3496: Lessons in Badassity from a Night in Houston by Mr. Money Mustache on How to Be Stoic

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00] Überlass deine gesunde Ernährung und die Gains nicht nur deinem Bauchgefühl. Denn bei der Ernährung gaukelt uns unser innerer Schweinehund manchmal ganz schön was vor. Sag stattdessen Hallo zu deinem neuen Coach, Yasio. Yasio ist die meistgenutzte Ernährungs-App Europas, made in Germany. Egal ob Massephase oder ein bisschen Abnehmen, tracke Kalorien, Proteine, Carbs, Fette, Bewegung und Intervallfasten. Und mit den Tasty-Rezepten bist du ready für deine Ziele. Let's go! Lade die Yasio-App jetzt herunter.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_01] This is Optimal Living Daily, Lessons in Badassity from a Night in Houston by Mr. Money Mustache of MrMoneyMustache.com and I'm your narrator Justin Malik. Welcome back or welcome for the first time if you're new here. This is where I read to you every day of the year from the best blogs or articles on the web. And we have other shows where we do this covering different topics. Just search for Optimal Living Daily in your podcast app to find our other shows. But for now, let's get right to our next article as we optimize your life.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_01] Lessons in Badassity from a Night in Houston by MrMoneyMustache of MrMoneyMustache.com The great thing about this unusual lifestyle you and I lead is that it automatically reinforces and rebuilds itself from all directions. Although mustachianism is built on the idea of embracing hardship, it becomes so automatic that it's soon the only way you can imagine living.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_01] Because of this amazing tendency, it's often easier to live on 25% of a professional income and save the other 75% than it is to try to scrape by on 90% and save only 10%. Everything just falls into balance once you get the basic philosophy. And today, I've brought a little story about a recent experience. Not long ago, I found myself in the semi-tropical metropolis of Houston on a steaming summer afternoon.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_01] It was just a flight transfer on the way to Ecuador. But this time, there was some trouble in store for those of us on the plane. The jet was pointing straight down the runway and I was looking forward to a timely departure. But instead of the excellent blast of power followed by liftoff, we just kept idling. And idling. After quite some time, the pilot crackled onto the speakers to inform us all that we had to wait out some thunderstorms.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_01] And sure enough, I saw lightning bolts here and there shooting from a line of clouds off in the distance. The rest of the sky was clear. This tarmac delay dragged on for two hours. The sun went down. One engine was eventually powered down. My longish limbs were folded politely into a miniature middle seat way back in the cheap section of a United Airlines plane. Stretching whatever body parts I had room to move. I pondered the consequences of this delay.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_01] I sent an email to the people I was expecting to meet at the Kido airport to let them know I'd be late. Hopefully not too late. I really don't like sitting still for too long and I've already been up for two little walk-around breaks and a wee bit of second breakfast since I started writing this article. But there in that seat, I found myself perfectly content as I had cracked open a can of stoicism much earlier in the day and been mentally sipping on it ever since.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_01] This may not be my idea of perfect comfort and convenience, I reminded myself. But it is infinitely nicer than starving to death or being eaten. And indeed, it is just a tiny blip in a life of incredible good fortune. Dude, you're on your way to South America to meet an amazing group of people, an experience you earned by occasionally typing some shit into the computer. This is what you do instead of working now.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01] Can you remind me what you're complaining about as your healthy body sits in a padded chair awaiting the takeoff of this immense flying machine? Reminding yourself of your blessings is an essential part of any worthwhile life philosophy. And stoicism is just one of my own personal favorites, alongside Buddhism and some of their more modern incarnations. The flight was eventually canceled and our jet sulked back to the gate to disgorge its unhappy cargo into the terminal building.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_01] We're sorry folks, but the flight will run tomorrow morning at 7am. All 200 passengers immediately formed a spectacularly long line at the service desk, perhaps to request flight rebooking or a credit towards overnight accommodation. I watched the line for a short while and noticed that it took almost a minute to process each person. A quick back of the napkin calculation told me that this could be a three hour wait and it was already 10 o'clock in the evening.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_01] Besides the fact that I don't do lineups, I had been up since 5 that morning and knew that the chance for a night's sleep was rapidly eroding. Luckily, technology and psychology were there to save the day. Since I had a smartphone with an unlimited data plan in my pocket, no good Wi-Fi in Houston, I was able to confirm booking on the next morning's flight, making that immense lineup completely optional. Then I used the phone to find the nearest hotel, a Marriott Courtyard just a few miles away.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_01] At $115 per night, it was a bit of an unplanned expense, but I paid it with glee, thankful that I had the luxury of purchasing a bit more sleep when it was most needed. Besides, everything about this trip would be fully tax deductible thanks to the joy of self-employment. I headed out to find some transportation. Bypassing the gigantic lineup at the taxi stand, I fired up the Uber application on my phone and called for a driver. I've amassed a surplus of free ride credits,

