I’m about to cram 7 years worth of cooking in one week

Enough pontification, do this, do that, productivity here, productivity there..

Blah, blah, bluh, bleh, blah blero.. bunch of dungero.

My top frustration these days is that I feel I’m not getting enough meaningful work done, that I spend 16 hours a day staring a computer, consuming outrageous amounts of information, spinning my mental wheels and going nowhere.

Over the last 7 months I’ve filled in over 100 spreadsheets of data from my research on marketing, course creation, funnel building, competition analysis.

I’ve watched over 500 hours worth of training programs, built complex webinar funnels, email automation, tested dozens of marketing, project management, tools.

Spent over $50,000 in education, conferences, masterminds, travel, advertising, and software.

So far? no meaningful results. Devoting so much time to learning new skills has meant neglecting everything else.

My animation business, my online course revenues are at an all time low.

This is the first time in 5 years I’ll get money back on my tax return because this exploration has cut my revenues literally in half!

I don’t regret it. I was getting complacent. Complacency equals professional and intelectual death.

When you get complacent you stop growing, you avoid risks, you play it safe, you become a vegetable. Hell, most vegetables never stop growing!

Complacency didn’t mean I was not working hard. It meant I was not devoting time to trying new things, making mistakes, invest in learning, innovating.

Over the last 5 years I’ve created my dream machine. A profitable 6-figure online business I can run from anywhere in the world with just a laptop, Internet, and on my pijamas (the pijama part was crucial).

But once I had that accomplished I felt I needed a new challenge. So here I am, back in the trenches, advancing slowly, frustrated at times, but moving nonetheless.

Why can’t I just feel like I’m done? relax and stop stirring things up?

Maybe it’s in our genes. Our impulse to do new things and seek new experiences, to win more battles, to conquer new territory, to… to catch more Pokemons.. it never ends.

I have loved playing with Lego my entire life. Some of the most satisfying moments growing up and up to today is coming up with an idea, grabbing a bunch of Lego parts and assembling some unique contraption like this:

The fun part? building it, the process. Then, when it’s finished a sense of accomplishment and then? is that it? do I never build another Lego invention?

Of course not! A painter doesn’t paint one painting and quits forever.
A chef doesn’t cook a perfect meal and retires.

Why do you think Woody Allen has been creating a movie every year for decades?

Every time, every new movie, every new project is a new adventure, a new challenge.

Why does my wife keep running even after she falls repeatedly?

I don’t know she is nuts.. hehe.

Ok, for the same reason of course. Every run is a new challenge, a new opportunity to do what she loves, to improve, to get faster, more fit, and yes.. some times to fall flat on her face.

And now back to the title of this email..

Since constantly challenging ourselves it’s clearly what makes life much more interesting, I dare you to try with me something fun!

I dare you for the next 7 days to challenge yourself to create or do something valuable for you or others.

2 rules: 1) It has to be something you don’t already do daily and 2) It has to take at least 15 minutes to do.

Some ideas: walk or run for 20 mins, meditate 15 mins every morning, write 500 words, 7 random acts of kindness, practice a new skill, play the guitar, etc.

Here is my challenge (cleverly suggested by my wife):

My challenge is to cook dinner 7 days straight and to vlog about it.

This may seem very simple, after all, many people cook every day.

But for those that know me very well (wife, family, friends) they know I hate to cook. In fact, I’ve probably have cooked no more than 35 times in 39 years!

That should tell you everything. I must to be one of the few humans ever to have cooked less than once a year over the span of 4 decades… boom!

So, be ready. I’m about to cram 7 years worth of cooking in one week.

Here is my dinner meal plan for the next 7 days:

• Wed – Chicken stir fry – Easy + healthy
• Thu – Tuna melts – easy comfort food
• Fri – Pasta with meat sauce – easy comfort food
• Sat – Veggie burgers and salad – Easy + healthy
• Sun – Chicken casserole – my wife’s favorite home made dinner.
• Mon – Cuban rice (Arroz a la Cubana) – My mom used to cook this a lot
• Tue – Paella (viva Spain!) – I love this dish but I’ve never cooked it!

So far I see 5 potential benefits I see from attempting this challenge:

1. Save money by not eating out (good for wallet)
2. Forces me to get out and walk to get groceries (good for health)
3. Gets me out of my mental rut (good for brain)
4. I have new content to upload to YouTube (good for biz)
5. Make wife very happy (many brownie points!)

Ok, it’s a shitty challenge (it’s not even the typical 30-day challenge) but to me it’s a bid deal plus is the the first time a I do a 7-day challenge ever (my only other timed challenge was a 60-day online dating challenge that landed me a beautiful wife)

If you want to follow my disastrous attempts at cooking dinner on video I’ll be updating this Youtube playlist with them every night

If you want to join me in this challenge you can do so here:http://www.coach.me/plans/1205

Are you up to a 7 day challenge? or are you a “gatito”?

Either way, stay tuned for next week’s email for a recap on this silly self-imposed and totally unnecessary-wife-happy-making challenge.

Until then…

Peace, Love, and homemade 7-day challenge cookies 😉

Miguel

P.S: For many more challenge ideas download the Coach.me app HERE.

P.2: My wife is so happy I’m doing this challenge. I don’t think she believes I agreed to cook for her like this after 8 years together!

P.3: For a great daily meal planner check EatThisMuch HERE. An awesome app by Louis DeMenthon the very brother of the creator of PadMapper (The startup for which I did the video that led me to meet Ashton Kutcher)