What we’re talking about: Strategies for balancing personal health, family responsibilities, and work obligations, focusing on developing sustainable habits and routines.
Why it matters: Pursuing agency requires finding ways to effectively manage our time, energy, and priorities to ensure we are taking care of our physical and mental well-being while fulfilling our commitments to others.
What actions to take:
🍲 Plan and prepare healthy meals in advance, making the process fun and engaging for the whole family.
🏃 Incorporate physical activity and mobility exercises into quality time with loved ones, turning them into enjoyable bonding experiences.
🧘 Practice relaxation techniques like yin yoga and yoga nidra to unwind, manage stress, and improve sleep quality.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: We discuss personal agency, self-improvement, and overall well-being with Dr. Sean Pastuch, founder of Active Life, a brand that combines education, exercise, and mentorship to empower a life of freedom without compromise.
Why it matters: Understanding and pursuing agency is crucial for living a life free from unnecessary compromises and limitations, enabling individuals to make choices aligned with their values, goals, and authentic selves.
What actions to take:
🧘♀️ Reflect on areas where you may be compromising your values, relationships, or well-being, and identify steps to align your actions with your desired identity and life.
💰 Explore ways to develop skills for generating additional income, such as sales, networking, or pursuing passions that can be monetized, to increase financial freedom and agency.
🧑🏫 Seek out mentors or role models who embody the qualities and mindset you aspire to, and learn from their experiences
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: How to maintain healthy habits and a balanced lifestyle on the weekends, avoiding the tendency to overindulge after being strict during the week.
Why it matters: Maintaining consistent healthy habits and avoiding cycles of overindulgence is crucial for Agency, as it allows individuals to remain in control, build sustainable progress, and avoid self-sabotaging behaviors that undermine their values and goals.
What actions to take:
🏃♂️ Incorporate recreation and enjoyable physical activities into your weekly routine, rather than treating exercise solely as training or work.
🍎 Replace processed foods and alcohol with healthier, whole food alternatives that provide a sense of relaxation and enjoyment, such as fresh fruits, smoothies, or homemade treats.
🎨 Diversify your identity and reduce stress by exploring new hobbies and activities that engage different types of intelligence, such as mechanical, cognitive, social, or physical pursuits.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of choosing more time over more income as an organizing principle for achieving greater agency and life satisfaction.
Why it matters: Prioritizing time freedom over wealth accumulation allows individuals to diversify their identities, reduce stress, and align their actions with their values, enabling them to exercise greater control over their lives.
What actions to take:
🧘♂️ Accurately calculate your financial needs, including core income, discretionary spending, and savings for retirement, and find ways to earn only that amount, or slightly more, in less time than you currently work.
🌱 Use the resulting time freedom to diversify your identity through self-development and contribution to activities and pursuits that align with your values and aspirations.
💼 Explore opportunities for multiple income streams or employers that allow you to earn more per unit of time, reducing your overall time commitment while maintaining your desired income level.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The financial challenges and opportunities faced by teachers, emphasizing the importance of leveraging free time and alternative sources of income to optimize wealth.
Why it matters: It highlights how understanding and leveraging the underlying benefits and sureties of your profession, like a pension or schedule flexibility, can enable you to take calculated risks and pursue financial growth and independence.
What actions to take:
🎓 Consider getting a cost-effective master's degree for a pay raise in the education field.
💼 Look into entrepreneurship in your free time, particularly during summer, to generate additional income.
📚 Read the book "Systems Thinking for Business" by Rich Jolly to apply systems thinking in your profession and potentially in a side hustle.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The journey of Jonathan and Blakely, founders of Digital Barbell, in pursuing agency and helping others overcome the victim mindset to take control of their health and fitness.
Why it matters: Mindset and taking ownership of one's health and well-being are key aspects of personal autonomy and empowerment.
What actions to take:
📅 Set clear timelines and deadlines for tasks to increase productivity and avoid procrastination.
📝 Keep track of progress and results to stay motivated and see the impact of consistent effort.
💰 Seek professional help and guidance when needed, such as hiring a financial advisor, to make informed decisions and create a plan for financial stability and growth.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of diversification and liquidity in maintaining wealth, using the example of a Texan realtor couple aiming to double their net worth in five years.
Why it matters: Understanding the principles of diversification and liquidity is crucial in managing wealth and achieving financial stability, which, in turn, empowers you with the agency to live life on your own terms.
