Daniel

Top 3 Benefits to Smoking Cigars

January 11, 2023 by Daniel

Before we get into the top 3 benefits to smoking cigars, I want to let you in on a little secret. What you are about to read is 100% AI-generated. You see, I am very intrigued by the possibilities of what Artificial Intelligence can do. When I was finally able to get ChatGPT to load and give me the option to play around, I asked it to “write an article for the top 3 benefits to smoking cigars.”

Here is what it wrote:

Smoking cigars has been a beloved pastime for many years, and with good reason. While cigars have been linked to negative health effects, they also offer many benefits to those who enjoy them responsibly. In this article, we will explore the top three benefits of smoking cigars.

Relaxation and Stress Relief

One of the most popular reasons for smoking cigars is for relaxation and stress relief. The act of smoking a cigar requires patience and mindfulness, as each cigar must be lit and puffed on slowly in order to enjoy its full flavor. This slow, deliberate process can help to clear the mind and promote a sense of calm, making it a great way to unwind after a long day or to relax during a break from work.

Socialization and Camaraderie

Smoking cigars is also a great way to socialize and build camaraderie with others. Whether you’re smoking with friends at a special event or with strangers at a cigar lounge, the act of smoking a cigar can bring people together and create a sense of community. Whether you are relaxing with friends in a backyard or networking in a lounge, cigars have a way to create a social atmosphere.

Cultural and Historical Significance

Finally, smoking cigars has a rich cultural and historical significance. The origins of the cigar can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Central America, who have been smoking cigars for centuries. Today, cigars are enjoyed by people from all walks of life and have become a symbol of luxury, success, and tradition. They are a part of cultural events such as political campaigns, celebrating victory, and even in movies and literature.

It is important to note that smoking cigars can also have negative health effects and it is important to be aware of the risks and to smoke responsibly. If you do choose to smoke cigars, it is crucial to do so in moderation, to be aware of any health risks and also to be mindful of where you smoke and who is around you.

In conclusion, smoking cigars can be a relaxing and enjoyable activity that offers many benefits including stress relief, socialization, and cultural significance. The key to enjoying the benefits of cigar smoking is to be mindful of the risks and to smoke responsibly. If you choose to smoke cigars, do so in moderation, in the company of friends or in a lounge where it is allowed, and always be aware of your surroundings.

Not bad, huh? Not surprising if you have somewhat of an idea as to how it works and learns.

Now, I will say, two of the provided three benefits are some of the reasons I enjoy a good cigar: Relaxation and Stress Relief, and Socialization and Camaraderie. If you know me, you know that I’m not so much of a social butterfly. I’m an introvert and quite okay with that. The circle of people I allow near or around me is very small. But, there is something about sitting there in a cigar lounge with a few close people just sitting there relaxing and chatting away the problems of the world.

To sum up this little experiment: interesting. This is definitely something I will continue to learn more about and experiment with going forward.

There is Much Work to be Done to Combat Climate Change

February 16, 2021 by Daniel

Let me first start off by saying that I am in no way an expert on the issue. There are much smarter people out there discussing climate change and what we can do. One of which, Bill Gates, has spent a handful of years studying and researching the issue.

Right now, the majority of the US is dealing with some sort of weather event. The central flyover states are setting record lows and are having to deal with strategic rolling blackouts so as not to overload the power grids.

When things like this happen, we should pause and ask ourselves, “What can we learn from this?”

What can we learn? We need to learn that there is plenty of work to be done to combat climate change.

Sure, there are going to be a lot of people who say climate change isn’t real. Hear me out; the climate is changing. It’s as simple as that. What we are dealing with right now is a simple weather event. What we aren’t able to fully answer is exactly how much of what we do has an impact on the climate.

Admittedly, the climate goes through periods of hot and cold cycles. However, again, to what extent do we play a part in the advancing of those cycles? I don’t know. But, there is much work to be done.

So, let’s discuss for a second how we could avoid or lessen our chances of overloading the power grids.

