This is an addition to our original post on quality of life improvements from November, which you should read before going any further.

Advice to help you get more out of your life

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw

Before going any further, congratulations to our winners and everyone else who participated in our latest giveaway. Thank you. Also, big thanks to everyone who purchased the lifetime subscription. There have been over 30 of you…

Another mention before we go forward is that our *start here* (FAQ) has been updated, and we advise everyone to review it and remind themselves what it is about. 

We live in times when most of the advice given to you is not… Good. That means that to make real leaps and achieve things others can’t, you have to do what others won’t. Something we have been talking about more than we would like to admit. What is this post about? A collection of common and uncommon advice that works. Not only does it work, but chances are the mainstream media, your friend or your favorite podcast host won’t tell you.

Not because they want to hide something from you. But simply because they themselves do not know better. This here? Some advice you never heard about, some you heard about but ignored, and everything else.

How to get the most out of it: Before going any further. Understand that not everyone has the same starting point. What might seem obvious to you, something you have done for ages… It might not be obvious to someone else who is lost or completely without a compass for where to go. 

The advice around has never been worse. Meaning that posts like this should serve as reminders of what actually matters. Suppose you are one of those who already understand all the principles on this list and have had success with some of the advice. That makes it even better because you will be able to share your 2 cents on what has worked for you and how you have improved things. To get the most out of this post, make sure you approach each of these points (advice) from a separate perspective.

Your goal?

Pick and implement what you find useful and discard the rest.

WARNING - Your POV And How You Approach Life

The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. - James A. Garfield

The cost of learning the truth

To get the most out of your life and improve it, you have to learn the truth. How the world actually works. How money is really made. How people behave (social dynamics). How to get what you want. You will have to do things that might not seem right. And finally… The advice you have been given your entire life was built on old beliefs, outdated information, and comfort. Not reality.

The positive side is that you will operate with a competitive advantage over those still running on old tales that no longer work. You do the opposite of what the masses do and achieve results they never will. Putting energy into things you know will work and compound in your favor.

The problem?

Nothing will ever be the same. There is a good chance you will build resentment against the system, teachers, professors, or anyone else who tries to push you toward something you find inefficient. You will find yourself in a position where you recognize that you will have to keep doing what others won't. What no one else will mention is that this is a period. Slow one. Painful one. Problematic one. In a place where you feel alone. Yet you have managed to get a clear picture of something others around you have not. Only once that feeling is gone and you internalize what it takes. Only then will you be able to use this to your advantage.

What it takes to learn the truth:

1. Accept that everything you currently know is wrong (based on outdated beliefs)

2. Start looking for patterns in what others are doing (the right and wrong ones)

3. Use those insights to do what others can’t do and get results they won’t

The cost of getting everything you wanted

The unsexy part about reaching your goals that no one tells you about? Every single goal, once you achieve it, sort of robs you of the feeling you were chasing. That feeling of high energy and aliveness, once your goal has been reached. Disappears. Much more so if you have planned your goals poorly or have overshot them within a timeframe you were not expecting… Everyone who has gone through this phase knows what we are talking about.

What happens over time as you experience more and get older? All those feelings of energy and aliveness become something you take for granted. Your experiences and goals no longer produce the feelings you always loved. Which amplified the experience for you.

On the material side because you have everything you ever wanted. You start buying things to buy them. Completely removing any logical component from it. You chase that feeling of aliveness. You reach a point where everything you have dreamt about is just something you already have. It all becomes your new normal in a short timeframe that you find hard to accept. All those highs you had at the start? Gone. Just for you to end up spending years trying to recreate those feelings. This is where generic advice (enjoying your journey rather than the final destination) comes into play. Even more so when you consider that during those years of your journey, all the most impactful changes in your life have happened. New goals, milestones, outlook on life, and self-reinvention.

Why are we mentioning this?

Because in order to live a fulfilling life and avoid starting things you should not (buying excess material things, drugs, keeping up with the Joneses, or any other lifestyle trap), you need to find something that will keep you on your journey. Sparking that childlike curiosity and ensuring you have enough energy to follow through. Because sooner or later, there will be a point in your life where you will have everything you ever wanted. Yet you will feel completely lost. Unable to even notice that you have everything you ever wanted.

One to make you think…

There is a version of your life happening right now that you will miss later. It might be your friends. It might be your family. It might be your current business model. It might be the place where you are living right now… What you should do is become aware of it. Not in a melancholic way. But in a way that makes you aware that there is a good chance you already have what you have been dreaming about.

It just might be that you have been taking it for granted for so long that you forgot what it even looks like in the first place. Practicing gratitude and staying on top of what you want in your life is where a perspective like this starts to make sense. And on purpose. We are leaving it here to make you think…

What if you already have everything you ever wanted?

Not sure where to start? Try the Mindset rewiring workbook.

Unconventional Advice That Actually Works

Make it normal to contact exceptional people

We already covered this in our first quality of life post. But we decided this is the only point we will reference in each post because of its importance. At the same time, most young people lack social skills. What you want to do is make it a habit to contact the people you admire or find inspiring. The message could be a simple thank-you. Or it could be something along the lines of saying they have changed your life. Or a question.

The only requirement is that you do not turn it into an essay. When you turn things into an essay, it is hard for the other side to stick to the core message you have and give you the right answer to what you should do. Keep it simple. Under five seconds, and you will be surprised how often you will get an answer to your question or just some feedback from the other person. Do not underestimate the importance of this.

If you are someone who is struggling to see things as they are, or you think you are so far from the people you admire. This becomes something YOU have to start doing. It brings you back to reality and shows you that all those people you admire are no better than you. Neither are they mythical creatures. They are humans. They just have more experience (and possibly talent), which at the same time means that if you put enough effort and hours into something, you can achieve the same.

You might become as good as them… If not even better.

A common misconception is that it is largely a waste of time. It is not. It might be if you are doing it wrong. Or writing an essay (you have been warned). The shift happens the moment the first opportunity becomes apparent. And you get an invitation to an event or a happening you never thought you would attend. That is when it becomes obvious why you should contact exceptional people, and you will not be able to understand why others around you are not doing so considering the benefits.

Learn how to buy items for the maximum return

The tweet we wrote about recently tells you everything you need to know. Yet there is something most never even think about. What you always want to do is look at what the top 10% of the heaviest users are actually choosing (buying in this case). 

Luckily, it has never been easier to use tools and have someone else research for you in seconds. What do we mean by the heaviest users? Let’s say you are getting into tennis and looking for a racket. After 2-3 tennis practice sessions, you realize that most people in your club use Wilson. Now you are getting curious… Why does everyone you see who is a frequent player (or at least they look like one) play daily with Wilson? After some research, you realize Wilson is the most dominant in the US market, and there is a good reason for it. You decide to go even further. Researching a specific Wilson model just to come up with Pro Staff 978 or a Burn 100.

This should give you an idea.

Traveling around the world, and all the pilots using Travelpro or Briggs and Riley? There is a good reason for it. The same logic applies to everything else. Want something that will last you for years and not disappoint? Do what the heaviest users (the top 10%) do. This is the purchasing signal you want to follow. One that will not disappoint you.

Over time, you realize how much of your precious time (+ energy, effort, and all other resources) goes into the small things you should not be making. Traveling around the world frequently. But every 6 months, you have to look for a new bag? That is how your cognitive power goes to waste, and you are wasting time on things you should not be. Put aside our point about traveling. And apply the same logic to everything else… The opportunity cost becomes crystal clear.

