Shows
Optimal AgencyMake Habits Fun: Stop Making Health So SeriousWhat we’re talking about: Strategies for balancing personal health, family responsibilities, and work obligations, focusing on developing sustainable habits and routines.
Why it matters: Pursuing agency requires finding ways to effectively manage our time, energy, and priorities to ensure we are taking care of our physical and mental well-being while fulfilling our commitments to others.
What actions to take:
🍲 Plan and prepare healthy meals in advance, making the process fun and engaging for the whole family.
🏃 Incorporate physical activity and mobility exercises into quality time with loved ones, turning them into enj...2024-04-1822 minOptimal AgencyAgency in Action: Building a Life with Zero CompromiseWhat we’re talking about: We discuss personal agency, self-improvement, and overall well-being with Dr. Sean Pastuch, founder of Active Life, a brand that combines education, exercise, and mentorship to empower a life of freedom without compromise.
Why it matters: Understanding and pursuing agency is crucial for living a life free from unnecessary compromises and limitations, enabling individuals to make choices aligned with their values, goals, and authentic selves.
What actions to take:
🧘♀️ Reflect on areas where you may be compromising your values, relationships, or well-being, and identify steps to align your actions with your d...2024-04-1157 minOptimal AgencyHealthier Weekends: Give Up Your Gains GrudginglyWhat we’re talking about: How to maintain healthy habits and a balanced lifestyle on the weekends, avoiding the tendency to overindulge after being strict during the week.
Why it matters: Maintaining consistent healthy habits and avoiding cycles of overindulgence is crucial for Agency, as it allows individuals to remain in control, build sustainable progress, and avoid self-sabotaging behaviors that undermine their values and goals.
What actions to take:
🏃♂️ Incorporate recreation and enjoyable physical activities into your weekly routine, rather than treating exercise solely as training or work.
2024-04-0426 minOptimal AgencyThe Organizing Principle: Choose More Time Over More MoneyWhat we’re talking about: The importance of choosing more time over more income as an organizing principle for achieving greater agency and life satisfaction.
Why it matters: Prioritizing time freedom over wealth accumulation allows individuals to diversify their identities, reduce stress, and align their actions with their values, enabling them to exercise greater control over their lives.
What actions to take:
🧘♂️ Accurately calculate your financial needs, including core income, discretionary spending, and savings for retirement, and find ways to earn only that amount, or slightly more, in less time than you currently work.
2024-03-2849 minOptimal AgencyLow Volatility Jobs: Overcoming Limitations & Finding OpportunitiesWhat we’re talking about: The financial challenges and opportunities faced by teachers, emphasizing the importance of leveraging free time and alternative sources of income to optimize wealth.
Why it matters: It highlights how understanding and leveraging the underlying benefits and sureties of your profession, like a pension or schedule flexibility, can enable you to take calculated risks and pursue financial growth and independence.
What actions to take:
🎓 Consider getting a cost-effective master's degree for a pay raise in the education field.
💼 Look into entrepreneurship in your free time, particularly during summer...2024-03-2123 minOptimal AgencyAgency in Action: Running a Successful Business from an AirstreamWhat we’re talking about: The journey of Jonathan and Blakely, founders of Digital Barbell, in pursuing agency and helping others overcome the victim mindset to take control of their health and fitness.
Why it matters: Mindset and taking ownership of one's health and well-being are key aspects of personal autonomy and empowerment.
What actions to take:
📅 Set clear timelines and deadlines for tasks to increase productivity and avoid procrastination.
📝 Keep track of progress and results to stay motivated and see the impact of consistent effort.
💰 Seek professional help and guidanc...2024-03-1456 minOptimal AgencyDoubling Your Net Worth: Concentration, Diversification, Liquidity, & PatienceWhat we’re talking about: The importance of diversification and liquidity in maintaining wealth, using the example of a Texan realtor couple aiming to double their net worth in five years.
Why it matters: Understanding the principles of diversification and liquidity is crucial in managing wealth and achieving financial stability, which, in turn, empowers you with the agency to live life on your own terms.
What actions to take:
🎯 Reassess your financial goals to ensure they are achievable and reasonable, taking into account the rule of 72.
