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#79 Investing in Yourself & Interacting With ChatGPT

Plus: Can AI Prevent Heart Attacks?

Author

Dan Healy
06 Aug

Welcome back!

I woke up this morning thinking about the names of months. Like, why is it called August?

Well, it was named after the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar in 8 BCE.

Previously, it’d been called “Sextilis,” Latin for “sixth month” (a smart name change to say the least…). But with Julius Caesar claiming July, Augustus had to get his.

With that, OTF has a new goal - get big enough to rename a month after ourselves.

Was thinking OTFebruary, but our content is too 🔥 for a winter month.

So, brace yourselves - ten years from now, you’ll be poolside sipping cocktails in the month of Ju-FLY.

Deal with it, Julius. You’ve had it for two thousand years.

It’s our time now.

Bringing You 🔥 This Week

Fattening The Wallet 💰️ 

  • Making Cents of Investing In Yourself

Elevating Your Brand 🤝 

  • A New Did You Know? To Bounce Off Your Colleagues

Boosting Your Productivity 📊 

  • Hustle Hub: Three Stories to Give You The Motivation You Need

  • A Cool Communicator x Working With AI Crossover for Producing the Best Business Ideas

  • An August 2 DO to Ready Yourself for Fall

Making Cents 💰️ 

Why You Should Invest In Yourself

Short and Sweet: Let’s make this simple: Investing in yourself is the ultimate GOAT 🐐 hack. It’s the best investment you can make and if you think otherwise, well, agree to disagree!

Why It Matters: Because investing in yourself typically results in the development of a skill or state of being worth way more than the stock market or savings account averages.

Whether the result is a raise, new job opportunities, better fitness, or better mental health, that return is greater than whatever you’d get from Nvidia or Tesla.

Breaking It Down: Investing In Yourself

  • Let’s say you make $100K / year - how much of that should you invest? Experts differ on this, but a popular answer found via quick Google search suggests 15% of your pre-tax income. In this scenario, that means $15K.

  • A portion of that will go toward your retirement, either through your job or via an IRA, but what about the rest? Or, more specifically: why not reinvest some of what we make in ourselves?

🧠 KNOWLEDGE

  • Books: Did you know 85% of self-made millionaires read 2+ books a month? That might sound intimidating, so let’s start with one. If the book is 300 pages, you can read 10 pages per day and finish with time to spare (unless it’s February).

  • Online Courses: There are SO many options to choose from. For many, the investment will be literal dollars, but there are also plenty of free options out there (from esteemed universities!), in which case the investment would be your time.

💪 FITNESS

  •  76% of the wealthy exercise at least 30 minutes daily. Do we really need to get into why, or how it helps? We’ll just remind you that it’s about way more than building muscle or burning fat.

  • A recent study ranked NY as having the highest average gym membership cost at around $75 per month. Which means your investment in your body (and mind and spirit) would be, on average, around $900 per year or less. A small price to pay, if you ask us.

    (You could also invest in equipment or an app subscription to push you and keep you on track.)

👀 OPPORTUNITIES

  • Networking Events: You know how we feel about networking - it’s important enough that we dedicate multiple content sections to it. In my experience, events I’ve attended are between $30-$60 entry, plus drinks. So let’s say $100 on the high end. You can attend one every two months for less than the cost of three shares of TSLA stock and meet people that might: provide new employment opportunities, offer useful/actionable advice, help with the KNOWLEDGE stuff above, become part of your professional support system, or even inspire a…

  • Side-Hustle: Easily the best investment in myself has been starting this newsletter. Why? Of course I want to make money eventually, but more importantly:

    • I’ve learned a ton.

    • I work toward something every week (79 weeks and counting), which has helped me develop a daily / weekly routine that’s bettered my life in countless ways.

    • I own it - it’s a digital asset that can compound over time.

