HABIT #1

Start Acting Like a Cheap Bastard

Okay not actually, but here’s what I mean. Most truly rich people I’ve met have one thing in common… they’re cheap f*cks.

They treat life like an endless negotiation — no fear. But they don’t wake up fearless. No, they wake up like you — sweating the small stuff, dreading uncomfortable conversations. They’re fearless in practice. They get their reps in. They’ve made discomfort a daily workout.

So, let’s play a little game. Today I want you to ask for something you have no business asking for. Build it into a habit. Get comfortable with the idea that you might be rejected, that you might look a little foolish.

Look at my friend Noah Kagan. Runs an $85 million company, and guess what this guy’s out here doing when you go with him to Starbucks? Negotiating for his damn coffee.

It’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen in your life.

But why does he do it? It’s not because he can’t afford it — duh — but because he’s sharpening the blade. He’s honing a skill that applies to every deal, every contract, every major decision. So when the stakes are real, it’s muscle memory.

Ask anyone in our business buying community. This skill’s gonna come in handy when you’re staring down the barrel of a $2 million deal wondering if you’ve got the cojones to push for more favorable terms. If you can’t stomach the small asks, how do you think you’re going to:

• Negotiate the sale price of a business?
• Discuss equity in a partnership?
• Convince an investor to back your idea?

You’re building up to those moments with every little negotiation, every tiny ask that makes you squirm. It’s uncomfortable, sure, but life doesn’t hand out participation trophies, and this is how you win.

HABIT #2

Sleep Your Way to the Top (But, Like, Actually Sleep)

I usually tell people that waking up at 5:45 a.m. has solved 99.9% of my daily problems. Am I exaggerating? Yes, but only slightly.

I can tell you it has solved enough problems that at some point I started wondering if early wake-ups were some sort of cosmic cheat code.

The truth (for 9/10 of you):

• Want to get more done? Wake up earlier when the world is quiet.
• Want to stop making bad decisions? Go to sleep earlier.

Think about it. What will you be doing at 5:45 a.m.? (Not cracking open a cold one, that’s for sure.)

You’ll be stretching, reading, hydrating, praying, and plotting your day hours before everyone else. If you’re like me and lack the willpower to wake up early without some accountability, grab a partner and make them suffer through 6 a.m. yoga with you. Nothing says “I love you” like synchronized suffering.

But if all else fails, there’s some pretty wild technology to save your undisciplined a**.

This is where Eight Sleep comes in

Full disclosure, the company is sponsoring this, but after…

• Getting their mattress cover delivered
• Testing it out
• And giving it an honest shot

…I’d recommend it even if they weren’t — because it’s like nothing I’ve ever tried before.

The tech can simultaneously cool you down to a crisp 55°F, heat your partner up, sense when you’re snoring like a damn freight train, and — I kid you not — raise your head to stop it.

Their Pod 4 Ultra is like having a personal assistant for your unconscious state — the stuff of legends, or at least the stuff that’s helped Elon Musk sleep like a baby (apparently that’s for real).

As for the science, the tech has been clinically proven to give you up to 1 more hour of quality sleep each night and to reduce snoring by up to 45%.

So yeah, this is the part where I tell you to head to eightsleep.com/codie/ and use code CODIE to get $350 off your Pod 4 Ultra.

I know it’s a big investment, but I believe in investing in something you’re going to spend a third of your life doing, and I hope this discount helps.

Now, before you send me a strongly worded email claiming your lifestyle doesn’t even allow for early mornings, let me hit you with this…

Whatever insane schedule you’ve locked yourself into, the point remains the same — try to carve out some time for yourself before the world starts distracting you.

Then take it, and guard it like Fort Knox.

HABIT #3

Move Fast, Screw Up

If there’s one muscle the top 1% build better than anyone else, it’s urgency. They shrink the gap between thinking and doing.

Take my mentor Bill Perkins. Mega-wealthy hedge fund dude slash high-stakes poker player slash the guy behind Die with Zero.

When I asked him how he keeps winning in life, his answer was brutally simple: “I move faster than everyone else.”

By the time most people have an idea, Bill’s already taken action, done the thing, made 3 mistakes, and found a better way. The result? He wins before anyone else even leaves the starting line.

This is the secret no one tells you: speed often beats intelligence. At Contrarian Thinking, our team embodies this through something called the 24-Hour Rule.

You know how corporate America loves to say, “Let’s circle back on that next week”? Yeah, that makes me gag.

You think like molasses, you move like molasses. And if you aim for the moon and only make it halfway, guess what? You’re still miles ahead of the person who never left the ground.

But there’s a catch: moving quickly means more mistakes and a bigger margin for error. Things can go sideways fast if you don’t have someone detail-oriented to balance you out. In my case, that’s my husband — risk-focused, and detail-obsessed, while I’m all about driving revenue and moving fast. The magic happens when you combine speed with structure.

HABIT #4

Read (AKA, How to Legally Steal From the Rich)

Look, if you want to join the ranks of the wealthy, it can’t hurt doing the one thing every rich person does: read. A lot. Read like your future depends on it because spoiler alert: it probably does.

Books are like the legal equivalent of insider trading. You get the information edge — all the playbooks and lessons learned from people smarter than you, without the risk of orange jumpsuits and 5-10 in federal prison.

The average non-fiction book costs, what? 20 bucks? That’s the price of some sad quinoa salad that leaves you hungry 30 minutes later. But a book? A book can influence you for decades.

A quarter of the population won’t crack open a single book this year. How embarrassing. Do yourself a favor: put down TikTok, close the 37 tabs you’ve got open, and pick up something with some literal weight to it.

Reading is a great equalizer. It’s an affordable hack that actually levels the playing field. Didn’t go to Harvard? Don’t have rich parents? Crack open a book.

If you’re looking for one to start with, I’ll make it easy for you: Main Street Millionaire.

It’s our tactical guide to building wealth by buying small businesses. You can make life-changing money off of boring, local, Main Street ideas — and this book will show you exactly how.

Pre-order now and we’ll hook you up with so much extra free stuff that it makes me a little anxious.

HABIT #5

The Cheapest Way to Unf**k Your Brain

My friend Brian Johnson may be out here spending $2 million a year on biohacking the fountain of youth (and to be fair, the guy looks chiseled)…

But most of us just need to get out the door and walk daily. Yes, it’s really that simple. But we’re too busy scrolling through nonsense to realize the power of literally putting one foot in front of the other.

The wealthiest people don’t all have 6-packs, but they know one thing for sure: a daily walk is the easiest way to unf**k your brain. It’s free therapy, a productivity hack, and a creativity boost all in one.

So here’s a habit I want you to build: the daily walk. Bonus points for changing a meeting a week to a walking call (and watch how excited the other meeting member becomes).

It’s simple, it’s free, and it works. But now let’s zoom out.

If you’re reading this…

…You’re part of a rare breed.

You’re not here to point fingers or burn things down — you’re a builder.

You don’t waste time asking, “Whose fault?”

You ask, “What can I do?”

So, you want to know what you can do right now? Focus on the things you control:

• Your community
• Your business
• Your habits

Success doesn’t happen overnight; it’s the result of small, consistent actions compounded over time.

Build something real. Touch some grass. Ask for the thing you probably won’t get. But most importantly, be the one who builds strong habits in a world that’s lost its way.

Be an owner in a world full of victims. A cool, collected mind in a sea of headless chickens.

We’re built different here, Owner Nation. It’s time to start acting like it — every day.

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