Encore Living

If you received $1,000 today, $2,000 tomorrow, and an ever-increasing amount every day for the next 30 days, what would you spend it on?

In this episode, Part 1 of 2, I share my experience playing The Prosperity Game. Yes, over the next 30 days, I'm going to imaginarily spend $465,000. In this show, I talk about:

• What you need to know to begin
• How to track your spending
• What types of things you could buy
• The most important mindset aspect of playing this game

Tomorrow, in Part 2, I'll share some of my insights in playing this game for one week. I'll share some of the questions that came up for me, such as, Do I only buy new things, or can I pay down debt like the mortgage. I'll also share the most expensive thing I've bought so far.

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do." Sound familiar? Maybe you've run into a customer service brick wall like this, where the representative says they can't help you any more. Oh sure, you could throw a tirade and end up on someone's TikTok (or worse, maybe you end up in jail.)

Instead, manage the situation using a four-step process I talk about in this episode. The steps are:

• Express your understanding of the situation
• Tell them you appreciate their efforts on your behalf
• Explain what your most important need is
• Ask what they CAN help you with

I use an example to elaborate on these four. Whether you use this in a travel situation, or another customer service road block, it's important to avoid anger and victimhood and instead change the energy you bring to the situation. Instead of saying "I want to speak to the manager," you'll think, "I'm speaking to the energy manager."

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

Are you someone who likes to try new things. To be honest, I don't. Generally, I like things I like, that I'm use to. Like lemon-flavored Lacroix sparkling water.

But when I saw a new flavor at the store -- hibiscus flavor -- my first thought was: is that flower flavored water? That sounded terrible.

I next wondered why I was feeling resistance about trying this new flavor.

In this episode, I talk about how we often will say, "What if I don't like it?" as an excuse not to try new things. In this case, if I didn't like it, I'd only be out four bucks. Not a big deal.

Join me in a discussion of turning "What if I don't like it?" into "What if I love it?"

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

Albert Einstein supposedly said "If I had to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem, and five minutes thinking about the solutions." 

It's an interesting quote that has become popular over the years, and it's easy to see why. It sounds smart. And Einstein invented the theory of relativity, so who's to argue with him?

But did he really say that? In this episode, I share my findings on this question.

I also explore the idea of how long you should spend brainstorming vs. doing.

The idea behind the quote is that you should spend more time thinking about the problem than the solution. But is this really the best approach to problem-solving? In my opinion, it depends on how you define "thinking about the problem."

Sometimes when we face a problem, we spend a lot of time worrying about it or imagining all the ways it could go wrong.

In these cases, it's not a good use of our time to spend the majority of it thinking about the problem. Instead, we need to shift our focus to what could go right and spend time visualizing the positive outcome we want to achieve.

For example, if I were trying to solve a problem like a meteor heading towards Earth (the example often associated with this quote), I might spend 20 minutes visualizing what it would look and feel like if the solution worked, another 20 minutes brainstorming and analyzing the problem, and the final 20 minutes taking action to solve it.

While I'm no Einstein, I believe that this approach is a more effective way of problem-solving than spending a disproportionate amount of time thinking about the problem.

By shifting our focus to what we want to achieve, we can set ourselves up for success and increase our chances of finding the right solution.

As always, thanks for listening.

For more on this quote, check out THIS BLOG on the subject.

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

Remember the "That Was Easy" button you could get at the Staples office supply store? You'd push this button and it way say one thing: "That was easy!"

In this show, I bring back that button (including the sound effect) and ask: what could we accomplish if we thought it was easy.

Too often, we overcomplicate things. We imagine something will be harder than it is. And so we delay action, or take none at all. After all, it'll be hard, right?

But having a button that reminds us things can be easy is a great way to move us often inaction.

Tony Robbins has a series of power questions, one of which is, "What if it were easy?" He's asking us to consider that perhaps the things we're avoiding might actually be easy. And if they were, wouldn't we act on them?

If you like this episode, and want to bring more "easy" into your life, I have a FREE DOWNLOAD for you. I've created a PRINT AND TRIM PDF with images of the "Easy" button. Download the PDF, print it out, then put it anywhere you need a reminder that things can, in fact, be easy.

DOWNLOAD HERE:
https://www.thorchallgren.com/blog/077

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

In today's show, I  talk about how to say no. Yesterday, we talked about saying yes, and I realized that saying no is equally important.

