FI Minded - Financial Independence Without the Extremes

I did not know how beneficial fiber was prior to this conversation and I wouldn’t even have been able to tell you fiber was only found in plants.   I’m excited about this episode though. I had a blast researching and preparing for this conversation.   It has been a while since I’ve dug deep into a health-focused subject. Our last was with Dr. Jennifer Reid in August when we talked about sleep, and...

If you’re paying attention to your portfolio right now, you know the stock market has been on a nosedive, and if you’re anything like me, this market drop has you feeling discouraged.   I continue doing all the right things. I maxed out my IRA, I’m dollar cost averaging through my 401K, and even investing my net earnings in my brokerage account.   All of this yet I’m still seeing my networth go ba...

The amazing Brian Bogert is joining me on the podcast today.   At 7 years old, his life transformed in a blink of an eye after he was in a vehicle accident that his left arm was detached. Instead of dwelling in the suffering, he fully recovered with a reattached arm thanks to his persistent and proactive focus.   Today, Brian is a lot of things: entrepreneur, coach, speaker, business strategist, a...

As much as I’d want to work on The Struggle is Real full-time, I do have a day job.   I could gripe about my 9-5 but I actually really enjoy my job at MMA. I like who I work with, who I work for, and what I work on. It also creates really cool opportunities like the one you’re going to hear today.   A colleague who leads an internal learning and development initiative called MMATalks asked if I wa...

I did not anticipate one of the biggest struggles in my 20s would be making friends. It was so easy in high school and college when I was surrounded by people.   Although I have been lonely at times, I rarely spoke about it. I guess I had shame around feeling lonely but that line of thinking is changing for me.   It initially started when I was preparing for episode 49 with Michael Bauman where we...

I feel like I always gravitate towards stories about taking a chance. Ahmad Jabbir’s story about how he went above and beyond during his job interview comes to mind.   I really enjoy them and these stories provide a much needed reminder. As I get older, I feel like I’m making more conservative choices. If that is true or not, objectively I’m not sure I could say. I think it is important to try thi...

Going into college, Grace was pre-med and planning on becoming a doctor. She found out through taking classes and trying internships, that this wasn’t the right path for her. Instead, her twisted journey led her to therapy.   Although this wasn’t her plan going into college, Grace shares that looking back now, she’s really appreciated the unclear route. What’s the fun in having an obvious and pred...

Rose Lounsbury is a simplicity coach, speaker, and author of the book, Less: Minimalism, For Real .   Rose’s minimalist journey started with being an overwhelmed mom, and I really mean overwhelmed. She is the mom of triplets.   She’d come home from work, start her second shift of being a mom, and finally get her 3 2-year-olds to bed just in time to spend her last waking hour cleaning up the mess f...

There is nothing better than waking up in the morning feeling refreshed and energized. I love a good night’s sleep. On the flip side, if I didn’t get enough quality sleep, I might as well just take the L and call it a personal day.   As soon as I learned this about myself, I became attune to good sleep habits. I have no idea how I survived through college with an inconsistent sleep schedule, late...

I try not to dwell on many regrets in life but one opportunity I wish I would have taken advantage of was my university’s study abroad program. I went on my first international trip outside of North America in 2015, the week following my college graduation.   I knew I was going to have fun and I was excited to explore Europe but I didn’t realize how much it would change my perspective on life.   I...

I never realized how much of an impact my manager could have on my job satisfaction until I’ve had both the good and the lousy. Experiencing both has assured me one thing, I want to become an exceptional leader.   To continue learning, I consume a lot of leadership content. One of my favorite creators I come across is Makeda Andrews. I really liked her straight-forwardness, relatable advice, and o...

I have something different for you today. This is a replay from my good friend Andrew Biernat’s show: Your Personal Growth, Personal Brand Podcast.   Andrew asked me a lot of great questions about The Struggle is Real including how the show got started, how I go about selecting topics and guests, and the one person who really influences my conversations.   Of course, it is hard for me to take my p...

