The Graffiti Machine

There is something to be said about setting your intentions, visualizing, and putting in work to accomplish your future goals. Those actions alone will be a huge help in moving you forward, but is there some other force that sees this and helps put things into place for you?

We live in an age of distraction. Data and our attention are the most valuable commodities on the planet and there are lots of things fighting for it. Our phones, the news, apps, notifications, social media, the list is endless. Learning, or in some cases, relearning to fully focus our attention on one thing at a time is becoming more and more valuable.

The line between order and chaos is very thin. There is no avoiding chaos. In fact, the more you try to avoid it, the less prepared you will be when it comes. Making everything safe may not be making us safe. It may be leaving us very unprepared and not mentally tough enough to overcome adversity. Enjoy the times of order, but prepare for chaos every day.

If you make a commitment to do something, then break that agreement with yourself, it's a bigger deal than it may seem. One compromise—even a small one—often leads to more and bigger compromises. Before you know it, things can be out of control and it started with one little compromise.

How can you learn or build anything significant without some failure along the way? It's easy to forget that failing is part of the process. Failing is uncomfortable, it can be embarrassing, it can be a lot of things, but it is necessary.

We all know it takes effort to change ourselves. The further away you get from your old ways, the easier it is to resist the urges that may be pulling you back. What is interesting is, when you do say "fuck it" and revert back to old behavior even for a moment, it can take a large amount of willpower to get back on the path.

The idea of don't break the streak or don't break the chain is a simple but powerful concept. It's about creating a streak of wins. If you're trying to build a skill, or form a habit that will benefit from daily activity, every day you complete that activity is another link in the chain. The longer it gets, the more motivated you'll be to not break it.

The idea of a mastermind is to combine multiple minds to takle various things. In this episode, Bus talks over some ideas on using a mastermind for various things like fitness, graffiti, personal development, etc.

Establishing core values is a fairly common thing in the business world. It's a vital tool in creating and maintaining a strong company culture. Less common is establishing them for your own personal life. We all have them to a certain degree, but few of us have them written down and revisit them often. Some people use the shopping cart analogy. Putting the shopping cart away or leaving it next to...

Chapter 26 of Epictetus' Enchiridion shares some great wisdom that most of us probably forgot, or never think of to apply. How many times has a friend come to you with an issue and you respond with excellent advice? You can easily see all of the ins and outs of their issue and offer objective advice for them. Solutions for their issue comes easier for you because you're not in the middle of it lik...

We're already glued to our phones with constant updates from social media, texts, email, etc. What is going to happen as technology progresses?

"When you blame others for your negative feelings, you are ignorant. When you blame yourself for your negative feelings, you are making progress. You are wise when you stop blaming yourself or others." This quote is from The Good Life Handbook. Based on the teachings of Epictitus.

Our comfort zone functions like a cage. The closer we get to the bars, the more uncomforabe it becomes. With practive, you can push through the bars into freedom.

No matter where you are in life, there is someone looking at you to show them the path. We all have an obligation to be the best we can be, not just for ourselves, but to the people around us.

A lot of us find ourselves stuck not knowing what to do. Jordan Peterson has a great suggestion for this. Pick something and try it. It sounds so simple, but it can be very effective and benifit you in a lot of ways.

Simple concept. Postive seeds grow positive trees. Negative seeds grow negative shit. Which would you rather have growing in your mind?

Easier said than done, but a situation is only embarrassing if you're embarrassed by it. Nothing and nobody can make you feel that way except you.

I came in a little hot on this one, but this is getting out of control. Have you ever thought about how much money is being made off of people being fat, sick and lazy? We're programmed from a very young age to desire terrible 'food'. Look at the messaging on sugar and chemical filled cereals, kids menus, sugary drinks, etc. and this carries over into our adult lives. Then we start having health i...

If you objectively look at your thought patterns, constantly shifting from one thing to another, it's difficult to conceptualize how we can have any peace with the voice always on. Imagine this was an actual person with you all day, every day saying these things out loud. How much time could you spend with this person? There are ways to give yourself a break from this inner lunatic by using mindfu...

We know that anything we do has the potential to not go the way we intended. It often catches us off guard and negative emotions can come from it. One thing the stoics teach us is to take some time to acknowledge that things can go wrong. Rehearse the possible outcomes in your mind, then if these things do happen you'll be more equipped to stay calm and not let your emotions get ahead of you.

We have countless things pass through our lives every day. When driving, we'll see trees, cars, buildings and all kinds of other things that pass in and out of consiousness. Once they're gone, we don't think about them again. Then something sticks. It doesn't pass through. Maybe something that bothers you or triggers a bad memory. We hang onto it, let it invade our mind and sap our energy. What if...

We can spend a lot of our lives being bothered by things that are totally out of our control. Wouldn't that evergy be better spent on things we can actually control? This espisode pulls lessons from chapter 1 of The Enchiridion by Epictetus where Bus applies Stoic wisdom from 2,000 years ago to current issues in graffiti and life. There are many translations of this text. This episode pulls from:...

About a year ago, shortly after Kub's passing, Bus sat down with Andi, Kub's sister and Brandon, Kub's sponsor to discuss the topic of addiction and share some insight into Kub's character. It's hard to say exactly why it took so long to release the episode. Kub, we miss you, brother.

We've all heard the phrases about living in the moment, tomorrow isn't promised, live today like it's your last, etc., but how many of us really consider this? How much differently would you live your life if you were able to maintain this perspective? On this episode, Bus shares a story that helped him put these concepts into perspective; maybe it will help you as well. Follow Bus on Instagram @b...

Often times, it feels like we have no control over our reaction to situations. Before we know it, emotion comes in and takes over. A shift in mindset and some practice can be a big help in gaining control over your response. This episode also has some wisdom from Kub at the end, so be sure to stay tuned for that.