Beyond Financial Success With Sahil Bloom

Hey everyone,

Welcome back for another bite to chew on.

Today is a special edition of the newsletter.

We’re pulling back from the challenges of life in DTC and widening the lens a little bit.  

Just three years ago, Sahil Bloom was the picture of success by society's standards. But listen to how he describes it:

Success in business is measured through the prism of revenue growth and profit. But success in life can be something different altogether. 

We recently sat down with Sahil to dive deep into what real success looks like for founders and leaders. His journey from finance to becoming a respected voice on holistic wealth offers some powerful lessons for anyone trying to build something meaningful. 

On the Menu:

• Why traditional success metrics are broken

• The five dimensions of true wealth

• How to actually balance it all (no, really)

Don’t miss out on our special podcast episode featuring Sahil where we discuss everything you’ll find here (and much more.)

• Apple Podcasts 💻

• Spotify 🎧 

Want a chance to win a signed copy of his new book? Find out how at the end of this post. 

The Problem with Traditional Success

Here's the thing about success in e-commerce: It's easy to get caught up in the metrics. Revenue growth, CAC, LTV – we all live and die by these numbers.

But as Sahil pointed out, society's definition of success can be misleading. You can be "crushing it" on paper while everything else crumbles around you.

We see this from time to time in our space. 

In fact, we have been guilty of this too. Working 80-hour weeks, sacrificing health and relationships for growth. The narrative is always "I'll fix it later" or "Just one more big push."

But here's what Sahil learned: "Later never comes with any of these things."

He shared a simple but powerful exercise he uses to help called the "Energy Calendar." 

🚦For one week, he color-codes his calendar based on how activities affect his energy: 

• Green: Energy-creating 

• Yellow: Neutral

• Red: Energy-draining

"At the end of a week you have a very clear visual perspective on the types of activities that are creating energy for you versus draining... Now I'm aware of it. I know that Zoom calls are really energy draining – okay, what can I do about that? Well, how many of those could have been a walking phone call?"

This gives you a new framework to evaluate how your spending your time and the impact the things you do are having. 

Beyond, you know, whether you hit your revenue goals on Shopify or not.

The 5 Dimensions of Wealth 

Sahil's 5-part framework flips the script on how we think about success. Here's the breakdown:

1. Financial Wealth 🤑

The trap that Sahil identifies is profound: "Your expectations are your most legitimate financial liability." He explains, "If your expectations are rising faster than your assets, you will never be rich. Point blank."

Think about that. How many successful founders do you know who keep moving their own goalposts up at each phase of their business? 

Maybe you’re doing this too?

2. Time Wealth ⏳

"Time is your most precious asset," Sahil emphasizes. 

Here’s a way to think about it:  Would you trade lives with Warren Buffett? 

He has $130 billion, but as Sahil points out, "He would trade all of his money, every single dollar that he has, for the amount of time that you guys have."

Nothing in the world can buy back time for you once it’s gone. 

3. Social Wealth 🎁

This isn't about your follower count or LinkedIn connections. It's about real relationships and community. Sahil breaks down an interesting concept he calls "earned status".

Instead, true respect and admiration must be earned through building things that matter. 

Think: best friends, family, and true partnerships. The stuff that grows with each new phase of your life and helps you persist when times are tough. 

4. Mental Wealth 🧠

As Sahil describes it, this is about "growth, purpose, curiosity, the ability to create space in your life to actually slow down and think." But here's what's fascinating – in the startup world, we often confuse being busy with being productive, being stressed with being successful.

Sahil's take on mental wealth inverts this. 

It's not about consuming more information or grinding harder. It's about creating space for genuine curiosity and deep thinking. Think of your mind like a garden – it needs both cultivation and rest to flourish.

The key is protecting your mental sovereignty in a world of infinite distractions. As Sahil points out, it's about "maintaining your distinctiveness" when everything around you pushes toward conformity and constant motion.

5. Physical Wealth 💪

This one's tricky because it's what Sahil calls "the most entropic form of wealth," meaning it's most prone to natural decay. You can't store it up like money in the bank or relationships in your network. Your physical health is in a constant state of either improvement or decline.

Imagine treating your body like a rental car – pushing it hard, skipping maintenance, assuming you can just trade it in later. 

Except you can't. This is the only vehicle you get for your entire journey.

