I was looking through my book review of Tim Ferriss’ book, Tools of Titans, and came across a ton of wisdom under the section titled Wise. As I was reviewing my notes for that section, I came across this tidbit of wisdom that can be used for a great foundation to approach life. The three things to always remember are:
1. All the real benefits of life come from compound interest.
2. Earn with your mind, not with your time.
3. Total honesty at all times. It’s almost always possible to be honest and positive.
Let’s talk about each of these and how to use them.
1. All the real benefits of life come from compound interest.
We have all heard of compound interest. It is what Einstein coined the 8th Wonder of the World. When we hear “compound interest”, we tend to think about money and how money saved or invested can gain interest and make more money. But it is not limited to money. Simply put, compound interest can be assigned to any thing we can do repeatedly over time which gains momentum simply by investing in things on a daily basis. In other words, we can really experience huge benefits in life if we simply do the small things everyday that add up to a big result over time. The trick is to find the the small things that can give you the result you want. Things like exercising for 30 minutes a day, making it a point to spend quality time with family every day, or eating a healthy diet regularly. You won’t see the benefits of these things immediately, but the compound interest and effect of these things over time can give you some real benefits in life.
2. Earn with your mind, not with your time.
Time is the most valuable thing we have. We can earn more money, but we can’t replace time lost. This tidbit of wisdom is saying that your time is too valuable to be consumed by making money. You need to be smarter. You need to come up with a way to earn money with your mind, not with your time. Many people work and are paid for their time. If you are paid an hourly rate or have a salaried job, then you are earning with your time. Don’t feel bad, this is what the majority of people do, but there’s a better way.
Use your mind to find creative ways to make money without taking your time. Things like writing a book, starting a YouTube channel, or owning real estate. These can all be ways of investing a little time up front to earn a way to make passive income that can pay you for years. It is better to take the time to be creative in ways to make money, than to be paid hourly or with a salary for your time.
3. Total honesty at all times. It’s almost always possible to be honest and positive.
“Honesty is the best policy.” This is a saying as old as time and has become quite a cliché, but it doesn’t make it any less valuable. Telling the truth is the easiest thing to remember. When you are known to be honest, you will be trusted. People will see you as a person of your word and someone with integrity. I know there are little white lies that we feel won’t hurt anyone, and at times can be helpful. I encourage you to use them sparingly, if at all. When you tell the truth and are honest all the time, you build character. People will respect your character and never doubt you.
Conclusion
These are three simple things to remember, that when practiced regularly can make a huge difference in your life. Too many times we try to remember too many things and fail to do any of them well. If we can break the list of things to remember down to just a few things, we can really focus on those few things well and reap the benefits of investing in them. If we can focus on just these three things in life and apply them to the different areas of our lives, we can experience some of that compound interest Mr. Ferriss was talking about!!!
You can pick up Tim’s excellent book, Tools of Titans, via my affiliate link here:
