What Matters Most

This is making me feel middle-aged: social networking sites baffle me enormously.

For example, I wanted to link to the recent post "What Matters Most" on Stephen Shapiro's blog. But I can't figure out how! There's no obvious permalink, and when I click on "share this", I get a miles-long list of services or sites I've never heard of, but still no simple link to, well, link to. Either I'm overlooking something obvious, or the programmers of that blog and that service have.

... Ah, now I found out that the grey links at the top are supposed to be tabs, and one of them contains a way to link on Blogger (you have to give them your Blogger login). But it still is lacking the most basic feature: simply to tell me the permalink.

Anyway, I think the "What Matters Most" (title: "My Quought of the Day") post is important. I've spent a lot of effort thinking about this in years past, and I found that it kept changing for me.

According to Hollywood movies, the big problem in America is that many Americans value their job higher than their family, and the big message is that Family is the most important thing in anybody's life. But maybe that's not true for everybody.

Update: Stephen himself tells me there's supposed to be a permalink feature, only it's missing at the moment. And that the link I was looking for is here.

Update: TTL points to this Tim Ferriss interview, which touches upon the issue.

Most of Tim's suggestions in The Four Hour Work Week are clearly very good juju for many, many people, particularly in America. So many people live in self-inflicted slavery to so many things.
So maybe I shouldn't even criticize it, since the criticisms probably are only relevant from my personal perspective, which is much different than most. I don't use very much time at "work" at all.
But from my perspective, the perhaps normally good advice to only check email a couple of times a day is off. What if you love checking your email? And also, from the response times most companies have, it does not look like most people check their mails ten times a day.
Also, from my perspective, it looks like Tim is basically taking away one type of hyperactivity and replacing it with another. Zipping around the globe and becoming tango hero and cheating to become Chinese kickboxing champion? Why? What's the point? Of course, that's a matter of perspective, some people want an extroverted and very active lifestyle, others think the inner life is more important.

TTL said:
Eolake, I think you may have misunderstood Tim Ferriss's message. Whatever activities he chooses to engage in is not the point. Those are just his preferences. Other people like to do other things.

What he advocates is to not postpone that which one most wants to do in life until retirement, or until some other condition is met. But rather to find a way to do those things now. He then gives examples and strategies on how to make almost any activity possible right now even with very little money.

What each of us wants to do with our life of course differs a lot. But it behooves us to follow those impulses as soon as possible. For it then brings new ideas and opens up new avenues for value fulfillment.

If you love checking e-mail then obviously that's part of your value fulfillment. But for many of us it is an addiction that hinders our ability to do something that's ultimately more valuable and pleasurable. Personally, I don't agree with some of Tim's ideas on communication -- for example his preference on using phone instead of e-mail -- but I understand the point of ridding oneself from the addiction.

Traveling to Argentina to learn Argentine tango is a bit like spending time in India to learn yoga. There's no choice if you truly want to master it. Asking what's the point in learning to dance is like asking what's the point in life in general. You and I may not choose that particular activity, but I certainly see the point in it. Same with martial arts.

Tim Ferriss has a fantastic can-do attitude and he serves as a great role model for busting limiting beliefs.