My birth number is 2. May instead of must. Being instead of becoming. Mirror technique. Be grateful. Every day is unique. Date with Mara, the pigeon catcher.

January 19, 2024.

I woke up at 8:02 AM.

"Today is the best day of my life," I thought.

Immediately, a smile spread across my face, and I was excited about what today would bring.

As I looked at my dark yellow urine in the toilet, I realized that I had clearly not drunk enough water. While combing my hair, I noticed flakes falling onto my black sweater.

“If I had to sit in the library like this…” I thought, “that would be too much of a comfort zone that I would have to leave. It would be like jumping into a black hole.”

At 9:10 AM, I was at HanoMacke drinking peppermint tea. I had a protein roll with it. Meanwhile, I spoke to a brunette who was eating a sandwich. The cheese peeked out between the two slices of bread. She can't be a vegan, I thought. Her fingernails were short. Maybe she’s a lesbian, I recalled a video in which I learned how to recognize lesbian women.

Somehow, she wasn't looking at me, I continued to ponder. Or maybe she has a boyfriend?

I finished my roll and made an attempt anyway. I initiated a small conversation. She was studying to become a teacher with a master's in music and geography. However, she was taken...

At 9:30 AM, I was back in the library.

At 11:30 AM, I was on my way back from the supermarket to the library when I saw a beautiful woman at the traffic light. A strategy change was needed. It was the “Labrador Woman.”

I approached her and said, “I just wanted to apologize to you.” But she didn’t want to hear it.

After that, I went back to the library. It was a small success for me. The day was the best of my life because I had mustered the courage to apologize to a woman who found me very unfriendly.

At 12:30 PM, I felt the urge to go outside, talk to women, and enjoy the sun. But I stuck to my work plan and continued writing in my journal.

At 2 PM, I took a break. I stood in front of the library, ate two bananas, and soaked up the sun. After that, I went back to HanoMacke, let my peppermint tea brew, and sat on the couch while eating a walnut roll. There was no one interesting there.

Afterward, I sat at a table in front of the library with my peppermint tea, where the sun was shining the most. I was already a bit proud of myself for not missing the filter coffee at HanoMacke at all. In the mornings, I no longer felt tired, like I used to when I didn’t drink coffee. I also didn’t miss the taste; I just couldn’t resist the smell that always rose from the cup.

After that, I returned the empty cup and went to the supermarket one more time.

I turned briefly to the sun and said, “Today is the most beautiful day of my life.”

A smile spread across my face. I wasn't aware of how powerful this sentence is when you say it over and over again. It felt like an instant dopamine booster. I strolled to the supermarket and even found a reason why today was the best day of my life. It was a unique day, and I will never experience a day like today again. So today is a very special day. And it is exactly this uniqueness of each day that makes every day the best, or at least the most special, day of my life.

When I returned at 2:30 PM, the library was flooded with sunlight and still well visited. I continued writing in my journal until 4 PM. As I added the exact dates of various life stages to turn my life story into a diary, I came to the section that involved Mara. I paused briefly and googled her name.

"No, don't relapse," I thought. I packed my things and left.

After I had approached the last three women (three rejections), I was relieved since I felt more like reading. I went to the Hugendubel to continue reading "111 Impulses for a Happy Life."

There, I learned a useful insight that I could incorporate into my life: Instead of saying "I must," it's better to say "I may." This will bring me more ease in daily life. From now on, I will remember this, and every time I go shopping, I will say: "I may still shop" instead of "I must still shop." And not "I must still approach three women," but "I may still approach three women." After all, these are not burdens but privileges.

When shopping, it's the ability to be mobile and to have money, as well as the possibility to buy everything my heart desires. And as for approaching women, it's a privilege because I have the courage to approach attractive women. Not everyone can do that. Therefore, I will eliminate the word "must" from my vocabulary and use "may" from now on.

Directly on the next pages, I learned another word that I should avoid: "search." Those who search remain in lack. I should rather use the word "find." So the next time I say, "I'm searching for an attractive woman," I will say, "I'm finding an attractive woman." And not "I'm searching for my life purpose," but "I'm finding my life purpose." From now on, I no longer search; I find.

