Fit Rich Life

Newsletter #50

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

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
— Maya Angelou, American Poet

Greetings Fit Rich Fam!

This past week, I released a new Podcast interview with JL Collins.

He is affectionately known as the Godfather of Financial Independence and for good reason.

JL wrote one of my favorite books "The Simple Path to Wealth" and he just released a new book called "Pathfinders: Extraordinary Stories of People Like You On The Quest For Financial Independence -- And How To Join Them."

In Episode 71 of the Fit Rich Life Podcast with JL Collins we cover:

• F-You Money

• The Simple Path to Wealth

• Single Stock Investing vs Index Investing

• Renting vs. Buying a Home

It's a great episode for anyone who is seeking to achieve Financial Independence as JL shares his wisdom and the wisdom of about 100 other people who are featured in his newest book.

Without further ado, let's proactively build your Fit Rich Life.

This is your weekly dose of actionable tips, tools & strategies to take your Fitness, Money, and Life to the Next Level.


FITNESS: Optimize your home & work environment for your Fitness.

We're in the second month of the New Year and this is when many people start veering from the fitness goals they set at the beginning of the year.

One of the areas in which I see people fail time and again is that they think they can willpower their way into greater fitness.

"This is going to be the year I finally get into great shape," they say.

Only to end the year in the same shape (or worse).

Willpower is a finite resource and when it runs out we fall to the base level of the lifestyle we've built (consciously or unconsciously).

One of the root problems for people who are not in great shape is that they don't build a lifestyle that naturally supports their fitness.

A lifestyle is largely a function of our environment.

We are all products of our environment.

Our environment either adds to our fitness or takes away from it.

The two environments that play the largest role in our lifestyle are our home environment and our work environment.

Most people have full control over their home environment and at least some level of control over their work environment if not full control if they work from home.

I consider myself lucky to be one of the people who works from home, but I consciously worked towards that for years until I made it a reality.
 

Here are my Fit Rich Life Home Environment Rules:

(1) All food is put away out of sight.
Humans with sight are triggered by visually seeing food. Optimize your willpower to be directed towards other worthwhile endeavors and don't squander it on resisting food that you can visually see.

(2) Some exercise or fitness equipment in every single room.
This triggers me to stay active throughout the day. I have kettlebells, dumbbells & a trampoline in my office. I have a body scale in my bathroom. I have weighted batons and maces in my living room. My home environment is constantly encouraging me to be active and fit.
 

Here are my Fit Rich Life Office Rules:

(1) Adjustable standing desk.
Changing working positions from standing to walking, biking, to sitting in a chair or even on a meditation pad on the floor empowers me to stay fit physically and mentally.

(2) Bike Chair or Walking Pad for 30-90 minutes per day.
This is how I easily get 15K-20K steps per day which is one of the biggest reasons I've been sub 10% body fat year-round over 10 years.

(3) No food in my office.
No snacks lying around squandering my willpower. I prefer to invest that willpower into accomplishing work projects.


MONEY: Why buying a home is a terrible financial investment.

Purchasing a home is a fundamental aspect of the American Dream but from a purely financial standpoint, it’s a terrible investment.

However, the current zeitgeist is that it’s a great financial investment.

Why throw away your rent money when you can be building equity by purchasing a home, right?

Throughout my life, I've heard this statement from family, friends, & colleagues and I used to believe it.

Last year I almost bought a house too, but thank god I actually ran the numbers.

What I discovered is that it would literally be twice as expensive to live in the home I rented if I were to buy it. 

Here are several reasons why a primary house is a terrible investment:

Illiquid Asset: Unlike stocks or other investments that can be easily sold, a house is an illiquid asset that may take months or even years to sell, limiting your ability to access your investment.

High Transaction Costs: Buying and selling a house incurs significant transaction costs, including real estate agent commissions, closing costs, and taxes, which can erode potential profits.

Ongoing Expenses: Owning a house involves ongoing expenses such as property taxes, maintenance, repairs, and insurance, which can add up over time and reduce overall returns.

Lack of Diversification: Investing a large portion of your wealth in a single property lacks diversification and exposes you to the risks associated with the local real estate market.

Opportunity Cost: The money tied up in a house could be invested in other assets that offer higher returns and greater liquidity, potentially missing out on investment opportunities.

From a mathematical standpoint, you will make significantly more money investing in a simple S&P500 Index Fund than investing in a primary home.

Want more information on why buying a house is a terrible investment?

Here are two resources by brilliant financial minds on this subject:

(1) Fit Rich Life Podcast guest JL Collin's most popular blog article "Why your house is a terrible investment."

(2) Fellow Stanford Alum Ramit Sethi's popular YouTube video "Why I don't own a house as a Multi-Millionaire." 

At some point, I will most likely purchase a home, but I am going to consider it a lavish purchase (not a savvy investment).

When it comes time for your primary home purchase ensure that you run the numbers so you don't financially screw yourself for years or decades.


LIFE: Thriving is a mindset and practice.

"I'm just trying to survive."

How many times have you said this?

During the first couple of years of the pandemic, I probably heard this from just about every single person I talked to.

Even before the pandemic, this was a common refrain from most people.

I don't know about you but I don't want to just survive my work or life.

I want to thrive in work and all aspects of life.

Yet, if any part of your life has been challenging (especially childhood) the chances are you've gotten stuck in "survival mode" even if it's no longer applicable.

A surviving mentality is robbing you of happiness because at the root of that belief is that things are lacking.

Living life in a "lack mentality" is living life in scarcity.

But the truth is there is abundance and opportunity everywhere (if you look for it).

To see the abundance and the opportunities you have to strategically program your goal-seeking machine (your mind) to seek it out and you have to take note of it daily to turn this into your new paradigm.

Here is what I've done with my coaching clients to empower them to adopt a life of thriving:

(1) At the start of each day ask yourself what things could you do today to make yourself feel like you are thriving.

(2) Ensure that you do some of those thriving activities.

(3) At the end of the day take note of each of those thriving activities and rate your day from 1-10. (1 means you are barely surviving, 10 means you're absolutely thriving.)

(4) Anytime you score a 5 or below ask yourself what you would need to do the next day to feel like you're thriving.

(5) Ensure you do those activities the next day.

(6) Repeat this process until you make it a habit to thrive and train your mind to see that you're thriving.

As I often say, "What gets measured, gets managed, empowered, and manifested."

If you're stuck in survival mode you are going to have to retrain your mind and make it a life practice to thrive.


Closing Thoughts:

Will this be another year that you just get through and barely survive?

Or will this be a year where you truly thrive and make it your best year yet?

If you choose to thrive this year, and I hope that you do, then how are you going to do that?

Don't leave your happiness and quality of life to chance, strategically do something radically different this year so you don't end the year in the same place or worse.


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

>>If you're seeing this for the first time, sign up 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

Episode 71 of the Fit Rich Life Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and everywhere 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 empower you to achieve your dream body, master your money & live your best life. Yup, it's a proven Fitness, Money and 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.