admin, Author at Striving For Felicity

11 Struggles Only Pinterest Marketers Will Understand

Pinterest marketing can be hard, no matter what some gurus tell us. Here are 11 Pinterest struggles marketers can relate to.

I’m using this blog post to vent my frustration on my lack of Pinterest results after almost two years of effort.

I hope this will lift your mood and will make you feel less alone out there with your Pinterest struggles.

Let’s get into it!

1. You get super frustrated when the aesthetic pin that you’ve poured your passion and creativity into doesn’t even do remotely as well as other people’s ugly pins

Pinterest is a search engine that is heavily focused on visuals. So how can it be that so many ugly as f#ck Pins get ranked so high?!

Yes, I know it’s all about the keywords. But many of these pins are not even keyword-optimized!

I mean, come on! Why do I even bother with trying to make my pins pretty?

Maybe I should try to make the ugly to test if that’ll attract people …

2. You feel incredibly awkward after pinning 2.374.588 fresh pins linking to the same blog post … but like, how much new content are you supposed to produce?!

Honestly, next to pinning pins, there isn’t much more time for me than to write one blog post a week.

However, I do pin five fresh pins a day, which equals 35 fresh pins a week.

Safe to say, I need many pins for the same blog post. And yes, I feel spammy doing that, but what else am I supposed to do?

3. You worry that maybe you started too late with Pinterest marketing, and that’s why you haven’t had much success with it

Every new platform out there (Facebook, Insta, Google, Pinterest) goes through a specific development.

It is incredibly easy to be successful on the platform in the beginning stages because the creators want to attract many users.

As they do so, the obstacles slowly become more difficult because they try to raise the quality of the platform.

And then, at some point, they make it even harder for you because they want users to buy ads from them to make a bigger revenue.

So, with Pinterest seemingly being very much in that last stage already, do we low-budget marketers even have much of a chance?

Sometimes, it doesn’t feel that way, to be honest.

I see other accounts having immense success with their pins while I am celebrating anything above three outbound clicks with one pin.

But then again, what alternative do we have? It’s not like Insta or Facebook are much better.

4. You get passive-aggressive every time you hear about some Pinterest newbie’s traffic explosion after a few short months

How.Do.They.Do.It!?!?!?!??!!?

Is it magic?

Is it destiny?

Is it foul play?

Whatever it is, I’m sick of it!

It’s like back in school when the students that only started studying the night before got better grades than you. -_-

I’m not saying the other Pinterest marketers don’t deserve their success. I just feel like, at this point, I deserve a slice of it as well.

5. You consider writing a few recipe and DIY blog posts simply because they do so damn well on Pinterest

So, your blog niche is not generating the traffic you want from Pinterest?

Maybe you look enviously at all those food bloggers with their thousands of daily Pinterest conversions.

Why not write a few of these Pinterest-y Blog posts yourself so that you can attract more visitors.

Suppose you are just going for traffic numbers, then that might be a reasonable idea. However, if you aim for high-quality traffic to, later on, funnel into one of your products, you need niche-specific traffic.

You will probably not have much luck, should you hope vegan recipe enthusiasts might spontaneously be interested in your meditation course.

6. You dream about the day you can hire a virtual assistant because all you seem to be up to these days is creating Pinterest pins

Creating Pinterest pins takes up a whole chunk of your time.

You need to create or find templates, find stock images, come up with a click-worthy title, proofread them, download them, name them with keywords, upload them into Tailwind, give them a description and link and finally schedule them.

Tools like Tailwind Create can make this process faster and easier, but it still takes a decent amount of time.

And time is something a side-hustler doesn’t have all too much of.

With a virtual assistant for Pinterest marketing, you could spend so much more time with what you’re good at and the core of your business: your content creation.

7. You feel like you’ve seen and used all of the internets stock images already … like seriously? In an image-obsessed world, there have to be more amazing stock images. Maybe you should start googling for some Asian websites …

As mentioned previously, a successful Pinterest marketing strategy requires you to create tons of new pins.

And to keep these pins fresh and make them stand out amongst your competitors, you need tons of new stock images.

Unfortunately, there often comes the point at which you feel like you’ve exhausted your go-to stock image site and need to find a new one.

I mean, yes, you could take your own photos, but it’s not like you already spend too much time on your Pinterest marketing strategy.

8. You HATE group boards

Maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t like group boards.

I don’t like remembering which board had which rules.

I also don’t like the disappointment of them not working or being full of uninspiring pins that I have to pin to my boards.

At this point, I prefer Tailwind Communities, although they annoy me too at times.

9. You’re not entirely sure if you should buy ANOTHER Pinterest course or if your niche simply isn’t very Pinterest-y

Success leaves clues, they say. So what do we do? We go out and learn from a successful Pinterest marketer and buy their course.

That’s great and all, until we realize that it didn’t help us all too much with our Pinterest struggles.

So we wallow in self-pity for a while until we bring up the courage to dig deeper into our pockets and purchase another course.

But despite your best hopes, this wasn’t your breakthrough moment either.

So, what now?

Investing even more?

Giving up?

Settling with what you have?

10. You want to use Pinterest ads, but like … you need money for that

When you are on Pinterest, you often come across ads. These Pins stand out to you, and your mouth starts to water when you imagine this being your pin and how many clicks it could gain.

But there is a small problem … ok well, it’s more of a big and essential issue.

Your biggest problem, if you’re honest.

Yep, you’ve guessed it: MONEY.

Seriously, getting a business off the ground without much of a budget is tough work.

But we will manage it. And once we do, we can finally cross out one of our Pinterest struggles and afford those Pinterest ads to skyrocket our traffic!

11. You hear how others complain about the new Pinterest algorithm, but if you’re honest, your traffic is just as frustratingly low as always

This happens to me about every time Pinterest changes its algorithm, and it’s equally as much amusing as it is frustrating.

I mean, what is it saying about my Pinterest strategy that it works equally as much no matter the algorithm?

As much as I am grateful that my results don’t deteriorate, I still would like to figure out how to get my pins working with the algorithm.

But well, I guess I need to be more patient and continue the effort.

What about you?

How long have you been marketing on Pinterest, and what are your results? What Pinterest struggles have you come across?

Feel free to rant down below. Hopefully, it gives you the energy to continue the hustle.

Until next time and good luck!

Sophie

Secrets Of Six-Figure Women Book Review | 17 Lessons + Quotes

Blog, Boss Lady, Success

What are the secrets of six-figure women, and how can you become one of them? Here are lessons and quotes to help you!

Reading Experience

I absolutely adored “Secrets Of Six-Figure Women”!

It was much more interesting than I expected it to be. I actually learned quite a few new aspects about what it takes to succeed.

But what I liked the most were the many stories about six-figure women and their experiences.

With every story I read, I got inspired and excited to soon join their ranks.

“Secrets Of Six-Figure Women” was also eye-opening for me concerning the gender inequality women face on their way to 6-figures.

I’m sure that nowadays, women experience less sexism in their careers, but it surely is still an issue we could encounter. Therefore it felt valuable to learn about how others handled it.

And lastly, “Secrets Of Six-Figure Women” includes exercises and summaries that help to implement the lessons of the book.

All around, “Secrets Of Six-Figure Women” is a fantastic read!

Lessons

1. There is always an opportunity waiting for you

“While everybody’s been fixated on doors that were closing, feeling cynical and resigned about what struggles might lay ahead, high earners were consistently finding, and opening, windows of opportunity.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“While the rest of the world was focusing on adversity, six-figure women (and those destined to become one) were seeing growth potential and opportunity.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

There is so much pessimism in this world. Many people seem to only focus on the bad things that are happening – money they lost, jobs they didn’t get, the economy getting worse, etc.

Six-figure women are not naive. They see these things, too. However, they know that where one door closes, another opens.

Different from their underearning opposites, they actively search for and make themselves available to these open doors.

You will always find what you focus on and look for.

Pessimistic underearners see low paychecks and high bills.

Six-figure women find opportunities and a pay raise.

2. Know your value and expect to be appreciated accordingly

“This, more than anything, is what sets them apart. They acknowledge and appreciate what they bring to the table and expect to be paid appropriately.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“We women have got to stop devaluing ourselves and demand what we’re worth.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“Asking for more is an act of self-love. Saying no is a show of self-respect. Refusing to settle is a statement of self-worth. And walking away is a sign of self-trust.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Stop playing small and start getting into the habit of demanding your value.

