“Making things from scratch means you know what you are eating.” – friend from Greece
It sounds simple and obvious enough. One of the hardest things for me to do is say I’m going on vacation (and actually go). Partially for my 31st birthday (in a few days) and just because it was time I went to Greece (Athens, Santorini and Mykonos). It was important for me to go on this trip to celebrate another year of life and because it’s necessary to take time to focus on progressing.
This time I went to Greece with one of my friends and one of the topics that we brought up was the Greek diet. I noticed that I saw almost no one jogging and running and even fewer gyms or fitness studios, yet there were very few “overweight” or “obese” people. While this wasn’t a scientific study, it was something I noticed.
The Greek Diet
I’d never really heard of the Greek diet, but I did a little research and read that “The Greek diet is regarded as one of the healthiest in the world because it’s based largely around fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and a small amount of cheese and yogurt.”
Again, while I didn’t do any scientific research or a study, I do know that a lot of American foods have preservatives or are processed, in other words, we have no idea exactly what we are putting into our bodies. I met a friend in Greece and she gave me a little more insight into the Greek diet and how they approached cooking. She said simply, “making things from scratch means you know what you are eating.”
It’s about cooking and preparing so you know exactly what you are consuming. This is why the “Greek Diet” is one of the healthiest.
It also means that instead of the 30 ingredients (many of which we can’t say or spell) in each of the things we add to our recipes, the “Greeks” instead know exactly what goes into those recipes.
In other words…
The quality and health does not come from the quantity but from using less and simpler ingredients of better quality.
I didn’t realize how this aligned until I came across an audiobook–Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. It was then that I think the trip and everything became clearer to me.
Less but Better
I expected to spend most of my time studying and reading the One Person, Million Dollar Business again. I just published the podcast interview and it made me think more about my business. I thought a lot about my existing business and how I could tweak it to build it into a scalable business or even a potentially start another business that was built to scale.
However, it was while listening to this book, I heard that one of the recommended books from one of the entrepreneurs that Elaine Pofeldt featured mentioned Essentialism and the 4 Hour Workweek. While I was familiar with Tim Ferris and his book, I wasn’t with the other book.
I started listening and thought it was literally the perfect book to come across at the perfect time. I’m still working on the book but it was like an extension of The One Thing which was one of my favorite books.
The One Thing made me ask and find “the one thing that by doing it everything else was easier or unnecessary.” It made me realize that I needed to focus on “winning the day” and vibrating high in the morning. This book picked up where that left off and I was reminded again just like with Greek dishes—to focus on less but better. It made me ask the question: Will this activity or action make the highest contribution to my goal?
Needing a Break
To put it simply, I work my butt off. I’ve been in networking groups, on 4 different boards, I have 1 podcast, a community of blogs that I manage, 6 team members, and I’m launching a new podcast. In other words: I’m stretched and I felt stretched.
I needed some time away and what I was planning to do was to recharge and get right back to it. That was before I came across the book.
I had an energy reading and coaching session a few months ago and the coach told me that I maxed out my “willpower” but rather than listen, I knew that I could go to another level but the reality is that I didn’t have any more energy to give. I was burnt out.
I realized that the recipe I was following wasn’t the “Greek diet.” Instead of putting the best and highest quality ingredients into the business towards one goal, I was adding more and more ingredients even though they may not be the same quality and may not help to reach my goal. Some of the things I was involved in just simply didn’t move the needle or in other words they weren’t essential.
Essentialism
I’m excited about turning 31 and while I’m still Chasing the Lion. I’m focusing more on how to shift to Less but Better. Just like the Greek food that I ate, I have the same mentality in 2018–Less but better.
Here’s how I’m implementing essentialism into my life:
+ Continuing to win the day: This includes writing, running, scheduling my day at the very beginning. I started realizing this from The One Thing.
+ Sleeping more: During vacation, I had the opportunity to just sleep way more than normal. I’m accepting that I’m able to be better with a “full nights” sleep than without one. I’m also going to incorporate naps.
+ Play more: Going back to when I was a child is the key and incorporating sports and activities into my life will help me be successful.
+ Scheduling space: I need to schedule space to think and time to get away on a regular basis. At least every quarter, I will take time to go away.
+ Podcasting: This new podcast that I’m launching is the one thing that I can do to make the biggest impact. It’s what I’m going big on. I’m also making a point that everyone on the team understands the one thing that they are going big on as well.