Sometimes saying no is easy, but there are times when you need to think about the ramifications of your decision and how it might affect your relationships. Today, I want to discuss three things to keep in mind when saying no.

First, decline with kindness. When someone asks you to be involved in a project or opportunity that isn't right for you, you can say something like, "Thank you for thinking of me, but it's not a good fit for me at this time." Remember, it's not about the idea or request, it's about what's best for you. Also, avoid giving feedback or being critical. Just say no and move on.

Second, after declining, say one good thing about the request. This can be as simple as paying a compliment or saying something encouraging. It shows that you still value the person and the opportunity, even if it's not for you.

Lastly, wish them well and follow up. After saying no, give them some encouragement. Then, at some point in the future, reach out and ask how things are going. This shows that you care about them and their projects, and who knows, maybe in the future, you'll find that the opportunity is a better fit for you.

So there you have it, three steps to saying no with grace and kindness. Remember, it's okay to say no when something isn't right for you. And by doing it in a thoughtful and respectful way, you can preserve your relationships and your reputation.

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

In this episode, I explore the idea of saying "yes" and really meaning it.

I talk about how often we say "yes" without really thinking about it and how it can have negative consequences.

It's natural that we want to be helpful and make things easy for others, so we tend to say "yes" automatically. However, it may be better to pause and think about it before responding.

I encourage you to notice how you're feeling when asked a question and to consider if you are saying "yes" enthusiastically or if you're just going along with it. If we say "yes" without really meaning it, our energy won't be behind the task, and we may not do a good job.

My takeaway in this episode is to only say "yes" when you mean it and when you can feel good about it. Take time to pause and consider before responding.

In tomorrow's episode, I talk about how to say "no."

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

Today, I'm going to ask if we're thinking too small. What if we could become "Off the Page" great.

You're probably familiar with the idea of a graph where it has a vertical scale. And if you think about that vertical scale, you might be where you are right now relative to your goals, your ambitions, whatever you want to achieve, you might be near the bottom of that scale.

But what if you're thinking too small? What if your potential isn't even contained on that page? What if you expanded the scale of what's possible, so that your greatness isn't even on the same page? What if you were "Off The Page Great"?

I want to challenge you to ask yourself the same question. Are you limiting yourself by thinking too small? Is your vision contained on that same page or can you go even further beyond what you previously thought was possible?

In this episode, I share my own experiences and thoughts on how to break out of this limiting mindset and aim for greatness beyond what you thought was possible.
As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

In this episode, I introduce a new series on the show called Travel Tuesday, inspired by my book "Best Vacation Ever."

With the spring break and summer travel season coming up, I share idea number 223 from my book, called "This is Where We're From."

The idea is to create an album of 10 to 20 pictures of where you're from to enhance your travel experience.

Often, when we travel, we meet new people and they want to know more about us, prompting us to show pictures of where we're from. However, many of us don't have an album ready to show.

With this this exercise, I encourage you to take pictures of your hometown and create an album on your phone.

I suggest including pictures of things like your house, neighborhood, landmarks, pretty pictures, and favorite activities.

Creating this album not only helps enhance your travel experience but also causes you to think about your hometown in a deeper way, appreciating the things that are beautiful and perhaps discovering new places to visit.

I encourage you to take some time before spring or summer to create a photo album of all the pictures of your hometown that you would want to share with others if you met in person.

As always, thanks for listening!

"Best Vacation Ever" book on Amazon

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com

In this episode, I share the idea of radical responsibility. It's a mindset where we take responsibility for everything that happens in our life, even things we can't control.

Adopting this mindset can be a game-changer because it shifts us from a victim mentality to one where we see ourselves as capable of taking action and finding solutions. It helps us to rewire our brains and train ourselves to look for solutions to the challenges we face instead of just complaining about them.

To put this idea into practice, I suggest taking 10 to 15 minutes out of your day to label everything that happens to you and say, "I take responsibility for that."

For example, if your dog is barking, you could say, "My dog is barking, and I take responsibility for that." This prompts us to look for solutions like looking for ways to train our dogs not to bark.

Join me in this episode to learn more about this mindset and how to incorporate it into your daily life.

As always, thanks for listening!

You can find me here:

WEBSITE:  https://www.thorchallgren.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thorchallgren

You can find me here:

Dr. Thor on Instagram @thorchallgren

Website: https://thorchallgren.com