One thing is certain and that is when something works, let it. But, when those methods become antiquated, something must be done. There have been numerous advancements in the way of energy production. Unfortunately, many of them are expensive. We shouldn’t let that deter us from progressing forward and being a leader in cleaner energy production.

Again, let me say that I am in no way an expert. I’m just a person with ideas and an open mind.

One idea that I think could work would be for electric companies to offer solar panel system leases. It wouldn’t be much for a system to be installed on every home to lessen the impact on our climate and the energy grid.

Speaking for myself, I am planning out a system to install on my own home. The biggest hurdle at the moment is the upfront cost. This is part of the reason why I propose a lease from your energy supplier.

With that being said, the time to admit that climate change is a real thing is now. There are things that need to be done and things that could be done to combat this issue. There is a lot of work ahead of us.

What we need to figure out:

How do we produce cleaner energy?
How can we be more efficient at it?
What is the best way to discuss and educate people on the issue?
How much can we really do?
And more!

New Year, New You?

January 3, 2021 by Daniel

Welcome to the new year! A time when people deep dive into trying to adopt new workouts, new diets, new personas. Whatever that new thing is, it is incorrectly thought of as a new you.

What do I mean?

We all know someone who walks around at the end of the year saying something along the framework of, “New Year, New Me.”

Well… this is wrong!

You can’t create a new you. It’s quite silly to think you can.

You should be saying, “New Year, Better Me!”

Your goal should be to get a little better each day. Not to try and be a different you. You haven’t even mastered the concept of being you.

You walk around all day long arguing with yourself about trying to be true to who you are. On the outside you try to give the illusion of one thing while wrestling with your identity on the inside.

This isn’t healthy!

Now is the time to scrap that thinking and work on becoming the real you. A better you.

It’s okay to choose a new diet. But, for what reason? Are you doing it to get noticed? Or, are you doing it to feel better and to take better care of yourself?

It’s okay to use the new year as an opportunity to launch into a better version of yourself. But, don’t use it as an excuse to wait.

Waiting was the old you. The better you starts now!

So, the next time you hear someone say, “New Year, New Me”, flip their script and say they’re wrong. Why? Because, New Year, Better YOU!

Try These Tips if You Want to Strengthen Your Reading Habits

November 30, 2020 by Daniel

As a child, I didn’t like to read. To be quite honest, I hated it! It seemed everywhere I went there was someone who enjoyed reading. Even worse, teachers and schools loved putting lesson plans together that involved reading. So what gives? What changed?

I would be hard-pressed to narrow it down to a single thing. If I had to, I would say it was a combination of the habits listed below.

Now, I can’t take credit for this list. I came across the post at BookRiot by accident while looking for how habits work.

Enough of all that, let’s take a look at some of these tips so we can strengthen our reading habits.

Read things you enjoy

If I had to pick one thing, even for someone who was looking into developing a reading habit, I would start here. And that would be to just read whatever you wanted. A lot of the time, people get somewhat paralyzed trying to find the “right book.” Here’s the truth: the right one is the one that interests you. Give yourself permission to enjoy reading rather than looking at it as a chore.

Try reading something you haven’t liked before

Remember when I said one of the books beside me is a fiction book? There’s a reason for that. About a year or so ago, I felt like I just needed to change things up a bit. So, my wife and I headed to the bookstore on date night. Sure, I had to ask where the fiction section was, but I was excited about the new possibilities that were ahead of me. I landed on a series that didn’t sound too far off from the Jason Bourne series; which seemed somewhat familiar to me. I’ve seen the movies and spent time in the military, so I felt like I could relate to the main character. When we got home, I dove right in and in the matter of a few days, I finished it and was ready for book two in the Gray Man series. My point is this: try reading something new.

Always carry a book with you

You never know when you’ll have time or where you’ll be when you can finger through the pages of a good book. It doesn’t matter if you make it part of your morning routine when you get to the office, sit in the car during your lunch break, or if you’re waiting for a friend to show up for a lunch date; if you have a book with you, you can read. It’s usually those little, unscheduled moments that help build a healthy reading habit. Honestly, once you get locked in, you won’t want to put it down. You’ll want to lock the front door and cozy up in your little reading haven and read.

