Stop grinding harder and start working smarter, using timeless principles from physics and economics to supercharge your life.

Why Most People Struggle to Succeed Across the Big 3 Life Areas

You’ve probably noticed something frustrating about life and success:

• You work hard in business but growth is slow, inconsistent, or exhausting.
• Your social life feels superficial or draining, even if you’re “busy” with friends or networking.
• You know you should be healthier, but diet and exercise never stick, or the returns feel underwhelming.
• And finances? It often feels like you’re trapped in a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, missing opportunities to grow wealth.

You’re not alone. Most people approach each area in isolation, applying random hacks or brute force effort. They fight against nature’s laws, ignoring how systems really work.

Without a guiding framework, you end up:

• Burning out chasing business success without leverage or systems.
• Wasting time on shallow relationships that don’t build real influence.
• Hopping between diets and workouts without consistent habits.
• Missing low-risk financial opportunities due to lack of creative thinking.

The result? A life of constant hustle, mediocre results, and frustration.

Why The Typical Approach Fails and Leaves You Stuck

Imagine trying to swim upstream against a raging river without understanding the current. You paddle hard but get nowhere. That’s what success looks like without aligning with core physics and economic principles.

Let’s break down why:

1. You fight inertia instead of using it.

Inertia isn’t just a physics term, it’s a universal truth about momentum in habits, business growth, and relationships. Trying to start something new feels impossible because you’re fighting the natural resistance to change. Yet once you get moving, momentum makes it easier.

Most people expect success to be instant. When it’s not, they quit, wasting all the energy spent on the hard start.

2. You waste energy on low-leverage activities.

Throwing more hours at a problem isn’t always the answer. Like in physics, where energy conservation matters, you need to channel your effort efficiently. Businesses grow faster when you build systems that multiply your impact rather than grinding solo.

In social life and health, many repeat ineffective routines because they don’t realize diminishing returns or the power of structured incentives.

3. You ignore the economics of choice and scarcity.

Every hour and dollar spent carries an opportunity cost. Without prioritizing activities with the highest leverage, you dilute your impact across too many fronts.

In social networks, quality often trumps quantity, but people chase the wrong connections. In finances, people overlook arbitrage opportunities because they don’t understand market inefficiencies.

Apply Physics + Economics Principles for Real, Sustainable Success

There’s a better way, one grounded in fundamental principles from physics and economics that govern momentum, leverage, incentives, and decision-making.

Here’s the truth: Success across business, social life, health, and finance comes down to designing systems aligned with natural laws, not fighting against them.

Let’s explore the core concepts that create this foundation and real people who mastered them.

Core Concepts From Physics and Economics

Physics Concept	Economics Concept	Why It Matters
Inertia (Newton’s First Law)	Opportunity Cost	Starting is hard, but momentum sustains growth. Choosing high-impact actions is crucial.
Leverage (Mechanical Advantage)	Comparative Advantage	Small input can produce large output; focus on what you do best and outsource the rest.
Energy Conservation	Marginal Utility	Efficient use of effort avoids burnout and diminishing returns.
Entropy (Systems Tend Toward Disorder)	Incentives	Constant maintenance and motivation are needed to prevent decay.
Resonance (Amplifying Energy at the Right Frequency)	Supply and Demand	Align timing and value to the right audience for maximum impact.

How These Concepts Look in Real Life

1. Business: Tim Ferriss and the Power of Leverage + Opportunity Cost

Tim Ferriss famously transformed his business and life by applying these principles:

• Leverage: Instead of doing everything himself, he hired virtual assistants and automated tedious tasks.
• Comparative Advantage: He focused on the few things he was uniquely good at (product design, marketing).
• Inertia: He established routines and systems that kept the business running with minimal daily effort.
• Opportunity Cost: He stopped doing low-value busywork that didn’t grow his business or life.

By doing less but working smarter, Tim created a scalable business that freed him from the traditional 9-to-5 grind. His 4-Hour Workweek is a manifesto on working with physics and economics, not against them.

2. Social: Oprah Winfrey and Resonance + Incentives in Building Influence

Oprah didn’t become a media powerhouse by accident:

• She tapped into resonance by sharing authentic vulnerability that connected deeply with audiences.
• By consistently showing up, she built inertia in trust and loyalty.
• She understood incentives by creating platforms that benefited both her guests and viewers.
• Rather than surface-level networking, she focused on marginal utility – fewer, more meaningful conversations.

This created a feedback loop that grew her influence exponentially, making her one of the most trusted voices in media history.

3. Health: James Clear’s Atomic Habits on Inertia + Entropy + Incentives

James Clear’s transformation wasn’t about willpower, it was a system built on foundational principles:

• After a devastating baseball injury, he used inertia by committing to tiny habits, like doing 1 push-up or flossing a single tooth, to rebuild his routines from scratch.
• He fought entropy by designing his environment, keeping healthy food visible, placing gym clothes near the bed, so good behavior required less energy than bad.
• He applied energy conservation by removing friction from healthy choices and automating parts of his life, like setting workout alarms and tracking meals with minimal effort.
• He understood incentives, building in visible progress (habit trackers), accountability (public goals), and identity change (“I’m the type of person who…”) to keep motivation strong.

