Improve Every Day: Recent Episodes
Mark Suffom
I’m someone who has always loved reading great books and exploring new ideas.
This is a place where I share what I’ve learned along the way.
I draw from different fields, such as psychology, philosophy, biology, economy, and many others, but every single topic falls under the personal growth umbrella.
Using simple words, I want to make my content easy to remember so that we can all benefit from it long term.
My main goal is to help us become better than yesterday, one step at a time.
We usually avoid difficulty whenever we can, but I try to do something difficult every single day.
In this video, I’ll explain the three main reasons behind why I’ve chosen this approach.
And it all starts with the comfort zone.
When we're in our comfort zones, we're not pushing ourselves.
At the first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with that.
Why would we voluntarily put ourselves in a position of struggle, if we don't have to?
But if we only live our lives in comfort, we might be unknowingly doing ourselves an injustice.
Hopefully by the end of the video you will be inspired to leave your comfort zone and do something difficult today yourself.
You can get "The Paradox Of Choice" book here:
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When we have very little choice, or perhaps even no choice, we are very likely to be unhappy.
But as you gain more options, and you have the ability to choose between them, your happiness increases.
So, obviously having choice is good.
But what's interesting, is as you get more and more options, your happiness doesn't keep increasing.
Instead, counter-intuitively, it decreases.
In fact, having too many options to choose from, can be just as bad, as having no options.
So rather than liberating us and making us happier, having a lot of options does the opposite.
Psychologist Barry Schwartz coined this phenomenon, the paradox of choice.
Because more becomes less.
When I was younger I used to play a lot of video games.
But as I grew older, they started taking too much time from my other activities.
For this reason, I started to gradually reduce the time I spent playing them, until I eventually quit.
But recently, I decided to incorporate some more down time into my schedule. And I gave video games another shot.
This is when I remembered just how fun video games can be.
It wasn't long before I was looking forward to the end of the day, just so I could hop on the computer and play. But this also got me wondering.
What exactly made those games so compelling?
And could I somehow apply those game elements to other areas of my own life to make them more desirable?
This is what I've learned.
Ending song: Whitesand - Alchemy of Life
You can find it here:
• Alchemy of Life - Emotional Instrumen...
https://whitesand.bandcamp.com/track/...
https://open.spotify.com/track/10feK1...
The Happiness Advantage:
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We're all lazy to some extent. And there's nothing wrong with that.
However, most of the time, it's those exact moments of laziness that make us overindulge on our bad habits.
We all have certain behaviours that we default to, and we tend to perform them almost on auto-pilot.
Those behaviours could be positive, or they could be negative.
However, instead of accepting all of our default behaviours, we should re-examine the ones that are not serving us and adjust them.
And we can use our lazy nature to our advantage here.
All we need to do is utilise The 20 Second Rule.
Does money buy happiness?
Can more money make us happier?
The answer to these questions is: Yes... And no.
It really depends on the individual, the situation they're in, and how they're spending their money.
In this video I'll examine the relationship between money and happiness.
And hopefully you'll be able to answer those questions for yourself.
Sources:
75k mark: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/1...
Relative position: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper...
Relative position 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Lottery winners: https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Working more vs working less: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...
Spending on others: https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
If you're like most people, you probably have a to-do list, and you use it to help you focus on getting things done.
If you don't have it, you might want to make one, as it brings plenty of psychological benefits.
However, I would also suggest you create a not-to-do list.
This list compliments the to-do list incredibly well, and it might be even more important.
Let me explain...
Let's say you buy a $10 movie ticket.
But 15 minutes in, you realise this movie isn't what you expected it to be.
However, because you feel like you're supposed to get your money's worth, you decide to watch the rest of the 2 hour movie.
This decision is based on your loss of $10.
But it isn't an optimal one.
A more logical thing to do, would have been to get up and leave after you had realised this movie wasn't what you wanted to watch.
Wouldn't you be better off, had you only wasted $10 and 15 minutes of your time, instead of wasting $10 and 2 hours?
Had you left early, you would've essentially gained 2 hours of extra time.
Those $10 you spent were gone or "sunk" either way. You couldn't get them back, whether you watched the rest of the movie or not.
And that phenomenon is what psychologists and economists call: the sunk cost fallacy.
It's one of the more common cognitive biases that clouds our judgement.
Instead of making a decision based on potential future returns, we make them on our past losses.
I'm sure you experienced this before:
You might have had a breakdown or you might have had an epiphany.
Either way, you had this realisation that you needed to make some sort of a change in your life.
Suddenly you knew what you needed to do, and you even had the motivation to do it.
However, when you woke up the next morning, you didn't wake up as the new person you felt like you were the night before. You woke up as the same old you, with no motivation to make the changes you planned to make.
And in the following days and weeks, no additional exercise was done, there was no progress in your learning, and you still didn't get things done on time.
You have again, fallen back into your set ways, and failed to do what you said you were going to do.
But don't worry. You're not alone in this.
I don't manage to do everything I tell myself I'm going to do, either.
But I have found a way to substantially increase my odds of following through on my desired behaviour.
Instead of relying on motivation, which comes and goes, I started applying what psychologists call: implementation intentions.
Studies mentioned in the video for further reading:
Implementation intentions:
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper...
Meta-analysis of implementation intentions:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Coping plans:
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper...
You can get the book mentioned in the video here:
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Nowadays everyone is constantly busy with something. But being busy doesn't mean we're using our time efficiently.
It's sad to say this, but most people completely waste their time.
And time is our most valuable resource. We can't make more of it, like we can make more money for example.
So it's wise to use our time in a way that will benefit us.
When we're bored, what do we usually do?
Most of us up end being glued to a phone, TV or a computer screen.
That might ease our boredom in the moment, and we might not even consider that time to be wasted.
But there's an opportunity cost.
That time could've been spent on a different, more valuable activity.
Specifically on something that could actually benefit us greatly in the future.
This is why in this video I'll go over 5 things that will help ease your boredom, and teach you to use your free time more productively.
There were two friends that grew up together.
However after they were done with their education, they went their separate ways.
One friend became extremely successful in every aspect.
The other friend however, became the exact opposite.
But no matter how different their lives became, those two friends still kept in touch.
In fact, they talked to each other every day.
That's because those two friends were actually the same person.
The first friend was that person's best and ideal version, while the second one was his worst version.
You and me both have those two friends inside of us. All of us do.
And we have the potential to become either one of them.
Which one we end up becoming though, is determined by the choices we make each and every day.
I bet you have many goals in life. I know I do.
