A new way of living
A couple of years ago, my life changed drastically. Back then, I was working as a neuroscientist, trying to find new ways of improving recovery after brain damage. I’m sure to outsiders, it might sound like a job with a lot of freedom, however, it wasn’t; working in the academic world was static and, at times, unproductive. I wanted more out of life, and had a burning desire to design my own way of living versus following another set out for me.
So I cut my career as a neuroscientist short and took another route; an entrepreneurial one where the outcome would be more of a result of my own hands than any external force. The route where productivity and making the right decisions determines how well off you are in the short and long term.
Designing my new lifestyle with Yerba Mate
After reading a lot of books about lifestyle design, I started to form a life around my interests instead of work. Work was no longer the be-all and end-all of my life; I now treated it as an income-producing unit, just like accumulated capital can be. Every day, I set a goal to make something new that could bring in money tomorrow and the day after tomorrow without new input from me. Generating more passive income per hour of output became my mantra in all work-related tasks.
This all meant that being as productive as possible, and cutting down my number of working hours, was crucial. Naturally, I used to drink coffee every day. Or, a better way to put it is that I needed to drink coffee! In order to stay productive, I had to take espresso shots every day, often several times a day; I felt trapped. No task was productive without a cup of coffee right next to me. And the craziest part is that I didn’t really need it to perform at my best, but rather to just get back to normal from a low point. These are the signs of an addict.
Realizing how serious the situation was, I needed a way out of this addiction, which is when I came across Yerba Mate. I quickly learned that you could get the same enhancing effects of coffee, but without the crash that usually accompanies it. And, the best thing is that drinking Yerba Mate doesn’t lead to addiction. This was exactly what I was looking for! I immediately ordered a calabash gourd, bombilla and two packages of loose-leaf Yerba Mate from an online store.
Before preparing my first mate, I watched videos and read articles about the correct way to make it. The first taste I had was a bit too grassy, but after sipping and pouring a couple of more gourds, I started to get used to it.
Getting things done while sipping Yerba Mate
The effects I feel from drinking yerba comes after about half an hour. It is a feeling of thoughts, writing and even manual tasks becoming clearer. I make fewer errors, arrange tasks in better order and achieve goals faster. I’ve experimented with other enhancers, but Yerba Mate does the job best with me.
I used to work 50 – 60 hours per week. Today, I seldom work more than three hours per day. My income is not fixed, but on a monthly basis, so I can make at least the same salary as before. This means my calculated hourly income is so much higher – productivity at its finest!
The life I lead today isn’t solely due to Yerba Mate, but it is definitely a part of my thinking and in line with my way of life, which is to increase productivity using different cognitive enhancers to be more efficient and plan better. So far, I haven’t experienced any downsides with drinking Yerba Mate; no negative side effects, whatsoever.
As I think of it, what Yerba Mate really does is it makes the output of life greater. I can work less, bringing the money I need and I have more free space to do other things outside of work. For example, I’m currently into ultra running. And boy, that surely requires a lot of hours outside with the running shoes on.
Staying healthy with phytochemicals
What Yerba Mate also brings into my life is a lot of nutrients needed for good health and quick recovery. Focusing on what I eat is also something I changed a couple of years ago. I became a vegan and now try to solely eat food that is whole and plant-based.
Yerba Mate contains polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties, and saponins, which have been shown to have many beneficial effects on the immune system. Staying healthy is probably more important for overall work output than the short term daily struggle.
Over the last four years, I have only stayed in bed for an entire day once! An that day was because my body said, “stop it, Svenne! We don’t want to go for another 124 mile (200 km) cross-country skiing competition today!” I had just finished the world’s toughest and longest classic ski race, the Red Bull Nordenskioldsloppet. So, my body’s response was pretty reasonable.
Now, my training is focused on the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc; a 106 mile (171 km) trail around the biggest mountain in Europe with over 32,800ft (10,000m) of accumulated uphill. For this to happen I need to qualify by running a couple of long ultra-trail marathons. So, I need to put in a lot of more training hours. To do that, I need to stay or maybe be more efficient at work. I have therefore ordered more Yerba Mate so I can stay productive and make more time for life and adventure.
Sven-Anders Bergstrom
@ultrasvenne on Instagram