Rule Breaker Investing: Mental Tips, Tricks & Life Hacks, Vol. 7 | The Motley Fool

Little issues can add up over time to make litter. But little actions can add up over time to simplify. It’s time for some psychological tips, tips, and life hacks to information you on the trail to life-changing magic!

To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool’s free podcasts, take a look at our podcast center. To get began investing, take a look at our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on Nov. 2, 2022.

David Gardner: My favourite vacation reward concept for you that is not a sport, however really, it’s sort of a sport. How to make higher use of the Kindle app; reframing advantage and vice; how do you get a room quiet quick … and the listing goes on. These usually are not actually funding classes this week. These run deeper. They’re life classes, however usually they’re easy, humble. They’re hacks. Mental Tips, Tricks, and Life Hacks, Volume 7, this week solely on Rule Breaker Investing.

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Welcome again to Rule Breaker Investing, a delight to have you ever becoming a member of with me this week. We’re going to have some enjoyable collectively. We’re going to make one another smarter. It’s the most recent — No. 7 in our historic working sequence of Mental Tips, Tricks, and Life Hacks. The sequence began with Vol. 1 on June 15, 2016. Now, again then, it was simply Mental Tips and Tricks. But then I believed once I did episode 2, “Hey, it’s not just about mental tips and tricks. I mean, those are great, but what about life hacks?” We all want these two methods to do life higher, extra elegantly methods to make issues that was kludgy efficient. That’s how I take into consideration life hacks anyway, and I additionally love Mental Tips and Tricks, whereas we have executed it six instances earlier than.

The most up-to-date was October 2021, and if you wish to hear earlier episodes of this sequence, you’ll be able to definitely all the time simply Google “Rule Breaker Investing mental tips, tricks, and life hacks” and you will find all our earlier episodes on this sequence, which is perhaps worthwhile since there are not any repeats. Every one in all these episodes is chock-full of recent unique  — nicely, at the least to this present — psychological tips, tips, and life hacks. Now, are these earth-shattering, life-improving, unforgettable tips? Absolutely not. I imply, possibly, however no, these are hacks, numerous life hacks. This sequence is designed to make life extra elegant, enjoyable, navigable. I’m teaching you right here — like several good life coach may do — aiming most of all on your success. These are the issues that I, and listeners who write in, have discovered that work — work for us. They could be fairly small, although.

For occasion, final 12 months, I helped you remedy the query of how you can get little youngsters within the again seat of a automobile to cease asking, “Are we there yet?” Not simply to cease doing it 90% of the time, although that, but additionally to work collectively, staff up with one another, be taught endurance collectively. I invented a sport for it. It’s the “Are We There Yet Game,” and that was psychological tip trick or life hack No. 2 in Volume 6 final October. That’s how this sequence rolls. Well this week we’ve seven new ones, and I say with out additional ado, let’s get began.

Mental tip, trick, or life hack, No. 1. This one is a life hack. Often I’ve heard it mentioned of people who find themselves knowledgeable presenters or educate others to current expertly, they are saying stuff like “Lead with your strongest line, or lead your ace,” and that is perhaps what I’m doing this explicit week as a result of possibly my favourite life hack of the previous 12 months, I wished to make No. 1 and lead off with it.

Now, I’m not an influencer. I imply, who does not wish to be an influencer? Would you not like to stroll round and have individuals provide you with free stuff, and also you simply have to take an image of your self on social media with that factor and receives a commission $1,000, one million {dollars}? Wouldn’t you like to stay that life? I feel all of us would. That’s not the life hack, although. I’m undecided what psychological tip, trick, or life hack I can get you there to be a capital I influencer. I’m not an influencer. So as I current a client product that I completely love, that I’m going to extremely advocate you think about for vacation presents this time, please know that nobody is paying me to say this. HidrateSpark PRO would not know that they are showing this week on the Rule Breaker Investing podcast. Now a few of you’re already going to acknowledge what a HidrateSpark PRO is, and that may in all probability be listeners who have already got one.

Most of the remainder of us in all probability have by no means heard that phrase earlier than, and it is barely unlucky that they could not. It appears to be like like trademark hydrate with a Y — so that is a type of model names that’s deliberately misspelled, I suppose to get our consideration — hydrate with an I. The HidrateSpark PRO is a great water bottle.

Now, numerous us are advised that we must always drink extra water, and I’ve usually puzzled how a lot water? And a buddy will say, 6 to eight cups a day, or bottles, or I’m not likely positive. I do know that one thing like 75% of Americans are thought-about under-hydrated, and I’m fairly positive earlier than 51 days in the past, I used to be a type of Americans. I had no behavior specifically of ingesting common water, faucet water, spring water, water. We’re not counting tea and occasional, though you’ll be able to when you like, water. I did not have any explicit behavior, and when you’d seen the earlier 50 days of my water ingesting, you’d see numerous seltzer water, which remains to be fairly good for you. I do know some individuals say it weakens your bones, however I’ve all the time beloved the glint in seltzers and the totally different flavors. You would have seen a few of that for me, however not so much else.

