Articles

Newcomers to social media and influencer marketing naively assume that if they can build a big following, those followers will buy from them. But that's not always the case.

Be Yourself, Not a Niche

January 30, 2021 in Marketing

Try to be a legitimately interesting person with all the varied things you find fascinating, and don't worry if it takes longer than the growth you see from others.

My Goals and Guidelines for 2021

January 15, 2021 in Life

Everything I hope to do and stay aligned on throughout this year, with monthly updates along the way.

Intentional Laptoping

January 14, 2021 in Happiness

Health, happiness, connection, community, the most important things in life do not happen behind a laptop.

My 2020 Review, Reflection, and Key Lessons

January 11, 2021 in Life

By far the most extensive, and most useful, annual review I've ever done.

Not a Full-Time Creator

December 22, 2020 in Life

Once your art becomes a business, it stops being as artful.

My Last Day at Growth Machine

December 18, 2020 in Life

Coming into 2020, I had a goal: turn Growth Machine into an actual business that could grow and thrive without me.

Personal Leverage: How to Truly 10x Your Productivity

December 15, 2020 in Productivity

Keep going until you're left with the few core things you need to, and want to, be doing.

The Problem with Retirement Funds

December 11, 2020 in Finance

Why get rich slowly?

I'm a Stupid Monkey and You Are Too

December 8, 2020 in Psychology

Instead of relying on Willpower, or even Habits, I use the Stupid Monkey model: how do you get a stupid monkey to not do something it really wants to do?

How to Train a Dog (or Human)

December 1, 2020 in Psychology

We can apply all of the same principles to changing the behavior of people around us, and we’re already doing much of it whether we know it or not.

My First Elk Hunt

December 1, 2020 in Hunting

In the fall of 2020 I went on my first elk hunt. Here's how it went, and what I learned from it.

How I Spend 5 Minutes Per Day on Email

October 28, 2020 in Productivity

I don't "do" email anymore.

Announcement: I'm Also Posting on Everything!

October 14, 2020 in Life

If you're not familiar with Everything, it is the future of online publications.

The Mental Model Behind Every High-Performer I Know

October 14, 2020 in Productivity

What makes the systems mindset so powerful, how we can use it to be more effective in our personal and professional lives, plus some common challenges with using it and how to overcome them.

The 75% Rule for Lifestyle Creep & Early Retirement

September 9, 2020 in Finance

Following the 75% rule can ensure you’re always getting closer to early retirement as your salary increases.

How to Eat Meat While Caring About the Environment

September 1, 2020 in Health

Industrial meat production is causing significant harm to the environment. There's no denying that. But you can support and protect the environment with a few small tweaks to how you eat meat.

How to Make Podcast Listening Productive with Audio Highlighting

August 26, 2020 in Productivity

How to remember more of what you hear with audio highlights that automatically export into your note taking app of choice.

30 Year Thinking

July 22, 2020 in Life

What do you want to be doing in 30 years? And is that reflected in how you spend your time?

How to Start a Blog that Changes Your Life

July 16, 2020 in Entrepreneurship

I can’t guarantee following what worked for me will get you to the same place. But I can guarantee it will get you somewhere you never expected.

Improving Idea Flow

June 9, 2020 in Learning

Having an opinion should require seriously thinking about something. Not just repeating someone else's opinion.

College After COVID: How to Get The Best of Both Worlds

May 8, 2020 in Education

No one will pay $50,000 a year to watch Zoom lectures. For all the bad it has done, hopefully COVID-19 is the shock to the system the university system needs.

Old Business, New Tricks

April 21, 2020 in Entrepreneurship

If you can come up with a clever tweak to make customers happier or more successful, you could have a huge business on your hands.

5 Lessons from Year 27

March 5, 2020 in Life

Today's my 27th birthday! Here's a few things I learned this past year.

How to Take Smart Notes: A Step-by-Step Guide

February 7, 2020 in Learning

My guide on how you can use the "smart notes" or "zettlekasten" method to get more out of every book you read, and turn that knowledge into your own creative works.

Money or Wealth

February 4, 2020 in Finance

You can have work that is high in wealth creation or work that is high in income generation, and typically they’re different kinds of work, but both are worth having.

Making Money, Making Happiness

January 18, 2020 in Psychology

Having money is unlikely to make you happy. But earning money can make you very happy. Depending on how you get it.

Roam: Why I Love It and How I Use It

January 18, 2020 in Productivity

Roam has a learning curve, but after a few weeks of playing with it I already love it much more than Evernote and Notion. Here's why, and how I'm using it.

The Best Things I Read in 2020

January 4, 2020 in Learning

The 40+ best articles I read last year, plus a few favorite books and the best things I wrote.

