Time: Ally or Enemy?

Plus a message from Orion

Good morning from just outside of Pittsburgh.

Orion and I just ripped a bike ride up and down the mist covered mountain roads.

We ended up near a patch of woods covered in bright green moss, it looked how I imagine Oregon might.

I guess I'll find out in a couple months when we make it out there (in case you didn't know - we're currently road tripping the entire U.S. right now to hit all the major cities, national parks, and whatever else catches our interest; if you have any suggestions please let us know and we hope you'll follow along with us!).

Todays topic revolves around time.

It can be your worst enemy, or your biggest ally. Depending on how you use it - because most good things in life come from compounding.

Your health, wealth, and enjoyment of life should all be increasing over time (with the inevitable ups and downs in the short term).

If those things AREN'T increasing over the long term but are staying stagnant, or worse, decreasing... then you're not seeing reality properly and something needs to fundamentally change with your internal worldview and then behavior.

I know that probably came out like word soup so let me try to break it down.

And a quick side note - nothing I write should be seen as "preaching". When I write these I try to just share what has worked personally for me in my life - which I know won't work or resonate with everyone. Do your own thinking, learning, and experimenting with life.

Now back to the action.

For those who wake up everyday excited for life, good keep doing what you're doing.

For those who don't have that spark of excitement for life when they wake up in the morning, I promise you can get it back (or find it for the first time) If you are willing to use time (and compounding) as your biggest ally.

To help get your ideas flowing, here are some of my core techniques to use time as an ally to maximize my health, wealth, and happiness (in no particular order).

Health

  • real foods only (mostly) - if it doesn't eat plants or it isn't a plant don't eat it. Not that hard. Quality is important also. Don't buy the cheapest ingredients to save a few bucks. Also, the occasional ben & jerry's and/or homemade cookies are also a staple to a good life.

  • daily physical activity - go to the gym, go for a hike, bike, play sports, walk a dog, do yoga - it doesn't matter - find something (or a few things) you enjoy and that makes you sweat and do it everyday

  • walk more - some of my best ideas come when walking to the cafe. I like to say "if given the choice, walk". Take the stairs not the elevator - remember were working with compounding here.

  • high quality sleep - consistent sleep schedule, 8 hours, wind down properly before bed, no caffeine 90 min after waking up

  • high quality nutrition/ supplements - take a daily multivitamin, other nutrients you might be lacking (such as zinc, iron, vitamin d, etc.) and supplements (for example i drink ashwagandha tea at night to help relax my mind and entire nervous system after getting after it all day)

Wealth

  • a business you can invest in over time - you need a vehicle that makes money and that you can invest into over time for increasing returns... otherwise known as building your own business (plenty more letters on this in future letters).

  • the richest man in Babylon technique - the richest man in Babylon technique is simple and very powerful. You simply pay yourself first every time you make money. For example, every time you get paid or earn money, put x% into a separate account using automation. You can also use apps like Acorns and Qapital that "round up" on every purchase you make then put that money into an FDIC insured account for you (i.g. spend $10 and $1 get's 'round up' saved for you). You can also have auto recurring investments into stocks. All of this might sound simple, but the key lies in making sure to pay yourself BEFORE you pay your landlord, car payment, grocery store, gas station, etc. The peace of mind that comes from building wealth like this overtime is one of the best rewards of being consistent. Within a year you can have $10,000s of dollars stashed away in different accounts which means you feel less stressed and have the ability to take more risks in life i.e. you have a safety net if starting a business

  • invest in yourself - invest in your education and personal development with books, courses, mentorships, and most importantly, gain real world experience

Happiness

  • build something of meaning - find your life's work, retirement is a myth, the goal is to find something you love doing and can build until the day you die

  • develop skill - getting better at something over time is one of the surest ways to increase your confidence and fulfillment with life, nothing is more rewarding then looking back and seeing all the growth you've undergone. The work you do actually works on you more in return, it builds you character and crafts you into the person you want to be. If you want a life of meaning it won't be easy, don't run from the hard work - run towards it - and watch how quickly you start to become the person you want to be.

  • friendships & family - spend time with people you love, laugh with them, recharge with them, help them, call them just to talk to them - quality friends and family make life worth living.

  • novel experiences - You’re not fulfilled with life because you repeat the same monotonous tasks everyday like a robot for years on end. You have to go out and live life everyday. Take risks, try things you've always wanted, explore the world and what it has to offer. Experience everything you can.

  • meditation - a calm and focused mind that can stay even keeled through any storm is a superpower in todays highly distracted world. Most people have minds full of constant chatter and worries. Learn to silence it so you can see and experience the world from an open, loving, and grateful state of being.

And here comes the mic drop moment you've been waiting for...

All three of areas of life compound into each other - either negatively or positively.

Without working out, eating healthy, or sleeping well - my happiness would dramatically decrease in a short amount of time. I'd be more irritable, tired, foggy-minded, and every other negative side effect you can think (because I know you know exactly what i'm talking about).

After my mood drastically gets worse, my businesses will start to negatively be impacted also. Which means my wealth starts disappearing as well.

You see how this is a big snowball of compounding that can drag you downhill - fast.

But it can also be a ski-lift (corny analogy but we'll keep it going) to carry you uphill out of your negative patterns, poor mindset, and unenjoyable life to the top of the mountain where you can live to your fullest potential (and enjoy life more than ever).

So don't delay.

One rep today becomes two tomorrow, find peace in the practice of showing up daily, have gratitude for the chance, trust in something higher, and let time work it's magic for you.

Cheers,

- Hunter

​Instagram:​ Best Way to Get in Touch

​X:​ Notes to Self

PS - Orion has something to say below. I’ll let him take over from here...

Today I was reading Same as Ever by Morgan Housel while Hunter was writing his newsletter.

I kept interrupting him to talk about it so instead he nicely asked me to write a short paragraph for today's letter - so here it goes...

Human beings cannot comprehend very large or very small numbers. It would be useful for us to acknowledge that fact." - Daniel Kahneman

Statistics don't move people; stories do.

There have been plenty of tech nerds with fantastic ideas that go nowhere because they lack the social skills to portray the value they can provide.

On the flip side, there have been endless examples of flashy entrepreneurs that secure millions of dollars of venture capital before they even have a working prototype.

And here lies a strange dynamic.

Humans are emotionally driven.

And statistics have a very hard time quantifying this.

Take the stock market for example:

The value of any publicly traded company is a simple emotional combination of the company's current financial situation, and a story of where they will be in the future.

The premise is that when a topic is too complex for the laymen to grasp, stories can be the ultimate leverage to guide peoples' emotions.

Learning to tell stories could be the most valuable skill you ever learn.

Thanks for reading,

Orion

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