Monk Mode For Chosen Ones

You only see the tip of the iceberg…

Is what the Titanic captain was thinking when he thought he could take on a 400 ft long iceberg. The captain came to realize that his ego, who thought he could take on an iceberg, was actually wrong. And his mistake to think he could take on an iceberg cost the lives of over 1500 people.

I say all that to say that there is always more than what meets the tip of the iceberg. There is always more than what meets the eye. Whether that be when it comes to a tree, a building, and especially success. Nothing is able to grow big and strong without a strong base.

The foundation of the Burj Khalifa is over 150 feet deep. The roots of an oak tree can spread out to be over 100 feet in area. And the success of a billionaire is because of sleepless nights inside, not going out, and working on their business.

And if you are like any normal human being you want to be successful. You want all your dreams to come true. You have a vision for your life and where you want it to go and how to get there.

Right?

Well you should and if you don't that's a topic for another day. But assuming that you do, it will take a while to get there. It could take as little as a couple months all the way up to 10 years and beyond depending on how well you plan and execute.

Let's say you have a goal. You have somewhere you want to be. But you aren't making any progress towards it. Well I’m here to tell you that you will never accomplish your goal…

If you don't work towards it. And these days that is easier said than done.

For whatever reason you are too busy to work towards your goals. It can be because of school, work, family, your circumstances, or some other fifth thing.

No one cares.

Now I'm not saying your excuses aren't valid, but your goals don't care. Your goals don't care that your boss wants you to work overtime. Your goals don't care that you are always offered doughnuts so you can't stick to your diet. Your goals simply don't care

And that's because time waits for no one.

Everyday you put off working towards your goals, is another day you are farther away from reaching them.

You want to write a book, but you only write when you feel like it? That book will never get done. You want to build your body but you only go to the gym when you feel like it and only eat healthy sometimes. You will be a fat and out of shape person forever.

To get what we want we HAVE to make sacrifices. If not, then what we want becomes the sacrifice. So we have to make sacrifices right now to reap the rewards in the future.

You have to sacrifice doing "fun" stuff, like smoking weed, partying, and playing video games to reach your goals.

How do we do this?

There are several ways to do this.

The Hustle-Grind 24/7 community will say to "go ghost" and not reappear until you get what you want.

Others such as 1st man and my guy Kaptain Plantit will say to “sacrifice your 20s.” This involves never going out, not dating, not traveling, and not doing anything you want while in your 20s.

That is unreasonable and unsustainable. A much better alternative is something you have heard of before.

Monk Mode.

But I like to call it staying down until you come up.

(Insert Polo G quote)

You may have heard it in the form of "Dopamine Detox" from Hamza, or you may have heard it from Dan Koe or Iman Gadhzi talking about their versions of Monk Mode.

The whole framework of this method is to have periods of deep focus. You will have seasons in life where you focus on your work. No going out, no partying, no drugs, just work and holistic self-improvement habits.

Now there's easy ways to do this where you only meditate 10 minutes a day, go to the gym, and read everyday. And this is fine. It will improve your life. But we are trying to move closer towards our ultimate goals. We don't need monk mode to do those things.

Be aware, monk mode should be a last resort. It is for when you aren't making progress and you need to go all in, balls-to-wall, if you actually want to achieve your goals.

This can be due to your environment, your current situation, or a lack of discipline. The reason doesn't matter. What's important is that we come up with a way to actually move forward. What we need is an already set up framework to follow along with that will actually get us to where we need to go.

My personal experience

I have been on Monk Mode for several periods in my life. From March-August of 2020, May-July of 2021, and currently January-August of 2023 is my goal this year.

Monk Mode is different for everyone.

Some choose to focus on work while still going out, while others cut off all drugs, and distractions to focus on their work and craft.

The way I do it is different from others, and I'll give you a step-by-step method to use later on.

The way I do Monk Mode is simple though:

1. Set a goal I want to achieve

2. Set a timeframe to achieve said goal

3. Work towards my goal for 2-4 hours a day with focused deep work sessions

4. Cut off distractions (parties, drugs, media, & shitty people)

5. Form new good habits (meditate, stretch, read, box, eat clean)

6. Give myself a break every 4-6 weeks.

The beautiful thing about Monk Mode is that it all flows together very well. Since I am in school, I train for football, and I have all my goals, it works together.

During these focused times, I often have practice, and school. So I focus on my school work, training for football (running and lifting), and pouring the rest of my time into my personal projects.

When breaks come along (Spring Break, Fall Break, Memorial Day), I use that as my rest periods. I won't workout, I'll go on vacation somewhere, and I'll spend more time being social and going out. This gives my mind and body the time it needs to recharge so I can come back bigger and better than ever.

Also this goes along with the Law of Power #16: Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor.

When you are always in the mix of things people get used to you. They find you common and may even take you for granted. Take time to remove yourself, work on yourself and then reappear every other month. Now when you are around it is a big deal.

People ask you what you have been up to, and are actually curious because they will see the progress you have made. You will have new things going on that you can share which makes you interesting, respected, and helps your progress.

Monk Mode Rules

Step 1) Set up a goal

Like the Semen Retention article from a while back, you need to have a goal. You need something that is going to be your main motivating factor for going on Monk Mode.

So look inside and ask yourself what you have to improve or where you want to be in a month to 3 months time. Do you want a better body? Want to make an income of $5000/month? Do you want to secure an internship and be top of your field?

I can't choose it for you. You have to do that.

Step 2) Set aside 90 minutes/day to work towards that goal

Now comes the "hard part". The part where you actually have to put in work. You can't expect to achieve anything if you aren't putting in the work to get there.

