28 Knowledge Bombs, From A Now 28 Year-Old

28 Knowledge Bombs, From A Now 28 Year-Old

For my 28th birthday I thought it would be fun to reflect on my previous 28 years and put together a list of 28 “life tips,” or as us millennial’s might say: Knowledge Bombs. Most I’ve learned through trial and error, or through some type of personal experience. There are some funny and light-hearted ones, and a few more serious ones – many with quotes, because who doesn’t like quotes? All-in-all it’s an easy list to scan and read, full of #Foutyfacts – what’s not to love?

For the record, I now definitely know how to eat a cookie without it being all over my face, something I wasn’t skilled at when I was young (picture top left).

Let’s start with a few fun and light-hearted ones:

1. Flush after going to the bathroom, and put the toilet seat down while you do it. My years of studying as a Chemistry Major is going to be put to use to educate you with this one. All “things” are in a constant flux of being in different states, and by states I’m referring to air, liquid, and solid. So when you go to the bathroom, if you let whatever came out sit there for a while…then parts of it will be partitioned to air and now become “one” with the air in your bathroom. Yes…part of your faeces will be on your toothbrush that you leave out by the sink. When you flush the toilet, this transfer of liquid is further encouraged; think of it a little like shaking a can of pop – kind of. So reduce the amount of poop particles and faeces in and on your “bathroom stuff” and make sure the lid is down – both while and after flushing.

2. If you are 1 of 2 people in an elevator, this is a poor time to “test out a fart.” If it smells, or makes a noise, they will know it’s you and it’ll be an awkward remaining ride; this is applicable for any situation where you’re in a confined space and you are 1 of two people, unless you are acting intentionally.

3. 12:01 a.m. means the morning. Especially when booking a Red-Eye Flight – despite there being an asterisk of *Red Eye.* I don’t know why this confused me so much, but recently I booked a flight to Chicago and made this error – which I won’t forget now; that’s ok, extra day in Chicago! I’ve been on my fair share of red-eye flights but never with an “12:00 a.m.” departure times. I blame it on the asterisks “Red Eye,” but this is simply a red-herring. Pay attention to a.m. or p.m. (12:00 p.m. is noon, a.k.a. lunch time).

4. If you find someone else’s Driver’s license, put it in the mail to return it. I’ve lost my I.D. a time or two, and I’ve also found others. Next time you find one, put it in the mail and it’ll be returned to the address on the I.D.

5. You don’t need to put 2 spaces after a period anymore, that was intended to help with spacing with typewriters.

6. How to easily put on a duvet cover, and how fold a fitted bed sheet. I’ve watched the following video more times than I’d like to admit, but if you continue to watch it over time you too can eventually understand how to fold a fitted sheet.

7. If you accidentally close a tab, press Ctrl + Shift + T to re-open it. This has saved me a few times, use it.

8. Re-read and re-watch movies at different times in your life. The story won’t change, but your perspective will. Try it out.

Save Money On Flights

I did a lot of flying in 2017 and learned a thing or two about how to save a buck on flights, I’ll group these tips into one.

9: Shop your flights. There is no regulation of flight prices and I’ve seen the same ticket being sold for 2 completely different prices many times. If you use websites like yycdeals, momondo, and skyscanner, they will help you research where to book for the lowest price (these websites will then link you to the necessary website to book). What I’ve found is that Expedia often ends up being the cheapest option. Here is a good resource to read for some more tips, but the below are some things that I regularly do when booking:

Delete your browser cookies, or browse incognito. You will get different prices if you don’t, in particular the prices will increase when you re-visit the same site again.
Rule of Thumb: Book flights 6 weeks in advance, or earlier. Prices tend to be best 6 weeks out or more. Use an app like hopper and it will give you advice about when you should buy and it’ll give you insight on when it would be cheaper to fly.
Choose a different departure city: I don’t often do this, but I know flights are much cheaper for me If I’m to leave Calgary (YYC) than Edmonton (YEG) due to the taxes that the Edmonton airport issues to each flight.

On saving time:

Those that know me, know that I’m not always a deep person – I’m usually pretty easy going and I’m often joking around a lot – sometimes more than I should. That being said, I can be insightful and philosophical – and not always when i’ve had one too many. Check out my soundbite about time by clicking on the link below, or skip it and head to the tips below.

Ok Mike, I'll bite. Let's get philosophical.

