The Super Supplement for your Muscles + Brain, Rich (but not really), Reclaim Your Inner Child | FRLN 122

Last week, I celebrated my 44th birthday with one of the most high net-life birthday parties I could possibly imagine:

A giant pickleball party potluck.

Somewhere around 70 to 80 people showed up.

Pickleball friends.
Non-pickleball friends.
Friends who had never picked up a paddle before.

And that was actually one of my main goals for the party:

To share my love of pickleball with the people I love.

I spent a huge portion of the party teaching friends how to play for the first time. Watching grown adults run around, laugh, miss shots, celebrate good shots, and play like little kids was pure joy.

And the party was officially a success because this morning, one of my good friends, who owns the Santa Cruz Athletic Club (best gym ever) with his wife, texted me asking what pickleball paddles they should buy.

I converted people.

Mission accomplished.

I also want to share that I was recently featured on two different podcasts.

I was featured on The Compounding Project with my good friend Sathish for the second time. We dig deeply into my financial independence and money journey.

And I was also featured on the FI Minded Podcast with my friend Justin Peters, whom I met at FinCon last year. That conversation focused much more on the growth, identity shift, and transformation I’ve had to go through since leaving my high-paying 9-to-5 job over two years ago.

And there’s something I’m a little scared to mention, but I’m going to share it because I’m committed to growth.

My friend and mentor JL Collins, author of The Simple Path to Wealth, once gave me some very direct constructive feedback.

He told me I had “the like disease.”

Meaning:

When I speak, especially when I’m excited and talking fast, I say “like” a lot.

Which is normal for my age group.
Normal for where I live.
Normal in casual conversation.

But it makes me less polished as a speaker.

So JL challenged me to cure myself of “the like disease.”

The reason I bring this up is because the episode I recorded with Sathish was recorded before JL gave me that feedback. I recorded it 6 to 8 months ago, maybe even longer.

And when I listened back, I said “like” all the time.

It was brutal.

Painful for me to hear.

But the episode I recorded with Justin Peters happened after JL had given me that feedback.

And the difference is night and day.

I still said “like” a few times, but dramatically less.

I’m genuinely proud of that.

Not because I’m perfect.
Not because I’ll never say “like” again.
But because I found a blind spot, worked on it, and got better.

That is the power of having an incredible mentor.

A great mentor can see the small things you can’t see that, once adjusted, radically improve your performance.

That applies to speaking.
That applies to fitness.
That applies to money.
That applies to life.

So if you listen to my episode on The Compounding Project and hear me say “like” a thousand times, please don’t hold it against me.

Or maybe use it as inspiration.

Where in your life do you have a blind spot?

Where could a small adjustment radically improve your results?

Now let’s jump into this week’s tips, tools, and strategies for fitness, money, and life.

FIT — The Super Supplement For Your Muscles & Brain

One of my favorite supplements of all time is creatine.

Creatine has been around for decades. It is one of the most researched sports supplements in the world, and it has long been used by athletes, bodybuilders, and regular people who want to improve strength, power, and performance.

But what’s exciting is that creatine is no longer just a “muscle supplement.”

It is increasingly being looked at as a brain supplement too.

For years, I took 3 to 5 grams per day.

But as I moved deeper into my 40s, I increased my daily dose to around 10 grams per day.

Part of that was because a friend of mine in his 40s started doing the same thing. Part of it was because I started seeing more conversation around older adults potentially benefiting from slightly higher creatine intake.

And more recently, I’ve been fascinated by research suggesting that larger doses of creatine may help reduce some of the cognitive impairment that happens after poor sleep.

To be clear:

Creatine is not a substitute for sleep.

You can’t sleep 4 hours every night, take a giant scoop of creatine, and expect to be a fully optimized human.

Sleep is still the foundation.

But if you have a random night where you sleep terribly, creatine may be one tool that helps you get through the next day with a little more cognitive support.

The cool thing is that you do not need some fancy, expensive version.

