The Jordan Harbinger Show
1096: Ali Abdaal | The Hidden Economics of Creative Success Part Two
26 Dec 2024
Feel-Good Productivity author Ali Abdaal breaks down the real keys to sustainable success and authentic relationship building! [Part 2 of 2 — find Part 1 here!] What We Discuss with Ali Abdaal: The Money-Time Paradox: The wealthiest people aren't always the happiest, especially when they become prisoners of their own possessions. As one billionaire demonstrated, owning 15 empty houses isn't freedom — it's just collecting very expensive headaches. The real wealth is having the autonomy to choose how you spend your hours. The Parenting Reality Check: Having kids changes everything in ways no amount of warning can prepare you for. It's like evolution has installed a cosmic memory filter that prevents parents from fully conveying just how intense it is — probably because if we truly knew, humanity would've stopped at cave paintings. The Two-Career Tango: Couples where both partners work intensely demanding jobs often face more stress than those where one partner has flexibility. It's not just about the money — it's about having someone with the bandwidth to manage life's endless parade of squeaky doors and donation runs. The "Freedom Investment" Principle: Financial freedom isn't about sipping mojitos on a beach — it's about having the ability to reinvest that freedom into what truly matters, like being present for your kids' early years or having the flexibility to take July off without asking anyone's permission. Here's something actionable you can do today: Run your numbers! Use a compound calculator to figure out your long-term financial runway. You might discover you're actually in a better position than you thought, and that knowledge alone can transform your relationship with work and time. As Jordan found out, you don't need to win the Powerball to feel secure — you just need to know your actual numbers. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1096 And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/deals Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom! Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Full Episode
Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you.
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Just visit JordanHarbinger.com slash start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Today, this is part two, a conversation between me and Ali Abdaal on happiness and lifestyle and things like that. If you haven't heard part one, obviously go back and check out part one, and then part two will make a whole lot more sense. All right, here we go. Part two with me and Ali Abdaal.
So you live in California where the taxes are really high. You have two kids. One thing I often worry about is like, well, I'm popular on YouTube right now. Who knows how long this fame will last? Surely I should be trying to make Hey While the Sun Shines.
And a few years from now, yeah, maybe I should just make videos about passive income ideas or some shit like that, that will get the views and will have high CPMs and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Because what if when I have kids and maybe, I don't know, they need to go to private school because the state schools in the area are a bit shit or whatever, then will I regret my past self for not having chased the money? Any advice? Yeah, sure.
You seem to be doing okay, right? So the way that you do, the only way in my opinion is to do the math. And it's funny because every year I kind of do the math and I go, okay, how long do I need to do this and earn at this level? And what happens if I lose 50% of my income through some tragic turn of events like podcasting CPMs, amount people pay for ads, goes way down. What can I survive with?
How do I make more money doing different things, put other irons in the fire, like product or something like that that's something I actually believe in? Or like one thing I do now is voice acting for video games. It's not a massive income stream, but it's like, oh, if I quit podcasting and I only did that, I could earn a living doing that. It wouldn't be the same living, but I could do it.
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