[Philosophical question] If money wasn't an issue, what would you do to improve your everyday life?

[eagleye101]

Hello Everyone,

I'm writing this in the mindset section because I believe this has a lot to do with identity (from the perspective of the identity that MJ talks in the book Unscripted ).

I recently made some profit from entrepreneur activity and I decided to invest it in tools that would make my life easier. So I bought some premium apps and software that I was avoiding before because I was trying to keep expenses low.

After using premium tools I realized that not only the quality of my work was higher but also I was spending much less on other activities and of course saving time.

Then I connected some dots in my mind. I remember interacting with some very successful entrepreneurs in their early stages and with others that were well established in their fields. And I remember that they would spend a lot of money on premium services and products which seemed fullish to me at the time.

But if your identity is that of a successful person living in abundance, it makes sense to spend money to make your everyday life better. And I don't mean to go on a spending tour and waste all your money on instant gratification activities.

So my question to you, especially to those who have found their way on the positive side of success is: If money wasn't an issue, what would you pay for premium service and products? What would you do to improve your everyday life?

 

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[OMDA]

• Get a pro trainer familiar with lower back issues and get him to help me fix my form so that I can deadlift more than 250 without hurting myself. Or just identify that I shouldn't be deadlifting
• Get a nutritionist that will set me up with planned meals with a pro chef or for me with meals that will keep me trim and avoid my allergies
• Go all in on some kind of combat/self defense sport, multiple times a week
• Go on a month long vacation to someplace that teaches wave jumping style windsurfing/foilsurfing and be a beach bum until I get sick of it
• Hire a pro route guide and take some friends on a real climbing trip
• Hire out a bunch of work to be delegated so I can focus on bigger picture things instead of the minutia
• Get a bunch of maids so that I can raise a small army of children without overworking the mother, and hire them tutors

...I'm sure I could keep going for a while. I keep thinking of more things.

 

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[MidwestLandlord]

An expense that is actually an investment:

Once a week professional massage with someone who is good at trigger point therapy and isn't afraid to hurt their client a bit.

Highly recommend this if you've never done it. (Although the first 2-3 times you'll feel sick for a day after, almost like a hangover)

 

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[MTF]

I'm not sure if it's only me, but I used to believe that I would pay for a lot of those things once I could afford them. Now that I can, I realized that I don't need them or can't be bothered to set it up.

For example, if you want to hire somebody to clean your house, you have to schedule when they come, figure out how to ensure that they won't steal anything or browse through your private stuff (so you probably to have stay home while they clean), etc.

I might still hire somebody, but once you can afford it, many things actually lose their appeal. Sort of like dreaming about a Lambo and then when you're in the position to buy it, you'd rather keep driving your old truck.

 

[Greg R]

I'm not sure if it's only me, but I used to believe that I would pay for a lot of those things once I could afford them. Now that I can, I realized that I don't need them or can't be bothered to set it up.

For example, if you want to hire somebody to clean your house, you have to schedule when they come, figure out how to ensure that they won't steal anything or browse through your private stuff (so you probably to have stay home while they clean), etc.

I might still hire somebody, but once you can afford it, many things actually lose their appeal. Sort of like dreaming about a Lambo and then when you're in the position to buy it, you'd rather keep driving your old truck.

This realization seems to be a common theme around here.

 

[Andy Black]

Now isn’t this so much better than that “idea extraction” cr@p?


I was asked something a few years ago:

“If money was no object, what work would you be doing?”

Then I was asked something very enabling:

“What’s stopping you?”

 

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[AgainstAllOdds]

• Get a pro trainer familiar with lower back issues and get him to help me fix my form so that I can deadlift more than 250 without hurting myself. Or just identify that I shouldn't be deadlifting
• Get a nutritionist that will set me up with planned meals with a pro chef or for me with meals that will keep me trim and avoid my allergies
• Go all in on some kind of combat/self defense sport, multiple times a week
• Go on a month long vacation to someplace that teaches wave jumping style windsurfing/foilsurfing and be a beach bum until I get sick of it
• Hire a pro route guide and take some friends on a real climbing trip
• Hire out a bunch of work to be delegated so I can focus on bigger picture things instead of the minutia
• Get a bunch of maids so that I can raise a small army of children without overworking the mother, and hire them tutors

...I'm sure I could keep going for a while. I keep thinking of more things.

A lot of this.

• Pro trainer. Probably martial arts and a lot of pad work.
• Chef specialized in nutrition.
• Driver.
• Bodyguard (imagine how much more freedom you'd have if you had a bodyguard).
• Stylist.
• Mansion with extra rooms rented out for free to people doing cool stuff so that I can be surrounded by the best people in the world.

