Cold Shower Cash
Learn how cold showers hold the key to courage and wealth.  You will never make a lot of money or go far with your life's destiny without an insane amount of courage. Courage is the key to wealth...
Tai Lopez Nov 22, 2013
In today's Book Of The Day, I read Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham.
 
The book lays out the tremendous effect Jefferson had on the world.
 
But three little details in the book stuck out to me:
 
1. Jefferson credited his father's way of teaching courage to be the foundation of his success. 
 
2. His father taught him that strenuous physical activity was the key to building courage. He sent Jefferson out into the woods alone at 10 years old just to test his courage and survival skills. And remember back in the 1700's the woods were full of bears and hostile Indians. It was a life or death situation for a little 10 year old.
 
3. As an adult, Jefferson woke up and dunked his feet in ice cold water each morning because of the health benefits he felt it gave.
 
So, you need courage. And you need to cultivate it physically not just mentally.
 
Because without it you won't make it far. You just won't. It's simple economics. Capitalism is based on competition and without an 'unfair advantage' consisting of various talents and skills you will be relegated to an average income and life - forever.
 
Courage is rare and in demand and therefore is valuable. That's how the world works. Gold is rare and in demand so it commands a high price. Same with a skill like courage.
 
Any basic examination of the success of famous men and women in history shows the one thing they all have in common is a HUGE dose of courage. 
 
Ben Horowitz, a founding partner of Silicon Valley powerhouse venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz says he looks for 2 things in entrepreneurs he wants to invest in: 
 
1. Brilliance
2. Courage
 
Look, billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Larry Ellison weren't just smart. No, they had the courage to drop out of college and strike out knowing they had a high chance of failure.
 
And let's not forget Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Oprah Winfrey and basically every bad ass who's ever lived. 
 
So how the heck do YOU get courage?  It can't be bought, that's for sure.
 
But it can be built - cultivated physically. Just like muscles.
 
When I was a teen I read about the Sioux Indians. They were one of the most feared warriors ever to set foot on the planet (just ask General George Armstrong Custer).
 
The Sioux military was built around bravery. Famous chiefs like Red Cloud and Sitting Bull earned their 'legend' status by walking up to a fort full of angry US soldiers who were firing thousands of bullets at them and calmly sitting down and smoking a pipe for 10 minutes while the bullets whizzed around them.
 
Every time Crazy Horse would head into battle he would turn to his warriors and say "Hokahey" and then add, "today is a good day to die!" He taught his men to laugh in the face of fear. 
 
But what's most interesting is how these Sioux Indians actually acquired this great courage in the first place. Were they born with it?
 
As I did a little more research I stumbled upon a story from some missionaries in the 1800's who lived with the Sioux tribes. They said in the dead of a South Dakota winter (and that's some really cold Arctic type weather) the Indian mothers would wake their little children up each morning and take them down to the river. They would cut holes in the ice and make their kids jump in the icy water and take a bath.
 
When the horrified white missionaries asked the moms why they did this, the moms turned and said "Oh, we are teaching our children to be brave."
 
Profound! GENIUS!
 
Courage is a skill.  You aren't born with it (well maybe some people are naturally a little more brave than others but genetics aren't the main operative factor)...
 
Courage can be learned - just like everything else.
 
So if you want to step out from the rat race, the dull, soul sucking 9-5, you must have massive amounts of courage.
 
Or If you own your own business and want to jump your revenue to 7 or 8 figures then you better double your courage first. 
 
You will need it to make the investment, to cut off old habits, to cultivate new mentors, to take advantage of huge new investments that are right in front of your eyes.
 
So let me give you a practical way to grow your courage starting today.
 
Do what I do. 
 
Borrow a page from Thomas Jefferson and the Sioux Indians and use cold water.
 

Start taking COLD SHOWERS. 
 
Jump in the shower before the water has warmed up.  Start slow - 3 times a week - for just 5 seconds. Build up slowly until you can do it daily and stand under the cold water for 30 seconds or more.
 
You can alternate the water back and forth between cold and hot. Just do what you can until you can handle more. If it's too hard then just make the water lukewarm to start. Make sure the cold water hits your head and the sensitive back of your neck. 
 
I like to yell out "C O U R A G E!!!!" to myself and punch the air with my fists.
 
And this won't just help you mentally. There are a ton of health benefits that have been documented like testosterone increase, muscle fatigue recovery, fat loss, lowering blood pressure, decreasing uric acid levels, and more.
 
But that's not even the point. The point of this is NOT physical.
 
You are building up the 'muscles' in your brain associated with courage. There is a lot of science around the brain and courage. We want to create activity in a brain region called the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC). 
 
The human body follows the 'use it or lose it' principle so you need to constantly stimulate this subgenual anterior cingulate cortex region in your brain. 
 
This plunge into cold water and the fear you overcome by enduring it is like doing 'sit-ups' for this part of your brain.
 
Try it for a week and you will see what I mean. 30 seconds a day is all it will take.
 
Be brave, get some more courage, and watch your dreams of wealth, health, love, and happiness start to fall into your lap.

Stay Strong,
Tai
 
 
Question:  What other ideas have you had that help you grow your courage? (Leave your answer in the comments below!)

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