“Many people die at twenty five and aren’t buried until they are seventy five” – Benjamin Franklin
Conceptually, this is still true today. The vast majority of people can’t see beyond one task in front of them. They don’t have a structure of vision of what decades are supposed to look like. They just base their lives on how they feel in that particular moment: 1) graduate, 2) get some sort of job, 3) work out a little and go out to drink on weekends and 4) hop around until they decide to have kids.
Lots of cope along the way. Hit 40 with nothing to show for it, no real savings, no way to earn a living if they are cut tomorrow and pretend they are happy while talking about some politician who will save the day (they never show up)
This is the exact opposite of the lifestyle we’re trying to build up over here. The goal is to maximize whatever potential you have. No one reading this is Elon. No one reading this should be below the median either. You’re looking to: 1) regain control of your time, 2) get there without giving up your entire young adult experiences, frugality fails this hurdle and 3) get to each decade with minimal to no regrets. No matter what you will miss opportunities and make mistakes but the regret part is the real tell (better or worse).
1) Life is Primarily an Attrition Game
We talk a ton about finding your specific talent and monetizing it. The underlying reason? You’ll go up the ladder through attrition alone. In every industry people simply give up. If you’re top 5% in something at age 16, chances are everyone will quit and you’ll be top 1% by age 26.
The people who end up in the top 1%? They are a combination of both the smartest and the most consistent (decent but not world class talent): 1) continuing to grind as people quit, 2) sticking to the same process in the mind numbing boring or painful times and 3) recognizing which stage in life they are in.