This is a preview of a detailed slide deck from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service.Click here to learn more. Current subscribers can view the deck here.

Rising smartphone penetration, regulations pushing users away from cash, and globalization demanding faster and new ways to transact are leading to a swell in noncash payments, which Business Insider Intelligence expects to grow to 841 billion transactions by 2023.

This shift has created a greenfield opportunity in the space. Legacy providers are working to leverage their scale as they update their infrastructure and adapt their business models. But at the same time, upstarts are using their strengths in user experience to try to disintermediate or beat out those at the forefront of the space — a dichotomy that’s creating crowding and competition.

Digitization and crowding in the payments space will force companies that want to emerge atop the ecosystem to undergo four critical digital transformations: diversification, consolidation and collaboration, data protection, and automation. Those that do this effectively, and use these shifts as a means of achieving scale without eroding the user experience, will be in the best position to use ongoing digitization in their payments space to their advantage.

In The Future Of Payments 2018, Business Insider Intelligence takes a look at some of the biggest problems digitization and crowding are causing for payments firms, outlines the key transformations players can make going forward to resolve them, and explores areas where firms have already begun to use these transformations to their advantage.

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• After a shaky start, wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers have gained traction in healthcare, with US consumer use jumping from 9% in 2014 to 33% in 2018.
• More than 80% of consumers are willing to wear tech that measures health data — and penetration should continue to climb.
• The maturation of the wearable market will put more wearables in the hands of consumers and US businesses.

The US healthcare industry as it exists today is not sustainable. An aging patient population and rising burden of chronic disease have caused healthcare costs to skyrocket and left providers struggling to keep up with demand for care. 

Meanwhile, digital technologies in nearly every consumer experience outside of healthcare have raised patients’ expectations for good service to be higher than ever.

One of the key mechanisms through which healthcare providers can finally evolve their outdated practices and exceed these expectations is wearable technology.

Presently, 33% of US consumers have adopted wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, to play a more active role in managing their health. In turn, insurers, providers, and employers are poised to become just as active leveraging these devices – and the data they capture – to abandon the traditional reimbursement model and improve patient outcomes with personalized, value-based care.

Adoption is going to keep climbing, as more than 80% of consumers are willing to wear tech that measures health data, according to Accenture — though they have reservations about who exactly should access it.

A new report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, follows the growing adoption of wearables and breadth of functions they offer to outline how healthcare organizations and stakeholders can overcome this challenge and add greater value with wearable technology.

For insurers, providers, and employers, wearables present three distinct opportunities:

• Insurers can use wearable data to enhance risk assessments and drive customer lifetime value. One study shows that wearables can incentivize healthier behavior associated with a 30% reduction in risk of cardiovascular events and death.
• Providers can use the remote patient monitoring capabilities of wearable technology to improve chronic disease management, lessen the burden of staff shortages, and navigate a changing reimbursement model. And since 90% of patients no longer feel obligated to stay with providers that don't deliver a satisfactory digital experience, wearables could help to attract and retain them.
• Employers can combine wearables with cash incentives to lower insurance costs and improve employee productivity. For example, The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority yielded $5 million in healthcare cost savings through a wearable-based employee wellness program.

Want to Learn More?

The Wearables in US Healthcare Report details the current and future market landscape of wearables in the US healthcare sector. It explores the key drivers behind wearable usage by insurers, healthcare providers, and employers, and the opportunities wearables afford to each of these stakeholders. 

By outlining a successful case study from each stakeholder, the report highlights best practices in implementing wearables to reduce healthcare claims, improve patient outcomes, and drive insurance cost savings, as well as how the evolution of the market will create new, untapped opportunities for businesses.

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Smart speakers comprise one of the fastest-growing device segments in the consumer technology market today. Ownership levels have nearly doubled from early 2017 to summer 2018. 

With this rapid growth, there are a few pivotal questions that both companies looking to develop and sell smart speakers as well as those looking to sell products, deliver media, and offer access to services like banking over these devices need answers to in order to craft successful strategies. In particular, they need to know who is and isn’t buying smart speakers, and what consumers who own smart speakers are actually doing with them. 

To offer these stakeholders insight, Business Insider Intelligence asked more than 500 US consumers about their knowledge of smart speakers, the devices they do or don’t own and what led them to their purchase decisions, as well as the tasks they’re using their smart speakers for.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence will look at the state of the smart speaker market and outline how each of the major device providers approaches the space. We will then focus on the key factors that affect whether or not someone owns one of these devices. Next, we will use our survey data to outline the reasons why people don’t own devices in order to offer guidance for who to target and how. Finally, we will discuss what consumers are actually doing with their smart speakers — specifically looking at how the devices are used and perceived in e-commerce, digital media, and banking — which can help companies determine how well they’re publicizing their smart speaker services and capabilities.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, Google, Apple, Samsung, Facebook, Sonos, LG, Anker, Spotify, Pandora, Grubhub, Netflix, Hulu, Instagram, Snap.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Despite their growing popularity, nearly half of respondents still don't own a device — which presents a long runway for adoption. Our survey data reveals a number of key factors that impact whether or not someone owns one of these devices, including income, gender, and age.
• Smart speakers are establishing themselves as a key platform for e-commerce, media, and the smart home.
• The introduction of a screen to some smart speakers will expand the possibilities for companies developing for the device — but developers will need to resist the compulsion to use speakers to accomplish too much.

In full, the report:

• Provides an overview of the key players and products in the smart speaker market.
• Highlights critical adoption rates broken out by key factors that define the segment.
• Identifies how consumers are using devices in important areas where companies in various industries are trying foster greater use of the voice interface.

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• Counter-terrorism police are leading an inquiry into a New Year's Eve attack on three people, including a British police officer.
• A male assailant reportedly stabbed three people, who have been treated for "serious" but not life-threatening injuries.
• An eye-witness said the man brandished a "kitchen knife" with a "12 inch blade" just a few feet away from him.
• The eye-witness added that the man shouted "Allah" during the attack and criticized western goverments, according to the BBC.

LONDON — Counter-terror police are investigating a New Year's Eve attack after a man stabbed three people, including a British Transport police officer in his 30s, at Victoria Station in Manchester, according to the BBC.

The injuries sustained by the victims, that included a man and a woman in their 50s, are "serious" but not life-threatening. The police officer was stabbed in the shoulder, but released from hospital on Tuesday, January 1.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts told the BBC: "A man is in custody and there is currently no intelligence to suggest that there is any wider threat at this time. While we don't yet know the full circumstances and are keeping an open mind, officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North West are leading on the investigation."

The incident occurred at approximately 20:50 local time on December 31, 2018 and an eyewitness tweeted shortly after that the attack happened just a few feet away from him, and that the alleged assailant brandished a "long kitchen knife."

"Just been very close to the most terrifying thing,"Sam Clack, a producer for the BBC, said on Twitter. "Man stabbed in Manchester Victoria station on tram platform. Feet from me, I was close to jumping on the tracks as attacker had long kitchen knife. Totally shaken. This is seriously messed up."

A BBC report of the incident claims Clack heard the attacker shout "Allah."

Elaborating on the incident in the Manchester Evening News, Clack said: "I just heard this most blood curdling scream and looked down the platform. What it looked like was a guy in his 60s with a woman of similar age and another guy all dressed in black.

"It looked like they were having a fight but she was screaming in this blood curdling way. I saw police in high-viz come towards him. He came towards me. I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12 inch blade. It was just fear, pure fear."

Police reportedly tasered the man and used pepper spray as he was "resisting arrest," according to Clack.

Clack said that while the attacker was held down, he said: "As long as you keep bombing other countries this sort of s--- is going to keep happening."

Victoria station has since reopened.

