Fit Rich Life

Newsletter #31

Weekly Tips, Tools & Strategies to Alchemize your Fitness, Money & Life
Newsletter Archive

“This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.”
—Maya Angelou

Greetings Fit Rich Fam!

As promised here is the Rental Real Estate Calculator compliments of Chad Carson who joined me on the Fit Rich Life Podcast for Episode 60.

Definitely check out the full episode to learn how you can utilize Real Estate to create true Financial Freedom in your life.

Chad even shares how to get started if you have little-to-no money OR if you're already well on your way to Financial Independence but don't want to spend a ton of time & energy on Real Estate.

Strategies for both are well-outlined in the podcast episode.

Without further ado, let's proactively build your Fit Rich Life—FRL! Your weekly dose of actionable tips, tools & strategies to alchemize your Fitness, Money & Life to the Next Level.

FITNESS: Utilize a Minimum Viable Workout to keep your Fitness on point.
This strategy comes from Chad Carson's interview on Episode 60 the Fit Rich Life Podcast.

The idea is to proactively create & have a short workout (10-20 minutes) that you can do anywhere at any time to maintain your fitness when life gets in the way of you doing your full workout program of the day.

Personally, I think this strategy is genius & it isn't something I've consciously thought about until Chad brought it up.

Oftentimes, perfection is the enemy of done.

I know many people will just not work out if they cannot do their designated full workout.

If you want to be more fit than the average do not fall prey to this as there will surely be times when life & circumstances get in the way of you getting to your full workout.

Instead of foregoing a workout why not have a handy pre-built Minimum Viable Workout (MVW) that you can turn to when you're unable to get to the gym to do a full workout?

Here's what I would do if I didn't have time to get to a gym or if I was traveling and had to work out in my hotel or Airbnb:

• 5 minutes of yoga and/or dynamic stretching to warm up my body.

• 2-4 sets of push-ups to failure super-setted with 2-4 sets of banded squats to failure with little to no rest in between supersets.

• 2-4 band curls to failure super-setted with 2-4 sets of overhead band tricep extensions to failure.

• 2-4 sets of overhead band shoulder presses super-setted with 2-4 sets of bent-over band rows with little-to-no rest between supersets.

• 2-4 sets of band lateral shoulder raises super-setted with 2-4 sets of band deadlifts.

• 2-4 sets of v-situps super-setted with 2-4 sets of plank holds to failure.

The number of sets per superset would be determined by how much time & energy I have while factoring in the day's upcoming activities.

If I'm just going to be sitting all day doing work I'd do more.

If I was going to be doing a ton of walking or urban hiking while exploring a new city while traveling I'd do less.

Feel free to utilize the MVW I shared above or come up with your own.

The main point is to have an MVW in your Fit Rich Life Toolkit for the days you can't get to the gym to do your full workout so that you can maintain & even build upon your fitness (and be way fitter than the average person).

MONEY: Utilize a Minimum Viable Investment strategy to continuously get richer.
Building upon the fitness strategy outlined above you should set up an automatic weekly investment that continuously runs in the background no matter what's going on in the world or in your week-to-week life. 

The idea is to choose an amount that you could invest every week no matter what life surprises you with AND to have it set up for automatic investments so you take yourself out of the equation.

This is a mandatory requirement for all my Fit Rich Life Coaching clients as the key to becoming a successful investor is building an automatic system that works without conscious ongoing effort.

This is a set it & forget it strategy.

I don't care if it's $25 dollars a week or $2,500 per month.

The key is to choose an amount that you can consistently invest week over week or month over month so if you get busy with life (which you will) then when you finally remember to peek into your investments you will happily see that the number of shares of low-fee well-diversified index funds you own has continued to grow no matter how distracted you got.

LIFE: Slow down to experience the Richness of Life (and keep up your overall momentum).
In the current age of ever-increasing speeds of living a life that is powered by technology, it is easy AF to get caught up in the fast lane.

While I am all for sprints to get a project off the ground or crush a goal in one's fitness, money, or life, this must be interspersed with sets of proactively slowing down to recharge, reflect & rejuvenate.

