Siim Land

This is a huge issue that tends to fly under the radar (pun intended). Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMF) exposure lowers testosterone, reduces fertility, can damage fetuses and is overall very bad for health. Studies are only beginning to come out on this but no one can't say it wasn't coming out eventually. What's even worse is that EMF and other radio magnetic frequencies can disrupt your circadian rhythm, may cause epigenetic alterations and will definitely negatively impact your brain's functioning. What can you do? Keep your devices on airplane mode as much as possible. Don't wear your gadgets in your front pockets or near the heart. Get grounded - wear zero drop shoes and walk barefoot on grass whenever you can. Reduce your exposure to blue light as well while you're at it. Buy ionisers and devices that you can keep in your house that would absorb the EMF. There are some you can attach to your laptop too. Don't use Bluetooth headphones because the EMF will go straight to your head... You can also wear stones like shungite, mountain crystal, amethyst and moss agate etc. that will absorb some of the radiation. I have a necklace. Spend time in nature wireless. Ideally, have a room in your house, preferably underground, that would be completely shielded from EMF. I don't know how to build one but you can definitely look something up online. We can't protect ourselves entirely from EMF because of living in an age of technology but what we can do is limit our exposure as much as we can and following other healthy lifestyle practices. Stay Empowered Siim

If you're an influencer with a small amount of followers, there's the danger of oversaturating your audience with too frequent engagement. You should definitely focus on documenting your journey and bringing your people with you. However, there's already so many people doing the same things - there's social media presence for practically any niche and they're all creating quality content consistently. You have to really stand out and provide value you can't get from anywhere else. PLUS, if you're really an artist, then you should ALWAYS focus primarily on cultivating your craft. You have to constantly improve your skills and get better. Try to refute your own beliefs and evaluations by asking: "Why would I watch/listen this? What would make the other person want to share this? (Because word of mouth is the most effective type of marketing). But, like I said, there's a fine balance between creating content and promoting it. I mean, the most famous artists aren't the best ones - they suck, really - but they've mastered social media. So, I would advise you to spend 50% of your time honing your craft/creating content and the other 50% sharing it/networking with other influencers/growing your audience. Thanks!

@Epiphany_Inspired That's so true! Thanks for sharing and the mention. The book you mentioned is amazing. A ton of insight into the lifestyle and psychology of minimalism. In my opinion, the greatest thing people need to realize is that they're not attached to the particular item but to the emotion or memory. Like, they keep old clothes just because they're reminded of a past event or who they used to be. It's natural and sentimental, but we have to understand that the item itself isn't where the good feeling we get resides - it's in our consciousness and it will stay there as long as we won't forget about it.

There is indeed some common ground diet cults tend to agree upon. Some universal principles. Drink more water (about 1 gallon a day) but not to the point where you have to urinate uncontrollably Don't eat processed carbohydrates and sugar - refined grains, candies, etc. NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, for the love of god Eat more leafy vegetables - dark cruciferous veggies are the best ones Don't consume vegetable oils and trans fats - canola oil, sunflower oil, margarine Eat at least some healthy fats - controversial topic, but coconut oil, avocados, olive oil and olives are thought of as good by both vegans and others Don't go protein deficient - detrimental for bone density, muscle mass and brain health. Depending on how much you weigh and how much exercise you do but in general aim for 0.6-1.0 grams per pound of lean body mass. The more muscle you have the more you should go towards the higher end. Go as organic as possible - veggies are in general quite safe, as are tubers. You want to avoid corn, tomatoes, celery, lettuce and fruit that are GMO and sprayed. Avoid artificial sweeteners - a huge list of zero calorie sweeteners and sugars. Maltodextrin, aspartame, xylithol, splenda etc. Some micronutrients everyone's deficient of - magnesium, vitamin d3, omega-3s. Additional suspects - iodine, vitamin b12, vitamin k2, selenium Use antioxidants - veggies are already packed with anti-inflammatory compounds but you should also use a lot of ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, garlic. Stay Empowered Siim

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way." - Viktor Frankl Stay Empowered Siim

The safest way to do HIIT is probably with sprinting - you just go from 0 to 100 real quick. Rowing is very safe as well but you can't really max out as much on it. The most effective way to train conditioning and burn fat with intervals is to do kettlebells. You really hit your metabolism and mobility as well. However, the danger is that if your technique is off you can potentially pull your back or biceps. Plus, it's inevitable that your form will break when getting fatigued. I love kettlebells and I train 80% of my cardio with them but I always stay careful when hitting my aerobic ceiling. Burpees are also great. Everyone loves burpees...

