More on Leadership
Sam Hickmann
3 years ago
Improving collaboration with the Six Thinking Hats
Six Thinking Hats was written by Dr. Edward de Bono. "Six Thinking Hats" and parallel thinking allow groups to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way, improving collaboration.
Fundamental ideas
In order to develop strategies for thinking about specific issues, the method assumes that the human brain thinks in a variety of ways that can be intentionally challenged. De Bono identifies six brain-challenging directions. In each direction, the brain brings certain issues into conscious thought (e.g. gut instinct, pessimistic judgement, neutral facts). Some may find wearing hats unnatural, uncomfortable, or counterproductive.
The example of "mismatch" sensitivity is compelling. In the natural world, something out of the ordinary may be dangerous. This mode causes negative judgment and critical thinking.
Colored hats represent each direction. Putting on a colored hat symbolizes changing direction, either literally or metaphorically. De Bono first used this metaphor in his 1971 book "Lateral Thinking for Management" to describe a brainstorming framework. These metaphors allow more complete and elaborate thought separation. Six thinking hats indicate ideas' problems and solutions.
Similarly, his CoRT Thinking Programme introduced "The Five Stages of Thinking" method in 1973.
| HAT | OVERVIEW | TECHNIQUE |
|---|---|---|
| BLUE | "The Big Picture" & Managing | CAF (Consider All Factors); FIP (First Important Priorities) |
| WHITE | "Facts & Information" | Information |
| RED | "Feelings & Emotions" | Emotions and Ego |
| BLACK | "Negative" | PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting); Evaluation |
| YELLOW | "Positive" | PMI |
| GREEN | "New Ideas" | Concept Challenge; Yes, No, Po |
Strategies and programs
After identifying the six thinking modes, programs can be created. These are groups of hats that encompass and structure the thinking process. Several of these are included in the materials for franchised six hats training, but they must often be adapted. Programs are often "emergent," meaning the group plans the first few hats and the facilitator decides what to do next.
The group agrees on how to think, then thinks, then evaluates the results and decides what to do next. Individuals or groups can use sequences (and indeed hats). Each hat is typically used for 2 minutes at a time, although an extended white hat session is common at the start of a process to get everyone on the same page. The red hat is recommended to be used for a very short period to get a visceral gut reaction – about 30 seconds, and in practice often takes the form of dot-voting.
| ACTIVITY | HAT SEQUENCE |
|---|---|
| Initial Ideas | Blue, White, Green, Blue |
| Choosing between alternatives | Blue, White, (Green), Yellow, Black, Red, Blue |
| Identifying Solutions | Blue, White, Black, Green, Blue |
| Quick Feedback | Blue, Black, Green, Blue |
| Strategic Planning | Blue, Yellow, Black, White, Blue, Green, Blue |
| Process Improvement | Blue, White, White (Other People's Views), Yellow, Black, Green, Red, Blue |
| Solving Problems | Blue, White, Green, Red, Yellow, Black, Green, Blue |
| Performance Review | Blue, Red, White, Yellow, Black, Green, Blue |
Use
Speedo's swimsuit designers reportedly used the six thinking hats. "They used the "Six Thinking Hats" method to brainstorm, with a green hat for creative ideas and a black one for feasibility.
Typically, a project begins with extensive white hat research. Each hat is used for a few minutes at a time, except the red hat, which is limited to 30 seconds to ensure an instinctive gut reaction, not judgement. According to Malcolm Gladwell's "blink" theory, this pace improves thinking.
De Bono believed that the key to a successful Six Thinking Hats session was focusing the discussion on a particular approach. A meeting may be called to review and solve a problem. The Six Thinking Hats method can be used in sequence to explore the problem, develop a set of solutions, and choose a solution through critical examination.
Everyone may don the Blue hat to discuss the meeting's goals and objectives. The discussion may then shift to Red hat thinking to gather opinions and reactions. This phase may also be used to determine who will be affected by the problem and/or solutions. The discussion may then shift to the (Yellow then) Green hat to generate solutions and ideas. The discussion may move from White hat thinking to Black hat thinking to develop solution set criticisms.
Because everyone is focused on one approach at a time, the group is more collaborative than if one person is reacting emotionally (Red hat), another is trying to be objective (White hat), and another is critical of the points which emerge from the discussion (Black hat). The hats help people approach problems from different angles and highlight problem-solving flaws.
Trevor Stark
2 years ago
Peter Thiels's Multi-Billion Dollar Net Worth's Unknown Philosopher
Peter Thiel studied philosophy as an undergraduate.
Peter Thiel has $7.36 billion.
Peter is a world-ranked chess player, has a legal degree, and has written profitable novels.
In 1999, he co-founded PayPal with Max Levchin, which merged with X.com.
Peter Thiel made $55 million after selling the company to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.
You may be wondering…
How did Peter turn $55 million into his now multi-billion dollar net worth?
One amazing investment?
Facebook.
Thiel was Facebook's first external investor. He bought 10% of the company for $500,000 in 2004.
This investment returned 159% annually, 200x in 8 years.
By 2012, Thiel sold almost all his Facebook shares, becoming a billionaire.
What was the investment thesis of Peter?
This investment appeared ridiculous. Facebook was an innovative startup.
Thiel's $500,000 contribution transformed Facebook.
Harvard students have access to Facebook's 8 features and 1 photo per profile.
How did Peter determine that this would be a wise investment, then?
Facebook is a mimetic desire machine.
Social media's popularity is odd. Why peek at strangers' images on a computer?
Peter Thiel studied under French thinker Rene Girard at Stanford.
Mimetic Desire explains social media's success.
Mimetic Desire is the idea that humans desire things simply because other people do.
If nobody wanted it, would you?
Would you desire a family, a luxury car, or expensive clothes if no one else did? Girard says no.
People we admire affect our aspirations because we're social animals. Every person has a role model.
Our nonreligious culture implies role models are increasingly other humans, not God.
The idea explains why social media influencers are so powerful.
Why would Andrew Tate or Kim Kardashian matter if people weren't mimetic?
Humanity is fundamentally motivated by social comparison.
Facebook takes advantage of this need for social comparison, and puts it on a global scale.
It aggregates photographs and updates from millions of individuals.
Facebook mobile allows 24/7 social comparison.
Thiel studied mimetic desire with Girard and realized Facebook exploits the urge for social comparison to gain money.
Social media is more significant and influential than ever, despite Facebook's decline.
Thiel and Girard show that applied philosophy (particularly in business) can be immensely profitable.
Mike Tarullo
3 years ago
Even In a Crazy Market, Hire the Best People: The "First Ten" Rules
Hiring is difficult, but you shouldn't compromise on team members. Or it may suggest you need to look beyond years in a similar role/function.
Every hire should be someone we'd want as one of our first ten employees.
If you hire such people, your team will adapt, initiate, and problem-solve, and your company will grow. You'll stay nimble even as you scale, and you'll learn from your colleagues.
