The Power Of Heat & Cold, Why The Stock Market Always Goes Up, Ready Is A Decision (Not A Feeling) | FRLN 126

There is a lot of power in contrast.

Cold water paired with a sauna.

A stock market crash followed by an all-time high.

Fear in your chest followed by action.

Most of us spend our lives trying to avoid the uncomfortable side of the equation.

We want the recovery without the cold plunge.

The wealth without the market downturns.

The dream life without the terrifying first step.

But I am learning that you cannot separate the two.

The discomfort is not a detour from the path.

It is the path.

Here are three ideas to help you live a Fit Rich Life.

FIT — The Power of Heat & Cold

A few weeks ago, I went to the home of a good friend and mentor who lives right on the beach.

We walked into the Pacific Ocean for a cold plunge, then sat in his sauna for 30 minutes.

Cold ocean water. Hot sauna. Total recovery.

When I cold plunge, my body always feels better the next day. After a week of lifting weights and running around the pickleball court, the ocean feels like one giant ice bath for every sore muscle in my body.

Last summer, after long, hot days of pickleball, I would often jump into the ocean for five or ten minutes afterward.

The next day, my body felt noticeably better.

Lighter.

Less beat up.

More ready to play again.

And yes, I am aware that the mature answer would be to occasionally take a day off from pickleball.

But pickleball is LIFE — and jumping in the ocean is a lot more fun.

Cold water can be an incredible tool for reducing soreness and helping your body feel recovered after demanding exercise.

Heat can feel just as powerful.

A sauna session, a hot bath, or even ten to twenty minutes in an Epsom salt bath can help you slow down, loosen up, and shift your body into recovery mode.

I do want to be clear about one thing: I do not think of cold plunging as a magic shortcut.

If your primary goal is building as much muscle as possible, you probably do not want to plunge immediately after every strength-training session. Some evidence suggests that constantly icing down right after lifting can interfere with the muscle-building adaptation you worked hard to create.

But after a long pickleball day?

A brutal conditioning session?

A week where your body simply feels worn down?

A cold plunge, sauna, hot bath, or cold shower can be one of the simplest ways to support your recovery.

You do not need a luxury recovery studio.

Try one of these:

• Take a two-minute cold shower.

• Sit in a hot bath for ten to twenty minutes.

• Find a sauna at your local gym.

• Jump in a cold ocean, lake, or river.

Training breaks your body down.

Recovery is where your body gets stronger.

And utilizing the power of heat & cold can make your recovery even better.

RICH — Why The Stock Market Always Goes Up

Earlier this year, the stock market was falling.

Fear was everywhere.

People wondered whether the downturn would get worse, whether they should stop investing, and whether this time was somehow different.

Now, just a short time later, the stock market is hitting all-time highs again.

That is the stock market for you.

It falls.

It rises.

It scares people out.

Then it rewards the people who stayed invested long enough to experience the recovery.

You cannot predict the next crash.

You also cannot predict when the next all-time high will arrive.

That is why trying to jump in and out of the market is such a dangerous game.

You usually do not miss the bad days alone.

You miss the recovery days too.

I recently listened to Brian Feroldi explain a simple question:

Why does the stock market go up over the long run?

His answer is incredibly useful.

The stock market goes up over long periods of time because the profits of great businesses tend to go up over long periods of time.

A stock represents ownership in a business.

When the businesses inside a broad index become more profitable over time, the value of those businesses tends to grow too.

Why do profits grow?

Because several powerful forces are constantly stacking on top of one another:

• Inflation: Companies charge more dollars for goods and services over time.

• Productivity: Businesses figure out how to produce more with less.

• Innovation: New products and technologies create entirely new opportunities.

• Population growth: More people means more potential customers.

• Global expansion: Successful companies find new markets around the world.

None of these forces need to be dramatic in any single year.

But when even modest profit growth compounds over decades, the result can be extraordinary.

This does not mean the stock market goes up every year.

It does not mean prices cannot fall dramatically.

And it absolutely does not mean future returns are guaranteed.

