Framework of the Week: The Waterline Principle Growing up, I always saw failure as a bad thing. In sports, it was all about winning. In school, it was about getting the best grade. Over time, that fear of failure can create paralysis. How many children had dreams of becoming an astronaut or the president ended…

Framework of the Week: Focus on high-leverage work Not all work is created equal, yet we often treat it as equal. When you look at the profile of work, you can break it down into high leverage and low leverage tasks. Low leverage tasks would be: email data entry These low-level tasks help us feel…

For years I’ve heard it from podcasts, books, and other personal finance media: track your net worth track your net worth track your net worth blah, blah, blah For years, I didn’t listen to them. Sure, every once in a while I’d log in to Personal Capital and take a quick glance, but I wasn’t…

This week I turned 36. When it comes time for my birthday, I always like to use these times to reflect. I feel lucky that my birthday falls in June, because it is a natural middle-of-the-year check-in. My process when doing this is: Look at my goals for the year; how is my progress Reset…

Close to 10 years ago I was constantly overwhelmed at work. I always found myself stressed, behind, and struggling to keep up. So, I started looking into productivity systems. One of the first I found was Getting Things Done by David Allen. I implemented much of his system and was blown away by how much…

Everyone I talk to is trying to either form a new habit or stop a bad one. They eat unhealthy and want to work out more. They want to watch less TV and read more. They want to spend more time with their spouse or family. Maybe “everyone” is an exaggeration, but it’s a slight…

Cognitive biases are unconscious errors we make that arise from errors in our thought process. They show up when we perceive things through the filter of our own experiences and preferences. A good example of a cognitive bias is paying attention to only news stories that confirm your belief. By curating what we see, we…

When I graduated college, I thought I loved accounting. In reality, I loved the operations of business. As I’ve gotten further in my career, I’ve found myself caring less about the numbers and more about the strategy behind the numbers. In the roles I’ve played, I’ve come to realize how few people actually understand financials….

I’ve always been a golfer. I started as a young tike and would join my dad on his rounds. He made a rule that I could hit my ball but only if I hit before he got to it. Each time we went out it became a game. I ran, ran, ran to my ball….

No matter who you are, it’s easy to get caught up in comparison. Comparison to your friends, your coworkers, your community… the ways we can compare are endless. When you add social media to the list, it becomes even more difficult to stop comparing ourselves to others. So how can we shut down comparison and…