We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires. - René Girard

Thinking like this doesn’t get enough attention because emotions and social proof drive most purchase decisions. Better said, mimicking others without thinking things through or knowing what they want in the first place. One of the things you should ask yourself before each purchase is whether you would buy it if no one else ever saw it.

This will tell you everything you need to know and give you something you can use to test others about their purchases. 90% of the purchases people make come from places they should not. Impulse, to fit with the social norm, or because others have it (mimicking desires)… This is not how you want to spend your money. Avoid.

How to spend money for a high return.

Most of the advice given before 2000 is… Irrelevant

The reason most of the advice from before the 2000s is largely irrelevant is that the world is different from what it was then. Things were much slower and getting to the right information was far more complex. You had to believe (self-internalize) some things before you could independently confirm them. Today?

Everything is quite the opposite. Things are progressing at a rapid pace, and you can get information about anything in less than 30 seconds. Not to mention that today you can start a company from your bedroom with just an internet connection. If you told someone that in the 1980s… They would think you went crazy. Conclusion? Once again. It comes down to realizing that most of the advice from before the 2000s is irrelevant. Old. Outdated. Not applicable. Useless.

To put things into perspective:

• 1980s - Personal Computers

• 1990s - Mobile phones

• 2000s - The Internet became massively available

• 2010s - E-commerce, touch screen, and social media

• 2020s - Cloud computing, AI…

Every decade rewrote the rules. Not just the rules but also the opportunities that came with them. We can all conclude without much thought that most of the advice your parents have given you is outdated. In the same way that you should be a good employee, you will be rewarded or stay loyal to your employer. It doesn’t work anymore. Neither does a degree guarantee a job. They are the advice that used to work in the old world.

Where average effort produces an above-average life. Those days are gone…

The only advice that remains applicable from the old world and will never change concerns humans. Everything related to humans and how we operate will not go out of style. Quite the opposite. How to talk, communicate, and make others like you. Everything related to behavior and getting others on your side. This is something you want to pay attention to, as communication skills are quickly becoming the #1 skill you can possess.

Everything in YOUR life compounds (positive and negative)

When you start looking at things from a compounding perspective, it all starts to click. Why does doing things more slowly but with higher quality matter? Why focusing on the long game matters, etc.… Not just why it matters, but how it impacts everything around you. Both the positive and the negative sides of your life and everything else that comes with it. What you have to understand is that the power of compounding is everywhere. From the simplest thing you are doing daily, all the way to your capital investments and more complex stuff. The reason it falls under conventional advice is that everyone else treats their life as one big casino.

Chasing fast results, looking for instant feedback, and betting on the economy that makes you lazy. Compounding is the opposite of that. Boring. Slow. Yet… One that on a long timescale beats everything else.

The reason this falls under unconventional advice is that you will never hear anyone say it to you. Never taking into account that every interruption costs. Doing something for months. Skipping things once, to never return? How many times has it happened? This is where this advice becomes important and points you toward the realization that the game is not won by the one who works the hardest. It is won by whoever stays in it the longest.

Smile, nod, and agree

If you have been reading WSP (years ago). You already heard this one… Forget about correcting people. Forget about debating people. Forget about changing opinions. If someone already has a strong, predefined view, your only goal is to agree with it. Better said to ignore it. Over time, you realize that this is a skill. Similar to sales. Benefit-wise? It might not be as obvious. But if you are operating in a professional environment, or somewhere where opinions about you (reputation) largely matter, what you want to do is avoid creating enemies, getting into conflicts or hurting other egos.

When we say creating enemies, we mean hurting big egos. We mention this because it goes against every instinct you have. When you have all the facts, but the other side can't seem to agree with them or seems blind to them. That is when you need to step back. The situation is a bit different when you are dealing with high stakes, such as family. But everything else (even your friend groups) should be approached from this POV.

The key is to remember that the other side never actually asked for your opinion. They were just stating their view. Avoid: politics, religion, and gossip. As WSP used to say, nobody has ever ended a conversation thinking “wow you changed my mind"

Remind yourself:

• Avoid wasting your energy (getting stressed) on things you can’t change and never will.

  • Politics, religion, and gossip = danger zone

• You can’t win against someone who already has a predefined vision and worldview.

• If you are working in a professional environment, realize that you will get nothing out of this except to hurt a few egos. This is where your reputation is at risk.

• The only time it is worth giving your real opinion is when someone has not yet formed a view. You will quickly realize this after a bit of conversation with them about the topic.

Feed the egos to get the information you want

Not the ethical advice.

Since we have already mentioned in this post that the communications and social skills, as well as smile, nod and agree… It would only be fair to give you the ultimate lesson in how to make people go from defensive to open up to you. You target their insecurity (it should be hard to detect after one point) and let them believe the opposite. You know someone who sucks at social interactions? Tell them how people are being drawn to them today. Overweight person? Tell them they look thinner.

You want to stroke someone's ego in an area they don't usually expect. If you do it properly, it will open doors you thought were never possible. The idea is not that you want to become the next Machiavellian or a straight-up liar to make others like you… But when you need to bend reality around something, or you need information (or access) that a certain person possesses. This method works.

You can tell everything about someone from the questions they ask you

The reason we are emphasizing this and placing it under life advice is that it serves as a strong signal of whether someone is worth your time. Our opinion on this has still not changed. Anything that can be found on Google (or with AI) in less than 30 seconds is not worth asking about. It just shows the effort (signal) the other side is ready to put in to get what they need. It is the exact reason why we are putting this here. If you are just entering the professional world, make sure you understand how to ask a question and when to ask a question. Asking a good (or bad) question leaves an impression on the other side. Whether you want to accept it or not. This is also one of those old-world pieces of advice from a time when people didn't have access to the internet, and asking questions made a lot of sense (the only way to get relevant info).

Keep in mind:

What should you never do? Ask the same question twice. This is where the art of writing things down becomes clear. If you are asking the same question again, it is a sign that you are not serious enough.

Which questions should you NOT ask:

• Everything you can find on Google in under 30 seconds.

• Asking to ask questions

  • If you are building rapport, it has to be done properly. Otherwise, you might end up looking transactional and leave a negative impression.

• Avoid yes/no questions when you need depth or are looking for a deeper answer.

How to define a good question:

• It is specific to a situation.

• When they come from active listening.

• Good questions are contextual.

  • They are relevant to what is happening right in front of you.

• Make the other side think and reflect.

Resistance signals what matters the most

It is one of those unwritten rules in life that whatever is causing you resistance and making you put it off for reasons only you know… It often means it is the same thing you should be doing to move forward. After enough signs, you will realize there is a pattern. One that will point out to you a way in which all the things you have been putting off and not following through on were the same as what you should have been doing. The reason we are not doing them? They are the easiest ones to justify. 

It often all comes down to:

1. Unfamiliar

2. Uncomfortable

When you think about it, it all makes sense. We don't resist things that don’t matter. You only resist the things you know carry weight and directly affect you. That is exactly why you are postponing moving forward with them… This goes much deeper. Sooner or later, there should be a realization that most people spend their entire lives optimizing around those resistances. Doing exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. The worst part is that the longer you postpone things and battle the fear around it… The harder it gets to finish them.

Using resistance to your advantage:

• Recognize what you are resisting (feeling, emotion, action, process…)

  • You are looking for a pattern and understanding that the longer you avoid it, the further it compounds against you.

• Why are you avoiding it?

  • You are looking for an answer to what you should be doing… But you are not. If you are approaching this honestly, it should not be a hard question.

• Learn to use the signal (resistance) to guide your focus.

  • That is the whole point and your end goal.