This wasn’t about hacks. It was about structuring life so that healthy actions became the default and unhealthy ones became inconvenient. His results weren’t instant, but they were permanent. And they started with just 1% improvements, compounded over time.

4. How I Used Credit Card Arbitrage: Leverage + Arbitrage + Opportunity Cost

In 2007, I executed one of the most strategic financial plays of my life, armed only with credit cards, a few spreadsheets, and a sharp grasp of incentives.

Banks were offering 0% interest credit card promotions with balance transfers. At the time, there were no transfer fees. I took those offers and transferred the limits into bank accounts that were paying 5%+ in interest.

No cash down. Just leverage – borrowed money at 0%.

That capital went into high-yield savings accounts and CDs, which paid me monthly interest. That was energy transfer: turning unused credit lines into real cash flow.

The play was pure arbitrage: borrow at 0%, earn at 5%. The spread was mine.

I systematized it, tracked due dates, minimum payments, balances. The profit ran on autopilot. With $100,000 gaining interest at 5%, I made $5,000 a year… passively. Over time, inertia took over. The money just kept coming in.

And I timed it perfectly. This was right before the 2008 crash, when banks were practically throwing money at consumers. That kind of opportunity doesn’t come often, but when it does, you’ve got to be ready.

It taught me that wealth creation doesn’t always come from hard work. Sometimes, it comes from understanding how the system is wired and stepping into the gap.

Introducing The Physics + Economics Success System

Understanding these concepts is powerful, but knowing how to apply them consistently in your life is the real key.

Here’s a step-by-step system to design your own success, no matter the area:

Step 1: Define Your Domain and Goal

Pick your focus:

• Business (scaling a product, boosting revenue)
• Social Life (building meaningful relationships)
• Health (creating lasting habits)
• Finances (growing wealth with minimal risk)

Clear goals guide every decision.

Step 2: Identify Core Physics Principles in Your Domain

• Inertia: What’s the smallest action to start momentum? What existing momentum can you use?
• Leverage: Which tools, people, or tech can multiply your effort?
• Energy Conservation: Where are you wasting effort? How can you make the right action the easiest?
• Entropy: What will cause decay or failure? How will you maintain progress?
• Resonance: When and how can you amplify your efforts for maximum impact?

Step 3: Identify Core Economics Principles in Your Domain

• Opportunity Cost: Which activities have the highest return? What should you stop doing?
• Comparative Advantage: What tasks should only you do? What to delegate or automate?
• Incentives: How can you create motivating feedback loops?
• Marginal Utility: Where do diminishing returns occur? When to pivot or pause?
• Arbitrage: Are there gaps or inefficiencies you can exploit?

Step 4: Design Your System Components

Component	Key Question	Example
Start Small (Inertia)	What 2-minute action can start momentum?	Write one client email today.
Leverage Setup	What tools or people multiply impact?	Hire virtual assistant for outreach.
Energy Efficiency	How to make success the easiest choice?	Automate follow-ups and scheduling.
Maintenance Plan	How to prevent decay or failure?	Weekly progress review.
Timing & Resonance	When and how to amplify efforts?	Launch campaign aligned with industry events.
Opportunity Cost Focus	What to stop doing?	Stop attending low-value meetings.
Comparative Advantage	What only you should do? What to delegate?	You focus on strategy; delegate marketing.
Incentive Creation	How to reward progress?	Celebrate milestones with small rewards.
Scaling & Arbitrage	Where can you exploit inefficiencies or scale?	Use data to optimize and scale best-performing ads.

Step 5:

Put It Into Practice: Examples in Each Domain

Business: Send one outreach email (inertia), use automation (leverage), review weekly (maintenance), stop cold calling (opportunity cost).

Social: Message one old friend (inertia), join community groups (leverage), plan monthly check-ins (maintenance), avoid draining social events (conserve energy).

Health: Stretch 2 minutes daily (inertia), track habits (leverage), prep meals (energy efficiency), reward streaks (incentives).

Finance: Automate savings (inertia), use budgeting apps (leverage), monthly review (maintenance), cancel unused subs (conserve energy).

Step 6: Review, Optimize, and Iterate

Every 30–90 days:

• Review progress and obstacles.
• Identify where entropy set in.
• Adjust incentives and energy flows.
• Reassess opportunity costs and scaling potential.

Key Principles

• Momentum matters: Small actions create unstoppable inertia.
• Leverage beats effort: Multiply your impact through tools and people.
• Work smarter: Energy conservation is the key to sustainable success.
• Maintain systems: Constant upkeep prevents failure.
• Prioritize: Focus on what truly moves the needle.
• Incentivize: Create motivating feedback loops.
• Scale wisely: Exploit arbitrage and efficiencies.

Key Takeaways

• Success isn’t random hustle; it’s system design aligned with physics and economics.
• Small, consistent actions + smart leverage + ruthless prioritization = exponential growth.
• Build habits, networks, finances, and businesses that work with natural laws, not against them.
• Review and adjust regularly to maintain momentum and avoid entropy.
• Use this system in any domain to transform effort into lasting results.

Thanks for reading my stuff,

MJ