Saturday Success Series: Volume 41
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: This one skill is the #1 predictor for success
Master Your Money: Don’t go into debt for a degree unless…
And of course…
The Weekly Special: 5 Great Things That Happen When You Stop Drinking
The goal here is maximum value, so let’s get to it.
If you’re ready to build your own audience: Twitter is the platform to do it and Create 24/7 is the guide to use. Comprehensive and fully guaranteed. Grab yours today.
Five to Focus on:
In a noisy world, it’s hard to know what’s good out there. Let me help.
Quote to ponder: “The biggest challenge in business isn’t your competition, it’s what goes on inside your own head.” - Barbara Corcoran
Stock to consider: TSLA (Tesla)
They just had their 3-1 split, making their stock more affordable for most. And yes, they may be overinflated but they’re also the leader in EV. And EV is only growing bigger over the next 20 years.
Disclaimer- this is not financial advice, I am not a financial advisor, and you should always do your own research.
Book to read: How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
This book spans time (1500s-current) and emotional depth like few others. We meet Shakespeare and Charlie Chaplin and hear 3 love stories in one- a romantic love, a mother/son and a father/daughter.
Show to enjoy: Day Shift on Netflix
Jamie Foxx does not disappoint as a vampire slayer. This is bloody action at its finest. With some comedic moments thrown in for good measure. It’s the summer blockbuster movie you want to prepare for all the Halloween movies over the next 2 months.
Beer to sip: Black Carpet Magic from Foreign Objects
If I were going to start drinking again, Foreign Objects is who I’d break myself in with. Every offering of theirs is something special, but this one transcends even the others. Heady aromas of Sauvignon grape must, sweet melon, grapefruit bitters, and deep hop resin.
Master Yourself
I’m convinced that this one skill is the # 1 predictor to a quality life that I do it every single day, for at least an hour.
It seems so simple but then again, (most of) the best ideas are simple. Not necessarily easy to implement, but simple in nature.
So what is the skill?
Reading.
Now, to be fair, this is a two part answer as to why/how this is the number one skill.
Part one: Your reading skill, ability, comprehension. It won’t matter what you read if you don’t understand it.
Part two: The desire to act on it. You need to put to work what you learn.
Take a look at this list.
Warren Buffet.
Oprah Winfrey.
Bill Gates.
Elon Musk.
Mark Cuban.
Mark Zuckerberg.
Jeff Bezos.
All billionaires. All wildly successful. All HUGE readers. In fact, they all attribute reading to their insane success. In fact, Buffett says he spends 80% of his day reading.
But forget billionaires for a second.
Pretty much every successful person you know reads. Doctors, lawyers, CEOs, top sales reps, the list goes on.
Since 2016 I make sure to read at least 2 books per week (at least 104/year), mostly non-fiction. 2017 onward is when my success (and net worth) started to climb rapidly.
Books are your mentors that you can return to over and over. You can learn so much from other people’s mistakes, their wins, their stories. If you read, you’re not guaranteed success but if you don’t read, you are pretty much guaranteed to be unsuccessful.
We’ll end on a great quote from W.E.B Du Bois, in a life advice letter to his daughter.
“Read some good, heavy, serious books just for discipline: Take yourself in hand and master yourself. Make yourself do unpleasant things, so as to gain the upper hand of your soul.”
Master Your Money
There’s a lot of student loan debt talk these days.
And I’m not going to argue if the debt is predatory or valid or whatever else.
I’m just going to tell you that debt for a college degrees is no longer worth it unless you’re going into a STEM major.
STEM being Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics.
STEM degrees have an average salary of 100k. Non-STEM degrees have an average salary of 55k.
You do the math.
Your art history degree isn’t going to pay for itself. You’re going to pay for it, for a long time.
Make sure you’re going into a field that can pay your debt off. Otherwise, just get a cheaper certification or some experience and work your way up.
Weekly Special
5 Great Things That Happen When You Stop Drinking
The reality is, alcohol is a toxin. I won’t preach (too much) about letting alcohol go forever, but I will tell you some of the great things that happen when you do.
Our society doesn’t have a great relationship with alcohol. The guess is that between 7–10% of the population has a drinking problem. I’d guess it’s even higher. Because if we’re being honest…weekend binge drinking is a problem. Needing that glass of wine every night, is a problem. Needing alcohol at every social event, is a problem.
So let’s look at the positive things that happen when you stop drinking. And while there are many benefits to not drinking, I narrowed my list down to my 5 favorite things.
Your skin glows like you’re 18 again
Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it removes water from your body. Booze also reduces the synthesis of the antidiuretic hormone, which aids in water reabsorption. That will be visible on your face.
When you’re drinking your face is bloated and aging rapidly. Alcohol dehydrates the skin, making wrinkles and pores more noticeable. Your skin’s natural plumpness and healthy radiance is lost. Once you quit, you notice your face looks younger and better.
Your belly flattens like you’re Halle Berry (ok maybe not)
There’s that bloat again. Alcohol is full of empty calories, which we all know, but since it’s also a toxin it creates additional bloat. It’s an inflammatory substance, and your belly is a pretty noticeable inflammation area.
Aside from that, the National Cancer Institute, drinking booze has been linked to an increased risk for cancers of the mouth, liver, breast, colon, and rectum — and the risk increases the more you drink.
Your mind clears and you start to think like Einstein
The fog you walk around in as a drinker, clears quickly once you stop. We’ve all had hangovers, but imagine living in a perpetual state of unease. This is what happens to alcoholics and borderline alcoholics.
In a New Scientist study, participants who quit drinking for 30 days reported an 18% increase in concentration and a 17% increase in performance at their job.
When you drink almost every day, there’s this haze you walk around in. It feels shitty. You’re slow to pick up on things, you forget things and you confuse stuff easily.
Your energy increases like you’re Tom Brady
A big reason for this is that you sleep better. You may feel like pass out when you drink and sleep like the dead, but it’s not restorative rest. Alcohol does not improve sleep quality, according to a new study of 27 studies. Alcohol, according to the research, allows healthy adults to fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply for a short period of time, but it decreases rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And the more alcohol you consume before going to bed, the more pronounced these effects become.
Also, it bears repeating, alcohol is a toxin. So whenever it’s floating in your system, you’re dragging. Your body is working overtime to get rid of any alcohol that comes in.
Socializing gets better, like you’re a celeb at the Emmy’s
You actually remember things. All the fun you had last night, you can recall it. The conversations, the laughs, the tidbits about others. It’s all there in your brain. And you’re witty and charming, not loud and obnoxious.
There’s something about having meaningful conversations (and remembering them) that really elevates socializing to a new level. I’m thankful that for the past 6 months, I can remember every conversation I’ve had with others. Life is more vivid sober.
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.