Saturday Success Series: Volume 40
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: 1 life-changing quote from Joe Rogan
Master Your Money: Open an investment account
And of course…
The Weekly Special: The 3 Main Things (And 13 Sub Things) I Measure Each Month
The goal here is maximum value, so let’s get to it.
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Five to Focus on:
In a noisy world, it’s hard to know what’s good out there. Let me help.
Quote to ponder: “What you do is more important than how you do everything else, and doing something well does not make it important.” - Tim Ferriss
Stock to consider: XOM (Exxon Mobil)
I’m not typically into individual stocks. Or big oil. But, Exxon is looking to join the green energy movement. They’re future focused and looking toward sustainability, carbon emissions reduction, etc.
Disclaimer- this is not financial advice, I am not a financial advisor, and you should always do your own research.
Book to read: How Money Became Dangerous by Christopher Varelas
Had I had a “my Favorite Books Read in 2021 list”, this would have been on it. This reads easy like a non-fiction, pulling you along in this wild story of Wall Street and how it became such a shitshow. Never ending growth is truly unsustainable.
Show to enjoy: A League of Their Own on Amazon
A comedy-drama based on the excellent movie from 1992. I’m only one episode in but it was a fun episode and I’m looking forward to the rest of it. If you’re a Rotten Tomatoes follower, they’re giving it a 95% “certified fresh” rating.
Beer to sip: Smashed Pumpkin from Shipyard
It’s that time. Yes, already. You have to stock your pumpkin beers now for the fall. One year I bought about 80 pumpkin beer varieties. It was a great fall, from what I can remember. I do recall this one making the Top 10 List.
Master Yourself
I like advice that hits like a brick to the face.
We need more straight talk, less fluff.
So, love him or hate him (really?), Joe Rogan is your guy. He often gives us a lot to unpack, which I can appreciate in a person. Anyway, I came across this quote from him, a week or so ago:
Excellence in anything increases your potential in everything.
This makes me think of foundational, keystone habits, first and foremost.
Exercise is a great example. You start working out daily and it bleeds into every other area of your life. Your mind is sharper at work, you sleep better at night, you’re more inclined to eat healthy. Your excellence regarding your exercise habits, creates potential in every aspect of your life.
But, break it down even further…be excellent at even the smallest thing. Making a cup of coffee, let’s say.
You wake up at 6am, and in the early morning light you begin to grind your own beans, organic from Columbia, by hand. You brew your beans in French Press (health warnings be damned! this is what makes the best cup of coffee!). You pour in a splash of the finest (grass fed, duh) creamer. Maybe you blend a little cacao powder and Ceylon (that’s the healthy one) cinnamon in. You keep it pure, simple and, ultimately, excellent.
Now tell me after doing that, other parts of your day won’t be better? That your desire for excellence won’t bleed over? That your potential hasn’t increased? Of course it has.
So, listen to Joe and go practice excellence at one thing in your life. Then watch what happens.
Master Your Money
Open an investment account with no trade fees
You have to invest, simply saving isn’t a great long-term strategy. Though admittedly cash on hand is nice (as I mentioned before) you still need an investment plan.
Don’t complicate things. You’re not aiming to day trade, pick stocks, time the market or any number of other idiotic things people insist on doing. You’re aiming to target low cost (expense ratios under 1%) ETFs rooted in the future (space, AI, marijuana, clean energy, etc.). Why the future? Because this investment portfolio is for the long haul- think 15–25 years +.
The best way to invest? Do it right now and consistently thereafter. You should be looking to purchase more shares every month. Who cares if it’s 1 share, 20 shares or a 100 shares? The idea here is just to make sure you’re investing every month. 1 is better than none.
Weekly Special
The 3 Main Things (And 13 Sub Things) I Measure Daily/Monthly
“If you cannot measure it, you cannot control it. “— Lord Kelvin.