What's fascinating is how Sahil approaches this practically. Instead of trying to be a fitness warrior while building his career, he focuses on "maintenance minimums" – the key actions that keep his physical foundation solid:

• Consistent sleep schedule (in bed by 8:15 PM)

• Daily movement (combining walks, runs, and lifting)

• Cold plunge for stress management

• Regular sauna sessions for recovery

You don't need to become a fitness influencer or gym rat, but you do need a sustainable approach to physical wealth. Otherwise, all your other forms of wealth won't mean much if you can’t wake up and enjoy them.

For founders especially, physical wealth isn't just about looking good – it's about having the energy and resilience to weather the entrepreneurial journey. 

As Sahil says, if you don't invest in your health during your 20s, 30s, and 40s, it simply won't be there for you in your 50s and 60s.

Making It Work in Reality

Now, we know what you're thinking: "Great in theory, but how do you actually balance all this while running a business?"

Here's what we learned from Sahil:

1. Understand Life's Seasons 

Building a business is like tending a garden – there are seasons for planting, growing, and harvesting. As Sahil puts it, "Life has seasons, and what you prioritize or optimize around during any one season can change."

Think of it this way: You wouldn't plant tomatoes in winter or harvest in spring. Similarly, your 20s might be prime time for working heads down and building financial wealth, while other seasons might call for prioritizing family or health.

2. Think Dimmer Switches, Not On/Off 

Most light switches are either on or off – no in-between. That's how most founders think about work-life balance. But Sahil introduced us to a better metaphor: "All of this exists on dimmer switches rather than on/off."

This might be the biggest challenge we see in our network and probably the biggest one we face ourselves. Trying to keep your two “lives” separate is impossible when you’re building a business, so finding a way to strike that balance is invaluable. 

Sahil made us think of it like mixing a song. You don't turn any track completely off – you just adjust the levels until they work in harmony.

3. Focus on High-Leverage Actions 

Here's where the rubber meets the road. When you're deep in business-building mode, you need what we call "maintenance minimums" – the smallest effective dose to keep other areas of your life healthy.

Sahil nails this with relationships: "Make sure I sent the text when I was thinking about the person, made sure I showed up at the wedding." It's not about maintaining every friendship at peak intensity. It's about identifying those critical few actions that keep your foundations solid.

Small actions, consistently executed, maintain the infrastructure of a well-rounded life.

4. Create Energy-Generating Routines 

Most founders approach their daily schedule like a game of Tetris – cramming in as many blocks wherever they can fit. But Sahil designs his day around energy generation rather than task completion.

Here's his typical day:

• 4:15 AM: Wake up, cold plunge

• 5:00-7:30 AM: Deep creative work

• 7:30 AM: Breakfast with family

• 8:30-10:30 AM: Exercise (run and lift)

• 11:30 AM-4:00 PM: Focused work

• 4:00 PM onwards: Family time, reading, sauna

• 8:15 PM: Bedtime

This might not look ideal for you. But that’s okay.

"I genuinely mean that I love my daily routine," he says. And that's the key – not copying someone else's schedule, but building one that energizes you.

Think of your ideal day like a battery charging system. Each activity should either charge your battery or be supported by your stored energy. Too many founders run their days like a dying cell phone – constantly in low-power mode, never fully recharging.

Instead, find ways to build “recharge stations” into your daily routine. 

Sum It Up

The playbook of "sacrifice everything for business success" can be a trap. It’s weirdly seductive for founders, business leaders, and ambitious people to throw themselves into their work - even when they admit that it’s hurting their relationships or mental health. 

Instead…

• Recognize which season of life you're in ✅

• Keep the other dimensions on a low simmer when needed ✅

• Focus on high-leverage actions in each area ✅

• Build routines that generate energy rather than drain it ✅

Sahil left us with this powerful thought: "Think about what you want your life to look like at age 80... Define your ideal day at age 80, really think about it – what it looks like, who you're with, what you're doing – and then make sure your actions in the present are aligned with creating that future end."

Here’s the thing…later never comes. The time to start building real wealth – across all dimensions – is now.

PS: If you struggle with balancing business with other areas of life, all of this and more can be found in Sahil’s book 5 Types of Wealth. 

Sahil was kind enough to give us some signed copies of his book. Use the link below to share this newsletter with someone and you could win one. Every referral gets you another entry:

All the best,

Ron & Ash