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But it's not just broccoli. It's the whole crucifer family. Wild broccoli is also cabbage, brussels, kale, cauliflower. All the same species – selectively bred from this little plant. These foods would have never been eaten without human intervention. In fact, broccoli as we know it first came to the US only about 100 years ago.
This is the story of what we've done with most plant-based foods.
Domestic blueberries are 2X size of wild blueberries. Wild avocado have a couple millimeters of fruit on it. Same for wild olives.
Wild bananas are so full of seeds, you wouldn't even try to eat it. But we’ve bred out their ability to make seeds. Now bananas can’t even reproduce in the wild. Every banana is a genetic clone. Here's a visual.
The scary thing is that these are the "healthy" versions of these plant-based foods. We usually take it a step (or 10) further: selectively breed, genetically-modify, process, refine, chemically treat.
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🐘 Who killed all the big animals:
I've been digging into paleoanthropology and what teeth fossils can tell us about our Stone Age diet.
Throughout the Stone Age there were changes in the environment that forced a change in the menu. We had 3 options: adapt to the new menu, move, or die.
Menu adaptations can be seen in teeth fossils, which tell a story of a plant-eating hominid turning into a meat-eating human. It's not only human fossils that tell this story, but also other animal remains.
Before agriculture the average mass of a non-human mammal in North America was 200 lbs. Today it’s 15 lbs.
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4️⃣ What else is evolving:
A major idea I've espoused the last few years is The 4% Rule. If you want to create change, if you want to improve and progress, create a 4% system. It's a new routine that only requires 4% of your willpower. It's so easy you can't / won't talk yourself out of it.
For example, in 2020 I wanted to improve my mobility. So I implemented a stretching 4% Rule: 1 stretch every morning after I brush my teeth.
I've been stretching every morning since.
Often the 4% naturally progresses as the "old 4%" becomes effortless. One stretch turns into two, which turns into a complete mobility routine over time. Yet, sometimes it's helpful to make the 4% progression a conscious decision.
That's what I'm doing with drawing this year. My 4% has naturally increased from 5/min a day to 10, 30, and beyond. Now after 3 years, I've made the conscious decision to step-it-up: my next pencil drawing is going to be 4X bigger.
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▶️ Why it works:
The 4% Rule works because it makes you focus on the process, not the goal. By taking that 1 small step every day, you won't quit. Most people quit too early.
If you posted 100 YouTube videos and still had fewer than 100 subscribers would you quit?
Well Marques Brownlee had 74 subscribers after his 100th video. He kept going. Now he has 15,000,000.
Mr. Beast had 730 subscribers after posting his 100th video. Now he has over 88,000,000.
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🧠 What quote I've been thinking about:
"Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come."
– Robert Schuller
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💱What's the end game:
It looks like there is consensus forming around what's coming in the financial markets:
- Fed will try and tighten
- This will cause assets to crash (especially growth / risk)
- Fed will get spooked and thus loosen
- Market will continue its trend hitting ATHs
It's the narrative that makes sense to me, but what I worry about is that, as Mark Twain said, "when you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." Does the market ever do what everyone expects it to?
I think perhaps #1 (above) won't happen. With US debt to GDP > 130%, no real growth, and deflationary demographics, it's hard to imagine a scenario where the Fed can normalize.
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🍎🐝What's my favorite song right now:
While lyrics seem like an afterthought in popular music, this song blew up because of them. So catchy.
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As always, it's an absolute pleasure and an honor getting to spend some time with you, hope you have a great weekend!
Kevin
A Saturday morning roundup on health and wealth, art and science, creativity and innovation, laughs and life by Kevin Stock.
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