Sunday Sum - 28th Jan 2024

Hey , welcome back to

The Sunday Summary

, a collection of insights and my behind the scenes from the past week.

🇹🇭 Travel Update:Pai and Chiang Mai, ThailandEnding Pai on the high of an ecstatic dance experience (no phones, no talking, no drink or drugs, just dance without your ego) this was pretty wild, I travelled from Pai back to Chiang Mai. Being able to experience the most incredible roads of my life once again by semi automatic scooter.  3 hours flew by! (albeit with a crappy bit of 30 minutes back into Chiang Mai).

Since then I’ve been chilling out in Chiang Mai.  I’m pre-writing this email as from Friday I will be holed up in the beautiful buddhist monastery of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep on a 4 day meditation retreat. EDIT: I left the retreat early 😂 I will maybe explain the exact reasons in a future issue. But it was a bit too much for me!I’ll share my insights afterwards.  Shortly after I will be ending my travels in Thailand and moving onto Vietnam for February! 

🌴 Moments of thought and reflection:It really doesn't matter, you'll need far less than you think you need.When I left the UK, I was holding onto every level of self importance and "busyness".  Almost not accepting my travel fate.  I brought a stack of books and a kindle, the idea that travel wouldn't fulfil me and I'd need to keep some elements of my life from home alive.It's amazing how just over 3 weeks since leaving the UK, much of this worry and "busyness" has just evaporated.  You eventually find a new groove.  Sure there's a part of me that wants to get cracking with new video ideas and business ideas, but largely my body and mind are not within that frame, so it's a futile exercise to try and live like I'm back in London.I guess what I'm saying is, you have a different identity for different times in your life, be willing to let old versions of yourself go, or put them aside briefly. We are never the same person, a constantly evolving and adapting beast.⌚️  A holiday splurge:G-Shock GA-2100I was toying with the idea of a robust travel watch before starting my journey to SE Asia.  And of course, the constant wrist glance to a bare wrist was becoming a bit too much.  Just so happens to be a G-Shock store in the mall at Chiang Mai. Annoyingly it was marginally more expensive than the Amazon link I have included, but my personal rule is that if it’s something I want and it’s in my hands then I go for it there and then (this applies mainly to books).This watch is awesome.  The world time feature has been awesome for London time. The  weekday complication has been essential (as I’ve been forgetting all about days of the week over here!). I used the stopwatch for timing my hike on the Monk’s trail this morning (1hr 50 up and down).  And I will definitely be using the alarm feature as a replacement for my iPhone once back in the UK!  I even love that it has a button press to move the clock hands out of the way of the complication.

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What I'm reading:Same as Ever: Timeless Lessons on Risk, Opportunity and Living a Good Life - Morgan Housel

Housel’s storytelling is captivating.  Lots of what is covered in the book has been covered on his recent podcast appearances. Irregardless they are timeless lessons that are worth repeating.

In essence the book features common threads throughout history, even though the world seems to be constantly changing, there’s a lot that remains the same.  Here’s one of my favourite excerpts.

In 2009, during the peak of The Great Recession, Warren Buffett was driving through downtown Omaha, Neb., with a CEO friend, who took note of their bleak surroundings: Empty streets, shuttered shops, a future with seemingly little hope.

“Warren, how are we ever going to pull out of this?”, the friend asked. “This country is never going to be the same.”

Buffett paused, then posed a question.

“Do you know what the best-selling candy bar was in 1962?”

When the friend said he wasn’t sure,Buffett told him it was Snickers.Then, he told him what the best-selling candy bar was now (2009):Snickers.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Please feel free to reach out to me with your; comments, concerns or just general conversation.  

I'd love to know what you're up to or what you might be working on!

 📝😁

Have a great week everyone!

Tom

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