297 – 7 Things You Can Do To Have A Better Life

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Video highlights:

00:41 – How to make sharper decisions
01:05 – Getting more energy is possible without energy drinks
02:35 – The unusual secret to losing 4 kilos [9 pounds] in just 3 months
03:50 – How to stay inspired
04:47 – Peace and tranquility for your mind
05:51 – Removing pain from your body
06:40 – Getting your best work done

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Tweetables:

Rise with the sun. [Click To Tweet].
Invest in love, inspiration and passion. [Click To Tweet].
7 secrets to being happier, healthier and richer. [Click To Tweet].

Transcription:

Hey, James Schramko here and today I want to talk about 7 things you can do to have a better life. I believe that doing some of these things can really help you have a better life because when you’re set up just right, then your business has the best chance of being successful. So let’s go through the 7 things that I’ve observed have been helpful for me, and in turn, my students, especially SilverCircle members.

7 Helpful Things
1. Get enough sleep

The first one is to get enough sleep. I know it sounds simple but most adults do not get enough sleep. That is ‘cause they’re all whizzed on caffeine and sports drinks and staying up very late, getting stimulated by computers.

So what you need to do is put away the technology, go to bed a little early, and then wake up a little bit early with the sun. You see, if you have a good night’s sleep, you’ll actually wake up energized and you’ll feel ready to get into the day. You won’t be reaching for the caffeine to wake up.

I think for decades, I didn’t get enough sleep and it impacted the ability that I had to make decisions, to put my best energy and focus onto the things that needed the results. And now that I’ve been able to build my schedule around getting enough sleep, I know that I’m more productive, and I’m much happier.

2. Eat better
The second thing is to eat better. This is where you swap out those sugary drinks and highly processed foods for more natural foods. I didn’t do anything dramatic; I just went for better choices when they’re available.

So I have a San Pellegrino mineral water instead of a Coke. I’ll make sure that I put a good balance of grains, and I’ll have proteins like steak, I’ll have some pasta, I’ll have eggs, I’ll have muesli. I just eat good foods that are less processed than what I used to eat. That means no packs of chips, stay away from all the fried food, don’t go anywhere near McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken, instead have salads.

And what I found is the good food is actually nicer and it makes you feel so much better, instead of having that plastic, hung-over feeling after eating bad food. You’ll just feel energized and ready to go. And this leads nicely into the third tip.

3. Move more
And that is to move. You really need to do exercises of course. Install an app called Pacer on your iPhone, and what you can do is count the steps when you move around as your iPhone’s in your pocket. Now I’ve noticed that by doing 10,000 steps a day, which is a healthy adult number of steps, my life has been significantly better. When you exercise, it releases happy endorphins.

My best trick ever has been to take up a brand new sport, in my case, surfing, which is so much fun. I want to do it to the limit of my physical capacity. That means every day and sometimes twice or three times. And I enjoy it so much and it’s so much fun, I don’t realize that I’m exercising. Just by doing that, I’ve lost 4 kilograms in the last 3 months. And that’s just from exercising more.

The other good thing is that you will feel hungry but you’ll also feel sleepy. So eat good food to keep your fuel up, your muscles repair, and you sleep really well because you’re exhausted. And it’s not like going to the gym or doing something that’s contrived because it’s so much fun I want to just bust out of bed and do surfing every day.

Enjoying a better life

4. Invest in inspiring relationships
The next thing is relationships. I replaced the relationships in my life where I was feeling bogged down. If people were draining me, if they were taking energy, if they weren’t enthusiastic to be around, I stopped hanging around them. I started hanging around with people who I enjoy, who inspire me, who are creative, who I love. And it really is exciting to be spending time with people who are amazing. They energize and transform. And I’ve seen that it’s flowed through into my creative works.

If you have a look at my podcasts, you’ll see that on KickingBack.com with Joel Ozborn, a comedian, on ThinkActGet with Ezra Firestone, a crazy hippie, and my new podcast, SalesMarketingProfit.com with Taki Moore. It energizes me and it brings out a better me. So in your case, who can you hang around with, who can you work with in business that energizes and brings the best from you?

5. Focus on less
My next tip is to focus more on less. That means switching off from all of the crazy emails that distract you every day. That means switching off from a lot of activities that were causing you to get stuck into things that weren’t enjoyable or fun. So make a big list of all the things that you’re doing and cross off the things that you never want to do. Find someone else to do the things that you shouldn’t be doing anyway and just do less stuff. This about having less inputs, less stimulations, so that you can really concentrate.

I’ve often said that you either consume or create. And I found that consuming less is actually more rewarding. Really sink your teeth into a nice Kindle book. The few emails that come through are from people you want to hear from. They’re not suggesting you do this and you do that. So keep it lean and enjoy the benefits. This applies to every part of your life too. Less clothes in your wardrobe, less things around your desk. Just keep it simple and you’ll find some peace and comfort in that.

6. Be good to your body
The next one is to do something for your body. I do Thai massage; other people do yoga. And whatever it is, do something that loosens up your muscles, that relaxes you, that you can meditate, that is a switch-off time. Something that repairs and rejuvenates your body. So start now with that. I left it too long.

I think I have eradicated sore knees, a sore back, just by taking up sports and regularly getting my body tuned up. I’ve even improved my posture, reduced my sore neck, and I know that when I am working and I use a stand up desk that I’m actually able to be really productive because I’m not wasting energy on being in pain. I’m putting all my energy into creating good stuff.

7. Work less
My final tip is counter-intuitive but it’s actually to work less. I used to clock up some crazy numbers when I had a job and then was doing my second business part-time. And then when I went full time into my primary business, I spent too many hours at the computer. And it makes you unhappy. So what I did is I’ve actually switched off working weekends. So now I enjoy weekdays only. I only schedule calls for Tuesdays, and the other six days are mine. And of those, only four of them are work days now. So I’ve actually cut back my hours from some ridiculous number, perhaps 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, back to something more reasonable.

I usually get in between 20 to 40 hours a week and they are hours that I want to be doing in the time frames that I’d like to do them. So scale back on your work, ‘cause when you do work, you’ll be very productive. And do your best jobs when you have the most willpower, which is early in the morning. When you wake up refreshed because you get enough sleep, because you’re eating well, because you’re exercising, because you’re looking after your body, because you’re not distracted anymore, I imagine you’re going to have a better life.

Have a better life
I’d love to get your comments on this post. I know this is just scratching the surface but these are the top 7 things that I transformed over the last year that have had huge dividends for me. My life is happier, my business is more profitable, and my body is feeling younger and healthier, and I think life is good. So hook into your passion, look after yourself, and have a better life.

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