Welcome to Z-Pack:.because your brain could use a good scrubbing.

If this is your first Z-Pack, welcome - I'm Zach.

I’m chronically online, finding out how the world works.

⬇️ Let’s get it.

🧱 What’s going on with the USA’s infrastructure?

In case you were living under a rock last week, on March 26, a container ship lost power momentarily and collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing the collapse of the entire 1.6 mile long bridge 🫨

This terrible tragedy, coupled with the news’ recent obsession with Boeing’s aerial accidents, may have you thinking, “Why does it feel like all of our stuff is falling apart?”

Here’s the good news - despite all the hubbub, these kinds of accidents are not becoming more common - they’re just being covered by the news more often!

Yay! 🥳

~ See the data via the tweet below ~

Seeing this reminded me to look beyond the headlines and to live your life free of news-induced paranoia.

🫣 All of our debt

More good news! Most Americans don’t have credit card debt. Isn’t that wild?

And it looks like Americans have a median balance in their checking/savings (~8k) that’s more than the median credit card debt! Woohoo - this is good!

🏔️ Where should you live?

This is like another way of the saying that you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. It’s just extrapolated to apply to your entire environment - which is fair.

You should also think about how these things below impact your life & mood:

• what you listen to the most, i.e. songs, podcasts, etc.

• what you eat the most, i.e. junk food vs. whole foods

• the most common story you tell yourself about yourself, i.e. I’m just tired and struggling vs. high-energy and optimistic

😇 If you’re in your head, you’re dead

I gotta say, Chris Williamson really delivered on this great episode with his guest Shaan Purri, an entrepreneur and content creator, on some semi-controversial things that Shaan believes in.

Here’s a quick summary of a few great nuggets from the episode:

1. Hard work is massively overrated: it’s not always about how much work you put in. We all know janitors, lawn-care workers, & line cooks that work their asses off, but the amount of money/success they achieve doesn’t really correlate with the amount of effort and time they put in. Often, it’s about the career path you choose & the skills you decide to develop; hard work can help you win the game, but it’s all about choosing the right game to play.
   
   

2. Enthusiasm is a skill: sometimes, you meet someone who’s just full of raw energy and enthusiasm. After you talk to them, you want to go on a run or something - you need to get the all that energy out of you somehow. Be like that person.
   Don’t be like the person who makes you feel like you need to collapse on the couch, exhausted, after hanging out with them.
   
   

3. We live our lives based on the stories we tell ourselves: After suffering a big loss, UFC legend Conor McGregor was asked how he was still optimistic and driven, and he responded to the reporter: 

   
   
   “At the end of the day, you gotta feel some way, so why not feel unbeatable? Why not feel untouchable? Why not feel like the best to ever do it?”

   
   

   “The cynic gets to be right, but the optimist gets to be rich.”

Thanks for taking the Pack,

Zach

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.