Running the numbers ... and then ignoring them

I want to share one final Success Trigger with you this week. To view this email as a web page, [click here]() {NAME}, I want to share one final [Success Trigger]() with you this week. "How was I going to afford this?" Let's go back in time.… I had just graduated from college, and I desperately wanted to move to San Francisco. I was living near Palo Alto at the time, running a startup with a couple of friends. We weren’t making much money yet, so we paid ourselves a modest salary (I think I made $11,000 one year) and worked from home. I would visit my friends at Google two or three times a week so I could eat their free lunches. After a while, we started growing and raised some money. Business was getting better, we were making more, but we were still small and scrappy. After work, I found myself going to San Francisco 4x/week to go out and hang with my friends. Who the hell wants to drive two hours a day just to hang out? After a while, I told myself, “Why am I driving so much? I should just move to SF.” The problem was, it wasn’t a financially great move. PROS of moving: - SF = meet more cool people, eat at cooler restaurants, go out to cooler places. Oh yeah and art/culture/blah blah. - Why was I working so hard? So I could have an awesome lifestyle and hang out with my friends. - Less driving time = I could do the things I wanted to do (work, hang out) instead of wasting hours every day. CONS of moving: - My expenses were ultra-low, and I lived in a good place. It was an awesome deal. - Moving to SF would DOUBLE my expenses, including going out, eating out, parking, a more expensive apartment... What would you do? You want to move to a cooler city to meet new people and live a richer life. But from a strictly financial perspective, it’s not the right move. Here’s how I decided: I used a “psychological framework” that you can use to make big decisions in your own life. Technically I should have stayed in my Palo Alto–area apartment because I had an awesome deal and I was saving tons of money every month. But I wanted to move to SF (even though my expenses would DOUBLE) so I could hang out with friends and meet new people. I had some money in savings, so it wouldn’t be an immediate hit … but from a strictly financial analysis, I should have stayed where I was. And yet … I DID IT. I moved to SF. I did the analysis … then totally ignored it and went with my gut. I packed my bags and moved into a new SF apartment weeks later. Here’s another example, this time from a podcast listener: [Ramit Tweet] Buying a house often isn’t a great financial decision (even if your family and your real estate say it is). This listener calculated the extra hidden costs, weighed them against what they would gain from owning a home, and bought the house. I love it! Guys, sometimes you have to make decisions NOT on the financial analysis, but on what intuitively feels right. This is why the “debt snowball” works, even though it’s not the mathematically correct way to pay off debt. A lot of engineers and economists reading this are sputtering right now, saying, “Bu… but Ramit … what about the NUMBERS???” These people find more comfort in Excel models than in the reality of how humans actually behave. My decision to move wasn’t just a random decision. This is a pattern I’ve seen among my Top Performer friends over and over: They make decisions that seem ultra-risky to outsiders … but what those people don’t see is the way Top Performers think about risk. Key MISTAKES people make when thinking about risk: - Most people think all risk = bad. If I quit my job, I’ll be out on the street! If I invest in the market, I’ll lose all my money! If I try to start something new, I’ll fail … and then it’s all over for me! Waa (cue sad Hans Zimmer orchestral music). - And so many people live a life of fear insidiously bubbling under the surface … never powerful enough to cause them to change, but just deep enough to get them to stay where they are, paddling in the same place for life. Key POSITIVE psychological frameworks that Top Performers use: - Keep the major things in your life stable … so you can afford to be ultra risky on a few core things. - Top Performers are confident enough in their own abilities that they can jump “feet-first” into situations, counting on their own skills to help figure it out. - Does this always work? No. But even if the worst happens … how bad is it really? In my case, I would have just packed up and moved back down if I couldn’t afford it. I call these psychological frameworks Success Triggers, and [I want to share more of them with you](). Think about it. The idea of carefully weighing your risks/potential rewards … and knowing when to step out on the ledge and take a risk … that is an incredibly powerful Success Trigger. When was the last time you let a risk hold you back and waited until you were “ready”? And when did you say, “Screw it — I’m going to try this and see what happens”? Which one gave you MORE? MORE options, MORE results, MORE freedom? That’s the power of employing a Success Trigger, or psychological framework, to guide you in the tough decisions you face. (By the way, guess what? A month after moving, I got a $20,000 raise. I NEVER expected it. I never planned for it. But when I moved to SF, I knew I would force myself to start thinking bigger.) Top Performers routinely