Your ability to reinvent determines a big % of your success

Jobs, Dorsey, Hastings, Schultz, Bezos, Thiel, Musk, Disney… If you have read anything about them, you know what we are talking about. Your ability to reinvent and adapt to what works in the moment plays a big role in your success. There is a misconception that if things are working, they will continue to work. Wrong. Anyone with skin in the game knows this is not how things work. Sooner or later, you find yourself with a decision to either keep pushing or quit whatever you are currently doing. Most people quit. The others? The ones who succeed in the end reinvent themselves. Progress itself is a form of reinvention. This means that if you are pushing toward something, reinvention happens naturally. Your ability to adapt that new identity (and everything that comes with it) and make it part of your identity is what either pushes you forward or holds you back.

Reinvention happens in two ways:

• Internal: you are actively working on your beliefs and principles

  • You are in control (it requires effort and happens fast)

• External: your environment and the consequences of your actions change you.

  • Happens as part of the process, whether you like it or not (and happens slowly).

Why is this going under the unconventional advice?

The answer could not be simpler. If you are planning on being in something (field, niche, industry) for years to come. An expert in the field or a professional. Someone who will make ridiculous amounts of money. You will have to be prepared to reinvent yourself. Both internally and externally. Before you think to yourself that it is easy and everyone can do it. Wrong. It requires a lot of effort and ego detachment to be done successfully. Doing something for decades, being successful at it just to be back at the starting point… It is not as easy as it sounds. Quite the opposite.

Split your friend groups by category

We never hear anyone talk about or even mention this one. One social hack that no one tells you about is to have separate friendship groups based on category. What do we mean by that? It is fairly simple. If you are into sports. You make sure you have a group of friends into sports. Want to go out every weekend? You make sure you have a group of friends who are into that. Putting yourself in a position where you have multiple groups of friends (and acquaintances), where each one of them carries a certain role. The reason you want to do this is that isolated groups help ensure you do not have wrong expectations about them. Knowing whether you can count on them to join up with you or not. This sounds simple, and to a point. But if you have ever dealt with just mixed-up groups… You know how inefficient and frustrating it can be when you are trying to organize something. Solution? Keep your friend group separate and split based on their interests. Having a clear distinction between true friends and those you have something in common with. This allows you to set the right expectation for each group.

Write everything down (yes… everything)

I was terrified of public speaking until I sat down for a week and every day I spent 10 minutes just writing that I like public speaking. And now I love public speaking. - Tobi Lutke

Some time ago on Twitter, we joked that everything you put down on a piece of paper sooner or later turns into reality. Lutke pretty much backs that up. The power of writing things down comes from seeing whether your problems and life habits are changing. It serves as a mechanism to keep you in check. It is simple, and there is no preparation around it. You open your notebook and write down your thoughts or anything else that is on your mind. As things progress, you start to notice its power. You will come up with your own rules for getting the most out of it. Journal system as they call it. For us it is no more than that. Just open it up and write whatever's on your mind. Others prefer a structured approach. Subjective and something you will have to find out for yourself.

Getting the most out of writing things down (building out your system):

• Throughout the day - just capture your thoughts, what you have to do and what is a priority.

• First thing in the morning - a mix of your thoughts and your TODO list sets the tone for the rest of the day.

• Full on journaling - take 20 - 30 minutes and go over the calendar for this week (or next). Pull out anything worth keeping and review all your goals.

• 5 sentence rule - every single day, once you are done with everything, write five sentences describing what you did to improve your life.

Ideal day framework (and life framework)

When was the last time someone told you to take 20 - 30 minutes and write down your ideal day or life situation on paper? We bet you have never heard it before. Not because it is hard or complex, but because no one knows its true power. The real power comes from putting things into perspective. Similar to the graduate exercises mentioned above. The only way to get what you want out of your life is to know what you want in the first place. If you have been pushing 24/7 for the last couple of years, chances are you are lost or clueless about what you actually want.

Whether you want to accept it or not.

You have everything you ever dreamed of and a perfect life setup. Yet you wake up every day feeling frustrated, trying to figure out what is missing and to fulfill that desire with something else in the process. It happens to all of us. It is normal. One way to get out of that scenario is to put things on paper and compare where you are now with what it takes to reach your ideal scenario. The same approach can be used for your life situation. The same approach can be used for your perfect day scenario. As you write these things down, you will notice that there is a good chance you already have 50%+ of what you consider ideal in your current environment. This serves as a great reminder to stay grounded, focused, and on the mission, without letting yourself go on unnecessary side quests or fill yourself with desires that are not even yours.

Building your ideal life scenario:

• Take 20 - 30 minutes without any distractions

• Pen and paper (remember what Lutke said?)

• To make things easier for yourself, start with your ideal day scenario. Have a clear overview of what you would like to do when you wake up, where you would go, and what kinds of activities you would do.

  • The key is to write what you ACTUALLY want. No holding back.

  • The more lines and activities you have. The better.

• Once you are done with the ideal day scenario. You want to analyze what you already have in your current life. There is a good chance the results will surprise you.

• Next is identifying gaps and the big movers to get even closer to your scenario.

  • The answers will likely be time, money, and energy.

  • Want to take it further? Now it is time to audit your desires and ask yourself:

    • Is this what YOU want, or someone else's idea you took as yours?

• After you have a complete list of your ideal life. Removed desires that are not yours. Identify the biggest gaps. Then write one action you will take to close those gaps.

• Revisit this often. You will be surprised.

Free things are the best in life

Walking in nature. Swimming in the ocean. Spending time with people you care about. Deep sleep. Silence. Random talks with your family. Workouts. Calling your friends. Taking care of your pets. The problem is that you never realize it until you are busy chasing money. Once that money is in your bank account, if you are one of the lucky ones… You might realize you had it all along.

TLDR (Original post + Unconventional advice)

Things you already know about:

1. Walk as much as possible

2. Learn to enjoy the silence and work in it. Your life will change (+ get earplugs they will help you a lot)

3. Remove all the negative associations with your life

4. Pen and paper over everything else… As always

5. Notifications off on all devices. At all times

How to prioritize:

1. Health

2. Time

3. Money

Something to make you think:

1. Time habits

2. Money habits

3. Don’t take things for granted. You used to dream about them.

Something more to make you think:

1. The cost of learning the truth

2. The cost of getting everything you wanted

Stuff that matters:

1. Never tell anyone how much you make

2. Get proper sleep (or at least try to do so)

3. Live in a way no one else does (do the opposite)

4. Read every day

5. Learn to communicate

6. Go off the radar for 48 hours

7. Use AI the right way

8. You are one DM away from changing your life

9. Find a stress protocol that works for you

10. Learn how to communicate your emotions (#1 way not to get depressed)

11. Always minimize (less is more)

12. Phone calls > podcasts, audiobooks, and music

13. Change your workspace often (Creativity hack)

14. Spontaneity

15. Protect your curiosity (Not enough talk about this)

16. Get the most out of your supplementation

17. Stop comparing yourself (consuming lifestyle material)

18. Once you understand how to make money…

19. You most likely never will retire (largely it is a cope)

Unconventional stuff that matters, yet no one talks about:

1. Make it normal to contact exceptional people

2. Learn how to buy items for the maximum return

3. Most of the advice given before 2000 is… Irrelevant

4. Everything in YOUR life compounds (positive and negative)

5. Smile, nod, and agree

6. Feed the egos to get the information you want

7. You can tell everything about someone from the questions they ask you

8. Resistance signals what matters the most

9. Your ability to reinvent determines a big % of your success

10. Split your friend groups by category

11. Write everything down (yes… everything)

12. Ideal day framework (and life framework)

13. Free things are the best in life

Enjoy your weekend.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

How to read this:

• New here? Start with the money section. Everything else assumes you have a predictable cash flow or are working towards it.