It's good to have them.
But when you focus on your goals too much, you can actually decrease your chances of achieving them.
In this video I'll explain why that happens and why instead of focusing your goals, you should focus on creating a system.
The articles that inspired the video:
https://www.scottadamssays.com/2013/1...
https://jamesclear.com/goals-systems
You might have noticed that sometimes when the afternoon rolls around you become less productive. From roughly 1pm to 4pm, to be more precise.
During that time, you're not as motivated to do the work, you have a harder time focusing, and even the work that you do, is of lower quality.
A lot of people around the globe experience this exact phenomenon every single day.
And it has a name: the afternoon slump.
Want to learn more about this topic?
Check out Dan Pink's book which is all about the science of timing:
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Video references:
Hospital: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Hospital: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/rel...
Danish students: https://www.pnas.org/content/113/10/2621
Walks: https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/arti...
Power naps: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
There's this one financial mistake I see people making all the time.
Anyone can make it, and often, they don't even realise they're making it before it's too late.
And it doesn't matter if they're earning 10 thousand or 10 million dollars per year.
This mistake can keep people poor forever. And even if they're wealthy, it has the power to make them broke.
So what is that mistake?
You probably don't have a problem playing video games or browsing social media on your phone. In fact I have no doubt you could sit in front of a screen and do both of those activities for 2 hours, or even longer without breaking your concentration.
But what about half an hour of studying? That might be too hard.
How about working on your side business for another hour? Doesn't sound too appealing.
Even though you logically know that studying, exercising, building a business or something equally productive, will bring you more benefits in the long run, you still prefer watching TV, playing video games and scrolling through social media.
One might argue that it's obvious why.
One activity is easy and doesn't require much effort, while the other activity is difficult and it requires you to apply yourself.
But some people seem to have no problem studying, exercising, or working on their side projects, regularly.
Which begs the question: Why are some people more motivated to tackle difficult things?
And is there a way to make doing difficult things, easy?
References:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/00...
https://www.centersite.net/poc/view_d...
Get the book "Elastic Habits" here:
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Let me ask you this:
Why do most people fail at creating habits that stick?
Well, there could be plenty of factors, but one major reason is they are not consistent with them.
They might achieve their habit goal one day, but then the next day something comes up, and they skip doing the habit altogether.
But the point of any habit, is to make it a habit in the first place.
This means doing it every single day without fail.
So how can we do that?
How can we become consistent with our habits so they actually stick?
The solution is to make our habits elastic.
Have you ever come across contradicting advice?
You might have read a book by someone you admire and they say that if you want similar results, you should do X.
However some time later, you come across another piece of advice by someone else in a similar position. But the advice is completely opposite to the previous advice you received. They say that you should avoid X and do Y instead.
So now you have two different people, both at a level you want to achieve, telling you different things.
Let's take a look at why that is and see whose advice you should listen to.
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In today's world, being busy is the new norm.
We have a ton of projects we would like to do, and whenever something new comes up, we try to fit it in our already overflowing schedules.
We believe that if we just work more and work harder, we can do it all.
However, being busy doesn't mean we're actually doing things that are important.
The truth is that most things that we do, aren't important at all, but instead are completely trivial.
The antidote to this overwhelming busyness is essentialism.
Has this ever happened to you?
One day, life seems to be going great and everything seems to be progressing well.
But the next day, you wake up with no motivation whatsoever and you suddenly feel stuck.
Just going through your daily routine is a struggle and it feels like a chore. And to make matters worse, you beat yourself up for not being as productive as you'd like to be.
What happened is you've entered a mental rut.
It's basically a state of mind where you feel stuck, purposeless and you're unable to motivate yourself.
And doing anything that day can be difficult.
Days like these will come unexpectedly, seemingly out of nowhere, and can last for days or even weeks.
You most likely already know what's good for you and what's not.
You know that eating fried, fast food, is not good for you.
You understand that laying on the couch, watching TV and browsing social media is also bad.
And you're fully aware that smoking is horrible for your health.
Now the question is: why do you do the things that you know are not good for you?
If you logically understand which habits are bad, why don't you avoid them?
In this video I'll explain why you keep on performing those bad habits and I'll give you a solution for the problem.
Most of us want to improve our lives. But for that to happen, we need to adopt certain positive habits.
Fundamentally speaking, habits play a key role in our day to day lives.
But not all habits are created equal. Some can have a much bigger impact than others.
This is why it's important that we learn to identify these habits and develop them.
Charles Duhigg, author of the book "The Power of Habit," calls them "keystone habits."
So what is a keystone habit?
Sleep can be complicated.
There are many factors that affect your sleep quality and quantity.
Some improve your sleep, while others make it worse.
Just a few simple habits can make the difference between a good night’s sleep and a night spent tossing and turning.
That's why in this video I'll explain which habits you want to avoid, as they are ruining your sleep.
Some habits are worse than others, but if you can avoid all of them, then a good night's sleep is almost unavoidable.
Sleep can be complicated.
There are many factors that affect your sleep quality and quantity.
Some improve your sleep, while others make it worse.
Just a few simple habits can make the difference between a good night's sleep and night spent tossing and turning.
That's why in this video I'll explain which habits you should adapt to improve your sleep.
Some habits will help you more than others, but when all of them are combined that's when the real magic happens.
Let's talk about a balanced life.
In our modern society, we want to do it all. We want to be great at the work we do, we want to be healthy, we want to have great friends, all while being the best spouse and the best parent we can be.
This is something many people want, but rarely anyone achieves it.
But why is it so hard to achieve all those things?
Today we'll look at life balance through a concept known as The Four Burners Theory.
Want to learn more about this topic? Get the book "Mini Habits" by Stephen Guise.
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Most of us don't manage to do everything we want to do in any given day.
We only have a certain amount of time and energy, so some things inevitably get left behind.
Can you manage practicing the piano, reading books, meditating, and exercising every single day, while working a day job?
I can and you could as well.
Today, I would like to share a method I’ve found to be extremely helpful for managing all these competing goals.
It's called: Mini habits.
Productive and procrastination.
You would think that these two words don't go together.
You're either productive or you're procrastinating, right?
Well it isn't necessarily so black and white.
In this video I'll explain why it's possible to be a massive procrastinator and yet still get a ton of work done.
Everything you do, could be categorized in 3 tiers of importance.
Tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3.
Tier 1 is the most important tier. This is where your most crucial work falls into.
Then we have tier 2.
These activities are still important, but not as important as your main task in tier 1.
Then finally we have tier 3.
This is where everything that doesn't need to be done at all, falls under.