At the present time, and devoid of terminal illnesses etc., time is the one thing we all have in equal amounts. How we spend that time, however, is up to you. We don’t all have the flexibility to do whatever we want with our time, we do need to work after all and make money. But, you do have a choice to decide how you want to spend that time, and who with. Stop working that job that you hate that takes up so much of your time to only make you miserable.

I like this quote that describes what I mean by this:

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course? Each of us has such a bank. Its name is time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost it health, happiness and success. The clock is running. Make the most of today.

I’ve always been a relatively busy person, taking on a lot of different things at once; and I’m not just saying that as an indicator to others of “productivity/success.” One of my busier years was In 2013. I was working full time as a gym manager, taking 4 classes at U of A in a nutrition after-degree, and taking 4 classes through NAIT for the Personal Fitness Trainer program online. However, I believe right now I’m currently at my “busiest.”

I’m doing 20-25 hours of In-Person Personal Training, and training 25 online & hybrid clients
Helping, and managing, 2 Personal Trainers that are contracted to me get new clients, become better trainers, etc.
I’m the Head Personal Trainer at a gym that typically would demand at least 20-30 hours per week for all of it’s tasks, yet i’m trying to squeeze it into 10-15.
Blogging. I’m regularly blogging, either on michaelfouts.com, overhaulfitness.ca/blog, or allaboutweightlossblog.com. Part of this is content marketing, but a bigger reason of why I do it is because I like it. I like educating other people and along the way I end up educating myself because I don’t always know everything and I often have to do my own research to “fill in the gaps.”
Building my business. Those that have, or had, a business know that this takes up a lot of your time. This can include things like regular coffee meetings to keep in touch with important people to you and your business, marketing and advertising related tasks, developing systems and overseeing them, etc…

But, it’s a different type of busy. It’s a flexible, self-driven busy. Regardless, being “busy” has taught me how to budget time, delegate tasks, and be efficient with the time available. Below are some things that I’ve learned.

10: “Buyback” time whenever possible. If your financial situation allows it, “buy back time” so that you can use it more effectively and how you want to use it. There are two main ways to do this:

Hired help. If you make $30/hr and you can hire someone for less then that, then you are “making money” and getting that time back.
Pay for convenience. Whether it’s the odd pre-made meal, or shopping online, these are somethings you can take advantage of from time-to-time.

Below are some examples that I use:

I have someone clean my house. I don’t exactly enjoy dusting and doing “deep cleaning.” I’d much rather catch up with friends, or go exercise. Yes I’ll put my dishes away and do my laundry, but some of the other time consuming things I’ll hire out.
I often order my groceries online – blog post coming about this soon – to save time from shopping the aisles at the grocery store; this also helps me price shop more effectively too.
I buy a few pre-made meals each week to save time on cooking; this also helps me eat better since i’m less likely to make something healthy when I’m lazy.

11. It’s ok to say NO. When I first started my company, I said yes to everyone and anyone that wanted to meet up for coffee, talk about a business opportunity, etc. Sometimes this is necessary as a new business owner, but now I protect my time and I’m ok with saying no.

12. Be proactive, not reactive. I used to, and still do to occasionally, respond to all emails and social media notifications right away. You can waste SO much time doing this as you constantly allow it to interrupt whatever you are currently focusing on. Instead, block off time for answering emails and do/respond to social media so that it’s more focused.

On living a good life

13. Hang around people that you want to. This kind of plays off the theme of time mentioned above, but choose who you spend your time with wisely. Hang around people that you look up to and aspire to be, hang out with people that are fun and have similar interests as you, and hang with people that are positive and that uplift you. Cut out the others, they are not worth your time. It’s much better to have 5 great friends that you share a deep meaningful connection with, than a bunch of superficial ones.

14. Spend time with your family. These are the people that will be there for you when times get tough, and are people that truly care about you; this can include friends that you regard as “family” too. You’d be surprised how little time you might have with them left.

15. Be authentic and undeniably you. Try to resist the urge and need to seek external validation. Be you and rock it. Confidence is sexy, and so is being happy with who you are. Don’t worry about what others think of you, whatever it is chances are you are paying more attention to it than they are.

16: Take risks and Take action. I put these two together as they overlap nicely.

1. Take risks: The pain and experience of trying something and failing is a lot less than the feeling of regret later in life. As Henry Ford puts it…

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.

