Welcome to Week 17 of the High Performance Playbook. We’re closing in on 3,500 community members, so thank you for continuing to share with friends!

If you’re new to the HPP, these are the strategies and frameworks that separate the 1% from the .01%. We dive deep into: health & fitness, personal finance & investing, business growth hacks, and how to optimize all areas of your life.

If any of those sound interesting, the High Performance Playbook is for you.

If you enjoy the content and get some value from it, please share this link with a few friends and help me spread the word! There’s no better compliment than a referral.

Ready? Start your engines… Let’s GO:

Mindset & Psychology

Here’s a mindset shift worth making early:

People-pleasing doesn’t make you more successful. It zaps your energy.

It often starts with good intentions, being helpful, agreeable, “easy to work with.” But over time, it turns into a habit of undercharging, over-delivering, tolerating poor behavior, and saying yes when you want to say no.

This isn’t humility. It’s self-neglect disguised as service.

At its core, people-pleasing stems from a deep need for approval. You start optimizing for acceptance instead of impact. And before long, your energy is drained, your value is diluted, and your business is no longer on your terms.

Growth requires boundaries. Mental clarity requires the ability to disappoint the wrong people in order to serve the right ones.

You don’t need to be rude or arrogant, but you do need to be firm.

Charge based on results, not guilt. Say no when it’s not aligned. Protect your time and energy like they’re your most valuable assets—because they are.

The mindset shift is simple: clarity over approval.

The right clients, partners, and people in your life will not only accept your boundaries—they’ll respect you more for having them.

Health & Fitness + Longevity

The Hidden Cost of High Performance

Many high performers chase business success at the expense of everything else.

They skip workouts, eat like crap, sacrifice sleep, and justify it all by saying, “It’s just for now.”

But “now” drags on.

And eventually, the damage becomes real; and sometimes, irreversible.

Health declines. Stress skyrockets. Relationships quietly erode. Burnout shows up in the form of brain fog, irritability, or complete emotional detachment.

This isn’t just about self-care; it’s about sustainability.

Real success isn’t about pushing harder until something breaks. It’s about integrating your ambition with your well-being.

It’s about treating your health and relationships as assets that compound, just like your business.

Because if you’re building wealth while breaking down in the process, the cost is too damn high.

Success at the expense of self isn’t success at all.

Personal Finance Tip of the Week

You don’t need to be a genius to get rich.

You just need to avoid doing dumb stuff consistently.

Here are 7 of the most common wealth-killing mistakes (and how to fix them):

1. Spending Before Investing

What: Prioritizing lifestyle upgrades before financial independence.

Why: Most people raise their expenses as fast as their income, keeping them stuck on the treadmill.

How:

• Pay yourself first: automate investing before spending: Even if you start with just $100/month, get in the habit of automation and paying yourself first. You’ll increase that over time and the bigger your portfolio gets, the more motivated you will be to add to it.

• Cap lifestyle inflation at 50% of income growth: So if you make 80k per year and you just got a raise to 90k per year, the most your lifestyle should increase is $5000 per year (50% of the income growth).

• Delay big purchases until your investments pay for them: Grant Cardone preaches this and he’s right. Use your income to buy assets that produce cash flow. Then use the cash flow from your assets to buy dumb stuff. You shouldn’t be buying a Rolex or a Bentley with your income, no matter how much you make. You should be buying them with money that your money makes.

“Wealth is built in the gap between what you earn and what you keep.”

2. Confusing Income With Wealth

What: Earning a high salary but having no assets.

Why: Without converting income into appreciating assets, you’re just a high-earning consumer.

How:

• Allocate a % of every paycheck to investments.

• Own things that grow: Bitcoin, Businesses, Real Estate, Equities.

• Track net worth monthly. When you start getting a lot of moving parts (ie. a portfolio with over a dozen investments and multiple streams of income), track it weekly.

  *If you want my Net Worth tracker or Family Budget template, reply to this email and let me know. I’ll send it to you for free.

“High income helps you look rich. Ownership of assets helps you stay rich.”

3. Not Understanding Taxes

What: Ignoring tax planning and losing 20–50% of gains.

Why: The wealthy think in after-tax returns. Everyone else gives half their growth to the government.

How:

• Learn how capital gains, depreciation, and entity structures work. Everyone cries about billionaires paying so little in taxes when the same rules are available to you. They just spent a little time and actually figured out how to use them 🤷🏻‍♂️ (don’t hate the player, hate the game… or learn how to play it)

• Leverage tax-advantage investments: Section 1202, QSBS, Roth IRAs, QOZ’s, or real estate depreciation where applicable.

• Work with a tax strategist, not just a CPA. Everyone should have a great accountant, tax strategist, CPA, and law firm. You will need each of them on your wealth journey, every year, and they will save you more than you spend on the cost of their services.

“You don’t need more income. You need to keep more of what you already earn.”

4. Over-Diversifying Too Early

What: Spreading money too thin across too many assets.

Why: Diversification protects wealth. Narrow focus is what builds it.

How:

• Concentrate to build, diversify to preserve.

