Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday.
#108 – January 29, 2024
My online class ‘Effective Writing’ is open until February 4. Learn more here: dariusforoux.com/effective-writing
Wise: Lessons from writing
I started writing daily in 2015. Since then, everything changed in my life! I published over 600 articles and wrote 8 books.
In my latest article, I share 12 lessons I learned from writing consistently over the years. Let me give you my top 3:
- If you do something every day, you can make good money from it. If you do something daily, you get better. And opportunities will present themselves. Never underestimate the power of consistent work.
- When people count on you, you show up. Having an audience who expects your writing can be a great motivator. It creates a sense of responsibility, preventing procrastination.
- Writing is rewarding. You have a bunch of foggy thoughts in your mind that just sit there. Through the process of writing, you clear the fog and start getting clarity.
And here’s my important takeaway: Be original.
If you want to do anything worthwhile in the world, you have to do it differently than others. No one is looking for another clone of a well-known person.
Think about how you can be unique in your life. Stop trying to please people. Stop imitating others.
Be yourself.
Read my article to learn about the 9 other lessons.
↳ What I Learned From Writing 600 Articles & 8 Books
Wealthy: Saving $100K
Saving your first $100k is an important personal milestone. The investor Charlie Munger said it well:
“The hard part of the process for most people is the first $100,000. If you have a standing start at zero, getting together $100,000 is a long struggle for most people. And I would argue that people who get there relatively quickly are helped if they’re passionate about being rational, very eager and opportunistic, and steadily underspend their income grossly.”
The first step is all about building a strong foundation. In my experience, this usually takes about 3 years. During this time, the goal is to save $25,000.
The first three years are where you lay your financial foundation. It’s the first step to your wealth-building journey.
In my other new article, I talk about growing your savings further in the 4th year. And saving a total of $100K in year 5.
↳ How to Save Your First $100K in 5 Years
One interesting thing
Writing is thinking. Whether you communicate by email, messaging, or in person, you’re constantly translating your thoughts into clear and coherent words.
This is why it’s so important to write daily. The teacher and author, William Zinsser, put it well:
“Writing is a basic skill for getting through life.”
If you want to improve your writing, join the nearly 3,000 students in my online class, Effective Writing.
Join us here: dariusforoux.com/effective-writing/
Thanks for reading! I hope you found this edition of Wise & Wealthy useful.
All the best,
Darius
Join the 5-day Financial Freedom Challenge
I created a 5-day email course you can do alone or together with a group. It’s called the Financial Freedom Challenge. And it will help you to gain control over your finances.
Most people try to calculate their way out of poor finances. But money problems aren’t rational. They’re emotional. Manage your emotions well, and you’ll manage your finances better.
How to Unlock the Financial Freedom Challenge
You can join the challenge for free. For five days, you’ll receive a short email with a small challenge that inspires you to improve your relationship with money.
I highly recommend sharing it with your friends/family so you can go through the program together. It helps bring perspective. And it’s more fun that way too.
Join here for free: dariusforoux.com/financial-freedom