💰 Diversify your investment portfolio to protect...2024-03-0727 minOptimal AgencyDon’t Acquire Things: Stealth Wealth vs. Conspicuous ConsumptionWhat we’re talking about: The importance of conscious spending, understanding the trap of the hedonic treadmill and the pitfalls of consumer debt, and strategies for avoiding unnecessary acquisitions to increase personal wealth and agency
Why it matters: Understanding and implementing these concepts is key to gaining financial freedom and enhancing personal agency, as it allows individuals to make conscious decisions about their spending habits, ultimately leading to increased savings and wealth.
What actions to take:
🛍️ Practice "stealth wealth" by living modestly and not showing off your wealth through conspicuous consumption.
🏦 Avoid debt...2024-02-2945 minOptimal AgencyPrioritizing Life: Strategies for Balancing Work, Family, and SelfWhat we're talking about: Practical strategies for managing time and balancing priorities in a busy life, focusing on two key frameworks: one is to articulate, communicate, and defend your priorities; the other is to turn intentions into plans and routines.
Why it matters: The ability to effectively manage time and establish clear priorities is crucial to achieving agency. It allows individuals to align their actions with their values, live their desired life, and reduce feelings of overwhelm or dissatisfaction.
What actions to take:
📝 Identify the 'minimum effective dose' for each of your responsibilities or...2024-02-2221 minOptimal AgencyCult of Done: The Value of Seeing Life as a DraftWhat we’re talking about: The “Cult of Done” manifesto and how its principles can be applied to the pursuit of personal agency, emphasizing the importance of action, viewing life as a series of drafts, and learning from failures.
Why it matters: Gaining personal agency is fundamentally about taking meaningful action and learning from the outcomes, a philosophy embodied in the “Cult of Done” manifesto.
What actions to take:
🎯 Recognize that taking the first step is crucial, even if you don't have all the information or a perfect plan.
✍️ Understand that everything is a d...2024-02-1543 minOptimal AgencyKids or No Kids: Exploring the Impact on Agency of Having ChildrenWhat we’re talking about: The complex question of whether or not to have children, focusing on how this decision can impact individuals' sense of agency, particularly in relation to aspects of health, wealth, and time.
Why it matters: This topic is essential in pursuing agency as it involves a life-changing decision that requires careful consideration of personal circumstances, societal constructs, and potential future regrets.
What actions to take:
👪 Consider having children under certain conditions: when you're married, financially stable, and when both parents are under 40.
💰 Understand that while raising children can be e...2024-02-0825 minOptimal AgencyThe 3 Pillars of Personal Freedom: Health, Wealth, & Time (Consistency Project Replay)What we’re talking about: The concept of 'Optimal Agency', emphasizing the importance of balancing health, wealth, and time, and how these three metrics contribute to our overall personal freedom and ability to impact the world.
Why it matters: Understanding and properly balancing health, wealth, and time is crucial in pursuing agency as they collectively enhance our capacity to achieve personal freedom and maximize our positive impact on the world.
What actions to take:
🏋️♀️ Exercise first thing in the morning as it serves as a keystone habit that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
💰 Set up au...2024-02-0130 minOptimal AgencyExercise First: The Power of Cascading HabitsWhat we’re talking about: The importance of prioritizing exercise, particularly doing it first thing in the morning, and how it is a keystone habit that sets off a cascade of beneficial behaviors throughout the day.
Why it matters: It emphasizes the essential role of physical health and wellness in enhancing cognitive ability, mood regulation, and overall performance in various areas of life.
What actions to take:
🏋️♀️ Prioritize exercise and make it the first activity of your day, either literally or philosophically.
📝 Have a well-defined exercise program ready before you start, ensuring it incl...2024-01-2534 minOptimal Agency3 Keys for a Successful Diet: Knowledge, Preparation, & Environmental ControlWhat we’re talking about: The importance of diet and nutrition, focusing on sustainable, health-focused, and imperfect guidelines, and how to manage these aspects amidst a busy lifestyle.
Why it matters: Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet directly impacts one's overall health, energy levels, and cognitive function, which in turn affects one's ability to act on the world with impact.
What actions to take:
🥦 Prioritize eating unprocessed and minimally processed foods for maximum health benefits.
