Wise Owl Wednesday #22 - Willpower
Jun 24, 2020 6:59 pm
Happy Wednesday, Wise Owl Nation.
This week I want to write about willpower.
What is will? Will is our internal power.
The source we call on when things go wrong or get difficult.
Will is the force that pushes you to get back up when you've been knocked down.
When you fail, will is what pushes you to learn, grow, and continue on your journey.
That is will power.
We all have will inside of us, but willpower needs to be cultivated.
The unorthodox concept of willpower that most people misunderstand is that willpower comes from surrender, acceptance, humility, resilience, and flexibility.
So let's discuss how to cultivate willpower and become wiser, healthier, and wealthier.
Let's get into it.
You can find all past issues (including this one) here.
_____________________________________
Was this email forwarded to you?
_____________________________________
Quote of the week:
Tips or Tools of the week: Wisdom, Health and Wealth
Each week I share either three tips or three tools that will help you become wiser, healthier, and wealthier.
Wisdom tip of the week: Cultivate Willpower
There are four commonly known ways to add fuel to your willpower tank.
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Eat a low glycemic meal (low in sugar)
- Meditate
These four actions are well known and you should absolutely be doing them. They are a baseline, and I have written about each of them. But there are other ways to increase your Willpower.
- Do things that suck. On purpose.
- Step out of your comfort zone repeatedly
- Try to survive on $10 in groceries for a week. (Here's a tip - rice and beans. Maybe eggs if you're lucky)
- Stretch for one-hour straight
- Turn your phone off for an entire day and don't check it
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
The gist of all of these little challenges is that you are purposefully doing something that is hard for you for the purpose of experiencing challenges. The world is becoming easier and easier to survive, and the easier things become the more dramatic small challenges feel.
Cultivate willpower, give yourself some perspective, and do hard things on purpose.
Health tip of the week: Rethink Exercise
Exercise is not about looking good.
Exercise is not about looking good.
Exercise is not about looking good.
Exercise is not about looking good.
Looking good should be the byproduct not the goal because it is way too easy to give up.
Now, on the other hand, if you consider exercise as "the thing you do to empower yourself to overcome anything" then it becomes much harder to give up on it.
When exercise starts to suck, that is the moment you know you are starting to grind out some extra willpower. Exercise cannot get easier unless you venture into the land of the "suck." It has to hurt before you can get stronger.
Let me say that again.
It has to hurt before you can get stronger.
There is something about going to exercise and wanting it to start to suck that is so incredibly empowering.
Over time it will become harder to make the workout suck.
At the same time it will be that much harder for life to make your emotions suck.
Because willpower.
Wealth tip of the week: How being broke saved my bank account
"Man life would be so much easier if I was financially independent." - every millennial
So often I catch myself having this kind of thought. I want to write fantasy fiction books for a living, and I always think to myself that "it would be much easier to write books all day if I didn't have to worry about money." Well no shit! But "easy" does not create a good writing. This newsletter would not exist if I didn't have to work my ass off for everything I have.
Take it from someone that has been completely broke. A lack of money can make life a lot more clear.
I've talked about bring broke in Japan quite a few times, so I won't rehash the entire story here. The short of it is, I was dumb, didn't manage money well, and found myself without any money or food 3-months in to a 6-month stay in Japan.
That experience lit an eternal flame inside of me that I can call on anytime I have a tough money decision to make. That flame is a power I can utilize to either decide not to spend money, or to gather the courage needed to make a risky investment.
Many people talk about how being poor taught them to not overspend, but I rarely hear people mention that being poor can also give you the strength to risk money on a high reward investment. Because if I was able to survive with nothing before, I can do it again.
A lack of money is not a constraint for me. I have the willpower to survive a lack of wealth, and so I have the willpower to grow my wealth without the fear of losing everything.
That is, in a way, it's own form of financial freedom.
Book Of The Month - June: The Obstacle is the Way
May's book of the month - coming soon
In April we worked on wealth.
In May we worked on health.
Now we turn our focus to wisdom.
Introducing "The Obstacle Is The Way" by Ryan Holiday.
What better way to work on mental and psychological freedom than to read one of the best books I've ever read on dealing with the bullshit of life.
if you want to learn how to overcome life's bullshit, let stress wash away from you, and to become better because of the struggle, this book is for you.
The book is broken into three parts, so I will be covering each of those three parts over the rest of June.
Part 1 - Perception: Read it Here
Part 2 - Action - Read it Here
Read along with me!
** The links above are affiliate links. If you purchase the books with the links above, I receive a super tiny commission, which helps support this newsletter. Thank you! **
Book Of The Month - July: Serial Winner
For the first time in this newsletter I am reading a new book!
Up to now I've been rereading some of my favorite books because I know how valuable they are, but the time has come to read something new!
Serial Winner has been sitting on my bookshelf for two years and I've wanted to read it for a while.
The time for that is now.
There are five chapters in this book and five Wednesdays in July.
It's perfect!
Join me on the journey to become a serial winner starting next week with Chapter 1 - Don't Hesitate, Decide.
** The links above are affiliate links. If you purchase the books with the links above, I receive a super tiny commission, which helps support this newsletter. Thank you! **
Resources
Welcome to the new Resources section.
I will be adding to this section over time as we find resources that will help you all.
- Check out the Wise Owl Store
- All Wise Healthy Wealthy Articles on Medium
- Start your own Sendfox Newsletter
- Free products to help you level up
*** If you’re interested in my upcoming Crypto course for beginners you can pre-order it now. ***
* * *
Share the Wisdom and Earn Rewards
Who do you know that would benefit from reading this newsletter?
Invite them to subscribe!
If you refer your friends to Wise Owl Wednesday you can now earn rewards:
Just share your personal referral link, and anyone that subscribes through it is credited to you!
Your personal referral link -
You have referred wise owls so far.
You can earn rewards if you:
- Refer 5 people - a 10% off coupon to the Wise Owl Store that does not expire
- Refer 10 people - Access to the secret VIP once-a-month newsletter issue I am currently working on
- Refer 15 people - Get a free Wise Owl Coffee Mug with your name on it, and a 25% off-coupon to the Wise Owl Store...that does not expire
- Refer 20 people - 50% off coupon to Crypto Capable - Beginner Course
Also, if you have ideas or thoughts in the following areas, please let me know!
- Books I should review
- Topics you would love to read about
- YouTube videos you'd love to watch
Let me know by replying to this email!
I read all of my emails.
You can also read past issues here!
