When Buying a New Car Definitely Makes Sense!

Many financial gurus will tell you that buying a brand new car is akin to enslaving yourself with debt for the rest of your life. Depreciation, interest and higher insurance make that $15,000 econo sedan into a $1.2M cost of ownership nightmare over the long haul. Is this true? It can be, for some people in particular situations, but I will assume here we are smart enough not to overstretch your reasonable new car budget given your income and you will avoid super-high interest rates.

The question is, when you have the option to do either, do you stick with a used car to save the money, or spring for new just because you can ?

If you have the credit and income or cash and CAN afford a new car, keeping in mind that it is a more costly in the long run (as the experts point out) than a used car, there ARE situations where buying a brand new car is a great idea, even though it's inevitably a long-term financial hit.

1. You can easily afford it, and you live in an apartment.

Ever changed a tire, washed a car, performed an oil change, or done any maintenance work on a car in your apartment parking ? Right, that's either impossible or it sucks. Or worse, you get in trouble with the community management, your neighbors or even get your car towed.

Having a house with a garage or other work area to do basic maintenance on a car allows more flexibility when it comes to keeping that clunker going for a while longer. But in an apartment situation, once your car hits middle-age, it's often just better to go new if you can swing it.

2. You can afford the monthly payment on a modest new car, but you can't absorb a surprise $2000 major repair.

Conventional wisdom says if you're that broke you definitely SHOULDN'T buy a new car. But... There is a lot to be said for relatively fixed monthly expenses when you're on a tight budget. If you rely on a car to get to work and you're driving a ticking (sometimes literally) time bomb that could suddenly demand two months rent to get back on the road, a new car may be a better option IF you go conservative and get something modest and economical (i.e. $20,000 not $40,000).

3. You have a critical need for reliability (if your car failing you would be much more than just an inconvenience). 

If you live relatively close to work, can use public transportation or can mooch rides from friends or family as alternative transport if your car dies, you can save money  getting by using a beater that will work 98.5% of the time.

You may need the 99.9% reliability that (we hope) a new car should provide if for example:

You live in a rural area with a long commute into work. You have to drive yourself or family to critical medical appointments. Your job itself requires you to drive around a lot and a failures on the road could cost you business or eventually your job (delivery, real estate agent, services).

What I would say is NOT a reason to get a new car is for vanity or as a status symbol. Save your money, because you know what? Nobody cares! Everyone else is way too occupied with themselves to notice your rolling compensation complex and you're out the cash to boot !

Quality of life counts for a lot. Sometimes it's worth a payment. Sometimes not.

Fierce-Logic.com

Is Gaming a Complete Waste of Time ? Maybe.

You have big goals. You work hard. But you also play hard...A lot. Specifically, hour upon hour of console or PC gaming. It's your thing and how you unwind. A source of fulfillment that you'd have a hard time giving up. But is your gaming habit a big risk to getting what you want out of life? Is it a waste of time and a needless distraction ?

The answer is that it depends. Gaming is definitely not the worst vice to be stricken with and it has a lot of positive by-products for your mood and cognititive powers, least of which good old fashioned hand-eye coordination. The new age of online gaming brings a social aspect as well. However, you can reach the point of diminshing returns on these benefits if your controller time exceeds the threshold of too much of a good thing.

Ideally, gaming should be a recreational activity that takes place after you've got a good days work in. And I mean more than just your job or school day and keeping your general responsibilities in line.

 Are you putting time and effort into those activities that will bring you closer to want you want out of life and maximizing your potential to fulfill your life's purpose?  Do you complain about your job, yet spend all your free time in virtual fantasyland instead of putting the work into launching a side venture that could help you eventually shed the 9-5 ?

Are you regularly reading quality non-fiction: Personal development, biographies of accomplished people and how-to books? If not, you're missing out on a vast supply of inspiration, courage and other tools you need to succeed!

Do you spend enough time working out and preparing good healthy food for yourself ? Or do you hit the drive through and park in front of the screen with a greasy paper bag ? Do you devote time to meditation?

I'd agree that gaming is probably better than just completely vegging out and watching TV.  But...Even if you're doing extremely sophisticated mental gymnastics to dominate at a game, face it: It's STILL not getting any real work done in reality. Just imagine if you put that focus into something that could actually take your life to the next level ?

Understand that the reason that so many can easily put a ton of effort, time and concentration into gaming, but not into real world work is:

FEAR OF REJECTION AND FAILURE and
FEAR OF HAVING HIGHER STANDARDS

Gaming is relatively low risk and low exposure. Taking real-world risks and getting real-world projects done sets you up for all manner of ridicule and "I told you so" backlash from your peers if you fail, not to mention real financial loss if you majorly FUBAR. And if you DO succeed, well then you've got a reputation to maintain as a go-getter...Can't have that!