🍳 Cook your own meals whenever possible for better environmental control.
🚫 Limit or avoid consumption of sugar an...2024-01-1822 minOptimal AgencyPermanent Wealth: The 4 Areas of Self-DevelopmentWhat we’re talking about: The importance of self-development as permanent wealth and the need to diversify and amplify skills in various areas of life.
Why it matters: Self-development is important in pursuing agency because it allows individuals to future-proof themselves, maintain their sense of identity, and have a wider range of skills to rely on in different situations.
What actions to take:
🔨 Diversify vocational skills by learning new skills that make money and applying them in real-world scenarios.
🎨 Build or make something outside of work for personal growth and to diversif...2024-01-1142 minOptimal AgencyHack the System: Creating Time to Earn More IncomeWhat we’re talking about: Strategies for a listener named Nicole, who is a music teacher struggling with finances and seeking ways to earn extra income while balancing her responsibilities.
Why it matters: Finding creative ways to generate income is important in pursuing agency because it enables individuals to have more control over their financial situation and create opportunities for personal and professional growth.
What actions to take:
💡 Create time by reducing job responsibilities or finding efficient ways to handle child care to allocate time for income-generating activities.
💰 Explore different models of incom...2024-01-0416 minOptimal AgencyVision, Capital, & People: Knowing the World is Clay (Replay)What we’re talking about: Living as though the world is clay, emphasizing the importance of having a clear vision, understanding the role of people and resources, and taking action to deliver value.
Why it matters: Recognizing the world is clay allows us to shape our lives according to our vision and goals, empowering us to take control of our actions and create meaningful impact.
What actions to take:
💡 Clearly define your vision for different areas of your life, including specific goals and desired outcomes.
🙌 Build a network of people who share yo...2023-12-2843 minOptimal AgencyMindful Communications: Responding Slowly, Carefully, & PurposefullyWhat we're talking about: The significance of responding slowly and thoughtfully to communications, avoiding hasty emotional reactions, and prioritizing progress to foster agency and retain control in professional relationships.
Why it matters: Responding slowly and carefully enables us to maintain control over our communications, avoid emotional triggers, and ensure our responses contribute to progress. Ultimately, this empowers us to make decisions in alignment with our priorities and goals.
What actions to take:
🚫 Don't respond to FYI's and CC's that don't require a specific response.
📬 Allow the deliverable to be your response instea...2023-12-2138 minOptimal AgencyTake Control of Your Work Environment: Exercising Agency for SuccessWhat we’re talking about: The importance of exercising agency in a work environment where priorities are unclear, distractions are constant, and control feels limited.
Why it matters: Exercising agency is crucial in pursuing autonomy and personal impact in a work environment, allowing individuals to prioritize tasks, establish boundaries, and maintain focus amidst distractions and competing priorities.
What actions to take:
🏃🏼♀️ Leave peripheral tasks and conversations that do not align with goals or skills.
🎯 Establish clear priorities and focus on one or two key tasks that move the needle.
🎧 Set aside uninterrupted...2023-12-1421 minOptimal AgencyPro Agency Mindset: Challenging the Consumerist MentalityWhat we’re talking about: The practice of avoiding unnecessary purchases by creating pause, asking questions, and prioritizing agency.
Why it matters: Because it allows us to take control of our choices, prioritize our health, wealth, and time, and avoid being influenced by external factors.
What actions to take:
🔍 Assess if a purchase is truly necessary or if you already own something that serves the same purpose.
🔄 Consider if you are replacing something that still has useful life before making a new purchase.
⏰ Pause before buying something new and ask yourse...2023-12-0741 minOptimal AgencyExploring Alternative Paths: Navigating Burnout and Finding Fulfillment at WorkWhat we’re talking about: We’re answering a listener question about finding alternative avenues to make a positive impact when work is leading to burnout.
Why it matters: Addressing burnout and exploring alternative career paths is essential in pursuing agency and personal freedom as it allows individuals to align their passions with a sustainable and fulfilling career, enabling them to make a positive impact on the world while prioritizing their own well-being.