Then I went to the Apple Store. My spouse needed to get her Apple Watch mounted, thought she may wish to improve to the most recent telephone, and so I used to be there wandering across the retailer for about an hour and a half, and often, there is a shelf or two — in case you have an Apple retailer close to you, there’s going to be a show of some merchandise that aren’t iPhones, iPads, or MacBooks. Nope, they will be client merchandise, and so they’re usually third-party merchandise, and that is the place I first noticed the HidrateSpark PRO sensible water bottle.

Now, I did not purchase it on the Apple Store that day, however I did return, analysis it some, learn some about it, and purchased one on Amazon a day or two after that. What’s happening with the HidrateSpark PRO water bottle? Well, it fantastically fuses the {hardware} of a modern-day attractive-looking water bottle — you may get it in numerous colours. You can get a metal model or a Triton plastic model. I favor the plastic model myself. But the important thing to all of those bottles is the underside of the bottle is a bunch of microchips, I feel, as a result of what the underside of the bottle is doing is consistently weighing how a lot water is left in your bottle. Which is one other approach of claiming that in a 24-ounce bottle, you’ll be able to sip 2.7 ounces of it, and inside a number of seconds, your bottle will relay that data to your iPhone and it’ll register as 2.7 ounces. The software program/{hardware} mixture of this product is excellent. You’re going to sort in your gender, peak, and weight, your age, one thing like that. The bottle and the app are going to know roughly how a lot water it’s best to drink. But then, all through the day, based mostly in your private exercise ranges — was this a day that you simply ran, or was this a day that you simply didn’t run? — the software program will regulate for a way a lot water it’s best to have. Is it a very humid day the place you’re? What’s the climate like? That, too, will assist calculate how a lot water you ought to be ingesting that day.

What I’ve discovered is as a 56-year-old who’s about 5’10”, 170 [pounds], I’ve discovered that I needs to be ingesting, sometimes, round 92 ounces of water a day. Some days it is 103. Other days it is 77. Now, anyone who’s listened to this podcast for a very long time is aware of that I like to attain issues. The extra scoring programs, the higher, and this has added a gamification ingredient to my well being life. Yes, when you’re like me, we’re already counting our steps. We’re already seeing how briskly we ran that first mile. I run with my telephone in my hand and my Apple Watch on my wrist. I like scoring programs round my stock-picking. Of course, when you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve got bought your revenue assertion, assertion of money flows. Pretty good scoring system for your online business. I like it when issues are scored. It by no means occurred to me that we may gamify water consumption, and but that is precisely what the HidrateSpark PRO water bottle has executed. I gave one to a couple family and friends members. I invited them into my water group, and now we every see within the race to complete our 100% every day, the place we’re all through the day.

There’s no actual reward to ingesting all of the water it’s best to earlier than any person else. But however, it is awfully enjoyable in a graphical description to see how family and friends are doing with their water every day. Yes, like a bunch of different Internet memes and tropes, there are streaks to this. Just like Wordle, you are going to get rewarded for coming in and taking part every day. You’re additionally going to be unlocking badges. You’re going to have numerous enjoyable ingesting water and on the finish of it, what actually occurs is you get more healthy since you’re ingesting water. Not all the opposite issues that I used to be ingesting earlier than. I’m ingesting numerous water, and in closing up life hack No. 1 right here, this app can be very acutely aware of the quantity of single-use plastic bottles which might be more and more filling our oceans contributing to the microplastics drawback, and so on. You’re continuously being patted on the again — and I feel for good cause — for not buying, repurchasing, and throwing away single-use plastic bottles. You’ve simply bought your bottle. You can identify your bottle. I named my bottle.

I made a decision after doing this 50 days in a row, on my 50-day streak once more, I purchased this 51 days in the past. You can see I’m a fanatic. I made a decision to call my bottle Samwise, as a result of why would not I? Samwise was a beautiful companion. He introduced pleasure and positivity, and he added worth to the lives of these round him. That’s what I named my bottle. You ought to get one too, however what? You know what? At a $60 worth level, and I’d extremely counsel the Bluetooth model of this bottle versus the NFC near-field communications cheaper one, I extremely counsel that Bluetooth connectivity together with your iPhone for about $60. This is a reasonably good thing for about 4 totally different causes to place beneath the vacation tree of family and friends members, I feel, this explicit vacation season.

So there it’s, life hack No. 1. You can hear my enthusiasm. I’m loving the HidrateSpark PRO water bottle. I hope it sparks pleasure for you as nicely. Somewhat little bit of a theme this explicit week. Let’s go on to psychological tip, trick, and life hack No. 2.

Now, No. 2 is a trick. Of course, simply coming off Halloween, it is acceptable that we might have a number of totally different tips on this explicit episode. I did be aware that for no matter cause, I are inclined to do about one in all this sequence annually, and I have a tendency to choose proper round Halloween annually to do my Mental Tips, Tricks, and Life Hacks. That was true final 12 months.

No. 2 is a trick and that is about how you can get a room quiet. I lately attended a big banquet. People are coming again out of their lockdowns. They’re going again to events. Some nonetheless have masks on, that is advantageous by me. I simply wish to see you. It’s nice to bounce into fellow human beings once more, that is one of many tales, the comeback story of 2022. The inventory market is perhaps weak, however human connectivity is rising stronger and stronger. I noticed there is perhaps quiet quitting on the market, and I noticed numerous us, me included, love working from our den a good quantity of the time, however I predict continued engagement across the office and social engagements as we enter the 12 months 2023, and I applaud it, which leads me to how you can get a room quiet.

