Curiosity Chronicle

For the last decade, I've had a recurring nightmare that I can trace back to my days as a Division 1 baseball player at Stanford...

I'm on the mound in a critical situation. All eyes are on me. The entire stadium waits for my pitch.

But as I start my motion, I realize I've completely forgotten how to throw the ball. My body moves like it's stuck in mud. Completely paralyzed.

Inevitably, I wake up in a cold sweat—thankful that it was just a dream.

While specific to my prior endeavors, as it turns out, this type of dream is a rather common one.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that most of you have experienced some variation of it in the last few months.

All eyes on you in a big moment. And suddenly, you're completely paralyzed. Unable to perform.

It's the byproduct of a very common (and damning!) psychological phenomenon—one that has a tangible impact on the way we show up in every area of life.

It's called The Spotlight Effect...

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This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

It's hard to believe that we’re already 25% of the way through 2026.

This is an important time of year. The excitement and motivation of your new year planning has likely worn off. You’ve faced the realities of life, probably encountered a few challenges and storms, and developed in your thinking.

The ultimate life hack is the ability to reset and adjust.

You have new data. New experiences. New insights. New evidence. New constraints.
So, it’s time to do just that:
Reflect on what happened
Reset current priorities and systems
Adjust as needed to realign and accelerate growth
I call this process my Personal Quarterly Review...

Note: You can download a printable PDF of the review template ​here​.

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This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

The 85% Rule says that you can achieve more by pushing less.

Carl Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals with this strategy.

And as it turns out, the general principle here is one that has been recognized throughout history...

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This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

In 1888, Alfred Nobel was best known as the inventor of dynamite. He had been issued over 300 patents and his business had built more than 50 explosives and armament factories all across Europe.

That year, while traveling in Cannes, France, Nobel's brother, Ludvig, suddenly died of a heart attack.

A French newspaper misreported the incident, penning an article that claimed Nobel himself had died. Reading the false reports of his own death, Alfred Nobel was shocked at what the world clearly thought of him.
He got something almost nobody gets: A clear preview of his destined future while he still had time to change it.

Today, I want to share a simple exercise to help you do the same:
I call it the Deathbed Regret List...

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This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

In the mid-19th century, a physician named Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was working as an assistant in Vienna General Hospital when he noticed something curious.

The hospital had two maternity clinics right next to each other, one staffed by doctors and medical students, the other by midwives.

The mortality rate of mothers at the clinic staffed by doctors and medical students was a shocking (even for the era) 18%, while it was just 2% at the clinic staffed by midwives.

It occurred to Semmelweis that the doctors and medical students were often moving straight from working on cadavers to delivering babies.
Without washing their hands in between.

He mandated handwashing, and the rate immediately dropped to below 2%.

Rather than being hailed as a hero, he was ridiculed. Doctors rejected the evidence because it contradicted their deeply-entrenched beliefs.
On Friday, I explored why smart, accomplished people reject the very evidence that could help them—and the antidote: what I call the Empty Cup Mindset.

Ask yourself: What new evidence would cause me to change my mind?

If the answer is nothing, your cup is too full...

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This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.