What actions to take:
✅ Make a list of the precise reasons causing burnout and identify the negative freedoms that need to be...2023-11-3017 min
The Consistency Projecton a Balanced Life: Strategies for Cultivating Health, Wealth, and Time w/ Jon GilsonWe’re excited to bring you another episode where we delve into the concept of personal freedom and its relationship with health, wealth, and time. In this conversation with Jon Gilson, co-founder of Optimal Agency, we explore the three pillars of personal freedom and how they can be developed and balanced in our lives.
Expect to Learn:
✦ The key elements of personal freedom: health, wealth, and time
✦ The six fundamental rules of health and their impact on overall well-being
✦ Behaviors and habits that support personal growth and transformation
✦ Strategies for buildi...2023-11-2931 minOptimal AgencyThe Power of Compounding: The Key to Long-Term WealthWhat we’re talking about: The concept of compounding and its importance in wealth accumulation and financial independence.
Why it matters: Understanding and leveraging the power of compounding is crucial in pursuing agency because it allows individuals to grow their wealth over time and gain financial freedom.
What actions to take:
💰 Implement dollar-cost averaging to consistently invest a set amount of money over time.
📉 Ignore short-term market volatility and focus on the long-term trend of compounding.
🚫 Avoid making impulsive investment decisions based on attempts to predict the future, and instead, st...2023-11-2339 minOptimal AgencyRoadmap to Agency: Making Hard Choices for Quick TransformationWhat we’re talking about: Achieving Optimal Agency through making hard choices in various aspects of life, including health, wealth, and time.
Why it matters: We can take the slow road to Agency or the fast road. If we want the latter, having a clear roadmap is essential.
What actions to take:
✦ Focus on nurturing social connections and building strong relationships as they underpin overall health and well-being.
✦ Consider alternative housing arrangements, such as multi-generational living or house hacking, to save money and increase financial flexibility.
✦ Evaluate transportation choices and expl...2023-11-2050 minOptimal AgencySleep Better: Practical Strategies for More RestWhat we’re talking about: Health Rule #6, which states that we should sleep at least 7.5 hours every night.
Why it matters: Good sleep has a myriad of knock-on, positive effects on our physical and mental health. As such, it demands as much respect and attention as we give our nutrition, our relationships, and the gym.
What actions to take:
1. Admit that we are slightly worse people when we are sleep-deprived.
2. Recognize that what we do in the hours before sleep affects the quality and quantity of sleep we get.
3. Co...2023-11-0943 minOptimal AgencyOvercoming Burnout: Strategies for Reengaging with Your WorkWhat we’re talking about: The concept of burnout, its symptoms and causes, and how to overcome it by focusing on achieving impact in one's work.
Why it matters: Understanding and addressing burnout is crucial to personal freedom. It enables us to stay engaged, effective, and fulfilled at work, significantly contributing to our overall well-being and autonomy.
What actions to take:
1. Identify any limiting beliefs contributing to feelings of burnout and challenge them with practical solutions.
2. Understand the financial and business model of your job to ensure you're keeping the full pi...2023-11-0243 minOptimal AgencyThe 6 Rules of HealthWhat we’re talking about: This week, we’re giving you an overview of all 6 of our Rules of Health.
Why it matters: Health is an integral and non-negotiable ingredient in building a life of increased Agency and Impact.
Key actions to take: Download the free O.A. Whitepapers to read all the Rules, Behaviors, & Meta-Rules of Agency.
✦ Get your HWT Score
✦ Get our weekly email
✦ Follow us on Instagram
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedo...2023-10-2613 minOptimal AgencyEliminating Distractions, Getting Better Rest, Family Friction, & MoreWe’re talking about the importance of setting boundaries and eliminating interruptions to maximize productivity and time freedom. We discuss the need to prioritize personal well-being, decompression, and creative pursuits, rather than simply filling time with more work.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
✦ Ge...2023-10-1949 minOptimal AgencyConsuming a Low Information Diet, Choosing Downsides Carefully, Linchpin Rules, & MoreWe’re discussing the concept of a low, low-quality information diet, emphasizing the need to focus on high-quality, actionable information while filtering out low-quality, distracting noise. We’re also answering a listener question about transitioning out of corporate work, and Patrick talks about the Rules he’s working on these days.
