Zombies are all the rage it seems. What makes a zombie a zombie? Zombies have no self-awareness. They are driven only by unconscious, instinctual behavior. They are on autopilot, oblivious to their surroundings. They are non-thinking beings, curious about nothing. Zombies do not think about their actions, the thoughts they’re thinking or the decisions they make. Zombies live in a world of negativity.

In my research, I’ve met a lot of zombies. Their lives are a mess. They struggle financially and wallow in poverty. Their zombie kids do the same, growing up to become adults who struggle financially.

To some extent, we all have a little bit of zombie inside us. We do things without much thought. We have habits, behavior and thinking that we’re not even conscious of.

How do you know you’ve got a little bit of zombie in you? Your life is dull. Your work bores you. Every day seems exactly like the day before. You’re tired all the time. You have no energy to do anything creative. You drink too much. You watch too much TV. You spend too much time on Facebook or the Internet. You eke out a living and struggle financially. You have excessive credit card debt. Your relationships are all on life support. You hang out with others who have zombies inside them. You are angry and frustrated with your life.

How do you shut down your inner zombie? Self-awareness is one way to shut it down. You must become aware of the habits, thinking, behaviors and emotions that are dragging you down in life. Only after you become aware, do you have a shot at removing your inner zombie. One by one, you then attack each zombie habit, zombie thought, zombie behavior and zombie emotion. Baby steps is the key. Make one change a month for a year. After a year your inner zombie will begin to disappear. Your life will become better. Your mindset will shift from negative to positive and you will become happier about life. Your mind will burst with creative ideas. You will begin to grow and expand as an individual.

Another way to defeat your inner zombie is to find something that you are passionate about and pursue it. Build a side business around anything that excites you, that stirs your emotions and inspires you. Still, another way, is to pick up some new skills. Do something that is outside your comfort zone and enables you to grow. Paint, write a book, create an app, start a blog, etc. When we engage in creative pursuits we cease being zombies.

Those who struggle in life are doing unconscious things that are undermining their lives. They do not challenge themselves or push themselves outside their comfort zones. they get stuck in routines that are not helping them grow as human beings. If you want to defeat your inner zombie start tracking your daily habits, thinking and emotions. Pursue something novel and creative. Zombies don’t succeed in life. Take steps today to defeat your inner zombie.

I was raised in a good old fashioned Irish Catholic family in the New York City area and we had some bad money problems growing up. I remember when money was, well not there, and that gets to everyone in the household. It got to my Mom, that’s for sure. She would be in the kitchen, drinking coffee while we (the kids) were in the kitchen and she would say things like “money is the root of all evil” or “it’s harder for a rich person to get into heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle”, or something like that. Her best one, I think, was, “God must love poor people because he sure makes a lot of them.”

And my Dad, who was at one time the Democratic leader on Staten Island, and his close political friends, would, on the campaign bus or in campaign headquarters, tell us (the kids) that rich people needed to be taxed more in order to shrink the wealth gap (the disparity of wealth between the rich and the poor). The idea seemed sound, take money from those who have a lot of it and give it to those who have the least of it (the poor).

Well, I bought into all of that. And then I started studying the habits of the rich and the poor and as I was studying the data from both groups I started to notice some things that simply did not hold up to my youthful indoctrination. There were a number of data points that really stuck out and made me scratch my head. One was exercise. According to my data, the rich exercised much more than the poor. Now, my youthful indoctrination taught me that rich people didn’t work nearly as hard as the poor and that they indulged in all of the pleasures that life could afford them. I just assumed all rich people were fat and lazy. So, either this statistic was wrong or an anomaly, or my rich vs. poor programming was wrong.

It took about a year for me to realize that the rich vs. poor programming I had received as a child was the opposite of reality. The 233 rich people in my study shared nothing in common with the evil, greedy, fat and lazy rich people that existed in my indoctrinated mind.