The thing with aerobic steady state cardio is that your cardiovascular system adapts to it quite quickly. You've probably had instances where you lose a ton of weight on days you walk around a lot or spend time on your feet, especially if you're not used to it. But if you do it for several days in a row you'll get used to it. The body always tries to maintain homeostasis in everything - blood pressure, blood glucose, energy expenditure etc. That's why our metabolism is constantly becoming as efficient with what it has access to. If you eat less calories for a certain period of time, you adapt again and that decrease becomes your new set point. So it is with exercise - to keep making improvements, you have to improve in some aspects of your training. High intensity interval training is a great way to never stop adapting because you'll be pushing it to the max all the time. 'Go all out for 30 seconds' is super straight forward and it doesn't matter how fit you are - you'll always get your heart rate up. It's my favourite way of doing cardio. Saves a lot of time and creates better adaptations.

@Radical Honesty Thanks! Yes, there are a ton of other biases. These are just Munger's which he uses in the context of marketing and business. There's an entire page for all the cognitive biases on Wikipedia. Check it out! The one you mentioned is quite prevalent indeed. Coincides with the one of thinking ourselves to be above average. "I'm a special snow flake," needs to be opposed by the cold harsh fact that we're just an insignificant piece of meat. I have another bias, which we should all know! Bias Blind Spot Tendency - The tendency to see oneself as less biased than other people, or to be able to identify more cognitive biases in others than in oneself.

Charlie Munger is a businessman and an investor. He has created a list of the 25 cognitive biases that influence our behavior and decision making in some way. Keep in mind that not all of them are correct all the time. But they’re still subconscious programs that we’re hardwired to exhibit. Knowing your cognitive biases will help you understand your own nature better, prevent making impulsive decisions and persuade others. Here's my video explaining all of the cognitive biases: Bias 1 Reward/Punishment Tendency - 00:30 - Everyone is motivated to do something if they can gain from it, but everyone is also motivated to do something or avoid doing it if there are punishments. Bias 2 Liking/loving Tendency - 00:49 - We ignore the faults and flaws of people or products if we like or love them. Bias 3 Disliking/Hating Tendency - 01:07 - We ignore the virtues and positive aspects of people we dislike. We just hate them because… Bias 4 Doubt/Avoidance Tendency - 01:23 - We hate uncertainty. If we are unsure about a decision, we try to quickly remove any doubt by making a hasty decision so that we could be certain again. Bias 5 Inconsistency/Avoidance Tendency - 01:39 - We have a reluctance to change ourselves and our habits. Bias 6 Curiosity Tendency - 01:55 - Curiosity to learn continuously. We also want to know how the story ends. Bias 7 Kantian Fairness Tendency - 02:13 - It’s the Golden Rule – Treat others like you would like to be treated. Bias 8 Envy/Jealousy Tendency - 02:28 - Envy and jealousy come from the need to get access to scarce resources. This happens when the object of desire is seen in possession of someone else. Bias 9 Reciprocation Tendency - 02:49 - We want to return the favor to someone who helps us. Bias 10 Influence From Mere Association - 03:00 - We can be easily manipulated by mere association. It can be a group of people, the quality of a product, advertising, etc. That’s why brands use famous people to promote their products. Bias 11 Simple Pain-Avoiding Psychological Denial - 03:25 - We have a habit of distorting the facts until they become bearable for our own views. Bias 12 Excessive Self-Regard Tendency - 03:47 - We all think we’re above average. We’re smarter, more attractive, more persuasive than we really are. Bias 13 Over-Optimism Tendency - 03:59 - This bias shows that we tend to be more optimistic in any situation than we have reasons to be. Bias 14 Deprival Superreaction Tendency - 04:09 - This is loss aversion. You much rather prefer to avoid losing something than gaining something. Bias 15 Social Proof Tendency - 04:19 - You look at other people, their status, group-think, to think and act as they do. Bias 16 Contrast Misreaction Tendency - 04:30 - We misunderstand comparisons and can thus make poor decisions. Bias 17 Stress Influence Tendency - 04:47 - We will act faster and get more extreme reactions if adrenaline is running through our body. Bias 18 Availability Misweighing Tendency - 05:02 - We overweight what’s easily available. Our brain starts working with what it has the easiest access to. Bias 19 Use It Or Lose It - 05:17 - What you don’t use you lose. You lose your skills if you don’t use them. Bias 20 Drug Misinfluence Tendency - 05:25 - You’re prone to do drugs and get addicted to them. Bias 21 Senescence Misinfluence Tendency - 05:39 - As we age there is a natural loss of certain skills and abilities. Bias 22 Authority Misinfluence Tendency - 06:04 - You tend to follow orders from higher authority figures just because they say so. Bias 23 Twaddle Tendency - 06:33 - This is basically spending too much time on nonsense. Bias 24 Reason Respecting Tendency - 06:43 - Some people just want the answers, not the reasons or a better understanding. There’s a study where a person jumps in front of a line and succeeds just because they say the word ‘because.’ Bias 25 Lollapalooza Tendency - 07:25 - If several of your cognitive biases start working together, they will have a much greater effect. These are all the 25 cognitive biases and there are probably a lot more of them. Keep in mind that they don’t always apply to every situation. Some people exhibit some biases more whereas others do so less. How to avoid falling victim to these cognitive biases? You want to develop meta-awareness and mindfulness. This way you can first recognize the presence of your own blindspots and remain aware in your daily decision making. I think we should all know these, even when we ourselves don't exhibit them always. Stay Empowered Siim

