Every day short inspirational letters/blog posts are emailed every morning to all the subscribers. So I thought I’d treat you to seven of my favorite ones so far. And although I attribute the letters to the person who’s quote it was inspired by, all letters are written by me and are thus fictional. (Oh, and of course there’s clothing in all this.)

So let’s get started with the letters:

My dear,

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

They fish and fish, before realizing they are actually wood-smiths. They fish and fish, before realizing they are actually word-smiths…. They fish and fish before realizing that they do not want to fish. They learn too late that they’d rather follow their own hearts that fish.

My dear, replace fish with work and you’ll see what I speak of.

Truly yours,
Henry David Thoreau

My dear,

You know what I tell myself everytime I write?

Faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.

I sit on my chair, and force myself to write… and keep writing, until I get to that point where it’s no longer the fear of mortage payments that’s driving me, ’till it’s no longer the thoughts of long days with empty stomachs forcing my fingers to glide over that keyboard – but instead, the thrill of writing one letter after the other, one word after the next, one sentence after the former… until I write for writing in itself.

It’s comparable to riding down a one way dead-end steep highway on a bike with no brakes. At first all you can think about is your death in the more than likely head-busting collision that’s about to happen. But pretty soon you realize that the road is infinitely long and infinitely steep – all you’re doing is gaining speed, and there’s no end in sight. Heck, you can probably ride this thing now with no arms.

And that’s when the fun starts.

Truly yours,
Hunter Stockton Thompson

My dear,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.

For when I took the one less traveled I saw what most don’t see… and more I imagine. I saw the wild, I saw untamed land, and I saw beasts! Oh, how I saw beasts that knew not of man. Great and wonderful beasts. They welcomed me amongst their own, for they hadn’t yet learnt of the cruelty of man.

Oh what I sight it was. These were not the beasts I was raised to fear. The beasts that consumed my dreams with their bloodshed and eyes that glow with hunger and hate. These beasts were kind and noble. So noble in fact that I can no longer call them beasts without feeling shame descend upon me. For these beasts were me – with different clothing. How could have hated them so?! How could the world hate them so?!

And as I left the woods I walked upon the more traveled road with new light. I saw it for what it was. Weary and boring and beast-less.

Oh, how I yearn for the days I find myself upon a road that diverges in the woods, for I miss the path less traveled. I miss the noble beasts.

Truly yours,
Robert Lee Frost

My dear,

Yesterday I conformed to please the people.

They cheered for me and applauded so loud that their hand claps sounded like an ocean about to consume me.

But I was not happy.

It felt like I had thrown away my heart to please the world.

Their cheers felt empty, and the ocean was no longer beautiful.

The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.

That’s what I learnt yesterday.

Today I woke up having learnt a new lesson. That the reward you give yourself far outweighs the rewards everyone gives you en masse. Leaving conformity to be nothing but cheap retail.

Truly yours,
Rita Mae Brown

My dear,

One group says God hates the other group.

The other group says God hates the one group.

I say:

You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.

For I believe that God, unreflected through the prism of you, is a lover. I believe God loves all, equally.

Only when reflected, and dirtied, through the prism of individuals who want to have might on their side is God bias. Only then is God without love.

Truly yours,
Anne Lamott

My dear,

Yesterday, as you cried about how you failed (yet again), you told me how those must be the saddest words ever spoken.

I’ve thought about it, and you’re wrong. The saddest words ever spoken were not “I failed,” or “I tried and failed.”

For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.

So cheer up.

You tried, and contrary to popular (and your own) belief you are one of the happiest people in the world. Because you tried. You had courage to try. And few of us have that courage.

Truly yours,
John Greenleaf Whittier

My dear,

We remember the nights we went out, got drunk as hell and threw up all over the place. We remember the nights we almost got arrested. We remember the nights we don’t remember. For they were the best.

No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they got plenty of sleep.

No one.

Truly yours,

If you haven’t heard, I’m a dancer. In the literal sense, and in the sense of a dancer being someone who enjoys the movement of life in an artistic sort of way.

I never started dancing thinking I would learn any big life lessons (it was just something cool at the time). Yet here I am, writing about what dance taught me about life. Why?

Well, because dance and life are synonymous in a lot of ways. They both consist of movement and motion, of trying to grasp something beyond yourself (this can be spiritual, artistic, etc.- anything that makes you feel alive, outer-body, and lifted), and of enjoying yourself in the process of grasping that which is bigger than yourself.

And since there aren’t many bloggers out there who dance professionally and write about improving the self at the same time, I might as well do so since I find myself overqualified in both areas. So… let’s begin.

