GG Book Club - Money: Master the Game - Section 1

Book: Money: Master the Game
Author: Tony Robbins

Discussion of Section 1 - Welcome to the Jungle: the journey begins with this first step

γνῶθι σεαυτόν, ("Know thyself") - maxim inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi

Section 1 in Summary

Tony climbs into the reader's head, challenges their psychology, their why, injects a bit of fear by pressing on a sore spot*. Then, like a good doctor, he introduces the outline of his "money machine" solution. He explains that "money is simply a vehicle for trying to meet our needs"

*the number one fear of baby boomers was outliving their savings; and according to an Ernst & Young study, "75% of Americans can expect to see their assets disappear before they die".


Ah-has, Key Points and Phrases:

1. "Life is really about creating meaning"

Meaning: feelings, emotional impact, legacy... there are six core human needs and meaning is something that the book focuses on.
 
Money allows us to experience the emotions we want; it is a way of accessing that emotional experience

2. Be Humble: Intuition can be wrong and ignorance a blessing

Ray Dalio, the multibillionaire hedge fund founder of Bridgewater Associates: "What has been very successful for me through my whole life is not to be arrogant about knowing but to embrace the fact that I have weaknesses that I don't know a lot about this, that and the other thing. The more you learn, the more you realise you don't know."

When we don't know, we ask: we challenge, we simplify. Dalio suggests we ask "What don't I know?" This allows us to adapt and succeed.

If you see adaptation and changing the plan as a form of failure, rather than an opportunity to attain success, you'll ultimately lose out.


3. Anticipate and make it simple
Losers react; leaders anticipate ("Be Prepared" is the motto of the Boys Scouts)
Let Money work for you (you're the master):
- Asset allocation is the key to successful investing
- Take advantage of the power of compound interest
- Time for money (job)

Make a plan, repeat consistently and make it automatic

Tony's suggested plan for building a money machine: automatically save a fixed percentage each pay period, and then invest it intelligently, and over time you'll start living a life where your money works for you instead of you working for your money.

He suggests 15%, especially if you're over the age of 40

4. Learn to invest when everyone else is afraid
From Sir John Templeton: "Tony, you find the bargains at the point of maxinum pessimism. There's nothing - nothing - that will make the price of a share go down except the pressure of selling".

5. Six Human Needs
For an eloquent expression of this, watch Tony's TED talk.

Bonus: Begin the day with gratitude.
Got access running water? Good. That puts you in the top 10% of the world's population.
Is the water clean, drinkable, available hot and cold? Brilliant. You're in the top 1%.

New beliefs:
Wealth is a vehicle to achieve what matters most in life.
Everything in life happens for a reason and a purpose and it serves me.
Life happens for me. Every step is to strengthen me so that I can become more, enjoy more and give more. 

GG Book Club - Money: Master the Game - Introduction

Book: "Money: Master the Game" by Tony Robbins

As Marc Benioff says, this book really isn't about money, it is about creating the life you want, "and part of that is deciding what role you want money to play in it".

Not gonna be like you: Handling Workplace Bullies

My heart is swelling as I read my inbox. This Goddess is gonna change and grow from this, I think.

One of my advisory clients had emailed me her homework. Do the work, or delaying it will make it hurt more, I said. So she did it immediately, hours after she cried all the way home from work.

She has recently started a job where her very "Red" (Dominant)-profiled female boss puts her down and bullies her repeatedly. While the boss' intentions are good - she can see there's a need for her employee to learn to push back and occasionally go "Red" like her - it doesn't excuse the manner in which she is conducting herself. The boss is a bully.

In life, you are going to meet bullies. And inside every bully is someone who has been bullied and hides their own emotional injury behind a wall of fear and anger.

How do you not become like her?, my client asked.

Well, in everyone there are things to admire and things to choose to differently. People can pick up on your "rejection" energy - it's that inkling you get that someone doesn't like you, or is politely tolerating or silently judging you - and it can lead to a downwards spiral that makes life with that person Unbearable.

Try this exercise:

Draw up three columns: in the left hand column, write "things I admire about <Name>".

In the middle column, write "Things I won't take on"

In the third column, write "How I choose to do it instead".

Take as long as you can to fill each of the first two columns. Then with reflection and commitment to your better self, approach the third column.

Why? Because you don't take things on from people when you already have a BETTER way of doing things. And by "better", I mean, more effective and more natural to you.

And after the above exercise, write a letter of gratitude, from the heart. List all the things you get out the relationship and thank him or her for the blessing of the lesson or presence in your life.

Come at this process with compassion and gratitude and your relationship with the person will be better, guaranteed. You'll look at them, or interact with them and you will be reminded of the things you admire about them and the lessons their behaviour is teaching you, every day.

What to do next? There's another step...

Being bullied? Want to do the exercise and the next step together? Sign up for a confidential Discovery Questionnaire.

To find out more about our Wellness Advisory and Coaching Services: visit http://theglobalgoddessproject.com/health-coaching/

Ready to step up? Join us at our next Retreat.

Is walking better than nothing?

Researchers from Massachusetts Medical Society followed 72,488 female nurses who were 40 to 65 years old in 1986, for eight years.

