Kevin Dahlstrom

Today I turn 55. I’m the fittest, sharpest, and happiest I’ve ever been. If I’m an outlier, it’s not because I’m built different or discovered a secret formula. The truth is far less glamorous: It’s a million tiny choices, compounded over decades. Here are 55 of them: 1. Walk 15+ miles a week, even if you do other exercise. Humans are uniquely made to move slowly over long distances—it’s critical to longevity. 2. Develop a writing practice. It’s the single best way to sharpen your mind. And remember, you don’t have to be a good writer to write. Start with 10 minutes a day. 3. Swap out your toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, soap, shampoo, and other personal care products for natural versions. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t put anything on your skin that you couldn’t safely eat. 4. If you have a positive thought about someone, don’t keep it to yourself—share it immediately. Encouragement defies the laws of physics: When you give energy, you also receive it. 5. Wear shoes with a wide forefoot (I like Topo Athletic) and wear toe spreaders around the house (search “yoga toes” on Amazon). Spine health begins with the feet. 6. Get sunlight regularly. Moderate sun exposure (without sunscreen) is hugely important for overall health. 7. Do a 3-minute deep (“ass to grass”) squat every morning. Deep squats are often called the anti-aging exercise. It’s been said that, “It’s not that you can’t do deep squats because you’re old, it’s that you’re old because you can’t do deep squats.” 8. Explore minimalism (it’s not what you think it is). 9. Set boundaries on toxic relationships. We tend to cling to relationships past their expiration date, and it takes a bigger toll on our health than we recognize. 10. Eat real food. Not too much. Don’t eat garbage. Binge occasionally. Fast occasionally. That’s the diet. 11. Learn about FIRE. It’s a great framework for financial success. 12. Don’t take antibiotics except in emergency situations. They’re massively over-prescribed and aren’t needed in most cases. Antibiotics have done untold damage to our guts, which is where health begins. Great natural alternatives are out there. 13. Get 8 hours of quality sleep each night. To optimize sleep: —Don’t eat after 6pm —Get blackout shades and cover LEDs with black tape —No screens 2 hours before bed —Try ashwagandha (an herb) to calm the nervous system 14. Stop drinking, even in moderation. People find all sorts of ways to justify drinking, but there’s no escaping the simple fact that alcohol is a toxin and it limits your potential. 15. Travel as much as possible. Nothing expands the mind like seeing the world. And travel doesn’t have to be expensive—the best experiences happen outside of fancy resorts, when you live like a local. 16. Let go of resentment. When you forgive someone, you release the prisoner, and the prisoner isn’t them… it’s you. 17. Show up on time, every time. Poor time management limits success more than most people realize. If you struggle with punctuality, stop everything else and fix that first. 18. Spend lots of time in nature and touch the earth. Humans evolved over 300k years to live in harmony with nature, and only recently have we retreated indoors. If you don’t spend time outside, you’re fighting biology (hint: You won’t win.) 19. Stop doing dumb things. As Leo Tolstoy said, “People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing—refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.” 20. Find your happy place and (eventually) move there. Most people live where they live because... that's where they live. We are products of our environment—choose yours carefully. 21. Find a hobby and pursue mastery. You can’t have a happy life without a passionate pursuit that isn’t your vocation. Your work—even if you enjoy it—isn’t enough. 22. Avoid mainstream medicine except as a last resort. The results are in—our healthcare (or more appropriately, sick care) system is badly broken and only makes people sicker. 23. Have a mindset of abundance. There is no advantage to being a pessimist—even if you’re right, it’s a miserable way to live. In a very real way… whatever you believe, you’re right! 24. Do hard things. Choose courage over comfort. Everything you want is on the other side of fear and hard work. As Jerzy Gregorik said, “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” 25. Ignore haters. Hurt people hurt people. Negative/toxic people live in a prison of their own design. Don’t join them! 26. Say no. Protect your time and energy like it’s your most precious asset… because it is. 27. Become a water snob. As an alien said on Star Trek, humans are “ugly bags of mostly water.” You are what you drink—literally! We have Mountain Valley Spring water delivered in glass 5-gallon jugs and also have whole-house water filter (Aquasana Rhino). 28. Stop drinking sodas and sugary energy drinks. After a few weeks you won’t miss them, and a few months later they’ll seem disgusting. Refined sugar causes inflammation, which is the root of most disease. 29. If you’re over 35, find a good functional/longevity medicine doctor and start tracking your hormones. Modern life is hell on the endocrine system and restoring healthy hormone levels can change your life. As we get older, we either accept a slow decline in performance or we do something about it—choose the latter! 