The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 MIND HACK

The Value Of Solitude (Or... The Key To Unlocking Focus, Creativity, Self-Discovery & More!)

Think of Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Einstein & other high achievers now & throughout history...

What do they have in common?

The answer in many cases: they valued solitude.

Da Vinci, for example, would immerse himself in his studio...

Van Gogh would paint his emotional masterpieces...

And Einstein made scientific breakthroughs... all while basking in solitude.

Einstein even said:

But it's not just artists & scientists...

Musicians like Mozart & Beethoven also sought solitude to compose their timeless melodies…

Writers like Virginia Woolf, J.K. Rowling & Marcel Proust turned to solitude to craft their literary works...

Now, let's get scientific... why is solitude so valuable?

Neuroscientists have delved into the magic of solitude & found that it changes the way your brain operates...

When you're in a bustling environment, your brain's 'executive control network' is focused on the outside world; on everything that's happening around you...

But when you're in solitude, it's now free to collaborate together with your 'default mode network', which deals with inner thoughts...

This collaboration between these networks in your gain gives your creativity, for one, a major boost... leading to moments of profound reflection & creative inspiration!

At this point you might be thinking…

“Doesn’t this advice go against much of what we're conditioned to believe about life growing up as well as throughout our entire lives”…

We're largely taught that loneliness is a bad thing, social isolation is harmful & that human connection is what’s most important in life…

And that's actually also true...

Loneliness is an epidemic & we need social connection more than ever…

But loneliness & solitude are not the same thing…

And solitude & human connection are not forces that have to necessarily conflict or have to go against each other…

The secret to harnessing the power of solitude is about embracing it with purpose/intention.

Solitude, once again, isn't the enemy of socialization; it's just another tool that you can wield at other times to consciously enhance your personal growth journey!

And when pursued intentionally has a very different effect on the mind, body & spirit than when not.

So, whether you're an artist, scientist, writer, or simply someone striving to be the best version of yourself…

Whether you like to be more focused, creative, reflective or just connect with yourself (& what you truly value) more… you can also use intentional solitude as your ally on your incredible journey of self-improvement!

💡 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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📅 CHALLENGE

The ‘Fear Challenge’: A Proven Way To Train Your Mind & Body To Fear Less & To Be More Courageous!

One of the best ways to lessen the negative influence of your fear & self-doubt -- instead replacing it with confidence & greater proactiveness is to constantly face (& step into) your fears.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said...

She also said;

And that's actually what this section & exercise is all about; one of the ultimate training tools & hacks for overcoming fear, discovering your true self & training up your courage with each passing day…

To be clear, this isn't just something you read...

This is something you DO.

This is a challenge (or, 'mission') of sorts for you... (should you choose to accept!)

Here's how the 'Fear Challenge' exercise works:

Firstly, take time right now & make a list of things that would scare you to do (things that are currently outside your comfort zone) & then do them - at least 1 per day for the next 30 days.

Here are some examples of things you could do:

• Strike up a conversation with (or hug) a stranger

• Live karaoke or sing in public

• Ask for a discount at a store

• Take a dance class

• Take a cold shower (or jump into a cold pool)

• Hold a snake or a spider

• Make a video, or live stream (or public speaking)

• Start doing random pushups in public (e.g. in a store)

• Ask a stranger if you can take a selfie with them

• Go paragliding or skydiving

The point is to make these easy things you can do (usually short 5 min daily challenges you can complete) although you may want to add in a few bigger, more time-consuming challenges into the mix as well…

It’s up to you how you do it!

If you choose to do this challenge over the next 30 days, you’re likely to find that much of what you fear is much scarier before you do it than after you complete it...

Your 'comfort zone' (what you feel comfortable doing) will stretch & you’ll gain more confidence & courage as you go along...

(You may also want to journal your experience after each day’s challenge for even greater benefit.)

Remember: it’s not about removing fear altogether (fear is helpful at times), but to learn to fear less & act in spite of it if you ultimately know the fear isn't serving your highest ambitions.

Courageous people are not fearless... they still feel fear... but those who know fear is an illusion & act in spite of it!

Take the 30-day fear challenge to train yourself to do the same starting today!

And speaking of fear… if you’d like to learn more about what fear is, how it works & an entire library of proven strategies, methods & processes for eradicating fear, eliminating phobia’s & training up your course, check out the complete Potencia fear course, titled:

“Fear Myth: How To Overcome Your Fear, Generate Courage & Achieve Your Dreams”

🔥 MOTIVATION HACK

How To Make Boring Tasks Fun, Take More Action, Be More Consistent & Get Better Results!

Can you guess what the #1 predictor of whether someone will not only sign up for the gym in the first place (here things like the quality of the facilities, the price, etc are most important)...

…but will actually stay & remain a member over time?

Well, let us tell you…

Here, it's not the quality of the equipment…

Or their commitment to going to the gym…

Or, even the goals…

It's actually other people.

A study conducted around this concluded that gym member retention was driven much, much more by emotional factors - such as whether employees knew members’ names or said hello when they walked in. 

Put another way…

So, how can you apply this?

Well, you can get to know those at the gym, or invite those who already know to work out with you… (boosting your chances of going more consistently)

Maybe join a group, community or find an accountability partner with who you can share your progress for new positive habit you’re building (meditation, writing, running, etc) & goals you’re working on…

Beyond just exercise…

You can take boring or uninspring tasks which need to get them & do them together with others!

The entire family cleans the kitchen/house at the same time while listening to music through the speaker, or before going out for a nice family dinner… (much more fun than cleaning alone!)

Or you get friends together, you all sit around the table & work on different hard/difficult/boring tasks together…

Doing this can help you to complete what needs to get done, be more consistent in doing so (e.g. the gym example) & achieve better results in all that you do! Be sure to use this motivation hack!

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🚀 MOTIVATION HACK

‘Future Pacing’ (Or... How To Connect With The Future, Activate Motivation & Supercharge Your Progress In Minutes!)

There's a great quote that says:

This quote is also a great way to think about your motivation!

To “activate” motivation, you must not only set goals & clarify your reasons for why you really want to achieve this goal in the first place... but you also have to do is to connect deeply & emotionally with the goal + reason!

(The key word here: emotionally!)

That's because motivation does not come from 'logic', but rather from 'emotion'...

Now, what does this have to do with today’s motivation hack?

The answer is... everything!

See, “future pacing” is perhaps the easiest & best way to emotionally connect with your goals… (& the reason why you want to achieve those goals)...

Just as top athletes will close their eyes & proceed to consciously visualize every part of their performance, their routine & see themselves competing at their absolute best (visualization is a well-known, well-documented secret of high achievers!)...

…you can do the same through this motivation hack, “Future Pacing.”

All you need to do is this…

Whenever you feel you need more "motivation"… just close your eyes & proceed to run through the steps of that particular task, project, or the goal you are looking to achieve in your life — in detail...

As you do this, see yourself completing each part of the process…

And doing so with great ease + joy + no stress...

See it vividly...

Hear it clearly...

Feel it in your body...

And, as you continue visualizing the process, see yourself effortlessly moving on from one part to the next...

And feel it (this part is most important; really feel it deeply!) how easy it feels to be doing this task & how good it feels as you reach completion & move towards your goal!

(note: for even better results, make each of the images you visualize bigger, brighter & more visually enticing... doing so communicates to your brain, subconsciously, that this task is worth doing & will activate more motivation!)

Recap: Here’s how “future pacing” works...

It’s very simple...

• Close your eyes & take a deep breath...
  

• Imagine yourself hovering up, out of your body & now, moving into the future (picturing a timeline - days, weeks, months - you’re flying over can be helpful)...
  

• Now, drop into the situation that you’d like to visualize; 1st part of it (e.g. writing the book / screenplay / poem you have been delaying on, sending your resume, starting your own business, competing in that sports competition, or whatever your goal is!)
  

• Float back into your body (now, in this future situation) & feel yourself going through all the steps & motions perfectly... from one step to the next... enjoy it!
  

• Now, see yourself achieving your goal & feel how amazing that will feel!
  

• At the peak of emotion, open your eyes & get to work!

By the end, you’ll feel incredibly motivated & inspired...

You won’t have to “force” yourself to do something, you’ll “want” to take action!

That’s “future pacing” — you take the joy that feels distant, far away, not-as-vivid (because, again, the brain tends to de-value things in the future) & you go there (in your imagination) & you feel it now...

You get in there & connect emotionally with the journey & the destination, in advance!

Use this ‘motivation hack’ today 😃 

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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🕒 PRODUCTIVITY HACK

Stop AutoPlay (Or... How To Stop Falling Victim To The Tricks Of Tech Companies & Stop Wasting Precious Time)

A psychological trick many tech platforms (most notably Youtube & Netflix) use to get you to keep paying attention is "auto-play"...

You've probably seen this...

When one video, or an episode of a show, finishes... what happens?

Many years ago, nothing would happen…

Now, the platforms have been edited to capture more attention…

Now, instead of nothing happening (which increases the odds that you'll get up, do something else & stop paying attention to these platforms)...

What they'll do, is usually in the bottom right corner, you'll see a notice that the next video, or the next episode of a show will be starting in 5 seconds…

5…4…3…2…1…

And a new video (or episode of the show) plays automatically.

You don't have to do anything... or even decide that you wanted to watch another video, or episode... that's just the default assumption that platform made for you!

(they do this knowing that, once the new video or episode starts your likelyhood of watching it is much, much greater than if this feature wasn't there)

So, what’s the solution?

Well, turn off auto-play.

This way, you can still choose to watch another recommended video or another episode of your favourite show… but at least it’ll be your choice (not a decision the platforms just made for you!)

How to do this?

Just go to settings & do this now (it literally just 1 checkbox you need to uncheck, or toggle - it takes like 15 seconds & can save you from playing into the hands of these platforms):

That’s it!

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🔁 HABIT HACK

How To Use 'Time Triggers' To Build New Habits Faster & Get Better Results In Life!

Every habit has a 'cue' or 'trigger'... (that is, something that tells your mind & body that now is the time to start playing out that particular habit of yours.)

It could be a specific emotional state like boredom, triggering the habit of checking your phone/social media… or, stress cueing you to start biting your fingernails or going for a smoke...

It can be a location or physical environment... which prompts certain habits & behaviors (like driving past your favourite coffee shop making you crave coffee… or stepping into the office focusing your mind on work over other areas of your life)…

Or it can be (this week’s ‘habit hack’)... time.

Consider this: how do you know when it's time to wake up, to start work (or stop working at the end of the day)… or to eat, or go back to sleep at night?

Each of these actions/habits is usually (for most people) triggered by a specific ‘time’ on the clock.

We wake up at a certain time/frame & we've done that for years... so when that time shows up (or, even when we're not consciously aware of it - for example, we are asleep... but our body/circadian rhythm - still keeps track of this) & we wake up consistently around that same time…

Same with eating...

Same with going to the bathroom (we tend to do it at similar times) because our biology works in this same way here too…

In essence… much of our lives are connected with the structure of ‘time’, including many of the successful habits you've already developed in your life...

