Josh Allred's Blog

We can see in the classic 1977 film Powers of Ten, the universe is a vast place.

It is dark. It is cold. And it is quiet.

It turns out, that each of us is made of ordinary matter. Matter that emits light. Ironic since ordinary matter is the rare type we see in the universe. Which makes us unique. We stand out amongst the stars.

Earth is a sanctuary from the universe. The only place that can sustain life as we know it.

If we are reminded of this perspective, we would treat it differently.

This is our best shot: Spaceship earth.

A promotion probably isn’t the solution to your problem. It isn’t going to make feel any better about a job you hate. Money, title, a parking space, status is only temporary. A temporary boost in “happiness”.

Paychecks and titles have this unique way of locking us in. “Don’t be stupid, you are not going to find something better” is what we tell ourselves.

Be glad that the job you have doesn’t make you happy. Uncomfortable situations nudge us to move on and take chances. Even if the world is scary.

Instead, feel bad for those who dislike the work they do and have settled for a promotion.

Your soul deserves to be free. Stop looking for a cage to put yourself in.

Governor Cox recently asked for a weekend of prayer to end the Utah drought.

Here are some facts:

The commercial industry uses 8% of the water.

6% of the water goes to residential lawns and another 4% is used for indoor purposes at residences.

The rest?

82% of Utah’s water goes to the agriculture industry.

So, asking Utah residents to be water consciousness, is simply not enough. Even if every resident went to a xeriscape type of lawn, you are not going to turn this drought around.

Regardless, of how you feel about the power of the divine–go ahead and pray. We need faith. And at the same time, demand systematic change. Because if everyone does their part it would not be enough until we demand the agriculture industry to change.

Difficult choices need to be made. Some of those choices may not be popular for a re-election run. Some of those might mean we can’t support the cattle industry or the alfalfa industry (which is then shipped to China). The system that we have built is not enough to curve the effects of climate change.

The consequences are coming.

…

Update:

It hard pill to swallow to ask residents to keep cutting back when there are clear conflicts of interests happening. Read about Governor Cox’s alfalfa farm here.

These machines are so sophisticated and expensive to start an alfalfa farm most millionaires would look at other safer investment opportunities (crypto or real estate). So, I suspect, many of these farm owners had them handed down to them. Why we protect the few while the many suffer still beguiles me.

The problems people come to you to solve provides a good indicator at what you are good at. And sometimes friends or customers or neighbors will ask you to do work for free.

There is nothing wrong with free. If someone needs free, there are places and resources to seek. And if someone needs cheap, you can show them the number of competitors in the area or have them contact someone on Fiver.

But if you have built a large body of work and you are a professional, you are not those things.

Professionals do work for money. That is usually what stands out from an amateur. Not because they necessarily need it. It doesn’t fill the why. They do it because their time is valuable.

There is a reason I can’t pick up the phone and call Danny Elfman to come score my next super 8. He’s Danny Elfman! And has built a reputation.

So, there’s this large gap between what we can do by ourselves and what professionals can only do. We are talking about scarcity. As you move towards what only professionals can do, the more difficult it is to solve a problem. And less affordable solutions there are available.

Here are the steps to say, “Sorry, I’m not doing that for free.”

First step is to say, “Thank you.” “Thank you so much for thinking me.” “That is flattering that you would consider someone like me.”

Next, state that you don’t do this work for free. “Unfortunately, my schedule does not allow to take unpaid projects right now.” “Are you able to confirm this is a paid opportunity?” “I charge a flat fee for this kind of advice.”

Finally, tell them where they can find your product or service. “Here is a price sheet of what I offer. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Not for free is an important step to becoming a professional. You don’t ask your plumber to do work for free. And you wouldn’t ask your doctor to do it either. Just because you have a skill and you are creative doesn’t mean it is given for free.

Triggers -> Thoughts -> Actions -> Results

This is the pattern. This is how we seduce ourselves to act against our own self-interest.

Triggers are neither good nor bad, they just cause us to think a certain way.

Often, we fixate on a result and we try to use our willpower to change the consequence of our actions. But we end up right back where we started, don’t we? (How many New Years Resolutions have we abandoned?)