step into situations they’re not “technically” equipped for … knowing that they trust themselves to find a way to succeed. Examples of applying this Success Trigger: - Applying for a job where you don’t “technically” meet the requirements - Emailing someone who’s “technically” way more important than you to meet for coffee - Joining a course that’s slightly more advanced than you’re “technically” ready for … but busting your ass to ramp up quickly This is just one Success Trigger. [There are MANY more](). [Success Triggers]() [I invite you to join my Success Triggers program and learn all 30 of them](). Here's just a sample of what you'll learn in Success Triggers: - Why "resolutions" are dead ends and how Top Performers ensure their success by approaching planning differently - How to take intelligent, profitable risks … even if you're risk-averse - Why successful people don't fear failure … and how to free yourself from fear of failure, too - How to uncover the game being played around you in any field … and systematically dominate it - How to differentiate between a shortcut and a dead end - The universe's most powerful force — no, it's not love — and how to leverage it for your gain - The #1 ingredient in personal change — and one simple hack for making your weeks twice as productive - How to stop beating yourself up all the time and start living guilt-free … even when you make mistakes - My step-by-step processes for uncovering and neutralizing the invisible scripts that are holding you back - How to develop unshakable confidence in yourself - The "Worry Vault" Technique — which eliminated 99% of my worries - The #1 investment you can make (HINT: Top Performers invest in this like crazy and it's never too late to start) - How to stop struggling to do everything on your own. Get my strategies and scripts for harnessing the expertise of other people - I love this one — How to NEVER stress about having to find work - How much you're really worth — financially, at work, in relationships — and how to start increasing that value - How to stay motivated every day - What separates Top Performers from merely average ones — you can change this TODAY - How to optimize your time — know exactly when to think, when to act, and when to quit - How to avoid the "I'm so busy" overworked badge of honor — proven strategies for maintaining work/life balance - How to open yourself to abundance, serendipity, and lasting happiness [Click here to join](). [Signature] P.S. You have a choice to make. A year from now, you can be haunted by the “invisible anchors” that hold us ALL back (me included): fear of failure, fear of success, the presence of critics in our lives … or just being confused about all the options around us (and not knowing when to take a calculated risk). A year from now, you can be in the same place if you don’t take any action. OR... You could take a chance. You could invest in yourself. You could learn from some of the best mental models ever assembled in one place — complete with detailed analyses, stories, and “apply to your life” study questions. What would it mean to be able to have a vault of mental models you could depend on … in any situation? It’s funny to think that in a year, our critics are going to be in the exact same place they are now — miserable and complaining. But I don’t accept that for you. For the people who are ready to take a step off the ledge … to unlock the potential that’s already inside … and to MASTER the mental models that can accelerate your personal and professional lives… I’m thrilled to invite you into the program. [Click here to join Success Triggers](). WHAT TO DO NEXT Join my Success Triggers students. I don’t care that it’s proven so popular. I care about results. I want to see people make changes in their lives that lead to practical results. [Click here]() to read just a few stories of how Success Triggers helped students master the psychological "Success Triggers" that top performers use to shift their negative thinking into peak performance, natural confidence, and lasting happiness. [SIGN UP]() Featured Products [Learn how to be your own boss, do what you love, and earn more.]() [What if you woke up EXCITED to go to work? I show you how to achieve it, step by step.]() [Ready-to-use mental frameworks for increased happiness, confidence, & success.]() [No guilt, no excuses, no BS. Just a 6-week program that works. Over 1,000,000 copies sold.]() The I Will Teach You To Be Rich Podcast Raw, unfiltered conversations with real couples: - One partner is $300,000 in debt, but shrugs it off. The other cries at night, anxious about the future. - A couple that’s so worried about money, they feel like they’ll never have enough. They go to a restaurant and order chicken instead of steak to save $10. Their household income: $600,000. - Two parents who feel overwhelmed by work, kids, and debt. When I ask them how they’d describe their lives, they instantly say the same word: “Stuck.” Listen in to hear real money conversations from behind closed doors today. [Apple Podcasts] [Apple]() [Spotify]() [Google]() [IWT]() Follow Ramit: [insta]() [Twitter]() [twitter]() [youtube]() [Linkedin]() Was this forwarded to you? [Sign up here.]() This email was sent to {EMAIL}. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may [unsubscribe]( at any time. 548 Market St #89946 San Francisco, CA 94104-5401