"The Optimal Life" Reading Notes#
Author: Bill Perkins
Reading Time: 2 hours
These are the notes and excerpts I recorded while reading "The Optimal Life" on WeChat Reading.
Preface#
May you have the most fulfilling life, filled with adventure and love.
May you have the most fulfilling life, filled with adventure and love.
1 Ultimate Life#
Some delayed actions are reasonable because treating every day as the last day of life would be foolish: you wouldn't want to work, study, prepare for exams, or see the dentist. Therefore, a certain degree of delayed gratification is desirable, as it will pay off in the long run.
Don't miss opportunities out of fear of wasting money; wasting life is what you should be more concerned about.
Life is not a game of "Space Invaders"—not every penny you earn will give you points—but many people view life as a points game. They just keep making money, thinking only about maximizing wealth, yet they rarely consider what maximum utility they can derive from wealth, such as what they can give to their children, friends, and society now, rather than at the end of their lives.
Spending money on experiences makes us happier than spending money on things. Material wealth may initially bring great joy, but it often depreciates quickly. In contrast, experiences appreciate over time; I call this "memory dividends."
Some delayed actions are reasonable because treating every day as the last day of life would be foolish: you wouldn't want to work, study, prepare for exams, or see the dentist. Therefore, a certain degree of delayed gratification is desirable, as it will pay off in the long run.
Don't miss opportunities out of fear of wasting money; wasting life is what you should be more concerned about.
Life is not a game of "Space Invaders"—not every penny you earn will give you points—but many people view life as a points game. They just keep making money, thinking only about maximizing wealth, yet they rarely consider what maximum utility they can derive from wealth, such as what they can give to their children, friends, and society now, rather than at the end of their lives.
Spending money on experiences makes us happier than spending money on things. Material wealth may initially bring great joy, but it often depreciates quickly. In contrast, experiences appreciate over time; I call this "memory dividends."
2 Investing in Experiences#
Spending money to buy an experience gives you not just that experience itself, but all the subsequent dividends it generates.
Continuously making money and forgetting that the purpose of earning is to gain experiences that define your life.
Indeed, you need money for retirement; however, in the future, you will mainly rely on memories to get through retirement, so you must spend enough money to invest in memories.
Spending money to buy an experience gives you not just that experience itself, but all the subsequent dividends it generates.
Continuously making money and forgetting that the purpose of earning is to gain experiences that define your life.
Indeed, you need money for retirement; however, in the future, you will mainly rely on memories to get through retirement, so you must spend enough money to invest in memories.
3 Why Zero Out Before You Die?#
To fully enjoy life rather than just getting by, you cannot continue to drift through life carelessly; you need to actively take control of your life according to your own wishes.
When you are on a winning streak, even if your rational mind tells you to stop, it can be hard to do so.
"The Optimal Life" does not care how you got your money. Whether earned through a beloved job or inherited from your great-grandfather; whether a byproduct of your hobbies or from a wealthy family—once the money is in your hands, it is yours, a part of your life spent, and you can exchange it for anything that makes life better.
Many people tell me they are afraid—even terrified—that they will run out of money before they die. I understand their feelings; no one wants to live in poverty in their old age, so it is understandable that people save for the future. I am not saying you shouldn't save for the future, but some people save too much and think too far ahead, depriving themselves of the present just to take care of their future elderly selves—whether they will even live to use that money is another question.
A wiser approach is to spend your medical expenses on the "front end" (staying healthy, preventing illness); spending on the "back end" will be very unwise.
To fully enjoy life rather than just getting by, you cannot continue to drift through life carelessly; you need to actively take control of your life according to your own wishes.
When you are on a winning streak, even if your rational mind tells you to stop, it can be hard to do so.
"The Optimal Life" does not care how you got your money. Whether earned through a beloved job or inherited from your great-grandfather; whether a byproduct of your hobbies or from a wealthy family—once the money is in your hands, it is yours, a part of your life spent, and you can exchange it for anything that makes life better.
Many people tell me they are afraid—even terrified—that they will run out of money before they die. I understand their feelings; no one wants to live in poverty in their old age, so it is understandable that people save for the future. I am not saying you shouldn't save for the future, but some people save too much and think too far ahead, depriving themselves of the present just to take care of their future elderly selves—whether they will even live to use that money is another question.
A wiser approach is to spend your medical expenses on the "front end" (staying healthy, preventing illness); spending on the "back end" will be very unwise.
4 How to Spend Money? (Not Really Leaving a Penny Behind Before You Die)#
They did not endorse any specific calculator but directed me to their official website (https://www.soa.org) to check it out. This site mainly provides tools for professional actuaries and also recommends a very useful tool: the Actuary Life Illustrator (https://www.longevityillustrator.org/).
The premise of this book is that you should focus on maximizing your life satisfaction rather than maximizing wealth; these are two very different goals. Money is just a means to achieve the goal, and earning money can help you achieve the more important goal of life satisfaction, but trying to maximize wealth can actually hinder this more important goal.
All savings beyond the minimum expenses must be "fiercely" spent on experiences you enjoy. The emphasis on "fiercely" is because declining health and diminishing interests mean that your list of activities will shorten as you age.
They did not endorse any specific calculator but directed me to their official website (https://www.soa.org) to check it out. This site mainly provides tools for professional actuaries and also recommends a very useful tool: the Actuary Life Illustrator (https://www.longevityillustrator.org/).
The premise of this book is that you should focus on maximizing your life satisfaction rather than maximizing wealth; these are two very different goals. Money is just a means to achieve the goal, and earning money can help you achieve the more important goal of life satisfaction, but trying to maximize wealth can actually hinder this more important goal.
All savings beyond the minimum expenses must be "fiercely" spent on experiences you enjoy. The emphasis on "fiercely" is because declining health and diminishing interests mean that your list of activities will shorten as you age.
5 What About the Kids?#
Putting children first means you should give them money early; you should create a detailed plan to ensure that the money left for your children is given to them when it can have the maximum effect.
Ultimately, if you wait until after your death to let your children inherit your estate, you are essentially "leaving it to chance," which I call "the three randoms": at a random time, giving a random amount of property to random people (because who can know which of your heirs will still be alive when you die?). Randomness—how can that be for the benefit of others?
Going with the flow is the opposite of prudence. It is easy to go with the flow; most people around you do so, so when you follow their lead, you are just going with the flow like everyone else. In fact, you might not even realize you are following the crowd. A sad fact is that many people could have been more prudent about their lives but failed to do so, and the same goes for their children.
Because a person's ability to derive true joy from "gifts" declines with age. Similarly, after a certain age, your ability to convert wealth into pleasurable experiences will also decline. Many activities require you to reach at least a minimum psychological and physiological state to enjoy them.
I choose to give money to my children and others at the right time, which is when that money can have the maximum effect on their lives; after that, that money is no longer mine but becomes theirs. There is a clear distinction between the two. I find this approach liberating: I am free to spend money on myself. Even if I want to spend money wildly, I don't have to worry about affecting my children. They can spend their money as they wish, and so can I.
The purpose of money is to gain experiences, and for your children, one of those experiences is companionship. Therefore, if you are too busy making money and not creating shared experiences with your children, then it is a deprivation for both you and your children.
Whether money or time is given to children, charities, or yourself, the key point is the same: there is an optimal time, but it is certainly not after you die.
As long as what is done is what is wished, I must respect their decisions.
You can only be generous while you are alive, truly make choices and bear the consequences, and choose who to give your money and time to or not. If you are generous while alive, I would consider you selfless, but after death, there is no choice. So, to be precise, you cannot be generous after death.
The most obvious social benefit of education is reducing poverty and decreasing crime and violence.
◎ Think about how old you want to be when you give money to your children, how much you want to give, and think about donations to charity from the same perspective. Discuss these issues with your spouse or partner. Do it now! ◎ Be sure to consult experts like estate planners or lawyers on these issues.
Putting children first means you should give them money early; you should create a detailed plan to ensure that the money left for your children is given to them when it can have the maximum effect.
