A caution about advice

Be careful when taking advice from people who have already ‘made it’. Many times what got a person from A to B isn’t the same as what’s getting them from Y to Z.

This came up recently as I was speaking to an entrepreneur who’s become increasingly more conscious about work life balance and taking it easy. It’s something you hear a lot of successful people talk about. So I asked him: “do you think you’d be in the position you are today if you’d followed your own advice and prioritised work life balance early in your career?”. His answer was simple: “no”. 

In most cases, you’ll find successful people had no morning routines, and paid little attention to their health or work life balance during the early days. Instead it was just a grind. Only after that initial grind did they begin to focus on the things you see them talk about today.

This post isn’t about why work life balance is a myth (I’m a proponent of it, which is one reason why I don’t have a strict schedule for my YouTube videos) - for all we know the entrepreneur may have succeeded despite how hard he worked, rather than because of it. The point I'm trying to get at is we need to be careful when taking advice from people who have already made it. Is the advice they’re giving you what got them to where they are? Or did they do something different in the early days?

What's new

iPhone 16e review

A controversial release from Apple. Overall I'm a big fan of the device, and it'll be my go-to recommendation to anyone looking to buy an iPhone from now on.

Monthly favourites

• How to Grow a new Brain - a very interesting read about the alternative science behind brain health, that makes you think twice about taking what mainstream medicine tells you at face value.
• Zike SSD - got this sent to me the other week, and I’ve been absolutely loving it for shooting my YouTube videos on the iPhone. I no longer have to deal with a cable dangling, since the SSD fits flush into the device. 
• Apothecary Reassure Eau de Parfum - featured this one in my recent desk accessories video. So many people ignore the power a strong fragrance can have on your mood and ability to work/focus. I apply just a few sprays over my desk when I'm about to sit down and work. It contains notes of tonke bean, orange flower, patchouli and cedar leaf to help you focus and relax.