Signature Better Life Hack(s)

Thanks Brandon, my morning routine has needed a refresher. I actually went backwards, starting with scribe and ending with silence, because of my TM practice and where that is best to fall into the routine. I'll let you know how it goes!

Here's what I came up with to get started for me. I expect it will evolve over time.

Wake 25min Get up when I wake & prime for day- weight, Phish, water, GB, coffee, eat.

Scribe 5min Write down 3 things you are grateful for today.

Read 5min The Daily Stoic and reflect

Exercise 25min Stealth + 1 activity (bike, walk, or max push ups)

Visualization 5min Read goals, define goal for the day

Affirmations 5min Verbally journal

Silence 20min Morning Transcendental Meditation

TOTAL 1hr 30min (4:30am-6am, give or take 30mins)

MVP ACTIVITY – first thing after TM, go into the activity defined by the goal you set for today

“The reason for setting a goal isn’t to achieve it, but rather, to know how to act appropriate in the moment.”

My Signature Life Hacks:

#1 - Miracle Morning Routine: Having a morning routine has changed my life. Each morning I follow the S.A.V.E.R.S acronym from Hal Elrod's book, The Miracle Morning.

Silence (15-20 min) - I use a guided mediation app called 10 Percent Happier

Affirmations (2 min) - Written affirmations read each morning

Visualizations (5 min) - I use a technique called Goal Setting to the Now (next hack)

Exercise (30-40 min) - No more hours at the gym, I use Beach Body On Demand

Read (10 min) - I read one chapter of the Bible each morning

Scribe (2 min) - I write down 3 things that I'm grateful for

I've found that repeating this routine each day (most days) gives me the energy and fuel I need to tackle each day. It helps me start the day off with the right perspective, and has hands down been the most productive change I've made in my life.

#2 - Goal Setting to the Now - Gary Keller (founder of Keller Williams) says the reason for setting a goal isn't to achieve it, but rather, to know how to act appropriate in the moment. That's why I use the technique Goal Setting to the Now from the book, The One Thing. The first and most important step is determining what is your "WHY". I believe the Japanese describe it best with their concept of Ikigai, which means, a reason for being. To have purpose and a direction in life that inspires you to take action and provides a sense of meaning to your life. Once you know your WHY or ikiguy, set a 10 year goal or vision for what and where you want to be in 10 years. From there you set the following goals:

3-year Goal: What's the one thing I can accomplish in the next 3 years to ensure I'm on track for my 10-year goal?

1-year Goal: What's the one thing I can accomplish in the next year to ensure I'm on track for my 3-year goal?

90 Day goal: What's the one thing I can accomplish in the next 90 days to ensure I'm on track for my 1-year goal?

Monthly Goal: What's the one thing I can accomplish this month to ensure I'm on track for my 90 day goal?

Weekly Action: What's the one thing I can do this week to ensure I'm on track for my monthly goal?

Daily Task: What's the one thing I can do TODAY that will ensure I'm on track for my weekly action?

Writing this down each morning will give you incredible clarity and motivation!

#3 - I don't drink alcohol

For some reason I've resisted jumping on the Audible train the past couple of years. Something about it didn't seem right, or not as "pure" as actually reading a book. However, the last couple of weeks I've decided to give it a shot, and I'm not sure I'll ever actually read a book again! I feel like I retained more by listening to the book, and it was much quicker than I could have read it. They say you have to read a book multiple times to really retain it and to for it to stick, but re-reading a book has always seemed so daunting to me. I'd much rather just plow forward to the next book, even knowing that absorption would sacrificed by doing so. Since I can listen to a book in a fraction of the time, I'm training myself to get into the habit of re-listening to the book as soon as I'm finished. I'll report back, but so far, I am implementing much more from the books I'm listening to than I ever did from the books I actually read.

#1 - Car University, listening to personal development books on tape while driving. I'm a slow reader and haven't read a book in 15 years. But in the last 6 years, within my Audible library, I have been able to absorb over 150 titles, many of which I've heard multiple times now, from thought leaders around the world that I can correlate directly to work achievement, creativity, and mental health performance. (Super hack: by turning up the reading speed in Audible I'm able to listen to books 4-5x faster then I could possibly read)

#2 - Transcendental Meditation - undisputed mental hack numero uno = mindfulness, stillness, and any form of mental realization/relaxation, pick your peace.

#3 - The Land of Living Rent Free, ie house hacking - are you aware you only need 3.5% down to buy a home and you might be able to borrow the down payment from yourself? Also, did you know you don't have to use your own money to pay the mortgage?

***If you have never used Audible, shoot me a message. I can send you your first book for free.