scared around girlsWelcome to the wonderful world of your head. It’s one hell of a neighborhood in there. There’s a rich suburb. There are slums.  There are neighborhoods where people aren’t picking up after themselves.  You’ve got the wealthy area. The Fifth avenue, beautiful houses and mansions. I’ve also got ‘the projects’. That’s a bad ass neighborhood. I wouldn’t go into that area of my head at night by myself if my life depended on it.

So many people live inside their heads. So how do you get out of this nasty neighborhood of risky real estate?

The only way to get out of your head is to get into the present moment. And stay there. So right now as I’m dictating this, I’m driving. I could allow my head to wander in so many different ways. So how do I ground myself? I start paying attention to everything that’s happening in the present moment. I’m noticing that the head lights are really bright.

I look at the stop light ahead, it’s green. There’s a street sign. It’s actually not a street sign. It’s some type of school sign. I look at all the traffic coming towards to me, and think “Holy shit, doesn’t anybody know the short cut I know?”

The minute my mind wanders and I start thinking about something that happened 10 minutes ago, I get right back to the present moment. Out of my head, into the present. There’s a man walking a dog. I start talking to myself,  and I remain present. The minute I start future thinking, I get back to the present. I don’t think about the destination, where I’m going. I’m going to Whole Foods with a friend.

We’re going to have dinner. That’s all I know right now. I don’t even know what I want for dinner because it might change. He wants to meet women at Whole Foods.  I just want to get to Whole Foods. I know I want to eat and I know he wants to meet girls. The minute you start thinking about the future, you’re trying to create a skill set you don’t have.  If you could predict the future, would you really waste it on a mindless thing like meeting women?

If you could predict the future, wouldn’t you take a look where Apple stock is going to be in a year? Would you take a look and see who’s going to win the Superbowl in a few months?

As far as I’m concerned, if I can actually plan the future and predict what’s going to happen — I’m not going to waste that magic skill, that superhero power, on something as ridiculous as meeting a girl. I’m going to take that skill and become the best stock investor in the world.  I’m going to take that skill and I’m going to use it in business. Hell, I might even open up a stand and tell people about their own future.

I’m not going to waste it trying to figure out if women are going to be where I’m going, or what I should say next. Whenever you’re present, you see life as it unfolds. I know the first thing I want to do when I get to Whole Foods is take one of those free wipes and clean my phone. After that, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have no plan. I have no idea who we’re going to meet, who we’re going to run into.

I’m going to observe everything. I’m going to be present. I’m going to shop, I’m going to talk, I’m going to hang out with my friend. I’m just going to have fun by being present. I’m not going to think about anything. How I become present, is I’m constantly looking at everything, I’m constantly seeing. As I’m dictation this right now I saw two people, two Asian guys, walk across the street. One guy had a pair of pink pants on with some high-top sneakers, which means he is a hipster, because he’s got the hipster look.

I’m also noticing that the price of gas is getting cheaper. I’m looking around at everything going on around me. I’m taking in the sights and sounds, I’m alert and aware of everything, because that’s the only way to live life.  Otherwise, you’re ‘Mr. Future Planner’, and Mr. Future Planner, has no present. His life is a series of things that might happen, in the future. He never takes action, so nothing ever happens to him.

Look around. Be curious. See somebody pick something up. Ask him, oh I’ve never had those organic eggs. Why do you eat those? Are they better than regular eggs?

Look at the car someone is driving and say, “I always look at the Audis but I never bought one. I’m curious. Do you like it?”

Be present. Be child like. A great exercise is to become present is to be with a kid. Kids are always present. They’re not future thinking at all. They don’t even have a future. My daughter today said the funniest thing to me. She says to me, “I don’t ever want to go to sleep. I’m never tired.” 

I looked to her and said “Yes you are tired. You sleep at night.” She responded, “No, no, I never want night to come. I want the day to always be here so we can play.”

Make life more fun. Have more fun. Play. Enjoy it and be present.