Welcome to this week's Upwarding newsletter. My blog, with more in-depth content, can be found here.

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Enjoy your summer with a fun new (healthier) drink – Cranberry Kombucha Vodka! I call it a Crambuchi.

It’s 4 ounces Cranberry Kombucha
1.5 oz Vodka (I love Austin’s best…Tito’s!)
Garnish with berries, lemon, or nothing

By the way, it’s got fewer calories than wine (about 110 per serving).

But don’t drink it because you think Kombucha’s healthy – there’s essentially no evidence to support that.

Mindfulness/Spirituality/Chill

Breathing exercises are the simplest starting point I know for receiving the amazing benefits of mindfulness. One simple exercise I’ve developed is “extended exhales”. When I can’t sleep, I just breathe naturally and count how long my inhale is (3 heartbeats) and exhale (4 heartbeats). Then at a really natural pace, I extend the exhale while keeping the inhale the same length. In for 3, out for 5… then eventually in for 3, out for 6,7,8, and so on.

Health/Wellness

I’ve been trying to thread the needle through the following dietary constraints:

1) Greater than 30% of calories from protein
2) Vegan
3) Less processed or unprocessed

Internet searches led to foods like bulgur (only 18% protein) or almond butter (only 14% protein).

Here’s my final list:

Spirulina – 69%
Watercress – 60%
Nutritional yeast – 52%
Brown lentils – 46%
Bok Choy – 45%
Spinach – 40%
Edamame – 38%
Tempeh – 34%

You can also “cheat” a bit by buying a vegan protein powder.

Investing/Money

My book became a #1 Amazon bestseller this week! But you don’t have to buy on Amazon – click here and type in CHRISFF30 for 30% off.

I wrote last week about liquid portfolios that yield 3% to 6% with a history of growth. But the downside of liquidity is having your portfolio value and emotions gyrate as the price moves around.

That’s where less liquid alternatives come in. I really like Fundrise.com, which allows access to yielding and growing real estate investments for as little as $5,000.

Fundrise’s recent published yield was 3.74% and their annual returns are consistently in the 9%-12% range.

Random Thoughts

I loved this technical yet fascinating interview with pathologist David Watkins about a COVID-19 vaccine.

The key takeaway: we don’t need a vaccine to functionally defeat COVID-19. Dr. Watkins gives the example of HIV, which still has no vaccine. Instead, we have:

Social distancing (condoms)
Reduction of risky behaviors
Effective therapies (antiretrovirals)
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (Truvada)

It’s now extremely difficult to get HIV; and instead of a death rate of 100%, it’s a manageable condition.

His conclusion – we need to pursue any and all promising avenues because the solution is most likely a combination of multiple approaches.

Reflection/Quote

“While you can easily predict the concerns of making any leap, there is no way to predict the numerous rewards that await you on the other side” – Lawrence Yeo.

Read his amazing blog post for more.

Question:

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Stay well,
Chris