Warren Buffett, is without a doubt, one of the most successful investors of all time. As of right now, his net worth is over 80 billion dollars, making him one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Although he is best known for his financial advice, Buffett himself has identified his focus and productivity as one of the major keys to his success.

Let's take a look at a story between him and his pilot.

The pilot felt limited both financially and personally, so he wanted to know his boss's secret to success. Here's the advice Buffett gave him:

He hold him to make a list of 25 goals he wanted to achieve.

Then, Buffett asked the pilot to review the list and circle his top 5 goals, the things he wanted the most.

At this point, the pilot had two lists.

Buffett now asked him what he planned to do with things on the two lists. The pilot said, that he would concentrate on his top 5 goals and work on the other 20 as he would see fit.

But Buffett replied:

“No. You’ve got it all wrong. Everything you didn’t circle just became your ‘avoid at all cost list’. Forget about those goals, until you have succeeded with your top 5.”

#warren #buffett #goals

How often do you actually wake up feeling energized? How many times a week do you get up when your alarm rings, without hitting the snooze button?

Nothing is worse than going to bed early, only to wake up still feeling exhausted. There are number of factors that affect how tired you feel in the morning, and you probably have some habits that are robbing you of your energy.

We'll look at some of the solutions that you should adopt, which will help you wake up early and well rested.

1 .STOP SNOOZING

When you snooze, you’re not really getting more sleep. It doesn’t make you feel better about waking up. It actually does nothing beneficial for you. Every single time you hit the snooze button you wake up feeling more tired.

2.GET ENOUGH SLEEP

We need a certain amount of sleep every day for our body to function properly. You should go to sleep and wake up at the same time seven days per week. This way your body gets into the rhythm and you can wake up naturally at the end of a sleep cycle, every single day.

3.RE-HYDRATE AND GET THE BLOOD FLOWING

It's crucial that you hydrate yourself first thing in the morning. After 6 to 8 hours without water, you'll naturally be dehydrated, and dehydration causes fatigue.

Another important thing to do, is some light exercise as soon as you wake up.

It may seem counter intuitive, but researchers say expending energy by engaging in regular exercise, doesn't make you tired, it actually creates energy in your body.

4.AVOID SCREENS BEFORE BED

Your TV, smart phone and computer screen all produce artificial blue light.

The problem with artificial light in the evening, is that it tricks your body in to thinking that it's actually day time.

When it gets darker outside, your body naturally produces a sleep hormone called melatonin. Since artificial light blocks melatonin production, we can really mess up our sleep, because your body doesn't send signals to your cells that's it's night time.

Apps mentioned:

Sleep Cycle - Alarm that wakes you up when at the end of your sleep phase

F.lux - Orange screen for your computer

Twilight - Orange screen for your phone

Disclaimer

If these tips don't help, you might have a medical problem. If so, you should see a doctor immediately. Things such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or sleep apnea, are more common than you might think and will affect how tired you feel.

The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. If you don't know, "Pomodoro" is Italian for tomato. Cirillo used a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato as his personal timer when he was a university student, and thus the method’s name.

The technique can help you power through distractions and get things done while taking frequent breaks. Best of all, it's probably one of the simplest productivity methods to implement since all you need is a timer.

Here's how to get started with Pomodoro:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished.

2. Set the timer to 25 minutes and work until the timer rings

3. Take a 5 minute break and restart the task

4. Take a longer break every 4 Pomodoro sessions

I highly suggest you try out the Pomodoro technique yourself. It has been my go-to strategy when I need to get something done and is yet to fail me. Hope it works for you as much as it works for me and helps you become better than yesterday.

In today's fast paced world, a good night's sleep has become somewhat of a luxury. Functioning on less sleep has even become some kind of badge of honor. But sleep should become our top priority.

One of the biggest problems with lack of sleep is that people don't even know they are sleep deprived.

Studies show that over time, people who are getting five hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they have adapted and got used to this sleep pattern. But if you look closely at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they are functioning on a sub-par level.

Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways.

Remarkably, sleep loss may also be a contributing factor to obesity.

Lack of sleep dulls activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, which involves motor function and problem solving. Your reaction time is slower and you don't have the mental clarity to make the best decisions.

Reduced sleep time is a greater mortality risk than high blood pressure, heart disease and even smoking.

