Key Components to Living a Good Life

Key Components to Living a Good Life

Have you ever wondered, "Am I living a good life?" We all have the same 24 hours in a day; however, each and every one of us spends them differently, leading to various outcomes. In this week's post, we're excited to share a TedTalk by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki and HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth's CEO, Annabel Spring, where they discuss the key components of living a good life. While watching, be sure to note where you are already meeting the mark and where you may need to improve for a good life! https://www.ted.com/talks/annabel_spring_and_wendy_suzuki_what_makes_a_good_life_a_neuroscientist_and_a_global_financial_ceo_answer?subtitle=en Key Components to Living a Good…
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Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be

Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be

I was recently reviewing a book about college admissions. In doing so, I thought it would be good to research the answer to a simple question, “how much does the college you attend matter in your future?” I have three children (two currently in college and one in high school) so I wanted to share my findings with them and others. This post summarizes the research, finding that where you go is not who you’ll be. Read on for some simple advice for high school students and parents navigating the college admissions process. Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll…
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Updated and Improved Financial Advice from Personal Kaizen

Updated and Improved Financial Advice from Personal Kaizen

Last month we shared new research on money and happiness and updated Rule 7 of our 10 Rules for Life to, “To be wealthy, spend money on what you love.” After updating the rule, I read through all of our previous Personal Kaizen financial advice blog posts to see what other information might be outdated or need an update. This post is a nice summary of all things financial. Personal Kaizen Finance Blog Posts Here is a list of our previous long-form posts related to finances and money: Personal Kaizen Rule 7: To be Wealthy, Spend Money on What You…
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Years Of Happiness Study: It’s All About Who You Love

Years Of Happiness Study: It’s All About Who You Love

Do you ever wish you could learn the essential ingredients to a good, happy life? Or that you could learn what worked, and didn’t work, from others? Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz released The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness in 2023 to share results from an 84-year-old Harvard study on happiness. Read on for a summary of what they hope will help us all create a more meaningful and satisfying life. The Harvard Study Began Over 85 Years Ago Since 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has been investigating what makes people flourish. The study…
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Wear Sunscreen and Other Life Advice

Wear Sunscreen and Other Life Advice

Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich and was originally published in a June 1997 issue of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. The essay went viral (which means it was widely shared via email since social media didn’t exist yet) in the late 1990s under the title, Wear Sunscreen. The email I received at the time erroneously described the life advice as a commencement speech for MIT given by author Kurt Vonnegut. However, I have no clue why Vonnegut was given credit since…
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Personal Kaizen: The Secret to Living a Longer, Healthier Life

Personal Kaizen: The Secret to Living a Longer, Healthier Life

The second rule of our 10 Rules for Life is to take care of your body and mind. Personal Kaizen has several upcoming posts focused on longevity – the secret to living a longer, healthier life. We will summarize the new book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity and share our research on behaviors and habits to adopt for a long, happy life. Today’s post shares highlights from bestselling author Dan Buettner’s research into why people living in “blue zone” have much higher than normal life expectancies. He has a new Netflix series we will be watching this winter.…
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Procrastinating in a Positive Way

Procrastinating in a Positive Way

Whether we're putting off a hard assignment, delaying the workout that we often dread, or leaving the chores for "just another day", we've all had some sort of personal experience with procrastination. According to Psychology Today, about 20 percent of the population are habitual procrastinators! When we think of procrastinating, the first thought is likely using our cell phones to scroll social media, text or call our friends, or surf the web instead of doing the task at hand. However, that's not always the case, as any time we aren't setting priorities, we tend to procrastinate. Here is a simple…
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Sam Altman’s Take on “How to be Successful”

Sam Altman’s Take on “How to be Successful”

Photo Credit: Vox Sam Altman is a computer programmer, entrepreneur, and the current CEO of OpenAI. He was previously the CEO of the incubator Y Combinator and founder (at the age of 19) of a social network mobile app, Loopt. I recently came across a blog post Altman shared in 2019 titled, “How to be Successful,” where Altman shares 13 thoughts on how to achieve outlier success. I am going to read and comment on the 13 thoughts in his post and share my take with the Personal Kaizen community. Will some of Altman’s 13 thoughts be worth adding to…
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Meditating on Your Mortality

Meditating on Your Mortality

Meditating on your mortality can be scary, but it can also help you focus on maximizing each day. What would you change about your life if a doctor told you that you have cancer? Would you stop wasting your life and prioritize your limited time remaining? We are here to tell you that you are going to die. All of us have a terminal diagnosis. Most of us don’t know how or when, but it is going to happen. Near Death Experiences Many people describe a renewed clarity and focus on the future after having a brush with death. Sixteenth-century…
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Increase Your Productivity: How to Use Measurement and Accountability

Increase Your Productivity: How to Use Measurement and Accountability

We are sharing tips that will help you and other members of the Personal Kaizen community increase your productivity. Today’s post covers measurement and accountability – areas that are often overlooked – or avoided – by individuals. The most effective people practice personal kaizen – continual progress (every day) that compounds over time into massive achievement. Measure What Matters Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr wrote the New York Times bestseller Measure What Matters and suggests you: Focus and commit to priorities: What are your 3-4 most important goals? A short list of goals is easier to track and commit to getting done.Align…
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