Today I turn 55. I’m the fittest, sharpest, and happiest I’ve ever been. If I’m an outlier, it’s not because I’m built different or discovered a secret formula. The truth is far less glamorous: It’s a million tiny choices, compounded over decades. Here are 55 of them: 1. Walk 15 miles a week, even if you do other exercise. Humans are uniquely made to move slowly over long distances—it’s critical to longevity. 2. Develop a writing practice. It’s the single best way to sharpen your mind. And remember, you don’t have to be a good writer to write. Start with 10 minutes a day. 3. Swap out your toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, soap, shampoo, and other personal care products for natural versions. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t put anything on your skin that you couldn’t safely eat. 4. If you have a positive thought about someone, don’t keep it to yourself—share it immediately. Encouragement defies the laws of physics: When you give energy, you also receive it. 5. Wear shoes with a wide forefoot (I like Topo Athletic) and wear toe spreaders around the house (search “yoga toes” on Amazon). Spine health begins with the feet. 6. Get sunlight regularly. Moderate sun exposure (without sunscreen) is hugely important for overall health. 7. Do a 3-minute deep (“ass to grass”) squat every morning. Deep squats are often called the anti-aging exercise. It’s been said that, “It’s not that you can’t do deep squats because you’re old, it’s that you’re old because you can’t do deep squats.” 8. Explore minimalism (it’s not what you think it is). 9. Set boundaries on toxic relationships. We tend to cling to relationships past their expiration date, and it takes a bigger toll on our health than we recognize. 10. Eat real food. Not too much. Don’t eat garbage. Binge occasionally. Fast occasionally. That’s the diet. 11. Learn about FIRE. It’s a great framework for financial success. 12. Don’t take antibiotics except in emergency situations. They’re massively over-prescribed and aren’t needed in most cases. Antibiotics have done untold damage to our guts, which is where health begins. Great natural alternatives are out there. 13. Get 8 hours of quality sleep each night. To optimize sleep: —Don’t eat after 6pm —Get blackout shades and cover LEDs with black tape —No screens 2 hours before bed —Try ashwagandha (an herb) to calm the nervous system 14. Stop drinking, even in moderation. People find all sorts of ways to justify drinking, but there’s no escaping the simple fact that alcohol is a toxin and it limits your potential. 15. Travel as much as possible. Nothing expands the mind like seeing the world. And travel doesn’t have to be expensive—the best experiences happen outside of fancy resorts, when you live like a local. 16. Let go of resentment. When you forgive someone, you release the prisoner, and the prisoner isn’t them… it’s you. 17. Show up on time, every time. Poor time management limits success more than most people realize. If you struggle with punctuality, stop everything else and fix that first. 18. Spend lots of time in nature and touch the earth. Humans evolved over 300k years to live in harmony with nature, and only recently have we retreated indoors. If you don’t spend time outside, you’re fighting biology (hint: You won’t win.) 19. Stop doing dumb things. As Leo Tolstoy said, “People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing—refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.” 20. Find your happy place and (eventually) move there. Most people live where they live because... that's where they live. We are products of our environment—choose yours carefully. 21. Find a hobby and pursue mastery. You can’t have a happy life without a passionate pursuit that isn’t your vocation. Your work—even if you enjoy it—isn’t enough. 22. Avoid mainstream medicine except as a last resort. The results are in—our healthcare (or more appropriately, sick care) system is badly broken and only makes people sicker. 23. Have a mindset of abundance. There is no advantage to being a pessimist—even if you’re right, it’s a miserable way to live. In a very real way… whatever you believe, you’re right! 24. Do hard things. Choose courage over comfort. Everything you want is on the other side of fear and hard work. As Jerzy Gregorik said, “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” 25. Ignore haters. Hurt people hurt people. Negative/toxic people live in a prison of their own design. Don’t join them! 26. Say no. Protect your time and energy like it’s your most precious asset… because it is. 27. Become a water snob. As an alien said on Star Trek, humans are “ugly bags of mostly water.” You are what you drink—literally! We have Mountain Valley Spring water delivered in glass 5-gallon jugs and also have whole-house water filter (Aquasana Rhino). 28. Stop drinking sodas and sugary energy drinks. After a few weeks you won’t miss them, and a few months later they’ll seem disgusting. Refined sugar causes inflammation, which is the root of most disease. 29. If you’re over 35, find a good functional/longevity medicine doctor and start tracking your hormones. Modern life is hell on the endocrine system and restoring healthy hormone levels can change your life. As we get older, we either accept a slow decline in performance or we do something about it—choose the latter! 