As I said in my previous video, communication skills are a necessity in today's society and are something everyone should learn. After all, 85 percent of one's success in life is directly due to communication skills.

Connecting with other people brings infinite rewards. Whether it's landing the job, winning the promotion or charming a new partner, other people are your greatest resource.

In this video I'll be sharing another five techniques from the book "How to talk to anyone". Let's begin and take your conversation to the next level.

1. Match their mood

2. Present mundane with passion

3. Become a modern day Renaissance man

4. Always have something interesting to say

5. Never the naked thank you

Have you ever admired those successful people who seem to "have it all"? Their success boils down to their more skillful way of dealing with fellow human beings.

Today I'll be sharing five techniques from a great book on communication techniques: "How to talk to anyone" by Leil Lowndes.

1. The flooding smile

2. Sticky eyes

3. Limit the fidget

4. Parroting

5. Wear a Whatzit

Bizarre* ;)

There will always be challenges and obstacles in life. Some more difficult and some less. What matters is how we look at the problems we face. Are we looking with a fixed, or a growth mindset?

In this video I explain the two mindsets through a story of twin brothers.

People with a growth mindset know intelligence can be developed. It leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to:

embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks and learn from criticism.

People with a fixed mindset believe intelligence is static. It leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to:

avoid challenges, give up easily, ignore feedback and see effort as fruitless.

The twins started in the same place, with the same circumstances.

However, the path they chose was different as a result of their mindset.

You might be asking yourself "Why am I lazy?"

Wouldn't it feel fantastic if you reached the end of the day and looked back with satisfaction on the things you'd achieved?

Laziness is a nasty little affliction that affects everyone from time to time. Often it's an attempt to avoid difficult or unpleasant tasks. But remember, laziness is a habit, not a personality trait.

When you try to do two things at once, you can't or won't do either well. If you think multitasking is an efficient way to get more done, you've got it backward. It's an efficient way to get less done.

In the world of results, it will fail you every time. And for some reason in today’s society, doing just one thing at a time seems downright wasteful.

Are you talented? Or could it be that you're just hard working?

The talent myth is built on the idea that innate ability, rather than practice, is what ultimately determines whether we have it within us to achieve excellence. This is a corrosive idea, robbing individuals of the incentive to transform themselves through effort.

In 1991 Anders Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State University conducted the most extensive investigation ever undertaken into the cause of outstanding performance. He was looking for "talent". The funny this is, he couldn't find any.

His subjects - violinists at the renowned Music Academy of West Berlin in Germany - were divided into three groups. There was one difference between the groups that was both dramatic and unexpected. The number of hours devoted to serious practice. By the age of twenty, the best violinists had practiced and average of ten thousand hours - over two thousand hours more than the good violinists and over six thousand hours more than the violinists hoping to become music teachers.

Ericsson also found that there were no exceptions to this pattern: there was nobody who had reached the elite group without copious practice, and nobody who had worked their socks off has failed to excel. Purposeful practice was the only factor distinguishing the best from the rest.

Meditation can sometimes seem very complicated and difficult to learn. However that shouldn't be the case.

It has been scientifically proven to be the best exercise for keeping a healthy mind. Just 10 minutes of meditation a day, can have huge physical and mental benefits.

First: Pick a spot

Second: Set a time

Third: Correct posture

Fourth: Close your eyes

Fifth: Pick an anchor

Just place the attention on your breath as it comes in, and follow it through your nose all the way down to your lungs.

Notice how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly. Simply focus your attention on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity.

When your mind wanders, which it will, simply bring your attention back to the anchor.

The whole game is just to notice when your mind is wandering and to come back to your breath, over and over and over...And when you do that, it is a bicep curl for your brain.

Have you ever thought about why we make friends?

After all, do we really need friends at all?

Couldn't we get along just fine by ourselves?

We are social creatures and derive a lot of our happiness through the relationships that we have developed.

People with good friends tend to live longer lives. They also tend to be healthier.

Good friendships have been associated with lower levels of stress, decreased blood pressure, and a reduced risk of depression.

So it makes sense to learn how to connect with other people.

Do you find it difficult to focus on the task at hand because your mind keeps wandering?

Do you worry too much or have too many things to do, that you can't sit down and concentrate on one thing?

Learning how to focus every day is a must.

There is no one way to do it, that's why I'm sharing three tips on how to find it.

