Jan 10, 2023
Today’s guest is Sam LaCrosse! 
He identifies himself as a nobody. He hasn't done anything amazing. He is not extraordinary or impressive. He doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. He’s just an ordinary guy from Cleveland, Ohio, who now lives an ordinary life in Austin, Texas.
But if you want to check him out, he's the author of "Value Economics: The Study of Identity, writes blogs on dontreadthisblog.com, and hosts Don't Listen to This Podcast. Sam is the CEO and founder of Don’t Do This, LLC, a company that makes no money. He is also a board member of Thrive Living Corporation and an ambassador for RallyCap Sports.
#SamLaCrosse #Author #Writing #Newbook #ValueEconomics #Identity #Writer #dontreadthisblog #dontlistentothispodcast #CEO #Dontdothis #thrivelivingcorporation #rallycapsports #selfhelp #excesscorrodes #sacrifice #mindset #authentic #HarryPotter
Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on
-
- You can dictate your own path, just because it is not the usual way things are done, doesn't mean a damn thing! You can achieve any dream that you want to! Sam couldn't find a book that talked about his interests well enough, so he wrote one!
- How truly do you know yourself? If you had to describe who you were, what you valued, your goals, your fundamental building blocks, how deep could you go? Sadly we have lost part of who are, and it is now time to find out our true identity again!
View this post on Instagram
-
- Every generation has their struggles, but perhaps our generation has life too easy? How can you look to challenge yourself every day? How do we know who we are if we do not challenge ourselves?
- Have you ever considered your values in life? What are hard nos for you, what do you consider the bits that make you ... you!
- We can identify as part of a group be it religious, political, sexuality, but it should not be the only part of your identity.
- It is OK not to agree with others, you can have a different opinion. You don't need to agree but everyone has a right to have an opinion. You can find out a lot about yourself and what you stand for in life by discussing topics with people with opposing views. Things you find yourself being considerably agitated by, are a good thing to look into, and see why you are having such a large reaction as it can help you learn about something deep within yourself.
- If you do not know your own identity, you can be led into a movement, that you maybe don't agree with, just as you try to be part of a movement. Do not sacrifice your individual identity in favor of the group identity. Do not lose your sense of self.
View this post on Instagram
-
- Create art in some way in your life, do not just consume!
- Do not chase dopamine hits in your life, to fill a void. Instead look to keep yourself busy, challenge yourself, find out your passions and mission in life, to truly learn about yourself.
- "You need a starting point". Consider how you were raised, how your parents raised you, the country you were raised in, the experiences, actions and discipline you had when younger. These all help shape your identity in a deep level.
- If you don't know your true value, and adopt a group mentality and mindset instead, you can be manipulated by people using manipulative methods.
- As new trends begin in society, the norms in society also change and become eroded, so we need to find new ways to make sense of who we are and what is happening in society.
- 'True values get distorted in the pursuit of greater value".
- "We are really pushing boundaries ... and we don't always know when to stop". Sam mentions that excess corrodes, so how do you know when you have gone too far? It will be an individual decision, but you need to analyse your life and ensure you are continuing on your mission, and not "outsourced Sovereignty" and lost yourself along the excess slide to despair.
- Self-help is a great industry, if used correctly. Picking out the habits, hacks and tricks that work well and using them in your own life is great. But if you are not been authentically yourself, you will find you go off kilter and rarely succeed.
- You need to look at yourself, not just the good parts, but also the dark side, the parts you are ashamed of and fear. To not identity these areas and work on them, you will never truly change, as they will always hold you back.
View this post on Instagram
- The sooner you catch a problem behavior, the better. The smaller the sacrifice the easier it is to do. Once you tie up a lot of assets in things, the harder it is, to truly change as a person.
- You need to learn who you are, to live authentically you and not play a character. If you act as someone else then you are not living your own life, you are living someone;s else life.
- It can be hard to speak authentically and act true to yourself every day, as you can encounter resistance from others. If you live your live as you truly are, you are already winning.
- Be careful on the people you allow to be part of your life. Yo can't please everyone, nor should you need to or can you.If your actions please yourself, and the people that matter to you, you have internal validation rather than needed external validation like so many people are chasing in today's society.
- "The moment you stop a lot of your people pleasing, is the moment you start living to your values." To please others, you are living to their values. To please yourself, you live life to your own values.
- If you have a message to give, a book, a podcast or whatever it is, you NEED to get it out there. The world needs more authentic voices. The universe will challenge you by putting up obstacles to see if you are serious or not. True deep change for you and the life you lead is when you prove you are serious.
- Work on your own self-awareness. You can adapt and change your path to avoid slipping and achieve your goals. Analyse what you are doing right AND wrong. Fix the wrong things and use the successes of the good things to keep motivating and inspiring you to keep on your journey.