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

[ZCP]

Oura measures blood sugar? I haven't seen that, or am I misreading?

check out one of our Fastlaner's companies ...... Help more patients sustainably reverse metabolic diseases

 

[Cameraman]

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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[MJ DeMarco]

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]

Link? I love rucksacks and you have me curious now.

https://www.oakley.com/en-us/product/921554

It just barely fits the windows tablet in the padded tablet compartment, but it has a lot of room in the body of the bag for whatever you want.

 

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[Goodfella999]

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

 

[Speculatooor]

Chiropractor and physical therapist. Amazing results. Definitely recommend.

Your profile picture is also relevant to my life improvement recommendation;

a bidet attachment

 

[Matt Lee]

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.

 

[Xtal]

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]

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 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]

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.)

 

[Bohemi]

What do you think about that he might be happier, because you (as parent) are happier?

Of course it has an effect on my kid that I am happy too, but in this case it was so obvious that he really needed the change too (but it has more to do with the Danish School system than it has to do with me). From the first day of his new school, he was more at home than he had ever been the old place (where he had been going to for 6 years).

i just didn’t realize exactly how much he needed to move too (thought it was mostly me, but no)

 

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[DinoMidas]

Two that come to my mind now:

• Going back to combat sports. I used to train krav maga a few years ago and stopped when my coach was no longer available. In January of this year I got into MMA and it's been great. If I have a shitty day I always feel better after a tough workout (even if I don't want to do it before). I wish I started this immediately after stopping krav maga. I would have been a beast by now.
• Learning how to swim well, surf, and freedive earlier. I love being in the water and on a particularly good day it's as blissful as nothing else in my life.

There's also one more that I know in hindsight will be obvious. But I'm taking steps to rectify this as soon as possible...

Namely, living in a house in the countryside, close to a forest and nature in general, with a lot of land and privacy.

I now live in an apartment. While I have a forest right outside, I can't just walk outside in the morning and enjoy the nature first thing after getting out of bed. I can technically get dressed and go outside but it's not the same as having it just for yourself right out the doorstep. Being on the balcony is not the same as being on your own piece of land.

This, plus even if you have a nice apartment, you still have to deal with all the bullshit of sharing space with other people. I have loud neighbors, need to pay a lot in HOA fees, sometimes struggle to park my car, need to climb a lot of stairs (not bad for exercise but shitty if you're carrying anything large) and have very limited space. Then there's all the damn noise of the city and all the people around.

Hey, a young scuba diver here, loving the freediving aspect of diving, as well as a ex-waterpolo player and a future combat sports enjoyer. I' thought i needed to comment because i think we share the same values. And you are damn right, nothing is as beautiful as being in the water, even on the not so blissful day

 

[Two Dog]

The same things kept popping up and made me curious about actual references to each one. No points for statistical analysis, but I did read through the thread twice and made a popularity list. #1 was *easily* in first place. That became ten on a ten point scale with the others ranked in comparison.

1. mindset / philosophy => 10 out of 10
2. regular exercise => 8 out of 10
3. mediation / sleep => 6 out of 10
4. quality food => 4 out of 10
5. travel => 3 out of 10

Most interesting to me is the first three cost literally nothing to implement. Nothing. Yet those are the ones that the majority of people find the most valuable. Sure, anyone can spend a bunch of money on psychologists, gym membership, sleep gizmos, but it's not necessary. I'd even argue it's counterproductive since the personal proactive effort is the main reason it's helpful in the first place.

I've been watching this thread since the start. I cannot think of a single thing because like you said, it would change my trajectory. And I don't want that. There are plenty of things I still want to do and want to do them now, just nothing I want to go back and do sooner or change.

It appears you and I are in the visible minority here, vast majority has something they wish they did sooner.

I'm with you. There's really nothing I'd go back in time and change. I've read too many Monkey's Paw stories.

Part of that is probably from having spent a lifetime doing those five things above from a really early age. For whatever reason, that's how my life progressed. I was barely plugged into The Matrix at age twenty and exited before graduating college. Like @MJ DeMarco, my wife and our are both easily middle aged and in excellent health. Not a single prescription between us, no mobility issues, no physical limitations. That's worth more than truckloads of cash to me.

Maybe (not even sure on this) the only thing I'd want to have accepted earlier is that 90% is good enough. Maybe it's 80% or even 50% depending on the circumstances. Obsessively beating yourself to death for missing a single workout, eating a Big Mac, not studying for an exam, whatever the guilt trip is an immense waste of time. It's anti-productive. We're all imperfect. Think about why it happened, adjust and get back to the game plan. That might not be the recipe for Olympic perfection and a string of gold medals, but it's great for living and enjoying your life.

 

[JDE]

1.) The power of Hypnosis. I was a social phobe and it made me super unhappy. I made too many decisions because of the phobia. Hypnosis completely cured me of it.
2.) How I handled money. I am no longer a consumer in the U.S. sense. I don't buy "stuff" the minute I think I want it and let it pile up with other "stuff".
3.) Gratitude. Should be self explanatory.

That's awesome man! What kind of hypnosis? Was it app based or you did it in person?

 

[Oahnay14]

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!

Wow, thanks for taking the time to write this out. You've actually given me peace about my place in life.