 

[RobD88]

So my question to you, especially to those who have found their way on the positive side of success is: If money wasn't an issue, what would you pay for premium service and products? What would you do to improve your everyday life?

I would remove indentured time from my life. Avoid rush hour traffic. Travel more. Go fishing. Relax. Volunteer or do philanthropy work.

 

[eagleye101]

...I'm sure I could keep going for a while. I keep thinking of more things.

Please do, I'm keeping notes

Get a pro trainer familiar with lower back issues

I did this already, I'm paying almost nothing and the guy is doing an excellent job!

 

[TonyStark]

Play more music

 

[ajmassaro]

• Get a nutritionist that will set me up with planned meals with a pro chef or for me with meals that will keep me trim and avoid my allergies

This 100% - I've spent countless hours cooking, and cleaning dishes. If you are able to get a system that works, this would definitely my top investment.

 

[OMDA]

A lot of this.

• Mansion with extra rooms rented out for free to people doing cool stuff so that I can be surrounded by the best people in the world.

That's a very interesting one with lots of potential.

I've met a few very rich people. Without naming names, they like to put a lot of money behind their hobbies and pet projects, and fund some interesting things.

 

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[maikooo]

Hello Everyone,

I'm writing this in the mindset section because I believe this has a lot to do with identity (from the perspective of the identity that MJ talks in the book Unscripted ).

I recently made some profit from entrepreneur activity and I decided to invest it in tools that would make my life easier. So I bought some premium apps and software that I was avoiding before because I was trying to keep expenses low.

After using premium tools I realized that not only the quality of my work was higher but also I was spending much less on other activities and of course saving time.

Then I connected some dots in my mind. I remember interacting with some very successful entrepreneurs in their early stages and with others that were well established in their fields. And I remember that they would spend a lot of money on premium services and products which seemed fullish to me at the time.

But if your identity is that of a successful person living in abundance, it makes sense to spend money to make your everyday life better. And I don't mean to go on a spending tour and waste all your money on instant gratification activities.

So my question to you, especially to those who have found their way on the positive side of success is: If money wasn't an issue, what would you pay for premium service and products? What would you do to improve your everyday life?

Get a personal chef who prepares all meals for me based on the teachings of Michael Greger's "How not to die" book. I will not have to think about what to cook, how to cook, when to cook aaaand the biggest pain in the a$$, I wouldn't have to go grocery shopping!

Actually, my vision of wealth is to reach a level where I can afford such a personal chef/nutritionist. I don't give rats a$$ about lambos (beautiful cars though), but I'd buy me a "shiny" personal chef

 

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[RobD88]

Hi, @RobD88 and thanks for replying.

Could you make your answer more specific? For example, when would you avoid traffic? Daily? In the rush hours or you wouldn't live near the city center at all? When would you go fishing? In the weekend or does it matter? volunteer for what?

The reason I'm asking is that sometimes, we can already do what we think we "couldn't" but we just don't. For example, I could already buy all the software, apps and subscriptions (everything didn't cost more than 4-5 hundred USD) but my belief was "I should keep expenses low". So it wasn't really the lack of money that was holding me back, but rather limited beliefs and identity.

P.S. Apologize for my bad English

Your English is fine. No need for apologies.

To answer your questions about specifics...the whole point of getting out of the slow lane for me is to remove indentured time from my life. I no longer wish to be held hostage to a corporate 9-5 job. I want freedom to do what I want, when I want.

I already live away from the city center. But I have to commute 45 minutes to work and 45 minutes home each day. Longer if there is heavy traffic or any sort of accident. If money were no object I would avoid that commut altogether, work from home and only go out when I wanted to, on my terms, to fulfill my needs.

I may get up early and work on my business for twelve hours one day. Then the next sleep in late and go fishing in the afternoon. The next day take my wife out for breakfast and then stop by the local animal shelter and help with cleaning the dog pens or feeding the cats. Who knows.

The whole point is to remove the hyper reality of scripted days from my life. As MJ says your dog doesn't know the difference between a Saturday and a Tuesday. It's all the same day/night sequence to him. I want to be a dog.

 

[OMDA]

Please do, I'm keeping notes

What comes to mind right now is traveling and getting professional language learning services so I could be fluent in at least a few languages. I don't know why other than I enjoy languages and while I became an intermediate speaker in one and a high beginner in another, it took a lot of time without professional guidance and solid correction.

If I could teach a course of my specialty in a language other than English, that'd be cool.

