Today I turn 55. I’m the fittest, sharpest, and happiest I’ve ever been. If I’m an outlier, it’s not because I’m built different or discovered a secret formula. The truth is far less glamorous: It’s a million tiny choices, compounded over decades. Here are 55 of them: 1. Walk 15+ miles a week, even if you do other exercise. Humans are uniquely made to move slowly over long distances—it’s critical to longevity. 2. Develop a writing practice. It’s the single best way to sharpen your mind. And remember, you don’t have to be a good writer to write. Start with 10 minutes a day. 3. Swap out your toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, soap, shampoo, and other personal care products for natural versions. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t put anything on your skin that you couldn’t safely eat. 4. If you have a positive thought about someone, don’t keep it to yourself—share it immediately. Encouragement defies the laws of physics: When you give energy, you also receive it. 5. Wear shoes with a wide forefoot (I like Topo Athletic) and wear toe spreaders around the house (search “yoga toes” on Amazon). Spine health begins with the feet. 6. Get sunlight regularly. Moderate sun exposure (without sunscreen) is hugely important for overall health. 7. Do a 3-minute deep (“ass to grass”) squat every morning. Deep squats are often called the anti-aging exercise. It’s been said that, “It’s not that you can’t do deep squats because you’re old, it’s that you’re old because you can’t do deep squats.” 8. Explore minimalism (it’s not what you think it is). 9. Set boundaries on toxic relationships. We tend to cling to relationships past their expiration date, and it takes a bigger toll on our health than we recognize. 10. Eat real food. Not too much. Don’t eat garbage. Binge occasionally. Fast occasionally. That’s the diet. 11. Learn about FIRE. It’s a great framework for financial success. 12. Don’t take antibiotics except in emergency situations. They’re massively over-prescribed and aren’t needed in most cases. Antibiotics have done untold damage to our guts, which is where health begins. Great natural alternatives are out there. 13. Get 8 hours of quality sleep each night. To optimize sleep: —Don’t eat after 6pm —Get blackout shades and cover LEDs with black tape —No screens 2 hours before bed —Try ashwagandha (an herb) to calm the nervous system 14. Stop drinking, even in moderation. People find all sorts of ways to justify drinking, but there’s no escaping the simple fact that alcohol is a toxin and it limits your potential. 15. Travel as much as possible. Nothing expands the mind like seeing the world. And travel doesn’t have to be expensive—the best experiences happen outside of fancy resorts, when you live like a local. 16. Let go of resentment. When you forgive someone, you release the prisoner, and the prisoner isn’t them… it’s you. 17. Show up on time, every time. Poor time management limits success more than most people realize. If you struggle with punctuality, stop everything else and fix that first. 18. Spend lots of time in nature and touch the earth. Humans evolved over 300k years to live in harmony with nature, and only recently have we retreated indoors. If you don’t spend time outside, you’re fighting biology (hint: You won’t win.) 19. Stop doing dumb things. As Leo Tolstoy said, “People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing—refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.” 20. Find your happy place and (eventually) move there. Most people live where they live because... that's where they live. We are products of our environment—choose yours carefully. 21. Find a hobby and pursue mastery. You can’t have a happy life without a passionate pursuit that isn’t your vocation. Your work—even if you enjoy it—isn’t enough. 22. Avoid mainstream medicine except as a last resort. The results are in—our healthcare (or more appropriately, sick care) system is badly broken and only makes people sicker. 23. Have a mindset of abundance. There is no advantage to being a pessimist—even if you’re right, it’s a miserable way to live. In a very real way… whatever you believe, you’re right! 24. Do hard things. Choose courage over comfort. Everything you want is on the other side of fear and hard work. As Jerzy Gregorik said, “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” 25. Ignore haters. Hurt people hurt people. Negative/toxic people live in a prison of their own design. Don’t join them! 26. Say no. Protect your time and energy like it’s your most precious asset… because it is. 27. Become a water snob. As an alien said on Star Trek, humans are “ugly bags of mostly water.” You are what you drink—literally! We have Mountain Valley Spring water delivered in glass 5-gallon jugs and also have whole-house water filter (Aquasana Rhino). 28. Stop drinking sodas and sugary energy drinks. After a few weeks you won’t miss them, and a few months later they’ll seem disgusting. Refined sugar causes inflammation, which is the root of most disease. 29. If you’re over 35, find a good functional/longevity medicine doctor and start tracking your hormones. Modern life is hell on the endocrine system and restoring healthy hormone levels can change your life. As we get older, we either accept a slow decline in performance or we do something about it—choose the latter! 