Most of us are afraid of messing thing up. But we rarely ask, “Would I regret that failure?” If the answer is “no,” then that is absolutely a risk you should pursue. 
Sometimes, the right decision becomes crystal clear when put into these terms.

Optimizing life for fewer regrets

Problem Solving

Self Improvement

<ul>
<li>Propose “moonshot” ideas, knowing that 90% of them will get shot down, but that if one of them gets accepted, it will be a huge boost to your career.</li>
<li>Be excessively bold in your dating life, stating exactly who and what you want. </li>
<li>Buy difficult books expecting that most of them won’t be useful to you, but also that, occasionally, one will completely change your life. </li>
<li>Say yes to every invitation knowing that most of the events/people will be boring, but that occasionally you’ll meet someone really interesting.</li>
</ul>

“Risky” behavior you should consider

Our emotions are obsessed with the present moment because it’s difficult to look past our immediate fears and anxieties. And this prevents good decision-making.
The sweet spot in decision-making is to find the short-term failures that enable huge long-term successes to happen in the first place.

Our emotions are short-term biased

The act of writing forces you to organize your brain.
Vague feelings become structured and measured. And rereading what you write reveals your own logic (or lack thereof). It also reveals new perspectives you hadn’t considered.

Writing stuff down for clarity

It will be perfect. Because not only will the hall itself be a bad decision, but anyone who ever attempts to visit it will clearly be making a bad decision as well. Inside the hall, we will have exhibits for all of the worst decisions ever made.

Principles for Making Better Life Decisions

“We must give a lot of thought to the future, because that is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives.”

Time Management

While setting priorities, never give in to the temptation to clear up small things first.&nbsp;Don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in low-priority activities.&nbsp;

Forget about the small things…

<ul><li>Why am I on the payroll? Ask yourself if what you are doing right now is the most important thing that you have been hired to do.</li><li>What are my highest value activities?</li><li>What are my key result areas?&nbsp;What are the specific results that you have to get in order to do your job in an excellent fashion.</li><li>What can I, and only I, do that if done well will make a real difference?</li><li>What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?</li></ul>

5 key questions for setting priorities

<ul>
<li>The first 20% of any task usually accounts for 80% of the value of that task.</li>
<li>Once you begin working on that task, the first 20% of the time that you spend planning and organizing the resources necessary to achieve the task usually accounts for 80% of your success.</li>
</ul>
In setting priorities, always focus on the first 20% of the task. Get on with it and get it done. The next 80% will tend to flow smoothly once the first 20% is complete.

Setting priorities

A key part of personal time management is for you to take the time to look into the future. Project forward five years and think about where you want to be. Create a mental picture of your ideal future- your best future - and then think about the steps that you would have to take, starting today, to make it a reality.

5 Key Questions for Setting Priorities

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Communication

Quote

<ol><li>Listening makes people feel like they matter, which in turn makes them work harder.</li><li>Arrogance talks. Humility listens. Practice humility by letting others speak.</li><li>Listen to help others learn what they really think and find clarity.</li><li>Listen to understand what needs to be acted upon. </li><li>Curiosity. Listen to ask a question.</li></ol>

The 5 Purposes Of Listening

<ol><li>An attention span compromised by excess of stimulation.</li><li>Nagging issues take over your mental space leaving little space for listening.</li><li>Lack of empathy makes you ignore how other people feel when they are not heard.</li><li>Conversational dominance and impatience.</li></ol>

4 Reasons You Hate To Listen

The most neglected work of leadership is listening. The reason? It's hard work. If leadership is about others, listening is about leadership. 4 reasons you hate to listen: A squirrel's attention span. Busy leaders look like squirrels caught in traffic. Dripping faucets. Nagging issues drip in the back of your mind.

The Five Purposes of Listening

It is often unhelpful to hear that the perfect routine is the one you can stick to to help you reach your goals. As everyone is different in personality, constraints, and preferences, the ideal method will differ.
Instead of outlining an exact routine, look at the essential parts of a routine, and season them as you desire.