About the Show
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any...2023-10-1251 minOptimal AgencyHow to Join the Investor Class, Coast FIRE, The Importance of Curiosity, & MoreThis week, we're talking about Wealth Rule #5 (Purchase passive income and appreciating assets with your savings), breaking down the specific strategies and accounts you need to make it happen.
Some specific advice we're giving:
· Allocate dedicated time for exploring personal interests and curiosity.
· Automate contributions to savings and investment accounts.
· Set dividends to reinvest for long-term growth.
· Build emergency savings in a high-yield savings account.
· Contribute to retirement accounts and aim for financial freedom at an earlier age.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims t...2023-10-0542 minOptimal AgencyThe Value of College, Recognizing the Two Yous, The Laziness Tax, & MoreThis week, we're giving advice to 20-year-olds who want to achieve health, wealth, and time freedom. We emphasize the importance of recognizing both present and future selves, making good decisions that benefit future well-being, and acquiring hard and soft skills to maximize earnings.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show to avoid missing any new episodes.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time...2023-09-2845 minOptimal AgencyEliminating Screen Time, Finding Flow, The Value of Your Attention, & MoreWe’re exploring the negative impact of spending too much time in front of screens this week, offering strategies for achieving a state of flow in tasks, emphasizing the significance of intrinsic motivation, defining success in one's role, minimizing distractions, and using visual timers.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you can impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show to avoid missing any new episodes.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
2023-09-2138 minOptimal AgencyKnowing the World is Clay, Balancing HWT, Asking For What You Want, & MoreWe’re discussing the importance of having a clear vision and aligning it with health, wealth, and time to achieve the life you want. We’re also talking about the significance of capital and people in achieving success and the importance of asking for what you want.
Expect to learn:
• The value of having a clear vision and how to bounce it off health, wealth, and time
• The importance of recognizing the role of people in achieving success and how to overcome barriers to collaboration
• How to deliver value first and ask for wh...2023-09-1442 minOptimal AgencyVolunteering with Caution, Having Clarity of Purpose, Picking The Right Projects, & MoreWe are discussing the concept of volunteerism and how to approach it intentionally, talking about why it’s important to understand our purpose and only say “yes” to opportunities that align with it.
Here are the four strategies we discuss to consider when figuring out how to volunteer smarter:
· Beware of projects that aren’t yours
· Remember that time is zero-sum
· Maintain clarity of purpose
· Say no to good opportunities
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you can impact the w...2023-09-0740 minOptimal Agency6 Ways to Live Your Values, Finding Serenity, Limiting the Universe, & MoreIn pursuit of closing the gap between our aspirational and our practiced values, we’re talking about reducing starting friction, building a rule-based identity, discarding false values, and more.
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ABOUT THE SHOW
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Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
✦ Get your HWT Score
✦...2023-08-3133 minOptimal AgencyThe 4 Strategies to Pay Fewer Taxes, Joining the Investor Class, the Value of Professional Advice, & MoreThis week, we're talking about (wait for it) taxes. Specifically, we're breaking down Wealth Rule #4: Pay as Few Taxes as possible. Topics include strategies for paying less, who the tax code is designed to benefit, entrepreneurship, and why hiring a tax professional is almost always worth the money.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you can impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show to avoid missing any new episodes.
✦ Read the Ru...2023-08-2434 minOptimal AgencyTurn HWT into Your 3 Big PrioritiesWhat do you do when everything feels important? That’s the question this week as we pull from a conversation that Jon and Patrick had recently on the Chasing Excellence podcast.
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ABOUT THE SHOW
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Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
✦ Get your HWT Scor...2023-08-1721 minOptimal AgencyHealth Rule: Prioritize Friendship & ConnectionThe link between overall health and strong relationships is well-known, but it remains a challenge for many to prioritize friendships. We’re talking about why that is and what we can do about it this week.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why friendship and connection are at odds with productivity
📍 How the pursuit of agency and autonomy can go too far
📍 The stats around loneliness and social isolation
📍 Why friendships get deprioritized
📍 The 4 barriers that are standing in the way of friendship
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ABOUT THE SHOW
2023-08-1034 minOptimal AgencyPlay Offense & DefenseWe have 18 Rules across Health, Wealth, and Time. This week, we’re doing a speed round through each one with an eye toward whether we should consider them offense or defense in this game of Agency we’re playing.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why we include Health as a key ingredient of Agency
📍 Why spending less is more fun to think of as offense than defense
📍 How compounding transcends the game of Agency itself
📍 How to become unstoppable
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ABOUT THE SHOW
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...2023-08-0324 minOptimal AgencyTime Rule: Preserve Unstructured TimeReturning to our Rules of Time this week, we’re discussing the importance of keeping slack in our calendars. We’re talking about where our fears and resistance to “free time” comes from, how to start creating it, and much more.
