43 life lessons at age 43
Published on July 14, 2022
Reading time: 3 mins

It’s my 43rd birthday and I’ve lived a little, laughed a bunch and learned some stuff along the way. Here are 43 lessons on life, money and happiness that I’ve collected along the way. Caveat emptor!
- Always show others compassion. Everyone is suffering in their own private way.
- The marginal utility of the next dollar flatlines pretty quickly.
- When you find a really good fitting t-shirt, buy 6 of them.
- It’s possible to build a kick-ass business while working 30 hours per week.
- You’re probably consuming too much sugar.
- Turning your life into a series of social posts is a sad way to live.
- The best days begin with me keeping my phone off for the first hour. (Yes, you can get a real alarm.)
- Living walking distance from your kids’ school is the ultimate life hack.
- The best sleep happens when when I shut my phone down at 7:30 pm.
- Going outside is never the wrong decision.
- Resentment is a silent relationship killer.
- When you lose someone close, you’ll second guess how you acted. You get a second shot with those still here.
- Most business books are a waste of time. Reading a blog post and listening to a podcast gets you the 80/20.
- Clinging to identities causes suffering.
- Making money is easy. Making money in alignment with your values is hard.
- If you have negative feedback, say it immediately. That sh*t doesn’t age well.
- If someone asks you the same question 3x, make it a public Google Doc.
- Freedom is cool. But it doesn’t help overcome your insecurities or lead you towards fulfillment.
- Being able to communicate through writing, storytelling and public speaking is a professional cheatcode.
- Reading can be $10 work. Distracting you from the thing you should be doing but can’t motivate yourself to do.
- If u need to listen to it at faster than 1x speed — is it really worth it?
- Strengthening the small muscles in your shoulders and ankles is a good long-term decision.
- Money stress plummeted when we realized we don’t want to leave our kids a meaningful inheritance.
- Sending birthday videos to friends makes many people smile.
- There’s nothing you can buy that will bring enduring happiness.
- LA has the world’s best weather.
- Ditch the storks — Always talk to your kids like they’re grown ups.
- When someone makes you mad, look inside to analyze what’s really going on.
- Fights about the the dishwasher are not about the dishwasher.
- Everyone wants to feel seen. Yup, you and me too.
- If you always need to check something, you ain’t rich. I don’t care what your bank account says.
- A little bit of business planning goes a long way.
- You can’t fake genuinely caring.
- The goal line is always moving. Its moves just get sneakier.
- The more texts you send, the more you get back.
- Every couple years, blow up your identity. It’s cathartic.
- Blaise Pascal was right — all of mankind’s struggles stems from his inability to spend 15 minutes with his thoughts
- Long stretches without any thoughts are rare (and blissful).
- Don’t exercise while listening to podcasts or Audiobooks. Is that really gonna activate “Beast Mode?”
- Making unspoken norms “spoken” eliminates a ton misunderstandings and quarrels.
- Wearables are more stressful than informative.
- When in doubt, call your parents.
- Accepting that we’re finite beings is freedom.
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