It's 5.33am. I'm at my desk in the dark, writing this letter to you.

On my right is my only companion. A stuffed Bluey teddy bear. A Christmas present for my niece that needs wrapping.

On my left is the booklet from ‘Unleash The Power Within’, a 4-day Tony Robbins seminar I attended months ago.

It’s chunky. There’s a lot in it.

Including something important that’s had a positive impact on me. And that’s what I want to share with you today.

This is a heavy morning, but full of hope. Let’s start with a big question.

What determines the quality of your life?

Yes, circumstances play into it. Luck plays into it. Your environment plays into it. But, it’s your decisions in the end that count. You choose how your life plays out.

Let me show you how this works.

Decades ago, back when rock and roll was alive and everyone had a handful of channels to watch on TV, a news reporter decided to interview a couple of twins. They were two grown men and their lives were very different.

The first, was a drunk. No family. No assets.

The second, was a successful entrepreneur. Good family. Good financial security.

They were both asked the same question in separate interviews “why did your life turn out the way it did?”

Here’s the surprise — they both had the same reply.

“My dad was a drunk” they said.

But the second brother added something extra. “I didn’t want to end up like him” he said.

You know what’s interesting about this? They were born at the same time, in the same circumstances, and had the same upbringing. But they CHOSE their life.

The first brother used his dad’s behaviour as an excuse. The second used it as a weapon. As ENERGY.

That’s one way to do it.

As yourself — am I going to let my circumstances hold me back? Or will I USE them to my advantage?

Before you get the energy out, tear down your excuses.

Second, and you’ve heard this one before — choose your running buddy.

Let me ask you this question. If you wanted to run a half-marathon for the first time, who would you choose as your running buddy to train with leading up to the event?

Option 1. Your overweight best friend who has no experience with running, but he’ll be fun to train with. Let’s call him Charlie.

Option 2. A friend you don’t speak with often, Jack, but he’s experienced at these. He runs all the time and has been doing half-marathons for years. But you haven’t spoken in a long time.

Who would you choose?

There’s no obvious choice. A lot of people would choose Charlie, the best friend. Some people would choose Jack, the experienced guy.

So let me re-frame the question. Who would you choose to run with if you wanted to do well in the marathon?

You’d surely choose to practice with Jack now. But it’ll still be more fun to train with your best friend, right?

So let me re-frame the question again. Who would you choose if you HAD TO do well in the marathon? It was your parent’s last dying wish, and you promised.

It would be Jack. You’d track him down and make sure he showed you everything he knew.

See what happened there? You had both options from the start, but you’re compelled to run with the experienced guy in the last scenario. Because the question changed.

Training with your best friend Charlie is the easy approach. The easy approach doesn’t need much energy.

Training with the experienced guy, Jack, does. There’s a hurdle you have to get through in your mind, and that hurdle is to pick up the phone and call.

It’s all in your mind. So you can manipulate it.

Practice re-framing the statements you make to yourself.

Change the ‘should’ to a ‘must’. If you want to take it further — swear. Upgrade that ‘must’ to ‘I fucking have to’.

The language makes it more real.

Before: I want to be a millionaire.

After: I fucking have to be a millionaire.

Before: I want to be in good shape.

After: I fucking have to be in good shape.

See how reading the second line gives you more ‘oomph’?

If you want this to work, write it on a post-it and stick it somewhere you work. Or if you’re like me — put it as your phone screen wallpaper. Remind yourself — reframe reframe, fucking reframe.

At the start of this article why did I tell you I was up so early? Because I fucking had to write this. If I had only ‘wanted’ to write, this article wouldn’t exist. I’m happy it does.

And so, here’s the last morsel I’ll share with you today:

What more energy? Give more.

I don’t know if there’s science to back this up. I don’t remember if Tony Robbins talked about this, but I know it’s true. I’ve always known it’s true.

When you give without wanting something in return, the energy you get is incredible. The more sacrifices you have to make, the more rewarding it is.

A decade ago, I graduated and started my first full-time job. I finally had money. I had $1,300 in my account at the time from a few pay checks. And I finally felt financially stable. Before I started this job I was down to $25 in my account. Now, things were different.

My little brother had just started Uni, learning videography and film. He loved it. But he had to share a camera with his classmates. He couldn’t bring it home. He spent hours watching YouTube videos about cameras but he had no money to get one. So I decided to surprise him.

I spent around $1,000 to buy him his first camera for his birthday. And he gave me the most heart felt hug I have ever had from him. We weren’t big huggers. We’d usually grunt at each other throughout the day. So he surprised me too.

You know what? He got the camera, but I got so much more out of the transaction. Even thinking back to it now — it’s making me happy. And happiness is energy. There’s no room for self-sabotage or overthinking when all you feel is happiness.

Was a bad financial decision? Absolutely.

Was it a good decision? Absolutely.

I don’t mean to boast by this example. I want to use it as a trigger.

When was the last time you gave someone something? How did it make you feel?

At last, here we are.

It’s 6.31am now and I I’ve been writing this in a good flow state. It’s been fun. I hope you have fun what you learned.

So I’ll leave you with this:

More energy -> Better decisions -> Better quality of life

And that’s what I wish for you.

Harry

P.S. If this resonates with you — share it with someone. It might help them too.