Underline This Podcast

What investments have given you the biggest returns? When thinking about this question, put it in the context of personal development. These are investments for You Inc. Here are my top 7.

1. Therapy 🛋️

2. Sleep 💤

3. Gym membership 🏋️‍♂️

4. Meditation 🧘‍♂️

5. A library card 📚💳

6. Mentors 🥋

7. Journal 📓🖊️

Let me explain.

First, I think it’s embarrassing to say but I’ll throw it out there. After watching the Sopranos twice, I decided to give therapy a chance. The stars happened to be aligned and the Sopranos planted the idea. I want to emphasize of all these investments, therapy by far has had the greatest return. It has helped me show up as the best version of myself for those around me. These sessions have forced me to pause, reflect, and properly address what’s in my mind. I’ve had sessions about everything. Past traumas, career hiccups, my dream journal, religion, and establishing boundaries. I’m able to get an outsider’s perspective and she helps guide me through self discovery. One of my greatest regrets is that I waited 29 years. I’m far from perfect, but since starting therapy I’ve received a plethora of returns. My eye stopped twitching, I have an abundance of positive energy 🔋 , peace ✌️ , I have greater ownership of my life, and I’ve identified powerful tools for becoming anti-fragile 📦 🔨 .

Second, is sleep. One self care habit that has had the most impact on me, it’s this one. I recommend scaring yourself into sleeping more and reading the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. He mentions health risks, loss of efficiency, and other startling facts that will motivate you.

In the future I’ll cover best practices for sleep, but here’s what I’ve found. Don’t eat or exercise 3 hours before you go to bed🍝 . 2 hours before going to bed start to eliminate light stimulation 💡 . For me I’ll begin by dimming lights, wearing blue light glasses, and putting my phone away. An hour before bed is when I read, or if I’m watching a movie with my wife I’ll wear the blue light glasses. Next, take naps. I struggle with this, so I’ve bought a sleep mask and ear plugs. I’ve found the more $$$ you spend on a sleep mask the better. I even bought gun range ear muffs to really shut out noise. Essentially, I’m eliminating all light and noise to improve the quality of my sleep. When you can’t sleep, breath. When you have nights of anxiety or a racing mind try this exercise. It’s called 4-7-8. 4 seconds breath in, 7 seconds hold, and 8 exhale. Do this all through your nose 👃. We have a limited capacity for conscious attention. If you can’t sleep because you’re thinking too much, do 4-7-8 over and over again until you begin to drift off. Your body and mind will relax and feel better because of this. If you can’t sleep, this is the next best thing you can do for your body when you’re resting. The last improvement I’ll point out is making up for sleep inefficiency. 7-8 hours is ideal so you should go to bed early to account for waking up in the middle night and the time it takes you to wind down.

Third, a gym membership. A disclaimer here, forcing yourself to move throughout the day is key. According to Katy Bowman author of Move Your DNA we should be thinking of movement and exercise as two circles, one inside the other. The big circle ⭕️ is movement. Like walks 🚶‍♂️ hobbies 🎾 moving around 🚴 , etc. The little circle ⭕️ represents exercise where we are making our heart race ❤️. It’s possible to be sedentary and active. Combining the two is key. Now, a gym membership has been a great investment. I paid a $50 initiation fee and $10 a month after that. This shows I’ve put skin in the game to be active and hold myself accountable. As a result I’ve been more focused, less stressed, eating more healthy so I can keep up with my routine, more confident, and attractive to my wife.🔥

Fourth, Meditation. I’ve seen a lot of different ways to meditate, but for my purposes it’s been a way to rewire and prep my mind for the upcoming schedule.

Here’s what I do. I set a timer for 20 minutes. I start by doing 8 sets of 4-7-8 breathing to stabilize and get into focus mode. I then review the 5 reasons for why I married my wife. Next, I open my mental “cookie jar” (reference to David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me), and review all the moments where I achieved something difficult. After that I remind myself of my 5 core strengths from my Clifton Strengths assessment. I then transition to giving an authentic review of what I’m grateful for. To finish I repeat the 4-7-8 breathing exercise until my timer goes off. This sounds like a lot but it’s worked for me. I do this on a daily basis. You choose what works for you! Sometimes it’s just focusing on breathing and the sounds around you. There may be mantras that you recite. Whatever you do, just do it until it becomes a habit like brushing your teeth. 🦷 🪥

Fifth, a library card. Nobody in my close circle uses theirs. I remember taking my friends on a detour to the library to signed them up. I’m not complaining because that means less lines for library freaks like me. Libraries today have made things significantly more accessible and convenient. Some libraries operate like a fast food drive through and will hand you your books 🍟 . Here in Miami, they’ll send you books free of charge. If you don’t have time to read, you can download Libby which gives you access to thousands of audiobooks. Reading opens you up to knowledge, new ideas, and exercising your imagination. As I’m writing this I’m reminded by the Arthur song “Having Fun Isn’t Hard, When You’ve Got a Library Card.”

From a financial perspective let me show you something. To purchase audiobooks or sign up for an Audible membership you pay $14.95 to get one free credit. If you want to purchase a book you can do so in a more economic way and use Thrift Books. If I paid for all the books in 2022 that I’ve read or listened to, I would be close to $1,000.

So…what I’m saying is you need to get your ass to the library! 🏃‍♂️ 🍑

6th, Mentors. I’ve been fortunate and frankly shocked how willing successful people are to mentor. These mentors come in a variety of formats. Online courses, YouTube, books, or connections you may have. I’ve reached out to people and 100% of them have responded. Here’s a cool example. I liked the idea of writing a blog so I reached out to one of my favorite journalists about being an excellent writer. His name is Ioan Grillo and he’s a Narco journalist based out of Mexico. I listened to his interview on Joe Rogan and have read all of his books. I found his website, sent him an email, and a week later he sent me a two page response with valuable feedback.

7th, journal 📓 🖊️. I’ve had journals on my computer, my Notes app, and ones that required me to write. Having a physical journal is better and here’s why. It forces you to slow down and give your thoughts time to think. The cost of a journal varies depending on your style.

I spent $20 on mine, and in that journal I’ve seen breakthroughs and come to pivotal moments of self discovery. Journaling helped me determine my career, what kind of person I wanted to marry, analyze experiences, and explore my creativity.

Thank you for attention and I look forward to getting tips on YOUR big investments👂.

Want wisdom that sticks? Follow this blog and the Underline This Podcast on YouTube and social media for short, impactful articles and videos that get straight to the point. Plus, explore curated tools, books, and resources on the Recommendations page—everything that’s brought real value to me, shared so it can do the same for you.