Photo by Marcelo Chagas on Pexels.com I wrote my book Elastic Habits because I discovered that flexibility was the main driver of behavior change. If behavior changes through consistent action, then whatever enables consistent action is the most valuable activator. That’s flexibility. Everyone does well when they’re fully motivated and have enough time and energy to act. That’s what, 5% of the time? Real progress requires constantly overcoming internal and external resistance to action. When you’re flexible, you gain significant power to overcome obstacles. If you will only go in a straight li ..read more

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com In case you don’t know, there’s evil in this world. Beyond that, humans experience tragedy that can’t be explained. Life can get awfully dark when the tide turns against you. Enter my favorite movie series, The Lord of the Rings, based on the classic books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Like many, I instantly fell in love with these movies when I first saw them. And besides the incredible soundtrack from Howard Shore, I think it’s the deep, powerful themes they present. Broadly, the main characters are tasked with a long and difficult journey which could represent a hu ..read more

Alcoholism and gambling addiction often go together, as do smoking and gambling. There’s something about doubling your vices that makes for a good time. And for about a decade, I drank alcohol and gambled frequently. Now? I don’t gamble or drink. If you currently drink and/or gamble too much, you’re going to want to read this. This is me on a cruise a few years ago, drunk and gambling. Table of Contents A Fascinating Heroin Addict Interview Bad Habits Often “Solve” the Problems THEY Created Alcoholism: The Relaxing Drink That… Stresses Us Out? You Need 3 Things to Quit a Bad Habit 1) Complet ..read more

Today marks 50 days without drinking alcohol. What I learned in this time surprised me, because nobody seems to talk about it. Alcohol and Smoking Went in Opposite Directions From the earliest days of human civilization, alcohol has flowed through our veins. And it’s no surprise. Alcohol serves multiple purposes. It’s a “social lubricant,” helping Anxious Andys become Cool Craigs in just a few sips. It feels great, because consumption triggers a release of dopamine and increases GABA production. And before Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration changed the world, American colonists drank alcohol bec ..read more

Copyright Warner Bros. Life is temporary, as are all things in it. “Enter the Dragon” was a critically and commercially successful film released in 1973. Notably, this martial arts film was backed by Warner Brothers, a first and a big win for the genre. These films were popular in China since the 1920s, but it took someone special to popularize them in the United States. Warner Brothers took a chance on “Enter the Dragon” because it starred Bruce Lee. Lee is of the most recognized martial artists in history, and also had great success as an actor. His acting career, however, did not detract fr ..read more

My father, Curtis Guise, died on October 12, 2022. I write this (coincidentally) exactly two months from that day. He was a great father and person, and I want to share three of the most lessons my father taught me. Lesson #52: Talk to birds.1. Be Lighthearted and Make Others Smile Life is too short to be overly serious and stressed out. My dad certainly thought so. He was a master at delivering canned jokes and sayings at an alarming rate. “Take the rest of the day off.” “I want a full report on my desk by Monday.” “I’m taking a nap. I’m leaving you in charge.” “I thought you said this was go ..read more

Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com The only thing we can be certain of is that life will bring us heaps of uncertainty. Life stability is not a matter of preventing uncertainty, but dealing with it appropriately and effectively. Don’t Fight Insecurity, Get Comfortable with It There’s a lot to love about life. For example, I just ate a delicious breakfast. But life is also dark and miserable at times. Furthermore, father time eventually crushes every person, and it’s never pretty. With how fragile our lives are, insecurity about the future is inevitable. Some may think that the best re ..read more

Anchoring in psychology is a phenomenon of relativity. It’s described as a cognitive bias in which people place (often undue) emphasis on the first piece of information they see. This is problematic when that first piece of information is incorrect, but it can also be advantageous if used strategically. Anchoring Psychology in Marketing Anchoring the most commonly used marketing tactic. Every sale or discount you see is an example of anchoring at a high price point to make a sales price more attractive. It could be argued that some forms of anchoring are unethical or deceptive, taking advanta ..read more

Inflation is crazy right now, but there are ways to fight it. This is not an advertisement for anything. I just want to give you valuable information. I have purchased Series I Savings Bonds recently, and here’s why… Series I Savings Bonds are offered by the US Treasury and are currently paying 9.62% interest! You can buy up to $10,000 worth per year. It’s exceptionally rare to get this high of guaranteed return on something as safe as a US Treasury-backed bond. A lot of people don’t know about this option, so I wanted to share. Briefly, the Series I Bond’s interest rate is determined by a fi ..read more

In 1889, Victor Heiser was in his family’s barn, because that’s where 16-year-old boys hung out back then. Victor was probably in the middle of milking a goat when he looked across the way and saw his father in the second story window of their house screaming for him to climb up to the barn’s roof. Victor did. The Johnstown Horror, or Valley of Death, a bestselling book published in 1889. When Victor reached the roof of the barn, he saw a mass of water and debris as tall as his family’s house hurtling towards him. Little Conemaugh River’s south fork dam had just burst moments before after days ..read more