The Systems Guy • Follow me for systems on health, wealth, and free time ⚡ Cornell MBA • 2M+ audience

Hi, I'm Ben Meer.

Tired of non-actionable life advice, I started writing online in February 2022.

Here are the results:

→ Built social audience from 0 to 2M+ (across IG, LinkedIn, and X) 
→ Grew 0 to 690K+ followers on LinkedIn in 21 months
→ Scaled newsletter—System Sunday—from 0 to 270K+ subscribers

There are 2 primary ways I can help you:

1) System Sunday Newsletter

Most people don't know how to build life systems to accelerate personal growth. So I created a weekly newsletter that teaches these systems (it's free). Subscribe to unlock new levels of wealth, health, and freedom.

→ Try it: benmeer.com/ss

2) Archimedes [Coaching]

Access the most exclusive members' club for LinkedIn thought leaders. Get the proven systems, resources, and community to 10x your personal brand. 

→ Check it out: joinarchimedes.com

——

Sponsorships: partnerships@benmeer.com

Ben Meer

How to live life like it’s your second time around.

5 rules to experience more joy and less regret:

1. Remember the Spotlight Effect.

We think people are paying far more attention to us than they are. 

Harsh truth: 

Your freedom begins the day you realize nobody is thinking about you.

—

2. Consider the things you won’t care about in 5 years. 

• Other people’s opinions
• Petty disagreements
• Sensationalized news 

Allow yourself to stop caring now.

—

3. Shift your mindset from ‘I don’t know how’ to ‘I don’t know how yet.’

In the words of Adam Grant:

• Impostor syndrome: ‘I don't know what I'm doing. It's only a matter of time until everyone finds out.’

• Growth mindset: ‘I don't know what I'm doing yet. It's only a matter of time until I figure it out.’

The highest form of self-confidence is believing in your ability to learn.

—

4. Make 'No' your default. 

Whether it's a new work project or social gatherings, saying 'Yes' to non-priorities ruins your priorities. 

As Derek Sivers says, if it's not a 'Hell yeah,' it's a no.

Then pour that time into what actually excites you.


—

5. Normalize being weird.

“Weirdness is what sets us apart, gets us hired. Be your unapologetically weird self. In fact, being weird may even find you the ultimate happiness.” —Chris Sacca

—

We only get one do-over in this beautiful life. 

Make sure to live it intentionally. 🙌

♻️ Repost to help others live life to the fullest.
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more.

This quote hit home for me.

12 small life edits that have outsized returns:

Morning Routines

1. Make your bed first thing. You build momentum and set the tone for the day. 

2. Step outside. A healthy tide of cortisol is released when you step outside at daybreak, allowing you to become more alert. You'll reset your circadian rhythm.

3. Send a good morning text. Gm texts >>>. Make someone's day.

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Evening Routines

4. Write down your 3:3:3 plan for tomorrow: 3 hours on your most important project, 3 shorter tasks, 3 maintenance activities (h/t Oliver Burkeman).

5. End your workday with a shutdown ritual (h/t Cal Newport). Close your laptop, plug in the charger, and spend 2 minutes tidying your desk. Then say "shutdown". Separating your work and life is key.

6. Journal 1 beautiful life moment. Delicious tacos, presentation you crushed, a moment of inner peace. Write it down. Gratitude programs a mindset of abundance.

—

Meals

7. Prioritize unprocessed, whole foods: eggs, blueberries, dark leafy greens, and walnuts. You'll feel on (finally).

8. Hydrate before you caffeinate. Drink a full glass of water right away. 60% of your body is water. Replenish it.

9. Follow Japan's 80% Rule: Only eat until you are 80% full. Overeating makes the body divert blood & energy to digestion (causing drowsiness). Nobody has time for a food coma.

—

Home

10. Establish a home for every item. My advice: List your most misplaced items (keys, wallet, etc.) and standardize a home for these things today.

11. Choose practical materialism. Buy things that make you healthier, wealthier, or provide you free time. Products that make a material difference in the quality of your life.

12. Follow the 1 In, 1 Out Rule. If you purchase one item, then donate, toss, or sell another. Manage both inbound and outbound possessions to enjoy equilibrium.

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One last thing:

It's not just your environment worth editing. Your inner dialogue shapes your life, too.

Audit your thoughts to make sure they align with who you want to become.

Your future self will thank you. 

♻️ Repost to share these tips with others. 
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How to subtly upgrade your life in 2026.

