Despite some challenges, 2016 was the best year of my life on most fronts: productivity wise, business wise and health/fitness wise.
I’ll be sharing some of my favorite hacks, technologies and tactics I’ve incorporated in 2016 below. It’s a short list of the upgrades I’ve made, but they’re some of the most impactful. But first…
Grandmaster Moves
In chess, once someone reaches the upper echelons of that world they are granted the title “grandmaster”.
Grandmaster moves are when he move a piece and often creates a multi-prong attack on the board.
In other words: 1 move with several powerful benefits.
I’ll start with four Grandmaster moves that had a domino effect on my life and could have major impact on your life.
Grandmaster Move #1 Tripling My Deep Sleep
The biggest grandmaster move I decided to do was at the beginning of the year. I got that would impact all areas of my life was to invest and create the ultimate sleep system.
Why?
I knew I would have more energy to push my brain and body to new levels of intensity.
And INCREASING INTENSITY IS THE #1 WAY TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY.
And having a high-level recovery program is the only way to maintain intensity over the long haul.
Maintaining focused savagery is challenging. Without deep sleep it’s almost impossible.
Once I researched and understood the hormonal magic of DEEP SLEEP, I knew it was the key to building lean muscle and burning off body fat.
And once I understood the MAGIC ZONE, I KNEW I had be fucking myself by NOT having enough deep sleep. I was struggling to maintain my body fat. I would wake up in a fog, unrefreshed…
Deep sleep is when you replenish your neurotransmitters (which make you feel happy, prevent hunger, etc…).
All the deep sleep hacks are beyond the scope of this post, but I’ll cover a few critical details in a few minutes below.
Grandmaster Move #2
Brain Optimization
I’ve been really actively optimizing my brain for the last 2 of years and I’m really experiencing some mind blowing (no pun intended) compound gains from it.
Here’s 2 things I’m recommending everyone to do:
- Buy the Neuro from www.VieLight.com.
This machine is AWESOME. It’s a LLLT (Low Level Laser Therapy) that blasts your brain with the right frequency of light (810 nm) . It shines the light directly into your prefrontal cortex as well as your default network (light clusters shine light 3 to 6 cm into the brain).
You do a 20 minute cycle, three to seven times a week. It’s doing two things: instantly floods your brain with awesome alpha brain waves (as seen here) and second the 810 nm light helps repair brain tissue.
You can read some of the fascinating science of LLLT.
So you’re getting instant benefits + long term gains. I love this thing.
- Do Lion’s mane.
I’ve been doing 6 grams a day of Lion’s mane with Neuro and my memory is the best it’s been since I’m a teenager.
Lion’s mane has been proven to regrow brain nerves. The science on this is deep.
Best value and quality I’ve found is with these guys (their 12 bottle package is a great deal).
Grandmaster Move #3
Shift Of Level Of Intent Towards Humanity
This one is the hardest to describe without sounding really cheesy. But I don’t care. I’d be doing the world a disservice by omitting this one.
To understand this, I strongly recommend you read “Transcending The Levels Of Consciousness” by Dr. David Hawkins.
In it, he describes the various states going from:
shame -> guilt -> apathy -> sadness -> fear -> desire -> anger -> pride -> courage -> neutral -> willingness -> acceptance -> logic/intellect -> love -> unconditional love -> enlightenment
We all have a different Level Of Consciousness (LOC) not just as human beings, but in every area of your lives including business.
It’s safe to say that as far as Level Of Intent Towards Humanity, Elon Musk is Enlightened. The INTENT behind the companies he is creating is not “maximum profit”, it’s “maximum impact upon humanity”. He’s the poster child of having an extremely high level of intent towards humanity in business.
I believe Bill Gates was there early on when he had the vision of a “computer in every home”.
The higher your Level Of Intent Towards Humanity are in business, it seems the more the Universe supports your efforts. I experienced this in a BIG WAY in 2016.
One of the things I’m going to be discussing here on the blog and on YouTube videos is “Business As A Spiritual Path”.