1. It’s not about the most gifted dancer, it’s about the most hardworking.

In dance, as in life, everyone is born with a different set of skills. There are tons of dancers born gifted. But, surprisingly, they don’t usually equate to being the best dancers around.

The best dancers are those who work hard at the art of dance. The ones who spend day and night dancing to perfect their craft. The one who’re obsessed about dance to the point that they’re dancing everywhere; cars, in line while waiting for coffee, with friends, alone, etc. (I’ve danced at the odd bus stop or two); the best dancers are those who work hard to perfect their craft.

And the same can be said about life. It’s not usually the most gifted that get far in life, it’s the most hardworking.

2. There’s no such thing as finished.

Oh, how I wished my work as a dancer was finished. How I wished that what I knew/could do was the best there was ever going to be – period. But, that’s not how it works. (That’d be too boring anyways). As a dancer you’re always pushing yourself to the next level, while realizing that there is no final level. (This is not a video game with an evil boss at the end.)

Rather than seeing this as the reason to give up, realize that this is actually the reason to keep going. That excitement you get from watching someone better than you dance – That sheer joy you get after you attain a new level in dance (one that you thought you’d never reach because it was too hard) – That camaraderie you get with other people on the same quest as you, all of you pushing each other to the next level – All would be non-existent if there was a final level.

And the same can be sad about life. There is no final level, no end goal; the point is to continue walking on the road and advance while realizing that all the joy, all the living, is in you walking (living) – not in you reaching “the end.”

3. Look at others, not yourself.

Sure, it’s fine to look at yourself when you’re by yourself, but when you’re with others pay attention to them. Really pay attention to them.

As a dancer the mirror is both your friend and enemy. It’s your friend when you’re practicing – and need to look at yourself, but your enemy when you’re in front of an audience – and need to look at other people. What [good] dancers do, is practice both. Good dancers use the mirror to improve themselves but they also practice dancing without the mirror equally, for they know that when it’s time to perform they’re going to have to know how to look at others – not themselves.

And the same can be said about life. It’s okay to focus on yourself when you’re by yourself and trying to improve yourself, but when you’re with others (through working with a group, business team, etc.) realize that you’re not the only person around and that they too matter. Constantly switch between paying attention to yourself and to others.

4. Train for all situations.

In my style of dance (hip hop/krump) there’s a lot of mixture of both freestyle dancing and choreography dancing. What you’ve got to do to stay ahead, is be well versed in both.

Train for freestyle dancing because you never know when you’re going to randomly be asked to dance (via a battle). And train in choreography because sometimes the occasion calls for a well rehearsed routine (shows mainly).

And the same can be said about life. Practice being rehearsed and spontaneous- because life is a mixture of the two. Sometimes life calls for a schedule – a set routine, and sometimes life calls for that set routine to be thrown out the window and for you to make choices on the fly. A routine in place in mandatory, but the ability to throw that routine away and take care of emergencies is also mandatory. Make sure you can do both.

5. Connect with people on an emotional level.

This is similar to looking at others and not yourself, but with a little more complexity. When one dances noticing others they’re showing that they’re not lost in their own world or obnoxiously self-centered. In return, the person/people you’re aware of also give you their attention. You started by recognizing they exist, and they reciprocate – creating this moment where both of you are open to each others ideas and thoughts. Now what you must do is take it to the next level; You have to connect with them emotionally.

Dancers know that when you’re dancing (especially when you’re freestyle dancing), the mood counts. Is it a happy mood? A sad one? A calm one? Or an energetic one? What the dancer tries to do is connect with this mood, and hopefully take it to the next level through their dance. For example, if it’s an energetic mood, the dancer dances energetically – adding on to what people already feel/know and thus being better understood, better liked, and better connected with the audience.

And the same can be said about life. When you have someone’s attention realize that it’s not all about you. Sure you can go and talk about whatever you want, but realize that you’ll best connect with your listeners by expanding on what they know and what they’re currently feeling emotionally (for we’re humans, and we’re emotional). Shape your message so that the present audience can better grasp it. You wouldn’t explain gravity to college students the same way you would to a curious six year old girl now would you?

6. …

Almost got too carried away there. This post is pretty long as is, so come back next week for the remaining 5 life lessons I learnt from dance in Part 2. For now, go out – better the world, touch hearts, and live life to the fullest in the process. (In other words, go out and dance!)

Did you notice?

Did you notice I haven’t blogged for 6+ months?

Although it might not be as apparent to you as it is to me, due to some pre-scheduled posts I had, I actually did.

Good news though, I’m back. And, dare I say it, better than ever.