In the short term, the market is driven by emotion.

Fear.

Greed.

Panic.

Excitement.

Headlines.

In the long term, the market is driven by businesses continuing to create value and generate profits.

That is why one of the most important wealth-building behaviors is also one of the simplest:

Keep buying diversified, low-cost index funds through the good times and the bad times, and hold them for decades.

The market downturns are part of the deal.

The all-time highs are part of the deal.

You do not build wealth by avoiding the roller coaster.

You build wealth by staying on the ride.

LIFE — Ready Is A Decision (Not A Feeling)

I cannot tell you how many years of my life I have wasted waiting to "feel ready."

My podcast is a perfect example.

For years, I told myself I would start one after I learned how to edit episodes.

Of course, I never learned how to edit episodes.

Eventually, I started the podcast by hiring someone else to handle the post-production.

The thing I had spent years waiting to feel ready for became possible the moment I made a decision and solved the next problem in front of me.

This newsletter is another example.

I thought about writing it for months, maybe even years, before I finally began.

Now I am writing issue number 126.

That has taught me something I wish I understood much earlier:

Ready is a decision, not a feeling.

You are probably never going to feel completely ready for the things you deeply want to do.

Start the business.

Change careers.

Move to a new city.

Write the book.

Launch the podcast.

Apply for the opportunity.

Tell the truth.

Take the leap.

The bigger the dream, the more likely it is to scare you.

But I no longer think fear is always a warning sign.

Fear is often a compass.

Sometimes the anxiety you feel around something you genuinely want is your higher self showing you the direction of your growth.

Last week, I applied to speak at FinCon, one of the biggest conferences in the personal finance industry.

I have wanted to speak at a large conference for years.

And for years, it remained something I thought about doing instead of something I actually did.

Then I finally said: fuck it.

I may get chosen.

I may not.

But the only way I will ever speak on that stage is by putting my name in the hat.

So I filled out the application.

I proposed a talk about how I grew my Threads audience from 1,800 followers to more than 129,000 followers in less than two years, and how other creators can use Threads to grow their email lists, businesses, and impact.

Did I feel completely ready before submitting it?

No.

But I DECIDED I was ready.

And that is enough.

Whatever it is that you have been thinking about doing, stop waiting for the fear to disappear.

The fear may not disappear until after you act.

And even then, a new, bigger fear will probably show up as you grow.

That is not evidence that you are on the wrong path.

That may be evidence that you are finally on the right one.

ACTION — Feel The Fear & Do It Anyway

Pick one and implement it this week:

• FIT — Add heat & cold into your training regimen. Take a cold shower, sit in a sauna, soak in a hot Epsom salt bath, or jump into a cold natural body of water. Your body does not get stronger only from pushing harder. It gets stronger when you give it time and tools to recover.

• RICH — Stay invested through the roller coaster. Do not let market downturns OR the stock market being too high scare you out of the wealth-building machine. Keep investing in diversified, low-cost index funds through the highs and lows, and give compounding decades to work in your favor.

• LIFE — Do the thing before you feel ready. Apply for the opportunity. Start the project. Launch the side hustle. Ask the guy/girl out on a date. Make the move. You do not need to wait until the fear disappears. You only need to decide that the life you want is worth moving toward.

Your body becomes more resilient when you expose it to stress, then allow it to recover.

Your wealth grows when you remain invested through uncertainty instead of reacting to every market swing.

And your life expands when you stop waiting for confidence and start acting with courage.

Over time, those decisions compound into something powerful:

• A stronger, healthier, more recovered body.

• A growing portfolio that can support your freedom.

• A life shaped by courage instead of fear.

The cold water is uncomfortable before it becomes invigorating.

The market downturn is scary before the recovery reaches new highs.

The leap feels terrifying before it becomes the thing that changes your life.

That’s the foundation of a Fit Rich Life.

Feel the fear.

Do it anyway.

To your health, wealth, and happiness,

— Justin David Carl

P.S. If you haven’t checked out my free email course “The Millennial Work-Optional Blueprint” you can grab it here.