Rules suck except when you forget they exist.
They’re here for a reason, but when you habitually follow them, you’re less likely to notice they create friction in your life.
Rules apply to your money and your time. If you follow these rules, you’ll have more of both.
Save time first, make money second
Your time is worth more than your money.
That’s because your money is the paper value of time. Every dollar you earn is worth a fraction of your time on this planet.
How much time are you willing to give to have money?
You’ll go full circle:
As a college student, you have too much time with not enough money
As a young adult, you have enough money with little time
After you retire, you have a lot of money but little time.
The goal is to beat the odds: have a lot of money and a lot of time. Some get to the last part quickly; some never make it.
So if you don’t take advantage of your time in your early years, start a business, write your book, or apply for your dream job, then the best time to start is right now.
Work hard and don’t just save your money (paper time), but invest it. Realize that the best way to keep your time while making money is to let your money work for you.
Invest a lot of your time upfront in life, in your 20s and early 30s, to live the rest of your life on your terms.
Skills = Wealth
After college, I learned how to take and edit photographs.
My passion for the skill led me to some amazing places. I shot weddings, was flown out to Miami, and brands posted my work on their social accounts.
I learned how to edit in Adobe Lightroom and then taught myself how to use their entire cloud of programs.
I made a portfolio of skills, much like a diverse investment portfolio. I can confidently edit photos, videos, and articles for clients.
My portfolio got me a job as a video editor, and now I run a small media team for a company. This all happened within a year.
People notice when you focus on 2–3 highly sought-out skills. Sometimes you have to work when no one’s looking. Be patient, and be consistent with your patience. You’ll be rewarded for the hard work you did for free.
Give yourself more time than you need
I wanted instant satisfaction when I started writing online
I wanted quick and dirty results and didn’t make room for personal growth. It made me worse → bad writing made me upset → I wanted to quit.
I took a much-needed writing vacation. I collected ideas during that time and came back to writing on my terms.
I made many more mistakes, and more stories flopped, but I was more forgiving this time. Then a couple of articles clicked.
I was happy the articles made other people happy even though they didn’t make me money. I still had to work a day job. I still had responsibilities, but it didn’t matter anymore.
I kept writing because it made me happy.
While it’s possible to make a living writing online, that’s not the reason why you do it. Let your passions move people, and things will take care of themselves.
Aim to be 1% better every day
You might’ve heard the power of compounding.
Every time you add to your principal investment, the next time payday comes around, you make even more. The cycle repeats as long as you keep investing.
Self-improvement works this way. Living the 1% improvement lifestyle works even better because you forget you’re doing it.
365 days of slight improvement = +365% better version of yourself.
Focus on little improvements:
What did you learn at work today?
Did you do an extra rep at the gym today?
Did you write an article today?
Did you drink more water than yesterday?
1% pushes make can ultimately turn your life around without you realizing it.