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NOW WATCH: The world's largest cruise ship just landed in Miami — here's what it's like on board

• Nintendo's biggest game of 2018 is available now: "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is the latest entry in the long-running fighting game series, and the first on Nintendo's Switch.
• The new game is already being heralded as the best in the series, and it's deserved; the game is excellent.
• "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is the first major game release with online multiplayer since Nintendo launched its paid service, Nintendo Switch Online, in September. It costs $20 per year and is required for online play.

The biggest Nintendo game of 2018 is, unsurprisingly, an overwhelmingly good game. 

"Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is  a massive, sprawling encyclopedia of gaming history. At its heart, the "Smash Bros." series is about Nintendo characters fighting to the death.

"Ultimate" is essentially a fighting game, but it contains so, so much more than that: A 700-plus list of songs spanning three decades of games; a surprisingly deep and expansive single-player campaign; a traditional fighting game "story" mode for each of its 70-plus characters; and, notably for this piece, an expanded online multiplayer section.

Nintendo launched a paid online service in September, dubbed Nintendo Switch Online, which is required for online play. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is the first major Nintendo release since that service launched, and it has a major online component.

Speaking generously, that online component experienced major hiccups around launch. But in the weeks since — and a handful of updates later — the online portion of "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" has become a sterling example of what Nintendo's online experience can be.

Here's what I mean:

SEE ALSO: 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' brings more than 70 characters to the Nintendo Switch — here they all are

Things did not start out well for "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" online.

When "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" arrived on December 7, and for the following week, it was plagued with online connectivity issues. 

Matches suffered from game-breaking lag, where gameplay paused for seconds at a time as the game struggled to smoothly connect as few as two players.

Here's what I wrote at the time:

Of the dozens of matches I've played online, a shockingly small percentage could be described as "smooth." At some point in every match, and often throughout every match, I've hit crushing lag. 

What do I mean by "lag"? Even if you don't know the term, you've no doubt experienced it: A video buffering in YouTube/Netflix/etc.? That's lag.

In the case of "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," that disconnect is far more detrimental.

Sometimes it's a stutter in gameplay here or there. Sometimes it's a several-second stop in the action. It's unpredictable, frustrating, and — worst of all — it makes the game nearly unplayable.

The issues were compounded by the fact that Nintendo now charges a fee — albeit a comparatively low fee of $20/year — for online gameplay.

Starting in late September 2018, Nintendo's Switch console now requires a paid subscription to Nintendo Switch Online in order to play most online multiplayer games. 

There are exceptions, like "Fortnite," but the vast majority of Nintendo Switch games with online components — like "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,""Splatoon 2," and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"— require the paid service for online play. 

More simply: You can't play any of those games over the internet without paying $20/year for Nintendo Switch Online. 

The service comes with other features, like access to a growing library of classic NES games and the ability to put save games in the cloud. And, at $20/year, the cost is significantly lower than competing services on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. 

But considering that "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" was the biggest Nintendo game of the year, and the fact that it has a major online component, and the fact that Nintendo started charging for online gameplay in September, having major connectivity issues at launch wasn't a good sign.

But in the weeks since launch, things are looking up.

Starting soon after launch and continuing through the end of December, "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" has been updated three times (including the "day one" patch). 

Nintendo's patch notes are vague, containing broad statements like, "Several issues have been fixed to improve gameplay experience."

But the proof is in the playing: The game's online stability has increased dramatically since launch.

I can attest to this personally, as I've played hundreds of matches online in the last three weeks, and anecdotal evidence from other players I've spoken with indicates the impact has been widespread.

In a complete flip, the majority of games I encounter are smooth. I rarely encounter lag, and even more rarely encounter lag on the magnitude of what it once was. For the first time ever, Nintendo has an online experience befitting its best multiplayer game.

• Susie Moore is an entrepreneur and life coach who runs her own business. For years, she's woken up between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
• After reading Robin Sharma's book, "The 5 a.m. Club," she challenged herself to start waking up at 5 a.m. and following Sharma's best practices.
• In two weeks of sticking to the plan, she found she was getting enough sleep, accomplishing more than ever, and building healthier habits throughout the day.

“The early morning has gold in its mouth” ~ Benjamin Franklin

A couple of weeks ago I got my hands on "The 5 a.m. Club" by Robin Sharma. A fan of his work (bestseller "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" is my go-to gift for friends), I was enthusiastic to read despite thinking a 5 a.m. start could never apply to me.

My typical wake-up time has been 8:00 to 8:30 a.m since I started working for myself full-time in 2014. As a pretty productive person, I never thought there was anything I needed to change and had only ever woken at 5 a.m. to catch a flight (feeling crabby as heck).

Until now.

Hearing all of the benefits early risers receive, plus that fact leaders like Richard Branson, Tim Cook and Michelle Obama rave about early wake ups, my husband and I challenged ourselves to do it. We’re now on week two of waking up to a 5 a.m. alarm clock — and we’ve noticed some rapid shifts already.

Self-control skyrockets

For me, this is the biggest one. As a coach I know how self-discipline impacts self-respect. Sharma says, “Getting up at dawn is perfect self-control training … increasing self-control in one area of your life elevates self-control on all areas of your life.”

Some nights when I’d sleep restlessly, I’d sometimes snooze till 9 a.m. (or even later) and was behind on my day the moment my feet hit the floor. I’d switch stuff around, delay items on my to-do list for another time, even incur ClassPass cancellation fees for my workouts.

Read More:I'm on my second marriage, third career, and fifth country of residence — here's why I'm never afraid of change

Now I look at my to-dos and feel relaxed because, hey, I’m up at 5 a.m. each morning — there’s tons of time! Trusting yourself to do something hard, like obeying an alarm clock that goes off when it’s pitch-black and cold outside, is making my life easier (so many hours in the day)! I’m proud of myself every time I fire up the Nespresso machine at 5.05 a.m.

Healthier habits (no third glass of wine!)

This is a happy and unexpected side effect. Because my goal is a 9:30 p.m. bedtime (Sharma preaches that sleep is essential), I don’t stay out late or overindulge because I don’t want to be tired the next day. It took two or three nights to adjust to this sleep time and I’m really liking it. I’m switching dinners with friends to brunches wherever possible! Seven and a half hours sleep seems enough for me, too — even though I’m used to more than that.

Capacity to create expands

Producing has never been a problem for me. But the additional hours and focus an early start gives you is like adding gasoline to your day. Applying Sharma’s 60/10 method — working for 60 minutes straight without interruption followed by a 10-minute refuel in the form of a quick walk or just making tea and sitting on the sofa - has helped me complete projects faster.

I found myself adding stuff to my to-do list that doesn’t have to be completed for weeks. I sent over 50 holiday cards this year.

And I find myself grocery shopping and cooking at night (typically we eat out or order in). So it’s saving me money, too!

Read More:I quit a job where I was earning $500,000 a year — here are 7 clear signs you, too, should be working for yourself

Clarity and calm ensue

Sharma says, “digital interruption is costing you your fortune” and I’m familiar with the depleted feeling of checking social media frequently throughout the day and constantly being reachable via email and text.

Fully waking up first and applying the 20/20/20 Formula — 20 minutes of moving, 20 minutes of reflecting and 20 minutes for personal growth ensures you start the day device-free while setting self-directed intentions for the day ahead (not living from the inbox out).

I’ve been spending the 5:00 to 6:00 a.m. “victory hour” journaling, tapping (EFT), goal setting (another suggestion from the book — writing down five things you’d like to achieve that day), reviewing my longer-term goals, and reading a few pages of a personal development book.

As Sharma says, “Tranquility is the new luxury of our society.” In the tranquil early moments, you’re not rushing. You’re not reactive. You’re able to think clearly, instead of having a rushed/stressed mind first thing in the morning.

