The Five Things I’ve Learned Now That I’m One Year Closer To Death
These Five Themes Have Helped Me Lead A Joyful Year Of Life

You know when you get to your birthday and realize that it used to be a celebration and now it’s a reminder that you’re getting old? Well, this is the first year I’ve felt like that. 27 years old seems young still, but I think this is the first time I feel like I am “aging” in a way that I haven’t before.
It’s like when you walk into a bar you used to frequent, and you look around and everyone around you looks like teenagers but it’s just that you’re getting older. **Quietly shuffling out of that bar slowly**
Or when you realize your favorite movies from childhood (Remember the Titans, anyone?) have leading actors in it that are now pretty much seniors — or are old like you (Denzel Washington — 62, Hayden Panettiere — 28)
It wakes you up a bit to realize that time is continuing to do its thing, no matter what you’re doing with yourself. Thankfully I have learned so much in the past year, and I am grateful for another year I can grow and learn.
It wakes you up a bit to realize that time is continuing to do its thing, no matter what you’re doing with your allotted time.
I wanted to share the big things I have learned that may help you on your journey of growth and mindfulness, hopefully bringing more joy and excitement to your daily life.
Stoicism Isn’t Just A Stone Faced Old Dude
Never in a hurry, never worried, never desperate, never stopping short
-Ryan Holliday (The Obstacle Is The Way)
You may think of stoicism as a straight faced old dude. I thought that too, before I realized it is not even close to that.
I have learned so much about stoicism and how beautiful it is. Ryan Holliday wrote a NY Times Bestseller called The Obstacle Is The Way and in that book he talks about some incredible teachings from ancient stoics.
The main focus in this teaching is that life is short and to can keep that ever in mind. If not, we can waste time — which we never get back.
There’s a term that the ancient stoics kept front of mind — momento mori — the meaning of this is “Remember you have to die.”

It may seem dark from the outside, but it does keep a perspective doesn’t it? You realize that death is something that is coming. It may or may not be tomorrow, but it will be here soon. We cannot avoid it.
Think about it this way — if you go into the doctor’s office and they tell you you have cancer, you may freak out. But in reality, you do have cancer. That may take effect in 1 year, or in 60 years, but you are terminal — we all are.
This gives us the ability to make choices in light of “momento mori.” We realize that the desire to drown our memories in drinking by blacking out may not be a great use of time — especially when we won’t remember any of it the next day.
We are able to make choices about our relationships, and we are able to choose to say things that may be our last words to another person. This means that we will choose kindness over harsh words in a heated discussion. Or we will be more generous instead of holding on to every penny we have, realizing that it may be all gone for us tomorrow.
My Life Would Be Lost Without Meditation and Mindfulness
I just relax my body, unscrunch my face, unclench my jaw, breathe and smile, and that’s all I need to get the world in order again.
-Leo Babauta
I have been blessed to be able to be open to new perspectives this past year. One of the best decisions I made was to start meditation on a regular basis in the morning via the Headspace App.
This has cleared my heart and mind, helped me stay focused, and helped me not worry about things that don’t really need to be worried about.
It’s so crazy to think that almost 90% of our worries either never happen or include something that we can’t do anything about. When we realize that fact, it’s hard to think we should be so worried on a daily basis.
The app Headspace has helped me so much in doing this in my life. It is guided meditation and it is not spiritually focused, just a great way to clear your head and have time to breathe and relax a bit.
If your life is anything like mine (hectic, crazy, and stressful), you may find this a useful tool to keep a level head and to be able to focus on what matters.
Mentorship Is Necessary
Find mentors to teach you.
Find the next generation to teach.
Find friends who build you up and challenge you.
-James Altucher
James Altucher talks about mentorship in the way of finding minuses, equals, and plusses. If you do these things throughout your life, you will have a balanced life in your relationships.
Minuses
For me, it has included doing a mentorship program that has been an extreme blessing in my life. I feel like I learn more from him than he learns from me, and I am able to grow as we just hang out.