You do not need creatine ethyl ester.
You do not need a designer blend.
You do not need a supplement with 14 ingredients and a shiny label.

Basic creatine monohydrate is the one I use.

It’s cheap.
It works.
It’s simple.

​I buy it in bulk from Amazon, and it is one of the few supplements I consistently recommend.

That said, a couple words of caution:

If you are brand new to creatine, don’t necessarily start with 10 grams on day one.

For some people, creatine can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, especially if taken in larger doses or on an empty stomach.

Translation:

It might make your stomach feel weird.

Or it might make you need to sprint to the bathroom to drop a number 2.

So if you’re new to it, consider starting with 1 to 2 grams per day and gradually working your way up to 5-10 grams.

Take it with food.

Drink plenty of water.

And as always, if you have kidney issues or any medical condition, talk to your doctor before adding a new supplement.

But for me, creatine has been a foundational part of my fitness stack for 15 to 20 years.

It supports my strength.
It supports my power.
It supports my brain.
And it’s dirt cheap.

That is a beautiful combination.

RICH — Rich (But Not)

Lately, I’ve had several conversations with people who are objectively wealthy.

People with net worths well over $10 million.

And I’ve heard stories of people with $100 million, $500 million, even a billion dollars, still feeling like they don’t have enough.

On one hand, that sounds insane.

On the other hand, I totally understand it.

Because money is not just math.

Money is also psychology.

You can be rich on paper and still not feel rich in your body.

You can have millions of dollars and still feel stressed.

You can have a giant net worth and still feel trapped.

You can be rich, but not rich.

There are two main reasons I see this happen.

The first is psychological.

If you grew up with money stress, scarcity, debt, fear, or financial instability, those patterns don’t automatically disappear when your net worth crosses a certain number.

I grew up poor.

There was a lot of money stress in my family.

And I’ve had to do a lot of inner work over the last few years to remind myself:

That is not my reality anymore.

I am not that little kid living in scarcity.

I am not trapped.

I am not unsafe.

I have more than enough.

But that realization did not happen automatically when I became a millionaire.

The math changed before my nervous system caught up.

And I think that happens to a lot of people.

They become wealthy financially, but they never heal the emotional imprint of scarcity.

So no matter how much they have, it never feels like enough.

The second reason is structural.

A lot of wealthy people have a liquidity problem.

Their net worth looks amazing on paper, but most of their wealth is locked up in illiquid assets:

• Real estate

• Businesses

• Primary residence

• Retirement accounts

• Private investments

Those assets may be valuable, but they don’t always create comfort.

They don’t always create cash flow.

They don’t always create freedom today.

Someone can have a $10 million net worth and still feel stretched every month because their money is locked inside assets they can’t easily access.

That’s a very different experience from having a large portion of your wealth in liquid assets like cash and publicly traded index funds.

Right now, my net worth is around $3.4 million, and a very large percentage of it is liquid.

Cash.
Brokerage accounts.
Index funds.

If the stock market is open and I need access to money, I can open an app, sell shares, and access capital relatively quickly.

Yes, it may take a business day or two to settle and transfer.

But I don’t have to list a property.

I don’t have to find a buyer.

I don’t have to wait months.

I don’t have to hope a deal closes.

That liquidity gives me peace.

And I think this is an under-discussed part of wealth building.

Yes, you want your assets to grow.

Yes, you want to invest.

Yes, you want your money working for you.

But at some point, you also need to build the right structure so your wealth actually makes you feel free.

Not just rich on paper.

Free in real life.

To me, the transition from “rich but not rich” to truly rich has two parts:

First, you need the right balance of liquidity, cash flow, and long-term appreciating assets.

Second, you need to do the inner work of healing your money wounds.

Because if you only solve the math, you may still feel poor.

And if you only work on the mindset but never fix the structure, you may still feel stressed.

You need both.

The spreadsheet and the soul.

The portfolio and the nervous system.

The net worth and the net-life.

LIFE — Reclaim Your Inner Child

For life, I want to talk about reclaiming your inner child.

