What Los Angeles Traffic Taught Me

Anyone who's lived in Los Angeles knows there's traffic. A LOT of traffic. I realized pretty quickly there was a unique opportunity to take advantage of those moments of idleness and turn them into a mobile classroom. Here are a few quick insights that may nudge you to turn daily gridlock into the "University of Traffic."

-- One way to set yourself apart from the herd is to optimize moments most people use for entertainment with education.

-- Divide your audiobook selection into different categories that interest you -- (e.g. Fiction, History, Personal Development, Finance)

--  The average US commuter spends roughly 42 hours in traffic per year. That’s nearly identical to a semester of college. You have a remarkable opportunity to turn your commute, workout, or daily chores into the equivalent of a college degree.

-- After listening to an audiobook make note of at least three things you’ve learned and can implement, track, and measure. Keep an audiobook notebook in your car so you can jot a few notes after your commute.

Let Your Mortality Be Your Ally

I recently heard someone discussing a documentary they'd seen about the history of our planet. To illustrate mankind's relationship to the overall existence of the earth the filmmaker framed time as walking from San Diego to New York City, or 14.6 million steps. Our history would span a mere 3 steps out the Empire State Building. (And remember, that's just the planet earth. It's not even taking into account the infinite number of galaxies) In any event, it's a very humbling explanation.

As far as I can tell, there are two ways to interpret this information. We can either be discouraged, or liberated. We can feel insignificant, that what we do is trivial, and that we're a mere speck of dust just passing by. 

OR, we can learn to not take ourselves so seriously and allow the fact we won't be here very long to propel us to do the things we find important. The latter seems like a much more appealing option.

Actor and producer Keanu Reeves once said, "You're doing to die. Make stuff." Having a close, but healthy relationship with your own mortality can drive you to see, learn, listen, and say the things you feel are of value. Mortality can teach us the importance of being bold, but not reckless and learning to go to the fear.

When you truly appreciate your time's finite nature you begin to protect it in a way you never have before. An awakening to your potential arises, you suddenly feel less fatigued, and you find creative ways to "make each day a masterpiece."

Get Cool with Admitting What You Don't Know

A good friend of mine is a history professor at one of the top universities in the country. He has every degree, title, and award under the sun. 

So I was surprised one afternoon when he told me, "The more you learn the more you realize how much you don't know." I found his discovery not only enlightening, but also courageous. 

Here was a guy who could effortlessly call from memory dates of battles, treaties, the details of landmark court cases, and the framework of the Constitution. Yet he still admitted there was a great deal he would never know.  

How many times have you nodded your head "yes" when someone asked if you were versed on a topic you weren't at all familiar with? And why were you so afraid of admitting you didn't know something?

I know for a long time I'd try to hide my ignorance on a topic for fear of being excluded, or being thought of as uninformed. But the older I get the more I realize there's actually strength in vulnerability and in admitting you don't know something. It reveals not only honesty, but integrity.

And when we admit we don't know something we can then take the steps necessary to remedy it if we so choose.