I slept as much as I ever had before going swimming at 6:00 am.

It was about 10:15 p.m. And yes, I’m pleased with myself for doing that.

The question is, can I do that day in and day out? It seems unlikely, but I’ll do my best to push for that.

After the swim, I meditated. I felt sleepy during the session. I wasn’t going to beat myself over because of this. I did get through the process and was better for it.

The morning was filled with necessary distractions. After dropping Da Little One at kindergarten, I headed to the skin clinic to treat my athlete’s foot. It flares up once in a while and Da Missus said that I had to do something about it. It’s getting worse.

I had wait for some time with 12 people in front of me. I took the time to read, staring at my iPhone for almost an hour. I’m glad I used that time to do something productive. I read about how I can have a better connection with my children.

When I got to the doctor, he knew about my condition since he treated it a few times. A couple payments later to the clinic and the pharmacy, I headed back home.

By the time it was 10:30 am, I’ve already made close to 9,000 steps. That with an hour and 5 minutes of swimming. I burned a lot of calories with more to come.

Around noon, I felt my energy go down. Around my second class, the sleepiness was ridiculous. But I trudged on, taught to the best of my ability.

I was pleased with what transpired.

I found trying to better each time is hard work. Not the sweat of the brow sort (though it can be that way sometimes), the one that required my brain to work on the tasks.

I would rather work on the simple things. The things I want to achieve in life are not easy. The temptation to stay in cruise control is strong.

I struggle to shift into gear by reading books and listening to podcasts. I got the talks from Tim Ferriss and James Altucher speaking to top-form folks that achieved a lot of what I want to do with my life.

Recently, I have Jim Kwik coaching me to a better brain. I like his simplicity and repetition. He has this rhythm that’s easy to understand. They’re all in the right spots. Since his podcasts are short (about 10 to 15 minutes), I’m listening to it each day.

Quiet Urgency

I do have this deep desperation these days. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. The news about the confrontation between the United States and North Korea looms each day.

While I never went through a nuclear war, I’ve seen the horrors from films and history.

The more immediate concern is money. I have my work at the English Institute, but I’m grateful for the work I get to do by teaching students English.

But one of these days, that time will pass.

At my age, I never know what will come next. I do know I have to move in a definitive direction and earn money on my own terms.

We need money to come from different resources. We need to live a life that has happiness and meaning.