30. Develop a morning routine and follow it faithfully. Win the morning, win the day! 31. Invest in experiences, not things. People frequently regret buying things, but rarely regret investing in great experiences (especially when shared with loved ones). Remember, there’s nothing you can buy in a mall that you’ll remember in ten years. 32. Explore spirituality. It’s arrogant and small-minded to believe there’s nothing going on in our universe that is beyond our comprehension. We know less about our universe than an ant meandering on a sidewalk understands about this planet. 33. Have a strong bias toward action—doing rather than talking. If you ask a bunch of old people about their regrets, they’ll talk about the things they *didn't* do—the shots they didn’t take—more than the things they did do (even if it went wrong). As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Most people don’t take enough shots. 34. Stay lean. Men in particular are obsessed with muscle mass these days, but bulk doesn’t age well. The goal is to be strong but lean. The fittest guys in their 50s and beyond aren’t meatheads, they’re lean guys who are serious about a sport. 35. Curate your inner circle carefully. Surround yourself with people you admire and who challenge you to grow. Remember, we’re the average of our 5 closest relationships. 36. Be the fittest version of yourself. Your body is your only vessel for experiencing life—so treat it as such. Fitness isn’t working out a few times a week, it’s a lifestyle. The older you get, the more time you need to devote to your health. 37. Take the time to appreciate art and beauty in all its forms. 38. Think globally, but act locally. Too many people put their energy into far-away problems they don’t understand and can’t impact, while ignoring problems right under their nose. Want to change the world? Start at home. 39. Try psychedelics. It’s one of those things everyone should do at least once, and it might be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. 40. Limit bad habits, including unhealthy thought patterns. We all have them—practice avoidance and find substitutes. Get professional help if needed. 41. Be a lifelong learner. Your brain is just like a muscle—if you don’t feed and flex it regularly, it will atrophy. 42. Find your purpose. People with a strong sense of purpose are happier and live longer. Lack of purpose sucks energy and magnifies depression. 43. Only take advice from people who embody the traits you want to have. Talk is cheap—emulate those who have DONE it. 44. The goal is not to retire and do nothing, it’s to build a great day-to-day life that you don’t need to escape. A life of leisure is a slow death. Happiness isn’t possible without a little struggle, uncertainty, and skin in the game. 45. Have fun! Do frivolous and silly things that make you smile. As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 46. Whatever you want to do or achieve in life, start NOW. Don’t fall victim to “someday thinking” because someday never comes. 47. Accumulate assets—things that grow in value over time. It’s the #1 habit of rich people, and it can be done in tiny chunks. Instead of spending $100 on an impulse purchase that has no lasting value, put that money into an index fund or Bitcoin. It becomes addictive (in a good way). 48. Don’t ignore the big 3 canaries in the coal mine for health: —Low libido (and ED) —Frequent sinus & respiratory issues —Depression These usually aren’t medical conditions in themselves, they’re symptoms of an underlying problem. Find a good doc (outside of the mainstream) and figure out the root cause. 49. Have a clear vision for your future. How can you decide which direction to go if you haven’t clearly defined the destination? It sounds obvious, but 95% of people haven’t defined their “Ideal End State” in detail and in writing. (Check out my thread on this topic.) 50. Make your own decisions. We live in an era where most of what society tells us is wrong. Don’t be afraid to break from societal norms—if people say you’re crazy, it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. 51. Get hardcore about mobility exercise. As you age, it’s usually the knees, hips, and lower back that limit physical performance. 30 min a couple times a week can spare you a lifetime of pain. YouTube is a great resource. 52. Go all in on family. Get married, stay married, have kids. Burn the boats. In the end, family is all that matters. 53. Be ruthless with your time. Money comes and goes. Time only goes. Audit your calendar ruthlessly—cut the trivial, double down on the meaningful, and spend your hours like your life depends on it. (Because it does.) 54. Have a strong bias toward action. Be curious, try things, meet people—it’s how you increase your surface area for serendipity, the most powerful unseen force in our lives. 55. Reinvent yourself every decade. Over time, we slowly drift off course from our priorities, values, and true identity. Take stock and don’t be afraid to hit the reset button. Bold, calculated moves made for the right reasons almost always pay off—usually even more than you can imagine. 🎁 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, would you give me a birthday gift? Repost or comment with the item number(s) you liked best?

