081: Why Having a Million Dollars in Your Bank Account Won’t Make You Happy w/ Noah Kagan

Feb 1, 2024

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Go up to any man on the street and ask him whether he’d like to have more money, and you’ll get the same response: Absolutely.

But today’s guest, Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo and the OK Dork YouTube channel, woke up with a million dollars in his bank account, but was miserable.

Despite his success from the outside looking in, his finances didn’t fill the void his work or relationships opened. That’s when he realized that your goals aren’t nearly as important as the systems you set up to make yourself happy and fulfilled.

The solution?

Well, for Noah, it meant realizing he had the power to change anything in his life he wanted.

And you know what?

Even if you don’t have a million bucks in your bank account, you have this same power inside you, waiting for you to activate it.

In this episode, Noah and I discuss…

How to take your power back in every category of your life
Why optimizing for happiness and longevity is more important than long-term goals
How taking action right now builds confidence and momentum
Why achieving your goals won’t make you happy (and what to do instead to be happy and proud of yourself today)

And more, including:

The simple “Persistence over Resistance” mindset hack for conquering your biggest goals (2:10)
How pausing instead of instantly reacting to negative situations helps you uncover the correct course of action (7:19)
The “Now, not How” secret that crushes your limiting beliefs and keeps your momentum growing (12:09)
How to take your power back—in your finances, your fitness, your relationships, and your work (23:43)
Why taking action right now builds unshakeable confidence and unstoppable momentum (27:08)
How focusing on systems instead of goals makes you happier, more fulfilled, and often more successful (30:17)
Noah’s “Weekly Review” framework for self-assessment which has a profound impact on his happiness and success (43:28)
How thinking of new activities and habits as “experiments” makes you okay with failure (46:01)
The simple “GEBY” morning routine for enhancing almost every aspect of your life (56:09)
How setting your gratitude bar as low as possible instantly skyrockets your happiness (57:10)
Why playing “silly” games like chess or fantasy football minimizes your daily stress levels and prevents burnout (1:15:31)

Resources mentioned on the show:

1. Order Million Dollar Weekend: If you’d like to read Noah’s new book, Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours, you can order it here: https://noahkagan.com/mdwbook/

2. Follow OkDork on YouTube: If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur looking for engaging, motivation, and fun content, subscribe to Noah’s YouTube channel, OkDork, here: https://www.youtube.com/okdork