What actions to take:
🎯 Reassess your financial goals to ensure they are achievable and reasonable, taking into account the rule of 72.
💰 Diversify your investment portfolio to protect your wealth and prevent potential financial downturns.
🔄 Ensure your assets are liquid enough to provide the cash flow you need for your lifestyle, avoiding the trap of being 'house rich and cash poor'.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of conscious spending, understanding the trap of the hedonic treadmill and the pitfalls of consumer debt, and strategies for avoiding unnecessary acquisitions to increase personal wealth and agency
Why it matters: Understanding and implementing these concepts is key to gaining financial freedom and enhancing personal agency, as it allows individuals to make conscious decisions about their spending habits, ultimately leading to increased savings and wealth.
What actions to take:
🛍️ Practice "stealth wealth" by living modestly and not showing off your wealth through conspicuous consumption.
🏦 Avoid debt, especially for depreciating assets, to prevent reverse compounding.
🔄 Be aware of the hedonic treadmill and make conscious decisions to avoid unnecessary purchases, focusing instead on the things that truly bring you joy and value.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we're talking about: Practical strategies for managing time and balancing priorities in a busy life, focusing on two key frameworks: one is to articulate, communicate, and defend your priorities; the other is to turn intentions into plans and routines.
Why it matters: The ability to effectively manage time and establish clear priorities is crucial to achieving agency. It allows individuals to align their actions with their values, live their desired life, and reduce feelings of overwhelm or dissatisfaction.
What actions to take:
📝 Identify the 'minimum effective dose' for each of your responsibilities or tasks. This means the least amount of effort or time required to meet the demand or complete the task effectively.
🗓️ Use a calendar to plan your activities based on the identified 'minimum effective dose', ensuring each activity has a set time and is part of a routine.
🎯 Practice 'this or that' decision-making based on your stack-ranked priorities. Be prepared to face the repercussions of enforcing your priorities when they don't match others'.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The “Cult of Done” manifesto and how its principles can be applied to the pursuit of personal agency, emphasizing the importance of action, viewing life as a series of drafts, and learning from failures.
Why it matters: Gaining personal agency is fundamentally about taking meaningful action and learning from the outcomes, a philosophy embodied in the “Cult of Done” manifesto.
What actions to take:
🎯 Recognize that taking the first step is crucial, even if you don't have all the information or a perfect plan.
✍️ Understand that everything is a draft, and each decision or action can be adjusted or improved upon in the future.
🚫 Don't seek perfection before taking action; instead, learn from your mistakes and failures, as they are a natural part of the process.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The complex question of whether or not to have children, focusing on how this decision can impact individuals' sense of agency, particularly in relation to aspects of health, wealth, and time.
Why it matters: This topic is essential in pursuing agency as it involves a life-changing decision that requires careful consideration of personal circumstances, societal constructs, and potential future regrets.
What actions to take:
👪 Consider having children under certain conditions: when you're married, financially stable, and when both parents are under 40.
💰 Understand that while raising children can be expensive, married parents often end up wealthier due to factors such as home ownership.
🧘♀️ Realize that having children can be enriching and fulfilling in the long term, contributing to overall life satisfaction and happiness.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The concept of 'Optimal Agency', emphasizing the importance of balancing health, wealth, and time, and how these three metrics contribute to our overall personal freedom and ability to impact the world.
Why it matters: Understanding and properly balancing health, wealth, and time is crucial in pursuing agency as they collectively enhance our capacity to achieve personal freedom and maximize our positive impact on the world.
What actions to take:
🏋️♀️ Exercise first thing in the morning as it serves as a keystone habit that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
💰 Set up automatic transfers from your savings to your investment account to ensure consistent wealth building.
⏰ Plan your actions and commitments to make sure you're using your time effectively.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of prioritizing exercise, particularly doing it first thing in the morning, and how it is a keystone habit that sets off a cascade of beneficial behaviors throughout the day.
Why it matters: It emphasizes the essential role of physical health and wellness in enhancing cognitive ability, mood regulation, and overall performance in various areas of life.
What actions to take:
🏋️♀️ Prioritize exercise and make it the first activity of your day, either literally or philosophically.
📝 Have a well-defined exercise program ready before you start, ensuring it includes strength training, cardiovascular exercise, mobility work, and elements of play.
