Simple Life Hacks That Will Change Your Future: Steal These Habits From Billionaires

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  Daily reading builds the mental 'filters' behind fast decisions

  In a 2015 Arizona State interview with Professor Jeff Cunningham, Warren Buffett said he reads five to six hours a day: five daily newspapers, magazines, 10-Ks, annual reports and biographies. He says this gave him 'filters' in his mind, so when someone pitches him an investment he usually knows within two or three minutes whether he's interested. Mel's point is that his quick decisions rest on decades of slowly built knowledge, and that the habit costs nothing if you use a library or free reading online.

• 02

  Make yourself do the scary skill, and sign up for a class that forces you

  Buffett was so terrified of public speaking that he avoided any high-school or college class that required it. After school he paid $100 for a Dale Carnegie course, got 'this little diploma', and proposed to his wife during the course. Mel calls public speaking the most common fear, ahead of dying, and argues it's a learnable skill that lets you speak up for yourself at work, at home or in a wedding toast.

• 03

  Get ideas out of your head and into one place every day

  Taylor Swift told songwriter Ryan Adams in 2015 that she is always 'pre-writing'. Any observation or lyric she likes goes into 'this endless notepad on my phone', even when she isn't making an album. Mel's takeaway: whatever you want to get better at, make it a daily practice. Ideas you plan to remember are usually gone a minute later.

• 04

  A stored library of ideas pays off later

  When Swift wrote the chorus of 'Blank Space', she searched a year's worth of saved lyrics that matched the over-dramatic, luxurious picture she wanted and pulled lines like 'darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream'. Mel adds that writing an idea down honors your own wisdom, because it treats the idea as worth keeping.

• 05

  Sleep is a free performance tool

  LeBron James told a student podcast at his I Promise School that his self-care is sleep: 'eight hours plus', to re-energize body, mind and spirit and come up with ideas. Mel says that on the road he aims for 10 to 12 hours. She ties this to what earlier sleep experts on the show explained: sleep clears out the brain 'like a Zamboni', supports immune repair and stress recovery, and is when the day's learning and muscle memory take hold.

• 06

  You don't get what you don't ask for

  Sara Blakely, who started Spanx with $5,000 in savings, landed Neiman Marcus as her first account. When people in the industry asked how, she said 'I called them'. They had spent six or seven years at trade-show booths waiting for a chance. Mel turns it into the habit 'make the call': send the DM, the letter or the FedEx, find the buyer, ask the person out.

• 07

  Not knowing the usual way can be an advantage

  Blakely says she didn't even know trade shows existed: 'what you don't know can be your greatest asset if you let it.' The real obstacle is self-talk like 'I have no idea what I'm doing.' Mel says doing things differently is what sets you apart, and that you're the one telling yourself you're not ready.

• 08

  Break routine on purpose to spark creativity

  Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Super Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong (Mel admits he isn't technically a billionaire), regularly wanders city streets and parks watching people, which has inspired his game worlds. Neuroscientist Dr. Tali Sharot, speaking on an earlier episode, explains that the brain gets used to whatever it sees repeatedly (habituation). New inputs break that and create new connections.

• 09

  Your gut either leads you to the next right step or the next lesson

  Jamie Kern Lima, who co-founded IT Cosmetics, sold it to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion and became the brand's first female CEO, says life comes down to whether you listen to the 'no's' from the outside world or your inner 'knowing'. Self-doubt 'will lie to us all day long'. She doesn't believe your gut is ever wrong, because even a rejection gives you the lesson you need next.