Because at this explicit gala banquet, concerning the first 20 minutes of the complete factor, image a whole lot and a whole lot of individuals in a grand resort ballroom. You know this, you’ve got been to a few of these galas and these company occasions. Picture too many individuals in a room, and the individual on the microphone beneath the highlight on this stage upfront, about each 30 seconds is saying, “Could we all please quiet down now? Could we please take our seats?” Boy, was that annoying as we hit minute 12 and minute 15. I believed, does not this individual know how you can get a room quiet? Most college lecturers do. This is the place I discovered this trick. I do know I’ve numerous lecturers listening to me. You in all probability already know this one, however I’ve bought two methods to do it. The extra frequent approach after which my favourite approach. Let’s go together with the extra frequent approach. That’s the “Can you hear me? Clap once.” Raise your hand when you already know this, I do see some palms up across the nation and the world, however many people could not know that when you simply begin saying when you can hear me, clap as soon as. If you simply begin saying that, the people who find themselves proper round you may be stunned that you simply mentioned that, and so they’ll clap.

Or possibly they will not be stunned as a result of they know you are attempting to get the room quiet, so respectfully, as a result of they hear you. “If you can hear me, clap once” — they’re going to clap as soon as. Then as soon as about, for example, one-tenth or one-third of the room has heard you and clapped, most different persons are going to be like, “Wait, what just happened? Why did everybody clap?” Then you say the subsequent line, “If you can hear me, clap twice.” At that time, most, if not the entire room, will sometimes clap twice, and in roughly 10 to twenty seconds, you’ve got simply gotten a room of just about any dimension quiet and attentive. That is the clap as soon as, clap twice trick that I’ve seen work many instances. But even higher than that as a result of I personally discover clapping annoying, particularly when it is a big space and tons of individuals and it is already loud and now everybody’s clapping. I first watched this follow on the Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Alexandra, Virginia. Back within the day, my youngsters went there and the lecturers, for bigger assemblies, had coached and taught everyone this, so it turned the custom everybody knew what was going to occur.

This does not work if individuals do not know it, so you want to get a gaggle conversant in what is going on on. But it is so simple as this. When you wish to get a whole room quiet and so they’re into the sport and so they know what’s coming, you merely maintain up your hand to point out you are quiet. That’s what you do. If you are quiet, you maintain up your hand, and you may be shocked how rapidly a big room goes quiet. When everyone realizes, oh, issues are quieting, I, too, I’m going to quiet myself and lift my hand to point out that I’m quiet.

There you go. No. 2, it is a trick: Clap as soon as, clap twice, or simply maintain up your hand to point out you are quiet. How to get a room of any dimension quiet, quick. I will not identify the host of the occasion I used to be referring to, however I positive want they’d recognized this so we did not have to listen to each 30 seconds for 12 minutes, “Could everybody please sit down now? Could everybody please be quiet and sit down so we can get started?”

On to No. 3. Mental tip, trick, or life hack. No. 3 — this can be a psychological tip. This is mostly a mindset. This is a framework, one thing that I did not develop up with, however have benefited from fairly a bit within the years since I feel I first encountered this on the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In my case, however a few of you in all probability learn Aristotle in your highschool 12 months. Some individuals nonetheless examine Greek, and will have learn the Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2 within the unique Greek. I positive did not. But as an undergraduate, I began to appreciate there’s this different mind-set about advantage that I hadn’t conceived of earlier than, and this mind-set has infiltrated and affected — in a great way — so many different programs and conditions in my life.

I hope you get pleasure from this. Many of you’ll already know this, however many maybe won’t. Aristotle titled this part of his Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2, “That virtues of character can be described as means.” That’s the English translation.

So I used to be raised in a advantage versus vice framework. Do this? It’s such as you’re both beneficiant, which is a advantage, or what is the reverse of beneficiant, grasping, which is a vice. You’re both brave, which is a advantage, or its reverse, by which case you have to be cowardly, and that may be a vice, and the listing goes on. Seven lethal sins, all of them have their opposites. Binary pondering, advantage versus vice. It took about 20 years of residing that earlier than I encountered Aristotle speaking about his golden imply. Here it’s for these unfamiliar. It’s that each advantage is definitely a center approach that stands between an excessive amount of of that advantage and too little of that advantage. Let’s simply return to braveness for a sec.

Earlier I mentioned, nicely, clearly, being brave is the advantage and being cowardly is the vice. But can we not all consider conditions the place any person was reckless? Where any person was audacious, foolhardy, the place they confirmed an excessive amount of braveness? I positive can. I wager you’ll be able to too. Aristotle mentioned, “For every virtue, it’s a golden mean.” Somewhere within the center between an excessive amount of of that advantage, which, going again to braveness, can be foolhardy (small f) audacity, or, after all, too little of that advantage, which is certainly cowardice.

