1 Exercise Exercise is huge.

I briefly touched on what happens to you in the sho rt term but consider also the long term effects of regular exercise. As you main tain a regiment of exercise your body fat percentage drops, your flexibility and strength increase (less chance of injury) your lifespan extends, your immune sy stem is bolstered, you maintain your youth longer, you carry over a sustained vi gor to other parts of your life, your resting heart rate goes down, and you have a general feeling of well being. Pretty sweet. Clearly exercising is very impor tant; given both its short and long term benefits. But do you have to do this every day? That seems strenuous. Try expanding your d efinition - You don t give it your 100% every day. Some days may be 10 minutes of simple light stretching, just to keep the habit. Other days may be 2.5 hour mons ter gym sessions. I use this habit to help me accomplish two other things very important to me, me diation and getting in nature. Often times my physical exertion is a one hour wa lk through the park or along the water front. Practicing a walking meditation is a great way to center yourself and help carry the skill over to everyday life. Being in nature has a similar balancing effect on your well being. But you don t need me to tell you to work out. The benefits are all clearly docume nted by scientists and people. There are networks and resources for support and endless sources of inspiration to motivate you. 2 Meditation This habit is fucking HUGE. You need to meditate. Think about what part of the human experience spirituality addresses the ego and fear two concept s that are SO tied up with hitting on girls. I think a lot of people get messed up here because the benefits are very intangible at first. The S curve of Mastery that I described above has a very looong period of sucking shit . If you re not exper ienced then your image of what meditation should be like is wrong. Fighting your expectations will be a constant battle as you learn to meditate. Here are some resources to help you learn. Reddit Article Very concise introduction to meditat ion Mindfulness in Plain English Amazing book that covers the topic clearly and in depth. Meditation Retreat 10 day intensive mediation retreat Holosync Tapes that induce a meditative state (great training wheels) A fortuitous person may discover mea ns of acquiring the audio. (make sure its .flac and not .mp3 format + listen wit h good headphones) Practice Hurr durr. Start meditating everyday. The evidence i s in by a landslide, both anecdotally and empirically. Meditation will change yo ur life so start today, any reason your not is an excuse. Once you get the hang of it you will leave your meditation sessions feeling cent ered, calm, and relaxed. It has an ego-lessening effect and awareness increasing effect that spills over to your everyday life. If you keep up the practice you ll notice that your focus and attention span increases dramatically, as does your sight and sound sensitivity (think of the most visceral things you do sex, eatin g, sports etc.) Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and senso ry processing will literally [url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13 61002/ ]become thicker[/url]. In the long term, meditation offers a profound transformation of how you experien ce reality It will bring you joy, peace, and happiness. This is real and you need to be doing it. 3 Reading - If you read the right books you will be moved, inspired, and motivat ed. Think about what you expose yourself to. There s a million shitty blogs on the int erent written by whoever. But then theres books out there that will change your life. Books that the most gifted human beings on earth have spent years writing. A lifetime of experience, insights, and lessons learned given to you in a nice handheld easily digestible form. :) I started this habit at a half hour a day. Recently I ve started reading about an hour a day and am burning through books. With a constant flow of information in you increase your ability for information to flow out (applying knowledge to you r life)

Reading is an easy habit to put off and you need to make it a priority. If you re not regularly reading then you may start to fall asleep as you pick up a book. Y our mind is not conditioned properly and you need to force yourself through that period. Your reading speed and comprehension do pick up over time just stick to it. 4 Creative Recreation - People are going to approach this one very differently b ut if there is something you can sit down and do purely for your enjoyment than that s awesome. Think of a flow state activity that you can put your full expressi on into. For me it s playing an instrument. If you ve ever seen someone play the gui tar or piano at an extremely high level in a non performance setting then you ll k now what I m talking about. The S curve of learning an instrument is very, very, ver y long. But you get out what you put in. Your amusements will leave you feeling rejuvenated and can often break up and lighten the day. As you invest in your ho bbies you will get more and more out of them I generalized this habit as creative recreation because I want to emphasize the fa ct that recreation is not a spectator sport. Vegetating on the couch watching co mmercials is not recreation. 