FRLN89: Unfair Fitness Advantage, Massive Money Leverage, Compound Happiness
Right now I’m in Portland, Oregon at FinCon, the annual conference for personal finance creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs.
People often call it “Comic-Con for Money Nerds”.
But to me, it’s the best place in the world to meet with friends, amplify my vision for the Fit Rich Life brand, and get totally pumped for the year ahead of educating the world about personal finance.
While I’m here, it reminds me of something very important.
How life’s little decisions can compound into life-changing outcomes.
Here’s 3 we’ll cover today:
A powerful shift that gives you an unfair fitness advantage.
How to turn existing skills into new income (without starting from scratch).
And a life-changing investment that, over time, compounds like capital.
Let’s get started…
FIT — The Unfair Fitness Advantage
It’s easy to get caught up thinking fitness is all about the perfect program, the perfect macros, or the perfect routine.
Here’s a bigger lever:
Remove the drain on your recovery.
I’ve been sober from drugs and alcohol for 11 years now (since Labor Day 2014). In all that time, I’ve had the massively unfair advantage of never having to wake up with a hangover.
That one single commitment has paid more dividends on my fitness than any supplement or training hack I’ve ever tried.
If you’re like me, and wear any kind of sleep or recovery tracker, you probably already know that just one drink completely trashes your sleep and recovery architecture.
Some people say it will knock them out faster…
But the truth is, your deep and REM sleep suffers, your HRV tanks, and you wake up less recovered, more irritable, and way hungrier. Repeat this pattern often and you’re stuck trying to out-train a recovery deficit.
Not fun.
Here’s what changed for me after quitting:
Better sleep.
Better decisions.
Better eating habits.
Better mood stability.
Better body composition.
And massive, massive savings.
Plus it has the added benefit of keeping you away from people who aren’t aligned with your values and don’t serve your critical missions in life.
Which is the ultimate Fit Rich Life hack if you ask me.
RICH — Don’t Start Over. Translate Your Skills.
The fastest way to make more money isn’t to start over.
It’s to repurpose what you’re great at in a higher-leverage arena.
For example, I just met a creator here named John Liang, and like me, he used to work in enterprise B2B sales. But when he made the leap to building online, he applied those same sales skills to negotiating million-dollar brand deals for his TikTok and Instagram content.
The result — 7 figures a year as a solo operator.
Different industry, same skill stack… sound familiar? I did a very similar thing. I spent years in B2B sales then translated that into a multiple 6-figure online coaching business. That’s the core skill of sales — guiding someone from problem to solution with complete clarity and conviction.
But this isn’t just limited to sales.
I know dozens of people who’ve translated all manner of different skills into new jobs, new careers, and new businesses, all very successfully by following a very similar pattern.
And ultimately, you can too.
If you pay close attention to the outcomes you create repeatedly in your work, the wins, the systems, the operations, the solutions, the things people praise you for that you can’t help but do. And you extract the transferable skills like communication, analytics, storytelling, or implementation and map them onto a new vehicle (coaching, consulting, education, services, partnerships, etc…)
Then you’ve unlocked the secret to innovation in nearly all industries around the world.
Borrow from one industry, give to the next, and voila, you’ve got the power to disrupt an entire market, and rise to the top, when no one even saw you coming.
But here’s the most important thing to remember…
Wealth is a team sport.
Your next income jump will probably come in the form of a new partnership, collab, or warm introduction rather than grinding solo.
Which brings me to my next point…
LIFE — This Investment Compounds Like Capital
I’m out here meeting people live in the flesh, that previously I’ve only ever seen through screens.
And it reminds me of something that’s easy for us all to forget.
The right room can do more for your life in three days than your lone-wolf efforts can do for you in three whole years.
Why?
Because connection pays in multiple currencies:
Happiness — Deep conversations, shared values, and real friendship. Your nervous system can’t help but light up when you’re with your people.
Longevity — Social interaction and building close relationships correlate with living a longer and healthier life. That’s why I always say, community is medicine.
Opportunity — Serendipity lives where ambitious, value-aligned people collide. Podcast invites, new clients, collabs, insights you can’t find inside Chat GPT.
So far at FinCon, I’ve met long-time podcast guests in person, made new friends, lined up future interviews, and left with pages and pages of ideas. But more importantly, I feel energized — the kind of energy you carry back into your training, your business, and your relationships.
And best of all…
You don’t need an airplane to access this.
Instead, you can:
Attend local meetups.
Join a small mastermind.
Or schedule a weekly call with a peer.
And if it’s in the cards, once a year you can pick a conference or retreat that will get you around the people you’re meant for.
That said, if you’re feeling stuck, you might not have a motivation problem, you might have a proximity problem.
Try putting yourself where inspiration and expectations are naturally higher.
ACTION — 30 Seconds Now → 38X Later
Pick one and do it today:
Fitness: Commit to 30 days alcohol-free. Put it on your calendar, track your mood.
Money: Brainstorm where your old skills can meet new markets and send connection messages to people who share your interests.
Life: Put a connection block on your calendar (one event, one call, or one meetup in the next 14 days).
1% better each day, is 3,780% in a year (38X). That’s how you build your Fit Rich Life — one clear decision at a time.
To your health, wealth, and happiness,
— Justin David Carl
P.S. If this helped, forward it to a friend who’s ready to level up their fitness, money, and life today.