The Procrustean Bed of Productivity

January 3, 2020 in Productivity

If you can set annual goals and hit them on the expected timeline, you’re not thinking big enough or you work in a factory.

Beyond Happy Hour

July 19, 2019 in Social

Because happy hour is such an easy default, replacing it takes effort, but I’ve found some good ways to introduce more sober social activities into your schedule.

How to Use Notion to Set, Track, and Hit Your Goals

June 26, 2019 in Productivity

To show you just how powerful of a tool Notion can be, here’s my entire system for tracking my annual goals down to my daily focuses, how it interfaces with my other tools, and how you can use it to get more done yourself.

Cup & Leaf Cafe pt. 3: Getting Our Permits

June 18, 2019 in Cafe

After 4 months of going back and forth with the city, we finally have all the permits we need to start work on the Cup & Leaf cafe! Here's everything that went into the permitting process, and the bumps we hit along the way.

How to Make Passive Income

April 19, 2019 in Entrepreneurship

Forget the hacks. This is the step-by-step guide you need to make thousands of dollars of passive income per month.

6 Lessons from Year 26

March 5, 2019 in Life

Since it's my 26th birthday, here are a few things I've thought about this year and hopefully started to learn.

Cup & Leaf Cafe pt. 2: Finding and Leasing a Commercial Space

February 26, 2019 in Cafe

In part two of the Cup & Leaf cafe series, I explain how we found and signed on a commercial space for creating the cafe.

The 6 Best Cheap Project Ideas for Learning Marketing

February 25, 2019 in Marketing

If you're just starting out, projects are absolutely essential to learning marketing and becoming competent enough to get hired. Here are some ideas for things you can work on to learn marketing.

Cup & Leaf Cafe pt. 1: Why Would We Open a Cafe?

February 15, 2019 in Cafe

We've officially signed the lease and started work on the Cup & Leaf cafe in Austin Texas. Here's what led to the decision to start it, and why it makes more sense than you might think.

Increasing the Difficulty

February 12, 2019 in Psychology

How can I make this more challenging... in a way that won't destroy me?

No, You Don't Need a Budget

January 31, 2019 in Finance

It's the slowest, least interesting, and most limited way to achieve its goal.

How to Set, Track, and Reach Your Goals Using Airtable

January 22, 2019 in Productivity

My system for taking big target goals and breaking them down into the simple steps you can take each day to reach them.

How to Start a Podcast in 2019: 8 Steps from Idea to Launch

January 16, 2019 in Entrepreneurship

Now that I’ve gone through it twice, I’ve figured out a step-by-step method you can follow to easily start, record, edit, and publish your own podcast.

An Easy, Fast, Personal CRM for Making and Maintaining Friendships

January 10, 2019 in Social

It's hard to meet new people and keep in touch with them after college. This is the system I'm using to remember who I'm meeting, what they're interested in, where they live, and to stay in touch with them.

The Best Books and Articles I Read in 2018

December 14, 2018 in Books

A collection of the most interesting books and articles I read throughout 2018, to give you some ideas for the holidays or 2019.

Systems Without Goals is a Path to Mediocrity

November 27, 2018 in Productivity

The idea we should dispense with goals and focus on systems has taken the productivity-sphere by storm, but it's a terrible strategy for accomplishing anything interesting.

Maybe You Should Go Hunting

November 19, 2018 in Hunting

If you care about buying free range, ethically sourced meat, a hunted animal is as free range and ethically sourced as it gets.

How to Raise $25,000 in One Day Without Investors

October 8, 2018 in Entrepreneurship

For my first company, I raised $25,000 from investors after spending months courting and pitching them. Now, I realize there's a faster, much better way to do it.

How to Play Liar's Poker (The Card Game)

October 1, 2018 in Fun

Liar’s Poker is a card game based on probability, memory, and deception. It can be played with 2 or more people, with 8 being a good maximum. 4-6 is ideal, in which case a game typically lasts 20-45 minutes.

Growing Growth Machine: How We Went from 0 to $100k MRR in One Year

September 25, 2018 in Entrepreneurship

How we grew our content marketing agency from zero to $100k MRR in one year, where we're going from here, and some advice for other agency or service business owners.

Two Years with No Shampoo: My Results, and How to Quit it Yourself

September 11, 2018 in Health

I stopped using shampoo (and conditioner) two years ago. Here's what happened, what I've seen change in my hair, and how you can quit shampoo yourself.

Webflow vs. WordPress: Why I Moved My Site to Webflow

September 1, 2018 in Writing

I’ve been using WordPress for 4 years, but now I’ve moved this site, and am moving my other sites, exclusively to Webflow. Here’s why.

