrote some shit out to help me understand the situation better. This is what I wrote and I'm posting this in case it can help someone out there as well. Take what you want from it and if you wanna add anything to it please comment below.
‘If I panic, everyone else panics’ -Kobe Bryant
Step 1- Don't Panic
Health- your only job right now is to stay healthy, motivated and out of the way of the healthcare professionals. Don’t be a dick and follow the guidelines.
Work- you will have work again. Your talent and work ethic got you to where you are, they will get you there again. Be patient and AGAIN, you will have plenty of work once this is over.
News- get the fuck off of twitter, watch your social media consumption. Trust me, NOTHING good is going to come from it. If you wanna be informed get your news from trusted, unbiased and reliable sources. Unfortunately, fear sells and mainstream media knows this, thus the increased number of opinion-based articles and clever fear-based headlines.
Do your part- Follow the government guidelines and try and stay healthy, workout at home, check on your friends and family to make sure they’re ok.
‘Reset, Refocus, Restart’
-Every Yoga Teacher
Step 2- Reset
DON'T HIT THE SNOOZE and wait for this whole thing to blow over. Don't binge on hours of Porn, Instagram or NETFLIX. Really try and figure some shit out in your life. May I suggest starting a journal?
Start your day by writing something you are grateful for
Write a positive statement and read it every morning when you wake up and before you go to bed.
It seems silly but trust me this shit works. When I first quit my job back in 2015 I did this for 6 months straight and it helped me through those panic-ridden days.
‘Wake Up and smell the Routine’ -
unknown
Step 3- Routine/ Habit
I don't care how motivated you are, the only way you’re ever going to succeed is by creating good and healthy habits. We’re creatures of habit and whether you want to admit it or not you’re going to be falling into good and bad habits. You decide.
-Wake up early
-Write out some attainable goals you’d like to achieve and keep them short.
-Change into some kind of work clothes, this helps you feel like the day is getting started
-Be Consistent, shoot for 5 days and then 10 etc. It helps to mark a big X on your calendar every day you are successful. Some people call it ‘not breaking the chain’. I’m too stupid to explain it but there's a whole psychology behind why it works.
‘Don't be busy, be productive’ -Unknown
Step 4- Daily Schedule
Make a realistic schedule
Set realistic deadlines and respect them.
Concentrate on the hardest and most uncomfortable goals at the beginning of the day, you’ll have more discipline and energy to see it through.
Go take a walk, you are not a machine so please take breaks. Again, respect the CDC Guidelines.
Reward yourself after a long day's work but don't over do it! For me it's dinner with my wife and an hour or so of Netflix at the end of the day.
REMEMBER, its ok if you don't accomplish everything but even accomplishing 1 thing each day will eventually add up.
‘All failures bring with them the seed of unborn opportunity’ -Napolean Hill
Step 5- Execute, Fail, Laugh and Try Again
I urge you to start that podcast, youtube channel, guitar build or whatever else you’ve had an itch for. Worse case is you realize you don’t wanna do it anymore and move on with your life.
And lastly, don't lose your sense of humor. This shit fucking sucks and it’s as real as it gets but there is absolutely no point in checking on the death counter or read articles that show you statistics you’re going to never fully recover from this etc. Fuck all that negative bullshit, If i listened to any of that shit I wouldn’t be here. My whole life I’ve been told why I won’t succeed SO fuck those people, stay safe and healthy and keep those memes coming.
Amor and Gratitude
-Luis
Inspirational
Reading & Listening
Resources:
Seth Godin- A generous teacher with an amazing daily blog. Its personally helped me out so much.
Joe Rogan- the motherfucking man himself, his podcast is everything
Napoleon Hill- Original gangsta that was talking about this type of stuff in the 30’s.
Steven Pressfield- If you’re feeling sorry for yourself, go read ‘The War on Art’.
Mike Rowe- Just a well thought out man.
Tim Ferris- I thoroughly enjoy his podcast and ‘Tools of Titans’ book.
David Goggins- Just a lethal no bullshit dude. Go watch his Instagram if you’re feeling lazy.
Jocko Willink- Brilliant Ex Navy Seal who will motivate the hell out of you.