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- Zero to Millionaire, Storytelling and Happiness
Zero to Millionaire, Storytelling and Happiness
Welcome to the Growth Guide, a weekly newsletter where I share actionable ideas to help you Live Better, Achieve More and Be Financially Free.
Live Better
This week on the Growth Guide Podcast we talked to Will Storr author of The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better.
Storytelling is one of the most important skills you were never taught.
Stories shape who we are and are essential to what makes us human.
The Science of Storytelling applies psychological research and neuroscience to our myths and archetypes to show how we can write better stories. Key lessons include:
Power of flaws
Power of goals
Power of change
Power of metaphors
Be the main character
The Psychology of status
5-act structure of storytelling
Importance of ignition points

Click below to listen to the episode:

Achieve More
Have you ever noticed,
Positive people succeed more.
It turns out, there's a reason for it.
It's called the Happiness Advantage.
Know what sparks the light in you. Then use that light to illuminate the world.
In his book The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor flips happiness on its head.
Happiness isn’t the result of success. It’s the precursor to it.
Shawn provides evidence from studies in psychology and neuroscience to prove positivity and happiness provide a significant advantage in the workplace and life.
For example, a positive mindset results in 31% higher productivity, 37% better sales, and three times more creativity.
But, can you choose happiness?
The answer is Yes.
In 2012, Dr. Martin Seligman, a pioneer of positive psychology, proposed a theory of well-being, known as the Perma model:
Positive emotion
Engagement
Relationship
Meaning
Accomplishment
Positive emotion
Positive emotions, such as joy, hope, love, and gratitude are indicators of happiness.
Here's how you generate them:
Reflect on what you're grateful for
Spend time with loved ones
Listen to uplifting music
Do activities you enjoy
Engagement
You’re engaged when you’re in flow. When you’re absorbed in an activity.
When you respond to challenges with your strengths, it puts you in a flow state.
Learn your strengths and use them
Do activities you love
Live in the moment
Relationship
As a social creature, you need to feel supported, loved, and valued by others.
Improve your relationships to increase intimacy, wellbeing, and satisfaction:
Join a class or group
Reconnect with past friends
Learn something new about a friend
Meaning
To be truly happy, you need to have a purpose.
To serve something greater than yourself gives you a sense of value and worth.
To increase meaning:
Get involved in a cause that matters
Use your passion to help others
Volunteer your time and skills
Accomplishment
You feel accomplished when you set challenging goals and work to achieve them.
Intrinsic goals lead to more significant gains in well-being than extrinsic goals.
Set SMART goals
Take consistent action
Reflect on your past wins
You can be happy,
If you choose to be happy.

Be Financially Free
I was blessed and lucky enough to reach a certain level of financial wealth in my 30s with:
No hacks
No inheritance
No family money
No get-rich-quick plan
If you’re in your 20s, here’s the exact playbook I would use to do it.

A Thought
It’s so easy to think When I achieve X, I’ll be happy or When I can buy Y, I’ll be happy.
We can forget happiness is simply a choice we make and work for.
A Question
How can you use the PERMA model to change your happiness today?
Etc.
For the Thought and Question, drop me a note - I want to hear from you.
When you have 10 referrals, you’ll receive a Free Guide on the 15 Mindset Shifts that will help you be a Millionaire.
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