A&B #4

Hey friends,

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.In the past month, 711 people have signed up for the A&B newsletter. It's awesome to see so many people into books and reading. If you know anyone who might be interested, tell them they can sign up here.PS: If you missed last week's newsletter, here a link to get a free digital copy of Naval Ravikant's book.Alright, let's dive in!

Podcast Update:I had the pleasure of interviewing BJ Fogg, PhD, the bestselling author of Tiny Habits.Fogg founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford and has been researching behavior for 20+ years. His book takes a deep dive into habits, why we do or don't do certain behaviors, the best way to build a habit, and much more. In our conversation, we talk about:

• How to build a reading habits

• How tiny habits can lead to major results

• The role of motivation in habits & why we can't rely on it

And much more. I've included timestamps to our conversation so if you're short on time, you can skip to the parts most relevant to you. Listen and learn more here!

Lessons From Reading:

Here are a few lessons from Fogg's book:1) Only 3 Things Lead To Lasting Change Fogg found that only 3 things lead to lasting change: having an epiphany, changing our environment, and changing our habits. Since we can't control the first one, focus on changing your environment and your habits. When it comes to your environment, make the tasks you want to do easier, and the tasks you don't want to do harder. (Ex: Want to floss more? Put it next to your toothbrush so you can easily grab it after you're done brushing your teeth.)2) The Most Important Step To Creating A HabitWhat's the secret to creating a lasting habit? Celebrating. If you do an action and you feel a positive emotion afterward, the brain will want to do that behavior again. That's one of the reasons it's so easy to build bad habits like smoking (you feel pleasure when doing it even though it's harmful in the long run). So, when you do a "good" habit, like 20 push-ups, you want to celebrate (high-five yourself or do a fist pump) to deliver a sense of pleasure to the brain and help wire that habit. 3) It Doesn't Take 21 or 60 Days to Wire a Habit Habits can form in just a few days or even immediately. Why? Emotions create habits. Not repetition or frequency. If a habit gives your brain a strong positive emotion, it will want to keep doing it. How long did it take for you to turn using your smartphone into a habit? Or how long did it take to turn using a new pen into a habit? Probably immediately or within a day. Repetition and frequency can make a habit easier over time, but it's positive emotions that create habits. Actionable Advice:

• Ask yourself:

  • What can I change about my environment to make habits I want to do easier?

  • What can I change about my environment to make habits I don't want to do harder?

• Find a genuine way of celebrating and make sure to celebrate after you complete a habit to help wire that behavior (here's a list of 102 celebrations).

• Remember that emotions wire habits and be aware of actions that feel good in the short-term but are harmful in the long-term.

Weekly Quote:“Anyone who truly wants to be free won’t desire something that is actually in someone else’s control.” –Epictetus

Photo of the Week:

I have joined the dark side...I'm on TikTok.

If you want to watch me try to make books and reading cool for Gen Z, feel free to

check out my profile here.

If TikTok isn't your style and you want more educational content, here's a Twitter thread on

Thank you for your support everyone, I'll see you next week!Read on,Alex W.