There’s just something, too, about dawn that makes you feel a deeper connection to yourself — no one is calling you at that time. Most of the world still sleeping. It’s clear thinking time just for you.

While I’m celebrating this challenge, I know that life as an entrepreneur without kids lends itself well to this 5 a.m. formula. I asked Sharma what he’d tell new parents, side hustlers and employees with non-traditional 9-5 schedules and he said:

“Customize the 20/20/20 formula and 5 a.m. club to suit your lifestyle and read the chapter on the essentialness of sleep! Maybe you don’t do it nights you’re up at 3 a.m. nursing the baby — give yourself a break. Doing the 5 a.m. club only three days a week is better than not at all.”

Thirteenth-century poet Rumi said, “The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you, do not go back to sleep.” Understanding the magic of the dawn is ancient. And like so many of the thriving early birds out there, I like being in on the secret.

Susie Moore is a life coach and author based in New York City who has been featured on the Today show and Forbes. Sign up for her free weekly confidence tips via her website.

SEE ALSO: 6 bad mental habits everyone should unlearn, according to a life coach who teaches people to be happier

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NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist says this is the first thing you should do when you wake up

• Uber asks employees to take a survey to gauge job satisfaction every six months.
• Business Insider recently viewed the results of the latest survey, conducted in October.
• The ride-sharing company, slated to hold a massive IPO in 2019, asked employees some tough questions and received interesting feedback.

There's no doubt that ride-sharing service Uber has changed lives. Thanks to Uber and other companies like it, it's never been easier to catch a ride or to earn a few bucks from owning a car.

But the company has also been embroiled in drama from accusations of sexual hassment and unsavory business practices under its last CEO Travis Kalanick, resulting in his ouster in 2017, to Uber's self-driving car killing a pedestrian in 2018, under current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Khosrowshahi has been working to overhaul the company culture since he took the job in 2017, and he's been open about owning up to the company's mistakes, if not always in public than at least to employees in all-hands meetings.

So how Uber doing as a culture in the eyes of employees?

Business Insider has seen a copy of the company's latest employee survey (Uber conducts the survey every six months). And one good sign is that Uber is asking its employees difficult questions, including things like if they feel like they can speak up about ethical violations witout fear of retailation (71% say yes, they feel they can).

In many areas, Uber is showing improvement over the way employees felt in the last six months.

Employees are most optomistic about the company's future, which isn't surprising given that Khosrowshahi is attempting to lead the company to a massive IPO, expected to be as high as $120 billion.

But most employees also believe they are poorly paid compared to the Valley peers, and many aren't convinced Uber offers them career opportunties that would keep them around.

Uber has a three-way scale for its employee survey results favorable/positive, neutral (neither positive nor negative) and negative. It recently shared the % of positive responses with employees. A low positive score doesn't automatically mean that employees feel actively negative. It means that many of them feel a range from 'meh" to negative.

So here's a look at how Uber employees really feel about working there, based on survey scores as seen by Business Insider. The percentage number shown represents the portion of survey takers who gave a "favorable/positive" response to the question:

The following questions relate to how employees feel about Uber as a company:

The final section seeks to gather general impressions about what it's like to work at Uber:

SEE ALSO: THE TAKEDOWN OF TRAVIS KALANICK — The untold story of Uber's infighting, backstabbing, and multimillion-dollar exit packages

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NOW WATCH: I'm a diehard iPhone user who switched to Android for a week — here's what I loved and hated about the Google Pixel 3 XL

• Digital trust is the confidence people have in a platform to protect their information and provide a safe environment for them to create and engage with content.
• Business Insider Intelligence surveyed over 1,300 global consumers to evaluate their perception of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
• Consumers’ Digital Trust rankings differ across security, legitimacy, community, user experience, shareability, and relevance for the six major social networks.

If you feel like “fake news” and spammy social media feeds dominate your Internet experience, you’re not alone. Digital trust, the confidence people have in platforms to protect their information and provide a safe environment to create and engage with content, is in jeopardy.

In fact, in a new Business Insider Intelligence survey of more than 1,300 global consumers, over half (54%) said that fake news and scams were "extremely impactful” or “very impactful” on their decision to engage with ads and sponsored content.

For businesses, this distrust has financial ramifications. It’s no longer enough to craft a strong message; brands, marketers, and social platforms need to focus their energy on getting it to consumers in an environment where they are most receptive. When brands reach consumers on platforms that they trust, they enhance their credibility and increase the likelihood of receiving positive audience engagement.

The Digital Trust Report 2018, the latest Enterprise Edge Report from Business Insider Intelligence, compiles this exclusive survey data to analyze consumer perceptions of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

The survey breaks down consumers’ perceptions of social media across six pillars of trust: security, legitimacy, community, user experience, shareability, and relevance. The results? LinkedIn ran away with it.

As the most trusted platform for the second year in a row – and an outlier in the overall survey results – LinkedIn took the top spot for nearly every pillar of trust — and there are a few reasons why:

• LinkedIn continues to benefit from the professional nature of its community — users on the platform tend to be well behaved and have less personal information at risk, which makes for a more trusting environment.
• LinkedIn users are likely more selective and mindful about engagement when interacting within their professional network, which may increase trust in its content.
• Content on LinkedIn is typically published by career-minded individuals and organizations seeking to promote professional interests, and is therefore seen as higher quality than other platforms’. This bodes well for advertisers and publishers to be viewed as forthright, honest, persuasive, and trustworthy.

Want to Learn More?

Enterprise Edge Reports are the very best research Business Insider Intelligence has to offer in terms of actionable recommendations and proprietary data, and they are only available to Enterprise clients.

The Digital Trust Report 2018 illustrates how social platforms have been on a roller coaster ride of data, user privacy, and brand safety scandals since our first installment of the report in 2017.

In full, the report analyzes key changes in rankings from 2017, identifies trends in millennials' behavior on social media, and highlights where these platforms (as well as advertisers) have opportunities to capture their attention.

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• Steam is a digital marketplace and video game platform used by tens of millions of PC gamers on a daily basis. The most popular games on Steam have more than 500,000 players online at any given time.
• Valve, the company behind Steam, recently released a list of the 100 highest-grossing games of 2018. The top-earning games are on sale until January 3rd, 2019.
• There are almost 20,000 games for sale in the Steam marketplace, but some of the highest-earning titles are actually available for free, including 3 of the top 12.

With the close of 2018, video game retailers are offering a variety of capstone sales to celebrate the best games of the year. Steam, the largest digital marketplace for PC games, is no different, offering discounts of up to 80% on the top games of 2018 during the Steam Winter Sale.

Alongside the winter sale, Steam has released a list of the 100 top-selling games of 2018, based on gross revenue. That includes all sales of digital content, beyond the price of the base game. Steam separated the games into four tiers based on their earnings: platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.

Below, we've taken a look at all 12 games in the platinum rank. Surprisingly, only three of the platinum games were released during 2018, and another three are actually free-to-play. Because the games are judged by gross revenue, free-to-play games are boosted by smaller, microtransactions that charge players for in-game currency and other incremental content. Older titles can also continue bringing in revenue by selling new expansion content. 

Keep in mind that not all PC games are available on Steam, so popular titles like "Fortnite,""Overwatch,""League of Legends," and "World of Warcraft" are not considered.

Here are the 12 highest-grossing games of 2018:

SEE ALSO: The top 3 best-selling games of all time are a surprising group of games that have all sold over 100 million copies apiece

DON'T MISS: The best-selling video game of every year, dating back to 1995

"Warframe" by Digital Extremes

"Warframe" is a free-to-play online action game with a mix of mission-based objectives and open world gameplay. "Warframe" has been around since 2012, but the game has been experiencing a massive surge in popularity, thanks to ongoing support from developer Digital Extremes.