This may be obvious, but sometimes we forget this (or simply don't do it) when we're attempting to build a new habit, such as daily meditation, journalling, running, or going to the gym, etc...

We sort of assume that we'll just do them when we'll want to, or that we'll be reminded of them...

But, that's the problem...

For example, if you want to go to the gym every day (if that's the habit you want to build) WHEN do you want to go?

At what time?

Precisely?

It's helpful even to pretend like it's a meeting with someone else that you have daily & you need to not just show up, but show up on time.

Or, morning meditation...

If you wake up at this time, when do you want to meditate?

Or, going for a run? At what time?

Or reading?

Maybe you give it a set time… (e.g. at 6:30PM every day, you sit down for 30 minutes to read. Every day, same time)

There's a great quote around this that goes...

Schedules are based on time, meaning what has a clear time & it's locked in, is going to get done… (vs. something that you aspire to, but you've never scheduled in a clear time to do it.)

So, the next time you want to make sure you do something (or to build a habit that you do consistently to get amazing results) create a specific time trigger or anchor for that behavior!

🫁 BREATHWORK PROTOCOL

‘Diaphragmatic Breathing’ (Or... The Breathing Pattern For Releasing Stress, Evaporatng Anxiety & Tuning Into Deep Calm In Seconds!)

As we’ve covered in previous emails, one of the best ways to change your mind, body & the emotional state that you're in (& do so rapidly) is through breathwork.

Specifically for releasing stress, anxiety & bringing about deep states of calm & relaxation, one of the best, most basic, breathing protocols is... diaphragmatic breathing.

The diaphragm, often overlooked despite its significance, is the largest muscle in your body & plays a vital role in your breathing process…

It's your primary breathing muscle & understanding how to engage it properly can be a game-changer.

Most of us have developed the habit of taking quick, shallow breaths, primarily located in the upper chest.

This pattern triggers the "fight or flight" response, keeping us in a state of perpetual anxiety & irritation…

But there's a simple antidote:

"Low & Slow" breathing (a.k.a. Diaphragmatic Breathing)

Imagine breathing deeply into your belly.

Again, this is the basic anti-stress breathing pattern that can shift you from anxiety to calm incredibly, astonishingly quickly…

(The key is making it an unconscious habit, a part of your daily life).

To get started with ‘diaphragmatic breathing’, try this simple exercise:

• Lying Down: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place a book or a small sandbag on your belly. As you inhale, let your breath lift the book; as you exhale, let it settle down. Focus on creating a smooth, rhythmic movement.
  

• Sitting: While sitting, interlace your fingers lightly over your belly button. Inhale deeply, allowing your breath to push your hands apart. Exhale, bringing your hands back together. Feel the expansion and contraction with each breath.
  

• Standing: Stand with your hands on each side of your waist, above your hips. As you exhale, gently squeeze your hands toward your midline, and your fingers together. Inhale, feeling the breath move your hands apart and spread your fingers open. Gradually increase the pressure to resist expansion while inhaling.

Make this practice a regular part of your life & watch as it transforms your emotional well-being & overall vitality.

Remember, diaphragmatic breathing isn't just about the act of breathing; it's a gateway to a more peaceful, liberated you. 

So, embrace the power of your breath, let go of tension & welcome a brighter, calmer tomorrow!

And if you’d like to learn how to apply the ancient, timeless practice of breathwork to release stress, boost energy, activate high performance & access peak states of consciousness — for heightened levels of focus, creativity, productivity & bliss — on command… be sure to check out our full course on the topic, called:

‘Mastering The Breath’

💡 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

💡 CREATIVITY HACK

'Third Places' (Or... The Stupidly-Simple Way To Enhance Creativity, Motivation, Focus & Connection *Without* Changing Anything Else!)

In sociologist Ray Oldenburg's book "The Great Good Place," he introduced & popularized the concept of ‘third places’, which are spaces distinct from home (your 'first place') & work (your 'second place')…

These 'third places', often cozy & welcoming, are where you gather, connect & engage in various activities...

Think of the ‘Central Perk’ cafe in the hit TV show ‘Friends’… it’s the quintessential "third place" for the characters in the show…

But it's not just coffee shops & it's not just about social & connection...

Libraries, co-working spaces, bars, & community centers can all be great "third places"…

These spaces, again, are vital for fostering community, social interaction, as well as for boosting your own creativity, motivation & productivity...

To start, one key benefit is creative...

Many creative geniuses found inspiration in the relaxed atmosphere of a 'third place'...

Think Johann Sebastian Bach composing in a coffee house, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin & Charles Darwin reflecting in their favorite spots, or Sigmund Freud conducting psychoanalytic discussions in Viennese coffee houses. (Even J.K. Rowling penned parts of her first novel in a café in Edinburgh.)

These great men & women understand that part of the magic of these spaces lies in their ability to stimulate creativity.

The atmosphere, the buzz of activity, & the casual ambiance can really ignite your imagination in a way that sitting at home or in the office might not be able to...

Speaking of motivation or productivity more broadly...

It's not just about what's in your surroundings; it's about the change in environment, which leads us to the concept of environment "switching" that we covered in a previous edition of the newsletter...

Our minds tend to fall into a groove when we're in the same physical environment/surroundings for too long...

Initially, this familiarity helps us focus, but over time, it can lead to disengagement.

Your brain starts to craves some sort of newness & novelty, although not necessarily a complete break from work…

Consider how you change positions when trying to fall asleep at night or how top companies provide various seating options for their employees. It's the same principle at play…

To maintain peak productivity, you can apply this hack to your workday.

Just as turning over at night doesn't mean it's time to wake up, your impulse for change during work doesn't mean it's time to stop working. It's a signal to switch things up.

So, leverage the power of "third places" (& environment "switching") to boost your creativity, productivity, and overall success in life!

Give it a try this week & see how it transforms your experience!

If you’d like to learn more about creativity & how to unleash yours, check out the complete Potencia creativity course, titled:

“Creativity Unleashed: How To Tune Into Inspiration, Effortlessly Generate Brilliant Ideas & Become An Unstoppable Creative Force”

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 FEAR HACK

How To Find Your Passion, Purpose & Calling In Life… By Starting Small (Counterintuitive Life Advice)

The internet is filled with motivational speakers & guru's telling you that you need to find your passion in life… your purpose… something that makes you jump out of bed each morning filled with excitement…

And, as it turns out, the guru's are actually right...

Not only is passion positively correlated with productivity & goal attainment…

There are other benefits to passion/purpose too…

…with various studies proving people with a greater sense of self-reported purpose & meaning in life…

• sleep better at night

• have more energy during the day

• enjoy better sex (a surprising finding, but an unusual relationship tip here)

• are healthier (including stronger immune systems, reduced risks for conditions like Alzheimer's disease, heart attacks, strokes)

• lower risk of mental health problems (like anxiety disorders or depression) &

• they also live longer too...

But while the guru's may be right about the factor you need to find (or create?) your own passion/purpose in life…

A lot of the advice out there is wrong about what that passion/purpose needs to be…

One significant misconception here is that our passion/purpose in this life has to be something big & grand...

It has to be life-changing & world-changing...

We look at some of the most defining stories, messages & legacies of our modern world from Martin Luther King Jr & the civil rights movement, to Rosa Parks & the woman's vote, to the stories of Gandhi & Mother Teresa... (these examples are often shared)

And we assume based on them that unless our own purpose is to end poverty, create equality, fight against climate change, feed all those who are starving in the world, or end all violence & suffering for good... we're not doing it right.

But, this is simply not true...

There are countless individuals in this world who have a purpose just that’s as inspiring, intoxicating, meaningful & fulfilling to them as these icons... but it's not big, it's not grand...

(or, perhaps it didn't start that way!)

In the book, titled "Ikagai" (after the Japanese word for this type of purpose/calling in life, loosely translated to "your reason for being")… there are a couple of really great stories about this...

One is an example of an artisan from Kyoto, "Shakunaga" who made cups, vases & plates from porcelain he was getting from the nearby mountains…

This was a man who spent his life doing something he loved... passionate... fulfilled... but what he was doing was making cups, vases, plates & so on from porcelain he was collecting from the nearby mountains (porcelain unlike any you see in the world).

Another is a story of a man who has been making sushi every day for more than 80 years...

He owns a small sushi restaurant near a subway station in Tokyo...

Even though his restaurant received a 3-star rating from Michelin, he never considered opening other locations or expanding the business.

They continue to serve just 10 people at a time at the bar of their small restaurant…

Why?

Because they don't care for business, or don't aspire to make much money, they just want to make sushi.

That's their passion: sushi.

Although perhaps our favourite example is that of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of animated films produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan…

Unlike most modern studies, he (& his entire team) actually draw everything by hand...

In the year 2013, Miyazaki announced he was going to retire...

To commemorate his retirement, a TV station in Japan made a documentary showing him in his last days at work...

In one scene, several of his colleagues are seen coming out of a meeting & there he is, drawing in a corner, paying no attention to them, drawing.

In another scene, he is showing walking to work on December 30th (a national holiday in Japan) & opening the doors of Studio Ghibli so he can spend the day there, drawing alone... because drawing is his passion.

Even the day after his so-called "retirement", instead of going on vacation or staying at home, he went to Studio Ghibli & sat down to draw (his colleague didn't know what to say... he was supposed to have "retired", yet here he was still “working”.)

One year later, he announced that while he wouldn't make any more feature films but he would keep on drawing until the day he died.

The book then poses the question:

And it's a great question indeed...

Here is a man (like countless others around the world - we just don't read or hear there stories on a daily basis) who has found & cultivated a passion so strong that he simply cannot not do it…

Miyazaki can't stop drawing & he won't...

Now, in each of these examples, their passions, purpose, calling, their "Ikagai", or whatever you want to call it...

It is not big, it's not grand, it's not world-changing necessarily (although little things do ripple out, or as Mother Teresa put it, “If each of us would only sweep our own doorstep, the whole World would be clean.”)...

In each example here, it's small…

It's simple…

It's making cups & plates from local material.

It's making sushi.

It's drawing.

It's no different (atleast on the outside) from what you see everyone else doing... except, for these individuals, it is different...

Why?

Because it's their passion & they love it (there is no Monday morning dread in these stories)

It's what they would do whether they would get paid for it or not.

It's something that they've been doing for decades & will do until their dying breath... it truly never feels like work for them.

And so, your passion doesn't have to be big & grand...

It can be something small & simple...

It can be owning your own restaurant & serving your favourite dishes from your homeland, or teaching kids about a topic that's close to your hard, or being an instructor at a dance studio & spending your days making peoples lives happier through the power of dance...

It doesn't really matter how big, or how small it is...

...whether it's teaching sport to kids, or coaching one of the best sports teams in the world...

Whether it's writing poems, books, novels...

Helping people with weight issues as a personal trainer, helping them through this problems as a therapist or a coach, or simply offering them your wonderful hand-crafted jewelry, shoes, or handbag...

All that really matters is that your passion is yours (& it motivates you intrinsically, so much so that you look forward to do the work, because it's work you enjoy & more than that find meaningful & fulfilling).

