The Unfair Fight You Can't Afford to Lose: Why Getting By Means Falling Behind

In a couple of weeks, I'll be turning 60.

On one hand, I feel great—better than I have a right to expect for someone pushing the big 6-0.

On the other hand, I'm confronting a reality that nobody talks about honestly: everything that used to be automatic now requires intention, everything that used to be free now costs money, and everything that used to be simple now requires strategy.

This week, I was rolling with John "Shrek" McPhee, a former Delta Force operator who's navigating his own 50s with the same tactical precision he once applied to special operations.

During our post-training conversation, he started listing the things he's doing for recovery and health maintenance: TRT monitoring (keeping testosterone levels above 500 for cancer prevention, energy, and recovery), amino acid peptides, targeted vitamin supplementation, and dedicated strength training for joint, tendon, and bone density.

My gym is full of people tracking workouts, sleep patterns, heart rate variability, and recovery metrics with devices that didn't exist when I was doing the bulk of my training in the 90s.

Every aspect of optimal aging seems to require measurement, supplementation, and investment.

And it all costs money. Lots of money.

The Golden Years Budget Reality

Here's the thing nobody tells you about retirement planning: you calculate for the life you're living now, not the life you'll need to live to stay healthy, relevant, and functional as you age.

When I planned my "golden years" budget 20 years ago, I factored in housing, food, entertainment, and basic healthcare.

I didn't factor in the cost of fighting entropy on every front—the supplements to maintain cognitive function, the technology to track declining systems, the specialized training to preserve what time is trying to take away.

I made a critical mistake that I am now correcting for:

I planned for maintenance. I didn't plan for optimization.

Meanwhile, my wife and I are building and scaling our businesses, her somatic healing practice and me, helping martial arts gym owners improve their operations.

We're seeing growth, but with limited historical data to forecast earnings, I won't count chickens before they hatch.

The responsible approach is to assume we're on a fixed income while working toward a better future.

But here's what I refuse to accept: I will not limit my life because of limited finances.

That was one of the primary motivations for planning my escape from the construction-to-65 trajectory in the first place.

The Uncomfortable Math

Let me share some uncomfortable math that most people avoid confronting:

If you're just "getting by," you're actually falling behind.

• Inflation averages 3-4% annually, meaning your fixed income loses buying power every year
• Healthcare costs rise faster than general inflation, averaging 5-8% annually
• Technology and optimization tools represent entirely new expense categories that didn't exist when you planned your retirement
• Taxes tend to increase over time, not decrease
• Cost of living in desirable areas continues to climb

This means that even if your income stays perfectly stable, your real standard of living declines every year.

The cruel irony?

The older you get, the more expensive it becomes to maintain quality of life.

Just when your earning capacity traditionally decreases, your optimization costs increase.

The Unfair Fight

Let's be clear about something: this feels fundamentally unfair.

• Nobody "should" have to choose between financial security and physical vitality.
• Nobody "should" have to budget for the privilege of aging well.
• Nobody "should" have to worry about affording the supplements, treatments, and tools that could add healthy years to their life.

But unfair doesn't mean unwinnable.

You can rail against the injustice of inflation, complain about rising healthcare costs, and resent the fact that optimal aging requires financial resources that previous generations didn't need.

None of that changes the reality you're facing.

Life is unfair, and it's not your fault.

But it is your fight.

The Choice That Defines Everything

Every day, you face a fundamental choice that will determine the trajectory of your remaining years:

Choice 1: Accept decline as inevitable.

Adjust your expectations downward. Live within increasingly constrained means. Hope that "getting by" will somehow be enough as costs continue to rise and your fixed income loses buying power.

Choice 2: Fight to win.

Recognize that maintaining your standard of living requires growing your income. Understand that staying healthy and vital requires investment. Accept that the game has changed and develop new strategies accordingly.

The first choice feels safer in the short term. The second choice is actually safer in the long term.

The Value Creation Imperative

Here's what I've learned from watching people navigate their 50s and 60s successfully: you must consistently and constantly improve your ability to earn more income by providing more value.

This doesn't necessarily mean working more hours or taking on more stress.

It means developing your capacity to create value that other people will pay for.