If you only hire for a specific role or someone who can execute the job, you'll become a cluster of optimizers, and talent will depart for a more fascinating company. A startup is continually changing, therefore you want individuals that embrace it.
As a leader, establishing ideal conditions for talent and having a real ideology should be high on your agenda. You can't eliminate attrition, nor would you want to, but you can hire people who will become your company's leaders.
In my last four jobs I was employee 2, 5, 3, and 5. So while this is all a bit self serving, you’re the one reading my writing — and I have some experience with who works out in the first ten!
First, we'll examine what they do well (and why they're beneficial for startups), then what they don't, and how to hire them.
First 10 are:
Business partners: Because it's their company, they take care of whatever has to be done and have ideas about how to do it. You can rely on them to always put the success of the firm first because it is their top priority (company success is strongly connected with success for early workers). This approach will eventually take someone to leadership positions.
High Speed Learners: They process knowledge quickly and can reach 80%+ competency in a new subject matter rather quickly. A growing business that is successful tries new things frequently. We have all lost a lot of money and time on employees who follow the wrong playbook or who wait for someone else within the company to take care of them.
Autodidacts learn by trial and error, osmosis, networking with others, applying first principles, and reading voraciously (articles, newsletters, books, and even social media). Although teaching is wonderful, you won't have time.
Self-scaling: They figure out a means to deal with issues and avoid doing the grunt labor over the long haul, increasing their leverage. Great people don't keep doing the same thing forever; as they expand, they use automation and delegation to fill in their lower branches. This is a crucial one; even though you'll still adore them, you'll have to manage their scope or help them learn how to scale on their own.
Free Range: You can direct them toward objectives rather than specific chores. Check-ins can be used to keep them generally on course without stifling invention instead of giving them precise instructions because doing so will obscure their light.
When people are inspired, they bring their own ideas about what a firm can be and become animated during discussions about how to get there.
Novelty Seeking: They look for business and personal growth chances. Give them fresh assignments and new directions to follow around once every three months.
Here’s what the First Ten types may not be:
Domain specialists. When you look at their resumes, you'll almost certainly think they're unqualified. Fortunately, a few strategically positioned experts may empower a number of First Ten types by serving on a leadership team or in advising capacities.
Balanced. These people become very invested, and they may be vulnerable to many types of stress. You may need to assist them in managing their own stress and coaching them through obstacles. If you are reading this and work at Banza, I apologize for not doing a better job of supporting this. I need to be better at it.
Able to handle micromanagement with ease. People who like to be in charge will suppress these people. Good decision-making should be delegated to competent individuals. Generally speaking, if you wish to scale.
Great startup team members have versatility, learning, innovation, and energy. When we hire for the function, not the person, we become dull and staid. Could this person go to another department if needed? Could they expand two levels in a few years?
First Ten qualities and experience level may have a weak inverse association. People with 20+ years of experience who had worked at larger organizations wanted to try something new and had a growth mentality. College graduates may want to be told what to do and how to accomplish it so they can stay in their lane and do what their management asks.
Does the First Ten archetype sound right for your org? Cool, let’s go hiring. How will you know when you’ve found one?
They exhibit adaptive excellence, excelling at a variety of unrelated tasks. It could be hobbies or professional talents. This suggests that they will succeed in the next several endeavors they pursue.
Successful risk-taking is doing something that wasn't certain to succeed, sometimes more than once, and making it do so. It's an attitude.
Rapid Rise: They regularly change roles and get promoted. However, they don't leave companies when the going gets tough. Look for promotions at every stop and at least one position with three or more years of experience.
You can ask them:
Tell me about a time when you started from scratch or achieved success. What occurred en route? You might request a variety of tales from various occupations or even aspects of life. They ought to be energized by this.
What new skills have you just acquired? It is not required to be work-related. They must be able to describe it and unintentionally become enthusiastic about it.
Tell me about a moment when you encountered a challenge and had to alter your strategy. The core of a startup is reinventing itself when faced with obstacles.
Tell me about a moment when you eliminated yourself from a position at work. They've demonstrated they can permanently solve one issue and develop into a new one, as stated above.
Why do you want to leave X position or Y duty? These people ought to be moving forward, not backward, all the time. Instead, they will discuss what they are looking forward to visiting your location.
Any questions? Due to their inherent curiosity and desire to learn new things, they should practically never run out of questions. You can really tell if they are sufficiently curious at this point.
People who see their success as being the same as the success of the organization are the best-case team members, in any market. They’ll grow and change with the company, and always try to prioritize what matters. You’ll find yourself more energized by your work because you’re surrounded by others who are as well. Happy teambuilding!
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Jumanne Rajabu Mtambalike
3 years ago
10 Years of Trying to Manage Time and Improve My Productivity.
I've spent the last 10 years of my career mastering time management. I've tried different approaches and followed multiple people and sources. My knowledge is summarized.
Great people, including entrepreneurs, master time management. I learned time management in college. I was studying Computer Science and Finance and leading Tanzanian students in Bangalore, India. I had 24 hours per day to do this and enjoy campus. I graduated and received several awards. I've learned to maximize my time. These tips and tools help me finish quickly.
Eisenhower-Box
I don't remember when I read the article. James Clear, one of my favorite bloggers, introduced me to the Eisenhower Box, which I've used for years. Eliminate waste to master time management. By grouping your activities by importance and urgency, the tool helps you prioritize what matters and drop what doesn't. If it's urgent, do it. Delegate if it's urgent but not necessary. If it's important but not urgent, reschedule it; otherwise, drop it. I integrated the tool with Trello to manage my daily tasks. Since 2007, I've done this.
James Clear's article mentions Eisenhower Box.
Essentialism rules
Greg McKeown's book Essentialism introduced me to disciplined pursuit of less. I once wrote about this. I wasn't sure what my career's real opportunities and distractions were. A non-essentialist thinks everything is essential; you want to be everything to everyone, and your life lacks satisfaction. Poor time management starts it all. Reading and applying this book will change your life.
Essential vs non-essential
Life Calendar
Most of us make corporate calendars. Peter Njonjo, founder of Twiga Foods, said he manages time by putting life activities in his core calendars. It includes family retreats, weddings, and other events. He joked that his wife always complained to him to avoid becoming a calendar item. It's key. "Time Masters" manages life's four burners, not just work and corporate life. There's no "work-life balance"; it's life.
Health, Family, Work, and Friends.
The Brutal No
In a culture where people want to look good, saying "NO" to a favor request seems rude. In reality, the crime is breaking a promise. "Time Masters" have mastered "NO". More "YES" means less time, and more "NO" means more time for tasks and priorities. Brutal No doesn't mean being mean to your coworkers; it means explaining kindly and professionally that you have other priorities.