While the game is free, "Warframe" offers a wide selection of armor, weapons, and items that can bought up front with real-life cash. Dedicated players can buy the same items with currency they earn while playing the game.

"DOTA 2" by Valve

"DOTA 2" is a free-to-play game developed by Valve, the same company that owns and operates Steam. Originally a mod of "Warcraft III,""DOTA 2" has been around for more than a decade and helped create a brand-new genre of video game, the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, or MOBA.

DOTA 2 features more than 100 playable characters and primarily earns revenue by selling cosmetic items for use in-game. This year, Valve also introduced Dota Plus, a monthly subscription that charges users for access to advanced statistics and exclusive features.

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege" by Ubisoft Montreal

"Rainbow Six Siege" has been a shocking success in the very competitive market for PC first-person shooters. The "Rainbow Six" series of squad-based shooters dates back to the 90s, but "Siege" has shifted the franchise formula.

Players now choose from an ever-increasing roster of soldiers with special abilities called "operators." Ubisoft has been able to keep its player base invested in the game by releasing new operators regularly, and the cost of new operator packs helps the game stay sustainable as it enters its fourth year.

• Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have been a high-profile couple long before they became fixtures in the White House.
• Coming from two prominent real estate families, the couple is estimated to be worth a collective $1.1 billion.
• Despite holding unpaid positions, Trump and Kushner raked in at least $83 million in outside income during their first year in President Donald Trump's administration.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are worth an estimated $1.1 billion combined.

Both hailing from prominent New York City real estate families, Kushner and Trump have had impressive houses and habits since before they settled in Washington, D.C.

Though their roles as White House advisers are unpaid, the couple reported earning at least $83 million in outside income the first year President Donald Trump was in office.

This is how they spend their family-built fortunes.

SEE ALSO: From rich kid to first daughter: The life of Ivanka Trump

DON'T MISS: How Jared Kushner rocketed to the top of American politics by his mid-30s — and found himself in more hot water than ever

Sources have estimated that Ivanka Trump's net worth is roughly $300 million, and Jared Kushner's net worth could be $800 million.

Source: CelebrityNet Worth

An ethics filing shows that Trump and Kushner earned at least $83 million in income last year, despite being in unpaid roles with the administration.

Sources: AP, The Guardian

Outside of the administration, both Jared and Ivanka have a number of ongoing professional interests.

• Conor McGregor has told Floyd Mayweather's right-hand man that he should call him Elon Musk.
• McGregor had been critical of the $9 million Mayweather collected for obliterating 20-year-old Japanese fighter Tenshin Nasukawa inside one round on New Year's Eve.
• Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, clapped back to say McGregor does not want "that smoke" again — a clear reference to Mayweather's victory over McGregor in 2017.
• McGregor attempted to end the war of words by claiming it is he who is armed with a flamethrower, and that Ellerbe should just call him Elon.

Conor McGregor just compared himself to Elon Musk during a fiery exchange with a key member of Floyd Mayweather's entourage.

The UFC fighter reignited his social media crusade against Mayweather ever since the retired American boxer announced a three-round exhibition against the 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at the Rizin 14 show in Japan on December 31.

Last year, McGregor downplayed the bout as "something out of Rush Hour 5."

During an expletive-laden Instagram rant in November, McGregor said: "What in the f--- is going on here? Chris Tucker and Jackie f------ Chan back in this b---. F------ brilliant. Mad little b------ you are Floyd. Fair f---- to you mate. No lie. F--- it."

Mayweather beat Nasukawa in a one-sided, first round beatdown on New Year's Eve, and McGregor roasted the fight veteran just hours later.

First, McGregor scoffed at the reported $9 million Mayweather banked for participating in the Saitama show. He said: "That 9 milli won’t keep you on top of my list for long, kid,"— a clear reference to Forbes' richest athlete list, which is a ranking Mayweather dominated in 2018, and one McGregor hopes to top in the years ahead.

Just ten minutes after McGregor published his social media post, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe slapped the Irishman with a reminder that he lost 2017's crossover bout between the two fighters.

"Champ, champ with all due respect I don't think you want that smoke again," Ellerbe tweeted on Tuesday.

Not to be outdone, McGregor quickly replied claiming he is the one armed with a flamethrower, and that they should call him Elon Musk.

"I'm the one with the flamethrower, Leonard," he said. "Call me Elon."

McGregor expected to fight this year

McGregor fought just once in 2018, coming back against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 after losing in the tenth round to Mayweather in 2017.

McGregor's return was wildly unsuccessful as Nurmagomedov dropped him with a thudding right hand in the second round of their bout, before getting submitted for good with a tight neck crank in the fourth.

Post-fight brawls marred the UFC 229 show and neither Nurmagomedov or McGregor will be able to negotiate another fight until the Nevada State Athletic Commission decides whether or not to punish them on January 29.

However, McGregor is expected to return to the UFC octagon in 2019 and has already campaigned for a rematch against Nurmagomedov, but would settle for the "next in line" which, according to UFC's lightweight rankings could be the world number three Dustin Poirier, the number five Kevin Lee, or even the number nine Nate Diaz, one of McGregor's historic rivals.

SEE ALSO: Floyd Mayweather should disappear into retirement forever, because a comeback could end in tears

DON'T MISS: Conor McGregor's coach says the UFC star doesn't actually spend much money because his expensive clothes and cars are 'given to him'

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Tech companies and auto companies are all racing to be the first to roll out self-driving cars onto the road.

The stakes are high for everyone involved. The self-driving revolution and the prevalence of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft threatens to reduce individual car ownership, which would eat into a sizable piece of automakers' core business.

Meanwhile, tech companies are jockeying for a piece of the self-driving-car market, which Apple CEO Tim Cook dubbed"the mother of all AI projects." These companies are all looking to deploy self-driving cars as part of a commercial ride-hailing service that would operate similarly to how Uber and Lyft do now.

In a new free report, Business Insider Intelligence — Business Insider's premium research service — takes an in-depth look at the most expansive self-driving-car tests taking place in the US, and offers insights on the leaders in the self-driving-car race.

To get your copy of this free report, click here.

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• In 2019, numerous cars will vanish.
• Some will be updated, but others could be gone for good.
• The biggest trend is carmakers killing sedans and small cars in favor of SUVs and crossovers.

There's no point in being nostalgic in the auto industry — cars come and go with regularity.

Still, it's always a bit sad when a vehicle says goodbye. The only solace is that nameplates have vanished for years, only to return in revised form.

In 2019, we'll witness the effects of a major strategic shift in the US market, as consumers move away from sedans and embrace SUVs and crossovers. Hybrids could also be in trouble, as all-electric vehicles start to arrive. The Detroit Big Three — General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — are already executing the shift.

Other types of rides are being updated in 2019, while some beloved high-performance machines are vanishing due to slow sales.

Here's a quick roundup of some of the cars that are going away in 2019 (by no means exhaustive, and based mainly on cars I've driven):

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Front-engine C7 Chevy Corvette: I'm not 100% sure if the front-engined Vette will vanish, but it seems clear that the eighth-generation of the iconic sports car will have its motor behind the driver's head — a mid-engine design. It's possible that Chevy would produce the Vette in two configurations. We'll see.

Chevy SS: The simple V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive beast is based on the Australian-spec Holden Commodore. It will disappear in 2019, and with it Chevy's budget alternative to BMW's M cars.

Third-generation Chevy Silverado: Don't worry, though, because the 2019 redesign has already arrived.

• Many people make New Year's resolutions, but few people actually seem them through.
• Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert told Business Insider three of the biggest reasons why our New Year's resolutions fail.
• People often don't make their resolutions specific enough, they're worded too negatively, and they're not relevant to the individual, he said. 