I would love it if you actually started off with bodyweight fitness. It will create a solid foundation for strength, structural integrity, mobility and bodily awareness. You can always learn compound movements and get big lifts but developing bodyweight skills and movements take a lot more time. The biggest regret in my fitness journey is that I didn't pick up gymnastics right away at childhood. What should you do? You can cover the entire body with just your body. Start off with push-ups and squats. If you can't do pull-ups, consider getting resistance bands of gymnastics rings to do bodyweight rows with. Sprinting, polymetric jumping, running for conditioning. Add handstands, Yoga, mobility. Do some hollow body holds and you're golden. Scale up by first increasing the amount of reps and sets, then try to progress onto more challenging movements, the planche, muscle-ups, front levers.

@egoeimai The key is still abstinence because you can only fast for a few days but it takes several weeks to change a habit. A fast is a great way to cut the cord right away and get you started but you still have to stay consistent.

Your interest in enlightenment and spirituality is a reflection of the level of your consciousness. It's a vicious cycle and highly dependent of your environment, conditioning and chance. People only become curious after something profound and mystical happens to them, they face a crisis, have an experience, read something or when being influenced by external circumstances. To be honest, it's not their fault, but at the same time - there are no obstacles in the way.

The easiest and most effective way of getting rid of any addiction is abstinence. You're not really craving for the particular stimulus - sugar, cocaine, or alcohol - but for the surge of neurochemicals, you release. In particular, dopamine. Research has shown that the highest dopamine release doesn't happen when getting the reward - eating the candy or shooting coke - but during the anticipation of the reward - you really getting excited about it. Why can't you stop? Because you're stuck in the feedback loop - cue, routine, reward. You have to get out of the vicious cycle and distance yourself from the stimulus for a while. This way, your dopamine receptors can reset themselves. The same thing happens with insulin resistance, caffeine tolerance, and alcohol addiction - you need more and more to get the same effect. So, the best way to overcome any food addiction is to FAST for a few days. This way, your taste buds will be reset and your mind will be rejuvenated as well. In my own experience, I always attain a much clearer and long-term perspective on nutrition after a long fast. Try it out.

Dolce & Gura

It's very similar to Abraham Hicks and The Secret because of visualizations and attractions. The difference is that The Master Key System brings in a lot of the techniques Napoleon Hill discusses in Think and Grow Rich, so there's a lot of practical knowledge. In brief, the biggest lesson I got from the book was that of focusing on what you want to accomplish and concentrating most of your efforts on your vision - hold it in mind, see it, feel it, then take action towards it. It's a very inspirational read, especially the audio version, but there are no secrets....you have to do the work.

@Dan Arnautu Yes, I know Kinobody, but I've been doing intermittent fasting well before I found his channel. I've done it for 6 years or so.

To be brave you need to be scared

I think Julien has undergone a massive transformation himself and his personal brand is just levels beyond merely pick-up now. Although this is a new topic for him to tackle, it seems he's handling it quite well. Haven't bought the product but it appears to be legit. I saw him live on freetour where he talked about the basic premises of his course and it was awesome. Nevertheless, for me, the greatest downside is that his videos and the way he's selling it may make one feel like there's indeed something wrong with them. I mean...have you seen the transformation videos of the people? It looks like they're going through some massive breakthroughs and uncover deep psychological traumas. We all have some unconscious problems but in his words, it's like we're all fucked up beyond the point of return unless we go through transformation mastery. Maybe I've already solved at least a few of my limiting beliefs but will I be able to eliminate all of them completely? What if I'm already transformed?

The Hero's Journey is just everywhere. I mean... The Odyssey, Star Wars, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Zelda...It's the greatest story of them all. I' ve made a great video explaining all of the stages as stated by Joseph Campbell and have added examples from the popular movies.

@Michael569 Thanks! There are no obstacles on the way.