O.T.F
O.F.T: One Final Thought

Understanding the importance of investing in myself is the best lesson I’ve ever learned. I’ve put some money into all of the categories of self-investment listed above and feel like I’ve achieved a balance in life that has me nearing my full potential.

That’s why I wanted to share this with you - so you can do the same.

I’d love to hear about your thoughts or experiences in this area. Please respond to this email if you have anything you’d like to share, and we’ll follow up next week with the best shares: [email protected]

Hustle Hub 📈 

Cool Communicator 🤝 

5 ChatGPT Prompts For Instant

Startup Inspiration

One of the best ways to invest in yourself is to start your own thing, and it’s not even about the money. It’s about becoming your own boss, doing things your way, and challenging yourself in ways you’ve never imagined, resulting in priceless personal growth.

For many, the hardest part of starting a business is coming up with the idea.

Luckily, there exists a know-it-all being that possesses the answers to life’s greatest mysteries.

No, I’m not talking about a deity (though if you believe strongly in the power of prayer, feel free to use any of these prompts next time you attend a service);

I’m talking about ChatGPT.

This article, courtesy of Forbes, was behind a paywall on my laptop (though somehow not on my phone), so I’ve pulled the best info for you below 👇️ 

TL;DR Takeaways

  1. Find The Gap in the Market - “I want to start a business that solves a real problem. Here are some frustrations I’ve experienced recently [list a few]. For each of these problems, suggest 3 potential startup ideas that address the issue in a unique way.”

  2. Merge Unlikely Industries - "Help me generate startup ideas by applying my expertise [insert here] to five very unusual or surprising niches. For each combination, propose a unique business concept that leverages aspects of both fields.”

  3. Use Your Crystal Ball - “Based on trends in technology, society, and the environment, what are 5 problems or needs that will become critical in the next decade?”

  4. Flip an Existing Business Model - “Here are some of my favorite businesses: [insert here]. For each one, help me create a business that provides value within the same category or industry, but in a completely different way. Explain how this flipped model could work and what kind of customer base it might attract.”
     

  5. Be All Things to Your People - “Develop a startup idea for a product or service that can solve at least 5 different problems across various industries or aspects of life for [insert your dream customer base]. This startup should be adaptable and valuable in multiple scenarios.”

O.T.F
O.F.T: One Final Thought

Just like with human-to-human interaction, clarity and specificity are paramount when prompting the bot. The more thorough you can be in the prompt (above are just excerpts of much longer paragraphs), the more focused ChatGPT can be, resulting in better answers.

Did You Know? 👀 

2 DO THIS MONTH 💡 

The arrival of August is always bittersweet - it’s a great vacation month, but it also signals the end of summer.

Let’s flip that into a positive and view August as an opportunity to set ourselves up for a great fall and beyond!

1. Develop a Consistent Morning Routine

As mentioned in Making Cents, investing in yourself isn’t just about spending money. It can also be about spending time to take care of yourself. So we’re recommending that you spend this month fine-tuning a routine that has you ready to tackle every day with energy and enthusiasm. Think about physical wellness, mental health, and professional development / finances.

2. Read a New Book

There’s only 25 days left in the month, so we’re a little behind schedule, but the recommendation is: pick out a new book and commit yourself to 10-20 minutes per day. This is the first step in your one-book-a-month goal on the path to becoming a millionaire!

Before You Go

We hope you enjoyed this week’s edition. Next week, we’ll be back with Content for Your Commute, Expert Advice, and more!

One last thing!

I have a quick favor to ask you. Each week, I spend several hours crafting this letter free of charge.

I hope to keep it that way for the long haul, to continue bringing you value each and every Tuesday without a subscription fee.

To that end, it would mean the world to me if you could share On The Fly with just one person that you think would benefit from it.

Here’s the unique referral code you can copy and paste: https://www.ontheflydaily.com/subscribe

Or you can simply forward them this letter.

As always, thanks for the continued support.

It means the world to me like you have no idea.

See you next week!

You are now On The Fly and In The Know