Werner Tiki Küstenmacher

Limbi The Path to Happiness

Leads through the Brain

- Extract -

Welcome to happiness! Do you seriously think you can find happiness by reading a book? Well, if you ask me, yes, you can! I have read terrific, gripping and stunning books that genuinely helped me advance in my quest for a simpler, happier life. Which is why I myself took the plunge and wrote a book on the subject in 2001. Ever since, I lecture, sketch, and produce radio programs on the subject of simplifying life. I seek out and collect advice from people who have successfully combated some of the numerous everyday problems in a smart way. Time and again I asked myself whether there is a universal pointer, a sort of master plan to simplifying life? A key to happiness? After many years, I believe I am finally close to finding the solution. I owe this to increasingly popular discoveries made in neuroscience, the so-called brain research. It is becoming ever more apparent that the key to a simpler, happier life is hidden within our heads, right in the middle of our brain. In the 1970s and 1980s, a lot was published on the startling differences between the two brain hemispheres: the virtually ‘digital’ analytical left half and the more ‘analogously’ working holistic right. Meanwhile, it has become clear that it is not that simple. There are indeed differences between the two brain hemispheres, but they cannot be localised nearly as distinctly as initially envisaged.

Since then, a different, well-known insight to the brain has come to the fore in numerous publications and lectures: the difference between the cerebrum (that only us humans have in this advanced form) and the previously developed controlling organs that are to be found deep inside our skull. It was there that I made a sensational discovery. However, I did not find something, but rather someone. Look forward to a joyous expedition, a journey to the centre of your brain! Werner Tiki Küstenmacher

The signpost

How do you separate your life into sensible chapters? I have clambered from the physical to the metaphysical, thereby deliberately not making any division between »private Limbi« and »work Limbi«. Your spend your whole life, day and night, at work and in your spare time, on holiday and at home with your cerebral cortex and your Limbi.

I have selected particularly striking neuroscientific studies for you. Moreover, many exciting studies have been incorporated into the entire text – always bearing in mind that the consequences cannot always be as clearly dictated as we might like. But experimental neuropsychology certainly provides important starting points!

This is where I report on my daily life. My purpose is to get you to go on a discovery trip: you have already gathered a lot of experiences with your Limbi!

It is very important to me to collect little gems from the scientific results and incorporate them into my daily life. Once you have read this introduction, you can proceed as if at a buffet: start with the subjects that currently mean the most to you. Let you yourself be enticed by the practical tips. Experiment with the fantastic opportunities that are within you and your Limbi!

Contents

Limbi and things

Why does that lousy pile before you sometimes just depend upon one folder. How happy can Limbi become with a rubbish bin or a nicely labelled box. And what does Saint Anthony have to do with Limbi.

Limbi and time

Why Limbi can become your guru and why you will begin to see hamster wheels in a different light. How important daylight and sleep is for your Limbi and how you can save your life in traffic situations using very simple thoughts.

Limbi and money

Why Limbi keeps miscalculating and why it is taken for a ride in every supermarket. How you can achieve amounts you only dreamed of in negotiations. How the price for this book has paid off in no time at all.

Limbi and the body

How you can achieve your ideal weight through minute little changes, rediscover your amazing sense of smell and experience a small revolution on the subject of pain. Additionally: protection from the alcohol trap and an intriguing way to stop smoking

Limbi and others

Why Limbi’s amazing capabilities remind one of modern wireless technology. How you can learn to deal with extreme situations, better understand annoying teenagers, learn to learn easily, become less shy, stir up inefficient meetings and hold scintillating speeches.

Limbi and love

Why love has less to do with the exuberance of emotions than you previously thought. How to implement Limbi’s expectations manager in order to achieve long-term happiness in a relationship, get through stages of dispute and (in the worst case scenario) end a relationship.

Limbi and luck

Why luck has a lot to do with patience and how easy it is to acquire this virtue with Limbi’s help. Why you gamble, cultivate your quirks and should be careful with the word »luck«. Above all: why you should not put up with everything your Limbi does!

Limbi’s last question

The moment when, at the latest, you realise that you don’t have a book before you, but rather a magic mirror: a new way of viewing yourself. How to organise the final journey and accompany the dying. For this purpose, an impressive look at the Limbis of past centuries.

