Writing on living a deliberate life, focused on building businesses rather than cabins by ponds. Content about strategy, life, and philosophy all building to being more deliberate and living a more amazing life.

The algorithm is the new palace — and most of us are dancing in it.

Attachment is the root of suffering.

-Buddha

Siddhartha had 40,000 dancing girls.

That’s what the legend says, anyway. Seems a bit excessive.

The management overhead of 40,000 dancers is unimaginable. (Yeah, this is where my brain goes. When I watch a movie, and they destroy something, I always think about the pain of cleaning up after. )

I digress.

I’d love to have you join me here…

The point is, his father gave him everything. Palaces, luxury, distractions. All to keep him from seeing the real world — or more specifically, the four things that could spark a spiritual awakening: old age, sickness, death, and a wandering ascetic.

Why? A sage told him that his son would be a great king or a great spiritual leader. The king was having none of that spiritual leader nonsense.

It didn’t work, of course. It never does.

Because here’s the truth: the more you try to deny something, the more real it becomes. In fact, the moment you tell someone not to think about something, that’s all they can think about.

Don’t think about a pink polar bear.

See? You did.

Also, parents, pro tip: controlling your kids’ futures doesn’t work.

So there was no way Siddhartha was going to stay in the palace. His father tried too hard. The allure of discovery was too, well, alluring…

Siddhartha left the palace. He saw the four sights the sage had foretold. He tried a life of asceticism and decided that was stupid, sat under a tree for 49 days before coming up with the middle path, and became the Buddha.

You know, somewhere between 40,000 dancing girls and starvation.

Today’s new palaces look different, but the walls are higher.

The modern version of 40,000 dancing girls (or boys, look, whatever) is 40,000 notifications, reels, hot takes, and dopamine hits. All curated just for you by an algorithm designed to keep you from seeing the real stuff.

So the first question is: what are you not seeing?

That’s what struck me recently. Somehow, I landed on Facebook and saw a video, then scrolled to another and another, and all of a sudden, an hour went by, and I hadn’t had a thought. Not one thought. My brain had been anesthetized by flashy short videos, some of which had dancing women in them. (Yeah, okay, I’m human. I tried not to look, but come on… ).

So the second question is, what could I be doing instead?

I mean, Siddhartha became the Buddha. And sure, I probably wouldn’t have invented a religion in an hour. But you never know.

So here’s the invitation:

Climb the wall. Leave the palace. Go see for yourself.

Not everything outside is pretty. Life isn’t all carefully filtered photos and clever captions. But it is yours.

And if you want to find your way, you have to go past the noise and look directly at the things you’re told to avoid — failure, discomfort, death, silence.

What are you going to do about it?

The palace feels safe. But the truth lives outside.

The voice inside your head isn’t really you. (And that’s great news.)

We’re talking about the ego, fear, and what happens when your internal narrator won’t shut up.

What’s your version of the palace? What’s keeping you comfortable — and stuck?

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By Jeff Loehr · Launched 2 years ago

Writing on living a deliberate life, focused on building businesses rather than cabins by ponds. Content about strategy, life, and philosophy all building to being more deliberate and living a more amazing life.

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Escaping the Palace: What Siddhartha Can Teach Us About TikTok