How to Be Really, Really, Ridiculously Productive

August 31, 2018 in Productivity

A complete system you can use to be crazy productive, including everything from macro-level goal setting level down to the daily habits to keep you on track.

The Need for Social Disobedience

August 13, 2018 in Social

For every person so intolerant of other views that they block you on Facebook, there are two or more others who will think “finally someone said something.

16 Popular Psychology Myths You Probably Still Believe

July 2, 2018 in Psychology

With fewer than half of major psychology studies failing reproduction, it's not crazy to assume a new psych study is more likely to be false than true.

How to Start an Ecommerce Business in 3 Weeks: Launching Cup & Leaf

May 21, 2018 in Entrepreneurship

Including finding a supplier, setting up the online store, packaging and preparing the initial products, designing the blog to drive sales, and launching!

My Delicious Bulletproof Tea Recipe for Fat Loss, Ketosis, and Energy

May 19, 2018 in Health

The easy step by step recipe guide to make delicious bulletproof tea to perk you up in the morning, support ketosis, and prevent you from getting the dreaded caffeine crash.

Yes, You Should Delete Facebook. Here's Why.

April 9, 2018 in Social

Quitting Facebook does actually matter. It sends the message that companies can’t, and shouldn’t, try to have that much power over our lives. If Facebook thinks they can keep focusing on addiction, ad revenue, and data collection with no consequences, they’ll keep doing it.

21 Tactics to Help You Become a Better Writer

March 19, 2018 in Writing

While I still feel unqualified to tell you how to write better, I decided it could be helpful if I shared the advice that’s helped me improve.

6 Lessons from Year 25

March 5, 2018 in Life

Today is my 25th birthday, so I thought it would be fun to reflect on a few lessons I’ve (hopefully) learned this year. A “year-in-review” post with less of the “look how much money I made.”

How to Make Your Own Delicious Kombucha in 7 Days

February 24, 2018 in Health

Whether you’ve had kombucha before, or you’re curious about trying it for the first time, this guide will take you from 0 to delicious kombucha in a week.

Forget Commitment: Invest in Something

February 19, 2018 in Psychology

If you grew up in rural North Dakota with a dozen mates your age, and no intentions of leaving the lovely Billings County, you’d feel perfectly comfortable getting married in your early 20s.

Easy Keto: How to Sustain a Ketogenic Diet with 5 Simple Rules

January 15, 2018 in Health

Follow these five rules, and you should have no problem getting into and staying into ketosis. The first week might be a little rough, but after that you’ll find it’s a surprisingly easy diet to live on.

Level 3 Thinking: A Unified Theory of Self-Improvement

January 8, 2018 in Psychology

A model for how to improve our thinking. For how to be a little less dumb, naive, or mistaken. How to broaden our perspectives, learn more effectively, and accelerate personal development.

The 12 Best Books I Read in 2017

December 18, 2017 in Books

This year I read 60-65 books. You can find get my notes from all of them, and these were my favorite 12 that I’d highly recommend anyone read next year.

A Simple Exercise to Discover What Skills You Should Learn

December 11, 2017 in Learning

You can use the Internet to teach yourself anything. This exercise will help you figure out exactly what skill, or skills, you should focus on.

Cultivating High-Quality Inputs for High-Quality Outputs

December 4, 2017 in Productivity

Unless we want to become info-obese, unable to resist the tasty clickbait in front of us, we’ll need to fight our evolutionary tendencies.

The 18 Best Books for College Students to Read Before Graduating

November 27, 2017 in Books

These are the must-read books for college students, high school students, and any young adult trying to take more control of their life.

How to Be More Productive with a Daily System for High Output

November 20, 2017 in Productivity

This systems makes productivity effortless. It minimizes the amount of self-control you need to do your best work. It makes productivity a habit.

The Goal Setting Template for a High-Output Life

November 13, 2017 in Productivity

What we need is a reliable system for clarifying big life goals, and then breaking them down into manageable pieces. A template for maintaining high output.

How to Easily Last 20 Minutes or Longer in Bed

November 2, 2017 in Sex

The exact exercises, tactics and techniques you can use to train yourself to last 20 minutes or longer in bed naturally, in just a few minutes a day.

Self-Education: Teach Yourself Anything with the Sandbox Method

October 30, 2017 in Learning

A perpetual cycle of constant learning and improvement, where you never have to stop improving your abilities or stagnate at a learning plateau.

How to Break Through Any Learning Plateau and Never Stop Growing

October 23, 2017 in Learning

Any time not spent improving the weakest part of your skill is a waste. When you see you’re stuck, start improving the weakest part of your skillset.

The Motivation Machine: How to Get & Stay Motivated for Any Goal

October 16, 2017 in Productivity

What I designed is a motivation machine, a reliable system you can use where any goal you desire will be started and completed.