And I think this is especially important for men as they get older.

But really, this applies to everyone.

Men.
Women.
People in their 20s.
People in their 30s.
People in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.

Inside all of us is an inner child that loves joy, play, wonder, imagination, celebration, and magic.

But somewhere along the way, a lot of adults lock that part of themselves away.

Especially men.

As boys become teenagers and teenagers become men, many decide that being playful is childish.

They decide that being excited is embarrassing.

They decide that celebrating themselves is weak.

They decide that joy will get in the way of success.

I think that’s total bullshit.

I actually believe the opposite is true.

The more connected you are to joy, play, and aliveness, the more energy you bring to everything else.

Your work.
Your relationships.
Your health.
Your creativity.
Your money.
Your mission.

This was on my mind because of my 44th birthday.

I was genuinely excited about my birthday party.

Not fake excited.
Not “I guess I should do something” excited.
Actually excited.

And what did I choose?

A pickleball birthday party.

Which is basically an inner child birthday party for adults.

Running around with friends.
Hitting a wiffle ball.
Laughing.
Playing.
Eating good food.
Teaching beginners.
Celebrating life.

It was one of the purest expressions of high net-life I could imagine.

And one of my favorite parts was watching friends who had never played pickleball before light up.

They started laughing.

They started competing in a jubilant way.

They started trying.

They started playing like kids again.

That was magic.

And it made me think about how many adults don’t let themselves have that.

They don’t let themselves get excited.

They don’t let themselves celebrate their birthday.

They don’t let themselves play.

They don’t let themselves be seen in joy.

Some people are afraid of getting older (so they don't really celebrate their birthday).

Some people think celebrating their birthday is immature.

Some people think being playful means they’re not serious enough.

But I think the ability to play is one of the most powerful signs of vitality.

I don’t want to age by slowly becoming more rigid, serious, isolated, and emotionally shut down.

I want to age in reverse.

I want to get stronger.
More joyful.
More playful.
More connected.
More alive.

And I want that for you too.

So here is my challenge:

This year, get excited about your birthday.

Plan something fun.

Let yourself want what you want.

Let yourself play.

Let yourself celebrate.

Let yourself reconnect with the things that lit you up when you were younger.

Sports.
Games.
Art.
Music.
Adventure.
Dancing.
Nature.
Friends.
Laughter.

Whatever it is, bring it back.

Your inner child is not a distraction from your success.

Your inner child might be the missing energy source that fuels your next level.

ACTION — Keep Getting Richer

Pick one and implement it this week:

• FIT — Add creatine to your foundation. If you’re not already taking it, consider starting with basic creatine monohydrate. Start small, take it with food, and build up slowly. It’s one of the simplest, cheapest, most researched supplements for supporting strength, power, muscle, and brain performance.

• RICH — Audit your real freedom. Look beyond your net worth number and ask: How liquid am I? How much free cash flow do I have? Do I actually feel abundant? Being rich on paper is not the same as feeling free in real life.

• LIFE — Reclaim your inner child. Plan something playful. Celebrate something. Let yourself get excited. Whether it’s pickleball, games, dancing, music, art, adventure, or something you loved as a kid, bring more play back into your adult life.

Your body gets stronger when you give it the right inputs, consistently.

Your wealth feels better when your money is structured for freedom, not just impressive numbers.

And your life expands when you stop locking away the playful, joyful, alive part of yourself.

Over time, those choices compound into something powerful:

• A stronger body and sharper brain.

• A wealth structure that actually supports peace and freedom.

• A life filled with more joy, play, celebration, and high net-life energy.

That’s the foundation of a Fit Rich Life.

To your health, wealth, and happiness,

— Justin David Carl

P.S. Want more Fit Rich Life goodness? Check out two great podcast episodes featuring yours truly: The Compounding Project with my friend Sathish (listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube), where we dug into my financial independence and money journey, and the FI Minded Podcast with Justin Peters (listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube), where we explored the identity shift and growth that came after leaving my high-paying 9-to-5 over two years ago.