But why did I leave? Why did I come back? Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s what this post is about.

Why The Hell Did You Leave?!

Simple answer, I got tired and overwhelmed by it.

Tired

Looking back at it now, publishing one new blog post a day was a pretty stupid idea. Publishing one new post a day leads to two things

1. a decrease in the quality of the content,
2. and an increase in the stress level of the blog-posty (in this case, me).

When I started blogging I made it my mission to publish good, if not great, content every day of the week (pretty ambitious of me). And I did, for a while. In fact, on some days I wrote more than one post a day (hence the pre-scheduled ones). And I was proud, they were good posts. They weren’t regurgitated ideas that countless others have already spoke on, they were well-researched ideas and topics.

But it was all too overwhelming. I slowly started hating having to write everyday. I even tried to cheat my way out of writing by frequently posting videos, quotes, and poems from other [great] people. Which, now that I look back at it, was pretty hypocritical of me (regurgitating information while despising regurgitation).

Overwhelmed

The fact that people look upon you for information that potentially changes their lives is pretty overwhelming.

Do you know how overwhelming it is look at your stats and see that 256 people came to your site last month through the phrase “overcoming rape“?!

The responsibility of it all, I couldn’t handle it. So I left. With no intention whatsoever of coming back… Yet, here I am. Why?

Why’d You Come Back?

Because I missed it.

Remember that phrase, “If you truly love something, then set it free. It’ll come back if it’s meant to be.”? Yes, it’s gushy, but that’s exactly what happened; I left, then I came back, eventually.

Am I mad I wasted 6 + months away from blogging? Actually, I’m grateful I left blogging for six months. I got time to discover myself, and to re-discover why I started blogging in the first place.

I re-realized that I blog not because I have an obligation to better peoples lives, but because I want to. There’s a subtle difference, but it makes ALL the difference. When I thought I had an obligation to better someones life through blogging, I saw it as a chore, something I had to do whether I felt like it or not. But on the other hand, once I realized that I have the option of doing whatever the hell I wanted, bettering someone else’s life turned out to be the best one available to me.

• Would you rather make money or better someone’s life?
• Would you rather be rich because you cheated a lot of people out of their money, or because a lot of people gave a bit of their money as a thank you for changing their lives?
• Would you rather do something that you love or do something that you love that helps others in the process?

So I came back. Not because I had no other option, but because I tested the other options, and found that helping others better their lives (through something I love) was the best one around.

And I even improved myself and my style along the way.

What Kind Of Improvements?

A Lower Posting Frequency

I’m only going to post one to two times a week, maximum.

Don’t see that as a negative though, it’s actually a positive. As Hugh MacLeod said:

All good ideas must die; so that great ideas might live.

Everything I write from here onwards will be about something I truly care about (no more regurgitation, I promise). My ideas, my theories, my research; my voice. I figured, if I have been bestowed with the honor of being heard, I might as well give you all something worth listening to.

I’m going to hit the publish button a whole lot less. I’ll sleep on a post. If it still makes sense tomorrow (and lives up to my standards) I’ll publish. If it doesn’t, I won’t.

A Greater Focus On The Message And The Feel

The focus is on the message now. Previously, my focus was on making you jump in your seat, getting you angry, getting you thinking.

That’s not enough anymore.

I want to do more.

I still want to make you think (truly think), but the new focus is on stirring something deep within you. I want each post to make you feel as if you know the world, just a little bit more. I’m still aiming to make you think, but I also want to make you feel.

And I’m going to be a whole lot more relaxed now when I do this. Nothing should be taken too seriously, and frankly I like humor (don’t you?). Humor gives you context, something you have in common. And humor let’s you know whether a friendship with someone is possible right away; If you can’t laugh with someone, then you probably can’t be friends.… And I want to be friends.

The Twist:

Did you notice?

This is less about me, and more about you.

• This is a post telling you that it’s alright to walk away from the things you love. For if you truly love what you’re doing you’ll come back.
• This is a post telling you to stop creating great pieces of works; in order to focus on the few amazing ones.
• This is a post telling you to that the only person you have an obligation to is yourself, no one else. Not your parents nor your fans, no one else except yourself. And don’t worry, if people truly like you, they’ll understand.

With all that said let me introduce you to the new and improved dancePROOF. Have a look around, enjoy it.

photo credit: cdsessums

I’m a music lover. Scratch that, a music freak.

For example, my iTunes reads as so:

• 12506 songs
• 33.2 days of listening
• 69.73 GB of space

On top of that, they’re all properly organized by their corresponding albums, artist, genres, etc…. with over 90% of them having covers.

