Saturday Success Series: Volume 15
Making life & money work for you.
Welcome back to the Saturday Success Series email!
In this edition we’ll have:
Five to Focus On: A quote, stock, book, show & a beer.
Master Yourself: Focus on To-Be lists
Master Your Money: Hard work alone isn’t the answer
And of course…
The Weekly Special: 3 Things to Do Every Day to Be Happy & Successful
The goal here is maximum value, so let’s get to it.
Oh, by the way, if you’re feeling generous, please share this newsletter with a friend.
Five to Focus on:
In a noisy world, it’s hard to know what’s good out there. Let me help.
Quote to ponder: “A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” - Muhammad Ali
Stock to consider: SDIV (SuperDividend ETF).
The Global X SuperDividend® ETF (SDIV) invests in 100 of the highest dividend yielding equity securities in the world.
Disclaimer- this is not financial advice, I am not a financial advisor, and you should always do your own research.
Book to read: Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday.
Ryan Holiday is our modern guide to the history of stoics and his writing is always inspiring. One of the things I noticed about Ryan as I’ve been following him over the years is that he reads a tremendous amount of quality books. That in turn allows him to pump out fantastic content. You will not be disappointed.
Show to enjoy: Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix.
An epic spinoff of the (wonderful) original Vikings series. It just came out yesterday but critics were lighting up over it a week in advance.
Beer to sip: Urbs in Horto from Hop Butcher for the World.
Because anytime you get a chance to try a world class anything, you should take it. Hop Butcher specializes in IPAs, so they won’t let you down. It’s both citrusy and dank, which is a tough combo to get just right. But they did.
Master Yourself
We’re all familiar with to-do lists, but have you ever tried a to-be list? It’s pretty much like it sounds.
Basically a day focused around one question. What kind of person do you want to be? Below are some examples.
I want to be:
Disciplined. So then you know your to-do list should reflect this. A set wake up time, a morning workout, the schoolwork or content that must be done today.
Someone who meditates. So, your to-do list includes a 10 minute morning meditation and a 10 minute evening meditation.
A calm parent. You’ll start your day with peace and positive energy. You’ll pause and take a deep breath before responding to something annoying your child has done. You’ll reflect on the fact that all kids are annoying at various times, just like adults are.
Brave. Have that difficult conversation you’ve been meaning to have. Say yes to more opportunity at work. Get something to do that you’re scared of (skydiving, ziplining, surfing, etc.) on your calendar.
Happy. Smile. A lot. Find the good in everything, in fact try to find more than one good thing in each thing that happens. Socialize- call your friends, have a coffee with a co-worker, host a game night, invite your parents to dinner.
Master Your Money
Hard work alone is not the answer.
If hard work was the answer to wealth, every construction worker would be a billionaire.
Leverage is what you want.
I wrote an article months ago that still earns me decent profits every month. That’s leveraging a skill.
Work hard AND smart.
Weekly Special:
3 Things I Do Every Day to Stay Happy & Successful
A lot of people muck up their lives. We make life way more complicated and silly and ridiculous than it ever needs to be. Life can be pretty simple.
Here I’ll share the 3 things I do every day. These are broad concepts and can be applied in many ways but I’ll share what I do specifically. Try focusing on these 3 core ideas over the next month and see how you feel.
Play
This means a lot of things…I play badminton with my brother, I wrestle with my dog, I chase my cat (he likes it), I teach my nieces and nephews how to tuck and roll during Nerf wars, I read a good book, I go to the playground with my kids, I watch Netflix with my girlfriend.
The list is endless but the general idea is that we need to enjoy our days. We don’t get that many of them. I play throughout my day as much as I can.
Intense bouts of work
This is where I actually DO things. I schedule chunks of time that are dedicated to just working on whatever I need to accomplish. I’m talking like 2–4 hours chunks interrupted only to pee, stretch and refill my tea.
This could be working my day job, content creation, schoolwork, work for the committees I’m on, etc. I’ll cycle through a few of these chunks every day.
Engage in passive deep thinking
I walk every morning for about 30 minutes and let my mind wander. And every day, for at least 30 minutes, I just lay on the couch or in bed thinking and dozing. Or I’ll sit out back staring at a beautiful tree in my neighbor’s yard.
No phone, no book, nothing but my thoughts. Most of my good ideas come during these two periods.
Thanks for reading and if you found this valuable, please share with someone who could use it. See you next Saturday!