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Welcome to the newest issue of the Do the Opposite newsletter, sent every other Monday!

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I Quit Coffee For 100 Days, Here's What Happened

Here’s the new video from the Do the Opposite channel! I’ve wanted to share this story for the longest time but kept procrastinating and postponing it. No more! :)

Find out what I’d learnt during the 100 days without coffee and what physiological and psychological effects it’d had on me.

Growing DTO YouTube channel is my focus for this year, and it’s especially tough in the early stages of that process since I can’t really see the results yet, so every subscription, like and watch helps a lot and makes my day! 🙌

Articles

“Don’t Look Back and Don’t Look Down” by Steven Pressfield

In any creative pursuit there’s always risk, discomfort (i.e. Resistance) and often general feeling of being lost. The way out is to keep moving forward, no matter how confused and hopeless we might feel in the moment. Moments pass. Don’t let yourself quit when the going gets tough — that’s the only way to get to the finish line.

“If You Only Read a Few Books in 2021, Read These” by Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday reads A LOT. So when he recommends books, I’m all ears. I hope you enjoy this collection and jot down at least a couple of them into your “to read” list. (If you don’t have one, start it today!)

I join Ryan in recommending these two: “Discipline Equals Freedom” by Jocko Willink and “Turning Pro” by Steven Pressfield. They’ve been incredibly helpful.

“What if Everyone Became Frugal?” by Mr. Money Mustache (Pete Adeney)

When people hear of the extreme saving/investing culture of FIRE, with people saving in the ranges of 50%-70% of their take home (after tax) salary, after the initial shock they often ask: “What if everyone did that? What if we all lived frugally, saved majority of our income and invested it? Who would be buying new products and services and driving the economy forward?”

In this post, Pete (aka Mr. Money Mustache) argues that the world would be just fine. It’s the investors that give the resources to help grow new businesses, develop new technologies and more. Consumption would not go anywhere as people would still need to buy electronics, clothing and food. It’s about curbing mindless consumption, not eliminating it altogether. Don’t listen to me, however. Read what Pete has to say!

Videos

Atomic Habits with James Clear | ChooseFI

Isn’t it the best when your favourite content creators collaborate? This is exactly what happened here, when the hosts of the ChooseFI podcast invited James Clear over to talk about habits. Every time I hear James talk I’m amazed by how wise & well-spoken he is. Enjoy!

P.S. I highly recommend the ChooseFI podcast — these days I’m listening to it all the time when doing chores (cooking, washing the dishes, etc.) They are also a great introduction to FIRE, if you’re curious about it!

How to Afford Anything | Paula Pant, Talks at Google

Paula is one of the leading voices in the personal finance & financial independence space. This talk is an absolute must watch because she covers so many valuable concepts, and she does it so well. If you’re interested in improving your financial decisions (and we all should be!:) — check it out!

How We Left the City and Bought a Farm | Gold Shaw Farm

Morgan and Allison were city dwellers who had a dream of operating their own farm. They thought that dream was far away and they would only be able to move to the countryside when they are old, but after several years of aggressive saving they were able to purchase their very own farm.

Their goal is to make it a sustainable business in both financial and ecological senses. Another alternative lifestyle entry here on Do the Opposite as we continue to explore the options hidden in plain sight. hope you enjoy this inspiring story!

Featured Tweet

Ethos

Quotes

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

“Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.”
— Winston Churchill

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.”
— Winston Churchill

🌱 ZERNO APP

I’m building an app called ZERNO to help you build & stick to habits ― if you join the waitlist, you’ll be in the limited few to get early access to the app!

Join the Waitlist

📺 YOUTUBE

There's also a YouTube channel with new videos coming out twice a week on the same themes that are covered in this newsletter. Take a look at the channel here and let the ideas influence you into an improved and happier life!

Watch DTO on YouTube

✈️ TELEGRAM

Do the Opposite has a public Telegram channel. The content there is a little different than in the newsletter: faster to consume, a bit more random ― basically anything weird or interesting that catches my eye: articles, tweets, videos, images, etc. Hope to see you there as well! :)

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Keep doing the opposite,
Alex Kallaway

Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away

Do the Opposite Newsletter

Do the Opposite #80