And even if you do have bigger dream & ambitions than I'm sharing about here…

(which is great & we're not here to discourage this... go for it, dream big if that's what you truly want but don't do it because you think you need to based on what I or anyone else tells you... do it because you want to, not anyone else)...

And, even here... you can (& probably) should atleast start small.

The high achievers & world-changers I started this insight with... they didn't start with what they ended up doing...

Rosa Parks didn't set out to start a movement... she just got fed up of the injustice & decided to take a stand against it (or, rather in her case, didn't stand, but choose to stay sitting against it...) & it snowballed from there...

Steve Jobs just wanted to make some quick cash by selling computer parts, before he stumbled into the field properly & started Apple Computers.

Same with the others...

So, the insight still applies... start small.

But, just start.

And if you'd like to eliminate the guesswork & learn practical, step-by-step processes & strategies for uncovering your passion, purpose & goals in life... be sure to check out the Potencia course, called:

"Passion Code: How To Find Your Passion, Discover Your Purpose & Create Meaningful Work You Love"

👉 Get all the details & start the course today »

✅ RECOMMENDATION

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‘Frameworks For Life’

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💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‎‍🎯 CHALLENGE

‘Social Media Detox’

Much like you can do a 'detox' or 'cleanse' to restore some balance & improve the functioning of your body...

You can do various types of mental detoxes to reset your mind, clear your head, take a mental vacation & come back thinking & feeling much better than before...

A 'mainstream media detox' is one example where you (assuming you consume the news) take a break from it for some time (& the pain, suffering, chaos, fear that they usually cover as that's what gets your attention) & just focus on yourself...

A more extreme example is the 'digital detox' which includes taking some time off all technological devices including smartphones, tablets, your laptop, TV, etc... (great for a weekend for example)

And the one we want to focus on here is the 'Social Media Detox'...

We don't need to devote yet another article to the harms of social media & the various ways it negatively affects all dimensions of your wellbeing...

Here are the steps:

1. Pick a timeframe (e.g. 24 hours, a weekend, 1 week, 14 days, a month, 30 days, etc) - up to you.

2. Set the parameters of what you can & cannot consume during your 'social media detox' (which apps / sites are included & which are not, according to you?)

3. Unsubscribe, silence, or block sources... (To make it easier, you might want to pause notifications, or change defaults on your devices - set yourself up for success here.)

4. Track your progress & reflect on how you feel at the start, throughout & most importantly, at the end of doing this…

Try the 'Social Media Detox' & let us know what you think 😃

If you’d like to learn more about how to eradicate distraction from your life, improve your focus, productivity & wellbeing, check this out:

"Laser-Like Focus: How To Eradicate Distraction & Create Laser-Like Focus On Demand"

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 MIND HACK

The Power Of ‘Tracking’ (Or... How To Create Effortless Improvement *Without* Consciously Changing Anything!)

There was a study conducted on the link between tracking & weight loss... (& don't worry, we’ll show you how to use these findings to achieve whatever your goals are, even if they are not weight loss.)

In this particular study though, the participants were told not to make any conscious changes to their diet, or to their exercise routines...

The only change they were asked to make is to merely write down (to 'track') what they ate & what exercise they did, every day...

That's it...

Not changing anything, just write it out.

And so, they did...

And the researchers, of course, tracked their results over time (in this case, their weight)...

When the study was completed & the results came back, they were rather shocking!

The individuals in the study... despite being told not to make any conscious changes to their diet or their exercise... they had actually started to lose weight!

That's right, they lost weight by doing seemingly nothing... just writing some stuff on a piece of paper every day!

Let’s get this straight... their weight loss definitely did not come from the movement of their fingers while they were writing - it came from something else (which we'll explain in a moment!)

But this study, when done the first time, did arise some skepticism...

People doubt the outcome.

Of course, they did...

Who wouldn't?

With more than 2/3rd of American's nowadays either overweight or obese & the fitness industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars... & people all around the world doing anything & everything they can to lose weight (dieting, spending hours at the gym, starving themselves sometimes, unfortunately!)... yet, here, people were losing weight without making any conscious changes to their life at all...

So they repeated the study...

They did it again & again...

And the results tracked.

Each time, the results would come back the same… the participants would start losing weight!

By getting individuals to simply track what they ate & what exercise they did… it led them to lose weight!

Now, here's the real reason we're sharing this with you (& the reason that participants started losing weight despite being told not to make any conscious changes to their diet or exercise...)

It comes back to, once again, the great power of tracking your progress & how that creates greater self-awareness & inspires new action, almost automatically... (no conscious thought required!)

Weight loss... as you know... it doesn't just happen...

People need to do things differently in order to lose weight!

So, in the study, that's what they did....

The participants ate less & exercised more on average...

"But, wait, wait, wait..." you might think...

"Didn't you write that the participants were told that they couldn't make any changes to their diet or their exercise..."

Yes, we did...

But, the key word here is conscious!

They couldn't say, "I'm going to eat less"... "I'm going on a diet"... to get a coach when they didn't have one before... or sign up for the gym or fitness program in order to get better results - they couldn't do that!

Yet, they were, in fact, eating less... exercising more...

...except, they were doing this without, in most cases, even realizing it!

They were doing this not consciously, but subconsciously!

Because that's that’s what our brains do...

If you've ever tracked anything, you've probably experienced this first hand... (although, you may not have even realized this was going on!)

Think about it...

In the study, they had to write down anything & everything that they ate during each day... what does that that do to their brain?

Well, if there's writing down another thing for the day & you see that the list is getting a little long, one's brain is likely to go (again, not necessarily consciously)... it's likely to go:

"Wow, I've eaten a lot today!"

Or, even not that... but we're likely to feel bad (a slight negative emotion) when we're writing down anything & the list of what we've stuff in our faces is getting long for the day...

Essentially, tracking & reflection creates that type of self-awareness...

Like this - take a look at the framework:

In the case of this example, it incentive the participants to eat less.

To keep the list of everything they ate shorter (so they don't have to feel the same sadness, embarrassment perhaps about having such a long list; so we can feel better about ourselves & our progress tomorrow.)

Or, someone goes a whole day without exercise...

At the end of the day, or the next morning, they look at their list & see that they did NO exercise... what are they inclined to do next time?

To move; to exercise.

Because, psychologically that tracking led to that moment of "oh, wow, I haven't exercised all day... maybe I can do better here?"

So, more often than not, we do... even without thinking about it.

That's the great power of tracking, which leads to self-awareness.

Btw, another research study (similar to this!) shows that putting people in a room with more mirrors in it led to higher performance at particular tasks - yes, a room with more mirrors; that's all it took to raise performance in this study.

Why?

Because looking at ourselves in the mirror (just like writing down what we did, or ate, or exercise we did or didn't perform) makes us more "self-aware" in that moment... and therefore (not necessraily consciously, but subconsciously!) can incentivize us to do better next time!

It's the exact same idea...

Self-awareness (which comes from tracking, from measuring, from keeping yourself accountable, from reviewing our progress) motivates us naturally to do better...

And can, in some cases, can even bring about completely unconscious change & better results by itself (as this fascinating weight loss study showed!)

That's the power of tracking...

Or, as Peter Drucker once said (& this study proves):

So, that's the importance of tracking overall...

The question is how can use this to achieve your own goals?

First, figure out what you want & how you know you're making progress…

A good question to ask is:

This will help you come up with metrics you can then track...

Next, you're going to figure out the 'inputs' that create the 'outputs' within the system you're operating in...

Contuining the weight loss example...

'Losing weight' is an 'output', not an 'input'...

It's not something you can put on your 'to do list' or schedule in your calendar...

Rather, there are certain 'inputs' which we know leads to changes in output…

Simple ones including eating less (or better), moving/exercising more... or less obvious ones like sleep (more sleep helps weight loss), stress (e.g. stress leads to your body storing more fat), or the social aspect... (if all the people you spend time with have poor health habits & are overweight, you're statistically more likely to be so as well).

So, figure out the inputs for your own goals...

And from there, start tracking those (just like they did in the study!)…

Implement this simple, yet powerful, mind hack in your life today!

‎‍💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Who Are ‘You’, Really?

Here's the quote well worth pondering:

We're often told that we need to 'find ourselves' as if who we are is some ready-made thing... but, as many philosophers & thought leaders suggest, it's likely not...

Rather, 'you' are something that you get to create, to design, to craft as you wish…

Put simply: you get to become whoever you want to be!

‎‍🎓 FEATURED COURSE

How To Break Bad Habits Easily & Build New, Good, Empowering Ones Rapidly!

Have you ever heard the saying,

Well, it's absolutely true...

When you change the things you do consistently (a.k.a. your habits!), everything changes for you in your life...

Take health & fitness as one example...

As you very well know, it's not created through random, sporadic action — like a random workout or eating a salad now & again...

Rather, good health/fitness comes from building the right healthy habits...

...at which point, you do the right things (eating right, exercising, taking care of yourself) with the same ease/automaticity as brushing your teeth in the morning! (no thinking, planning or willpower required!)  

Same with your career, or relationships...

Highly-successful careers & loving relationships are built through consistent effort & work (a.k.a. habits)...

When you build the right work, career, communication & relationship habits, you consistently & automatically do the right things & start seeing amazing results...

(Habits = Consistency ← remember that)

So, yes, when you 'change your habits' you really do 'change your life.'

Now... to help you to implement this life-altering advice into your life, we published an new course for you here at Potencia, called;

”Habit Hacking: How To Break Bad Habits Easily & Build New, Good, Empowering Ones Rapidly”

In the 3 parts of this course, you'll learn everything you need — from paradigm-shattering insights, to eye-opening frameworks, all the way down to specific strategies & step-by-step processes — to change your habits & therefore your life!

Here's just a (tiny) fraction of what you'll learn inside:

• A complete overview of how habits really work... including, how they form in the first place, the 4 stages of habit formation, how your brain activity changes at each stage & other game-changing frameworks.
  

• 6 biological, psychological & emotional drivers that guide all our decisions, actions & habits... (plus: how to use this to build the right habits into your everyday life!)
  

• How Bogdan broke his disgusting habit of biting his fingernails using a simple 3-step process... & how you change your bad habits too!
  

• The "3 types of economic incentives" governments & law makers use to create order in the world (plus: how to use an adapted version of them in your life, to incentivize yourself to do the right things & avoid doing things that disempower you!)
  

• How to apply the "golden rule of habit change" to easily replace (& switch out!) bad habit, with new, good & empowering ones...
  

• 12 proven "Accelerated Habit Building" strategies... you can use to build any habit that you want, faster & more rapidly than ever before...
  

• How to use "Habit Stacking" to create amazing routines that set you up to win across all the important areas of your life!
  

• The "point of no-return strategy"... that "tricks your brain" into doing difficult things, easily!
  

• How to use the same strategy routinely used by dolphin trainers, slot machine designers & even the lottery... to positively condition in new habits that empower you to do more, be more & achieve more!

And a whole lot more!

Get all the details & get started today »

‎‍♟️ MENTAL MODEL

’Inversion' (Or... How To Solve Life's Biggest Challenges More Easily By Taking The Reverse Approach!)

