The Peaceful Warrior roars: What you can do to become smarter

• Read! This one goes without saying but I will mention it anyways, the first and foremost important key to getting smart is reading, reading and reading.
• Watch documentaries. In today's online information world it is so easy to watch documentaries, they are much more interesting than reading and you will accumulate information much faster. I am interested in documentaries on physics, universe, history and different cultures.
• Write. I love to write, I have been working on several novels for years now, although I haven't completed any of them yet. I write poems too and I have experienced myself how writing makes you memorize things quick and easily. Whenever you have a hard time learning something new, grab a piece of paper and start writing it down, your mind will grab information faster as you write.
• Watch interview and speeches by successful people. They can be very inspiring and motivational. Try watching Elon Musk's TED talk as an example, it is available in YouTube.
• Spend time with smart people/friends. Having deep conversations and discussions about various topics of your interest with friends help you understand/learn new things and become good at making conversation and speeches. Try explaining things you learn to others.
• Be curious about how things work. Always try to figure out how things work and how something was made, these things with tons of resources available on the Internet you can learn about anything from pyramids of Giza to movie making process, to how a single piece of electronic device works.
• Chess and Sudoku. These games makes you better and faster in thinking and decision making.
• Learn to code. You don’t need to become a professional programmer, but trying to learn basic coding will help you see and do things in a very logical way. I believe everyone should try to learn and play with at least one programming language in their life.
• Work out and eat healthy. Try to eat healthy foods that benefit your brain and excerice daily (preferably outdoor activities such as running). A healthy mind is in a healthy body.
• Avoid cigarette, alcohol and drugs. Try to avoid them as much as possible, we all know how harmful they can be to your body.
• Avoid stress. Chronic stress heavily affects your brain functions putting you at risk of memory and mental disorders.
• Listen to music. YES, it does make you smart.
• Learn to play the piano.