Millions of people in the US make New Year's resolutions each year, but only a small fraction of them manage to keep them.

If you struggle to keep your New Year's resolution, one expert says you might not be setting the right kind of goal.

Business Insider spoke with psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, author of "Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days," who broke down three of the biggest reasons people fail to complete their resolutions each year.

Here's what he said:

Your resolution isn't specific enough

One of the biggest reasons people fail to keep their New Year's resolutions is because they're not specific enough, Alpert told Business Insider.

Read more: 15 real people share their New Year's resolutions, from 'sober January' to home renovations

For example, resolving to "exercise more" or "lose weight" are easy ways to set yourself up for failure, as they lack ways to mark progress and are unlikely to keep you motivated throughout the year.

Instead, try making your goal specific, like running a particular 5K you have circled on the calendar or losing 10 pounds by a certain date.

"It's easier to drop out or walk away when you set goals or resolutions that are vague," Alpert told Business Insider. "When it's really detailed and specific, it's harder to walk away from it."

Having a timeline on your resolution is helpful, he said, so think of short-term, medium-term, and long-term benchmarks that will let you know you're on track to achieving your goal.

"What do I need to do this week, what do I need to do over the next month or so, and what do I hope to accomplish over the next several months?" Alpert said.

You aren't framing them positively

Another problem people face when making resolutions is framing them with negative language.

When people resolve to stop wasting money or stop eating junk food, for example, it often backfires because it makes them think about the very thing they're trying to avoid.

"It's almost like I say to you, 'I don't want you to think about what a zebra with pink and blue stripes looks like," Alpert told Business Insider. "You kind of have to think about what that would look like not to think about it, right?"

Try framing your goal in positive language instead.

"So much of how we talk to ourselves impacts our actions and our behavior," Alpert said.

"We need to feed ourselves positive self-talk. Instead of telling ourselves 'Don't eat junk food,' we should be telling us the behavior we desire, like 'Eat carrots and peanut butter as a healthy snack.'"

Your resolution isn't about you

Another major obstacle people face is the tendency to make New Year's resolutions that don't reflect what they actually want.

The biggest culprits are dieting and exercise trends, Alpert said. But it can apply to any number of goals, like a career-related goal inspired by what you think other people expect of you.

"Goals need to be made for the individual," Alpert said. "So often, people seem to be influenced by their friends, their family, what they see in society."

"I think it's important for people to set goals that are for themselves and unique to themselves."

SEE ALSO: 30 highly successful people share their New Year's resolutions for 2018

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• Dan Brown is one of the world's top best-selling authors, with 250 million books sold.
• In 2003, the success of his book "The Da Vinci Code" broke a string of flops for him.
• He was only able to navigate the noise that came with a sudden increase of attention by learning to trust his instincts and not try to please everyone.
• "Wait a minute," he finally told himself. "Just write the book you want to read. That's all you've ever been doing."

Ahead of the release of his fourth novel, "The Da Vinci Code," in 2003, Dan Brown took a galley copy of the book to the park and read the whole thing. If it was another flop, he was going to try something else with his career.

Not only was the book a success — it was an international phenomenon, and Brown quickly became one of the world's top bestselling authors. Since then, he's written three more thrillers, and in total he's sold 250 million books.

But the success of "The Da Vinci Code," while welcome, was initially strange for Brown. He had become accustomed to struggling to find an audience for his work, and now he had to learn how to navigate his next moves with all eyes on him.

He was only able to move forward when he learned he could trust himself, he said in an episode of Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success.

"You have to trust yourself," he said, noting that, "you have a lot of people whispering in your ear, telling you which way to go, telling you you're good, telling you you're bad. You've got reviewers saying, 'This is the best book ever'; you've got reviewers saying, 'This is the worst book ever.'"

He remembered sitting down to start his next book, which would become 2009's "The Lost Symbol," and struggling for a couple of weeks. "I would write a paragraph and say, 'Well, now millions of people are going to read this. Is it good enough?' I would delete it." He said it felt like a baseball player in a slump, striking out because he was thinking of the mechanics of his swing rather than going through intuition.

Of course, Brown did learn lessons that made his writing work — it's why he even has a MasterClass series breaking down his favorite techniques — but if he had taken in every criticism he received, he never could have moved forward. He said that he finds it similar to an executive considering input from others but ultimately being responsible for the final decision, instead of being reactionary.

He said that at some point in his post-success slump he told himself: "Wait a minute. Just write the book you want to read. That's all you've ever been doing."

Subscribe to "This Is Success" on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen. You can find the full Dan Brown episode below.

SEE ALSO: 'The Da Vinci Code' author Dan Brown explains how he overcame self-doubt and became a bestselling writer who's sold 250 million books

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• With the competitive "bed-in-a-box" market, it has never been a better time for consumers to try out mattresses in the comfort of their own home.
• Launched in 2014, Leesa quickly made a name for itself with its excellent flagship memory foam mattress and commitment to making a positive social impact.
• I was impressed with how well Leesa's luxury Sapira mattress balances firm support with cloud-like softness.
• The Sapira mattress is a hybrid that combines innersprings and memory foam so it carries a heftier price tag than its memory foam counterparts (it's currently $1,595 for a queen size on the Leesa website), but it provides more support while containing motion transfer.
• As a special, limited-time New Year's deal, you can take $235 off the Sapira Mattress, plus get a free pillow ($75 value). The discount is automatically applied at checkout.

By some estimates, there are currently more than 100 brands that deliver compressed memory foam beds to your door. Though brick-and-mortar stores are still king, these "bed-in-a-box" companies are taking advantage of consumer dissatisfaction with the high-pressure sales environment offered by traditional mattress showrooms. The new online companies are even offering risk-free trials that allow you to spend several nights on a mattress to see if it's right for you.

One of the biggest names in the industry is Leesa. They recently sent me their luxury hybrid Sapira mattress, the Leesa Foundation, and two hybrid pillows for free to test. Below, I will examine what you should look for when shopping for a mattress, share my experience with the Sapira mattress and Leesa Foundation, and let you know who this bed is best suited for.

What to look for in a mattress

I have experience with several bed-in-a-box brands, and arguably the most important factor to look for when shopping for a mattress is the length of the trial period offered. When you go into a store to shop for a mattress, you can lay down on the actual bed before buying it. Though some online mattress retailers have showrooms in big cities, for the most part, you don't get the same brick-and-mortar experience shopping online.

To address this, online companies offer significant trial periods where you can return the mattress if you are not completely satisfied. There are some brands that will give you a full year to try their mattress but most offer a risk-free trial of about 100 nights. Check to make sure you get a trial of at least 90 nights with a mattress so you don't get stuck with something that doesn't meet your individual needs. Also, read the fine print to ensure you don't get stuck with a hefty return charge.

The most popular mattresses continue to be the traditional innerspring mattresses. They feature a steel coil core and a foam comfort layer. Their benefits are strong edge support and excellent bounciness, but they are prone to sagging, producing the classic squeaky bed sound, and they don't contour well to the body.

Some innerspring mattresses feature individually wrapped pocket coils. This construction helps to minimize motion transfer. Think of the old commercials where a bowling ball is dropped on a mattress. If you share a bed with a partner, you may want to consider individually wrapped coils to ensure they don't wake you up as they move in the night.

Memory foam mattresses keep growing in popularity. They consist of several layers of foam that conform to your body. Though they last longer than innerspring mattresses, they tend to trap heat.

Hybrid mattresses combine innersprings and memory foam. They have many layers of foam on top of a core of pocket coils. This combats the heat-trapping problem commonly found with memory foam while contouring to the body. However, hybrid mattresses tend to cost more than memory foam and innerspring.

