Let’s get right into this…
Here’s 2 non-business things I’ve done that have have helped me to make more money and live a happier life.
1. Significantly cut back on my drinking
From my late 20’s to early 30’s my weekend routine was always the same…
I’d pre-game at a friends house on Friday night at 9 and have 3-4 drinks there.
Then we’d go out and I’d have another 7-8 drinks throughout the night.
This included mixed drinks…
Shots…
And god knows what else…
Every Friday I did this.
And the next morning I’d wake up and feel like shit.
So I spent most of my Saturday in bed, hungover, until about 3 PM.
All my plans for the weekend went to the wayside.
And it wasn’t until 2017 when I started having some issues with my Crohn’s disease that I really cut back on my drinking.
My stomach was not doing well at the time…
And alcohol just made it worse…
So in 2017, I stopped drinking for about a year.
Which was not easy…
There was a lot of pressure from friends to drink.
It made people around me uncomfortable.
But not drinking for a year had very noticeable benefits for me…
– I slept much, much better and felt refreshed
– I felt energized to build my business come Monday morning
– I was forced to confront why I was drinking so much in the first place (mostly due to social anxiety)
– I even started finding joy in little things like waking up at 8 AM on Saturday and going to the park with my dogs
So everything improved when I cut back my drinking.
And it’s why I stayed on that path for about a year.
Now-a-days, I’m what you’d call a “special occasion drinker”.
So if my buddy has a bachelor party, I’ll drink at that…
Or if it’s my birthday, I’ll drink that night.
I probably drink 3-4x a year at this point…
And I’ve found that works well for me.
I feel better because of it…
And I don’t miss drinking on a random Friday night out.
So significantly cutting back on alcohol has been a big game changer for me in many ways.
Let’s hop to the second game-changer for me…
2. Finding friends that are fun, that push me, and that are interested in having deeper conversations
One of the biggest changes for me since moving to Austin in 2016 is my friend group.
The first year I was here, I felt pretty lonely.
I only knew a few people…
And I didn’t make a big effort to make new friends.
But over the last few years that’s changed.
I now have a group of 7-8 friends that I truly enjoy spending a lot of time with.
They aren’t just “party” buddies…
They’re guys I can have deep conversations with.
Whether that’s something I’m struggling with…
Or maybe we’re talking about things like kids, marriage, money, self esteem, culture etc…
We have real conversations.
And we all care about each other and root each other on.
This was really evident for me when my buddy Rob passed away from cancer a few months ago.
Our whole group stepped up.
We were at his apartment every single day in his final weeks.
There were guys getting their at 7 AM to help him in the morning.
There were guys sitting by his bed throughout the night helping with medications and going to the bathroom.
It was beautiful to see.
And it was a big eye opener to me on just how good my friend group is in Austin.
I never knew I needed friends like this.
But now that I have it, it makes my life a whole lot more fun and enjoyable.
So my advice?
Put some real effort into building your friend group.
Find people that inspire you…
And who you can have deeper conversations with.
Find people that really lift you up.
Cause having people like that around you is priceless.
It’ll change your life in ways you can’t imagine.
Make sense?
I hope so.
Cause that’s all I got for ya today…
Hope you got a nugget or two from this.
Enjoy your Wednesday,
– Justin
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