The Science of Intelligent Achievement

<p>Foreword xix</p>
<p>Preface: A Fool s Guide to Fake Success xxiii</p>
<p>Acknowledgments xxix</p>
<p>About the Author xxxi</p>
<p>Introduction:What is Intelligent Achievement? xxxiii</p>
<p>Part1 SELECTIVE FOCUS 1</p>
<p>1 WhyMental Energy is YourMost</p>
<p>Valuable Asset 3</p>
<p>The Fight for Your Mental Energy 4</p>
<p>Protecting Your Mental Energy 6</p>
<p>Surround YourselfWith Mental Energizers 7</p>
<p>2 How Busyness Leads to Burnout and</p>
<p>Manipulation 9</p>
<p>The Busy Life Versus the Productive Life 10</p>
<p>Busy People Become Average 11</p>
<p>Busy People Are Followers, Not Leaders 13</p>
<p>Why Busy People are Easily Manipulated 13</p>
<p>3 The Infection Known as Other People s</p>
<p>Opinions 16</p>
<p>You KnowWhat s Best For You 17</p>
<p>You Are BiologicallyWired to Copy Others 19</p>
<p>Negative Opinions Can Rot Your Brain 20</p>
<p>4 How Small–Minded People Block Big Goals 26</p>
<p>The Power of Suggestion 27</p>
<p>Your Brain s Herd Mentality 28</p>
<p>The Liberating Power of Defiance 29</p>
<p>5 Scientific Proof That 50% of Your</p>
<p>Friendships are Fake 31</p>
<p>Why Fake Friendships are Irrational 33</p>
<p>Signs You Are Stuck in a Fake Friendship 34</p>
<p>6 How to DealWith Negative People</p>
<p>Without Becoming Negative 38</p>
<p>The Fog Technique Versus the Investment</p>
<p>Technique 40</p>
<p>Negativity Versus the Void 42</p>
<p>Case Study #1: Rome Scriva 43</p>
<p>7 Why You Need to Go on a Relationship Fast 46</p>
<p>You Have to Say Goodbye First 47</p>
<p>What YouWill Learn During a Relationship Fast 48</p>
<p>Why Your Entire Life is Your Fault 50</p>
<p>8 Automaticity, Scaling, and the Rise ofMental Loops 52</p>
<p>Self–Regulation Versus Automaticity 54</p>
<p>How Mental LoopsWill Improve Your Life 55</p>
<p>9 Tracking Emotions and Predicting Feelings 59</p>
<p>When are Your Energy Levels and Emotions</p>
<p>Peaking? 60</p>
<p>Emotional Predictions Protect Against</p>
<p>Emotional Decisions 62</p>
<p>10 How to Label and Close Your Brain s</p>
<p>Open Loops 64</p>
<p>How the Zeigarnik Effect Affects Your</p>
<p>Energy and Emotions 65</p>
<p>How to Start Closing Off Your Brain s Open</p>
<p>Loops 66</p>
<p>11 Keep it and Clarify it, or Delete it From</p>
<p>Your Life Completely 69</p>
<p>Actively Delete Your Open Loops, Don t Just</p>
<p>Passively Let Go 70</p>
<p>How to Make Your Open Loops Actionable 71</p>
<p>Case Study #2: Yuri Klyachkin, PhD 73</p>
<p>Part2 CREATIVE OWNERSHIP 77</p>
<p>12 WhereMillennials and Baby Boomers Meet 79</p>
<p>How Experience and Equity Combine</p>
<p>to Create True Value 82</p>
<p>ExperiencesThat Create Equity andWealth 83</p>
<p>13 Entre–Employee and Temp–Employee</p>
<p>are the Only Career Options Left 86</p>
<p>What Is an Entre–Employee? 89</p>
<p>Why EmployersWant to Hire Entrepreneurs 90</p>
<p>WhyThe Temp–Employee Class is Growing</p>
<p>Exponentially 91</p>
<p>Finding Creative Ownership in</p>
<p>Entre–Employment 93</p>
<p>14 ContentMarketing Is Creative Ownership 97</p>
<p>What is Content Marketing? 99</p>
<p>15 LeveragingWalt Disney s Secret System of Creativity 101</p>
<p>What You ShouldWrite (or, Overcoming Writer s Block) 104</p>
<p>Video Blogs are Not Just for theWriting Impaired 105</p>
<p>16 Finding Your Voice and Letting the Right Audience Pick You 108</p>
<p>What s the Message of Your Content? 110</p>
<p>Finding Your Voice in a NoisyWorld 111</p>
<p>17 Why a Good StoryWillMake YouMore MoneyThan a Great Product 115</p>