In the book, I also read something about the "birth number." The birth number is the sum of my birth date digits. In my case, the sum of 20.06.1992 equals 29. The sum of that equals 11, and the sum afterward is 2. So my birth number is 2.

People with a birth number of two supposedly enjoy working with others and taking care of them. I don't know if that's true, I thought. But it was still interesting to calculate my own birth number. I feel more connected to the number one.

In my future personal affirmations, I should avoid the word "will" and rather formulate my habits that I want to establish in the present tense. I had made this mistake in my current affirmation.

I should dare to send wishes to the universe and believe that the universe is helping me. It hears me and fulfills my wishes in a way that is best for me.

I closed my eyes and wished for something: "I wish to receive a message from Jordis tomorrow."

Briefly, I opened my eyes and saw the bookshelves in front of me and an attractive brunette reading a book. Then I closed my eyes again and made another wish: "And I wish for a message from Mara today." The Mara chapter that I had opened today in my book awakened feelings in me that led me to this wish.

The biggest brake on the fulfillment of my wishes is my doubts. Thoughts like "Let's see if it works" or "I'm curious if it will work" hold back my wishes. Therefore, I should avoid these doubts as much as possible.

Then I learned about the mirror technique. This is applied whenever I notice something negative about another person. For example, if someone is smoking and I don't like it, I should go within and ask why it bothers me. What exactly does it have to do with me? I don't like it when a woman smokes. I asked myself why... It was because I had smoked myself and didn't actually want to do it. So I should always proceed this way - applying the mirror technique.

I should say the magic word "Thank you" to the universe three times a day. We receive so many gifts from the universe, but often we only focus on what we don't have. I should be more grateful and say thank you once in the morning, once at noon, and once in the evening. This should make my life more fulfilling. I believe this would work.

In addition, I should pay attention to my body language. When I walk down the street, are my mouth corners turned down? How do I move? I had already thought about the fact that I often looked at the ground. I have now started to correct this body language. I also became aware that I should pay attention to other aspects of my body language, such as my mouth corners.

Until exactly 7 PM, I was deeply engrossed in a book. Next to me sat another man who was talking to a Christiane. He was also probably out alone, wanted to read a few books and then go to the movies alone. This shows that you can also enjoy life alone. And if you have read the "111 impulses," you know that you are not alone - the universe is always with you.

At 7 PM, I went outside. Mom had written to me asking if I wanted to come by. I stood in front of the store and shouted: "I'm not looking, I'm finding an attractive woman. I find…".

Suddenly, a blonde with short hair walked past me. She was wearing a hat whose color I couldn't discern in the evening twilight. But what caught my eye the most was the handle of a tennis racket she was carrying. I hesitated for a few seconds.

"Am I stupid? What did I just read in the book?" shot through my mind as I recalled a passage where the author writes that the answer should always be "Yes" when you ask yourself: "Should I give it a try or not?" So, I too went down the stairs after her and reached her just at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, do you want to have a spontaneous date here at the Espresso House?" I asked, looking into her blue eyes as I pointed to the café behind us.

"Actually, I wanted to go home now, to the warmth and sleep," she replied.

"It's very warm in the café too, and a warm cocoa will warm you up from the inside."

She smiled. "Yes, that's true."

"I don't have much time anyway. I'm going to my mom's now and have to catch a train in half an hour. Can we be quick?" I asked her, looking into her eyes.

She looked quite young, so I couldn't gauge her age. I noticed the long handle behind her back. "What do you actually have in your backpack?"

"That's a net."

"What?"

"A net."

"What's that?"

"You use it to catch fish or floating things in the pool," she explained.

"Oh, I see! So you're a lifeguard?"

"No," she replied with a smile.

"Then probably a fisherman?"

She laughed even more. "No, I saved an injured pigeon from a pigeon spike with it."

She told me a moving story about how she rescued the pigeon and took it to a veterinarian.

"Your heart seems to really burn for animal protection. Are you a vegan, is that possible?"

"Yes, exactly, for four years now," her eyes lit up.