• Been reading for a while? The lifestyle and health sections should be used for an audit.

• Format? Each question is standalone. You do not need to read this in order to get the most out of it.

Money - Career, Side Business & Investing

Building a financial foundation helps you with everything else.

1. What is the most important thing one can do to escape? 

There is only one answer… Business. Side business, or however you want to call it. It is the only way to escape it. What you are looking for is something that will help you stop trading your time for money. Trading your time for money at a higher rate is also something you should strive for. But it is not comparable at all because you are always capped by your available hours. If you can’t leave for two weeks and come back with more money in your account. You are not running a business.

2. How do I start the business? 

There is no one right answer to this. There is an 80% chance that your business idea can become a reality with just a few hours of low to medium effort. The first thing you should do after settling on an idea is test demand. You don’t need a product. One fake checkout page, a few DMs asking you how to purchase your item, or a simple landing page with an email capture. That is all it takes to know if you have something.

This is where those basic principles, such as knowing how to purchase a domain, create a landing page, or understand the checkout process… You need all of those to start. While at the same time playing a game where you do not need unnecessary inventory, expenses or overall failed products. Learn how to test before building something bigger.

3. What is the best business model? 

There is no best business model. This is the wrong approach to starting your business. Everyone’s answers will be different. The "best business model" is a mediocre idea pushed by those trying to sell you a course.

What you should do instead is ask yourself:

• What is my current skillset - knowledge that others would be willing to pay for?

• How does my current skill transfer to other business ideas? What is overlapping between them? Do I have leverage there?

• Can my career (job) be leveraged into starting a business?

These questions will help you identify the business model(s) that offer the most leverage based on your situation.

4. You mentioned evergreen online business models. What do you mean by that? 

Evergreen business models have existed since the beginning of the Internet and will continue to do so. Software, affiliate marketing, and e-commerce are the best examples. They are usually your best bet for what to focus on.

5. What are your predictions for niches and industries that will blow up in the future?

Your goal should never be to bet against degeneracy. Our picks are social skills, pets, skincare, gambling, and mental health. Why? People have never been worse at socializing. What about pets? They are the new kids. What about skincare and gambling? Two things that will never go out of demand. People are trying to make quick money and look pretty. Mental health? The average person has never had a worse mindset and outlook on their life. At the same time, it has never been easier to achieve big things.

6. Should one prioritize profit above all else? 

One should always maximize profit. But as long as you deliver the best work possible without causing harm. Why? This approach enables you to build something long-term. To create a legacy that everyone talks about and a cash flow you can count on. It allows you to think three steps forward without being blinded by short-term gains and poor decisions. Those who focus on long-term games always win in the end.

7. Are professional careers still worth it? 

Yes, they are worth it. One of the best things you can do for yourself as a young person is to enter a professional environment that provides a predictable cash flow. What do you mean by that? A predictable cash flow will allow you to think strategically and see the bigger picture. It gives you leverage by providing funding you can use to start your business and improve the quality of your life. The key to getting more out of your career is having a clear mission.

You need all the answers:

• Why are you there? What is the purpose of having a career?

• What will it take you to win and get a promotion year after year?

• Do you understand that you will have to play the social game to get further?

8. Securing a job is rough in the current market. What is the easiest way to get a job? 

One of the goals should be to bypass HR whenever possible. Sending direct mail to the hiring manager or DMing your future colleagues leaves an impression. It also lets you go straight for referrals, which will do more for you than any other qualification. This doesn’t mean you don’t need a good background… You must. It just means you won’t be playing the game that those around you play. One that doesn't get you anywhere. The days of spamming CVs and hoping for a call are behind you. The key to securing a job is taking matters into your own hands and learning to sell yourself and your story.

Read more:

• The Complete Guide to Selling Yourself

• How to Break Into Tech Sales: A Strategic Game Plan

9. The most important thing you will take away from your career? 

That you will always be underpaid for the effort you put in. The second big one is realizing that social skills and your ability to sell (yourself, your work, achievements…) determine everything. It is not about being the best performer. It is about being the one who can best sell the story and impress those who matter in the process. The same principles apply to most areas of your life.

10. Best career path?

All the best paths share the same core principles. They drive revenue and directly impact the company's cash flow. They are profit centers. Sales, tech, fundraising, and marketing roles are what you should be looking at if you want to go down this path.

11. Thoughts about personal brands? 

We all operate in the attention economy. Meaning it is not the best and most quality that wins. The one that gets in front of the most eyes and holds someone's attention for the longest wins. Distribution wins. Not building a personal brand or not leveraging it as part of your strategy is not something you want to do. The idea that the work will speak for itself is one of those lies from the old world. When everyone has access to the same tools, the barrier to entry disappears. How does one win that game? By being in front of the most eyes.

What this means for you:

• Forget about being an influencer. You just need a presence somewhere your audience already spends time.

• Distribution > product (most of the time). A mediocre product with great distribution always beats a perfect product with no distribution. Hard pill to swallow.

12. Best personal finance advice? 

Everything in life compounds. Optimize for the long term and understand the risks associated with everything you do. The basic concept to understand is that having 3 to 6 months of savings is a must, and without those basics, you have nothing. This will help you avoid short-term thinking and unnecessarily rushed decisions. Once you take it a step further, your goal is to get out of survival mode and to ensure you stay out of it. The beauty of life only becomes apparent once you don't have to think about the things others around you are wasting hours on.

13. Must have investments? 

There is no right or wrong answer here. The must-have investments offset unnecessary risk while giving you enough room to get something out. Your goal should be to find the perfect balance between risk and opportunity. Giving you the best of both worlds. That means minimal risk with something that will grow over the long horizon. As your portfolio grows, so does your risk tolerance and what you consider must-haves. The portfolio should not be the same for someone who is 20 years old and someone who is 60 years old. The risk profile and the ability to make long-term decisions with it are completely different.

Fundamental portfolio structure for someone with a long-term investing horizon:

• (S&P500 and QQQ) + more risky investments (crypto + individual stocks)

14. I have zero idea about personal finance. What should I focus on?

• Predictable cash flow: You want to have at least 1 income stream at all times.

  • The more of them you have, the easier your life becomes.

• Safety net: Ensure you have 3 to 6 months of savings (emergency fund).

• All the extras you have after you take care of your bills, debt, and other expenses should be invested in your business (to create other income streams).

• Invest the rest: After you cover your business's operating costs and pursue scaling opportunities, allocate the remaining funds to assets and investments (your portfolio).

  • Fundamental approach: Index funds → individual stocks → crypto

• Avoid leaving money in a savings account or anything similar. You want something that at least beats inflation.

• Debt is not necessarily bad. If your investment return beats the interest rate on your debt. You are always better off investing and paying the minimum. Math works in your favor.

Life & Lifestyle

The decisions and system that determine whether the money you make actually improves your quality of life.

1. Things you should never take for granted?

Time and health. Neither can be replaced once they are gone. You want to ensure you don't waste your time in life and do whatever is necessary to keep your health in top shape. Good diet, cardio, sleep, supplements, and everything else that goes with it. Quality of life is everything, and your setup has to be structured to maximize your energy and creativity.