We can’t control most of our lives. But we can control huge parts of it. I’m a strong believer in controlling what we can. Taking some power back, holding onto responsibility for yourself.
Feel free to steal the measurements I use below. Or create your own. If you measure something I don’t, let me know it about please. I’d love to see if it’s something I could add to my measurements.
Here are the 3 main things I measure and then the 14 sub things.
Main Measurement 1: Inputs/Outputs
Output is directly related to inputs. If you’re taking care of what comes in and being selective, you’ll get solid results on what comes out. This is why I spend a good chunk of my time reading. I spend the rest of my free time engaging in meaningful relationships.
I measure these 4 things because I feel that they’re the best indicators of my success, right now. These measurements will surely change over the years.
How many articles I’ve written. Am I hitting my quota of one a day? Sure, sometimes I write 2 or 3 on a Sunday, but all that matters is at the end of the week I have 7 written.
How many people I’ve connected with. I aim to engage with 3 new people every week. Not every relationship sticks. In fact, most don’t. But some have and that’s what matters. If I keep introducing myself to 3 new people every week- my network will undoubtedly grow. It’s simple math.
Follower count and article stats. Follower count does and doesn’t matter. I hear it doesn’t matter because it’s engagement, this is true. But let’s not forget those new followers did engage with you. They took time to follow you, on an internet full of choices. I also like to keep track of my views/reads, which for Medium a good ratio is 20–50%. Mine is 56% currently.
How many books I’ve read. If I’m not getting in 2 books per week, something is wrong. I’m not managing my time well enough and my output will suffer.
Main Measurement 2: Financials
If we don’t manage money, it will mange us. You’ve heard it before, but it always bears repeating. It amazes me when some people have no idea where their money goes. My own mother shocked me the other day. I asked her how much her cable bill was and she had no idea! She pays it every month and has for 30+ years. How can you not know?? (sorry mom!)
Anyway, here are the 3 financials I currently track.
Net worth. This should always be trending upward. My personal net worth takes into accounts my savings, my stock accounts and my 401k. Yours may include a home or other real estate as well (minus the mortgage).
Credit score. Credit scores are weird but they’re also too important to ignore. If I want to invest in real estate and reach certain goals, I need good credit. My girlfriend and I just bought a car and secured a great interest rate that will save us hundreds, if not a thousand or more, over the next few years. These things matter.
Cash flow. I can’t do anything with money if I don’t know where my money is going. So I track what comes in, what goes out and how much we invest each month. I tend to pay my bills every 2 weeks. 2 week chunks allow me to better manage my money without feeling like I need to track every single purchase, every single day.
Main Measurement 3: Health
Our society is becoming fat, sick and depressed. We don’t care about our health for some reason. Probably because it’s easier than ever to overeat and do less. Admittedly, I find it easy too.
So, in an effort to get ahold of my own health before it’s too late, I’ve started measuring things I think matter.
Sleep. I want at least 7 hours every night. If I can get more, I want it.
Workouts. I try to do some kind of workout every day. Even if it’s just some bodyweight stuff or jump rope. You’ll find, like most things, if you track it, you do it more.
Steps. Moving and walking are too good for you. I shoot for 10k steps minimum. I know that’s just some number with no scientific basis behind it. But it’s an easy target that ensures I’m moving.
Meditation. I’m so bad at this but I try to do 2–5 minutes every day. I feel like in this world it’s so easy to bounce from topic to topic and never truly focus. Meditation can help with that.
Naps. Power naps in particular. I shoot for 15–20 minutes. I feel like my afternoons are whole new days, energy wise, after a good power nap.
Diet. I track what I eat and what supplements I take. If my weight is going up, it’s easy to see why. If I’m thinking maybe I’ll have some Oreos, I remember I have to write them down. Sometimes that stops me. Sometimes it doesn’t. But knowing what’s going into my body helps me stay energetic and healthy.
Thanks for reading and if you found this valuable, please share with someone who could use it. See you next Saturday!
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