This goes on and on. Let’s consider one thing like enthusiasm. I feel enthusiasm is an attractive factor, however some individuals could be too enthusiastic generally. Love is blind. They lose perspective, they’ve an excessive amount of enthusiasm, or they’re simply too puffed up. It’s a bit of uncomfortable to be round any person that enthusiastic — salespeople. On the opposite hand, how about no enthusiasm in any respect? How about “Whether you think you can,” Henry Ford mentioned, “or whether you think you cannot, you’re right.” How about I feel I can not? I’ve no enthusiasm. So enthusiasm. Or take private deportment. Some of us pay in all probability an excessive amount of consideration to how we glance and take too lengthy within the bathe, too lengthy preparing for the day, and we glance within the mirror too many instances. I consider that as vainness, and I’ve in all probability been responsible of that at totally different factors in my life. Some of us do not pay almost sufficient consideration, and that appears sloppy or careless. Personal deportment can be a center approach, a golden imply between two reverse poles.

Or timeliness. I’ve some German associates I feel are too well timed. They deeply respect the clock, however you are in serious trouble when you’re behind schedule. Or they’re going to say “There’s no such thing as on time, you’re either early or late.” I’d say that is an excessive amount of consideration to timeliness. But after all, we are able to additionally consider different people who find themselves by no means on time, continuously late. This was additionally me at totally different factors in my life. Part of what I like concerning the Mental Tips, Tricks, and Life Hacks is I get to re-coach myself and confess a lot of my very own human failings. But yeah, timeliness can be a worth that many people attempt to uphold and do a superb job with it. But nearly anything right here, you’ll be able to have an excessive amount of of it or too little of it.

This impacts our investing as nicely. Some individuals assume that it is vital to have danger in your portfolio. They strategy the market as when you’re imagined to be rolling the cube and loading up on this or that inventory as a result of one thing large goes to occur within the close to time period and you are going to get wealthy. That seems like an excessive amount of danger.

But then on the opposite finish, there are such a lot of elements on this world which might be constraining us from taking, I feel, some wholesome dangers with our cash. So a lot of cash administration and wealth administration is usually an avuncular individual placing his or her arm round you, attempting to consolation you, and saying “We’re well-diversified,” when actually, what they’re saying is, “You’re so over-diversified you’re never actually going to make any money.” So that idea of the suitable quantity of danger, it is totally different for all of us. All of us are in numerous life conditions. We have totally different mindsets, mentalities, targets, totally different quantities of cash, and what we’re attempting to do with it. But attempting to hunt your individual golden imply between two reverse poles works in so many conditions for me in life. Yeah, psychological tip, this one’s No. 3 this week, the Aristotelian imply.

Well, No. 4, we will preserve it within the trick space, Mental Tips, Tricks, and Life Hacks. No. 4 is a trick. I talked on the prime of this week’s present concerning the Amazon Kindle app. Now the Kindle can be {hardware}, and in the identical approach {that a} HidrateSpark PRO water bottle is each {hardware} however built-in with software program. Of course, that is been true of the Kindle for a number of many years now. I’m speaking right here concerning the app — the app on my telephone. I are inclined to learn most books lately on my telephone within the Kindle app. Now I notice lots of people nonetheless far choose hardback or paperback — tangible books that you simply maintain in your palms. And whereas I’ve a number of of these, I’m a type of individuals, despite the fact that I’m older than the children lately, I’ve actually transferred a lot of my studying onto my Kindle app. One of the issues I like about that — which isn’t this week’s trick — one of many issues I like about that’s that it is easy for me to look via and discover stuff in books after they’re digital. It’s so much more durable except I’m turning down pages. I are inclined to over-highlight my books, which is what we’re about to speak about.

It’s so much more durable even then nonetheless to discover a explicit line or passage. Some books have indices within the again, that are good. Other books won’t, however any digital e book, you’ll be able to instantly seek for a phrase or a phrase. You may search throughout your library. There’s numerous highly effective causes I feel, to learn our books electronically, which once more, not attempting to transform anybody right here. That’s simply merely what I’ve executed for a number of many years. I seen a very long time in the past that there are 4 totally different colours that you could spotlight textual content in if you use the Kindle app. There is yellow, pink, blue, and orange. That’s what leads me to No. 4 this week, the trick I’m about to share with you. This is a home-brew strategy and I’m fairly acutely aware anytime I put out one thing like a inventory choose of mine or an concept of mine, that any person can prime this. Somebody can in all probability make this higher or has a greater strategy. I’m simply sharing — not as a finest follow, however I’m sharing what I do and what’s been working nicely for me. I made a decision, despite the fact that I grew up highlighting books with possibly the basic yellow highlighter — I believed, “If this app lets me quickly and easily highlight in four different colors, why wouldn’t I make each of those colors a specific category or theme give it meaning?” I started over the course of time to diversify and get deeper and extra advanced with my highlighting, I’m fairly positive the primary books I used to be shopping for on the Kindle 20 years in the past, I used to be simply highlighting in yellow, however for years now I’ve been highlighting in all 4 colours, and every has a that means.

Here’s how they work for me. I take advantage of pink for the essential factors or passages in a e book. Red means that is the writer’s large level. I learn principally nonfiction. Of course, this could work for fiction too. If you could possibly solely take 10 or 20 strains or paragraphs or passages away from a e book, which might they be? Those are going to be in pink, whether or not it is a sentence or an entire web page. Red is noticeable, it all the time grabs consideration. It’s my large colour for the massive passages in a e book. Next, let’s go to blue. Blue I made a decision needs to be the primary time a personality enters right into a story or a brand new time period is outlined — the primary time you encounter one thing of significance, I spotlight that in blue.

