Zopito DiGiovanni's Success Journal

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My newest project — a Philosophy book!

I’ve had the idea for a few years now to write a book that I tentatively called “The Owner’s Manual for Life”. It would summarize many of the things I have learned about health, wealth, philosophy and how to live a good life. The more I thought about it, the more I started to see how inadequate a single book on this subject would be. I started to think that what I needed to do was to write an entire set of books with different volumes on different topics. The set could very easily be 12 volumes or more. Even if I were writing at a very fast pace, this undertaking would take years, possibly decades. Then there would be the problem of how to organize my thoughts and the different sections. It would be nice if the books could be written in a dynamic fashion so they could be radically changed or re-organized if needed. I want the books to cover all aspects of life, and to grow and evolve as my understanding of life evolves. I got this idea of the work constantly evolving while I was studying the French philosopher Montaigne. His Essays were constantly evolving. He continued to write and revise them throughout his lifetime and several updated volumes have been published.

I had the crazy idea that writing this set of books could be my life’s work. The volumes of this work should be small enough and short enough, just like individually bound chapters, that they can be handed out and read independent of the rest of the work. One of the primary goals for the project is to be approachable. Easy to read. Non-threatening. I want to reach readers, as well as people who do not read and who would not normally be buying or reading self improvement or philosophy books.

I started writing it in February 2016. There is a lot of self-help and philosophy information out there, but nothing that I know of in this format, and nothing that covers such a broad scope of topics that I am trying to cover here. I really want this to be an overall outline, or owner’s manual for life, helping you think things through for yourself and pointing you to many valuable resources that can help you in your life. I don’t want to tell anyone that there is any one way to do anything. I want to present the information that I have gathered through reading and experience, and allow the reader to make his or her own decisions.

My approach to acquiring knowledge and wisdom is to gather as much information as I can from all different sources and perspectives. As Napoleon Hill says, I’m trying to keep “An open mind on ALL subjects”. This is somewhere where I feel the large majority of people fall short, give into arrogance or start to think they know how things really are and they know better than others. I strive to always be open to new information and be ready to change my viewpoint and approach. Very few things in life are black and white. Charlie Munger says to always look for disconfirming evidence for any view that you hold. Never think that you know anything beyond doubt. Charlie Munger also says, “I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.”
Montaigne, in my eyes one of the greatest philosophers of all time, would often end his statements with “What do I know?”, introducing a healthy skepticism, as well as deflecting critics. I realize this may be a hugely arrogant thing to write, but I am working on it with a humble mindset. My plan is to write for a year, and if I have something to show for myself I’ll post it HERE, free for the whole world to read and learn from. And I’m sure it will continue to evolve and grow over time.

www.lifephilosophywiki.com

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Your Money or Your Life – Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

This was really an amazing book. It’s a modern classic, and I started to realize that this is the precursor to so many other financial Independence books, early retirement books and blogs that I have read and have been a fan of.

My biggest takeaway from this book is the idea of money as “Life Energy”. You only have so much Life Energy. Most of us choose to convert the large majority of our energy into money, by working a job or by having a business. We all have a limited amount of energy. Once you convert that energy into money, whatever you spend it on, just be sure that you are getting a good value. I want to make sure that I am not wasting my life energy on things that do not really matter or that just serve to clutter up my life. Under this presumption, the best use of money would be investments (just like so many other things I have read).

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Under construction – new website and blog coming soon!

As you can see, my site is under construction. I have a lot of ideas for a new site and blog detailing my various projects and also a place to share information with others on 3d printing, working on cars, business, and also keep a log of what I have worked on.

It may take some time to implement fully, but rest assured that the wheels are turning in the background and check back soon to see the finished product!

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toyota truck frame repairs pt1

the first in a series of posts about frame repairs on my 1985 toyota pickup.

Unfortunately, it has gotten to this point and the frame is starting to have some issues.

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my “new” 1968 Volvo 122 Wagon

Last week, I bought a 1968 Volvo 122 Wagon.

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