LeftMap

In this space I remember previous travels, sharing stories from those. Check me out on YouTube.com/@LeftMap.

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Lock-in and focus. The world wants you to be scattered and lacking confidence in your capabilities. You can do anything if you start somewhere and keep going. The longer you do it, the more you learn, the better you get and you shift from who you were to what you’ve become.

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Happy 250 America 🇺🇸🎆🙌

• The original Liberty Bell wasn't rung on July 4, 1776.

• There is a desert that blooms with wildflowers.

• The U.S. is home to the world's longest cave system.

• The first national park in the world was created in the United States in 1872.

• America has the world's largest protected wilderness area.

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Capitol Hill Block party in Seattle, 2018.

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I'm so proud of Lauren for taking the jump with her tattoo career this year. The waters are uncertain at first, expected and unexpected storms happen, and stuff falls apart in places, but that's what builds a sailor. The ones who keep on sailing through it all.

When the storm clears we are reminded of why we were able to get through it. Why it was all worth it in the moments when giving up seemed like a smarter option.

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Some thoughts for my wall:

• "Mastery is the best goal because the rich can't buy it, the impatient can't rush it, the privileged can't inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status."

• “What's more important than any plan, goal, or strategy is that you decide to believe. Believe in yourself. Believe in your ability. Believe in your goals. Believe in your future. When you start putting that energy into the world, the world will start treating you differently. Then everything changes.”

• “I have a rule: no complaining about a situation unless you're prepared to do something to make it better. If you see a problem and you don't come to the table with a potential solution.”

• “Boundaries are not walls - they're filters.”

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Justine Musk, formerly married to billionaire Elon Musk and mother to five of his children, offers a unique perspective on wealth and hard work, drawing from her experience with the world’s richest man when she was posed with the question "Will I become a billionaire if I am determined to be one and put in the necessary work required?"

She offers some advice:

"Shift your focus away from what you want (a billion dollars) and get deeply, intensely curious about what the world wants and needs. Ask yourself what you have the potential to offer that is so unique and compelling and helpful that no computer could replace you, no one could outsource you, no one could steal your product and make it better and then club you into oblivion (not literally). Then develop that potential. Choose one thing and become a master of it. Choose a second thing and become a master of that. When you become a master of two worlds (say, engineering and business), you can bring them together in a way that will a) introduce hot ideas to each other, so they can have idea sex and make idea babies that no one has seen before and b) create a competitive advantage because you can move between worlds, speak both languages, connect the tribes, mash the elements to spark fresh creative insight until you wake up with the epiphany that changes your life.

The world doesn't throw a billion dollars at a person because the person wants it or works so hard they feel they deserve it. (The world does not care what you want or deserve.) The world gives you money in exchange for something it perceives to be of equal or greater value: something that transforms an aspect of the culture, reworks a familiar story or introduces a new one, alters the way people think about the category and make use of it in daily life. There is no roadmap, no blueprint for this; a lot of people will give you a lot of advice, and most of it will be bad, and a lot of it will be good and sound but you'll have to figure out how it doesn't apply to you because you're coming from an unexpected angle. And you'll be doing it alone, until you develop the charisma and credibility to attract the talent you need to come with you.

Have courage.

And good luck.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-ex-wife-randomly-180232706.html

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Lemon8 · Check out the states I’ve been to! · @LeftMap

See the full post on Lemon8

I've visited 22 states in the United States! And my favorite states are Washington, Arizona, California, Nevada and Virginia.

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For me, 2024 has been a year of more changes than many of my other previous years combined.

I faced adversity and instead of turning away (or running away) I faced it. In this I took control of understanding myself, my un-faced childhood experiences and not continuing to live everyday waiting for tomorrow. This isn’t without setbacks and obstacles, but it has moved me over nine months from unhappy routine and life passing me by to feeling closer to finding a purpose and having new people enter my life that have created a healthier support system.

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Universal Studios, Los Angeles, California / October 2021. This was a fun couples trip (“kid free” for three days) down to the Golden State Tattoo convention and getting out here to see Universal for a day. The fall weather in Los Angeles county is the best. It was in the mid-70’s to low-80’s. This was a year and a half into Covid-19 and one of the rare spots we could take a photo or video without a mask on within the park.

Also, my hair looks crazy and my wife’s green was really vibrant at that point!

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"Your life is a result of the choices you have made. If you don't like your life, start making better choices."

- Zig Ziglar

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I have an ambitious mind. I find this can be an invaluable asset or a great detriment. You see in reflection I have been able to notice that I often over stretch myself for what is possible. I overplan beyond what is needed and it eats into the time I should be simply jumping in and taking action. Further, I discover that often times the best ideas and the most productive moments occur when I’m taking action because it allows me to be in the trenches testing, trying, experiencing things first hand to lead me to new realizations and to create new curiosities that weren’t yet visible while planning from the outset. By being stuck in this planning stage I sit on the sidelines with most everyone else. By stretching myself too far out, I generally accomplish nothing of significance and reach burnout before that is really possible.

I share this to remind myself to cut back on planning and expand on taking action. To cut back on tasking and reign in my focus to the 1-2 most important things that have the highest priority and the biggest impact in their outcome. And to remind anyone that has read this far the power of slowing things down to a hault and taking time intervals to reflect on where you’re at, what your progress to where you want to go is looking like and realign the areas that aren’t getting you there.

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If you’ve made Twitch Affiliate, it’s an awesome moment indeed. 😁

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Twitch Affiliate Streamer (twitch.tv/leftmap) since 2022, and Amazon WFS Admin since 2023.

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My goal for this year: stop procrastinating and go all in on YouTube starting May 1. (Tomorrow is coming up with ideas to have a supply of thoughts to create from)

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Things to teach my children:

•Treat others with respect

George Washington was a man of integrity who carried himself with dignity and self-confidence and was excessively loved among the masses.

Whoever you're talking to, treat them equally with respect and warmth. Little gestures like these go a long way in defining your character and impact the effectiveness of your role as a leader.

•You can't succeed alone

Richard Branson knew that great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by teams.

Branson aims to find the best candidate for a job, give them enough autonomy, then step back to give them a space to flourish. It not only benefits the business as a whole but also helps them to become a leader in their own right.

•Have a vision. Believe it.

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon was always a stubborn believer in his vision. It was his vision that gave birth to innovations like Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited along with rewarding.

Leadership is all about developing a vision and following it to create a better future.

•Rediscovering creativity

Be open to new experiences. Let yourself get lost in the wonders of nature or the city.

Learn about geography, history, and local culture.

Ask questions. When you're in the role of student or employee, don't be afraid to reveal what you don't know.

Listen to understand. You'll always learn something.

•Curiosity

We are born curious. Children learn from their surroundings by using their senses. It is our best and most effective tool for discovering new things.

We can also cultivate curiosity.

Be curious and present. It is a great first step in your journey to becoming more knowledgeable and accumulating new and innovative perspectives.

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Which pin do you resonate with the most?