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EXPECT TO LEARN
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📍 What unstructured time is, and why we need it
📍 Why we devalue unstructured time in modern society
📍 How to practically increase the time you have to leave unstructured
📍 Why you want to find 10% of your structured time to make unstructured
📍 The importance of th...2023-07-2723 minOptimal AgencyUse Parkinson’s Law to Your AdvantageParkinson’s Law states that work will expand to the time and space it’s given. This week we’re looking at how we can use Parkinson’s Law to our advantage and talking about the 80/20 Rule, why voluntary deprivation isn’t a bad thing, and much more.
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EXPECT TO LEARN
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📍 Why you understand Parkinson’s Law if you’ve ever been to a buffet
📍 Why setting aside time to make a plan is a wildly efficient strategy
📍 What discipline is and why it’s an essential ingredient in owning our tim...2023-07-2025 minOptimal AgencyWealth Rule: Spend much less than you makeWe’re talking about another one of our Wealth Rules this week, discussing savings rates, how to stack rank where to try to spend less, how savings is related to your serenity, and more.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why our goal should be to save…a lot
📍 How to determine your “savings rate,” and why you should
📍 The difference between making money with time and with money
📍 How your savings can become your serenitity
📍 Why saving much less than you make is not anti-YOLO
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ABOU...2023-07-1332 minOptimal AgencyUse the HWT Rules as a FilterWe recently joined Jonathan Fletcher of Digital Barbell for a wide-ranging conversation about the Rules and Behaviors of Time, as well as why we started Optimal Agency, how to know what the “most important” element of Agency is, and much more.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why “no” can often be the beginning of the conversation, not the end
📍 The value of letting thoughts, ideas, & fears “bubble up”
📍 How the ability to stay focused and set boundaries is a superpower
📍 Why HWT is really about taking ultimate responsibility
📍 What...2023-07-0653 minOptimal AgencyUse Money to Buy HappinessIt’s not that money can’t buy happiness, it’s that we don’t know HOW to use money to buy happiness. That’s the argument the authors of “If Money Doesn't Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right” argue.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 The 8 principles of using money to buy happiness
📍 What “hedonic adaptation” is and why it’s a useful concept to understand
📍 Why people who have won the lottery aren’t often happy a few years later
📍 How anticipation can make purchases make us even happie...2023-06-2927 minOptimal AgencyHealth Rule: Do not drink alcohol or eat sugarThe only two foods that our Rules push back against are alcohol and sugar. We talk about why that is in this episode, touching on the similarities between the two substances, the cost of both across our Health, Wealth, and Time, and they’re hard to say no to - but only to a point.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why this Rule is particularly personal to Jon
📍 The similarities between both processed sugar and alcohol
📍 The difference between actual moderation and socially acceptable moderation
📍 The physiological damage of both pro...2023-06-2236 minOptimal AgencyEverything is Perfect & You Need NothingDo you need a new car, or do you want freedom? Do you need more money, or do you want security? So often, we don’t do the hard work of recognizing the abundance we have, living with gratitude, and examining why we want the things we want - often times to the detriment of our Agency.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why you probably don’t want a new sports car because you need a new sports car
📍 What “mimetic desire” is and how it plays a role in what we want
📍...2023-06-1524 minOptimal AgencyTime Rule: Limit recurring commitmentsWe know what it’s like to have a calendar filled with recurring meetings. But even outside the office, our Agency can be limited by time given away to things that don’t line up with our priorities. We’re talking this week about some of the ways to fight back against recurring commitments.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 The questions to ask to begin limiting recurring commitments at work and out
📍 What consensus is and why we think we need more of it than we do