You all know I’m a sucker for a good early retirement story. Jackie Cummings Koski retired at 49 years old and now spends her time creating a financially literate society.   Retiring in your 40s is impressive in itself but Jackie did this with no head start. She grew up in poverty with her dad and 5 siblings. She barely graduated college with passing grades because she had to work full-time. Then...

With high school teachers and porn stars being our instructors, I’m not surprised sex is awkward and unrealistic. But at least we have our friends to talk to, right? Well through my personal experience, we are comfortable boasting about the highs of our sex life but I don’t hear too much conversation about body image issues, pre-mature ejaculation, and depleting sex drive. As you can see from the...

If you’ve spent any amount of time in the working world, you probably know how much meetings can consume the work week. I’m crazy and I actually track this metric. On average, I’ve spent 9.4 hours a week in meetings or 23% of my week. Meetings aren’t going anywhere. They seem to be the default modality of getting things done and I have to agree, meetings make sense for some situations. If I’m goin...

I love listening to stories that require someone to take a chance and today’s episode is packed with those. You’ll hear from my friend, Ahmad Jabbir. He exhibits and embodies the phrase “bet on yourself.” One of my favorite stories he tells is how he pitched the CEO of Seek Discomfort, the apparel brand of the wildly popular YouTube channel, Yes Theory, to hire him for a job that wasn’t even creat...

My childhood was filled with a constant need for play. I remember playing a lot of backyard sports and fictional quest games that we made-up on the fly. I always had a sense of adventure. As I got older, I found myself losing touch with that. I’m all about high achievement activities but I also wanted to allow myself to do things for the simple fact that they put a smile on my face. I found gettin...

I know many of us 20-somethings are focused on increasing our wealth and gaining more financial security. I’m definitely in this boat and I think that is a wise approach. I’m confident that we will get to a place where it becomes less about making money and more about life satisfaction. I think my guest today summarizes it the best: use money to make a life, don’t use life to make money. Joining m...

For some of us, running to the kitchen to grab a snack is quite the workout. So what does it feel like to run 62 miles for twelve hours straight? In today’s episode, Justin and Mason discuss what it felt like to endure such a challenge. They break down their preparation leading up to the event, give details about race day, and what mentality you have to foster to cross the finish line. Few of us a...

Investing is complicated…but does it need to be? Starting your investing journey can be super overwhelming especially in this age of information overload: stocks, crypto, FAANG, options, bonds. This brings up the obvious question: what should I invest in? Personally, I want to understand what I am investing in, how it creates its value, and ultimately, what my return will look like. This has led m...

Today’s guest is Larry Hagner, Founder of The Dad Edge. The Dad Edge is focused on empowering men to build legendary marriages, create epic connections with their kids, master personal finances, optimize their health, and become a leader within their family. Although you’ll definitely hear stories about parenthood, most of this conversation will focus on the first pillar: building a legendary marr...

I’ve dreaded some recent get-togethers knowing argumentative political conversations are going to be on the agenda and for quite some time, I’ve taken the approach that it is better to avoid these conversations by staying quiet and giving a friendly nod. That line of thinking is changing for me now. Avoiding participation in these conversations is forgoing the opportunity to learn something new, a...

Our teenage years present many challenges. One universal obstacle I saw few of us avoid was the trap of comparing ourselves to others, particularly our physical bodies. Someone was always thinner, more muscular, prettier, taller, or had better skin. Many of those thoughts and feelings never went away but progressing through our 20s, we not only realize but start to believe there are way more impor...

Do you know what’s worse than being set up on a blind date? Going on that date in front of a live audience. Oh, and when I say blind date, I mean literary blind-folded. That’s the concept for the New York City based comedy show, UpDating. Imagine live comedy meets a reality dating show. This non-scripted show includes audience participation, brutally honest moments, and relatable feedback in real-...

Imagine you’re 9-year-old and you want the new, hottest toy. What would you do? Would you ask your parents for the money or spend your birthday money to buy it? My guess is very few of our 9-year-old selves would have created a business to raise the funds. I also wouldn’t have convinced my parents to change me to homeschooling so I could have more time to focus on my business, but today’s guest di...