That approach, I can rapidly return and see when was the primary time this advanced matter was broached or outlined inside this e book, or what was the preliminary description of that character as she entered the novel in Chapter 17? Blue is for first-time arrivals. Two colours left: orange and yellow. Let’s go to orange subsequent. Orange is enjoyable truth or humorous line. When you mirror again on a e book and also you’re speaking about that e book with a buddy on the water cooler and also you’re saying, “I learned something hilarious from this book. Did you know this?” It’s not going to be the primary level, it should be a enjoyable truth or one thing that you simply’d wish to take away. Maybe a fast story you could possibly inform any person concerning the matter of the e book that you’ve got simply learn. That’s orange. That leads me again to yellow for many people, the default colour that we have highlighted with, if we do certainly spotlight books. I extremely advocate it — I used to be influenced by lecturers and a few of my readings early that we must always mark up our books, we must always make our books our personal.

So the bodily books that I’ve, have plenty of underlining and highlighting. That’s a part of the rationale I learn slowly as nicely, however I retain higher by doing this. Well, I’m doing the identical factor electronically with these 4 totally different colours of highlighting. What does yellow imply? Well, yellow is simply the whole lot else. Yellow is the default colour. Yellow is the catchall. If it isn’t A, a essential level made within the e book, which might be pink; B, the primary time we discovered about an vital time period or character, which is blue; or C one thing that jumps off the web page at you as value remembering or speaking about, enjoyable truth — if it isn’t a type of three issues, however you continue to wish to mark it, superior. Use yellow. I in all probability use yellow greater than the others. Yellow is simply the usual highlighting.

This all comes collectively once I want to return to a e book, for instance, Authors in August each August. I’ve already learn the e book if I’m going to have the writer on, however I would’ve learn the e book a 12 months in the past or 17 years in the past. It’s awfully useful for me and my failing reminiscence, to have the ability to return to a e book and instantly filter that e book utilizing the Kindle app for all of my pink highlights for that e book.

I can pretty rapidly learn down, scroll down a web page and see the entire essential most vital factors in sections. Or if I’m trying to make my listeners smile or shock the writer, a type of orange highlights may nicely be actually efficient, so I can simply filter. Again, you’ll be able to all the time filter by colour if you’re highlighting books within the Kindle app. I’ll filter for the orange ones. Anyway, there you go. No. 4. The trick is that the Kindle means that you can spotlight in 4 totally different colours. Why not make it imply one thing?

On to psychological tip, trick, or life hack No. 5. This one is a listener submission. Thank you, Mike McMann, ProShopGuy over in Fooldom. Really admire your submission, we’re undoubtedly going to file this one beneath life hacks. No. 5.

David Mike writes, “In prior Rule Breaker Investing episodes, you’ve encouraged listeners to create a 150-word summary and a stock graph of their lives.” Yes, certainly I’ve executed that, that is one in all my tropes. That’s one of many frameworks that I like to make use of. Whether it is a two-Fools dialog or having Fool analysts on to inform their tales, I do benefit from the problem of writing a 150-word abstract of 1’s personal life.

Mike goes on although, “It is with that in mind that I offer my life hack: journaling diary entries. Peter Drucker reportedly said, ‘What gets measured, gets improved.’ By identifying a diverse set of personal growth areas,” Mike writes, “like career or craft, community, constitution, contemplation, and celebration.” All C phrases, Mike, are these your six Cs? “For example, you can measure your improvement through journaling. Bill Gates is credited with the saying, ‘People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.’ By keeping a journal of diary entries, you will have the ability to measure your personal growth over a span of years and decades.” Mike concludes, “While there will be ups and downs on [a] daily, monthly, yearly basis, it’s the long-term trend of up into the right, which is important to recognize with over 40 years journaling, personally, with my own diary entries, I’m grateful for this opportunity to visit my former self and reflect on my personal growth and portfolio,” signed Mike McMann.

Well, we have already talked earlier on this week’s podcast about scoring programs. That was the very first thing, Mike, I thought of as I learn your submission. I used to be interested by, nicely, I simply talked about HidrateSpark PRO water bottle or my Apple Health app. If you are like me, and I feel numerous you in all probability are, precisely what number of steps you’ve got taken each day for years now, when you actually care. But with out me ever these numbers, Mike, or with out you and me writing down in our personal language a few of the issues we’re attempting and studying as we go, It’s very onerous to know why what occurred, occurred. So I feel it is fairly cool that they are streams of information round us lately that we are able to take note of if we wish to. It would have been so painstaking prior to now for me to depend each ounce or each step. I haven’t got to do this anymore.

But you are declaring that if we do not doc in some methods the story of why we’re doing what we’re doing and what we’re studying, then we’re actually not going to be taught very a lot. I particularly admire you pointing to the lengthy sport of what you are doing. I’ll use your six Cs once more, I’m positive any person would admire listening to that listing once more, Mike, however you had been speaking about: one’s profession and craft, one’s group, one’s structure, one’s contemplation, and celebration as nicely. All areas of our lives that we might like to enhance.

