I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Did you buy anything cool during BFCM?

Hit reply and let me know.

Livin' La Vida Luna y Luca

My loves after a yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

In a June 2018 episode of the Tim Ferriss Show, Jerzy Gregorek said, "Hard Choices, Easy Life. Easy Choices, Tough Life."

That little mental framework stuck with me ever since, and I often use it when trying to decide between two alternatives.

I try to take the more challenging path as long as the long term benefits outweigh the short term pain.

This framework recently popped up for me again on a recent episode of the MFM Podcast, and it got me thinking....

Where am I making the hard choices that lead to an easier life? And where am I taking the easy way out, ultimately leading to a tough life.

I'll provide a few personal examples in the following 3 categories:

• Work
• Children
• Health & Wellness

On Work:

Hard choice, easy life.

In 2021, I was able to close 3 deals off my direct mail efforts. It cost me $19,494.88 to land those 3 deals. I generated close to $100K in earnings off the same.

So far in 2022, I've spent $21,096.34 on similar marketing, but have yet to close a single deal off those efforts.

It's disheartening. So much so that I've taken a break from sending mail since July to refine my process.

I'm not giving up. I'm sending ~4,000 pieces in December.

It's highly unlikely that I close on another property by the end of 2022, but I'm hoping to start 2023 on the right foot.

Easy choice, hard life.

I've been unable to restart my YouTube journey.

It's really a shame, because after 26 straight weeks, I was really starting to enjoy the creative process behind making long form video content.

Ever since my virtual assistant ghosted me, I've been kicking the "YouTube Can" down the road.

It's been easy to make excuses week after week.

• Finding the right help is too hard
• Luca or Luna is sick (again)
• I don't have anything interesting to say

These obstacles and limiting beliefs are literally always going to be there. Mind as well start anyway.

Being stuck in this loop isn't helping. I've lost a rewarding creative outlet. I need to be less concerned with finding the perfect solution and just get going.

On Children:

Hard choice, easy life.

Luca's been sick for the past 2 weeks. We think it was a mild case of RSV.

The hard choice we've been making is sucking his nose with a nasal aspirator 4-6x per day.

It's a difficult choice because he screams at the top of his lungs for the duration of the suction.

It's kind of hard to watch and it's really hard to be the one doing it. We have to hold down his arms and keep his head straight to do it effectively.

But it certainly pays off because if we don't suck out all of his excess mucus, it can lead to an ear infection, which would make everyone's lives that much more miserable.

Easy choice, hard life.

Potty training Luna has been our biggest struggle as parents by far.

Getting our kids to sleep through the night by 12 weeks old was a cakewalk compared to getting Luna to poop in a potty even once.

We've tried committing to a 3-day weekend of no diapers and given up like 3 separate times now.

When it comes to kids, saying one thing and then being manipulated into doing the opposite is lethal.

Luna now feels like she owns us in this regard and it's true. She knows we'll break if she cries enough about not wanting to poop on the potty.

🤦🏽‍♂️ Now we're basically F'd. We've made it so much harder on ourselves to get over the hump.

On Health & Wellness:

Hard choice, easy life

This cholesterol thing scared me into completely changing my diet from eating whatever I want as long as I don't exceed a certain number of calories to prioritising cholesterol friendly foods.

The "easy" choice would have been to do what my parents (& millions of other people) did - not change a thing. Simply continue eating the foods I enjoy and sign up for a lifetime of statins to manage symptoms.

To be clear: that's not a judgment on anyone who goes the medication route. I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider it myself.

Taking the meds and eating pizza twice a week sounds a hell of a lot better than a never-ending supply of oatmeal, fibrous veggies, avocado, metamucil, and red yeast rice.

Easy choice, hard life

I think I've completed one workout in all of November. That was a 6-mile run I did 2 weeks ago. That only happened because a friend invited me to join him.

With both kids being sick on and off as the weather changes, I've been prioritizing rest so I have enough energy for them.

I could have hit the gym before they woke up each morning, but sleeping in until the last possible moment is so much easier.

I could have gone to the gym after the kids went to bed, but turning off my brain and turning on the TV is so much easier.

Now the kids are fine and the friction to getting back in the gym is at an all-time high.

If I want any shot at course correcting, I'll have to start this upcoming week strong by hitting the gym tomorrow.

I find Monday often sets the tone for the rest of the week.

--

Now that you've heard a few examples from me, I want you to think about this for yourself.

• What challenge are you taking on right now solely for the advancement of future you?

- OR -

• What obstacle have you been kicking down the road that will eventually come back to bite you?

If you feel complelled to share something with me, I'd love to hear about it. If not, that's fine too. 🙏🏽