Dial in these 5 everyday inputs:

1. Social Inputs

You become the 5 people you spend the most time with.

Choose wisely:

• Find intellectual sparring partners (where you help one another).
• Resist false kindness: Create an inner circle that will give you honest feedback.
• Avoid energy vampires: Spend more time with people who give you energy and less time with those who steal it.

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2. Information Inputs

Elevate your sources. 

If you want to level up your information diet, here are some immediate upgrades:

TED Talks, documentaries, insightful podcasts, books that challenge and inspire, and unbiased news sources.

See the comments below for a curated list of my favorite resources.

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3. Mental Inputs

Small shifts in language create big mindset shifts.

Among my favorites:

• Failure → Learning
• Stuck → Exploring new angles
• Nervous → Energized
• Hate → I prefer
• Have to → Get to

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4. Health Inputs

Your brain influences every thought, feeling, and action you take.
So prioritize your brain health:

• Take long walks.
• Sleep 7+ hrs nightly.
• Have a strong rest ethic to avoid burnout.
• Rebalance your dopamine with less screen time.

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5. Environmental Inputs

Pare down to essential items.

Then, manage both inbound & outbound possessions.

Inbound:
• Choose quality > quantity
• Purchase less; love every single item more

Outbound:
• Follow the 1 In, 1 Out Rule: If you buy one item, then donate, sell, or toss another

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Your future results are a lagging measure of your current inputs.

Choose wisely. Everything else is downstream.

♻️ Repost to spread this message to your network.
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Social intelligence quietly determines who gets promoted.

Here are 20 sentences to master it:

These may be called soft skills, but there is nothing soft about their impact. 

♻️ Repost if you found this useful. 
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The ultimate career superpower?

Learning faster than everyone else.

These 4 science-backed frameworks make it possible:

1. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
↳ Identify the 20% of material driving 80% of learning.

2. Spaced Repetition 
↳ Revisit concepts at growing intervals. Memory compounds with time.

3. Feynman Technique
↳ Break an idea down into its simplest parts to deeply understand it.

4. Memory Palace
↳ Attach facts to memorable mental images. Visuals are hard to forget.

 —

Accelerate your learning with AI:

Here’s 3 prompts to use:

1. “Explain [topic] to me as if I’m 12.”

2. “Quiz me on [topic] with 5 questions, then give hints only if I’m stuck.” 

3. “Generate a spaced-repetition schedule for mastering [skill] in 30 days.”

Paste these into your favorite AI to take action. 

—

The best investment you’ll ever make is in your own mind.

Information is abundant. It’s the willingness to learn that’s rare.

💾 Save this to find it later.
➕ Follow Ben Meer for more frameworks like these.

6 simple secrets to become quietly confident:

1. Allocate time every day for learning

Confidence starts with competence.

• Block out 30 minutes for reading
• Listen to an audiobook or podcast during your commute to work
• Treat everyone like they were sent to teach you something

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2. Hone in your body language

Nonverbal communication is underrated. 

People will like or dislike your communication based on:

7% words, 38% face and tone, and 55% body language. 

Stand up straight. Keep your shoulders back. Make eye contact. Smile. Give a firm handshake.

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3. Be more interested than interesting 

Make people feel important using the SHR Method:

Seen
• Give eye contact
• Offer a specific compliment

Heard
• Ask good questions
• Be interested, not interesting

Remembered
• Follow up
• Remember name(s)
• Recall something you discussed

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4. Build your own momentum

• Write down your wins (compliments, successful presentation, solo trip, etc.)
• Consistently review these wins

You’ll build an undeniable stack of evidence showing how far you’ve come and how seriously capable you are.

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5. Pause before speaking

When speaking, we allow ourselves only 30% of the time a listener would give us to fill a pause.

You have more time to reply than you think.

Wait for 2s first.

Pause in Speaking + Eye Contact = Confidence

(h/t Charlie Newport)

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6. Embrace your flaws (Pratful Effect)

Think of your favorite character from the movies or TV.

They always had at least one major weakness (you wouldn’t like them as much otherwise).

Owning your flaws is humanizing; you’ll be magnetic.

You don’t need to hide parts of yourself to be accepted by others. 🙌

—

It doesn’t matter whether you’re introverted, extroverted, or ambiverted.

Confidence isn’t the loudest voice in the room.

It’s the calm belief that you'll figure things out.

