Things to Be Grateful For Every Day

Gratitude

I’ve always been skeptical of the claims about practicing gratitude. Don’t get me wrong, I’m 100% in favor of being grateful.

In fact, this article is about the things most of us take for granted and should be more appreciative of. But recent research has shown that practicing gratitude will not make you less depressed or anxious.1Source: Science Daily

It’s a good reminder that most self-help advice on the internet is superficial. While I won’t claim gratitude will make you happier, it will give you perspective.

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Rule #1 of Building Wealth: Play Defense With Your Money

Building Wealth Defense

I used to play basketball in high school. My coach was a highly defense-oriented person.

When I was 17, and in my last year of high school the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Finals. The team was coached by Larry Brown, known for his defense-first mentality.

My coach was a huge fan of the Pistons and their style of play. During our training, he focused more on shutting down the other team and getting “stops.” 

The idea of a stop in basketball means you prevent the other team from scoring by pressing the basketball, which forces errors like steals or bad shots (which you need to rebound).

This is the fundamental idea of basketball. A team that’s good at offense but lacks defense will likely lose more than they win. But a team with excellent defense and good offense has a better chance of winning.

This is how basketball works. Instead of scoring every time your opponent scores, simply prevent them from scoring, and you can take your time to score. This is a much more confident and effortless way of playing the game.

One thing that people forget about modern basketball is that a team like The Golden State Warriors (known for their excellent offense), usually has the top 5 defense in the entire league. 

Take their 2022 NBA championship run. They had the BEST defense in the entire league. This is not a coincidence.1Source: Statmuse

Good defense is key. Not only in basketball but also when it comes to building wealth. 

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Poise: The Key Personality Trait for Worldly Success

poise is style plus substance

The greatest stock market trader of all time, Jesse Livermore, once said that poise is the most important trait in his profession:

“I believe that one of the most important qualifications for a successful trader is ‘POISE’ which to me is defined as stability, a well-balanced person with dignity of manner—as it relates to the stock market. A poised person is a person who can handle their hopes and their fears in a calm manner.”

I believe this is true. If there’s one trait you can attribute a person’s success to, whether that’s trading stocks or any other profession, it’s poise.

In the world of personal development books, this concept is quite foreign. Most books talk about how you can improve your habits and mindset. This is an essential part of self-improvement.

But as you and I both you, worldly success is not merely about the self. A highly productive and positive person with perfect habits is owed nothing in the world. 

One has to go out there and put their skills and habits into practice. And even then success is not likely. One of my former classmates at university is sadly an example of that.

This is a highly intelligent and kind person. The person was always mindful of others, nice to collaborate with, and got great grades. 

We lost touch after graduation, but the last time I checked, the person was still living in student housing and had the same side job as in university. He never found a way to build a career because he lacked the counterpart of his substance.

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3 Ways to Find a Niche That Actually Makes Money

Niche Market Money

“How do we make it delightful for women — who aren’t obsessed with beauty — to find [and try out] the best products?”

This is the question that Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna tried to answer when they were brainstorming business ideas back in 2010.

Beauchamp and Barna didn’t want to spend so much money trying all sorts of makeup sets and skincare bottles only to find that it doesn’t fit their skin or lifestyle.

So they came up with an idea: Subscription-based, personalized samples.

Instead of buying a full set of beauty products, a customer will fill out a personalized form and they’ll receive a box of product samples that matches their preferences. That way, customers can try various products for a subscription fee of only $10.

That business is called Birchbox — one of the first companies to start a subscription-based service in the beauty product industry. At the time, subscribers paid a $10 subscription fee and got a box of 4 to 5 samples of beauty products.

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