Let me get back to the exercise data I gathered on the rich and poor. One data point I uncovered indicated that 76% of the rich ran or jogged 30 minutes a day at least 4 days a week, while only 23% of the poor had this habit. I have since continued my research, particularly in the area of habits and their effect on the brain. Here’s what I found with respect to the habit of running or jogging:

The brain uses 20% of your oxygen reserves. Running or jogging increases oxygen flow into the brain. This nourishes brain cells and acts like a janitorial crew, soaking up the waste (fee radicals) inside each brain cell. This additional oxygen from running and jogging helps make the brain cleaner and healthier. Twenty – thirty minutes of exercise every day has been found in numerous studies to stimulate the growth of the axon branches on each brain cell. The number of axon branches you have is directly correlated to how intelligent you are. Those with more axon branches on their brain cells are more intelligent than those with less. Exercise also increases blood flow into the Dentrate Gyrus. The Dentrate Gyrus is part of the brain’s Hippocampus, a region involved in memory formation and neurogenisis (birth of new brain cells). Running and jogging, it turns out, also stimulates the production of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDFN). BDFN is miracle grow for brain cells, which keeps brain cells growing and expanding.

In a new study, which was just published in the February, 2016 edition of the Journal of Physiology, researchers at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland compared, head-to-head, the impacts of running, weight training and high-impact intensity interval training on the brain. Here’s what they found:

Running or jogging increases brain volume more than any other exercise. When we run or jog, we actually create more new brain cells at a rate that is double or even triple that of other types of exercise.

It’s now very clear why rich people had developed this habit of running or jogging – running and jogging improves brain performance. It makes you smarter. But what’s more interesting is the fact that the rich had this running or jogging habit log before they made their first million. They had been doing it for years. They were fine tuning their brains their entire lives, making them smarter. Their brains, because of this lifelong habit, were superior to the brains of those who did not run or jog. And when you have a superior brain, especially in the fast-paced world in which we live, you have a significant advantage when it comes to making money. Plus running or jogging requires discipline in the early going (until it becomes a habit, which takes about two months), which increases our self-control or discipline muscles. Not only are rich people smarter because they run or jog, they’re more disciplined, because they run or jog. Now, I’ll concede that running and jogging are not the only reason the rich get rich. But it is one of the reasons. Running or jogging are another success weapon in your holster. Let’s face it, smarts and discipline are formidable success weapons for those in pursuit of wealth and success. So, if you want to become rich, start running or jogging. It will literally put your brain on steroids. The smarter you get, the more opportunities you begin to see. And opportunities are all around us.

In a recent report from the Brookings Institute, they found that rich people live longer than poor people. Rich men live 12 years longer than poor men and rich women live 10.5 years longer than poor women.

Why? There is no single variable. It’s a multitude of things:

• Rich People Work Longer – Poor people work fewer hours and retire at a younger age than rich people. How does this affect longevity? For most retirees, retirement usually means a significant reduction in productivity and a reduction in your associations. Being productive keeps the brain alert. Interacting with others at work is contributes to longevity. When you retire, those interactions drop off or stop altogether. According to Harvard Professor of Public Policy, Lisa Berkman, social isolation is a significant factor in reduced longevity.
• Rich People Exercise More – Rich people exercise more (predominantly cardio exercise) and this improves overall health, reduces obesity rates and increases brain performance and intelligence.
• Rich People Associate With Upbeat People – Poor people surround themselves with negative people, which keeps them in a negative mindset. Associating with other negative people impairs your health. Negativity causes long-term stress, which impairs your immune system and causes chronic disease. You can’t make money if you are chronically ill. Negative people are unable to find solutions to problems because negativity narrows your focus, creativity and capacity for insight (aha moments). If you associate with other negative people they are like Miracle Grow for a negative mind. Negative people also come with baggage. This baggage often arrives at your doorstep unexpectedly, which distracts you from pursuing anything worthwhile.

What’s happiness? I don’t think happiness is any one unique feeling. Joy is happiness. Laughter is happiness. Being around your loved ones is happiness. Feeling content, for whatever reason, is happiness. Feeling satisfied is happiness. That feeling you get when you win at something is happiness. Relief is happiness.

If I had a gun at my head to define happiness in one simple way I suppose I’d define happiness as feeling good at a particular moment in time.

