Let me tell you about the most valuable phone call of my life.

The first time I talked to @ramit, I forfeited $40,000 the next day.

He also saved me $1,000,000+ and changed my financial life forever.

Here’s how it all went down:

🧵 Back in 2014, my company NerdFitness.com had some success and I got connected with a financial advisor.

I assumed my situation (small business owner, different income streams, unpredictable revenue) required an advisor.

So I met with them and they were super nice...

We all love to ask, "What if it goes WRONG?" when starting a new project, habit, or goal.

It's important to also ask the opposite:

"What if it goes RIGHT?"

Asking this led me to demote myself - twice - in my own company: I started NerdFitness.com because I liked writing and helping people think differently.

Over 10+ years, the company evolved a lot.

Eventually, I found myself at the head of an SEO-driven coaching company with 40 full-time team members.

How the hell did THAT happen?

Feeling out of control? Overwhelmed & anxious?

Let's narrow our focus to the only two things we CAN control:

INPUT: “What I put into my body.”

OUTPUT: “What I get out of my body.”

It’s more than just diet & exercise too.

Here’s what I mean: When I think of Input, it’s not just “What foods am I eating, and how much?”

Of course that stuff’s important: Eating protein, veggies, cutting back on junk food, etc.

We know a day looks a lot different after a filling, well-rounded meal.

I'm also talking about MEDIA input:

For anybody that gets anxiety/FOMO about their ever-expanding list of:

-books to read
-shows to watch
-video games to play.

I found this to be really freeing:

"Treat your 'To-Read' pile like a river, NOT a bucket." -@oliverburkeman

Here's what he means: @oliverburkeman If we think of our to-read/watch/play lists as a bucket, we feel anxiety that we're not emptying it faster.

The problem: we'll NEVER empty it. There's too much good stuff to consume.

Instead, it's a stream that flows past, from which you pluck a few items, here and there.

We all know about comedian Jerry Seinfeld's “Don’t break the chain” rule for habit building:

"Pick a habit, put an X on a calendar every day you do it, and don't break the streak."

I have an alternate strategy that might work better for you.

The NBA Jam "ON FIRE" Strategy: The "Don't break the chain" strategy worked amazingly well for me, until it didn't.

I had a 6 month streak on Headspace. Accidentally missed a day. Never went back.

I got to 97 days on Wordle. Missed a day, haven’t done another one since.

Perfection is tough to maintain..

Samurai warriors followed the ancient moral code of Bushido.

Medieval knights had a code of Chivalry.

Even the Mob has a code that governs their decisions.

I’m an emotional disaster who wants to be strong & fit, so I made my own code to protect me from myself:

🧵 1) Move every day. Cardio sucks for weight loss, but it’s great for heart, lung, & mental health.

I move every day. Even 5 minutes counts.

Hitting golf balls, walks with the dogs, handstands in the backyard.

If I move deliberately, it’s a win.

Over the last 10 years, I’ve bought every journal hoping to build a journaling habit.

5-minute Journal, Daily Journal, Bullet Journal, etc.

I bailed on all of them.

Today I filled up the final page of a journal for the 1st time.

Here’s how I finally built the habit: In @oliverburkeman’s Imperfectionist newsletter, I heard about “The Artist’s Way” and Morning Pages:

"Handwrite 3 pages per day on WHATEVER you want, each morning. That's it."

I started Feb 2022. My hand cramped up so badly I gave up after a page.

I then took a week off...

Starting your fitness journey? AMAZING!

I’ve been training since I was 16 years old.

Which means I’ve made 22 years of mistakes so you don’t have to.

Here’s what I wish I knew before I started: #1) Nutrition is like 90% of the battle for body recomposition.

Strength training and some cardio are obvious “musts” to improve health/performance/quality of life.

But if you want to see change in the mirror, your diet is the biggest lever to pull!