I’ve been on this road for many years and it’s completely re-contextualizes business and accelerates your personal evolution as a human.
I had some profound shifts in my Level Of Intent Towards Humanity in business this year and it’s creating some really exciting new visions that we’re already moving towards to. Stay tuned to this blog for updates.
Grandmaster Move #4: Entrepreneurial Operating Systems
Wow… this was a BIG ONE.
Looking back (pre-2016), I would call myself a MARKETER (not a BUSINESS BUILDER). Yes I launched and created several multi-million dollar companies, but I was a 2 trick pony: a skilled marketer and a good product creator.
This year, we fully implemented entrepreneurial operating systems and it’s been nothing short of magical on all levels.
As a company, we have our: 10 year vision > 3 year vision > 1 year plan > 90 day plan/goals
Then each person has their own personal 90 day objectives.
We meet weekly to solve issues and keep everyone on track with their objectives.
We also have our: core values which helps us hire people and guide our team members to new levels of performance.
We’ve created standard operating procedures and processes.
The performance improvements from the team members and as a company has been amazing.
The one book I recommend to get you started is Traction.
Health & Fitness
What I’ve found to be the biggest secret to improving anything is:
WHAT YOU MEASURE FREQUENTLY IMPROVES RAPIDLY.
It’s NEVER FAILED. EVER.
If you want to get lean, measure your bodyfat or waistline every week.
If you want to put on muscle mass, measure your lean body mass every week (or 2 — at the very least once a month).
If you want to triple your deep sleep, measure it every night.
So for health and fitness, here’s the tools you need for measuring your results:
Oura Ring
I love this ring. It showed me that despite sleeping 8 to 9 hours a night, my deep sleep was between zero and 15 minutes a night. No problem with REM, but none of that fat-burning, muscle building, deep repairing MAGIC TIME called stage 4 deep sleep.
Here’s what it looked like before.
So now I was motivated. And I had a way to validate every tool, device and supplement I tried.
😠👊😠👊😠👊 RANT ALERT 😠👊😠👊😠👊
Ok… this NEEDS to be said. WTF is going on (or NOT going on) in people’s minds when it comes to seeing the value of investing in their health and sleep?
People are willing to blow $50K to $200K on car which is depreciating by the minute, just so people think they’re someone special. But they hesitate to invest $5K, $10K, or $20K into a sleep system? Really? (shakes head).
Here’s 2 ways I can justify spending money on a sleep system:
- If I’m 10% more productive… if I’m 10% more creative — that alone will pay for itself.
- I’m now convinced that deep sleep is a critical key for longevity. And the quality of your sleep is either compounding negatively or compounding positively. So let’s say it adds another 5 years of quality living, isn’t that worth the price?
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️END RANT 🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
Here’s what my sleep looked like after a few months of sleep optimization:
Hacking And Optimizing Deep Sleep
HERE’S THE BASICS… THE FUNDAMENTALS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON FOR DEEP SLEEP:
Deep Sleep Key #1: Memory foam mattress
Why? Because you want to spread the pressure of the mattress as much as possible. Spring mattresses will almost always create pressure points in your hips and shoulders. When the blood flow slows down from the pressure, your body starts tossing and turning which pulls you out of deep sleep.
What’s the best mattress?
I did months of research before I settled on Essentia.
I love it so much I bought one for my parents for Christmas. Here’s a FB post I wrote and a video I shot about it.
First, they use natural materials.
Second, they have just about every variation imaginable in terms of density, hardness and softness.
Picking the right one for your body is critical.
You probably need more softness if:
- You sleep on your side.
- You weigh more.
- Have wide shoulders or wide hips.
You probably need something a bit more firm if:
- You sleep on your back.
- You’re taller.
- You’re lighter.
The ultimate solution is the ProCor which is customized based on your body. And if you’re married, this is AWESOME because they can customize each side. Both my wife and I couldn’t be happier.
