Books with Gavin 📚

3 Lessons 💡

1. Perfectionism Lie #1: Goal should be Bigger
   1. Write down a number that is associated with your goal
   2. Now that you have your number -- cut the goal in half or double the timeline
      1. Not telling you to do less --> doing this will help you achieve more
2. Perfectionism Lie #2: You can do it all
   1. Just say NO
   2. This lesson relates to choosing what's NOT important to you -- this helps remove the sting of shame
      1. E...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Solitude and Silence Benefits:
   1. Ability to be alone may be just as important as strong relationships
      1. 2 minutes of silence can significantly reduce heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate
2. Recommended Nature Dose: 20 minutes, 5 hours and 3 days
   1. Having plants in your office can boost productivity by up to 15% time
   2. Goal to enjoy:
      1. 20 minutes in nature (three times per week)
      2. Five hours in semi-wi...

3 Lessons 💡

1) Don't Shy from Objections

• Put yourself in the shoes of a potential backer and anticipate three key objections to your idea. When pitching, don’t avoid those objections; lean into them. Avoidance only leads to more questions later, and the possibility that the backer tunes out the rest of your pitch. When Reid Hoffman was first pitching LinkedIn, the company didn’t have a dime of revenue. But instead of veering aw...

3 Lessons 💡

1) Expectations vs. Agreements

• Expectation: One person expects something to happen without communicating this
• Agreement: Both parties agree to the same set of terms (examples below)
  • I agree to follow my interests
  • I agree that my work schedule does not bind all my time

2) If-Then Planning

IF I run into X Problem…. THEN I will do Y

• Ex. If I struggle with sleeping in (instead of working on taking action ste...

3 Lessons 💡

1) Process Automation

1. Once you've identified a process that seems like a good candidate for automation, suggest the following steps:
   1. Partitioning
      1. Split the process into a series of well-defined phases that follow one after the other. For each phase, clearly specify what work must be accomplished and who is responsible
   2. Signaling
      1. Put in place a signaling or notification system that tracks the current phas...

3 Lessons 💡

1) Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

1. Believing your qualities are carved in stone, or having a fixed mindset, creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. Failure has often been transformed from an action I failed to an identity, I am a failure. This is especially true in the fixed mindset.
2. Growth mindset supporting environments include presenting skills as learnable, conveying that the organization values learn...

3 Lessons 💡

1) Measure yourself backwards, not forwards

1. Start = where you were 90 days ago
2. Achieved = what you’ve actually achieved in the last 90 days
3. Ideal = where you wish you were
   • You’re in the GAP every time you measure yourself or your situation against an ideal
     • Being in the GAIN means you measure yourself backward, against where you were before
       • Every experience can be viewed as a GAIN in some way (even really reall...

3 Lessons 💡

1) Five ways to say no to incoming requests

• Ask more questions
  • Understand time commitment
  • See if it aligns with top three priorities
  • Understand expectations and how others prioritize this assignment
• Say you’ll think about it or don’t respond write away
• Imagine the two scenarios: Yes and No
• No, but…
  • Preempt with email
  • Preempt with virtual comments
  • Divert/delegate to someone else
• No, because
  • No time
  • Your part...

3 Lessons 💡

1) How to think differently

1. On the topic of advice, let people suggest their own solutions and try not to think you have people's solutions for them.
   1. You might ask them: "Have you encountered something like this in the past? What did you learn then?"
2. In addition, another way to use this skillset is during tense, conflict situations. Prior or during a more intense conversation, you can ask yourself the followin...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Give honest and sincere appreciation.Appreciation is one of the most powerful tools in the world, people put in their best efforts to be appreciated rather than criticized, so whenever anybody does something right, or for you, you should show your love with meaningful and honest appreciation. Don’t hesitate in your praising, and it should be really what you feel, no flattery. One of the strongest desires people have...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Plan Your Life In Stages
   1. To live your life to the fullest, you need to examine 3 traits: health, money, and free time.Here's how it usually breaks down:
      • 20-30 years old: You often have lots of time and health, but little money.
      • 31-60 years old: You have a lots amount of health and money, but often little time.
      • 61+ years old: You have lots of time and money, but may have reduced health.
   2. Each age group has its...

3 Lessons 💡

1. One Project, One Priority per day
   • To do great work you need to do deep work. And to do deep work, you need to focus on one thing at a time. This way you’re able to give all of your concentration into one project at a time, and thus go deeper into each subject. It reduces the number of times your mind needs to change topics
   • So instead of trying to multitask or work on multiple projects on the same day, pick one pro...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Define Deep Work, Shallow Work and Deep Work Hypothesis (negatives of multi-tasking)
   1. Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill and are hard to replicate
   2. Shallow Work: Non-cognitively demanding, logistical style tasks, often performed while distracted.
2. Ritualiz...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Define 21 Day Complaint Free Challenge
   • 1. Get one of our official Complaint Free bracelets and put it on either wrist
   • 2. Switch the bracelet to the other wrist with every spoken or written complaint
   • 3. Stay with it until you go 21 days-in-a-row without complaining and become a certified Complaint Free person
2. Define Complaints vs. Stating Facts vs. Processing
   1. Complaints:, Criticize or Gossip: Focus on a probl...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Types of Stress Response + Focus on Challenge Response
   • Fight or Flight; Tend or Befriend; Challenge
   • Improve Odds of a Challenge Response:
     • Acknowledge personal strengths, remembering the past when overcame similar challenges, imagine support of loved ones, praying, know that others are praying for you
2. Strategy to View Stress in a Different Way
   • Allow yourself to notice the stress, including how it phy...

3 Lessons 💡

1. Regrets of the dying
2. Parkinson's Law
3. Investing Tips

3 Actions ✅

1. Regret Activity/Reflection
2. Apply Parkinson's Law
3. What is one action (with at least 5 minutes of time) that you can improve your investments?

Helpful Links:

• Taking Stock (lots of additional exercises and activities in the book)
• Self-Compassion Practices (Dr. Kristin Neff's Website)
• Elective Rotation Podcast
• Alex and Books Website

Book Discusse...

3 Lessons 💡

1. How to Feel Like You Have More Time
2. Make Life Memorable
3. Reduce Your Expectations

3 Actions ✅

1. Daily Reflection/Time Tracking:
   • Track your time or reflect on how you spend your time each day
2. Daily Vacation Exercise: Create Memories
   • Each day for one week, spend 10-20 minutes planning or actually doing something you find enjoyable
3. Create a “Better than Nothing” Goal
   • Identify an area of your life to ...