It does begin, as Drucker mentioned usually, with measuring issues. But as you are declaring, we have to mirror proper alongside our measuring. Thank you for that reminder. Jim Mueller right here at The Motley Fool — longtime analyst and advisor right here on the Fool — has been on this podcast earlier than, and on Motley Fool Live, has defined many instances on Motley Fool podcasts and on our dialogue boards, how vital for Jim the method of journaling has been for his funding progress and success. It’s an effective way to carry ourselves accountable.

What had been we pondering three years in the past after we purchased that inventory, for higher or for worse? What had been we pondering? Often, we head pretend ourselves into pondering that we had been pondering one thing totally different than what we had been really pondering. So there isn’t any substitute for documenting as you go after which sure, parking a while to return and mirror and be taught each from the numbers and from one’s personal reflections and conclusions. Thank you, Mike McMann, that is No. 5, psychological, tip trick, and life hack — on this case, journaling, a terrific life hack.

All proper, on to No. 6, psychological tip, trick or life hack. This is a life hack, and on the one hand, I really feel as if lots of people will know this writer and the e book I’m about to speak about. And certainly, I’ve already talked about this in a number of contexts earlier this 12 months, all year long. But as well-known as Marie Kondo is perhaps by some and her e book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I think nonetheless the overwhelming majority of the world is just not conversant in her work or her mentality.

Let’s go deep right here for simply a few minutes on Marie Kondo and the idea of sparking pleasure. Now, numerous us, even when we have by no means learn Marie’s e book, we would have heard it talked about that, hey, this is an effective way to wash out your closet or simplify your life. Pick up the issues which might be cluttering up your life. Hold them, take a look at them for a second or so and say, “Does this thing spark joy for me?” And Marie famously has mentioned, if it does not, that is in all probability a superb indicator that it’s best to eliminate it. Does this spark pleasure? While this undoubtedly might help you tidy up a closet, I feel it additionally might help you tidy up your life, and that is the place I’m headed right here with psychological, tip trick, or life hack No. 6 — a life hack. It’s actually concerning the life-changing magic we will discuss.

Now, 30 instances within the historical past of this podcast, I’ve picked teams of 5 shares at a time. I’ve known as them five-stock samplers. I put them on the market saying these are going to beat the market.

I positive hope so. Many in all probability will not, however what — I mentioned from the very begin, I predict we beat the market in a world the place individuals say you will not beat the market, selecting 30 totally different instances teams of 5 shares, 150 inventory picks, and the experiment is not over, the numbers aren’t absolutely in, however I report again on them frequently on this podcast. And longtime listeners will keep in mind, Jan. 22, the 12 months was 2020. This was simply a few months earlier than COVID would set in, ship the inventory market reeling, then skyrocketing, after which for therefore many Rule Breaker shares, even to this present day nonetheless reeling. But 5 shares, I known as that sampler 5 Stocks That Spark Joy. We will not be updating the numbers for that sampler till, after all, Jan. 22-ish, 2023, when the three-year sport will likely be over. But regardless of reporting on many five-stock samplers which were disappointing all through this 12 months, I can inform you forward of time with digital certainty, that group of 5 shares [is] a critical market beater. So even in a bear market, I’m excited to report again in January in a number of months the efficiency, the ultimate efficiency of 5 Stocks That Spark Joy.

But yeah, this works not simply on your closets or on your life, however on your investing too. It’s the identical mentality that has me saying over and over: “Make your portfolio reflect your best vision for our future.” Your finest imaginative and prescient, presumably one thing that sparks pleasure for you.

What are the issues that you simply assume are going to make the world higher? There are many examples of this. I talked earlier a couple of client product I like that is serving to clear up the oceans and making me more healthy on the time whereas binding me along with household and associates in a very foolish sport to see who’s ingesting water on a given day, and sure, that does spark pleasure. Yes, that’s a part of my finest imaginative and prescient for our future. Unfortunately, HidrateSpark PRO, by the best way, which was launched at a hackathon after which became a profitable Kickstarter product, that firm is non-public at this time. But sparking pleasure and thinning issues down and simplifying our lives and selecting up issues which might be round us and saying, “Does this really spark joy?” Does this concept I’ve had in my head for a 12 months or 30 years — is that sparking pleasure? Or, as Shirzad Chamine has generally identified to us, are we telling ourselves the unsuitable factor, the unsuitable narrative in our heads? Not a constructive however a destructive model. Are we sabotaging ourselves with what’s in our heads? The reverse of sparking pleasure.

One of my favourite sections, I’m simply going to learn one paragraph of Marie’s e book. It’s web page 60 for individuals who might need it and sure, by the best way, I’ve this one in onerous copy, not the Kindle model. I feel it was given to me a number of years in the past. But this is what she says on web page 60. It’s in a brief part entitled, “What to do when you can’t throw something away.”

“When you can’t throw something away,” she writes, “when you come across something that’s hard to discard, consider carefully why you have that specific item in the first place. When did you get it, and what meaning did it have for you, then? Reassess the role it plays in your life. If for example you have some clothes that you bought but never wear, examine them one at a time,” she writes. “Where did you buy that particular outfit, and why? If you bought it because you thought it looked cool in the shop, it has fulfilled the function of giving you a thrill when you bought it. Then why did you never wear it? Was it because you realized that it didn’t suit you when you tried it on at home? If so, and if you no longer buy clothes of the same style or color, it has fulfilled another important function. It has taught you what doesn’t suit you. In fact,” she concludes, “that particular article of clothing has already completed its role in your life, and you are free to say, ‘Thank you for giving me joy when I bought you,’ or ‘Thank you for teaching me what doesn’t suit me,’ and let it go.”

