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For years, I acted like time was
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unlimited. I'd tell myself, "I'll do
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that someday. I'll start that business
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someday. I'll learn that skill someday."
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While my days just disappeared into
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work, sleep, repeat cycles. I kept
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putting off the things that actually
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mattered. Thinking I had all the time in
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the world. Then I realized something
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that changed everything. The average
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person has about 4,000 weeks on this
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earth. And I've already lived through
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about 1,600 of them, gone forever. And
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so I thought it'd be interesting to
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share in this video the most powerful
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strategies that will help you make the
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most of your days and stop living with
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regret. These aren't productivity tips.
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They're the exact methods that helped me
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transform from someone who constantly
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said someday to someone who actually
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made things happen. Whether you want to
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build a business, pursue a passion
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project, or just stop feeling like life
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is passing you by, these strategies will
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help you get there. Number one, align
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your money to match your life choices. I
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started on the graduate program at one
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of the world's largest investment banks.
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And for 9 years, every single move I
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made was about advancing my career and
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doing it in a way that allowed for
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better pay. And here's what I learned
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the hard way. If you're deeply unhappy
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or dissatisfied or feel like there's a
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misalignment, the next milestone isn't
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going to fix that. I know this because I
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lived it. I kept thinking when I get the
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next promotion or when I hit six
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figures, I'll be happy. And even those
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milestones came, the happiness didn't. I
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was making the same mistake that most
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people make. I was doing it backwards.
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Most people think they need to make more
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money first, then they'll be able to
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live the life they want. But actually,
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you need to figure out what kind of life
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you want to live first, then work
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towards structuring your finances around
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that, even if it takes time. For me, it
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was getting to a place where I could
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quit my job and pursue my passion
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project. Maybe for you, that's having
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the freedom to travel. Maybe it's
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finding ways to work remotely so you can
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spend more time with your family. Maybe
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it's having enough saved up so you can
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take creative risks without worrying
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about the next month's bills. It's about
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understanding what you're actually
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working towards and making intentional
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choices with your money, whatever your
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starting point. I just did a podcast on
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the diary of a CEO where I shared the
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exact five steps I took to align my
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money with my life choices, including
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the very first and most uncomfortable
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conversation that I had to have with
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myself about what it was that I was
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really working towards. I'll leave a
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link right here and below in the
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description if you want to check it out
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after this video. Number two, make the
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8-year-old you and the 80-year-old you
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happy. There was this thread that I
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recently came across on Instagram and I
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think the profile is called die die die
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with no regrets or die without regrets
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and it really changed the way I think
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about life. It said that there are only
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two people whose pride should truly
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matter to you and it's not your parents.
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It's not your friends. It's not your
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mentors. It's not your partner. It's the
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8-year-old you who is full of dreams and
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the 80-year-old you who is full of
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memories. And both of them are sitting
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in you right now. The 8-year-old is
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hoping and waiting to see if you'll
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chase the dreams that you once believed
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in. They just want to see you take some
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rest and to have the courage to go after
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what makes you happy. And then there's
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the 80-year-old you who's lived through
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everything, who looks back on
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everything, knows how quickly it all
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goes by, and they don't care about the
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accolades or impressing other people.
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They just want you to have a good time,
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slow down, live, laugh, love, and fully
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embrace the life you have today because
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those moments aren't going to last
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forever. And seeing that made me realize
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at different points in my life, I'm
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either forgetting their 8-year-old or
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their 8-year-old. So now, every few
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months, I ask myself, am I making them
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both happy? When I'm stuck in a decision
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paralysis about taking a rest, I think
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about my 8-year-old self. Would they be
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proud that I'm going after something
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that excites me or disappointed that I'm
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playing it safe again? And when I catch
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myself getting too caught up in the work
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stress or what other people think, I
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think about my 80-year-old self. Are
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they looking back and thinking, "I'm
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glad you worried about that deadline."
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or I wish you just enjoyed that moment.
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It's become my compass for making
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decisions because when both of them can
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look at you with pride, then you know
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you're doing something right. Number
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three, stop treating reversible
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decisions like permanent ones. This is
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something I heard for the first time
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when speaking to Steven on Diary of the
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CEO and it completely changed how I
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think about decisions. He mentioned that
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there are two types of decisions and how
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you should approach them completely
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differ. There's type one decisions and
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these are consequential and
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irreversible. one-way doors. Things like
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having a baby, buying a house, or a
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major health decision. These decisions
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need to be made with a lot of thought
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and made slowly. If you walk through
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that door and you don't like what you
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see on the other side, you can't easily
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get back to where you were before. And
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then there's type two decisions. And
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these are changeable. These are
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reversible. They're two-way doors.