To-Do vs. MITs
Most people are productive with a routine to-do list. You can't be effective by just checking boxes on a To-do list. When was the last time you completed all of your daily tasks? Never. You must replace the to-do list with Most Important Tasks (MITs). MITs allow you to focus on the most important tasks on your list. You feel progress and accomplishment when you finish these tasks. MITs don't include ad-hoc emails, meetings, etc.
Journal Mapped
Most people don't journal or plan their day in the developing South. I've learned to plan my day in my journal over time. I have multiple sections on one page: MITs (things I want to accomplish that day), Other Activities (stuff I can postpone), Life (health, faith, and family issues), and Pop-Ups (things that just pop up). I leave the next page blank for notes. I reflected on the blocks to identify areas to improve the next day. You will have bad days, but at least you'll realize it was due to poor time management.
Buy time/delegate
Time or money? When you make enough money, you lose time to make more. The smart buy "Time." I resisted buying other people's time for years. I regret not hiring an assistant sooner. Learn to buy time from others and pay for time-consuming tasks. Sometimes you think you're saving money by doing things yourself, but you're actually losing money.
This post is a summary. See the full post here.
Sea Launch
3 years ago
📖 Guide to NFT terms: an NFT glossary.
NFT lingo can be overwhelming. As the NFT market matures and expands so does its own jargon, slang, colloquialisms or acronyms.
This ever-growing NFT glossary goal is to unpack key NFT terms to help you better understand the NFT market or at least not feel like a total n00b in a conversation about NFTs on Reddit, Discord or Twitter.
#
1:1 Art
Art where each piece is one of a kind (1 of 1). Unlike 10K projects, PFP or Generative Art collections have a cap of NFTs released that can range from a few hundreds to 10K.
1/1 of X
Contrary to 1:1 Art, 1/1 of X means each NFT is unique, but part of a large and cohesive collection. E.g: Fidenzas by Tyler Hobbs or Crypto Punks (each Punk is 1/1 of 10,000).
10K Project
A type of NFT collection that consists of approximately 10,000 NFTs (but not strictly).
A
AB
ArtBlocks, the most important platform for generative art currently.
AFAIK
As Far As I Know.
Airdrop
Distribution of an NFT token directly into a crypto wallet for free. Can be used as a marketing campaign or as scam by airdropping fake tokens to empty someone’s wallet.
Alpha
The first or very primitive release of a project. Or Investment term to track how a certain investment outdoes the market. E.g: Alpha of 1.0 = 1% improvement or Alpha of 20.0 = 20% improvement.
Altcoin
Any other crypto that is not Bitcoin. Bitcoin Maximalists can also refer to them as shitcoins.
AMA
Ask Me Anything. NFT creators or artists do sessions where anyone can ask questions about the NFT project, team, vision, etc. Usually hosted on Discord, but also on Reddit or even Youtube.
Ape
Someone can be aping, ape in or aped on an NFT meaning someone is taking a large position relative to its own portfolio size. Some argue that when someone apes can mean that they're following the hype, out of FOMO or without due diligence. Not related directly to the Bored Ape Yatch Club.
ATH
All-Time High. When a NFT project or token reaches the highest price to date.
Avatar project
An NFT collection that consists of avatars that people can use as their profile picture (see PFP) in social media to show they are part of an NFT community like Crypto Punks.
Axie Infinity
ETH blockchain-based game where players battle and trade Axies (digital pets). The main ERC-20 tokens used are Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potions (formerly Small Love Potion) (SLP).
Axie Infinity Shards
AXS is an Eth token that powers the Axie Infinity game.
B
Bag Holder
Someone who holds its position in a crypto or keeps an NFT until it's worthless.
BAYC
Bored Ape Yacht Club. A very successful PFP 1/1 of 10,000 individual ape characters collection. People use BAYC as a Twitter profile picture to brag about being part of this NFT community.
Bearish
Borrowed finance slang meaning someone is doubtful about the current market and that it will crash.
Bear Market
When the Crypto or NFT market is going down in value.
Bitcoin (BTC)
First and original cryptocurrency as outlined in a whitepaper by the anonymous creator(s) Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin Maximalist
Believer that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency needed. All other cryptocurrencies are altcoins or shitcoins.
Blockchain
Distributed, decentralized, immutable database that is the basis of trust in Web 3.0 technology.
Bluechip
When an NFT project has a long track record of success and its value is sustained over time, therefore considered a solid investment.
BTD
Buy The Dip. A bear market can be an opportunity for crypto investors to buy a crypto or NFT at a lower price.
Bullish
Borrowed finance slang meaning someone is optimistic that a market will increase in value aka moon.
Bull market
When the Crypto or NFT market is going up and up in value.
Burn
Common crypto strategy to destroy or delete tokens from the circulation supply intentionally and permanently in order to limit supply and increase the value.
Buying on secondary
Whenever you don’t mint an NFT directly from the project, you can always buy it in secondary NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. Most NFT sales are secondary market sales.
C
Cappin or Capping
Slang for lying or faking. Opposed to no cap which means “no lie”.
Coinbase
Nasdaq listed US cryptocurrency exchange. Coinbase Wallet is one of Coinbase’s products where users can use a Chrome extension or app hot wallet to store crypto and NFTs.
Cold wallet
Otherwise called hardware wallet or cold storage. It’s a physical device to store your cryptocurrencies and/or NFTs offline. They are not connected to the Internet so are at less risk of being compromised.
Collection
A set of NFTs under a common theme as part of a NFT drop or an auction sale in marketplaces like OpenSea or Rarible.
Collectible
A collectible is an NFT that is a part of a wider NFT collection, usually part of a 10k project, PFP project or NFT Game.
Collector
Someone who buys NFTs to build an NFT collection, be part of a NFT community or for speculative purposes to make a profit.
Cope
The opposite of FOMO. When someone doesn’t buy an NFT because one is still dealing with a previous mistake of not FOMOing at a fraction of the price. So choosing to stay out.
Consensus mechanism
Method of authenticating and validating a transaction on a blockchain without the need to trust or rely on a central authority. Examples of consensus mechanisms are Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS).
Cozomo de’ Medici
Twitter alias used by Snoop Dogg for crypto and NFT chat.
Creator
An NFT creator is a person that creates the asset for the NFT idea, vision and in many cases the art (e.g. a jpeg, audio file, video file).
Crowsale
Where a crowdsale is the sale of a token that will be used in the business, an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is the sale of a token that’s linked to the value of the business. Buying an ICO token is akin to buying stock in the company because it entitles you a share of the earnings and profits. Also, some tokens give you voting rights similar to holding stock in the business. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently ruled that ICOs, but not crowdselling, will be treated as the sale of a security. This basically means that all ICOs must be registered like IPOs and offered only to accredited investors. This dramatically increases the costs and limits the pool of potential buyers.
Crypto Bags/Bags
Refers to how much cryptocurrencies someone holds, as in their bag of coins.
