Hey there.

I’m sorry I haven’t been updating the blog recently.

Here’s what’s new with me.

  • I quit my call center job and become a freelancer. I currently assist entrepreneurs by offloading time consuming tasks and representing them so they can run their buisiness using a chat app. I also ghost write for several educational and CrossFit blogs.
  • I have returned to going to CrossFit on a regular basis. This time I’m working out with the awesome crew of CrossFit Paranaque.
  • I have purchased a “Fixed Gear bike” and look forward to completing it’s assembly by March or April of 2017.

Recent wins:

  1. 40 pullups. This includes kipping and jumping pullups.
  2. PR One Rep Max: Deadlift 265lbs
  3. PR One Rep Max: Back Squat 215lbs
  4. PR Five Rep Max: Back Squat 185lbs.
  5. PR Skill unlocked: Rope Climb (Thank you Cilyn)
  6. Migrated my blogs from Wordpress to Jekyll.
  7. The perfect home-made burger.
  8. 4,500 followers on my Call Center Training Tips Facebook page.
  9. Intensive Photoshop class.

Item upgrades:

  1. iPhone 5s. The one I bought was broken and I spent more trying to repair it. I just gave up and will be holding on to it until November of 2017 or if it breaks.
  2. Fixed Gear Bike. I only have the framset.
  3. Magnetic Charger. Thanks Ralph.
  4. Deadpool mini-figure.
  5. Blue Pencil. I use this for drawing but benefit from writing with it. It just looks damn good.
  6. Hot Glue Gun. I used it to fix my writing tray. Not sure what else I’ll use it with.
  7. Reebok CrossFit Nano 6. Got this as a gift. Thanks Dad. It’s a size 10. The previous one is a Nano 4 and is a size 9.5. I don’t have enough time with it yet to judge what it can do but it’s comfortable to wear, run and lift in.
  8. PVC Pipe for mobility work.

What I would do to make next month better:

  1. Pray more consistently. Include prayer when starting. I’m loading it to my Way of Life habit app.
  2. Work on my mobility and flexibility. My current challenge is limited mobility that prevents me from properly executing several weightlifting movements in CrossFit. I’ll need to get comfortable in a squat position and to do thirty overhead squats with a PVC pipe.
  3. Take more naps. My productivity and strategic acumen had been steadily decreasing due to low energy which I previously blamed on attitude or motivation.
  4. Say no to opportunities that will compromise your current strategy. It’s embarrassingly easy to sell to me. I’m learning to say no but I’m so abrasive with my choice of words that I’m worried about burning bridges when I say no to people especially ones that I respect. So this is a statement that I’ve come up with. I’m sorry, I’ll have to pass on this opportunity because it doesn’t fit my strategy.
  5. Make meditating a part of my schedule. Meditating is beneficial. I’ve used it to complete an intensive 48 hour photoshop course and activities without sleep. It also helped me learn compassion for others and stressful situations. The problem is whenever I’m not working on anything intensely urgent or important, I set this useful habit aside. I purchased a year of Headspace and rarely used it. I have two months left before it expires. I feel like I’m wasting money by not using it.
  6. Make deep breaths and cold showers part of my day. I’m currently trying to do the deep breaths before the workout and the cold exposure after showering at the gym.
  7. Do the math on Google Spreadsheets before committing to anything. I make my decisions impulsively quick. This time, I will ask people for time to run the numbers before deciding on anything. This includes going shopping without the cash. Asking people if I can get back to them before saying yes and so on.

Habits I worked on along with challenges that I faced:

  1. Go to CrossFit four days a week. This was mostly successful. There were days when work got in the way but it didn’t exceed twice a week.
  2. Stop eating out after the CrossFit workout. Drink more water and nap instead. This was difficult for me but I managed to pull it off. My body can mistake the thirst for hunger.
  3. Practice compassion at home. It’s easy to freak out when people use words that I find offensive. When I was working in customer service I understood the situation and replaced the words to the necessary, objective and actionable alternative. I forget this a lot especially at home.
  4. Treat your big ticket items like a business. Two of the biggest items I spent on are my bikes and my computers. My bike helps me save money and my computer helps me make money. Buying a new one is inevitable and will cost me a significant amount of money however, after doing the math, I can instead throw in a small amount of money every time I use each of these items and as a result, when the time comes when I would need to replace or repair these items, I already have the money or a portion of the money to contribute to buying the next one.
  5. Use up my pens. In the past year I spent close to Php 6,000 on pens. That’s approximately $150. This was when I was learning to draw. These are really nice pens. Half my drawers are filled with pens. I promise myself to start using them instead of collecting them.
  6. Keep my bed and my workspace neat. How successful my day is depends on how neat my surroundings are. How my room and workspace looks reflects how my day will look.

