The goal is to build a life you actually want to live. Measured by control, options and resilience. Not approval likes on Instagram. If you don’t control your time, you’re not rich.
How This is Structured
Each age band has five rough benchmarks: 1) Money: net worth multiples, liquidity, and cash flow, 2) Career/Biz: leverage you have over income, 3) Health & Capacity: engine + chassis, 4) Connections & Family: who will fight for you - does not have to be blood related and 5) Option Set: how many good options you can pivot to
For each level you get a Minimum / Goal / Elite marker. Hit Goal to be on track. Hit Elite to be set for life. Miss Floor and you need to seriously re-evaluate.
Age 25 — Building Up Speed
No one expects a 25 year old to be rich and living it up. Takes time to build up value. This is an advantage in some cases. Don’t need to pay hundreds for a date. Can live with roommates. Can work longer hours because your body will not break down. At minimum you should be able to pull together a year of income put away.
Money
Minimum: Net worth = 1x income; 3–6 months cash; no high-interest debt.
Goal: 2x+ income; invest >20% gross automatically; employer match maxed for the free 100% return
Elite: 3x+ income; side income is coming in (could be $1,000 a month or $10,000 just depends on talent and effort)
Career Capital
Minimum: You’re one of the well liked people and have no worries about being cut
Goal: You’ve mastered the game of being top ranked but not being #1
Elite: Not only are you top ranked (and not #1) you have positive cash flow from any small side biz
Health & Capacity
Minimum: 8,000+ steps/day average; lift 2-3x per week; sleep 6-8 hours
Goal: Zone two twice a week; Bench body weight, squat 1.5x and deadlift around 2x, resting heart rate in the 50s
Elite: 4-5 days a week working out with 50ish heart rate and significant lean muscle mass
Network & Family
Minimum: Someone who would help you get a new career slot if you were cut
Goal: A few people who could happily get you into a new seat
Elite: You’ve already moved onto building your network outside of careers
Option Set
Minimum: All assets are liquid and you could up and move any day, not tied down
Goal: One live income stream that is internet based
Elite: Could lose job instantly and still cover bills with Wi-Fi Money
Trap to Avoid: Don’t expect to hit the elite goals instantly. There are people who simply have the talent/skills/luck it takes to hit those markers. You underestimate how much you can get done in 10 years and heavily overestimate the performance in a single year.
In general, the goal is to be safe in your W-2 and building income without killing off your health. That’s the main three items for this band
Age 30 — Build the Base That Prints
Now you should be making significant money. This is relative to your 20s. It is hard to fail here because careers are designed to give you large wage increases in your 20s and then flat line you out by mid-late thirties.
Money
Minimum: Net worth 2x income; 6–12 months cash; saving 25%+ of take-home.
Goal: 4x income; automatic investing in broad market + your edge.
Elite: 6x income; one non-W2 stream covers core living.
Career Capital
Minimum: You shouldn’t be worried about getting moved up or being let go
Goal: You are a revenue generator who is either coasting with politics or performance to reduce work hours to meaningless numbers
Elite: You have little interest in the career side but could get a promotion or move firms if you felt like it. Have your eyes set on scaling WiFi $
Health & Capacity
Minimum: You’ve moved on from crazy partying and all the international nomadic wanderlust. You can still do it but are sunsetting the lifestyle to be out of it by mid-30s
Goal: Your fitness is just as good as your peak in your late 20s
Elite: You are actually improving in certain areas despite having worked out your entire 20s
Network & Family
Minimum: A few people who will get you new seats if let go
Goal: You’re now getting intros to expand your secondary income
Elite: You’re slowly realizing that people are actually expecting you to be the leader and network source
Option Set
Minimum: You could get let go tomorrow and have no stress
Goal: You’re ready to quit but don’t have 2x net income quite yet from Wi-Fi money
Elite: You’ve already quit and can move to tax havens or lower cost states. In fact you are already doing this between 30-35
Trap to Avoid: The career one is big. If you fall in love with those salary increases, you’ll be disappointed when they dry up. By the time you’re addicted you might not be saving enough and then the river goes against you. Not a pretty look and explains why so many people in their 40s look 50+ and have the look of dread.
Age 35 — Pull Power Forward
You should basically be at peak performance here. This means your personal life is at its peak (yes men peak too and it is around here mid 30s to 40). Your income should be flying and you should be looking at liquidity events if you sell an asset.
Money
Minimum: Net worth at 4x income, nothing causes a real crisis
Goal: 10x income; 12 months cash + access to cheap debt if needed
Elite: 15x+ income, you know that you’re going to make it to freedom or are already there
Career Capital
Minimum: You’ve got a niche built out and not worried about having an income for the next 10 years. You do know that there is downside risk to income but it won’t go to zero
Goal: Do not care one bit about careers at all. You might be there because you optimized for income but realistically it’s a waste of your time at htis point
Elite: You quit already and are long gone with no interest in what is happening to your co-workers. You forgot about them faster than they forget about you. Your co-workers are never your friends (hope no one reading this learns the hard way!)
