Saturday Success: a stupid question, a hard truth & 9 ways to kill overthinking

Making life & money work for you.

Welcome back to the Saturday Success Series email!

This week we have:

• Master Yourself: A stupid question we ask our kids

• Master Your Money: A hard money truth

• The Weekly Special: 9 things for overthinkers to understand

The goal here is maximum value, so let’s get to it.

FREE resources to 20x your life. Updated periodically. Grab ‘em here: CAIT MACK.

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Master Yourself

First world problems. We all have them.

But the real problem with first world problems?

They’re not real.

Well, they’re relatively real. But worldwide- ah not so much.

Our kids live pretty good. Warm beds. Full bellies. Toys. Soccer practice. Clean classrooms filled with nice teachers. Doting parents.

And therein lies the problem- doting parents.

We have this habit of asking our kids a really dumb question.

“Are you happy?”

Who cares?

Happiness is hard to measure. It’s often fleeting. It’s not a constant state to be in.

Little Billy can be happy when you ask him and then flying off the handle 2 minutes later.

Their happiness is irrelevant.

A much better thing to do?

Make sure your kids are doing the right things. Get them building their habits and routines. Understand that actions indicate far more about how a life turns out than anything else.

We’ve moved into morning routines, homework routines, bedtime routines. We’re trying to teach chores and responsibility and being part of a family unit. Accountability is a big one. Helping others. Taking care of your health. The list goes on, but you get the idea.

Their happiness? I’m really not worried about it.

If they live right, they’ll feel good.

Master Your Money

You’ve heard of the Pareto Principle aka the 80/20 rule?

It states “ roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes”.

Could be 70/30, 90/10 or even 95/5 in certain cases. The specifics don’t matter, it’s the concept we’re after.

And this concept, the 80/20 rule, is a universal law.

So, the hard money truth?

95% of people share 5% of the wealth while 5% hold 95% of it.

Not likely to change.

So, instead of complaining, you have to find the best ways to climb toward the top 20, 10, 5%.

Your next logical question is “how”?

There are only 2 steps.

1. Create positive cash flow

2. Buy assets

~ How did you create positive cash flow? ~

Skill building which increased earning potential. And cutting costs where possible. I created a cash flow sheet instead of a budget. What comes in, what goes out & how much we invest. That monthly snapshot tells me everything I need to know.

~ How did you buy assets? ~

I started with my company matched 401K and then opened my own Schwab account. And eventually real estate (Fundrise) and crypto (Gemini). The barriers to entry are lower than ever. Investopedia & NerdWallet are great resources.

That’s the basic gist of how I went from a low 4 figure net worth to a high 6 figure net worth.

You can do it too. Understanding this hard money truth was the first step.

Weekly Special

9 Things for Overthinkers to Understand

I used to be an overthinker.

You know what that means- anxiety, depression, lack of progress.

Don’t feel bad. Overthinking is a sign of intelligence. But use that intelligence to help you move forward instead of spinning your wheels.

Let’s dive into some things to understand so that you can help yourself out of your ruts.

The problem is rarely the problem

Most of the damage is done inside your head. Worrying about outcomes vs what actually happens, are usually pretty far apart. The way you think about things is the problem.

Avoid self-rejection

Don’t reject yourself. You think people won’t respond to your writing, your email, your resume. Send it all anyway. Don’t close your own doors.

Silence and time

Most problems end up getting solved with less thinking. Make a decision and move on. If you’re having a tough time solving a problem, stop trying.

Important question

Ask yourself if there’s anything you can do to change the outcome? If you get a yes, then do what you can. If you get a no, move on from it.

Power of now

What you do with right now matters more than thinking about the past or worrying about the future.

Fact-check your thoughts

We’re emotional creatures, but the problem is emotions create issues with decision-making. Make sure you’re thinking with logic, not feelings.

Peace is found via acceptance

Accept the things you cannot change and learn to let them go. You’re helped along by acting on what you can control. Once you start taking action you tend to naturally worry less.

Mental health is health

We all like to see our muscles grow. We feel accomplished when we’re gasping for air post sprints. But pushing negativity out of our minds, that may be the most important aspect of health.

A bias toward action

Action, even small actions, eliminate overthinking and create momentum. That’s a win-win. So pick a small way to start and then just do it.

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Thanks for reading! If you found this valuable, please share with someone who could use it. See you next Saturday!

Interested in building your online writing into a 4-5 figure business? Get The Medium Formula for less than you’d pay for dinner.

Here’s a picture of Lisa (my gf) and I from one of our date days this past week. Have a great upcoming week!