Archives for December 2017

Poor Habits destroy your life. They act as an anchor, holding you back from success and the accumulation of wealth. Poor Habits, like all habits, are invisible and, like all habits, their daily impact is imperceptible.

Each Poor Habit you engage in is seemingly harmless and of little affect. But, over time, Poor Habits, like snowflakes, accumulate. Eventually, that accumulation causes an avalanche – a job loss, a heart attack, bankruptcy, divorce, etc.

But that is an abstract. Abstract because it paints a picture that is far into the future. Too far to cause worry today. So, rather, let’s consider the more concrete, understandable impact of Poor Habits. Let’s consider the financial costs of some very common Poor Habits.

• Smoking Cigarettes – The average daily smoker, smokes approximately 15 cigarettes a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Depending on what state you live in, the average cost of one cigarette is between 30 cents to 60 cents. This Poor Habit costs the daily smoker between $4.50 – $9.00 a day. Annually, this amounts to $1,643 to $3,285 a year. Over a lifetime of say, fifty years, this one Poor Habit costs you between $82,150 to $164, 250. Had you, instead, invested that money, earning 6% a year, you would have accumulated between $521,000 – $1,040,000.
• Drinking Alcohol – If you were to consume on alcoholic beverage every day for say fifty years, this one Poor Habit would cost you approximately $100 a month. Had you, instead, invested that money, earning 6% a year, you would have accumulated $381,000 over fifty years.
• Buying Lunch – Buying lunch every day costs, on average, about $6 a day. The cost of bringing lunch in from home would be about $2.50 a day. Had you, instead, invested that $3.50 difference, earning 6% a year, you would have accumulated $140,000 over a forty-year work-life.

These are some common Poor Habits. Poor Habits have real, measurable financial costs. Before you blame some third party for your poverty, consider the cost of your Poor Habits on your life.

Your financial circumstances in life are dictated by your habits. Change your habits and you change those financial circumstances.

Accumulating wealth often requires the elimination of just one or two Poor Habits. Self-made millionaires know this little secret to success. They understand that if they forge good habits, success and wealth are inevitable. Stop blaming others and start taking responsibility for your financial circumstances. Blame does not change those circumstances. It only rationalizes them.

All human cells are powered by one of two fuel sources:

• Glucose or
• Ketones

In either case, glucose or ketones, once they enter the cell membrane they are converted to ATP by the mitochondria (fuel power plants that reside in every cell). ATP is then used to power every human cell.

Cells prefer glucose because glucose is easily mined. You can get glucose from just about any readily available food source.

Any excess glucose-based food source is then converted into glycogen and stored in our muscles, liver or our fat cells.

When food is scarce, glycogen is first released from the muscles and liver and converted into glucose. It is then sent around the body, via our blood, to where it is most needed.

When our muscles and livers run out of glycogen, the body then turns to fat. The fat is broken down, converted into ketones, and sent around the body, via our blood, to where it is most needed.

When you do not eat for four or more hours, you run out of glycogen stored in muscles and the liver.

The body then begins breaking down fat to produce ketones in order to keep the body fueled. This is known as the ketogenic state.

Thus, fasting for four hours or more, or abstaining from eating for four hours or more, forces you into a ketogenic state.

Why is this important?

• Fasting forces the body to rely on ketones. Ketones, when converted into ATP, produces 20% more energy for our cells to use. Ketones are, therefore, a much more efficient and powerful source of energy.
• Fasting has been shown to lower blood sugar levels by reducing the production of insulin and Insulinlike Growth Factor (IGF-1), a hormone that is linked to cancer and diabetes. So, fasting reduces blood sugar levels and the incidence of cancer and diabetes.
• Studies have shown that fasting also reduces the incidence of heart disease.
• Toxins are stored in fat. Those toxins play havoc with your body. Fasting reduces fat, thus reducing the inventory of toxins stored within the fat cells of the body.
• Fasting reduces bad cholesterol (LDL).
• Fasting reduces blood pressure.
• Studies have shown that fasting can reduce the incidence of strokes, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
• Fasting has been shown to reduce epileptic seizures.
• Fasting has been shown to increase life spans by 30%.
• Fasting increases the production of proteins that protect brain cells.
• Fasting improves the ability of cells to repair damaged DNA.

Back in 2005, one of the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits Study made a comment that I wrote down so I would never forget it:

Relationships are the currency of the wealthy.

The millionaire was doing his best to explain to me the importance of Rich Relationships in creating success and its corresponding wealth.

Rich Relationships are relationships you forge with other successful or success-minded individuals. The value of these Rich Relationships is that they are door openers – they open doors and short-cut the success process.

Just one Rich Relationship can reduce the amount of time it takes for you to realize a dream or some big goal, from years, to as long as it takes to dial a phone number.

The problem is, forging Rich Relationships is not easy. It requires an investment of your time.

You must invest time finding individuals who can open doors and move mountains. And then, once you find them, you must invest time in growing and maintaining each Rich Relationship.

Where Do You Find Rich Relationships?

According to my research, one of the most abundant places to find Rich Relationships is in local, community-based non-profits. Most of the individuals who run these non-profits are either board members or individuals who work on the various committees of these non-profits.

How Do You Grow Rich Relationships? 

Networking, Hello Calls, Happy Birthday Calls, Life Event Calls.