As an entrepreneur, this means raising your prices.

As an employee, this means demanding a pay raise.

Both are uncomfortable but not as much as being underpaid.

3. Increasing your income goes hand in hand with growing as a person

“Their pursuit of greater profit triggered a personal evolution. Some even referred to it as a spiritual quest of recapturing (or discovering) their dreams, living fuller lives.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

When you work on your personal development, you grow and learn faster than most people. You increase your self-worth, you overcome your weaknesses, you discover new talents, you foster relationships, and much more.

Unsurprisingly this change often leads to a higher income.

However, it works the other way around as well.

Many women have to confront their limiting beliefs around money and their self-worth in pursuing a higher income. Without realizing it at first, they start to work on themselves and not just their bank accounts.

Actionable Idea

Don’t separate the goals of a higher income and being a better version of yourself! They go hand in hand.

This is great because it enables you to always work towards a higher income even while you seem stuck on the financial side of things.

While being stuck, simply redirect your focus towards your personal development.

4. A degree is helpful but not necessary for success

“Financial Success Is Possible in Almost Any Field, and Lack of Education Doesn’t Have to Hold You Back.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“From what I saw, this passion for her work played a much more significant role in a woman’s success than any impressive credential or high-flying career.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Many successful people never were very outstanding in their academics or dropped out of college in the end and still achieved mindblowing things.

Don’t use your bad grades as an excuse for not being the successful boss babe you wish you were.

If others can do it without a degree or a bad one, why shouldn’t you?

5. Hard work is less about long hours and more about intense focus

“But hard work has many faces and, like success itself, means different things to different people. As I came to see, the critical factor is not the number of hours as much as the intensity of focus.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“It was the intensity of focus on their work, not the number of hours they spent doing it, that factored so heavily into these women’s financial success.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Don’t be afraid of having to work 80-100 hour weeks for a high income.

Of course, there are plenty of successful people doing that, but if that’s not your thing, you don’t have to.

Yes, at the beginning of your financial uprising, you might have to work harder than you’d like.

But if you commit to your values and build the right systems or accept suitable jobs, you can spend little time working as long as you work with intense focus during that time.

Actionable Idea

If you are currently still a student, try to cut down your study time by improving your study techniques.

The less you have to study for good grades, the more time you have for your passions or side hustle.

6. Everyone has fears; successful women act despite them

“Their secret is this: Feel the Fear. Have the Doubts. Go for It Anyway.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“Here’s the biggest secret to overcoming your past and upping your earnings: You’ve got to be willing to be uncomfortable.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“Fear and anxiety are to financial success what labor pains are to childbirth—an unpleasant, but unavoidable, part of the process.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Every successful person has their doubts and fears. Ironically, imposter syndrome is especially bad among the successful.

What’s important is that successful women don’t let their fears and doubts stop them from achieving their goals.

They take all their courage together and march straight ahead into the unknown.

Actionable Idea

Quit using your fears and doubts as to an excuse to hold back.

If you keep waiting for the day, you will fear brave and confident; you will wait your whole life.

Action precedes confidence. It rarely happens the other way around.

7. Underearners complain, 6-figure earners appreciate

“As a whole, six-figure women are a very happy bunch. Their conversations were liberally sprinkled with words like gratitude, fortunate, lucky, and blessed.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“These women demonstrated an indispensable secret for living a prosperous life of genuine wealth: Appreciate Abundance.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“The power of gratitude derives from a universal law: You draw to yourself whatever you dwell on.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Quit being a whiny baby.

You have it tough in life; I get it. I firmly believe that everyone is allowed to feel sorry for themselves, no matter whether others are struggling so much more.

However, what I can’t support are people that do nothing but whining and complaining.

If you are reading this, you are most likely among a small percentage of very privileged people in the world.

There are tons of things for you to appreciate – many more things than the ones you can complain about.

How do you expect to ever attract more abundance into your life if you are hell bend on putting all your attention on the lack?

Actionable Idea

Make gratitude a part of your daily routine.

I always write down three things I am grateful for first thing in the morning.

And throughout the day, I always make sure to appreciate my possessions and other blessings in my life.

8. You won’t earn more as long as you are hating the rich and priding yourself on poverty – you need to give yourself permission to be wealthy

“Underearners believe in the nobility of poverty.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“It’s a universal law: Our state of mind shapes our way of life.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“Until you’re able to give yourself permission to pursue prosperity in your own right, as your right, your best intentions will remain mere pipe dreams or, at best, delusions of grandeur with no relationship to reality. Until you see profit as a virtue, not a vice, as a prerogative and not an impropriety, you won’t have a sliver of hope for increasing your earnings.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

You will always unconsciously sabotage yourself if your mindset and goals are not aligned.

You have to decide which one needs changing: your mindset or your goals.

9. Six-figure women know that they have control over their life

“Underearners, typically, are quick to blame someone else—the government, their upbringing, whatever—for their problems. As a rule, underearners believe the world controls them. High earners know they control the world.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Successful women don’t play the blame game.

They know that they have power over the direction their life takes, and they are eager to use it.

Of course, they also acknowledge the role luck plays in any achievement. But since luck without action is useless, these smart women put most of their energy and focus into action-taking so that they’ll be ready for luck to strike.

10. Working more is unlikely to make you richer

“The way out of underearning is rarely by working harder. Chances are taking a second (or third) job, putting in overtime, or finding a scheme to get rich quick will wear you out before it will make you wealthy.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

I’ve seen this in uni as well. Just because I studied more didn’t mean I got better grades.

Far from it, actually. Only once I improved my study strategy and studied less did my grades improve.

It’s the same thing with your finances.

To a certain extent, hard work will get you more money. But there always comes the point where working smarter is the only way to raise your income.

11. Successful women don’t always have a plan to achieve their goals, but they’re always open to receive them

“One of the most hopeful messages I learned from these six-figure women is that we need not fully believe something is possible, much less have a full-blown plan firmly in place. We just have to decide what we want and be willing to do whatever comes next.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

You don’t need a full-fledged action plan on how to achieve financial success.

All you need to do is taking action one step at a time in a direction that seems to get you closer to your goal.

You have plenty of time to overthink your strategy and to course correct.

Most often, you only truly get a sense of direction after you’ve taken some steps.

Action trumps overthinking and procrastinating any day.

13. Successful women let go of what’s holding them back

“You must let go of where you are to get to where you want to go.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“Amazing coincidences so often occur as soon as people let go. And there’s a perfectly valid explanation. This is the inevitable outcome of the first two strategies working in tandem. While “intention” is a magnet that attracts what we want, “letting go” provides the space for our desire to manifest.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“We must first empty the container before we can refill it. Similarly, if our minds are full of limiting thoughts, there’s no room for the expansive ones. Success can only come when there’s space for it to enter.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

We all have baggage that’s holding us back. This can be in the form of unsupportive relationships, limiting beliefs, fears, doubts, or the golden handcuffs of a high-paying job.

The things you cling to prevent you from discovering new things. You first have to make space in your life for something new to enter.

Actionable Idea

Letting go can be scary. Often enough, we don’t even realize what we should let go of.

Consider hiring a coach or mentor to help you on your journey. His or her objective view on the situation and no-nonsense support will help you through your struggles.

14. Successful women know failure is inevitable on the path to success

“To six-figure women, losses are as inevitable as ants at a picnic. And they don’t let those losses ruin their plans. They focus on winning and not on defeat. Oddly enough, the object of the game is not winning per se. The whole point is to do your best and go the distance.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Failure is inevitable in the game for success – unless you quit after having a one-time beginner’s luck.

Successful athletes don’t win every competition.

Not every product of a successful business owner is a raging success.

And not every song the most famous singers release to top the charts.

The key is to stay in the game for long enough so that your successes weigh out the losses.

15. Successful women dream impossibly big

“Think big. And then keep thinking bigger and bigger.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Can you imagine what our world would be like if the most successful people in history had stayed ‘realistic’?

The greatest inventions, trends, and changes in our societies come from outlandish dreams.

It’s time you allow yourself to dream about a 5-figure or even 6-figure monthly income!

Actionable Idea

Imagine yourself in the first-person view living your dream life.

Visualize and script about that dream life often.

