October 15, 2018

The Poker Life Podcast – Discussing Self Improvement with Ed Latimore

Who is Ed Latimore? – A former boxer, an author, speaker, and content creator
- Follow him on Twitter – You won’t regret it
- Check out his blog
- Check out his book – Not Caring What Other People Think Is A Superpower: Insights From a Heavyweight Boxer
“I take what I learn the hard way and I break it down, so you can learn it the easy way.”
“The difficulty of something is irrelevant, if it’s vital to your success.”
- Push yourself to the limit, so that you can become an example for others

Boxing is Tough

Ed grew up focused on being a pro boxer, a profession in which injuries are very common
Poker Legend Doyle Brunson: “Poker is a hard way to make an easy living. Boxing is a hard way to make a hard living.”
- Most people in boxing are not making money
Ed was 13-1 in his carer, and barely got by
“In any other sport, you get penalized for what we do for entertainment.”
- If you kill a man in the ring they will cheer for you, but if you kill a man in the street they will put you in jail.
- Every fighter must sign a contract, known as a “death warrant”
“An honest coach helped my decision to leave boxing after yet another injury” (described below – a grade 2 concussion)
“Despite his own vested interest that I stay a boxer, he advocated I do something else and I listened”
Ed began to slowly embrace content creation

Having to Change for the Better

Boxing changed Ed’s life for the better, but he left it so that he can have an even better one.
It is extremely challenging to step back from the spotlight once you’ve become used to it.
- Ed had a grade 2 concussion and several broken ribs – forcing him to leave the sport. Years ago, he wouldn’t have considered that an issue, but with a different perspective, it became much more important. He got out prior to any permanent damage.
A sign of maturity: To be able to walk away from a situation that everyone thinks is best for you, but to you, you know it isn’t.

Creating Content

“People read my work because of my transparency.”
” I’ve learned to lean on the content that has stuck to my readers.” – Quality > Quantity.
Put your knowledge and experience out rather than your credentials.
- You shouldn’t have to tell your audience you have a Ph.D., let your results speak for you.
People respond best, to pieces of content that change how they feel
- Ed’s most popular article – One about “10 observations from 2 years of not drinking“

Alcohol

People drink because they don’t know how to feel awkward
- People use alcohol as an emotional suppressant – to suppress sadness, depression, anxiety, awkwardness.
- Learning to calibrate negative and positive emotions without alcohol, drastically improves your quality of life by amplifying your reward system.

Overcoming Comfort

You must force yourself to start that positive habit, the status quo does not want to be disrupted.
- Train your brain to react differently to different stimuli.
Negative feedback: I am out of shape, so I must go to the gym. (This mindset will make it hard to overcome comfort)
Getting in control of your life is difficult, asking for help can make it easier.
- For example, in a relationship, it’s uncomfortable to deal with necessary issues – it’s more comfortable to run away when life gets tough
Once your habits have become comfortable, something like going on vacations will become uncomfortable because you are used to the grind.
Everything worth having has a shitty side; waking up early, going out for exercise, reading books, etc. You need to ask yourself – “How bad do I want the benefit?”

Goals

Chasing something makes it worthwhile
With continuous pushing, you begin to naturally realize the benefits of the grind.
You must enjoy what you’re chasing and love seeing the results.
Start the journey in solving a problem.
- Interact and communicate with people who have the same goals and interests.
- Develop future goals from older goals; starting a successful podcast and then build additional platforms from that

Focus (Correlation =/ Causation)

Mike Tyson’s sabbatical from sex did not allow him to perform better in the ring. It got him to focus more on his tasks at hand – It cleared up mental space.
Alcohol can be an example of something that can take away focus and mental space.
Constant distraction is everywhere today, but you need to stay focused to produce quality content.
- Don’t let social media navigate your focus.
Physical exercise can stimulate brain activity.
Moments of peace and focus occur during, or around, bedtime
- Keep a notebook to capture those rare moments

Indulging in Success

“I mixed business with pleasure and ended up losing $700,000″
- If you indulge in your success’s inappropriately, it may be your downfall.
- As one gets closer to enlightenment, they get more powers. Should you indulge in them – you get sent back to step one.
How can you forgive yourself for your mistakes?
- Guilt is wanting to change the past – But what is done, is done. To forgive yourself is to remove the guilt.
  - Guilt can be a good thing by motivating you to become better.
- You can’t change the feeling, but you can let it drive you!
Making up for bad actions
- You took from the world, you have to find a way to give back.
- You have to care about yourself to stop destructive behavior.
- Make the world a better place by preventing someone else from making make the same mistake.

Getting to the Next Level

If you want to get to the next level, you must be honest about where you are, and where you want to go.
Don’t be afraid of losing your old world
- Lose the fear of being an outcast.
Improvements can be held back by the fear of losing your current self.

How can you figure out you’re good at something?

You can’t try everything, you might have a natural inclination towards something.
- Run towards it and try to be as good as you can be.
Make an actionable step and isolate yourself from negative influences.
- Make a commitment to something and starting building towards it.
When it gets difficult – that will demonstrate that you’re making progress.
- After 6 -12 months you will have an idea if you really love what you’ve chosen.