I'd also want to learn Latin and Greek but I think I'd probably give in and have kids with my pile of money than obsess about my hobbies after a while. Maybe pay for private tutors and homeschool them, and bug the hell out of the tutors so I got to learn as well.

 

[GuestUser4aMPs1]

So my question to you, especially to those who have found their way on the positive side of success is: If money wasn't an issue, what would you pay for premium service and products? What would you do to improve your everyday life?

Very interesting question. Will answer in 2 parts, since the questions implies 'premium services' related to business, but a lot of the replies in this thread are related to 'premium services' for life in general, if money were not an issue.

Business:

• Service Business Coach, one-on-one with someone who's done it and willing to take the time for me to just chat about what's been going on. I'm fairly reluctant - maybe call it stubbornness - to post on the forum or ask questions unless they're 1: Very Specific Problems, and 2: I've hit a brick wall.
  
  But given an hour a week with a coach, I'm sure we can flesh out things I'm doing (or NOT doing!) that could blindside me later. In fact, I'm more interested to learn what I'm NOT doing. At this point I've gained a little bit of 'success,' but I still don't know what I don't know...so having someone to just talk to about my current situation would be extremely helpful.

Life:
(Related to what others are posting...haha)

• Home Cleaning Services. I'm f'n miserable about keeping my working and living places tidy. It honestly doesn't even cross my mind until stuff piles up. I honestly don't have an excuse, but if money weren't an issue, eliminating chores would be #1
  
  
• Access to the Best Food. Related to what others have mentioned above, but I actually enjoy cooking...so for me, access to the best available ingredients (non-gmo, organic, etc, etc) would be a home run for me. Not only am I paranoid of what's in mass market food, but it also tastes better.
  
  Also related to access to the best food, optimizing nutrition for energy above all else is very important to me. I want to feel vitality, alive, vibrant, every day as a baseline. My typical baseline recently (sadly) has been lethargy, unless I'm chasing a compelling goal. So I guess part of the problem is mental, but I want to fix baseline energy as well.
  
  That's all I can think of for the moment...

 

[WJK]

Travel

And then what? You'll wake up someday and discover that you yearn for home and hearth. It's like eating too much candy. At first, traveling is all very exciting. Then it becomes your "normal," and it loses its luster. It becomes all about packing up, leaving your friends and the familiar. Again. I found it to be a lonely and solitary life.

But, I can say that when I need to process a problem, I do go alone on a trip to have time to think. Traveling does its place.

 

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[eagleye101]

Hi @Tommo and thank you for contributing.

I would spend a bit of time handing out fast food meals to the homeless in the mornings in my city. Of course, if money was no object I'd organize decent breakfast instead of survival food.

Would that make you happy and increase the quality of your life? What would it cost you to do it now? Can you afford it already?

 

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[luniac]

play my favorite sport full time

 

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[luniac]

Which is?

probably noone knows it unless u live in new york city,
Big Blue Handball

 

[TonyStark]

This realization seems to be a common theme around here.

Freedom has that effect on people - we make smarter choices.

 

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[TonyStark]

Travel

 

[nickgraham1234]

1. Fix my sleep schedule
2. Eat higher quality foods
3. Meet more people
4. Get educated in something that interests me, not something that pays the bills
5. I would drive the GT3 in my profile rather than my Mazda3.

 

[ecommercewolf]

Like some others have said it would be a personal chef. I'm big into fitness, I would spend a premium on getting the highest quality organic foods and supplements to feed my body.

Also, traveling would be amazing.

 

[eagleye101]

I would remove indentured time from my life. Avoid rush hour traffic. Travel more. Go fishing. Relax. Volunteer or do philanthropy work.

Hi, @RobD88 and thanks for replying.

Could you make your answer more specific? For example, when would you avoid traffic? Daily? In the rush hours or you wouldn't live near the city center at all? When would you go fishing? In the weekend or does it matter? volunteer for what?

The reason I'm asking is that sometimes, we can already do what we think we "couldn't" but we just don't. For example, I could already buy all the software, apps and subscriptions (everything didn't cost more than 4-5 hundred USD) but my belief was "I should keep expenses low". So it wasn't really the lack of money that was holding me back, but rather limited beliefs and identity.

P.S. Apologize for my bad English

 

[GMSI7D]

Hello Everyone,

I'm writing this in the mindset section because I believe this has a lot to do with identity (from the perspective of the identity that MJ talks in the book Unscripted ).

I recently made some profit from entrepreneur activity and I decided to invest it in tools that would make my life easier. So I bought some premium apps and software that I was avoiding before because I was trying to keep expenses low.