Blessings I received:

  1. Shoes from Dad.
  2. Family’s health.
  3. Free workout shirt. Thanks Josh.
  4. Free Photoshop lessons. Thanks Angelo.
  5. Porno Shirt. Thanks Scott.

Random Things I’m Grateful for:

  1. I have an epic bag collection. I have a Deuter Spider backpack, a Deuter light running backpack, a Deuter travel belt pack, A Deuter rear carrier bike bag, a Reebok gym bag, a small Reebok bag, two Reebok drawstring bags, a hiking bag, a laptop bag, three bag organizers and a grid it.
  2. I have a kick ass shoe collection. I was previously experiencing poverty shoe wise. I now have a CrossFit Nano 4 and a Nano 6. I have a Merrel running shoe and a hiking shoe and a pair of dress shoes.
  3. I have a cooking show worthy kitchen. I watched Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and have purchased about 60-70% of their recommended kitchen tools.
  4. I have a fully functional home office. I have a kickass CEO worthy desk and chair along with a MacBook Pro and an Apple keyboard.
  5. I have all the clothes that I need. I didn’t buy a lot of clothes the past year other than CrossFit related clothes and a belt for my dress pants. I still find everything I own suitable. If not I’d like to get rid of a few of them.
  6. I have an a massive collection of pens and writing tools. Yeah. We talked about that in the habits.
  7. ArtGerm’s Sketching Tutorial. This is the video that got me to visualize the anatomy better. Hopefully this will improve my drawings some more.

Upgrades I’m contemplating

  1. After writing the items I’m grateful for, the wouldn’t it be nice if you had.. voices had stopped.

What I’m reading:

Taking a break from the usual blogs, Lifehacker ZenHabits and YouTube to focus on my writing.

  1. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss features the habits and routines and recommendations of billionaires top performers and super-stars.
  2. Superbetter by Jane McGonial explores how to use elements of games to improve your life.
  3. The Bible and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living are still in my room for some impulse reading.

Apps I’m grateful for:

I’m too lazy to put in the links. Please use Google for this.

  1. Just press record. iOS. Super simple recording app. Whenever I don’t feel like journalling. I talk into it instead.
  2. Procreate. iOS Drawing app. I use it to color my drawings. Check out my instagram.
  3. Facebook News Feed Eradicator. Chrome Extension.

Bible verse I’m meditating on:

Matthew 25:40 New Living Translation

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Proverbs 14:31

“He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.”

Five useful lessons on the internet:

  1. Testing The “Impossible”: 17 Questions That Changed My Life
  2. The Philosophy of DARTH VADER – Wisecrack Edition
  3. Sith Meditation Vs Jedi Meditation - Star Wars Explained
  4. The Price of Happiness is Honesty Not Money
  5. 10 Reasons Why You Should Blog

Activities I enjoyed.

  1. Saw Star Wars Rogue One.
  2. Bike around Filinvest every Sunday.
  3. Saw Godzilla Resurgence. I liked it very much.
  4. Saw Kubo and the Two Strings. It’s just as good or even better than Big Hero 6.
  5. Saw the new Berserk. Exposes you to violence and darkness while calling upon your inner goodness and bad-assery.
  6. Roadtrip
  7. Adam Ruins Everything.
  8. Re:Zero. This is one of the best anime of 2016. I loved it. It’s unpredictable and touches you on so many levels. 9/10.

Projects I’m procrastinating:

  1. Shortcut to Learning English for Call Center Training Tips Audience.
  2. Minimal Changes Manifesto.
  3. Cleaning up Papers at home.
  4. Publishing on Philippine Island Living.
  5. Comprehensive list of my failures.

Soundtrack:

I’m supposed to save some money by disconnecting my Spotify but Globe decided to not keep their promise. The rep said he processed the request but didn’t bother to push through with it so I listen to Spotify when I can.

  1. Halo Soundtrack.
  2. Doctor Strange Soundtrack.
  3. Dragon Slayer Theme (Fairy Tail)
  4. The theme from Yowamushi Pedal
  5. Star Wars OST.

Closing Thoughts.

My December had been filled with three main activities.

  1. Freelance Work.
  2. CrossFit.

I did my best to say no to a lot of stuff. Despite that, I went to parties, watched YouTube a lot, became annoyingly active on Facebook and was able to gather and put together the above lessons.

The complainer in me will criticize how 2016 wasn’t perfect but despite that, I had an awesome time.

Each failure led to a success that would have been impossible without the lessons that I picked up from a past failure.

There’s nothing to worry about.

Everything is perfect the way it is.

Whatever your situation is right now, it’s God’s will so enjoy and the next season will open up with more opportunities.

Minimal Changes is a blog about the small changes that can change your life. It changed mine.

PS: I’m thinking of doing this regularly instead of the regular blog posts. Interested? Let me know by sending a message.

Have an awesome 2017!

I love you.

Kevin Olega of December 2016


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