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What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Cameraman

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Learning to play the 5-string Banjo. It helps me relax and clears my head for thinking.

When I was 13 my music teacher told me I was tone deaf, had no rhythm and would never learn to play music. The strange thing is, I believed her. When I turned 50 I started to learn. I wanted to play duelling banjos. It turns out my teacher lied to me and I can play.

If someone else has learned how to do something then so can you!
 
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JesseT

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What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.
I sell luxury building products (custom doors). I met a builder and slowly developed a relationship with him. This custom home builder opened up to me and told me he was once addicted to Meth. He got off meth after being addicted 5 years and now has a wife and three kids.... and 8 $2MM home projects contracted and lined up in the next 4 years.

He found Proverbs (I am not religious nor do I believe in hocus pocus stuff). He told me to read the book of Proverbs every morning for 10 mins. I have been reading it and it has motivated me to "adjust my sails: and set me more "on course.". I feel like it is a small investment of time every day, but plants a seed in your mind to improve yourself. Again, I am not religious, but good wisdom is hard to find and this has worked wonders for me.

I wish I had done this 10 or 20 years ago.
 

Panos Daras

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What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.
Lifting weights 3 times a week and do moderate pace cardio for 150 mins per week. By the way lifting weights can be done at home with minimum equipment and I count walking as moderate pace cardio.
 

MJ DeMarco

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So I bought an Oura ring to cross reference my sleep data. I both have a FitBit and an Oura.

I really have no idea what to trust, or if these things are even accurate. The measurements are so wildly divergent I don't know what's real, or what isn't.

FitBit has me sleeping like garbage.
Oura has me sleeping like a baby.
 
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Kak

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This is pretty recent for me. “EDC” (every day carry) was something that improved my life.

I have carried a gun for years, but after becoming a dad and needing to carry a small bag of kid stuff when I’m with my son has opened my eyes to the usefulness of having stuff with me.

So I started carrying a couple of super useful small tools and it has been awesome. I use most of the non gun stuff I carry almost daily and wonder how I got along without it.

I have an Oakley sling pack that goes most places with me.

Items of notoriety are Leatherman Surge, a set of screwdriver bits, small flashlight and a Knipex Wrench Plier within arms length pretty much all the time. I’m shocked how much it all gets used.

And no I wouldn’t stuff my pockets with all that crap, but I love having it around.
 

MTF

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Items of notoriety are Leatherman Surge, a set of screwdriver bits, small flashlight and a Knipex Wrench Plier within arms length pretty much all the time. I’m shocked how much it all gets used.

How and where do you use it? I don't have even a single screwdriver at home, let alone with me all the time lol.
 

Kak

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How and where do you use it? I don't have even a single screwdriver at home, let alone with me all the time lol.
We just live very different lives I guess.

I’m a homeowner. I own cars, trailers, RVs. I have helpless people that also don’t own screwdrivers in my extended family that I also see often. I fix things, I build things, I maintain things. I always seem to have a project of sorts going on.

Life has just made me handy and over time. Early in my adult life it helped me save a lot of money. Now I couldn’t imagine paying thousands for something I believe I could just do. Every time I’m at that crossroads, I always decide I’d rather spend that money on a new tool that makes the job easier. I like to keep everything in perfect working order.

My garage is totally full of tools. My wife and I have remodeled this entire home. And I’m not talking about paint. We have done some pretty extensive work. I have jackhammered through the foundation to move plumbing. I’ve been my own contractor on my roof and rerouting the ventilation. I broke a window the other day, and I might as well have a go at replacing that as well.

I’m just hands on. I can see how an ultra minimalist type person would never need a screwdriver, but dude, at least buy a Swiss Army knife or something. :rofl:
 
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Andy Black

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I have an Oakley sling pack that goes most places with me.
Link? I love rucksacks and you have me curious now.
 

Kak

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Xavier X

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Getting rid of most of my "stuff," to travel the world for "1 year." That was 5+ years ago, and still at it :cool:

Definitely one of the best decisions I ever made, across all aspects of life. Personal, business, social etc.
I've met and become friends with a lot of awesome people along the way.

Even met the President of a South American country 2 weeks ago at a small private event I was invited to, along with other people I consider even more awesome.
 

Vas87

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Reducing weight training from 6 days a week to 4 days a week with cardio/ conditioning days. So much more fun than just picking things up and putting them down each day.
Eating less processed foods, and quitting coffee got rid of 99% of my headaches too.
 

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Getting rid of most of my "stuff," to travel the world for "1 year." That was 5+ years ago, and still at it :cool:

Definitely one of the best decisions I ever made, across all aspects of life. Personal, business, social etc.
I've met and become friends with a lot of awesome people along the way.
How did you manage to get work done while traveling?

