1: It was a broiling hot day.

Future entrepreneur and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz was early in his career.  He was married with three young children.

One day, his father came to visit.

“We could not afford air-conditioning, and all three children were crying as my father and I sat there sweating in the 105-degree heat,” Ben writes in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There … continue reading

1: “Imagine we’re floating in a clear blue ocean—somewhere warm like Hawaii or Mexico,” Ron Shaich writes in his terrific book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.  

“Waves are breaking and rolling toward the white, sandy beach,” Ron notes.  “We know that’s where we are headed, so our ultimate destination is clear.  And we know that any wave will take you to shore.

“But not just … continue reading

1: Researchers at Harvard and MIT analyzed the moods and behaviors of 28,000 smartphone users.

What did they learn?

“When people felt down,” Rachel Barr writes in How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend, “they tended to seek out activities that promised instant gratification, like watching TV or drinking wine.”

When the participants were in a good mood, however, “they leaned toward more productive activities,” Rachel notes, “that … continue reading

1: Ever eaten every French fry in the bag, even though we knew from the first bite they weren’t very good?

Me, too.

Turns out chasing pleasure isn’t always the key to feeling good.

“That’s not a moralistic perspective; it’s a neurobiological one,” Rachel Barr writes in How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend: A Neuroscientist’s Guide to a Healthier, Happier Life.

“To understand why, let’s go beyond … continue reading

1: Ever said, “It’s just quicker if I do it myself?”

Probably.

Yesterday, we looked at the powerful results of “the ownership program” at the New York City restaurant Eleven Madison Park where junior team members were given ownership of different types of beverages, including coffee, cocktails, and tea.

“I’m not going to lie,” General Manager Will Guidara acknowledges in his book Unreasonable Hospitality, “it’s much easier to … continue reading

1: News flash.  Life is hectic.

The problem? 

“It is easy to allow our relationship with our partner to sit on the back burner while we deal with the more pressing fires of day-to-day life,” Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.

This week [here and here], we’ve been exploring some of Sahil’s ideas to … continue reading

1: Psychologist John Gottman can predict who will eventually get divorced a stunning 94 percent of the time.

In a pioneering 1992 study, John and his team interviewed fifty-two married couples.

They asked each couple “a variety of questions about how they met, why they decided to get married, and what changes their relationships had been through and observed them as they took part in a fifteen-minute discussion about a … continue reading

1: For several years, Sahil Bloom struggled to connect with his wife during difficult times, he writes in The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.

Then, he heard about a book by a Baptist pastor, Gary Chapman, called The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.

Gary suggests that there are five distinct love languages that describe … continue reading

This week and next we are exploring Sahil Bloom’s concept of “Social Wealth” as outlined in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.

Today we turn to a list of “Social Wealth Hacks I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two” which Sahil put together with Arthur C. Brooks, social scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and number one New York Times bestselling … continue reading

1: “Think of a pleasant wine-tasting memory,” John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World.

What is it that is underneath every thriving vine?

A trellis.  “A structure to hold up the vine so it can grown and bear fruit,” John Mark notes.

A trellis is to a vine as structure is to … continue reading