Welcome to The Quiet Rich, your weekly guide to a quiet mind & a rich life.

CONTEXT

I'll be honest—when I first heard about 75 Hard, I thought it sounded absurd. It felt like the kind of challenge designed for CrossFit fanatics and Navy SEALs, not someone like me.

But here's what got me curious: According to the creator, Andy Frisella, it isn't really a fitness challenge at all. It’s a mental toughness program disguised as a fitness challenge.

He designed 75 Hard specifically to strengthen your mind by pushing your body.

So first of all, why attempt a challenge like this?

Because we rarely leave our comfort zones anymore.

Humans weren’t built to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, scroll mindlessly on our phones, and watch tv as an empty escape before doing it all over again.

We optimize for convenience at every turn. We order delivery instead of cooking. We skip the gym when we're tired. We take a car instead of walking. We hit snooze three times before dragging ourselves out of bed.

There's nothing inherently wrong with any of that. But when you stop testing your limits? Those limits start to shrink. And before you know it, you're operating at a fraction of your potential.

Sound familiar? If you've been reading this newsletter for a while, you might recognize this concept from my piece on Misogi—the ancient Japanese ritual of doing something impossibly hard to shift your perspective. Well, you can think of 75 Hard as the perfect ‘New Year’ Misogi.

When you test your body, you strengthen your mind.

THE METHOD

Here are the rules of 75 Hard:

Every day (for 75 days in a row) you’ll:

• Drink 3-4 liters of water

• Read 10 pages of a book

• Finish two 45-minute workouts (At least one of them should be outside, like a long walk or hike.)

• Take a progress photo (just for you)

• Follow a diet of your choosing with zero alcohol and zero cheat meals.

Oh, and if you miss any one of those things? The count resets to 0, and you start over from Day 1. Miss your second workout on Day 68? Congratulations, you now have 75 days left again.

So… why would anyone start this? 😅

WHY IT WORKS

Because by the end, you will have:

• Built habits of eating clean and staying hydrated

• Read 750+ pages (~2 books)

• Gained muscle and lost fat

• Spent 56 hours outside

• Probably slept better with no alcohol

• Visually seen your progress

And most importantly…?

You increased your mental toughness. Someone described this to me as “a triathlon for your brain.”

Around Day 30, something shifts. You stop negotiating with yourself about whether you'll do the workout. You just do it. You stop having internal debates about whether you "deserve" a cheat meal. The answer is simply no. Your willpower muscle gets so strong that following through becomes automatic.

And here's what nobody tells you: That mental toughness bleeds into everything else. Difficult conversations at work? Easier. Tackling that project you've been avoiding? Done. Saying no to things that don't serve you? Natural.

I managed to complete 75 Hard last year, and I couldn’t believe how much mental resilience it gave me. 

If you start on January 2nd, you'll finish by mid-March. Imagine who you'll be by then—not just physically, but mentally.

Pro Tip: Start this challenge with someone else (a partner, family member, group of friends). Plan a big moment or vacation as a group to work towards (like a beach holiday in March).

Accountability will get you through the toughest days when your willpower falters.

Forward this to someone you’d try this challenge with.

Much love,

Jade

P.S. If you’re new to The Quiet Rich, hello! Read the 6 Habits of the Quiet Rich here, and take a peek at the rest of my newsletters. I hope you like them.