Ultimately, if you wait until after your death to let your children inherit your estate, you are essentially "leaving it to chance," which I call "the three randoms": at a random time, giving a random amount of property to random people (because who can know which of your heirs will still be alive when you die?). Randomness—how can that be for the benefit of others?
Going with the flow is the opposite of prudence. It is easy to go with the flow; most people around you do so, so when you follow their lead, you are just going with the flow like everyone else. In fact, you might not even realize you are following the crowd. A sad fact is that many people could have been more prudent about their lives but failed to do so, and the same goes for their children.
Because a person's ability to derive true joy from "gifts" declines with age. Similarly, after a certain age, your ability to convert wealth into pleasurable experiences will also decline. Many activities require you to reach at least a minimum psychological and physiological state to enjoy them.
I choose to give money to my children and others at the right time, which is when that money can have the maximum effect on their lives; after that, that money is no longer mine but becomes theirs. There is a clear distinction between the two. I find this approach liberating: I am free to spend money on myself. Even if I want to spend money wildly, I don't have to worry about affecting my children. They can spend their money as they wish, and so can I.
The purpose of money is to gain experiences, and for your children, one of those experiences is companionship. Therefore, if you are too busy making money and not creating shared experiences with your children, then it is a deprivation for both you and your children.
Whether money or time is given to children, charities, or yourself, the key point is the same: there is an optimal time, but it is certainly not after you die.
As long as what is done is what is wished, I must respect their decisions.
You can only be generous while you are alive, truly make choices and bear the consequences, and choose who to give your money and time to or not. If you are generous while alive, I would consider you selfless, but after death, there is no choice. So, to be precise, you cannot be generous after death.
The most obvious social benefit of education is reducing poverty and decreasing crime and violence.
◎ Think about how old you want to be when you give money to your children, how much you want to give, and think about donations to charity from the same perspective. Discuss these issues with your spouse or partner. Do it now! ◎ Be sure to consult experts like estate planners or lawyers on these issues.
6 Balancing Life#
The essence of Joe's advice is not to spend as much as you earn and bet on a better future, but to find the right balance between spending money now (and only on what you value) and wisely saving for the future.
You want your savings amount to be as close to perfect as possible: achieving the best balance between enjoying the present and securing a beautiful future.
The further away the end of life is, the more different the trade-offs between living in the moment and planning for the future become.
Twenty thousand days may equal forever. It is evident that no one can live forever, and we need to keep this in mind so that we can use our time optimally and not fall into the trap of "going with the flow."
Many of us experience a disconnect between mindset and reality, which creates the illusion that we can have endless "vital years" after retirement, doing whatever we like.
Your ability to enjoy life experiences depends on your physical condition, but money is also important because many experiences cost money, so it's best to spend when your body allows.
My conclusion is that the utility of money decreases with age.
In a sense, money provides similar utility to infants and the elderly: at the beginning and end of life, money is almost worthless.
Most of our spending should be focused on the true golden years, rather than delaying gratification.
The optimal life requires planning for both survival and living fully.
To have an ultimate life, people need three basic elements: health, free time, and wealth, but the problem is that they are hard to achieve simultaneously.
People of all ages should invest more time and money in their health.
Generally, adults have a stronger ability for delayed gratification, but often due to delaying too long, it backfires. In reality, they neither choose one marshmallow now nor two marshmallows in 15 minutes, but rather choose one and a half marshmallows ten years later!
"What do I want more" aligns with personal interest rates: the older you get, the less willing you are to delay an experience, even if someone offers you a lot of money to delay it.
The essence of Joe's advice is not to spend as much as you earn and bet on a better future, but to find the right balance between spending money now (and only on what you value) and wisely saving for the future.
You want your savings amount to be as close to perfect as possible: achieving the best balance between enjoying the present and securing a beautiful future.
The further away the end of life is, the more different the trade-offs between living in the moment and planning for the future become.
Twenty thousand days may equal forever. It is evident that no one can live forever, and we need to keep this in mind so that we can use our time optimally and not fall into the trap of "going with the flow."
Many of us experience a disconnect between mindset and reality, which creates the illusion that we can have endless "vital years" after retirement, doing whatever we like.