It was the German mathematician, Carl Jacobi, who best exemplified this particular mental model...

He was famously known for solving difficult problems by following a simple strategy: “man muss immer umkehren”

(or loosely translated, “invert, always invert.”)

Today, this is a ‘mental model’ used by many, including 2 of the smartest (& in addition, richest!) people of all time… Warren Buffett & his business partner, Charlie Munger.

They use the mental model of "inversion" to flip problems or information on its head & look at it backwards… in turn, avoiding bad decisions & making better ones!

Which brings us to the mental model itself...

What is ‘inversion?’

Well, it based on the idea that most of the time the only real perspective we consider is the straight forward, direct, forward-thinking one...

We want to make money, so we ask "how can I make money?"

Or, we want to solve a problem, so we think "how can I solve this problem?"

It works, but it's only 1 perspective & therefore, limited…

Also, often we don't know what we want…

In fact, we often know what we don't want much more vividly & clearly than we know what we do want.

We can use this to our advantage.

What you do is you take a question & you invert it...

For example, instead of asking "how can I succeed?" (although that's a question that's usually too vague to be helpful, but we'll use it for this example?)

Instead, by applying the "inversion" mental model, you might ask,

Based on this, you then list out all of those things...

Now, you simply avoid them...

And by avoiding them, you move away from them & towards what you ultimately do want…

Plus, this is usually simplier to do as well…

Or, instead of asking "how can I be healthier?"

You can ask, "What are all the things that are stopping be from being healthy?"

You invert & consider the question from a different perspective (backwards, instead of forwards, in this case?)

Or, “what are all the things that could go wrong?”

A great example of planning for the "worse case scenario", so that you're prepared for everything & therefore, are actually more likely to succeed...

So, that's the "inversion" framework & mental model!

And if you’d like to learn more thinking tools like this one that you can use to make better decisions & achieve better results, be sure to check out our newly-released, companion newsletter called:

‘Frameworks For Life’

As part of this publication, we do the heavy lifting & grunt work of meticulously researching, studying & curating the best insights, concepts & frameworks for you & share it all… helping you make more intelligent decisions & get ahead in life...

And ultimately supporting you to achieve more of the results, the success, happiness & wellbeing you truly deserve in this life!

👉 Click here to claim your V.I.P. access for free »

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

‍🎓 LEARNING HACK

How To Use The 'Habit Stacking' Method To Create Amazing & Effortless 'Routines' That Produce Radically Better Results!

When most people think about building new habits, they usually think about individual ones...

"I'm going to start meditating every day" they might think...

Or, "I'm going to build the habit of running every morning"...

And while this is a great start, there is actually a higher level of understanding (& arguably, an even better approach!) that will help you to achieve even more, even faster...

It's a method known as ‘habit stacking’...

Instead of just building new habits into your life (as a way to get yourself to automatically & consistently do the things required to achieve your goals)...

...what you want to do to take this to a higher level is "stack" 1 good habit upon another upon another, forming a "habit stack" (or, a "routine") — & proceed to build that entire sequence in through repetition...

For example, you might take 5 good habits that you'd like to build into your life, e.g...

• Taking a cold shower

• Drinking more water

• Meditation

• Journalling

• Stretching your body

And you do them one immediately after another...

Like this, take a look:

When you do this (over time), what happens is that not only are you getting the benefits of each of the habits individually, but implementation is much easier as well as follow through is automatic & effortless...

That's because completing habit #1 as part of the 'stack' becomes the 'cue' (or, trigger) for you to play out the next one...

Or, put another way... the completion of 1 habit is your signal to play out the next one... & so you do... automatically (without thinking, no willpower required!)

Plus: there's also efficiency in grouping activities/habits in this way that also saves time too... (similar to the way that 'focus blocks' as a way of work that we covered in a previous newsletter boost your productivity!)

Of course, you can do this at any time of the day...

...but 2 particularly great times to "stack" good, positive, empowering habits in this way are in the morning (e.g. before you start your work), as well as in the evening (before bed)...

...to create an amazing "morning routine" & "evening routine"...

...which helps you to be more productive, successful, a lot healthier & much happier in your life!

So, ask yourself, which habits are you going to 'stack' together?

To help with you with this, we created a companion newsletter (giving you even more amazing free content every week!) called:

‘Mighty Habits’

In this habit-focused newsletter, we will identify, curate & deliver you a detailed breakdown of these very best of the best ‘habits’ that you can possibly build...

(the ones scientifically-proven to make the biggest difference for you; also as practices by the world's most successful people!)...

...to help you to transform your health, fitness, mental health, income, relationships with others & happiness in life!

👉 Click here to claim your V.I.P. access for free »

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

🎓 FEATURED COURSE

Earlier this week, we announce a brand new, completely revamped, updated & upgraded course put together by our founder & CEO.

It’s called:

’Decision-Making Mastery: How To Make Better Decisions, Take Smarter Action & Achieve More, Faster’

It’s an in-depth course which will teach you how to apply the same critical thinking methods, mental models & success strategies routinely used by billionaires, fortune 500 CEOs, visionary entrepreneurs, renowned investors & even history’s greatest leaders...

…to sharpen your own thinking, make better decisions, work smarter (not harder) & achieve even your biggest, boldest goals in rapid time!

This new, upgraded version of the course is officially available for you to get access today… (& we cannot wait to hear the results it’ll help you create!)

👉 Learn more & get instant access to the course now »

💡 LEARNING HACK

How To Accelerate Your Learning By Getting Into A Great 'Pre-Learning State' & Leveraging The Power Of Simple ‘Rituals’

Realize it or not, the 'emotional state' (how you feel) you're in when you enter a learning situation...

It will have a huge impact on how quickly you'll learn, absorb information, come up with creative solutions & create results!

If you start reading a book, or learning a new skill while you're pissed off, angry or you're distracted by something that happened this morning, for example... you're not going to learn as fast, remember as much, or develop skills as effectively as you could!

Meanwhile, if you begin your learning (or skill development) efforts feeling empowered & excited to learn the material... now, this 'pre-learning emotional state' will help you to learn faster!

This is one of the patterns of high achievers: they place a lot of focus on ensuring that they are in a great "emotional state" whenever they approach learning, work, or anything else... 

They are very intentional about this & you should be too!

Focusing on learning specifically...

Before you learn anything, you can ask yourself...

"How am I feeling?"

(check in with yourself in this way!) 

Then, continue on to ask yourself, 

And "what can I do to be more excited about this?"

By managing your "state" & energy... you will perform better, learn faster & ultimately, achieve more across all the important areas of your life!

Speaking of which, one great way to change your state is with a ritual (similar to the idea of 'habits' & 'habit stacking' we covered at the beginning of this week's newsletter)...

Using ‘Rituals’ To Change (Pre-Learning) State

Ellen DeGeneres would famously toss a mint in the air & catch it as she was coming onto the set…

It’s simple. It’s a little silly. A little funny. And that’s exactly what it’s meant to be…

It's a great little ritual she did that brings her into a better, more charismatic, more playful, emotional state before starting the show…

Another example is Barack Obama, who always played basketball on the morning of an Election Day...

A ritual that allowed him to get into a better state of mind (potentially to de-stress, calm nerves & come in with a great sense of calm.)

And no, this is not about superstitions...

It’s about an action — a 'ritual' — that you consistently do to get yourself into a particular state of mind!

So, the question is, before you learn (or do!) anything, what emotional state do you want to be in that would be optimal for that?

And what can do you do to get into that emotional state so you not only feel better, but also perform better too?

Implement this ‘learning hack’ to get better results 😃 

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 FEAR HACK

The Timeless Practice (Used By Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, Da Vinci & Others!) To Think Deeper, Process Emotions & Boost Mental Health!

To kickstart this week's newsletter, let's talk about journalling — the simple, yet powerful practice that hosts an altitude of incredible mental health benefits…

We'll answer the questions of what is journalling, what are the benefits & how can you get started with journalling (or mix up your practice if you always do this if you'd like)...

Starting with...

Q1: What Is Journalling?

Well, it's writing...

Except, the main distinction being this & typically 'writing' is that with journalling the goal is not for anybody to see or read it… it's just for you... (like a dairy, but more manly 😆 )

At which point, you might wonder, what's the point of writing then if nobody is going to read what I wrote?

Well, it's because the process of writing itself produces amazing benefits, which include...

Q2: What Are The Benefits?

Benefits include:

• Reduced stress levels: What journalling essentially does is force you to think about, reflect on & to put into words not just the events, but the emotions of your life...
  
  Doing this naturally offers you a little bit more distance between you & these thoughts / emotions, usually minimizing their effect & lowering their emotional intensity, including the reduction of stress/anxiety.
  
  And since stress is linked to virtually every health problem or condition, it makes sense that journalling can actually contribute to the betterment of your physical health, including healing disease or health problems.
  
  This is proven by quite a number of studies now which show that people who started a journal practice (with effects starting at as little as 15 minutes per day) not only saw a significant decrease in their stress & anxiety, but also started to observe a reduction in various stress-related symptoms & health problems...

• Decreased worry, anxiety, fear (even cure phobia's): Based on similar underlying concepts, journalling can help reduce worry, anxiety & even fears (potentially even helping to get rid of lifelong fears of phobias) by enabling people to express their feelings & experiences in an organized, structured, disassociated way...
  
  Put another way, journalling can help put things in perspective, making it far easier to recognize any irrational thinking or thought patterns that may be contributing to the anxiety or fear in the first place…
  
  (journalling can also help individuals gain insight into their triggers, allowing them to plan ahead & develop coping strategies for when they encounter those triggers in the future).

• Improved creativity & better problem-solving abilities: If you notice, the brief list of people who journaled throughout history, you'll find these people are generally very 'creative' individuals — this practice may have something to do with that too!
  
  That's because, through journalling, you're allowed to explore thoughts & feelings as we've established which provides us with the benefit of creativity…
  
  As you journal, you'll likely find yourself forming new or novel connections between ideas that you didn't form better (a.k.a. creativity), including ways of using those ideas to solve problems in life (a.k.a. creative problem-solving.)
  
  Another benefit is...

• Better memory, recall & faster learning: Multiple studies have now found that when you journal on events & experiences in your life you not only improve your recall of those specific events, but become better & more accurate at recalling all kinds of events & experiences in the future (a.k.a. better memory.)
  
  And in general:

• Improve mental health & emotional wellbeing: Putting it all together, the practice of journalling can help to alleviate stress & anxiety (providing physical health benefits as well as mental & emotional ones) but improve your brain function, mental health & emotional wellbeing overall as you become more effective in recognizing, categorizing, exploring (even transforming) your own thoughts & feelings!

Which bring us to:

Q3: How Can You Get Started?

You can journal on many different things (gratitude journalling, dream journalling, travel journalling, etc) but there are 2 main types/buckets/ formats for journalling to begin with...

These are:

1. Open Journalling

This one is simple: You just open a page (ideally a physical piece of paper or notepad, rather than a digital device as this uses more muscles/contributes to better memory) & you just write...

No prompts.

No specific suggestions.

Whatever pops into your mind, you just write it out on paper.

Trusting the process.