Now what would happen if you were to remove the possibility of doing tier 3 tasks all together?
In today's world, being able to focus is almost like a superpower.
You rarely see anyone who's able to concentrate on a single task for hours.
And the individuals who are able to focus, to nobody's surprise, get so much more done than other people.
There are many areas where you could benefit from better concentration. Whether it's for school, studying, work or a hobby. If you're able to focus you can get your desired results faster.
So today I'll explain what's holding you back from focusing and what you can do to improve it.
You probably heard about the Law of attraction before. It was made popular by a book and movie called "The Secret".
Basically to sum it up, Law of attraction says that anyone can attract whatever they want, just by thinking about it consistently.
So if you think about making money a lot, money will appear in your life.
That's all pretty silly.
We can't just make money appear out of nowhere, by just thinking about it.
But our thoughts can and do affect our lives.
And this is because of a concept I like to call: Mental Proximity.
Thanks to all the data science has gathered over the years, we know that not getting enough sleep leads to a shorter life.
But there's one more thing that the data has also shown us. And that is the relationship between sleep and mortality risk is not linear. You see, the more and more sleep you get, doesn't mean that your risk is lower and lower.
Instead once the average sleep amount surpasses 9 hours, there is an upward hook in mortality risk.
Just like with sleeping less than 6 hours every day, there is a higher chance of premature death, if you sleep over 9 hours daily.
So what is going on here?
Are we supposed to be aiming for exactly 8 hours to live a long and healthy life?
Not quite.
we tend to talk a lot about success.
But we never really talk about what success actually is.
Like many others, I grew up equating success with money, status, fame and power.
And for many years, that was my definition of success, so I pursued just that.
But over time my perception has changed.
You see, success is a very personal thing.
And you'll understand what I mean, after this video.
Humans have tons of dreams, aspirations and goals which we would like to achieve.
And since we are social creatures, we also like to talk about them.
But maybe it's time we stop telling people what our goals are.
The reason why we shouldn't, is because when we tell others what we're planning to do, it makes us less likely to follow through and actually achieve those goals.
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When you look at someone you consider successful in business or life in general, what do you see?
You might see they have an awesome job, a big fancy house and exotic cars, great relationships with other people, etc.
You want all those things they have, and you want to be just like them.
Well, you haven't seen everything they have done to reach their success. There are actually a lot of things that are unseen to the average observer.
You could say that their success is kind of like an iceberg.
When you look at an iceberg, you can see the top of it coming out of the water. But what you don't see is that bigger chunk that's hidden under the water.
The same can be said about someone who is successful.
When you look at them, you just see the top of the iceberg.
But if you dive in and check what's under the surface, you'll be surprised at what you find.
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If you're like most people, you only get stuff done when you feel an adequate amount of motivation to do so.
But motivation is a slippery thing. It comes and it goes.
On some days you have no motivation whatsoever, but on other days, you have so much of it you feel like you could take over the world.
It's almost like a coin flip. Sometimes it lands on motivation, other times it lands on no motivation.
So instead of waiting for the coin to flip correctly, I'll explain how to use the motivation sequence to motivate yourself.
We are faced with decisions all the time. But even when choosing is not easy, choices must be made.
But the truth is, we can't really know which choice will be better, until we tried out one of them.
Also none of the decisions have to be permanent. We can always change our mind and switch. So don't be afraid of making the wrong choice.
The worst thing that could happen is that you learn something new about yourself and what you prefer.
You might have seen videos or news articles about all the amazing benefits of waking up at 5am, 4am or anything in between.
Some of those benefits might include: being more productive, focused, motivated, happier etc..
That's complete rubbish and I'll explain why.
Getting up early won't make you more focused or productive. In fact, it could actually kill your productivity.
Just because some CEO of a company or a navy SEAL wakes up at 4am, it doesn't mean you should wake up at that time as well.
Today I'll explain why not everyone is suited to wake up that early, and why it's ok if you don't.
Then you can decide for yourself if you want to follow that advice.
I know how hard it can be, to keep the motivation to persevere.
Our minds simply don't want us to be in an uncomfortable situation, that's why we give up and shy away from it.
But even when our minds are telling us that we should call it a day, we usually have more fuel left in the tank.
We can tap into that fuel by using the Cookie Jar.
The Cookie Jar was created by a guy called David Goggins.
Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL, who has competed in more than sixty ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons. All while also setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. Furthermore he's a former Guinness World Record holder for completing over 4000 pull-ups in seventeen hours.
He's known to be one of the toughest men alive.
He used his Cookie Jar to fuel all of these achievements and continues to use it, to fuel his
Now you might not be interested in running an ultra marathon. However I believe you would like to be able to keep on going, even when you feel like giving up.
That might mean studying longer, even if it's extremely boring. It might mean working on your side-business even if you're tired. Or it just might mean going to the gym, even if it's raining outside and you don't feel like it.
The Cookie Jar can help.
You can get David's book here:
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This is one of my favorite stories. It's about an American businessman and a Mexican fisherman.
A lot of people want to make more money so they can live a better life.
They tell themselves: "Once I make enough money, then I'll go live the life I want."
But that's a mistake. Living the life they want should be accomplished now, not later.
They spend the majority of their lives working, but along the way, they often forget what they’re working for.
They start to prioritize work and making more money without a reason, and that's a problem.
They just want to have more and more, with no apparent end goal.
The Mexican Fisherman story is here to remind you to take a step back, and think about what you're actually working for, and what you already have. Every so often, you should reflect on and reevaluate your priorities. There is more to life than just work and money after all.
So how much is enough?
Forming and creating new habits can be quite challenging. But it's even harder to build a consistent routine.
In this video I'll be talking about habit stacking and how it can help you.
I've used this technique to turn reading and piano playing into a habit, which are now both part of my daily routine.
And after this video you should be able to do the same for your desired behaviors.
So how can you use habit stacking?
Firstly, you need to identify a current habit that you do every single day.
Secondly, you add or "stack" a new habit on top it.
You do that by using the stacking formula, which looks like this:
After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
Once you master the basics of habit stacking, the next step is to start stacking your stacks. Basically you chain numerous habits together, each one acting as the trigger for the next. This step will allow you to create an actual routine for yourself.
Habit stacking can feel overwhelming at first. However, once you get started and do it a few times, it’s not as hard as you think.
The key to success here is to start with small expectations, slowly build up the habit of completing your routine, and then add more tasks once you’re consistent.
Happy habit stacking!
Let me introduce you to the Parkinson's Law.