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_01] so all my trips under $20 are free. Since modern transportation options aren't allowed in the taxi pickup area, I had to sprint a fair distance through the evening heat with my heavy backpack and hop over a few hedges to get to a suitable meeting point. It was sweaty work, but I viewed it as an ideal caveman workout. Instead of cursing the humidity, I viewed it as a positive opportunity to work on heat tolerance, which is the world's most efficient air conditioner.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_01] The Uber driver and I had a great conversation during our short time together and exchanged life stories and five-star ratings. Stepping at last into the air-conditioned hotel lobby to pick up my room card, I suddenly remembered that I had not eaten since lunch and there'd be no chance for a real meal until arrival in Ecuador the next afternoon. Again, the solution materialized. I always travel with a big ziplock of raw almonds and there were still a few small handfuls remaining.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_01] While this would not be enough food to sustain a man for the next 15 hours, the situation would be considered exceptionally easy when judged by the standards of fasting. Of all the bad concepts I have come across in recent years, fasting is one of the best. You simply shut your mouth and relish the feeling of mild or strong hunger instead of complaining about it. Suddenly, you can travel the world and do almost anything without the standard rich world obsession of planning your next meal.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_01] Because if you lift up your shirt and inspect the area just above the belt, you'll see that the next several meals are already pre-installed. The physiological and mental benefits of this are profoundly good. And as it goes for eating, so it goes for gorging upon modern luxuries of any type. By the next morning, this eerie but educational vortex of hardship over Houston had cleared and we took off into the clear sky without a hitch.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_01] Life since then has continued to be abundant yet inexpensive. Not because of superlative effort or any sort of smarts, but rather just because prioritizing experience and challenge over convenience and consumption is a natural human behavior if you let it develop. A wealthy lifestyle is really built on rich habits and it doesn't take much of this change in attitude to completely change your life.

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01] You just listened to the post titled, Lessons in Badassity from a Night in Houston by Mr. Money Mustache of MrMoneyMustache.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Looking for a snack that works as hard as you do? Wonderful Pistachios is one of the highest protein nuts. Each one ounce serving has six grams of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value. Pistachios are known for their protein power, fiber, and better for you unsaturated fats for a combination that may help keep you feeling fuller longer.

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[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_01] or unwinding in the evening, Wonderful Pistachios is your perfect snacking companion. Get snacking and get cracking with a snack that packs a protein punch. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more. They get Mr. Money Mustache more regularly narrated over on Optimal Finance Daily, so you can check out that show for more from him if you like his style. It's all about perspective, right? The example of having some almonds in that situation and pretending he's on a fast,

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_01] that's a good one. It's pretty much either that or complain, which is not going to help the situation. But mindset can completely transform challenging situations if we allow it to. Plus, we're more resilient than we think. We often forget that. These sorts of topics come up on Optimal Finance Daily pretty often, how living below your means isn't about deprivation, but instead it's about finding that sweet spot where you can be comfortable while still building wealth.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_01] And that's what he's achieving. He could afford the air-conditioned hotel room when needed, but he didn't need every luxury along the way. If you've been listening to this show for a while, you'll know that happiness often comes from our perspective more than our circumstances. It's really all about how we choose to view the circumstance. So maybe today we can try to look at our challenges a bit differently, maybe as opportunities instead of disasters. And with that, have a great rest of your day, a great weekend,

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01] and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits. Let's see you tomorrow.