Go to the Doctor

Have an illness you can’t seem to shake? Or a severe injury that requires expert attention? Then it’s time to bite the bullet and go to a doctor.

This might seem like obvious advice, but millions of Americans either (A) try to tough out injuries or illnesses or (B) don’t have insurance to pay for it.

Reason A is monumentally stupid. There are no prizes in life for suffering. You do not become enlightened by declining medical care. Chicks don’t dig the fact that you haven’t been or a doctor in years, or that you “walked off a sprained ankle.”

A famous example of one of these people is former American football star William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Perry never wanted to go to the doctor for his multiple health problems, including headaches, dizziness, pain, alcoholism and obesity. Eventually he relented, and the doctors saved his life. He’s avoiding doctors again, and if he continues, he will almost certainly die.

I also used to be one of these people. Than after a particularly late night of cavorting, I contracted a stomach illness I just couldn’t shake. I was nauseous for almost a full month! Eventually I went to a doctor who prescribed me a pill, and I felt better almost instantly.

The second reason is a lack of insurance. If you live in Canada or the UK, you won’t have this problem, because all healthcare is free, but rationed. Here in the USA, you have the potential to run up huge bills without health insurance.

Here’s what you do if you absolutely need medical care: Pretend that you’re an illegal alien. Show up, say “mi amo Pedro Gonzales, y [insert injury or sickness here]. Yo no hablo ingles muy bien.” Don’t give an address, a social security number, don’t say that you have insurance or any of that. When they ask you questions, answer in broken, accented English. Would the care be as good if you were a paying American? Probably not. But it would still be care.

The government blows billions of dollars a year on free medical care for illegal aliens. No reason why you can’t benefit from it to.

If you’re sick and you don’t go to the doctor, then you’re not A Boss.

Wake Up Early

One of the founding fathers of America, Ben Franklin wrote that "early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." The old man knew what we was talking about.

There are only upsides to waking up early. First, you can take your time getting ready in the morning and not be rushed outside looking sloppy. You can also take the time to eat breakfast, while not "the most important meal of the day" is still pretty freaking important. Once you have done everything that you'very needed to do in the morning, you can study for the days classes or review what needs to happen at work that day. The only downside, and I mean the only, is that you'll want to go to bed earlier as a result. That's only a problem when people are going out at night.

I get up between 5:00 and 5:30. I do a little writing, get a little morning coffee, do a little blog reading, and I start heading into work at about 6:30-7:00. Commuting is a breeze when there are so few people heading in, and while I'm traveling, I review notes and study a bit.

Legit bosses are always hustling, whether its on the street or up in the boardroom. And whoever starts the hustle first, usually comes out on top. If you start as soon as you wake up, that means getting up early.

Don't Jump into the Ocean with a mobile phone otherwise the phone will break and you can't post. Definately NOT Boss.

Go on Vacation

Feeling a little burned out, stressed or just want to get away? Taking a little vacation (or “going on holiday” as the Brits, Aussies and Canadians say) could be the cure.

I define vacation as just getting away from what you have to do, whether it’s school or work. And by getting away, you don’t necessarily have to travel. Taking some time off school or work and just sitting around and playing video games all day also qualifies!

One of my favorite vacations I took was just as I was leaving one job and working on a major acquisition for one of my side businesses. It took some time for this acquisition to go through, wrangling over dollars and responsibilities, etc. So what I did was re-play Ogre Battle for the SNES. Not only is it one of the all-time great RPG’s (and a rare game to boot) but it was the perfect thing to take my mind off a potentially stressful situation.

Your standard vacation is traveling, and exploring a far off place. While potentially expensive, this can be pretty awesome and may give you memories for the rest of your life. One of my favorite blogs is “Frosty’s Travels and More” where the author posts pictures of his often gorgeous vacation spots. It almost feels like you’re there!

Another cool type of vacation is what I call a “review vacation.” If you’re like me, you’re learning tons of stuff at work and/or school. Taking a few days to sit back, review your notes and write down some really good questions can be a great way to relax, and has the added benefit of putting you on good footing when you get back (so long as you’re not missing out on additional learning).

If I take a vacation, the one thing I won’t be taking a break from is blogging—helping people live better lives is what makes me happy and recharges my batteries.

So take a little time off. You’ll feel better about everything and be “Living The Boss Life.”

Appreciate What You Have

A story has been making the rounds this week about Raymond Daniel Towler, a man who was convicted of child rape and served nearly 30 years in jail. He didn’t spend more because of the advent of DNA evidence—evidence that exonerated Mr. Taylor.