I don't put an hour limit on this, because I believe anyone with a problem knows it without putting a number on it. If you do take it to the extreme...Think about why you do... Is it escapism? Is it that far removed from an alcohol or drug habit ?

If you are an avid gamer, just make sure you have balance. If you want some real progress on the big life goals, you might think about scaling back a bit.

 Fierce-Logic.com

Breaking Free From a Legacy of Mediocracy: How to Reinvent Yourself (Without the Drama)

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. "-Henry Ford

 But what if most of your life has been a disaster ?
How do you shake the ghosts of your past to reinvent yourself into the new you ?

Ingrained patterns and negative reinforcement both internally from yourself and from those around you can create a constant drag that keeps you in a rut for sure. Here are three quick methods to break those chains and rise like The Phoenix from the ashes of what was:

1. SET HIGHER STANDARDS FOR YOURSELF AND DON'T LOOK BACK:

1000 times a day we are faced with micro decisions that we know full well what the "old, loser you" and the "new improved you" would make different choices on. Improve your choices on the small stuff and you will build the mental muscle to improve your choices on the big stuff.

Example: If you eat well, exercise and keep your living space clean and well organized, you are more likely to make better choices in your personal relationships and career because of the self-esteem boost gained by getting the "small stuff" right you can easily control.

2. MANAGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT:

Stop hanging around negative people. Spend more time with people who are going places and appreciate you are striving too as well. If you have too, MOVE.

Completely just start a new chapter, associate all the baggage of the past to the people and places of the old locale and just start new over someplace else. The most important thing is to NOT LOOK BACK.  Make every action you take in your new location congruent with your upgraded self-image and life's purpose. The past will fade away and the new you will solidify in holy awesomeness.

Stop ingesting negative trash from mass media: Turn off the news, the reality TV and the stupid sitcoms. Occasionally enjoy your cat or 1000 best nut shot videos for comic relief, but limit your time on the garbage media.  All of that noise is to keep you sedated as a brain-dead consumer. Start reading some real books on self improvement (see my recommended reading list updated monthly at Fierce-Logic.com/books).

Make your daily environment an inspiring place. Give your living space and office the makeover it deserves. At least wipe the burrito grease off your mouse.

3. DON'T GIVE A F*K ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK (including yourself):

A huge one is that people are afraid of being judged by their peers for suddenly improving in every aspect of their life. Sounds silly, but most of us know this is an awful truth and feel that it would be somehow awkward or they would feel guilty if they turned on a dime and overnight started doing all the things that successful people do.

Even the most well-intentioned of us stay in the rut of mediocrity because they don't want to feel like a "sellout" amongst their average peers (or even themselves).

TRUTH BOMB: It does feel like that sometimes... But, who's life is this ? That's part and parcel of being a constantly improving, successful person, being okay with being uncomfortable, putting yourself first when you need to. Sometimes it's awkward, but it gets easier. Making that change, flicking THAT switch is what most people who try to change never get beyond, they don't have the self esteem to feel that they deserve to be better than average.

You do deserve to be the best version of yourself, but you have to believe it first!

Bend, but don't break and never give up!

For more from me, visit Fierce-Logic.com

WWYDIYWACB? What Would You Do If You Were A Complete Badass? How to instantly conjure up the best version of yourself!

We all have tasks that we avoid out of  laziness, fear or just because we can (bathing, shaving, doing laundry).

There's also things we DO get done, but we bitch and moan about the process to ourselves so much that we blow a minor inconvenience out of proportion into a full scale pain-fest within our perception (going grocery shopping).

For me it's getting a haircut, stopping to get gas, or finding a good photo to accompany a blog post.

There's a very specific action you can take to up your batting average when faced with an action that requires some self discipline to initiate:

Simply ask yourself, "If I were a complete badass, what would I do"? or alternatively, "How would my best self  handle this moment"?

Nine times out of ten, your internal response will be something along the lines of, "We'll... I'd just get it done...Not only that, I'd get it done LIKE A BOSS without crying about it either".

The next step is the key!

Within 5 seconds, just do it. Before you have a chance to talk yourself out of it. Because you will. The only thing the 5 seconds is for is a quick sanity check to make sure your "What would I do if I was a complete badass?" response isn't something over the top stupid that will get you in trouble. Usually it isn't (except for that one time).