16. 6-figure women challenge themselves

“A stretch in any area of life, regardless of where, has a ripple effect in other areas as well. If you can’t quite get yourself to volunteer for that tough assignment, try signing up for art class or running a marathon, anything that puts you out of your comfort zone.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“So the next time you find yourself saying, “No way I can do that!” smile knowingly. You are that much closer to becoming a splendid, audacious, six-figure woman.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Unsurprisingly, six-figure women don’t just relax inside their comfort zone.

To grow personally and financially, you have to do things that scare you and take risks.

Most people rather stay comfortable, so not many women reach six figures even though they desire to do so.

Actionable Idea

Keep track of every time you challenged yourself.

Seeing this list grow will make you feel proud and motivated to get uncomfortable more often.

16. Successful women seek support

“In fact, on the six-figure path, seeking support is not an option, but a requirement.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

Sooner or later, every successful woman had to seek out support. This can be in the form of a significant other, friends, or mentors.

Either way, support is important. Many women interviewed for “Secrets Of Six-Figure Women” mentioned the people who supported them as one of the most significant factors for their success.

I don’t think you can forcefully create a support system like this – besides hiring a mentor, of course.

The key is to stay open to these kinds of relationships. Don’t close yourself off due to toxic pride and the belief that you can do it independently.

Instead, keep an eye out for like-minded people who you just click with and whom you feel you can trust.

You might not find them first on your journey towards being a six-figure woman, but I’m sure you’ll eventually find them.

17. Wealthy women invest their money

“It’s not what we have but what we do with what we have that gives us or denies us financial security.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“What wealth building does require is consistent application of the three rules of money. You simply must make the following actions a way of life. You must do all three. There are no exceptions. 1. Spend less than you earn. 2. Pay yourself first. 3. Put your money to work.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

“Wealth doesn’t come from what you make, but from what you don’t spend.”
– Barbara Stanny (Secrets Of Six-Figure Women)

After what happened in 2008, I get it; investing seems like a sure way to lose your money sooner or later.

But there is potential in the financial market even for us normal people that don’t have millions to spend.

The key is to understand that not every investment of yours will be a success.

I’ve learned from “The Psychology of Money” that even the most outstanding investors of our time only score big with a small percentage of their investments.

They make sure that losses like these won’t ruin them because if they keep investing sooner or later, they will hit gold, and that’s at least going to balance out their losses.

So, follow these financially successful people and consider your first investments.

Can you see yourself becoming a six-figure woman? Or perhaps even a 7-figure woman or more?

I sure can, and I am determined to make it happen. That’s what this blog is for.

What is your plan?

Until next time!

Sophie

55 Ways to Get Out of a Slump | How to get Motivated

Blog, Personal Development

Everyone gets stuck in a rut from time to time. Here are 55 tips to help you get out of a slump and get motivated.

You could also be interested in these:

Productivity Tips
Personal Growth Ideas

1. Don’t beat yourself up; accept it for what it is

Getting stuck in a slump now and then is normal. It happens to the most energetic and motivated people.

Therefore there is absolutely no sense in beating yourself up over it.

Yes, it would be great to be more productive, but this slump you’re in gives you the necessary energy for your next phase of hustling.

So accept it for what it is, be kind to yourself and try out the following ideas to slowly get out of a slump.

2. Rearrange furniture

There is something weirdly powerful to moving your furniture around.

I know some people do it regularly, but I barely ever move something into a different place.

All the more powerful it is, once I do.

Just a small change can make the room feel different and fresh. It gives me the feeling of a new start.

And that’s perfect for getting out of a slump!

3. Put plants into your room

Aside from plants cleaning the air, they also make your room feel the more alive and high vibe.

They provide beauty and bring a part of mother nature into daily hustle without you having to go out.

Furthermore, it can be incredibly rewarding to take care of plants.

I’m always very happy when my orchids bloom anew.

4. Put flowers on your desk

Aside from potted plants, it can also be great to put a vase with flowers on your desk.

Since they don’t last that long, you can create variety in your life by purchasing different kinds of flowers every time.

5. Discover new music

Discovering new music that you are listening to day in and day out is one of the most beautiful feelings.

Go and watch some edits on YouTube or research the songs of TikTok clips. You could also listen to the soundtrack of your favorite series.

6. Rediscover old favorites

Rediscovering an old favorite can transport you back in time and make you suddenly feel all the things you felt back then.

So maybe go and read Harry Potter again or watch Winx Club.

7. Break out of your routine

One of the things that get me stuck in a slump the most is doing the same thing day in and day out for weeks or even months.

To some extent, we all need variety in our life. So make sure to get yours.

This could be by switching your workout and reading time in your morning routine.

You could also sleep in longer or wake up much earlier.

Maybe go and sit in a different room of your house when you work at home.

There are infinite ways to break out of your routine.

8. Wear a more stylish outfit at home

Clothes can heavily impact our mood. If we love what we wear, it makes us feel ready to take on the world.

Don’t let the home office keep you from wearing nice things.

Start dressing up, even if it is just for yourself and the mailman.

9. Take a walk somewhere new

How about some exploring?

When was the last time you walked around the neighborhood without a goal in mind?

Why not try out a few of the scenic tracks that the internet recommends for your area.

10. Have a day off

Take one day off entirely.

Don’t plan anything for it – no appointments, no work, no studying.

Say awake longer the night before, sleep in during the morning, chill in bed, watch Netflix, or read Fanficitons all day.

Give yourself one day to do all the things you always wanted to do but couldn’t because of your busy schedule.

11. Buy new stationery

Ah stationary!

Who doesn’t love stationery?

Getting new folders, pens, and notebooks at the beginning of a school year always felt like a brand new beginning.

Why not use that feeling to get out of a slump?

12. Create a vision board

If you do it right, a vision board can be the epitome of inspiration and motivation for you.

One look at it, and you remember what you are doing this all for. It gives you a sense of purpose and direction.

13. Change your lock screen/background

I don’t know about you, but I don’t change my lock screen or background image very often.

Every time I do change it, it feels very special and exciting to see the new image.

It brings a fresh breeze into my life.

14. Create an inspirational board on Pinterest

I LOVE Pinterest!

I love pinning aesthetic and motivating images.

You can also use Pinterest as your digital vision board.

15. Start a side project

To get out of a slump, a new goal in the form of a project can help you.

Find a project that excites you. Perhaps even a project that in the long-term can change your life – like starting a blog.

16. Finish things you’ve started

I love it to finally finish a book or a series I’ve been procrastinating on. It makes me feel accomplished and as if there is room in my life for something new.

17. Abandon things you procrastinate to finish

Sometimes, though, it is not worth wasting time to finish something you don’t like.

In that case, abandon it officially instead of half-heartedly clinging to it.

18. Clear out your wardrobe

Depending on how many clothes you buy, you should clear out your wardrobe once a year or so.

Get rid of the things that don’t spark joy whenever you see and wear them.

Your clothes should make you feel beautiful, cozy, sexy, powerful, and ready to hustle.

19. Clear out your digital devices

Get rid of those apps that you never use and delete the screenshots and blurry selfies you never look at anyway.

20. Try out new recipes

Introduce a new recipe into your life now, and then create the variety that will get you out of a slump.

Or perhaps buy a different bread or fruit or sweets the next time you go shopping.

Try out something new.

21. Try out new restaurants & Cafés

You don’t have to abandon your favorite café or restaurant. But to get out of a slump, it can be immensely helpful to discover a new favorite.

So go out there and explore your options!

22. Talk to someone new

Easier said than done, I know. But if the opportunity presents itself, talk to that stranger instead of giving a clipped answer and running for the hills.

23. Pour out your heart to a friend

When did you have the last heart-to-heart with a friend?

If you want to get out of a slump, this is the perfect time to do so.

Learn what’s going on in their life. Chances are they are also stuck in a rut, and this talk will help you both.

24. Go through old pictures and organize them

Taking pictures is easy. Finding old pictures not so much.

Use your slump to organize the mess that is your photograph library.

Afterward, you will not only feel accomplished, but you will have discovered lots of awesome moments from the past that can spark motivation in you.

25. Do something that scares you

Stepping outside your comfort zone helps you to level up.

So do something that scares you. Maybe traveling alone or speaking up in class.

26. Join a challenge

Let’s activate the competitive streak in you. Joining a challenge will give you a short-term goal to focus on .

27. Create a past milestones list

I LOVE doing this. It gives me a real feeling of accomplishment and motivation every time I look at it.

Take out a journal or the notes app on your phone and write down all the milestones you’ve already had in a certain area of life.