♻️ Repost this if you learned something new.
🔖 And save it so you can master all 6 strategies.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." —Peter Drucker

20 simple phrases to build a healthy team culture:

If you want to install a growth mindset:

1. "What did we learn?"
2. "How might we…?"
3. "I need your help…"
4. "What are your thoughts on…?"
5. "Thanks for taking that risk."

If you want to build trust:

6. "I made a mistake."
7. "You've got my full support."
8. "I appreciate when you…"
9. Help me understand…"
10. "I trust your judgement."

If you want to cut out toxic language (avoid these):

11. "That's not my job."
12. "We've always done it this way."
13. "Who's to blame?"
14. "That'll never work."
15. "Just do what I say."

If you want to prevent eroding your culture (avoid these):

16. "They should have…"
17. "You're wrong because…"
18. "That's a stupid idea."
19. "Why didn't you…"
20. "I told you so."

The words you speak become the culture you work in.

The best ones don't just happen overnight.

They're built one word, phrase, and conversation at a time.

♻️ Repost to champion healthy workplace communication.
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Pure Financial Advisors, LLC

David Edmisten is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional specializing in comprehensive financial planning with a focus on tax optimization, retirement income planning, and investment management. As a Fiduciary, David works closely with clients to understand their financial goals and loves seeing (and hearing about) the “bucket list” experiences his clients enjoy.

David has been in the wealth management industry since 2006. Prior to joining Pure, David owned and operated his independent RIA, primarily helping successful corporate professionals in their 50s and 60s plan for retirement.

David has found that people on the cusp of retirement are often overwhelmed by all the choices they need to make to live off their savings in retirement. He enjoys helping provide sound, objective advice and helping clients create an action plan to make the transition to retirement smooth.

David has been a frequent contributor to the financial media, having been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, US News and World Reports, Kiplinger, and others. David obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his previous industry experience includes serving as an advisor with Charles Schwab, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo Advisors.

David enjoys spending time with his wife and eight children, hiking, traveling, and playing music.  He is actively involved in his church and is a member and former President of a local Toastmaster’s club.

Financial Advisor

Next Phase Financial Planning, LLC

I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™,  Founder and Lead Advisor at Next Phase Financial Planning, LLC.

Visit www.nextphasefp.com to see how we help people retire early and confidently.

Next Phase Financial Planning provides financial planning expertise for corporate employees in their 50's and early 60's who are considering an early retirement. 

We help answer your important questions, such as:

*Have I saved enough to retire early and not run out of money?

*How do I save on taxes in retirement?

*How should I invest in retirement?

*​​How do I plan for Social Security, my employer benefits and healthcare?

If you are a corporate employee in your 50's or early 60's thinking about retirement, follow my posts for helpful ideas and insights.

Founder, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

Founder

About to launch new venture

 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

Charles Schwab

Provided high net worth clients with financial planning, investment advice and wealth management needs, including pre-retirement and retirement income and investment planning.  Recognized leader: Financial Planning Team Champion.

VP - Financial Consultant

Merrill Edge

Provide clients with professional guidance and advice on full range of financial goals, including investment planning, retirement planning, education savings, banking solutions, credit and lending, savings and budgeting.  Recognized leader: Promoted to Vice President August 2012, Seminar Specialist and Team Lead 2012, Training Lead 2013

Vice President, Financial Solutions Advisor

Justopenthebook.com

Following the promptings on our heart by God, my wife and I began an online ministry, www.justopenthebook.com, to help others develop a closer relationship with God by bringing His word to life!  We share truth from the Bible, practical applications, real-life testimonies from others who have been touched by God.  You'll find encouragement, resources you can use to grow, and join our community through our Forum.  Also follow our walk of faith in our FaithTakers BLOG.

President

E*TRADE Financial

Responsible for development of high net worth client base.  Loved providing investment advice and guidance, specialized services, assisting with retirement plans, and customized investment portfolios.

Relationship Manager

Wells Fargo Advisors

Specialized in giving personal investment planning and wealth management.  Enjoyed interacting and helping clients with solutions to improve their financial lives.  Focused on customized portfolio development, income generation, retirement planning, and business owner solutions.

AGIA

Supervised all operations of Unemployment Trust department, which provided unemployment claim loss mitigation and risk management services to a client base of over 2,000 non-profit organizations across the country.  Responsible for client retention (achieved 98% retention rate), financial management, and client development.

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