Cryptocurrency
The native coin of a blockchain (or protocol coin), secured by cryptography to be exchanged within a Peer 2 Peer economic system. E.g: Bitcoin (BTC) for the Bitcoin blockchain, Ether (ETH) for the Ethereum blockchain, etc.
Crypto community
The community of a specific crypto or NFT project. NFT communities use Twitter and Discord as their primary social media to hang out.
Crypto exchange
Where someone can buy, sell or trade cryptocurrencies and tokens.
Cryptography
The foundation of blockchain technology. The use of mathematical theory and computer science to encrypt or decrypt information.
CryptoKitties
One of the first and most popular NFT based blockchain games. In 2017, the NFT project almost broke the Ethereum blockchain and increased the gas prices dramatically.
CryptoPunk
Currently one of the most valuable blue chip NFT projects. It was created by Larva Labs. Crypto Punk holders flex their NFT as their profile picture on Twitter.
CT
Crypto Twitter, the crypto-community on Twitter.
Cypherpunks
Movement in the 1980s, advocating for the use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. The movement contributed and shaped blockchain tech as we know today.
D
DAO
Stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. When a NFT project is structured like a DAO, it grants all the NFT holders voting rights, control over future actions and the NFT’s project direction and vision. Many NFT projects are also organized as DAO to be a community-driven project.
Dapp
Mobile or web based decentralized application that interacts on a blockchain via smart contracts. E.g: Dapp is the frontend and the smart contract is the backend.
DCA
Acronym for Dollar Cost Averaging. An investment strategy to reduce the impact of crypto market volatility. E.g: buying into a crypto asset on a regular monthly basis rather than a big one time purchase.
Ded
Abbreviation for dead like "I sold my Punk for 90 ETH. I am ded."
DeFi
Short for Decentralized Finance. Blockchain alternative for traditional finance, where intermediaries like banks or brokerages are replaced by smart contracts to offer financial services like trading, lending, earning interest, insure, etc.
Degen
Short for degenerate, a gambler who buys into unaudited or unknown NFT or DeFi projects, without proper research hoping to chase high profits.
Delist
No longer offer an NFT for sale on a secondary market like Opensea. NFT Marketplaces can delist an NFT that infringes their rules. Or NFT owners can choose to delist their NFTs (has long as they have sufficient funds for the gas fees) due to price surges to avoid their NFT being bought or sold for a higher price.
Derivative
Projects derived from the original project that reinforces the value and importance of the original NFT. E.g: "alternative" punks.
Dev
A skilled professional who can build NFT projects using smart contracts and blockchain technology.
Dex
Decentralised Exchange that allows for peer-to-peer trustless transactions that don’t rely on a centralized authority to take place. E.g: Uniswap, PancakeSwap, dYdX, Curve Finance, SushiSwap, 1inch, etc.
Diamond Hands
Someone who believes and holds a cryptocurrency or NFT regardless of the crypto or NFT market fluctuations.
Discord
Chat app heavily used by crypto and NFT communities for knowledge sharing and shilling.
DLT
Acronym for Distributed Ledger Technology. It’s a protocol that allows the secure functioning of a decentralized database, through cryptography. This technological infrastructure scraps the need for a central authority to keep in check manipulation or exploitation of the network.
Dog coin
It’s a memecoin based on the Japanese dog breed, Shiba Inu, first popularised by Dogecoin. Other notable coins are Shiba Inu or Floki Inu. These dog coins are frequently subjected to pump and dumps and are extremely volatile. The original dog coin DOGE was created as a joke in 2013. Elon Musk is one of Dogecoin's most famous supporters.
Doxxed/Doxed
When the identity of an NFT team member, dev or creator is public, known or verifiable. In the NFT market, when a NFT team is doxed it’s a usually sign of confidence and transparency for NFT collectors to ensure they will not be scammed for an anonymous creator.
Drop
The release of an NFT (single or collection) into the NFT market.
DYOR
Acronym for Do Your Own Research. A common expression used in the crypto or NFT community to disclaim responsibility for the financial/strategy advice someone is providing the community and to avoid being called out by others in theNFT or crypto community.
E
EIP-1559 EIP
Referring to Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, commonly known as the London Fork. It’s an upgrade to the Ethereum protocol code to improve the blockchain security and scalability. The major change consists in shifting from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism (PoW) to a low energy and lower gas fees proof-of-stake system (PoS).
ERC-1155
Stands for Ethereum Request for Comment-1155. A multi-token standard that can represent any number of fungible (ERC-20) and non-fungible tokens (ERC-721).
ERC-20
Ethereum Request for Comment-20 is a standard defining a fungible token like a cryptocurrency.
ERC-721
Ethereum Request for Comment-721 is a standard defining a non-fungible token (NFT).
ETH
Aka Ether, the currency symbol for the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain.
ETH2.0
Also known as the London Fork or EIP-1559 EIP. It’s an upgrade to the Ethereum network to improve the network’s security and scalability. The most dramatic change is the shift from the proof-of-work consensus mechanism (PoW) to proof-of-stake system (PoS).
Ether
Or ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum
Network protocol that allows users to create and run smart contracts over a decentralized network.
F
FCFS
Acronym for First Come First Served. Commonly used strategy in a NFT collection drop when the demand surpasses the supply.
Few
Short for "few understand". Similar to the irony behind the "probably nothing" expression. Like X person bought into a popular NFT, because it understands its long term value.
Fiat Currencies or Money
National government-issued currencies like the US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR) or Great British Pound (GBP) that are not backed by a commodity like silver or gold. FIAT means an authoritative or arbitrary order like a government decree.
Flex
Slang for showing off. In the crypto community, it’s a Lamborghini or a gold Rolex. In the NFT world, it’s a CryptoPunk or BAYC PFP on Twitter.
Flip
Quickly buying and selling crypto or NFTs to make a profit.
Flippening
Colloquial expression coined in 2017 for when Ethereum’s market capitalisation surpasses Bitcoin’s.
Floor Price
It means the lowest asking price for an NFT collection or subset of a collection on a secondary market like OpenSea.
Floor Sweep
Refers when a NFT collector or investor buys all the lowest listed NFTs on a secondary NFT marketplace.
FOMO
Acronym for Fear Of Missing Out. Buying a crypto or NFT out of fear of missing out on the next big thing.
FOMO-in
Buying a crypto or NFT regardless if it's at the top of the market for FOMO.
Fractionalize
Turning one NFT like a Crypto Punk into X number of fractions ERC-20 tokens that prove ownership of that Punk. This allows for i) collective ownership of an NFT, ii) making an expensive NFT affordable for the common NFT collector and iii) adds more liquidity to a very illiquid NFT market.
FR
Abbreviation for For Real?
Fren
Means Friend and what people in the NFT community call each other in an endearing and positive way.
Foundation
An exclusive, by invitation only, NFT marketplace that specializes in NFT art.