I’ve written down the exams I passed for my law studies, the internships I did, and more.

I love seeing the list grow longer and longer.

28. Create a future milestones list

Similarly, it can be very motivating to see the next milestones you have to tackle written out.

It gives you a sense of direction desperately needed during a slump.

29. Watch Day in the Life Vlogs

If your own life is not exciting enough, how about checking in on what others do.

It might spark some new ideas in you and motivate you to get productive again.

30. Watch reality shows

Same idea here. Reality shows also have the bonus of being a bit more entertaining than vlogs.

31. Keep track of the times you get into a slump

Figure out if there is a common trigger that gets you into a slump. If there is, it will be easier to avoid slumps in the future.

32. Keep track of the things that get you out of the slump

Just as important as knowing a potential trigger knows the solution that works for you.

Figure out what motivates and inspires you, and make sure to use it regularly.

33. Play Animal Crossing/Sims/ANNO

If your real life is in a slump, it can be great to escape into virtual life.

How about spending some time playing animal crossing or Sims or ANNO?

34. Create a secret Instagram Account purely for inspiration

Sometimes it is great to be a little less social and a bit more private.

You can create a secret Instagram account without telling anyone about it. That way you can follow all the accounts and like all the pins you want without your followers noticing.

Go and subscribe purely to inspirational and motivational accounts. Nothing that makes you feel in any shape or form negative.

35. Use affirmations

While stuck in a slump, it’s easy to fall into negative self-talk. Make sure to combat this toxic habit by using positive affirmations often.

36. Start a gratitude list

You can’t be grateful and at the same time feel bored, lost, or unmotivated.

If you manage to feel truly grateful, these other emotions can’t exist at the same time.

37. Take a different route to and from work/school

Variety is key to get out of a slump. So how about changing something small, like the route you take to and from work or school?

Driving back from uni, I always take a more fun route which is still about the same length as the quickest option. I truly live for those few minutes of more fun.

38. Create a bucket list

Getting excited about your future is perhaps the most powerful way to get out of a slump.

Create a bucket list of the things you want to do in your life, in your 20s, or after your degree.

39. Choose pleasure over productivity/efficiency more often

You are not a machine; you are human. We are meant to experience pleasure in our lives.

This can mean studying in the sunshine for a while even though you can’t focus your best there.

Allow yourself to feel good even if it isn’t the most efficient option.

40. Find new hair products

I love discovering a new hair care product. Using a product with a fresh scent, texture and color gives my life a tiny bit more variety and excitement.

41. Find new skincare products

The same goes for a new skincare product.

42. Have a pamper day

How about some face masks and a bath with candles?

Or you could even go out and get a massage!

Treat yourself! It’s the perfect time to do so while stuck in a slump.

43. Hire a coach/Get a discovery coaching session

A coach or mentor is there to kick you in your butt and get you moving when you feel stuck, unmotivated, or make excuses.

Therefore they can be a powerful ally in helping you to get out of a slump.

44. Watch a documentation about someone’s journey

Last year I watched the Black Pink documentary on Netflix. Let me tell you, it got me so fired up!

For days afterward, I was inspired and felt ready to hustle.

Seeing people working passionately just makes you want to follow along.

45. Start listening to a (new) Podcast while doing chores/working out

Podcasts have been such a powerful source of inspiration for me ever since I discovered them.

They make me want to be a better person and introduce me to new books and courses.

46. Keep a habit tracker

Nothing motivates quite as much as keeping a streak alive.

So start tracking your daily habits and fight to keep the stream going.

47. Take tiny steps

It’s ok to be in a slump and unmotivated once in a while. You don’t need to do great and life-changing things if you are unmotivated.

But try to take the first tiny step of this project or task, and after that, see if you have it in you to take another small step.

48. Visualize your dream life

If you do it right, visualizing yourself living your dream life will make excitement bloom in your chest.

A smile will start to spread across your face as you feel the feelings you will be feeling in that dream life.

Having that vision before your eyes will motivate you to start hustling again.

49. Script about your dream life

Take out your journal and write in the present tense about your day or your thoughts as if you were already living your dream life.

If done right, this should have the same effect as visualizing your dream life.

50. Create playlists for different chores/seasons/moods

There is so much great music out there for every mood and situation.

Take some time to sort your favorite songs into different playlists that you can listen to at the right time to get motivated and inspired.

51. Discover Spotify playlists for your favorite fictional character

I love the feeling of becoming obsessed with a new song.

I sometimes look through Spotify for public playlists that are themed according to a fictional character to discover new music. (e. g. Tommy Shelby, the Marauders)

52. Get scented candles/sticks or a diffusor with essential oils

You can also bring variety into your life through pleasant scents.

Get yourself deliciously scented candles, aroma sticks, or essential oils.

53. Get a new planner

Usually, new planners always go hand in hand with a new year or new school year.

This feeling of a new start is very much needed during a slump, so why not get yourself a new gorgeous planner right now?

54. Get a new haircut/color

A new haircut or color can make you feel like a whole new person.

What tool could help you better to get out of a slump?

55. Try out non-permanent tattoos

And lastly, something I’ve been wanting to do ever since I discovered Inkbox.

Semi-permanent tattoos are a fun way to experiment and make you happy every time you look at the tattoo.

Let that black ink help you to get out of a slump!

That’s it!

What is your favorite idea to get out of a slump?

Do you have any additional ideas to share?

Until next time!

Sophie

11 Rules Of Success to Learn from Bridgerton

Blog, Personal Development, Success

There is a lot to learn from Bridgerton besides all the romance drama. Discover 11 rules of success from the period drama.

1. Always hear others out

Yes, you may have the most experience and authority over a certain topic, but that does not automatically mean you know best.

An almost unwavering rule for life is that you never know everything.

So you should always hear others out on their opinion before disregarding them completely.

Anthony thought he knew best when dealing with Berbrooke and disregarded Daphny and her mother’s ideas and opinions straight from the beginning.

Luckily the women knew how to help themselves and solved the issue much better than the Viscount could have.

So always hear others out. You don’t need to agree with them, but perhaps their opinions and ideas spark something in you.

2. Be bold!

Eloise pushes Benedict to take advantage of his privileged position. She urges him to be bold with the power it gives him because at least he has the chance to do so.

The same goes for you. If you are reading this, chances are very high you are among the very privileged human individuals on this planet.

You probably have a stable roof over your head, warm meals on the table, the first world problem of feeling annoyed about school, and internet connection wherever you go.

I could go on and on and on about all the things you most likely have that make you so much more privileged than others.

If you start to look at your life that way, there suddenly really isn’t any excuse anymore for why you shouldn’t boldly go out into the world and create your dream life.

If you want to build a business, go and start with something. Start a blog, a podcast, or a Youtube channel.

And don’t tell me you don’t have the money to do so. Starting a business has never been as inexpensive as it is nowadays. If you have an iPhone, a Netflix subscription (I know you have, after all, you know Bridgerton!), and buy yourself Starbucks coffee, there really isn’t any valid excuse for you monetary wise.

And if you say you don’t have the time, well, why are you watching Netflix?

And if you’re scared of what others might say, do you need to let them know about your new project? I didn’t tell anyone, and it worked for me.

As I said, there really are almost no excuses for people in our fortunate position.

So be bold! Go out and create the life of your dreams!

3. The opinions others have of you don’t define you

The Bridgerton is all about who thinks what about whom. It’s a constant fight for people, especially women, to appeal to others.

And yes, what society thinks of the ladies does very much define their value in their suitors’ eyes and shape their future.

However, thankfully our society has matured enough to distance itself from a marriage market like the one in the series. Therefore we don’t need to worry to such an extent about appealing to the public eye.

However, what is still the same nowadays are individual people, be it family members, supposed friends, or bullies trying to diminish our value.

In the series, we can see flashbacks of the late Duke declaring his son Simon a worthless disappointment who will never fulfill his role as a Duke because of his stutter.

It’s quite possibly one of the worst things one could ever hear out of their parents’ mouth, and it takes a lot of strength, even with a support system like Lady Danbury, to not let this become one’s self-image.

But Simon proves that what his father thinks of him doesn’t define him. He grows up to be a handsome, eloquent, healthy, and overall capable young Duke.

You have it in your hand to give others power over you by taking their words by heart.

4. Don’t make things more complicated than they need to be

I love the Bridgerton scene in the drawing-room, in which Violet Bridgerton says to Daphne. “My dear, why ever do you complicate matters so? You must simply marry the man who feels like your dearest friend.”