Once you get into that task and knock it out, you'll get a huge surge of satisfaction knowing you weren't a bitch about it and just got it done. It was easy, and not stressful at all.

Continued practice of this technique returns more powerful results every time and with less and less effort. Eventually you BECOME THE BADASS. And this happens faster than you might imagine, within days if you get the reps in.

The internal question of what to do begins to happen within a split second on autopilot and you simply start executing without hesitation on everything you were lazy and/or fearful about previously. And as you can imagine, the benefits of this are obvious: Massive, accelerated progress in your life.

So... What would YOU do if you were a complete badass?

Fierce-Logic.com

Peace Vs. Prosperity and the Zen Monk Paradox

"Just stop caring about success and make peace with yourself and you will be happy."

"The only standards you need to live up to are your own."

"Money and Accomplishment don't matter as regardless, nobody will know your legacy in 1000 years anyway. Nothing matters."

On the surface it does make sense. Just unplug from the matrix, meditate, simplify your life and be happy and content living a monk-like existence. Truth is, this does work for a lot of people! You can be happier this way, short-term at least if you are a hard-charger with no off-switch detuning from an overly stressed existence.

But, will you be actualized just chillin' ? Will you be as satisfied as you could be out there taking risks, conquering and succeeding at whatever it is you want to do? You may tell yourself that, "all the focus on accomplishment and actualization are external standards, right ? I don't truly want to do all that... I'm happy with a simple life, those are my standards..."

Are they? Get real. Of course not! Your solar-powered hot-dog cart with rideshare service empire will then never see the light of day. We just can't have that.

So, how do you combine the benefits of the Zen Monk philosophy with a lifestyle of high achievement and full self-actualization? After all, once you start chasing a bigger, better reality instead of living simple, Zen-ing out and going with the flow, aren't you violating all those principles that can give you great peace and happiness?

YOU CAN DO BOTH.

First:

It IS true, in 1000 years nobody will know what you did on this earth, your legacy will seize to exist, no matter how much you put into your "immortality projects". Unless you build a few pyramids, real big ones.

Accept this fact: NOTHING MATTERS.

Sounds negative, but hear me out. Given this fact that nothing matters in the big picture, this now gives you 100% authority to choose WHAT DOES MATTER TO YOU WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR LIFE RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW. So you are out of the cage! Go do what YOU want to do and chase YOUR dreams.

Second:

Go hard, but have 100% freedom from outcome. Do what you want to do with all you've got. Knowing that if you succeed or fail you can be 100% okay with the result, because hey nothing matters. Take your wins with humility and your losses with grace. This allows you to aim high, work hard towards and achieve whatever you want to do, but also retain the Zen ideal of the tranquil reed in the wind. You get the best of both worlds.

BECAUSE nothing matters, it's YOUR choice what matters and what you care about. You can chose to enjoy your wins. You can also chose to take failure in stride and get right back on the horse.

Third:

The pace at which you work towards your goals is up to you! Be okay taking your foot off the gas if you need to rest. Enjoy eating. Enjoy sleeping. Enjoy walking in nature. Enjoy streaming all eight seasons of a TV show in one weekend. Since nothing matters, you can go balls to the wall after your dreams AND back off and rest when you need to without being internally weird about it.

You indeed CAN choose peace, prosperity and success at your own pace!

Fierce-Logic.com

You Are Eating Too Much!

Now let's talk about something most people do not want to hear if they are trying to take off weight.

You are eating too much.

Everyone likes whipped cream straight from the can !

Maybe besides all your scientific wizardry with macronutrient ratios, magic fat burning cardio heart-rate zones, low-carb, high-carb, cheat days, fasting days...Somehow the scale is not trending downward,  you know you don't have some rare metabolic condition and are still carrying unhealthy excess weight.

You're eating too much.

The total on average of what you're taking in less your expenditure is not putting you in a deficit. Whether you care to express this in "calories-in and calories-out" or not is another entire argument, but regardless... If the scale isn't budging or going the wrong way...

You. Are. Eating. Too. Much.

Simply admitting this is the first step to finding a system that works for you personally. That's the key really, finding a diet and exercise plan that YOU can stick with that works for YOUR body.

And another secret: You don't have to stay on exactly the same plan, but can cycle through a few configurations of diet/exercise if you feel your body is asking for a change. BUT ... Behind the scenes the weight must continue to come down slowly. Or guess what ?

YOU are EATING TOO MUCH.

Now for the strategy to crack the code.

1. Weigh yourself every day. BUT...

"Experts" say don't weigh yourself every day, or don't weigh yourself at all? That's kind of crazy if your goal is to lose weight. "But body fat percentages and water weight and blah and this and blah that..." STOP!