Like any of us would be, he is angry and he is suing—he’ll receive $40,000 for each year of false imprisonment, and possibly more—but because he is free for the first time for what feels like forever, he’s enjoying littlest things that we take for granted.

[Towler] is like a new person, starting all over from where he left off. He's hoping to get in twenty more years. He tries not to think of all the time he spent behind bars as "lost." Instead, he tries to focus on the positive. Sometimes he finds himself standing for a few moments in the bathroom, sort of marveling. For three decades he lived in his bathroom. Now, after living with his cousin Carole for a few months, he lives in his own apartment (another of his life's belated firsts). No longer must he sh*t where he eats and sleeps.

(Snip)

So many choices. Which car insurance. Which cereal. Which deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo. Rows and rows of products. Varieties, sizes, colors. Which is cheaper? Which is better? What's the best buy? Which gum to chew? When he went into prison there were, like, two kinds of chewing gum. Now there are a zillion. One of the small gifts he gives himself is trying all the gums. "I can spoil myself a little so long as I stay within my means," he says. Papaya juice! Kiwi and strawberry nectar! Green tea! Arnold Palmer — he was a golfer when Towler went down. Now he is a drink, sweet and so incredibly thirst quenching.

This guy whose life almost was ruined is now finding the joy in the smallest things of life, like trying different sticks of gum!

Taking a serious look at your life and realizing how good you got it? Now that’s Boss.

Shoot Guns

Want to know what’s Boss? Picking out the biggest automatic rifle you can find, loading up the clip, setting up the target, and shooting the heck out of it.

Now, I’m not sure about the gun availability laws outside the US. Here in the USA, a person can basically own any gun they want. A waiting period for handguns is required in most states, as is gun registration, but other than that, you’re free and clear to own anything. I understand that guns of all kinds are banned in the UK and they’ve even banned carrying knives.

In many places in the US, there are shooting ranges that can rent out guns, ammunition, ear and eye protection and will even set up the target for you. And once you’re given the clear to fire sign, shooting up a target will make you feel like an action hero.

A few tips before going to a range:

1. Look up whether or not they rent guns at the range you go to and the prices they offer. I’ve been to ranges that rent and do not rent. The non-rent ranges are much cheaper, naturally, but you might not have an AK lying around your house to use for fun.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. We don’t come out of the womb knowing how to shoot and it’s safer to get information from a professional.

3. Always carry your weapon unloaded and load it only when you’re at your designated firing station.

4. This one is kind of obvious, but do not go into the target area (if you’re even allowed to) until the all-clear signal has been given. This will likely happen when someone from the range comes over and makes sure that all guns are unloaded.

I could go on all day about gun safety tips, but needless to say that you’re carrying a deadly weapon and it should be treated as such—always pointed at the ground, unloaded, etc.

Shooting guns is a good way to get up your confidence. It’s a little scary shooting a gun for the first time, and once you take those first shots, it’s a real rush! The gun range is a good place to meet people who are also firearms enthusiasts. And if you have a lady friend who you’re trying to impress, the gun range is a fun date to go on. It might sound off, but chick dig guys who know how to use their gun properly!

Keep on living that Boss life, and don’t shoot until given the signal to do so!  

Use Groupon

Want to take your money further and experiment doing new things? Groupon might be the answer.

Groupon is a service that sends you daily deals on products and services being sold near your location. In order to use it, you give them your geographic location, your e-mail address, and they send you discount coupons that are often offer massive savings.

The massive savings are obtained essentially by strength in numbers—this explanation via Wikipedia:

The company offers one "Groupon" ("group coupon") per day in each of the markets it serves. The Groupon works as an assurance contract using ThePoint's platform: if a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then the deal becomes available to all;if the predetermined minimum is not met, no one gets the deal that day. This reduces risk for retailers, who can treat the coupons as quantity discounts as well as sales promotion tools.

Groupon makes money by keeping approximately half the money the person pays for the coupon.So, for example, a $80 massage could be purchased by the consumer for $40 and then Groupon and the retailer would split the $40. That is, the retailer gives a massage valued at $80 and gets approximately $20 from Groupon for it. And the consumer gets the massage, in this example, from the retailer for which they have paid $40 to Groupon.

A couple caveats apply--first, there are rumors of whether or not Groupon actually benefits the retailers it gives deal to, except you don't have to care about that, so long as you benefit!

Second, the service works better if you’re female, because most of the site’s services are aimed towards women. Also in order for this to be a positive for your life, you need to resist the urge to blow money on stuff you don’t need, since you get deals every day.

But if used sparingly and only used for things one needs, then Groupon can be a powerful tool for you to save money and to live large, the two things Bosses excel at.

So use Groupon, and keeping on Living The Boss Life!