Because truly, Simon and Daphney complicate matters unnecessarily … and Anthony for that matter.

But the series is very well justified to have unnecessary dramas in the plot since we include so much of it into our daily life.

I’ve noticed repeatedly in my own life that I overcomplicate matters. It can be mundane things, from what should I eat or wear today to me wanting to learn something new but spending more time worrying about how to do it than it actually takes to learn it.

Life can be so much easier if we’d just stop making it so bloody difficult all the time.

Don’t obsess about the how of starting a blog. Simply start writing a bit of content daily and do a bit of research about setting up a website.

That’s it. Literally, if you do not stand in your own way, it can be done in a matter of a few hours.

One way to keep things simple and doable is to go with your first instinct.

This can be in making decisions based on your first intuitive choice or starting something based on that first spike of sudden motivation.

For example, if you find yourself suddenly convinced that a Podcast is for you, then get out your phone and just start recording a practice episode before all the doubts and ‘what if’s’ kick in.

Trust me, the more you learn to listen to your intuition and act before your mind can start to overcomplicate matters, the easier your life gets and the quicker you’ll get things done that aid your success.

I believe it goes without saying that this does NOT include any grave and life-changing decisions. Don’t go out and sign any contracts simply based on your intuition.

Those are things that reasonably are a more complicated matter. Although again, your intuition can be of help. So write down or remember your first intuitive response. It might be helpful later on.

5. Privacy Is Power

Throughout the Bridgerton series, it is proven repeatedly that privacy is the most powerful asset of successful people.

The Duke and Daphne keep their arrangement private. Marina Thompson keeps her pregnancy private. The Duke keeps his stutter private, and of course, Lady Whistledown keeps her identity secret.

Privacy protects you. What others don’t know they can’t attack or use against you.

In our social media world, many people share significant parts of their life freely on the internet for strangers to see.

If you’re one of the few, who honors their privacy, you have an ace in your sleeve at all times.

The most important thing is to consider how much you want to share with whom. If you set clear boundaries around that, you are already far ahead of everyone else.

Read also: 11 Easy Ways To Honor Your Privacy

6. Don’t draw hasty conclusions

Eloise is on the hunt for Lady Whistledown. Her research is ambitious and persistent.

Yet, she quickly falls prey to hasty conclusions.

First, the mysterious writer must be a servant, and next, she must be Madame Delacroix.

Both times she was suddenly ripped out of her perceived discovery only to realize she had been wrong.

The lesson here isn’t to avoid creating hypotheses.

Instead, the lesson is to avoid falling in love with your hypothesis so much that you forget to prove it true.

Keep on researching and consider opposing opinions. Allow yourself to think again and change your mind.

7. Take the path less traveled

One reason why social norms stick so much is that they work for many people. They make them happy.

However, just because most people like the path society has laid out for them doesn’t mean that you do so as well.

In season 1 of Bridgerton, we get to see how Benedict discovers an alternative life for himself, much different from the life he always expected himself to lead.

It takes a while for him to accept this different concept but the more he does, the freer and more fulfilled he feels.

There could also lie happiness and success in a path less traveled for you.

Have you ever considered it?

Have you considered what it would be like not to get a degree but to jump straight into the working experience?

Have you envisioned what life could be like for you with your own business instead of a 9-to-5?

And how about making a home for yourself in a different country?

Besides the few paths traveled by the masses, there are endless options for you to discover.

Be open and if some of them interest you, try them out.

8. Think again

This has already been included in some of the previous points. Multiple Bridgerton characters had to think again and abandon some of their long-held beliefs to move forward.

It is essential for success to always course correct and adapts to challenges.

The more flexible you are in your approach – without being a flip-flopper – the quicker you will achieve your goals.

9. Nurture your connections

Humans are social beings that live in societies. Naturally, connections are an important dynamic in our lives.

I know that networking often sounds dreadful, and there is certainly a lot of this kind of networking going on in Bridgerton.

However, the series also highlights the power of purer connections.

It shows in the way Daphney as a new dutchess, supports her family after a scandal.

It’s illustrated in the way Benedict keeps the secret of his acquaintance Granville.

And it shows in the way Lady Danbury supports Simon and Daphney in their wedding plans.

If you go out into the world and are open and friendly, you will always make new connections.

Nurture these connections by giving first without aiming to receive. And should you ever need help, you have your network to rely on.

10. There is always a way

Daphney got out of the seemingly hopeless affair with Berbrooke.

Lady Whistledown manages to run the most widely read column in London as a woman and has managed to evade any attempts to reveal her identity.

Simon has become an esteemed duke despite his childhood struggles.

The Granvilles managed to save themselves from being restricted in listless marriages and have designed a life freer than many people can enjoy.

No matter how hopeless a situation may appear, there is a way to turn things for the better in the vast majority of cases.

Bridgerton gives splendid examples of how one can defy all odds and succeed through resourcefulness and perseverance.

Learn from them and search for ways to improve what seems hopeless.

11. Lack of knowledge leaves you vulnerable

Daphney and Eloise were rightfully angry at their mother for keeping them in the dark about the topics that every woman should know.

Their lack of knowledge makes them weak in certain situations.

They could fall prey to the lies others tell them about pregnancies, sex, and marriage because they don’t know better.

They also can’t solve, let alone recognize problems that occur in these areas.

Overall Bridgerton shows exactly why knowledge is potential power.

It should be a lesson to all of us to never stop learning.

I’m curious, how did you like Netflix’s Bridgerton?

To be honest, the storyline didn’t excite me too much. However, I did love the characters, and that made up for the rest.

Just because of the great characters, I went ahead and read the second book of the series. And let me tell you, it was hilarious! I truly loved it!

Until next time!

Sophie

The Psychology of Money Book Review | 13 Lessons + Quotes

Blog, Personal Development, Success

Money is not all about numbers and strategy. The Psychology of Money teaches what the real driving forces of finances are.

I’ve listed some of my favorite lessons and quotes from the book to help you up-level your monetary mindset.

Reading Experience

I really liked this book.

The lessons were short and precise, without wasting pages on lengthy explanations, and still, there was enough room to write about real-life examples.

Even though this is not the first financial book I’ve read, it did teach me quite a few new things and changed my outlook on the financial market and monetary decisions that are being made.

A word of warning: The book is heavily focused on America, its financial system, and history. So that might be bothersome for non-Americans, though I didn’t mind too much. The lessons still matter for everyone.

Lessons

1. The way you treat money depends largely on when and where you grew up

The Psychology of Money opened my eyes to how important our adolescents’ circumstances are to how we treat money throughout our life.

Different generations can vary drastically in their opinion about spending, debts, stocks, and income.

The reason for that is that once we have had certain experiences and developed a mindset on the topic, we don’t easily change our opinions and expectations even if reality changes.

I’ve often noticed this in my own approach towards bank accounts.

Many adults older than me still look at their bank account as a place to store their money, so it earns interest.

Therefore they are always understandably annoyed by the almost non-existent interest rates many banks offer nowadays.

I’ve grown up like that. I never consciously experienced a time in which my savings would get high-interest rates.

Therefore, I’ve always viewed my savings account as a secure place to store my money and not as a money-increasing machine.

A difference in understanding like this can impact financial decisions, like how much you save, how much hard cash you keep, or at which point throughout the month you pay your bills.

The Psychology of Money gives an interesting overview of how the Great Depression, WWII, and the housing bubble-shaped different generations’ financial beliefs.

Reading about it will make you look differently at other people’s financial decisions.

2. You don’t have to act rational, just reasonable

“Do not aim to be coldly rational when making financial decisions. Aim to just be pretty reasonable. Reasonable is more realistic and you have a better chance of sticking with it for the long run, which is what matters most when managing money.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“Good decisions aren’t always rational. At some point you have to choose between being happy or being “right.””
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

It always seems like every decision we make should bring us the biggest returns or save as much money as possible.

And while it is certainly rational to aim for these things that will increase your fortune, sometimes irrational behavior is better if it is reasonable for you.

A financial decision is reasonable if it lets you sleep better at night because you worry less.

This could be in the form of you not taking the money out of your savings account to purchase your new car. Instead, you go for a more expensive financing plan because without that safety of your savings, you’d feel vulnerable to unexpected bills.

Humans are not driven by rationality but by emotions.