📍 How to earn the right to...2023-06-0833 minOptimal AgencyWealth Rule: Make as much as you're ableWe’re talking about the second Rule of Wealth this week, breaking down the primary strategies for how you can begin making more money soon (and some of the ways to avoid trying). We’re also talking about skills, networking, and work diversification.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 How the Rules of Wealth act like a powerful flywheel
📍 Why this Rule doesn’t say: “Work as much as you’re able”
📍 The #1 way to increase how much money you’re currently making
📍 What diversification and portfolio thinking look like in the job market2023-06-0125 minOptimal AgencyAim For Optimal, Not MaximalWhy isn’t this project called “Maximum Agency”? That’s the question this week, and to answer we’re talking about defining “enough”, why aiming for “maximal” gets us into trouble, and much more.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why we called this project what we do
📍 The difference between “maximal” and “optimal” agency
📍 Why defining “enough” is a worthwhile exercise
📍 The detriment of aiming for “maximal” across our HWT
📍 Why achieving optimal agency isn’t the finish line, but the starting line
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ABOUT THE SHOW:
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Optimal A...2023-05-2529 minOptimal AgencyHealth Rule: Eat unprocessed foods and cook your own mealsEating unprocessed foods and cooking our own meals is a powerful, simple way to ensure we are getting the nutrients we need, all while avoiding the problems that cheap and convenient foods often create.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 What unprocessed foods are and why we care about them
📍 What the “filter of complication” is
📍 Whether you should follow this rule completely and all the time
📍 Why the rule could be: You can eat anything, as long as you make it
📍 Why we want to aim for convenient and u...2023-05-1826 minOptimal AgencyConfront the Dragon But Don’t Accept the DragonIn order to make things better, we’ve got to first be willing to see things as they are. That’s what confronting the dragon is all about - whether we’re talking about our health, wealth, or free time.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 Why it’s always better to know than not know
📍 Why shame is such a dangerous feeling (and how to get beyond it)
📍 The counterintuitive strategy to avoid hitting walls
📍 How to acknowledge reality without accepting it
📍 That emotions are always information, but not...2023-05-1125 minOptimal AgencyTime Rule: Default to “no”We’re continuing our exploration of the Rules this week, diving into the first rule of Time: defaulting to “no.” We talk about why it’s so easy to default to “yes,” how you can use HWT as a filter for making better decisions, and much more.
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EXPECT TO LEARN:
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📍 How to think about time in debts and credits
📍 The proxy questions you can ask in pursuit of agency
📍 Why it’s important to recognize, first, that we are always making choices
📍 What equivocation in making a decision should tell...2023-05-0434 min
Digital Barbell Podcast235 - Optimal Agency - Increase Your Health, Wealth, & Time To Build The Life You WantIf you want the freedom to impact the world, pursue the work that you love, and spend your time on your own terms, you need agency over your life. In today's episode, Patrick Cummings and Jon Gilson talk about their new project Optimal Agency. They have a formula to help you systematically increase your health, wealth, and time so you can start living the life you imagine for yourself.
Optimal Agency: https://www.optimalagency.co/
https://www.instagram.com/optimal.agency/
Episode 152 with Patrick: https://podcasts.apple.com...2023-05-041h 03Optimal AgencyHWT Score Breakdown 001Patrick gets into the hot seat this week to discuss his HWT Score, which is a diagnostic tool we’ve created to help you assess where you’re at with your Health, Wealth, and Time-Freedom. We invite you to get your own score here.
EXPECT TO LEARN:
📍 What the HWT Score is and why we made it
📍 The element of HWT that we’ve found most are struggling with
📍 Why we want to be careful to compare HWT scores with others
📍 Why it’s so important to stare at reality, eve...2023-04-2745 min
Financial Playbooks for Millennial Business Owners & Professionals: Formerly Dollars and Dumbbells#81 - The 6 Rules of Wealth w/ Patrick Cummings & Jon GilsonPatrick Cummings and Jon Gilson, the founders of Optimal Agency, discuss the intersection of wealth, health, and time.
They assert that agency is all about personal autonomy, and optimal agency empowers individuals to take control of their lives in these three domains.