2. Structured Journalling

With this 2nd type of journalling, instead of writing whatever comes to mind, you just specific questions or prompts to guide your thinking & journalling down a specific path...

Some examples of great journal prompts that force you to think deeper, connect with your purpose & can greatly improve your life might include:

• If you were creating your own dictionary, how would you choose to define the words ‘success’ & ‘happiness’ in that dictionary? What do these words mean to you?
  

• If you could snap your fingers & become a master at any 1 topic or skill, which one would you choose & why? How would mastering it change your life?
  

• A few little things I can do to be the best possible husband / wife / partner / parent / friend / family member this week include...
  

• What have been the greatest compliments you've ever received from others? And what made them so memorable for you? (note: this prompt will likely lead you to discover what you value most in life as well as help you connect with your greatest qualities.)
  

• What are the 3 qualities that you admire most in people & why? (note: this one meanwhile will likely reveal qualities that you might want to develop more of in your life, pushing you towards becoming better & better every day.)

^ These prompts above are actually taken out of the 360° Journal that we offer which curates 180 of the best, most thought-provoking & life-changing journal questions/prompts to help you do more, be better & transform your life in the most amazing ways…

If you'd like to learn more about the journal (which we ship to you anywhere in the world) & pick up your copy, you can do so here »

And if you’d like to receive rundown’s of top habits (like journalling) practiced by the world’s most successful people now & throughout history (as well as scientifically-proven to elevate your health, fitness, mindset, income, relationships with others & more), check out other, companion newsletter which does this, called:

‘Mighty Habits’

As a subscriber (also free!) you receive detailed breakdown of these very best of the best ‘habits’ that you can possibly build to transform all the important areas of your life…

👉 Click here to claim your V.I.P. access for free »

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Most people operate under the assumption (also spread by the self-help industry & guru’s within it) that ‘who you are, your identity, your ‘true self’ is something ready-made just waiting for you to find, or discover…

“Find yourself” the advice reads, “Connect with your true self”…

This quote challenges this paradigm, suggesting that maybe who you are (‘self’) is not something that you need to ‘find’ or ‘uncover’ at all, but something that you have to create, make, format, design…

“Create yourself” this new perspective reads instead & with every decision, action, you’re creating/choosing the version of you that you truly want to be… 

What do you think? Let us know… 💭 

✅ RECOMMENDATION

Free: Deeply Understand The World Around You, Make Smarter Decisions & Achieve Your Goals Faster!

If you haven’t subscribed to our newest, companion newsletter yet, you’re missing out: It’s titled…

‘Frameworks For Life’

…& it’ll teach you new concepts, frameworks & strategies for working smarter (not harder) & achieving your goals faster!

As part of it, we’re doing the heavy lifting of researching, studying & curating the best ideas, insights, concepts, frameworks & mental models to help you make more intelligent decisions & get ahead in life... & sending those to you (in simple terms, easy to implement) every single week…

…ultimately, helping you to achieve more of the results, the success, happiness & wellbeing you truly deserve in this life!

👉 Click here to claim your V.I.P. access for free »

💡 CREATIVITY HACK

The Creativity-Activating Power Of Showers & Baths!

Research conducted in collaboration with the world’s largest showerhead supplier found that 72% of people around the world report having experienced new ideas in the shower… 

Throughout history also, many top writers, artists & other creatives would even shower many times per day (or bath many times per day)... not because they were dirty, but because they wanted the creativity boost this simple practice offered...

Nietzsche, Nikola Tesla, Steve Jobs, Maya Angelou, just to give a few examples...

Of course, you don't have to be so extreme in your approach, but the next time you feel creativity stuck, maybe hopping in the shower (or taking a hot bath) isn't the worst idea in the world…

You can also look to follow/apply the underlying reasoning for why showers help spark creative breakthroughs…

The explanations from top psychologists, neuroscientists, creativity researchers & experts alike, are usually 2-fold...

Firstly, what hot showers, baths & other forms of ‘heat exposure’ do is they relax/de-stress you (as we covered in detail in a previous newsletter which you can read here) & that relaxation allows the mind to explore the more far-flung, far-fetched connections that true creativity usually requires...

So even if you don't want to shower/bathe multiple times a day to attempt to spark creative insights, you can look for other ways to relax/reduce stress so you can also be more creative…

The other reasoning for why showers inspire creative insights is the rhythmic/monotonous flow of the water & how this allows our mind to wander off/day-dream…

In fact, it's one of the only real times left in our days where we allow our mind to just drift off in this way (which the rhythm flow of water helps induce) also thanks to the fact it’s a place in which we don’t bring our phone or other distractions…

Mind-wondering/day-dreaming is great for creative insights & breakthroughs (which the shower helps bring about)... but you can also induce this state in other ways by simply allowing time in your day when you're not doing anything or not distracted by other things, going for a walk, sitting free from other stimuli, gazing off into the distance & other strategies.

So, whether you apply this directly or indirectly, be sure to use these insights to be more creative & generate more brilliant ideas / insights that can transform your life (or even the world!) 🤩 

If you’d like to learn more about creativity & other strategies for unleashing yours, check out the complete Potencia course, titled:

"Creativity Unleashed: How To Tune Into Inspiration, Effortlessly Generate Brilliant Ideas & Become An Unstoppable Creative Force"

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 MIND HACK

‘Real Cost Of Distraction’ (Or... The Mindset Shift Required To Free Yourself From Distraction & Tune Into Deeper States Of Focus & Flow!)

From the breaking news, reporting & mainstream media, basically screaming for your non-stop attention... 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...

To big tech & social media companies who's entire business model is predicated on looting as much of your attention as possible & doing whatever it takes to make that happen...

To your smartphone, laptop & smart devices constantly seeking our attention with their endless pings & buzzes...

(let alone the hundreds of texts, messages & emails your inbox gets bombarded with every day, all screaming "red-hot urgent" & demanding your reply ASAP!)

I think it's fair to say that…

Fortunately, there are a lot of different tools, techniques & strategies for minimizing this distraction + boosting up your ability to focus & get more done...

Unfortunately though, these strategies ^ don't work very well unless you get 1 thing right first & that's thing is the mindset/understanding about precisely why distractions are so harmful in the first place…

(otherwise, you'll just downplay their importance & continue to engage with the world in the same way as before.)

Think about it: have you ever thought to yourself (or even said aloud)...

"Oh, it's just 2 minutes - it's no big deal"

or...

"Yeah, let me check this real quick - it'll only take a couple of moments, then I'll go back to focused work immediately after"'

In situations like this, distraction seems totally innocent, right?

A little distraction here... a little distraction there... what's the big deal, right?

Well, not exactly!

When it comes to productivity & high performance, it's actually this type of thinking (about distraction) that forms the biggest problem of all & unless you shift your awareness/mindset a little, other distraction prevention strategies won't work & you'll likely continue to be more distracted than you'd ideally like to be... 😥 

That's because, in reality, there is a much greater cost to getting distracted than most people ever even realize or comprehend (& learning + reminding ourselves of this fact is a massive first step to conquering distractions, improving focus & getting more done!)

We've identified that there are actually 5 layers to distraction; 5 specific ways in which the cost of distraction is much greater than we may have previously believed...

Here's the framework, take a look:

Let's dive into it, shall we?

As you can see at the top ^ the first thing you have (the visible part, above the metaphorical water line) is the distraction itself...

While you're working, you grab your phone & start checking social media for the next 5 minutes...

You go to get some water or coffee before you sit back down to keep working, but you proceed to spend the next 10 minutes chatting with co-workers about random stuff...

You finally back down to finish this important project, but as soon as you start, you get a notification show up & you click it... & spend the next 2 minutes reading the information...

Or, a new email comes in... which leads you to spend another 3 minutes browsing the web for no good reason...

Distractions — no introduction required, we're likely all intimately familiar with them already!

But, again... the 20 seconds, 1 minute... 2, 5, 10 minutes or sometimes more that each of these distractions takes up is only the first (visible) part of the problem... (that's all above the water line)

There are actually 5 additional costs that we're not even aware off, which we're going to walk you through in this week's newsletter...

1. Accumulated Effect

The reason we say "oh, it's just 2 minutes" is because we're thinking short-term. We are focused just on those 2 minutes, not on the accumulated amount of those that all of these small, seemingly-insignificant-at-the-time distractions add up...

Take a look at this next graphic:

(click this or any of the other images to see an enlarged version)

As Van Gogh once said:

On the flip side of all, almost all bad things come from a series of small things, accumulated & compounded over time as well.

As one of our Potencia instructors, Tom, often says:

It's not the 1 action on it's own that matters, it's the accumulation over time.

And the same applies to distraction...

A little distraction here & there... it only appears to not be a "big deal" & therefore we mentally discount it's long-term effect, because we think about it in the short-term.

Here's what really happens… Let's do the math:

• 2 mins per distraction, on average...

• Repeated, say, 20 times per day (although that's very conservative, as we’ll cover share in a moment…) = 40 mins of distraction / day.

• Over the course of 1 month, that adds up to 20 hours... (that’s 20 whole hours of your precious time & attention wasted on mindful distraction…)

• Over the course of a year (365 days), that's 243.33 hours (or, 10 entire days of your life!) spent 'distracted'... (just imagine what you could do in 243 additional hours?)

^ And, like we also suggests, these are very conservative estimates...

• One study, for example, found that we get distracted on average every 5 minutes... (which is 12 times that you get distracted & snapped out of focus & productivity every single hour)

• That’s, accumulated, is 96 times that you’ve been snapped out of focus & productivity in an 8-hour work day.

• Then again, that accumulated over a 5-day work week is 480 times you’ve been DISTRACTED in a workweek.

Look at how much productivity all those little distractions cost you!

If you spend, say 90 minutes a day distracted or on meaningless activities (mindlessly checking email, looking at stuff on the web, whatever)...

Sure, that may just be 90 minutes in a day…

But, accumulated, that’s 450 minutes in a 5-day work week. 

Or, 1800 minutes in a month…

Or, about 21600 minutes in a single year…

21600, which is 360 hours or 15 entire days... WASTED over the course of a year... just because, each day, 90 minutes was spent on mindless distraction that we sometimes justify as ‘no big deal.’

^ That's the real cost of those little "oh, it's no big deal - it's just 2 minutes".

It is a big deal. It does add up!

Next...

2. Compounded Effect

All this considered so far, the main cost isn't even the distraction itself, but the time it takes for us to re-focus after we do get distracted...

This is the 2nd cost — the compounded effect — also includes all the time it takes to re-focus after you get initially distracted over time!

Studies prove that whenever we get distracted, even if it's for "just a moment", it can take anywhere between 11 & 25 MINUTES for our brain to get back into the groove & return back to the same level of focus, productivity & flow as it was, before that distraction!

Here's a graphic to visually demonstrate this:

Example: if you're writing in a total flow state for example... & the words are just flowing out... if you get distracted (even if it's for a moment) it will take a little while to re-adjust & to get back into that state of flow you had before...

You need to mentally re-group in a way... often having to need to re-read the last few things you just wrote/did just to remind yourself of where you were before the distraction.

^ That's the bigger cost, the time it takes to re-focus.