30. Develop a morning routine and follow it faithfully. Win the morning, win the day! 31. Invest in experiences, not things. People frequently regret buying things, but rarely regret investing in great experiences (especially when shared with loved ones). Remember, there’s nothing you can buy in a mall that you’ll remember in ten years. 32. Explore spirituality. It’s arrogant and small-minded to believe there’s nothing going on in our universe that is beyond our comprehension. We know less about our universe than an ant meandering on a sidewalk understands about this planet. 33. Have a strong bias toward action—doing rather than talking. If you ask a bunch of old people about their regrets, they’ll talk about the things they *didn't* do—the shots they didn’t take—more than the things they did do (even if it went wrong). As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Most people don’t take enough shots. 34. Stay lean. Men in particular are obsessed with muscle mass these days, but bulk doesn’t age well. The goal is to be strong but lean. The fittest guys in their 50s and beyond aren’t meatheads, they’re lean guys who are serious about a sport. 35. Curate your inner circle carefully. Surround yourself with people you admire and who challenge you to grow. Remember, we’re the average of our 5 closest relationships. 36. Be the fittest version of yourself. Your body is your only vessel for experiencing life—so treat it as such. Fitness isn’t working out a few times a week, it’s a lifestyle. The older you get, the more time you need to devote to your health. 37. Take the time to appreciate art and beauty in all its forms. 38. Think globally, but act locally. Too many people put their energy into far-away problems they don’t understand and can’t impact, while ignoring problems right under their nose. Want to change the world? Start at home. 39. Try psychedelics. It’s one of those things everyone should do at least once, and it might be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. 40. Limit bad habits, including unhealthy thought patterns. We all have them—practice avoidance and find substitutes. Get professional help if needed. 41. Be a lifelong learner. Your brain is just like a muscle—if you don’t feed and flex it regularly, it will atrophy. 42. Find your purpose. People with a strong sense of purpose are happier and live longer. Lack of purpose sucks energy and magnifies depression. 43. Only take advice from people who embody the traits you want to have. Talk is cheap—emulate those who have DONE it. 44. The goal is not to retire and do nothing, it’s to build a great day-to-day life that you don’t need to escape. A life of leisure is a slow death. Happiness isn’t possible without a little struggle, uncertainty, and skin in the game. 45. Have fun! Do frivolous and silly things that make you smile. As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 46. Whatever you want to do or achieve in life, start NOW. Don’t fall victim to “someday thinking” because someday never comes. 47. Accumulate assets—things that grow in value over time. It’s the #1 habit of rich people, and it can be done in tiny chunks. Instead of spending $100 on an impulse purchase that has no lasting value, put that money into an index fund or Bitcoin. It becomes addictive (in a good way). 48. Don’t ignore the big 3 canaries in the coal mine for health: —Low libido (and ED) —Frequent sinus & respiratory issues —Depression These usually aren’t medical conditions in themselves, they’re symptoms of an underlying problem. Find a good doc (outside of the mainstream) and figure out the root cause. 49. Have a clear vision for your future. How can you decide which direction to go if you haven’t clearly defined the destination? It sounds obvious, but 95% of people haven’t defined their “Ideal End State” in detail and in writing. (Check out my thread on this topic.) 50. Make your own decisions. We live in an era where most of what society tells us is wrong. Don’t be afraid to break from societal norms—if people say you’re crazy, it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. 51. Get hardcore about mobility exercise. As you age, it’s usually the knees, hips, and lower back that limit physical performance. 30 min a couple times a week can spare you a lifetime of pain. YouTube is a great resource. 52. Go all in on family. Get married, stay married, have kids. Burn the boats. In the end, family is all that matters. 53. Be ruthless with your time. Money comes and goes. Time only goes. Audit your calendar ruthlessly—cut the trivial, double down on the meaningful, and spend your hours like your life depends on it. (Because it does.) 54. Have a strong bias toward action. Be curious, try things, meet people—it’s how you increase your surface area for serendipity, the most powerful unseen force in our lives. 55. Reinvent yourself every decade. Over time, we slowly drift off course from our priorities, values, and true identity. Take stock and don’t be afraid to hit the reset button. Bold, calculated moves made for the right reasons almost always pay off—usually even more than you can imagine. 🎁 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, would you give me a birthday gift? Repost or comment with the item number(s) you liked best?