Two other less common and more expensive options are latex mattresses and airbeds. Latex offers rounded body support and bounce, but it emits a long-lasting off-gassing odor. Airbeds combine foam comfort layers with air chamber support. An air pump lets you adjust your firmness, and airbeds are surprisingly durable.

Firmness is another important consideration. Firmness is rated on a scale of 1 – 10, where 10 is as firm as it gets. According to Sleepopolis's guide on firmness, 80% of sleepers prefer mattresses in the 5 to 7 range, regardless of sleep position. Therefore, many mattresses are right around 6. However, preference is incredibly subjective. In general, side sleepers should look for softer mattresses to avoid putting too much pressure on your joints. Back and stomach sleepers will typically benefit from medium-firm mattresses.

Why consider Leesa

If you regularly listen to podcasts, you have likely heard an ad for Leesa mattresses. They are perhaps best known for their social initiatives. For every 10 mattresses they sell, they donate one mattress to a nonprofit. So far, they have donated over 30,000 mattresses to homeless shelters and other organizations that help at-risk men, women, and children. Additionally, they plant one tree for every mattress sold and volunteer within their community. They have earned B Corp certification for their social and environmental performance.

Based in Virginia Beach, Leesa was co-founded in 2013 by CEO David Wolfe and Chief Product Officer Jamie Diamonstein. Diamonstein already had decades of experience in the mattress industry when Wolfe contacted him about redesigning the mattress. Their goal was to make simple mattresses that improved the sleep experience, streamlined the buying process, and gave back.

What Leesa options are available?

With more than 12,000 5-star buyer reviews, the Leesa Mattress is by far the most popular product offered by Leesa. Their flagship mattress has three layers: a cooling foam top layer, contouring memory foam layer in the middle, and a 6" core support foam base. This is covered by the company's iconic four-stripe cover. Visit the Business Insider review for more info about the Leesa Mattress.

In 2016, Leesa introduced the Sapira Mattress, which differs from the original in that it's a hybrid featuring individually wrapped coils. The 11-inch-thick Sapira has five layers: the cooling foam top layer, contouring memory foam, and a 6" pocket coil system sandwiched between two layers of core support foam. The Sapira is what I tested. Both Leesa mattresses come in twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, and California king sizes. I tried out a king.

Leesa also offers four different bed frames: a platform bed, adjustable base bed, a simple metal bed frame, and the Leesa Foundation, which I received. There are also several other accessories, including pillows, sheets, and blankets. Other colleagues reviewed the Leesa Hybrid Pillow and the Leesa Adjustable Base.

Leesa offers a 100-night risk-free trial period. They just ask that buyers try their mattress for at least 30 nights. If you aren't satisfied, they will coordinate pick-up of the mattress or foundation. You don't have to worry about attempting the impossible task of fitting everything back into the box. There is no fee for returns unless you're in Alaska or Hawaii, in which case it will cost $100.

There is also a 10-year mattress warranty. The warranty is limited to physical flaws in the cover or mattress craftsmanship and mattress deterioration that results in an indentation of more than an inch. The warranty covers full replacement of the mattress, but the buyer has to pay for shipping.

Leesa offers a "white glove" delivery service in select locations. For an extra $100, a two-person team will deliver your mattress and foundation, unbox it, set it up, and remove the packaging. And, for $50 more, they will remove your old mattress and box spring, which is helpful since most municipalities charge extra for disposing of mattresses. I chose not to go with the white glove service because I wanted to get the full buyer experience.

My first experiences with the Leesa Foundation

My king-sized Leesa Foundation arrived in a long skinny box that weighed over 80 pounds. I recommend having a strong friend help you carry the box to where you plan on putting your bed. I advise against setting it up anywhere but where you intend on keeping it.

Upon opening the box, I was struck by the foundation's simplicity. There are essentially the four sides that fit together using thick plastic pins at each corner and two support rails that slide into place. Within the frame and on top of the support rails, you place two sets of slats. The slats are spaced about four inches apart inside of a fabric cover. Working alone, the whole setup process only took me 15 minutes.

My first experiences with the Sapira mattress

Once the foundation was in place, it was time to unbox the Sapira mattress. The box is a beast, and I encourage you to tip your delivery person generously. The king-sized mattress weighs 142 pounds, which you may want to have a couple friends help you with. My wife and I were able to carry it up a winding staircase to our second-floor bedroom, but it took at least a few cuss words.

Once the king-sized mattress is out of the box, do not plan on moving it. In other words, open it where you plan on keeping it. With this in mind, I opened the box alongside my foundation. I like to try to do as much of an assembly/installation as I can on my own so I can give a full report on what needs to be done. So, I did unbox this mattress, put it on the foundation, and removed the plastic without help. I don't recommend anyone do this on their own. The unboxing and positioning of the mattress took me about 15 minutes.

I was surprised by how odor-free the mattress was right out of the packaging. Since I was in the process of renovating my home when the mattress arrived, it sat in the box for over a month. Longer storage times usually worsen the memory foam odors, commonly called "off-gassing." You should allow the mattress to air out for a couple days before sleeping on it.

How the Sapira mattress performed

The feature that stood out to me most was the pocket spring coil system. You can feel the springs along the sides of the Sapira mattress. Why does this matter? When you have springs that go right up to the edge, you can count on excellent edge support, which allows you to make the most of the entire area of your bed without feeling like you're going to fall off. And, in my experience, the Sapira did provide superior edge support.

Since I could feel the coils, I thought I might as well count them. There were 46 along the width and 50 along the length for an estimated grand total of 2,300. All factors being the same, the more coils there are, the more support and durability you can expect. The better innerspring mattresses have 600 to 1,000 coils.

The individually wrapped coils also kept motion transfer to a minimum. I'm a light sleeper. Whether it's sounds, odors, or something moving around on the bed, I will wake up. However, movement didn't wake me up with the Sapira. If my wife had to get up early or our four-year-old jumped into bed with us, I would rarely wake up. To put the motion transfer to the test, I dropped a 20-pound weight from 3 feet above the bed approximately 12 inches away from a can of sparkling water. I did this several time, and the can did not move at all.

Before the Sapira, I slept on a medium-firm mattress that would be about a 7 on the firmness scale. It was just a little too firm for my tastes. The Sapira is closer to a 6.5, which provided the balance of comfort and support that I need as a side sleeper. Also, I'm a roller derby player, cyclist, and runner. I basically beat the crap out of my body. Often after roller derby bouts, I can't sleep because of the pain. This was not the case with the Sapira. So far, I have not had any trouble falling asleep. My wife has had a similar experience.

Speaking of my wife, I should probably touch on the romantic aspect of using the Sapira. Sleepopolis has identified five areas that make a mattress ideal for intimacy: comfort, edge support, minimal noise, bouncing, and ease of movement. I've already touched on the impressive edge support and comfort. When it comes to noise, the Sapira mattress coupled with the Leesa Foundation is completely silent, a must when you have kids sleeping in the next room.

When applying pressure to the bed, it bounces back into shape, which aids in creating a bouncing motion. And, since the mattress is firm, you don't sink into it, and movement is effortless. Basically, the Sapira checks all the right boxes for romantic intimacy.

Lastly, I did not find that the Sapira trapped heat, a common problem for memory foam. I'm a hot sleeper, and we were using the mattress during the height of summer heat. Regardless, I did not experience night sweats, which are an occasional problem for me.

Some concerns about the bed

The Sapira is outstanding and finding flaws was difficult. Yet, I was somewhat disappointed in the foundation. During assembly, I found that some of the screws used to mount the corner connectors to the ends of the frames were loose. And, the connectors didn't fit together smoothly.

With other frames I've assembled, the slats are held in place with Velcro, and sometimes, the slats feature sticky strips that loosely adhere to the mattress to prevent sliding. There isn't anything holding the Leesa Foundation's slats in place. That said, I have not experienced any slat-related problems.