The Article MVP: How to Test Business Ideas Fast, Free, and Solo

October 9, 2017 in Entrepreneurship

In a world of infinite opportunities, one great business challenge is picking which opportunities to go after.

Negative Exercise Might be Killing You

October 2, 2017 in Health

Negative exercise can explain why some people manage to gain weight, or at least not lose much weight when starting an exercise routine.

How to Free Yourself from Facebook (While Keeping Messenger)

September 27, 2017 in Social

At one point, Facebook was fun and exciting to use, but for many, it’s now somewhere between a compelled membership and a guilty addiction.

The Destructive Switch from Search to Social

September 25, 2017 in Social

When your life can be spent partying for free on the Las Vegas strip, it’s hard to choose to go to the library instead.

I Consumed Nothing but Water for 5 Days. Here's Why, What Happened, and Why it Was Awesome.

September 20, 2017 in Health

For 120 hours, I didn't have a single calorie of food. I lost weight, cleaned out my system, and felt awesome. Here's why.

The Spotlight Effect: Why No One Cares About That Thing You Did

September 20, 2017 in Psychology

Unfortunately, most people spend their days obsessed with what other people are thinking about them, never realizing that no one is thinking about them.

The Best Articles to Learn about Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cryptocurrency

September 18, 2017 in Finance

Trying to learn more about cryptocurrencies and the blockchain but not sure where to start? Here's a great collection of articles and white papers to guide you.

How to Move to a New City

September 13, 2017 in Social

From moving around so much, and having to quickly get situated and comfortable in new cities, I’ve become somewhat of an expert at moving to a new city.

Fake News is a Real Problem

September 11, 2017 in Social

With incentives that decrease the quality of reporting to the point of being fake, the problem won't go away. We must be better consumers of information.

The 10 Best Marketing Books for Growing Any Business

September 6, 2017 in Marketing

If you're starting learning marketing, or have been doing it for years and are looking to improve your mental models, here are the best books I’ve found.

How to Easily Start Investing in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies

September 4, 2017 in Finance

An easy way to invest in a collection of cryptocurrencies over time to spread out your risk, and still capture the long term gains in the market.

How to Drop Out of College (With No Risk)

August 30, 2017 in College

How to quit or take time off college, with no risk, with your parents being okay with it, and while still getting closer to graduating.

The Incredible Value of Mental Models in a World of Infomania

August 28, 2017 in Psychology

This gives us a meta-mental model. The question you should be asking yourself as you read, or decide to read anything.

How to Learn Digital Marketing for (almost) Free in 6 Months

August 21, 2017 in Marketing

I’d expect that anyone could take a gameplan like this and go from zero to hireable digital marketer in 6 months or less, so long as you work hard at it and don’t get too distracted.

To Change Reality, Stop Denying It

August 14, 2017 in Psychology

If an idea or some research offends you, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. We have to assess whatever information we have regardless of how painful it is.

The Wiki Strategy: How to Grow Your Blog to 100k+ Monthly Visitors

August 7, 2017 in Marketing

Done properly, it can lead to tens or hundreds of thousands potential new customers a month, arriving at your site naturally instead of by ads.

The Psychological Benefit of Not Planning

July 31, 2017 in Productivity

If we had had to wait for a car, we would have been disappointed by the wait, but by having no expectation of a ride, we were never upset about the wait.

10 Books to Read After Discovering Stoicism

July 24, 2017 in Books

Once you’ve read Letters, Meditations, Discourses, and Enchiridion, try these ones to broaden your introduction to practical philosophy.

The Problem With Putting Ourselves in Boxes

July 17, 2017 in Psychology

When you define yourself by an ideology, you look to that ideology to form your opinions, instead of forming your opinions yourself.

Does Your Blog Need a Niche? Maybe Not

July 10, 2017 in Marketing

Plenty of blogs, including this one, do well without any clearly defined niche. You can make it work too, so long as it fits with your goals.

45 Deliberate Practice Examples for Rapidly Improving Your Skills

July 3, 2017 in Learning

These are ways to give yourself constraints, feedback, new challenges, and make sure that you never hit a learning plateau again.

How to Use Deliberate Practice to Reach the Top 1% of Your Field

July 3, 2017 in Learning

Study it, internalize it, return to it, keep pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone, and in time, you’ll become a true master of your craft.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Go From Novice to Expert in Any Skill

June 26, 2017 in Learning

I’ve been trying to find a more rigorous way to define different skill levels and how to move between them, and I think I’ve found it in the Dreyfus model.

The Math and Strategy Behind Working Only 4 Months a Year

June 19, 2017 in Finance

There's no reason to wait till you're older or richer to experience long-term travel and working on your own projects.