The best routine for studying

<ol>
<li>Instructions can be in the form of lessons, books, or tutoring. They are useful to avoid wasting time with trial-and-error.</li>
<li>Retrieval involves deliberately remembering the knowledge, not just passively reviewing it.</li>
<li>Spacing is repeated reviews, spread out over time. It forms part of a regular routine where you cover old knowledge along with new.</li>
<li>Understanding. The goal of learning is for ideas to make sense. Explain the concept to yourself. When you get stuck, find a textbook or teacher to help you.</li>
<li>Feedback. You don&#39;t have to get feedback from other people. When you can get accurate feedback that doesn&#39;t need another person, go there first.</li>
</ol>

The ingredient of the perfect studying routine

To perfect your studying routine, look at your current routine, and see what&#39;s missing. For example:
<ul>
<li>An amateur painter will grow faster if they add instruction to their existing knowledge.</li>
<li>Learning history by reading a lot: Why not write an essay or converse with other history buffs?</li>
<li>You work correctly through a course, but don&#39;t space your learning: A ten-minute pop-quiz on previous topics can help you remember and save hours later.</li>
</ul>

Fixing your current studying routine

The perfect studying routine has five ingredients: instruction, retrieval, spacing, understanding and feedback. Which one might you be missing?

The Perfect Studying Routine | Scott H Young

Emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance.Your emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills—it impacts most everything you do and say each day.

EQ and performance

Teamwork

Personal competence:<ul><li>Self-Awareness:&nbsp;perceive your emotions and stay aware of them as they happen.</li><li>Self-Management:&nbsp;use awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and positively direct your behavior.</li></ul>Social competence:<ul><li>Social Awareness: pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on.</li><li>Relationship Management:&nbsp;use awareness of your emotions and the others’ emotions to manage interactions successfully.</li></ul>

The 4 core skills of emotional intelligene

When emotional intelligence first appeared to the masses, it served as the missing link in a peculiar finding: people with average IQs outperform those with the highest IQs 70% of the time. This anomaly threw a massive wrench into what many people had always assumed was the sole source of success-IQ.

Career

Why You Need More Emotional Intelligence

Successful entrepreneurs have a system, a daily set of habits, a power routine that defines their work ethic, eventually defining the course of their lives.

Everyday Motivation

Leadership

Goal-setting makes your mind think differently and drives you towards it naturally. The obstacles appear small to a person having enough motivation.

Goal Setting

Successful and rising entrepreneurs have a key behavior trait that propels them towards their goals: Motivation towards that goal, the constant fixation in their minds to what they want to achieve.

The Secret Sauce: Motivation

Entrepreneurs who keep rising and stay motivated are the ones who never lose sight of their goals, always keeping them at the forefront of their minds.

Keep your goal in sight

Self-discipline and willpower can be in short supply and fail you, but this is your inner fire, your motivation that will sustain you.

Self-Discipline and Willpower

"Self-motivation despises the role of luck, dismisses the component of self-discipline&nbsp;and looks to the power of goals for ultimate achievement in life."

Successful entrepreneurs know what they want in life, and what is the purpose of their existence. They have chosen a destiny and defined their purpose of living.

Define your Purpose

Successful and motivated entrepreneurs set aside all external forces and distractions and have their own set of high standards. They do things a majority of people find difficult to do, like waking up early or avoiding TV or junk food.

Set personal high standards

For daily motivation to arise, mental preparation (the night before and during the morning) is key. Certain visuals, music, and other trigger pieces can set your mind towards your goal.

Mental Preparation

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by How do some entrepreneurs overcome obstacles, maintain intense focus, exemplify ironclad discipline and create companies out of thin air? Genius? Luck? Some secret sauce of success? Related: 20 Quotes to Help Motivate You to Hustle Like Never Before Much of the answer lies in motivation.