3. Habitual Effect

As human beings, we are creatures of habit!

And so, like with so many things in life, when we get distracted, this in turn, makes it even easier & makes us even more likely to get distracted again the next time... & the next time after that... & the next time after that.

Distraction becomes a habit...

...it becomes a more & more consistent, more & more automated, thing that we do it without thinking - it becomes part of who we are!

It's like any habit… when you engage with distractions, neurons fire & wire. Fire & wire. And bond together tighter & tighter.

You find yourself, for example, grabbing your phone, opening your inbox, clicking notifications... without even thinking about it or consciously wanting/choosing to do that (can you relate?)

You just do it automatically, instinctively... when you didn't use to do so!

And so, not only does the time we spend distracted (as well as the time to re-focus!) accumulate over time, over the long-term... but it also, over time, becomes a stronger & stronger habit of ours... which in term makes us even more likely to get even more distracted & waste even more time the next day, week, month, year, and so on...

And this one is a particularly damning one... because it gets worse over time. You become more & more trapped. Less & less in control of your time & attention. And more & more just living life from one distraction to the other. Spiraling out of control...

Unless you choose to consciously change it of course, which we trust you will if you’ve experienced this issue!

4. Effect On Results

The other thing that we fail to see is the connection between distraction (or any other bad habit for that matter) & the results that we get...

For example, a smoker will have a harder time breathing, or exercising, for someone they won't connect this with their smoking habit... or, rather, they'll look to avoid that connection!

The same applies to distraction...

We'll get little done... or, make mistakes in our work... ultimately, not get a promotion, grow our business & make more money... but we won't connect that to distraction right away when we should!

First off, as research proves, distraction has a very negative effect on the quality of our work!

Obviously, we get less done... we're less productive...

Which, in the case of employment, it leads some people to get fired.

Others? Well, they just get stuck... They don't get promoted & don't advance their careers... in some part because of their distraction, their lack of focus & average levels of productivity...

In the case of running your own business, it can literally be the difference between success & failure of the venture...

Think of it this way...

Distraction is literally taking money out of your pocket.

Over the course of a year, distraction may be your biggest cost, costing you thousands, tens of thousands or even millions of dollars every single year…

And over the course of an entire lifetime, that day-in, day-out distraction is costing you prolific output... new music that you didn’t produce because you were distracted, new books you didn’t write, new products you didn’t create, life goals you didn’t achieve… (& yes, money you didn't make too.)

Eradicate distraction & we promise you, you'll see to see things in your work & your life get better... even things you didn't even know would be connected to distraction & would get better... they will improve! It's amazing... & you'll see for yourself...

5. Whole Life Effect

Finally, time is the most valuable resource have largely because it's finite. We have 24 hours each & every day. No more, no less.

And so, because it's a finite resource, a minute spent on distraction is a minute NOT spent on something else...

Take a look at this framework:

A minute spent on mindless distraction is a minute NOT spent on...

• Improving your health & fitness (people say they don't have time to go to the gym, to workout... it's not true... get rid of those mindless 2 minute distractions, or spend less time on social media, Youtube, Netflix or other distractions & suddenly you'll have plenty of time for this & everything else)
  

• Your career (as covered before, there's a great cost here!)
  

• Your relationships

Distraction can ruin relationships, friendships, our bond with family... which we can live to regret.

And of course, your happiness & lifestyle...

And so, that's the final real cost — the effect that distraction has not just on our work, but ALL the important areas of our life...

The good news, of course, is that you do not need to suffer these costs & consequences as just like with any habit or behavior, we’re capable of change as soon as we learn the truth (that’s what we hope this start to this week’s newsletter was, ‘an illuminating truth about the real costs of distractions’) & then make a decision to change this in your own life 😃 

Also, you can use this practically too by reminding yourself of these true consequences & therefore using that to change. You can even say to yourself out loud:

You can also remind yourself of what’s truly important to you instead making resisting potential distractions much easier going forward!

Recommended: If you'd like to learn more (including: the practical steps & strategies that follow this new understanding) for practically avoiding, eradicating & replacing distractions + boosting your focus levels & tuning into states of flow… then be sure to check out the full Potencia course on the topic, called:

’Laser-Like Focus: How To Eradiate Distraction & Create Laser-Like Focus On Demand’

Inside this course, you'll learn a number of simple, yet proven & highly-practical steps, methods & strategies to essentially hit the 'delete' button on the distraction & interruptions in your life from social media to the news to notifications or your inbox...

...as well as train up your ability to consistently tune into deep states of focus & flow...

...so you can learn anything faster, be more creative, multiply your productivity... & start hitting your goals in record time!

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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‎‍💡 LEARNING HACK

The Power Of Action-Based Learning

Imagine attempting to teach a toddler to walk by getting him to listening to a lecture or watch a tutorial video...

The outrageousness of that visual is funny, yet it isn’t written for comedic purposes. It’s written to demonstrate that the way we learn (including all of school years) is somewhat, if not entirely, backwards...

Also, as a society we tend to overprioritize 'theory' or 'information' & under-prioritize actually getting up, training a skill & becoming practically good at something...

Another example: imagine buying a new bike & learning how to ride it by buying textbooks about bike riding...

Sure, that may actually be a great first step helping you learn a little bit about the mechanics of the bike... but I'm sure you'd agree, unless you actually get on the bike, your progress will be limited!

Once again, we may be shocked at these examples, but this is what people do all the time in schools, at events & at lectures...

We attempt to learn photography, art, or business purely through the consumption of more & more information... or from attending university & listening to lectures... but little time actually doing it!

The challenge for you, if you really want to learn faster & develop skills that can elevate your life is to apply this: action-based (or kinaesthetic) learning.

If you’re learning marketing or sales, for example, don’t just read that sales book…

If you’re learning photography, as soon as you get an insight from the photography guide you're reading, take out your camera & test it out. Take action fast (don't wait to finish your research, apply it in real time.)

Go from reading the guide (learning theory) to implementing the information as fast as possible.

Move into action-based learning, instead of the old, ineffective lecture-style learning that schools still use.

And it may be common sense, but it’s definitely not common practice. And so, when you actually do apply this, you'll have a great advantage in life!

And if you'd like to learn more about precisely which skills you can develop — including a practical guide to strategically & methodically select the right 'high value skills' to earn more, elevate your career & thrive in life — be sure to check out this Potencia guide, called:

’High Value Skills’ (For Building A Great Career, Getting Paid Handsomely & Generating Wealth)

Why do some people, for example, earn minimum wage, while others can charge $100, $500, $1000, or even $5000... per hour?

And others don't even work at an 'hourly rate'... but build careers, businesses & amass a fortune?

The answer is skills.  

More specifically, 'high-value skills'.

In this impactful training series, you'll learn how to strategically & methodologically select high value skills to develop & use these skills to transform your income, impact & life forever:

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The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🎯 FOCUS HACK

Stop Smartphone Addiction (Or… How To Enjoy The Benefits Of Modern Technology, Without The Downsides!)

You used to have to own a camera, flashlight, calculator, microphone, radio, an alarm clock, compass, external harddrive & a dozen other gadgets...

Today, your smartphone fulfills all of these functions all of these things… & a whole lot more!

The modern day smartphone truly is a wonderful thing...

However, as Paul Virilio once said:

And with the improvements that have come with the smartphone & its near-infinite option of 'apps'… the negative consequences of cell phone use are showing…

As a society, we're addicted to our smartphones (with the average person checking their smartphone an average of 144 times per day)… & it's affecting our mental health & emotional wellbeing in a very negative way!

What it’s also affecting is our focus, work & productivity (which, in turn, sabotages the results we get in various areas of our life & further ruins our happiness & wellbeing)…

So, what’s the solution?

Should we stop using our smartphones altogether? Is that the only logical option?

Or, are there ways to enjoy the benefits of modern technology, while also mitigating the downsides that come with them?

Well, here are 5 specific steps — besides the obvious step of monitoring your screen time or usage of specific apps — that you can take to reduce the distraction from your smartphone, get more done & achieve better results in all areas of your life

1. Remove apps you don't need (or that don't align with who you want to be & want to become...)

First off, it's not the smartphone itself that's so addictive, but the ‘apps’ that layer on top of the underlying technology (e.g. social media, gambling apps, gaming apps, etc)...

And these apps that we have installed are a reflection of who you are as a person… (just look at someone's smartphone apps & it's a good indicator of the type of person that they are!)

So, what you want to do is either avoid installing (or if you already have, to start to uninstall) the apps that most distract you, or don't align with the person that you'd truly want to be/become in your life…

Example: don't install, or uninstall, TikTok, so that you don't waste hours every week scrolling through it. Or uninstall gambling or gaming apps now so that you're not prompted to check them…

(you can also apply this advice in reverse & install apps that empower you to be better… like reading/audiobook apps, learning, fitness tracking, finance, etc.)

For the apps that you don't want to uninstall/stop using completely, but want to reduce compulsive checking / using off, you can apply the next step:

2. Reorganize your apps (e.g. move those that distract you away from your main / home page.)

Habit research shows that we are more likely to check or engage in activities that are closest & most convenient…

For instance, if there are plenty of sweets, snacks, or alcohol readily available at home, we are more likely to consume them rather than going through the inconvenience of going to the store…

This additional effort acts as a sort of friction for engaging in unhealthy habits.

The same principle applies to our smartphones…

We tend to instinctively click on the apps that are located on our home page & are immediately visible when we open our phones…

Therefore, by moving these more distracting apps (e.g. social media, gaming, gambling, etc) away from the home page & hiding them away on your phone, we can reduce time spent on them effortlessly…

3. Change Notification Settings

Another big source of distractions on your smartphone are notifications. Most apps will turn these on by default because they want your attention…

Your goal is to turn these off, only allowing the ones that are of highest importance!

Action item: go into your smartphone notification settings now & turn off notifications for all the apps you don't need or want distracting you randomly during the day!

Another great hack is to...

4. Strategically Use ‘Do Not Disturb’ / ‘Airplane Mode’

If you're sitting down to get some work done, in most cases, you don't want your smartphone buzzing all the time with notifications, making distraction easy.

Instead, you can use "Do Not Disturb" or "Airplane Mode" at times when you need to focus to stop these notifications & reduce distraction…

And finally, what you can also do is to...

5. Leave Your Phone Out Of Sight / Reach

Like the previous example, what's easy & convenient is what we're more likely to do…

By not having your phone by your side / within arms reach every second of every day… you're less likely to check it & therefore, will be more focused / productive during the day.

Solution? In the times when you want to be fully present / focused (whether it's work, date night, or family dinner - just a few examples) leave your phone further away physically to stop yourself from checking it randomly or impulsively…

Apply these 5 basic steps to reduce distraction, improve mental health & enjoy the benefits of modern technology without the downside!

Recommended: If you'd like to learn more (including: the practical steps & strategies that follow this new understanding) for practically avoiding, eradicating & replacing distractions + boosting your focus levels & tuning into states of flow… then be sure to check out the full Potencia course on the topic, called:

’Laser-Like Focus: How To Eradicate Distraction & Create Laser-Like Focus On Demand’

Inside this course, you'll learn a number of simple, yet proven & highly-practical steps, methods & strategies to essentially hit the 'delete' button on the distraction & interruptions in your life from social media to the news to notifications or your inbox...