I experienced happiness yesterday. It started with a call from a friend who had a complex international tax question that I was able to explain in a way that was no longer complex. He was so appreciative and I felt good. That happiness feeling lasted about 15 minutes. Then a few hours later I received an email from a first time, self-published author who wanted to know what he needed to do to succeed. I spent about 30 minutes crafting a very long email, bullet pointing the key things I learned over the past 5 years that I felt were critical to my success. I got an email back from this person thanking me profusely. That happiness stayed with me for about an hour.

While neither of these two individuals will very likely ever be able to adequately repay me for helping them, I think they already have. They gave me 1.25 hours of happiness, I wouldn’t have otherwise had, in a very hectic day during the busiest time of the year for me (tax season). They gave me the opportunity for happiness by asking me for help. And I took advantage of that opportunity.

I think the real take away is that we should all devote a portion of every day helping others. Giving creates happiness for the person doing the giving. The key is being on the lookout and making yourself aware of opportunities to help others. When you make giving a daily habit, you’ll be happy every day of your life.

Poverty sets limits. Those growing up in poverty embrace a belief system which sets limits that often extend out to many generations. And beliefs define your destiny in life. That poverty-destiny mindset then becomes a blueprint for your future life. You build a life of poverty around this mindset. Essentially, this poverty-destiny mindset says: I was born poor, I’m a victim of my circumstances and the world in intent on keeping me poor. That thinking and those beliefs make poverty a mental disorder.

Conversely, those with a rich-destiny mindset believe they can change their circumstances, no matter how wretched they might be. They then create a blueprint of their future lives that has the effect of removing any limitations. This Rich Thinking breaks the cycle of generational poverty, enabling the poorest of the poor to achieve great things in life. If this was not true there would be no Andrew Carnegie’s, no Oprah Winfrey’s, no Ralph Lauren’s, and no Howard Schultz’s (Starbucks).

The only limitations in life are the ones we set.

Face to face meetings with individuals is the most effective means of communication and relationship building. But face to face meetings demand more of your time. When the telephone came along it made it easier for individuals to communicate with each other. Travel time to get to the other person was no longer a factor. As a result, calling those you wanted to maintain a relationship with became easier. Then email came along. Emails were an even more convenient way to communicate with others because they allowed us to shoot out a few short sentences, back and forth, in order to maintain or grow the relationship. Then instant messaging became the new rage, making communication even more convenient. Instant messaging soon evolved into Facebook and Twitter, which was faster than email. Once Facebook, Twitter and other similar communication platforms were integrated into smart phones, soon everyone was communicating via something that came to be known as social media. The Convenience Principle is the reason we have phones, cell phones, email, social media, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Malls and offices in our homes.

The power of convenience makes it possible to do things we might not otherwise do. For example, Facebooking someone a happy birthday message instead of blocking off an hour or more to meet them for lunch or instead of blocking off 10 minutes to talk to them on the phone, makes saying happy birthday (a Rich Habit, by the way) easy. We all like to take the easiest route.

This same principle can be applied to habits. When we make a new habit easy to do, we’ll do it. When it’s hard, we won’t. If you want to read more, make sure whatever it is you want to read is easily accessible. If you want to eat healthier food, put your apple on the kitchen table and the potato chips in the garage. If you want to jog, put your sneakers and workout clothes on the floor by your bed. Make your new habit so easy and convenient that your brain doesn’t have to overcome any obstacles to engage in the habit. Make success habits so convenient you will want to engage in them every day.

Our public education system in the U.S. has an agenda. It is working overtime to indoctrinate our children to accept it’s success plan. What is that success plan? Go to college, get a good job, get promoted and after 30 years retire and live off your savings and retirement money, supplemented by Social Security.

The 99%’s who follow this success plan eventually find out it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because employers don’t cooperate. They have this habit of firing people when business slows or the economy falters.

Fortunately, there are some out there who don’t buy in to the public school success plan. I like to call them the 1%’s. These 1%’s, at least from what my research tells me, were indoctrinated by their parents or some mentor in their lives, to follow a very different success plan. The success plan they follow is to go for their dreams. Take a risk and be daring. Build goals around those dreams and pursue those goals.

