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What Are Your Gold Stars? (How Are You Rewarding Yourself?)

Anything related to matters of the mind

MTF

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In the Great Rat Race Escape , MJ writes:

In elementary school, good work was rewarded with a gold star. In business, you need to do the same. Every expensive car I’ve ever owned, from Vipers to Lamborghinis, has been a “gold star” gift to myself. While your build your business, it’s essential to reward yourself, even for the small wins. It might be months, perhaps years before you can draw a steady paycheck. The same applies to asymmetric returns. As such, you’ll want to reward yourself for milestones reached.

I have to admit I suck at celebrating milestones, no matter what it is, and no matter if it's personal or business. I think that the last "real" gold star I gave myself was buying a Kindle reader after hitting $2,500/month from my self-publishing business back in 2015. Other than that, I never give myself any rewards and forget about every accomplishment pretty much the same day I achieve it.

How do you reward yourself for your successes, both the big ones as well as the small wins?
 
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Nick perry01

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In the Great Rat Race Escape , MJ writes:



I have to admit I suck at celebrating milestones, no matter what it is, and no matter if it's personal or business. I think that the last "real" gold star I gave myself was buying a Kindle reader after hitting $2,500/month from my self-publishing business back in 2015. Other than that, I never give myself any rewards and forget about every accomplishment pretty much the same day I achieve it.

How do you reward yourself for your successes, both the big ones as well as the small wins
for every day I do every task I do on my to-do list, I like to watch 30-1 hour mins of TV, and it's like a 19 hour day for me(or atleast I try it to be) so it's a 1: 19-1:38 ratio. For more long-term rewards, I wrote down a system where I spend 10$ a month for every 1,000 I make per month that are under a certain amount. This method might not work, but I'm trying
 

Johnny boy

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I hire employees and then let the business run itself for the most part in the summertime. I have some leisure time. Then in the winter I vacation or go skiing for a couple months.

Each year is a new level. I don't really buy things yet. My first gold star was moving out and renting a lake house to live in. If I get a 'thing' it'll probably be a dual sport dirtbike to take to the trails around here in washington. A used one for 4 grand would work just fine. Maybe next year it's a boat.
 

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my first sales were just this month.

Roughly $3,000 USD in profit, after an entire year of absolutely nothing.

Immediately relocated to a neighborhood I've always wanted to live in (through Airbnb, currently living in S.A.)

Other than that, bought some clothes and ate at my favorite restaurants and went to the casino.

Next paydays will go toward investing in a vehicle for a cross-country tour when I get back to the U.S.A , as it relates to my business model. As a native New Yorker with little driving experience, that will be a fun little homework assignment once that time comes.
 
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peterb0yd

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I'm trying to get better at this too. I've started creating "milestones" where I group a few of the highest priority items from my Kanban boards and then create a "reward" when I finish all of them. Typically one or two weeks worth of work.

Last reward was a nice TV and speakers (I went without for a year and a half, mostly cuz I didn't want to spend the $$ on one... this was a BIG reward for me)

Next reward will be a short weekend trip to Vegas with a buddy of mine (we don't drink or gamble, we're going to an indie dance event).

One thing I've learned about rewards, they have to be something you *really* want. A reward is like going to the movies or splurging on junk food. Maybe a vacation if it's warranted. It doesn't have to be the healthiest thing, but it has to be something that your animal self craves.

You're only doing this because you earned it. That means you have to really get the work done.


If you tell yourself that you're gonna drink that healthy kale smoothie as a "reward" (or exercise, massage, relaxation, etc), you and your brain both know you're lying. That's not a reward. That's the ego saying "look how healthy I am... I'm rewarding myself so well"... no, healthy relaxation and exercise is required for mental and physical health.

A big ice cream from your favorite ice cream parlor? Or a filling dinner at your favorite restaurant? A dumb movie that you secretly enjoy (**ahem** myself and any Marvel movie :rofl: ) ... THAT is a real reward.

You have to be smart about budget and health. The reward shouldn't create financial or emotional debt. That just causes unnecessary stress later. You have to know yourself, your desires, and your limits. Not as easy as it sounds!
 
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MJ DeMarco

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My next house will be my next gold star. I certainly picked a bad time to be shopping. :eyes:
 
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G

Guest-5ty5s4

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I am all about celebrating when something good or productive happens.

When things are tough or slow going, I am more focused on being tight with money and locked into a goal. No spending during the bad times, really. I guess you could call that “Chuma mode.”

That said, my next gold star will probably be my own home. Cars don’t interest me as much as a nice place to live.

On a smaller scale, I’m looking at setting up a home gym, and smaller than that, a new MacBook.
 

MJ DeMarco

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My next house will be my next gold star.

:rofl:

That Fastlane shit don't work!

I promised to do a full write up of my new Utah home (below) complete with financial details, carry costs, etc. (will be on the INSIDE and not public) and I have not forgotten that promise. Just haven't gotten around to it.
 

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Kak

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:rofl:

That Fastlane shit don't work!

I promised to do a full write up of my new Utah home (below) complete with financial details, carry costs, etc. (will be on the INSIDE and not public) and I have not forgotten that promise. Just haven't gotten around to it.
Congrats man! That is a beautiful home!
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Nice property. My guess is $5.5M

Wow, impressive. That was list price. I got it slightly under, mind you, in this market, not too much under.
 

BD64

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:rofl:

That Fastlane shit don't work!

I promised to do a full write up of my new Utah home (below) complete with financial details, carry costs, etc. (will be on the INSIDE and not public) and I have not forgotten that promise. Just haven't gotten around to it.
Nice crib! but why the hell do you need a pool in Utah :rofl:
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Nice crib! but why the hell do you need a pool in Utah

The summer's are pretty hot here. It was 95 when I was here looking at this particular house in August, so I'm sure it will get a good 4 months of use. And it's heated, so it can be more.
 

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