Health & Capacity
Minimum: Assume a 10% decline to all your performance at age 30. This is across the board except for resting heart rate which should be similar
Goal: Ideal world similar to around age 30. Minus 5%
Elite: Somehow hit the genetic lotto and no real decline at this point, its coming but you’re only down about 2-3% with the only noticeable decrease being explosive/fast reaction time events
Network & Family
Minimum: You are at minimum focused on scaling WiFi money. No excuses. Career is meaningless to you relative to exit multiple for biz
Goal: Working on scaling all your projects and constantly looking for solutions with new resources
Elite: Have your rolodex on lock and can plug and play “buy and flip” internet businesses that are run poorly
Option Set
Minimum: You could go 5-10 years without much stress if cut today
Goal: You’re confident you’ll be financially independent in your 40s without much effort
Elite: You have a repeatable playbook and are beyond set already. Turning down opportunties
Trap to Avoid: You are getting older. This means you need to be extremely sure of what you want out of life. If you want kids, you better be certain. Not 90% not 95% but 100%. You won’t have the energy you have now compared to 45. There is a big physical cliff and even the ultra freaks like Lebron James/Novak Djokovic are visibly slowing down. No one reading this is that genetically gifted.
Age 40 — The Leverage Turn
Report card time. You’re free to call it late 30s to early 40s. Point is the same. The results are in on where you will likely land later in life.
Money
Minimum: Net worth 8x income. You know you will eventually have money to retire and not work.
Goal: 15x income, you will be done in your 40s if you like
Elite: 20x+ income, you choose projects, projects that don’t move the needle are skipped
Career Capital
Minimum: If you’re forced to work you should have autonomy and no worry about being cut for at least 5-10 years
Goal: You are more worried about capital allocation than a career
Elite: You can summon seven figures for a good deal without panic
Health & Capacity
Minimum: Preventative is on calendar bloodwork, scans, dentist, colonoscopy, VO2 Max etc.
Goal: Strength maintained everything else on the decline due to nature (tears)
Elite: Strength maintained and expanding to new sports for longevity (tennis, golf etc.)
Network & Family
Minimum: Personal life is stable. Be it with kids or without them. You’re not on the internet blaming society for your life. You enjoy your personal life
Goal: You can prioritize whatever is most important without asking anyone for permission. If you want motivation, watch as 40 year olds ask their boss to go see a kids baseball game…
Elite: You have roots beyond the family and friends, have input across the general area you live in (sports, music etc.)
Option Set
Minimum: You have basic estate plan, likely a living trust and some plans for if disaster strikes for your family/friends
Goal: You are largely diversified, can live off one of a few income streams. Have a standard trust set up and already planning for the next generation to avoid working for a boss like you had to on the come up
Elite: Geographic arbitrage available, you can leave to tax havens if needed (or already have). Generational skipping trust (GST) already in motion
Trap to Avoid: Don’t be the guy at the night clubs. Those days are over. If you’re veering into territory of the guy with the house parties and questionable people showing up every weekend, things are not going well. You’ll likely end up in bad situations within a year or two. The party time was 20s/30s. Not 40s. Don’t chase the dragon. This is serious because ladies, liquor and leverage kill off all that work. Two are present if you become the house party guy with teenager level wanderlust
Age 45 — Durable Wealth, Durable Life
Anyone on the fence at age 40 is going to make it by 45. Time is extremely valuable which is why we put 40 as the cut off. If you end up getting to the goal number of 20x income = net worth at 45? Honestly good enough. Better than being sucked into the masses given the growth of AI and declining W-2 options.
Money
Minimum: Net worth 13-15x income. If everything went south you should still be on track to being done by your 50s.
Goal: 20x+ income. Didn’t hit it right but 5 years isn’t the end of the world
Elite: Can’t Calculate income multiplier. If you were flying by mid 30s, this becomes impossible. You have illiquid real estate, private business ownership etc. All you know is that you’re well beyond 40x income (don’t even know what your true income is either anyway due to complex income streams - cap gains vs. earned income vs. dividends vs. rental income etc.)
Career Capital
Minimum: Younger people are constantly asking you to pick your brain
Goal: You select people you’re interested in helping realizing that its not good to be bombarded by people who will likely just waste your time. Better to help the people who will try. No point in being Mother Teresa
Elite: Your time is too valuable, end up becoming a board member and a slim slim number of people you help in your down time.