Didn't you find the constant changing of the environment distracting? Or have you stayed for a few months in each new place and had time to setup a small office?
 

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Buying an Air Fryer. That cut down on so much prep and cook time LOL
 

Andy Black

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Xavier X

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How did you manage to get work done while traveling?

Didn't you find the constant changing of the environment distracting? Or have you stayed for a few months in each new place and had time to setup a small office?

I travel relatively slow, meaning it's rare I spend less than 1 month in a place. I don't stay at hotels more than a day or two, and only when it's necessary. Either in transit, or between apartment bookings.

In order to be "grounded and focused," you can't be in "vacation mode." You have to be in "everyday life mode," which involves living as you would at home, but a more interesting version. So I rent comfortable airbnb apartments that offer everything I need to live a normal life, anywhere from 1-10 months. 10 months is the longest stretch I've done in one apartment (at the height of the pandemic).

So I have the time and attention span to focus on my professional activities. I'm not distracting myself with a constant itinerary of tourist things to go see and do, but I still get to do a lot of interesting things.

I've also traveled with my now fiancee, for almost 3 of the 5 years, since I've been at it.
 

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What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.
The best one by far was stopping partying and drinking so much. I stopped drinking for 15 months and now occasionally have a glass of wine with dinner maybe once a month.

Easier to focus on the things that count when you don't feel jaded from a heavy night. Second is focusing on fitness. I gym on average 5 times a week now and it is a game changer.
 
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TeacherToOwner

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+Bought a Ninja All in 1 unit and a vacuum sealer.
+Got a Cosco membership so I only need to food shop once a month. Buy all my chicken, season it, vacuum seal it, and then put it in the freezer. Pressure cook it in the Ninja once a week for 11-15 minutes, and I have all my meat prepped for the week. Clean up takes minutes.
+I save so much time meal prepping by doing what I mentioned. Ninja Cooker + Cosco FTW
 

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I wish I prioritized sleeping, working out, ingesting positive information ONLY, quitting the consumption of advertisements, and eating clean WAYYY earlier.

Looking back over the last few months, these things laid the foundation for my mindset and how much energy I have throughout the day for actual work. Whenever one of these things is out of wack, say I spend too much time on youtube or eat something I shouldn't have, I will feel like shit the next day. Then if I don't stop it and re-route, it is just a downward spiral from there.
 

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What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

Saw this question on Reddit and thought it was a pretty thought-provoking question that may lead to some interesting answers.

It can be whatever in any aspect of your life, both big and small things.
Going the gym.

When i was 15 (16 as of writing), I decided it was finally time to lose weight. I was STUPIDLY overweight. I had no jawline definition, i would be out of breath after walking up my high-school's stairs, and would drink 5-6 glasses of full sugar pepsi/coke EVERY SINGLE DAY (not to mention the obvious stuff like sweets, takeaway meals etc).

Then for some reason, around the time of summer break going into year 11, i had my FTE. I messaged a friend at the time about how much I hate the way I look and feel. She said I was being pedantic and I looked fine, but I knew she was just trying to be nice. I eventually told my entire friend group that after summer, I'd look completely different.

End of summer came, and I did everything I said I would. Lost a load of weight, and looked much better and got complimented by teachers, friends and family.

In total, it took me 6 months to lose 25kg. I have been working out for just over a year, and I don't have an aesthetic physique yet but i look SO much better than I used to. Losing weight/exercise in general is what exposed me to this whole "get rich" philosophy. It shown me that no matter your starting point, you can get far if you put the work in. I then looked at myself and thought "You know what? Maybe being born in an ex-council estate means nothing. I can have a wealthy future if i work for it."

If you're fat/obese and reading this, if a 15 year old kid can lose 25kg without any help from friends or parents, you can do it too.

Always imagine how much better I'd look right now if I'd just started working out when i was 10 years old or something. I know i'm still very young considering i'm 16 so i have so long to improve how i look, but man i wish i started earlier. I'd have abs by now haha.

And as a small note, uploading YouTube videos. I recently started and i've got 50 subscribers so far and i really enjoy it :)
 
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MJ DeMarco

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A standing computer workstation and treadmill. Sitting all day is like smoking a pack a day? Who knows if that's BS, but I know sedentary sitting for hours on end isn't good. Now I can get 10,000 steps a day no problem, and while doing some boring stuff.
 