Fungible
Means X can be traded for another X and still hold the same value. E.g: My dollars = your dollars. My 1 ether = your 1 ether. My casino chip = your casino chip. On Ethereum, fungible tokens are defined by the ERC-20 standard.
FUD
Acronym for Fear Uncertainty Doubt. It can be a) when someone spreads negative and sometimes false news to discredit a certain crypto or NFT project. Or b) the overall negative feeling regarding the future of the NFT/Crypto project or market, especially when going through a bear market.
Fudder
Someone who has FUD or engages in FUD about a NFT project.
Fudding your own bags
When an NFT collector or crypto investor speaks negatively about an NFT or crypto project he/she has invested in or has a stake in. Usually negative comments about the team or vision.
G
G
Means Gangster. A term of endearment used amongst the NFT Community.
Gas/Gas fees/Gas prices
The fee charged to complete a transaction in a blockchain. These gas prices vary tremendously between the blockchains, the consensus mechanism used to validate transactions or the number of transactions being made at a specific time.
Gas war
When a lot of NFT collectors (or bots) are trying to mint an NFT at once and therefore resulting in gas price surge.
Generative art
Artwork that is algorithmically created by code with unique traits and rarity.
Genesis drop
It refers to the first NFT drop a creator makes on an NFT auction platform.
GG
Interjection for Good Game.
GM
Interjection for Good Morning.
GMI
Acronym for Going to Make It. Opposite of NGMI (NOT Going to Make It).
GOAT
Acronym for Greatest Of All Time.
GTD
Acronym for Going To Dust. When a token or NFT project turns out to be a bad investment.
GTFO
Get The F*ck Out, as in “gtfo with that fud dude” if someone is talking bull.
GWEI
One billionth of an Ether (ETH) also known as a Shannon / Nanoether / Nano — unit of account used to price Ethereum gas transactions.
H
HEN (Hic Et Nunc)
A popular NFT art marketplace for art built on the Tezos blockchain. Big NFT marketplace for inexpensive NFTs but not a very user-friendly UI/website.
HODL
Misspelling of HOLD coined in an old Reddit post. Synonym with “Hold On for Dear Life” meaning hold your coin or NFT until the end, whether that they’ll moon or dust.
Hot wallet
Wallets connected to the Internet, less secure than cold wallet because they’re more susceptible to hacks.
Hype
Term used to show excitement or anticipation about an upcoming crypto project or NFT.
I
ICO
Acronym for Initial Coin Offering. It’s the crypto equivalent to a stocks’ IPO (Initial Public Offering) but with far less scrutiny or regulation (leading to a lot of scams). ICO’s are a popular way for crypto projects to raise funds.
IDO
Acronym for Initial Dex Offering. To put it simply it means to launch NFTs or tokens via a decentralized liquidity exchange. It’s a common fundraising method used by upcoming crypto or NFT projects. Many consider IDOs a far better fundraising alternative to ICOs.
IDK
Acronym for I Don’t Know.
IDEK
Acronym for I Don’t Even Know.
Imma
Short for I’m going to be.
IRL
Acronym for In Real Life. Refers to the physical world outside of the online/virtual world of crypto, NFTs, gaming or social media.
IPFS
Acronym for Interplanetary File System. A peer-to-peer file storage system using hashes to recall and preserve the integrity of the file, commonly used to store NFTs outside of the blockchain.
It’s Money Laundering
Someone can use this expression to suggest that NFT prices aren’t real and that actually people are using NFTs to launder money, without providing much proof or explanation on how it works.
IYKYK
Stands for If You Know, You Know This. Similar to the expression "few", used when someone buys into a popular crypto or NFT project, slightly because of FOMO but also because it believes in its long term value.
J
JPEG/JPG
File format typically used to encode NFT art. Some people also use Jpeg to mock people buying NFTs as in “All that money for a jpeg”.
K
KMS
Short for Kill MySelf.
L
Larva Labs/ LL
NFT Creators behind the popular NFT projects like Cryptopunks,Meebits or Autoglyphs.
Laser eyes
Bitcoin meme signalling support for BTC and/or it will break the $100k per coin valuation.
LFG
Acronym for Let’s F*cking Go! A common rallying call used in the crypto or NFT community to lead people into buying an NFT or a crypto.
Liquidity
Term that means that a token or NFT has a high volume activity in the crypto/NFT market. It’s easily sold and resold. But usually the NFT market it’s illiquid when compared to the general crypto market, due to the non-fungibility nature of an NFT (there are less buyers for every NFTs out there).
LMFAO
Stands for Laughing My F*cking Ass Off.
Looks Rare
Ironic expression commonly used in the NFT Community. Rarity is a driver of an NFT’s value.
London Hard Fork
Known as EIP-1559, was an Ethereum code upgrade proposal designed to improve the blockchain security and scalability. It’s major change is to shift from PoW to PoS consensus mechanism.
Long run
Means someone is committed to the NFT market or an NFT project in the long term.
M
Maximalist
Typically refers to Bitcoin Maximalists. People who only believe that Bitcoin is the most secure and resilient blockchain. For Maximalists, all other cryptocurrencies are shitcoins therefore a waste of time, development and money.
McDonald's
Common and ironic expression amongst the crypto community. It means that Mcdonald’s is always a valid backup plan or career in the case all cryptocurrencies crash and disappear.
Meatspace
Synonymous with IRL - In Real Life.
Memecoin
Cryptocurrency like Dogecoin that is based on an internet joke or meme.
Metamask
Popular crypto hot wallet platform to store crypto and NFTs.
Metaverse
Term was coined by writer Neal Stephenson in the 1992 dystopian novel “Snow Crash”. It’s an immersive and digital place where people interact via their avatars. Big tech players like Meta (formerly known as Facebook) and other independent players have been designing their own version of a metaverse. NFTs can have utility for users like buying, trading, winning, accessing, experiencing or interacting with things inside a metaverse.
Mfer
Short for “mother fker”.
Miners
Single person or company that mines one or more cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Both blockchains need computing power for their Proof of Work consensus mechanism. Miners provide the computing power and receive coins/tokens in return as payment.
Mining
Mining is the process by which new tokens enter in circulation as for example in the Bitcoin blockchain. Also, mining ensures the validity of new transactions happening in a given blockchain that uses the PoW consensus mechanism. Therefore, the ones who mine are rewarded by ensuring the validity of a blockchain.
Mint/Minting
Mint an NFT is the act of publishing your unique instance to a specific blockchain like Ethereum or Tezos blockchain. In simpler terms, a creator is adding a one-of-kind token (NFT) into circulation in a specific blockchain.
Once the NFT is minted - aka created - NFT collectors can i) direct mint, therefore purchase the NFT by paying the specified amount directly into the project’s wallet. Or ii) buy it via an intermediary like an NFT marketplace (e.g: OpenSea, Foundation, Rarible, etc.). Later, the NFT owner can choose to resell the NFT, most NFT creators set up a royalty for every time their NFT is resold.