The law states this: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."
Essentially the more time you have to complete something, the longer it will take you to finish it.
And the less time you have to complete your goal, the more likely it is that you'll complete it in proposed time.
But if a goal or a task does not have a specific deadline set, it will most likely never get done.
In this video you'll learn how to use the Parkinson's Law to your advantage and manage your time more effectively thanks to it.
Imagine a scenario where all of your friends are jumping off a cliff. If everyone jumps, do you jump as well?
We know that the correct answer is supposed to be: "No, never! I am an independent thinker, and other people have no influence over me."
But the truthful answer is, yeah, maybe you do jump.
To study how other people can influence us, two scientists got access to data that tracked more that 12,000 residents of Framingham for 32 years. And the results were staggering.
They found evidence that weight gain and obesity could spread from person to person. Just like people can catch a flu from others, obesity was infectious and it was spreading within families and from friend to friend.
But obesity wasn't the only thing going around the Framingham community. When one person started to drink more alcohol, the drinking spread through the social network as well.
The same with smoking. If someone started smoking cigarettes, people around them were more likely to pick up the same smoking habit.
As disturbing as all of this may be, some positive evidence was also found. And that is that good behavior could also spread.
Some of the studies mentioned:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...
https://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a...
Our environment is one of the invisible forces that shapes human behavior.
We would like to think that the choices we make are our own and not influenced by external factors.
The truth however, is that many of the actions we take each day are shaped by the most easy and obvious option.
If you're overweight, a smoker or a video game addict, you might think that it's because you lack the willpower to quit.
Research however, shows something different.
When scientists analyze people who appear to have tremendous amounts of willpower, it turns out those individuals are not different than you.
Instead, the evidence says that disciplined people are better at optimizing their environment in a way that does not require massive amounts of willpower.
Good behavior is easy for them, simply because they optimized their surroundings in a way that supports it.
In the short run, you can choose to overpower temptation. However in the long run, you become a product of the environment that you live in.
Today we live in a society that praises work and never ending activity. At the same time, rest and recovery are looked down upon.
Because of this collective societal thinking, we push ourselves to get even more things done, whether it's for work or hobbies.
I believe that you at least once, felt like you were not being active or working hard enough, and you asked yourself this question: "Why am I so lazy?"
But were you really being lazy? Or could it be that you were just tired from too much activity?
It's important that you understand the difference between laziness and exhaustion.
One of the problems in today's society is that we're purposely getting less sleep than our bodies need. Usually it's because we have to go to work, or go to school. And this is bad, as we're sacrificing our health in return.
Because of that, getting enough sleep can be a huge hidden advantage for you. Imagine having your brain function more efficiently than of those around you. That's what the right amount of sleep will get you. Better mood, better focus, ability to think clearly etc.
But getting sufficient sleep for just one night isn't enough. You need to get enough sleep every single night to reap these benefits.
Now you might be wondering, exactly how much sleep should you be getting.
The standard prescription is 7-9 hours, but how do you know where exactly you personally fall in that range?
First you need to understand that you, as an individual, are completely unique.
And the amount of sleep your body requires also depends on many different external factors.
That means there isn't an exact amount of sleep you should be getting, as the amount actually changes from day to day.
In this video I'll explain how to find out, how much sleep YOU PERSONALLY need.
Why is it so hard to follow up on our new habits?
One of the reasons is that the habit we're trying to form can seem a little overwhelming, so we have this mental resistance.
In the beginning, when we're super motivated it's much easier to do something. For example; going to the gym for 1 hour doesn't seem that hard, because the initial motivation is a powerful driving force.
But when we're motivated it's also easy to impose some super high expectations on ourselves.
We think: "Ok, so I went to the gym for 1 hour the first few days. From now on I'll to go to the gym for 1 full hour every single day."
But once that initial motivation fades away after a few days, there is now nothing that's driving us forward, and we haven't really formed a habit yet.
That's why when we're unmotivated, we'll probably just skip gym altogether, as dedicating a whole hour to it seems daunting.
So instead of relying on motivation to push us forward, we should focus on making our new habit, an actual habit.
Let me explain what I mean, by introducing you to the 2 minute rule.
Want to learn more about The 2 Minute Rule and habits in general?
Then check out James Clear's book, "Atomic Habits". It's where I found out about The 2 Minute Rule.
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Nowadays we all want results and we all want them now.
However what we forget is that results often take time to show.
If you were to go to the gym today, workout, come back and look in the mirror, what would you see? Nothing, right?
And if you were to go the gym the next day and you came back to look in the mirror, again you would see nothing.
Clearly there are no results. Going to the gym and working out seems to be ineffective. So what do you do? You quit.
But is working out really a waste of time? No.
It's just that the results never seem to come quickly enough for us and that's why we give up.
Even if the results aren't yet visible, it doesn't meant the work is ineffective. The work is just stored.
A morning routine allows you to get the right things done throughout the day, without having to put too much thought into it. This is why it's important to have one, if you want to be successful.
However, it seems that people often forget about their evenings. You want to start your day successfully, but you also want to end it that way.
Night routines are not popular, as sticking to them isn’t easy, especially after a whole day of studying or work.
But the benefits are worth it. A more restful and higher-quality sleep.
And being able to tackle the next morning in a more productive way.
Today I'll share with you what my evening routine looks like.
It might not work as well for you, as it does for me, since we have different goals and different schedules.
However you might get some ideas which you could implement and tweak in your own routine.
This is how today's society thinks your life should look:
You have go to school for the first 20 years of your life. Then you have to find a high paying job that you'll work for the next 40 years. And after that, you can retire and finally enjoy your life for the last 20 years. If you're lucky to live that long of course.
The 40 years of soul-crushing work has been accepted as the default path. But is this the only way? Not at all.
Today we're going to challenge this notion by summarizing one of my favorite books. The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss.
Many people think that the point of this book is to work just four hours per week, however it's actually about working smarter and not harder.
I would recommend this book to anyone with aspirations to have more freedom in their life.
A common approach to resetting your sleep, is to pull an all-nighter. Basically you don't sleep for one day, and you go to bed at the desired time the next day.
However that's like putting a band-aid on a bigger problem. It's also one of the worst things you can do for your health, even if the end goal is a healthy sleep schedule.
Rather than pulling an all-nighter, you should focus on fixing your sleep habits.
It's good to to understand how your body knows when it's time to wake up or go to sleep. There are two factors that regulate this and I'll talk about them in this video. You'll also get some actionable tips at the end.
