How Isaac Newton Is Linked To Your Finances

A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest stays at rest.  Newton’s first law of motion governs every object in the cosmos from a physical standpoint.  Interestingly, it seems to be a good predictor of other things in life as well, such as career development, passion projects, side hustles, or simply curiosity and learning.

In essence, Newton’s first law says that things will keep on doing what they’re doing, until they are acted upon by some outside force.  How does this apply to me and you?

 

• When you’re stagnating in your career, you’re at rest.  You’re not moving.
• When you’re indecisive or non-commital about starting that side hustle, you’re at rest
• When you’re avoiding all opportunities for public speaking because you’re afraid of it, you’re at rest.
• And obviously, when you’re not exercising and staying healthy, you’re at rest.

I could go on but I think you get it.  The longer these “at rest” scenarios continue, the worse the situation gets and the harder they are to get out of. 

Like that old pickup truck in your neighbors yard that hasn’t been moved in 20 years.  It’s slowly sinking in the ground.  Weeds have grown around it, maybe a small bush.  It’s settled.  It ain’t going nowhere…..

Haven’t we all heard or read a story of a middle aged guy who got divorced, then suddenly quit his job, hiked the Appalachian Trail, and lost 50 pounds?  And this transforming event then propelled him to a new career and a new life….

It’s cliche Hollywood template-type stuff, but there’s truth in it and it’s undoubtedly happened to many people.  In this scenario, the guy was stuck.  Not moving.  He was acted upon by an outside force – divorce papers.  Movement followed.

 

“Moving”, in the purest sense of the word, is the essence of making progress.  That’s true for something physical like running a marathon, or something developmental like working on your master’s thesis.  When you make progress, you move forward.

Will Gadd is an outdoor athlete well known to those of us who follow that world, but probably unknown elsewhere.  He’s a highly accomplished mountaineer, kayaker, paraglider pilot, and arguably the best ice climber in the world.  You may remember I love ice climbing.  Oh and he’s an amazing writer as well.  In short, he’s a badass.

“Move” is a short motivational video from Will that you need to watch. Prepare to get fired up.

 

…. sorry I’m back.  Every time I watch it I spontaneously do another set of burpees.

What I like about that video most is the obvious fitness message behind it.  We all get one body in life.  As of now, there are no trade ins.  Sure, we’re making progress on swappable parts here and there, but for the most part your current body is the only one you’ll ever have.

So being that you can’t trade your body in for a younger & sportier model, it’s imperative that you take care of the one you were issued.  As Will says, you need to move.  A lot.  Like, whenever possible.

When you move, you get momentum.

 

Read that definition again.  Moving gives you strength and force, in the form of momentum.  It allows you to continue and grow stronger.  Again, this is self-evident as applied to your body and fitness, but completely applicable to your life as a whole.

 

The Moving Genius

To me, physical activities like running, cycling, or mountaineering are liberating and signify progress.  Never mind that I often run a 5 mile loop from my house and end up in the exact same place that I started.  The start and end are not the point.  I run 5 miles and physically progress nowhere.

But during that run I actually progress everywhere.  With the simple act of running, of moving, my body is setting the tone for my mind to follow.  In reality, I find it hard to not move my mind and think all sorts of deep and curious thoughts when I’m running.  It just happens.  I ask questions.  I learn.  I explore.  And the power train driving these brain waves is my legs.

Of course I also burn calories and get to eat extra pizza.  Let’s not forget that.

The quote in the graphic above is indeed from Einstein.  He used it in a letter to his son, and of course there’s the famous picture of him riding a bike that I could not include due to usage rights.  But I can link to it.  Something tells me he rode his bike a lot.

In the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Dr. Ratey makes clear links between exercise and improvements in brain health.  The clinical evidence is there, it’s been studied and proven time and time again.  Physical fitness is intrinsically linked to mental health. 

And of course mental health is intrinsically linked to the decisions you make, the risks you take, your energy, your career, and therefore your money.

Once you’re moving – either physically by running or career wise by getting promoted, you tend to keep doing it.  Remember, an object in motion tends to stay in motion.  The success you garner builds on itself.  You lose 5 more pounds, high-five yourself, and set your next months running goal to be even bigger.

Or, you start that side-hustle, see your first small profit, and dig in with a full assault of energy and enthusiasm.  All because you moved.  You did something.

In my journey to financial independence, fitness has played a key role.  Actually I think it’s played THE key role.  The movement required in the activities I do to keep fit has been the kinetic energy behind my success.  When my body moves and stays tuned, my mind follows suit.  Once I achieved financial momentum, I was unstoppable and financial independence was all but assured.

Just move.

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