Find someone to read with

Having a friend to join you on a journey through the pages of a good book can be so much fun. As I said earlier, my wife and I read a book together and discuss it on date night. We usually read something from the self-help or psychology sections. We do so with the effort of trying to improve ourselves and that can bring us closer together as we learn more about one another. The best part of it is that we share in each other’s joy for reading.

These are just a few tips to try if you want to strengthen your reading habit. There is a handful more so please don’t think this is the end-all-be-all. Use it as the beginning. I hope you can begin your reading journey and cultivate a healthy and joyful reading habit.

The ‘Four Mind Banks’ System for Note-Taking

October 17, 2020 by Daniel

I tend to skim over a lot of articles and posts throughout the course of a day. The ones that stand out as something I want to spend more time on, I save a link in Google Keep. (Don’t ask me why because I have yet to fully understand it myself.) My intention is to review these in the evening or over the weekend when I have a little more time to digest them.

I was trying to decide how I wanted to go about tackling a post about Warren Buffet, when I saw a note-taking article I saved. As I clicked on the link, an Amazon truck pulled up to drop off another load of books I ‘accidentally’ ordered. To my surprise, when I opened the package, it was for a book on note-taking.

That’s enough of a nudge to know that some force in nature was wanting me to work on something about taking notes.

In my hands, I’m holding a new book about how to take smart notes in one hand, and my phone with the article, “A Better Note-Taking System for Your Scattered Brain” by Ria Tagulinao.

Her teaser for the post says that the “‘Four Mind Banks’ can help you process information in a simple, engaging way.” (It’s now that I’m remembering why I saved this article to dig a little deeper.)

Ria discussed how she had recently started a new job where she was ‘constantly bombarded with new and unfamiliar concepts.’ And, that during meetings, she was finding herself taking a ton of notes ‘trying to soak in as much information as possible.’

Let’s be honest. There are a handful of note-taking systems, devices, and apps that can handle whatever gets thrown its direction. And, yet, it seems none of them worked for Ria.

During a meeting, she realized that her mind was trying to sort through four things at the same time:

She was gaining new information.
She was coming across things she wanted to dig deeper on.
She was coming up with new ideas and insights.
She was caught up in her feels about certain things.

So, she created a framework to help her capture notes and sort out her thoughts and calls it the ‘Four Mind Banks system.’

Here’s how she says it works: You divide a sheet of paper into four quadrants – or banks if you will – and record your thoughts and feelings in each respective section.

Minutes Bank

This is basically anything noteworthy to include high points, facts, quotes, and any other key takeaways.

Question Bank

This is for things you want to dig deeper on. If there was something you don’t understand, this would be the place to ask yourself a question to be answered at a later time.

Idea Bank

These are your light-bulb moments. If you think of a new idea or concept, this would be the place to record them for further expansion.

Reaction Bank

This is your holding cell for your emotions and reactions. (There’s an interesting link between how we feel when we learn something for the first time and how we retain that knowledge.)

To sum all of this up… it seams like a lot of extra busy work for someone who is already feeling under the pressure. Either that, or their scatter brain is far worse than they imagine and yet they are willing to feed the monkey mind.

This system can easily be incorporated into something much more simpler in my opinion. It would all take place in the review phase. You do review your notes afterward, right?

If I learned one thing from my few years in the Army, it’s the power of the After Action Review (AAR). When you would complete a mission or higher level task, you take time to review and reinforce what you learned and experienced.

During your AAR of your notes, you could highlight those things that raised questions, created those light-bulb moments, or even draw a little emoji to express your reactions and/or feelings.

Again, I can understand Ria’s intentions, and rightfully so, create a system that works for you. However, this ‘Four Mind Bank system’ is quite energy-sucking and would be somewhat of a distraction for most people.

Jay Shetty’s “T.I.M.E.” Model; 4 Steps for Mental Mastery

September 12, 2020 by Daniel

morning ritual - 4 steps for mental mastery

Scrolling through Instagram is the first thing I do each morning after checking the news and the stock market. It’s a mindless activity that takes little to no brainpower. Once it feels like the morning brain fog has dissipated, I can begin my morning routine of Morning Pages and meditation.

