“You can’t make a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

– Warren Buffett –

I like to talk about money a lot — it accelerates things. Paying money makes things easier. Like if you want some “oohs” and “ahhs,” show up to your next family gathering in a new Mercedes. It’s the easy way to project status.

What things don’t work this way?

Things where shortcuts — whether it’s money, privilege or life hacks — can’t help much.

Not only are these true status symbols. I think they’re also a clue to what’s important in life.

A Healthy and Fit Body

As someone who just crossed 40, I think about health and aging a lot.

I’m currently reading Ed Thorp’s autobiography — a true renaissance man, with world-class achievements in math and finance. He was so good, he was beating casinos in both blackjack and roulette in the 1960s. At 91 years old now, he can still do two chin ups and 15 push ups.

Talk about overachieving.

You can do cosmetic surgery, get implants, or buy $2,000 suits to look good. But the only way you’ll do a three-minute plank or five pull ups is if you train. And eat properly.

Put the reps in so you’ll be able to enjoy time with your grandkids one day.

Compounded Investments Over Time

“If you invest $1,000 a month for 20 years, you’ll have $500,000 at the end.”

People say stuff like this to inspire you to invest. Compounding is magical.

I know, this is cheating a little. Because out of everything we’ll discuss today, investing is the easiest one to accelerate with money.

But I wanna point out the difference between get-rich-fast (e.g. 10x gains in months) money and get-rich-slow (e.g. compounding regular investments over 18 years) money. I’ve made both. And get-rich-slow money certainly feels more valuable.

Maybe it’s the fruits of discipline, but there’s something special about witnessing investments grow over time.

It’s also proof. Not only do you know how to make money — you also know how to keep money.

Mastery of Work & Play

I think everyone who’s ever worked a corporate job hates bullshitters.

You know, the type who doesn’t actually do any work but somehow survives because they’re good at talking? One argument goes, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game. If that’s the easy way to survive in the corporate world, then why not?”

But if you look back on your career in 20 years, would you feel proud that you bullshitted your way through? I don’t think so. I don’t think even a serial bullshitter would admit that.

You’d be proud if you put in the hard work to achieve mastery though.

I’ve seen this repeatedly in old people who’re still full of life at work. It’s not so much about the money. It’s about honing their craft. For the love of the game.

There’s a framed quote that used to hang beside the late Kobe Bryant‘s locker:

“Look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Loving Relationships

A group of university students once asked Warren Buffett how he defined success.

His reply: “When you’re nearing your end of life, your only measure of success should be the number of people you want to have love you — actually do love you.”

I used to wonder why people become boring as parents. It took me too long to realize it’s just priorities. Kids-related responsibilities are always going to be your number #1 priority — over hobbies, social events, or even work.

Anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggests that each person can have intimate relationships with only 3-5 people (and stable relationships with varying degrees of closeness with about 150).

If we’re following Mr. Buffett’s advice, then the road to success would look something like this: Consistently show up for your family and closest friends for decades.

An Inspiring Legacy

Former president Jimmy Carter passed away at 100 in December 2024 — making him the longest-lived U.S. president ever.

I discovered today that while he was president, he was terribly unpopular — showing weak leadership during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. The Independent summed it up: “Carter is widely considered a better man than he was a president.”

It’s surprising. Because while I can’t claim to know much about American politics, everything I’d read about him had been positive. An ex-president who devoted more than 40 years of his life to humanitarian work and diplomacy, instead of using his status to get richer. A good man.

If you put in the reps in the right things, people will remember you well. And maybe even forgive your failures.

– – –

Pic from Pexels: Lukas