As rational as a decision might be, if it causes you to worry and stress, it might not be worth it.

Allow yourself to act reasonably with money, even if it is irrational.

3. Don’t follow people playing a different game!

“When investors have different goals and time horizons—and they do in every asset class—prices that look ridiculous to one person can make sense to another, because the factors those investors pay attention to are different.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“A takeaway here is that few things matter more with money than understanding your own time horizon and not being persuaded by the actions and behaviors of people playing different games than you are.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

The financial crisis of 2008 showed how detrimental it can be for long-term investors to copy the actions of day traders.

Just like how there will be chaos if you try to play Monopoly with UNO rules, you won’t achieve your financial goals if you copy a strategy with an entirely different aim.

You need to be aware that not everyone who seemingly does the same thing as you do, has the same goal.

You might invest to prepare for your retirement in 40 years; others might want to sell that stock the same day for a higher price.

You might be looking for a house to settle in for the rest of your life; others might do it to renovate and sell the house for a higher price.

Your strategy should always suit your goal. So make sure that you only follow the advice that applies to your goal.

4. Nobody is crazy; their decisions make sense for them

“People do some crazy things with money. But no one is crazy.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

As the previous points illustrate, many invisible factors influence other people’s financial decisions.

Unless you ask them and let them explain their reasoning, you will never be able to grasp why exactly someone acted as they did.

Therefore it’s high time that we stop calling people dumb for making financial decisions that blew up in their face.

We are always wiser afterward. But back then, it could very well have been a reasonable decision to make for one specific person.

Don’t judge harshly what you don’t understand.

And don’t be so naive as to expect to know and understand everything.

5. Financial developments are less about calculations and more about emotions

Unsurprisingly the book The Psychology of Money deals much more with the emotional and mindset level of finances than concrete strategies.

Finances are not governed by strict rules like physics are.

Most of the financial markets’ development can be better understood if one looks at it from a psychological perspective.

You need to consider people’s hopes, fears, and expectations into the mix of facts and cold numbers to understand why things developed as they did and roughly predict how they will develop in the future.

You should also always consider your own emotions when making financial decisions.

Recognize your current emotional state and anticipate how the emotions caused by future events could influence your behavior.

Starting an investment strategy that will make you feel nervous as soon as times get bad might be an absurd idea no matter how rational it seems right now.

Don’t disregard the power your emotions have over your monetary decisions!

6. Don’t get seduced by pessimism

“Pessimism isn’t just more common than optimism. It also sounds smarter. It’s intellectually captivating, and it’s paid more attention than optimism, which is often viewed as being oblivious to risk.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“Real optimists don’t believe that everything will be great. That’s complacency. Optimism is a belief that the odds of a good outcome are in your favor over time, even when there will be setbacks along the way.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“The historical odds of making money in U.S. markets are 50/50 over one-day periods, 68% in one-year periods, 88% in 10-year periods, and (so far) 100% in 20-year periods.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

Dare to be optimistic.

This doesn’t mean disregarding risks and expecting the world to be all sunshine and rainbows. But expect things to work out well in the long term.

Humans are immensely adaptable and have overcome so much already; the chances are very high we will also turn the next challenge around in our favor.

So be very careful when confronted with the advice of preachers of doom.

If they are unrealistically pessimistic, who is to say they are not also drastically wrong about their financial advice?

7. Don’t try to outplay the market

“More than I want big returns, I want to be financially unbreakable. And if I’m unbreakable I actually think I’ll get the biggest returns, because I’ll be able to stick around long enough for compounding to work wonders.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

If outplaying the market would be easy or just mildly challenging, everyone would do it.

Even hedge fund managers who spend decades of their working life trying to win big with their investments only manage to do so maybe a couple times.

The chances that you or I will ever manage that are very slim. And trying to do so is costly.

Luckily, there is no need to outplay to market. You can get solid investment returns if you create a more conservative investment plan and stick with it over the long run.

If you simply put aside a small portion of your salary and invest it, you will be surprised at how much can compound over the years!

8. Consistency is key to unlock the mind-boggling magic of compounding

“If something compounds—if a little growth serves as the fuel for future growth—a small starting base can lead to results so extraordinary they seem to defy logic.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“Compounding doesn’t rely on earning big returns. Merely good returns sustained uninterrupted for the longest period of time—especially in times of chaos and havoc—will always win.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

The Psychology of Money illustrates some mind-boggling numbers that can be achieved by investing tiny amounts consistently for many decades.

As mentioned before, if you invest for the long-term into a broad portfolio, you are pretty much guaranteed to make some good returns.

But then why are so few people doing it that way?

Well, one reason is that they are trying to outsmart the market. They want to make big bugs quickly and find the next Facebook, Netflix, or Tesla.

When that inevitably fails for 99,99999% of people, they lose courage and give up.

Another reason is that they get cold feet when the market is going down.

It’s easy to invest in good times. However, if you have to watch your investments dwindle away, losing 5%, 10%, or even 30% of their worth, it’s only natural to get a fight or flight instinct and try saving whatever you can instead of putting more money into the market.

However, if you manage to stay patient and determinedly continue investing, then the compounding effect will work its wonders and reward you accordingly.

Small but consistent investments can compound to more than you’d ever expect!

9. Expect to fail in a good portion of your investments

“Planning is important, but the most important part of every plan is to plan on the plan not going according to plan.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“Something I’ve learned from both investors and entrepreneurs is that no one makes good decisions all the time. The most impressive people are packed full of horrendous ideas that are often acted upon.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“Become OK with a lot of things going wrong. You can be wrong half the time and still make a fortune, because a small minority of things account for the majority of outcomes.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

It is so easy to believe that the best investors have such a keen eye for the market that their investments are a raging success.

Most people absolutely hate failing.

Even more so if that failure is costing you money.

No surprise, therefore, that many investors try not to lose money and only to make good investments.

The reality is, however, that losing money is to be expected. It is the price you have to pay for being in this investment game.

The best investors accumulate a fortune not because every investment is spot on. But because they land a few hits that outweigh the many losses and mediocre results.

This realization can take a huge pressure off your shoulders.

You don’t have to be perfect. It’s not even possible.

So anticipate losing money and prepare accordingly.

Don’t put all eggs into one basket, and don’t lose confidence when you inevitably stumble.

Just keep going with the certainty that you will also win here and there.

10. Luck and risk are two sides of the same coin

“Luck and risk are both the reality that every outcome in life is guided by forces other than individual effort. They are so similar that you can’t believe in one without equally respecting the other.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“But keeping money requires the opposite of taking risk. It requires humility, and fear that what you’ve made can be taken away from you just as fast. It requires frugality and an acceptance that at least some of what you’ve made is attributable to luck, so past success can’t be relied upon to repeat indefinitely.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

Many people like to contribute their own success to hard work and their own failure to bad luck.

However, judging others they often attribute success to luck and failure as entirely the other person’s fault.

The truth is: Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems.

There is always equally as much a chance of you ending up lucky as there is of you failing through risk.

Most success can partly be attributed to luck and most failure to risk.

This means, just because you’ve succeeded once with a strategy, it is not guaranteed to make you succeed again.

Also, just because you lost money once in the financial market doesn’t mean you’ll lose it again.

The key is to be aware of the role luck and risk play and always prepare for the latter hitting.

You need enough of a safety margin in any plan to overcome bad luck and try again until you get lucky.

11. Knowing how to get wealthy is useless if you don’t have the skills to stay wealthy

“If I had to summarize money success in a single word it would be “survival.””
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“There are a million ways to get wealthy, and plenty of books on how to do so. But there’s only one way to stay wealthy: some combination of frugality and paranoia.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

Earning money in itself is easy. There are a million different ways to earn money. Some bring you a higher income than others, but you can make money either way.

There are also a million ways to lose money, yet only a few ways to keep it.

Clearly, maintaining your wealth is the more difficult task. Just look at how many rich people end up bankrupt or close to it!

For all the time you spend focusing on earning more, you should spend just as much on keeping what you’ve made.

Have a savings account and investments that you feed with money from every paycheck.

Save without a specific goal. Just save money for future unforeseeable events and to sleep better at night.

Don’t spend everything you earn, or you’ll always need to make more.

12. Regard forecasts with a large grain of salt

“The majority of what’s happening at any given moment in the global economy can be tied back to a handful of past events that were nearly impossible to predict.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“The correct lesson to learn from surprises is that the world is surprising. Not that we should use past surprises as a guide to future boundaries; that we should use past surprises as an admission that we have no idea what might happen next.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

The financial market is heavily impacted by significant events that become benchmarks in human history.