Under this success plan, the 1%’s are taught to never put their ladder on someone else’s wall by following someone else’s life plan or someone else’s dreams for them. They are encouraged to pursue their own dreams, to grow their knowledge base through daily self-education and to hone their skills until their skills put them in the top 1% of performers in their industry, career or niche.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you are already one of those who has learned the hard way that the public school success plan doesn’t work. You’re frustrated, disillusioned, and maybe more than a little pissed off that you were led down the wrong path in life. But, you’re also not dead. Which means you can change the success plan you’ve been following. Today’s a good day to do that.

If I were to boil success down to two success characteristics they would be Grit and Growth.

Those with Grit never quit on their dreams and their goals. No number of obstacles, rejections or failures that life throws at them stops them from pursuing their dreams and goals. They simply go at it every day and never stop trying.

Grit is acquired by two means: habit and passion. Individuals raised from a young age in an environment in which they must fight for every scrap develop the habit of grit. Those without this habit, nonetheless can acquire the grit characteristic by being raised from a young age in an environment that encourages them to pursue their passions in life. Grit is often joined at the hip with passion. Passion provides the motivation to never quit.

Those who are perpetually growing, seek to expand their knowledge and skills on a daily basis. A growth mindset is acquired by three means: habit, inborn and passion. Individuals raised at a young age in an environment that encourages daily learning develop the habit of growing every day. Those not raised in such an environment, nonetheless, may possess this characteristic if they are born curious. Fortunately, curiosity seems to be an innate human trait. We are, to some extent, and some more than others, innately curious. So curiosity is hard wired into our humanity. Those not raised in a growth environment or weak in curiosity can still acquire this characteristic. Pursuing something you are passionate about can transform even the most disinterested person into a growth fanatic.

The common denominator for Grit and Growth is passion. No matter your circumstances in life or your genetic makeup, passion is the great equalizer.

Those who find their WHY in life, find their passion to pursue something with a fanatical persistence that virtually guarantees they will succeed. When you find your WHY, there is no lack of knowledge, no obstacle, no NO that will stop you. Your WHY motivates you every day so you can keep pushing the ball up the hill. There’s no question that when you find your WHY, you know it. There is never any doubt. If you are unsure about whether you have found your WHY, you haven’t. But finding your WHY is not that easy. You can either wait for your WHY to find you, or you can go out and find it yourself. So, where do you begin?

There are many places to look but, from my research, I have discovered that your WHY typically can be found inside one of the following Freedoms:

• Freedom from poverty
• Freedom from financial worry
• Freedom from debt
• Freedom from “work”, employment or being a wage slave
• Freedom from your current responsibilities
• Freedom from others currently in your life
• Freedom from your current life and environment
• Freedom to travel
• Freedom to spend more time with the ones you love
• Freedom from addictions
• Freedom from poor health
• Freedom to live your life on your own terms
• Freedom from dependence on others
• Freedom from time pressures
• Freedom to learn and pursue novel, or new things

Don’t wait for your WHY to find you. Go out and find it yourself. It’s out there, waiting to be discovered. It is the light switch that, when found, will turn on some passion that resides deep inside of you. Your WHY can usually be found inside some freedom you desire. Each morning find a quiet place, sit down for 10 minutes, close your eyes, silence your mind and focus your thoughts on one singular thing: What is my WHY? This puts the old brain (subconscious – aka limbic system and brain stem) to work. In time, your old brain will find the answer and let you know through intuition (that voice inside your head).

It is virtually impossible, for most individuals, to immediately abstain from a bad habit. It requires enormous willpower and willpower is a very limited resource. Willpower appropriates too much brain fuel (glucose). Eventually the brain runs out of brain fuel and willpower fades, forcing us to fall back on bad habits. But there is a way to train your brain to release you from bad habits that does not demand too much brain fuel.

Instead of going cold turkey on a bad habit, continue to engage in the bad habit, but reduce your engagement in the habit by 50%. The brain will not fight you on this because it requires a minimum expense of willpower. Once you have trained yourself to engage in a bad habit at a reduced rate of 50%, that 50% becomes the new habit in about 30 days. After 30 days you can then reduce your engagement another 50%. After a few months you will be able to abstain from the bad habit altogether without any push back from your brain.