How to Become a Body Millionaire

The Secret to the Upward Curve of Getting Older

You can still reach for the moon when you’re older.

A few days ago, I read this comment:

“Age 82, and I am on zero medications. My doctor finds this unbelievable. I tell him that I’m in the 1% of Americans, not int terms of income, just in terms of meds.“

That gave me a pause. Because that’s it, isn’t it? That’s what real wealth looks like. You might not have a mansion or a yacht, but if you can move without pain, sleep without pills, and get through the day without anything hurting than you’re a “body millionaire”.

When people talk about being a millionaire, they mean money. When they talk about being a “time millionaire,” they mean freedom. But being a body millionaire is another level of freedom entirely. It means being rich in function: able to squat, twist, pick up things from the ground without a second thought, climb stairs, balance, reach the top shelf on your toes, even sprint uphill if you feel like it (but only for 20 seconds - check out this article why). But it also means being rich in absence: the absence of pain, stiffness, chronic conditions, and meds. The quiet comfort of knowing your body isn’t a daily negotiation and “feeling like a million dollars” on a daily basis.

That’s a kind of wealth we don’t celebrate enough.

For most of us, especially those who weren’t lifelong athletes, there’s still enormous untapped potential left in our bodies. We were told a lie: that aging is a slow decline; knees go, energy drops, metabolism slows down. But that story only fits if you’ve been overusing yourself for decades. If you’re not coming from a lifetime of hard training (aka abuse), you haven’t used up your reserves. You’ve barely touched them.

Lifelong athletes often pay the price for their medals. They peak early but live with the costs: torn tendons, shredded cartilage, chronic pain. Their fitness left scars. And many of them mourn their “lost power” years later they miss the explosiveness, the edge of the absolute peak of human abilities of their athletic twenties.

The rest of us? We get to approach movement differently. We can wake up what’s been dormant without burning it out. We can move, not to prove something, but to build the flexibility and joy that lasts.

That’s what the DSY principle is about — Don’t Strain Yourself. It’s not laziness; it’s smart investing. Every stretch, squat, or short sprint is a small deposit into your body’s account. You don’t need a windfall of willpower; you just need consistency and curiosity. Movement that feels good enough to do again tomorrow and then the day after and the day after. That’s what compounds.

I like to think of my own little “wealth deposits.” Like Radio Taiso, animal movements and fascia stretches I do every morning. I mage bigger deposits too - the other morning, barefoot on a steep mountain road with four yogurt bottles filled with water in my backpack — 7.4 kilos of liquid effort. Twenty seconds uphill, twice. That’s enough. A few years ago, with my knee injuries, that would have been unthinkable. Now I can do it with power, balance, and even a bit of a grin.

That’s what being a body millionaire feels like. Not just strength, but the ability to move freely without fear of breaking down. Not twisting my ankle when the foot folds under me while hiking because I’m flexible, not stiff. Being able to climb over river rocks or hike all day without my joints complaining. That’s a kind of wealth you can’t buy. It’s DIY, you have to build it yourself.

And the good news is: it’s still available to you. Move a little better every day. Breathe deeper. Let your body remember what it’s capable of.

Aging doesn’t have to be a story of decline. For many, it’s actually the first time in life that they can build genuine, functional strength. Not the ego kind, but the real, useful kind that keeps you steady, supple, and sane.

Because exercise, done right, doesn’t drain your reserves, it refills them. It keeps the system awake. Every step, stretch, and squat sends the same message: stay ready, stay alive.

So here’s to the quiet millionaires. The ones who move well, sleep well, and don’t need a shelf full of prescriptions. The ones who can still laugh when their foot slips on a wet rock because the body knows how to recover mid fall.

If this way of moving and thinking resonates with you, support me on Buy Me a Coffee for $10 a month. You’ll get access to the early lessons from my course: the 4-part “Weeks Zero” prep and the first training weeks already live (with more on their way), all built around real-world movement, not gym machines. When the full program’s ready, it’ll be something you buy. Right now, your support helps me build it.

There’s a road to follow that doesn’t wreck you. You just have to take the first smart step.