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A standing computer workstation and treadmill. Sitting all day is like smoking a pack a day? Who knows if that's BS, but I know sedentary sitting for hours on end isn't good. Now I can get 10,000 steps a day no problem, and while doing some boring stuff.
I’m thinking about same thing. Standing desk + treadmill is a great combo.
I’m just only wondering how it will be doing design work while walking :D anyway need to try this out
 

MJ DeMarco

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I’m thinking about same thing. Standing desk + treadmill is a great combo.
I’m just only wondering how it will be doing design work while walking :D anyway need to try this out

I think you have dark mode enabled on your computer which means, all your posts here appear empty. I edited it so it looks correct.
 
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Cameraman

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A standing computer workstation and treadmill
I can't comment on the treadmill but I agree that a standing desk is a life changer. I've been using one for 12 months and it's helped my posture a lot.

I'll also add kettlebell training to the list. Since I began training regularly with kettlebells, long-standing neck and shoulder problems have cleared up. (Or it could be the standing desk. Or a combination of the two.)
 

sojeer

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I think you have dark mode enabled on your computer which means, all your posts here appear empty. I edited it so it looks correct.
I didn’t realize that. Thanks, I’ve turned my extension off
 

Stepan

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All right I'll chime in!!

I always find these questions fascinating - AND I've had many discussions with friends regarding this.

I'm not sure if its my personality, mindset, attitude, personal philosophy or overall life beliefs --- that outside of a very 'hypothetical' I should of invested X in APPLE in 1982 .... there is never anything I wish I did earlier, differently or at a different time.

I am under the impression that I make decisions to the best of my ability , with the knowledge I have at all times. Sure, I get 'swayed' emotionally from time to time and might make a decision that I wouldn't have made if I continued to 'overthink' the problem - but in the end - I am NOT regretful at all of any of these actions or decisions either - again I made it to the best of my abilities at the time.

I have also been trying to be 'aware' and cognizant of learning to separate actions I can and cannot control. Getting into a car accident, it is easy to fall back on 'I should of taken a different route to work', or 'I should have not sped through that yellow light' thoughts - and I try to separate sometimes what I could have controlled or not in those situations. Maybe if I took a different route, I could of potentially been harmed MORE , or died instead! I do not 'wish' I would of done anything different in this case...because who knows what the outcome of that could have been.

So it's hard to visualize 'should of could ofs' - as I live a very unscripted life as is, and feel that I am in control of all of my decisions and actions (to the extent I can control them).

If I chose to go out and party and be hungover, and don't workout the following morning - I don't start wishing I didn't go out or had as many drinks. I know I made a conscious decision to put myself into that environment and take those actions. Maybe I learned that I didn't like the results of my going out and drinking --> then I iterate and work on not going as hard next time, or not going out with specific people! Sure - I have lessons (which is a huge part of life) - but never a 'I shouldn't have done that specific action' regret.

No one makes me 'act' against my will. Sometimes situations force you to do one thing or another - but these are all again with constructs I have created and setup for my life (i.e. can't go out or work on my fastlane business because I'm watching my newborn, etc).

So this is always a topic that I fail to understand completely or have a good answer for - again might be due to my inherent nature of 'being', conversations, and philosophy that I have developed over the years.

Of course my mind, mindset, philosophy and knowledge became more refined (and there's pros and cons to that as well!) over the last 20+ years, but I do not wish my 40 year old mentality, thoughts and actions on my 20 year old self (what fun would that be..?)!

At the end of the day I ask myself (in a meta way) - am I in a pretty good spot in life? If the answer is YES and keeps being YES - then all of my decisions, thoughts and rationalizations worked to my advantage, and I don't sweat the micro.

That all might be wrong, and maybe there is a better (for some purpose) - or different way of thinking, acting and living. This framework has been working for me for many many years.

Excited to follow thread and read any and all responses though!
Thank you, man. I really like how you view your life. If you keep looking at the past, you won't be able to focus on your future
 
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Bohemi

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Since my divorce 11 years ago I wanted to move away from my birthdtown, but for practical reasons (my kid was only 2 years old at the time) I stayed put…. Slowly I started to be more and more unhappy even though I chose to be near my family…

This year I did it. Took my kid an moved away and you know what? My kid bloomed within a week after moving… I thought the move was selfish need but after seeing how extraordinary happy My son became I realized it was the best thing for the both of us and I really wish I had had the courage to do that sooner than I did.
 

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Since my divorce 11 years ago I wanted to move away from my birthdtown, but for practical reasons (my kid was only 2 years old at the time) I stayed put…. Slowly I started to be more and more unhappy even though I chose to be near my family…

This year I did it. Took my kid an moved away and you know what? My kid bloomed within a week after moving… I thought the move was selfish need but after seeing how extraordinary happy My son became I realized it was the best thing for the both of us and I really wish I had had the courage to do that sooner than I did.
What do you think about that he might be happier, because you (as parent) are happier?
 

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