When I redesign a website, like here, one of my first reflexes is to install Google Analytics to get a sense of traffic.

This time, I forgot.

It took the visitor count dropping to zero for me to realize it.

And you know what? I'm not going to install it. 

Sure, for a professional site, it might be important. But for a personal site... Do I really need public feedback to know what I want to talk about?

And I'm also making this solemn decision before you all: I'm going to stop checking the views and likes on my daily videos. It's hard because you actually can't access the account without seeing them – especially if I want to keep replying to comments. But I'll try.

To achieve what the Bhagavad Gita calls "fruitless work": doing the work without being attached to the fruit of the work.

Apparently, that's true freedom.

The mind seeks, finds, and solves problems.

That's its nature. It's all it knows how to do.

If you ever find yourself at the summit of the mountain you've always coveted; the view, light, and temperature are perfect; it's the accomplishment of a lifetime. Your mind will whisper "Great... now what?"

It will find the flaw in your success. Make you covet the next peak that will be better. Already, you feel the anxiety of lack, dissatisfaction, desire.

You can't blame it: that's its nature, I tell you! Analyze the situation, find the flaws, devise a plan... That's its job! That's why it exists!

Which makes it a terrible foundation for finding peace.

Don't get me wrong: thinking is a wonderful tool—one I'm using right now to write these lines. We put it to work to create, communicate, survive.

But if your goal is to be present and at peace: it's absolutely not the right tool.

Do you know how to set it down when you no longer need it?

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Related:

• Two ways to solve problems

When I started writing a blog again, I never imagined it would turn into such a "personal development" thing.

It's a phase.

I write down as advice to the reader the things I tell myself.

I write them in my journal, I repeat them to myself in the morning, and as a last resort, I end up preaching them as if I actually followed them. It's the "Coué method" (French thing).

For those waiting for the sex, drugs & rock'n'roll phase: it's coming. I'm waiting for it as much as you are.

It needs this stage to materialize.

When I have a problem, I have two ways to solve it:

1. Intellectually: I look for a solution. I weigh the pros and cons, I make lists, I devise an action plan to implement in the future in order to calm the anxiety in the present.
    
2. In presence: I look for the physical manifestation of this anxiety in my body. The knot in the stomach, the obsessive image, the vague obligation. Without chasing it away or holding onto it, I observe it transform until it disappears.

Problems are a function of who we are.

By changing our inner dispositions, we transform our relationship to external circumstances. The problem that seemed insurmountable the second before vanishes.

The intellectual solution, on the other hand, often only shifts the difficulty. Once the first situation is resolved, a second one arises, identical, because it springs from the same source.

That's the trap of thinking: it solves problems, sometimes. But nine times out of ten, it also creates them.

Which often makes it the wrong tool for growth.

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En lien :

• What meditation changed for me
• The Elephant and Dragon Paradox (archive)

"I'm going to post a video and a note every day."

That's the external contract: what can be verified and enforced by observers.

But how I fulfill that contract, the creative tools I use, and the results it produces—those elements are entirely under my control.

That's my internal freedom.

And sometimes, I'll only post a few lines.

If you catch yourself listing anything at all, you're probably heading down the wrong path.

I see it in every field:

• In improv theater, we pile on jokes when we can't find the one that really lands.
• In sales, we pile on benefits when we haven't found the killer argument that convinces everyone.
• In interior design, we pile on trinkets when we haven't found the centerpiece that commands attention.

I could go on and on.

What puts an end to this flight forward? Stopping. Refocusing. Starting over from taste, from instinct.

All it takes is one strong idea, one genuine direction, one carefully chosen piece to stop the mediocrity machine and find your way back.

Just one. Take the time to find it.

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Related:

• What I learned from running an improv workshop (ChezFilms)

As I revamp the offering of ChezFilms, I'm taking the opportunity to revisit copywriting best practices (a personal compilation):

1. Problem
   What is your client's pain point? What attempts have failed in the past? If you accurately describe their problem, you capture their attention.
    
2. Philosophy
   Why don't the usual solutions (or those offered by competitors) work? What paradigm shift do you propose?
    
3. New Approach
   How is this philosophy implemented in practice? What is your plan and its main steps?
    
4. Social Proof
   Show how this approach has worked in the past: testimonials, case studies, etc. Here, your clients' words carry infinitely more weight than your own.
    
5. Guarantee
   Make the decision less daunting: if the client commits and it doesn't work out, what guarantees are there to mitigate the risk?
    
6. Call to Action
   If the prospect is interested in your approach, what is the next simple, concrete step?
    
7. Urgency
   What are the compelling reasons to act now rather than in two weeks or two months?

This isn't a cookbook recipe; these are the answers to our natural questions before making a decision. If you analyze your last new product purchase, you'll see that you went through the same steps.

I started meditating in 2018 and it transformed my life:

The way I eat, the way I sleep, the way I create. I no longer have the same friends, the same habits, the same goals. My anxieties have changed too.

The main breakthrough:

I realized that many aspects of my life that I took for immutable realities were actually... thoughts.

As if I had lived forty years inside my head and meditation was the first moment I glimpsed the world without filters. (Or let's say: with fewer filters.)

You realize that identity, problems, the future (...) are mental constructions that you can choose to nurture or let go of.

You understand that the external world reflects the internal world and that's where it all happens.

You learn to turn down the volume of that little voice in your head that criticizes everything. Sometimes you can even turn it off completely.

And I promise you, it takes a weight off your shoulders.

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Related links in the archives:

• Emptiness and Creation
• The Present and Action
• What Shines in the Future

Not a fan of cocktail parties / social events / meetups? Terrible at networking? Perfect.

Whether it's finding love, friends, or a collaborator, I now always apply the same technique that transformed my relationship with groups:

Start by talking to the first person next to you.

Right away. Whoever it is. About anything.

Don't scan the room for the ideal conversation partner. Don't filter by attraction or compatibility. Don't wait for a particular topic or common interests.

Dive into the conversation, then naturally continue with the "next first person" – if they haven't already joined the conversation. And so on.

Before you know it, the person you were looking for (sometimes unconsciously) will be right beside you. And you won't have to figure out what to say because, when you realize it's them, you'll already be in the middle of a conversation.

You're welcome.

I had already done this three years ago: publishing one video per day.

Back then, I had gotten into the habit of publishing ten minutes of improvisation every evening "to loosen up". To see if I could speak in front of the camera without writing or hiding behind technique.

At the beginning of the year, I started again by publishing one humorous video per day. Then I stopped.

Now, I've decided to do this for 10 years. Yeah.

I'm going to talk about anything, by any means. Sometimes it will be funny. Sometimes I'm going to bore you with my beatnik ideas. We'll see.

You can follow me on Instagram (where I also post stories), YouTube or TikTok.

I talk about it in this video.

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Related links in the archives:

• How I broke TikTok