30. Develop a morning routine and follow it faithfully. Win the morning, win the day! 31. Invest in experiences, not things. People frequently regret buying things, but rarely regret investing in great experiences (especially when shared with loved ones). Remember, there’s nothing you can buy in a mall that you’ll remember in ten years. 32. Explore spirituality. It’s arrogant and small-minded to believe there’s nothing going on in our universe that is beyond our comprehension. We know less about our universe than an ant meandering on a sidewalk understands about this planet. 33. Have a strong bias toward action—doing rather than talking. If you ask a bunch of old people about their regrets, they’ll talk about the things they *didn't* do—the shots they didn’t take—more than the things they did do (even if it went wrong). As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Most people don’t take enough shots. 34. Stay lean. Men in particular are obsessed with muscle mass these days, but bulk doesn’t age well. The goal is to be strong but lean. The fittest guys in their 50s and beyond aren’t meatheads, they’re lean guys who are serious about a sport. 35. Curate your inner circle carefully. Surround yourself with people you admire and who challenge you to grow. Remember, we’re the average of our 5 closest relationships. 36. Be the fittest version of yourself. Your body is your only vessel for experiencing life—so treat it as such. Fitness isn’t working out a few times a week, it’s a lifestyle. The older you get, the more time you need to devote to your health. 37. Take the time to appreciate art and beauty in all its forms. 38. Think globally, but act locally. Too many people put their energy into far-away problems they don’t understand and can’t impact, while ignoring problems right under their nose. Want to change the world? Start at home. 39. Try psychedelics. It’s one of those things everyone should do at least once, and it might be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. 40. Limit bad habits, including unhealthy thought patterns. We all have them—practice avoidance and find substitutes. Get professional help if needed. 41. Be a lifelong learner. Your brain is just like a muscle—if you don’t feed and flex it regularly, it will atrophy. 42. Find your purpose. People with a strong sense of purpose are happier and live longer. Lack of purpose sucks energy and magnifies depression. 43. Only take advice from people who embody the traits you want to have. Talk is cheap—emulate those who have DONE it. 44. The goal is not to retire and do nothing, it’s to build a great day-to-day life that you don’t need to escape. A life of leisure is a slow death. Happiness isn’t possible without a little struggle, uncertainty, and skin in the game. 45. Have fun! Do frivolous and silly things that make you smile. As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 46. Whatever you want to do or achieve in life, start NOW. Don’t fall victim to “someday thinking” because someday never comes. 47. Accumulate assets—things that grow in value over time. It’s the #1 habit of rich people, and it can be done in tiny chunks. Instead of spending $100 on an impulse purchase that has no lasting value, put that money into an index fund or Bitcoin. It becomes addictive (in a good way). 48. Don’t ignore the big 3 canaries in the coal mine for health: —Low libido (and ED) —Frequent sinus & respiratory issues —Depression These usually aren’t medical conditions in themselves, they’re symptoms of an underlying problem. Find a good doc (outside of the mainstream) and figure out the root cause. 49. Have a clear vision for your future. How can you decide which direction to go if you haven’t clearly defined the destination? It sounds obvious, but 95% of people haven’t defined their “Ideal End State” in detail and in writing. (Check out my thread on this topic.) 50. Make your own decisions. We live in an era where most of what society tells us is wrong. Don’t be afraid to break from societal norms—if people say you’re crazy, it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. 51. Get hardcore about mobility exercise. As you age, it’s usually the knees, hips, and lower back that limit physical performance. 30 min a couple times a week can spare you a lifetime of pain. YouTube is a great resource. 52. Go all in on family. Get married, stay married, have kids. Burn the boats. In the end, family is all that matters. 53. Be ruthless with your time. Money comes and goes. Time only goes. Audit your calendar ruthlessly—cut the trivial, double down on the meaningful, and spend your hours like your life depends on it. (Because it does.) 54. Have a strong bias toward action. Be curious, try things, meet people—it’s how you increase your surface area for serendipity, the most powerful unseen force in our lives. 55. Reinvent yourself every decade. Over time, we slowly drift off course from our priorities, values, and true identity. Take stock and don’t be afraid to hit the reset button. Bold, calculated moves made for the right reasons almost always pay off—usually even more than you can imagine. 🎁 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, would you give me a birthday gift? Repost or comment with the item number(s) you liked best?

