Hey there!

Michael feels like a free man again, after finishing up his exams a few days ago. Funnily enough, he likes the feeling you get the week or two before finals, stressing for exams, because it makes all time feel like it’s worth so much more, you end up using it much more effectively, and appreciate your time much more. Anyways, with the newfound time in the past few days, he’s been marathoning quite a few podcasts, he’ll share some interesting takeaways from them below.

Juan has been very tired lately juggling many projects and commitments. They say you can do anything in life, but you can’t do everything (and he’s trying to do everything anyways).

LIFE

Becoming the Main Character of Your Life

Recently, I stumbled upon a podcast called Becoming the Main Character and got completely hooked. The show dives into various famous fictional stories, analyzing the main characters and discussing how we can learn from them to improve our own lives. This concept of being the main character in our own lives is something I find incredibly empowering. It pushes us to take control of our own narrative, stay focused, and stay motivated to achieve our goals.

While this article isn’t just about the podcast itself, I wanted to share some quotes and specific takeaways from a few episodes that really resonated with me.

Lessons from Paul Atreides in Dune

The episode on Paul Atreides from Dune was particularly impactful. In fact, the podcast dedicated three episodes to him because there was so much to unpack (many spoilers though). One quote that stood out to me was:

This quote, and the host's explanation, hit home for me. It speaks to the confidence you need to tackle difficult learning experiences. The harder something is to learn, the more you benefit from the effort. This idea validated my own experiences with the various studies I’ve done. I realized that the effort I’ve gone through to learn difficult things has shaped my mindset. Now, I feel more capable of learning anything because I’ve already conquered tougher challenges. This principle can apply to many areas of life: making hard choices now can make future tasks easier.

The Grapes of Wrath and the Illusion of Ease

Another episode that resonated with me discussed The Grapes of Wrath. The story of the Joad family being lured to California with promises of easy money and plentiful jobs, only to find themselves exploited, is a powerful lesson. The plantation owners in California promoted the abundance of jobs across the country to drive labor costs into the ground. The family learned the hard way that:

This quote reflects a fundamental truth: the easy path often leads to disappointment and hardship. The Joads' experience teaches us to be wary of solutions that seem too good to be true. Real success usually requires hard work and perseverance. This is especially relevant today, as I see so many ads on Instagram for easy, get-rich-quick schemes, from becoming an influencer, running automated faceless YouTube channels, new cryptocurrencies, dropshipping, to NFTs. While these might work for some people, it’s rarely as easy as it seems.

Hamlet and the Paralysis of Inaction

Finally, the episode on Hamlet provided a critical lesson on inaction. Hamlet is a character torn between his desire for revenge and his moral qualms about murder. His inability to make a decision leads to a lot of wasted time and unnecessary suffering.

Hamlet’s story is a stark reminder that delaying decisions only makes things worse. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s indecision and constant overthinking prevent him from taking action, resulting in tragic consequences for himself and those around him. His hesitation is driven by fear, doubt, and the hope that somehow, the situation will resolve itself without him having to make a tough choice. This kind of paralysis can be all too familiar in our own lives when we face difficult decisions.

By avoiding hard choices, we might temporarily escape discomfort, but we often end up complicating our lives even more. Whether it's a needed career change, ending a relationship that you don’t see a future with, or pursuing a long-term goal, taking decisive action is essential. Hamlet's plight teaches us that while making hard choices can be daunting, it’s necessary for progress and peace of mind. In the end, the cost of inaction is a lot higher than the challenges of making a tough decision.

In conclusion, the lessons from these stories highlight the importance of taking control, making hard choices, and understanding that the easy path is often a trap. By seeing ourselves as the main characters in our own lives, we can stay motivated and focused on our goals.

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— Michael

FOOD

Why Is Chicken So Cheap?

Chickens are the most populous bird on the planet. There are 23 billion of them. That’s 3 times the number of humans on the planet and 10 times more than any other bird. It’s an astonishing accomplishment for a bird that originated as a small, wild, jungle bird in South East Asia.

It is by far the fastest-growing meat product and the price of chicken has fallen steadily. How has this happened?

Chickens were domesticated over 8,000 years ago, but it wasn’t until the 1940s that major efforts were made to create a superbreed.

The chicken-of-tomorrow competition in the USA would change chickens forever. It encouraged the development of a fast-growing chicken that could provide more protein at an affordable cost. The competition was a massive success.

Nowadays, chickens are four times the size they were in the 1950s and reach a large enough size in only 39 days. A large farm can cycle through 90,000 chickens every batch, creating around 720,000 chickens a year.

However, selective breeding comes at a cost. If chickens live beyond their planned life, they develop huge medical problems. Their rapid growth is not sustainable for a long-term life and usually requires antibiotics and other chemicals to sustain them. Organic chickens are typically free from these issues but can be 3 to 4 times more expensive.

I personally would like to move away from chickens and towards more wild animals like Elk. This is very expensive at the moment, so not possible yet. I do not trust meat that is selectively bred or almost any food that is mass-produced.

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— Juan

TAKING ACTION

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