Happy Wednesday!

I thought I'd write a bit different email today. Earlier this month, I turned 41, and I decided to reflect on lessons I've learned along the way.

These are my lessons for flourishing. They might not all apply to you. But in general, I'm confident these are true, and I hope they will be helpful.

See if you can find a surprising perspective or one you don't understand very well. Then dig into how you can grow in that area. I'll be writing about these lessons more over time.

Life Lessons

1. Learn to ask powerful questions.
2. Prioritize reading.
3. Start a habit as small as possible and track it.
4. My fundamentals of movement are push, pull, hinge, squat, swing, rotate, crawl, loaded carry, run, hold.
5. Confession and consistency are essential to trust.
6. Vulnerability is part of flourishing, not weakness.
7. Re-read the best of what you've already read.
8. Spend time in quiet reflection daily, going on walks, appreciating beauty.
9. Your character always catches up.
10. Regularly go on adventures where you can experience uncertainty and fear.
11. Awareness of feelings requires courage.
12. The body is more capable than you think.
13. Learning to rest is an essential rhythm to creativity and productivity.
14. Give yourself permission to start and not finish books.
15. Eat meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, minimizing sugar and processed foods.
16. Spend time every day at the bottom of the squat or hanging from a bar or rings.
17. Think in experiments.
18. The more constraints, the more mastery.
19. Whenever possible, jump in lakes, rivers, and oceans.
20. You learn more when you listen than when you talk. Ask more questions.
21. Pray daily for who you can serve.
22. Life is short, then you die.
23. Focus on the fundamental daily practices that will lead you to who you want to become.
24. Cryptocurrency will change the world more than you can imagine.
25. Simple is best.
26. Prioritize a home gym. A 35lb, 53lb, and 72lb kettlebell and gymnastic rings form a powerful minimal home gym.
27. Succeed with simple before adding complexity.
28. Think in systems.
29. Invest your time, money, and skills in what grows exponentially.
30. Money, sex, and power have destroyed more than I can count. Fiercely guard yourself against this happening to you.
31. Dance and sing, give long hugs, be the first to say hello.
32. Commit to love your community, learn from people with different perspectives and experiences than your own.
33. Forgiveness is more powerful than thinking you are right.
34. Debt is like sugar, generally to be avoided, but can be used intentionally in some circumstances.
35. Worship God, follow the way of Jesus.
36. Prioritize creating above consuming.
37. Give generously.
38. Teach what you know.
39. Create leverage wherever you can. Automate processes and products. Delegate early. Get your money to work for you.
40. Your influence develops by the skills you learn in thinking and doing, the people you empower, and your effort in deep work.
41. The quality of your relationships grows according to your ability to navigate conflict.

Endnote

I plan to continue to grow this list. I went through four different revisions to get to these 41 lessons. I could easily add 50 more. I'm considering making a list of lessons on different categories to drill down into them more. For now, I'm thinking it'd be fun to create lessons I've learned about movement, self-care, relationships, thinking, and questions.

Let me know if you'd be interested in lists on any of those topics or if you want me to write about any of these particular lessons in more detail. I'd love to hear from you and want to make this as useful as I can.

Live wisely,

Josh