# Chapter 90

“We are afraid of the silence. We are afraid of looking stupid. We are afraid of missing out. We are afraid of being the bad guy who says, “Nope, not interested.” We’d rather make ourselves miserable than make ourselves a priority, than be our best selves. Than be still . . . and in charge of our own information diet.” Ryan Holiday

I am trekking at 35000 feet, Bose in my ears, silence in the friendly skies. I just ate my dinner while everyone else is sleeping. Of course they all ate their dinner while I was sleeping. Then a couple of hours of just . . . nothing. No inputs. While I intentionally did not sleep as long as I could have since I want to adjust to my new time zone as quickly as possible, I was just as intentional to do nothing, sit in a semi-comatose state, no inputs, no screens, no talking, no anything. My brain needed the silence. My mind needed no inputs. After weeks (months!) of a world that can’t stop talking, the silence is precious.

Today marks 90 consecutive days of writing these 275 word chapters in this book. Today marks 130 consecutive days of no alcohol (even though sadly there were no non-alcoholic beer options in the airport, nor on this flight). No inputs - information diet. These are decisions to make myself a priority, to be my best self. I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything, rather I feel like I am choosing me., the David I want to be. Make something beautiful today. Change the world. Think.