2. Take action. Either take action in regards to taking a risk, or just act on things now – don’t wait to do it until it’s too late. Pretty vague, I know, but this can include a lot of things. If you’ve ever wanted to get into really good shape, stop complaining about it and do something about it. Or something else I’ve heard a lot, mostly from my clients that are older (60+) is that they regret not travelling more when they were young. Now that they are older they have the time and money, but not the body that is fit for travelling.

17. Buy experiences, not material objects. I’ve never been one for material objects. I much prefer to use my money towards this like trips and other “things” what involved my friends and family. Give this a read, a 27-year-old’s dying letter to the world, which touches on my feelings towards this – and more. If you don’t care to read it, in a nutshell it says that in the face of death materialistic objects mean nothing. The things you reflect on, when it’s your time to kick-the-can, is how you spent your time and the people who you shared it with; not your big house, designer bag, or fancy car.

18. Don’t let money rule you. Two big points here:

1. Don’t be reckless with money, but also don’t be too serious with it. Enjoy life, buy the nice bottle of wine, get a nice hotel room, or buy those expensive pair of shoes you’ve always been wanting. For all you know you could die tomorrow, budget ample “fun money” that will allow you to enjoy yourself and experience life rather than constantly saving and being boring on the weekends to save money.

2. Don’t let the pay of a job influence you more than it’s enjoyment. If you’re going to be spending at least 50% (some of you more, some less) of your time on this earth working, then you might as well enjoy it. If you want to read another Philosophical moment, check out the following:

Philosophical Rant 2

The following two quotes have always acted as guiding principles for me:

“What would you like to do if money were no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life? If getting the money is the most important thing, then you will spend your life completely wasting your time; you will be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid. Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than have a long life spent in a miserable way. That is why it is so important to address the question of – What do I desire? – Alan Watts

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “ Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

For those of you that know me, know that I was originally born in Ardrossan, Alberta – an rural community which is essentially farm land and acreages. Then at age 12 we packed up and moved to, the economic giant at the time, Fort McMurray where my dad started his own company. What I realized toward my later teens was the juxtaposition of people in two different cities and how they lived their lives. In Fort McMurray, or Fort Mac as it’s often called, people were often working jobs they hated just because it paid well. Further, they had little to no flexibility to watch their son’s hockey game or their daughters school play because they were on shift then. I mean everyones got bills and everyones gotta eat, but I just didn’t believe in this work life balance. This was the primary reason I went to University right after high school, so that I could equip myself with “tools” to allow myself flexibility of income and lifestyle. This is also a reason of why I started my own company when I was 25.

Here is another quote, by Randy Komisar, to embody this, because #quotes:

The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet that you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.

19. Your Attitude determines your altitude. Cliche statement there, or at least I’m sure some of you have seen it on an Instagram post somewhere. But it’s true, and powerful – and sometimes people need to hear it again as a reminder. I’m more drawing on other’s perspectives here when I talk about this; I’ve been very fortunate in my life so far. But what I mean by this is that we all face adversity at some time in our lives, be it something as little as losing your phone to something more drastic like losing a loved one. And, some will face more than others. But, happiness is a choice – everything else is a matter of perspective. Know that your attitude and how you are going to let something affect you is up to you to control.

20. Take care of your body. Exercise and eat healthy, as much as you can. You only have one life to live, why not take care of your body so that you can live as long as possible? If you take care of your body, you will live a longer and more fulfilled life.

The goal in life should be to die young, as old as possible.

About Health

If you read my Philosophical rant #2, you’ll know that I’m pretty passionate about being healthy and living your life on your terms. Given my education background and because bettering one’s health is my life’s work, I figured I’d expand on the last point and make it into a section of it’s own.

21: Don’t eat like an idiot. I’ve done a lot of nutrition consulting over the years, and what I’ve found it that most people know how to eat well – they just don’t do it. They either don’t do it consistently enough, or they eat too much of the healthy foods. Here are some tips that you should focus on to “eat less like an idiot”:

Have at least 2 serving of veggies or fruit per meal; or 6+ over the course of the day
Have at least one serving of fish per week
Try to cook at least one meal at home per day
Practice moderation with sweets and other high sugar foods
Limit caloric beverages, and stay adequately hydrated

22. Find a type of exercise you enjoy, and do that. Being active has way too many health benefits to not do it. So, find a type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and do that – you don’t have to lift weights in the gym. Finding something you like will help you be consistent and doing it as part of your lifestyle, not a stop and start type of approach.