After using premium tools I realized that not only the quality of my work was higher but also I was spending much less on other activities and of course saving time.

Then I connected some dots in my mind. I remember interacting with some very successful entrepreneurs in their early stages and with others that were well established in their fields. And I remember that they would spend a lot of money on premium services and products which seemed fullish to me at the time.

But if your identity is that of a successful person living in abundance, it makes sense to spend money to make your everyday life better. And I don't mean to go on a spending tour and waste all your money on instant gratification activities.

So my question to you, especially to those who have found their way on the positive side of success is: If money wasn't an issue, what would you pay for premium service and products? What would you do to improve your everyday life?

very simple

i would get the best conditions for sustaining my philosophy and way of life

i would live in switzerland because this is the smart german speaking lifestyle

everyday i would get the best massage i can afford in a nice resort in the alps

i would eat the best food,

feed my brain with the best ideas, programs

surround myself with the best people , the best everything

invite the best chess players to play a tournament i would organize in switzerland

and so on

you get the point

money is meant to buy things that sustain meanings, values and your philosophy

spending money on absurd things is a crime against human intelligence





.

 

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[eagleye101]

very simple

I would get the best conditions for sustaining my philosophy and way of life -> question: What does "best conditions" means? For example, for me "best conditions" means living in a minimal house near the sea with friends and family around. I don't need too much money to do that I am wondering why ain't I doing it...

I would live in Switzerland because this is the smart German-speaking lifestyle -> question: what is stopping you?

every day I would get the best massage I can afford in a nice resort in the Alps -> comment: I thought massage was only for super rich, but I realized that you can pay very little for a good massage (here in Greece) so I am getting massages often since it makes me feel great and I see it as an investment in myself. My realization was that we can already get what we want but we're not because of the limited beliefs that we grow inside us. My question would be: Are you getting massage already? Could you?

I would eat the best food, ->question: why don't you already?

feed my brain with the best ideas, programs -> question: how?

surround myself with the best people, the best everything -> question: do you need to have money to do that?

invite the best chess players to play a tournament I would organize in Switzerland -> comment: I'd love to play a good game of chess, so if you come to Greece we could have a game in Athens, by the sea or under the Acropolis. And again, my question would be: do you need money to do that?

and so on

you get the point

Hello @GMSI7D and thank you for contributing. I like your way of thinking so I am trying to get inspired and see our real possibilities. I have entered comments in your quote above with some questions. You don't have to reply, it's just philosophical thoughts but (since you seem to be German-speaking and I am Greek-speaking, with both cultures being deeply connected to philosophy, there may be some aha-moments hidden in simple thoughts).

From what I understand, we can be much happier with very little but we don't because we think we can't. I remember Tim Ferriss saying in one podcast that he thought he would need too much money to travel, yet he found out he could travel the whole world for a very long time (I think for 2 years) in very little expenses (I don't remember but I think it was less than 10K).

 

[Tommo]

Hello Everyone,

I'm writing this in the mindset section because I believe this has a lot to do with identity (from the perspective of the identity that MJ talks in the book Unscripted ).

I recently made some profit from entrepreneur activity and I decided to invest it in tools that would make my life easier. So I bought some premium apps and software that I was avoiding before because I was trying to keep expenses low.

After using premium tools I realized that not only the quality of my work was higher but also I was spending much less on other activities and of course saving time.

Then I connected some dots in my mind. I remember interacting with some very successful entrepreneurs in their early stages and with others that were well established in their fields. And I remember that they would spend a lot of money on premium services and products which seemed fullish to me at the time.

But if your identity is that of a successful person living in abundance, it makes sense to spend money to make your everyday life better. And I don't mean to go on a spending tour and waste all your money on instant gratification activities.

So my question to you, especially to those who have found their way on the positive side of success is: If money wasn't an issue, what would you pay for premium service and products? What would you do to improve your everyday life?

I would spend a bit of time handing out fast food meals to the homeless in the mornings in my city. Of course if money was no object I'd organise decent breakfast instead of survival food.

 

[Tommo]

yes it would and yes i can afford to do it now and again which is only twice the last 6 months after 2 years unemployed. doesnt helping people improve your life?

 

[eagleye101]

...doesnt helping people improve your life?

Of course it does. The whole point of this thread is to see what we can do to increase the quality of our lives and the question "if money wasn't an issue" is there to point out what could we do to make our everyday life better by spending, some or maybe, very little money, that we thought we shouldn't because of limited belief "I don't want to spend money".

So to ask it in another way would be: What expenses are actually investments in a better life quality?