Harnessing Behavioral Psychology for a Rich Life

Since yesterday's post was about psychology, this seemed to be timely. Even though this podcast is from The Art of Manliness, it can apply to everybody.

Caution: The F-word was used several times in the podcast.

March 18, 2016

Money & Career, Podcast

 

(Click on the link below to listen)

Podcast #184: Harnessing Behavioral Psychology for a Rich Life

You know the old song and dance.

You set a goal for yourself — lose weight, ask for a raise, ask that woman out — but something holds you back from taking action. Or if you do take action, you flame out in a week. So you do more research on your goal, hoping that you’ll find the one piece of information that will guarantee success. But you fail again.

What if instead of more thinking, achieving your goals require more feeling?

That’s what my guest today on the podcast argues.

His name is Ramit Sethi and he’s the owner of the website I Will Teach You to Be Rich. Today on the show, Ramit and I discuss what we can learn from behavioral psychology to help us achieve our goals and become the men we want to be. Lots of actionable points in this podcast. You’ll want to take notes.

Show Highlights

• What a “rich life” is (it’s not just about money)
• The hidden scripts we follow in life that keep us from progressing (we analyze mine)
• What a former girlfriend said to Ramit that motivated him to start strength training (it’s harsh)
• Why men fool themselves into thinking they’re being rational and not emotional when they make choices
• How to use the rational part of our brain to direct our emotional part in order to superdrive our goal achievement
• Why people are terrified to ask for raises and the script you can use to overcome that fear
• The “big wins” you should focus on to improve your life dramatically
• Why even traditional employees need to think of themselves as entrepreneurs
• How to become a self-starter
• The one trick Ramit used to make working out a habit
• Quit trying to live like you’re 40 years old when you’re 20
• And much more!

Resources/Studies/People Mentioned in Podcast

• Frugal Law Student (My first blog. I sold it several years ago.)
• My interview with Ben Hewitt about his homestead in Vermont
• What Ramit looked like before he started strength training
• Article on how we make decisions with emotions and not logic
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• Nassim Taleb’s Anti-Fragile
• Mindless Eating
• Ramit’s Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise
• The cognitive miser

Like I say in the podcast, I’ve been following Ramit since he first started back in 2006. And there’s a reason why. He consistently puts out in-depth and highly useful content. Check out his site I Will Teach You To Be Rich and browse through all the free content he has on there. One thing I recommend checking out is his recently released Ultimate Guide to Habits. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for his email newsletter. It’s one of my favorites.

If you’re interested in leveraging the web for your business, browse through his new site GrowthLab. Lots of great, free content on the subject there.

Interesting days

Today - Go For Broke Day, Read A Road Map Day, Deep Dish Pizza Day and Caramel Day 

Tomorrow - Plan Your Epitaph Day, Army Day, Tartan Day, Day Of Hope, Caramel Popcorn Day and New Beer's Eve 

Next Tuesday -  Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, Equal Pay Day, Walk On Your Wild Side Day, Be Kind To Lawyers Day and Licorice Day

May 5 - Cartoonists Day