As I said, I’m a music freak.

Music is my drug; But I didn’t always see it that way.

I used to listen to music like a normal person; all throughout the day. While working, exercising, on the subway, etc. But then after a while I realized that I never actually got much done compared to those rare times when I did all these things without music. Contrary to what people believe, music does not help you work better, especially if you’re a guy (our minds are less made for multi-tasking that those of women).

When I got to the point where I was choosing music over getting work done, I knew something had to change. And so I, being weird (and the productivity freak that I am), decided to do something… drastic. I would only listen to a max of 1.5 hours of music per day.

Yup, you heard me right, only one and a half hours of music per day. If you can’t tell, this is a drastic move from a 24 hour music schedule.

You know that saying, “restrictions beget creativity” Well, it’s true. My 1.5 hour music restriction is probably one of the best things I’ve ever accidentally stumbled upon.

So, I’m here to reveal it. I don’t have some depraved notion that you people will actually change your whole music experience to match that of mine. I’m just writing this to let y’all experiment as I did, and see for yourselves if it does, in fact, improve your relation with music as it did me.

My ‘system’ of listening to music only has two notions behind it:

1. Try as hard as you can to not listen to music outside the restricted time zones.
2. Treat music as a form of meditation.

I’ll go into detail.

Designated music periods & music as meditation.

My designated time zones for listen to music are:

• An hour right before I sleep.
• 30 minutes after I wake up.

I chose those times because they’re centred around sleep, and signify the end and beginning of the day.

I listen to music for an hour at the end of the day as a way to relieve the stress of the day off myself right before I sleep. I usually use this time to listen to songs I’ve never heard before, nothing familiar to me. This is key, because it allows me to explore new music and reach outside my comfort zone. And then in the morning I use the 30 minutes to listen to music I already know and love; it starts off my day on a positive note.

I make it a rule to never listen to music outside these times due to one thing; deprivation betters the experience.

By depriving myself of all music outside these times I cherish the little time I do have with music that much more. Compare it to fasting, if you will.

This is actually the hardest thing to do. For one, I dance for a living. So I can’t really deprive myself of music during practice and performances. It’s a necessary. And secondly, the world doesn’t care that I don’t want to listen to music. Really, it doesn’t. Try to go shopping without hearing music, try to sit in a friend’s car without them turning on the radio or their iPod on blast, and try to do anything downtown without hearing music blasting from one place or the other.

The world loves music, and it doesn’t care that you don’t desire music at that specific time.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a day where I’ve not heard music outside my designated periods. But, I’m not mad about it. For me, the general point is to control what I can control. I can control myself listening to music on my iPhone, I can’t control the grocery store deciding to play 60s music. I can control the ambient music I listen to by putting on my noise-cancelling earphones and listening to an audiobook. I can’t control the fact that I’ll constantly hear music during practice, and when I’m with friends.

I control what I can, I leave what I must.

The idea is to not listen to music by my own doing.

And when I do listen to music, I’m fully into the music. I don’t meditate, or practice yoga. For me my meditating happens in those 1.5 hours of music time. The one hour at the end of the day allows me to calm down, relax, and prepare for sleep. And the 30 minutes after I wake up allows me to shake of that “I just woke up” haze peacefully, setting the foundation for the rest of the day.

And while listening to music, I do nothing else. Really. I don’t multi-task while listening to music (I’m meditating after-all). I usually lay on a flat surface and close my eyes during these times (usually on my bed). By doing so I’m able to fully focus on the music. I focus on the words more, the beat more, the flow more… in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced music better than when I’ve had my eyes closed while laying on a flat-surface (this is only true if you rule out ‘drugs’. If you enter marijuana into the equation, things get much more interesting).

What has this done for me?

The main thing I’ve gained from this whole experience is a deeper appreciation for the artist, and the loss of “have I listened to this before” syndrome.

There’s so many little details that an artist puts into their music that you’ll never comprehend until you fully focus on it. Such as the fact that an album is an album for a reason. The order of the tracks actually mean something people! The whole album is in itself one big adventure (that’s why the majority of my songs are full albums).

On top of finding these ‘hidden gems’, I’ve also realized that I never ask myself whether I’ve listened to a song before (I used to do this all the time). I instantly recognize a song I’ve heard before every-time now (thanks to me being fully in the moment while I was listening to it).

And all of this happens in 1.5 hours of the day.

Which allows me to think even better during the day. I never realized that I wasn’t thinking as well as I could until I eliminated music. My comprehension rate increased, my reading speed increased, my creativity increased, etc.