2. What common lifestyle traps do young people fall into?

• Debt

• Bad social circle

• Trying to live a lifestyle to impress those around you

• Treating their lives as a lottery

Debt should be self-explanatory. Debt = no freedom. It instantly puts you in one of the weakest positions you can be in. Not to mention, most people get into debt to buy material things to impress people who don’t care about them. What about a bad social circle? The people you surround yourself with shape how you view the world. What happens when you surround yourself with pessimistic and lazy people? You box yourself into a position you won’t be able to get out of. You want to surround yourself with those who have a positive outlook on life. The environment is everything.

When was the last time you asked yourself who you are? What do you like? What gets you going? Are you just living a lifestyle to impress those around you, or is it something you want? All of those answers matter far more than the average person thinks. You do not want to wake up one day only to realize you are living someone else's ideal lifestyle. One you have built entirely around impressing others.

The last piece of the puzzle is realizing that most young people treat their lives like lottery tickets. They are always waiting for that perfect moment that doesn't exist, thinking it will solve all their problems overnight. This way of thinking leads you to base all your decisions on hope. Ignoring the fact that life doesn't work that way. It runs on decisions, habits, skills, and systems. The boring approach works. Treating your life as a lottery ticket. Not really.

3. What skills should one focus on to improve one's life? 

• Social skills

• Knowing how to sell

• Looking for and predicting patterns

• Managing your energy, stress tolerance, and knowing how to keep childlike curiosity alive

Relying on just one skill won't get you far. You want all of them working in your favor.

Social skills get you through the doors. Selling gets you paid. Recognizing patterns tells you where things are heading before everyone else. Energy lets you keep doing all of them without burning out.

4. If you had to pick traits that differentiate winners from losers. What would you choose? 

High energy and stress tolerance. Both are necessary in all areas of life. Want to build a business? You need both. Want to stay in good shape? You need both. Want to build a social circle? You need both.

5. How do you become someone with high energy and stress tolerance?

You build both over time. To the point where external events no longer have much influence on you. Becoming someone with high energy means operating from within. Structuring your life so that what you do gives you a sense of being in the right place at the right time. Taking complete ownership of your situation and what you are doing. Developing stress tolerance comes from hard work and regular exposure to unfamiliar situations. There is no sexy answer around this, and there are no shortcuts around them.

6. Trick that helps a lot with quality of life?

Automate everything. This applies to your career, business, investments, and every aspect of your life. Automate everything you do regularly and can predict in advance. Doing this will free up your cognitive space and save time. If you know in advance that you will have something to do? You should do everything you can so you don’t have to use energy thinking about it.

7. Does life start to suck after the 30s, as everyone claims it does? 

Life only improves after your 30s if you did your 20s right. Everyone else is just coping or living in the past.

8. Hobbies seem like a waste of time. What is your take on them?

You need hobbies. You want to have hobbies. You want to have a social life. Nothing is sadder than someone who can talk about nothing but their job. What you want to do is pick a hobby and become good at it. How to pick a hobby? You can either focus on keeping your body active, sparking your creativity, or improving skills. All of these would be good choices to base your hobbies on.

9. Should one go to college?

Yes. But only if you have a clear goal for going there, such as networking (attending a good college where successful people put their kids). When we say networking… We mean it. And it is exactly the reason why rich people put their kids into college, even though they are fully aware that it is a waste of time. But knowing someone who might be creating a new Meta or Uber gives you a massive advantage. This is the most surface level thinking we could give you. Yet it should make complete sense what we are aiming at.

10. What is one thing that will give you a lifestyle advantage over others but doesn’t get enough attention?

• Identifying your chronotype

  • The moment you start finding work easier is when you begin to realize whether you are an early bird or a night owl. It could easily be done in less than a month with some effort.

• Doing bloodwork regularly

  • Tells you everything you need to know about what is currently lacking in your system and what should be done differently. Vitamins, hormones, micronutrients. Mix it up with AI to help you notice patterns (you want all your previous results) and do it at least 2x per year.

• Fixing your attention span

  • Being able to focus for 3 - 4 hours on one thing while most others can't hold their attention for 20 minutes is a lifestyle advantage most never manage to achieve.

11. What common mistake do young people make that holds them back?

Spending too much time on things and people that don't deserve it in the first place.

12. The best way to stay consistent with a well-defined goal?

The pocket notebook and pen. No matter where you go or what you are doing. Bring those two. The idea is not necessarily to journal, but to use them as a capture system. Write down everything that comes to mind, from ideas and observations to the things you have to do throughout the day. There is something powerful about writing things down by hand and building momentum out of it.

13. What does it take to become as efficient and above average in certain aspects of your life? 

It takes around 2 years of focused effort to operate at the level that most can only dream of. Putting 1500+ hours into something is sort of a guarantee that if you have done things right you will be able to make money from it or be good at it. What you always want to do is pick 2 skills (at most) and split your available daily hours between them. This allows you to build a system where, even if the first skills don’t work out. You have a backup, which statistically doubles your odds. Structuring things so both skill sets compound and carry over into each other. Preventing you from doing "all-in" which leads most to burnout.

14. Does money improve life?

It does. There is no denying it. Not only does it improve your life, but it also improves the lives of those around you. The funny part is that the most significant improvement to the quality of your life usually costs under $2K. Good mattress, a proper gym membership, supplements, the right set of books, earplugs, or a proper software subscription.

Read more:

• Spending Money For Maximum Return: Stop Buying Things. Start Buying Back Your Life

15. The ultimate life advice?

Start exposing yourself. This applies to everything, from your career and the people who inspire you to your ideas. That is how you build leverage and never have to worry about going broke. Make sure to wish everyone around you success and to be in a better position than you are. Be happy for their victories and genuinely look forward to their achievements. You will be rewarded. It is an unwritten rule of life.

Read more:

• 78 (Unwritten) Rules Of Life

16. Should one be frugal?

Being frugal is a negative trait. One that often leads you to a position where others start seeing through your attempts to save those $5. The only way to break free from the poor mindset? It always comes down to making more money. The healthier approach is to buy items that will last. Those that never go out of style will always have value. Watches, shoes, jackets, all the way to the right tech stuff. Less is more.

17. What about AI?

Your priority with it is to offload cognitive tasks and free up your time. Everything else is less important, and one thing you should ensure is that you do not base your whole identity on this. You want to start with your 9to5. Automate your most repetitive workflows. Something that used to take hours now takes minutes? Perfect. All that extra time should be spent on your side business or anything else you consider productive (life-improving).

It is worth mentioning that since everyone has access to the same tools. You will have to look for leverage and rely on what others will not. Creativity and social skills are the main drivers and a big advantage. Also, it is becoming more about being fully aware that it is no longer a question of whether to use AI… It is all about how you use it and whether you are actually freeing your time or just wasting it.

18. Compounding effect?

Everything in life compounds. Skills, health, relationships, and mindset. Either in your favor or against you. There is no neutrality here, and it should not surprise you. When you start running the numbers for your own situation, you will realize how unrecognizable you can become after just one year of focused work. No one talks about compounding because it is nonlinear.

The early periods always feel like nothing is working in your favor. Results? People quit before they see the real results. It is worth mentioning that common sense can also work against you. Meaning that there is both positive and negative compounding. What happens when you stop going to the gym? Not only does your physical appearance feel off, but you are not operating as sharply as before because of your brain fog… This brings us to the point that compounding never stops. The key is to point it in the right direction.

Compounding sanity check (audit):

• Take 90 days

• Ask yourself:

  • Can I specify one thing I can do now that I could not do 90 days ago?

  • Has the environment changed (to a point where your original concept changed)?

• If both answers are negative you have work to do.

