You’re being manipulated by society.
100% of fad diets don’t work.
99% of shit you buy is useless.
99% of fitness advice is wrong.
99% apps are dopamine blasters.
99% of the News is misinformation.
99% of tools and apps are a distraction.
Winning is simple.
All you have to do is stop losing.
You need to:
Be aware of how you spend every hour of the day, your money, how many steps you take, what you eat, what you watch, and your workouts. That’s it. The tools below do this for you.
Execute the boring daily habits that align to your big picture goals in health, wealth and relationships.
Keep doing this and don’t stop
Win at life
Here are the 6 tools you can use to take back control.
Google calendar
The king of all tools.
I will push this down your throat until I convert you to my google calendar religion.
Join my cult.
If you can’t do something the rest of your life, you shouldn’t do it at all.
If you have a goal for the year, it’s because you plan on building that thing for life or at least decades.
You shouldn’t set 5-10 year goals because things change, and outcomes are not realistic.
Focus on what you can do every day for 30m-1hr, that is what will move the needle.
After you have done the mundane thing 300 days in a row, and momentum kicks in.
You’ll be used to doing the boring thing, and higher ROI levers will appear, be patient.
You should break down your goals into daily tasks and put it in the calendar, typically before 3pm while you have will power.
You don’t think about whether your motivated.
You don’t think if you feel like this is a cool thing to do now.
You know objectively it will be something that benefits you in the future and you’ll always love doing.
You will eventually have done things long enough to get massive dopamine from the effort process of doing them daily.
No emotion involved.
Set the notification for 5 minutes before ans when it buzzes, you get to work, no excuses.
This alone will put you ahead of 99% of people because they rely on motivation to workout or build a business and quit when that fades
Systems are all you need.
Google calendar will save you from the fogs of war, on the hardest, most tired days where you don’t feel like doing it, look at your calendar and know that block represents something larger, a new life, and get to it.
Those difficult, tired, unmotivated days are actually the ones that move the needle.
Audible
Need I even elaborate?
This is the best way to get ahead, read more than your competition.
But it is only useful if you give yourself a continuous flow of new information, whilst taking action on it in your life
If you only read, and never take action, it’s like consuming calories and not lifting weights.
You are taking in this energy and knowledge, but you are just storing it, not using it to progress your life.
Reading = Food, Action = Exercise
Or another one from Dan Koe..
Reading = Bulking, Action = Cutting
You ingest info, and then creatively release it.
I learn best through audible vs sitting down and reading.
My strategy is I listen while walking and driving. I typically listen to a book once as the “rough draft” and then I will listen to it again, sometimes a 3rd time.
The first go through is just a brainstorming session. I am slowly taking in some big ideas and a rough idea of the message being sent.
Then the second go around, I will catch anything I missed and puzzle together the rest.
I like to re-read about 10 core books every year, as they have had the most impact on my life.
Mint
I’ve tried YNAB, EveryDollar, all of the budgeting tools and mint is just superior.
It’s got the best interface and easiest to setup your accounts.
Connect all accounts and gamify your net worth.
Tracking every single dollar is psychologically not effective for most people as they will give up.
I did.
After 10 years of trial and error, the key for me was to treat my finances as a game.
By gamifying it, you are now gaining optics into your spending which allows you to make adjustments to key areas where you need to chill out on the spending.
Mint does this best, right when you open the app, you see a big fat net worth in flashy mint green colors.
So refreshing watching it grow.
Instead of doomscrolling on Instagram for dopamine, use this as dopamine as you progress.
Every time you avoid uber eats or shopping for useless shit, you will immediately see feedback and results in your Net worth.
It feels good.
What you track is what you improve.
Add in all your checking, saving and investment accounts so you can see where your money is going.
You’ll see categories like shopping, mortgage & rent, entertainment, food & dining etc. you can add or remove as you please.
The main idea is by simply being aware that you spend most of your money on x and y, you can think about that as you spend it next time.
Figure out your spending weaknesses and fix them.
You will also gain optics in your credit score, which is very important.
iPhone Notes
I have 3 folders, one to track workouts, one to track my goals, and another for writing.
The first 2 should be required for everyone, the 3rd is optional as I don’t expect everyone to be a writer.
Again, what you track is what you improve, you don’t need to get fancy.
For my workout tracking, I used to add a new note for each workout, but now I track the entire weeks workouts in one for ease as seen below.
Whatever is easiest for you, do it.
StepsApp
This allows you to gain optics into your steps in a nice interface that is superior to the built in iPhone health app.
I like to pay for the improved version that shows my steps right on the app widget.
Once again, it’s all about psychology and gamifying your goals.
It releases dopamine when I see my 10k step goal reached, or when I’m close when it’s still early in the day.
As you can see, I have been slacking this week averaging only 6,200 steps.
MyFitnessPal
This one is easy.
I don’t track every meal here; I am too lazy.
What I found that worked is I just enter 1-2 days’ worth of meals and make sure it is enough calories and protein, and then I eat that every day.
It’s a onetime thing.
Check it and forget it.
The key to getting lean is simple, and simple means eating the same foods daily so you can’t fuck up.
Just find meals you enjoy that are within your protein and calorie ranges and eat that daily.
Simple.
If you absolutely cannot eat similar meals daily, then I would recommend tracking everything in here.
Bonus
Add a “Goals” category for your apps related to goals.
Make sure its easily visible on your phone home screen.
Look at this every day to track progress and stay focused.
I’ve got 9.
Google calendar keeps my goal tasks organized daily.
Notes tracks my goals, writing, and workouts.
Audible keeps me fed with knowledge.
Twitter is used for deploying knowledge (writing) / online business.
StepsApp tracks my 10k step goal.
Mint tracks my spending and net worth
Discord is for online business course communities and coaching.
Files has my study guide for a CISSP certification I am studying for (Cyber security stuff for my 9-5)
Waking up helps track my meditation work.
Every tool has a purpose.
Every app here must align with your goals, no distractions.
STAY FOCUSED.
Final thoughts
You must use these tools to help attach dopamine to the EFFORT PROCESS of achieving your goals, not the outcome.
You must divorce the concept of process and outcome.
Forget about losing 20lbs, just walk 10k steps a day and adequate protein, stay within your calorie range, and eat whole foods daily.
Forget about making x/month, just focus on daily habits that will increase your income and lower expenses.
Forget about reaching transcendence and enlightenment, just meditate 10 minutes per day.
Forget about benching 225lb, just lift weights 3-4 times a week and track it.
If you consistently pull the correct mundane levers for long periods of time the results will come.
If you attach your self-esteem to arbitrary outcomes, then you will be disappointed often.
Catch ya’ next weekend dudes.
Thanks for reading.
Brandon