I say this is due to my having split heart and mind. See, music is heart, it touchs your soul, moves you, and leaves you changed. And if you leave heart out of the matters of the mind, you’re able to reach new thresholds, new ideas (whether they be good or bad).

So, all-in-all, I’m weird when it comes to my music. But my weirdness is worth it.

I’ve found a way to increase my experiences of both my time with, and without music.

Which satisfies me just fine.

photo credit: Orange_Beard

Did I miss THE CLASS?

You know, that class that taught everyone how to be ‘normal’? … I keep looking around me and notice that I am, to put it gently, different. I’m not saying that to boost my own ego (it’s big enough), It’s just that at this point I literary have no other way to describe myself.

A moment of your time:

Let me take a moment to tell you that this is a rant (some might say an egotistical one), if you have no room for a rant in your life right now, then turn back, stop reading this right now, and go read something thought provoking.

Why is it that at 19 years of age I have more drive to do what I love in life and start living NOW than the vast majority of people around me? Why am I the only person I know who isn’t waiting for some magical moment in the future to start living (I quit college)?

Let’s take it one step farther, why am I the only person I know that actually works towards their goals and dreams day and night? Why am I the only person I know that actually sets out a step-by-step plan on how to accomplish those goals and dreams? Come to think of it, why am I the only person I know with a day-to-day schedule? Not a to-do list, but a real schedule, with everything having a specific time to be accomplished.

Why am I the only person I know who’s actually fascinated by other languages and is actually working towards learning them ALL (I’m fluent in two, and currently (re)learning French… then Spanish)? Why am I the only person I know who actually reads blog posts fully and not just skims them? You know that guy that spends 5-10 minutes on a site and listens to the hour-long podcasts, yup, *raises hand* that’s me.

Why am I the only person I know who loves both being an introvert AND an extrovert… equally?

I love being in a room, headphones on, ignoring everybody, doing work… just as much as I love being in a crowd, on stage, in front of hundreds of people, dancing my ass off.

Why am I the only teenager/young adult I know not that interested in sex?! Yes, I have hormones and I do get aroused from time to time, and yes, I went through that whole sex-fiend phase (what guy hasn’t), and yes, sex is amazing (with the right people), but it doesn’t have to consume all your thoughts from sun up ’till sundown.

Why am I the only person I know who doesn’t watch television? Why am I the only person I know that doesn’t play video games or find them that fascinating? Seriously, I know nothing about video games (I fake it). I know nothing about COD, God of War 3 (I heard it’s amazing), or 2K10 (I only know about them because of the friends I have). Here’s a secret, I barely know how to work the systems (PS3, Xbox, etc.) themselves (shush, tell no one).

Why am I the only person my age who actually reads? Do you know how hard it is to find people my age who actually read books?! And, I’ll totally be sexist here and say that women read far more than men, I literary have’t found any other guy who reads as much as I do.

Why is it that I’m the only person my age, who if you check their iPod (iPhone in my case), you’ll find audiobooks, podcasts, and lectures? Why is it that I’m the only person my age who’s actually punctual?! I’m tired of somehow arriving 2 hours before everyone else when we clearly agreed on a set fucking time.

Why am I the only person my age who’s actually blogging daily?

Why am I the only person my age who talks to over 4,000+ Facebook friends, over 5,000+ Twitter followers, answers over 100+ eMails a day, writes at least one 1,000+ word article a day, and reads 20+ blog posts per day, all without staying online for more than 2.5 hours?

Why am I the only GUY vegan I know? Why does every person who finds out I’m vegan ask me, “what girl changed you”? Dude, I did this MYSELF! Why am I the only person I know who does both “geeky” things (like programming, and maintaining an online presence) and “cool” things (like professional krump dancing)?

Why am I the only person I know who keeps track of their finances? Why am I the only person my age who has stocks and shares? Why am I the only person my age who’s actually deeply fascinated by both marketing, business, SEO, entrepreneurship and art, music, and dance? Why am I the only person my age who’s deeply fascinated by philosophy and psychology?

Why am I one of the few people I know who doesn’t want to ever have a ‘real’ job (I’d rather run my own company). And, why do I have to hide all these things in public? Why must I always constrain myself just so that other’s won’t think I’m weird?

Why? Why? WHY?!?

Why haven’t I found someone else like me? Am I not looking hard enough? Am I hanging with the wrong people? Did I miss a class?

Did I miss a class that told people not to do all these things? Not to feel passionate about a variety of things? And, not to take life seriously at a young age?

*Sigh* If you can’t tell by now, I’m frustrated by all this.