My only other complaints about the foundation are really just a matter of preference. It's nice having some clearance under the bed for storage. The Leesa Foundation doesn't offer that, but they do sell a platform bed. Fortunately, there is no need to clean under the bed since there's little chance for debris to sneak in. 

Though I think it is worth it, the Sapira mattress is more expensive than the vast majority of online mattresses. However, it is a hybrid bed, which tends to run more expensive. And, when you consider that the mattress will last you for more than a decade, the added expense seems trivial.

Another concern is how incredibly heavy and unwieldy the mattress is. Fortunately, we just bought our first home and hopefully (knock on wood) won't have to move any time soon. But, if you are someone who moves frequently, you may want to enlist the help of professionals when it comes time to move this massive mattress.

What others are saying about the mattress

Sleepopolis recommends the Sapira mattress to stomach and back sleepers due to its medium-firm support. The reviewer also noted that it's ideal for couples since it contains motion. This model actually performed well on each of his tests, including providing great edge support. The reviewer at GQ shared a story of sleeping through all of his alarms the first night he slept on the Sapira. He was just that comfortable. He recommends the mattress because the combination of springs and memory foam made the bed soft and supportive.

There are more than 800 customer reviews of the Sapira on Leesa's website, and over 84% of those are positive. But, though I trust Leesa, it's hard to tell how trustworthy reviews of any company's product are when they are published on the said company's website.

For a more objective customer experience, I turned to Amazon, where about 69% of the Sapira reviews are positive. The most helpful review shared that the materials felt luxurious and high-grade. He noted it took about 24 to 36 hours for the mattress to decompress, and the off-gassing smell went away in about the same amount of time. He also appreciated that he got the support he needed no matter what sleep position he tried. Other buyers have tried various motion transfer tests that reveal excellent motion containment.

Other alternatives you may consider

As I mentioned in the opening sentence, there are over 100 brands to choose from in the online mattress space. However, most of these companies only offer memory foam mattresses. They don't have a hybrid alternative.

Bear is one company with a hybrid option that is priced about the same as the Sapira. A fellow writer for Business Insider reviewed it and was floored by the comfort. The layering construction is pretty similar to the Sapira, only there is a layer of gel memory foam instead of Leesa's patented LSA200 foam. Also, at 14.5", the Bear hybrid is much thicker. They also offer a 100-night trial.

Another hybrid option available online is the Allswell mattress backed by Walmart. I had the opportunity to test the Allswell before the Sapira mattress and found it to be slightly firmer. The Sapira fit my personal comfort preferences more closely. Although, at $585 for a queen size (the largest it comes in), the Allswell is much more affordable than the Sapira.

Bottom line

Thanks to my job and my living arrangement, I have the opportunity to try several different bed-in-a-box brands. And, I choose the Leesa Sapira as my main bed. The edge support is outstanding. There is very little motion transfer if my wife decides to get up early, which isn't really much of an issue because she rarely wants to leave the comforts of the bed before me. I have not had any trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

However, if the Leesa Foundation were to break for some reason, I would not replace it. It looks nice and appears to support the mattress well, but I was not impressed with the construction of it, and I think there are better alternatives out there for the price.

As a special, limited-time New Year's deal, you can take $235 off the Sapira Mattress, plus get a free pillow ($75 value). The discount is automatically applied at checkout.

Buy the Sapira Mattress from Leesa for $995 (twin), $1,095 (twin XL), $1,205 (full), $1,595 (queen), or $1,795 (king/California king)

Buy the Leesa Foundation from Leesa for $235 (twin/twin XL), $265 (full), $295 (queen), $360 (king), $395 (California king)

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• Kathryn Boren is a ballerina with American Ballet Theatre in the midst of her fourth consecutive season at the Met.
• Boren supplements her ballet training and rehearsals with intense, ballet-centric workouts. She's gained more control of her body, making her a more free dancer. 
• She works with trainers from celebrity-favorite gym DOGPOUND to create exercises that push her body to its limit.
• Boren is also a certified personal trainer as of summer 2018.

Kathryn Boren: My name is Kathryn Boren. I'm a dancer at American Ballet Theatre. I started when I was about three years old, which is really young but probably by around age seven, I decided, "Yeah, I'm doing this seriously."

You know, when you're young and you're just dancing all the time, everything's - it's very easy for your body to adapt. As I started aging and becoming more aware of my body and the aches and pains and the strengths and weaknesses, I started to experiment with how I could make it easier in the studio, injury prevention, longevity, all that.

And so I started really getting into cross-training and fitness. I found out about Dogpound through a friend. I've known Nigel Barker, the photographer, for many years and he was one of the OG Dogpounders and he introduced me to Kirk Myers, the creator of Dogpound. And we just, we hit it off.

He offered to train me. He trained me once and he was like, "Wow, I could learn so much from working with a ballerina, like what kind of things you need, how I can help you, how you can help me." And then from then on, we just really got into it. So it's been about three years.

The guys would have such great ideas and exercises that nobody else could do, but they're like, "Maybe she can do it." And I would take it and I'd be like, "Yeah, this is great, but let's change it like this or like that," so it could more beneficial for ballet or just incorporating ballet moves. So then once that got started, fire just went off and I was like, "Let's see how crazy, how intense we can get." Of course staying safe and all that.

I find that a lot of body-weight-bearing exercises are really beneficial for ballerinas. I do a lot of core exercises. That's one of the most important things I feel like in ballet technique. We have to be able to control everything from our center and have that stability. I've always had a very hard time building muscle in my legs so I've tried to really focus on that, keeping them strong, stable, a lot of ankle stability, which I feel was really important for me.

When I was younger, I had very, very mobile, flexible ankles and it's a dangerous thing when you're doing a lot of pointe work. The training's just made me so much stronger and so much more in control of my body and I know my body so much better now so I know what it's capable of and how I can push it and how far it can go and I know I can still be in complete control of it.

We work really hard in the studio and we get a lot out of our classes and rehearsals, but there's a lot that we don't target or that we could be adding to our technique and our foundation. So, I think it's so important to add just a little bit extra in there. I mean, it gives you a great edge and I think it's really important. I've definitely built a lot more muscle, which has always been something very hard for me.

I've always had a very lean physique and it was hard to build muscle no matter what exercises I did or how much I ate. So, I feel like that's just made me a much more grounded, free dancer. I don't usually go too heavy on the upper body or when I do, I use very light weights just to keep the ballet physique. There is a certain way that we have to train in order to maintain the ballet physique and aesthetic. We don't want to bulk up.

I've come to find people think we don't eat. People think we're just like the movie "Black Swan," which we are not, I promise you. We're fun, normal people. We just have a very serious day job. I think people just think ballerinas can be stiff or rigid, cold, and I wish we could break that stigma and I think that with social media these days, people are being able to see us behind the scenes and in the studio being goofy, being backstage, eating a lot. I see a lot of food posts, but yeah. I'm a mouse, duh. Duh!

I will rest once a week. I don't like to stay away from class for more than three days at a time. It's just not good for the body or for my sanity. I recover, I get a lot of massages. I think cryotherapy has been really, really beneficial. I spend hours on my roller at home on my living room floor. Ice baths, Epsom salt, all the good things.

I'm a certified personal trainer now. So, I started training some of the dancers in the company and that's been such a cool experience. I think anything that challenges stabilization, you're gonna get the most out of the exercise.

My friend Rhys who's a great trainer and a great friend of mine at Dogpound, we've always tried to come up with the most crazy exercises or the most viral videos. And so we took the slide board out in the rain and I got on it and I was like going down into the splits and then coming back up, which is killer for your inner thighs, which is great for dancers. But yeah we shot it within five seconds, and I was totally drenched, but we got a cool video out of it. And yeah my thighs got a great workout.

