Apollo 13 was going to be the third time Americans had landed on the moon. But there they were, 205,000 miles from Earth, when they heard a loud bang.

“I knew right away it was not a normal circumstance,” said one astronaut.

An oxygen tank had exploded, crippling the spacecraft. Operating on limited power the crew had little heat or water and were forced to rig the carbon dioxide removal system in order to survive.

After a nail-biting six days the crew safely returned to...

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By Chris Reining / 10 Comments

Are you focused on the past, present, or future?

People focused on the past tend to see their life having a trajectory. If you remember the past as happy you predict your future will be happy.

Present-focused people seek excitement, variety, immediate gratification. They’re more likely to gamble, use drugs, and avoid anything tedious, repetitive, or difficult.

Future-focused people let their big goals decide today’s decisions and actions. They ambitiously work, save, plan. They have lots of...

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By Chris Reining / 2 Comments

It was around age 30 when I stumbled on Your Money or Your Life at a used book store. For $1, what the heck?

Then one day, sitting on my couch, I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. This quirky philosophy about money I’ve been living my life by since my teens matched up almost perfectly.

Of course, mine was developed haphazardly, with gaping holes in it, so it was fascinating...

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By Chris Reining / 5 Comments

How much money buys happiness? The research suggests a family needs about $75,000, so technically some of you reading this should be happy.

Daniel Gilbert agrees. The author of Stumbling on Happiness says once you have enough money for basic needs like food and shelter “incremental increases have little effect on your happiness.”

What he’s saying is that the more money you have, the less happiness it buys.

I remember making $36,000 at my first job out of college....

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By Chris Reining / 14 Comments

A former coworker asked me, “Why did you decide to stick your neck out there?”

I think he was asking why someone would work eight hours a day, and then drive home to spend the night learning, studying, and writing publicly.

Most people go home and spend five hours in front of the TV.

The reality is we all have 16 hours in a day. You can spend eight hours at your job to pay the...

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By Chris Reining / 1 Comment