I didn’t write this post so that I can somehow brag about myself. I wrote it for two main reason,

1. I had to let this off my chest (thanx for allowing me to), and
2. I’m looking for someone similar to me.

I’m looking to talk to someone as driven as me. I’m looking to talk to someone my age who actually takes this blogging thing as serious as I do. I’m looking for someone who has as much passion for business, art, and philosophy as I do (yes, they’re varied topics, but that’s the point). I’m looking for someone who I can actually talk to about things such as “game theory” and actually know what I’m talking about. I’m looking for people who have that entrepreneurial drive in them, and are just itching to start their own company. If that’s you, eMail me.

I’m looking for people who missed the same class I did.

Metcalfe’s law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n²).

“Two fax machines can [at most] make one connection, five can make 10 connections, and twelve can make 66 connections.”

Metcalfe’s law is the only reason I use Twitter, Google Buzz, and Facebook.

Some people argue that they use Twitter and Facebook because of how easy it is to share and receive information. And I agree, but I would rather go into the root of all of this and say people use them because they make it easier to connect.

That’s all. Simply, to connect. And, the faster and easier it is, the better.

Telephones were used because they allowed people to connect faster than mail. Then email was adopted by the people because not only did it connect them as the telephone had, but because it let them share large amounts of information almost instantaneously. And, it let them to store that information (and the connection that came with it) for a later time, making it easier for them to re-view the information and re-connect.

Now, cellphones are replacing land lines because people have one with them everywhere they go (they don’t sit at home waiting for the phone to ring). With a home phone you could state that the reason you weren’t connected was because “you weren’t home” but what the cellphone has done is eliminate that.

With the adoption of the cellphone one has no excuse for not being continuously connected.

That why BBM (blackberry messenger) works so well; unlimited FREE connections; hardly any excuses for not being connected. There’s even the functionality to see if the person you’re trying to connect to has in fact received the connection and is ignoring you. BBM works so well because it’s cheap and easy. And as new cheaper and easier services come along we will adopt them faster and faster. Just look at Skype.

But most importantly look at Twitter.

The best mixing of internet, email, and cellphone we have to date.

With Twitter we still use the cellphone medium to stay continuously and instantly connected to the people we know (no need to re-invent the wheel). But Twitter took this up a notch and gave us the ability to connect with the world; not just people we know.

Sure we have telephone books, and we could call anyone/everyone in the book if we wanted too. But do telephone books list the occupations, interests, and hobbies of the people right next to them? Do telephone books allow us to view (in a sense) the humour, wisdom, and chidlish nature of a person? No.

Twitter allowed us this privilege.

With Twitter we could not only connect with the people who are already in our social circle and share information with them easier but also connect to more likeminded people.

Now, Twitter wouldn’t be of any use

• if the user base wasn’t as large as it is
• if all you could do was connect to one person at a time
• and if in order to share large amounts of information you were charged.

Going back to Metcalfe’s law we realize that if only two people were using Twitter it would be pointless, if five people were using it it wouldn’t be that much of a difference but ten connections are exponentially greater than one. The real magic happens once we get twelve or more people connected. And since Twitter’s user-base is so large, our ability to connect with anyone in the world is that much easier.

If I dare say, we have the potential to connect with anyone in the world.

If Twitter didn’t allow us to “talk” with a large number of people individually at one time I don’t think it would be as great as it is now. Email got it right by allowing us to send a message to a large group of people.

But what we want as humans is to connect with the crowd on an individual level.

We don’t want to send everyone the same message, that’s just bland and to an extent inhuman. We want to talk with everyone, personally. We want to talk to people we don’t necessarily know but want to know (demonstrated by how many people want to get to know celebrities), we want to talk to them in public (@ replies), and if the connection is that much “stronger” to talk with them on a private level (Direct Messages).

If Twitter was charging people for it’s services it would have never, ever [ever] been what it is today. But by offering it’s services for free Twitter has set up a universal BBM of sorts, that allows people to not only instantly share information through cellphones (texting), but also through the internet, email, etc.

And Twitter has come to realize that these connections mean nothing if nobody in the connection understands one another.

If everyone in the connection speaks a different language, then the connection is worthless.

Hence, Twitter is racing to be featured in as many languages as possible.

I use Twitter (and Facebook, Google Buzz, etc.) because of all these reasons. They allow me to connect with a large number of people on an individual level; they allow me to nurture and grow an acquaintance type relationship to a friendship (or love) relationship; they allows me to share information (no matter the size) freely and instantly; and at their core level

They allow me to connect with the entire world.

photo credit: opensourceway

GOAL : 56 hours sleep for February 2010

ACTUAL: 57 hours sleep for February 2010

You remember all that stuff I said about January being the hardest month (the last week especially)? Well, throw that out the window; February is by far the worst Dymaxion Sleep month I’ve ever had. And again, all the thanks goes to one thing, my social life.

