Most have probably seen that illustration of the guy walking away from digging, with diamonds just inches away. He gave up just before hitting it big. The idea of pushing forward versus quitting can be complicated. "Never give up" is not a be-all-end-all. There could easily be another version of this illustration showing miles of rock with no diamo…

Sometimes, it may feel like the way we feel at any given time defines who we are. Statements like "I'm an anxious person" or "I'm a stressed-out guy" do not capture our whole reality. Instead of thinking of ourselves as these things, we should realize that they are just moments. We are not inherently anxious or stressed-out people; we experience an…

Sometimes it takes just one more effort for everything to change. Many people have experienced struggles, only to have one moment, meeting, phone call, or social media post transform their lives. With this in mind, the more attempts you make, the greater your chances for success. It might be the thousandth try that succeeds, but it took the 999 fai…

I've been super stressed out over the last month or so. Business is weird and there are a great deal more complexities than I'm used to. This started to lead to a bit of paralysis on my part. I was working all day, but not really getting much done. There are certain things I've known I need to be doing, but haven't been doing them due to overthinki…

I've been thinking about how our thought patterns can become addicting. Just like a thermostat keeps your house at a set temperature, your brain can maintain a baseline of negative thoughts if that's what it's used to. Can we reprogram our brains for positive thinking? I believe so. Negative thoughts release chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol, …

An interesting section of the book How to Win Friends and Influence People discusses the value of being comfortable with the possibility of being wrong. Even if you 'know' you're right, starting a sentence with "I may be wrong, but this is how I see it" seems to be a much better way to have a conversation. I put 'know' in quotes because even if you…

I'm going to start doing interviews with graffiti writers and have a question for you. Would you like to see/hear this kind of content on this show, or would you prefer it just stays the way it is? Right now, what I'm thinking is, I'll start releasing two episodes per week. One personal development style like we've been doing, and one graffiti inte…

There's a part of your brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). It acts as a sort of filter. If you think about something a lot, the RAS will show you more of it. For example, if you want to buy a certain car, you might start seeing that car everywhere. If you regularly think negative thoughts, your RAS may reveal more negativity that yo…

It's easy to put so much pressure on ourselves when trying to get something perfect. Sometimes the desire to get something exactly right can lead to not finishing at all. Sometimes striving for finished is better than striving for perfection. Don't half-ass it, but get it done.

If we want things to get better, whether that is in our community, family, or even the world, it starts with improving ourselves. It may not seem like making ourselves better will help anything, but you never know who's watching. No matter who you are, it's likely that you improving yourself will influence another to do the same. That person improv…

How to you treat the mundane tasks in your life? It's often easy to half-ass the basic tasks that seem meaningless, but how does that look to those around you? How does it look to your own subconscious? There are lots of phrases that talk about this kind of thing. How you do one thing is how you do everything comes to mind. If we half-ass one thing…

Something I've been trying to change about my mindset is when I hear about someone else's success when it's greater than what I've accomplished, I often allow that to make me feel bad about my own success. On the flip side, when I hear about someone failing, I often feel better about my situation. Both of these feel wrong and unproductive. If I'm n…

On my way to the shop yesterday, I was thinking about the 'good old days'. It was sparked when I did a style of graffiti that I hadn't done in close to 30 years. The 70+ comments on the piece on Instagram got me thinking about things like nostalgia and hanging onto the past. Then a famous and profound quote came to mind: "I wish there was a way to …

I wanted to share a quote from the book Thick Face Black Heart on page 141. This chapter talks about if we had the ability to remove all negative experiences from our lives, it would not make us stress free or happy. "The absence of negative experiences in our life does not alone contribute to the quality of our life. As humans we need challenges i…

Something I need to remind myself of regularly is that the time is going to pass one way or the other. What I mean by this is, the timeline is ticking away whether or not we do what we need to do. For example, if we want to get in better shape, start a business, scale a business, learn a skill, etc., and we put it off, that time is going to pass. S…

Most have probably heard the quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” or some variation of it. There's also a version of the concept in the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People talking about sharpening the saw. Sharpening the axe or saw is about preparation a…