Why I Sold My Index Funds and Quit the Stock Market (Mostly)

June 12, 2017 in Finance

The typical investment advice is smart for most people, but the question you have to ask yourself, is could you double your money in 10 years on your own?

30 Image Composition Styles for Taking Good Pictures

June 5, 2017 in Photography

30 styles you can use in your own photography to ensure good composition.

Kegel Exercises for Men

June 1, 2017 in Sex

Learning how to do kegels will help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles to beat premature ejaculation, avoid erectile dysfunction, and have stronger erections.

Practice Reverse Kegels to Last Longer in Bed

June 1, 2017 in Sex

Exactly how to do the #1 BEST exercise for increasing your stamina in bed and giving you more control over your ejaculation.

The Case Against Soap

May 29, 2017 in Health

When you dig into it, there’s no reason to use so much soap if you still look and smell fine without it and if you’re not getting sick.

Use Direct Actions to Get More Freedom in Your Life

May 15, 2017 in Psychology

Taking direct action is harder than sitting back and hoping other people will change, but it’s the only way to have control of your life.

A 5-Minute Hack to Stop Feeling Sad, Anxious, Annoyed, etc.

May 8, 2017 in Psychology

If you go through this routine and at the end you still want to feel upset, anxious, annoyed, or whatever else, go ahead. But I’m confident you won’t.

Nat Chat is LIVE! College is Broken, So What Should Young People Do?

May 1, 2017 in College

What do you do if you’re a student or recent grad who feels like they don’t fit in the world of grades, lecture halls, and one size fits all careers?

GPA vs. Skills: How to Stop Worrying About Grades

April 17, 2017 in Learning

There’s no shortage of students with good grades, but there’s a massive shortage of students with marketable skills.

No, Soylent isn’t Healthy. Here’s Why.

April 3, 2017 in Health

Soylent claims to be a healthy alternative to normal food, but when we dig in on why they think it's healthy, there's a lot to be suspicious about.

Could that Be Explained by Marketing?

March 27, 2017 in Psychology

120 years ago, John Harvey Kellogg invented corn flakes to keep people from masturbating, and we've kept the "breakfast is important" myth ever since.

I Stopped Using Shampoo, and No One Can Tell the Difference

March 23, 2017 in Health

Not even my mom could tell!

3 Tactics to Remember that Idea You Just Forgot

March 20, 2017 in Psychology

Even if you carry a notebook, you might end up forgetting an idea or two. Fortunately, these tactics will help you get them back.

Lessons from One Year of Nomadic Passive Income

March 13, 2017 in Entrepreneurship

Long-term travel and passive income, despite the incredible appeal, aren’t ends in themselves. They’re tools for something else.

The Freedom Calculator: How to Retire in 10 Years (or Less)

March 6, 2017 in Finance

From October to December last year, I did maybe 20 hours of work. Not 20 hours of work per week, but 20 hours total, over the course of those 12 weeks.

How to Reach Out to a Writer, Thinker, or Person You Respect

February 27, 2017 in Networking

These are the tactics that have worked for me, and on me, and I’m confident that if you used them with me or anyone else you’d get a good result.

How to get Slack-Style Emoji Codes Everywhere on Mac

February 23, 2017 in Productivity

An extremely simple tactic to get those :amazing: Slack emoji commands everywhere on your Mac. Even for custom emojis!

Killing the Lion: How to Turn Anxiety into Excitement

February 13, 2017 in Psychology

It’s a way to immediately cure anxiety, impostor syndrome, fear, stage fright, and other negative emotions brought on by some form of public performance.

Ephemerality vs. Value for Information, Social Media, Life

January 24, 2017 in Social

Here’s a simple heuristic for judging the value of information. The more ephemeral a piece of information is, the less likely it is to be valuable.

The A Priori Diet: Extremely Simple Rules for Healthy Eating

January 16, 2017 in Health

5 extremely simple rules for eating healthy, based on 2 million years of biology. It's the only diet you or I will ever need.

True but Misleading

January 9, 2017 in Marketing

In March of 2015, I became a best-selling author. Hearing just that, what all did you assume?

Learning Through Layers of Abstraction

December 19, 2016 in Learning

If there were college courses on sex, the first few weeks would be spent on the details of the labia minora instead of, you know, actually having sex.

The 12 Best Books I Read in 2016

December 11, 2016 in Books

Looking for a good holiday read, or gift for a fellow book-lover? Here are the 12 best books I found and read in 2016.

How I Put My Blog in Virtual Reality (Mostly)

November 28, 2016 in Vr

What would this site look like if it were a physical space, instead of a 2D series of pages?

Escaping this Explosive Diarrhea of Political Outrage

November 21, 2016 in Social

There’s no use to being in an emotional frenzy, especially one you’ve been pulled into by media and other people’s inability to control their feelings.