—2400sf cabin in the mountains —Barn with killer fitness setup —Reading, writing, creativity —Sauna + nearby stream —Family + close friends —Travel 3 mo. a year —Meaningful work —Healthy food —Good coffee —Starlink —Dog Who’s in?

Truth. Bold, calculated moves tend to work out. Usually even better than you hoped. But most people will never find out.

It’s doing what you want with your time and having certainty that you can do it forever. It’s as much about lifestyle design as money. I know a lot of rich guys who aren’t post-economic and some low income folks who are.

The best combo of cars we’ve ever owned. Add a vintage 911 for a chef’s kiss 🤌

A friend and I had a long-running joke where we’d text each other a pic of a super-healthy meal with the caption, “Diet day 1.” The joke was that it was always day 1 because the strict diet wouldn’t last. It’s funny because it’s true: Sudden, dramatic change rarely sticks. It’s why gyms are crowded in January… and back to normal by February. What *does* stick is small, incremental changes. Baby steps that become habits. Eventually, the change doesn’t feel like a sacrifice or require discipline. It’s just part of your normal life. Today, most people would consider my diet very strict. But it doesn’t feel that way to me. It’s just the way I eat… after three decades of tiny tweaks. Everybody wants a quick fix. Overnight results. But in every area of life—health, relationships, career—slow and steady wins the race. Embracing this mindset is incredibly liberating. You’re off the hook for the big task you dread. You don’t need immediate results. Just take one baby step. Then do it again tomorrow. What once required discipline eventually becomes your default.

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🧪 The Formula One of my close friends, Tom, was a drug addict. One morning, he woke up to find his girlfriend lying dead next to him. Since that day 13 years ago, Tom has been clean and sober. He’s built a great life and in November, he’ll marry an amazing woman and start a family. Three weeks ago, my sister was found dead in her bed. Nobody was surprised. It was the inevitable result of a lifetime of addiction and poor choices. She and I grew up in the same (toxic) environment, but the outcomes were dramatically different. She’s gone, while I have the best life of anyone I know. What made the difference? It's a question I've spent countless hours contemplating. The conclusion I've reached is one that nobody wants to hear. It’s not genetics or bad breaks. It’s not the economy or which President is in office. Ultimately, your life is shaped by something more fundamental and largely within your control: Simply choosing to do the right thing. Day after day, year after year. 🧪 The formula for building a great life is deceptively simple (but far from easy): 1) Do things that make your life better. 2) More importantly, *don’t* do things that make your life worse. Your life is the inevitable result of the choices you make. It’s easy to justify unhealthy behavior on the margin. One drink, one white lie, one lapse in judgment. It’s a slippery slope. Exceptions become habits and compounding is exponential, not linear. A million seemingly insignificant choices make the difference between a great life and literal death. It’s not hyperbole… it happens every day. But here’s the good news: The formula works both ways. If you consistently make good choices, the odds of having a great life are high. Your starting point doesn’t matter. It’s never too late. Of course tragedy can strike any of us. But my point is: We have agency. And more control over our lives than we like to admit. Like my friend Tom, you can wake up one day and decide you want a different life. Hopefully, you do it before tragedy strikes. It’s your choice. P.S. If this message resonates with you, would you help me spread it by giving this post a comment, like, and repost?

Thanks ❤️

Chills. So proud to be part of @JoinCrowdHealth If you’re sick and tired of the broken health insurance system but feel trapped, join our webinar tomorrow. Register here: joincrowdhealth.com/webinar

“I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” —Toby Keith I love this lyric because it perfectly describes the middle-aged athlete. At 55, I’m climbing as well as ever, but… > There’s more variability in day-to-day performance, so I have to be smarter about recovery and picking my battles. > There’s a loss of raw physical ability, so I compensate with skill. > I’m rarely at 100%. I often joke that aging is just an ever-growing collection of minor injuries. You have to be more dialed on diet, sleep, and rehab. I can’t be at my best every day… but some of my best days are still ahead. 📸: Soul Bossa Nova, 5.12b, Ten Sleep Canyon, WY

Mike said it better than I did 👇 (PS: If you don’t follow Mike or haven’t pre-ordered his book, you’re doing yourself a disservice.)

Conventional success is pretty common. There are lots of rich people out there. There’s a rarer breed…

🎯 Aim Higher The word “success” has been twisted. When we say that someone is “successful,” it’s understood that we’re talking about their career—and more specifically, money. I spent 20 years in the upper echelons of the business world: > C-level at 3 public companies > Startups backed by top-tier VCs > Deals with billionaires and icons Here’s a sobering observation: In all that time—working directly with hundreds of “highly successful” people—I can’t think of a single person who had a life I wanted to emulate. It’s almost by definition. To operate at the highest level in anything, you have to be one-dimensional, with a single-minded focus on “success.” So it’s no surprise that most of those people become deficient in other areas, with broken families, poor health, and no interests outside of work. Elon Musk, the world’s MOST “successful” person, has referred to his life as a tortured existence. I like money as much as the next guy, but I don’t want to live a tortured existence. So I punched out of that world, walking away from an obscene amount of money. Some would say that makes me less ambitious than my former peers. But over time, I realized it’s the opposite: Conventional success is pretty common. There are lots of rich people out there. The much rarer breed are those who have plenty of career success but also a great, multidimensional life, with: A lasting marriage Exceptional fitness A thriving family Passionate interests Spiritual peace To strive for that form of success isn’t less ambitious. It’s more ambitious—a much harder needle to thread. 🎯 Ambition is like an arrow. It strikes the target it’s aimed toward. What are you aiming for? Most people have never taken the time to clearly define their target, so they default to society’s definition of success. I developed an exercise to help you with that. It’s called the Ideal End State. See the comments for more details. 🤙

Glorious day on the Third Flatiron with my daughter and friends.

Indistinguishable from an SNL skit.