“We make a living by what we GET, but we make a life by what we GIVE.” – Winston Churchill
The First Sip
When I find myself on a website or scrolling through my newsfeed, I try to look for the positive stories…the news that’s worth sharing.
(I don’t give the negativity of the “24-Hour News Cycle” a second of my attention. I’d advise you to cut it out of your life, too.)
And do you know what stories make me feel most alive inside?
It’s the moments where somebody steps up and serves their community in a surprising, careless, or brave way.
You see…“community” is an important word to me.
It’s something I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about.
And it’s precisely why this story of Eusebio Phelps helping out a random Waffle House waitress gives me all the feels.
The waitress, Hannah Hill, was working a normal shift at the diner when Eusebio walked in for breakfast.
The two struck up some conversation and formed an instant bond.
But little did she know that opening up to this stranger would change her life.
As they were talking, Eusebio learned that the young girl was pregnant with her second child – and she planned to name him Samuel.
Eusebio asked here to repeat what she told him…
“Samuel,” Hannah reiterated.
He got chills.
That was the name of his late son, whom he tragically lost seven years ago.
After finishing his meal, he tipped Hannah everything he had in his wallet ($40).
But he felt like he needed to do more for Hannah, who had admitted that she was worried about providing for her growing family.
So Eusebio went home to his wife and kids and they set out to raise $1,000 to buy the girl some things she needed for the new baby.
He ended up raising $3,000.
But it gets better…
After word got out about Hannah, the COMMUNITY got together and raised an additional $9,000.
My friends…
THAT is what it means to live in community with one another.
Community goes beyond age, skin color, job status, experiences, or even location.
It’s about taking the tools that you have and blessing others…just because you can.
It’s about rallying people together around something good.
It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone, taking a risk, and giving so freely of yourself that you go to bed tired at night.
Now…
I don’t know what that looks like for YOU.
I don’t know who your community is.
It could be your clients, your neighborhood, your extended family and friends, your church, a local charitable organization…
But you have a community somewhere and I’d like to leave you with a simple charge this week:
Go make YOUR community a better place.
1 Caffeinated Neurohack
If you’re someone who exercises regularly and has a committed fitness routine, I give you a round of applause. 👏 👏 👏
My wife and I recently hired a virtual trainer and we’ve been doing regular workouts in our living room (over Zoom) for the past few weeks. And it’s so refreshing.
But if you don’t currently have a workout routine, I want to ask you a pointed question:
Why?
For most of you, I’d imagine it has to do with time. (Or lack thereof.)
But what if I told you that you don’t need to spend an hour exercising every day to be healthy?
Or even 45 minutes…
While I’d certainly recommend dedicating as much time as you can to your physical and mental well-being, research shows that all it takes is 10 minutes to boost your cardiovascular health.
Yes. 10 minutes.
In the study, one group of participants did a two-minute warm-up on a stationary bike, followed by a 20-second sprint. Then they rode slowly for two additional minutes.
They repeated the sequence two more times for a total of 10 minutes.
The other group was told to ride the stationary bike for 45 minutes at a steady pace.
The two groups did this for a period of 12 weeks, after which BOTH groups showed a 20 percent increase in cardiovascular endurance.
Interesting, right?
Again…I’m not necessarily advising you to only workout for 10 minutes per day.
I am, however, saying that if that’s all you have…you should do it.
Start with 10 minutes and do it for two weeks.
Then bump up to 15 minutes. Then 30 minutes.
Before you know it, you’ll be making time to exercise.
And you’ll look, feel, and perform better in every area of your life.
You’ve got this!
Marketing Psychology Quick Hit
Most people make marketing more complicated than it is.
At its core, marketing is about delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.
And the best way to do this is to understand the human brain and the psychology of how people make decisions.
I’ll give you an example…
Research shows that when people are given a sequence of information (like names, numbers, or product features), they’re most likely to remember the information at the beginning and end.
These are known as the Primacy and Recency Effects.
Everything in the middle of the list often gets glossed over or forgotten.
How can you apply this in your marketing?
Well, let’s say you’re sending an email out to your list to let them know about a financial planning webinar you’re hosting tomorrow.
Rather than providing a massive bulleted list of all the reasons why people should register, trim down the list and keep the most important reasons at the very beginning and very end.
You can do this with pricing, too.
If you have three price tiers, the middle one will typically be your best seller.
However, if you have more than three, you’ll find that the first or last price will usually be your top seller.
Do This First Thing Monday AM
In the spirit of making time for exercise, I want to challenge you to start off your Monday morning with a quick at-home workout.
Remember, 10 minutes is all you need (if you’re hitting it hard)…
Though I’d encourage you to make time for at least 30 minutes.
Whatever you decide to do, here’s a list of the top fitness channels on YouTube.
Whether you’re looking to build muscle mass, lose weight, or do some yoga, there’s something there for you.
And if you want more info on my personal trainer…just let me know.
(He’s actually a vegan bodybuilder – which is incredibly interesting!)
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Happy Sunday,
Jeremiah
