In October last year (2021), my wife Elena and I gave back the keys of our beautiful rented house near Annecy, France. 4 years after we came back from Hong Kong to land in France and it was time to move on…to a nomadic life style!
Today I’m going to explain the current idea of being a peak performance “coach farmer”.
Most important, I’d like to offer some perspectives for you, too, to consider how you can transform your life and make it more meaningful as you build an antifragile mindset.
Coach Farmer?
Here is the idea for the next 2-5 years.
On one hand there is my peak performance tennis coaching. Mostly with Arthur Fery, and also with Oliver Bonding, Gatien Chaine and Orian Torre whenever I have some time.
On the other hand, whenever I’m not on the road for tennis, I’m with Elena in Portugal.
Our plan?
For the next 2-5 years, we’re developing new skills, volunteering in farms. Yes, cutting trees, weeding, installing fences, taking care of animals, all of it!
Our goal is to understand the mistakes to avoid, so that when we are ready, we can purchase our dream domain on which we will have a tennis court and a gym (of course!), vegetables and fruits, and most likely, horses.
To do this exploration, we have figured out we can be volunteers on projects that already exist (it’s called Wwoofing and Workaway).
You can follow all our adventures, for instance how we converted a hearse here, on Elena’s blog. Select “regeneration” to subscribe for it, if you feel so inclined.
This is how we have chosen to make our lives as exciting, meaningful…and antifragile. For now.
So let’s talk about this concept for a moment.
Antifragile Life Style
Nassim Taleb, in his book Antifragile, has defined the concept of antifragility as the opposite of fragility.
Here is the idea. You put something under a small dose of stress and it breaks: this is fragile.
You do the same and it doesn’t break: it’s solid, or resilient.
Same and it grows even more than it was: it’s antifragile.
Think of physical training, done intelligently: you sweat, break muscle fibers among other catabolic activities going on in your body, and, when you rest and recover, your body not only builds back, it also make you stronger.
Taleb has done a great job explaining how this concept would translate for a portfolio, a financial market (this is is his specialty), the choice of your job, and much more. Not an easy read, and it has had a profound impact in my life.
Life Makes Us Antifragile…or Not!
2020-22 has been quite stressful for most people on the planet. Whether or not you are on the same page as my recent heroes, we can all agree on this one: masks, fears, tests, discerning what’s true and what’s a lie for each of us, it’s been quite a ride!
From this stress, I’ve seen some people becoming more antifragile:
- Some organized themselves to be more self sufficient, growing their own foods and becoming less energy dependent.
- Some like me started to buy more local food.
- Some decided to be healthier in many ways, so their immune systems respond better to stresses.
And, sadly, I have also witnessed many people getting into troubles:
- Some died from lack of treatment during Covid (there was pressure on doctors to do nothing, “take some paracetamol and go home” was the “treatment”, while many effective therapies were available)
- A few of my friends couples divorced, often the “vaccine” question was one of the points of disagreement.
- Some died after taking the injection, while others get serious health issues, exactly what the late Dr Montagnier and Zelenko explained.
- Some were forced to stop their businesses (in some places like Sheffield, England, after the lockdown, it looked like ghost town in some areas).
From all these experiences, more than ever we can count on life to bring opportunities to grow.
The question is: will we still be ready and strong enough to deal with the upcoming new stresses in the future? Or not?
My position is to remain calm and build our antifragility. Each and all of us.
Questions To Become Antifragile
My way of translating this idea of antifragility into my life is to ask myself these 2 questions:
- In which area(s) of my life do I feel I need to become more antifragile? Health? Financial? Place I live?
For instance, many people did relocate when they realized what was happening during lockdowns in big cities like New York City, Los Angeles or Paris.
In his book, Taleb also gives this example comparing a taxi driver and an employee of a company, both earning roughly 3000USD per month. While the taxi driver had some stress for finding customers at times, he is more antifragile than the employee that lives under the illusion that he is safe…while he can be fired any time the company is under stress.
In this case, creating a life with multiple sources of incomes would be a good idea…
2. What kind of positive stress do I choose to become more antifragile in this area of my life?
Here are a few of my current examples:
- I’d like to be totally at ease in any kind of confrontations:
—> I’ve just finished a 6 month gestalt therapy to work on my emotions. There was a bit of stress, going through past events, and it did help to liberate things inside. And realize some better strategies to act whenever I feel these strong emotions.
—> I’ve had my first 2 boxing classes. There was some stress for something completely new, with new people, and one intimidating coach. Hopefully, I find a way to practice regularly.
—> I have taken an online course on the topic.
- Online presence: The heroes that I have honored in this article have inspired me to be more focused and diligent.
–> I’m now back to writing/ creating content more often, like this article you are reading now.
Small stress every day carries you far away! After all, this is how I wrote my first two books, let’s see where it does lead me this time.
- Breathing: I intend to build an online video course about breathing. And so I have read 13 books on the topic, 2 seminars, and now doing this advanced course with a world champion in free diving.
Most important, I practice every day, testing what does work for me and the athletes I coach to relax, being in the flow, confident and strong. This course therefore will have skin in the game (meaning I will have experienced fully what does work and what doesn’t for me), another great value I’ve learned from Nassim Taleb as well.
- Our coach farming life style is also antifragile. It does create stress not having a steady home and live on the road. Many times it’s not as comfortable as we were used to. Nevertheless, we adapt, and at the end of the days, when we discuss, Elena and I are really glad we are in this adventure together, feeling a sense of “home” everywhere we choose to be.
- Last and not the least, I exercise every day, traveling with my kettlebells when I don’t have access to a gym.
What about you?
What kind of positive stress do you choose to develop the person you intend to become?
In other words, what are the decisions you can make today, so you are more ready to face the upcoming future?
It’s in your hands.
It’s a gift for your self, for the people around you, and for the world as you contribute further to our expansion.
Conclusion
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
G. Michael Hopf
As I said at the end of my article about the Covid Heroes and Reconciliation, I do believe each of us is here to bring something special to this world.
We do influence each others. The way we are, the choices we make, our energies and attitudes, everything has an impact.
Maybe my coach farmer life style will inspire others in their own ways, maybe not.
Regardless, when we choose to be more antifragile, not only we are less vulnerable to external conditions, we can also offer to the world our unique gifts with more positive impact.
And this, my friend, is a great way, for you and all of us, to go forward.
Are you in?
Bonus
This year 2022, Arthur won one round in Wimbledon qualies, and one round in doubles main draw, our first victory in the big stadium.
And yes, we have to become more antifragile so that great victories are followed up with other ones. Step by step!