"Oh, how cool! I've also been vegan since 2024. I tried living vegan multiple times, but I couldn't resist the cheese when I was at my mom's. Since 2024, that weakness is gone."

She suddenly seemed to show interest, which was evident on her face. She listened enthusiastically.

"What's your name, by the way?"

"Mara, and you?"

"Alexander."

"You have the same name as my brother," she said.

"You can also call me Sascha. I'm originally from Russia, and there Alexander is the same as Sascha," I suggested.

"My uncle is also called Sascha."

"Oh, do you have Russian roots too?"

"My grandpa is from Kazakhstan."

"That's cool! I want to learn more about you. Let's go to the warmth and continue our conversation there!"

"Yeah, okay, why not?" she replied.

We wanted to go to the Espresso House behind us, but the door was just being locked.

"Oh, then let's just go to the train station. There's also an Espresso House there that stays open late," I suggested.

She agreed, and we strolled to the train station. I learned an astonishing fact from her: The ancestors of city pigeons are domestic or utility pigeons, originally bred for various purposes, such as messenger birds or meat providers. Over time, some of these domesticated pigeons gained their freedom and settled in urban areas.

Upon arriving at the café counter, we chatted a bit more before we had ordered. She told me that she exchanges real city pigeon eggs for fake ones, so the pigeons don’t multiply so quickly. Eventually, the pigeons don’t realize that the eggs are empty.

“So you’re responsible for making city pigeons depressed?” I asked jokingly.

She laughed. Someone cleared their throat. It was the young man behind the counter, who was apparently waiting for us to place our order.

“What would you like to drink?” I asked her.

“I’ll have a hot cocoa with oat milk,” she said.

At that moment, I was very surprised. “Wow, you’re ordering exactly what I want too. With whipped cream?”

“No, without whipped cream.” That surprised me even more.

“We’d like two hot cocoas with oat milk without whipped cream,” I said to the young man behind the counter.

“We’re out of cocoa powder, sorry,” he replied.

“Well then, I’ll have a... mmm,” I thought and looked at the menu sign, “peppermint tea with lemon.” Then I turned to Mara: “And what are you having?”

She also looked at the sign. “I’ll have ginger tea with lemon.”

Our date lasted about 40 minutes. I suggested we play a question game to get to know each other better at our next meeting. I gave her the address of my diary. “That’s perfect for getting to know each other better,” I said.

“I hate board games,” she replied.

“All of them?”

“Yes, really all of them.”

“Well, I can hold the question cards under the table and pretend that the questions come to me spontaneously,” I joked.

She laughed.

“Thanks for the drink. It was nice,” she said as she put her backpack on again.

“Thank you too. It’s not something to take for granted to be whisked away from daily life – for a date. Thanks for being so spontaneous.”

I also gave her my number. “See you later, Mara,” I said and extended my hand.

She shook my hand. “Oh, your hands are still cold,” she noticed.

“Yeah, I haven’t, unlike you, held mine on the glass the whole time,” I replied, placing my hands on the glass.

She smiled, took her glass in her hand, and looked around.

“You can set your glass down over there,” I explained.

“Ah, thanks,” she said. I watched her. She set the glass down and turned at the door to wave at me.

I paused for a moment and was amazed by this spontaneous date. This incident, whether by chance or, as the author of "111 Impulses" wrote: “to-fall,” definitely showed me that it can only be beneficial to find and not to seek.

I looked at my phone. I still had half an hour until the train.

“Is it okay if we sit at your table?” asked a brunette from the left.

Next to me stood a blonde woman. I looked into her blue eyes and at her grinning face and nodded. I pulled out my laptop and started recording the date in a journal. I listened in a little from the side. They were talking somewhat loudly, as if they wanted me to hear them. The blonde had met a woman and was going to the Sansibar with her today.

“Oh, you must be glad that at forty you still managed to snag a young man,” said the blonde.

I tried to focus on writing in my journal. But then came a comment from the brunette that caught my attention: “Men only choose women who are younger.”

I looked at her. The two of them looked at me. “Yes, I would agree with that,” I said dryly and continued typing.

The two laughed.