Read more:

• Compounding: How Some People Become Unrecognizable

19. What about information diet and content consumption?

The key to getting reliable information that will positively impact your life is finding sources you trust. Building a consumption system that works in your favor. Use RSS feeds, newsletters, books, and vetted YouTube content. Don't rely on an algorithm. Or anything else of low value. If you do this right, the filtering process will run automatically, and you will find only information relevant to your situation. We are at the point where consuming less information (but the right kind) will get you much further than consuming hours of content that will get you nowhere.

Audit yourself:

• How many of your information sources did you choose?

• How many were selected for you by an algorithm?

• What would you miss if you removed them?

This will give you all the answers…

Health & Mind

None of the above matters if your body and mind are not on point.

1. Does woo-woo (mental models) make sense? 

It doesn’t until a certain point when it does. Usually, that point comes later in life, when you get tired of superficial knowledge and wasting your time. Woo-woo and mental work make a lot of sense. But not everyone understands it.

2. A powerful mental trick that has a huge impact on your life? 

No one is better than you. No one is smarter than you. No one can work as hard as you do. The only reason someone is better than you at something is that they have been doing it longer. Remind yourself of this often.

3. What is the difference between those who gain something from mental work and those who do not? 

Your belief system. The difference between those who improve their lives and those who don’t comes down to that. The same reason you decided whether something works for YOU or not… It is a thin line most never managed to figure out.

4. Why have people never been more miserable? Yet we have never had more chances? 

It is all because you are always one click away from someone who has more. There is always someone with a better car, watch, boat, or bag. Something you do not possess and it is outside of your reach. The same holds for physical appearance and for showing the lifestyle they live. Look at that perfect body or amazing relationship they have. The reality is that there is always someone better than you at something. The same way you are better at something than they are. That will never change. What needs to change is realizing that comparing yourself with others won’t get you far. The moment you stop comparing yourself is when you start enjoying your life. 

5. One non-negotiable that has a huge impact on quality of life? 

Cardio and weights can save you. 3 to 4 sessions per week are all you need to stay in great shape and feel your best. It is a must do for everyone reading this and will carry over into every single area of your life.

6. Getting rid of the brain fog seems impossible. What is the trick around it?

Sleep, diet, and 10k steps a day. One supports the other.

7. When does life change drastically? 

The general answer is that it happens once you escape "survival mode". Those with a tougher upbringing will have a harder time getting out of it than those who had it easier. To explain our point. If your parents always had to worry about putting food on the table. There is a good chance that you were consistently operating in survival mode. If you grew up in more comfortable surroundings where you went skiing once a year or always took trips abroad…

There is a good chance your parents didn’t operate in survival mode. To get back to our point. Once you get out of survival mode, you finally have time to think about the things you never considered before. This is where mental, mindset, and other woo-woo stuff start to make sense. Why? Because you finally have time to think about them instead of worrying about whether you can pay the bills. 

The 5 most common survival mode scenarios:

• Living paycheck to paycheck with debt

• Living paycheck to paycheck without debt

• Covering expenses but no safety net

• Covering expenses with money left over to invest

• Earning a lot but lifestyle inflated to match it

All of these are possible scenarios and quite common in survival mode.

Realistic timeline to escape each:

• Paycheck to paycheck with debt: 2 - 3 years minimum

• Paycheck to paycheck without debt: 2 - 3 years

• Covering expenses without a safety net: 1 - 2 years

• Money left over to invest: < 1 year

• Lifestyle inflated: < 1 year (lifestyle cutting)

The survival mode escape sequence:

1. Become aware of your scenario (be honest)

2. Track where your money goes for 30 days

3. Cut everything non-essential and focus on building your safety net

4. Start buying back your mental energy (no more worrying about bills, food)

5. Accept that the process takes 1 - 3 years to recover fully

Read more:

• Survival Mode And What It Takes To Never Go Back

8. How does business impact your quality of life and mental health? 

What no one mentions about the online space is that running a successful business creates abundance. You lose the feeling of dependence on others once you create an income stream. There is no dependence on location or an employer. You experience a sense of freedom and a sea of unlimited opportunities. This is yet another reason why starting your own business is one of the best decisions you can make for your mental health and the quality of your life.

9. Is there a method to remind yourself what to focus on daily that works with your big picture?

You want to build a mental database. Take a piece of paper or your notebook and start writing everything that matters to you. Your principles, priorities, and what you want out of your life. This is where reading it daily becomes a must if you want to become the person you set out to be. You want to internalize it until you no longer need to reference it to know who you are.

This is one of the most efficient ways to stay on track and ensure that your actions are aligned. What you want is something that takes under 20 minutes per day and is easy to reference. The trick is to use it in a way that not only references it but also actively understands it and is fully present when doing so.

Read more:

• The Mindset Rewiring Workbook

10. The single most underrated factor for performance? Energy

Time, energy, and health are the ultimate three resources. The complicated part? You can influence them only to a certain point. Yet they are mandatory for everything that improves your life. There is a reason most successful individuals you meet operate at a higher energy level than everyone around them. What most people do wrong is that they 100% focus on the physical part and forget that there are other components involved. Thinking that if you just lift weights and eat well, you will have unlimited energy. Wrong. The mindset and alignment (having everything set up properly) play a big role and will have a direct impact. Bad environment? Surrounding yourself with losers? Not having clear enough goals? Being low energy in that scenario should not surprise you.

Read more:

• Guide To Never Running Out Of Energy

11. Something that doesn’t get enough attention, but it should when it comes to mental work?

We are our own worst enemies. Most people know exactly what they need to do. Most know how to do it. Most know what results they could achieve in specific time frames. Realization? Internal resistance. That is why people are not moving forward. Being engaged in this pattern is holding you back. No one else to blame but yourself.

Once you learn to work around this problem and eliminate the resistance from your life. The game changes. The second thing to remember is that everything you say about yourself (and everything you think about yourself) programs your reality. Tell yourself you are not capable, not smart enough, not good enough, and it will become true. The same mechanism works in reverse just as easily… Just a reminder to be careful with your words. They become real.

12. Why are attention span and focus the unfair advantage of the next decade?

We already mentioned attention as one of the super weapons you possess in the current environment. The ability to focus on one thing without getting distracted is a skill. It also comes down to compounding and realizing that one hour of focused work beats three hours at 20%. Short-form content, multitasking, notifications, and background noise all steal it. This is where you have to start countering those by slowing things down. Walks, silence, and keeping notifications off at all times. The idea behind it is that you reset your dopamine sensitivity and your ability to focus increases.

Stealing your attention span and focus:

• Short-form content

• Social media and endless scrolling (algorithms)

• Constant background noise (podcasts, music)

Where to start:

• All notifications off (except family and emergencies)

• Figure out your chronotype and routine that works to your advantage (highest-focus hours)

• Start using tools such as a tab limiter in your browser and enforce yourself not to multitask

• No "fun activities" before work (video games, scrolling social media or watching TV)

Read more:

• Want To Save Your Life? Start By Fixing Your Attention Span

• Clear mind is the unfair advantage of the next decade. Most people are building the opposite.

Bookmark and audit this often.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

• The 7 posts (from the last 6 months) that actually helped others improve their lives

• Plan for what is coming next this year

• Open AMA - ask us anything

• 2 free yearly subscriptions (giveaway)

• Lifetime discount

Top 7 of our posts from the past 6 months

1. Random Quality Of Life Improvements That Will Change Your Life

4.5 million impressions on Twitter tell a lot about this one. This is one of the first posts in which we felt we had managed to strike a balance between theory and practical application. Our favorite read in the last 6 months.

2. 78 (Unwritten) Rules Of Life

Something that no one has taught you at school. Or maybe they didn’t know about them either. Covering what it takes to create your luck, increase chances of making it in life, secret methods no one talks about, and unconventional advice on winning.

