Archives for July 2017

One of the stats in my Rich Habits research that stopped me in my tracks was this one:

88% of the rich read 30 minutes or more every day for self-education

I was doing a podcast interview yesterday. The host shared a story about a self-made millionaire he had interviewed.  At age 20, long before the millionaire became rich, he had attended a seminar. At the seminar there was a self-help speaker. The speaker told the audience that if you wanted to double your income in one year, start reading for self-improvement every day. So, the very next day, the 20 year old started reading everything he could to help him improve his life. He read self-help books. biographies of successful people and other success-type books. Within one year, the now 21 year old had doubled his income. He continued this Rich Habit for the rest of his life and eventually became a self-made millionaire.

One Rich Habit was all it took.

Reading to learn and to improve will introduce you to new information and new knowledge. It will open your eyes to the opportunities that are all around you. Reading is a common denominator among all successful people.

If rich, successful people read every day for self-improvement, why aren’t you reading?

The harder I work the more creative I seem to become. The more I write, the more ideas for new articles come bubbling up from my subconscious. It’s not just me, it’s the nature of creativity.

Creative geniuses like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison or Nicola Tesla all had one thing in common – their passion for what they did enabled them to work long hours, day after day, year after year. They were grinding it out every day. Idea after idea, thrown away like yesterday’s trash, until that one big idea, that one magnificent spark of genius, seemed to manifest itself out of thin air, transforming ordinary individuals into iconic geniuses.

That’s the nature of genius. It visits the workhorse, typically when the workhorse momentarily puts down their work tools. Eureka-type ideas burst forth while riding a train (Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity), during a nap (James Watson’s structure of DNA and Dmitry Mendeleyev’s Periodic Table), or while taking a bath (Archimedes).

Genius requires consistent hard work. The harder you work the more creative you become. You must relentlessly practice your craft over and over again. Only then will the spark of genius burst forth.

I love interacting with my followers/subscribers. I pay very close attention to every email I receive from them. One of my subscribers asked the following question, which I think is important enough to address:

I just saw a YouTube video of Warren Buffet. He is speaking to students. He is claiming, that habit changing is only possible when you are young. What is your opinion about that?

My Response

Tks for your email XXXX. Unfortunately, Warren Buffet is wrong.

Like you, I admire Warren Buffet. He spent years, single-mindedly focused on ONE THING – finding undervalued companies.

His mentor, Benjamin Graham, was his professor in college. Graham wrote a famous book called The Intelligent Investor. I’ve read this book. It teaches many fundamental principles about investing. Perhaps Graham’s greatest contribution is his expertise in identifying undervalued companies. Warren Buffet spent his entire adult life honing this one singular skill. Buffet is an expert in value investing, mentored by the world’s greatest value investing expert, Benjamin Graham.

I’ve studied Warren Buffet and from all of the books I’ve read, Buffet devotes 8-12 hours every day perfecting his one amazing, great skill – value investing. He admits that he devotes little to no time on anything else, such as the neurology behind habit formation.

So, let me clear things up a bit regarding habit formation.

Habits are formed when neurons repeatedly communicate with each other. This is called a synapse. Given enough time (average of 66 days according to the famous University College London habit study), the Basal Ganglia will take notice of this synapse and, when it does, it will send one of its many long dendrites up to the synapse and anchor it in the vicinity of those neurons. When it does this, these neurons become marked by the basal ganglia as a permanent habit. Age has nothing to do with this process. You don’t stop forming synapses until you die or the brain shuts down. You can form new synapses and new habits well into your 70’s, 80’s or for as long as you and your brain remain healthy and alive.

In today’s fast-paced, highly technologically-driven culture, anyone can voice their opinion. We see celebrities opining about topics they have little to no knowledge or real-world experience in, and this is dangerous.

Just because someone has celebrity, does not mean they have any idea what they are talking about. Actors are expert at acting. Singers at singing. Basketball and football players are professionals in their respective sports. And Warren Buffet is an expert in value investing.

As a rule, ignore celebrities when they are sharing their opinion about anything, unless you know for certain that they have devoted their lives to honing their expertise in the thing they are opining on.

Life has a way of throwing wrenches into our routines.

For the past 30 days, I’ve been traveling quite a bit. My normal routine is to wake up at 4:30am to read, write, exercise and engage with my followers on social media. But that was sometimes hard during the past 30 days. Fortunately, I happen to be somewhat of an expert on habits and so I put my research to the test. Here’s what I did to stay on track:

• Strategically Cheat – I knew there would be certain days I would not be able to stay on track with my Rich Habits routine. So, on my calendar, I planned out my cheat days – the days I would not engage in my daily Rich Habits. Putting those Cheat Days on my calendar notified my brain that I would be cheating on certain days. This helped me psychologically – it gave me breathing room to cheat and at the same time it set a time limit on my cheating.
• Small Steps – When you go off track with your routine, it’s critical to get back on track. The best way to do this is to take small steps back into your routine. For example, just last week I was at the airport at 5am for a 7am flight. I was unable to run that morning. So, the next morning I limited my running to 20 minutes, instead of the 4-6 miles I normally run. Two days later I had to drive twelve hours to New Orleans. No running that day either. So, the following day, I ran 20 minutes. Two days later I was on another early morning flight back home and could not run that day either. So, the next day I ran 20 minutes. Yesterday, I ran 7.5 miles and I am now back on track with my exercise routine. Small steps keep you in the game. Small steps keep you motivated.
• Deplete Willpower Reserves on Recovery Days – When you fall off your routine, it can be hard to get back on track. But it’s only hard for a little while. For example, two days ago was my first full day back to my non-travel “normal” life. Waking up Monday at 4:30am took superhuman effort. But I did it. By the time I was done with my “normal” Rich Habits routine, I felt exhausted. I had completely depleted my willpower reserves. The following day, however, I got up at 4:30am without blinking an eye. I read, wrote, exercised and engaged with my followers on social media. I was back on track.

