All You Have Is Now

Today, right now, in this very moment, you have an incredible opportunity to do something so sublime, and yet so ordinary, that you may not even realize its power or its importance.

You see, right now, you have the ability to “just begin again.”

That is the advice from philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris, whose book “Waking Up,” along with his brilliant app of the same name, is one of my most highly recommended resources for enhancing your personal well-being.

Both the book and the app provide essays and instruction on how to implement mindfulness meditation in your life. Broadly defined, mindfulness meditation is simply a mental training practice that teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and calm both your mind and body.

There’s nothing “woo-woo” about the practice, and you don’t have to buy into any pseudoscience or mystical silliness to make it a part of your life. That’s because mindfulness is basically just cultivating and enhancing your innate ability to be fully focused on “the now.”

Being aware of “the now” and all that this entails truly is one of your superpowers as a human. The reason why is because being mindful of the now means you can acknowledge and accept your thoughts, feelings and sensations in the moment.

And in case you haven’t yet fully realized it, “the moment” is all that any of us ever have.

My view from atop Catalina Island is a stunning location for mindfulness meditation.

Perhaps a few thoughts on this subject directly from Sam Harris will help further illustrate this point:

Take stock of how you’re feeling in this moment. And think about how you’ve spent the last few minutes, or last hour. What has your mind been like? Has it just been chaos in there? Take a moment to start the day again, and just rest your mind.

Everything that’s already happened is well and truly gone, and the future hasn’t arrived. So simply embrace this moment. It’s crucial to recognize that no one can do this for you. But no one can prevent you from doing it either. Where you stand, this bright corner of the universe, there is no one to enjoy it but you.

The beauty here of being mindful is that in any given moment, no matter what is going on within you, you have the ability to pause, reflect and just begin again.

Or as Harris puts it: “However good or bad things seem, nothing lasts. Everything you’ve done, or not done, is now just a memory. And everything you’re telling yourself about the future is a half-truth at best. This present moment is your opportunity, your only opportunity, to connect with your life — and that will always be the case.”

If you want to reboot your thinking and upload a new, enhanced operating system to your mind, then try some mindfulness meditation — because all you have is now, so why not be fully present for it?

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Kevin O’Leary Enters My Shark Tank  

Cryptocurrencies are getting crushed.

Consider that Bitcoin, the largest and most heavily traded cryptocurrency, recently plummeted by 26%. That is an astounding decline in such a short period, and it illustrates not only the inherent volatility of this asset class, but also the precarious nature of putting money to work in this still-nascent market segment.

Yet despite the decline in cryptocurrencies of late, the sector remains populated with high-profile investors who see huge opportunity in the space going forward. One such investor is “Mr. Wonderful” himself, Kevin O’Leary.

I suspect you know Kevin O’Leary from his starring role in the CNBC show “Shark Tank,” a favorite TV program of mine, and of just about every entrepreneurial type that I know. Yet O’Leary is far more than just a TV “shark.” He’s also the creator of the O’Shares family of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), several of which I have recommended in my newsletter advisory services.

One of O’Leary’s newest ventures is a company called WonderFi, a cryptocurrency trading platform that Mr. Wonderful says will provide a compliant and transparent place for institutional and individual investors to trade cryptocurrencies.

According to O’Leary, what Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies really need to flourish is, ironically, real industry regulation. And as he puts it, “that’s when the real money is going to come into it.”

O’Leary explained all of this to me in the latest episode of the Way of the Renaissance Man podcast.

In this interview, Mr. Wonderful enters the Renaissance Man shark tank, as I let him “pitch me” on the reasons why investors should consider WonderFi.

Along with WonderFi CEO Ben Samaroo, O’Leary explained that despite the hype of cryptocurrencies, the big money players such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds have yet to embrace the asset class. He also attributes cryptocurrency volatility to the relatively small amount of money invested in the asset class relative to stocks, bonds, commodities and other currencies.

This interview took place on the cusp of an interesting time for cryptocurrency, as the huge June 2022 swoon in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptos has rattled investors, along with many companies in the industry.

So, is there a future for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? Is there likely to be a rebound in the segment? If so, could the catalyst be what O’Leary thinks it will be?

To find out the answers, and to decide for yourself, I invite you to watch/listen to the new episode, “Investor Kevin O’Leary Enters the Renaissance Man’s Shark Tank,” today.

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Man the Mosaic

“Every piece makes a whole, a man is a mosaic.”

–Ewen Montagu, “Operation Mincemeat”

Today’s quote was sent to me by a loyal reader who knew that this sentiment would resonate deeply with me. The line is from a film called “Operation Mincemeat,” which tells the wild and true tale of a British MI5 operation to deliver false intelligence to the Nazis during WWII. I have yet to see this film, but I plan to over the July 4^th holiday. And though I’ve only been privy to this quote from the film, the notion that a man is the sum of his collective ideas, experiences, and actions — a collection that resembles a physical, intellectual and spiritual mosaic — is certainly at the heart of my worldview.

Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.

In the name of the best within us,