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The healthcare industry is in a state of disruption. Digital solutions are becoming a necessary part of the new global standard of care for patients and regulation is being fast-tracked to catch up to digital health innovation.

These rapid changes will have ripple effects across the entire healthcare system, impacting incumbents and new entrants alike.

Based on our ongoing analysis, understanding of industry trends, and conversations with industry executives, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has put together The Top Five Trends Shaping The Future of Digital Health.

To get your copy of this free report, click here.

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• Melody Wilding is an executive coach, licensed social worker, and professor of human behavior.
• She writes that even the most practical New Year's resolutions tend to bomb, often because the goal-setter has made the goals too big, gotten caught up in the holiday hype, or trying to do too much, too soon.
• A better way to set goals you can keep, she advises, is to pick a theme for the year, aim for small wins in big goals, and decide ahead of time how you will deal with getting derailed.

It’s that time of year when we’re likely to reflect back on the past 12 months, thinking about what went well, what didn’t, and how we can do better in the New Year. Often, this goes hand-in-hand with making resolutions aimed at improving ourselves and our circumstances.

The problem with New Year’s resolutions, however, is that they’re so darn hard to keep. We wake up on January 1^st with the best of intentions, lots of energy, and even a well-laid plan to tackle the resolutions, but in reality, by March most of these goals are simply a distant memory. Old habits return, and life goes on.

When we look at the psychology behind failed resolutions, there’s a few reasons why even the most practical of goals tend to bomb:

You’ve bitten off more than you can chew

Often when making resolutions we identify a major life theme that we want to change and take a broad, general approach to tackling it.

For example, saying that you’re going to “eat healthier” in the New Year is really abstract. Are you going to try a specific diet plan like Paleo? Are you simply going to swap out your morning bagel for fruit? Big hairy goals are great, but you have to pick somewhere to start.

A year is a long time

It’s human nature to evolve and shift our habits and preferences over time as our surroundings and circumstances change. Add to that unexpected life changes. For example, say you get laid off from your job after resolving to get to work by 8:30 every morning, or become bored with that exercise routine you committed to doing five days a week.

The fact of the matter is, things change. Committing to one resolution for an entire year — with no wiggle room for that resolution to evolve — therefore, doesn’t fit into how life really works.

You get caught up in the New Year hype

You’re more likely to break New Year’s resolutions than other goals because of the sheer peer pressure to make one even if you aren’t intrinsically motivated or ready to change. It’s much easier to fall off the wagon quickly if your heart’s not in it, especially when you see people around you breaking resolutions of their own.

You try doing too much, too soon

The holidays are crazy hectic. Most people, by the time they get to the end of the year, are totally burned out and don’t give themselves time to slow and renew their willpower and decision-making reserves heading into the New Year. If you start on an empty tank emotionally, physically, or mentally, it’s going to be hard to keep any goal.

Though sometimes hard to keep, in the end resolutions can make a big difference. They can set the tone for your entire year ahead, and force you to get clear about taking steps to achieve new success. The key lies in creating resolutions that promote self-growth and understanding in a structured way.

So how can you cultivate New Year’s resolutions in a way that won’t leave you frustrated in a couple months? Here are alternatives approaches to seeking goals that will help you improve your quality of life in the coming year:

Pick a theme for the year

Identify a word or mantra that maps back to a theme you’d like to focus on in the New Year and weave into your daily life. For example, if your word is “ease,” consider how you can create match your actions to the value of “ease”.

How can simple tasks such as running errands feel less rushed or structure your schedule differently to eliminate hecticness? Repeating this enough can help you invite new people, habits, and behaviors into your life that aligned with your values and the goals you seek to achieve.

Aim for small wins within a big goal

Major goals can feel like they’re miles away, and when we don’t achieve them in the (often unreasonable) time frame we expect, it can lead to feeling depressed, discouraged, and defeated. Motivation begets motivation, after all. Start by setting mini-milestones that are reasonably attainable. You can measure your success against each of these, adjusting and gathering momentum as you go along.

Rather than making a huge resolution — say, to start a business in 2015 — break it down into smaller pieces: set up time to meet with mentors in January, write out a business plan in March, set up a website by July, and raise $10,000 by September. This way, you can measure your progress and celebrate each success as you achieve it. You’re avoiding feeling overwhelmed (starting a business is a huge deal) and have metrics to measure against as you go along.

Compartmentalize

Similar to setting numerous smaller goals throughout the year, consider setting an individual resolution in each area of your life you’d like to improve upon — health, career, finances, and relationships.

For example, you might commit to monthly dinners with your roommates for the “relationships” bucket, taking a new fitness class each month for the “health” bucket, and automatically transferring $150 to your IRA each month for your finances. All of these are attainable goals, which can lead to huge differences in multiple areas of your life.

Bulletproof your resolution

Once you’ve decided on a goal, bolster it against the craziness of daily life. Think through possible scenarios that might come up that could derail you from your goal.

For example, say you want to live a healthier life by setting goals around diet and exercise, but you know you have work trips planned. You could defend your goal by researching restaurants beforehand, finding out if the hotel has your gym and working that into your schedule, etc. You want to be defensively pessimistic and anticipate challenges before they come up the way, rather than being surprised when they inevitably appear and catch you off guard.

This New Year, think about approaching resolution-making differently, so that you’re actually able to experience lasting transformation, rather than setting sweeping, overwhelming, and unrealistic objectives that — let’s be honest — you know won’t last.

Melody Wilding is an executive coach, licensed social worker, and professor of human behavior at Hunter College. Her clients include high-performing managers and leaders at places like Google, Facebook, and HP.

Sign up for your free guide, "The 3-Step Workday Reset," at MelodyWilding.com.

This post was originally published on MelodyWilding.com.

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• The Costco Auto Program allows Costco members to buy discounted cars from participating dealerships.
• A wide variety of vehicle types and models are available to buy or lease.
• The average discount is over $1,000.

Costco sells just about everything, so it's no surprise that the retailer can also help customers buy discounted cars.

Through the Costco Auto Program, Costco members can search for a variety of vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, jet skis, and RVs.

Once you've chosen a vehicle and your preferred trim, features, and exterior color, Costco sends you the contact information for a participating dealership and salesperson, at which point you can visit the dealership to find out the vehicle's discounted price and decide if you'd like to buy or lease it.

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The range of available vehicles extends from budget options that start under $20,000 to luxury vehicles that top $100,000.

A Costco representative told Business Insider in March that Costco members save over $1,000 off the average price of a vehicle when using the program, on average, and members can also get a 15% discount on parts, service, and accessories at participating service centers.

Here's how you can use your Costco membership to get a discount on your next car.

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1. Go to the Costco Auto Program's webpage or call its customer-service line.

From the Costco Auto Program webpage, you can browse and compare available vehicles, calculate monthly payments, and read reviews.

You can also call the company's customer-service line to have an employee walk you through the process over the phone.

2. Choose the vehicle you'd like.

You can choose from a variety of classes, including sedans, sports cars, SUVs, trucks, and crossovers.

While you don't learn the discounted price until you visit the dealer (this is an old sales trick — prospective customers are less likely to walk away from a potential purchase if a salesperson is able to talk face-to-face with them about their hesitations), the manufacturer's suggested retail price ranges from under $20,000 to over $150,000 for vehicles available through the program.

You can also buy or lease a motorcycle, RV, ATV, jet ski, snowmobile, or UTV.

If you don't want to buy outright, you can also lease or select a pre-owned vehicle, which the dealer inspects for any broken or worn-down parts and fixes before selling it again.

3. Customize the trim, features package, and exterior color.

For many vehicles, you can select the trim, features, and color you'd like. For others, you can choose only the model.