Those phrases, and one other part related to it, had been so useful for me. How many instances have I been given, what number of instances have we been given a present, and it was a very nice thought? It did not swimsuit us that nicely, we already had one, or it did not match, or it is only a tchotchke you are going to put up on a shelf someplace — however I’ve held onto it as a result of I felt like I wanted to honor the hassle of the one that gave it to me. I would not need them coming to my bookshelf and never seeing the e book, in my thoughts, that they’ve given — me that would not be a superb look. And Marie’s phrases, I feel, actually free all of us proper there to say, you are not serving to anyone by preserving or holding onto issues that you simply’re not going to make use of. Your buddy did not wish to provide you with an albatross round your neck. Didn’t wish to weigh you down in your shoulders with the reward. The profound perception Marie has is it’s within the receiving for us that a lot of our presents have absolutely fulfilled their perform. You look the individual within the eye, you say, “Thank you for this gift,” after which be at liberty per week later or three years later, merely to present it away or toss it. It was within the receiving that the reward had most of its worth. I feel that is such a useful factor for these of us attempting to wash out our closets or clear out our minds.

I’ve approach too many board video games within the room by which I do that podcast every week. I used to do that podcast in Motley Fool HQ studios. I would do it again there once more — the sound is definitely higher. But ever since COVID hit, working from dwelling, it has been far more handy, most of the time, to do it from my examine the place I’ve 870 board video games. Yeah, 870, and I’ve even given away a few hundred board video games. I’ve too many in my home, and so, emboldened by Marie’s e book and really conscious of the stark actuality that my video games do not match on my cabinets anymore. They’re beginning to proliferate in corners and never corners anymore. I’m having to step over them in some instances. There’s simply an excessive amount of right here. Loads are in shrink wrap. I’ll by no means play them. Some of them got as presents to me. I simply began randomizing letters. Last Saturday, I randomized the letter H, and so I checked out my spreadsheet — as a result of if you are going to have 870 board video games, it’s best to in all probability have them listed in a spreadsheet so you’ll be able to sustain with them — and I discovered that there have been 26 H’s.

Now, most of these H’s had been within the H part of my cabinets. I pulled each single one in all them off the shelf. I held every one, checked out it, and mentioned, “Do you spark joy? Am I likely to play you again? You might be a good game, but do I even have somebody that would play this game with me plausibly anytime soon?” And of 26 video games that begin with the letter H, I put 14 of them again on the shelf, and 12 of them will likely be given away, and that was only one letter. As I put these 14 H video games again on my shelf, I now take a look at that little shelf on this bigger room and it sparks pleasure for me, and that is finally crucial actuality that Marie conveys to us for our investing, for our companies, and for our lives. She factors out, it isn’t nearly simplifying — selecting up issues and saying, do they spark pleasure. I imply, sure, it’s best to do this, and I simply described how useful it has been for me. But it is really the “after” state of what your world appears to be like like, what your context appears to be like like after you’ve got executed that, as a result of what you are left with, what I belief sooner or later I will likely be left with on this room in my home is, as I look across the room, or in your garments closet, or in your head, no matter we’re speaking about — when you’ve solely held onto the issues that spark pleasure and your cabinets, uniformly do this for you, and your room, or your closet, or your home, or your yard. If you’ve got solely cultivated the issues that provide you with pleasure, then you definately’re surrounded by a small piece of heaven. You take a look at one thing and you’re keen on that factor. So the longer term me appears to be like ahead to strolling into this room and realizing that every one that is round me is pure superior, and that I feel is finally the life-changing magic of tidying up. And if you have not learn the e book — and I hadn’t — I extremely advocate it.

I mentioned I had seven for you this week and people had been the primary six. Let’s shut it out with what I’ll name a trick, and I entitle this one, “Press Zero.” I used to be on the telephone the opposite day with Verizon and yeah, it was precisely the expertise that you’ve got had and also you’d count on I used to be having. I’m not speaking to a human. I’m speaking to what I name a telephone tree. I’m urgent 1 for this, 2 for this, and even once I hit that and it looks like I’m going to get to speak to any person — nope. I’m simply saying a phrase or phrase, and the AI I suppose goes to hearken to that and notice the place I needs to be throughout the higher telephone tree system, that I suppose is important if you are going to be an enormous company with plenty of inbound calls. I suppose that is the way it must be. Although I all the time surprise, could not it have been higher?

So I wager I’m not shocking anyone once I say you’ll be able to actually short-circuit that have far most of the time by simply hitting zero. And there will be press 1 for this, press 2 for this, they may even make all of it the best way to press 7 for this, after which the automated voice waits. But when you simply hit zero, which wasn’t even a selection supplied to you, it is usually the simplest of all the alternatives, since you get to speak to a human being who, even when they do not communicate your language that significantly nicely or do not feel significantly versed in your extremely technical query, no matter it’s, remains to be way more preferable to a sequence of automated prompts, which admittedly in some instances, could be environment friendly and useful.