The Dunning-Kruger effect can be observed during talent shows like American Idol. The auditions are usually filled with a variety of good and bad singers. The ones who are bad at it, almost never realize how bad they really are.
Low ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence or lack of knowledge. Their poor self-awareness leads them to overestimate their own capabilities.
However when you become more knowledgeable about a certain topic, that confidence falls. Only when you start to reach above average skill, is when the your confidence about a certain topic starts to pick up again.
But why? Why does being less skilled make you more confident in your abilities?
The survivorship bias is the logical error, concentrating on the people who made it or "survived" and overlooking those who did not.
There's a common misconception floating around the internet: You should focus on the successful if you wish to become successful yourself.
You have probably seen these types of articles before.
Like, "5 surprising habits all successful people have". Or, "4 things ultra successful people do differently". The logic is simple: if it helped them get success, it should help you as well, right?
Well not quite. When you factor in the survivorship bias, you notice that we're only focusing on the people that made it, aka survivors.
We're forgetting all the men and women, that have been applying those "5 surprising habits of the successful people", but are not successful.
So while their advice might work for some, it has to be noted that it won't work for everyone.
We don't even consider that there are probably other elements at play here, one for example: pure luck. Like being at the right place at the right time or having connections with key people. Those are just some factors that are often disregarded.
In today's world, having and using a phone is the norm. But there are some real dangers that come in to play when we use it too much.
Some people spend every spare moment of their day on it, and they get so sucked into it, that they end up wasting a lot of time.
Like that guy who says he's going on a 5 minute break, but takes his phone with him. What was supposed to be a 5 minute break is now a 20 minute break.
Also living your life through your phone makes you asocial and hurts your communication skills. This is because communicating through your phone is very simple compared to communication in real life. If you're trying to connect with people, and only using your phone and social platforms to do so, you're doing it wrong. That's not how you form real connections.
But why do we keep coming back to it? Why can't we just put our phones down?
You get 86,400 seconds every single day. And guess what? It all comes down to how you choose to spend yours. Whether you use them productively or waste them, that's your choice.
How many times do you go through the course of the day and realize, that you didn't do anything you should have done?
You obviously spent that time somewhere, but it wasn't on the things you wanted to. Instead of trying to find another technique to make you more productive, you should look into which habits you're currently wasting so much time on.
Sometimes to achieve success it’s not what you do that matters, but what you stop doing. So today I'll talk about 4 time wasters, that by avoiding, you could have more time for the things that actually matter.
Back when I was in still in school there was this stereotype going around.
Kids who were nerdy and never did any kind of sports were considered the most intelligent and bright.
The jocks who were sporty and fit, were often branded as simple-minded and empty-headed.
So by following this stereotype you had two groups: Smart and weak. Dumb and fit.
However in the recent years, there's a new stereotype that's gained popularity: A smart jock.
An individual who is both intellectually gifted and is physically fit.
Did they win the genetic lottery or is it possible that exercise could make you smarter?
Today we'll look at the body-brain connection and how moving our body can benefit the brain.
Some of the studies mentioned in the video:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
http://people.stu.ca/~raywilliams/Psy...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NB...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
https://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/si...
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Images © Piers Baker www.svgdoodlewhiteboard.com
smarter #exercise
If you want to become better than yesterday, you need to know how to form good habits.
However, like many people do, you might notice that the first few days are easy. You feel super motivated starting a new workout plan, learning a new skill or playing an instrument.
But a week in to it, you find that life has started taking over again and your motivation is nonexistent.
ou skip one day, then another, and all of a sudden you find yourself giving up, or forgetting about the habit altogether.
In today's video I'll give you a habit formation technique that's incredibly effective. I've been using it for months now and you might have even heard of it before. It's called "don't break the chain" method.
Have you ever been interested in becoming more productive or managing your time better? Then you've most likely come across the Pareto Principle before, also known as the 80/20 rule. If you've never heard of it, then you'll learn more about it in this video.
The Pareto principle states that in any situation, 20 percent of the inputs or activities, are responsible for 80 percent of the outputs or results.
For example:
You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time.
In a book, 20% of its pages contain 80% of the most important information.
20% of the company's customers, produce 80% of company's revenue
When it comes to YouTube, 20% percent of my videos generate 80% of my views and subscribers.
The Pareto principle shows up over and over again, in almost every field. But the inverse is also true. That means that the other 80% is only generating 20% of the results.
So think about what are some of the things that you could double down on, and which ones you should eliminate. Let me know how are you going to use the 80/20 rule in the comments below.
#ParetoPrinciple #80/20
Today I will share with you my morning routine, which works wonders at keeping me productive. It might not work as well for you, as it does for me, since we have different goals and different schedules. However you might get some ideas which you could implement and tweak in your own routine.
The use of social media has skyrocketed in the last decade. We are spending more and more time on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Whenever we have some free time, we check our news feed, to see if something new has happened. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, it's changing why and how we do certain things; and especially how we look at them.
Too much use of social media has been linked to higher levels of loneliness and depression.
And we know that an entire new generation is growing up with lower self-esteem than all previous generations.
Interestingly enough, people who browse social media more often than others, seem to suffer the most.
Let's take a look at why this is happening.
We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but most of us have no idea why. We assume it's because we're burning off stress or boosting endorphins. But the real reason we feel so good when we exercise is that it makes the brain function at its best. And in my opinion this benefit is far more important than what it does for the body.
Building muscles, conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially side effects.
Nowadays we spend most of our time sitting behind a desk or lying on the couch, and we have basically removed movement from our lives.
Our ancestors had to walk five to ten miles on an average day, just to be able to eat.
Since it takes tens of thousands of years for our biology to evolve, you can see there's a huge mismatch between our lifestyle and our genes.
The brain isn't a fixed organ that cannot be changed. It's adaptable and it can increase in size like any other muscle on your body. Or in the koala's case, decrease in size.
So guess what turns out to be the best thing you can do for you brain today. That's right, physical exercise.
Get the Spark book here:
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If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without them you lack focus and direction. They also provide you with a benchmark to determine whether or not you're actually succeeding at them.
We all struggle sometimes to achieve our plans. And it's not that we lack the effort, but our goals are not structured efficiently.
To accomplish your objective you need to know how to set it up properly. You can't simply say, "I wish I could make more money" and expect it to happen.
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
It is also important to recognize, that not all objectives are created equal.
So, today I'll explain the SMART method of goal setting and how it will amplify your chances of actually succeeding.
S stands for: Specific
Your goal must be clear and well defined. You can only get to where you want by defining precisely how you'll get there.