Minting interval
How often an NFT creator can mint or create tokens.
MOAR
A misspelling that means “more”.
Moon/Mooning
When a coin (e.g. ETH), or token, like an NFT goes exponential in price and the price graph sees a vertical climb. Crypto or NFT users then use the expression that “X token is going to the moon!”.
Moon boys
Slang for crypto or NFT holders who are looking to pump the price dramatically - taking a token to the moon - for short term gains and with no real long term vision or commitment.
N
Never trust, always verify
Treat everyone or every project like something potentially malicious.
New coiner
Crypto slang for someone new to the cryptocurrency space. Usually newcomers can be more susceptible to FUD or scammers.
NFA
Acronym for Not Financial Advice.
NFT
Acronym for Non-Fungible Token. The type of token that can be created, bought, sold, resold and viewed in different dapps. The ERC-721 smart contract standard (Ethereum blockchain) is the most popular amongst NFTs.
NFT Marketplace / NFT Auction platform
Platforms where people can sell and buy NFTs, either via an auction or pay the seller’s price. The largest NFT marketplace is OpenSea. But there are other popular NFT marketplace examples like Foundation, SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Rarible, Hic et Nunc (HeN), etc.
NFT Whale
A NFT collector or investor who buys a large amount of NFTs.
NGMI
Acronym for Not Going to Make It. For example, something said to someone who has paper hands.
NMP
Acronym for Not My Problem.
Nocoiner
It can be someone who simply doesn’t hold cryptocurrencies, mistrust the crypto market or believes that crypto is either a scam or a ponzi scheme.
Noob/N00b/Newbie
Slang for someone new or not experienced in cryptocurrency or NFTs. These people are more susceptible to scams, drawn into pump and dumps or getting rekt on bad coins.
Normie/Normy
Similar expression for a nocoiner.
NSFW
Acronym for Not Suitable For Work. Referring to online content inappropriate for viewing in public or at work. It began as mostly a tag for sexual content, nudity, or violence, but it has envolved to range a number of other topics that might be delicate or trigger viewers.
Nuclear NFTs
An NFT or collectible with more than 1,000 owners. For the NFT to be sold or resold, every co-owners must give their permission beforehand. Otherwise, the NFT transaction can’t be made.
O
OG
Acronym for Original Gangster and it popularized by 90s Hip Hop culture. It means the first, the original or the person who has been around since the very start and earned respect in the community. In NFT terms, Cryptopunks are the OG of NFTs.
On-chain vs Off-chain
An on-chain NFT is when the artwork (like a jpeg, video or music file) is stored directly into the blockchain making it more secure and less susceptible to being stolen. But, note that most blockchains can only store small amounts of data.
Off-chain NFTs means that the high quality image, music or video file is not stored in the blockchain. But, the NFT data is stored on an external party like a) a centralized server, highly vulnerable to the server being shut down/exploited. Or b) an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), also an external party but more secure way of finding data because it utilizes a distributed, decentralized system.
OpenSea
By far the largest NFT marketplace in the world, currently.
P
Paper Hands
A crypto or NFT holder who is permeable to negative market sentiment or FUD. And does not hold their crypto or NFT for long. Expression used to describe someone who sells as soon as NFTs enter a bear market.
PFP
Stands for Picture For Profile. Twitter users who hold popular NFTs like Crypto Punk or BAYC use their punk or monkey avatar as their profile picture.
POAP NFT
Stands for Proof of Attendance Protocol. These types of NFTs are awarded to attendees of events, regardless if they’re physical or virtual, as proof you attended.
PoS
Stands for Proof of Stake. A consensus mechanism used by blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum to achieve agreement, trust and security in every transaction and keep the integrity of the blockchain intact. PoS mechanisms are considered more environmentally friendly than PoW as they’re lower energy and in emissions.
PoW
Stands for Proof of Work. A consensus mechanism used by blockchains like Bitcoin to achieve agreement, trust and security and keep the transactional integrity of the blockchain intact. PoW mechanism requires a lot of computational power, therefore uses more energy resources and higher CO2 emissions than the PoS mechanism.
Private Key
It can be similar to a password. It’s a secret number that allows users to access their cold or hot wallet funds, prove ownership of a certain address and sign transactions on the blockchain.
It’s not advisable to share a private key with anyone as it makes a person vulnerable to thefts. In case someone loses or forgets its private key, it can use a recovery phrase to restore access to a crypto or NFT wallet.
Pre-mine
A term used in crypto to refer to the act of creating a set amount of tokens before their public launch. It can also be known as a Genesis Sale and is usually associated with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in order to compensate founders, developers or early investors.
Probably nothing
It’s an ironic expression used by NFT enthusiasts to refer to an important or soon to be big news, project or person in the NFT space. Meaning when someone says probably nothing it actually means that it is probably something.
Protocol Coin
Stands for the native coin of a blockchain. As in Ether for the Ethereum blockchain or BTC on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Pump & Dump
The term pump means when a person or a group of people buy or convince others to buy large quantities of a crypto or an NFT with the single goal to drive the price to a peak. When the price peaks, these people sell their position high and for a hefty profit, therefore dumping the price and leaving other slower investors or newbies rekt or at a loss.
R
Rarity
Rarity in NFT terms refers to how rare an NFT is. The rarity can be defined by the number of traits, scarcity or properties of an NFT.
Reaching
Slang for an exaggeration over something to make it sound worse than what it actually is or to take a point/scenario too far.
Recovery phrase
A 12-word phrase that acts like backup for your crypto private keys. A person can recover all of the crypto wallet accounts’ private keys from the recovery phrase. Is not advisable to share the recovery phrase with anyone.
Rekt
Slang for wrecked. When a crypto or NFT project goes wrong or down in value sharply. Or more broadly, when something goes wrong like a person is price out by the gas surge or an NFT floor price goes down.
Right Click Save As
An Ironic expression used by people who don’t understand the value or potential unlocked by NFTs. Person who makes fun that she/he can easily get a digital artwork by Right Click Save As and mock the NFT space and its hype.
Roadmap
The strategy outlined by an NFT project. A way to explain to the NFT community or a potential NFT investor, the different stages, value and the long term vision of the NFT project.
Royalties
NFT creators can set up their NFT so each time their NFT is resold, the creator gets paid a percentage of the sale price.
RN
Acronym for Right Now.
Rug Pull/Rugged
Slang for a scam when the founders, team or developers suddenly leave a crypto project and run away with all the investors’ funds leaving them with nothing.
S
Satoshi Nakamoto
The anonymous creator of the Bitcoin whitepaper and whose identity has never been verified.
Scammer
Someone actively trying to steal other people’s crypto or NFTs.