• Go deep on 1-2 vehicles. The simplest and best performing asset over the last 5, 10, and 15 years is Bitcoin… by far. It’s incredibly easy to buy, hold, and it has averaged 60% annual compounded returns for years. It’s liquid too, meaning you can turn it into cash almost instantly. *Did you know… No one has ever held Bitcoin for more than 48 months and lost money?! Pick any point in Bitcoin’s history and compare it’s price to that of 48 months later. Think about that. All you have to do is buy and hold and you will beat 95% of investors.

• Consider Alternatives: Other vehicles are more complicated, but could work for you; everyone is different. Real estate, stocks, private equity, and venture capital are all avenues to generate substantial wealth. The key is education. Get obsessed with whatever it is you’re pursuing. Learn everything about it. Study the greats who have built fortunes in that arena. Hire a mentor or coach who’s already done exactly what you want to do. Doing that will compress years into months and save you a lot of hair loss in the process.

• Rebalance only once you’ve hit your first major milestone. Know what those milestones are ($100k, $500k, $1M, $5M, etc.) and track everything.

“Wealth is not what you earn. It’s what you keep after risk meets reality.”

5. Letting Emotions Drive Decisions

What: Panic selling, FOMO buying, or holding losers too long.

Why: The average investor earns 4-5%, while markets return 8-10%. Mostly due to behavioral errors or emotional buying/selling.

How:

• Use automation to remove emotion. Dollar Cost Average - instead of trying to time the market, pick a set amount to invest each month (or each paycheck) and move it into the market each month no matter what is happening.

• Have an IPS (Investment Policy Statement): for when things go sideways.

• Consider using a financial advisor for accountability. When you start interviewing, make sure you choose a true fiduciary (someone who is not paid on commission or has incentives to push certain products or investments).

“Markets don’t reward the smartest; they reward the most disciplined.”

6. Trying to “Do It All” Alone

What: Refusing help out of ego or fear of cost.

Why: Wealth is a team sport. The right people accelerate your path and help you avoid expensive mistakes.

How:

• Hire a good accountant, estate planner, and advisor.

• Surround yourself with people ahead of you.

• Invest in expert guidance when the stakes are high.

“The real cost isn’t what you spend, it’s what you miss by not knowing better.”

7. Chasing Trends Instead of Building Systems

What: Getting distracted by meme coins, options, sports betting, forex trading, or startup hype without a core plan.

Why: If your wealth plan relies on luck, you don’t have a plan.

How:

• Build an automated, boring-as-hell system. DCA (dollar cost average) into the S&P500 or Bitcoin each month will beat nearly everyone over time. It’s not sexy, but it wins.

• Let compounding do the heavy lifting. It takes decades to build substantial wealth. But those decades are going to come and go anyway - might as well start building now. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago… the second best time, is today.

• Add risk after your system is working. Adding riskier investments like alternatives, angel investing in businesses, VC investing, private credit, etc., are great to help you diversify. But this is step 7 or 8, not step 1 or 2.

“Wealth isn’t a jackpot; it’s the outcome of repeated, intentional moves.”

Fix these 7 mistakes, and a wealthier future becomes inevitable.

Business Playbook

Overnight success is a myth.

What you’re seeing… the viral moment, the press feature, the big exit… is just the visible tip of a 10-year iceberg.

What you don’t see are the early mornings, late nights, quiet failures, and disciplined habits stacked day after day behind the scenes.

The truth? Sustainable success doesn’t explode, it compounds.

If it looks sudden, chances are it wasn’t. It was built slowly, consistently, and quietly… until it couldn’t be ignored.

The real question isn’t how do I get there fast?

It’s what can I do today that will still matter 10 years from now?

Stuff Worth Seeing

🛡️ Startup Resilience Is the X‑Factor for Long-Term Success

🧠 Psychological Safety: The Leadership Hack No One’s Talking About

🕰️ Deep Work vs. Multitasking: Where Your Productivity is Really Going

DOPAMINE HIT

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, please share it with some friends! Leveling up is more fun when you do it with your peeps.

🗓️ STAY TUNED:

In next week’s newsletter, I’ll be breaking down why you’re not really in control - your subconscious is. And how to rewire it to get everything you want in life. This one is deep, and it’s taken from many of the lessons I’ve learned from my NLP coach and hypnotherapist. You don’t want to miss this one!

Have a great weekend. Try something you’ve never tried before!

Here’s to your success,

Austin L. Wright

Join my inner circle - Follow me on X for daily business breakdowns, lifestyle hacks, and a behind-the-scenes look at what I’m doing to build a $100M health and fitness portfolio across the US.

Follow me on IG to see how I’m living the blueprint. I practice what I preach.

P.S.

• If the ideas in this newsletter resonate and you’re looking for more personalized support, whether it’s sharpening your systems, scaling your team, starting a business, or leveling up your leadership, I occasionally offer private consulting. Right now, I’m opening a few spots for the first time in a while. It’s high-level, hands-on, and built for operators who want to move faster with more clarity.

  If that sounds like you, click the link here to book a free 30-min consult and we’ll start the conversation.

• We’re always looking to improve and create better newsletters for you in the future. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future editions, I’d love to hear from you! Just reply directly to this email - tell me what you liked. Tell me what you hated. And give me some good ideas for how to make it better!
  

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_{Disclaimer: The ideas shared in this newsletter are those of the author, and this is in no way intended to be medical, legal, or financial advice. Always do your own research and consult with licensed professionals.}