👥 Involve a partner, friend, or family member in your exercise routine to keep you motivated and accountable.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of diet and nutrition, focusing on sustainable, health-focused, and imperfect guidelines, and how to manage these aspects amidst a busy lifestyle.
Why it matters: Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet directly impacts one's overall health, energy levels, and cognitive function, which in turn affects one's ability to act on the world with impact.
What actions to take:
🥦 Prioritize eating unprocessed and minimally processed foods for maximum health benefits.
🍳 Cook your own meals whenever possible for better environmental control.
🚫 Limit or avoid consumption of sugar and alcohol to prevent adverse health effects.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of self-development as permanent wealth and the need to diversify and amplify skills in various areas of life.
Why it matters: Self-development is important in pursuing agency because it allows individuals to future-proof themselves, maintain their sense of identity, and have a wider range of skills to rely on in different situations.
What actions to take:
🔨 Diversify vocational skills by learning new skills that make money and applying them in real-world scenarios.
🎨 Build or make something outside of work for personal growth and to diversify identity.
💪 Improve physical skills by training in areas such as cardiovascular conditioning, strength building, and proper nutrition.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: Strategies for a listener named Nicole, who is a music teacher struggling with finances and seeking ways to earn extra income while balancing her responsibilities.
Why it matters: Finding creative ways to generate income is important in pursuing agency because it enables individuals to have more control over their financial situation and create opportunities for personal and professional growth.
What actions to take:
💡 Create time by reducing job responsibilities or finding efficient ways to handle child care to allocate time for income-generating activities.
💰 Explore different models of income generation, such as moving from time-for-money to time-for-output or money-for-others-output, to increase earning potential and leverage.
📚 Consider developing and selling digital products, such as music lesson plans in Nicole’s case, to decouple income from time spent, creating passive income streams and expanding market reach.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: Living as though the world is clay, emphasizing the importance of having a clear vision, understanding the role of people and resources, and taking action to deliver value.
Why it matters: Recognizing the world is clay allows us to shape our lives according to our vision and goals, empowering us to take control of our actions and create meaningful impact.
What actions to take:
💡 Clearly define your vision for different areas of your life, including specific goals and desired outcomes.
🙌 Build a network of people who share your vision and can support you in achieving your goals.
🚀 Take initiative and deliver value, even if you lack traditional credentials, as a way to showcase your competence and create opportunities for yourself.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we're talking about: The significance of responding slowly and thoughtfully to communications, avoiding hasty emotional reactions, and prioritizing progress to foster agency and retain control in professional relationships.
Why it matters: Responding slowly and carefully enables us to maintain control over our communications, avoid emotional triggers, and ensure our responses contribute to progress. Ultimately, this empowers us to make decisions in alignment with our priorities and goals.
What actions to take:
🚫 Don't respond to FYI's and CC's that don't require a specific response.
📬 Allow the deliverable to be your response instead of engaging in unnecessary back-and-forth.
⏰ Gap your replies to non-urgent communications and use schedule-send to reinforce boundaries and set expectations for response times.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The importance of exercising agency in a work environment where priorities are unclear, distractions are constant, and control feels limited.
Why it matters: Exercising agency is crucial in pursuing autonomy and personal impact in a work environment, allowing individuals to prioritize tasks, establish boundaries, and maintain focus amidst distractions and competing priorities.
What actions to take:
🏃🏼♀️ Leave peripheral tasks and conversations that do not align with goals or skills.
🎯 Establish clear priorities and focus on one or two key tasks that move the needle.
🎧 Set aside uninterrupted focus time and eliminate interruptions to drive completion of important tasks and maintain psychological balance.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.
What we’re talking about: The practice of avoiding unnecessary purchases by creating pause, asking questions, and prioritizing agency.
Why it matters: Because it allows us to take control of our choices, prioritize our health, wealth, and time, and avoid being influenced by external factors.
What actions to take:
🔍 Assess if a purchase is truly necessary or if you already own something that serves the same purpose.
🔄 Consider if you are replacing something that still has useful life before making a new purchase.
⏰ Pause before buying something new and ask yourself if you had planned to purchase it before that day.
✦ Read the Rules: Health | Wealth | Time
ABOUT THE SHOW
Optimal Agency aims to help you own your life so you have the freedom to impact the world, pursue work you love, and spend your hours how you want. Be sure to subscribe or follow the show so you don’t miss any new episodes.