It is when we slow down that we can actually experience the true richness of our lives.

There are many ways to slow down. My favorite ways to slow down & enjoy the richness of life are:

(1) Meditation: I've been meditating daily since 2014 & it continues to give me an edge. Because of this practice, I am able to stay centered amidst the storms & slow time down each day. As they say, "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast."

(2) Walking: I love walking because it is an incredible moving meditation. It allows me to process my current problems (opportunities in disguise) & physically emote my emotions. If emotions are not emoted they get stuck in our bodies & cause all sorts of physical issues. Physically moving through one's emotions & current challenges results in creative breakthroughs. When I walk I love to look at the bounty of nature that is always present just about everywhere. Whether it's a weed sprouting up through a crack in the pavement, or a beautiful rose in the neighbor's garden, it nourishes my mind, body & spirit & allows me to slow down enough to process all that is happening within & without.

(3) Writing: Whether I am journaling about something that is challenging me in life or writing this email newsletter, the process of writing forces me to slow down, take stock, metabolize what's going on, get a more holistic view & organize my cluttered thinking. 

(4) Cooking & Eating Slowly: I love to cook at home because this is another form of moving meditation that slows life down.  Plus it has a nice benefit of making me feel even more satiated after I've eaten the meal that I personally prepared. During my meals, I have a general rule that I am not allowed to partake in social media consumption or watch any screens (no tv, no YouTube, no Netflix, etc). As a general rule, I do not allow myself to read emails, respond to work chat or even read paper books during a meal. I must physically engage with my meal visually. I do allow myself to eat with others at home or in-person at a restaurant or even virtually as long as I can spend plenty of time witnessing my food enter my body. This again, slows time down, nourishes me deeply & engenders a rejuvenating time that makes life feel truly rich. 

(5) Travel/Vacation: This is one of my absolute favorite ways to slow time down. When I can get out of my regular environment into new & novel environments it's like the resolution of life increases 100x. Stepping outside of my normal weekly life empowers me to see all the richness of my life back at home while simultaneously filling up my creative well with the new sights, sounds, smells & physical experiences of a new environment. I always come back from travel & vacation feeling refreshed & deeply grateful for the life & work I get to do.

For the record, I am in the fortunate position where I do not have to travel for work. If I did have to travel for work I would not consider that slowing time down. In my opinion that would actually speed up time so make sure you don't count your work travel as rejuvenating time.

My current protocol is that I take at least 1-2 weeks off from work to travel (or do a staycation) every quarter to slow time down, recharge & rejuvenate stacked with the daily & weekly practices of meditation, walking, writing & slow meals.

This energetic balancing framework empowers me to keep my average Work/Life Momentum extremely high throughout the entire year.

My firm belief is that everyone should develop a set of micro & macro practices that empowers one to slow down & experience the richness of life.

This is fundamental if you want to be a High Performer & truly live a Fit Rich Life.

Feel free to adopt my strategies above or come up with your own.

Just don't leave it to happenstance or else you will surely be caught up in the hustle & bustle of other people's agendas.

>>If you found value in this newsletter please consider sharing it with a friend.<<

If you're seeing this for the first time, signup for the Fit Rich Life Newsletter here.

I am sending you all lots of Energy & plenty of Dragon Magic!

Your Fitness, Money & Life Coach,

Justin David Carl

P.S. Below is the YouTube version of Fit Rich Life Podcast Episode 60. Also available on Spotify, Apple & wherever you enjoy your podcast entertainment.

Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. I run a custom-tailored 1-1 & group mastermind coaching program that will you empower you to achieve your dream body, master your money & live your best life. Yup, it's a proven Fitness, Money & Life Coaching Program unlike anything else out there. You can book a free consultation with me here or just drop me a note on Instagram to find a time to connect.

2. If you work in an office introduce me to whoever handles your office snacks, catering & employee experience to take your work wellbeing to the next level. I'm a founding member of Garten, a tech-empowered employee experience & wellbeing platform that top companies utilize to power their most important asset (their people). Email me at >>justin@garten.co<< to set up a meeting.