...as well as train up your ability to consistently tune into deep states of focus & flow...

...so you can learn anything faster, be more creative, multiply your productivity... & start hitting your goals in record time!

‎‍😊 MENTAL HEALTH TIP

Reading Habit… (But With A Different Intention In Mind!)

When most people think of reading, they thinking of learning / knowledge acquisition (becoming smarter, better informed)...

Or (usually in the case of non-fiction) the simple enjoyment of reading...

What people do not usually think about are the mental health, calming, soothing, effects of reading...

A study done by the University of Sussex proves these benefits, concluding that:

(isn't that amazing?!)

Here’s how / when can you practically apply this in your own life:

• Before going to bed — in the late evening, you generally want to bring about calmer emotional states (to help you to wind down & to fall asleep more easily)… making this a great time to schedule in 15 - 30 minutes of reading… (perfect as part of your evening wind-down routine!)
  

• Weekends & vacations — one of the intentions people have for the weekends & when going away on vacation is to unwind from the stresses of everyday life, reading can further improve this... (this can be combined perfectly with nature/scenary, a reclined position like a beachchair, sunbathing, as well as the later parts of the afternoon.)
  

• Whenever you feel stressed — instead of turning to unhealthy habits (a smoking break, drinking alcohol while watching TV, etc), you can build the habit of reading in times of stress, trusting that this (as studies prove!) will calm your mind, body & help you to how you feel much better!

(note: if you have not read the educational, inspiring non-fiction books we have published so far at Potencia, you can check them out here » )

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⚡ ENERGY HACK

Aromatherapy & Positive Scents... (Or... How To Improve Mental Health Effortlessly By Leveraging The Most Underestimated Human Sense!)

There are 5 basic human senses...

And, of the 5, the sense that we generally consider the least (although it's immensely powerful!) is olfactory… or smell.

A perfect moment can be easily ruined by a bad scent (like the smell of dog poo, or a smelly fart)…

Scents can trigger vivid memories better than almost any other sense…

And what scents can also do is improve our mental health & emotional wellbeing as part of our everyday life…

Aromatherapy (a timeless practice that has been used for generations) is exactly this... it is the practice of using positive scents to improve health, wellbeing & happiness…

What aromatherapy can also do is to energize you (or, to calm you) virtually at will; faster than almost anything else…

Just pull out the right scent & experience the powerful benefits…

To help you get started, here are some scents you can use & there corresponding benefits:

1. Energizing Scents: Igniting Alertness and Focus

When you need a mental boost to enhance alertness, focus, and productivity, certain invigorating scents can come to your aid. Consider infusing your workspace or living environment with these stimulating aromas:

• Peppermint: Known for its refreshing & invigorating properties, peppermint can help combat mental fatigue & increase alertness.

• Citrus (Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit): Citrus scents are uplifting & can improve mood, motivation & focus.

• Rosemary: This aromatic herb is linked to improved memory retention & mental clarity.

• Eucalyptus: The crisp scent of eucalyptus can clear your mind & promote a sense of vitality (can also be calm).

2. Calming Scents: A Retreat to Relaxation

On the flip side, when the goal is to unwind, de-stress & find a moment of tranquility, these calming scents can work wonders:

• Lavender: Renowned for its soothing properties, lavender can reduce anxiety and promote relaxation.

• Chamomile: With its gentle & comforting aroma, chamomile is perfect for inducing a sense of calm.

• Vanilla: The warm, sweet scent of vanilla can help alleviate stress & create a cozy atmosphere.

• Sandalwood: Known for its grounding effects, sandalwood can facilitate mindfulness & relaxation… (often used in saunas, which are also amazing for relaxation!)

Incorporating Aromatherapy into Your Routine

To harness the benefits of aromatherapy, you can use essential oil diffusers, scented candles, or even create your own custom blends.

Experiment with different scents to find the ones that resonate with you the most…

Whether it's a subtle shift in mood or a boost in productivity, the power of aromatherapy lies in its ability to subtly influence your state of mind…

So, as you embark on this aromatic journey, remember that a world of scents is waiting to be explored, offering you a delightful tool for enhancing your mental well-being, as well as focus, productivity & high performance!

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

‍🚀 LIFE HACK

The Power Of Mentoring & 2 Keys To Shortcutting Success By Learning From Others

Oprah Winfrey was mentored by Maya Angelou & Mark Zuckerberg was mentored, in part, by Steve Jobs...

Throughout history, the philosopher Henry David Thoreau was mentored by Ralph Waldo Emerson…

The Italian painter & architect Raphael was mentored by Leonardo Da Vinci who himself was mentored by Andrea del Verrocchio.

Or perhaps the most famous example of mentoring in action...

Socrates mentored Plato who in turn mentored Aristotle who was mentor to none other than Alexander the Great.

The list of historic mentors/mentee relationships (also referred as the the ‘master’ & the ’apprentice’) goes on & on...

In fact, an incredibly high percentage of those who have reached a world-class level of knowledge, skill & ability — as well as use that capacity to create extraordinary works & achieve remarkable results in life — now & throughout history had mentors to help them get there...

(And clearly for all the people above, based on their results, as well as their comments in interviews or in their works, the mentoring they received ahead of them was of massive benefit...)

Before we cover those, please note that 'mentoring' is not just something for kids...

It's not only kids that need good 'mentors' or 'role models' to look up to... rather, it's something we all need, throughout our entire lives.

If growth is our goal, we always need people who are better than us at certain things who are willing to show us the path ahead (instead us having to waste time figuring it all out on our own!)…

With that in mind, as well as out of the way, here are the 2 keys to getting the most value out of a 'mentor', ‘coach’ or 'role model' (which again, everybody interested in advancing their life should have, or have many of…)

1. The Right Mentors

One of the mistakes people make initially after hearing about the power of mentoring is picking the wrong mentor(s)...

Nowadays, there are so many people out there who say they are coaches, life coaches or mentors, who — if you dig a little deeper under the surface — have little previous success to actually be able to successfully teach upon...

If someone has never achieved something for themselves — with rare exception — will they be able to effectively teach it well...

You want to pick mentor(s) who have ‘been there & done that’, having achieved that which you want to achieve...

Better yet, find someone who has achieved it repeatedly & consistently...

They haven’t just done it once… but they’ve done it many times; an even stronger track record.

Lastly, where relevant, you want to pick a mentor who’s achieved in a similar industry, profession or path as you want to head down...

This, once again, makes a huge difference...

If your mentor has achieved their success in an industry, profession, category or even, business model, far outside the path that you’re heading down, their guidance may be misleading (lacking accuracy)..

You want your mentor (or mentors; you can have multiple) to have experience in similar industries, professions, topics & skills to yours...

And when you’ve picked a great mentor, understand that there are multiple levels of learning from a mentor...

2 - Proximity Matters

We've narrowed these down to the 4 core layers of ‘proximity’ that arise in a mentor-mentee dynamic.

• A mentor from afar

• A mentor in range

• A mentor in person

• A mentor in association

Let's cover these in more detail:

• A mentor from afar is someone you’re learning from, from afar...
  
  For example, you might read your mentor’s book. Or, watch their video training. They’re mentoring you from afar, often through their products or services, rather than in person.
  
  And although this is only surface-level mentoring, it is a form of mentoring. It may be the least effective form of mentoring — very surface-level — but, is still valuable...
  
  At first, you may not know (or have the capability) to meet your dream mentor in person, or convince them to mentor you, however, you can always learn from their work… This is the stage where most people start.
  
  

• A 'mentor in range' is the next level. This level, you’re coming into closer proximity with your mentor(s). You’re not only researching them, studying their work, reading their books or watching their videos from afar, but you’re also going to any events/ meetups they’re running or you’re working at — or with — the companies they run; all with the intention of getting into greater proximity so you can pick up greater nuances that you can use to progress.
  
  

• A mentor in person; a face-to-face, 1-to-1 type of interaction with your mentor. You’re not only studying their work, but you’ll also receive specific feedback & guidance, from them, tailored to you & your goals…
  
  This may be the result of working beside (or underneath) them in an organization or company… Or on a personal level, you’re spending time with them like you would with a friend. And, at this level, your mentor is your friend. You know them & they know you.
  
  There are dozens of reasons why this level will give you greater insight than the previous levels, including the personalized guidance, the behind-the-scenes access to them, as well as their friendship.
  
  

• A 'mentor in association' is the highest level. It’s the level you should strive for if you want to be influenced by your mentor at the highest level. At this level, your mentor isn’t just your friend, but a dear friend. It’s also the level where you’re in deep association with your mentor. There’s no holding back. You receive their best guidance & personalized wisdom as they support you to become great. You’re actively spending time with them. Often, directly with them; working side-by-side.

And, with each level, your proximity to your mentor (the 2nd key) increases. And just note that...

Proximity matters

When you’re learning from afar, there’s only so much your mentor can influence your learning & skill development...

However, at the highest level (‘a mentor in association’ as we’re calling) your mentor is largely influencing & uplifting you to new high levels...

By spending time in-person with your mentor, you’re — often unknowingly — making small tweaks to your actions that make you better at what you do...

(similar to the '3 degrees of influence' framework we covered in last week's newsletter — sure the people in your outer social circle also indirectly influence your behavior but those closest to you influence it most.)

With each level up, you’re learning more & progressing faster at the topic or skill you’re developing...

Your goal is to go up the stages to greater & greater levels of friendship, association & proximity to your mentor.

However, don’t expect to jump to stage 4 (a mentor in association) immediately. It rarely happens that way...

Most of the time, you’ll start at 1 of the first 2 stages. And, you may progress up in the future…

As to how; you must find ways to add value to your mentor.

And know that a great mentor is sowed after… Almost every aspiring film director would love the opportunity to be personally mentored by Steven Spielberg, almost every aspiring magician (or illusionist) would love to be personally mentored by David Copperfield & most aspiring investors would love the opportunity to have Warren Buffett mentor them. You’re not alone; I assure you that.

It’s why you’ll often start on phase 1 or 2. And to progress up, you must find ways that you can add value...

How can you add value to your mentor’s life?

That’s the question you should be focusing on.

Not, ‘how can I get this from them?’, but ‘what can I give?’ 

That’s what will make them want to mentor you in the first place. Bring value & you’ll receive value back...

And yes, even the world’s highest achievers still have things that they want, that they would love support with...

It may be a project that they’re working on that they’re missing things for, or a dream that they lack resources to achieve...

Or, perhaps, they’re concerned about their legacy & want someone to carry the torch in the future. You have to find what they want & provide value to get in the door before you can start building a friendship (& moving up)…

And, be humble. Value the learning you get as great compensation. If you’re really committed to world-class skill (mastery) at what you do, be willing to work for free under them if you have to — to get into closer proximity — knowing the short-term sacrifice is nothing compared to the long-term upside that will come from their mentoring...

Put self-pride aside & be willing to sacrifice in the short-term for massive long-term upside...

