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BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

The New Rich Do This | Sahil Bloom

My new book Own Or Be Owned is out now! I wrote Own or Be Owned to answer one question: How do you make more money, less miserably?

Sahil BloomguestCodie Sanchezhost

Feb 5, 20251h 9mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Early-morning creative work and routines that make it possible
Sahil Bloom opens by describing how his best creative work happens early in the morning and how he structured his life to protect that window. He explains how an ice bath became a key tool for waking up and getting into a productive state for writing.
- •He feels most creative in the early morning and prioritizes writing then
- •His book was largely written in a consistent 5:00–8:00 AM window over multiple years
- •He adjusted his wake-up time earlier to support that routine
- •The ice bath was the biggest lever for waking up and feeling ready to create
The “time billionaire” idea: treating time as the most precious asset
Codie Sanchez asks Sahil to explain the concept of being a “time billionaire,” which reframes wealth as having a large remaining reserve of time. Sahil argues that people implicitly know time is priceless, yet waste it daily on distraction and comparison.
- •The concept came from hearing investor Graham Duncan discuss “time billionaires”
- •A billion seconds is roughly 30 years, making remaining time feel countable
- •Time is the only asset you can’t get back, yet people behave as if it’s unlimited
- •He contrasts time with financial wealth by asking whether you’d trade lives with an elderly billionaire
- •He calls out common time-wasters like endless phone scrolling and social comparison
A gut-punch conversation that changed his life priorities
Sahil recounts a 2021 conversation with a friend that forced him to confront how little time he had left with his parents. That moment triggered a rapid set of life changes aimed at reclaiming time and proximity with family.
- •He was working 80–100 hours a week in finance while other life areas suffered
- •A friend helped him quantify how many more visits he might have left with his parents
- •He describes feeling “punched in the gut” by the countable nature of remaining time
- •He and his wife made a quick decision to change their lives and move closer to his parents
- •He reframes the lesson as realizing you can control your time more than you think
Phones, presence, and building relationships with truth-tellers
Codie and Sahil discuss how technology reduces connection in conversations and why presence matters. They broaden the topic into the importance of surrounding yourself with people who tell the truth, not just cheer you on.
- •Sahil cites evidence that even a phone on the table reduces felt connection after a conversation
- •He describes phones as designed to pull attention and function like a “drug” for focus
- •He emphasizes returning to basics: face-to-face interactions and real presence
- •He argues for friends who hold you accountable rather than only celebrating wins
- •He describes the need for people who call out misaligned opportunities and time use
Hard conversations as “relationship debt” (and a practical walking hack)
They explore why avoiding hard conversations corrodes relationships over time and how postponement makes things worse. Sahil shares a tactic—having difficult talks while walking—to reduce discomfort and increase connection.
- •Codie describes how a tough conversation strengthened their friendship
- •Sahil frames avoided hard conversations as debt that must be repaid with interest
- •He says time doesn’t heal relationship issues; small repairs prevent major breakdowns
- •He notes finance and investing experiences where avoiding hard conversations ended poorly
- •He cites evidence that walking side-by-side improves connection and makes hard conversations easier
Discipline, morning rituals, and why doing hard things rewires your identity
Codie asks about Sahil’s discipline and morning habits, leading to a discussion of routines as psychological priming. Sahil explains that the point isn’t the specific habit but the identity shift that comes from consistently doing hard things.
- •He describes himself as routine-oriented and finds comfort in methodical habits
- •He keeps an early schedule and frames it as going to bed early, not skipping sleep
- •Ice baths weren’t about trends for him; they helped him consistently start hard work early
- •He argues that completing a hard task early changes how you engage with the world
- •He frames consistency as building belief in your ability to create outcomes through action
The ABC system: A/B/C goals to make habits compound
Sahil shares a simple habit framework to prevent all-or-nothing thinking. By defining best-case, baseline, and minimum viable versions of a habit, you keep momentum even on low-energy days.
- •Define an A goal (best version), B goal (baseline), and C goal (minimum viable) for any habit
- •Examples include full gym session vs shorter workout vs a short walk
- •He emphasizes that anything above zero compounds over time
- •He calls out ambitious people’s tendency to reject anything that isn’t “optimal”
- •The framework is meant to keep consistency through fluctuating motivation
Engineered serendipity: how a gym routine led to mentorship with Tim Cook
Sahil tells the story of meeting Tim Cook through a small group of early-morning gym regulars, long before he realized who Tim was. He explains how genuine, non-transactional interactions helped build a real relationship over time.
- •He met Tim Cook in 2014 through a 4:45 AM gym routine while working long finance hours
- •They interacted daily for months before Sahil learned Tim’s identity
- •He followed up by emailing Tim after a conversation, guessing his email address successfully
