This Just In… Invest in Yourself
Thanks for tuning in! This week’s post features: Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy (book), The Best Investment Decision I Have Ever Made by Darius Foroux (blog), Why Must Artists Be Poor by Hadi Eldebek (ted talk) & more. Enjoy…
Book: Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy (117 pgs)
I like to think of myself as a fairly productive and efficient person. I typically balance my time pretty well with minimal worry about getting things done on time. Of course I slip up here and there, but I think 22 weeks straight provides a good track record. Even still, I am always looking to improve myself and eliminate stress from my life.
For these purposes, this book is brilliant. It short and to the point, there is very minimal fluff and almost all of the 21 tips add value. As Brian writes, “ In this book there are no lengthy departures into theory or research. What you will learn are specific actions you can take immediately to get better, faster results in your work and increase your happiness.” Some of my favorite tips were:
- Practice creative procrastination (tip #5)
- Use the ABCDE method continually (tip #6)
- Upgrade your key skills (tip #11)
- Get our of technological time sinks (tip #17)
Check this book out for quick tips on becoming your most productive self. Apply them and be amazed by how much time you have been wasting. Reclaim your time, reclaim your life and enjoy your new found freedom.
In case you are curious, and I know you are, the title of this book is a play on a Mark Twain quote, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
(Don’t hold this against me and don’t write off the book if I ever miss a post)
Blog Post: The Best Investment Decision I Have Ever Made by Darius Foroux (4 mins)
Nobody will invest in you unless you do. Consider every decision you make especially financial ones as investments. Whatever the thing is, it can be defined as an investment in one part of your life. As Darius points out, going to the gym is an investment in your health. Spending time with your loved ones is an investment in your relationships. Taking classes is an investment in your brain. Forget about the cost of these investments, instead consider the returns you reap. Do more of the things that have high returns and drop the things that have minimal to negative returns.
Considering the world we live in today, it is evident that there is a direct correlation between your inner work and outer success. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. The more you invest in bettering yourself, the more returns you will get in the world. When looked at it from this perspective it is easy to see that investing in your education is a survival strategy; so track your investments and try to beat the market.
Ted Talk: Why Must Artists Be Poor by Hadi Eldebek (6 mins 42 secs)
Last week, I wrote that I started a graphics page for myself without any formal education. This got me curious about art school and careers and more and that curiosity took me, as it often does, to TED; where I found this talk.
Apparently, only 10% of art school graduates end up as full-time artists, at first I started thinking about how lucky I am to pursue art, and these writings, for the fun of it. These are side projects that keep my creative brain working. Obviously making money off of my arts and writings would be a huge bonus but that is beside the point.
Back to the topic, when you consider the other side, you have to acknowledge that it is a shame that 90% of art school graduates are forced to take other jobs, give up their passions and succumb the starving artist archetype because they can’t find jobs in their respective fields of art. Hopefully, Hadi’s work over at GrantPA will help artists make the world a more beautiful place by helping artists so they can continue to do what they love and work so hard at.
Bonus: How to Support Autism Awareness Month this April by Ladislas de Toldi (2 mins)
Next Sunday, April 1st, kicks off Autism Awareness month and I decided that I am going to do a whole post dedicated to autism. But before we get into that, I wanted to introduce autism and how it relates to me.
For the past couple of years, I have written long Facebook posts on April 2nd (Autism Awareness Day) in honor of my autistic brother, Jake. It is important to me that he, and all other people on the autism spectrum, feel comfortable in this world. I believe that internal comfort comes partially from understanding, compassion and empathy of others which comes from engagement and education. Spend any amount of time with someone on the spectrum and all judgments will subside as you will quickly gain tremendous amounts of understanding, compassion and empathy for them and their caretakers. While it is true that Autistic people do have differences, they have more in common with “normal” people than not. Unfortunately, some “normal” people can not overlook their differences and close themselves off; refusing to be in a place — either physically or mentally — that allows for the development of these emotions to cultivate. In these instances, education is the only thing that can bridge the gaps. As someone that has a strong connection to autism, I believe that I have a responsibility to share that autistic people aren’t so different. I am excited to do this in a different medium than I have become accustomed to, and I am excited to share with you.
I am going to publish next week’s blog on Monday instead of Sunday to keep up with my tradition of addressing this topic on a public forum on Autism Awareness Day. So tune in next Monday for my post on autism!
If you want to know how you can contribute check out this article, it is a good starting point. And don’t forget to wear blue on April 2nd!!
Quote: “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live” — Jim Rohn
I stumbled upon this quote the other day while eating a medium sized bag of cool ranch Doritos. As I’ve talked about in the past, I come from a family of good genes and being healthy was/is important to me. I used to go to the gym every day, track my calories, I rarely ate junk food, you know the typical stuff that obnoxiously healthy people do. However, since my time in Israel, I have not been holding myself to the same standards and I have been noticing changes in my body. I don’t feel or look like in as good of shape as I used to be. I’m taking this as a sign to put down the Doritos and pick up some avocados and get back to the gym in order to get back in shape. Hopefully, I pull this off just in time for beach season in New Jersey when I return home in June.
Wish me luck!
What was your favorite bullet in this post? If you had to pick only one bullet to keep in this post what would it be and why and if you had to get rid of one what would it be and why? Send a message or comment below.
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To your growth! Stay curious…
P.S. If you want my notes for the book above, send me an email with the subject “Notes for (insert book name)” and I will happily share.
