I look back at 2017 and I have very mixed feelings. Looking at what happened, in both my personal life and what was happening around the world, the word rollercoaster comes to mind.
I started the year with the once in a lifetime opportunity to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The amazing Global Shapers who supported me on this journey
I met Will.i.am.
Got tips on high performance from F1 Champions.
Sat three feet away from Arianna Huffington. Got a hug from YoYoMa. And Tony Fernandes of Air Asia jokingly said I would be the next Jeff Bezos.
Standing next to Tony Fernandes as I ask myself, “How did I get here again?”
For the next few months, I would be wrestling with “What happens next?”. Hitting 30 and being at the worst physical condition I’ve been in my life (something I’ll write about another time in more detail). And working through the struggles in my business (something you can read in my other post).
Looking back, I let 2017 become a year of reactions. I let my emotions take hold and I couldn’t see further than the next day (at most the next few weeks).
2018 will not be the same story.
By the end of the year, I had gotten my shit together and became thoroughly inspired by Timothy Ferris’ Tools of Titans.
I may have went overboard with the notes.
I started adopting several of the habits and rituals of these “titans” into my daily routine. It’s been working and has already been producing small breakthroughs in my life.
He mentioned a book called Daily Rituals that catalogued the daily routine of several artists, philosophers and scientists. And it got me thinking.
With all this information out there, what if I attempted to live a day like these “titans” or my personal heroes? How long could I do it? What could I achieve? Who could I be?
And that line of thinking has brought me to my new year long experiment: #TwoWeeksAsATitan
The Rules of the Game:
- I choose a hero or titan to emulate for two weeks. After the two weeks is complete, I proceed to another person until 2018 is over.
- Based on the information available, I adopt their daily routine (to the best of my ability). This includes waking times, particular habits, work schedules and number of hours of sleep.
- I take on as much as I can as long as it doesn’t:
- compromise some of the habits I’ve already adopted that have a positive impact on my life
- adversely affect my health or diet (Elon Musk for example is known to drink 12 cans of soda a day to stay away. I have no intention of taking that on.)
- At the end of every two weeks, I post a blog or Vlog to update everyone on what I experienced and what I learned.
The intention of this is experiment is to see what tangible results I could produce by emulating my heroes. My work (especially with Upstart) has been about unlocking human potential by exposing habits, biases and mindsets. I’m turning myself into a guinea pig of my own work.
And more importantly, I want 2018 to not only be a year of success but a year I can say at the end, “I created my 2018.”
So, who’s the first titan?
Richard Branson.
I chose Richard Branson for several reasons:
- He wakes up at 5am. I have always seen myself as a night person. I don’t do mornings. This is something that will stretch my comfort zone.
- He exercises right after waking up. This is something I don’t do and that I believe will help me hit my fitness goals for the month.
- He has cool habits of informal meetings and dinner get-togethers to share ideas.
- He spends time writing about issues that are important to him.
- He’s a personal hero. I’ve always admired his story and dreamed of working with him.
Let’s see how this goes…
Episode up!
If you have ideas of other titans or heroes I should emulate, comment below. Share their routine. I’ll send a digital copy of my novel to anyone who gets chosen. Keep track of my progress by visiting this page and the blog.