M stands for: Measurable
Tracking the progress of your goal is an important part of keeping you motivated. It allows you to set milestones that you can celebrate when you achieve them and reevaluate when you don’t.
A stands for: Attainable
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the dreams you set for yourself. Far too many people fall into the trap of setting impossible goals. While they may push you forward for a while, you will almost certainly end up giving up on them. Instead of being impossible, your goals should be challenging yet achievable.
R stands for: Relevant
Your plans should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. A common issue we face, is having too many goals at the same time, or pursuing the wrong goals. Unless your plan is relevant to your overall life plan, achieving it may not accomplish anything.
T stands for: Time bound
This is one of the most important factors.
You plans must have a deadline. If you don't set a time limit you have basically unlimited time to achieve your goals.
But there's one last thing. Most people think that goal setting is a one time event. Like you set your goals once and you're done. However it's actually an ongoing process. It never ends.
Your plans will need evaluation and revision so it's important to stay flexible.
smart #goals
You've most likely been taking warm showers for your entire life and there's nothing wrong with that. However today I'm going to tell you about the benefits of switching from warm to cold. And I'll explain the best way to do it.
Music has been an important part of every human culture, both past and present.
It can play a part in brain development, learning, mood, and even your health.
One of the most common affects music has, is that it can alter our mood and feelings, by stimulating the formation of certain brain chemicals. When you listen to music you actually like, your brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine.
So basically music can makes us feel good.
Another interesting aspect is how listening to music can affect our exercise regime. As our body realizes we’re tired and wants to stop exercising, it sends signals to the brain to stop for a break. Listening to music competes for our brain’s attention, and can help us override those signals of fatigue.
In the last few decades, neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs in understanding how our brains work, by monitoring them with instruments like fMRI. Through brain scans we have found that musicians have different brains than non-musicians. People who play an instrument have bigger, better connected, more sensitive brains.
So both listening and creating music has it's own benefits.
Sources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.2726
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
Don't you just hate those pesky nights when you can't fall asleep?
When you just toss and turn all night?
You're in luck, as I have some solutions for this problem, which I'll share with you in today's video.
There are five things you should do every single night.
After I started using these methods, I now fall asleep in under 5 minutes, instead of tossing and turning for 1 hour.
Amazing new child prodigy has been found. He can the play piano flawlessly at the age of only 6! Another one! This time it's a math prodigy!
Child prodigies are popping all over the news these days. And we think to ourselves: What amazing talent have they been born with. They are so lucky! They are living proof that talent exists!
But wait a minute... Let's take a step back and look at this from another perspective.
In today's video I'll explain why child prodigies aren't the geniuses they are described to be.
And we'll take a look at the most famous child prodigy that has ever lived. We'll deconstruct the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Mozart is regarded as the ultimate example of the talent theory. Composing music at age five, giving public performances as a pianist and violinist at age eight, going on to produce hundreds of works, some of which are widely regarded as eternally great.
Surely this is an example of a man who came into the world stamped with the mark of genius?
With so many books in the world, how do you know which ones should you read? You probably don't want to waste your time reading books that give no value, that's why you should choose them wisely.
In today's video, I want to talk about 5 books I read, that had a huge impact on my life.
These are the books I think everyone should read at least once and if you're like me you will be re-reading them once a year.
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Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss - http://amzn.to/2Fr07P5
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Mindset by Carol Dweck - http://amzn.to/2CPyoFZ
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Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl - http://amzn.to/2ml23Qx
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Talent is Overrated by Geoffrey Colvin - http://amzn.to/2mgY2MS
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Quiet by Susan Cain - http://amzn.to/2CTBYip
I'd like to hear which books changed your life and helped you grow as a person. And which of them would you suggest to other people? Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments below.
You can get the book here:
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Willpower is a general strength that improves everything along with it. In fact, willpower is a better predictor of how well you do in school or how successful you are at work, than intelligence. If we want to improve our lives, willpower is not a bad place to start.
Lazslo Polgar, was one of the earliest advocates that great performers are made, not born. He had argued, that dedicated practice in any chosen field, could transform any healthy child into a genius.
He realized that the only way to prove his theory was to test it on his own future children. So he found a young Ukrainian woman named Klara, who found his arguments irresistible and ended up taking part in his bold experiment.
In 1969, Klara gave birth to their first daughter, Susan.
Laszlo needed Susan's achievements to be so dramatic, that nobody could question their authenticity. That was the only way to convince people, that their ideas about innate talent were all wrong. And then it struck him: Chess.
In 1974, Klara gave birth to a second daughter, Sofia. Then in 1976, to a third daughter, Judit.
By the time they had reached adolescence, all three sisters had accumulated well over ten thousand hours of specialized practice in chess. All three sisters would win many championships and set new world records.
The story of the Polgar sisters provides evidence for Laszlo's theory of dedicated practice. But the public was sure that, the sisters' success, was a consequence of unique talent. Susan was even described by the local newspaper as a child prodigy.
So here's a question for you:
Does everyone have the capacity to become a talented individual?
Warren Buffett, is without a doubt, one of the most successful investors of all time. As of right now, his net worth is over 80 billion dollars, making him one of the wealthiest people in the world.
Although he is best known for his financial advice, Buffett himself has identified his focus and productivity as one of the major keys to his success.
Let's take a look at a story between him and his pilot.
The pilot felt limited both financially and personally, so he wanted to know his boss's secret to success. Here's the advice Buffett gave him:
He hold him to make a list of 25 goals he wanted to achieve.
Then, Buffett asked the pilot to review the list and circle his top 5 goals, the things he wanted the most.
At this point, the pilot had two lists.
Buffett now asked him what he planned to do with things on the two lists. The pilot said, that he would concentrate on his top 5 goals and work on the other 20 as he would see fit.
But Buffett replied:
“No. You’ve got it all wrong. Everything you didn’t circle just became your ‘avoid at all cost list’. Forget about those goals, until you have succeeded with your top 5.”
How often do you actually wake up feeling energized? How many times a week do you get up when your alarm rings, without hitting the snooze button?
Nothing is worse than going to bed early, only to wake up still feeling exhausted. There are number of factors that affect how tired you feel in the morning, and you probably have some habits that are robbing you of your energy.
We'll look at some of the solutions that you should adopt, which will help you wake up early and well rested.
1 .STOP SNOOZING
When you snooze, you’re not really getting more sleep. It doesn’t make you feel better about waking up. It actually does nothing beneficial for you. Every single time you hit the snooze button you wake up feeling more tired.