Secondary
Secondary refers to secondary NFT marketplaces, where NFT collectors or investors can resell NFTs after they’ve been minted. The price of an NFT or NFT collection is determined by those who list them.
Seed phrase
Another name for recovery phrase is the 12-word phrase that allows you to recover all of the crypto wallet accounts’ private keys and regain control of the wallet. Is not advisable to share the seed phrase with anyone.
Seems legit
When an NFT project or a person in the NFT community looks promising and the real deal, meaning seems legitimate. Depending on the context can also be used ironically.
Seems rare
An ironic expression or dismissive comment used by the NFT community. For example, It can be used sarcastically when someone asks for feedback on an NFT they own or created.
Ser
Slang for sir and a polite way of addressing others in an NFT community.
Shill
Expression when someone wants to promote or get exposure to an NFT they own or created.
Shill Thread
It’s a common Twitter strategy to gain traction by encouraging NFT creators to share a link to their NFT project in the hopes of getting bought or noticed by the NFT Community and potential buyers.
Simp/Simping
A NFT holder or creator who comes off as trying to hard impress an NFT whale or investor.
Sh*tposter
A person who mostly posts meme content on Twitter for fun.
SLP
Acronym for Smooth Love Potion. It’s a token players can earn as a reward in the NFT game Axie Infinity.
Smart Contract
A self-executing contract where the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller are directly written into the code and without third party or human intervention. Ethereum is a blockchain that can execute smart contracts, on the contrary to Bitcoin which does not have that capability.
SMFH
Acronym for Shaking My F*cking Head. Common reply to a person showing unbelievable idiocy.
Sock Puppet
Scam account used to lure noob investors into fake investment services.
Snag
It means to buy an NFT quickly and for a very low price. Can also be known as sniping.
Sotheby’s
Very famous auction house that has recently auctioned Beeple’s NFTs or Bored Ape Yacht Club and Crypto Punks’ NFT collections.
Stake
Crypto term for locking up a certain amount of crypto tokens for a set period of time to earn interest. In the NFT space, there are popping up a lot of projects or services that allow NFT holders to earn interest for holding a certain NFT.
Szn
Stands for season referring to crypto or NFT market cycles.
T
TINA
Acronym for There Is No Alternative. Example: someone asks “why are you investing in BTC?”, to which the reply is “TINA”.
TINA RIF
Acronym for There Is No Alternative Resistance Is Futile.
This is the way
A commendation for positive behavior by someone in the NFT Community.
Tokenomics
Referring to the economics of cryptocurrencies, DeFi or NFT projects.
V
Valhalla
Ironic use of the Viking “heaven”. Meaning someone’s NFT collection is either going to be a profitable and blue chip project, therefore they can ascend to Valhalla or is going to tank and that person will have to work at a Mcdonald’s.
Vibe
Term used to express a positive emotional state.
Volatile/Volatility
Term used to describe rapid market fluctuations and crypto or NFT prices go up and down quickly in a short period.
W
WAGMI
Acronym for We Are Going to Make It. Rally cry to build momentum for a crypto or NFT project and lead even more people into buying, shilling or supporting a specific project.
Wallet
There can be a hot or cold wallet, but both are a place where someone can store their cryptocurrency and tokens. Hot wallets are always connected to the Internet like MetaMask, Trust wallet or Phantom. On the contrary cold wallets are hardware wallets to store crypto or NFTs offline like Nano Ledger.
Weak Hands
Synonymous with Paper Hands. Someone who immediately sells their crypto or NFT because of a bear market, FUD or any other negative sentiment.
Web 1.0
Refers to the beginning of the Web. A period from around 1990 to 2005, also known as the read-only web.
Web 2.0
Refers to an iteration of Web 1.0. From 2005 to the present moment, where social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, Twitter, etc reshaped the web, therefore becoming the read-write web.
Web 3.0
A term coined by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood and it’s an idea of what the future of the web could look like. Most peoples’ data, info or content would no longer be centralized in Web 2.0 giants - the Big Tech - but decentralized, mostly thanks to blockchain technology. Web 3.0 could be known as read-write-trust web.
Wen
As in When.
Wen Moon
Popular expression from crypto Twitter not so much in the NFT space. Refers to the still distant future when a token will moon.
Whitepaper
Document released by a crypto or NFT project where it lays the technical information behind the concept, vision, roadmap and plans to grow a certain project.
Whale
Someone who owns a large position on a specific or many cryptos or NFTs.
Y
Yodo
Acronym for You Only Die Once. The opposite of Yolo.
Yolo
Acronym for You Only Live Once. A person can use this when they just realized they bought a shitcoin or crap NFT and they’re getting rekt.
Original post
Mia Gradelski
3 years ago
Six Things Best-With-Money People Do Follow
I shouldn't generalize, yet this is true.
Spending is simpler than earning.
Prove me wrong, but with home debt at $145k in 2020 and individual debt at $67k, people don't have their priorities straight.
Where does this loan originate?
Under-50 Americans owed $7.86 trillion in Q4 20T. That's more than the US's 3-trillion-dollar deficit.
Here’s a breakdown:
🏡 Mortgages/Home Equity Loans = $5.28 trillion (67%)
🎓 Student Loans = $1.20 trillion (15%)
🚗 Auto Loans = $0.80 trillion (10%)
💳 Credit Cards = $0.37 trillion (5%)
🏥 Other/Medical = $0.20 trillion (3%)
Images.google.com
At least the Fed and government can explain themselves with their debt balance which includes:
-Providing stimulus packages 2x for Covid relief
-Stabilizing the economy
-Reducing inflation and unemployment
-Providing for the military, education and farmers
No American should have this much debt.
Don’t get me wrong. Debt isn’t all the same. Yes, it’s a negative number but it carries different purposes which may not be all bad.
Good debt: Use those funds in hopes of them appreciating as an investment in the future
-Student loans
-Business loan
-Mortgage, home equity loan
-Experiences
Paying cash for a home is wasteful. Just if the home is exceptionally uncommon, only 1 in a million on the market, and has an incredible bargain with numerous bidders seeking higher prices should you do so.
To impress the vendor, pay cash so they can sell it quickly. Most people can't afford most properties outright. Only 15% of U.S. homebuyers can afford their home. Zillow reports that only 37% of homes are mortgage-free.
People have clearly overreached.
Ignore appearances.
5% down can buy a 10-bedroom mansion.
Not paying in cash isn't necessarily a negative thing given property prices have increased by 30% since 2008, and throughout the epidemic, we've seen work-from-homers resort to the midwest, avoiding pricey coastal cities like NYC and San Francisco.
By no means do I think NYC is dead, nothing will replace this beautiful city that never sleeps, and now is the perfect time to rent or buy when everything is below average value for people who always wanted to come but never could. Once social distance ends, cities will recover. 24/7 sardine-packed subways prove New York isn't designed for isolation.