Obviously... If you are dehydrating yourself, depleting your carbs or starving off muscle with a poor diet and no workouts the scale doesn't give an accurate picture of healthy fat loss. However, in most conditions, if you're doing what you know to be a healthy plan your weight is a pretty accurate picture of how the battle is going. It's actually really hard to simultaneously "trade in" 5lb of fat for 5lb of muscle and say "Hey I'm not losing any weight but I think I'm getting leaner...? That could be true in minute amounts but likely you're just EATING TOO MUCH and breaking even in the body fat balance war, although maybe getting in better condition, which of course isn't a bad thing, but being "fitter" yet still fat at the same time isn't what most of us want, is it ?

The strategy:

Weigh yourself every day first thing in the morning, birthday suit only with a digital scale. Round all values to one decimal place. BUT, only look at how you are doing week over week, ( i.e. I weigh X lbs today on Monday, what did I weigh last Monday) ? And then, go a step further. Collect these week over week values and take a 3-day rolling average of your week over week deltas.  So what this does is normalize or filter out all the noise of day-to-day fluctuations due to water loss or retention and gives you a real good snapshot of if you're trending down or up or breaking even over the past 7-10 days.

See the screenshot I made as an example of this method:

Now, taking this information each morning, considering what your current "3-Day Rolling Average of Your Week/Week Weight" is, diet as "Hard" as you feel appropriate to make sure you're trending downward. At all. Slow is good. If it's -0.5 to -1.5 lb/wk that's great. If it's negative AT ALL that's great too. If it's positive (trending weight gain) you need continued effort to scale back your consumption and/or up the exercise (usually the former). If it's greater than -2.0 , you can maybe refill a bit over the next 24 hrs (i.e. You're ahead of schedule, so you've earned a cheat day)!

Trying to react this way to day-today weight fluctuations is a lot sketchier and is why it's not recommended, but with this method, if you're willing to do a little record-keeping and math, you can dial in a nice slow decline in weight without overly restricting and break the yo-yo cycle. So you record the data daily, but stay calm about it.  Any reaction you have on a daily basis actually comes from the final 3 Day Average Week over Week column. As shown, it takes 10 days to get the initial data set to get you rolling.

Using this method I've come down about 40lb in the past three years fairly effortlessly.

The actual diet and exercise methods to use (pick one or cycle through them) will be explained in detail in future posts and include:

IF (Intermittent fasting) - This is a whole chapter in itself, eat a huge variety of food including absolute junk and still lose weight and feel great. This is my default mode and what I did instinctively for decades with great results before it was a thing. 

Low Carb (or "Keto" / "Paleo" / "Bulletproof") whatever you want to call it, to me all the same. Optimizes metal focus and steadies blood sugar and energy.

LFHC (Low fat high carb) or "80-10-10" which is usually all plant based foods. Optimizes athletic ability, fitness and provides SUPER (albeit inconsistent) energy.  You can think FAST but not as DEEP as on a ketogenic diet (more on that later).

Most importantly when it comes to weight loss...Slow and steady wins the race. Bend, but don't break and never, ever give up.

Fierce-Logic.com

Inner Peace Vs. Aggression: Why Tranquility Allows You to Kick the Most Ass Possible

                With the mental focus and energy most people burn on their morning commute, the true cost is in well-being and productivity (and maybe healthcare costs) ... Your commute is not Formula One. There's no prize for passing anybody, or getting to work in 27 minutes instead of 33 minutes. So instead of weaving through the lanes, riding the guy's bumper in front of you as much as possible without actually being towed and arriving to work a total stress case, try treating your commute as meditative time. That's right, drive like an old lady, leave plenty of following distance so you don't have to ride your brake the whole time. Breathe. Practice non-reactivity to traffic events that 'should' upset your normal self. Missed the light? Have to wait 3 minutes... Sit, breathe ... It's totally gonna be okay ... Stop caring ... Why care? Shit's unfair. Yes, even the timing of traffic lights is not fair.

              Conserve and build your mental and emotional energy for the day ahead instead of squandering it in the powered sardine can olympics. Save all that gnarly aggression to unleash the Kraken on your first task of the day-After you get to work.

              Don't think about the upcoming work day during your commute, just be mindful of the simple physical act of driving. Otherwise, relax.

               If it takes you an extra 10-15 minutes to get to work, who really cares? If you believe yourself important enough that someone might care, leave earlier. The mood boost you'll get just by staying low-key in that critical window just prior to starting work will carry more value throughout the day than the time will.

Fierce-Logic.com