Limbi and money Extra helpings please! When it comes to finances, Limbi often shoots from the hip and frequently misses. This is, very simplified, the insight for which Daniel Kahneman, as the first psychologist ever, received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2002. You can try out the difference in speed between Limbi’s automatic weapon and the riflescope of the neocortex either on yourself or on any fellow man. Kahneman’s classic brainteaser on the subject (slightly amended in this case) goes as follows: the ice-cream sundae costs €5,50, whereby the ice cream costs €5 more than the cream. How much does the cream cost? You (or the person presented with the teaser) would usually see 50 cent as the solution in your mind’s eye. Limbi reacted quickly. Normally he would be correct with such shot from the hip. However, in this trickily worded teaser, he was deceived. Give yourself a minute and go through the calculation nice and slowly using your cerebral cortex. It will put the calculation to the test: if the cream costs 50 cent and the ice cream costs €5 more, then the ice cream alone costs €5,50. Ice cream and cream add up to €6 together. Something is not right here. Limbi has been deceived. In this calculation, the dollop of cream on the ice cream was extremely good value for money and only cost 25 cent. Then it all adds up.

Well, this was just a simple brainteaser. But you can already get an idea of the fact that someone who has seen through your Limbi can easily pull a fast one on you. Which is why, by reading this chapter, you might possibly save a lot of money (at least more than the actual book cost). You were already introduced to the neurologist Antonio Damasio. He discovered the fact that people are incapable of making a decision purely by using their mind. Damasio tested people whose prefrontal cortex was damaged and who were therefore incapable of feeling emotions. If asked to make simple everyday decisions (the brown or the black shoes?), they were able to present arguments for and against, but they could not weigh them up against each other. In order to evaluate information, living creatures need emotions: they need Limbi in order to know what they want. But as you saw in the example of the ice cream sundae, Limbi is not always right. It is only in intelligent interaction with the cerebral cortex that Limbi really acts cleverly.

To buy or not to buy, that is the question here This becomes particularly relevant in all economic matters. Here you actually see what happens to your bank account when Limbi has make a mistake, because Limbi does not buy things, but rather emotions. It is always concerned with your well-being, but sometimes it is unable to come to an agreement with the cerebral cortex about what is actually good for you. The solution in such cases: take up conscious contact with your Limbi (steered by the cerebral cortex). This works exceptionally well using visual imagery. When shopping, use Limbi’s visionary strength. If you can’t decide which of the two jackets to buy or which city break you want to book, then switch on your cerebral cortex cinema. Imagine yourself wearing the jacket to a special event or strolling through the streets of Paris. Does it feel good? Or is there a slight feeling of resistance coming through? Listen to these emotions, as these are Limbi’s somatic indicators – the signals transmitted by your body with which Limbi is trying to tell you something.

If you really can’t decide, then toss a coin: heads the blue jacket, tails the green. The result is binding. And? How do you feel with the decision? You often only know if you are happy with it when the decision has actually »been taken« in the true sense of the word. If your Limbi is purring contentedly, you will be happy with the decision for good. If not – no problem - then take the other one. It was a random toss of the coin that came to this result (gotcha!) to which you are not tied. Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics primarily for one particular discovery. He proved in numerous experiments that people fear loss more than they enjoy winning. In order to enter into a financial risk, the possible profit must therefore be very high – in any case significantly larger than the possible loss. As soon as you spend or ever lose money, the same areas of your brain are activated as when you suffer physical pain. Above all, they are found in the anterior insular, an area of the cerebral cortex.

This pain is significantly more perceptible in the case of cash rather than credit: if you pay €600 in cash onto the shop counter, your Limbi will squirm far more than if you transfer €6000. For, as the mathematician and essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb declared: »Money in the bank is something important, but nothing physical.« As Limbi has its roots in another, much simpler world, it is not able to keep up with many newer developments. You really notice this when it comes to money: the value of cash in your hand can be evaluated much better by Limbi than a row of numbers on your bank balance. It is Limbi’s goal to protect you – in the past from sabre-tooth cats – nowadays from the complex dangers lurking out there. As often as possible, pay cash. If you notice that Limbi is resisting, then this is a signal that this purchase might be overly expensive or even unnecessary.

The assets in your account might be something intangible to Limbi, however, how you acquired it is anything but unimportant to him. Even if everything flows into one account: depending on where the money came from, this influences the way Limbi is prepared to spend it – and you know: the purchase decisions are ultimately made by him.