2.GET ENOUGH SLEEP
We need a certain amount of sleep every day for our body to function properly. You should go to sleep and wake up at the same time seven days per week. This way your body gets into the rhythm and you can wake up naturally at the end of a sleep cycle, every single day.
3.RE-HYDRATE AND GET THE BLOOD FLOWING
It's crucial that you hydrate yourself first thing in the morning. After 6 to 8 hours without water, you'll naturally be dehydrated, and dehydration causes fatigue.
Another important thing to do, is some light exercise as soon as you wake up.
It may seem counter intuitive, but researchers say expending energy by engaging in regular exercise, doesn't make you tired, it actually creates energy in your body.
4.AVOID SCREENS BEFORE BED
Your TV, smart phone and computer screen all produce artificial blue light.
The problem with artificial light in the evening, is that it tricks your body in to thinking that it's actually day time.
When it gets darker outside, your body naturally produces a sleep hormone called melatonin. Since artificial light blocks melatonin production, we can really mess up our sleep, because your body doesn't send signals to your cells that's it's night time.
Apps mentioned:
Sleep Cycle - Alarm that wakes you up when at the end of your sleep phase
F.lux - Orange screen for your computer
Twilight - Orange screen for your phone
Disclaimer
If these tips don't help, you might have a medical problem. If so, you should see a doctor immediately. Things such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or sleep apnea, are more common than you might think and will affect how tired you feel.
The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. If you don't know, "Pomodoro" is Italian for tomato. Cirillo used a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato as his personal timer when he was a university student, and thus the method’s name.
The technique can help you power through distractions and get things done while taking frequent breaks. Best of all, it's probably one of the simplest productivity methods to implement since all you need is a timer.
Here's how to get started with Pomodoro:
1. Choose a task to be accomplished.
2. Set the timer to 25 minutes and work until the timer rings
3. Take a 5 minute break and restart the task
4. Take a longer break every 4 Pomodoro sessions
I highly suggest you try out the Pomodoro technique yourself. It has been my go-to strategy when I need to get something done and is yet to fail me. Hope it works for you as much as it works for me and helps you become better than yesterday.
In today's fast paced world, a good night's sleep has become somewhat of a luxury. Functioning on less sleep has even become some kind of badge of honor. But sleep should become our top priority.
One of the biggest problems with lack of sleep is that people don't even know they are sleep deprived.
Studies show that over time, people who are getting five hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they have adapted and got used to this sleep pattern. But if you look closely at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they are functioning on a sub-par level.
Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways.
Remarkably, sleep loss may also be a contributing factor to obesity.
Lack of sleep dulls activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, which involves motor function and problem solving. Your reaction time is slower and you don't have the mental clarity to make the best decisions.
Reduced sleep time is a greater mortality risk than high blood pressure, heart disease and even smoking.
As I said in my previous video, communication skills are a necessity in today's society and are something everyone should learn. After all, 85 percent of one's success in life is directly due to communication skills.
Connecting with other people brings infinite rewards. Whether it's landing the job, winning the promotion or charming a new partner, other people are your greatest resource.
In this video I'll be sharing another five techniques from the book "How to talk to anyone". Let's begin and take your conversation to the next level.
1. Match their mood
2. Present mundane with passion
3. Become a modern day Renaissance man
4. Always have something interesting to say
5. Never the naked thank you
Have you ever admired those successful people who seem to "have it all"? Their success boils down to their more skillful way of dealing with fellow human beings.
Today I'll be sharing five techniques from a great book on communication techniques: "How to talk to anyone" by Leil Lowndes.
1. The flooding smile
2. Sticky eyes
3. Limit the fidget
4. Parroting
5. Wear a Whatzit
Bizarre* ;)
There will always be challenges and obstacles in life. Some more difficult and some less. What matters is how we look at the problems we face. Are we looking with a fixed, or a growth mindset?
In this video I explain the two mindsets through a story of twin brothers.
People with a growth mindset know intelligence can be developed. It leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to:
embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks and learn from criticism.
People with a fixed mindset believe intelligence is static. It leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to:
avoid challenges, give up easily, ignore feedback and see effort as fruitless.
The twins started in the same place, with the same circumstances.
However, the path they chose was different as a result of their mindset.
You might be asking yourself "Why am I lazy?"
Wouldn't it feel fantastic if you reached the end of the day and looked back with satisfaction on the things you'd achieved?
Laziness is a nasty little affliction that affects everyone from time to time. Often it's an attempt to avoid difficult or unpleasant tasks. But remember, laziness is a habit, not a personality trait.
When you try to do two things at once, you can't or won't do either well. If you think multitasking is an efficient way to get more done, you've got it backward. It's an efficient way to get less done.
In the world of results, it will fail you every time. And for some reason in today’s society, doing just one thing at a time seems downright wasteful.
Are you talented? Or could it be that you're just hard working?
The talent myth is built on the idea that innate ability, rather than practice, is what ultimately determines whether we have it within us to achieve excellence. This is a corrosive idea, robbing individuals of the incentive to transform themselves through effort.
In 1991 Anders Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State University conducted the most extensive investigation ever undertaken into the cause of outstanding performance. He was looking for "talent". The funny this is, he couldn't find any.
His subjects - violinists at the renowned Music Academy of West Berlin in Germany - were divided into three groups. There was one difference between the groups that was both dramatic and unexpected. The number of hours devoted to serious practice. By the age of twenty, the best violinists had practiced and average of ten thousand hours - over two thousand hours more than the good violinists and over six thousand hours more than the violinists hoping to become music teachers.
Ericsson also found that there were no exceptions to this pattern: there was nobody who had reached the elite group without copious practice, and nobody who had worked their socks off has failed to excel. Purposeful practice was the only factor distinguishing the best from the rest.
Meditation can sometimes seem very complicated and difficult to learn. However that shouldn't be the case.
It has been scientifically proven to be the best exercise for keeping a healthy mind. Just 10 minutes of meditation a day, can have huge physical and mental benefits.
First: Pick a spot
Second: Set a time
Third: Correct posture
Fourth: Close your eyes
Fifth: Pick an anchor
Just place the attention on your breath as it comes in, and follow it through your nose all the way down to your lungs.
Notice how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly. Simply focus your attention on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity.
When your mind wanders, which it will, simply bring your attention back to the anchor.
The whole game is just to notice when your mind is wandering and to come back to your breath, over and over and over...And when you do that, it is a bicep curl for your brain.
Have you ever thought about why we make friends?
After all, do we really need friends at all?
Couldn't we get along just fine by ourselves?
