I love going to bookstores but one pet peeve I have is craning my neck sideways to read books shelved vertically. Would love to visit a bookstore that curated the best books and only had books on shelves faced cover out vs spine shelved.

I don’t buy the idea that the universe is working in your favor. It can be a helpful belief if you’ve been thinking negatively your whole life but then it becomes double edged. When things don’t go the way you want, you can rationalize all you want that it somehow benefits, but there will still be doubt and conflict within you that you wrestle with. I think the universe can work in your favor with a slight nuance. It’s not that it’s actively doing it for you. It’s flowing in a certain way and it’s your job to align with that flow and if you do, things will turn out in your favor. How do you align? By letting go of all the Samskaras blocking you.

I think there’s a misconception that you have to get to 1 BTC and if you can’t, it’s not worth stacking. Thats unit bias working against you. Any amount of capital you can convert from dollars to Bitcoin is worth it. It’s about trading your glass beads for gold coins. Iykyk

I went to Costco today during executive member hours before it opens to all members and the parking lot was PACKED. It normally isn’t so I was wondering what was going on. Then I saw a HUGE line of people waiting. I asked an employee what they were waiting for. Guess what? Pokémon cards. And it reminded me of Bitcoin. When you have scarcity coupled with huge demand, you’ll see the people waiting in line. When people realize they can invest their capital into an asset that can’t be debased and has absolute scarcity and backed by the strongest computational network in human history, that line will wrap around the world. Just takes time to realize it. People will line up for Pokémon cards. But won’t give Bitcoin a second glance until it pumps. We are still very very early.

I don’t think people who want to retire early understand just how great digital credit can be. Its dividends are Return of Capital so they are NOT counted toward MAGI. Which means you can have enough cash flow to pay your expenses AND have low ACA premiums. Not only that, because you have low MAGI, you have room for Roth conversions which will save you money on paying taxes down the road. And guess what? When you can access those Roth conversions tax free 5 years later, that’s more non taxable income you can access that will lower your MAGI. One of the most important hacks in the FIRE community not being talked about today.

My wife and I are planning to retire early by the end of this year. But I feel like I’m already living the life I would live when I retire. Slow mornings. Morning workouts. Couple hours of fulfilling work a day starting at 11am. Time for reading. Date days. 2 completely free open weekdays. Grocery shopping during weekday mornings. Meal prepping during week. Doing household chores while listening to podcasts. Driving off peak traffic. Going to the spa couple times a week. Sleeping early at 9:30pm. Traveling couple times a year. You don’t have to wait till retirement to craft the life you want to live.

The trick to being happy while you go for the goal of financial freedom is to USE the journey to let go of all your inner wounds. You know you gotta downsize a little bit to save more and invest but you just can’t seem to do it. It’s coming from a refusal to feel emotions. Welcome the emotions, feel them, and you’ll find that it’s easier to take action. You might refuse to feel the emotion of shame when it comes to downsizing. But feel the shame. Welcome it. Then it has no power over you. You can figure out a way to cut your expenses to save more and invest. Financial freedom is not just about the logic and the numbers. It’s about the emotions and you can get a head start and enjoy the journey to financial freedom by fully welcoming them now.

I think for most people, the burning desire to reach financial freedom comes from dirty fuel. And that’s ok. It can get results. But what will happen is you’ll feel hollow once you hit your goal, because the underlying root cause wasn’t dealt with. So then you’ll fully experience the idea that the outside can’t fix the inside. Because that idea seems so stupid in the beginning when you think it will. But only experiencing it will make you realize it. And then the journey toward internal freedom begins.

If you think you won’t be free until you hit your FIRE number, you’ll feel like you’re in a constant state of failure the entire time until you get there.

I hate to admit it as somebody who loves to read books, but it’s been a long time since I’ve ACTUALLY read one. If I’m to be completely honest, I suspect it’s because of listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and scrolling X. But I’ve found my way back simply by choosing a book I’ve been interested in reading for a long time and starting to read again. That’s all it takes for those who find themselves in a similar situation. The book? Think On These Things by Krishnamurti.

The magic of meditation isn’t in the 15 minutes of doing it everyday. It’s in developing the habit of awareness. So you can catch yourself in the other 23 hours and 45 minutes.

The reason why achieving a big goal feels hollow and empty after is because the pursuit of that goal was just a way to avoid the feeling the goal was based on in the first place. That’s why setting and pursuing another goal is futile. But it’s a trap so many fall into because it’s all they know. Fully embracing the feeling you’ve been avoiding helps deal with the root cause.

If you’re in victim mode, you got to go through the control phase where you make life the way you want it to be. And that will last until you run into things you can’t control and you loop through blaming yourself for not being good enough and trying again to make things the way you want to be and not being successful. And then you’ll be ready for the awareness and letting go phase. Can’t go from victim directly to the awareness and letting go phase because it sounds like bullshit but also because you haven’t developed the discipline needed to be successful in being aware and letting go that you would’ve gotten in the control phase.

You don’t need to wait to hit rock bottom to make change. If you are, you might be waiting a long time. So how do you get that motivation to change that you think will come from hitting rock bottom? Simple. You fully feel all the emotions you’ve been avoiding all this time. Once you get in the habit of doing all that, you’ll find it’s easier to take the first step. Then the second, then the third, and you’ll be climbing out. A lot of people remain in the purgatory of non action because they refuse to feel. There’s too much emphasis on thinking your way out. Not enough on feeling your way out.

I just completed my first one bag trip. I’m sold. - no lugging around suitcase - no thinking about overhead bin space - no need go baggage claim Part of what appeals to me is I love to develop a system to maximize. But I think another big part of the joy is feeling like you beat the airlines at their game.

I’ve had a crappy childhood. And it put me in the frame of I have to control my life to make things happen. And that can work to a certain extent. It’s powerful motivation. But the trouble comes when things don’t go the way you want because you inevitably run into things that are not totally within your control. But you beat yourself up because you think it’s your fault. You need more discipline, better habits, more drive, more grit, more podcasts, more early morning workouts, 10,000 steps, intermittent fasting, electrolytes, meditation, cold plunges, saunas, red light, etc. It’s a punishing cycle of trying to control, things not working out the way you want, beating yourself up to get back up and try again. And you can get stuck for a LONG time in that cycle. Until you learn one day the power of consciousness. The concept of samskaras. Of letting go. And you begin to realize what’s really been going on in you this whole time. And as you practice this new paradigm, you sense yourself flowing with life instead of always trying to control it. And the journey becomes much more enjoyable and easier. There’s no struggle. You’re grateful for every moment. Even for your past. Life is good. You’re finally home.

Can’t wait for parking lots to get demolished once self driving cars go mainstream. Can build so much housing supply on those lots.

When my solo business started to gain traction, everybody around told me to scale like crazy. Hire employees, create more products, expand to other platforms. I said no. I knew how I wanted my life to look first. I wanted peace, simplicity, less time working, more life margin, slow mornings. I kept that in mind and deliberately kept my business small and simple. Still made good money, still was able to save, invest, and buy everything I wanted and needed. Did I leave a lot on the table financially? Probably. But I don’t care. The business serves my life. Not the other way around.