The 7 Secrets Self-Motivated Entrepreneurs Know

Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.&nbsp;If you’re experiencing sleeping difficulties it’s also a good idea to keep a record of exactly when you do get to bed, how often (and for how long) you wake during the night and what time you get up.&nbsp;This information will be helpful for your clinician if you decide to visit your GP or a psychologist for help with sleeping.

Keep a sleep schedule

Health

If you’re experiencing sleeping problems:&nbsp;<ul><li>Cut back on caffeine (particularly after midday).&nbsp;</li><li>Avoid eating a particularly heavy meal late in the evening.</li><li>Meditation and supplements can also affect sleep so it’s best to get educated about what you’re taking.</li><li>Intense exercise late at night isn't recommended.</li></ul>

Eat, drink and move mindfully

Shut down those activities that stimulate your mind, such as work, emails, internet browsing and even watching TV.&nbsp;Try reading a book, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13952/why-everyone-should-try-an-epsom-salt-bath.html?mbg_ifs=0&amp;mbg_p=a&amp;mbg_ref=body&amp;mbg_a=20076">taking a bath</a>, listening to music or practicing some gentle yoga or meditation. Develop rituals that work for you.

Make "power down" time a priority

Dump it all out. Write some lists, or simply use the "worry diary" technique and jot down all of the things you’re stressing about.&nbsp;Do this before your "power down" time. This helps your mind let these things go. Once they're written down, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-14116/10-simple-ways-to-relax-every-day.html?mbg_ifs=0&amp;mbg_p=a&amp;mbg_ref=body&amp;mbg_a=20076">you can relax</a>; there's no chance you'll forget them.

Try a brain dump

Ensuring your bedroom is sufficiently dark enough, quiet enough and well ventilated to allow for good sleep.You might discover that your stress levels increase according to how much mess is in your personal space.&nbsp;

Create the right environment for sleep

The quality of your sleep has an enormous impact on well-being (both physically and psychologically), and is partly affected by your bedtime routine. Most people recognize the need for bedtime routines in children, but so often forget to honor the need for these routines as adults.

5 Tips To Create An Evening Routine For Great Sleep

<ul>
<li>When a partner has a secure attachment style, they feel comfortable and confident in their relationship and in their significant other.</li>
<li>There is a feeling of connectedness, trust, and freedom as both the partners let the other have independence and offer full support all the time.</li>
<li>A strong and secure life amply supported by one’s parents builds the foundation of this style.</li>
</ul>

Secure Attachment Style

Love & Relationships

<ul>
<li>Many people find it uncomfortable to trust the other person or to get too emotionally close.</li>
<li>They are self-sufficient and do not need emotional intimacy. </li>
<li>They quickly pull away and ‘go in a cave’ when rejected or hurt.</li>
<li>Having negligent or abusive parents is associated with people having this style, and they often suppress their internal need for love and care.</li>
</ul>

Dismissive Or Avoidant Attachment Style

<ul>
<li>Some people are doing the opposite of what should ideally be done.Their internal fears and their avoidant attitude are a paradox, and they cannot figure out if they want emotional closeness or not. </li>
<li>They deny their own feelings and never fully trust the other person. </li>
<li>The feelings of jealousy and rivalry come easily to them. </li>
<li>This style is often the result of some major loss or trauma in their lives, which made them never take security and closeness for granted.</li>
</ul>

Disorganized Attachment Style

<ul>
<li>Some people are always craving for emotional intimacy, even when the other person is not serious or romantic. </li>
<li>They are in a constant need of approval and reassurances from their partner, and tend to be anxious when the other person isn’t providing any.</li>
<li>These people are dependent on others for their self-worth and are often involved with people who don’t like this clingy style.</li>
</ul>

Anxious Or Preoccupied Attachment Style

We all have a personal bonding style, which is based early on in life according to our upbringing and how we act, feel and think in a close relationship.
Attachment is our bond with our first caregiver, which is usually a parent. The style we form while growing up usually stays with us in adulthood and beyond.

