Student, Mentor, and Peer: 3 Types of Friends You Need on the Road to Success

Posted on by July 23, 2020

student


Success never happens in a vacuum. It always depends on many factors, including our environment and our relationships.

If you are trying to achieve a goal completely on your own – it’s definitely possible – but you’re limiting your chances and handicapping yourself in a big way.

Naturally successful people learn from other successful people. They are always looking toward others to learn more, improve themselves, and take their skills to the next level. They are learning machines.

This article covers 3 important types of relationships that you need on the road to success. It’s called the “Student, Mentor, Peer” model of motivation.

This is a great framework to analyze your current relationships and see where you may be lacking, especially as it relates to your goals and motivation in life.

The best part about this framework is that each relationship focuses on a different aspect of the learning curve. Everyone (whether they are a beginner, intermediate, or expert) plays a role in learning from each other.

This is a hyper-inclusive and hyper-contextual way to learn about something and boost your skills to the next level.

Here’s a simple infographic illustrating the “Student, Mentor, Peer” model.


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Your Digital Environment: How to Carve Out A Positive Space On the Internet

Posted on by July 16, 2020

digital environment


We like to believe we are completely independent from our environment, but the simple truth is that our environment always influences us in one way or another.

This is just as true for our physical environment (our home, workplace, neighborhood, where we spend our time, and the people we surround ourselves with on a daily basis), as it is true for our digital environment (the websites we go to, the information we consume, and the people we interact with online).

Today we are spending more and more time in our “digital environment.” And in many ways, our “digital environment” can be even more consuming and engaging than the “real world,” because it’s filled with over-stimulation that keeps our interest and attention.

Superficial social media accounts, sensationalist news, celebrity gossip, political train-wrecks, cheap marketing ads and pop-ups, photoshopped body images, etc…the internet is filled with junk information that is poisoning our minds on a daily basis.

And most of this information we consume mindlessly and passively. We find ourselves constantly scrolling through our feeds looking for the next cheap hit of dopamine.

This cannot be healthy for our minds. Most of it is junk. And if you aren’t taking control of the information you are consuming on a daily basis, then the information you are consuming is certainly controlling you.

Now more than ever, it’s important that we take control of our “digital environment” and carve out a positive space for ourselves on the internet.

This is especially true since our minds are naturally attracted to the negative. And the internet often plays on our negative emotions (fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, and desire) to generate clicks and ad revenue.

It really is that simple. And most of the information we consume is specifically designed to play off of our mental biases. Because it grabs our attention and makes people money.

That may be a negative way of looking at the internet, but it’s something to be super aware of whenever you connect to your WiFi.

What does your “digital environment” look like? Is it serving your goals and values in life, or working against them?

That’s an important question to ask yourself.


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How a “Giving Mindset” Reframes What You Have and Empowers You

Posted on by July 10, 2020

giving mindset


A “giving mindset” can create a unique feeling of empowerment and gratitude.

By demonstrating ways you are able to provide value and service to others, you’re also proving to yourself that you are a person of value who has many resources available to them.

In this way, the act of giving can makes you feel more abundant – whether you are dedicating your time, effort, or money to helping others, you are subconsciously saying to yourself “I have plenty.”

When you give, you reframe what you have, which cultivates more appreciation for your current position in life. You are telling your brain “I have excess, I can afford to give.” And it teaches you that you don’t need “more” to be happy.

Life isn’t about how much we have, but how much we do with what we have. And some of the most rewarding ways we can invest our time, energy, money, and resources are in the service of others.

A dollar to someone in need is often worth more to them than it’s worth to you. And an hour spent volunteering is often worth more to the people you help than that same hour spent watching TV or playing video games.

With a “giving mindset,” we aren’t losing anything at all – we are in fact maximizing our time, money, and value on a bigger scale.

That’s a powerful perspective.


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The Copycat Nudge: Do What Worked for Others to Change Your Habits

Posted on by June 22, 2020

copycat nudge


Nudges are small ways of changing how a choice is presented with the goal of changing human behavior.

They’ve become a popular tool in psychology to help shape people’s choices on both an individual and group level, including being applied by businesses, governments, and non-profit organizations.

The big idea behind “nudges” is that you aren’t forcing people to change their behavior, but by changing how you present the choice you can influence human behavior in a significant and predictable way.

Nudges can also be looked at from a self-improvement perspective. I’ve written before about the power of nudges to change our habits. That article is a comprehensive overview of all the most popular nudges and how you can apply them to your daily routine (I also dedicated a whole chapter to nudges in my book Small Habits, Big Changes).

Nudges are a great framework for looking at human behavior, because often there are multiple factors that can influence any one decision. But by seeing all the various factors as “nudges” you can amplify the likelihood that you will follow through on a new behavior or new habit.

Let me teach you about a newly discovered nudge that I’m calling the “copycat nudge.”


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