But press zero. Let’s go to a unique context. Hotels. I’m going to inform you the historical past of resort telephones. This is a made-up historical past. I will not have any dates. This is simply how I think about historical past performed out. In the start, there was a resort. Fast-forward a whole lot or hundreds of years — finally, accommodations had telephones. There can be a phone in each resort room. It felt like magic, I’m positive again in that day, and also you’d choose up the telephone and you’d — again then they had been rotary dial telephones, not push button telephones — you’d in all probability dial, I do not know, 1, 2, 3, and also you’d get to speak to the resort switchboard operator. And then push-button telephones confirmed up, and boy, wasn’t that handy? And accommodations usually added extra buttons to the common numerical set of 1 to zero. There would not simply be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, zero, with random letters on the buttons (omitting a few of the letters for no matter cause), nope. It would not simply be that. There would hastily be a button that mentioned “concierge,” or a button that mentioned “valet,” or a button that mentioned “room service.”

And then as soon as accommodations figured that out — and I’m going to say was someplace across the Seventies, let’s go together with that — these buttons themselves started to proliferate. Yes, you could possibly nonetheless dial a traditional quantity outbound when you’re attempting to name dwelling. But you had 28 totally different buttons — to summon a butler, or possibly you wish to see if the swimming pools open or set your self a spot appointment. There was a pool button, a spa button, a butler button.

And then the W Hotel chain rocked the world of resort telephones. I used to be staying at a W Hotel someplace within the Nineties, used to an more and more advanced set of telephone buttons that itself took a very long time to determine if I used to be hitting the precise button or to not discuss to the individual on the resort that I wished to get one thing from. And I regarded down at my W Hotel telephone and it had these buttons, however there was an extra button, and it began with W’s as a result of it is the W Hotel and so they clearly know their branding, and it mentioned, “Whatever, Whenever.” As I started to frequent W Hotels, my brother Tom and I is perhaps supplying you with a speech or my household may keep someplace. They had been enjoyable, generally posh, boutique-like accommodations, the W Hotels — possibly you’ve got said in a single. I discovered myself anytime I’d ever keep on the resort not any of the opposite buttons on the telephone, simply hitting the “Whatever, Whenever” button. And that was primarily the promise of that button. That you could possibly simply simplify your life by ignoring the more and more arcane phone structure of what to push and whom to succeed in, and you could possibly as a substitute simply press this button each time, and what would occur? A human voice would choose up and say, “Hello, Mr. Gardner, how can I help you?” I’d simply say, “Hey, could you get my car up because I’m leaving now?” or “What time’s checkout?” or no matter it’s.

And I hastily realized — and possibly thunder clapped exterior as I did — I hastily realized that the W Hotel had executed nothing extra, actually, than merely rebrand the zero button that every one of us grew up urgent in a less complicated world, the place you could possibly simply hit that button and be directed when you wanted to, to the restaurant for reservation or the valet or no matter your want was, you solely ever wanted to press zero. So in the identical approach that Dorothy was advised after an epic engagement with fantastical creatures and a depraved witch, Dorothy was advised all she ever needed to do was simply click on her heels collectively thrice to get again to Kansas. That was the sensation I had once I realized all we ever must do, whether or not it is on a Verizon telephone tree or at your rando resort or whoever you are speaking to on no matter telephone tree system, all you ever actually must do is simply press zero. And when you consider it, it is sort of a way of life.

So let’s shut with this thought. If you are an entrepreneur, you want to be offering the “press zero” to your prospects that may so rapidly separate you out of your opponents, and make you the hero model in your class or store in your neighborhood, as a result of you’ve gotten a, “hey, customers, just press zero” mentality for how you can run your online business. We’re all time-starved. The world is more and more advanced. Entrepreneurs who create simplicity on a each day or transactional foundation for his or her prospects are going to win. We want to assist our prospects press zero in life. I’ll say the inventory market hasn’t been very pleasant to The Motley Fool enterprise over the past couple of years. My portfolio, in all probability your portfolio too.

But I’m delighted that The Motley Fool is now within the means of simplifying its merchandise and ranges. A whole lot of you who’re Fool members, if you have not already seen that, you will begin to uncover that. I feel that is the precise transfer — simplifying working with us, shopping for from us. That’s what each enterprise must be doing.

Now, for fellow vacationers, that is you and me, we’re getting away from entrepreneurs right here. I feel urgent zero as a way of life reminds us to get issues right down to easy. It jogs my memory of our earlier level, and the life-changing magic of tidying up, that is a press zero lifestyle. And in closing extra broadly, generally, inevitably, we will discover ourselves in robust conditions in life. And one of many issues I’ve tried to be taught from individuals wiser than me for years is how you can extricate ourselves, generally, from the toxin or the muck, the state of affairs we discover ourselves in that we’re having a tough time getting out. And urgent zero, no matter which means in your context, is a strong and vital reminder to get away from the complexities and the muck and discover simplicity — in some instances exits, or in some instances a brand new entrance. So there it’s, and I’m calling it a trick. It positive does work with Verizon, it really works for accommodations, it really works for entrepreneurs. I feel it may give you the results you want and me in life. Press zero.