3. Clear mind is the unfair advantage of the next decade. Most people are building the opposite
Once you start to take this seriously and realize that a clear mind is everything you need in order to change your life. Things will start to click. No idea where to start? Notifications off. This is more than enough to watch your productivity skyrocket.

4. The Complete Guide to Selling Yourself

New job? Sales. Relationships? Sales. Making friends? Sales. Want to find investors for your business idea? Sales. Looking for a promotion? Sales. When you learn to sell yourself that is when things will get easier for you.

5. How To Be F%#king Rich...
Started as a joke. Turned into one of the most liked posts we have. Mix of satire and real advice. Not for everyone. But for those who are able to read in between the lines.

6. Compounding: How Some People Become Unrecognizable

One of our recent posts. Compounding. What it is all about, what you should know, and why it matters for YOU. The game changes once you start to realize that everything in your life compounds. Both positive and negative.

7. Spending Money For Maximum Return: Stop Buying Things. Start Buying Back Your Life.

Observations that have helped us improve our lives and what will help you improve yours. Covering software, lifestyle items, memberships…

Underrated ones

1. The Personality System That Actually Connects The Dots (+ Prompts That Do the Hard Part)
This is one of the most powerful reads we have put out there. But the effort required is what puts most people off. Give it a try.

2. 14 Questions. No Lying. Start With the One You Are Avoiding.
This is the one we will reinforce for new readers because it tells them everything they need to know about their situation. Not just their situation. But the life they are living right now.

20K limited lifetime offer

To celebrate our 20K subscribers…

30% off lifetime. Pay once. No renewals.

• DM us by clicking above and we will send your payment link within a few hours (it has to be done manually)

• The offer closes June 2nd

• Crypto accepted

Plans for the next 12 months

• Weekly content

  • No changes here. We are continuing with 1 post per week - mixing between free and paid content. This is the perfect amount for us to go over multiple topics in depth without too much repetition. 15+ minutes per post - mixing between theoretical and practical parts.

• FAQ (Start here):

  • Currently under reconstruction. The idea is to present it so that it is the first thing someone reads when they open this page. The goal is to give new readers a clear overview of what it is about and what they will need to do to move forward.

• Antidote to slop:

  • Further upgrade of the archive (110+ hours of content at the moment - one of the best curated documentary libraries out there)

• State of Mind Artbook (v2):

  • This is taking much more time than we would like to admit… Yet the feedback we have been receiving is nothing but positive.

• Resource section:

  • Everything is being moved (prompts, PDFs) into Google Docs for easier navigation. More info on that soon.

• Chat:

  • We are trying our best to publish the most relevant news/information, and in case there are any questions, to actually answer them… The idea is to keep doing the same and get others to help each other.

• Interviews:

  • Paused for now. If you have any name you would love to see us interview. Let us know.

Giveaway

We are giving away 2 yearly memberships to celebrate 20k.

How to enter

• Like = 1 entry

• Comment = 1 entry

• Restack = 1 entry

• Share on social media = 2 entries

1. More entries = better odds

2. Winners announced June 2nd (winners will be tagged in the comment section)

AMA

When it comes to asking questions. A few things to keep in mind.

Rules:

1. You can ask whatever you want. Lifestyle, career, business, mindset, personal…

2. No life stories or essays. Keep everything under five sentences, as it should be more than enough for us to understand your question and provide an answer.

3. This AMA is open to both free and paid subscribers. Remember. The better your question, the better our answer.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

An empty stomach is not a good political adviser. - Albert Einstein

The post we were holding back on for almost a year now. Survival mode. What it is. How to get out of it. What does it mean for you? And why you should care? Not only should you care about it. But you should put in maximum effort to ensure you are not stuck in it for the rest of your life.

Drawing parallels with history: Survival mode is not a new concept or something no one else has experienced before. A notable example of survival mode was medieval peasants who worked from sunrise to sundown on land that was not theirs. No time to think. No access to education. No ability to think long-term because they didn't have ownership of their lives. No time to think about anything. The entire system was designed to keep them exhausted. Unable to question anything or anyone. The environment changed. But the underlying system and its mechanisms are the same.

Survival mode and everything you need to know about it

Who will get the most out of this read: This read is for everyone. Yet those in their early to mid 20s will get the most out of it. At that stage of life, it becomes crystal clear what drains your energy and money. Plus who is trying to steal your focus from what matters. If you put in the real work… It gives everyone enough time and knowledge to understand the concept of survival mode and what it takes to escape from it. Does that mean if you are not in your 20s, it is not worth diving deeper into this? Not really. It is necessary. It may just be a bit harder. Given that you have been operating in survival mode for years without knowing it. 

Keep in mind: This post is a 30+ minute read of both theoretical and practical advice you can implement in your life. Our suggestion is to make sure you are fully focused before reading this. This is the only way you will get the most out of this read.

What it is all about…

Survival mode: The reason it doesn't get enough attention is that it is not in anyone's best interest. What happens once you understand what survival mode is all about? Once you find yourself in a position where you have 100% power over the decisions you make? You turn into a dangerous individual. One who cannot be manipulated or forced to do things that are not in their best interest. One who thinks with their own head and doesn't fall for the manipulations around them. Having complete freedom in every decision you make, from your career to the place where you live, to having total ownership of your day. Being in a position to do what most people can’t.

What is the opposite scenario?

One where you are living in survival mode. You are unable to think long-term. Blinded by the noise, short-term obligations, and things you should not even worry about. Bills, living paycheck to paycheck, or wondering whether you will have enough money to cover the rent for the next month. Those are the common signs of someone living in survival mode. Once you stop worrying about those things and have everything automated to the point where it no longer causes you any stress… That is when you are doing something right and moving in the positive direction.

Signs you are in survival mode

Note: The person stuck in survival mode will be affected by at least half of the things we have mentioned. It is NEVER just one thing working against you. It is about multiple things working against you at the same time. The sad part? Most never notice it. If you are one of those lucky ones who have noticed 1-2 signs of them in your life, but you are set or do not feel negative effects. It may be pointing to something worth paying attention to before it turns into something bigger.

In no particular order.

1. Living paycheck to paycheck: The most obvious sign. Once you find yourself in a position where you have to watch what you are spending your money on and how. Or you have to slow down your spending because you will run out of money. It is one of the most obvious signs that you are dealing with survival mode and selling yourself short. This doesn’t mean you should be reckless with money and spend it on impressing people you should not be impressing. It means you should not even find yourself in a position where you waste time worrying about whether you will have enough until the next paycheck comes. 

2. Inability to see things for what they are: Much harder to recognize than the previous point. When you are constantly overloaded and wondering whether you will have enough to pull it off until the end of the month. It becomes obvious that you have been programmed to see things only in the short term. You find yourself making decisions that support only instant results and gratification. Completely unable to see yourself starting a business, switching jobs, or building something for yourself. All because everything else you have to focus on is draining your energy first. This is about being unable to picture a better version of your life because survival mode has put limitations on what is possible. Optimizing everything for this moment instead of the future. 

Read more

Compounding is magic. Look for it everywhere. - Sam Altman

The 8th wonder of the world… Compounding

Most people understand compounding when it comes to money. Giving you the idea that the longer you invest, the faster things start working out in your favor. Results? More money in return. What those same people miss is that compounding works in every single area of life. Your skills. Your relationships. Your knowledge. Your health. Every single one of them either works in your favor or against you. Meaning? We underestimate the importance of everyday effort and the weight behind it… Ignoring the fact that progress in life does not work linearly.