Your ability to enjoy life experiences depends on your physical condition, but money is also important because many experiences cost money, so it's best to spend when your body allows.
My conclusion is that the utility of money decreases with age.
In a sense, money provides similar utility to infants and the elderly: at the beginning and end of life, money is almost worthless.
Most of our spending should be focused on the true golden years, rather than delaying gratification.
The optimal life requires planning for both survival and living fully.
To have an ultimate life, people need three basic elements: health, free time, and wealth, but the problem is that they are hard to achieve simultaneously.
People of all ages should invest more time and money in their health.
Generally, adults have a stronger ability for delayed gratification, but often due to delaying too long, it backfires. In reality, they neither choose one marshmallow now nor two marshmallows in 15 minutes, but rather choose one and a half marshmallows ten years later!
"What do I want more" aligns with personal interest rates: the older you get, the less willing you are to delay an experience, even if someone offers you a lot of money to delay it.
7 Segmented Life#
Realizing that nothing lasts forever, that everything will perish and die, can make you more grateful for everything in this moment.
The greatest regret of her patients is not having lived a life true to themselves, but rather living according to others' expectations. This is a regret of not pursuing dreams and failing to realize one's own dreams. If you ignore what truly matters in life and instead follow the path imposed by everyday culture, then you are likely to regret it at the end of your life.
The concept of limited life stages and limited days in each stage is not related to money. What needs to be distinguished is that the specific experiences you can have at each period are indeed related to money, but the reality and impact of "limited periods" are not related to money.
Your list will be your unique expression of "who I am," because it is your life experiences that shape you. Highlight: when making your list, do not worry about money; at this moment, money will only distract you from imagining the overall goals of your ideal life.
Realizing that nothing lasts forever, that everything will perish and die, can make you more grateful for everything in this moment.
The greatest regret of her patients is not having lived a life true to themselves, but rather living according to others' expectations. This is a regret of not pursuing dreams and failing to realize one's own dreams. If you ignore what truly matters in life and instead follow the path imposed by everyday culture, then you are likely to regret it at the end of your life.
The concept of limited life stages and limited days in each stage is not related to money. What needs to be distinguished is that the specific experiences you can have at each period are indeed related to money, but the reality and impact of "limited periods" are not related to money.
Your list will be your unique expression of "who I am," because it is your life experiences that shape you. Highlight: when making your list, do not worry about money; at this moment, money will only distract you from imagining the overall goals of your ideal life.
8 Understand Your Peak Points#
Enjoying experiences requires money, free time, and health; all three are essential, and having only money is far from enough. For most people, saving money takes time. Therefore, extending working years to accumulate more savings that you actually do not need means you gain some things (money) but lose others of at least equal value (free time and health). The core point here is that more money does not equal more experience points.
Your goal is not to maximize wealth but to maximize life experiences. For most people, this is a huge shift.
Enjoying experiences requires money, free time, and health; all three are essential, and having only money is far from enough. For most people, saving money takes time. Therefore, extending working years to accumulate more savings that you actually do not need means you gain some things (money) but lose others of at least equal value (free time and health). The core point here is that more money does not equal more experience points.
Your goal is not to maximize wealth but to maximize life experiences. For most people, this is a huge shift.
9 Be Bold, Not Foolish#
◎ Identify those opportunities that are almost risk-free for you but that you have not seized. Always remember that seizing opportunities while you are young is better for you. ◎ Examine the fears that hold you back, whether they are rational or irrational. Do not let irrational fears become obstacles to pursuing your dreams. ◎ Remember that you always have choices. The choices you make reflect what you value and what you do not value, so be sure to make choices wisely.
Remember, "Life is a process of continuously collecting memories."
◎ Identify those opportunities that are almost risk-free for you but that you have not seized. Always remember that seizing opportunities while you are young is better for you. ◎ Examine the fears that hold you back, whether they are rational or irrational. Do not let irrational fears become obstacles to pursuing your dreams. ◎ Remember that you always have choices. The choices you make reflect what you value and what you do not value, so be sure to make choices wisely.
Remember, "Life is a process of continuously collecting memories."
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