Attachment Styles

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

Love & Family

Which of These Four Attachment Styles Is Yours?

Investing is about laying out cash or assets now, in the hope of more cash or assets returning to you tomorrow, or next year, or next decade.Most of the time, this is best achieved through the acquisition of productive assets.

 Investing defined

Money & Investments

If you are the type of person that likes companies that are stable and gush cash flow for owners, you might be drawn to&nbsp;<ul><li>blue-chip stocks,</li><li>dividend investing, </li><li>dividend growth investing,</li><li>value investing.</li></ul>If you prefer a more aggressive portfolio allocation methodology,&nbsp;you might be drawn to investing in the stock of bad companies.&nbsp;&nbsp; Even a small increase in profitability could lead to a disproportionately large jump in the market price of the stock.

Publicly traded stocks

Your decision can have a major impact on how your investments are taxed.Choices include taxable brokerage accounts, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Simple IRAs, SEP-IRA, and maybe even family limited partnerships.

Decide Where You Want to Hold Those Assets

<ol><li>Investing in Privately Held Businesses:&nbsp;These are businesses that have no public market for their shares. They can be a high-risk, high-reward proposition for the entrepreneur.</li><li>Investing in Publicly Traded Businesses:&nbsp;Private businesses sometimes sell part of themselves to outside investors, in a process known as an Initial Public Offering, or IPO. When this happens, anyone can buy shares and become an owner.</li></ol>

Types of business equity investments

<ul><li>Productive assets are investments that internally throw off surplus money from some sort of activity.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li>Each type of productive asset has its own pros and cons, unique quirks, legal traditions, tax rules, and other relevant details.</li><li>The three most common kinds of investments from productive assets are stocks, bonds, and real estate.</li></ul>

Productive assets explained

<ul><li>It means investing in common stock, which is another way to describe business ownership or business equity.</li><li>When you own equity (the value of the shares issued by a company) in a business, you are entitled to a share of the profit or losses generated by that company's operating activity.</li><li>Equities are the most rewarding asset class for investors seeking to build wealth over time without using large amounts of leverage.</li></ul>

Investing in Stocks

Once you've settled on the asset class you want to own, your next step is to decide how you are going to own it.If you decide you want a stake in a publicly-traded business, do you want to own the shares outright, or through a pooled structure?

Owning Assets

Real estate investing comes down to either developing something and selling it for a profit or owning something and letting others use it in exchange for rent or lease payment.It can allow someone without a lot of net worth to rapidly accumulate resources, controlling a far larger asset base than he or she could otherwise afford.Real estate can also be traded like a stock.&nbsp;Usually, this happens through a corporation that qualifies as a real estate investment trust or REIT.

Investing in Real Estate

<ul><li>When you buy fixed income security, you are really lending money to the bond issuer in exchange for interest income.</li><li>You can buy certificates of deposit or money markets, or invest in corporate bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, and U.S. savings bonds.</li><li>They are purchased through a brokerage account.&nbsp;</li><li>Selecting your broker will require you to choose between either a discount or a full-service model.&nbsp;</li><li>You can work with a registered investment advisor or asset management company that operates on a fiduciary basis.</li></ul>

Investing in Fixed-Income Securities (Bonds)

Outright Ownership:&nbsp;You will buy shares of individual companies directly. To do this right requires a certain level of knowledge. Pooled Ownership:&nbsp; You mix your money with other people and buy ownership in a number of companies through a shared structure or entity. The downside is a near-total loss of control.

Outright vs Pooled Ownership

It's never too early or late to start investing! Learn how to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, real estate, and more. And find out how to analyze companies and stocks to see which are worth your investment dollars.

Discover & share ideas that matter

Deepstash is where

smart people like you

collect & share ideas

from articles & books they love

Trending Ideas

Optimizing life for fewer regrets

Principles for Making Better Life Decisions