Wild Minds Weekly: 3 Ideas to Get What You Want Out Of Life

Hello beautiful people,

I’ll keep it short today - we’ve just launched the Private Members Club for One Tree Farm, and the response has been incredible! That means it’s full hands on deck from everyone getting new members on board.

But don’t worry, I won’t leave you with nothing to think about.

Here’s 3 ideas that will help you get what you want out of life:

1. Perfect is the enemy of good.

It’s tempting to think “What’s the point in starting if it won’t be perfect”.

 So many people get held up trying to come up with the perfect plan, or build the perfect product, or waiting for the perfect time.

Is it better to say “Ah I can’t go to the gym for an hour today, I’ll just go tomorrow” (which I have been guilty of) or “Super busy day today, I’ll do what I can in 20 minutes”. 

Which one would get you the better outcome in the long term?

2. The enemy of great

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.” 
― Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

I know what you’re thinking, “you just said good was better than perfect??”.

Yes I did, you should never let fear of an imperfect outcome hold you back from pursuing a good outcome.

Now I’m saying, don’t let the comfort and “security” of a “good” outcome, hold you back from pursuing something great.

You don’t want a good relationship, you want a great relationship.

You don’t want to feed your family good food (the healthiest produce in the supermarket), you want to feed them great food (grown by your local farmer).

You’re only in this life for a short while. Don’t settle for what society tells you is a good life, chase a great one. 

As a personal example, I got accepted onto a Masters of Artificial Intelligence course at The University of Edinburgh, the oldest Artificial Intelligence program in the UK. An amazing opportunity.

With the amount of of money being thrown at AI engineers, you’d come out and get employed for a very comfortable 6 figure salary in a job with nice perks and decent time off, I could buy a nice car and a lovely box to live in with that money.

A good life. 

I’m turning it down (and losing a £1500 deposit) so that I can focus all my energy on Wild Minds Community, One Tree Farm and building a decentralised food system that doesn’t poison people.

Why? 

Because everyone was telling me it was a good idea to do the Masters, so I knew it wasn’t the right move for me (I’m very stubborn).

Well yes, I am stubborn, but that’s only a small part of the reason. The real reason is that I believe what we’re doing is great. Actually, I believe it’s phenomenal, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do with my life. So I’m giving up a good outcome, to chase a great one.

Don’t let good be the enemy of great.

3. “How can you accomplish your 10 year goal in 1 year?”

This question isn’t to trigger you to rush the process, or set unrealistic deadlines for yourself that only leave you disappointed when you don’t meet them. Most of the important things in life take time. 

But asking yourself this question will help you see what limiting beliefs you have. You’ll come up with loads of reasons why you couldn’t do it, and yet many of them won’t be valid.

As a bonus because I’m feeling inspired, I’ll throw in one more related idea:

The Region-beta paradox

Fancy name, simple idea.



Fun fact: It was originally introduced in an academic paper by Daniel Gilbert a Professor of Psychology at Harvard - he’s an interesting guy, look him up. He dropped out school at 15 to hitchhike around America, then went back to school and now works at one of the best universities in the world. Whatever you think of mainstream education institutions, that’s incredibly impressive. He definitely didn’t settle for good.

Anyway, The Region-beta paradox.

Simply put, it’s the idea that the pain of a ‘not-ideal’ outcome typically lasts longer than the pain of a terrible outcome. 

A dodgy knee can be worse than an injured knee. With an injured knee, you seek treatment or rehab it. It recovers faster. A dodgy knee, on the other hand, usually just gets accepted or ignored, then it gets worse or causes pain for longer.

A relationship that is almost ‘good enough’ is worse than a terrible relationship. With a terrible relationship, the clear decision is to leave. With a relationship that is almost ‘good enough’, the decision is far less clear.

So long story short, sometimes things have to get worse before you’re forced to make the effort to change them. Or, you could make the change now before it gets to that point.

This ended up being a longer newsletter than I intended, but hopefully you found that useful.

Chase greatness. Make bold moves. Don’t settle for less.

To your freedom and independence,

Rob

Wild Minds Community

PS.

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