What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0085

4201.  We should never stop learning.  The moment we think that we are who we are is the moment we give away our unrealized potential;

4202.  Recent research from the University of Rochester found that when you sleep, your brain removes toxic proteins, which are byproducts of neural activity when you’re awake, from its neurons.  Your brain can only adequately remove these toxic proteins when you have sufficient quality sleep.  When you don’t get high-quality deep sleep, the toxic proteins remain in your brain cells, wreaking havoc and ultimately impairing your ability to think – something no amount of caffeine can fix.  This slows your ability to process information and solve problems, kills your creativity and increases your emotional reactivity;

4203.  Price is (or should be) a relatively petty concern when it comes to making financial decisions.  It should be one factor, but it should never be the most important factor.  We must learn to make decisions based on what we want, rather than what we think our current income limits us to.  We don’t have to be subject to prices.  We set the intrinsic valuation that determines our perspective of anything external to us, including and especially the price of any product or service.  We decide what anything is worth to us and we don’t have to accept any price, any lack of quality or any deficiency of value;

4204.  A negative mind will never give you a positive life.  So think positive;

4205.  The “Chick’n Shack” at Shake Shack is (pretty) good, but I still like the taste of a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich more;

4206.  The weekend of daylight savings time, the Metro closes the moment the clock moves forward an hour from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM;

4207.  The (annual) St. Patrick’s Parade of Washington, D.C. is pretty similar to the (annual Ballyshaners’) St. Patrick’s Day Parade in (Old Town) Alexandria;

4208.  Both savers and spenders fall prey to the “Costco” mentality or the habit of buying things in bulk that they don’t really use.  The spenders are excited about all of the stuff they buy, while the savers are excited about all of the money they “saved” because they bought in bulk quantities.  The problem is that many false myths are perpetuated by our inability to differentiate between price and cost, price and value, and saving and utilization;

4209.  A bargain is something you cannot use at a price you cannot resist;

4210.  The most important thing to consider with all of our purchases should be value with the corollary of productivity.  Before we ever ask, “How much does it cost?” we should ask more important questions like, “Will this help me to increase my productivity?”  “Is this item of a high enough quality to meet my wants?”

4211.  The more we focus on value and quality, the more productive we can be;

4212.  Price should always come after value has been considered.  I’m not saying that we should live expensive lifestyles for the sake of lavish living – I’m talking about value and productivity.  It’s a given that if we’re comparing two items with equal value we should choose the less expensive item.  Stinginess and greed are equally destructive to human life value, but there are no universal guidelines for what prices represent the best value for an individual;

4213.  Value is closely aligned to, if not synonymous with, productivity.  When we’re comparing items to purchase, one might be cheaper than the other, but when the more expensive one has more value, it could make you more productive and the obvious choice should be the higher value.  It might cost you more money immediately, but in the macro view it will actually bring more money into your life;

4214.  To the extent that we focus on price at the expense of value, we create a market for mediocrity and poor quality;

4215.  Every dollar we spend is an invitation to whatever we spend it on to be a part of our lives; it is tangible evidence of what we consider valuable.  Every time we buy a mediocre product, we send the message that we want to live in a mediocre world.  When we purchase high-quality products, we send the message that quality and value are more important to us than price alone;

4216.  When we are overly concerned about price we adopt the do-it-yourself mentality that shuts off the option of leveraging other people’s abilities in our lives;

4217.  You can never know if any financial proposition will get you to where you want to go if you don’t know where you want to go;

4218.  You can guarantee success by aligning with principle, but it takes a dedication to education, a willingness to act and the courage to break through the stronghold of the myths and not follow the crowd.  It takes a consistent effort to choose faith in principles over the fear of how you might look to others.  It takes the ability to see past your present actions and thoughts to envision the end results and to ask yourself if it’s worth it to do what everyone else is doing even though it’s not working;

4219.  Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts;

4220.  If something is clearly wrong and ridiculous in one context, the chances are good that it will be ridiculous in other contexts as well.  Ironically, most people act in their financial lives in ways that they never would in any other area of their lives.  An excellent way to test if a financial teaching is a myth or not is to apply it to any other area of your life and see if it holds true;

4221.  Always be aware of how little you really know and never stop doing everything in your power to increase the depth and breadth of your education;

4222.  St. Patrick’s Day at Murphy’s (Irish Pub) in (Old Town) Alexandria is like any other day at Murphy’s.  There’s just more drunk people;

4223.  When you say “yes” to most everything and then later have to say “no” because you’re overcommitted, the outcome usually isn’t very pleasant.  A “Yes No” two-step leads you off course and out of alignment with your purpose.  It also disappoints friends, family and colleagues who rely on you;

4224.  On the other hand, saying “no” to nearly everything first and then carefully selecting the choices and commitments that truly merit your precious time and energy is life affirming;

4225.  When you bestow your “yes” upon a carefully considered request – as opposed to doling out a reflexive nod – you’ll also discover that you have time for the activities that matter most.  And when you are fully engaged with no excess time, you know you’ll be working on the priorities that matter most to you and most closely correlate with your purpose;

