would you disappear for 5 days? | annotated by Tahsin Khan

Hey Tahsin Khan,

I did something a couple weeks ago that scared the sh*t out of me.

Packed up a Sprinter van, grabbed 4 books (I’ll share them down below), and drove into the British Columbia wilderness BY MYSELF.

No phone or laptop. No connection to the world.

Just me.

My thoughts.

Completely alone for 5 DAYS.

And it terrified me.

Dan in the woods, driving down dead-end roads in the middle of nowhere, hoping nothing goes sideways.

But I don’t know what scared me more...

The woods, or spending 5 days completely disconnected.

Can you imagine?

ME. The guy who coaches entrepreneurs to move FAST and squeeze everything out of your time.

Work mode is always on.

Phone basically attached to my hand.

But I’m glad I pushed through and did it because I came back different.

And I discovered something profound about how we move through life that I NEED to share with you.

These are my biggest takeaways that I’m taking into the next year of my life.

1. You Are Not Your Thoughts

That voice in your head? The one that never shuts up?

Not you.

It’s funny when people say "I can’t live with myself" because you’re saying there’s an ‘I’ AND a ‘self’.

Part of you already recognizes that you are not your thoughts.

The I = consciousness (god, spirit, lots of names for it)

The self = ego (thoughts, stories, feelings)

You need your ego to survive, create, and plan...

But the problem is getting sucked into thinking it’s you.

YOU are the consciousness observing those thoughts.

Literally the one LISTENING to that voice.

Pay attention and the separation can change your world.

2. Problems Don't Exist in the Now

By day 3, something wild happened.

I had no idea what day it was. Time? No idea.

Woke up when the sun was up.

Went to bed when I was tired.

And you know what? It didn't matter.

Every "problem" I thought I had disappeared.

Because true problems can't exist in the present moment - they're either projections of the future or echoes of the past.

If there was a real, life-threatening problem right NOW, your survival instincts would kick in.

It's the same force that keeps your heart beating and your cells growing.

Everything else?

Just stories we tell ourselves.

3. Time Doesn't Pause For Anyone

The most emotional moment hit me while driving through those woods:

My oldest son Max isn't a little boy anymore.

He's 12 now. Almost 5'7".

It hit me like a ton of bricks that I’ll never get those little kid moments again.

For a second guilt tried to creep saying that I missed something...

But then I remembered the hikes, the trips, the solo time.

Flooded with intense gratitude.

My kids still lay on me while I read on the couch in the morning.

I never push them off.

But now Max is getting so big that he has to be careful he doesn’t accidentally throw an elbow into my ribs.

Time doesn’t pause for anyone.

Whatever stage you’re at, come back to the now and realize what beautiful people they're becoming.

That's the real gift.

4. The Power of Slowing Down

When I got home, something crazy happened.

I was taking a shower and noticed an entire shelving unit in the corner of the room I'd never seen before.

It had been there the WHOLE time.

I think I move through life too fast sometimes.

Missing things right in front of me.

Always pushing to the next thing.

Chasing the goal.

But you need to seek excitement for what’s next without forgetting to notice what’s in front of you.

Dive deeper into finding presence...

Here are the books I read on my van trip in the woods. Maybe they’ll help you too.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön
Become What You Are by Alan Watts
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

Tell me...

What's one thought that keeps spinning in your head that you need to let go of?

Use the tools above, and find space to grow.

You’re worth it.

4 more to explore...

Just dropped this video... The 8 habits that will fix 98% of your problems

This made us all tear up... Blessing a mom and daughter with Taylor Swift

People were shocked in the comments... I threw a $500k watch at a kid in prison

Want to upgrade your mindset to crush your goals? Keep an eye out for an email tomorrow... got something special for you.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can unsubscribe from this list.