Howdy folks,

I’ve had 2 ideas that have been on my mind that I wanted to share with you.

1. The Paradox of Choice: Why Companies Use 3 Options to Sell You Things

2. Simplifying Your Morning Routine: Focus on 3 Key Areas

By the end of this post, you’ll have ideas that can help you sell more or at least confidently choose the right popcorn size at the cinema.

Plus, you’ll also get an idea of how to design your perfect morning routine that focuses on body, mind, and soul.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

👨‍💻 Modern Entrepreneurship

1. The Paradox of Choice: Why Companies Use 3 Options to Sell You Things

Have you ever wondered why there is always 3 options whenever you go to buy something? From Starbucks cup sizes to popcorn options & Netflix subscription tiers - 3 is the magic number. But why is that?

There’s a psychological principle at play called the Paradox of Choice. When we have too many options, we feel overwhelmed and often end up making no decision at all. By limiting our choices to three, companies help simplify our decision-making process.

If you’d like to explore the reasons why it is scientifically better not to overwhelm people with too many options you can read more about the idea in The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz

In the spirit of the magic number here are 3 key ideas around pricing.

1. The Decoy Effect: Keep an eye out for this one. It’s when one option is a decoy to make another option look more appealing. For eg, if you’re choosing a streaming service, you might see a basic plan, a premium plan, and a middle plan. The middle plan often looks like the best deal because the basic plan lacks features and the premium plan seems too expensive. The decoy is there to get you to either choose the basic option or the expensive one.

2. Price Anchoring: The 3rd most expensive option sets a high price point, making the other options seem more reasonably priced. This anchors your perception of value. Starbucks might sell a fancy coffee for $10 which will make that $3 more reasonable.

3. Simplicity & Satisfaction: With 3 choices, consumers can make quicker decisions and feel more satisfied with their choice, reducing the risk of regret. We all want to feel like we are making the best choice.

👨‍🎨 Life Design

1. Simplifying Your Morning Routine: Focus on 3 Key Areas

I’ve geeked out over habits & routines for years. I’ve tried everything from ice baths, water fasts, nutrition hacks, saunas to floatation tanks. I don’t say this to try to impress you but to say that I’ve been in this world for long enough to know there is a tonneeee of information out there and I know it’s hard to navigate what’s good and what’s BS.

I believe the perfect morning routine is one that you can actually commit to and do daily. To make things even less complicated everything can pretty much fit into 3 areas.

If you do something within each of these areas every morning you’ll be well on your way to designing your perfect morning routine. The 3 key areas - Body, Mind & Soul. I’ll give you a bit of thought on each & some ideas in each.

1. 🏃 Body - Rest, Move, Refuel

Why it matters: Everything starts with your physical body. Moving first thing in the morning can boost your energy levels, improve your mood, and enhance your overall physical health. It gets them positive endorphins going & sets a positive tone for the day.

Ideas: a full gym workout, yoga, a walk, stretching, callisthenics, drink water, intermittent fasting, bulletproof coffees, wholefood breakfast

2. 🧠 Mind - Clear, Clarity, Direction

Why it matters: Starting your day with a clear and focused mind can enhance your productivity and mental well-being. Set some intentions and prepare your mind for the day ahead.

Ideas: Journaling, meditation, writing, read, listen to audiobook or podcast, draw, play an instrument, breathwork

3. 🔋 Soul - Energy, Enthusiasm, Drive

Why it matters: Give your soul something greater than yourself, your why & your north star. This isn’t spiritual (although it can be) this is all about your connecting with your happiness, joy & contentment for the day.

Ideas: Gratitude, creative activities, connecting with nature, finding joy in the small things, dancing, listening to your favourite music

If you’re anything like me and a bit tired of seeing all the information out there about complicated morning routines. I’d suggest keeping it simple and look to add into each of these areas over time.

3 Morning Routine Examples

1. Basic Routine

• Body: Walk for 15 minutes

• Mind: Write down 3 things you’re grateful for

• Soul: Listen to your favorite song

2. Intermediate Routine

• Body: 30-minute yoga session

• Mind: 10 minutes of meditation

• Soul: Spend 10 minutes in nature, appreciating your surroundings

3. Advanced Routine

• Body: Full workout at the gym

• Mind: Journaling for 20 minutes

• Soul: Engage in a creative activity like drawing or playing an instrument for 15 minutes

🎁 Members Freebie

If you’re stuck with ideas for building your perfect morning routine here’s 45 ideas to get you started. Simple ideas around Body, Mind, and Soul, to help you create a balanced start to your day.

1. Boost Physical Health: Engage in activities that move, rest, and refuel your body, setting a strong foundation for the day.

2. Get Mental Clarity: Incorporate activities that clear your mind, provide clarity, and set your direction, boosting productivity and mental well-being.

3. Create Emotional Wellness: Connect with activities that uplift your soul, bringing joy, enthusiasm, and drive to your mornings.

🔥 Interesting Finds

1. Create your own Lofi AI Animation in 30min

Do you know those Lofi YouTube playlists with the looping anime animations? Well, I learned this week that it’s pretty easy to create your own like this one I did.

You can even take it further and create your own animation series like the one I did for fun my friend.

Sounds like fun? I’ll be sharing some how-to videos on these ideas this week

📚 The Book Club

Here's what I've been reading or listening to lately alongside some little nuggets I've picked up through the week.

1. The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad

Just finished this book and there are so many ideas packed in there. Gad Saad gives science-based reasoning behind a lot of the politically correct movements that are happening in the world. To say he’s pretty critical of it all would be an understatement.

This has been one of the most intellectually stimulating books I’ve read this year. My biggest takeaway would be ideas around intellectual freedom, truth & science-based thinking.

2. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

I’m still going through this book and it’s my go-to audiobook to listen to before bed. There’s nothing like a good history book to put you off to sleep. Lately, I’ve been listening about asteroids’ impact on Earth. 👀

🎵 Music to Vibe too

Spotify dropped this track on my shuffle the other day. I was vibing to it on repeat before realising it was Billie Eilish - this one is a slow builder to a 🙌 ending.

Come join the listening party with one of my curated Spotify playlists

• 🤘 Rock Out | Belfast in the 00s

• 🧊 Vibe | Bali Beach Bar at Sunset

• 🔋 Energy | London Rave at 3am

🐶 Real or Ai Dog?

Did you guess it right last week? This week might be the trickiest one yet.

And that is it for this week's newsletter folks

Wishing you a great week ahead as always

Let's catch up soon

Matt

Stay awesome

🫶

P.s

I’ve renamed the newsletter to ‘Lifestyle Entrepreneur’. I want to focus more on giving you the best ideas I know & can find on building a business online so that you can design your best life. All while giving some personal updates & antidotes to keep it real & authentic.

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