F#@k yeah I want a marshmallow!

There was a famous psychological study done in the late 1960's by Stanford where a group of 4 year olds were individually put into a room with a marshmallow.  They were told by the psychologist conducting the experiment that if they could not eat the marshmallow before he came back (15 minutes) then they would receive 2 marshmallows upon his return.  

The experiment was being conducted to see if 4 year olds could be tested for delayed gratification.  The results have become legendary and directly relate to finance.  Delayed gratification directly relates to your retirement, paying cash for a car, having an emergency fund and being able to save for a home's down payment.    

The children who were able to delay their gratification and wait the 15 minutes were shown decades later in life to have significantly higher SAT scores, were more "well adjusted" (meaning not addicted to drugs), and had higher rates of income and wealth.  A brain scan study of a sample from the original Stanford participants when they reached mid-life showed key differences between those with high delay times and those with low delay times in two areas: the prefrontal cortex (more active in high delayers) and the ventral striatum (an area linked to addictions).

So you might be thinking that this is genetic.  Maybe it is, but as I'll show you it can be overcome.  Have you ever heard of the Amish?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3S0xS2hdi4