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: Morality & business
Master Your Money: Track your spending
And of course…
The Weekly Special: How to Hack Your 4 Main Brain Chemicals
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: “Perhaps your challenge isn’t finding a better project or a better boss. Perhaps you need to get in touch with what it means to feel passionate. People with passion look for ways to make things happen.” - Seth Godin
Stock to consider: CLOU (Global X Cloud Computing ETF)
Seeks to invest in companies positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of cloud computing technology, including companies whose principal business is in offering computing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), managed server storage space and data center real estate investment trusts, and/or cloud and edge computing infrastructure and hardware.
Disclaimer- this is not financial advice, I am not a financial advisor, and you should always do your own research.
Book to read: The Only Plane in the Sky by Garret Graff
“The first comprehensive oral history of September 11, 2001 — a panoramic narrative woven from the voices of Americans on the front lines of an unprecedented national trauma.” No matter how well you know the story, this book has new things to consider.
Show to enjoy: Shining Girls on Apple TV
Apple has been delivering some high quality content over the past couple of years. They’re still a little under the radar, but shows like this will ensure that’s not for much longer.
Beer to sip: Gummy Bears from New Trail
“Gummy Bears is a Hazy IPA with Lactose, Vanilla, Orange & Raspberry. Brewed with Oats and conditioned on Vanilla, Orange & Raspberry. Stickily Hopped with Citra. Expect sweet citrus and raspberry notes matched with light pine. We all have a sweet tooth from time to time.” Delicious like a dessert.
Master Yourself
I was asked recently, in conversation, about morality. Particularly whether I thought it was relative or universal. How this came up, I have no idea. I’m guessing it’s because during an extended conversation with me, we’ll cover a lot of topics. Most of them unrelated to the previous topic.
Anyway, I’m surprised we still have this discussion. Morality is relative. Bottom line.
Ok, I’ll admit it’s universal in the sense that I believe most humans have an intuition, a gut feeling, whatever you want to call it, that what they’re doing is right or wrong.
But it’s relative in all the important contexts.
Examples:
Stealing from the homeless is wrong. But what if I steal from a hungry homeless adult to feed a hungry homeless child (provided I had no means to feed both)?
Lying is wrong. But what if I tell someone they are beautiful (who is not in fact very attractive) so that they walk with a little more vigor today?
Killing is wrong. But what if I kill a man who is trying to kill me?
The world is not black and white. There are many shades of gray. But in business, you know what tactics you’re doing that could be considered shady. You should probably stop.
Other people notice it too and it leaves no room for trust. And without trust there’s no real relationship. And with no relationship there’s no loyalty. And loyalty is everything.
So here are a few things you might be doing, or have seen being done, that, inherently, you know are wrong:
Not being up front about pricing, contracts, etc.
Adding things without consent then charging for them.
Lying about your products, competitors, etc.
Trying to bully or shame customers.
Being way too greedy, caring more about the money, etc.
I want to be moral. I want to do the right thing. I want to be kind. I want to be helpful. I do not want to be greedy or mean or robotic. Life is short.
I won’t BS you with the whole “money doesn’t buy happiness” because it sure does. But it’s not everything. It’s not the be-all, end-all. Relationships are.
Master Your Money
You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
I found out we were spending way too much on food when I started tracking. The obvious solution is to cut dining out (it’s expensive and unhealthy) but we also had to figure out ways to save on groceries- buying certain things in bulk, using coupons, only buying what we need after meal planning for the week, etc.
Before I had a family I saw I was spending 200–300 a month on beer. Freaking beer was eating up more per month than my car insurance. Clearly a change was in order.
But before I started tracking my spending, I was able to lie to myself about how much I was spending on stupid shit.
You can’t lie once it’s on paper right in front of you.
Your overspending may be on streaming services (share with friends and family, duh) or new clothes (Thrift. Store.). Whatever it is, see how you can adjust your habits.
Weekly Special:
How to Hack Your 4 Main Brain Chemicals
You have a surprising amount of control regarding your brain function. Happiness, depression, anxiety, etc. are all, somewhat, within your control. You can hack your chemicals for the results you want. It’s a lot like overriding poor genetics by eating well, exercising more and getting quality sleep.
In the past few months, I’ve done a lot of reading about hacking our brain chemicals, as well as hacking our hormones (which I’ll write about soon). Below you’ll find 24 tips covering the 4 main brain chemicals and how to optimize them.
Dopamine aka “The Reward Chemical”
What is it?
Dopamine is a naturally occurring substance in the human body. It’s a neurotransmitter, which means it transmits information from the body to the brain. Dopamine is involved in controlling a person’s motions as well as their emotional responses. A healthy dopamine balance is essential for both physical and mental health.
How to hack it:
Complete a task/achieve a goal. Your brain loves accomplishing even the smallest tasks.
Make time for self-care. Your brain needs you to relax and take care of yourself so it can take care of itself.
Eat food! Our brains love eating, and I mean, so do we…so, win-win.
Celebrate little wins. Remember the small accomplishment thing? Celebrate your one pound weight loss, your completion of an article, etc.
Get enough sleep. Quality sleep may be the number one thing regarding our health across the board.
Take a warm bath. Dopamine production increases when you take a 20 minute soak.
Practice gratitude. Thinking of all the great things in our lives makes us nicer people, but also happier ones.
Endorphins aka “The Pain Killer”
What is it?
Endorphins are analgesics, which means that they reduce pain perception. They also have sedative properties. They’re made in your brain, spinal cord, and many other parts of your body, and they’re released in reaction to neurotransmitters, which are brain chemicals.
How to hack them:
Laugh throughout the day. Laughter is a natural pain killer. And mood enhancer.
Use essential oils like vanilla, lavender or citrus. Smelling these oils can release endorphins.
Eat some dark chocolate. It stimulates the release of endorphins (and serotonin!).
Exercise and move. This also releases endorphins, which is part of the reason why you can exercise past the point you think you can.
Listen to music. This releases both endorphins and dopamine!
Serotonin aka “The Mood Stabilizer”
What is it?
Serotonin is a vital hormone that regulates our mood, happiness, and emotions of well-being. This hormone has an overall effect on your body. It allows brain cells and other cells of the nervous system to communicate with one another.
How to hack it:
Meditate/mindfulness. It rises higher the longer you’re able to meditate.
Try running, swimming or cycling. Cardio type exercise significantly increases serotonin.
Get some sun exposure. Particularly morning sunlight, within the first 2 hours of waking up.
Walk in nature. Breathing fresh air and seeing the color green can both enhance serotonin levels.
Practice deep breathing. It lowers stress and raises serotonin levels.
Eat oatmeal and bananas. Both foods raise serotonin and dopamine levels.
Oxytocin aka “The Love Hormone”
What is it?
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter and a hormone that plays a role in delivery and breastfeeding. Empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building are all linked to it. Because oxytocin levels rise during embracing and orgasm, it is commonly referred to as the “love hormone.”
How to hack it:
Play with a pet. Simply petting an animal lowers cortisol, but playing with them also enhances oxytocin.
Play with your kids. Play bonds parents and children, via oxytocin production. And the feel good hormonal output goes both ways.
Hold hands. Especially the kind of hand holding where we interlace our fingers.
Hug friends and family. Hold the hug for 20+ seconds, which can feel awkward but simply explain the benefits, which will definitely make it less awkward.
Give compliments/help others. Oxytocin pumps out every time we praise someone we like/love or give them a helping hand.
Have sex. More specifically have orgasms. Best with a partner, but you still receive benefits going solo.
Thanks for reading and if you found this valuable, please share with someone who could use it, see you next Saturday!