How Morgan Housel’s Three Rules of Life Impacted Me
Morgan Housel is a prolific author: Psychology of Money and Same as Ever I’ll dive into these books in a later weekly note because these are phenomenal books helping us tap into the beauty and power of thinking for the long-term.
In the meantime, I recently heard Morgan distill his life into three simple goals that are simple and admittedly a bit crass:
Stay married
Don’t get fat
Be there for my kids
It’s simple but real, because in the end how we love, how we care for ourselves, and how we show up for family—that’s what matters at our deathbed.
Here’s my meditation on Morgan’s three life goals:
1. Stay Married
Life is meant to be shared. Falling in love is easy, but growing in love is hard.
I view marriage as a sacrament. I take this piece of advice from Housel as aligning my relationship with God AND my wife. I’m finding for me, both relationships are directly correlated.
I can see how marriage can drift into a compilation of logistics —two busy people coordinating calendars, paying bills, and checking boxes off the to-do list. I’m finding that marriage must be an intentional journey.
I’m experiencing how an amazing partner in life is a competitive advantage. It’s probably the most important decision one makes in life. Having a partner that is the wind in your sail is the greatest experience on earth.
The data below proves how the decision of who you marry COMPOUNDS in importance over time. You spend more and more time together as the weeks pass by.
2. Don’t get fat
This isn’t about image or weight—it’s about vitality.
Health is wealth—not the cliché kind, but the strength to show up fully. To chase my kids. To feel strong day in and day out. To keep going even when the monkey brain says quit now. Health is about protecting the physical vessel to last.
Recently, we talked about morning routines. For me, a walk or workout is essential—not to look a certain way, but to feel good. To feel alive.
Consistency beats intensity. This isn’t about heroic 90-minute workouts. It’s about a habit or ritual to exercise & fuel the physical vessel.
Being healthy is about being fully present to keep playing the game of life (and business). I don’t want to watch life from the sidelines or from upstairs (yet).
3. Be There for My Kids
This one’s about priorities for me.
Work is going to suck us in like a gravitational pull. “Be there” doesn’t just mean showing up at the sports games and practices. For me, it means showing up emotionally and giving my full attention to the moment at that child event. Living my child’s childhood is my goal.
It means putting the phone down and waiting for my kids to make eye contact with me. I want my kids to know I’m present. I want to be there when they’re not looking, so when they do look at me, they will be affirmed.
My favorite line from Charlie Munger: wisdom is prevention.
The above three rules from Morgan Housel can, at a minimum, lessen if not prevent pain. Thank you for the wisdom Morgan.
Love. Health. Family.
Onward,
Matt