Easy money has a significantly lower value to Limbi than if you had worked hard

for it. A lottery win is therefore spent in next to no time. The situation is the same with above-average stock market winnings. Businessmen who receive huge amounts from IPOs or company sales have an above-average tendency to then invest it in precarious transactions – and then bang! it’s all gone. Limbi’s motto – easy come, easy go. Hence the advice: should you ever be in this (per se pleasing) situation, switch over to cerebral cortex mode and don’t allow yourself to be captivated by Limbi’s enthusiasm. What you need now is a cool thinking advisor. Delegate your decision-making power over your unexpected riches to an expert who you have know for a long time and who you trust. Vultures, rogues and crooks just as suddenly surround whoever came to riches overnight. And careful: most of them don’t look the part.

Financial gifts weigh more gravely, as the feelings of other Limbi’s are always

hooked up to them: if a grandmother gives her grandson money, she also wants to give him love and expects love in return. This may result in a conflict for the Limbi: does he feel bought? Does he feel obliged? My advice: ask the giver what you should use the money for and then act accordingly. In this way you don’t make your Limbi suffer inner turmoil. Even if the giver says something unspecific like: »make yourself happy with it! «, then you should do exactly that. If Limbi feels shackled by the financial gift, then it would be better to decline it. If this is not possible because the giver would otherwise be upset, then find another way to give the money back, by either donating it in parts or in entirety to a good cause. This will free up your Limbi.

Inherited money has similar quirks to financial gifts, only now the

circumstances are even more complicated. As soon as additional inheritors receive more than you, your Limbi will invariably question why. Were you less loved? If the others received less than you, will their Limbis begrudge you? As positive as it may be financially, an inheritance can cause terrible relationship chaos. It is best for the Limbi, if on principle, you view inherited fortune as an unearned gift – and not as something to which you are eligible. Your father, your aunt or whoever, could have squandered or spent it elsewhere. Simply view the received money as a small symbol of what you actually received from the deceased. Be grateful to him. Showing gratefulness is a great achievement by your cerebral cortex with which you can contain several angry, resentful or sad stirrings from your Limbi.

Self-earned money is Limbi’s favourite. It knows how to appreciate the value

of something that you worked for yourself. Keep reminding yourself that you are rightly receiving your salary, as you are providing a counter value to others in doing so. Sometimes this knowledge becomes lost, as it is so self-evident – and as we sometimes think that we automatically have a right to our salary. So keep reminding yourself that you are accomplishing something for your monthly salary check. Limbi will reward you for it by carefully valuing the earnings and helping you to manage it cleverly.

Dirty money may have been used in your family without you knowing it. The

story is often long passed, but in Limbi’s ancient memory is still continues to have effect. Does money literally run through your fingers? Do you live way beyond your means? Do you have debts? Then the reason behind it could lie in your past.

In principle, your Limbi might have issues with money, because someone in your clan was once swindled or himself swindled someone else. Does part of the family property stem from a fortune that one of your ancestors acquired at the expense of others? Maybe through a crime? A lot of injustice occurred in the time around the Second World War in particular. Limbi is tortured by the thought that his wealth is based upon disharmony. If you have this suspicion, then investigate. If this feeling of unease is confirmed: donate a significant sum to a good cause. This is a deed that can bring the Limbi’s sense of injustice into harmony. In future, it will help you to use your money meaningfully. As far as dirty money is concerned, you might not have to go back into the past. How about your job? Do you morally back what your employer is doing? Money problems can also be an indication of the fact that Limbi is rejecting what you do for a living. Check that your values correspond with those of your employer.

The trick with the anchor If you have understood how Limbi counts and counts, then you can easily apply this in everyday economic life. A wonderful concrete example comes in form of enormous shops. If you visit one of the large specialist electronic shops, keep an eye out for the way in which the television department is set up: at the beginning of the intended sales area stands an ginormous, hugely expensive top class model. At my last visit to such a shop I was greeted by a quadruple HD monstrosity costing €33,000. Your cool cerebral cortex might indifferently shrug its shoulders and ask itself who an earth would buy such a high tech piece of equipment at the price of a midrange car. However, your Limbi – and therein lies the trick – is in complete panic given the price! And this is what is worked on. Steered by your sensible neocortex, you now simply move on. Your Limbi however, is still groaning under the pressure of the price, which has laid itself around his neck like an anchor. This is the benchmark from which all that is to come is set. When you now reach the shelves where the much cheaper TVs stand, your Limbi will breathe a sigh of relief: a television for €1400 seems like a complete bargain in comparison to the media monster at the entrance! It does not notice the fact that it is still way overpriced due to the clever anchor technique. The fatal fact: it is Limbi who holds the purchase leverage. It will happily chose that which it considers to be a bargain.