When buying a home, pay 20% cash and the balance with a mortgage. A mortgage must be incorporated into other costs such as maintenance, brokerage fees, property taxes, etc. If you're stuck on why a home isn't right for you, read here. A mortgage must be paid until the term date. Whether its a 10 year or 30 year fixed mortgage, depending on interest rates, especially now as the 10-year yield is inching towards 1.25%, it's better to refinance in a lower interest rate environment and pay off your debt as well since the Fed will be inching interest rates up following the 10-year eventually to stabilize the economy, but I believe that won't be until after Covid and when businesses like luxury, air travel, and tourism will get bashed.
Bad debt: I guess the contrary must be true. There is no way to profit from the loan in the future, therefore it is just money down the drain.
-Luxury goods
-Credit card debt
-Fancy junk
-Vacations, weddings, parties, etc.
Credit cards and school loans are the two largest risks to the financial security of those under 50 since banks love to compound interest to affect your credit score and make it tougher to take out more loans, not that you should with that much debt anyhow. With a low credit score and heavy debt, banks take advantage of you because you need aid to pay more for their services. Paying back debt is the challenge for most.
Choose Not Chosen
As a financial literacy advocate and blogger, I prefer not to brag, but I will now. I know what to buy and what to avoid. My parents educated me to live a frugal, minimalist stealth wealth lifestyle by choice, not because we had to.
That's the lesson.
The poorest person who shows off with bling is trying to seem rich.
Rich people know garbage is a bad investment. Investing in education is one of the best long-term investments. With information, you can do anything.
Good with money shun some items out of respect and appreciation for what they have.
Less is more.
Instead of copying the Joneses, use what you have. They may look cheerful and stylish in their 20k ft home, yet they may be as broke as OJ Simpson in his 20-bedroom mansion.
Let's look at what appears good to follow and maintain your wealth.
#1: Quality comes before quantity
Being frugal doesn't entail being cheap and cruel. Rich individuals care about relationships and treating others correctly, not impressing them. You don't have to be rich to be good with money, although most are since they don't live the fantasy lifestyle.
Underspending is appreciating what you have.
Many people believe organic food is the same as washing chemical-laden produce. Hopefully. Organic, vegan, fresh vegetables from upstate may be more expensive in the short term, but they will help you live longer and save you money in the long run.
Consider. You'll save thousands a month eating McDonalds 3x a day instead of fresh seafood, veggies, and organic fruit, but your life will be shortened. If you want to save money and die early, go ahead, but I assume we all want to break the world record for longest person living and would rather spend less. Plus, elderly people get tax breaks, medicare, pensions, 401ks, etc. You're living for free, therefore eating fast food forever is a terrible decision.
With a few longer years, you may make hundreds or millions more in the stock market, spend more time with family, and just live.
Folks, health is wealth.
Consider the future benefit, not simply the cash sign. Cheapness is useless.
Same with stuff. Don't stock your closet with fast-fashion you can't wear for years. Buying inexpensive goods that will fail tomorrow is stupid.
Investing isn't only in stocks. You're living. Consume less.
#2: If you cannot afford it twice, you cannot afford it once
I learned this from my dad in 6th grade. I've been lucky to travel, experience things, go to a great university, and conduct many experiments that others without a stable, decent lifestyle can afford.
I didn't live this way because of my parents' paycheck or financial knowledge.
Saving and choosing caused it.
I always bring cash when I shop. I ditch Apple Pay and credit cards since I can spend all I want on even if my account bounces.
Banks are nasty. When you lose it, they profit.
Cash hinders banks' profits. Carrying a big, hefty wallet with cash is lame and annoying, but it's the best method to only spend what you need. Not for vacation, but for tiny daily expenses.
Physical currency lets you know how much you have for lunch or a taxi.
It's physical, thus losing it prevents debt.
If you can't afford it, it will harm more than help.
#3: You really can purchase happiness with money.
If used correctly, yes.
Happiness and satisfaction differ.
It won't bring you fulfillment because you must work hard on your own to help others, but you can travel and meet individuals you wouldn't otherwise meet.
You can meet your future co-worker or strike a deal while waiting an hour in first class for takeoff, or you can meet renowned people at a networking brunch.
Seen a pattern here?
Your time and money are best spent on connections. Not automobiles or firearms. That’s just stuff. It doesn’t make you a better person.
Be different if you've earned less. Instead of trying to win the lotto or become an NFL star for your first big salary, network online for free.
Be resourceful. Sign up for LinkedIn, post regularly, and leave unengaged posts up because that shows power.
Consistency is beneficial.
I did that for a few months and met amazing people who helped me get jobs. Money doesn't create jobs, it creates opportunities.
Resist social media and scammers that peddle false hopes.
Choose wisely.
#4: Avoid gushing over titles and purchasing trash.
As Insider’s Hillary Hoffower reports, “Showing off wealth is no longer the way to signify having wealth. In the US particularly, the top 1% have been spending less on material goods since 2007.”
I checked my closet. No brand comes to mind. I've never worn a brand's logo and rotate 6 white shirts daily. I have my priorities and don't waste money or effort on clothing that won't fit me in a year.
Unless it's your full-time work, clothing shouldn't be part of our mornings.
Lifestyle of stealth wealth. You're so fulfilled that seeming homeless won't hurt your self-esteem.
That's self-assurance.
Extroverts aren't required.
That's irrelevant.
Showing off won't win you friends.
They'll like your personality.
#5: Time is the most valuable commodity.
Being rich doesn't entail working 24/7 M-F.
They work when they are ready to work.
Waking up at 5 a.m. won't make you a millionaire, but it will inculcate diligence and tenacity in you.
You have a busy day yet want to exercise. You can skip the workout or wake up at 4am instead of 6am to do it.
Emotion-driven lazy bums stay in bed.
Those that are accountable keep their promises because they know breaking one will destroy their week.
Since 7th grade, I've worked out at 5am for myself, not to impress others. It gives me greater energy to contribute to others, especially on weekends and holidays.
It's a habit that I have in my life.
Find something that you take seriously and makes you a better person.
As someone who is close to becoming a millionaire and has encountered them throughout my life, I can share with you a few important differences that have shaped who we are as a society based on the weekends:
-Read
-Sleep
-Best time to work with no distractions
-Eat together
-Take walks and be in nature
-Gratitude
-Major family time
-Plan out weeks
-Go grocery shopping because health = wealth
#6. Perspective is Important
Timing the markets will slow down your career. Professors preach scarcity, not abundance. Why should school teach success? They give us bad advice.
If you trust in abundance and luck by attempting and experimenting, growth will come effortlessly. Passion isn't a term that just appears. Mistakes and fresh people help. You can get money. If you don't think it's worth it, you won't.
You don’t have to be wealthy to be good at money, but most are for these reasons. Rich is a mindset, wealth is power. Prioritize your resources. Invest in yourself, knowing the toughest part is starting.
Thanks for reading!