February was filled with showcases, performances, and classes to teach. At first my whole flexible schedule thing worked out, and I finally thought I was able to have a social life and sleep two hours day (ain’t I stupid). I guess my social life has a thing against my sleep habits; I had back to back shows, back to back classes, back to back meetings, and anything else back to back.

I found myself sometimes not skipping one nap but two! If you ever practised polyphasic sleeping, especially Uberman or Dymaxion like me, then you’ll understand the importance of what I just said.

The moment I started hallucinating and falling in and out of sleep I knew I had to do something. So, I started consuming caffein pills left and right, straight dark coffee (no sugar or cream), and anything/everything else caffeinated just to stay awake. Don’t think I planned to make this the long term solution though, this was just one of those temporary band-aid ideas (that never work in the long run).

In my last week of February I ended up oversleeping three naps by two hours each (that’s a total of six hours of oversleeping). I didn’t think too much of it though, I probably skipped about 15 naps in February (that’s five hours total of missed naps) and the oversleeping thing probably equalized everything.

Right now, I’m back to normal (yeahhhh!). I’m sleeping every six hours with 10 minutes flexibility here and there. But, in the back of my mind I still worry about how I’ll survive another “crazy-social-life-no-naps” period in my life. I wouldn’t be able to handle living off caffeine alone again. I’d die.

Something had to change, and soon.

… Did you think I was going to say that I’m quitting?! I’d never be that sensible silly. Although, I’ve just hit my goal (if you remember correctly I stated that I wanted to last until March on two hours sleep per day), I’ve expanded on my previous goal by trying to achieve that all illusive one year mark.

Think about it, a whole year where I sleep two hours per day, WOW. Nine/ten more months to go. And not only will I be sleeping two hours a day, but I’ll be doing it on the flexible-Dymaxion polyphasic sleep pattern, something everyone has said couldn’t be done. For personal reasons this makes me extremely happy, I love proving people wrong.

My flexible schedule has to be MORE flexible

My flexible-Dymaxion schedule is in fact what’s going to change, I’ve realized that I’m going to have to stretch this out to it’s limits just so I can keep up with my personal life. Right now I’ve achieved 10 minutes flexibility (meaning that I can differentiate my naps by ten minutes), but for March I’m going to try to raise it to 20 – 30 minutes flexibility.

If you want to think about how great a feat that is just realize that by moving a 30 minute nap 30 minutes forward/backwards I’m basically missing the entire scheduled nap time altogether. Yes, I’m making it that drastic.

As I write this I’m practising 12 minutes flexibility (one step at a time), and everything seems to be going swell. It’s not as great as a pure-on-schedule nap is, but it’s getting there. I’m either getting used to it, or it’s getting used to me.

Future experimentations

I’ve already stated that I’m going to practice lucid dreaming (and blog about it), but I have other things I’ve been thinking about. Here’s a (very) short list of things I’m thinking of trying:

• On-and-off naps
• Two hours of sleep per day with fewer nap times (three, two, and maybe even one… but I doubt it)
• Sensory naps (just made this up)- where you sleep, dream, and yet still be aware of your surroundings. I’m wondering if humans have the ability to do this due to our history of having to survive in jungles, forests, etc.
• And of course lucid dreaming (plus all the niche topics it covers)

I’ve failed at something though

I’ve failed at keeping up with my daily Dymaxion sleep pictures. I’m sorry… I’m too busy! I literary haven’t touched my camera in a month, and for someone who loves photography in general, that’s horrible.

I’ve also slacked on my twitter updates about my polyphasic sleeping. But that was on purpose. This whole thing has become a part of my life now, like sleeping eight hours per day is for most people. Do they tweet every-time they wake up and tell you how it felt?! No! It’s wayyy too egomaniacal for me.

But, in all seriousness, if you can think of an easier way for me to take (decent) pictures of myself quickly please let me know, right now even the quickness of Flickr isn’t quick enough for me… And I’m not doing DailyBooth.

I was thrilled to receive email and comments from some of y’all asking me to help with your polyphasic sleep schedules. As I stated, I’m not a doctor (just a guy who has personal experience), but I will help with anything I can.

So… ASK/COMMENT AWAY!

photo credit: dr_vaibhavahuja

I read about 21 books per week.

Audio Books

Speed Listening

We (as humans) talk slow.

