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The Weekly Tone

As I mindlessly scrolled through TikTok upon waking this morning (I don't recommend it, by the way), wondering what the keystone topic of The Journal would be, I came across a rather long, but interesting clip of Eckhart Tolle explaining manifestation to a live audience. Manifestation, in short, is thinking your way into getting something. However, his description was presented in a far deeper way than I've ever heard it (my eyes generally glaze over on this topic), and suggested to the audience that manifestation is something experienced in the present. Not, imagine the new car arriving next week; instead, feel like you already have it now. In particular, he recommended focusing on the feeling of "fullness" upon receiving the thing you're chasing.

For gravitas, he made a few Biblical references that I felt were far-fetched, but nevertheless, the discussion allowed me to peer deeper into this obscure corner of getting-what-you-want alchemy, all delivered in a crisp, German accent.

I should be clear from the jump: I'm not a follower of manifestation or The Secret, the bestselling book on the topic.

However, I believe what Tolle was describing in his "connecting to the feeling" discussion is an experiment that everyone should run for themselves. That is: practice the feeling of already having the thing in the present.

Why?

Because most of the time, we're not even clear on what we want in the first place. Having an emotional experience with this thing, even for a short time, is a profound source of information. As a bonus, it's an enjoyable experience.

There are two general models out there in the manifestation and visualization world. First, the notion, that by some form of spooky particle physics, simply thinking about something starts to create an organization of particles in the universe (conspiring for your sole benefit).

Second, having a clear vision and emotional attachment to whatever it is that you want, starts an internal process of organization that prepares you for that thing by enticing you to take real action now (picking up the phone, sending an email, making a business plan). Which one seems more reasonable to you?

I'm firmly in the latter camp despite being the first guy in the room to watch another report of alien life and UFO activity on YouTube. But, what I noticed after watching Tolle's speech and taking his method for a quick test drive was that when connecting to the feeling of what I want, it opened this supreme clarity and comfort about how I was going to get it.

I don't need to believe that the universe is stitching the seats on an F8 Tributo for me, but I found a renewed sense of clarity around the logical paths that would send me over a shiny, new Ferrari: a silly toy that requires a ton of resources and organization in its acquisition. I'm not going to get an F8 selling "Nicholas Crown" hoodies no matter how much I manifest.

In my life, I've found that without clarity of vision it's incredibly challenging to make headway of any kind. With clarity of vision, anything is possible.

Additionally, as I've mentioned several times in The Journal, I've found myself in the wrong place after all the hard work and best intentions. For example, it's not enough to say, "I want to be rich" or "I want to make $253,000 every year" because the vagueness of that statement opens far too many paths to take the first step. In fact, just about any step you take could get you to that outcome. You could be a lawyer, doctor, tennis star, viral meme creator, crypto scammer,... the list is endless. The "manifestor" wouldn't have any problem with this line of thinking, however.

This is problematic. Not simply because you've overwhelmed the human brain with a bunch of random options that don't take into consideration your unique skills but because you may find yourself rich and miserable once you get there. So you got what you wanted and still failed.

This is because you have made a fatal error, or what I call: optimizing for a dollar amount, rather than optimizing for a state (of being). I've committed this error twice in my life: once on Wall Street and again after building an unscalable digital agency.

Here's how I survived and pivoted.

Let's use a simple vision now, instead of a random word like "rich" to define the quality of the life you'd like. Some have described this as directing a scene in a movie where you're the leading actor in the privacy of your mind. Imagine stepping out of a particular car into a restaurant with your dream companion, in the fashion of your choosing, and noticing the way people interact with you.

Are flying under-the-radar? A neck-breaking celebrity? Where do they seat you? Are you looking at your phone the whole meal?

From this mini-scene, we can extract an incredible amount of critical information. If your arrival creates a stir and you've left your phone in the cup holder much to your indifference, you're probably not an investment banker.

In fact, if you want people to freak out when you turn up like Taylor Swift, you can't be an investment banker because you'd be disappointed with your end state if you did. Sure, you can afford the filet mignon and Champagne - but you wanted paparazzi and journalists and gawking onlookers. Surely, money wasn't what you were seeking.

And perhaps your vision involves a beautiful hike, or surf, or barren desert, don't let my random example cloud your judgment.

This vision experiment can provide the closest thing you'll ever get to a roadmap sent from the heavens. The particles didn't need to align, and the chef in the future didn't need to become inspired to add an extra filet to his purchase order just for you. You've, on your very own, come to a conclusion about what you actually need to do and behave like in order to find fulfillment.

Finally, let's pretend the particles are still aligning in the background a la manifesting and that I'm totally wrong. You're better off in action, with a reasonable plan, not parked on the couch. You've just installed a turbo booster in your process.

The universe can conspire all it wants to help or hinder you, but with fire and clarity inside about what you want out of life - nothing, and I mean nothing, can stop you.

Here's the full Tolle clip.

This week, I’m taking meetings from Miami, FL

Assets: Rolex Moves to Certified Preowned

Luxury watch prices are a fascinating proxy for global economic health. In particular, I think of Rolex prices like the S&P500 - they're popular, large stores of value, and incredibly liquid (Rolex makes one million watches per year as compared to Patek or AP).

There are three foundational factors that go into watch price increases: inflation, supply, and demand.

The rapid watch price swell in the secondary market (meaning watch dealers, Rolex doesn't change the price of it's watches intraday), which remarkably tracks the beginning of COVID-19 in January 2020 (or the beginning of domestic hyperinflation) - has broken down almost instantly when the Fed committed to a battery of inflation-taming rate hikes.

In the beginning, inflation gave the impression of a rally in watch prices that brought in the flippers. Chaos ensued.

So what? Watch flipping and crazy prices don't actually benefit the manufacturers who sell the watches for the same prices, while other intermediaries make a spread. Sure, manufacturers like sold-out display cases, but not when they feel it's eroding their brand.

Rolex, in a move to undermine the insane boom in watch flipping, has created a preowned certification program that would allow only their authorized dealers to provide a Rolex-endorsed stamp of authenticity on the secondary market.

Meaning if you'd like to be undoubtedly sure that your Rolex, inside and out, is authentic you'll need to purchase it from an authorized dealer not a watch influencer on Instagram with a million followers.

I believe this will remove a false sense of scarcity from the market, and help stabilize prices at a much lower level, closer to the elusive MSRP watch lovers fantasize about.

You may be able to get that Daytona for under $20K pretty soon.

*This isn't investment advice.

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