Behind the Beard | January 5, 2022

Something I'm Reading:

I’m reading Mindless Eating by Brian Wanskins PHD. I had started this a few months ago, but stopped about halfway through as I often do in books. Picking it back up again now, it’s so fascinating. I’ll share more below in the teaching section.

Something I Teach:

In “Mindless Eating”, there’s a whole chapter on how the names we give food make them taste better or worse. For example, “bean soup” vs “Tuscan bean soup”. The latter would consistently be believed to taste better. We all do this.

Here’s what I love about this: it’s not just with food. I use this technique all the time in my own life, and you can too. I’m not leasing trailer park homes, I’m leasing “custom private homes in mobile home communities.”  Rosie isn’t going shopping to the grocery store, we’re going on an “adventure food scavenger hunt!” I even have a special name for people who invest over $500k into ODC (the “Cabana Club.”). So stop looking for “private money,” for your real estate deals and instead start talking about your “shared wealth partnership program” or maybe instead of trying to get your spouse to go to the gym, you launch a “90-Day New Me, New Year Challenge” with them.  The words we use matter.

Something I Photographed:

Each week I share a photo I snapped in the previous week. Sometimes serious. Sometimes random and funny. Maybe a selfie once in a while. Just because.

A little science experiment with Wilder! Get a leaf blower and a ball…and watch the ball just hang in mid air indefinitely!

Something I'm Excited About:

I love the new year because of how focused almost everyone is on improving themselves. I know it doesn’t last for most people, but it’s great to see most of the world excited about the possibility for change! That fires me up.

Something I Can Answer:

Each week, I'll be answering one question from someone on my BehindTheBeard textletter! Want your question answered? Submit it by simply replying to this text!

Question:  “What tips do you have for overcoming procrastination?” -MB

Procrastination is usually a sign of misalignment. I typically don’t procrastinate on things I enjoy doing - its usually with things that feel heavy or a task that I shouldn’t be doing. So you should find a way to systematize it or automate it if possible. That being said, sometimes I still procrastinate so a few tips:

I’m a big believer that will power wanes throughout the day. So I try to knock out the most important thing that I know I’m gonna procrastinate on first thing in the morning. So if it’s analyzing a deal, having a hard phone call, or something else, I try to knock it out first.

Secondly, I stick with the MINS philosophy - the “Most Important Next Step”. Every single day, I identify what my goal is and what the most important next step is in order to accomplish that goal. In other words, what is one small, tangible task that I need to do to get one step closer to this goal? Once I define this, I put it on my calendar (or someone else’s if I’m outsourcing it) which significantly increases the chances of it getting done.

Your Friend,

P.S. Have a question you want answered by me? Reply to this text with your question - I pick one to answer each week in Behind the Beard and do my best to reply to others directly via text.