Health, Wealth and Stealth
Three Pillars for career growth
Health, Wealth and Stealth are the three pillars for your career. Here is why.
Health
Health is the foundation of the building called life. Taking care of your health is of paramount importance. COVID must have made it abundantly clear that when health calls, you have to drop everything and attend to it.
Ambitious early career professionals ignore health. Health debt carries a heavy interest. Ignore it long enough and it will take you out. The monetary, physical and mental toll of unpaid health debt is huge. So, pay your health debt before you pay your home loan.
Many of us confuse health with physical fitness. A holistic view of health includes Mental Health & Physical well being.
Mental health
Mental health is the bedrock on which the foundation rests. Mental health issues crack the foundation of life. Three things have helped me have good mental health:
Having positive relationships at home
Having positive relationships at work
Being content
How do you do this?
Well, positive relationships add to your energy. Surprisingly, the best way to do this is to help others. Both at work and at home. You will not build positive relationships if you expect help for yourself. You will get help and support as an outcome of doing more for others. So, be a positive force.
Stay away from negative people. This does not mean you stay away from people who want you to be better at what you do. People who critique your work and tell how how it can be better are not negative people. These are the people who will make you better. And, being a better version of your self is not a bad thing. We are all “work in progress.” The improvements compound over time and you become exceptional.
How to be content.
This is the trickiest one. Common questions around contentment are:
How can I be content when I want so much more?
I am just starting out, why should I be content
Contentment will make me complacent and limit my ambition
Etc
This question is best answered through Indian philosophy. I want bore you with the details here but if you want to be content, read Indian philosophy.
I will leave you with this:
Being content is a way of being. It allows you to be present and aware of today. It allows you to fully appreciate what you have.
Most of us postpone living today in pursuit of joy tomorrow. Such a way of life leads to unhappiness and unhealthy relationships. They prevent you from committing today. Commitment to what you have brings joy. Your friends, your family, your work, your company need your commitment and presence today.
Contentment leads to happiness.
Assuming that your next achievement is the only thing that will make you happy is a fool’s errand. You will not find happiness outside of you.
The fastest way to find contentment is to start meditating. Or, just be fully engaged in whatever you are doing.
Whether it is washing dishes, walking, cooking, hugging your loved ones or doing your work - you can choose to be fully present for these small things. It will make a huge difference in how you show up in the world.
Physical well being
This is easier that mental well-being. Be active. This does not mean burn yourself out training or gymming everyday. You can do that if you like it but it leads to injuries as you get older.
Walk, do your own work, stretch. Do easy yoga. That’s it. It’s ok if you do not sweat. You can increase the intensity of these activities if you want to and when you are ready.
With average lifespans crossing 75, being active daily trumps high intensity workouts that lead to injuries that take you out for weeks. So, start small and stick with it.
Being mentally and physically healthy lead to magical unlocks. You sleep well. You think clearly. You get organised. You set goals around Wealth and Stealth. You make time do the work. And, you are fully engaged with the work during this time. This is why many people call their work Practice. You practice everyday. You improve. Your improvements compound over time. You become exceptional.
Wealth
Many of us are chasing wealth. However, our definition of wealth may not be the same. Wealth does not mean income. Many celebrities go broke because they spend more than their income.
Wealth means high net worth. This means all your assets minus all your liabilities and debt.
Wealth is money you do not see. If you see an expensive bag or an expensive car, this is just money this person no longer has.
Read this: https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/blog/rich-vs-wealthy/
So how do you get wealthy?
It is easy right?
Save: Spend less than your income
Invest wisely
Saving
Ramit Sethi has a great free resource to help you save before spending. While it is written in an American context, there is still a lot to learn from it.
https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/best-way-to-save-money/
Investing
This is a big one. Indians are largely financially illiterate. Even IIM grads make rookie mistakes with their money. For example:
They invest through their bank or intermediaries and pay huge yearly commissions on their investments to the bank or intermediary
They do not invest at all. Somebody told them that stock market is for gamblers and they believe it
They try to time the market.
They ignore the impact of taxes on their returns
They do not diversify across asset classes
They do not manage their asset allocation regularly
Each point here is a series of blog posts. I don’t want to expand on them here. Key takeaway is this - learn about investing and take interest in it. If you do not manage your money, your money will manage you.
This is a good Investing 101 blog post to help you get started
https://getmoneyrich.com/investment-basics-for-beginners-in-india/
Stealth
Stealth is the last pillar that holds your building together.
Stealth is continuous learning. It is focusing on yourself. Stealth is skill stacking over time. Build on top of your existing skills religiously and you will be remarkable.
Choose to build complementary skills. Meaning stills that go well together. This allows you to reinvent yourself.
Watch this video:
If you read this far, leave a comment.
:)
—Anubhav