Why Microdosing LSD Beats Coffee, Adderall, and Other Smart Drugs

November 14, 2016 in Health

Microdosing involves taking small doses of psychedelics to gain some of the benefits without getting the full hallucinatory trip. Here's what it feels like.

Why I'm Learning VR (And Maybe You Should Too)

November 7, 2016 in Vr

Why I'm jumping into VR development, the massive opportunity for getting into it right now, and some thoughts on how you can too.

College Students, What Salary Do You ACTUALLY Need?

October 28, 2016 in Finance

Instead of saying “I need to make as much as possible,” use the guide in this article to figure out how much you actually need to make.

Is it Risky? Or Challenging?

October 24, 2016 in Entrepreneurship

Are you hesitant because it’s truly risky? Or are you hesitant because it’s challenging and you don’t know where to start?

Don’t Try to be Less Risk Averse, Rethink Risk Instead

October 19, 2016 in Entrepreneurship

Your goal shouldn't be to become bolder and more of a risk taker. Instead, you need to learn how to accurately assess risk, since we so often do.

How Swearing Leads to a Shitty Vocabulary

October 12, 2016 in Psychology

The words you choose affect how you think and live. When something bad happens and you describe yourself as feeling “fucking annoyed” instead of “peeved,” you feel different. Seriously, try it now.

9 Blogging Tactics for 2 Million Views in 2 Years

October 3, 2016 in Marketing

How to grow a site from zero to 2 million views in 2 years by following a few key tactics, including evergreen content, not being a charlatan, and SEO.

Do You Want to Do It? Or to Have Done It?

September 21, 2016 in Psychology

Next time you say you want to do [something], think seriously about where you truly want to "do" it, or if you want to "have done" it.

38 More Projects till You Die: The Opportunity Cost of Focus

September 19, 2016 in Productivity

Think carefully before doubling down on your next project. You only get to do that so many times, and you'd hate to run out of opportunities.

I Built a 4-Hour Workweek... What Do I Do Now?

September 14, 2016 in Entrepreneurship

What was a lofty goal a few years ago has finally happened: I achieved the 4-Hour Workweek. But what came with it is a feeling of loss and confusion.

Enjoy the Process: Your Intrinsic Motivation Happiness Machine

September 1, 2016 in Psychology

This is the only way to do intense, sustained, productive work long term and not be miserable.

How Dangerous Are Drugs, Really?

August 24, 2016 in Health

Many of us think drugs are bad and scary. But many are less harmful and addictive than alcohol. How can we more reasonably decide what's bad for us?

Decomplication: How to Find Simple Solutions to “Hard” Problems

August 2, 2016 in Psychology

The problems we think are hard and complex (fitness, productivity, sleep, work, etc.) are secretly simple. But only once we decomplicate them.

How to Block Annoying Email Popups in 2 Minutes

July 26, 2016 in Productivity

The Internet is a better place without email popups. Here's how to make sure they never bother you again.

Option not Obligation: How to Beat the Sunk Cost Fallacy

July 14, 2016 in Psychology

The tendency to feel like once we’ve spent money (or any resource) on something we must earn back our investment impacts our decision-making in all walks of life. And, sadly, it can lead to significant losses of time, money, health, and happiness.

Welcome to the Internet: Don’t be a Huckster

July 1, 2016 in Marketing

If they took a step back and assessed the situation without blinders on, they could do much better, but they’re trapped in the “huckster mindset.”

How a Shallow Work Checklist Gives You Back Your Focus

June 23, 2016 in Productivity

Once you do this, you’ll find it significantly easier to stay focused on the big tasks at hand, without worrying about all the little things.

Entrepreneurial Personal Finance: A Contrarian Investment Strategy

June 20, 2016 in Finance

If you have some experience taking advantage of your money in creative ways, then maybe this strategy is for you.

Fauxductivity: 8 Ways You Trick Yourself into Feeling Productive

June 14, 2016 in Productivity

In many cases, the key to getting more done is simply a matter of removing these fauxductive habits, or significantly reducing the time we spend on them.

I'm killing most of my email capture. Here's why.

June 10, 2016 in Marketing

The best writers don't need to constantly demand your attention, you'll happily give it to them. It's the mediocre writers and products that bombard you.

$58,150 in 5 Months: How to Build a Lifestyle Business Step-by-Step (Emails, Tools, Everything)

June 2, 2016 in Entrepreneurship

The exact steps we followed to build a lifestyle business in 5 months and make $58,150 in the process, so you can follow and implement them yourself.

How to Get Lucky: Maximizing Exposure to Life Changing Serendipity

May 23, 2016 in Entrepreneurship

In any situation where a single event can create massive good luck, you simply need to maximize your exposure to possible good luck situations and wait for one to come along.

