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Category: Email Archives
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Ten tips for learning any skill
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When I go viral, you can say you knew me back then
I’ve been inspired to create memes.
You know, those stupid images with captions that tell some kind of story or express some emotion or whatever.
I like the idea of taking a popular meme and reusing it to say something else. “Memejacking”, I guess it’s called.
(I spent some time this morning researching memes, and learning about this kind of terminology.)
I’m envisioning tremendous potential here. Memes would be a great way to say the things I’m already saying, but in a form that is easily digestible and relatable.
OK, that’s from a marketing perspective 👨💼. Now, let’s look at it from a Michael perspective 😵.
Whenever possible, I try to make my activities into formal practices. That means turning it into a task that has:
- a specified length of time, and
- a precise description of what it means to “do” the task.
I want to eliminate all sense of difficulty or ambiguity from the task. I want to know that after 20 minutes, it will be DONE. The time limit takes care of this easily.
And while I’m doing it, there should be no doubt in my mind about whether I’m doing it correctly. I want to be able to zone out and surrender to the task, going into a flow state as quickly as possible.
It can take some creativity to turn tasks into practices like this.
For meme creation, it’s challenging, because memes need to be funny, relevant, thought-provoking, etc. There’s a lot of luck in that. You have to wait for inspiration to strike.
So, I don’t want to put that pressure on myself. My task is not to make inspiration strike, but to do something stupidly easy that will make it more likely for inspiration to strike.
You can do this with absolutely anything. You can live your whole life this way, if you want (I recommend it.)
It’s easiest to start with meditation, because the definition of success in meditation is easier than with any other activity. It will teach you how to make anything else into a practice. This is why it’s so useful.
But, meditation can be frustrating or demotivating, especially when you’re not approaching it the right way. My course, [No Problem], will show you how to approach it correctly.
(this email is a practice, as well. on to the next.)
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I may seem normal now, but I used to be weird.
When I was in high school, I attracted some interesting attention.
My best friend and I liked to talk about science. He was loud. 💣
One day, we were chatting about nuclear bombs during lunch. You know, the usual stuff: how they work, how to build them, etc.
The vice-principal approached us and began his investigation.
I’ve got lots of stories like that.
(no one will like this story. it seems random and weird. people will think I’m just trying to get attention. yes motherfuckers I’m trying to get attention.)
I want YOUR ATTENTION.
(Michael, you’re getting desperate. this is just a cry for help. yep, it’s a cry for help.)
I want you to HELP ME.
(can’t you just stop telling this story and go be normal? no, that would be acting out of fear.)
(is this really going to help sell anything? i don’t know, but it’s gotten me this far. i don’t think it’s wise to abruptly change course right now. keep riding the wave and see where it takes me)
Anyway…what was I saying?
Oh, yes, I have a long list of stories about how I have attracted suspicion from authority figures.
I guess I’m weird.
Huh.
Fine, I’m weird.
You know, there are lots of people who can’t stand being weird. I used to be like that, in fact. I tried desperately to hide my weirdness.
It’s not a good idea. Don’t go there. (but yeah, it’s tempting)
A better approach is to ACCEPT your weirdness. Minds are weird. There’s nothing you can do about that.
Meditation will teach you how to accept the weird things that your mind does. It will help you be yourself. (it’s hard to accept the weird things your mind does)
Don’t you want to be yourself? (no, of course you don’t. society has taught you to hate yourself. we call this “low self-esteem” and treat it like it’s a disease.)
[This course] will teach you how to accept yourself.
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I hope my personality doesn’t change
I have a big announcement.
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I finally got a haircut (after 6 months) 😲It was originally scheduled for April 21, but it got postponed…
Don’t worry, it’s not much shorter than it was yesterday. Only a tiny bit.
It’s been quite an adventure, having longer hair (I’m now considering using conditioner. I don’t even know what to do with that. It’s ok…I’ll figure it out).
So yeah, it’s just a little bit shorter. Because a lot shorter would have to involve another personality change, and I’ve worked so hard to develop this current personality.
I’m sure you can imagine.
Because it is a question of personality. After all, my hair is such a prominent feature in my videos. I’ve spent so much time brushing it out of my eyes, making sure it looks OK on camera, and even cutting it myself once, back in June (I think it was June…who knows?).
I’ve often been reluctant to make videos because of how my hair looked.
Seeing myself on camera is awkward enough to begin with. I don’t usually love the way I look, so that’s a whole bunch of mental content that has to be accepted in order to make a video.
All kinds of judgments, evaluations, images, stories, etc. Just going through my head. Like dust getting kicked up. It’s not easy to focus with all of that going on.
But, that’s how the mind works, and you have to work with it.
Do you want to learn how to accept whatever stuff comes up in your mind, no matter what it is?
If so, the course might be for you: https://michaelkorman.com/no-problem-meditation-course/
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Are you feeling stuck?
Here are three things about anxiety disorders:
- The problem is always avoidance.
- The solution is always exposure.
- Everything you complain about is the result of an anxiety disorder.
WHAT???? 😲
Sorry, I always forget to put the trigger warning at the beginning of the email. Damn it. 🤦♂️
OK, consider yourself warned (retroactively).
You feel stuck because you're acting stuck. You're acting stuck because you're afraid of moving. The only way to move is by moving.
If you had no fear, you'd have nothing to complain about. You'd be acting instead of complaining.
Before you say anything, no, it's not possible for someone to prevent you from acting. It only seems that way because you're fixated on that particular strategy, and are unwilling to accept anything else as “acting.”
Come on, snap out of it.
Yes, it's your fault.
Sorry not sorry.
No, you can't snap out of the flu, but you can indeed snap out of an anxiety disorder.
(reminder: unsubscribe link below 👇)
Stop complaining and just deal with it
Radical acceptance means you accept things radically. All the way.
You don’t fight back.
If you’re turned off by the word “acceptance”, it’s probably because you think I’m telling you to be happy
with the things you don’t like.
As in, “stop complaining and just accept it”.
No, that’s not what I’m saying.
“Acceptance” means you stop fighting. You don’t have to like it. You’re allowed to complain. Just don’t avoid it.
I would never tell you to “accept your fate”. Your fate is your fate whether you fight or not.
Before you can practice acceptance, you have to realize you’re fighting. Do you see that? Are you aware of all the ways in which you fight?
Fighting what?
Your experiences: thoughts, feelings, sensations.
Sometimes, you get it into your head that you don’t like some of these things. When that happens, you try to move away from them. That’s what I mean by “fighting.”
To accept those experiences, you would STOP moving away.
So, if someone calls you an idiot, you might feel offended. Fine. What do you do next? If you block them on Facebook, you’re moving away from the feeling of being offended. That is not acceptance. Do you see?
Acceptance would mean you don’t block them. You don’t have to like them. You just don’t do the thing that you’re inclined to do to get away from the feeling.
It’s simple.
But it’s weird.
ACCEPTANCE. This is the key. The missing ingredient.