Shift your life’s overarching goal from maximizing wealth, health, or time individually to maximizing “net fulfillment” by optimally allocating these three resources throughout your life.
Segment your life into distinct ’time buckets’ (e.g., 20-25, 35-40) and deliberately plan what leisure, career, and experiences you want to have in each period, recognizing that certain activities are best suited for specific ‘seasons’ of life.
Make decisions based on a ‘regret minimizing framework,’ prioritizing actions that will lead to the least regret later in life, rather than solely focusing on minimizing immediate risks.
Regularly reflect on your true desires and ensure your actions, especially work and saving, align with your ultimate goals for fulfillment, instead of passively accumulating money out of habit.
Employ a visual tool like a ‘death clock’ or a ‘4,000 weeks’ calendar to track the finite nature of your life and its segments, serving as a constant reminder to be deliberate and get off autopilot.
Reframe your perception of money by thinking of all purchases and expenses in terms of ‘hours of your life’ spent working to earn that money, which can help align spending with your true values.
Strategically plan your finances so that your net worth peaks in your fifties, allowing you to maximize the utilization of your wealth for experiences while you still possess the health and time to enjoy them.
Consciously identify and prioritize experiences that are time-sensitive or dependent on specific physical capabilities (e.g., wakeboarding, hiking mountains) to ensure you enjoy them in the appropriate ‘season’ of your life before they become impossible or too risky.
Evaluate all decisions, from physical activities to financial choices, by weighing the potential reward against the inherent risk, and be prepared to stop when diminishing returns make the risk no longer worthwhile.
Adopt the ‘stay in the game’ principle in life by avoiding risks that could lead to catastrophic, irreversible losses, ensuring you maintain the capacity to pursue fulfillment over the long term.
Instead of self-insuring through excessive saving, identify specific risks you fear (e.g., long-term care, job loss) and mitigate them efficiently by purchasing appropriate insurance policies from professionals.
Engage in philanthropy by giving money to charitable causes or individuals while you are alive, as the impact and utility of the money will be greater when received earlier, allowing for learning and adaptation.
Distribute financial gifts to loved ones (including children, family, and friends) when the money will have the most impact and utility for them in their lives, rather than waiting until your death, as money’s utility diminishes with age.
Periodically assess if your job truly fulfills you and provides balance with your other life goals, or if you are simply working out of habit, to ensure your career aligns with your overall net fulfillment.
Don’t wait for traditional events like weddings or funerals; proactively create opportunities (e.g., parties, picnics, games) to gather all meaningful people in your life and foster shared experiences and memories.
Approach health optimization with a nuanced perspective, recognizing that striving for ‘max health’ at all costs can detract from overall life fulfillment; instead, aim for a balance that supports your desired experiences.
Actively embrace ‘discovery’ in life by exposing yourself to new experiences, hobbies, and interests, rather than sticking to familiar routines, to uncover what truly fulfills you.
If your social life has diminished due to excessive work, actively rebuild your ‘social muscles’ by seeking out new ways to socialize, meet people, and engage in non-work-related activities.
Determine your ‘survival number’ for retirement—the minimum amount needed to cover basic living expenses—to establish your baseline financial security and free up remaining resources for experiences.
If you desire shared experiences with friends who may not be able to afford them, consider covering their costs (‘scholarshipping’ them) to ensure you can create those valuable memories together.
Educate your children that money is a neutral tool, not inherently good or bad, and provide them with the knowledge to use it proficiently to choose their own fulfilling adventures, rather than controlling their choices.
When starting a new career or job, be a ‘sponge’ and diligently learn everything about the business by reading books and actively seeking knowledge, aiming to make yourself invaluable.
Read ‘Die With Zero,’ ‘From Strength to Strength,’ and ‘4,000 Weeks’ to gain valuable insights on optimizing your quality of life and rethinking your approach to time, money, and experiences.
Cultivate fulfillment by creating environments where people you love can enjoy themselves, appreciating their happiness as a source of your own, even if your personal interaction is limited.
Be aware that abstracting money (e.g., using casino chips) can disconnect you from its true value, potentially leading to less thoughtful spending without considering the real-life effort it represents.
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