oats

- Ask coaches, find potential gym mentors, go to classes, get help. - Never stop perfecting technique or learning new training paradigms. - Read books and watch videos: Convict Conditioning and Starting Strength are my favourite books. Untamed Strength on YouTube. Don't get stuck on one way to train and think you've found the perfect routine. Become a humble apprentice to the iron. - Be consistent and professional in the gym. Adopt a pro mindset and stop fucking around like 80% of people who 'lift'. Carry a small journal and write down your workouts and how you feel about them. - Finally, go hard when you workout and recover very well. Eat and sleep properly. Diet is everything. Be shaking from nervous system obliteration when you crawl out of the gym, instead of being satisfied with working up a light sweat on the treadmill.

I know that feel. Having been into personal dev for ~2 yrs I have some insights that my friends don't and it feels really good to be able to point them to helpful resources or explain concepts to them.

@Socrates great post. love this line: "If you give yourself a plan b you will always have an excuse not to pursue your passion."

Hey cheers for this thread, I relate to this deeply. I'm a second year uni student also weighing up between finishing a degree in philosophy or dropping out to work on personal development full time. My Dad's an academic, so he's pretty keen on me finishing my degree. I enjoy the campus lifestyle but just find my classes to be a waste of time.

Recently been listening to two podcasts inspired by Leo's videos on building a big picture understanding. History: http://www.podcasthistoryofourworld.com/ Philosophy: http://philosophizethis.org/category/episode/ These are the best two I've found so far, anyone else have recommendations?

Just had a shower thought and insight after watching Leo's latest vid, The 'should' judgement fucks me up SO MUCH! I have been fighting myself for so long on this personal development journey, trying to 'should' my way to success! But it only causes me pain. I shouldn't be sick today.. only delays my recovery I should study more.. only makes me take subjects I don't actually enjoy and grind my way through for no reason - even when I've done more than enough study to do well already and I have NOTHING TO PROVE I should be more muscular, eat more, be bigger.. only makes me overworked and tired, sick and bloated, and have weird self esteem issues in the mirror even when I'm a perfectly fit and healthy young man -- wtf??? I should be better with girls, be less afraid, be more outgoing and fun and sexual.. only makes me feel stifled - like I'm 'putting on' some personality that isn't authentic and congruent, which leads to turning girls away because of my weird vibes and neediness for it to work I realised in the shower when I thought "Damn I wish I was in a hot bath right now" that wishing for things is absolutely insane, because IT DOESN'T EXIST. Furthermore, wishing to have a bath (when I don't have a bathtub) is just as crazy as wishing I was a playboy billionaire immortal from mars, there are no 'reasonable' wishes like this because the first wish doesn't exist just as much as the second! The craziest thing is that all these prevent me from just enjoying the moment, I literally cannot be happy when I'm judging every single thing in my life, from my past, in the future, whatever -- These are all just fantasies and symbols floating around in my head -- none of it is REAL!!! Time to get off the crazy roller coaster. I realise this doesn't sound like any new groundbreaking stuff, but I'm just internalising it and really feeling it as applied to my own life. Thank you!

Thanks everyone!

This is going to sound insane, I am currently typing this in a state of awe and wonder. So in revision for my intro philosophy exam this weekend, I watched Leo's vid on Free Will vs Determinism. I've done some meditation in the past with decent results, so I can see what he's getting at. The bizzare thing was, as I was taking notes, eating my lunch as I watched and listened, I started getting happy! And I mean really, really happy. Like joy was pouring out of my chest in rays of sunshine. Like spontaneously laughing deep belly laughs with teary eyes of joy, all while sitting alone in my room. But the CRAZIEST thing was, my tinnitus went away for a few minutes. Usually, I have constant ringing noise in my ears from tinnitus, like a high pitched tone always going. But it went away!!!! I couldn't hear it!! This is just a week after going to a doctor who told me there was nothing I could do about it, and that I'd have to learn to live with it. I can only imagine that while I was watching I managed to let go a little bit, and just go with the flow. Just wanted to share my positive experience.

Hi all, I've been meditating on and off for about 6 months - slowly building up and recently maintaining 20 minutes every day. I'd just like to share some of my experiences and see if anyone has felt anything similar. I like to focus on the 'inner body' as Tolle calls it, feeling the body from within and doing body scans. Often I will get a strong feeling of 'expansion' beyond my regular sense of my body. As if my physical size is literally expanding to fill the room -- kinda strange but feels really cool. Yesterday I had an incredibly profound sense of energy engulf my whole body, more powerful than anything I've ever felt. Like there was a small sun radiating from the center of my chest -- I can't really describe it, I felt incredibly clear and light, but I wasn't thinking. I wasn't even 'me' really. Argh! It was very positive, I felt enveloped in a sense of warmth, love and expansion. It only lasted for a short time, but I felt like I had 'broken through' to another level, like I see myself in a different way now. Seriously! Overall my meditation habit has improved the quality of my life in more ways that I would have ever imagined. Sometimes I just break out into smiles and laughter, for no particular reason, a big improvement over random fits of sadness and crying. Thanks for reading, first post here

This is something I'd love to do and be a part of! I just started uni in Australia, lots of people start their own clubs. It would be awesome to get accountability partners to do this kind of work, as almost nobody in my social group is really aware of personal development.

Okay, cool. Thank you both.