Introducing Stamena: The App that Helps Men Last Longer in Bed

May 19, 2016 in Sex

To last longer in bed, you should practice kegels and reverse kegels. Stamena is the best kegal app, teaching one easy exercise that you can do anywhere!

Unqualified Experts: 5 Rules for When to Ignore Authority

May 16, 2016 in Mentorship

I’ve resisted sharing this for a while...

Fighting Infomania: Why 80% of Your Reading is a Waste of Time

May 11, 2016 in Productivity

Unfollow the industry blogs, stop reading the newspaper, don’t go on site aggregators, quit it. It’s all fauxductivity and wasting your time with useless information that will only cause decision paralysis, self-doubt, and decreased confidence in your existing decisions.

Productiva Negativa: 7 Tactics to Create More by Doing Less

May 2, 2016 in Productivity

Going against some of the traditional productivity advice, try cutting these things out of your schedule to gain more time for creation.

Make an Order, Not a Schedule (But Only to be Creative)

April 29, 2016 in Productivity

If you’re doing anything remotely creative, then I suggest creating your own order instead of schedule. Let your body and mind dictate when you move to the next stage, not an artificial indicator (calendars).

How to Never Have a Hangover Again

April 23, 2016 in Health

Exactly what causes a hangover, and a few simple things you can do to make sure you are preventing hangovers from this day forward.

Subconscious Sabotage: Why Friends and Family Clip Your Wings

April 18, 2016 in Psychology

I showed up for my Freshman year of college interested in starting my own business before I graduated, and then my peers beat a bit of that spirit out of me

How to Spike Your Testosterone for Sexiness and Productivity

April 4, 2016 in Sex

Make sure you're ready for your next lucky night out by timing your masturbation and testosterone like a pro.

Savable Income: How to Earn 1/3 Less but be 3x Richer

March 31, 2016 in Finance

Salary is incredibly deceptive, and should not factor into your decision-making in what job you take. Instead, you should think about your savable income.

Life After Sumo, Being the Hydra, and What’s Next

March 28, 2016 in Life

“Today is the day I let you go… You need to do your own thing, and I’m helping you do that."

15 “Pivotal” Books that Changed How I Think and Live

March 23, 2016 in Books

A "pivotal" book, once you've put it down, has changed your way of thinking forever. Here's my list, what's on yours?

The Runway Calculator: How to Travel for 6 Months and Come Back Richer

March 8, 2016 in Finance

The runway calculator tells you exactly how your savings will change if you travel to any city in the world for long periods. Perfect for digital nomads.

Take an Afternoon AFK to De-stress, Recharge, and Refocus

February 15, 2016 in Productivity

There’s something important that you and a dog have in common. It’s not being soft and wonderful to cuddle with (though I’m sure you are). It’s not the tendency to hump random people’s legs (hopefully). It’s that you both need an afternoon walk.

Tarnished Bullets: How Productivity Blogs Waste Your Time

February 2, 2016 in Productivity

We don’t want to hear “well, you’re going to have to pick a skill, get insanely good at it, work really hard for 20 years, and then you’ll be successful.”

Multiple Orgasms During Sex for Men (Positions, Techniques, & More)

January 25, 2016 in Sex

This post covers the Best Sex Positions for Men, awesome techniques and more to achieve multiple orgasms during sex.

Why I Went Carless: A Financial and Moral Analysis

January 25, 2016 in Social

All of the reasons you should ditch your car, from cost savings, to reducing your moral risk, to making you happier, and less likely to get a heart attack

Quantitative Life Goals: How to Plan and Finish What You Start

January 16, 2016 in Productivity

A proven system for planning and achieving your goals, with a template spreadsheet to help you follow through.

What Life do You Want?

January 11, 2016 in Psychology

In college, everyone wants to know what kind of work you're doing post-graduation. The more important question to ask yourself is: 'what do I want in life?'

Second-Degree Dinners: The Best Way to Meet Cool People in Your City

December 14, 2015 in Social

A Second-Degree Dinner is the best way to meet interesting new people in your city by leveraging your existing friend networks.

Parkinson's Law Isn't Just About Time

November 29, 2015 in Productivity

You can reduce how much you use of any resource in your life by reducing the supply of it that you have access to.

Male Multiple Orgasms without Ejaculating: Exactly How to Have Them

November 13, 2015 in Sex

The steps to follow to start having multiple non-ejaculatory orgasms during masturbation, foreplay, and sex as a man, without the woo-woo nonsense.

What is Imagined Scarcity, and Why is it Making You Unhappy?

