Focus on those 8 life areas to 10X your life

Ever heard of mental models?

They are, as Charlie Munger, would describe them, models which allow you to better comprehend the world as it is.

Years ago, you see, the best mental model I could come up with was the following:

Money = happiness.

Business = money.

More business = more happiness.

Yet, as most of us know, this mental model is flawed.

Actually, it might work for a frivolous, young, ambitious 20 something.

Until the responsibilities come: housing, girlfriend, spirituality, etc.

We all know that focusing only on work/business will make you good in that area, yet other areas of your life will suffer.

I did not understand that back in the days… and many ambitious, high performance individuals might still not understand that today.

Not only do I want to shine a light for those over-ambitious, over-achieving persons, but I want to teach them about the symbiosis between areas of your life, a phenomenon which doesn’t only happen in nature (i.e. pollination), but also in our everyday life.

I want to make you understand how for example, spending more time/energy in the spiritual area of your life can benefit your business/finance area of your life.

And some of you might take that for granted, but this article will still be a great reminder of that, as we overachievers tend to always navigate more towards the business area of our lives.

So let me illustrate my current mental model which has been doing wonders in my life for quite a while (road tested), and constantly explains some of the challenges that you and we disrupt the equilibrium of those 8 areas.

I bet some of you have already heard or seen that type of graph, yet have never decided to apply it in your day-to-day.

The aim of that post is to have you adopt this type of mental model, and for you to physically use the balance between those 8 areas to enhance your life and overcome (and prevent) obstacles.

So as you can read on the graph, the areas of my life which I try to focus on, and keep the balance in between are, in order of priority:

1) Knowledge (25% importance, aka 25% of my time and energy spent on this activity)

2) Mindset (20%)

3) Health (15%)

4) Relationship (12.5%)

5) Business (10%)

6) Spirituality (7.5%)

7) Lifestyle (5%)

8) Contribution (5%)

Each time I feel unsatisfied in one of those areas, it’s because I didn’t put enough time and energy into one of 7 other areas.

The balance was shifted too strongly in one direction.

i.e. I got into an argument with my girlfriend that didn’t end up in a constructive conclusion.

That happened mainly because I didn’t meditate today and my pain body, as Eckhart Tolle would say, is in search of drama.

But let’s face it, it’s also because I didn’t make any cash today.

And let’s dig deeper in the financial area… as most of us think it’s the root to all problems.

Let me tell you how each of the other 7 areas of your life can be impacting the financial area of your life.

1) Knowledge: for someone like me that is pretty obvious. I can’t improve in any other areas of my life without learning about it first. I cannot make more money or be more in control of my money without learning about it. i.e. reading “Unbreakable” by Tony Robbins or listening to Dave Ramsey’s podcast about money. That will definitely have a major impact in my financial life if I can learn more about it.

2) Mindset: that’s the trickiest one. People will keep on chasing money, while they have obvious psychological flaws which will prevent them, like a glass ceiling, to enrich themselves. Whether it is self-sabotage or having a limited mindset, instead of a growth mindset, those with weak mindsets need to stop everything and to rethink. Most of us need to reflect, to write in journals, and to start new micro-habits which will allow us to CHANGE a fixed mindset. Stop being careful with your money, stop always trying to save, stop wishing for more money. Those are examples of limiting beliefs.

3) Health: also not obvious. But if you can get back in shape, or just do MORE sport every day, your wallet will also benefit. You will get more clients, as your looks will improve, and halo effect will kick in. You will have more energy to deliver higher quality work, for a longer time. You will be more confident.

4) Spirituality: meditating will give me more money? Yes. You will be calmer, more focused. Affirmations will help you plant deep in your subconscious your financial desires. It will happen soon or later.

5) Relationship: How can you work with peace of mind when you know your spouse and children are mad against you for working so late? Communicate with them. Block time with them. Give them your 100% attention when you are with them. And they will reward you with deep understanding about your work, allowing the cash machine to work full throttle.

6) Lifestyle: do you allow yourself some treats, sometimes? Do you reward yourself with night outs, or treat yourself with vacations? “No, that’ll cost me”. Wrong. That’s an investment. Tell your brain that when he works hard, he’ll get a reward and he’ll make you do twice as much money. You’re not a slave. Everything you invest in your wellbeing, whether it is a day at the spa, or a night out with friends, will come back as a dollar sign. Swing in.

7) Contribution: do you give your time, energy or money to causes that are worthwhile to you? This will reward you back, financially. This will make your financial “WHY” stronger. You’ll know that you don’t allow work for yourself, but for a bigger cause. And who knows, you might meet business connexions in the process.

I bet you are starting to get the point now.

Do not neglect, ever, other areas of your life like I use to do when I started my career.

Keep balance in between those spheres.

That doesn’t mean to spend every day split in between all those areas.

But it might mean that during the week, you focus time on your business, and during weekends, you devote 100% of your time to your close ones and YOURSELF.

This is one of the strongest mental model you can give to yourself.

It’s not because you work yourself out 24/7 that this will magically waterfall in all other aspects of your life.

It’s more of the other way around.

Working on other areas of your life, will waterfall into the finance/business area.

So, stop that “I will be happy when I will be rich” mentality, and get working on the 7 other areas of your life.

Let’s go!