Do you think anyone was able to foresee the world wars or life-changing innovations?

Whether good or bad, significant events are almost impossible to predict.

And since they impact the markets, we can also hardly predict how the markets will develop.

We can make an educated guess that might turn outright, but at any given moment, a surprise could change everything.

So consider forecasts with a grain of salt.

13. Realize that you don’t know your future self

“It’s another to admit that you, yourself, don’t know today what you will even want in the future. And the truth is, few of us do.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“We should also come to accept the reality of changing our minds.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

“Sunk costs—anchoring decisions to past efforts that can’t be refunded—are a devil in a world where people change over time. They make our future selves prisoners to our past, different, selves. It’s the equivalent of a stranger making major life decisions for you.”
– Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money)

Allow yourself to change your mind.

I’m sure if you look back 5 or 10 years, you will say that your past self has had vastly different interests, opinions, and goals from your current self.

So why would you expect your future self to still have the same goals that you have today?

Don’t make decisions today and expect yourself to stick with them for decades to come.

Life is about evolving yourself.

Don’t feel forced to live inside the boundaries placed by your younger self.

If your lifelong dream of becoming a doctor doesn’t sound so good anymore, that’s ok. Create a new vision.

If living as a minimalist doesn’t fulfill you anymore, then find something that does.

Don’t let your past dictate your future.

What was your favorite lesson?

Do you have any great finance books you can recommend?

I’d love to hear from you!

Sophie

Think Again Book Review | 19 Lessons + Actionable Ideas + Quotes

Blog, Books, Mindset, Personal Development

What lessons can we learn from “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” by Adam M. Grant?

As always, I also included amazing quotes and a few actionable ideas to help you get the most out of this book review.

Still, there is much value left inside the book, so definitely read it for yourself to not miss out on anything!

Reading Experience

I LOVED this book!

“Think Again” was not only interesting to read but also funny at times and even contained one or two plot twists that had me stunned.

I simply loved how the book balances theory with real-life stories.

All in all, great to read! In fact, not just great but even important to read. The more people start to think again, the better the world could be.

Lessons

1. It’s not only ok to change your mind but even important to do so

“Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“Changing your mind doesn’t make you a flip-flopper or a hypocrite. It means you were open to learning.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

I used to be and, to some point, still am reluctant to voice my opinion on anything but trivial matters because I know that I’m far from an expert and could change my mind any day.

In fact, I’ve ended up doing things I once very passionately declared on never doing (i.e., studying law, having my own business).

I used to feel incredibly awkward around admitting that I’ve changed my mind. As if changing your mind is something bad and shows a lack of decisiveness.

But “Think Again” has finally crashed that limiting belief of mine and encouraged me to do what I’ve always been drawn to do: changing my mind and evolving my opinion with each new information presented.

Now, I am allowing myself to change my mind, and I also make sure to question beliefs that have been the same for a long time.

Actionable Idea

Give yourself permission to change your mind frequently. Of course, you shouldn’t change your mind five times within one evening when your partner asks you what you’d like to eat.

But allow yourself to think again on less trivial topics like what career you want, how you can study most effectively, what car you should buy, what your next apartment should cost, or who you should vote for.

Take out your journal and write about an opinion you’ve come to form recently.

Why have you formed this particular opinion?

What facts or feelings don’t align with this opinion?

Why could someone decide to have a different opinion?

Start a list on which you note every opinion of yours that you find yourself clinging to fiercely.

2. Don’t mistrust the urge to correct an answer

“I’ve seen it in my own classroom year after year: my students’ final exams have surprisingly few eraser marks, but those who do rethink their first answers rather than staying anchored to them end up improving their scores.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

This again hit it perfectly on the head for me. Like many students, I’ve had the experience that I end up falsely ‘fixing’ what was once right every time I try to correct an answer on a test.

Adam M. Grant points out that even though most students claim to have made that experience, statistics actually prove the opposite to be true: Most corrected answers are from false to the right and not the other way around.

I’m assuming that falsely correcting something is especially painful. Those instances stick in mind for longer than positive cases.

Whatever the reason, I’m going to make sure not to blindly stick to my first answer out of fear for losing points through altercations.

Actionable Idea

If there is time left during your next exam or test, take a moment to think again.

This doesn’t need to result in you changing your answer. Just stay open to the possibility of coming up with a better solution at second thought.

3. Sticking with a belief is easy

“We favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt, and we let our beliefs get brittle long before our bones. We laugh at people who still use Windows 95, yet we still cling to opinions that we formed in 1995. We listen to views that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

The best and most convincing facts are not automatically going to change your mind.

In fact, you will most likely find yourself clinging desperately to your current belief.

Don’t beat yourself up when you start to notice this tendency.

Simply being aware of it is the first step of breaking free from it.

Actionable Idea

Take stock of the most important opinions that shape your path in life.

Did you form this opinion through hard thinking, or have you ignored new information in favor of sticking to your old view?

4. What we know today could be irrelevant tomorrow

“The problem is that we live in a rapidly changing world, where we need to spend as much time rethinking as we do thinking.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

Suppose you’ve anticipated the day of your graduation in hopes of never having to study again. In that case, you are going to have an unpleasant awakening.

You will never excel in your career field if you don’t update your beliefs regularly.

New discoveries are being made rapidly. They get released into the world through books, studies, articles, conferences, courses, and more.

These information could make your job much easier and help you reach an ‘aha’-moment.

They could also challenge everything you’ve believed so far and render your current work obsolete.

However painful it might be, successful people know that they have to stay on top of these things, or soon their success will be history.

Actionable Idea

Create a routine of exposing yourself to new information and rethinking or unlearning your past knowledge.

You can’t do this in every area of life. That would overwhelm you.

However, you should have this routine of updating your knowledge in the field you’ve chosen for your career.

For me, as a law student, this means staying on top of new legal regulations and reading recent verdicts.

As an online business owner, this means keeping my eyes open for new trends and algorithm changes on the platforms that I use. Also, to always try to find something new and unique to do.

5. Think like a scientist, not a preacher, prosecutor, or politician

“When we’re in scientist mode, we refuse to let our ideas become ideologies. We don’t start with answers or solutions; we lead with questions and puzzles. We don’t preach from intuition; we teach from evidence. We don’t just have healthy skepticism about other people’s arguments; we dare to disagree with our own arguments.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

Don’t go around promoting your opinions, dashing out arguments to prove wrong, or trying to win over an audience.

Instead, start with a theory in mind, develop hypotheses and use experiments to test them.

6. To Think Again we must fight confirmation bias and desirability bias

“Thinking like a scientist involves more than just reacting with an open mind. It means being actively open-minded. It requires searching for reasons why we might be wrong—not for reasons why we must be right—and revising our views based on what we learn.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“When you form an opinion, ask yourself what would have to happen to prove it false. “
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

Every time you form an opinion, you should be aware that you might be biased by what you already believe and by what you’d like to happen.

To fight these biases, effectively seek out information that contradicts your opinion instead of ignoring them.

Find the strongest arguments of your opponents and consider them genuinely.

If you can see why they might convince some people, but you are still holding on to your opinion, it is not out of bias anymore.

Always ask yourself what new information would change your mind. If you stubbornly say ‘none,’ then you should worry about being biased.

A truly open mind is always open to thinking again in light of new information.

7. Don’t learn to affirm; learn to grow!

“After all, the purpose of learning isn’t to affirm our beliefs; it’s to evolve our beliefs.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

You should never approach learning solely to affirm your current opinion.

Rather use learning as a chance to make a new, more accurate draft of your current views that brings you closer to the truth.

8. Become aware of what you don’t know

“If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“You can have confidence in your capacity to learn while questioning your current solution to a problem. Knowing what you don’t know is often the first step toward developing expertise.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

It’s always been mind-boggling to me how so many people, not exclusively but especially in politics, act as if they are experts.

By contrast, I often start sentences with ‘I’m leaning towards …‘ and end them with ‘but that’s just my opinion now, I might change it with more information.‘

I believe that in a world as rapidly changing as ours, we need to abandon the belief of ever knowing everything about a single topic.

It is pretty much impossible to ever know everything, which is why I have alarm bells going off in my head every time someone acts like an expert.