September 2, 2015 in Psychology

When you’re unaware of Imagined Scarcity, you unnecessarily fear loss and overvalue new things. But, by being aware of it, you can shift how you think in two key ways...

How to Never Forget Books You Read

August 17, 2015 in Learning

Most people quickly forget info from books they read, but with this method, you can make sure you never forget the important points of every book.

How to Create Professional Growth

August 4, 2015 in Learning

If you want to make sure you're always growing and improving, what can you do to avoid getting stuck on a growth plateau?

How to Go to Sleep Early and Wake up Early (and Refreshed!)

July 3, 2015 in Health

Learn how to how to go to sleep earlier and wake up early every morning, how your lifestyle affects your sleep, and how to harness sleep for top performance

How to Become Smarter and More Rational (Yes, You Too)

June 23, 2015 in Psychology

We're fraught with mental biases that hurt our decision making and act against our best interests. Here's how you can start to fix it.

Making an Easy 2 Million, Personal Investing for 20 Somethings

June 13, 2015 in Finance

A complete guide to investing in your 20s so that you never have to worry about money later in life.

What to do if You’re a College Student Who Isn't Excited by 9-5 Corporate Work

April 24, 2015 in College

There is a world of work options out there, all providing a greater degree of personal freedom than corporate work. Here's how to get started.

Don't Focus On Local Maxima

April 1, 2015 in Psychology

We overvalue local maxima, and that overvaluation creates unnecessarily steep competition on narrow planes and sub-optimal outcomes for everyone involved.

Focus On Your Mental Operating System, Not Your Apps

February 6, 2015 in Productivity

Your operating system determines your effectiveness in everything you do. You have to refine it before you can hope to learn or do anything effectively.

How to Read More: Finish 100+ Books This Year

January 16, 2015 in Learning

You need to read a lot. You can’t just read a little. If you only read a little, it creates problems. Let me explain.

Don't Make a New Year's "Resolution"

December 30, 2014 in Productivity

A resolution is, by definition, vague and immediate, which means it's also destined to fail.

The News is a Waste of Your Time

December 17, 2014 in Productivity

You'll have no idea what's going on in the world aside from what other people tell you, and that's perfectly okay.

You're Not Stuck That Way

December 9, 2014 in Psychology

Changing your life is no different than changing your sheets. It's something you choose to do, and if you don't know how, you figure it out.

The Best Performance Enhancing Drug You Aren't Using

November 26, 2014 in Health

Most people have a bad mental image of meditation, but odds are someone you look up to professionally is already taking advantage of it.

How to Start Working Out So You Don't Quit

November 5, 2014 in Health

Exercise has been complicated by people who profits from making it seem harder than it is. This routine makes it easy to start working out and stick to it.

Why I Don't Drink Coffee: My Caffeine Overdosing Adventure

October 30, 2014 in Health

A minute by minute look of how coffee can help you get a ton done... then completely destroy your productivity.

FratBoxes: How to Start a Company This Weekend for $25, and do $150 in Sales

October 22, 2014 in Entrepreneurship

A method for quickly and cheaply testing any company idea, based on a gag company for sending fraternities party supplies each month

Exhausted by Options

October 15, 2014 in Psychology

As you adopt more of these principles, you’ll find you have a lot more time than you thought you did, and much more mental energy. When you’re not wasting decision-making power on minutia, you open yourself up to make much better decisions in the process.

Your Brain on Nitrogen

October 10, 2014 in Psychology

What if, for everything changeable in our lives, instead of assuming we’re on the surface, we assume we’re 120 feet underwater?

The Source of Knowledge

October 1, 2014 in Learning

You don’t need to rely on others for your education. We probably did 20 years ago, but we simply don’t anymore, and the sooner we learn to self-educate effectively the sooner we can master whatever interests us.

A Minimalist Set of Apps for Getting Things Done

September 28, 2014 in Productivity

I had to get out of the bad habit of trying every single popular new app out there to see if it fits into my workflow, or can help me get more things done. If you’re reading this you might have the same habit.

Here's What I Learned Eating No Gluten for One Month

September 23, 2014 in Health

Evidence that gluten is bad for you in mounting. So I tried eating a no gluten diet for one month - and I was surprised with the results.

Easily Memorize 80+ Names in a Few Hours

September 21, 2014 in Learning

I was recently part of a week-long event where it was useful to memorize 80+ people’s names extremely quickly. I mentioned the idea of trying to memorize all of their names over a weekend casually to a friend, and when he challenged me that he didn’t think I could do it I of course had to.

How to Make Anyone Your Mentor... Without Asking

September 15, 2014 in Mentorship

All of the digital literature on mentorship is about how to provide value, how to cold call, how to network, etc. This won’t cover any of that. This is how to make anyone your mentor. Whether they want to or not. whether they’re alive or not.