The problem compounds when we don’t reach our goals. We become a bit more deflated and cynical. Which in turn feeds our thoughts and then our triggers.

Will power is not the answer. We use enough of it to go through a normal day. Rather, we need to look at our environment for answers:

How can I create a system where it will supply the right kind of triggers?

You only make the decision once to create an automatic deposit that contributes to your 401K.

You decide once to blog every day for the rest of your life.

Cognitive load is real. Make your decisions once. Create a system where the triggers lead to desired results.

The other day, I had to go pick up a prescription for my four-year-old. The problem was with it being a holiday, there was only one drug store open for the entire valley.

The line was expectantly long. By the time I got to the front, I realized I forgot my insurance card and as a result had to pay full price for the prescription. It wasn’t much but the thought hit hard:

What if I couldn’t pay for this?

How in the world do we still not have some sort of universal health care system? Who doesn’t need quality healthcare?

The average life expectancy in the 18th century was 25 years old! No public schooling, no health benefits, no retirement existed–no social programs of any kind. Poverty was literally a death sentence.

During this time, you inherited your wealth and married to keep it. You created dynasties and aristocracies. Many economist would argue that if you didn’t create incentives people wouldn’t work. You need inequality to get people to try harder. The problem was there was no social mobility. No matter how hard you tried. And so, you are stuck. Which creates all sorts of social, economic and political stresses until you reach the tipping point where the people rise up.

David Graeber has pointed out that when the people rise, they burn the tax records. The Bible confirms this with the jubilee. Debt systems will always work out of control. And those who control the means of production have no incentives to give up their wealth. You have to have someone to referee the disparity. This is the true role of government: to set up guardrails.

We are not here to serve capitalism, capitalism is here to serve us.

The Fed estimates that the wealthiest 10% of Americans hold more than 88% of all available equity. The eight, all men, hold as much combined wealth as the 3.6 billion people in the bottom half. In Europe, two-thirds of the population is dying without a single asset.

Life expectancy in the US is falling for the first time in a while. What does that tell us? What’s the point of having all this capital if you are not going to use it? Furthermore, what is the point of a few to hold so much of it?

HT Capital

Actually, there is no universal definition of beauty. It’s too subjective. And yet…

A bunch of random notes doesn’t sound very good until you create a melody.

Creating a great deal of lines across a canvas is nothing but chaos until you connect them in some way.

These words on a screen mean nothing unless I organize them in the a way that tells a story to the recipient.

The pattern it seems to follow is when matter goes from unorganized to organized.

This is an incredibly hard lesson to learn:

The stories we tell ourselves are often more romantic than the truth.

Truth is standing right in front of us, yet we have a hard time accepting it. Because we don’t like what we see.

Our narration works overtime to preserve ourselves. It is a defense mechanism. While it can protect us, it can also block us from seeing the world as it really is.

There can be beauty in truth but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is truth in beauty.

With that being said, I still choose to believe the world is better than it really is. Because my life is better this way.

It’s a fine line to walk. See clearly. Choose wisely.

Defining moments are defining because they change the trajectory of who you are to the person you can become.

Looking back at your defining moments: Would you have made different choices?

Perhaps life would not be as good as it is today.

Unfortunately, that is impossible to know.

But you can be sure of one thing:

Your life would be different if you chose another path.

Rarely, it seems, the line we draw from A to B is straight. It more like a 2 year old with a set of crayons. All over the place.

You should choose a life’s vocation–find a greater purpose in the work you do.

When someone feels that they have been called from a higher power, spectators should be skeptical though.

To clarify, I don’t think there is a problem if someone believes God has commissioned them to do a greater work. The problem is when leaders see themselves above criticism, followers may believe their leaders can do no wrong.

No job or title or person is above evaluation. And no one has the market on the divine. No matter how “important” the work is.

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I’m going to be blunt: I thought for many cultural conservatives their obsession with Operation Underground Railroad this last year was an attempt to gaslight Black Lives Matter movement. Peaking behind the curtain, there seems to be more going on than what appears on fan’s Facebook feed.

HT Vice