Health & Capacity
Minimum: Seeing the declines but routine check ups make it manageable
Goal: Don’t see a real difference when compared to 40. Minimal drop off
Elite: You’re the fittest person in the area within your age band
Network & Family
Minimum: Family calendar is the only one you have, work doesn’t mean much to you
Goal: Your kids (if you have them) are your only real interest. The rest is already on auto pilot
Elite: You’re seen as the guy who has it all, which causes other people to want to be around you. Watch the contact list closely. When you have it made other bad actors show up to “fix this”
Option Set
Minimum: Estate plan done.
Goal: Working only for fun and for the next generation.
Elite: Generational wealth strategies
Trap to Avoid: Two different ones. You want to enjoy your life. Don’t spend your time doing things you hate just to run up more digits. Isn’t worth it. If you’re already set for life, the next generation is set for life as well.
Remember that idle hands = bad news for any of your kids/grand kids. If they have nothing to do, it will get squandered.
100 Point Audit
Go through and grade yourself. Be honest about it and see how you stack up. Anything 5/5 would register elite. Anything below a 3 is a disaster and requires immediate effort. 3 would be minimum, 5 is elite.
Money (25 pts)
Net worth multiple of income: /5
Liquidity runway (months of burn): /5
% expenses covered by non-W2: /5
Tax/structure/insurance sophistication: /5
Ruin risk (personal guarantees, single-point failure): /5
Career Capital (20 pts)
Distinct value/skill level: /5
Can build or sell consistently: /5
P&L or book ownership: /5
Distribution (partners): /5
Health & Capacity (20 pts)
Sleep & stress levels: /5
Strength standards relative to bodyweight: /5
Cardio markers (VO2 Max, resting HR): /5
Annual preventative care complete: /5
Network & Family (20 pts)
Contacts if need new income from W-2: /5
Peers you are building with: /5
Family performance: /5
Reputation: /5
Option Set (15 pts)
Second income that prints: /5
Plan B (city, geo-arbitrage, etc): /5
Systemized set up: /5
Interpretation:
85–100: Crushing. You pick games you will win. Likely set for life well before 40
70–84: On track. Pick one weak lever per quarter and revisit. Likely done at 40
<70: Start fixing now. Not tomorrow. Now. The rich and poor divide isn’t going to slow down.
The 90-Day Catch-Up Plan (Plug-and-Play)
If you’re not registering high on a category you have to stop and re-deploy the same strategy. We have a three sentence journal we use that forces this issue. You write: 1) task you need to do each day and if you did it, 2) what you will do to continue fixing it tomorrow and 3) what is the second most important task after the first one is done.
It really is that simple. Multi-tasking is for losers. Multi-tasking is that guy in the office who has 50 different business ideas and never even starts on one. A real winner focuses on one. Goes all out. If it works great, if not he knows which idea to start next. After 3-5 years he’s long gone.
Update quarterly. Each time you check your markers, you refocus. Could be a year. Could be two years. All we know is we’ve never seen someone fail after ~3 years of true effort and above average intelligence/work ethic.
Summary Benchmarks
25? “I am building a wifi business that is at least making some sort of money this year”
30? “I am able to cover my basic living expenses with WiFi money and I am in great physical shape”
35? “In general my W-2 is no longer meaningful, i don’t have a desire to travel anymore and i’ve made my decisions on kids or not with no shot of changing my mind”
40: “Income is being stripped by stock/crypto/real estate gains by a margin. In addition, W-2 is meaningless. Already have a system to make money”
45: I work for fun but personal life comes first by far (family, friends, kids etc)
Before All the What-If…
“What If I started late?” You get to work harder and longer. That’s how life works. You can turn around your life at any time. Expecting to magically skip steps doesn’t exist though.
“Kids?” You cannot blame them for your failures. You brought them into the world not the other way around. Also causing psychological trauma to someone decades younger than you. Weak.
“I’m Not Risk Taking.” Cool. It is more dangerous to rely just on your W-2. The days of being at one company forever are gone. Only works at 5-10 companies on the planet. If you work at those 5-10 you already know it.
“I Don’t Have Time”: Utter nonsense. Coinbase was started on off hours after work. Go look it up. You can start a e-com business from your smartphone at this point if you’re talented. What you’re really saying is you lack priorities. Or you don’t care. Neither answer is good.
The Rest is Up to You
As a final note. Just print it out and keep it private. Do not announce all your goals publicly. The real winners build in the shadows and the next thing you know “poof resignation notice”. Out of the blue.
Besides, you’ll learn that the vast majority are not happy to see you win. “Must be nice” “Why do you get so lucky” so on and so forth.
Good luck.
Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind. These are *opinions* written by an anonymous group of Ex-Wall Street Tech Bankers and software engineers who moved into affiliate marketing and e-commerce.
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