If you’re new here, welcome to The BOLD Life. Each week I write about building wealth in money and in life, because the goal was never just a bigger account balance. It’s a life that actually feels rich. If someone sent this your way, I’d love for you to subscribe.
Did you do the 5-5-5?
I did, most days. Not all days. I missed some. We were traveling in Europe for the latter portion of the month, and that disrupted my normal daily schedule. I didn't beat myself up when I missed a day. But here is what surprised me. Just knowing I was supposed to do something related to health, relationships, and money every day was enough to pull my attention to all three areas far more often throughout the month than it would have otherwise. The challenge worked less like a scoreboard and more like a lens. It kept putting the same three things back in front of me, over and over, until paying attention to them felt normal instead of like an assignment.
Health
On the health side, I leaned on bodyweight squats more than anything else. Whenever I realized toward the end of a day that I hadn’t yet gotten my extra five minutes of movement in, squats were my default. No equipment, no excuse, no reason to put it off until later. I would just stop wherever I was and knock them out. Having one simple fallback move helps on days when you haven't planned ahead, because the plan isn't really the point. The five minutes is the point; however you get there.
Relationships
The relationship leg was the most impactful. I reconnected with a handful of friends this month that I probably would have gotten around to eventually, but not necessarily in September, and maybe not for a while longer than I would like to admit. It reminded me that life is built on relationships, and that men in particular tend to fixate on work relationships and family and let everything else slide into “I will call them later, when I have more time.” The problem is that can get kicked down the road indefinitely. Later never actually arrives on its own. You have to go create it. I was genuinely happy to catch up with people I had not talked to in a while, and every one of those calls left me better off than the five minutes it cost me.
Money
On the money front, I found myself more conscious of it all month long, in a good way. I finally did a number of things I had been letting sit for too long. I rebalanced some stock allocations that I had let drift. I updated some long-term plans that needed a second look. In general, money stayed more in focus in a different way than usual, because I already have systems that mostly run in the background. I do not think we need to overemphasize money, and this newsletter has never been about that. But I noticed something true this month: when you make time to focus on something, positive energy tends to follow. And when you can move money out of the stressor column and into the life-enhancer column, that is the entire point of earning it in the first place.
A Favor
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The real win
I enjoyed the challenge, and I hope you did too, whether you were with me for all thirty days or joined partway through. Even one day of the 5-5-5 is still one more day than you would have had otherwise, and that day counts. If you managed every single day, you may already be noticing the early edges of some new habits forming, and those daily habits compound over time the same way a dollar invested today compounds over years. Neither shows its full return right away. Both are still working in the background, whether you are watching closely or not.
If my main point from this whole month is one thing, it is this. Do not put off change or action until January 1st. You can reset your goals any day you choose. Waiting for a cleaner starting line is usually just another way of staying comfortable a little longer. So why not start reaching higher today instead of some date three and a half months from now that is no more real than this one. You get one life. Build a bold one, starting now.
Your Turn
Did you do the 5-5-5, even for a day or two? Tell me which of the three (health, relationships, or money) was most impactful for you. I love hearing from my readers.
Start Bold
Pick one thing from health, relationships, or money that the 5-5-5 got you moving on this month, and keep it going even though September is over. The challenge was never about the month. It was about proving the habit could start.
If you fell off partway through, restart today. Not October 1st, not January 1st. Today. The whole point of this challenge was that you never need permission to begin again.
Tell someone what you kept from this month, even if it is one line. Naming it out loud is usually what makes it stick.
We build financial wealth not for status or scorekeeping, but to fuel the areas of life that matter most: family, health, growth, generosity, joy. September was never really about September. It was thirty days of proof that small, consistent attention to what matters most will move you, even when you are not perfect about it.
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Don’t drift. Live boldly.
The BOLD Life is for people who want to build wealth without losing themselves in the process - people who want their success to strengthen their health, relationships, purpose, and freedom rather than compete with them. If that’s the life you’re building, you’re in the right place. New here? Start with The Blueprint of a BOLD Life, then read whatever draws your attention. Every post stands on its own.