Picking High Leverage Investments for Your Time and Money

by Scott

Dude…you spend $500 a quarter on getting your blood tested?

Yes, I do.

Some of my friends think this is cray.

The truth is I’d happily spend double if that’s what it costed to be self-aware of my health.

One thing I’ve been thinking a lot about is my financial allocation of resources relative to time invested in certain activities.

I haven’t really heard anyone else think about spending like this, but to me this calculus makes sense.

There are certain things which we do everyday because we believe that the yield is worth the investment. Here are some examples:

Eating healthy for performance & longevity
Meditation for well-being
Exercise for performance & longevity
Working for financial resources

Now think about the time or resource investment in each …
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Book Notes: The Greatest Salesman in the World

by Scott

I just finished The Greatest Salesman in the World. It’s a fantastic, fun read about the quest of a lowly cattle herder to become the greatest salesman in the world under the tutelage of non other than the current greatest salesman of the world!

His training comes in the forms of learning to embody the lessons within 10 scrolls given to him by his mentor.

I read this book and it left me feeling so good. I honestly want to read it every day as just a general life guide to remind myself of principles for prosperity & success.

Below are my notes & commentary followed by summary of the 10 scrolls which a reader Alex Zozo showed me online.

Things I want to remember:

Principles stand …
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Building Habits That Strengthen Discipline and Results

by Scott

One trait I correlate strongly with accomplishment is discipline.

When I look at people who are really at the top of the game, most of them are very disciplined about certain things within the domain which they achieve.

I’ve been thinking a lot about leveling up my own sense of discipline lately and wanted to share a few things I’ve found helpful in cultivating and maintaining this virtue.

Start With An Anchor

I think one thing that really helps is to have a discipline anchor early in the day. By anchor, I mean something you can count on to consistently experience a victory and check the first box to signal to yourself that you’re the one running your day.

Most days my anchor is a workout. I …
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My Goals For 2014

by Scott

I strongly believe the main reason that 2013 was the most productive, fun, and interesting year of my life was due to the goal setting exercise I performed below…

A few days ago, I published the framework I used to create holistically ambitious goals last year.

Below is a transparent view of my thought process to craft my goals for 2014 culminating in a list that displays all of them.

The Goal Setting Process

The first step was to revaluate and confirm the areas of my life that are most important to me. In no particular order they are:

Family / Personal / Social Well-Being
Personal Development
Professional Development / Business Growth
Finances
Health
Faith
Fun / Leisure / Recreation

After establishing these steps I completed the following statements:

I want …
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How to Set Goals for 2014

by Scott

This post will teach you how to create goals for this upcoming year that won’t leave you empty when you achieve them.

This actually happens a lot because “goal lists” are rarely accountable to all areas of our lives that are important to us.

If you have a bunch of goals that are solely focused on one area of your life (cough work), you’ll probably end up feeling unhappy even if you crush them.

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Below is a methodology you can use to set goals for 2014 that are holistically ambitious. It relies heavily on a 400 year old Buddhist tool called the Bhavacakra or “Wheel of Life.”

You can use this framework precisely as outlined like I did last year or simply as a …
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2013 Goals Report Card and Reflection

by Scott

At the end of last year, I wrote out everything I wanted to achieve in 2013.

Here’s how I finished up as well as some breakthrough realizations I had this year.

Goals Completed

Pay off student loans
Steady side income of over 2k a month that takes less than 4 hours of work to maintain
Reach 1,000 blog subscribers
Guest blog for 6 reputable blogs
Create and market a digital product
Travel to 2 new countries (China, Peru, Chile, Netherlands, Brazil)
Start an interview series
Drinking 1 less day per month
Create an LLC to write off expenses
Create an event that people love (New York Personal Development Meetup)
Redesign my blog
Go to China to visit one of my best friends while he’s there
Take 2 weekend trips with friends (Jackson Hole, Montauk …
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The Least Talked About Enemy of Personal Growth

by Scott

Four months ago I committed to completely cutting lying out of my life.

The positive results from this change have been shocking and hopefully serve as a potent motivator to consider doing the same in your own life.

In the process of striving for 100% honesty at all times, I’ve realized that:

a) I used to tell told lots of baby lies.

b) Lying is one of the most crippling things to your personal growth.

Below I want to explain how lying, even in the most minuscule forms, is hindering you from becoming the most virtuous, courageous, happy member of society that you can be…

But first, have you ever heard someone say this?

 “Honesty Is Very Important to Me”

If you …
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Cracking the Code to Behavior Change

by Scott

WARNING: This is not a post about tactical information to improve your effectiveness like many of my others…

This is a brutally honest account of the parts of my life that I was unhappy with that were the driving forces for my relocation to Rio De Janeiro.

I want to share these truths and a transparent self-reflection after living here a month to inspire others, catalyze self-awareness, and reveal the fire-seeds of a proven approach to behavior change.

This is long post. It bleeds truth and many people will likely disagree with it because it challenges conventional views. I’m fine with that.

It will likely take you 10 minutes to read, but I think there are people that will read this and see truth …
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