“Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, and 0% reading internet comments.”

– Don’t Read Comments

Today’s edition of the weekend challenge can be summed up in two words: Go outside.

It’s almost springtime and there’s no reason to spend the entire weekend indoors. Go jogging, walk around your city, camp out; just avoid sitting inside. Being out of the house even has health benefits such as: getting a sufficient quantity of vitamin D, curing depression, and increasing mental clarity.

Have a great weekend and check back Sunday afternoon, when I review one of the greatest books I’ve read in a long time.

“The book you don’t read won’t help.”

– Jim Rohn

Unless you want to be lambasted with poorly made local ads and Nickelback, there’s no reason to listen to mainstream radio. On my drive to the gym I usually bring my Archos and fire up an audiobook. Over the last two weeks, I managed to finish What Would Napoleon Hill Do; this weekend I plan to start a new audiobook and I urge you to join me.

While this challenge can get expensive, there’s no need to let it. Books Should Be Free has over 3,000 public domain audiobooks that can be downloaded at no cost. Otherwise, if you want more contemporary books, I’ve heard great things about audible.com (following the link nets you a major discount).

Good luck and have fun.

“It’s really weird how your life changes. Tonight I’m drinking water. Four years ago? Opium. Night and day, you know?”

– Bill Hicks

Earlier this week I read a book that convinced me to start drinking more water. Since then, I’ve felt significantly more alert and gained the ability to do more reps in the gym. As far as simple life hacks go, drinking water is one of the best.

For this challenge all you need to do is drink at least eight glasses of water per day, that’s it.

“Men have become the tools of their tools.”

– Henry David Thoreau

Because of terrible weather conditions I spent all of Wednesday at home. Rather than screwing around online or watching TV, I decided to focus all my energy into constructive projects. I read some short stories, wrote, exercised, and made my bed (which I never do). While my day wasn’t amazing, I found it enjoyable and went to bed feeling fulfilled. Had I merely consumed and not created, my day would have been much less satisfying.

When you simply rely on being entertained, you gain nothing of value. As the old adage goes: “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Even though doing a menial task (like making your bed) might not seem as initially rewarding as finding an awesome meme on Reddit, it provides a greater return over time. My well made bed made me feel a sense of accomplishment, while remembering a mildly funny picture of a duck provided me with nothing.

For this weekend challenge I want you to spend less than 10% of your time watching television and surfing the web. Take all the extra free time that you’ve just given yourself, and go find a new way to be entertained. If you think this will be difficult, you definitely need to undergo the challenge.

Also, if you think the most exciting outcome of this challenge is going to be a nicely folded bedspread; I’ll provide a brief list of things to do when you aren’t in front of a screen:

• Hang out with friends
• Travel (it doesn’t have to be far, just go explore a different city/neighborhood for the day)
• Learn a new skill
• Read a book
• Date
• Go out to eat
• Meet new people
• Start a side business

Have a great weekend, and don’t check back until Monday.