@texasrunnerDFW Showing up prepared is probably a pretty good predictor of success in all areas of life.

@Camp4 It’s a well known saying during marathon training that the marathon is the 16 weeks of training and race day is the celebration It was true for me. The marathon is mostly fun with a few really tough miles between 18 and 26, IF you trained correctly and the weather is decent

🎾 Nearly 40 years ago, my high school tennis coach said something that stuck with me: “We win matches in practice. We only go to tournaments to collect trophies.” At 16, I thought it was just a clever motivational line. Now, at 55, I understand the power of that advice. In every area of life: The thing is usually decided before the thing happens. Here’s a real-world example we can all relate to: Years ago, I worked with a woman named Cathy who was an exceptional public speaker. She wowed audiences every time. It seemed effortless. One day I asked Cathy what her secret was. She grinned sheepishly and said: “I’m not a naturally gifted speaker, so I write every speech out word for word and practice it ten times.” Cathy’s secret to dazzling crowds was… brute force preparation. Now, if you asked either of my daughters what Dad taught them about public speaking, they'd roll their eyes and answer: “Practice ten times.” They know Cathy’s secret works. Here’s my point: 
The best don’t wing it at anything. They stack the deck heavily in their favor through simple preparation. It’s so obvious—the success secret hiding in plain sight. And yet… Most people won’t do the work. They show up to the tournament hoping to win the trophy—not knowing it was already claimed by someone who hit a million balls in practice. 🎾

@mitchellcmorris Exactly. Extra mass decreases functional fitness.

At 5'11 my natural body weight has been 175 lbs. My mma fight weight back in the mid 2000s was 165. I've been as heavy as 205, currently 190 and cutting. I've come to the conclusion that I don't understand why anyone would carry 10lbs or more weight then they have to, including myself. Even if it's muscle weight, unless sumo, rugby, or football. Imo it is completely inefficient from eating, to work out time, to performance, and in the end for most importantly function. Maybe I'm finally getting tired and old 😅?

@mwmoedinger @nikitabier

@Camp4 @nikitabier We're back!!

Overnight, X became a different app. My feed is slop free. It’s 2019 again! 👏 Well done, @nikitabier.

@SMB_Attorney @nikitabier

@Camp4 @nikitabier Welcome back Kev 🫡

@morganisawizard Same for my wife, but it’s one of the few she has left.

@Camp4 kelso! little bear scares the crap out of me 😂

foids only want to do one thing and it’s disgusting

@derweb07 @TJ_Bongiorno 👊

If one's professional life becomes their sole purpose for being, they end up being defined and constrained to that context. What happens if their job or industry goes away? Or they make it to retirement, how do they live after? You can still have tremendous purpose in your work but there should be something magnanimous in your life great than your professional output. My friend @Camp4 does a great job talking about this.

I found a lot of value in thinking this through and writing it down

@aspen_broker It’s all happening on one day. Teams are spread out across all of these objectives.

@Camp4 How many days for all of these?

The best experiences have one thing in common: The outcome isn't guaranteed. This weekend, 30 senior business execs are coming to Boulder for an event I’m producing. My events aren’t coddled corporate retreats... Attendees will rope up with a mountain guide to climb a Flatiron. We'll be climbing every formation labeled below. Some are as tall as the Empire State Building. It’s a big challenge for non-climbers... and that's the point. I tell everyone: If the outcome is guaranteed, it’s not an adventure. In any endeavor, the most satisfying accomplishments are those where the outcome was uncertain. Where you had to earn it. Climbers have a simple framework for this. We call it the "Fun Scale": Type I Fun is enjoyable in the moment, like eating a great meal. Type II Fun is challenging in the moment, but rewarding afterward. This is the sweet spot. Type III Fun is neither fun in the moment, nor rewarding afterward. It's usually the result of poor decisions. Avoid! I warn attendees: Not everyone will summit—and that's part of the experience. Success is even sweeter when it takes two attempts. (Or, in the case of some of my climbing projects... fifty. 🤪) P.S. This event is invite-only, but I’m thinking about doing a similar scaled-down event this fall for my followers who are outdoor enthusiasts. To stay in the loop, sign up for my email list (link in bio).