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Things like trying a new hobby, moving
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to a different city, changing your
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routine, even switching careers. If
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you've made a suboptimal type 2
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decisions, you don't have to live with
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the consequences for that long. You can
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reopen the door and go back through. And
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that's all well and good, but most of us
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treat type 2 decisions like they're type
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one. We agonize over choices that you
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later realize are completely reversible.
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So, when I quit my job, I thought at the
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time that it was irreversible. I
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convinced myself that no one would ever
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give me a job again in banking because I
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had this online profile and that I just
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committed corporate career suicide. But
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that wasn't the case at all. And even
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today, I keep in touch with some of my
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ex- colleagues and that door is open
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despite me almost convincing myself
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otherwise. So many people think, should
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I start that project? Should I take that
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trip? Should I learn a new skill? These
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feel like huge lifealtering decisions,
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but they're not. And I'm just going to
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add a snippet of the podcast here for
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anyone who's on the fence.
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>> So many people spend one year, three
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years, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years of
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their life stood in front of a type one
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decision, a door that they could walk
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back through if they're wrong. And
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actually, it's just like such a crazy
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shame not to make those type one
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decisions at speed if it's reversible.
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And it's so crazy cuz like 95% of the
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time when I ask someone that question,
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they respond. They said, "Yeah, I could
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go back to investment banking if I was
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wrong."
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>> I'm like, "Go do the violin thing then.
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Go [ __ ] up, fail. It might work out,
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whatever, but come back here if you're
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if you can. So,
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>> if you're feeling trapped in any area of
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your life, ask yourself, is this
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actually a type one decision or am I
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treating a type two decision as a type
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one? You probably have more options than
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you think. Number four, protect your
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energy like your most valuable asset.
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Most people think about managing their
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time, managing their money, but they
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completely ignore managing their energy.
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And here's the thing. You can have all
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the time in the world, but if you're
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constantly drained, if you're constantly
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empty, then none of it matters. Your
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energy is finite. And unlike time, it's
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not equally distributed throughout your
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day. You have peak energy times and low
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energy times. So, start auditing and
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paying attention to what gives you
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energy versus what takes it away. Maybe
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it's certain types of work, certain
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people, certain environments, or even
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certain thoughts and habits. I realized
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that complaining drained my energy.
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Scrolling social media drained my
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energy. Being around judgmental people
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drained my energy. But creating
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something new, having really deep,
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vulnerable, meaningful conversations,
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and just learning new skills, that gave
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me a lot of energy. That today makes me
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feel very alive. And I can tell you that
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when you start protecting your energy,
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everything else becomes so much smoother
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and easier. You make better decisions.
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You're more creative. You're more
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present with the people that you care
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about. You actually enjoy life and the
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things that you're doing instead of just
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dreading everything. And number five,
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slow down time. You might be thinking,
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how on earth do you slow down time? And
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actually, you can. Maybe not in reality,
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but you can change the way time feels.
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Let me explain. If you think about back
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to when you were a kid, summer holidays
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felt long and endless. A single day
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could feel like a week because
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everything was new. You were constantly
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experiencing things for the first time.
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You were learning. You were exploring.
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You were being surprised. But as an
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adult, routine makes time just fly by.
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You wake up, you check your phone, you
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commute the same route, you do the same
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job, you watch the same shows, you go to
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bed. Before you know it, weeks blur into
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months, months blur into years. This
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isn't just in your head. There's
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actually a reason for this. Your brain
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measures time by recording new
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experiences. So, as a kid, you're
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constantly recording new experiences and
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learning things for the first time. But
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as an adult, when you're stuck in this
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cycle, when this routine, these new
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experiences stop happening. You're
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living life on autopilot. So, your brain
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stops recording new things and autopilot
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makes time disappear. The solution here
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is to introduce novelty into your daily
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life. Break up the routine. Learn
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something new, even if it's just for 10
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minutes. Have a different conversation
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with someone who doesn't look like
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someone you'd be able to hold a
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conversation with or have anything in
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common with. Take a different route to
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work. Read about a topic you know
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nothing about. When you actively seek
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out new experiences, even tiny ones,
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time starts to slow down again. Your
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brain has more unique memories to file
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away, which makes life feel fuller and
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longer. The goal is to break the
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monotony that makes the years disappear.
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That's it. That's five things that I
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would recommend to make sure you make
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the most out of the life that you have
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on this earth. It's a bit of a deeper
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video than most of my personal finance
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video. It was largely inspired after the
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experience and the conversation I had on
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the diary of a CEO. I'll leave that
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episode right here for you to watch.
