Don't Trust Your Gut - Seth Stephens - Davidowitz

In dating the best stratagy is to ask out lots of people.

Be an extreme version of yourself. Lots of yes, lots of nos, very little meh

Artists who present a wide range of work to a wide range of places do significantly better than those who don't

Show up in a wide range of places

Sports fans gain more pain from their teams losses than they gain pleasure from their wins

Sales people with a poker face sell better than those with extreme emotions (anger, sadness, joy, ect).

Sometimes to sell a product you should show less enthusiasm.

People really like sentences that contain the word 'you'.

People are drawn to self help more than they are drawn to helping the world.

Similarities, rather than differences, lead to attraction.

A person who is happy outside their relationship is far more likely to be happy inside their relationship

Trates least likely to lead to happiness - race, religion, height, occupation, physical attractiveness, previous marital status, sexual tastes, similarity to oneself

In the dating market, people compete ferociously for mates with qualities that do not increase one's chances of romantic happiness.

The data shows that single people are predictably tricked by shininess.

People grow in attractiveness as we spend more time with them. (if we like them. Opposite is true if we dislike them).

Tests -
www.attachmentproject.Com/attachment-style-quiz/

Www.truity.com/test/how-conscientious-are-you

Www.idrlabs.com/growth-mindset-fixed-mindset/test.php

Focus on people with strong psychological traits.
Don't focus on your similarities /differences. Focus on how happy you are together.

Correlation doesn't imply causation

Most of the decisions parents make, have little impact on who that child grows up to be.

Neighbourhoods where children are raised make a much bigger difference in who that child becomes than other decisions parents make.

Role models are the biggest indicator in who that child will become.

I'm not a sports fan, so this chapter didn't interest me much.

When starting your own business

Avoid these businesses - record store, arcade, hobby/toy/games store, bookstore, clothing, cosmetics

Greatest no. Of millionaires - lessor of real estate, activities related to real estate, automobile dealers, offices of physicians, restaurants

Lots fail in these businesses. Don't confuse this with businesses worth starting.

Businesses worth starting - lessor in real estate, activities related to real estate, automobile dealers, other financial investment activities, independent artist/writer/performer, other professionals services, miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesaler

Big six - real estate, investing, auto dealership, independent creative, market research, middleman

To consistently keep profits, a business owner must somehow avoid competitors undercutting them on prices until the profits disappear.

Be insulated by law (Eg. get a patent, do something only you can do)
Make your product extremely hard to copy, but easy to reproduce once made (a game, book, car, phone, ect.

Build a brand people love.

Learn to build apps. Hard to make great. Easyly reproduced once made.

Spend many years building expertise and network while proving your Sucess in a field before striking out on your own in middle age.

Entrepreneurs are roughly twice as likely to build an extremely successful company if they previously worked in that field before.

People are more likely to laugh, when things are going well

Artists who produce more work tend to have more hits

Extremely talented artists may find it easier to both produce a lot of work and produce great work.

Put more work out there. Even if you think it's bad. Others may think differently.

Don't pre reject yourself. Don't pre reject yourself. Don't pre reject your (it's important).

How you look has a massive impact on the quality of your life

Presedential winners have a more competent face than their opponent.

Army cadets Carrer success is largely based on how dominant they look.

Small changes can make a 4 appear as a 7.

Download faceapp. Play about with your appearance and ask people you can trust to rate what looks best (growing a beard, wearing glasses, new hairstyle /colour)

Duration Neglect : this bias means that, in judging the quality of a past experience, we fail to take into account how long that experience lasted.

The peak end rule : we judge past experience not on the overall experience but on the peaks and lows of the experience and the end experience. If things aren't going well, end on a high, happy note and the bad experience will be lessened /forgotten.


Top happiness activities - sex, theatre /dance /concert, exhibition /museum /library, sports /running /exercise, gardening, singing /performing, talking /socialising, bird watching, walking /hiking, hunting /fishing

Do things that make people happier than they relise.

Things that take energy, usally lead to more happiness.

People with big problems frequently don't socialise much : some don't even leave their house. The average person in your social circle is likely to be less messed up than the average person.

If someone is annoying you. Imagine them as one of these messed up people. You might end up feeling sympathy instead of anger.

The secret to happiness is focusing on the current moment. Meditation helps with this.

Throughout the day ask yourself 'am I focusing on the current moment?'

Listen to music and work with friends to make your job far less miserable.

Social media makes us unhappy. Limit your time spend on it.

Sports is more enjoyable when you're not invested in who wins.

Alcahol makes things more enjoyable. Drink when doing boring things instead of already enjoyable moments in order to get the most happiness.

Nature makes us happier. The seaside and sun makes us the most happy.

I really enjoyed this book. First one on a while that I was eager to finish all of it. I highly recommend reading it.