@GrindstoneSEO No I meant posterior. Hamstrings, glutes, lower back.

@Camp4 "climbing doesn't train the posterior chain"

Spatial awareness and mind-body connection are the most important—and also most undertrained—dimensions of fitness. It's why lifting should be a side dish, not the main course. Coordinated movement *is* athleticism. It's why you see skinny guys who are freak athletes—and jacked fitness bros who can't throw a football. More importantly, complex, coordinated movement staves off the ravages of age and even devastating neurological disorders. Three separate clinical studies demonstrated significant improvement in the symptoms of Parkinson's disease from... rock climbing. In climbing, you're placing your hands and toes on millimeter-size targets hundreds of times per session, while under max power. The movement is incredibly complex and varied—remarkably similar to dancing. This video of the crux of Uncle Dad (5.13b) is a great example. If I miss any of these moves by more than a few millimeters, I fall. If my balance shifts the wrong direction by two inches, I fall. It's hard to simulate that sort of precision movement under load in a gym. My advice: 1) Play a sport as your primary mode of fitness. Find one you love. 2) Lift to supplement and enhance your fitness. Even at my age, I make steady gains with just one full-body lifting session per week. 3) Do lots of mobility exercise to maintain range of motion and fill in the gaps. For example, climbing doesn't train the posterior chain so I do daily mobility work for that. (P.S. I'm also convinced that climbing is the reason I don't need glasses at the age of 55.)

@justnblock Work is important, but it’s not enough.

Recently heard @Camp4’s take on people who say they “love their work” and “wouldn’t want to do anything else with their time” - which he said really means: they haven’t explored more of themselves or the world…they don’t know anything else. It’s a cop out. I completely agree, because I used to be this person. I literally would and still do say “I love what I do”…but it’s different now. It’s been a little over a year since we sold our company, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. And I can confidently say at 30 - I never want to go back to the way my life was (which was great btw, it’s just WAY better now). Now, I live my life on my own terms. My rules. I love having time to play tennis when I want. And even string my own racket. I love having time to write my book. I love having time to make strategic investments and how I want to bring some nee businesses into the world. I love not having to be on zoom calls for something that could’ve been an email. I love being able to workout mid-day and sauna at 1pm. You get the point… I still love business. But there is so much more to life than work or living in an office, even if you are “having the time of your life.” (Trust me, I thought I was too lol) And the craziest part is…you don’t need a lot of money to have a kickass life…but you do need to intentionally work to get there. I think more entrepreneurs would probably agree if they would give themselves the gift of spending less time working and exploring more of their curiosity and dreams. There are seasons to life and obviously exceptions to this…but I can never unsee this now. Point being…work hard on the things you actually enjoy, without sacrificing all the other amazing experiences life has to offer. Design your life and go fucking life it to the best of your ability. And please, for your sanity…don’t get good at the wrong things!

@kjorgeson Textbook Type 3 👇 youtu.be/1dJLN43G6KA?is…

@Camp4 if someone doesn’t almost crap their pants mid climb (iykyk) then is it really type 1 fun?

@p_millerd Well you can’t be contrarian and popular 🤣

my goal is to be a philosopher that no one pays much attention to

@kjorgeson, star of The Dawn Wall, cruising the Third Flatiron at a previous event. For KJ, soloing at this level is pure Type I fun.

@GrindstoneSEO ?

@Camp4 Did you mean anterior?

@mbrown_co We may have overshot a bit with your objective. 🤣

@Camp4 Can confirm Kevin’s events will push your boundaries. Especially if you tell him you have climbing experience 💀

@oncetravelled @vrexec Nothing brings things into clear focus more than a life-threatening illness. "A healthy man has a thousand wishes, a sick man only one."

@Camp4 @vrexec Hubby had bone cancer at 40 and was told treatment worked but shorten his life. Since we married at 46 I’ve supported us with investments I had - he’s not lazy but every hour he continued to work for ‘the man’ was potentially an hour less life force to really LIVE.