Is this the best way to start my morning? Hardly!

I’ve noticed that by introducing morning pages into my routine, it takes a bit of time for my brain to feel like it’s awake and ready to be engaged. It seems like my brain is ready to get started once I’ve scrolled through the news, stocks, and Instagram. Had a small workout. Did a short mindful breathing exercise and wrote my morning pages.

This morning, the thing on my mind was if my morning routine was optimal. It seems to be working for me, but I’m always on the lookout for trying to better myself. Color me tickled to find out this morning that Jay Shetty has a new book titled Think Like a Monk, where he shares his “T.I.M.E.” model that is a morning routine based on monk-like practices for mental mastery.

Sounds like just the thing that I would be interested in. And, yes, I immediately added the book to my Amazon wishlist!

So what is this “T.I.M.E.” model?

Thankfulness

Start every morning with a positive mindset by expressing gratitude. Write it in a gratitude journal, morning pages, or whatever tool it is you use to plan your day.

“Expressing gratitude in the morning is like putting on a coat that insulates and protects us from the negativity and fear–our own and others’–that we are likely to face throughout the day,” says Shetty.

There’s plenty of research and data out there showing that gratitude can help your psychological health.

Insight

Here is where we should spend our time listening to a podcast, reading the news, or a book. Take the time to listen and learn from others.

Meditation

Shetty suggests doing 15 minutes of deep breathing and some form of meditation. However, if 15 minutes is too hard, then start with less. Just be consistent.

Exercise

Get your body moving and the blood flowing. Your body is meant to move. So let it. Hit the gym, do some yoga, go for a walk or run. Just get moving.

It’s through this movement where your body will begin releasing that negative stress it’s been holding on to.

All of this sounds simple, right?

Well, according to Shetty’s “T.I.M.E.” model, I’m doing something right. However, I will continue tweaking my morning ritual to get the most optimal me.

Set Your Emotional Intention and Take Control

September 11, 2020 by Daniel

I tend to get all up inside my feels, and the thing that bothers me the most is being aware that it is happening and not really taking control of them.

I know it’s my choice whether I want to let them get the best of me or not. But sometimes they just get the best of me.

When you get hijacked by your emotions and lose control of how you react, you are “being a passenger” in your own life. – Mel Robbins

This is a very important lesson. And, one that a good deal of us need to take a second to absorb, especially during these 2020 times.

This has been a crazy year for everyone, and our emotions have bee stretched beyond their comfort levels. The result of what happens when they snap? We snap. Most often, if not always, we tend to snap at the wrong person.

This is because we’re letting our emotions take control instead of making the conscious decision to decide our reaction. We choose how we react to our emotions. Choose wrong, and your going to likely find yourself performing damage control.

You need to set your emotional intention at the beginning of each day. Decide beforehand that whatever emotions you encounter throughout the day, you will accept them and move on to feelings of joy and having fun.

Life is WAY to short to get wrapped up in your feels all the time. It can be damaging to your health, both mentally and physically. And, that doesn’t take into account anyone else who you may interact with.

Here’s a great video of the concept of setting your emotional intention – and the inspiration for this post – in action:

I’ve Waited A Long Time For This!

September 9, 2020 by Daniel

Ever since I was as child, I’ve wanted to give something a try. I’m not entirely sure why I never did, but that time has come to an end.

Let me give you a quick backstory.

As a child, I was always the entertainer. I enjoyed telling jokes. Telling stories. Doing impressions. At the end of the day, I just wanted to bring a smile to people’s face and have fun doing it.

Somewhere along the way, a good deal of all that creativity got pushed to the side, and buried deep within. Every now and then, I would spark my creativity with art or some other project.

But there has always been those one or two things that everyone just never gets around to that they’ve always wanted to do.

Today I was able to sort of cross one of those things of the bucket list.

