New readers to the blog might be surprised to learn that I don’t watch TV.
Haven’t in years.
In fact, I haven’t had cable for nearly two decades. Yep, I cut the cord about twenty years ago.
No HBO or Showtime.
Nor Netflix.
Nor Hulu.
Crazy, eh?
You might be wondering how I get by without ever having watched Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, cable news or the myriad of other programs and entertainment.
The answer?
Very well. Very well indeed.
One of the best things I did for my own success many years ago was to go on a low information diet. The first step was to stop watching TV. I also don’t listen to any type of news, political or opinion radio or podcasts.
Almost immediately, I saw my productivity and success skyrocket. The numbers in the bank account started to increase dramatically when I did this.
How so, you might ask?
I remember many years ago, when game players were the rage. Playstations, Xboxes and Segas were the hot thing. It seemed every household had one and everyone (mostly adults, LOL) were talking about what “level” they were on with a particular game.
I wanted to see what all the hub-bub was about, so I tried playing a couple of games.
The result?
It was a giant waste of my time.
I literally could feel my intelligence deteriorate as well, as I moved the little player around on the screen.
Something else happened as well…
The game eerily occupied my brain for a while, after I stopped playing.
How could I get to the next level? What could I do different to make progress? What new adventure awaited at level 9?
And I felt the same way with watching TV and listening to news/political radio and podcasts…
They were a giant waste of time that offered me nothing in “nutritional value” on my way to success. They took me away from what really mattered to me – achieving financial freedom.
If that wasn’t bad enough, I also saw what a “high information” diet was doing to the people around me.
To this day, I still see a distinct pattern in people that soak up a lot of cable news and radio programs…
They’re anxious, nervous, highly opinionated and emotionally charged. They get amped up by watching and listening to their favorite talking heads and it literally touches everything in their lives.
Instead of focusing on their financial success, they’re focused on what their favorite political heroes are doing and saying. Instead of spending time on self-improvement, they’re busying themselves retweeting clever memes about their political enemies. Instead of reading the latest book on self-improvement, they’re tuned into to some crazy talk radio show.
Which I think is comical.
Why?
Because none of that stuff pays. It doesn’t provide one iota of help for a person wanting to achieve financial freedom. You can’t deposit any of that nonsense in your bank account. You can’t buy stocks or real estate with it either.
Which is why I cut it out. I said goodbye to it many years ago and it was a profound decision that jettisoned my financial success.
How do I stay informed, you may ask?
I read the news.
And not just from one source, but several “competing” sources. That way, I can net out the information and get to the facts.
For me, reading the news eliminates all the exaggerations. Most of the silly intonation gets excluded as well, which means I can understand the facts without someone screaming their version of the facts to me. I come away informed, but not agitated. I can think about what I just read means to me without the amped-up, hyper anxious narrative associated with watched or listened-to news.
Reading the news also has another benefit – it saves time.
If you watch the news, take a guess as to how long you’ll watch it? The exact amount of time that station has allotted for that program. Just like potato chips and candy, it’s hard to consume just a little TV watching. It quickly turns to binge watching, with hours clicking by on the clock.
With reading the news, I can scan articles quickly to determine if there’s something that I want to read. With watched or listened to news, you’re being force-fed a stream of information that may or may not be important to you. The result can be a giant waste of time.
Friends, I hope you see the pattern in this essay. One of the biggest success inhibitors that I see is the supreme waste of time. Distractions that take you away from your goals. Time traps that eat up valuable mental resources that could be used for better things. Activities and habits that leave a person’s mind agitated and not focused on their dreams.
You’ve come to this blog for a reason. That reason is to become financially free and enjoy the many benefits of independence.
My best advice to achieve financial freedom is to pay attention to what you pay attention to. Eliminate time wasters. Build a reputation for what you know about success, not for what you know about the latest TV shows and news.
What you focus on is what you become. Leave the mindless programming for the mindless. Focus your time and attention on financial success and guess what will happen with that investment of time? You’ll become financially free.
Be free. Nothing else is worth it.
P.S. Why aren’t you wealthy yet? It’s because of something you don’t know. Otherwise you’d already be rich. Isn’t it time to learn what you don’t know? Consider signing-up for my newsletter below, to help you build wealth faster.
P.S.S. Looking to make an overnight fortune? Don’t sign-up to receive my newsletter below. There’s no magic secret. Becoming financially free takes time and dedication. But learning professional-grade money skills can have a life changing effect. If you’re ready to put in the work and learn, I can show you how to achieve financial freedom faster than normal.
P.S.S.S. There’s nothing for sale on this blog or in my newsletter. That’s right. Unlike other sites who claim to help people achieve financial success, I’m not trying to sell you anything. In fact, I find it a little disgusting that some sites insist that you buy something before they teach you how to become rich. Here on my blog and in my newsletter, I just provide actionable advice for free. It’s my way to give back. What do you have to lose? Subscribe today.
Ready for more tips on how to achieve the free life? Check-out more articles from the blog archives below:
Revealed: Why Most People Overspend, And What You Can Do To Avoid Becoming An Overspender!
What’s The Best Thing You Can Do To Build Wealth? View Yourself As A Science Project!
These Are The First Eight Questions That Every Person Answers Before Achieving Money Success