Shortly thereafter, the blonde said, “And then they find one who is ten, fifteen years younger than they are!” … I commented, “Only fifteen?” and coughed into my fist.

The two laughed again.

“Great conversation,” the blonde said to her friend.

I had to grin myself. I looked forward, closed my eyes, and felt complete satisfaction in that moment. Life felt so light and beautiful at that instant, and I was simply radiating confidence.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed a dark blonde woman at the table in front of me, sipping from her cup and smiling at me. When she noticed that I was looking at her, she turned her gaze aside. She looked slightly sad and was probably around forty.

I continued writing in my journal, recording how I had met Mara. After I finished my mint tea, I packed my laptop into my backpack, zipped up my jacket, put on my gloves, and walked casually to her table.

I leaned my elbow on the table and said, “I have to catch my train now, but let’s meet here at the same spot next time and set up a date.”

“What? I don’t know you,” she replied, surprised and somewhat uncertain.

“Hi, I’m Alexander,” I introduced myself confidently and offered my hand.

“Luise,” she replied and shook my hand.

“Are you from Hannover?” she asked me.

“Yes, you are too, right?”

“Yes.” “Perfect, I'll give you my number, and we can arrange to meet.”

“I don’t have my phone with me. Do you have a pen and paper?” she asked.

“I don’t have anything like that. But you can just Google me.”

Two young girls who looked Arab laughed and caught my attention. When I glanced at them, I thought they were laughing at my conversation with Luise.

“If you can remember my name, then fate wants it that way,” I commented.

“What should I enter in Google?”

“Alexander F, U, F, A, E, V,” I spelled out and then gave my full name.

“Okay, I’ll try to remember that.”

“Perfect, then let’s see what fate brings us,” I said goodbye and went to platform 13.

On the train, an old man came by and rummaged through the trash bins. When he got to my four-seater, I held him back by the arm.

“Wait,” I said. I reached into my jacket pocket, found a ten-euro bill, and handed it to him.

I looked around. The passengers, a grandmother with a child, stared at me. The staring turned into smiles.

“Wow, what was that just now?” I asked myself. The gesture was very spontaneous and unconscious, as if someone was controlling me.

I looked out the window and thought, “Today is the best day of my life.” This sentence seemed to have an effect. I was so glad to have discovered this book of 111 impulses. For many physicists, the impulses would be too esoteric. I was open to such things, and it had paid off.

At home, we ate pea soup together. At some point, Mom started talking about negative things at her job. I listened to her and then introduced her to a few concepts from the book “111 Impulses,” like the reversal method and formulating wishes in the present tense.

We together transformed her negative narratives into something positive to illustrate the reversal method. She was thrilled and wanted to read the book.

“I’ll give it to you, Mom, but only if you actually read it and it doesn’t just gather dust on the bookshelf.”

Normally, according to this book, I would immediately cut off contact with someone who has such a negative mindset. But she was my mother. I would never let her down. I was ready to invest my life energy to help her out of this negative spiral. She was definitely willing to learn and motivated, but unfortunately very forgetful...

Learnings:

• Replace the word “must” with “may”. Just this replacement should relieve me and bring more ease into my life.
• Replace the word “search” with “find”. I do not search, I find!
• My birth number is 2.
• In my affirmations, I should write my habits in the present tense, not the future tense. So “I am” instead of “I will be”.
• I should avoid desire-fulfillment brakes, namely my doubts. They hinder my fulfillment of desires.
• Apply the mirror technique. Do I judge others negatively? What does it have to do with me?
• Say thank you once every morning, at noon, and in the evening.
• Pay attention to neutral body language in everyday life. Where are my mouth corners? My gaze? This has an effect on my feelings and also on the external world.

Health Analysis:

• Bowel movements: 8:30 AM (firm-semi-firm, greenish color, does not smell), 2 PM (firm), 10 PM (firm).
• Food: 9:10 AM (1x protein roll), 2 PM (2x banana, 1x walnut roll), 2:30 PM (1x world champion roll), 10 PM (pea soup, 4x bread, 2x toast, 1x kaki).
• Physical feeling: 6 (many flakes, slight redness on the face).
• Mood: 8/10.