I have a few guidelines I like to follow, which my time fasting very enjoyable: (Optional) Sleep in if you want to. Balance your electrolytes. Add a pinch of sea salt or pink Himalayan rock salt to a glass of water and gulp it down first thing in the morning. This will also keep cortisol at bay. Follow your regular routine. Take a shower, get dressed, journal, meditate, whatever, just do it sans food. Don’t drink coffee right away. Although a powerful appetite suppressant, you don’t want to cash in on it immediately. Drinking too much coffee will make you dependent of it and you would want to use it only when you’re actually hunger. Whenever you get hungry, drink some water and wait for about 30 minutes. If it gets excruciating then drink coffee but most of the time, hunger is just a sign of dehydration so drink water ? Drink herbal teas. Green tea and black tea have some caffeine so don’t overdo them either. Other teas, like chamomile, hibiscus, lemongrass, ginger etc. are great. Sparkling water is another amazing appetite suppressant. To be honest, I feel like it’s cheating because the carbonation will starve off hunger instantly. Salt crystals were my go-to-hack when I had my 100 hour fast. You want to keep your electrolytes in check to have more energy and less stress. To trick your mind, you can bite on some solid sea salt crystals whenever you feel exhausted. Brushing your teeth also helps and keeps your mouth fresh. However, there’s the danger of artificial sweeteners spiking insulin so you would want to use it only as a last resort. To be safe, use products with natural ingredients without sugar. The same goes to chewing gum. Apple cider vinegar. While fasting, get a glass of warm water and add 1-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Any more than that may have some unwanted consequences, so don’t go overboard. Consume it right away and be done with it. Your body will thank you. Drink decaf coffee. It doesn’t have to be caffeinated to stop hunger. You shouldn’t drink more than 3-4 cups of caffeinated coffee a day but decaf is potentially limitless. By the same token, it will still dehydrate your cells so be wary and watch your water intake. Don’t make a big deal out of it. What I learned from my own first 24 hour fast was that you get hungry only when you think about it. At other times, I felt fine, even amazing and wasn’t tired or starving or anything the like. Only when I realized that I hadn’t been eating anything for nearly 20 hours did the hunger signals kick in. Keep your mind busy. That’s why you would want to trick your mind into focusing on other things. Work on a creative project, read a good book, watch a movie or do something else mentally stimulating. Stay away from food. Don’t set yourself up for failure by spending time in environments where there’s food. I mean, if you’re surrounded by sights, sounds, and aromas of sizzling bacon, fresh vegetables or cake, then, of course, you’ll get hungry. Unless you’re a Jedi-master who isn’t affected by those type of things then stay away from kitchens, supermarkets, restaurants and people eating food next to you. These things really make it easy for me. I've written a blog post about it as well with some tips on how to break your fast and what can be the potential side-effects of fasting for 24-hours. Stay Empowered Siim

Start doing bodyweight exercises, like push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, planks, handstands - all you need. Add some yoga and plyometrics, you'll be a beast. Other easy ways to burn calories would be to take cold showers, do intermittent fasting and regular walking. Movement is one of the best anti-depressants and euphoric agents that will alleviate depression and anxiety. Hope this helps.

@Fishmonk @dude Thanks!

Why haven't you achieved your success already? What stops people from doing what they know they're supposed to do? Steven Pressfield in his book The War of Art calls this invisible force RESISTANCE - the inner feeling of turmoil and the surmounting procrastination that ensues. Resistance is accompanied by fear, anxiety, pushing things off and not taking action. Basically, it's the reason for your writer's block, indecisiveness, lack of progress in your health pursuit and everything else you haven't done yet but know you need to do. You'll make numerous excuses as to why you're not ready, why it's not the right time and on and on... The key to overcoming resistance is taking massive action - moving towards your fear and acting in spite of it instead of blindfolding yourself from it. Pressfield has another book called Do the Work - you have to do the work to get what you want. If you dare to have big dreams then be willing to accept the work that's necessary for them to turn into fruition. Everyone gets resistance - Pressfield, Usain Bolt, Albert Einstein, you, and I - but those who accomplish great things manage to do their work despite the feeling of resistance. They've turned PRO - another Pressfield's book (Turning PRO). The difference between an amateur and the pro is that the amateur loves their craft but hasn't committed to it completely, whereas the pro loves his craft even more because of having dedicated themselves to it wholeheartedly. You HAVE TO TURN PRO. There will still be resistance but as a pro you ignore it, stop procrastinating and just do it. Pressfield's books are a must read for anyone wanting to make actual progress in their creative work, personal development and success in life. How's your relationship with your Resistance? Check out my video about it: Overcome thy Resistance, Stay Empowered! Siim