5 Nutrition - As you build a productive life your ability to stay focused and ha ve energy becomes very important. What you eat has a huge effect on how you feel . If you eat right you can avoid energy crashes, fight off sickness, and general ly just feel good . I know that I m definitely not the best person to give nutrition advice but the re sources are out there. It should be obvious that what you put in your body is ve ry important. Do yourself a favor and learn how your body works. For me, I don t e at sugar or processed food. I drink 1.5L of water a day and I make an extra effo rt to eat more plant based foods. I supplement my diet with fish oil etc. I thin k what s most important though is that you proactively decide what you put in your body. Make the time to cook your meals, keep your fridge stocked, and don t buy c onvenience food. 6 Reasonable Spending - Like nutrition, this habit is more of a choice you make rather than an active investment of your time. Its pretty straight forward, ever y day I try to manage my money reasonably. Apply the concept of reactivity/proactively to your spending and you have an exc ellent framework for managing your money. Did you plan on making this purchase? If not then don t do it. The nature of planning a purchase is that it is in line w ith your goals and budget. The nature of making an impulsive/reactive purchase i s quite the opposite, it is right here and will satisfy me right now (mostly consu mer/convenience items ) 7 Brain Buster + Current Events - Part of my morning routine is to check out the economist, my local news site, or the new york times and read two or three arti cles. Given my background and where I want to go in life it is going to serve me well to be informed and have the ability to notice trends and understand the co mplexity of global issues. I also work very hard to develop my critical and lateral thinking. Every day I c hallenge myself to solve one extremely difficult problem. Actually I only figure them out about 30% of the time. On my computer I have a repository of IQ, Mensa , brain buster type books that would take a lifetime to work through. Some probl ems I solve in five minutes others take me thirty until I break down and look at the solution. If you run a business or are any kind of decision making authority (or eventuall y want to be in that position) then I can t vouch enough for this habit. You need to be sharp and informed. Period. 8 Social - Every day I make an effort to advance my social skills. Your ability to communicate effectively with human beings has so many implications in your pe rsonal and professional life. I ve gone through experiments with this habit and I

think the less your around people the more you need to make it a priority (my li festyle right now has me around new people ALL the time, but there have been oth er times in my life when I actively had to make that happen) I ve tried a few different things. For a while I really focused on listening to pe ople with the intent to understand, pushing the urge to get my point across asid e and giving other people the floor when they were expressing themselves. I ve don e different experiments with eye contact and physicality while communicating as well. Regardless, going out and approaching trumps all when it comes to developi ng your social skills. 9 Personal Management - This is the easiest of all habits to implement. Just 10 minutes a day and your bachelor pad is looking clean and fresh. Not many long te rm benefits here except maybe you don t lose your possessions as often and they ha ve and increased lifespan. In the short term doing your laundry, not letting you r dishes pile up, and making your bed can offer you a peace of mind and allow yo u to work unfestered on other projects. 10 Project 1, 2 or more times a week - For me I set aside a two hour block twice a week to work on a personal project. This could be fleshing out a business fea sibility plan, recreating my weightlifting routine, catching up on some reading, creating a budget, doing research, or writing a mega post for rsd :) At the beginning of each week I choose what two projects I plan to work on and w ithin the week I find time to fit them in. Use this habit as a way of revitalizi ng old projects that are collecting dust or to begin something new that you ve bee n thinking about but haven t got around to. The effects this habit has on your short and long term productivity are huge. 11 Podcast/TED Talk/University Lecture - If you re a thinking human being with a d esire for knowledge then you should be listening to podcasts, watching ted talks and viewing the thousands of lectures professors and researchers have on the in ternet. This is a habit I integrated for both its short term and long term benefits. In the short term I find it interesting to learn about new topics. A lot of times i t s on a subject I m interested in at the time, other times its something completely new. Either way I m exposing myself to the best and brightest minds of today and expanding my understanding of the world. If you engaged yourself with this material every day, what would the long term e ffects be? Besides a vast and varied wealth of knowledge you would begin to draw disciplines together. Your understanding and awareness would grow so large that the value and wisdom you could offer other people would be incredible. *For a practical tip, throw a queue of talks you re interested in on your ipod and listen while exercising. 