The thing with the anchor is extremely effective. That is why it is part of the standard repertoire of clever salesmen. Even if you have seen through the mechanism – in daily life you will still fall for this gimmick occasionally, as the impulsive Limbi is somewhat faster than the rational cerebral cortex.

Check prices beforehand! Always check out the current price situation before you purchase an item. This is easiest via the internet or else make enquiries amongst friends and acquaintances. If you already know that the flat screen television that suits your needs costs around €500, then you won’t be quite as distracted by the luxury model for €1500. So that you don’t get lost amidst the deluge of information out there during your pre-purchase research, limit the amount of time you want to spend on it. Say to yourself: » I will allow myself 20 minutes to choose a suitable television«. Concentrate on the three latest product tests. You can sensibly implement such insights into Limbi’s emotional relationship to money and figures into your daily routine. Let’s assume you want to sell your used car and have an amount between €7500 to €7800 in mind. Then it is a very good idea (and it has nothing to do with deception) to mention the higher number in the preliminary discussions with a potential buyer. This must not have anything to do with the actual car and that is what is wonderful about Limbi – it reacts irrationally – it simply has to be the higher number.

My favourite example – from 2013 – is a harmless chat about an item recently mentioned in the papers. You say to the client »Do you remember the story recently about the Bishop of Limburg? « (I love this example simply on the grounds of the similarity in name of Limburg and Limbi). »He had a bath fitted for €15000«. Now allow the figure mentioned to sink in with the potential buyer. A little more chit chat and then name the amount that you had envisaged for your used car. The potential buyer’s Limbi will be very relieved to hear that your envisaged price is way below the famous Bishop’s bathing installations. You could have talked about your mother-in-law’s €23000 dental bill or your pharmacist’s speedboat with incredible 3000 hp. The main thing is that the amount mentioned is far higher than the amount that you plan to mention in your sales pitch. Do you see how inept it would have been discussed say an electro bike for €2600? Or even a similar car to yours for €5500?

Dropping the anchor also works in the other direction: if on the flea market you want to wrangle the price down of a beautiful old brass lamp, then speak of cheaper articles, say trinkets in the single digit euro price range beforehand. The salesmen’s Limbi will find it harder to then name a significantly higher sum. You will now probably understand why it isn’t a good idea for bookstores to have big boxes outside the entrance where you can pick and choose books for €5 a piece. Should such bargains actually persuade customers to come into the bookstore, then a large amount of convincing is going to have to take place to persuade Limbi to buy a book about himself for €22 (actually €22,70 in Austria), when, as an anchor, it still has the large illustrated book for €4.99 outside the door in its mind.

Use Limbi’s mental anchor Books are a good example of the way that monetary value and mental value are linked. I still notice how my Limbi helps me to absorb the content of a book with more awareness and more thoroughness when I have paid money for it. Until the middle of the 19th century, people would buy books in the form of book blocks and would read them. If they found the content to be worthwhile, they would give it to a bookbinder and would invest additional money in a cover (normally matching the rest of their library). If you are freelancer, then you can cleverly implement the anchor method in your fee agreement processes, without actually lying. A musician might answer any enquiries as to his remuneration by saying that he once earned €7000 for a short appearance at the Hyper Festival in Paris. He keeps the fact that this was a one off dream commission to himself. If he now makes an appearance for €5500, then he will be extremely pleased with the agreed fee and the organizer will be happy to have hired a star at such a good price. Focus on naming! Do you remember your old math teacher who would respond crossly to your answer of »200«, saying: »200 what? Apples? Pears?« He was not completely wrong: naming that which is stated in your number is not only important from a mathematical perspective, but also psychologically, as Limbi has a tendency to forget this.

