Sharing lessons from a video I just watched from Kevin Dahlstrom (shown below!) It’s coloring a lot of reflection in my life today.
Kevin knows a lot of very rich people who live very dissatisfied and unhappy lives. He was one of them — until a wake up call caused him to quit his job, likely costing him 10s of millions of dollars, in exchange a better, kickass life.
Below are his steps…
- Define the dream. To start the journey, you need to know the destination. What’s your ideal life look like? Write it out and don’t hold back. Here’s Kevin’s list:
- Turns out majority of people’s “ideal life” states don’t involve a ton of money. Instead, they require more time.
- Goal: how can you fill the gaps between what you say you want and what you actually do?
- Know your number. How much money do you actually need to be happy?
- In an HBS study, they asked multiple people the question “How much do you need to be happy?” and most everyone answered “Twice what I have.” It’s a hedonic treadmill — you’ll always want more.
- Instead, think about the 4% rule: for financial independence, you need assets 25x of your annual living expenses.
- Let’s say you spend $40k/year (about ~$3.3k per month)
- $40k x 25 = $1M is the base of how much you might need be financially independent (not have to work for money)
- This number goes down if:
- You cut down on expenses
- You continue to work (because you’re bored)
- You have passive income
- Upgrade from business class to economy. Only keep things that you find joy in (basically Marie Kondo your life!)
- “The things you own end up owning you”
- Minimalism isn’t:
- A life of sacrifice and self-denial
- Penny-pinching
- Returning your Porsche
- Minimalism is:
- Keeping what brings you joy and discarding the rest
- Make space for MORE of what brings you joy
- Different for everyone
- Compare your camera roll, not your bankroll. Experiences > things.
- Their household has a mantra: “Dahlstroms invest in experiences”
- What’s in your camera roll?
- Be more than your work. Work does not have to be your #1 identity.
- What’s the one thing your 20 and 80 year old self will tell you?
- Don’t be a goldfish. Choose the place you reside in, don’t stay stuck in your defaults.
- His hot take: Your choice of place is as important as your choice of partner.
- Think like a time billionaire. There are 1 billion seconds in 30 years. How do you choose to spend these billion seconds?
- Would you trade places with Warren Buffett who has $135B and 93 years old? Warren Buffet would probably want to trade places with someone younger.
- Get fit. Letting this image speak for itself.
- Give yourself a break. Take sabbaticals to recharge, reflect and think creatively.
- You work 500 months. A 3-month break is <1%.
- The time is now. Someday might never come.
- Kevin talks about a moving story about his uncle who collected coins from work. Everyday he’d fill a bucket with coins and say “Someday my wife and I will take this bucket of coins and take a trip to Hawaii.” Unfortunately one day he learned he had bone cancer and 3 weeks later he passed. Someday never came (at this point Kevin started tearing up and I did, too.)
- Someday might never come so how can you bring someday to today?
Example:
Hope you enjoyed!