Deep Sleep Key #2: COOOOOOOL
Chill that room down baby…
Ideal temperature for sleep is between 16 C (60.8 F Temperature) and 18C ( 64.4 F temperature).
This allows your head to stay cooler than your body which is the key. Use enough blankets to keep your body warm while keeping your head cool.
One technology that’s a game changer (Thanks Tim F.!) is the Chili Pad technology. Just like pressure points from a bad mattress, heat points (where your body starts sweating) will cause your body to toss and turn and disrupt deep sleep.
The Chili Pad is another great win for couples because you have dual zones. So you can adjust the heat and coolness for each side.
COOL GRANDMASTER MOVE ALERT!: pre-chilling your body with Cool Fat Vest is a BIG WIN not just for burning extra calories, but for getting more deep sleep.
This is something I stumbled on by accident (as far as sleep goes). I was using the Cryo Helmet, Cool Fat Burning vest (Use this promo code to get 5% off: MattG5CFB) for burning extra calories while I watch TV before bed.
But then I saw the changes on Oura Ring. So I tried it on and off several times and it predictably increased deep sleep.
Deep Sleep Key #3: DARKNESS
There’s two biological reasons why you want your room to be pitch black.
First, even if you wear a sleep masks – any lights hitting your skin will disrupt your melatonin production (and negatively affect your hormones).
Second, as soon as the sunlight hits your eyes in the morning – your body is gonna wake up. We’re biologically programmed to.
I bought my parents these pitch black blinds along with their Essentia mattress.
No surprise, my Mother stopped waking up at 6 am and is now waking up at 8 am.
CHEAP HACK ALERT: Take some electric tape and high quality black garbage bags and tape them on the windows. You’ll have a 100% pitch black room for $10.
I just scratched the surface in this post. I’m tempted to write a sleep optimization book.
Either way, I’ll get into all kinds of technologies into a full blown sleep post soon.
I’ve been able to triple/quadruple my deep sleep as a result.
Body Fat and muscle gains.
😠👊😠👊😠👊 Should I rant again? LOL 😠👊😠👊😠👊
If you’re not using a dexa scan to get your body fat measured, you’re doing the dance of delusion in the land of confusion.
I’ve done hundreds of body fat tests (as a personal trainer) and gotten dozens of dozens of body fat tests done to me and I can assure you that everything is WAAAAY off compared to the dexa. Google “your city Dexa scan” and find a provider near you.
Why?
Because the dexa can measure the fat INSIDE your body, including inside your muscles and around your organs.
Go get a dexa scan. It’s sobering (and motivating).
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️END RANT ALERT🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
Had some great gains, muscle wise and fat loss wise this year by going doing a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD).
I’m basically eating keto from: Monday to Saturday and doing a massive carb spike on Sundays. Psychologically and physiologically this diet is AWESOME.
I’ll write a post about CKD in the future.
One of the secrets to doubling or tripling your success in any endeavor is hire coaches.
The accountability is massive leverage against your own ego’s self-destructive tendencies.
I hired two coaches this year for my fitness and health. One is a multi-time, lifetime natural bodybuilding champion. He designs my programs and dials in my diet.
And another one is one of the smartest health experts I’ve ever met. She designs my supplement stacks and protocols for maximum health.
Last, but certainly not least: Pay For Performance Optimization Services
If I have ONE super power as a marketer it’s optimization.
We’ve been crushing it this year: doubling, tripling and quadrupling visitor value with our clients.
We do CAN’T LOSE DEAL structures. Basically, if we don’t increase your revenues we don’t make any money.
I’ve scientifically tested well over 10,000 different marketing ideas in dozens of markets and built a deep neural net of HARD DATA. I have 20 years of copywriting experience. Plus I’ve co-founded an optimization/tracking software company.
Creating new ideas (or waves of ideas) and beating controls is my favorite thing to do in business.
If you’re business is generating over $100,000 a month in sales (or your launches typically do more than $500,000 in sales) — you should go here and contact us because odds are very good that I can double or triple your revenues FAST.