This is also easy to see in currency specifications. Think back to purchases you made around 2002: you probably still remember that the coat cost 300, but was it deutschmark or euro? The gastronomy sector has made particularly good use of this. Only a few years after the currency conversion, the coffee that used to cost DM2.90 now cost €2.90 – and caused the population to »feel« an inflation that was much higher than it actually was. A glaring price increase has taken place in these evident everyday convenience products of the small gastronomy sector. When it comes to high-end fresh products such as asparagus or cherries, the traders no longer write the kilogram price on their price tags, but much more often the price per 100 grams. »100 g cherries for €1.25« does not hurt the pain centre of the brain as much as »1 kg cherries for €12.50«. Limbi prefers the first example, as the unit of measurement is not its priority.

Start with individual prices Use the anchor effect when you are making an offer: don’t give the end price when you propose a job, but rather list the price per unit. Instead of »€1100 for the complete package«, first suggest »€55 per square meter«. Or: »I can design the layout of your annual report for €60 per page«. When taking on offers, go the other way round: do not be afraid to ask the precise units of calculation: meaning »Wheel change for five euros« means per wheel or for the whole four wheeled car? Will VAT still be added to price given by the office specialty shop or is it already included?

How do the prices come about for the clothes you are wearing, the coffee you are drinking and all the other things? The price level is guided by supply and demand. This is what economics tells us. Yet the reality is different: a price is often decided upon by how resilient your Limbi is. Prices have little to do with availability or even the quality of a product – they do however influence the value that we place on it. The Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman substantiates this with a numerously repeated experiment: if you pour an experienced wine gourmet a glass of wine from an expensive looking bottle and mention in passing that the bottle cost €80, then it will taste better to the gourmet than the identical wine from a bog standard bottle or even a wine carton.

For Limbi, this is not a fake, but rather reality. Recordings from MRI scans show that the wine that was declared to be more expensive activates the reward and motivation centre in the nucleus accumbens more strongly. In the case of many pleasures in life, the surroundings are almost just as important as the product itself. The gastronomy sector is, in many aspects, able to make good use of this. As you are more prepared to spend a lot of money in luxurious surrounding, it is worthwhile investing in a nice ambience. Menus are often designed using the anchor mechanism: the most expensive dish features prominently. The Chateaubriand for €45 shows the guest that he is in a high-class establishment. Dishes that make a profit for the restaurant are to be found in close proximity, of course somewhat cheaper than the exorbitant anchor. More hidden are the dishes that don’t bring much profit to the restaurateur. If the euro symbol is omitted, then the Limbi delightedly choses dishes in the upper price range. Just the currency symbol alone causes a slight twitch in his pain centre. If it is missing, then Limbi is already much more trusting.

If you don’t have any indicators what a sensible price might be, then Limbi flounders. That is why the anchor is so effective: it provides a point of reference, even if this is only arbitrary. In surprisingly many sectors the pricing is a completely free, creative process – for example, in the case of speakers’ fees, designer services, luxury articles and works of art. That which has much more effect is the magic of numbers.

The magic of numbers

On the arts market, prices are of a purely speculative nature. This is why this market is a perfect textbook example of the emotional aspect of price setting. Production or material costs are completely irrelevant here. Works of art have no practical value; their value lies in what people see in them – and are prepared to pay. Within this unique world, very special rules apply. One of the most important states that: throughout his career, an artist must demand increasing prices. If it becomes known that a sculptors piece cost €1400 at the first exhibition, but could be purchased for €1100 at the second, then this will be considered a step down. He might possibly never recover. The second rule, worded by the famous gallery owner from Berlin – Gerd Harry Lybke – known as Judy – goes as follows: »The price must appear to be considered.« Prices like €998 smack of supermarket, are too fragmented and do not belong in the art market. They can’t be too smooth however: a price of €1200 seems too »contrived« and more deliberate than one of €1000.

