Darryll Fish is a professional poker player from Florida who has earned over $1.2m in live tournament earnings since he began raiding the felts of the world back in 2007.
He exudes a wonderful vibe and I have always felt a connection with him without actually exchanging anything more than a few pleasantries whilst doing my job at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
So when I saw that Fish has written his main 2014 goals on his Facebook wall I had to track him down for his Annual Review.
This is what he had to say.
On poker:
“In 2013 I would say my poker experiences were ‘alright’. It started out very well. I went to Thailand to refresh my mindset and body, came back and felt totally refreshed. I then final tabled the World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open finishing in third. I then laid low until the series and finished third in the $5k 8-max, which was my best score to date so that was great. Also one of my best friends Trevor Pope won that event so it was fun being with him the whole way through.
“The second half of the year was one of the roughest six-months periods of poker in my entire career. Things weren’t going great and that’s the way things go in the game. You have to learn to deal with it as a poker player. It is what it is and you have to keep on keeping on.”
On life:
“I wanted to travel more, which I did – going to Thailand and various parts of Asia. I also went to Costa Rica and new parts of Canada. I really put myself out of my comfort zone, and so in terms of life goals I was happy with the way things went in 2013.”
“In terms of disappointments, I would say not going to Europe was of them. It was high on my priority list, but given that poker wasn’t going so well I didn’t ended up going. When I am not playing my A game, or I am not at my most confident, then I don’t think the timing is right to play tournaments I’m not experienced in.
“I also wanted to go to Burning Man but it overlapped the $10m guarantee in Florida so I decided to play that event instead of Burning Man, so I was disappointed to miss out on that.”
On the Law of Attraction:
“I certainly believe in it to some extent, although maybe not to the extent that a lot of my friends do. But I believe your attitude is extremely important in helping you go a long way in your reality. What you think does become your reality. Some people take the whole Secret thing a little bit too far and expect too much from it. But I definitely think there is something to be said for it.”
On his internal battles:
“We all have our own internal struggles and money is one of mine. I have never been too great with managing my money. But going to Thailand helped me see things differently. The difference in culture and how little they have, yet how much they enjoy their time on earth, made me realize that you don’t have to be spending so much money in order to enjoy yourself.”
On Fish’s 2014 goals:
Be More Empathetic and Less Judgmental
“I have started to read a lot of work from a lot of great thinkers and philosophers who have certain ideas on the way of the world and how people should treat each other. That has given me inspiration. I am learning more about the importance of the way you represent yourself to the world, because the attitude you have towards things and people reflects back on you. So your reality changes based on the energy you give out and the way you treat your surroundings.
“So to be more understanding of people and be grateful for your surroundings helps. Everyone has their issues and we don’t understand what people are going through, so you have to reserve judgments instead of making quick snap judgments of people. Realize we are all in this together and we all have different things going on in our lives.”
Be more grateful for what I have and show more appreciation for the people I love.
“People who fall into this category would be my family. Although I have never been too much of a family guy. I went it alone at 18 and became independent pretty quickly so I was never close to my blood family.
“But friends are an extension of family, and I have a great group of friends who have had a positive effect on my life and have helped me through some tough times. I think it’s important to make them aware of how grateful I am for their influence on my life.”
Read More Books
“The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is a great example of a book that can have a hugely influential effect on your life. He is in general a great thinker and the way he approaches the world, and people, is magnificent. Also Sam Harris is someone I respect a great deal, and he has a book called Lying. Those two guys have a big impact on your life.”
Eat no processed foods, less red meat, and maintain a nutrient-rich, organic-heavy diet.
“I have become more health conscious in the past few years. One of my best friends owns a Cross-fit gym and he is also a big advocate of the Paleo diet, which is a diet based on what the earth creates for us. What you put in your body directly impacts your life. The earth supplies everything we need as humans to live a long and healthy, happy life. But the world we live in has turned into a profit hungry monster. The culture we live in has shifted towards profit and away from health and corporations have taken advantage of this by pushing more cheap processed junk in order to make profits instead of pushing healthier options.
“People underestimate how much this affects their health. If more people had an awareness of this it would make a huge change in the world, as it would reduce levels of stress and disease. You only get one body and you should treat it the best you can.”
Take action on good ideas instead of just thinking about taking action.
“I have always wanted to write in one format or another. I wrote very often when I was younger and I had some poetry published in a small book once. Then when I got older and got distracted. I forgot the enjoyment I got out of writing.
“At the beginning of this year I was fully intending to write a blog starting with my experiences in Thailand. No good excuse really, but the year has gone by and I haven’t written shit. So this year I am going to really focus hard on writing and push myself as hard as I can.”
Drink Ayahuasca
“Ayahuasca is a brew commonly consumed in shamanistic ritual form. It’s very popular in parts of Peru. It’s a psychoactive brew that when drunk creates a psychedelic experience.
“It puts you in touch with the world; the earth; yourself and the universe. It gives you a higher glimpse of reality rather than the distracted fast paced cultural version we have all been jailed in. A shaman guides you through the process, which starts by vomiting heavily which purges your system, and then afterwards you have this intense experience where you feel connected to everything and your consciousness expands to give you an out of body, spiritual experience which is very difficult to put into words.”
Attend Burning Man
“I went to EDC in Vegas for the first time ever. It really opened my eyes to the possibilities of human connection when you let go of all the fake stuff that we live with on a daily basis. Suddenly, you are living in the moment with wonderful people and it was mind blowing.
“That’s just a small example of what Burning Man can be like. Antonio Esfandiari told me it was the best experience of his life and that I had to go. I think it’s a chance for people to come together and forgot the real life – that I don’t even think is real – and enjoy humanity, love and connection. All the things that should happen more in our lives but are taken over by things such as television, worry and the fast paced life we have.
“It can open people up to a whole different perspective on life and I want to experience that.”