We all find ourselves in a rut from time to time. Whether it's an artist block, work related, fitness or whatever, sometimes we aren't feeling the motivation to get it done. The best way out of a rut I've found is to simply force yourself to start rather than waiting to be motivated. Sometimes it feels nearly impossible with motivation being so low…

Any given situation is supposed to go the way it goes. It has nothing to do with us. When we put expectations on things, it causes disappointment. Once we realize this and try to detach from the outcomes, our minds can find more peace. Doesn't mean we can't do our best to get the outcomes we want, but in the end, it isn't up to us.…

I came to a realization recently that the reason my mind feels like it is in turmoil all the time is because I am not living up to my own standards. This realizations came from some weird places, so this episode goes into some seemingly off topic things like ghost stories, spiritual healing, and shit like that.…

I believe in you. It may sound corny since we may not actually know each other, but it’s true. No matter where we are in life, we have the ability to improve and overcome the obstacles we face. If you search around, you can find countless examples of people bouncing back from bad decisions, came from nothing, or any number of things that would dera…

The concept of accepting the things outside of our control is a simple, but powerful concept that I find really helpful when shit gets tough. Simple, but not easy to impliment.

If you find yourself in a situation where someone consistently breaks promises, misses appointments, or shows up late, it's natural to begin questioning the value of their word. This is a common experience that many of us have had. What's even more intriguing to think about is that if you fail to keep your own promises to yourself, your own mind ma…

Ever feel like you’re putting in the hours practicing, but not making the progress you feel you should be? I’ve definitely experienced this a lot over my life. The reason is most likely not a lack of commitment, but it lies in the way you’re practicing. I first came across the concept of “deliberate practice” from a book called 'The Talent Code'. D…

For some years now, I’ve been a student of stoic philosophy. The biggest lesson from this philosophy is to focus on what you can control rather than things you cannot. It’s often difficult to do and one can easily forget to apply this. Most of the time, all you have control over is your actions and the outcome is not within your control. Focusing o…

It feels like we're in an age of massive distraction. We're being distracted by the media, world events, politicians, etc. Then we're distracting ourselves with social media platforms and other apps on our devices. Today, I talk about these distractions and some ways we can identify when we're being distracted and how to regain focus.…

This episode gets into some concepts from Stoic philosophy about there being an order to the universe and other potentially interesting shit. Find Bus on various platforms linked here: https://bus.graffitimachine.com/

I heard that most of what we do is forgotten. A lot of the day-to-day life stuff comes and goes, and the memories are lost. Do we do something about that? Do we try to create more memorable experiences, or does the fact that a lot of stuff is forgotten make the things you do remember that much more impactful?…

I was thinking about how many little tasks come up that could be easiy taken care of, but I put them off. Those things occupy space in my mind. It would be ideal to just knock those things out so they're out of my head, but they often get put off. They're often small things, but they build up. It's got me wondering what negative effects might be ha…

When we set big goals for ourselves, they can often feel impossible. One thing that can help put things into perspective is to look at some of the amazing things that have been accomplished by other people. Seeing these great achievements might help put your own goals into perspective. For me, I had an "If they can do that, I can definitely accompl…

For episode 100, I wanted to bring back a full conversation that Kub and I had. This episode was a the one that really set what we're doing in motion. I wish he was here in person for this, but we have a mission and we will just keep pushing forward. — Bus

If I woke up one day, and there was litterly nothing to worry about—business is running perfectly, no problems to solve at all—I think that would be much more conerning than how life normally is. There's always a problem to solve, always some adversity to get passed. If everything was good and there were none of those things to deal with, I would i…

Sometimes it can feel like we’re all in, or all out. Slip off your program in any area of life, and things start heading in the all out direction. Every now and then a season of all in commitment, very little “balance” can help to get the momentum going. Find Bus on various platforms linked here: https://bus.graffitimachine.com/ FULL TRANSCRIPT 0:0…

A lot of compromises can be a slippery slope. One compromise leads to another, then another, then next thing you know, shit can get out of control. It happens to all of us. The key is to keep an eye on it, and if you do fall off track, get that momentum going again. Even if you have to force it. Find Bus on various platforms linked here: https://bu…