The Hermès bracelet for €890 is still within the range of daily encounters: we deal with amounts up to €1000 on a regular basis and they are more familiar to us than large amounts. €890 lies a comfortable distance from the number one thousand – but still represents a high price segment. Because your Limbi rarely encounters amounts larger than €1000, it is the digits after the one thousand mark that serve as an orientation point. As illogical as it seems, but proven in numerous test: €2200 sounds less to Limbi than €1900. Because of the small »100«, €2100 can appear a little indecisive: maybe the item is not worth quite as much after all? According to Judy Lybke, €3100 just does not work at all on the art market: the price is just too measly. A starting price favoured by galleries therefore often lies around €1200 or €2400 – why is this the case? This is where the magic of the archaic duodecimal system on the basis of six and twelve kicks in. It seems more attractive to Limbi than the cold cerebral decimal system: twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles or twelve signs of the zodiac. It is especially popular with amounts larger than €1000. In the world of fees and daily rates, a straight €1000 seems fishy. An advisory fee of €1800 or €2400 by contrast apparently seems to be agreeable to Limbi’s accountants. A star who really wants to cash in, demands €3600 or even €4800. €6000 would be pushing it too far, why go as far as €7200? In the higher segment market, prices like €12000, €18000 or €36000 are very popular. According to gallery owner Lybke, above this there is a sort of price gap. Then things start moving around the €60000 mark and it is only in the peak range of €120000 that an additional psychological sound barrier is encountered. Our Limbi appears to feel more comfortable with the archaic duodecimal system rather than the modern decimal system. For him it might appear more compatible with the calendar, the universe and everything else. It offers him a straight, smooth amount, which feels comfortable to him. It becomes problematic when figures and amounts go outside Limbi’s emotional range. Maybe this is the reason that huge economic crises take place at all. The difference between a million and a billion is huge. Nevertheless Limbi is just as shocked whether the stock market value of Siemens drops by seven billion or whether a retailer from Duesseldorf loses 44 million in shop theft every year. Help Limbi by using visual imagery: a million euro is a pile of 2000 notes à 500 euro, around 26 centimetres high and would fit into a normal handbag. By contrast a billion in 500 euro notes would be 260 meters high, would weigh 2.4 tons and could not be moved by an estate car!

The movement of incredibly large credit packages, beyond all imagination, caused the great financial crisis, which began in August 2007. The US property credit market alone (sub prime crisis) destroyed around seven trillion dollars of wealth. That is 7000 billion or seven million million.

Limbi’s magic of the numbers

Zero is round, perfect, but also empty, lifeless. »Zero tolerance« is a threatening ideal for Limbi. It senses that when it is attained, all dynamic life will also disappear. Zero can be confused with the letter O, so it needs a context. This becomes particularly apparent to Limbi when it comes to figures. A zero on its own is just no good. In Germany, a one is the best grade at school. »He stands like a one« is said with approval (meaning he is standing very straight) and is refereeing to the »number one« that is meant when speaking of a winner, a market leader or a bestseller. The German T.V. channel ARD uses a hulking capitalized one »das Erste« (the first). At the same time, this number has something solitary about it for Limbi. One is a single, it is seen as simple and plain. How much more cuddly is the number two, synonym for partnership and love. Things in two-parts can polarize, like good and bad, black and white, but it can also flow together in yin and yang, heaven and earth, beginning and end. Nonetheless, two barely moves, is two-dimensional. It is better for Limbi than one, but two is not much either. Three by contrast, is divine, round, harmonious. Ranging from the Trinity to the logical rule of life of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. Many things can be traced back to the regularity within the triangle in geometry, the rule of three in algebra. »All good things are three« is a frequently used German idiom, and even Aristotle recognized the fact that we can easily retain things in groups of three. This is why the number three is considered the golden rule for presentations and rules of life: two would be too few, four to many. Limbi feels comfortable with a three. The four is also sacred, but in an older, archaic sense. The tetragrammaton JHWH is god’s secret name in the Old Testament. Four is square, factual and has an inner calm. The Asians believe it to be dangerous because it is dead, and declared it to be an unlucky number. In our western world we consider the cross with its four corners to be the symbol for death. Brands that use the four radiate strength and calmness. But Limbi does not feel entirely comfortable with the four.