Brilliant!

Shocked that she only has 0.1% equity. She joined SpaceX in 2002. I would have expected at least mid single digits, even after dilution.

There’s an iconic line from the movie Up In The Air: “How much did they pay you to give up on your dreams? And when were you going to stop and do what makes you happy?” Look, we all have bills to pay. We do what we have to do to make ends meet and put food on the table. Providing is something to be proud of, but… Don’t sacrifice your dreams along the way. Don’t wake up at 50 (or 60) and realize you’re no closer to your best life than when you started. 👉 Treat your job as a means, not an end. Slowly—over years and decades—gain more control. Become the person you are on vacation. That’s the real you. Now you’ve got a life you don’t need to escape. (P.S. I’m not talking about living a life of leisure. Humans need work and skin in the game. The goal isn’t to retire—it’s to choose your work and do it on your terms. That’s as good as it gets.)

Such a great point. Elon has raised the ceiling for what is possible (and how fast). By a lot. Elon’s “algorithm” may prove to be his greatest contribution to humanity.

This extraordinary wealth isn’t gold coins hoarded in a secret vault. It’s: —Millions of high-paying jobs that put food on tables and drive the economy. —Trillions of dollars in value for tens of millions of individual investors. —Inspiration for tens of thousands of future entrepreneurs. —Continued economic and technological leadership for our country. These men are American heroes. You don’t have to agree with their politics to acknowledge that. We need more men (and women) like this, not less.

My friend’s son graduated from college 10 months ago and took a job with SpaceX. Today he became a millionaire. 🚀 Attach yourself to a rocketship (in this case, literally). Read this post 👇

June 11, 2018. Day 1. Eight years ago today, we moved to Colorado to reboot our lives. We look happy… but behind the smiles was a lot of pain and uncertainty: —Our marriage was struggling —I was the most disillusioned I’ve ever been —The kids didn’t ask to have their lives disrupted —I had walked away from an 8-figure sum of money I had no real plan for the future. What I did know was that I needed something different. I had a strong hunch that being in my happy place would give us a fresh start. My wife was skeptical, but willing to take a leap of faith. (The trust was earned—I hadn’t steered the family wrong in 20 years of marriage.) On paper, this move made no sense. I had checked all the boxes that define success in modern society. From the outside, we were living the dream. But it wasn’t my version of success. I vividly remember sitting in my executive office in Dallas, looking out the window, and thinking, “What the F am I doing here?” Hard things are hard. There’s never a good time to make bold moves. Especially when you have millions of reasons to maintain the status quo. That’s why most people never do it. Fast forward eight years… Our reboot was far from easy, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I have the best life of anyone I know (despite being a lot less rich than I could have been). I’ve literally spent 1,000 days outside instead of in an office. That adds up to massive wealth in experiences. My wife feels the same way. She has hiked 47 of Colorado’s 58 fourteeners and is glad we made the move. Our marriage is in the best place it’s ever been. We recently became empty nesters and are having fun planning another mini-reboot to take advantage of our newfound freedom. Our kids have thrived. The adventures I dreamed about as a kid are normal days for them. More importantly, they’ve watched Mom and Dad live the family motto: "Dahlstroms invest in experiences." Life is never perfect, but I finally built the one that I (the real me) wanted. So here’s my message to you: You can do the same. But only if you muster the courage to make bold, scary moves. There will never be a good time to do it. And there are no guarantees it will work out. But one thing’s for sure: You’ll never discover what could be if you don’t try. 🤙 P.S. My hope is that this story inspires at least one person to make their move. If you enjoyed this post, would you give it a like and repost and let me know in the comments?