- •That exchange opened the door to an ongoing mentorship and support over time
- •He frames the “luck” as engineered by consistently showing up early every day
Why “networking is dead”: genuine value without asking for anything
After the mentorship story, Sahil explains why transactional networking fails with high-profile people. He argues that authenticity and value creation without expectation are what build durable relationships.
- •He believes most “networking” is built on transactions rather than real relationships
- •He notes influential people are constantly approached by others who want something
- •His early relationship with Tim worked partly because he wasn’t seeking a job or pitch
- •He emphasizes learning, curiosity, and creating value without expectation of return
- •He highlights being impressed by Tim’s consistent discipline and work ethic
Human stories and curiosity: bees, parenting moments, and journey-based content
Sahil explains that the book became more about human experience than a simple framework manual. He shares the bee story as an example of curiosity, documenting a real-time journey, and how small stories can create meaningful real-world outcomes.
- •He expected a standard framework book but found the human stories became the heart of it
- •He mentions a story shared by a woman who reached out near the end of his writing process
- •He recounts discovering a massive bee hive and learning step-by-step what to do
- •He connects curiosity and real-time exploration to what makes content compelling
- •He describes how sharing the story helped a local beekeeper’s business and created an ongoing relationship
Ambition vs presence as a parent—and bringing kids into the “why”
Codie asks how Sahil reconciles big ambition with being present for his child. Sahil describes the short window when parents are a child’s center of the world and argues that kids need to understand the purpose behind a parent’s work.
- •He calls the tension between presence and ambition a core challenge of adulthood as a parent
- •He describes a 10-year window when parents are their child’s favorite people
- •He argues children fill in missing “why” with the worst interpretation if it isn’t explained
- •He shares how his father’s work ethic felt inclusive because the purpose was always clear
- •His goal is for kids to feel like they’re on the journey rather than competing with it
Quality time is energy, not minutes—and interrupting negative thought spirals
Sahil draws a distinction between time and the energy you bring to relationships, especially with kids. He shares a personal moment of catching himself in frustration and using gratitude and self-awareness to reset.
- •He argues presence matters more than total hours; distracted time doesn’t build connection
- •He compares phone distraction to letting “a million people” into the room with you
- •He keeps his phone physically in another room to be more present
- •He shares a moment of frustration with his son that he reframed through gratitude about past fertility struggles
- •When negative thought patterns arise, he emphasizes pausing, breathing, and being your own truth-teller
Decision simplifiers: razors, the spotlight effect, and handling online judgment
They discuss frameworks for simplifying decisions and reducing unnecessary emotional load, especially online. Sahil explains philosophical “razors,” then expands into the spotlight effect and the reality of public attention cycles.
- •A “razor” is a rule of thumb that helps shave away complexity in decision-making
- •He discusses Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation is often the best
- •He discusses Hanlon’s razor: don’t attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance or stupidity
- •He explains the spotlight effect as overestimating how much others notice you
- •They discuss how online attention feels visceral but often fades quickly, and why supportive relationships matter during public backlash
Relationships as a pillar of wealth—and redefining the scoreboard beyond money
Sahil argues that relationships are a key predictor of long-term wellbeing and should be treated like an investment. He then explains his broader thesis: people over-measure money because it’s easy to quantify, neglecting other forms of wealth that define a fulfilling life.
- •He cites the Harvard Study of Adult Development linking relationship satisfaction to later-life health outcomes
- •He emphasizes relationships require ongoing investment, not passive hope
- •He introduces the idea that the “scoreboard” of success is broken because money is easy to measure
- •He identifies core pillars people want in an ideal older life: time, people, purpose, and health, with money as an enabler
- •He argues measuring the right things leads to better actions and long-term outcomes
Seasons of life, marriage as a foundation, family legacy, and one-year focus
The conversation closes with how priorities can shift by season without becoming permanent doors you can’t reopen. Sahil shares his philosophy on choosing a partner, embodying values for children, family stories about love and courage, and the belief that focused effort can change your life quickly.
- •He describes “seasons” where priorities shift—financial building vs presence with children at key ages
- •He shares how his wife chose to prioritize motherhood in the current season despite social judgment
- •He explains knowing his wife was “the one” because he loved doing nothing with her
- •He argues you must embody the behaviors you want your children to learn, including how you treat your spouse
- •He shares family stories about love, courage, and consistency, and ends with the idea that one year of focused intention and action can change your life

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