Beau's Blog

I love influencers.
That’s misleading and unspecific; let me clarify.
I am immensely grateful to influencers who guide me.

They have provided massive value to my life. I have taken ideas from these people to define who I am and who I want to be who I will become.

These people are not my favorite influencers because I agree with them the most. These are my favorite influencers because they have made the biggest positive difference in my life.

#1 Mr. Money Mustache

The influencer who has influenced me the most is Mr. Money Mustache (MMM). He’s famous for his personal finance blog and he’s a huge reason why the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement is as well known as it is today. My unicyclist friend Robin introduced me to his blog in the summer between college and starting my first full time job.

I read his article about the impact of savings rate. It blew my mind. It also shows that given a few reasonable assumptions, your savings rate determines when you will be financially independent – some number of years between never (0% savings rate) and today (100%).

• This post lives in the back of my mind and speaks up during every financial decision I make. (It’s reasonable to say every decision has direct or indirect financial impacts so this article affects every decision I make.)
• This post helps me understand how my actions & habits today dramatically affect what my future will look like years/decades later
• This post pushes me to defer gratification/think long term/hold out for two cookies later

The savings rate post also taught me to think more in terms of a spectrum as opposed to absolutes or simply good vs bad. Personal finance has rules of thumb such as spend less than X% of your income on housing or save Y% of your income. The chart from the post makes it very clear that more of a good thing leads to better and better results – don’t get fixated on X or Y; making X smaller or Y bigger makes a massive difference. Additionally, It may seem a little less quantitative when it comes to relationships or health but this idea is applicable and powerful in all parts of life.

Mr. Money Mustache, thank you for teaching me abnormal action leads to abnormal results – especially when it comes to money.

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#2 Tim Ferriss

I learned about Tim Ferriss around the same time as MMM. It was right after college, just as I began the long chapter of life filled with work. I knew I would learn lots in my career. But Tim emphasized that I could think differently in my career as well as learn and grow in whatever direction I wanted. Despite finishing school, my life’s learning was only beginning.

My introduction to Tim was through reading his book, The 4 Hour Workweek and it taught me about lifestyle design. I interpret this as being intentional with designing your lifestyle. He shares lots of ideas and personal experiences but what stuck with me most were:

• Dreamlining: An exercise to imagine and progress towards your ideal life
  • What do you have? physical possessions
  • Who are you being? facets of your identity/skills
  • What are you doing? how are you spending your time?
• Location Independence
  • Travel, with minimal career/financial sacrifice? Count me in!
  • The cover of the book is someone on a hammock between palm trees: this is no coincidence

I read the book 10 years ago and the 30 minutes I spent getting specific about my ideal life pushed me. It has helped me think more clearly about what is important and that’s been key to progressing my life in that direction.

Be it a week of remote work & disc golf with the boys in Finland (2023) or a 2 month Ecuador trip (2018) or moving to Boulder (2019) and then Japan (2023) – I have embraced a location independent life.

I also learned from Tim in The 4 Hour Chef. Despite the book not directly succeeding in its goal of teaching me how to learn smarter or become a good cook, it made a positive impact on me.

• Tim’s excitement for learning and experimentation in the book continues to inspire me
• This book did push me along my kitchen journey – specifically in getting me to do more cooking and cook with new ingredients, equipments & techniques
• His NYC food marathon inspired a Boulder food marathon – a highlight of my time living in Boulder

Tim’s curiosity and fun has made me better. He has encouraged me to lean into those concepts in my life and I love that.
Tim Ferriss, thank you for teaching me to proactively experiment with my life.

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#3 David Goggins

No influencer inspires me to push myself like David Goggins. He’s hardcore. He’s over the top. I don’t always love his message but I cannot deny: he makes me better.

Since moving to Japan, my friend Olivier has become my unofficial trail running mentor. He is a badass who runs a ton and does 100 mile trail races. He also sends me Goggins video reels on Instagram. When I need encouragement to get out for a run or just get off the couch, I watch them. In this way, where Olivier is my real life motivation, Goggins is my more extreme, more distant, more idealized motivation.

Goggins role models athleticism and physical achievement to an incredible degree. That alone is valuable to me. However, that’s not what I most appreciate about him. His discipline and grit is elite. It’s clear this guy puts in the work day after day after day. Even that isn’t what I appreciate most about him.

What I appreciate most is his behavior of doing what his mind tells him to avoid. He is determined to master his will. For example, when he hears a voice in his head saying “this elliptical exercise machine seems difficult”, that’s when he knows what he has to do. He’ll then spend the next few hours on that exact machine.

The biggest benefits this mindset has given me are reducing stress and moving forward. This may be counterintuitive. I find that my stress usually comes from avoiding what I know I *should* be doing. Put simply, procrastination. When I see Goggins proactively fighting to be a beast of willpower, it gives me courage to do the same. I feel supported to take on tasks I would rather avoid. After taking action, I always feel better. It isn’t fun. It isn’t sexy. It is effective: I progress in life.

Whether it’s dealing with taxes, going for a run on a hot day or just cleaning my messy desk – Goggins helps me move forward toward my goals.

David Goggins, thank you for teaching me to seek what I am trying to avoid.

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Honorable Mentions

Sahil Bloom: Shares valuable ideas such as decision making frameworks, mindsets to live by or just that walks are amazing. I follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram and occasionally go to his website.

Jade Bonacolta: Clarity on what a high quality life is and practical tips to move in that direction. I follow her on LinkedIn and occasionally go to her website.

Tommy Lewis: Genuine dude who loves running and who has reasonable takes. I follow him on Instagram.

Closing Thoughts

I want to thank my parents. They’ve been the biggest influence on me. I am grateful for the mindsets and behaviors they’ve role modeled. Like everyone else mentioned here, they aren’t perfect. I don’t always agree with them. They have however, made a massive difference in my life.

I’d love to learn about the people who have made a big difference in your life – please share with me in the comments or however you like!