"Wow, this post is really inspiring! I've been struggling to make progress in my own projects, but reading about your journey and how you persevered through the tough times has given me a new sense of motivation. I especially appreciated your tips on building a network and seeking out mentors - those are areas I definitely need to work on. Thank you for sharing your story and insights, and congratulations on all your success!"
Really enjoyed reading this. Just started going to the gym a few months ago myself. I’ve been going 3 days a week, consistently. It’s surprising how once I started to see results (more energy with family, better looking body, better overall physical/mental health) how addictive it has become. Thanks for the reminder about time management, that one is definitely underrated! Now I just need to buy some NOBS…
This is excellent. So dangerous because he is as you say "average" not obviously terrible. Not robbing banks and taking heroin, just small insidious habits that build over time. The hoping/planning/good intentions without action are particularly deadly as they appease the conscience a bit without accomplishing anything. Averageness isn't simplicity. In fact, he seems to overthink everything. Life is actually simpler than he makes it: the solution to pull-ups is pull-ups. The solution to waking up early is waking up early. Ask the girl out. Simple stuff.
Also: generosity is a paramount virtue but be generous with your outputs. It is okay, necessary even, to be quite selfish with your inputs. Farmers shouldn't give their seeds away to charity and men shouldn't give their time away to anything but their best and highest callings. These things should be extremely healthy, lucrative, useful, and/or joyful. Without apology. And that means saying "no" to everything else while outsourcing everything that needs to be done but that anyone else can do.
you touched on it a bit, but must be stressed: regularly drinking alcohol *cripples* your chances of being above-average....especially as you age.
find me 10 people over the age of 35 who are Winning At Life (fitness, financial, family) and i guarantee you 8 of them have cut out drinking almost completely, one of them still drinks heavy on occasion (but regrets it) and the other is one of those outliers that everybody points to to rationalize their own continued use of booze.
calorically horrible, kills sleep, lowers drive, awful practice. "i just like wine with dinner" is cope--in all but the rarest cases (you arent one of them) booze is the most -EV habit you could ever have.
Great post! I started walking up an hour earlier than I needed to a couple of months ago—game changer. It dropped my stress levels and made my days much better. It aucks for the first few days, but you get used to it. Highly recommend.
Great post. Have already been waking up around 6:30 and seeing results but need to wake up around 5:30 to have enough time to get in the gym early versus dealing with a not so great workout at 8pm. Also, does Above Average Joe drink a glass of red with Sarah or does he cut it out completely? I'm the type of guy to not drink at all but if on a dinner date will have a glass, typically 1-2x a week.
Hi Ox, what would you recommend for someone who has to be at work at 7 am and people who have shifts? Thank you for your very reasonable and beautifully written post.
"Wow, this post is really inspiring! I've been struggling to make progress in my own projects, but reading about your journey and how you persevered through the tough times has given me a new sense of motivation. I especially appreciated your tips on building a network and seeking out mentors - those are areas I definitely need to work on. Thank you for sharing your story and insights, and congratulations on all your success!"
Really enjoyed reading this. Just started going to the gym a few months ago myself. I’ve been going 3 days a week, consistently. It’s surprising how once I started to see results (more energy with family, better looking body, better overall physical/mental health) how addictive it has become. Thanks for the reminder about time management, that one is definitely underrated! Now I just need to buy some NOBS…
This is excellent. So dangerous because he is as you say "average" not obviously terrible. Not robbing banks and taking heroin, just small insidious habits that build over time. The hoping/planning/good intentions without action are particularly deadly as they appease the conscience a bit without accomplishing anything. Averageness isn't simplicity. In fact, he seems to overthink everything. Life is actually simpler than he makes it: the solution to pull-ups is pull-ups. The solution to waking up early is waking up early. Ask the girl out. Simple stuff.
Also: generosity is a paramount virtue but be generous with your outputs. It is okay, necessary even, to be quite selfish with your inputs. Farmers shouldn't give their seeds away to charity and men shouldn't give their time away to anything but their best and highest callings. These things should be extremely healthy, lucrative, useful, and/or joyful. Without apology. And that means saying "no" to everything else while outsourcing everything that needs to be done but that anyone else can do.
you touched on it a bit, but must be stressed: regularly drinking alcohol *cripples* your chances of being above-average....especially as you age.
find me 10 people over the age of 35 who are Winning At Life (fitness, financial, family) and i guarantee you 8 of them have cut out drinking almost completely, one of them still drinks heavy on occasion (but regrets it) and the other is one of those outliers that everybody points to to rationalize their own continued use of booze.
calorically horrible, kills sleep, lowers drive, awful practice. "i just like wine with dinner" is cope--in all but the rarest cases (you arent one of them) booze is the most -EV habit you could ever have.
Great post! I started walking up an hour earlier than I needed to a couple of months ago—game changer. It dropped my stress levels and made my days much better. It aucks for the first few days, but you get used to it. Highly recommend.
Above average Joe sounds eerily close to Jason Bateman in American Psycho 🤣🤣🤣. Just sayin...
Great post. Have already been waking up around 6:30 and seeing results but need to wake up around 5:30 to have enough time to get in the gym early versus dealing with a not so great workout at 8pm. Also, does Above Average Joe drink a glass of red with Sarah or does he cut it out completely? I'm the type of guy to not drink at all but if on a dinner date will have a glass, typically 1-2x a week.
I was Average Joe from ~2013-2020. Sleepwalking and stumbling through life without any intent and with a bad attitude.
It took a couple implosions (“you will tip the f*ck over, or worse yet...implode” - MM) and my dad stepping in to finally get on the right track.
Life is good and keeps getting better.
You nailed all of this.
I hope more guys see stuff like this and get the help they need. Dark times for men right now, we gotta pull each other up.
Great post, Ox
You’re posts keep on getting Ox, this one is perfect.
Keep it up ❤️
Found myself grinning reading this post. I used to be the average Joe and now my day looks hella similar to the above average Joe.
Beautifully written Ox.
Hi Ox, what would you recommend for someone who has to be at work at 7 am and people who have shifts? Thank you for your very reasonable and beautifully written post.
Pro tip- have an allergy. Almost all sh*t food has dairy, gluten, etc. Easy way to decline
Too funny Ox, loved it!
Writing an plan for the day helps me. I've really begun to appreciate how fast the day goes and it helps me prioritize what's important - my goals.
Average Joe’s Day was one of the funnier things I’ve read in a while. I laughed, but it’s also sad.
Great post
I’m realizing the irony of being told to “just live a little” by binge drinking or eating garbage
Those people are the worst