Negative emotions can be damaging to your physical and mental health, but they're also a normal part of the human experience. According to the law of polarity, you can't have one without the other. Lets talk about some tools we can use to limit the power of negativity. Find Bus on various platforms linked here: https://bus.graffitimachine.com/ Epis…

When we think of mind control, we may think of it as some kind of science fiction shit, but if you really think about it, we allow people to control our minds all the time. If someone says something that offends you, you might get pissed and let thoughts grow like weeds in your mind. Some people can spend hours, days or even longer in this state. T…

An interesting concept to ponder is our identity. If asked who we are, we might respond with our name, occupation, hobby, or another label we've chosen to identify ourselves with. However, in reality, none of these things truly represent us. Some argue that even the voice in our heads isn't truly us; rather, we are the listener to that voice.…

There is a balance between urgency and patience when it comes to working towards your own true potential. Urgency keeps you motivated until things take longer than you expected. That's where patience comes in. Losing patience can sap motivation and you'll lose your urgency. Balancing the two can be the answer to maintaining forward momentum.…

There isn't anything in your life that is permanent. Every single thing you do, there will be a last time you do it. The last time you pet your dog, the last time you go to your favorite restaurant, even the last time you breathe. Given that we never know when that last time will be, it is vital that we learn to be present in the moment, because yo…

In this episode, we dive into the 12 universal laws that govern the universe and explore how they can help us live more fulfilling lives. We discuss each law somewhat in detail and examine how they are interconnected. I truly believe that whether or not you believe in them, living your life and making decisions with these laws in mind will lead to …

There's a phrase that says you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. I'm not sure how true this is, but I know there is a lot of power in being around people. Putting yourself around people that are further along than you can have a huge effect on helping you progress.

How many things have you had trouble starting becuase you didn't believe in the outcome? There is a simple, but often not easy formula to follow. Even if you don't believe you can achieve something, if you start working towards it, then get some results, you'll start to believe. Keep going, even when shit gets hard and eventually you'll believe in …

You've likely seen this happen where you decide to buy a certain car or something like that, then all of a sudden, you're seeing them everywhere. Today, we talk about how focusing on negative or positive things can have a similar effect. The more you focus on negative the more you see, so why not focus on positive things to see more of that?…

Setting goals is great, but what do you need to do on a daily basis to get them done? Today we talk about focusing on your daily actions that move you forward.By Bus166

I’ve been thinking about time a lot lately. On one hand, you could look at things like Gary Vee where he says you have a lot more time than you think you do. Sometimes I think, “man I’m almost 50 and I’m not where I feel I should be”, but the way Gary looks at it is, I got a shitload more life left to make things happen. I agree with this to a cert…

How many beefs have started over complete misunderstandings? I would imagine more often than not, these are how they start. Then we jump in and fire back, which makes it worse. The cycle continues until it is resolved in one way or the other. There is a famous quote by Viktor Frankl:“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is …

We have a phrase in graffiti that goes “Don’t burn the spot”. It’s one of the unwritten rules of the game. In general it’s meant to keep people from fucking up things for other people. What if we applied this thinking to other aspects of our lives? Treating little things that we may not think they matter as if they do.…

There's a simple way to quiet your mind, but it takes a lot of practice. Like all skills, it is also perishable and requires regular maintenance. In this episode, I'll share with you the basic meditation practice I've been using for over a decade and how you can get started developing the skill for yourself. Sign up for my newsletter. I promise not…

We all get overwhelmed at times. Sometimes it gets to the point where it causes inaction. Everything seems to be occupying your mind at the same time. With everything feeling the same importance, it’s nearly impossible to decide how to move forward. This is where one of the laws of combat can be applied. Decide on the priority and execute. I learne…

If I had to break down three daily habits that have drastically improved my life, it would be the three things I discuss in this episode.

Sometimes—maybe even most of the time—making the action the goal rather than focusing on the actual goal is the best way to go. It can be overwhelming when you have big goals to get paralyzed by the enormity of it all, but if you focus on the day to day actions required to achieve it, it can really help you continue moving forward.…