The five however, is as familiar to him as his five fingers. The five is alive, which is why the funny human-like comedy robot is named that way in the German version (original - Short Circuit). »Let all five be straight« is a wonderful Limbi phrase and that is why it is always comfortable with a five. Six has had something suggestive about it for a long time, in German and in English. »Six sells«, the six-pack, the dice with the six sides, the half a dozen. There is magic that works on the basis of 6 and 12, but with a six alone Limbi becomes cautious. Maybe because of the bad school grade 6? The seven – finally – is pure magic. The glorious seven, the seven days of the week, in seventh heaven, packing my seven things (German idiom meaning to pack a few items together quickly) …the seven is radiant and Limbi luxuriates! Now just €7.90 SALE Eight has a great shape, an upright infinity symbol. In early marketing it was described as the »fat sales lady« and it was popular as a sales price. For decades, books cost 7.80 or 19.80 until the penny-pinchers came along with their unutterable .99 endings. The numeral »eight« however, has something alarming about it: pay heed! and might possibly make Limbi stand to attention. Nine has not only had something cheap about it since the emergence of the 99 prices. Just before ten, but not quite enough. You can be clever, but not nine times clever (too clever by half). It is not only since the appearance of Sudoku that the nine seems overcomplicated, which is why Limbi prefers to avoid it. Even when not concerned with prices, Limbi reacts emotionally to numbers. In many airplanes, row 12 is followed by row 14, just as the 13th floor is often missing in hotels, as so many people fear that the number might be unlucky. As previously mentioned, in Asian countries the 4 is a dark number. By contrast, many consider the number 7 lucky. Uneven numbers seem to be more vivid and are considered more dynamic than even numbers. Listing more than 10 items quickly tires the listener, »numbers with identical digits« like 55 or 777 seem friendly. All this does not have much to do with rationality. You can probably guess what’s behind it. Limbi’s sense for numbers could be useful for you. A presentation on »our seven most important actions for the future« will be better received than one using 6, 8 or even 13. Many clients are happy to pay more for their chosen telephone number or their personalized number plate. Maybe you can consider similar possibilities with your product.

Work precisely with numbers An uneven number (»237.4 square meters«) suggests precision. It appears honest. Limbi is inclined to believe uneven rather than smooth numbers – and rarely questions them. During presentations, in negotiations or in consultations, try to use precise numbers that you have previously memorized. »A study involving 3375 patients« sounds much more convincing than »a study«. »We have been doing it this way since 2004« sounds more professional than »for a few years«.

If you start a meeting at 9.55 rather than 10am, the punctuality of notorious latecomers will be dramatically increased. Motivate your employees by announcing: »we shall present the results on the 9.9. at 9:09am!« rather than »this has to be finished by the beginning of September!«

Happiness-stopper money Not having any money problems is a prerequisite to happiness for 80 percent of Germans, as shown by a survey conducted by the Institute for Public Opinions in Allensbach. A survey of 1000 German citizens conducted by the Emnid Institute in 2005 demonstrated even more concrete figures: only around 20 percent of people said they were more or less happy with their current income. However, these people were not dreaming of a huge increase in earnings: €500 to €1000 more per month would be enough. Half of all those questioned would be happy with a net income of €2000 to €3000 per month, 20 percent even with €1000 to €15000. Only 10 percent indicated that they could only be happy once they were earning €5000 per month. Normally all mammals, except us humans, stop eating when they are full. It’s just the same with Limbi, our mammal ancestor, within us. This once again shows: Limbi is actually quite undemanding. It does not have the stress of constantly wanting more.

The financial happiness threshold The Swiss economist Mathias Binswanger has been researching the connection between subjective happiness and economic conditions for many years. The following assumption can be concluded from the results: personal happiness and income grow up to a certain threshold. If this threshold is exceeded, additional money causes stress, and the feeling of happiness stagnates.

A study by Daniel Kahneman and the US economist Angus Deaton from 2010 comes to a similar result: the subjective happiness of US Americans grows up to a threshold of $75000 gross yearly income (around €60000). Anything that goes beyond this value causes a decrease in happiness, as the higher yearly income also means a higher amount of work time that makes it difficult to find a work life balance. These results can also be applied to Europe.

A Tibetan proverb says: »Rich is a man who knows he owns enough«. If you are unhappy today and are hoping to become happier by having more money – then this is the best way to becoming even more unhappy. The key to happiness lies in enjoying that which you have attained – even if it initially does not appear to be much. Therefore it is better to turn around the order to happiness and riches. Don't think: »When I am rich, I will be happy«, but rather say to yourself: »When I am happy, I will have the chance to become rich.« Free yourself from the idea that your happiness is linked to your income. Free your Limbi from these shackles. More money does not mean more happiness, on the contrary: happy people who feel rich inside are more relaxed in financial matters and therefore have enough money.

Limbi-Moment The fundamental principle of nature is excess: flora and fauna do their very best to procreate, to grow, to proliferate and to spread. Your intuitive Limbi understands this with every fibre of his being. Everything that you need for your life is available in more than sufficient measure. Your Limbi constantly worries whether its material supplies are enough. But in the deepest depths of its little soul, it knows: there is enough out there for everyone.