On the other hand, people who openly admit their lack of knowledge and their awareness of it are deeply impressive.

You get to decide if you want to present yourself to the world as a fake know-it-all or a humble student.

9. The least competent people are the most likely to overestimate themselves

“When we lack the knowledge and skills to achieve excellence, we sometimes lack the knowledge and skills to judge excellence.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

This is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Maybe you’ve even experienced it yourself once or twice in school or college.

At the beginning of studying for an exam, it sometimes seems totally manageable. You are overly optimistic about knowing everything there is to know in no time.

Fast forward some study hours later, you panicked, realizing that there is soooo freaking much to know, and you’ve barely scraped the surface!

But don’t let this make you paranoid every time you do feel confident in your knowledge!

I think it is safe to say that if you’re worried about not being competent enough and only now, after a lot of effort, you’ve started to feel confident in your competency, that this effect doesn’t apply to you.

10. Humility is crucial to think again

“Humility is often misunderstood. It’s not a matter of having low self-confidence. One of the Latin roots of humility means “from the earth.” It’s about being grounded—recognizing that we’re flawed and fallible.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“You can be confident in your ability to achieve a goal in the future while maintaining the humility to question whether you have the right tools in the present. That’s the sweet spot of confidence.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

Humility is a by-product of the awareness of your lack of knowledge.

Without humility, you won’t open your mind to new information, and therefore you won’t be able to evolve your opinions.

Learn to be confident in your ability to learn yet humble about how much you know!

11. It’s time to say thank you to your imposter syndrome

“The first upside of feeling like an impostor is that it can motivate us to work harder.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“Second, impostor thoughts can motivate us to work smarter. When we don’t believe we’re going to win, we have nothing to lose by rethinking our strategy.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“Third, feeling like an impostor can make us better learners. Having some doubts about our knowledge and skills takes us off a pedestal, encouraging us to seek out insights from others.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

Imposter syndrome is often treated as an enemy of success. Yet “Think Again” raises the question if it might actually contribute to success.

I believe that this is the case as long as your default reaction to feeling like an imposter is not freezing.

Let this feeling be your motivator to put in more effort, learn more, and overall improve yourself.

Imposter syndrome can be your personal tough-love coach that’s swinging the whip behind you. So use it for all it’s worth!

12. Don’t wait until you are confident; take action first, and confidence will follow

“We don’t have to wait for our confidence to rise to achieve challenging goals. We can build it through achieving challenging goals.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

This is such an IMPORTANT lesson if you want to live an extraordinary life.

It is relatively easy to just follow the path society has laid out for you. But if you want more than that, you have to find the guts to step away from that path and out into the unknown.

It’s easy to tell yourself that you’ll do it next week or month, or year when you are more confident.

But the truth is, the quickest and most reliable way to build confidence is to just jump straight into the experience.

13. Find joy in being wrong

“They’re determined to reach the correct answer in the long run, and they know that means they have to be open to stumbling, backtracking, and rerouting in the short run.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

Failing is the measurement of learning. If we don’t fail, we haven’t pushed ourselves enough.

If you practice questions for your upcoming exam and get them all right, you feel good about yourself. If you get them wrong, you become aware of a hole in your knowledge and learn how to answer them better next time.

We shouldn’t fear being wrong or failing because, with each failure, we get one step closer to succeeding.

Actionable Idea

Make a conscious effort to pat yourself on the back for being wrong and making mistakes.

As long as you don’t brush it under the table, you can learn from it, which will make you a better person all around.

14. Don’t let your opinions become your identity

“Who you are should be a question of what you value, not what you believe.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

This is a powerful idea that has made quite an impression on me.

Our identity is a very important part of us, and we naturally become fiercely protective when it gets threatened.

Suppose you let your opinion become your identity (i. e., I am a democrat/republican, feminist, minimalist, etc.). In that case, you hold onto that opinion with all your might.

You close yourself off towards opposing opinions and refuse to think again because that could endanger your whole identity.

As “Think Again” teaches us, though, evolving our opinions is important. So don’t tie your identity to them.

You will notice that life becomes a lot easier if you stop identifying with your opinions and instead openly admit to being wrong or changing your mind in light of new information.

15. The more often you think again and try again, the better you will be

“The best forecasters went through more rethinking cycles. They had the confident humility to doubt their judgments and the curiosity to discover new information that led them to revise their predictions.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

We all know the saying that practice makes perfect.

But did you know that changing your mind more often can make your predictions more accurate, as well?

“Think Again” introduces the reader to forecaster contests that are being held worldwide (I had no idea something like that existed! Isn’t it fascinating?!).

The contenders have to predict the outcome of certain events like, for example, elections.

The answers are given in percentages depending on the likeliness of the event in the forecasters’ eyes.

Over the months leading up to such predicted events, the answers of the forecasters get recorded.

By analyzing these records, scientists have found that the best forecasters rethought their original answer more often than average forecasters.

If you are open to thinking again, you take all kinds of different information into consideration. You are willing to try out different approaches to the topic, and through trial and error, you can achieve more hits than someone who sticks to their first idea.

16. Embrace and encourage constructive conflict

“Agreeableness is about seeking social harmony, not cognitive consensus. It’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“In fact, when I argue with someone, it’s not a display of disrespect—it’s a sign of respect. It means I value their views enough to contest them. If their opinions didn’t matter to me, I wouldn’t bother.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

I get it. There are too many examples in our lives of destructive conflicts that lead absolutely nowhere except pain and misery.

No wonder we might try to avoid conflict altogether.

But this avoidance can rob us of inspiring and productive conflict as well!

The constructive conflict between open-minded people, who don’t turn their opinions into their identity and are willing to think again, can lead to truly life-changing realizations.

Challenging each other in a genuine and non-judgmental manner can push everyone into rethinking their opinions, finding flaws, and discovering new ways of thinking about things that might even strengthen their own opinion even more.

So don’t dismiss every type of conflict, for there is gold to be found in the constructive ones.

17. To change someone’s opinion, common ground is more important than the number of arguments

“We won’t have much luck changing other people’s minds if we refuse to change ours. We can demonstrate openness by acknowledging where we agree with our critics and even what we’ve learned from them.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“A single line of argument feels like a conversation; multiple lines of argument can become an onslaught.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

An interesting lesson learned from debating contests is that the most successful debaters don’t have more good arguments.

Instead, they choose a few good ones and focus the rest of their time on truly listening to their opponent and trying to find common ground.

It’s less of a fight for victory and more like a dance that’s supposed to benefit both.

Next time you want to convince someone, put a bigger focus on the common ground between you instead of actually trying to convince them.

18. Persistence is not always the answer

“There’s a fine line between heroic persistence and foolish stubbornness. Sometimes the best kind of grit is gritting our teeth and turning around.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

This is a very tricky lesson, as we can rarely be entirely sure when to apply it.

I’ve been working on my business for a while now without making an income. Does this mean I should turn around and find something else? No, that’s not what my heart is telling me.

But considering that question has opened my eyes towards the possibility that I might want to turn my back on certain strategies I’ve been applying.

I get it; it gets harder to turn your back on something the more effort and time you’ve put into it already – especially if you are ambitious and stubborn by nature.

But if your degree is making you miserable, turning your back on it after 3 years of effort is better than staying miserable throughout your whole career.

Actionable Idea

When encountering hardships, you should always stop for a moment and be honest to yourself.

Are you being rightfully persistent or stubbornly foolish?

Take your journal and write down your thoughts. The more you practice listening to your intuition and tuning out all the outside noise, the easier it will be to answer this question truthfully.

19. Happiness shouldn’t be your goal

“It’s left me thinking about happiness less as a goal and more as a by-product of mastery and meaning.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“At work and in life, the best we can do is plan for what we want to learn and contribute over the next year or two, and stay open to what might come next.”
– Adam M. Grant (Think Again)

“Think Again” mentioned studies that prove that depending on your definition of happiness, chasing it could actually result in making you less happy.

Of course, we all want to be happy. But happiness is not an emotional state we can be in 24/7. The more you obsess over happiness, the more your emotions will fluctuate to create the natural balance of all things.

It is much easier and rewarding to put your main focus on other goals that bring happiness along with them automatically.

There is so much more goodness in Think Again, but I had to keep this list limited somehow.

I highly encourage you to read the book for yourself; it’s definitely worth it!

What was your favorite lesson, and how did you plan on implementing it into your life?

I’m curious to hear from you!

Sophie