We are social creatures and derive a lot of our happiness through the relationships that we have developed.
People with good friends tend to live longer lives. They also tend to be healthier.
Good friendships have been associated with lower levels of stress, decreased blood pressure, and a reduced risk of depression.
So it makes sense to learn how to connect with other people.
Do you find it difficult to focus on the task at hand because your mind keeps wandering?
Do you worry too much or have too many things to do, that you can't sit down and concentrate on one thing?
Learning how to focus every day is a must.
There is no one way to do it, that's why I'm sharing three tips on how to find it.
Remove distractions.
Before you can add, you will need to subtract.
Meditate and read.
If you are completely relaxed and stress-free, then your mind will also work more efficiently.
Slowly build up your focus stamina.
Each person may start off with a certain amount of focus, but rest assured that this is something that can be improved over time.
Reading improves your focus and concentration.
With all the distractions nowadays, people have really big problems with concentrating. Don’t be one of them.
You're stressed out? Then pick up a book.
Research conducted in 2009 showed that reading is the most effective way to overcome stress.
Scientific studies show that reading actually makes you smarter.
Your body needs movement. That means your brain needs movement, as well. And reading is the best workout for your mind.
The Feynman technique is a mental model named after Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winning physicist. The Feynman technique is designed to help you learn better and faster - to understand concepts you don't really get, remember stuff you have already learned, or study more efficiently.
The basis of his technique is to explain a concept in plain, simple language.
Get the book here:
Deep work: as described by Cal himself, deep work is professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.
One to two hours a day, five days a week, of uninterrupted and carefully directed concentration, can produce a lot of valuable output.
As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill of going deep, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.
There is a way to incorporate deep work and escape the constant distraction. Here are a few strategies you can use:
1. The easiest way to start deep work sessions is to transform them in to a regular habit. Set a time and a quiet location used for your deep tasks each day.
2. Allow yourself to be lazy. Regularly resting your brain improves the quality of deep work. So when you work, work hard. But when you're done, be done.
3. Schedule in advance when you'll use the Internet, and then avoid it altogether outside of these times. Write it down on a notepad and record the next time you're allowed to go online.
For a novice, somewhere around 1 hour a day of intense concentration seems to be the limit, while for experts this number can expand to as many as four hours.
A lucid dream is any dream during sleep in which you become aware that you're dreaming. Which means you're able to control yourself and your surroundings freely. When you're conscious during your dream you're only restricted by your ability to imagine and conceive, not by laws of physics. So what you can do in your lucid dreams is limitless. Flying? Having dream sex? Time travelling? All that and more is possible. Now who wouldn't want to do that from the comfort of their bed?
It's extremely helpful to start a dream journal. Keep it close by your bed at night, and write down your dreams immediately after waking up. Write down as much details as you can remember. This will train you to remember more of your dreams.
Another thing to do is to preform reality checks frequently. Every few hours during the day, ask yourself "Am I dreaming?". With enough practice, you'll start following the habit in your dreams as well.
There are a number of techniques that help induce lucidity. But the one I recommend to beginners and also the one that I used to achieve immediate results is "The wake back to bed". (WBTB method)
There are a few theories about the differences between introverts and extroverts. But the main one is where where we get our energy from.
Introverts tend to recharge by spending time alone. They lose energy from being around people for long periods of time, particularly large crowds.
Extroverts, on the other hand, gain energy from other people. They actually find their energy is sapped when they spend too much time alone. They recharge by being social.
One third to half of people are introverts. If you're not an introvert yourself, you are surely raising, managing, married to or friends with one. If these statistics surprise you, that's probably because so many people pretend to be extroverts.
Introverts are not shy. Shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating.
Which one are you?
Do you know someone who can strike up a conversation with everybody they meet? Their conversations look effortless, they often get free drinks at the bar, and they make best friends any time they go out.
How do these people do it? Are they some type of social mutants? Or are they just “naturals” when it comes to talking to people?
They may be gifted, but they don’t have some coveted secret. Instead, they’ve just mastered the art of small talk.
Small talk is the base of a conversation.
Never forget conversation is a ladder and you can't just leap-frog up the conversation. You need small talk to climb the ladder and warm people up with it.
A few examples how to transform closed-ended questions to open-ended:
Would you like vanilla ice cream?
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream and why?
When is your birthday?
When is your birthday and how do you like to celebrate?
Where did you go to college?
What do you feel was most beneficial about your college experience?
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Carol found out that people either have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.
People with a growth mindset know intelligence can be developed. It leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to: embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks and learn from criticism.
People with a fixed mindset believe intelligence is static. It leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to: avoid challenges, give up easily, ignore feedback and see effort as fruitless.
We should strive to put ourselves and others in to growth mindset every time we face an obstacle!
Which mindset do you have?
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The most common charisma myth is that you either have it or you don't. Which is unfair since charismatic individuals often make more money.
It determines if you are seen as a leader or a follower and it's critical in business.
Anyone can learn to be charismatic by learning a set of non-verbal behaviors.
Body language plays a big part in charisma, so it's really important to get your internal state right, since we can't micro manage all our body language consciously.
Charisma can be broken down to three main components: Presence, power and warmth. What kind of charisma we will present depends on those three components.
We can alternate between: Kindness charisma, visionary charisma, focus charisma and authority charisma.
We can also blend the charisma styles together. We should adapt our charisma style depending on the situation at hand.
You can get the book here:
Starting your day with the best morning routine can significantly boost your entire day. Learn a few tips and tricks in the animated book review of "The Miracle Morning" how to start yours full of enthusiasm. We talk about about ideas such as re-hydrating your brain with a glass of water and using life S.A.V.E.R.S., which stand for:
S-silence
A-affirmations
V-visualizations
E-exercise
R-reading
S-scribing
Remember these are just some ideas on how you can optimize your miracle morning, they are not necessary to have a great one.
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Do you procrastinate? We all do from time to time. I
n this short animated video I discuss a few topics from the book Eat That Frog and show a few examples how to stop procrastinating.
I talk about goal setting, how to break the goals down and importance of eliminating distractions.
Procrastination is shown to be something you can avoid by preparing before hand.
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We spend 33% of our lives sleeping, so why not learn to sleep smarter? In his book "Sleep Smarter" discusses a few tips and tricks on how to get amazing sleep, how to fall asleep faster and overall importance of sleep. In this short animated book summary of his book I also discuss the importance of sunlight in the morning, optimal time to go to sleep and avoiding blue light before bed. All of these components will help you get amazing sleep at night! :)