If you are trying to transform your life by engaging in certain daily habits that will lead to wealth, good health, success and happiness, you must accept the reality that life will throw wrenches into your good habit efforts. By Strategically Cheating, Small Stepping it back into your routine and depleting your Willpower Reserves on Recovery Days, you will stay on track.

Success is a journey and your habits are your transportation system. Stay focused on your Rich Habits. They will take you where you want to go.

I come from a big family. On both sides of the aisle, mine and my wife’s, we have over 200 close relatives. We also have a large network of close friends and acquaintances.

I recently turned 56. As you get up there in age, you begin to think about your mortality. My recent focus on my mortality has opened my eyes to something that bothers me a great deal – far too many of those I love seem to be aging more than others. The ones who are showing more wear and tear have a few things in common:

• The don’t exercise on a daily basis
• They eat in excess
• What they eat is unhealthy
• They are overweight by 30 pounds or more
• They smoke cigarettes
• They drink too much alcohol
• They have lazy minds – they don’t read a lot
• They seem to lack motivation or seem to be bored with life
• Their health is starting to fade – hearing problems, high blood sugar, difficulty walking, back problems, breathing problems, high blood pressure, liver issues, digestive issues, frequently sick, etc.
• They have more wrinkles

Conversely, I’ve also notice that there are a few, not many, who seem to have defied aging and they also have certain things in common:

• They don’t eat a lot of food
• They exercise aerobically every day
• They lift weights
• They eat healthy
• They don’t smoke
• They drink alcohol in moderation
• They are thin and muscular
• They have active minds – they are voracious readers
• They are highly motivated and excited about life
• They have a youthful glow about them

It’s jarring to see the ones you love aging before your eyes. It’s clear to me that your daily habits show up in the mirror. The good news is that you can change that reflection by changing your daily habits. You will age, but how quickly will you age? It all depends on what you do right now. Will you allow your poor daily habits to shorten your longevity? Or, will you take control of your life and slow the aging process down by changing your daily habits? 

Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to your body. When arteries get clogged, blood flow is reduced, depriving your body of oxygen-rich blood. Over time, arteries can become so clogged, that a stroke will result.

Types of Arteries:

• Carotid Arteries – Arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Symptoms: Breathing problems, sudden weakness, confusion, severe headaches, loss of consciousness, blurry vision, trouble with speech,, dizziness, unexplained falls, and loss of coordination or balance.
• Coronary Arteries – Arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart. Symptoms: chest pain (angina), pressure in chest, jaw, arms, shoulders or back.
• Renal Arteries – Arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood to the kidneys. Symptoms: loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness, concentration problems, numbness, itchiness and swelling of feet or hands.
• Peripheral Arteries – Arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood to arms, legs and pelvis. Symptoms: pain or numbness in arms, hands, shoulders, mid-section of body.

The buildup of plaque in these arteries is known as atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Plaque narrows these arteries, making it difficult for blood to flow inside these arteries, leading to damage of the endothelial cells that line the arteries.

How to Reduce Plaque in Your Arteries

While the exact cause of clogged arteries is still a mystery, there are certain things you can do to reduce plaque:

• Aerobic Exercise – Forces widening of the arteries by increasing the volume of oxygen-rich blood that flows throughout all of your arteries.
• Tumeric – The primary polyphenol in turmeric called cur cumin has cardioprotective effects on your arteries by reducing LDL (bad cholesterol). Always take turmeric with pepper.
• Garlic – Studies have shown that garlic can help unclog your arteries.
• Ginger – Ginger has anti-inflammatory effects and anti-oxydative effects. Ginger has artery-protective compounds such as likeshogaols and gingerols, which act to reduce plaque buildup inside your arteries.
• Cayenne Pepper – The compound capsaicin, found in cayenne pepper has been found to help unclog arteries. Cayenne pepper has also been found to lower your risk of stroke or heart attack.
• Lemon Juice – Drinking lemon juice every morning is a Rich Habit that will help reduce blood cholesterol levels and prevent oxidative stress.
• Vitamin C – High doses of vitamin C have been found to strengthen arteries, reduce total cholesterol, increase LDL levels (good cholesterol) and reduce inflammation.
• Cinnamon – In a 2003 study published in the journal Diabetes Care, one gram or more of cinnamon was found to lower triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol in the arteries.
• Ground Flaxseed – Helps unclog arteries with its high fiber content. Also helps to keep arteries free from plaque. by 46%.
• Fermented Cabbage – Also known as Kimchi, this Korean recipe of fermented cabbage and hot peppers was found to slow the atherosclerotic process that leads to clogged arteries.
• Sesame Seed – The fatty acid content of sesame seeds was found to help reduce progression of atherosclerosis, reduce overall blood cholesterol, reduce triglycerides and LDL.
• Pomegranate Juice – The punicic acid in pomegranate juice is an antioxidant that helps reduce plaque formation, unclogs arteries and contains nutrients for good heart health, such as magnesium and selenium.

Your daily health habits can either keep your arteries free from plaque buildup or contribute to it.