<p>How Storytelling Creates Influence and Ownership 116</p>
<p>The Hero s Story 118</p>
<p>Add Credibility and Practicality to Your Story 120</p>
<p>Choosing the RightWords 121</p>
<p>18 TheMagic of Turning YourMessage into aMagnet 125</p>
<p>Lead Magnets Create Two–Way Value 126</p>
<p>How to Create an EBook Lead Magnet 128</p>
<p>19 How to Build up Your Virtual Rolodex 132</p>
<p>Squeeze and Splash Your Followers 133</p>
<p>What is a CTA Feature Box? 134</p>
<p>Case Study #3: Tim Bushnell, PhD 136</p>
<p>20 Developing and Automating a Message–Driven Content 139</p>
<p>How to Leverage an Email Subscription List 141</p>
<p>Why Email MarketingWill Always be Valuable 142</p>
<p>Email Marketing and the Last Gatekeepers 144</p>
<p>21 Turning YourMessage into aMinimum Viable Product 147</p>
<p>What is a Minimum Viable Product? 148</p>
<p>Remember the M in MVP 150</p>
<p>Growing an MVP into a Flagship Product 152</p>
<p>22 What Happens When Your MVPMeets YourMarket? 154</p>
<p>The Prelaunch Phase of a Product Launch 155</p>
<p>The Launch Phase of a Product Launch 157</p>
<p>How to Fulfill an Online Product 159</p>
<p>23 The Addiction of Vanity Analytics and How to Really Use SocialMedia 162</p>
<p>Social Media is a Means of Brand Awareness and Brand Protection Only 164</p>
<p>The Big Five Social Media Platforms and How to Use Them 165</p>
<p>24 The Laws of Convergence, Replication, and Accelerated Returns 170</p>
<p>What is the Law of Convergence? 171</p>
<p>What is the Law of Replication? 172</p>
<p>Case Study #4: Franco Valentino 174</p>
<p>Part3 PRAGMATIC GROWTH 177</p>
<p>25 Turning Pain into Productivity Through Pragmatism 179</p>
<p>Transform PainThrough Pragmatic Thinking 180</p>
<p>How to Use Your Negativity Bias to Your Advantage 182</p>
<p>26 One Non–Negotiable isWorth a Thousand To–Dos 186</p>
<p>To–Do Lists are Time–Wasters 187</p>
<p>How to Leverage the Power of No 189</p>
<p>Going Beyond No to Never Again and Non–Negotiable 191</p>
<p>27 The Real Theory of Relativity and the Law of Relaxed Productivity 194</p>
<p>YourWorld is Relative to Your Mood, Focus and Motivation 195</p>
<p>The Three Non–Relative Relativity Exceptions in Life 196</p>
<p>The Law of Relaxed Productivity and How to Follow it 197</p>
<p>28 Avoiding Drama, FOMO, and Blind Spot Ignorance 200</p>
<p>What is FOMO andWho has it? 201</p>
<p>How Selective Blind Spot Ignorance Leads to Disaster 202</p>
<p>Two Keys to Keeping Your Blind Spots in Full View 204</p>
<p>29 Preventing the Deadly Eight Productivity Pitfalls 208</p>
<p>Are You Living Your Life Eight Distracted Hours at a Time? 211</p>
<p>Case Study #5: Catherine Sorbara, PhD 214</p>
<p>30 Is Everyone a Narcissist Now? 218</p>
<p>Narcissism is a Buzzword for Self–Pity 219</p>
<p>31 Seeing Through the Victim Illusion 222</p>
<p>How to DealWith PeopleWho Play the Victim (Yourself Included) 224</p>
<p>32 How Decision Fatigue ReducesWillpower 227</p>
<p>How Are You Spending Your Decision–Making Units? 229</p>
<p>33 Hacking and StackingMini–Habits to Success 232</p>
<p>The Habitual Mouse Gets the Cheese 235</p>
<p>Hacking and Stacking Mini–Habits 236</p>
<p>Turn Deliberate Action into a Habit 238</p>
<p>Case Study #6: Jamie Johnston, R.M.T. 239</p>
<p>34 Leveraging Boredom and Filling the Mental Void 242</p>
<p>Using Boredom to Build a More Creative Future 244</p>
<p>Filling the Void with Vitality and Adventure 246</p>
<p>Conclusion: A Practical Guide to Intelligent Adventure 250</p>
<p>Epilogue: Legacy 256</p>
<p>Bonus: Achieving Alignment 259</p>
<p>Index 261</p>