This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the disclosure statement for more info.

This is the sixth interview in the Rich Life Habits interview series where we ask people some of their most successful habits and some lessons learned along the way. You can check out previous interviews here.

If you’d like to share your story with the Rich Life Habits community, please reach out here.

This interview was conducted in July.

Questions are in bolded italics and the answers are right below the questions.

---

Background

How old are you? Do you have a spouse/partner? Do you have any children?

I’m 30 years old and recently celebrated my 1 year anniversary with my wife! No children.

What part of the country do you live in? (ex. Suburbs of mid-Atlantic city, rural mid-western town, downtown west-coast city)

I live in a large city in the Mid-Atlantic region.

How would you define “a rich life”? What does “living a rich life” mean to you? Can you provide any examples on how your definition evolved to what it is today?

I would define having a “rich life” as one in which I have plenty of love, kindness, support, and freedom around me. I want my wife, family and friends to be healthy, happy and be able to spend time with me. I want my neighborhood and community around me to be a place where people know each other and are friendly. And I want freedom from time and money to be able to choose what I want to do when and with whomever I want. I didn’t always have this mindset but over time I realized what was important and what made me happy and satisfied. Happiness + Satisfaction = Rich Life.

What are some daily/monthly/yearly habits that have helped motivate you to reach your goals and how have they produced results for you?

I started to read self-help books in the past 6 years and that has really pushed me to new levels of productivity. Learning about energy efficiency rather time efficiency was a big breakthrough for me in “The Power of Full Engagement”. I also learned how to compartmentalize and focus on the task at hand to really understand what I want to accomplish and set up processes to help me accomplish those goals so I can free my mind to focus on the task at hand.

Professional:

Business or Career part of life, aka your job

What are some habits that have helped you in your career/professional life? Can you provide some stories/examples of the habits?

In the past 3 years, I’ve started to fill out a daily planner. It has spots for me to list the 3 things I’m grateful for today, my overall goals for the day, a general schedule for me day as well as the tasks I want to accomplish. This really sets the tone for me each day. I have come to realize I am less focused and complete less tasks when I do not fill out the planner that day.

I am also working on being comfortable being uncomfortable, understanding that the only way for me to grow is to get out of my comfort zone. It is not easy for me and does not come naturally but I force myself to do it sometimes, almost faking myself to being comfortable, to make it a habit.

What are some habits that you wish you didn’t have during your career/professional life? Can you provide some stories/examples of the habits?

I have a tendency to get distracted on different interesting stories or tasks throughout the day. I have worked on combating this with the daily planner habit but sometimes it creeps back up.

How much time do you devote to your career/profession (work)? What is your work-life balance like?

Right now, I spend about 45-50 hours a week on my professional job. That doesn’t count any side-hustles I am working on.

Family & Friends:

Those people you love unconditionally even if they drive you crazy // Like-minded people you choose to spend time with

How have you been able to keep healthy and long-lasting family & friend relationships?

By taking responsibility of the relationship. If I want the relationship to continue, I have to recognize that it might be 100%-0% balance for a while. I give 100% toward the relationship and they give 0%. I am willing to live with that for a while if I know the person to be a good person and is going to come around to make this relationship mutually beneficial.

Why have some of your family & friend relationships not lasted?

Because I have determined that I do not want to associate myself with those people and/or they have not put in the effort to make the relationship last after I have sustained it for considerable length of time. At the end of the day, friendships are 2-way streets and one person cannot hold it up on their own the entire time.

What habits (actions done repeatedly) have you used to keep family & friend relationships going?

Communication is key. If I communicate with honest transparency, everyone around me will recognize who I am and the ones I want to associate myself with will accept that and the ones that don’t will push back. This is how I stay authentic. Stick to who I am and the people who  appreciate that are the ones who I want to spend my time with.

Physical

The body

At what point in your life were you the most physically fit? Why?

Oh, the glory days of high school. Football practice and workouts 6 days a week for 4 straight years left my body in its best shape. I am working to get back to that now but juggle adult responsibilities makes those 1.5 hour workouts difficult to get in.

What habits did you use during that time-period? 

A schedule. I personally need to have a schedule to tell me what to do one which day. This takes the thinking out of the equation. In that brief moment when my body says “I’m tired”, if I have to think about what workout to do, I know I will always lose that battle. So if I take thinking out of the equation and just focus on following the schedule, I can stick to it pretty well.

Mental

Intellectual and cognitive parts of the brain

Are you able to stimulate your mind as much as you would like? Why or Why not?

As I said above, I have been reading books on self-help that have helped me thinking differently about things and change my perspective. This has helped me grow as a person and learn new ways of perceiving the world.

What habits have helped/hurt you from being able to achieve your intellectual goals? Can you reflect on why you do these habits?

Driving to work just drains me. I try to do podcast and books on tape and they usually are only 50% effective in sinking in. I have recognized that I am a visual learner and therefore need to physically read the book in order to digest it more.

Spiritual

The soul of a person

How do you spend the time when you are doing things for yourself? How does each of these make you feel afterward?

Working out is critical to this practice. Taking walks, runs, or, in the past 2-3 years, long bike rides, help me to clear my head. A clear head then wanders and I can really get deep into thinking about what I want and what is important to me.

What is your preferred practice to clear your mind?

Long walks, or bike rides.

Financial

The monetary situation

What habits do you use to keep your budget under control? What software/tools do you use if any?

I used to meticulously record every transaction in an excel spreadsheet but realized that as my income has grown, my time is worth more to sync all of my accounts to Personal Capital. I love it and have used it for over 6 years.

How have you been able to increase your net worth? By earning/saving/investing more? How? Please provide examples.

Increases in my net worth have come over time and are starting to accelerate at a faster clip. I saved large amounts of my income early in my career and lived like a college student even though I eclipsed a 6-figure salary a couple years out of school. This enable my investment accounts to have a nice base early in my life and I am starting to see the power of compounding take effect and it’s pretty amazing to watch.

Conclusion

What is one piece of advice you’d give yourself when you were 18 years old?

I would tell myself to take more risks in terms of life situations. Go travel even if you might be a year behind in school. Buy a house hack earlier even if it means being in an area that you might not want to live in. And definitely don’t spend your time with people who don’t appreciate you. They are not worth it.

What are some of your favorite books? Why?

The Richest Man in Babylon – Core Life/Money Principles framed in fun stories about an ancient city.