Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“throws up plenty of little nuggets for improving life and generating wealth.” (Global Payroll Association, May 2018)
“
This is a good read full of personal insights from the author, but also ideas we can all adopt.” (FT Adviser, May 2018)
Table of ContentsForeword xix
Preface: A Fool’s Guide to Fake Success xxiii
Acknowledgments xxix
About the Author xxxi
Introduction: What is Intelligent Achievement? xxxiii
Part 1 Selective Focus 1
1 Why Mental Energy is Your Most Valuable Asset 3
The Fight for Your Mental Energy 4
Protecting Your Mental Energy 6
Surround Yourself With Mental Energizers 7
2 How Busyness Leads to Burnout and Manipulation 9
The Busy Life Versus the Productive Life 10
Busy People Become Average 11
Busy People Are Followers, Not Leaders 13
Why Busy People are Easily Manipulated 13
3 The Infection Known as “Other People’s Opinions” 16
You Know What’s Best For You 17
You Are Biologically Wired to Copy Others 19
Negative Opinions Can Rot Your Brain 20
4 How Small-Minded People Block Big Goals 26
The Power of Suggestion 27
Your Brain’s Herd Mentality 28
The Liberating Power of Defiance 29
5 Scientific Proof That 50% of Your Friendships are Fake 31
Why Fake Friendships are Irrational 33
Signs You Are Stuck in a Fake Friendship 34
6 How to Deal With Negative People Without Becoming Negative 38
The Fog Technique Versus the Investment Technique 40
Negativity Versus the Void 42
Case Study #1: Rome Scriva 43
7 Why You Need to Go on a Relationship Fast 46
You Have to Say Goodbye First 47
What You Will Learn During a Relationship Fast 48
Why Your Entire Life is Your Fault 50
8 Automaticity, Scaling, and the Rise of Mental Loops 52
Self-Regulation Versus Automaticity 54
How Mental Loops Will Improve Your Life 55
9 Tracking Emotions and Predicting Feelings 59
When are Your Energy Levels and Emotions Peaking? 60
Emotional Predictions Protect Against Emotional Decisions 62
10 How to Label and Close Your Brain’s Open Loops 64
How the Zeigarnik Effect Affects Your Energy and Emotions 65
How to Start Closing Off Your Brain’s Open Loops 66
11 Keep it and Clarify it, or Delete it From Your Life Completely 69
Actively Delete Your Open Loops, Don’t Just Passively “Let Go” 70
How to Make Your Open Loops Actionable 71
Case Study #2: Yuri Klyachkin, PhD 73
Part 2 Creative Ownership 77
12 Where Millennials and Baby Boomers Meet 79
How Experience and Equity Combine to Create True Value 82
Experiences That Create Equity and Wealth 83
13 “Entre-Employee” and Temp-Employee are the Only Career Options Left 86
What Is an Entre-Employee? 89
Why Employers Want to Hire Entrepreneurs 90
Why The Temp-Employee Class is Growing Exponentially 91
Finding Creative Ownership in Entre-Employment 93
14 Content Marketing Is Creative Ownership 97
What is Content Marketing? 99
15 Leveraging Walt Disney’s Secret System of Creativity 101
What You Should Write (or, Overcoming Writer’s Block) 104
Video Blogs are Not Just for the Writing Impaired 105
16 Finding Your Voice and Letting the Right Audience Pick You 108
What’s the Message of Your Content? 110
Finding Your Voice in a Noisy World 111
17 Why a Good Story Will Make You More Money Than a Great Product 115
How Storytelling Creates Influence and Ownership 116
The Hero’s Story 118
Add Credibility and Practicality to Your Story 120
Choosing the Right Words 121
18 The Magic of Turning Your Message into a Magnet 125
Lead Magnets Create Two-Way Value 126
How to Create an EBook Lead Magnet 128
19 How to Build up Your Virtual Rolodex 132
Squeeze and Splash Your Followers 133
What is a CTA Feature Box? 134
Case Study #3: Tim Bushnell, PhD 136
20 Developing and Automating a Message-Driven Content 139
How to Leverage an Email Subscription List 141
Why Email Marketing Will Always be Valuable 142
Email Marketing and the Last Gatekeepers 144
21 Turning Your Message into a Minimum Viable Product 147
What is a Minimum Viable Product? 148
Remember the “M” in MVP 150
Growing an MVP into a Flagship Product 152
22 What Happens When Your MVP Meets Your Market? 154
The Prelaunch Phase of a Product Launch 155
The Launch Phase of a Product Launch 157
How to Fulfill an Online Product 159
23 The Addiction of Vanity Analytics and How to Really Use Social Media 162
Social Media is a Means of Brand Awareness and Brand Protection Only 164
The Big Five Social Media Platforms and How to Use Them 165
24 The Laws of Convergence, Replication, and Accelerated Returns 170
What is the Law of Convergence? 171
What is the Law of Replication? 172
Case Study #4: Franco Valentino 174
Part 3 Pragmatic Growth 177
25 Turning Pain into Productivity Through Pragmatism 179
Transform Pain Through Pragmatic Thinking 180
How to Use Your Negativity Bias to Your Advantage 182
26 One Non-Negotiable is Worth a Thousand To-Dos 186
To-Do Lists are Time-Wasters 187
How to Leverage the Power of “No” 189
Going Beyond “No” to “Never Again” and “Non-Negotiable” 191
27 The Real Theory of Relativity and the Law of Relaxed Productivity 194
Your World is Relative to Your Mood, Focus and Motivation 195
The Three Non-Relative Relativity Exceptions in Life 196
The Law of Relaxed Productivity and How to Follow it 197
28 Avoiding Drama, FOMO, and “Blind Spot Ignorance” 200
What is FOMO and Who has it? 201
How Selective “Blind Spot Ignorance” Leads to Disaster 202
Two Keys to Keeping Your Blind Spots in Full View 204
29 Preventing the Deadly Eight Productivity Pitfalls 208
Are You Living Your Life Eight Distracted Hours at a Time? 211
Case Study #5: Catherine Sorbara, PhD 214
30 Is Everyone a Narcissist Now? 218
Narcissism is a Buzzword for Self-Pity 219
31 Seeing Through the Victim Illusion 222
How to Deal With People Who Play the Victim (Yourself Included) 224
32 How Decision Fatigue Reduces Willpower 227
How Are You Spending Your Decision-Making Units? 229
33 Hacking and Stacking Mini-Habits to Success 232
The Habitual Mouse Gets the Cheese 235
Hacking and Stacking Mini-Habits 236
Turn Deliberate Action into a Habit 238
Case Study #6: Jamie Johnston, R.M.T. 239
34 Leveraging Boredom and Filling the Mental Void 242
Using Boredom to Build a More Creative Future 244
Filling the Void with Vitality and Adventure 246
Conclusion: A Practical Guide to Intelligent Adventure 250
Epilogue: Legacy 256
Bonus: Achieving Alignment 259
Index 261