12 Language - Every day I spend thirty minutes learning a new language. This is an ongoing task that I struggled to integrate. You realize almost no immediate b enefit and that makes it exceptionally difficult to do every day. The S curve of m astery is very, very long (years). But alas, the benefits in the long term must be exceptionally rewarding. I can o nly speculate as I currently only speak one language, but from my time studying in Italy I can tell you I would have got a lot more out of the experience had I spoke the language. Coming from a business perspective being bi/multi-lingual wo uld likely be a huge advantage. For me, I intend to spend a large part of my life travelling. If you expect to l ive another 50/60 years of life on this earth then imagine the lifetime of oppor tunities and experiences other languages may open you up to. Don t cut yourself of f. For some practical advice getting started I recommend the rosetta stone. It s a vi sual program that is a great way for getting you started. Listen to talk radio ( via internet) and get a language book with exercises to help you practice. Get a women your seeing to join in. It accelerates the process so much if you have so

meone to practice speaking with. We are the first generation with ready access to the internet. The resources to help you pick up a language are out there and they are free use them. [continuted below] 13) Plan the next day - This is so huge. Note that there is a small learning curve to this as you figure out a system tha t works for you. Maybe you like to manage your timetable through your phone, or maybe you just pencil out what you do on a list. Whatever the method it must sat isfy two requirements: 1) The document must be easily accessible to you througho ut the day, and 2) it must specify approximate times when you will complete each task. It s pretty simple. When you have some time to think with a clear mind you plan ou t what you want your next day to look like you do it. The time you know you have to yourself (mornings usually) you can set a more ridgid structure than the tim es where there are many variables as to what you may be doing. The plan is your servant, not your master. Never get upset if things don t go the way you thought it s just a guideline to keep you on track. Lost time, interferenc es, failing to execute out of laziness or apathy, unforeseen events, all of this will happen. Don t be worried, the element of proactivity you introduce into your life by planning your days out already places you way ahead. Another thing to keep in mind is that your primary goal is not to be efficient. It is to be effective. Don t be so worried about having some intense schedule that will burn you out quickly. Allow a good amount of time for transitions and even more for other forms of time you will use organically. If you have in your head a picture of someone ruthlessly triaging priorities, feverishly executing tasks and running around from one item to the next then you should rethink your under standing. As you go through your day you will apply yourself to each activity wh olly and with everything you ve got. You will take things slow and execute with pa ssion, care and effort not with haste or carelessness. 14 Sleep - Your either plugged into the matrix or you re not. If your plugged in y ou re a spectator you watch tv, you kill time on facebook, you days slip by as you wander through in lower consciousness. If your unplugged you re a player You are taking consistent and massive action, you are constantly ingesting new informati on, you are pushing your boundaries and limitations, you are growing. So naturally if you re living your life fully engaged you need a good night s sleep. The amount of stress you experience by pushing yourself, the information your i nternalizing, and the focus and stamina you need to keep going can all be facili tated by a good nine hours on the pillow. Take this shit seriously you will notice a difference. If you ve ever studied sleep you know that your body goes through approximate 90 m inute cycles (from deep sleep to REM sleep), you know the amount of light you ar e receiving effects your bodies melatonin production, you know that what you eat before bed can affect your sleep, and you also know that sound can disrupt your sleep. You know that sleep plays an integral role in learning and memory. You a re also aware that the human body associates certain surroundings or conditions with sleep (think when you walk into a bathroom you feel like you have to pee. T he same thing when you are in your bed you get sleepy. Therefore only use your b ed for sleep and sex). I sleep in total darkness, in a cool room, with a fan for white noise (drown out traffic and creaks in house that would otherwise wake me up). I have comfortabl e mattress and I wake up to an alarm clock that gets brighter instead of making noise (simulates the sun rising) I don t set my alarm for the same time every morn ing, I set my alarm either 7.5 or 9 hours from when I fall asleep (so I don t wake up in the depth of a sleep cycle you may have to tinker with the times but you will learn your body). Try some of this and you will be amazed with the effects on your energy levels, retention of information, and how you enter your days in the morning.