View this post on Instagram

I have the biggest smile right now! Something I’ve wanted to try for 30 years or more. That time has finally come and I am super excited to give this a try. #tap #tapdance #tapdanceshoes #somethingnew

A post shared by The Stafford Voice (@thestaffordvoice) on Sep 9, 2020 at 5:03pm PDT

The other day I finally ordered myself a pair of tap shoes.

I walked ever-so-excitedly down the stairs with the shoes in hand ready to tap my feet to happiness. I hadn’t even made a single tap yet and I already had a huge smile across my face.

I made a bit of noise before remembering that I needed to update the TV to play a how-to video on YouTube.

So, what was it that finally kicked me in the butt to order myself these tap shoes?

Morning Pages.

It dawned on me during one of my morning pages sessions – I refer to them as sessions because of how therapeutic they are – that I have always regretted not giving it a try.

How many times have we heard stories of someone on their deathbed talking about the things they never did rather than all the things they did do?

I don’t want to be that guy! I want to have memories to look back on. I want people to celebrate all the things I did and how it brought joy to their lives.

I want to live a life of no regrets.

So, I decided the time was now!

What is it that you’ve always wanted to do but never gave yourself permission to do? ACT ON IT!

3 Key Practices I do to Keep Up with My Monkey Mind

September 4, 2020 by Daniel

Let’s all admit that 2020 has thrown one hell of a wrench into our lives and plans. But, that hasn’t slowed down my monkey mind. If anything, it’s amplified most thoughts and put most areas of my mind into hyper-drive.

So what did I do? I renewed my focus the best I could. I went deep. Deep into some of the practices I used to do that gave me some results. We’re not talking life-altering changes here, but little changes that felt like huge victories at the time.

What are they?

Bullet Journaling
Commonplace Book/Second Brain
Morning Pages

Let’s dive a little deeper into these three practices and see just how I’m trying to keep up with my monkey mind.

According to Buddhists, the term “monkey mind” refers to being unsettled, restless, or confused. One Psychology Today post adds:

It’s the part of your brain most connected to the ego, which contends that you can’t do anything right. It’s also the part of you that stifles creativity and prevents you from moving forward with your passions. The monkey mind insists on being heard, and sometimes it takes a lot of self-control to shut it down. It is also the part of your brain that becomes easily distracted.

Yup! Sounds about right. I’m constantly in my own way!

Bullet Journaling

I discovered bullet journaling quite a few years ago. In all honesty, before I knew what bullet journaling was, I was already doing it at some level. You see, I’m a structured, list orientated kind of guy. So, needless to say, it only felt natural.

Bullet journaling was “discovered” by Ryder Carroll who tags it as “the analog method for the digital age that will help you track the past, order the present, and design your future.”

Without getting into too many of the boring details of the ins and outs of the BuJo method, as of late, it’s become more of an artful expression of a planner.

In my opinion, the BuJo community has perverted the original intent. When it was first introduced, it was simple and sleek. More of a minimalist take on planning and organizing your day to day life. Now? It’s all about doodles on the page with fancy handlettering that took hours to plan out and complete. It more resembles arts and crafts than anything.

Nevertheless, it is something you are to modify and make your own. You can add and/or delete anything as you wish.

For me, the ability to simplify something to help me simplify my life and keep things somewhat organized in my head is a staple. I slowly moved away from using it, and always longed to go back to it. So, when my monkey mind started to get the best of me, I knew I could rely on this tried and tested method that had already worked for me.

Commonplace Book/Second Brain

This concept is still relatively new to me, but again, something not entirely foreign.

Let’s think of a commonplace book as more of what you think of when you think of a teenager’s diary. It’s a place where you can store all of your thoughts and notes throughout life. Read a book and found something that stood out and you just had to say something about it? This commonplace book would be just the go-to place to store the quote and whatever it was that you wanted to say.

Ryan Holiday defines it as, “a central resource or depository for ideas, quotes, anecdotes, observations and information you come across during your life and didactic pursuits. The purpose of the book is to record and organize these gems for later use in your life, in your business, in your writing, speaking or whatever it is that you do.”

