How To Think About Long-Term Investments

My friend Tim Grahl has a great saying…

Do things your year-from-now self will be happy you did

One of the long-term things I’m happy I did was write a book. It was a huge undertaking, and I break down the project in detail HERE.

I tracked my time. 813.25 hours! That was a big bet. ~ 40% of a work year.

Looking back, I’m so glad I did it. It was scary on so many levels–but its impact on me and the world is bigger than I ever could have imagined.

Now I’m writing the manuscript for our next book and am even more excited about it. I’m doubling down. Having tested many of the concepts with our clients, I know this one will make an even bigger impact.

I’ve noticed I’m slowly getting better at one thing as I get older–focus on long-term bets.

Writing a book takes big blocks of time, like entire days. An hour here and there doesn’t work.

Here’s my recent unlock.

Before: I would feel guilty when I was working on a long term project, I would think about all the short-term things I wasn’t doing.

Now: I give myself grace on the short term stuff. That list will be there after I get done with a writing sprint.

Making long term investments always pay off, especially when you’ve validated the move works.

Double down on what works. Take the next step. Invest in the thing that will make your year-from-now self happy.

Your ability to impact the world comes down to your long term investments. And, you usually need big chunks of time to push them forward.

Find the time to invest in your long-term impact, and give yourself some grace–short-term tasks can wait.

Your future self will be happy you did.

From Prison To Purpose!

I got more “thank you for that” texts and emails after Tommy Breedlove’s episode launched than any I can remember. I loved his book Legendary.

We cut across nearly every mindset you need to succeed, and Tommy’s style of being part preacher and part life hacker is really unique. It’s inspiring and practical!