How being ‘boring’ changed my life changed in 2022

The last 12 months of my life have been UTTERLY insane.

I quit my 9–5 job. Started my own consulting business. Grew my small start-up to six figures within six months. Fell in love (sort of). Started building a house. Traveled overseas 3 times. Fell out of love (again). Read 50+ books.

Got paid to speak on the local and global stage — multiple times.

Exhibit A:

Had dinner with the president of Timor-Leste within 24 hours of landing in the country.

Here’s proof:

MC’d my brother’s wedding in New Zealand. Co-founded another business with a friend. Distanced myself from negative people. Outgrew mentors. Repaired fractured relationships.

Lost 13 kgs of lockdown weight through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and 16:8 intermittent fasting and turned vegetarian — only to realize I had lost too much weight and now I am trying to put some back on. Oops.

Some other highlights:

• I had my first $1,000 (AUD) month on Medium.

• Hired a virtual assistant and a team of subcontractors to grow my business.

• Surrounded myself with coaches and mentors who believe in my business and ability.

And, did I mention I planned a 3-month trip in Asia for the beginning of 2023?

Phew. I can’t comprehend how much I’ve done in the last 12 months.

From this highlight reel, you might think I live an exciting daily life.

You would be wrong.

My daily routine is dead boring.

• Wake up between 5:00 am — 6:00 am (most days)

• Read

• Write

• Meditate, breathwork, cold shower.

• Morning workout

• Work for 8–10 hours.

• Evening working (Jiu-Jitsu, jog or handstands).

• Sleep.

My weekends don’t look any different either.

Here’s why.

A boring life builds the foundation to exploit exciting moments.

My boring life sounds counterintuitive.

But:

exciting opportunities = luck + preparation

You can’t control luck. But you can be prepared for it.

By having a structured and consistent routine, I am preparing for events that have the potential to change my life.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Most people can’t take opportunities simply because they haven’t set their life up for moments of serendipity.

When lady luck comes calling. You need to be able to pick up the phone.

Here is an example from my life:

• Posting content on LinkedIn → gradually build up a following → attract freelance opportunities → realize that my skillset is valuable → start building a business on the side → quit my job and grew my own six-figure consulting business.

Getting that first freelance opportunity was pure luck. They slid into my DMs. But by posting content on LinkedIn I was able to:

• Build social capital with people in my industry.

• Increase my surface areas for luck and serendipity.

• Develop the required skills to execute the freelance opportunity.

Neeramitra Reddy (who inspired this article) puts it best:

The only way to facilitate such serendipity is to keep leveling yourself up in life — unlocking access to richer experiences and deeper people.

The more substance you possess, the better you’ll absorb the power of serendipity.

So, what would happen if you’re bingeing Netflix every night instead of learning?

The only “serendipity” you might enjoy is a dopamine overload and a terrible night of sleep.

The biggest trap most people fall into…

Mindless busyness.

We overcommit to lots of shallow activities that don’t add value.

Overworking, scheduling multiple social events with people you don’t really like, and consuming mindless media for hours on end.

For extroverted, attention-hungry people like me, boredom seems like a fate worse than death.

But mindful boredom can transform your life.

This is where you commit harder to fewer things.

When you overload yourself with shallow commitments, you miss out on big opportunities that can change your life.

You need to remove good to make room for great.

Derek Sivers calls these moments a ‘hell yeah or a no’.

Set yourself up for more ‘hell yeahs’ by saying no to more things.

Start loving the boring and watch your life skyrocket.

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