People known to have used the practice of a commonplace book are Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Leonardo daVinci, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Locke, and Isaac Newton. I’m sure the list of people throughout history who have used a commonplace book, or some variant of one, is much longer. They’ve been around for quite some time and have been used by much smarter people than myself, so why wouldn’t you want to adopt the practice?

But, you ask, “What is a Second Brain?”

As I understand it to be, it is very similar to a commonplace book. Almost the same thing but in a digital format. One made into popularity by a gentleman named Tiago Forte.

Again, I’ve used something that resembles this concept in the past by using Evernote, but I just couldn’t get too far into it to make it work for me. I always would find myself reaching for my bullet journal to keep all of my ideas and thougts and other musings. It was more enjoyable to write things out longhand. Besides, there’s something magical about how the right pen feels in your hand and the feel and look of the ink flowing out and being transferred onto the paper.

Times change and so do people, and I now find myself reaching for my phone to open the Evernote app to store whatever it is that stands out. What I’ve found is that it definitely helps to carefully organize the structure of your digital system. Thanks to watching a few YouTube videos of Tiago explaining some of how he does it, and applying some of the commonplace book system, I’ve been able to adopt this system/concept in better detail.

Morning Pages

Last of the three practices of keeping up with my monkey mind is a little thing called “Morning Pages.”

What are morning pages you ask?

Three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. According to Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and creator of the practice, says that it doesn’t matter if you do them in the morning or night, or even at any point of the day. Just that you do them. It is taught in the book that it’s the very thing that can help unblock your creativity that has been lying dormant within you.

I’ll admit, I’ve had this book on my to-read list for a few years but I just never got around to it. Maybe I should have put it as a must-do task in my bullet journal? Knowing what I know now, and having only been doing morning pages for about a month now, I wish I would have started years ago.

It sounds like a simple thing. Get up in the morning, grab your favorite pen and some paper, and just write. Three pages doesn’t sound all that intimidating, but let me tell you right now, IT IS! I have yet to be able to do three pages. I’m quite comfortable with starting out slow and building up to it.

One of the key things I’ve noticed since doing them is that my brain is still sleeping for about the first hour or so after I get up. I can’t just get started writing. I have to take a few minutes to ensure my brain isn’t still asleep or in a complete fog. When it is, I can hardly fill one page. When I feel that it’s primed and ready to roll, I can get two pages. I have a feeling that once I can further dial in my morning routine, I’ll be able to let loose with it.

Summary

Over the past month or two as I’ve re-introduced these concepts and systems, I’ve been able to calm some of my monkey mind. No, not to a point where it is completely calm and quiet. I don’t think that will ever happen. But, it is much more manageable now. And, I feel like I can keep up with myself.

If one were to ask me to rate these three key practices in order of importance, I would suggest to start with morning pages. From there, I would implement the second brain/commonplace book system. Lastly, I would say to put into practice the bullet journal.

Each one of these systems by themselves are super beneficial and would stand on their own if one wanted to go that route. However, it is my opinion that when you are able to combine the three of these and make them and extension of your own superpowers, will you really reap the benefits of them. Much like an onion has layers, so too does your mind and if you give it the tools to operate in a clearer capacity will you realize what you’ve been missing all these years.

Be Willing to Play the Fool

August 31, 2020 by Daniel

Something I’ve been struggling with a lot lately is giving myself permission to create and just put stuff out there for others. My main goal is to put stuff out there so that I can use it for myself days, months, or even years from now. And, for my grandchildren to enjoy and learn from long after I’m gone.

So what’s my problem? ME! I get in my own way. ALL THE TIME! I suffer from what some people call “Paralysis by Perfection.”

When I post something, I want it to be perfect. I know what you’re thinking. “If you’re putting it out there for yourself, then why are you worried about what others think?”

Subconsciously, and even consciously at some level, I get stuck knowing others will see it.

Well, the other day I stumbled upon a YouTube video of Ethan Hawke and it is exactly what I need to hear.

Daniel

Read things you enjoy

Read more than one book at a time

Try reading something you haven’t liked before

Always carry a book with you

Find someone to read with