As I continue journaling and working on myself, I am unfortunately gaining a lot of insight in the lives I find around me. The mistakes I've been making are common: we choose our own problems. We hold the key to all the solutions. When you start working on yourself, you will see the same thing. You will notice who chooses to stay in the bar rather than go home and self-reflect. You will see others make the conscious decision to lie, gossip, or give half what they could have: even when it starkly contrasts with their goals. You will see them turn against you when you do better for yourself, where they wont. You can try to help them, as I have. The problem is not everyone is ready to make a change. Sometimes it helps keep me motivated to keep making the hard decisions. I dont want to be like everyone else. I want to be the best version of myself. Other times: its tough to leave behind people you care about, even if it is for the brighter future. Sam told me when I started this program my life would change, and he was right. But positive change is not all peaches and cream. There is a price to pay, and you will either make the choice to pay it, or you will get stuck. Here's to not being stuck. To helping others when they're ready, and not waiting around when they are not.

I recently discussed poker strategy with Sam, and it struck me: the same principles that secures victory in poker apply to life itself. Professional poker players don't focus on individual hands; they master the game through: 90% study and practice, strategy refinement, and emotional control The cards are just data; the game is won or lost in your approach. In life, this translates to: Don't live one day at a time; envision the larger picture. Don't react to challenges; prepare and strategize ahead of time. Define your goals, entry and exit points, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Sam's program empowers you to: Develop a winning mindset, set achievable goals, and craft a personalized strategy to overcome obstacles. The same principles that earned me life-changing wins in poker are the foundation of Sam's teachings. Unlock your potential. Journal your progress Read, study, and self-reflect Formulate your strategy Achieve victory in the areas that matter most to you Don't let life's challenges dictate your path. Take control, strategize, and win. Embrace the larger picture. Define your journey. Achieve greatness.

Don't set happiness as your goal. It will always leave you desiring for more. Instead make working towards and attaining your goals a measure of your happiness.

As someone who has allowed anger to seep into my personality, I frequently read books on it, and how to manage it. In case anybody else struggles with it, I want to tell you what I've learned. Anger, by and large, is an automatic response to feeling fear or pain. Its the "fight" part of our fight or flight response. This is why its so difficult to curb. That response overrides all vestiges of reason, and intentionally so. Back in the day it helped us survive, as it did me. Today, though, outside the fogs or war and survival, it can create deep complications that prevent us from living our best lives. To manage anger, one must address which part that anger comes from. Ask yourself "Am I scared, or am I hurt?" Pain was easier for me to handle. Pain, real pain, only happens when you allow it to. Mans Search for Meaning by Victor Frankle tells us that "You cannot be hurt without your own permission." And with a few days of practice I think I have a pretty good handle on it. Insult me, I don't care what you think. Yell at me, I laugh. Talk behind my back, I again laugh. Once you have control of your emotions, it can be pretty humorous to watch others struggle with theirs. Fear, to me, is the harder animal to tackle. There is much to fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of death, fear of living, fear of being wrong, fear of being right, fear of cosmic horrors, and fear of mankind. I'm not as well accustomed to fear as I am pain. I think that will be individual to the each of us. But the only way I have learned to control fear is to address it ahead of time. I write my worst thoughts in my journal, and ask myself "What do I do if this happens". And just writing that answer, should it ever comes to pass, prevents my fight or flight from responding. I am free to act as I said I would, or adjust my response to be more appropriate. The point here is: you are in control. At the end of the day, how you think, how you percieve the world, determines your life. You are in control of your life. Take control of the only things you truly can: your body and your mind.

Its not the easy days that make a difference. Most can do it when they are motivated, strong willed, and determined. Its the hard days that really test you. It's the days you are sick, tired, strung out, or just dont want to that count the most. Hit your goals on those terrible days. You have to work twice as hard, but it comes with twice the benefit.