I’m in this luxury beach town in Belgium for a couple days with my wife and kids. Some say it’s like the Hamptons of the Dutch/Belgian coast. As one does, we have been looking in the windows of the makelaar/real estate brokers. There are homes here which are not particularly massive but are very beautiful, modern, and unique… asking for €4mil, €6mil, and €10mil+. Then I was looking at a high-end boat dealer shop. Again, not humongous boats but many were more than €750k, some well over €1million. Can’t imagine the maintenance, fuel, insurance, and docking fees. It reminded me just how much money a small % of the population has out there. And it’s a sheer amount of money that is as improbable as it gets to get hold of yourself if you’re not inheriting it from family. Some people might see this and think “man I have to work harder or hustle or come up with some great idea” to get to this level of wealth. But that’s so unlikely to happen that, no, you should never even try. 5 million, for example, for a second home no less, is making 1 million *extra* per year for about 10 years after tax. Beyond the cash flow you even need to fund your life or your business. Similar things can be said about starting and selling a company. Odds are so unbelievably low… Wealth is almost never built because some guy “wanted to get wealthy.” It’s built over long periods of time, multi-generationally, and almost always because someone is simply pursuing excellence in their craft… or doing something they’re clearly meant to be doing and that they genuinely enjoy. The wealth becomes a byproduct… not the product itself. If wealth itself is the motivator, then you’re probably just as likely to end up in prison pursuing it.. or tasting it briefly then losing all of it.. because your dopamine source is an abstract destination which your thought process will never allow you to reach (it will always move). But also, more importantly, that degree of wealth is “surplus wealth” anyway. These days, in this decade, with the access and abundance we have available to us… what’s is fundamentally special or different about owning these homes or these yachts? Same birds let it fly over those homes as anyone else’s. The yachts move over the same waves. The owners do the same day to day things I do or you do. This very “elite” town… anyone can come here and swim in the same ocean.. eat the same steaks… drink the same wine. I think it was Warren Buffet who once said something to the effect… I can’t eat 10 billion Snickers bars… drink 10 billion Coca-Cola’s. There’s a practical life lesson there.

@p_millerd @vrexec The $50+ million estate I referred to is occupied only a few days a year.

@Camp4 @vrexec so many of those homes in boulder are empty too, very sad

@jedfrankowski @tonyszko @JamesonCamp DM me with details!

@tonyszko @Camp4 @JamesonCamp @Camp4 there was a typo in previous comment so I removed. I can and I will if you want. DM me and let’s talk :)

A beauty brand doing $8M/year just showed me their books. They're spending $50K/month on creators and losing money Marketing has completely changed in the last 24 months. And most people running brands haven't caught up yet. I've managed $11M+ P&Ls for ecom brands. The way we ran those in 2020 and 2022 would be completely different today. The playbook used to hold for 2-3 years. Now it shifts every 6-12 months. If you're running the same strategy you were 18 months ago, you're already behind. The new model has two layers and they need to be completely separate. Layer 1 is influence creators. People with ~100K followers and real audience trust, where you're paying $1-2k per deal and then whitelisting their accounts to run paid ads through them. Their face, their credibility, your ad budget behind it. Layer 2 is a UGC army. Totally different people. You're paying $15/video plus a $1 CPM bonus and generating mass volume of creative, statics included. Then you run the top performers as paid ads. Most individual pieces don't hit. That's fine. You're playing the law of averages. Enough volume and you consistently find viral hitters and great ad creative that you'd never have predicted in advance. AI has unlocked some new pieces of magic though: you can now spin up 20 landing pages in an afternoon, each one matched to a specific funnel or creative. Triple Whale can do this for example Single product pages convert way better than homepage dumps. This always worked but it used to take dev teams weeks. Now it's one afternoon. Content strategy is easier too. Ive been advising the Stan team on building @stanleybystan as an AI content strategist. It helps me translate my tweets into IG Reels pulling 100K+ views, helps me think about what a client can post, it solves much of the heavy content lift. There is a major opportunity right now But it will go away. As it always does Every brand still dumping $50K/month into last year's playbook is paying tuition on a lesson they refuse to learn.