Remove distractions.

Before you can add, you will need to subtract.

Meditate and read.

If you are completely relaxed and stress-free, then your mind will also work more efficiently.

Slowly build up your focus stamina.

Each person may start off with a certain amount of focus, but rest assured that this is something that can be improved over time.

Reading improves your focus and concentration.

With all the distractions nowadays, people have really big problems with concentrating. Don’t be one of them.

You're stressed out? Then pick up a book.

Research conducted in 2009 showed that reading is the most effective way to overcome stress.

Scientific studies show that reading actually makes you smarter.

Your body needs movement. That means your brain needs movement, as well. And reading is the best workout for your mind.

The Feynman technique is a mental model named after Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winning physicist. The Feynman technique is designed to help you learn better and faster - to understand concepts you don't really get, remember stuff you have already learned, or study more efficiently.

The basis of his technique is to explain a concept in plain, simple language.

Get the book here:

US: http://amzn.to/2mrYBpQ

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Deep work: as described by Cal himself, deep work is professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.

One to two hours a day, five days a week, of uninterrupted and carefully directed concentration, can produce a lot of valuable output.

As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill of going deep, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.

There is a way to incorporate deep work and escape the constant distraction. Here are a few strategies you can use:

1. The easiest way to start deep work sessions is to transform them in to a regular habit. Set a time and a quiet location used for your deep tasks each day.

2. Allow yourself to be lazy. Regularly resting your brain improves the quality of deep work. So when you work, work hard. But when you're done, be done.

3. Schedule in advance when you'll use the Internet, and then avoid it altogether outside of these times. Write it down on a notepad and record the next time you're allowed to go online.

For a novice, somewhere around 1 hour a day of intense concentration seems to be the limit, while for experts this number can expand to as many as four hours.

A lucid dream is any dream during sleep in which you become aware that you're dreaming. Which means you're able to control yourself and your surroundings freely. When you're conscious during your dream you're only restricted by your ability to imagine and conceive, not by laws of physics. So what you can do in your lucid dreams is limitless. Flying? Having dream sex? Time travelling? All that and more is possible. Now who wouldn't want to do that from the comfort of their bed?

It's extremely helpful to start a dream journal. Keep it close by your bed at night, and write down your dreams immediately after waking up. Write down as much details as you can remember. This will train you to remember more of your dreams.

Another thing to do is to preform reality checks frequently. Every few hours during the day, ask yourself "Am I dreaming?". With enough practice, you'll start following the habit in your dreams as well.

There are a number of techniques that help induce lucidity. But the one I recommend to beginners and also the one that I used to achieve immediate results is "The wake back to bed". (WBTB method)

There are a few theories about the differences between introverts and extroverts. But the main one is where where we get our energy from.

Introverts tend to recharge by spending time alone. They lose energy from being around people for long periods of time, particularly large crowds.

Extroverts, on the other hand, gain energy from other people. They actually find their energy is sapped when they spend too much time alone. They recharge by being social.

One third to half of people are introverts. If you're not an introvert yourself, you are surely raising, managing, married to or friends with one. If these statistics surprise you, that's probably because so many people pretend to be extroverts.

Introverts are not shy. Shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating.

Which one are you?

Do you know someone who can strike up a conversation with everybody they meet? Their conversations look effortless, they often get free drinks at the bar, and they make best friends any time they go out.

How do these people do it? Are they some type of social mutants? Or are they just “naturals” when it comes to talking to people?

They may be gifted, but they don’t have some coveted secret. Instead, they’ve just mastered the art of small talk.

Small talk is the base of a conversation.

Never forget conversation is a ladder and you can't just leap-frog up the conversation. You need small talk to climb the ladder and warm people up with it.

A few examples how to transform closed-ended questions to open-ended:

Would you like vanilla ice cream?

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream and why?

When is your birthday?

When is your birthday and how do you like to celebrate?

Where did you go to college?

What do you feel was most beneficial about your college experience?

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Carol found out that people either have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.

People with a growth mindset know intelligence can be developed. It leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to: embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks and learn from criticism.

People with a fixed mindset believe intelligence is static. It leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to: avoid challenges, give up easily, ignore feedback and see effort as fruitless.

We should strive to put ourselves and others in to growth mindset every time we face an obstacle!

Which mindset do you have?