Speed Reading

Start (and finish) reading every line on the page every third word in.

Polyphasic Sleep

THE RESULTS: What I Read This Week (so far)

*As you’ll quickly notice, I’m currently fascinated with mystery novels and dot com/entrepreneurship stories. They’re hitting close to home with what I’m currently trying to do, so I’m finding them fascinating.

photo credit: jc.westbrook

Do you know what will make you happy for the next ten years? How ’bout five? four? three?!

If you’re anything like me, then you’ll truthfully answer no (if you’re not, then you’ll lie and say yes). None of us can predict what will make us happy in the years ahead of us. How could we?! We live in a constantly changing world where we experience new and fascinating things every single day. Look at the divorce rate, a lot of people thought they would be happy forever right? Look at the economy, a lot of people thought they were financially set for life right? In fact, look at yourself right now, did you know yesterday that you would be sitting there reading this? No matter how hard we try to foresee the future, at the end of the day we’re all ‘just human’.

As a kid did I know I would come to love computer programming, especially since I barely had access to one (born in poverty)? No. In high school did I know I would come to love hip hop dancing, and that it would be a major part of my life? No. When I started dancing did I know that me and my friends would eventually turn it into a company that helps people on a daily basis? No. Did I know that I had this entrepreneurial drive in me where I would come to love business, marketing, and connecting with people? No. Did I know that I would also come to love photography, graphic design, writing, and anything/everything related to art? No. Did I know that personal events in my life would make me seek out and eventually love self improvement, philosophy, and psychology? No. Just last year, did I know that I would start my own blog (and write on it six times a week)? Hell no!

Well then, what do I know? First of all, I know that I like to ramble on about what I don’t know (self-obsessed?). But, most importantly, I know that I will never, ever know what’s going to make me happy in the future. I know that I can find myself being happy in situations I never thought would make me happy (happy being single and not rich), and sad in situations where I thought I would finally find happiness (finally fitting in and going to college).

I know that my happiness will never be derived from one thing in my life.

So… how am I supposed to know what one “career” I want down the road? Pick what makes me happy right? I just proved that I don’t know what going to make me happy tomorrow, let alone for the next 40 years of my life. How do you possible expect me to properly respond back to you with anything other than pure gibberish when you tell me “Pick a career which fits everything that makes you happy in it and pursue it”. Uhmm… “Hi, my name is Arsene Hodali and I’m a computer programming-hip hop dancing-community helping-website designing-psychology interested-philosophy reading-photography loving-entrepreneurially sound-self improvement enthusiastic-book reading-thought provoking blogger.” Quiet a mouth full right? And, at most will only earn me a few laughs (not what I’m looking for; laughing at me, not with me).

Well, I think I’ve finally found an answer that’s short and sweet.

“Hi, my name is Arsene Hodali and I do whatever excites me.”

If blogging excites me tomorrow, I’ll be a blogger. If photography excites me tomorrow, I’ll be a photographer. If website design excites me, I’ll be a website designer. If dancing excites me, I’ll be a dancer. If learning something new excites me I’ll be a student. If traveling excites me, I’ll be a traveler. You get the idea. As Mavis Leyrer said:

“The object of life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, Holy shit, what a ride!!!

I’m going to make sure that whatever I do, I end every single day worn out, shouting “Holy shit, what a ride!!!”

I’ve already figured out I don’t know what makes me happy, but I do know what makes me excited. How? Well, am I constantly thinking about it? Am I sweating for no apparent reason? Am I biting my nails uncontrollably? Am I moving around so much that I can’t sit still? If the answer’s yes, then I’ll know I’m excited about it. I’ll know it’s what I have to do that day.

What makes you excited? What makes your heart beat uncontrollably fast and raises your body temperature up a notch? Found it? Do it. Forget answering that age old question of “What makes you happy”; you don’t honestly know. Just take it one step at a time, figure out what’s going to excite you today, and do everything in your power to accomplish it. If it still excites you tomorrow, even better, you have another day to be as excited as you were yesterday (if not more).

Now, what if you find yourself doing something that doesn’t excite you? The excitement of being an entrepreneur unfortunately involves the boredom of being an accountant. What I do is ask myself whether the excitement out-weights the boredom. Being an accountant for one week is reasonable if you’re an entrepreneur for a year. Being a salesman for one day is reasonable if you’re an artist for six days of the week. As long as your excitement out-weighs all else, you’re good. Remember, end each day totally worn out (if you’re not worn out you didn’t give it your all), shouting, Holy shit, what a ride!!!

Hi, my name is Arsene Hodali and I do whatever excites me. WHAT DO YOU DO?