Hallo Reader,

Creating pressure, attracting opportunities, and managing overwhelm can be easily handed over to the unconscious mind. But what happens when we take agency?

One Personal Story

After my breakup, I wanted to leave Madeira. I told myself that I would leave when the car was sold. Not having an accommodation on Monday, I tried to find a buyer fast. I put a lot of pressure onto myself to close a deal. This created a strong dependency on that outcome. I felt restless.

Later that day I decided to sell the car remotely and flew to Germany the following one. My decision enabled me to address both sides of my problem: taking responsibility for my car and seeing my family in Germany.

Problems are solvable. But they require creativity.

One Overlooked Idea

When I reflected on lessons from my first committed relationship, I recognized two choices we can make to attract opportunities:

1. being open, and
2. being proactive.

To maximize our luck surface, it’s smart to do both.

If I hadn’t agreed to take my ex-partner on a ride when we crossed paths at the grocery store, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to meet her. If I hadn’t suggested to do something together and shared my number at the end of that drive, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to get to know her.

One minute interactions can turn into life partnerships, successful businesses, and trips to Mars. They simply require being open and proactive.

In a few days, I will share all of my lessons from that relationship in an essay.

Two Thoughtful Intentions

Reflecting on the Intention from the Previous Week

Last week I set out to choose a community. I chose two:

1. ​Edge Esmeralda—a month-long popup village in California at the end of May. It fosters multidisciplinary creation around technologies and societies of the future in a healthy-by-default and multigenerational environment.
2. ​The Network School—a startup society that bootstraps other societies near Singapore. It offers daily workouts, healthy meals, coworking, lectures, and a likeminded community.

I will apply to both until the end of the month, and look forward to joining them!

Setting an Intention for the Upcoming Week

I am full of ideas and interests again. Discerning what to prioritize has been a challenge for me. In the following week, I will finish a website design for a project I have been working on and off for the past 8 months.

One More Thing

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I share. Get in touch by simply replying to this email.

Thanks for reading and until next week,

Jesse