For some people, this means:

• Consulting in their area of expertise rather than retiring completely
• Teaching or mentoring others who need their knowledge
• Creating products or content that generate passive income
• Investing in assets that appreciate faster than inflation
• Building businesses that can operate without their direct involvement

The Expertise Advantage

One advantage you have in your 50s and 60s that you didn't have in your 20s and 30s: decades of experience and expertise that younger people need.

The question isn't whether you have valuable knowledge—you do.

The question is whether you're packaging and delivering that knowledge in ways that create income.

Every problem you've solved, every skill you've developed, every mistake you've learned from represents potential value for someone who hasn't been down that path yet.

The martial arts gym owners I work with don't need another 25-year-old consultant with an MBA and no real-world experience.

They need someone who's actually built businesses, managed people, and solved the specific problems they're facing.

The Technology Amplifier

The same technology that's creating new expenses for health optimization is also creating unprecedented opportunities for generating income:

• Online education platforms allow you to teach globally
• Digital marketplaces let you sell products without inventory
• Remote work tools enable consulting from anywhere
• Social media platforms provide free marketing for your expertise
• Automation tools can scale your efforts beyond your personal time investment

The barrier to entry for creating income streams has never been lower, but only if you're willing to learn new tools and platforms.

The Compound Effect of Small Improvements

You don't need to revolutionize your entire financial situation overnight.

Small, consistent improvements in your income-generating capacity compound over time.

An extra $500 per month doesn't sound like much, but over 10 years with compound interest, it's the difference between constraint and freedom.

The key is starting now, while you still have energy and cognitive capacity to learn new skills and build new income streams.

The Health-Wealth Connection

Here's something most people miss: your health and your wealth are interconnected in ways that become more critical as you age.

Good health requires financial investment in optimization tools, supplements, and treatments.

But good health also preserves your ability to generate income for more years.

Poor health is expensive and limits your earning capacity. Good health is an investment that pays dividends in both quality of life and financial flexibility.

This creates a virtuous cycle: the more you invest in maintaining your health, the longer you can continue generating income.

The longer you can generate income, the more you can invest in your health.

Over 20 years ago, I read the book, Spark by Dr. John Ratey. He showed how exercise and movement wasn't just important for physical health but also mental health.

And how quickly they both decline when you stop moving. I never forgot those lessons, why the hell do you think I go through the "pain" of training 4-5 days a week, getting beat up by young guys half my age?

The Mindset Shift

The biggest obstacle to fighting this fight successfully isn't lack of opportunity or resources—it's mindset.

Many people accept decline as inevitable because they've internalized social messages about aging that are both outdated and defeatist.

"I'm too old to learn new things."
"I should be winding down, not ramping up."
"I've earned the right to coast."

These beliefs are not just limiting—they're dangerous in an environment where standing still means falling behind.

The Strategic Approach

Fighting to win doesn't mean working yourself to death or sacrificing the lifestyle you've earned.

It means being strategic about how you deploy your time, energy, and expertise.

The goal isn't to work harder—it's to work smarter on things that compound over time.

This might mean:

• Spending six months building a course that generates passive income for years
• Developing a consulting practice that leverages your expertise at premium rates
• Creating content that establishes you as an authority in your field
• Building relationships that lead to opportunities you can't yet imagine

Your Next Move

If you're in your 50s or approaching them, ask yourself:

• What expertise do I have that other people would pay to learn?
• What problems have I solved that others are still struggling with?
• What income streams could I develop that don't require trading time for money?
• What investments could I make in my health that would extend my earning years?

The fight is unfair, but it's not unwinnable.

The Bottom Line

Getting older in a world of rising costs and increasing optimization requirements is an unfair fight.

Nobody "should" have to choose between financial security and healthy aging.

But complaining about the unfairness won't change the rules of the game.

You can either accept decline as inevitable and adjust your expectations downward, or you can fight to win by continuously improving your ability to create value that other people will pay for.

Life is unfair, and it's not your fault. But it is your fight.

The question is: are you going to fight to win, or are you going to roll over and be trodden upon?

The choice is yours. Choose wisely, because the consequences compound over time.

The 60-year-old me is grateful that the 40-year-old me chose to fight. What will the 80-year-old you think about the choices you're making today?