Tascha Labs’ Holiday Shopping List for Happiness and Freedom

Whoever said “money can’t buy happiness” didn’t know how to spend their $$.

Buying random shiny objects gets you short-lived dopamine hits. But investment in yourself gives you lasting joy.

Here’s Tascha Labs’ holiday🎄 shopping list📝 for more happiness, health & freedom 👇

SUPPLEMENTS

The secret to no-fuss happiness: having your brain nourished, rested & protected from chronic stress.

And since most of us plebs ain’t got ass like the Kardashians’, we have to resort to brain as the money-maker. All the more reason to treat it well.

That’s why I’m always trying new supplements for cognitive function & these are my staples.

1. TianChi from Herbworks

This is the 1st thing I put in my mouth every morning. It’s my daily defense against tight deadlines, free radicals & obnoxious children on Twitter.

It says on the packaging “Calm Clear Energy”. And let me tell you it doesn’t mess around.

P.s. I asked the company for a discount for you. They said no. I forgive them cuz they’re that good.

2. Qualia Bundle from NeuroHacker

Among the dozens of nootropic blends I’ve tried, Qualia Mind is def a top 3. I like their Sleep & Life blends, too.

Code for 15% off on me: NATASHA

3. Neurochondria from Thorne

Another winner for mental performance & emotional equanimity. I take this when I have a song stuck on repeat in my head, a sign of mild brain inflammation. It fixes broken records like a charm.

Use link here for 10% off on me.

4. SynaQuell from Thorne

Those of you into keto diet gotta love this: a ketone based brain supplement. It gives your brain instant fuel & protects it against stress. In fact the target customers are contact sport athletes.

But what’s good for Tom Brady can be good for Tascha, too. When I drink this I literally feel smarter. The only downside is it tastes worse than horse piss. I hold my breath to keep it down. It’s ridiculous. Yet I keep coming back. That should tell you plenty.

SOFTWARE & HARDWARE

1. Apollo Neuro

This is something that def sounds like a hoax: a device that vibrates to help you focus, sleep & recover from stress.

I bought it w/ zero expectation & fell in love. My 3 fav modes are ‘meditation’, ‘wake up’, & ‘focused’.

When I need a 2-pm coffee, I use it on ‘wake up’ mode for 20 mins instead. When I need to go on stage, I use ‘relax’ mode to regulate the adrenaline rush.

Could it be placebo? I don’t know & honestly don’t care. It works.

2. Ulysses

This is the answer to my long quest for the best writing app.

I use it to write everything from scraps of ideas to books. It’s light weight, supports markdown & syncs across devices. A well designed, happy product.

3. Typefully

A strong ally in my crusade against Twitter addiction.

If I log into Twitter & start scroll down the feed, b/f I know it half an hr would be gone. So I try to log in as infrequently as possible. If I need to post something, I do it via Typefully client, which also makes posting threads a breeze. Plus it has a nice analytics panel.

4. Oversize Journal from Peter Pauper Press

I’ve had a free-style writing habit for many yrs after reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. It’s my therapy, meditation & idea lab.

There’s something magical about writing down whatever comes to mind by hand. I believe it’s one of the most wholesome habits you can adopt, and helps train your intuition, creativity & judgement.

And if you do a lot of free form writing like me, these PPP journals are your best friend. They’re ultra high quality & a joy to write in. I go through at least 4 of them every year.

5. Pilot G-2 blue 1mm gel pen

These are the only pens I use. No kidding. And they have to be blue, have to be 1mm. Yes I’m a weirdo. I know, thank you.

Is this pen intrinsically special? Of course not.

But this is about “anchoring”. When you form a connection btw an object & a type of activity, you anchor your subconscious to prepare for that activity whenever you use that object.

To me, a cup of earl grey + pilot G-2 + PPP journal = calm, centered, creative musing.

That’s my anchoring. You’re free to create your own using whatever rituals & objects you like. Rituals minimize friction & maximize your chance of flow state.

(BTW, like this so far? I write about ideas on investment, macro and human potential. Subscribe to my newsletter for updates.)

CONTENT & SERVICES

1. Accountability coach

This type of coaching has nothing to do w/ finding your life direction or healing your childhood trauma (assuming you’ve got those sorted more or less), but simply to help you get sh*t done.

Every Monday morning I do a 10 min call w/ my coach Dave, to talk about my priorities for the week. Mid week he texts me to check on how I’m progressing.

It’s plain & simple, yet helps me focus on the important, which can be a struggle when you have so many projects going on.

My coach has a profile on Upwork if you want to check him out. But there’re a lot of good ones out there. 

2. Real Vision Pro

A lot of fun in life comes from learning & growing intellectually. In that respect RV is a macro investor’s dream, as they do a great job picking guests w/ diverse PoVs & cover lots of topics.

I esp enjoy the monthly banter btw @JulianMI2 & @RaoulGMI. Even though I don’t agree half the time, it’s always stimulating.

P.s. the wrong way to use RV is to copy trade on hot investment tips. The right way is to learn how other smart people think & inspire your own thesis.

3. iTalki

If you want to be a real sovereign individual & freely roam the globe, better brush up your foreign lingos.

I use this site to practice Spanish every week. Hopefully will get to Italian some day. Next best thing to moving to a native speaking country outright.

You can find plenty of native speakers on there to practice with, but I’d choose the pro teacher option if you don’t want to get eye-rolled for confusing estuvo with estaba the 1000th time (pretty sure I’m still getting them wrong).

4. Tracy Anderson Studio

Before Covid I had a personal trainer. Lockdown started & I switched to doing Tracy Anderson videos online. Never looked back.

W/ her program I’m working out 1 hr a day, 6x a week. It’s fun & challenging. Had never been this consistent w/ exercise my whole life & I’m in my best shape ever.

Unfortunately this one is mostly for the ladies. Sorry, gents.

That’s a wrap 🎁. What’s something you bought this year that was money well spent (as in, not a flex but a good investment in your body, mind & soul)?

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