h/wealth

Sep 16

It’s a strange acronym, but it will change your life.

Pronounce it as ‘wealth’ or be a weirdo and say ‘h slash wealth’ - I don’t care.

What I do care about is helping entrepreneurs live healthier and wealthier lives. Because in my personal experience - this has NOT always been the case.

I have gone down the dark path of skipping sleep, workouts, and eating healthy in the delusion of ‘getting more done’. To find myself speeding towards burnout and a quarter life crisis/implosion. I wouldn’t recommend it.

The ironic part is that since the age of 11 I’ve loved working out (I was a weird kid). One of my favourite traditions is going for a solo run on Xmas morning before everyone else wakes up - I’ve been doing this since Middle School (okay, I was a really weird kid).

I’ve also witnessed clients (and family members) spend decades grinding 24/7 on their business - to earn less than your typical 9-5er but clinging to the pride of ‘self-employed freedom’ 🥴.

At the same time, if you’re a true entrepreneur, finding balance with your passion is hard.

This is why I hate the term work-life balance - and why I’ve re-focused on finding h/wealth.

I hate work life balance

At best, it’s a limiting mindset. At worst, you guilt-trip yourself.

The major issue is that work-life balance is often depicted as a zero-sum game, where one aspect is counterbalanced by sacrificing the other.

“I don’t have time to work out, I’m too busy with work.”

“I can’t grow the business, I’m already pulled a million directions with kids and work.”

“I wish I could go on vacation, but I can’t afford it.”

It’s a shitty way to live. A way of life that has been normalized to entrepreneurs as a sacrifice.

Don’t get me wrong, success comes from hard work and sacrifice, but it doesn’t have to be absolute. I’ve proven this to myself - over the last few years I’ve got into the best shape of my life, built meaningful personal relationships, and travelled extensively - while building three companies and ensuring I get enough sleep.

Here’s what has worked for me in finding h/wealth:

Become intentional with your time

Every second counts.

This is one of my favourite takeaways from the TV show The Bear.

Some may interpret this saying as, “Maximize your productivity as much as possible and don’t waste a single second.” I would disagree.

My interpretation is that we all have 86,400 seconds in a day. So why spend your time on things you don’t love?

One of the foundational elements of h/wealth is creating your own definition of personal success. For example, my own definition:

Retain athlete-level fitness that puts me in the top 10% in any fitness challenge for my age range (i.e. marathon, trail running, pick-up basketball).
Spend time with energizers, not energy drainers.
Build meaningful companies that stretch my creativity and change lives.
Achieve financial success resulting in liberated decision-making - the ability to make decisions without financial limitations.
Travel the world without bias.

Having these pillars - makes the prioritization of my time pretty simple. You’ll notice a few things not on the above list:

Doom scrolling social media
Watching countless hours of TV or sports
Cheat meals

That’s not to say I don’t struggle with (or sometimes enjoy) items on the above list - but it’s all in moderation.

Now, I get it. You’re probably thinking, “easier said than done.” So, here’s some purely anecdotal advice that’s worked for me in turning intention into practice.

Putting h/wealth into practice

Implementing h/wealth requires a constant battle with the ‘comfort’ of modern life.

When we were all walking around in loin clothes - being lazy was a literal death wish.

Now that we no longer have saber-tooth tigers chasing us* - it’s easy to eat poorly, skip workouts, or get distracted on social media - because the only repercussion of those actions is another dopamine hit.

To make h/wealth work - you need to become a two-marshmallow kid.

*I only read 20% of Sapiens so this might be historically inaccurate.

Are you a two marshmallow kid?

The two-marshmallow experiment, conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s, is a fascinating study that offers insights into human behaviour, particularly around the concept of delayed gratification. In the experiment, children were presented with a choice: eat one marshmallow immediately or wait fifteen minutes and receive two marshmallows instead.

The results were revealing. Children who managed to wait for the second marshmallow generally fared better in later life, exhibiting traits such as higher academic achievement, better stress management, and more effective problem-solving skills. This experiment underscores a crucial element of h/wealth: the ability to delay immediate gratification in favour of long-term benefits.

I learned pretty early on in life the benefits of delayed gratification from my dad. A notorious fitness freak, my dad taught me the benefits of working out from a young age. He would always talk about how much better you would feel once the workout was done. He was right - and to this day my biggest motivation for going to the gym is the dopamine rush I get once the workout is done.

I have also done this with work, particularly with tasks I dislike. Have to send a difficult email? Once I send it - I’ll get myself a fancy coffee across the street. Behind on bookkeeping? Once it’s done, I will go for lunch. By creating these ‘micro missions’ throughout my day, I am able to create self-motivation even for the most mundane, brain-dead tasks.

Another way to handle this is with James Clear’s concept of ‘Habit Stacking’.

Habit stacking

Similarly, I’ve used James Clear's concept of habit stacking from Atomic Habits. Here’s an example:

I enjoy watching a great TV series but struggle to find the time without feeling guilty. My solution? I’ve negotiated the following deal with myself - if I watch Netflix in the evening, I pair it with my mobility routine (stretching, foam rolling, etc.).

The pairing is perfect as I match something that I hate doing (mobility work) with the dopamine hit of watching Netflix. The result? I now look forward to my evening mobility routine.

By stacking habits and embracing delayed gratification, we align our daily actions with our broader h/wealth objectives—turning seemingly small choices into significant life enhancements.

Always making ‘perfect choices’ is impossible. Even making ‘great choices’ all the time is unsustainable. Instead, build systems where you effortlessly make ‘good decisions’ a majority of the time. Good choices compound, turning the ordinary into extraordinary.

Moving forward

After reading this, I hope you are motivated to affirm what matters to you in your life.

I struggled for a long time with how to juggle personal ambition with personal well-being. The recalibration of my life was determining that health and wealth do not have to exist in opposition.

As you reflect on what h/wealth means for you, I encourage you to think about the areas in your life where you can begin applying these principles. Maybe it's choosing to bike to work to integrate fitness into your daily routine - or maybe it’s ‘habit stacking’ a healthy habit you have procrastinated starting.

When it comes to h/wealth, no first step is too small.