 

[S.Y.]

Discovering the power of stories... in all aspects of my life. Capturing, crafting and sharing stories have brought more joy and fulfilment in my life than anything else.

I wish I had discovered it sooner.

 

[Shono]

I stopped consuming alcohol six years ago and this was one of the most transformative decisions I've ever made. I went from 5'10" 212 pounds to 157 pounds in a matter of months. I feel younger, I look younger. Being alcohol free inspired me to start a Transcendental Mediation practice where I meditate (at least) 20 minutes a day every day. I bought a nice Rolex Sea dweller with all the money I used to spend on alcohol. I'm happier, have full access to my emotions and thoughts. I never have to worry about being hung over. I exercise less and am in better shape in my 40's than I was in my 30s or even 20's in some respects. I just love it. I only wish that I never had that first drink at 15 years old or stopped sooner. Attached is a photo of when I was fat, drunk and bloated in my early 30's vs being sober and a lot healthier (and happier) in my early 40s.

Good job man, what was the final straw for you that made you quit alcohol in the first place? And what was the pivotal change that made the decision to quit stick? I had effectively spent 2016-2022 drinking daily. At first it was 3 pints of beer a day, towards the end I averaged about 10 standard drinks a day, and like you when I did the accounts I found I spent mid 4-figures on alcohol in the latter half of 2022 alone.

The catastrophe of having childhood traumas and enabling/borderline parents letting/wanting to me be a NEET meant I was able to pass out drunk once by afternoon and again to sleep. I relate with you with just sitting with the full scope of emotions and thoughts. I just sit with the pain now rather than drink it away. The pain of regret of wasting more time far outweighs the pain of just sitting with everything and so far that notion has helped me stay clean almost 3 months now, knock on wood.

 

[Fastanerio]

Quit pxrn and masturbation

 

[sravyasri]

Reading the Millionaire Faslane changed my whole trajectory!

 

[AnonGuest63k2]

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.

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.

For me, it would be a huge thing to really realize the time and not waste it in vain. But as they say, everything is known in comparison, with my current one I have to leave and leave my current environment in order to look for what I like and develop further, get out of this situation and environment. My main problem today is that I can’t just go up to a person and talk to him, I think in my head that I need a reason, that this is stupid and pointless. I go to the library, where I manage to develop myself (at the moment I am compiling for myself a collection of all the most useful things from Demarco's 3rd book about the rat race). If someone has experienced something similar in your life, then write how you got rid of it and how you got through it.

 

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[farahead]

Not trying to push myself so hard.

Pushing yourself past your limits is great, dont get me wrong.

But i had massive expectations and thought im gonna be ultra productive after 1 week of reading millionaire fastlane .

Patience is what i lacked

 

[Vasudev Soni]

It

Quitting video games, all thought I did it when I was 11-12, I wish I did it sooner, and reading books, letting myself be myself, learning to say no, cutting ties with people who didnt like me for who I am and learning mistakes arent failure.

It’s never too late to quit bad habits, they just take some time.

 

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[The-J]

Cardio

 

[Raedrum]

- Greatly reducing weed smoking and alcohol drinking
- Same with video games
- Eating fruits and drinking enough water
- Exercice
- Participating on the forum

 

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[EngineerThis]

That can be a good idea, but beware of just moving the problem

For instance I know that when I don't smoke weed, I don't want to play video games. But instead I still spend too much time scrolling FB or surfing the net.

It can be good to supress distractions, but often discipline is better

Maybe try to uninstall all your games first ?

That’s like saying keep beer in the fridge. But don’t drink it to build your discipline. When it’s way better just to never let that beer enter your fridge, if you have some. Dump it. Why waste willpower?

 

[andyhaus44]

The Miracle Morning routine and Darren Hardy's Action plan from Insane Productivity

 

[Saad Khan]

I'm considering selling my gaming PC and just using my MacBook so I can't game anymore..

Do it. 10 years from now, you wish you did it sooner.

 

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[MattR82]

Finally finding the right business coach for the area of work I'm in. In addition to coaching, she has her own business in the same industry that's doing really well.

 

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[Jahzeetzah]

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!

Dude I'm 20 years old and I have a similar mindset. I don't regret past actions or look back on them with "I should have" or "I shouldn't have" because I view every positive or negative thing I've had in my life to be learning experiences. I do my best to prevent myself from making the same mistakes over and over again, and I have enough knowledge to not take part in certain activities that Mr. Demarco would label as "DAREs." Still, it's nice to see someone with that mindset.

 

[Dragos222]

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.

1. Being myself and thinking for myself as much as I possibly can. I know this might be obvious to some people, but this is one of the things I am embracing every single day in order to live my best life. One way of embracing being myself is reading Marcus Aurelius - Meditations, and judging every single idea from the book, from my own perspective (e.g. I think I should implement X more in my life).

2. Learning every day, even from the smallest things. On the othey day I went on a trip by myself with my bicycle and learned that for me, the earth is here in order for me to explore it. (somewhat of a cliche, I know)

Another day I learned how to write over a picture in Wordpress.

One day I even realized how to make people happier. That is by remembering people's name and saying it while talking to them. (How to win friend and influence people helped BIG-TIME).