The duo outlines six essential rules for building wealth, which include separating time from income, maximizing earnings, living below your means, investing in passive income and appreciating assets, leveraging compounding interest, and having a sound asset allocation strategy.
Additionally, they introduce the HWT score, a free questionnaire that evaluates an individual's...2023-04-2655 minOptimal AgencyWealth Rule: Separate time from incomeThis Wealth Rule is our North Star, so we’re talking about what it means to separate your time from your income, why it matters so much, and how to get started regardless of where you are today.
EXPECT TO LEARN:
📍 Why we shouldn’t expect to make passive money by hustling harder
📍 The beauty of compounding over a long enough time horizon
📍 What the lowest hanging fruit is as it relates to this Rule
📍 How Agency is the result of doggedness, full stop
📍 Why understanding how yo...2023-04-2034 minOptimal AgencyThink About What You’ll Leave BehindWe don’t think enough about what happens when we die, but we should. This week, Jon and Patrick talk about what remembering that does for how we spend our time, build our wealth, and life our lives.
EXPECT TO LEARN:
📍 What Swedish Death Cleaning is and why we should take it seriously
📍 One of the best ways to minimize your needs and maximize your wealth
📍 Some questions to ask yourself before you make a purchase
📍 Why buying fewer things is a radical environmental act
📍 The difference...2023-04-1320 min
Chasing ExcellenceThe Three Key Priorities, w/ Jon GilsonHow do you set priorities when so many things feel important? That’s our question; we’ve got our friend Jon Gilson here to help answer it. Also, your questions about Zone 2 training, doing work we don’t hate, and outgrowing friends. Learn more about Optimal Agency here. Thanks to our sponsors this week: LMNT | Caldera+Lab | UCAN EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 What Zone 2 training is and whether CrossFitters need to prioritize it 📍 What to think about when balancing financial security and interesting work 📍 Why it’s important to consider your frie...2023-04-111h 13Optimal AgencyHealth Rule: Build cardiovascular capacity & muscular strengthWe’re talking through our first rule of Health this week, explaining what cardiovascular capacity and muscle strength are, why they're both important, what they look like to follow, and how they relate to the pursuit of Agency.
EXPECT TO LEARN:
📍 Why Health is such an integral element of Agency
📍 How CrossFit plays role in pursuing this particular Rule
📍 The importance of Zone 2 and Zone 5 training
📍 What training toward these ends looks like in practice
📍 Why the goal isn’t to get good at what we’re doing in the...2023-04-0633 minOptimal AgencyKeep the Main Thing the Main ThingWe’re talking about why it’s important to know what we’re aiming at, the ways we work against ourselves in pursuit of our goals, and the importance of understanding the difference between internal and external benchmarks.
EXPECT TO LEARN:
📍 Why we’re programmed very badly as a species
📍 The one big thing to measure as it relates to our agency
📍 Why it’s easy to trick ourselves out of our own goals
📍 How to be motivated by opportunity, not FOMO
📍 Why we need to discover where we’re going through move...2023-03-3028 min
Optimal AgencyWelcome to the Optimal Agency PodcastIn our first episode, we’re unpacking some of the big concepts we’ll explore and work on throughout this project. We talk about the rules that guide our pursuit of freedom as well as the ultimate goal of that pursuit.
EXPECT TO LEARN:
📍 The difference between an optimization and a maximization problem
📍 Why we don’t want to sacrifice our health, wealth, or time for anything
📍 Why we don’t want to prematurely optimize for impact
📍 The equation at the heart of Optimal Agency
📍 Why we offer rules and not suggestions ...2023-03-1412 min
Open GymAre you designing to optimize for consistency?Jon Gilson is an entrepreneur & CrossFit L4 trainer. He said something to me recently that felt true & worth exploring, that the job of the affiliate is to get their members to come back tomorrow. Here's what he meant.Big thanks to the sponsor of today's episode, Wodify, the all-in-one software platform for CrossFit gyms.Find the show on IG.About Open GymOpen Gym amplifies the voices, experiences, & insights of some of the brightest minds in the gym business. New conversations every Tuesday morning.About PatrickOpen Gym is produced & hosted...2019-12-3100 min