And equally know that, just like any friendship or business relations, you have to start by simply becoming known to your mentor. They have to be aware that you exist first...

It starts there... & beyond that, it takes patience & time to build that association or proximity with your mentor.

Like anything worth doing, it doesn’t happen overnight... It takes time to form that strong mentor-mentee dynamic.

However, the right mentor can massively supercharge your progress making it a very worthwhile effort <-- that's today's first strategy for rapid progress & accelerated success in whatever you do!

Recommended: in the book ‘Skilled Success: Learn Faster, Train Like The Best & Become Extraordinary At Anything,’ there’s a section dedicated to how to find & learn from mentors to accelerate your path to mastery & success!

More broadly, the book decodes precisely how you can start soaking in new information like a sponge to learn any topic with total ease… develop your skills up to 500% faster…. & become extraordinary at anything!

👉 Get all the details & get the book here »

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

✅ RECOMMENDATION

2x More Amazing Content For Free!

If you haven’t already, we wanted to invite you to join our other, companion newsletter called the:

‘Potencia Body Weekly Newsletter’

While this newsletter (you’re reading right now) is focused on helping you to you master your 'mind’…

…this companion newsletter (which is also 100% free!) curates & delivers the very best nutritional advice, fitness hacks & holistic health strategies to your inbox every week... to help you master your body.

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🧠 MIND HACK

The Advanced Strategy For Building Addictive, Indestructible Habits That Last (Used By Casino’s, Dolphin Trainers & More!)

There's a concept known as "variable rewards" & it may just be the secret to building truly unbreakable, indestructible habits that last...

Also known as "intermittent reinforcement"… it’s based on the initial work of B.F. Skinner back in the 1950s, but is just as relevant today as it was back then...

In fact, this 1 concept explains why gambling can be so addictive (even though it makes no logical sense to gamble)...

Or why the lottery continues to bring in so many people (even though, again, it makes no logical sense)...

It's also one of the strategies that dolphin trainers will use to train dolphins to perform tricks...

And again, it's something that we can use as well to develop good habits faster & easier than ever before...

So, let's get into it...

In his lab, Skinner observed that lab mice…

The mice would press a lever & sometimes they’d get a small treat, other times a large treat & other times nothing at all...

Unlike the mice that received the same treat every time, the mice that received these "variable rewards" (or "intermittent rewards") — sometimes small, sometimes big — seemed to press the lever much more compulsively!

Now, just like the mice in this experiment, we, as human beings, crave predictability & consistency...

You could say that our brain has evolved to help us make sense of the word & to accurately + consistently predict what's about to happen...

^ that's one of our core biological, psychological & emotional needs

Another way of putting this is that we hate not knowing or not being sure of something...

Based on this, when things are, in fact, unpredictable... it's far more mentally & emotionally intoxicating — it basically forces us to pay close attention & devote energy to whatever is happening!

One way that this is applied really successfully (as mentioned) is dolphin training...

When the dolphin does the trick, they will get a fish for example as a reward...

But sometimes, they'll (randomly) get an entire pile of fish instead (known as a 'jackpot reward')

Recap: the dolphin just did the exact same trick as they've done many times before… but now they are rewarded with an entire pile of fish instead of just 1…

"Why?" they must wonder...

They don't know why they got an entire pile of fish this time!

And they also don't know when the next time they will receive another big pile of fish will be... because it's random.

Same with things like gambling or the lottery...

It's the not knowing — the lack of predictability & consistency — mixed with the slim chance that you can win really big that together makes these things appealing...

If it was certain or consistent, nobody would do it...

But, because there's strong uncertainty built into it, that's what makes the process addictive...

Now, back to the habit-building process & how you can use this to improve your habits in your own life...

Sure, this is a more of an advanced strategy (vs simpler ones we’ve covered in previous newsletters.)

And yes, it'll usually require a little bit more creativity on your part as to how you can apply it...

But it's worth the extra work because, as mentioned, it's really, really powerful!

Here's one example (to inspire you to create your own)...

What you could do is after every workout (or any habit) is you could roll a dice (or something like that, ideally with even more variables!)... & if it lands on a particular number that you select in advance...

On top of everything else, you also can reward yourself with something much bigger — like going out to a nice dinner, or buying yourself something nice, getting a massage, or whatever reward you select for yourself...

Like the dolphins, every day, you reward yourself with something small...

But, you also have a small (random) chance of something huge — a big reward!

And because it's based on a dice roll, it's random & not predictable.

That's one example... again, be creative in how you apply this & test it for yourself!

And if you'd like to learn more about precisely which habits it would be worth applying this to — the 'best of the best' practiced by the world's highest achievers & scientifically-proven to transform the important areas of your life — be sure to check out our other newsletter all about this called:

‘Mighty Habits’

In this habit-focused newsletter, we will identify, curate & deliver you a detailed breakdown of these best ‘habits’ to help you to transform your health, fitness, mental health, income, relationships with others & happiness in life!

👉 Click here to claim your V.I.P. access for free »

The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.

🧠 FEAR HACK

The Most Fearless Athlete Of All Time & Her Counter-Intuitive Approach To Fear (+ How You Can Apply It To Boost Courage!)

Fear: it’s the silent killer that stops us from making bold decisions, taking committed action & achieving our goals!

The good news? It doesn’t have to be… 

There are various methods & techniques for better dealing with fear, boosting your own courage & getting yourself to do what you might have otherwise been too afraid to…

One such technique — to kickstart this week’s newsletter — comes from Kristen Ulmer…

If you don't know who she is… Kristen Ulmer is considered one of the best, as well as the bravest, most courageous & so-called "fear-less," athletes in history…

She was not only a big mountain skier, but also a ski mountaineer, ice climber, rock climber & paraglider too…

From the late 1990s until the early 2000s, she was voted the "best female extreme skier in the world"… for 12 years in a row! 

Isn't that insane?!

Today, she's one of the leading thought leaders, coaches & experts on the topics of "fear," "anxiety," "flow," & "peak performance" in general…

And now that we’ve established her credentials, here’s what she shares when asked about fear & how someone can effectively handle strong emotions (like fear) that come up… (this is her most important advice on this so pay close attention).

...which is considered the 'fear' & 'stress' center in our brains — the amygdala — responsible for the detection of threat & the activation of appropriate fear-related response; the part of our brain that drives the “fight or flight” response...

Have you ever had an experience like this?

You snapped & lashed out at others?

Or started blaming something?

Or feeling sad & alone... but then later you realize (or maybe you didn't) that what you were feeling, what was driving your behavior, was actually fear?

For example, maybe you were afraid of what was going to happen...

...but instead of admitting that to yourself, you expressed that emotion in a very different way — such as through blame, anger, sadness, etc...

Now, here's what Ulmer says about how to start transforming this...

That’s what she advises ^ pretty profound, don’t you think?

Let’s dig into a little more & break down this insight into what you can do now or whenever you next experience fear or any other strong emotion that wants to hold you back:

• 1. Notice & Stop Resisting: Don't fight the emotion, attempt to numb or get rid of it. Just accept its presence & let it exist here for a moment… connecting with the physiological changes it brings in your body (for example, a fast beating heart rate, sweaty palms, etc). Just notice all of these affects in your mind, body & allow them to be there for now…
  

• 2. Physiological Awareness: Identify specific sensations – a tightening stomach, a faster heartbeat – & note them out loud.
  

• 3. Embrace & Inquire: Treat fear as a companion in this quest of life, instead of the enemy. Inquire about its real message; this interaction lessens fear's impact.

This approach aligns with a fundamental principle that resisting, avoiding, or numbing emotions is counterproductive & it’s better to accept them (as many spiritual guides recommend also)

Ulmer's technique, "Noticing & Noting," brings us back to basics, acknowledging & understanding emotions at a visceral level… 

And by adopting this strategy, we can navigate the complex terrain of our emotions, paving the way for awareness, growth & mastery 😎 

And speaking of fear… if you’d like to learn more techniques, methods, processes & how to apply them to get rid of fear, anxiety, be more confident & achieve your goals, be sure to check out the full Potencia course on the topic called:

’Fear Myth: How To Overcome Your Fear, Generate Courage & Achieve Your Dreams’

In this Fear Myth course, you'll learn eye-opening insights, big ideas & transformative frameworks, which will equip you with a whole new understanding of fear, courage, action & what it really takes to achieve your dreams...

You'll also get an entire toolbox full of state-shifting techniques, highly-practical processes, exercises & mechanisms to overcome fear, generate courage (when you need it) & take massive action!

💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‎‍💡 ADVANCED INSIGHT

'Backwards Law' (Or... The Insight That Helps You Make Smarter Decisions, Better Manage Emotions & Win In Work & Life!)

What we covered earlier in the newsletter about fear actually applies more broadly to all emotions, as well as many situations in life, as we'll cover in this section here...

It's known as the 'Backwards Law', as popularized by the philosopher, Alan Watts...

He put it this way:

And, in the hit personal growth book by Mark Manson released in 2016, Mark referred to this as the "Feedback Loop from hell" & explained that...

Now, this may sound a little confusing...

And it is, to start with; as we're diving into the strange, quirky yet marvelous inner workings of our brain here...

So what's the solution?

Well, for all emotions, not just fear, the solution is the same as what we covered at the start of this newsletter. Acceptance over resistance.

(Or, as Carl Jung put it: 'what you resist, persists')

You have to get comfortable allowing emotions to be there — instead of fighting them — at which point they, paradoxically, stop being there.

As to the reason we're doing a 2nd feature on this, it's because it applies more broadly...

With most things in life, more intent/effort = better results...

This makes sense, it's easy to understand...

Work harder at something & you achieve more...

Put in more effort & you get better results, very logical...

But there are also other things — like emotions — where the 'Backwards Law' prevailed & the opposite becomes try...

The harder you try, the worse the result (like in the fear for example, the less you tell yourself not to be afraid & attempt to push fear away, the more afraid you become.)

And the more effort you put it, the worse things get...

Here are some examples from everyday life:

• In dating: the more someone wants to be loved, the more desperate they seem & therefore, the less likely they are to attract love... meanwhile, the less that they seek it & the more they enjoy time with themselves, paradoxically, the more likely they are to attract love into their life…
  

• In business, in sales, in negotiation... the same thing applies!
  
  The advice we're offered here is "you should negotiate with one foot out the door" - which basically just means, don't show much you want it…
  
  You should be willing to walk out (either physically, or more likely, mentally & emotionally) of the negotiation at any moment…
  
  Because, the less interest you generally show, the more negotiating power you tend to have… & the more likely you are to get the things you want.
  
  This is paradoxical because the less you care whether you get something or not, the more favorable terms you'll likely get (compared to if you were basically begging for something to happen!)

Now, in both cases 'don't care' or don't be desperate' doesn't really work either...

So your best option is to first create more options which in turn make it natural for you to be less desperate/care less, at which point you get better results.

And more broadly, it's first about recognizing whether more effort brings you better results or if the 'Backwards Law' applies where less is actually more & you have to take different steps…

^ it's this level of intentionality & foresight that can set you apart from everyone else & help you thrive no matter the situation 😃 

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