• Networking – You grow Rich Relationships by staying in constant contact with them. You network with them by joining a non-profit you truly believe in and work with the members in fundraising activities and the various events the non-profit employs for purposes of giving back to the community or the beneficiaries of their cause.
• Hello Calls, Happy Birthday Calls, Life Event Calls – Click on here to learn more about Hello Calls, Happy Birthday Calls and Life Event Calls.

Rich Relationships open doors that are otherwise closed. They introduce you to other Rich Relationships who can instantly turn a dream into a reality.

Of all of the Rich Habits, forging Rich Relationships is perhaps the most important and hardest thing to do. It’s not easy finding Rich Relationships and it’s not easy growing and maintaining them. It requires an investment in your time. But that investment will eventually help you in your quest to become successful.

When we think of poverty, invariably we think of money. But poverty of money is an effect for which there are many causes:

• Poverty of Knowledge
• Poverty of Awareness
• Poverty of Compassion
• Poverty of Habits
• Poverty of Work Ethic
• Poverty of Goals
• Poverty of Dreams
• Poverty of Vision
• Poverty of Charity
• Poverty of Generosity
• Poverty of Relationships
• Poverty of Kindness
• Poverty of Willpower
• Poverty of Discipline
• Poverty of Skills
• Poverty of Curiosity
• Poverty of Hope
• Poverty of Vocabulary
• Poverty of Health
• Poverty of Courage
• Poverty of Wisdom
• Poverty of Truth
• Poverty of Good
• Poverty of Humility

The goal should not be the pursuit of wealth. The greater goal should be the elimination of poverty in all its forms. Poverty has many tentacles, all of which lead to one place – Financial Poverty.

To simplify and better visualize the construct of our brain, neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean articulated the concept of the “triune brain” – Neocortex, Limbic System and Brain Stem.

But, the brain has many complex sub-systems. One of those is the anterior cingulate cortex. The anterior cingulate cortex includes subcallosal and precallosal portions that have extensive connections with the insula, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, and brain stem.

In other words, it touches each one of the triune brain parts.

Why should you care?

You should care because recent research into the anterior cingulate cortex is helping to unlock the mystery of how the old brain (Brain Stem and Limbic System) communicates with the new brain (Neocortex).

Still, why should you care?

You should care because this communication is where inspiration occurs.

Our old brain (Brain Stem and Limbic System) has been around for millions of years.

Our new brain (Neocortex) is a recent addition. Some neuroscientists peg the existence of our new brain at just 75,000 years.

As a result, the old brain is significantly more evolved and powerful than the new brain. And its powers are just beginning to be understood.

One of those powers is inspiration. Inspiration is the means by which the old brain communicates ideas to the new brain.

But inspiration is hard to come by. The few who are able to on-ramp this powerful communication highway have changed humanity with their inventions and become enormously wealthy in the process: the automobile, rockets, light bulbs, the Internet, Google, Facebook, the iPhone, and the microwave.

How Do You Turn on Inspiration?

There are certain things you can do to access this powerful inspiration-based communication system. And the common variable is slowing down your brain:

• Meditation – Meditation slows down your brain waves, enabling the anterior cingulate cortex to orchestrate communication between the old brain and the new brain.
• Aerobic Exercise – Aerobic exercise exhausts the brain. In this state, the old brain and the new brain are in sync and able to better communicate.
• Massage – A deep massage relaxes the entire body, including the brain, slowing it down.
• Warm Bath/Hot Shower – Hot water raises your body temperature. Several benefits of this rise include: Improved blood circulation, Improved lymph circulation, detoxification, increased metabolism and calmer central nervous system. The brain is part of the central nervous system.
• Moderate Consumption of Alcohol – Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows down the brain and the central nervous system’s processes. One or two glasses of alcohol does the trick.
• Take a Nap – When you enter and exit sleep, you must pass through the alpha state. In the alpha state, brain waves are slowed down, enabling the anterior cingulate cortex to work its magic.

All habits have triggers. A habit trigger is something that sets a habit in motion. According to my research, there are six common habit triggers:

#1 BIOLOGICAL

Hunger pains are a trigger that tell us it is time for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Feeling groggy is a trigger that tells us it is bedtime.

#2 TIME

We have morning habits, afternoon habits and nighttime habits. The alarm clock or the sun peeking through the blinds in the morning are time-driven triggers that tell us it is time to wake up in the morning. January 1st triggers us that it’s time to start losing weight.

#3 VENUE

We have habits that are triggered when we enter the kitchen (I’m hungry), the bathroom (brush teeth), the family room (watch TV), our workplace (drink coffee) or drive along some street (McDonalds arches – time for a hamburger).

#4 EVENTS

Cell phone sounds tell us its time to check our messages. Calendars alert us to begin certain habits – an upcoming half marathon triggers us to begin training. Black Friday triggers us to begin Christmas shopping.

#5 EMOTIONS

Feeling sad triggers us to eat ice cream or candy. A stressful day at work triggers us to drink that glass of wine or have a beer. Falling in love triggers us that it’s time to settle down, get married and start a family.

#6 PEOPLE

Who we associate with can trigger certain habits. One friend might be a trigger to go to a bar and drink. Another person to gamble. Yet another to exercise.

Awareness is the key to habit change. Being aware of the triggers that set in motion certain habits, enable us to surround ourselves with those triggers or distance ourselves from them.