You will have to do something we have talked about before known as Deep Work.

This involves going on long 45-90 minute sessions where you work on one thing.

So if you want to become a copywriter you will set aside a time of about 90 minutes to do it. During these 90 minutes you will eliminate distractions, set up a goal to achieve, and complete your task.

Now let's say you want to improve at copywriting. For the first 60 minutes you can take the time to write copy. Then you can use the next 30 minutes to study copy.

And while this may not seem like much to you, it would be naive to doubt the power of 90 minutes of pure focused work. When you concentrate on one thing you can go much deeper and get more out of it than if your attention is distracted.

There is no getting around this. To get from A to B you must take the steps necessary to get there. To build the body you want you must train and eat well. To make more money you must learn valuable skills, practice them, and then apply them to help clients.

It's very simple.

Step 3) Cut off the Distractions

Now that we have a goal, and have set aside time to work on it, it's time to cut off distractions/fat.

These include:

• Weed

• Alcohol

• Fast food

• Casual sex

• Videogames

• Clubs/parties

• Shitty people

• Masturbation or porn

• Excessive media consumption

A lot of people say it’s unrealistic to cut off all of your bad habits all at once.

And they are absolutely right. It is unrealistic.

But those if you’re reading this you aren’t like others. You want more for yourself and are ready to take on the challenge. So make a promise to yourself to cut off ALL of these bad habits. Even if you don’t do perfect the first day get back up and keep trying.

Time will pass and you will begin to identify with not doing these bad habits and after a few weeks of trying to cut off these habits eventually you will succeed.

These are habits that do no good for you. They drain you of your energy, time, money, and health (mentally & physically). There is a time and place for most of these, but that is after you have accomplished something.

When it comes to weed, alcohol, & parties you should only indulge after you have completed a goal. Until then, what do you have to celebrate? Nowadays you think you have to party, and that these things are normal when it is the exact opposite. These are aspects of life that can be enjoyed when you deserve it. Not just cause it's Friday and you "made it" through another week.

Step 4) Introduce New Good Habits

Now that you’ve cut off your bad habits you must replace them with good habits. For every bad habit that you let go of, you need to replace it with a good habit that fills the void left by your old habit.

You have these habits to choose from:

• Walk

• Read

• Cook

• Write

• Workout

• Meditate

• Sunbathe

• Stretch/yoga

• Make your bed

• Learn a new language

These are all habits that allow your mind and body to relax. They aren't stimulating to the point where you fry your dopamine receptors. And they can become addictive in their own right.

Instead of playing video games, you can level up your character in real life and workout. Instead of going out and getting fast food you can take that time and learn to cook healthy foods. Instead of watching porn you can try sunbathing or working out to relieve your stress.

Be aware that there are alternatives to all the bad habits in your life and you may not replace them overnight. You can start by incorporating one of these habits every week. You don't need to go 0 to 100. You can go from 0 to 20 to 40 and so on.

And these are all habits that involve delaying gratification. The longer you do habits that delay gratification, the sweeter the reward is once it is time to reap the benefits.

Once you are consistent in the gym for a couple months your muscles will grow and you will see new veins. Once you meditate for a few months your anxiety will go away and it will become easier to focus.

These aren't overnight fixes. These are over-life fixes that will pay off the more you do it.

No excuses

Before you go and say, "but this is hard", or "I don't have time", stop lying to yourself. If you work a 9-5 you can still do these habits, it will take effort and hard-work, just like anything worth having takes.

Below I have a schedule you can stick to if you have a job.

• 6:00 Wake up, brush your teeth and meditate

• 6:30 Deep Work Session

• 8:00 Eat breakfast and go to work

• 9:00 Work

• 5:00 Go to the gym and train

• 7:00 Eat dinner

• 8:00 Read and Stretch

• 9:00 Get ready for bed

And this is a rough schedule. This is assuming that it takes you 30 minutes to drive to work, and an hour to eat dinner and what not.

Your life is different and a schedule like this may be harder to achieve. That's the whole point of Monk Mode. It is hard, because you lock in and focus on your goals. You don't have time to scroll on social media or go to parties & clubs because you are working for your future self.

And Monk Mode is a temporary state. You won't be doing it your entire life. You can go 1 month at a time, and then have a week or two where you take a break and live a little bit. During the break you can cheat on your diet a little bit, go to parties, take a rest week from the gym, or even go on vacation.

These breaks aren't an excuse to undo all the progress you have made. They are opportunities to recharge so you can come back even better next time you do Monk Mode.

And chances are you'll become addicted to these good habits. I know for myself that I can't go a day without working out even when I have off weeks. I can't start my day if I haven't meditated and gotten my mind right.

Recap

Now you have the power. You understand what it takes to get to your ultimate goals. It is not easy, it will take a long time, but it is worth it in the pursuit of your dreams.

Like Jay-Z said, "I'd rather die enormous than live dormant that’s how we on it."

Like Nipsey Hussel said, "First you get the money and respect then the power and the hoes come next."

And like Tony Montana said, "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women."

Whether it's riches, fame, love, peace, or some other goal that you desire, it will take work to get there. Anything worth having will have a big price to pay.

But don't look at Monk Mode as a time of hardship where you can't have any fun.

See it for what it is. Time to focus, put your head down, and lay the bricks for your life foundation. Then one day you can coast and enjoy the rest of your days.

The work you do during Monk Mode is temporary but the results last forever. One day when you have everything you asked for, you'll look back on your Monk Mode days, miss them, and be grateful for them.