If you’ve ever been told to “YOLO” while someone cannonballs into a pool, you know the phrase has lost a little weight since Drake dropped it back in 2011. But let’s rewind for a second: YOLO, or “You Only Live Once,” is basically the modern remix of an old Stoic reminder called Memento Mori. It translates to “remember you must die.” Harsh, right? But also kind of freeing. If our time is limited, shouldn’t we stop burning it on things that don’t matter?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, how we chase results that won’t even register on our deathbed. More money. More likes. More titles. The treadmill of “more” is exhausting, and the punchline is that none of it guarantees a meaningful life. So how do we step off? Here are three ways that have changed everything for me.
1. Control What’s Yours, Let Go of the Rest
The Stoics called it the Dichotomy of Control. In plain English: you can’t control anything but yourself. That means stop losing sleep over your boss’s mood swings, your neighbor’s politics, or whether the economy crashes next Tuesday. Focus on you: your actions, your choices, your habits. That’s where your real power sits.
Mel Robbins made this wildly popular with her “Let Them” theory. If someone cuts you off in traffic? Let them. If someone gossips about you? Let them. Tattoos have been inked with those words. But here’s the part people miss: it’s also about Let Me. Let me focus on what I can do. Let me build the habits that keep me grounded. Let me stop playing the victim card.
2. Stop Chasing Results. Fall in Love With the Process.
Aerosmith wasn’t wrong when they sang, “Life’s a journey, not a destination.” Yet most of us live as if happiness is hiding behind the next big win: the promotion, the weight loss, the perfect vacation photo. Here’s the catch, chasing results is the fastest way to burn out.
The secret? Embrace the grind. The boring reps. The slow, unsexy progress. I’ve set this audacious goal of helping 9.5 million people over the next 15 years. Sounds impossible if I obsess over the number. But if I zoom in to just one person at a time, the process becomes doable. And honestly, it becomes fun.
Pro athletes, world-class investors, successful entrepreneurs, they all swear by the basics. Stick with the fundamentals, repeat them, and trust compounding effort. The results sneak up on you.
3. Do a Misogi Challenge
Now let’s talk about making life exciting again. Enter the Misogi Challenge. It’s a modern twist on a Japanese ritual, and the rule is simple: once a year, do one thing that has a 50% chance of failure. Something big. Something that terrifies you just enough that it might change you.
I’ve done marathons, long charity rides, even wrote a book that barely cracked 30 sales. None of those numbers matter. What matters is how each one stretched me further than I thought possible. And here’s the funny thing: when you look back on your life, the valleys blur but the peaks stick.
So pick your Misogi. Maybe it’s running your first 10K. Maybe it’s starting the side hustle you’ve been daydreaming about. Write it down and take the tiniest step toward it today. A year from now, you’ll thank yourself.
Because YOLO isn’t an excuse to be reckless, it’s an invitation to live with intention.