15 Professional Development - You re either working in the industry you want to be in or you re not. Either way you should spend some of your day developing the ski lls necessary to succeed in the industry you want to be in. If you re stuck in a job you don t like then this daily ritual is the key to breakin g through. You will develop yourself in the area of your interest until you have the credentials, credibility, or opportunity to move permanently. Maybe you re st uck working as a bank teller, but you want to get into internet marketing. You s hould begin to spend a part of your day learning the skills you are going to nee d to be an internet marketer. Think of it this way, most people are reactive. Most people land a job through c onnections or convenience and after they have that job they then learn the skill s necessary to succeed. You are not that person. You will do the reverse. You wi ll gain the skills through your own force of will and then land the job . This is t he formula to carve a life of your design and live your dreams. If you re already in the industry of your dreams then you should never stagnate. C onstantly focus on learning new material, keeping up with trends, observing comp etitors, or expanding your professional reputation. Focusing on this will allow you to offer more value in whatever you do and will facilitate success. 16 Journal + Research - Keep a journal and update it every day. What is a journal? A journal is a place where you write out your thoughts and th en look back at them and ponder. You then write about what you thought of your t houghts and think about that. (meta-meta cognition) Do you see how this can be a valuable tool for personal insight and growth? This isn t a high school dairy. It s a tool you use to track your thoughts, expand o n insights, accelerate your growth, and look back on your progress. Shits happen ing? Write about it. The very act of consciously creating syntax to your thought s can help you become more rational and can facilitate problem solving in your l ife. There is a second part to your journal writing ritual that you need to engage in . Research. As you make discoveries and insights you should seek out truth and g uidance. We have the internet and it is an amazing tool for feedback. Our parents generation had to live with misinformation their whole lives. Our ge neration enjoys the luxury to with incredible ease - access the forefront of hum an knowledge in the snap of a finger. Use this luxury to fuel your growth. Falling Apart Four types No matter how hard you try, or how much effort you put in, you will at times fal l apart. I would say theres four ways this happens: Getting sick, apathy, short t erm mating strategy and consuming commitments. If you don t have a lot of self discipline then the most common way you will fall apart is apathy. You need to understand that apathy is death. Apathy IS death. I t will kill your growth and suck you into laziness. It happens as you slip into lower consciousness. Correlatory displays in your behaviour emerge: depression, apathy, negative and low self esteem thought patterns, etc. There are so many th ings that can throw you off track and sink you into apathy: Loss of progress, ne gative feedback, feeling blue , video games, addictions, poor diet, lack of sleep, fear, financial/family/social stressors. This is where taking responsibility is key. This knowledge helped me fight myself when my brain would come up with rati onalizations and excuses for why I coped out on my duties. The rationalizations were pretty good sometimes (I didn t have enough time, I wasn t physically able, I w as sick, it would be counter productive etc (your brain is very clever)) but the facts were in. I couldn t gloss over the correlation between my daily choices and how they affected my productivity. Eat shitty food, get poor sleep, and you wil l be less productive. When you fall into the gutters of apathy the only way out is to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. If you have ever taken the time to write out your values th en they can be a key extremely helpful in this situation. Read them over, ponder them and commit yourself to them. The quicker you can recommit yourself to your values and get back on track, the better. You will go through this process many

, many, many times The second way you completely fall of track is when you get sick. The average ad ult catches two to four colds a year. That s two to four weeks of setbacks, suffer ing, and disruption. Not much you can do about it other than prevention (and as it turns out prevention is pretty effective! You don t ever have to get sick [drink water, avoid binge drinking, get all your vitamins and minerals, sleep, oral hy giene, washing your hands, and regular relaxation. Only anecdotal evidence but I found that when I got sick poor sleeps for many consecutive days was always a f actor]) The third type of falling apart is what tyler would call your short term mating s trategy . To be honest with you, I don t think this is that bad. I look back at my e xcel chart of times where I