Ep. 607 — Other Mountains I Want to Climb | Diania Merriam

Reaching financial independence is supposed to be the goal—but what if you get there and realize the real skill isn't earning or saving, but learning to spend? And what if the metric for business success has nothing to do with revenue growth and everything to do with protecting your nervous system?

Key Topics Discussed

Introduction and the Hidden Curriculum 00:00:00
Brad introduces the concept of life's hidden curriculum—essential lessons never explicitly taught but crucial to building extraordinary lives, including the question extraordinary people consistently ask: "What am I missing, and how could this be useful to me?"

Redefining Business Success 00:08:00
Diania explains her counterintuitive decision to keep the EconoMe Conference capped at 500 attendees despite selling out 9+ months in advance, redefining success around maintaining a calm nervous system rather than maximizing revenue or scaling.

Enoughness and Simplifying Life 00:15:00
A discussion about determining "enough" in business, friendships, and life overall. Brad shares why he chose not to scale ChooseFI to Dave Ramsey levels, and both explore the power of intentional constraints.

The Tuesday Project 00:22:00
Brad introduces his framework for designing FI around what your ideal average Tuesday looks like—waking without an alarm, taking walks in green space, accessing amenities on foot—rather than focusing solely on extraordinary experiences.

Daily Routines and Time Abundance 00:30:00
Diania shares her 4-5 AM morning routine, one-meeting-a-day philosophy, and how she structures days with intention and flexibility to protect both productivity and mental space.

The Skill of Spending in FI 00:42:00
Both hosts examine the challenge of learning to spend money intentionally after reaching FI, including examples like grocery delivery services and making purchases without the scarcity-driven research habits that got them to FI.

From Scarcity to Abundance 00:55:00
Diania reveals how her annual spending increased from $60K to over $100K—all on discretionary categories like health, relationships, generosity, and travel—while caring about money less than ever. She shares her recent $29K car purchase and why FI as a goal became irrelevant once the journey transformed her life.

Values, Idealism, and Materialism 01:08:00
A deep exploration of understanding true values versus social programming, the realization of not actually wanting the status symbols you thought you did, and how reducing materialism creates space for idealism.

Health and the Better Body Challenge 01:18:00
Diania details her transformative six-month fitness accountability challenge requiring 5 weekly workouts, 70,000 steps per week, daily protein goals, and data uploads—with a $100/week fine for missing targets.

Backing Yourself Into a Corner 01:32:00
Discussion about public accountability, understanding what motivates you personally, and intentionally creating circumstances that ensure follow-through on worthy goals.

Notable Quotes

Brad Barrett: "A lot of people who consistently build extraordinary lives ask, what am I missing, and how could this be useful to me?"

Diania Merriam: "Success is a calm nervous system for you personally."

Diania Merriam: "I'm not looking for followers. I'm not looking for customers. I really look at them as my peers."

Diania Merriam: "My risk has flipped from running out of money to running out of time. I am much more willing to waste money than to waste time."

Diania Merriam: "The less materialistic I am, the more idealistic I get to be."

Key Takeaways

• Identify one area where you're using scarcity mindset despite financial security and experiment with an abundance-based decision
• Design your Tuesday Project: write down what your ideal average Tuesday would look like in FI and identify what's preventing that now
• Audit your attention: identify what's stealing your focus in ways that don't align with your values and set one boundary
• Consider joining an accountability group for a goal you've been postponing—whether fitness, creative pursuits, or skill-building
• Experiment with "backing yourself into a corner" by publicly committing to one worthy goal that intimidates you
• Practice the "one meeting a day" philosophy for one week to create more space for deep thinking and unscheduled time
• Identify one service or expense that would buy back meaningful time and experiment with it for one month

Resources and Links

• EconoMe Conference
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F by Mark Manson
• My First Million podcast
• MyFitnessPal
• The Fioneers (Jess)
• Annie Duke (poker player and decision-making expert on "resulting")