This post hit a nerve. I went for a hike and came back to an avalanche of DMs. Lots of you are thinking about rebooting! I will respond to all, but this 40-minute video will answer most of your questions ⬇️

I'm supposed to be here—at a crag overlooking Monaco. Instead, I'm at home recovering from major arm surgery. My buddy enjoys torturing me with pics—it's how guys show love. Counting the days...

I make about 20% of what I made in the corporate world, but my life is 1,000% better. There’s nothing better than controlling your time and choosing what you work on, when, and how. The goal isn’t to retire—humans need work and skin in the game. The goal is to build a life you don’t need to escape. That doesn’t happen by accident. To be clear, being poor sucks. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably not poor—you just *feel* poor because you’re on the hamster wheel. 👉 It’s never enough until you say enough. P.S. If you’re looking for inspiration, read @p_millerd’s book, The Pathless Path.

Check out this episode if you’re interested in my back story (why I rebooted my life) ⬇️

Athlete's body
Engineer's mind
Artist's soul Wealth isn't a number in a bank account. It's a state of being. It’s a lesson I learned the hard way: The thing you're chasing isn't out there. It's in here. 🫵

A cool new project from my friend JP. The world needs better men. ⬇️

Are you ready for a life-changing adventure? Two spots opened up for Basecamp:Nepal, my epic small group trek through the Khumbu region. The trip is guided by my friend, Pemba Sherpa, who grew up in the region and will take us off the beaten path to the sacred Lumding Valley. We're also giving back by funding the reconstruction of a footpath damaged by floods. You'll walk the path that we helped to rebuild. A detailed itinerary and pricing is on the website at: Basecamp2026.com If you have any questions, just DM me.

“You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.” —Joni Mitchell It’s a great litmus test: Remove something from your life for 30 days. If it’s important, you’ll miss it. You can just add it back. But you might find that you don't need it. 🔽

🔘 The Reset Button (This post has an important point—and it’s not about diet.) I rarely weigh myself, but two days ago I tipped the scales at 205. That’s 10 pounds too heavy—the result of 5 weeks with no climbing (due to surgery) plus too much of my wife’s homemade ice cream. I sounded the alarm—as I write these words, I'm 36 hours into a fast. Each time I fast, I’m reminded how much of my eating is driven by routine and boredom, not actual hunger or nutritional need. My friend Brynn adheres to an ultra-strict diet due to chronic gut issues. She makes zero exceptions, ever. One time I asked her: Aren’t you hungry all the time? I'll never forget her response: “I was at first. Then I realized that being a little hungry is OK. Now I barely think about it, and I feel ten times better.” Being a little hungry is OK. 🔘 In all areas of life, it’s good to hit The Reset Button occasionally. Years ago, I interviewed the well-known climber Will Gadd. He had just sold his house and moved into a van to chase good weather across North America. I asked Will how the transition was going. He gave a similar answer to Brynn’s: “It was uncomfortable for the first three weeks. But when everything you own has to fit into a van, you quickly realize how little you really need to be happy. Now I’ll never go back.” The Reset Button is so important that Elon Musk made it step two of his “algorithm” for product design: “Delete any part or process you can. You may have to add them back later. In fact, if you do not end up adding back at least 10% of them, then you didn’t delete enough.” The same applies to life. Joni Mitchell sang, “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.” It’s a great litmus test: Remove something from your life for 30 days. If it’s important, you’ll miss it. Just add it back. But you might discover—like Brynn, Will, and I—that less is more. Whether it’s our body, the things we own, our relationships, or even our thoughts, we tend to put on metaphorical weight over time. 🔘 Maybe it’s time to hit The Reset Button. P.S. If you enjoyed this post, would you please comment, like, and repost? The algorithm hates this type of content.