Aloha to the decade!

Aloha y'all!

I kept seeing debates over whether it's the end of a decade or the beginning, so I decided to play it safe with "Aloha" (both hello and goodbye)!

Today, I wanted to share 5 resources that helped me learn in 2019. I'm too scared of commitment to call them "My Top 5 Things of 2019", but - well, that's kind of what they are...

1) Naval's "tweet storm" How to Get Rich (without getting lucky) helped me frame a lot of the goals I have in personal life, and work life. I can't recommend reading through this thread enough.

You can also listen to him read and explain each tweet, in podcast form, if you prefer to listen or want more context from him.

2) Mindfulness / Gratitude

I took some time to look back on 2019 and audit what I liked/learned/didn't like. One of the biggest "wins" for me was an increased sense of "mindfulness".

Other ways I found an increase in mindfulness:

- A lot of mornings I journaled (and/or texted a few friends) 3 things I'm grateful for
- Meditating through Headspace
- "30S30". 30 minutes of no phone before bed, Sleep, 30 minutes of no phone first-thing in the am. Literally, don't even pick it up when you first wake up - I dare you!
- A Sloth's Guide to Mindfulness was a fave
- Float Tank sessions were a new adventure

3) I often revisited the advice in the article How to Read a Lot More Books (Especially If You Don't Like to Read): "Don't be afraid to stop reading a book you don't enjoy".

4) Some personal news: I got engaged! That was number 1 on my list actually! ;)

5) Monthly "Sprints"

Another major takeaway in looking back at 2019 was the success I had in doing monthly sprints, such as: no drinking, achieving 1 specific goal (like starting this newsletter!), doing push-ups everyday, etc. I accomplished goals with this short timeframe because they were way more achievable compared to long-term lofty goals that fell off after two weeks.

Naval unpacks his tweet on this topic, with Joe Rogan: "...we're meant to hunt like lions, not graze all day" (scroll to minute 21:40). I think this applies to goals, jobs over years, and even everyday activities (there's science behind taking shorts breaks throughout the workday).

Hope you choose to make 2020 a great year! Here's to whatever you want to learn this year - be sure to make it count*!

*whatever that means for you; and if you don't know, I hope you take time to find the answer to that question.

PS - if you've enjoyed these emails, I'd love for you to reply to this email and let me know! Feedback welcome too, seriously! ie: tell me one thing you would like changed.

Aloha,
Brendan