23. Be consistent, not perfect. Trying to be perfect leads to inevitable frustration. It also leads to things like binge eating, as you are constantly negating the very foods that you love to eat; like cake…more on cake in the next point. Instead, aim to be consistent with exercising and eating healthy and you’ll be much better off long term.

24. Enjoy the cake. Food is meant to be enjoyed, so let’s just state that. Further, some of the “less healthy” foods tastes absolutely amazing and their healthier alternatives can taste, well, like shit. But what I really mean by “enjoy the cake” refers allowing yourself to enjoy it rather than feeling guilty about eating it. One piece of cake is not going to de-rail you – whatever your fitness goal may be. That being said, you don’t need a whole cake, a slice – or maybe 2 slices if it’s your birthday – will do. Moderation is key here, and allowing yourself to indulge here and there will encourage the consistency with your diet and allow you to stick to the plan for longer and form good food habits along the way.

25. Being healthy & fit is more than just being physically fit. There are many facets of health and wellness, and one of them that I want to talk about is mental health. Just becuase Sean and Suzy six-pack look great, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are “healthy.” They might be striving for that physique because they seek external validation from people like you in order to feel good about themselves. #foutyfact: over 50% of eating disorders are actually not seen in the general public, rather the biggest proportion are seen in the professionals that work in the Health & Fitness Industry. You don’t have to have a six-pack to be healthy and fit, so stop thinking that; this is not a great metric of health. Rather, focus on yourself and what you want to achieve and why – and if that’s a six pack because it’s a physique challenge that you want to strive for, then great. But just understand why you want to do it, and don’t do it because society suggests you should. Remember the earlier tip from before, be authentic and undeniable you.

Be a better person

I’m ending with these last three because it never hurts to be a better person.

26. Talk less and listen more. Many people, myself included, often aren’t completely “tuned in” when others are talking to them. Rather, they are often selfishly thinking about themselves and thinking about what they’re going to talk about next and are just waiting for their chance to speak. Watch the news and you’ll see this in debates all the time. Try actually listening and reflecting on what someone says next time, you might be surprised what you pick up and how that translates to other things later.

27. Aim to give more than you receive. Great things come to those who act selflessly. I highly encourage you to volunteer when you can, and do it without an obligation to do it or an expectation of some sort of return. I was guilty of doing this when I had aspirations of medical school. However, having been introduced to volunteering as a result allowed me to experience what volunteering was and how it made me feel. It’s extremely rewarding, I suggest you try it. Those who know Gary V. know that he promotes the 51/49 principle, which as a generalizations means aim to help others and give out more value than “you expect back.” This attitude and practice is something great to incorporate in many facets of your life.

28. Be kind, don’t be quick to judge, and give people the benefit of the doubt. Being kind to others is just a good practice, but it ties nicely with the two other points. I used to judge people a lot, it wasn’t until I ended up meeting many of these people that I ended up finding out that my judgements of them didn’t match who they actually were at all. They were often great people and a lot of them I now call my friends. More importantly, don’t judge someone and always try to give people the benefit of the doubt because you never know what fight they’re fighting behind the scenes.

Ok, so maybe that was a little “deeper” than fun and light hearted, but at least there was a fart joke in there.

I’m going to wrap this up with a poem that was one of my late grandma’s favorite’s: The Man in the Glass.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self / And the world makes you king for a day / Just go to the mirror and look at yourself / And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father or mother or wife / Whose judgment upon you must pass / The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.

You May be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum / And think you’re a wonderful guy / But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum / If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest / For he’s with you clear to the end / And you’ve passed your most dangerous and difficult test / If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years / And get pats on the back as you pass / But your final reward will be heartache and tears / If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

What “life tips” and Knowledge Bombs do you have? I’d love to hear them, put them in the comments!

Author Bio: Michael Fouts

Mike blogs on this website – michaelfouts.com – obviously, but also owns a Mobile and Online Personal Training Company called OverHaul Fitness. Mike loves helping people manipulate their body composition; losing weight while retaining muscle, or putting muscle on while minimize fat gain. Mike’s spare time is spent being active (hockey, squash, triathlons), eating sandwiches or beef jerky, or watching thought provoking movies or tv series (like Westworld). Connect with Mike via email: Mike@overhaulfitness.ca, or Social Media – links below:

Facebook I LinkedIn I Youtube

You might also like: