Invest Your Bar Tab, A Self-Improvement Mindset
It's a mindset. It's a personal philosophy. These 4 words are a simple and memorable way to frame your choices, and re-evaluate your entitlements, unproductive behaviors, and ignorance.
I spent my early 20's living it up like a rockstar, taking spontaneous trips to Boston and Los Angeles, buying rounds of drinks for my friends, or pizzas for an entire party. I loved the attention, and embraced the you-only-live-once lifestyle (although the term YOLO didn't exist yet). I fell into the middle class consumer trap, I believed I needed these things, or even that I somehow deserved them. I bought a new TV, Playstation, drumset, a dozen tattoos, and lived in a 3 bedroom townhouse by myself.
I figured when I got a 'real' job, I'd have plenty to pay it all back. I graduated with a master's degree and expected a job to fall into my lap, and when that didn't happen, I racked up $19,000 on personal credit cards.
The point of this post isn't to make myself into a martyr, but to provide some context about why this stuff is so important to me. It's more than one of those "if I knew then what I know now" posts. There is an entire culture of bad advice out there. I've seen so many blog posts encouraging recent college grads to spend their student loan money on a trip to Europe, or videos trying to convince us that the only way to live a good life is through music festivals and VIP rooms. It's all a sham!
I hate to break it to you, but the secret to a happy life isn't a secret at all. Eat a balanced diet, save your money, work hard (but not too hard) and relax in moderation.
Ok, so the rest of this blog will probably be a lot less personal, and hopefully more informative - but sometimes I get pumped up, and I might jump in with an occasional rant like this. Thanks for visiting, and if you disagree with everything I'm saying I'm more than happy to discuss in the comment section.
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