CONTEXT
Welcome to a special edition of The Quiet Rich. Tomorrow is my 32nd birthday. Every year on October 7th, I do the same exercise: I think about the most powerful lessons that I wish someone had told me sooner.
Why?
I’ve always loved this quote by Socrates: "A life unexamined is not worth living." And here's the problem: most people never stop to examine their lives. They just keep moving. (And often, they keep making the same mistakes.)
This simple practice that will change that.
METHOD
- Open a note on your phone or grab a journal right now. Title it "Life Lessons."
- Immediately write down 5 things you would tell your younger self. Not generic quotes you found on Instagram. The real lessons from your lived experiences that maybe cost you something to learn.
- Set a calendar reminder on your birthday. And every year, add 5 more. You're also allowed to delete past lessons that no longer feel true, or edit old ones with more nuance. The lessons that survive year after year? Those become your core values.
MY BIRTHDAY REFLECTION
The most powerful lessons I’d tell my younger self. 👇
1. Call your parents. They're getting older, and you don't have as much time left together as you think. Make each moment count.
2. People assume watches and cars are luxuries. But the real luxuries in life are slow mornings, a healthy body, and a house full of love.
3. Comparison is the thief of joy. Social media makes you wish you were somewhere else or with someone else. That's the fastest path to unhappiness.
4. Don't be impressed by followers or money. Be impressed by people who are humble and generous.
5. The person you will be in 5 years is a direct result of the people you meet, books you read, accounts you follow, conversations you have, and habits you start now. (Choose wisely.)
6. In order to date someone remarkable, you need to become remarkable yourself.
7. Your phone is your top distraction, and it will probably hold you back from achieving your goals. Put it in Do Not Disturb mode for 2 hours every day and watch the magic unfold.
8. Travel. You’ll never have as few responsibilities as you do right now. Take at least 1 epic trip every year that you’ll tell people about at dinner parties for the rest of your life.
9. At some point, you will have to deal with something terribly painful. It will change your life. You can’t choose what happens, but you get to decide how you react to it.
10. When deciding your career path, look at who’s at the top of the ladder. Ask yourself if that’s the lifestyle you really want before you keep climbing.
11. You don’t get what you “deserve.” You get what you negotiate. If what you’re asking for doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable, it’s not high enough.
12. The way you treat your body now will determine your injuries, medical bills, and energy levels in your 40s+.
13. Feel your feelings. Don't sweep them under the rug. If you don’t take care of them, they’ll come back and make a much bigger mess later.
14. Always be reading a good book. If you read 20 pages a day, you’ll finish ~25 books in a year while everyone else scrolls through brain rot. Just 1 of those books could change your life.
15. Stop waiting for the “right time.” You’ll never feel fully prepared. Start now. The cost of not trying is the life you could have lived.
16. Get into rooms where your dreams are already other people's realities.
17. The healthiest relationships are made up of two individual people with their own hobbies, goals, opinions, friend groups, and passions.
18. Enjoy the Rule of 100. If you spend 100 hours a year learning any new skill (which is only 18 minutes a day), you'll be better than 95% of the world in that skill. Because most people never start.
19. Trust your track record. You have a 100% success rate at getting through tough times. How do I know? Because you’re still here. You're reading this right now. 👋
20. Only take advice from people who have even bigger visions for your life than you do.
21. You're not behind. Some people got married at 22 and divorced at 25. Some didn't find their calling until 50. Your timeline is your own.
22. Every week, take one “moonshot.” One big shot in the dark that might not lead to anything. Email your hero. Apply to that job. Say hello to the cute stranger. The person who takes 52 moonshots per year will live a fundamentally different life than the person who takes 0.
23. Spend money on experiences, health, learning, and anything that buys you time. Everything else depreciates.
24. Don’t limit yourself to what you’ve always been good at. There’s an entire world of possibility out there. And it is never too late to reinvent yourself. After 10+ years in tech, I left my job at Google, I landed the book deal of my dreams, I became a full-time entrepreneur and author, I moved to a completely new city. What a shame it would have been to listen to the little voice in my head that told me I wasn’t ready.
25. Remember when you wanted what you currently have? We're so quick to forget that the day we're living today is a day we dreamed of 10 years ago. Maybe not all of it, but part of it. The home we’re sitting in. The person we’re dating. The job we have. There is a part of our life that is exactly how we hoped it would be. And we have the power to create our future dreams—because we’ve already done it once.
What else would you add?
I’d seriously love to read the advice you'd tell your younger self. Reply to this email! I personally read every message. They make my day. 🙏
(Pro tip: Forward this newsletter to someone you want to do this exercise with. Cheers to reflecting on 5 life lessons you’ve picked up over the years.)
Much love,
❤️ Jade
P.S. I want to take a moment to thank every. single. one of you. for being part of my life. You’ve sent me the most touching messages, left the kindest reviews about my newsletter, and shared these testimonials about my coaching.
You are what makes this path meaningful.
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