Category: by Jason Kong

Probably one of the most useful financial concepts I’ve ever learned.

Just like work expands to fill the available time for its completion, money spent expands to (and sometimes exceeds) the funds available for use. This, to me, is one of the big reasons why it’s so hard to save or invest.

The solution is simple: decide, in advance, a percentage of your income to set aside for saving and/or investing. That number should only as large as you can feel you can commit to. If that’s only 5%, then you’re in for 5%.

When your paycheck arrives, the money according to your committed percentage is immediately moved into a separate account designated for your financial growth. There’s no debate on whether it will happen, because you already decided it will. Often online banking includes a feature for automatic transfers. Use them, instead of relying on your memory and willpower.

Once you’ve paid yourself, there are funds left.  Now you can take care of your bills, go shopping, have fun, etc.

A big part of creating financial freedom is optimizing the money you save or invest. But before that’s a possibility, you have to figure out that crucial first step accumulating the capital to work with. This system has worked pretty well for me.

1) Why do it? Direct feedback is awesome for discovering additional paths for improvement.

2) Who you ask for input is as important as how many people you ask.

3) When considering the feedback received, be prepared to receive to separate the wheat from the chaff. Just because someone said something doesn’t mean it’s useful or true.

4) Soliciting someone’s opinion on what you did takes courage and humility. That alone deserves props.

5) Set aside your ego. Helpful whether you’re digesting or providing feedback.

6) Whenever possible, seek input from those you trust and respect.

7) Be grateful for whatever feedback you receive. You asked for it!

Sometimes we mistakingly assume our audience has the necessary background knowledge to understand what we’re saying, otherwise known as the curse of knowledge. When we know something, it’s easy to overlook that someone else doesn’t.

A similar problem occurs around the perception of reality. Varied upbringings, experiences and circumstances lead to our unique perspectives of the world. We should not be surprised when the attitudes and beliefs of others differ from our own.

There’s a story behind the way each of us sees the world. If the person you’re engaging doesn’t know yours, it could be useful to clarify where you’re coming from.

And it’s helpful to encourage reciprocation.

I used to believe the main reason people made poor food choices was because they lacked the proper education. I’m not so sure of that anymore.

Most people know that eating too much junk food isn’t healthy. Most people know that overeating will pack on excess weight. Most people know that a variety of vegetables is good for the body. This isn’t information that requires a nutrition degree to comprehend.

And yet, obesity rates are the worse they’ve ever been. On an intellectual level, we know we should be eating better. So why aren’t we?

One possibility: we’re choosing the temptation of now over the future.

The ability to prioritize long-term benefits over short-term gains is called delayed gratification. It’s the decision to save for tomorrow instead of spending money today. Or deciding to work hard instead of having fun now, knowing that you can enjoy yourself more once your responsibilities are fulfilled. Delayed gratification opportunities are everywhere in our lives.

Our challenge is that it’s easier to visualize a present benefit than a future one. Turns out that telling people smoking will cause death in 30 years won’t impact cigarette revenues as much as implementing a tax on those sales today. There’s an argument for focusing on effective short-term incentives that align with the changes we seek, instead of simply touting the reasons why we wanted the change in the first place.

Another example: we all know that exercise is good for our long-term health, but that knowledge still doesn’t push many of us to take action. On the other hand, scheduling regular workouts with a friend tends to be effective because we receive the immediate reward of camaraderie.

Delayed gratification requires patience and discipline. But it helps to have a strategy that provides short-term benefits as well as the long-term benefits you’re shooting for.

I’ve written about the importance of enrollment in teaching, which also makes it true for learning.

Not the formal process of signing up for a class or being in a school, but a mindset.

Learning about something you don’t care about is really difficult. Anyone who’s gone through a form of mandatory education knows how painful that experience is.

On the flip side, a motivated student is unstoppable. That person learns on her own time and pushes through challenges. The reason why someone wants to learn isn’t nearly as important as the fact that she does.

I know this isn’t a revolutionary concept, but these days I do find myself coming back to it from a parent’s perspective.

I want my kids to love the act of learning. Often they do not. Mostly because much of their lives were filled with by someone else dictating what and how they should learn.

They need more of the opposite. The space and resources to choose their own projects, but also the confidence to figure out their own learning path.

Being angry often leads to poor decision-making. I know this. And yet, I still find my emotions boiling over and regretting my behavior afterwards. I’m not a hothead, but I definitely want to deal with adversity better.

Then I came across a quote that really resonated with me:

“You can’t be curious and angry at the same time.”

I think that’s brilliant. Curiosity, in this context, means identifying the true source of frustration or understanding someone else’s conflicting point of view. Lashing out at others is replaced by having empathy for them.

At the very least, an analytic mindset is far more productive than an attacking one. Worth a try.

It’s a dangerous practice, especially when your self-worth is tied to a competition that you’re destined to lose.

There will always be someone with more money or power. More brains or beauty. More status or accomplishments.

Media exposure amplifies this dissatisfaction. We’re bombarded with marketing messages telling us we’re not good enough, touting consumerism as the salve.

But each of us are complicit as well, by participating in systems that rank the field and celebrates winners. Top 10 lists, grading on a curve, and American Idol are all examples. Comparing yourself to others seems to be ingrained in our culture. Many of us probably don’t seem to give it a second thought.

Changing this on a large scale will be hard, and only possible if enough people decide they want something different.

There are some skills, so universally useful, that just about everybody should learn them.

I believe being interesting is one of those skills. The ability to attract and hold someone’s attention is a great way to be liked and remembered. Interesting people tend to have an easier time fostering relationships and making connections.

While it’s possible to be interesting in general, not everyone has the same interests. So it helps to understand who you’re addressing, and do it in a way that’s compelling to that particular audience.

The best part? Everybody can get better. Every engagement is the opportunity to practice. Be interesting in your emails, tweets, and posts. Be interesting in your conversations, presentations, and while you’re hanging out. Pay attention to what works and do more of that.

Being interesting is an underrated skill.

I am grateful when fear protects me from physical harm. Being nervous keeps me safe when I’m near a steep cliff or a roaring fire.

But I’ve also found myself appreciating the fear that comes before tackling a big project or having a difficult conversation. This is a signal, not to avoid life-threatening danger, but to do the thing that I’m scared to do.

Fear can be a good compass.

A good educational game leverages entertainment into a positive learning outcome for the player involved.

I recently spent 30 minutes playing SQL Island, an online game that takes the player through a linear story. The story unfolds by solving problems (SQL is a language used to interact with databases) using SQL syntax.

The game itself isn’t revolutionary. But the experience is excellent because learning and gameplay is so well integrated. For instance, you learn how to use SELECT in your SQL statements to get information by facing scenarios in SQL Island where you need information, and SELECT is the only way to get it.

Even if you aren’t motivated to learn SQL at all, the game is still probably fun enough to hold your interest. And if you finish, you will know and understand the very basics of SQL.

That’s what good educational games do.