was in this mode, nothing would be getting done. I w ould be drinking and smoking and doing drugs. Say a five day bender where I pull two or three times in that period. Retrospectivly I wouldn t change a thing thoug h because in those moments I was having SO MUCH FUN. I met so many people and de veloped so many relationships. When your in this mode you are just on . Its so amaz ing to me that your brain has these two levels it can operate on. From my experience, the more resources you have (money, leisure time, lack of re sponsibility) the more intense the effects of the short term mating strategy mode can be. Think, if you have a job or no more money etc. external forces like that can FORCE you to get your shit together. But when you re in the mode you re sure fu cking good at rationalizing away your money, time, and responsibilities but holy fuck does it help you pull girls. So I think the key is to take an element of p roactively into this. Acknowledge that this is going to happen to you and that i t s OK. You know you ll get your shit together eventually. Just be smart about your life and don t cope out on any major responsibilities. The fourth way I would consistently fall off track with my habits is when I had a consuming commitment to honor. Maybe this was a family obligation or a travel day, or a big exam I had to prep for. Whatever it is you just do what you need t o do and get back on track as soon as you can. When these kinds of things come u p though I notice it s a lot easier to bounce back as opposed to sinking into some apathetic hurr durr state that s the worst. Rebounding Two Phenomena In my explorations I noticed two phenomena. The first is that you can t just focus on one area of your life. If you start seriously working on one discipline ever ything follows. You start fixing yourself in ALL areas of your life. The second phenomenon that I noticed when falling off the path is that you will come back stronger than ever before. I am not sure if this is because you have l essons learned from falling off or because your definition of what being on the path has now been expanded. Either way the process of growth is obvious, you fal l and you get back up stronger that before. Keep in mind that falling off the path is an inevitability and will happen (a lo t). Its how quickly you notice (awareness and higher consciousness) and recommit (take right action) that will determine your growth rate. Streaking Looking back over my performance I noticed that my habits would streak. Theres a n element of general momentum (Excercising in a day may give you momentum to com plete other tasks) and then there is an element of discipline specific momentum (If you meditated yesterday it is more likely that you will today) On the flip side there s negative momentum. If you don t do something today then it will be harder tomorrow and even harder the next day. The result is that disciplines streak. You have runs where you ll stick with it ev ery day, but then you will have runs, sometimes for weeks, where it just never s eems to fit in your schedule. For this reason extra effort has to be made to rev italize individual habits that are falling apart. The Anxiety Response The anxiety response is so key to your growth. I left this section last for a re ason this is such a POWERFUL concept. Your body comes equipped with the tools for your growth and that anxious feeling you get IS THE TOOL. When you realize you don t know what you need to know there is an uncomfortable an

xiety. Your poor ego is exposed and your feel good belief systems are shaken. Do not run from this feeling of anxiety. It is SO human nature to suppress the fee lings and rationalize them away. You look at your bank balance and you realize y ou barely have enough money for next months rent, an uncomfortable anxiety comes over you. Maybe you got caught lying and an uncomfortable anxiety comes over yo u. Maybe you see an approach you know you should do and an uncomfortable anxiety comes over you. Your emotions are your feedback system. Do not let your ego get the best of you. Your ego will rationalize your life awa y, giving you all the reasons to be O.K. with your mediocrity and failure. When you feel that uncomfortable anxiety you need to ruthlessly seek out the cau se and address it. Take full responsibility for what has happened to you. Maybe you realized you have been financially irresponsible. The ego response would be to justify your situation, I needed to get that stuff, I had to make those purcha ses This is unacceptable thinking if you want to grow. Consciously ponder the anx iety and take responsibility for your situation, Wow I was managing my money extr emely poorly this last month. I need to figure my shit out, etc etc" By diving into that anxious response, figuring out what s going on and taking FULL responsibility for whatever is happening, you will facilitate your ability to C HANGE and GROW in the future. Do not sabotage your growth and buy into your ego. The key to your growth is your emotional system, and you would do well to get i n touch with it (hint- meditation)