In simple terms, the question was: in the population of female nurses aged 40 - 65 years old, was brisk walking as effective as vigorous exercise in reducing the incidence of coronary events (eg heart attacks)

What did they find? Sedentary women who became active in middle adulthood or later had a lower risk of coronary events than their counterparts who remained sedentary. Their data suggests that brisk walking and vigorous exercise are associated with substantial and similar reductions in the incidence of coronary events among women.


Why is this important?

• Well, this study is often the reason why people say "walking is better than doing nothing". *brisk walking is better than doing nothing.
• Moderate intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes on most (preferably all) days of the week (e.g., brisk walking for three or more hours per week) could reduce the risk of coronary events in women by 30 to 40 percent. 
• Increasing walking time or combining walking with vigorous exercise appears to be associated with even greater risk reductions. 

The fine print:
Remember it's a single outcome study - which is to say that people were assessed for the single outcome of a coronary event. They looked at exercise (but relied on people reporting this accurately) - they didn't look at whole nutrition, stress, sleep and mental health: all of which have been found to impact heart health.
Participants were free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease or cancer at the time of entry and completed serial detailed questionnaires about physical activity. During eight years of follow-up, they documented 645 incident coronary events (nonfatal myocardial infarction or death from coronary disease).

What's Vigorous Exercise?

Get the paper: http://www.schulwandern.de/assets/adb/13/134a052fe1f82f0e.pdf
Read more:
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/151/3/293.short
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-11/physical-activity-guidelines-explainer/5295552
Australia's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines

How can I change up Moderate intensity activities into Vigorous intensity?

Looking at the list of Moderate intensity activities compared to Vigorous intensity activities, it may seem challenging to mix up the two - or even replace the moderate intensity activities with vigorous ones!

Some "easy win" guidelines:
1. Carry weights - if you enjoy walking you can get weights that strap to the body, or carry little handweights.
2. Bring a skipping rope - a great one to involve the kids - walk to your favourite park and bust out a little bit of skipping.
3. In-ter-val it - mix up your usual favourites with things you know are good for you (but possibly not something to you want to do alllll the time). The usual suspects: burpees, jump-squats, dead-lifts. Start with 10!
4. Take the stairs - time yourself, challenge a friend, ban the lift for a day!
5. You and B - head to Youtube and get your Beyonce on. That's right - aerobic dancing counts as vigorous intensity activity. Three songs is roughly 10 mins

The Global Goddess Project's Vigorous Dancetracks of Choice
Vigorous intensity activity on Youtube

Why is this important?
Your body's ability to adapt to a new level of fitness needs to be challenged regularly - not just to keep yourself interested, but just to keep up your metabolic fitness.

The guidelines itself are that 75 mins of vigorous activities every week PLUS muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

Seek medical advice if you are not usually active, prior to commencing an exercise routine and always seek professional assistance with using unfamiliar equipment.

Read more:

Share your favourite Dancetrack with us in Comments below!

Vigorous exercise linked to living longer

Australian researchers found that middle-aged or older people who get at least some high-intensity exercise that makes them sweaty and winded may reduce their chances of dying early by up to 13 percent.

“Our research indicates that even small amounts of vigorous activity could help reduce your risk of early death,” said Klaus Gebel of James Cook University in Cairns, Queensland, the lead author of the study.

Dr Gebel added: “For those with medical conditions, for older people in general, and for those who have never done any vigorous activity or exercise before, it’s always important to talk to a doctor first. Previous studies indicate that interval training, with short bursts of vigorous effort, is often manageable for older people, including those who are overweight or obese."

Why is this important: 
Because the current guidelines are that one can swap one minute of vigorous exercise for two minutes of moderate exercise - this is like saying 30 mins running at 10km/hr (6mph) is kinda the equivalent of walking for an hour at 6km/hr.  The authors are saying it's not.

“It might not be the simple two-for-one swap that is the basis of current guidelines. Our research indicates that encouraging vigorous activities may help to avoid preventable deaths at an earlier age,” said Dr Melody Ding, the co-author, from the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health.

What's vigorous exercise?
How do I change up Moderate intensity exercise to Vigorous intensity?

Get the paper: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2212268

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/short-spurts-of-vigorous-exercise-helps-prevent-early-death-says-study-10158073.html

What counts as vigorous exercise?

Vigorous intensity activities, the kind that makes you breathless and red in the face, are defined as activities that burn more than 6 METs.

MET is the ratio of a person's working metabolic rate relative to their resting metabolic rate. One MET is the energy it takes to sit quietly. One MET is equivalent to a caloric consumption of 1kcal/kg/hour.

Here's a list of vigorous activities (more than 6 METS):

• Running
• Hiking / walking briskly up a hill
• Jogging at 6 mph (10km/h)
• Bicycling fast (14–16 mph)
• Swimming fast (butterfly, freestyle)
• Shoveling
• Carrying heavy loads (> 20kg)
• Competitive sports (eg Basketball, Soccer, Hockey games)
• Tennis—singles

How can I change up Moderate intensity activities into Vigorous exercise?
Vigorous exercise linked to living longer

Why is this important?

Because research showed that vigorous activities are not the same as moderate activities and people who do vigorous activities live longer.

What are the recommendations?
The Australian Government's "Physical Activity Guidelines" are much like the CDC's:

• Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
• Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
• Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
• Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

(from: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines, last accessed 7 June 2015)

Read more: 

Vigorous exercise linked to living longer

Harvard's guidelines on activity for the prevention of obesity

WHO's guidelines on physical activity