I thought it would be some great lesson-filled journey type of relationship. But each and every time we hang out, I learn how to be more childlike, and I am able to see him grow and learn too.
This was something that I had wanted to do for a long time, but finally decided to take each small step to do it. Each week we take an adventure, or do something simple — and each week I am thankful to be in the little kiddo’s life.
Equals
If you take time to assess what you talk about with your friends, you will find out who you will become. For me, I have had to take time to assess my conversations. If they were focused on House of Cards, or a specific person, I knew that this friendship was not one to grow.
I started looking for people who would think about ideas. Elon Musk (Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, Paypal) shares about times with Sergey Brin and Larry Page (founders of Google) and how they would hang out at their secret apartment in silicon valley and talk about incredible ideas for hours and hours.
This was a normal relationship for them, and they also were very serious of taking action of some of these crazy ideas.
I have been able to grow great friendships with several people who have helped build me up and challenge me — these would be equals — we have developed time to get together to talk about ideas and work on really challenging each other to grow and learn daily. This has been essential for me this previous year.
As so many have coined in the past, “you become like the five people you spent the most time around.” I have been blessed to develop great relationships with some pretty incredible people this last year — and I believe these are people I would happy to become like.
Plusses
Thankfully, I have found several mentors throughout my life. Some have been a steady part of my life, while other times some have come and gone. I have gained a couple wonderful mentors this past year who have helped me understand how to make some important business and financial decisions.
I have been challenged to grow, and I have also been challenged to be uncomfortable about my viewpoint. This has only helped me develop as a person, and I am always looking to learn from those who have gone before me.
The World Is Beautiful
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted Is On The Other Side Of Fear.
-Jack Canfield
You ever see a picture of a place, and realize you want to be there this very minute? Well, that was me when I first saw photos of Thailand and Vietnam.
It was like seeing a whole other world.

I have had a chance to continue to build my businesses while also traveling to Thailand, Vietnam, the Virgin Islands, Crater Lake, and more. But that has been because I have put together the places I want to go, and then I take action.
I’ve been scuba diving with Manta Rays, and in awe of miles of rice fields. I’ve crashed my scooter in Thailand, and have been invited to dinner by a Tuktuk driver (see photo).
The quote about things you want being on the other side of fear is a real truth. But my worldview has expanded so much, and it has opened my eyes to a bigger world.
It’s amazing to see how much beauty that is out there once you explore some.
Learning Is Essential
Don’t be afraid of new arenas.
-Elon Musk
I didn’t plan on it, but I think I have read over 50 books this year. This does include re-reading books I have previously read. Why do this? Because I have gained so much knowledge and wisdom from those who have come before me.
If you’re struggling with a certain question about a relationship, business, health, or financial question — I can guarantee you that the question has been asked, researched, and answered in a book.
Reading has been a passion of mine since I was young, but I started reading again about two years ago after a long time of just playing video games and watching House of Cards.
Because I’ve read a lot of books, I’ve chosen some of my favorite books from my 26th year:
- The Choose Yourself Guide To Wealth by James Altucher
- Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Free Book)
- The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holliday
- The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield
Bonus: Here are a few of my favorite podcasts that have helped me grow in knowledge and understanding these last 12 months as well:
- James Altucher Show (all of them) — a great one I really like was with Ramit Sethi
- Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn — this episode is about building a 7 figure business by starting wit ha 7k per month one online
- How I Built This with Guy Raz — This episode is the incredible story of Richard Branson and how he built his Virgin brand.
- The Model Health Show with Shawn Stephenson — 5 Steps To Creating Your Personal Transformation
What themes do you want to live by this year? I think it’s so important to grow each day, and also challenge yourself. If you remember that you only live once, you will decide to live a life that is filled with fulfillment, fear, hope, joy, wonder, and life.
Please take time to think about what you want for your life, and challenge yourself to make the important things you care about and cherish truly priorities.