4226.  Dispense your “yeses” wisely.  Keep in mind it’s always better to say “no” upfront than to disappoint people later – or worse still – to stray far from your purpose because you casually uttered a three letter word;

4227.  When your body is metabolizing alcohol, it’s not metabolizing fat;

4228.  Roger Daltrey (the lead singer for “The Who”) doesn’t look like he’s 72;

4229.  Zak Starkey (the touring drummer for “The Who”) learned to play the drums from Keith Moon (the deceased drummer for “The Who”);

4230.  How risky something actually is has almost nothing to do with how risky we think it is;

4231.  People think skiing is safer than flying on a commercial aircraft, that smoking is less dangerous than being around handguns, and that nuclear power plants are riskier than cars.  But in each instance, the opposite is true;

4232.  Flying is the safest way to travel.  In the U.S., years often pass between deaths on a commercial airliner, whereas skiing and snowboarding deaths average 40 per year;

4233.  Two of the deadliest things in America are cigarettes and cars; each day the totals average 1,213 U.S. deaths from cigarette-exposure and 115 U.S. deaths from auto accidents;

4234.  Americans consistently rate nuclear power as one of the most dangerous of all technologies, it’s actually safer by any objective measure than most other forms of power.  A study from NASA’s Goddard Institute estimates that using nuclear power instead of fossil fuels actually saves lives;

4235.  When we are faced with fear, we can overcome it by answering the following questions: 1.  What’s the worst possible thing that could happen if my fear occurs?  2.  What’s the worst possible thing that could happen if I never overcome or eliminate this fear?  3.  What’s the best possible outcome I can expect if I don’t overcome or eliminate my fear?  4.  What’s the best possible outcome I can expect if I do overcome or eliminate my fear?  Answering these questions helps us to consciously deal with unconscious, instinctual fear.  It helps us realize that the outcome of not confronting and productively dealing with our fear is much worse than avoiding the things we fear;

4236.  Only when the structure is in place can true creativity flourish;

4237.  If you have your time properly scheduled each week, then you won’t feel guilty for enjoying a break, long weekend or even a vacation because you know that everything else that needs to be done is already accounted for;

4238.  An example where structure counterintuitively provides a higher quality of life is tracking and planning spending.  Being financially organized gives you permission to feel good about spending any “fun money” while still making progress on your savings, loan payments or investment funds.  In these cases, clarity and structure help you break free of worry, uncertainty and guilt;

4239.  The first set of rules to create structure in your life is called the “Stop Doing List.”  This list clearly articulates activities, projects or actions that you should refuse to participate in – no matter the circumstances;

4240.  Another set of rules to create structure in your life is a clearly articulated priority list.  Use this type of structure to determine rules around important aspects of your life (i.e., how much you travel, how you make family decisions, etc.).  If you aren’t clear about priorities, it is very difficult to make consistent, congruent choices;

4241.  A third set of rules is for relationships.  For example, if you have a tendency to be overly trusting and giving and, at times, it can get you into trouble.  Because of this, you’ve created rules about who you will or will not trust, do business with or even spend much time around.  If you have people in your life who are much more discerning with relationships, you can use their opinions as a litmus test as to who you let into your inner circle;

4242.  Create a “Not Doing List” based on where you have made mistakes, been burned or found yourself in bad situations in the past.  Look at each scenario and create a rule that will keep you from making that same mistake in the future;

4243.  Write down your priorities and rank them.  Put this list in a place where you will see it daily and use it as a guide for making decisions aligned with your purpose and long-term happiness;

4244.  Determine if there are any other structures that could support your success and implement them.  Some examples might be having rules about how you schedule your time, rules about how to treat employees and clients or even rules around your health.  Determine at least one place where structure would support you and get it in writing;

4245.  You are responsible for all of your investments.  If you jump into an investment without doing the proper research then you are to blame because you invested irresponsibly.  That’s true whether the investment is successful or not;

4246.  The majority of “nice guys” are talented, intelligent and moderately successful.  Almost without exception though, they fail to live up to their full potential;

4247.  The opposite of crazy is still crazy;

4248.  An integrated man is able to embrace everything that makes him uniquely male: his power, his assertiveness, his courage and his passion as well as his imperfections, his mistakes and his dark side;

4249.  An integrated male possesses many of the following attributes: 1.  He has a strong sense of self.  He likes himself just as he is; 2.  He takes responsibility for getting his own needs met; 3.  He is comfortable with his masculinity and his sexuality; 4.  He has integrity.  He does what is right not what is expedient; 5.  He is a leader.  He is willing to provide for and protect those he cares about; 6.  He is clear, direct and expressive of his feelings; 7.  He can be nurturing and giving without caretaking or problem-solving; and 8.  He knows how to set boundaries and is not afraid to work through conflict;

4250.  An integrated male doesn’t strive to be perfect or gain the approval of others.  Instead he accepts himself just as he is, warts and all.  An integrated male accepts that he is perfectly imperfect;