1. Everything in life compounds

The most important thing you have to take out of this read? Everything in life compounds. Not just money. Also, your skills, health, relationships, and mindset. There is no neutral. The problem with casino culture and the attention economy we live in? Individual days do not seem to matter much. Everyone believes that results arrive fast and require minimal effort. Wrong. The way you want to start approaching things is from a decade perspective and considering how each action you take compounds.

Reading 15 minutes daily gets you to 10 books a year. Training 3 times per week gets you to around 130+ sessions in a year. Working on your side business for 1 hour per day gives you 365 hours for your business. The same framework applies to everything else. Run the numbers, and you will quickly realize how unrecognizable you will be from where you started with a year of focused work.

Run the numbers yourself. This is exactly why what you are doing daily matters (even with 50% effort) more than what you do occasionally. Everyone knows someone who goes 110%… Burns themselves out and never achieves anything because they completely miss out on compounding and its power. The game is not won by the one who works the hardest. It is won by whoever stays the longest.

2. Things get better over time

Compounding comes down to the process itself. You often find yourself feeling like nothing is working. The lucky ones are those who only feel that for short periods after wins. The unlucky ones feel it permanently, even when they are performing better than ever. This is what most get wrong. They have been convinced that all of your progress should look like quantum leaps, not taking into consideration that things are quite the opposite. Small. Meaningless. Useless. At first…

It is one of the reasons people quit or start to doubt themselves when they should not. Your effort and the experience that comes with whatever you are doing never goes to waste. The only requirement? Not to give up. Those who figure this out early in life have a massive advantage over those who do not. Positioning themselves in a scenario where their ability to pivot to something new and rely on prior knowledge and experience makes them immune to loss.

3. Casino culture and attention economy are the enemies of compounding (why people fail)

Casino culture: Get rich quick. Minimal effort. Treating everything as a jackpot. It is a drug that keeps ambitious people in a loop of chasing the wrong things, focusing on what will get them nowhere, and thinking they are always one action away from the big win. Consequences? You are conditioned to expect fast and visible results. 

In a casino:

• Outcomes are random - they have nothing to do with your skill

• Rewards are immediately visible - you either win or you don’t

• The feedback loop is measured in seconds

• The next bet always feels like the real opportunity

Read what it takes to remove casino behavior from your life.

What is the total opposite of compounding? Everything else around you.

When everyone is treating their lives as one big casino. Hoping to hit it big with the least work and effort possible. That is when you start to remind yourself that you do not want to participate in that. Because everyone else around you has trained their brain to expect big and unpredictable results. Rejecting everything that requires work, or is slow and boring. Results?

You already know it.

They spent their whole lives stuck in the loop of nothingness, with nothing to show for it and nothing to be proud of. Compounding is the exact opposite. Making it completely irrelevant as a way of life for those who have fallen victim to the casino lifestyle. Never being able to get out of the game is designed to make them lose while making them feel like they are the ones who will get lucky and win.

4. Why most never understand (because it is not visible)

Wrong metrics: Revenue. Weight. Friendships. Followers. The reason they are bad indicators and wrong metrics is that they move slowly. Yet people track them daily, so they notice no change and quit.

Metrics worth following:

• The hours of work you put in

• Number of sessions completed

• All the other ones that are fully in your control and move daily.

The reason compounding is such an abstract term is that it is by design invisible. None of us can actually measure how fast (or slow) we are progressing. All of us have different starting points, goals, and projects. So where do things get complicated? Humans are designed to trust what they can see. To feel like you are moving forward, your progress needs to be tangible. You have to see it in one way or another. Which is not something you will be able to do for most of the things you are going after or at least not in the early phases.

The common scenario:

You start your first online business and work on it day and night for three months. You have been running the social media around it. But it seems like nothing has been working out, and you have not made a single sale. After three months? You quit. What you didn't take into consideration was that your social media presence had grown 12x, and you were on to something. Getting more clicks and driving more traffic to your page. Yet your only focus was the checkout page and the money in the bank account. Being completely unaware of the fact that you were actively compounding. Better said… That you were progressing.

The same principles apply to everything else. It doesn't mean that things are not working out if you are not seeing rapid progress. It might just mean that you are following the wrong metrics. Things are more often than not invisible until they are not. And once they become visible, it all becomes apparent how you did it. This is also why most people never get there. The moment results stop being immediately visible, they get back in the casino. Hoping to hit the jackpot.

5. Time component and why it matters

Time is the multiplier that supports everything else in compounding. It is also the most underrated factor in progress. Underrated in the sense that most are focused on how much intensity they are putting out and what strategy they are using, while completely ignoring the fact that time matters more than both combined. There are no shortcuts around it. Shorter and more intense periods of focus never produce what an uninterrupted, consistent period does. Remember our previous point about 110% for two weeks?

This is also where it becomes clear that the best time to start was yesterday. No matter what you are trying to do and achieve. Give yourself more time and space to achieve the results you want.

The earlier you get into something → the more experience you accumulate → the more that experience accelerates everything else that is yet to come.

If you are still one of those who are not convinced… What you want to do is run the numbers.

Audit yourself:

• How many hours am I spending on things I want to achieve?

• What percentage goes to focused work - one that actually moves things forward?

• What areas do I want to improve, but not utilize compounding (not participating in them).

These three answers will tell you a lot.

6. Your environment shapes what compounds

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't? Pays it. - Unknown

The environment you are in is either working in your favor or against you. Often in a way that you will never notice until it is too late and you have to make drastic changes. The importance of the environment becomes clear the moment you realize that it determines what feels normal to you and what feels like too much. Setting you up with a baseline for everything else.

What creates your environment:

1. The people you spend your time with (family and friends)

2. The places you live, work, and spend your free time in

3. The content you consume and how it shapes the way you think (mental environment and how you perceive things)

The people component is, without a doubt, the most important. Since the early days of your life, the influence from teachers becomes apparent all the way until you manage to get rid of their programming. Add your parents and friends, and it all becomes crystal clear. Parents who spend all their free time watching TV without ever trying to improve anything make that a normal part of their reality. Imagine the opposite. Now imagine a scenario where your parents have been putting in ridiculous effort to improve their lives (and yours). It might make sense why you want to do the same for yourself and your family. It becomes your baseline because they made it normal.

When everyone around you treats mediocrity as normal, it becomes normal. When everyone around you treats hard work as something to strive for… That becomes normal. Your environment sets the baseline for everything. The same applies to friends, colleagues, or anyone else you spend your time with. Add the environment you live in, the places you spend your time in, and their effects.

The content you consume? Works in the same way. Every input you allow to enter your life shapes how you think, what you expect, and what you believe is possible. This is where being anti-algorithm and protecting your mental health comes into play. What happens when you combine all those environments? They compound. Working for you or against…

7. Discipline is the engine

To make compounding sustainable over the long term, it all comes down to discipline. Everyone who has been reading our blog for some time knows our opinion on motivation. It matters. It matters when you are starting something out and need that initial boost. After two weeks have passed… You realize that to pull something through, it will all come down to discipline. What about compounding? It requires consistency. Consistency requires showing up day in and day out. This means that no matter how you feel or what mood you are in, you have to do the work.

Building a discipline system:

1. Active effort required to push yourself towards work (initial phase driven by motivation)

2. The system is semi-working. But you are noticing the resistance on the days when you are at 50% of your maximum (the phase where most give up and never build their discipline)

3. No resistance. The system works without you ever thinking about it (the phase you want to operate from)

This is where things go wrong most. Discipline is not about punishing yourself or going through endless hours of pain. In the initial phase, discomfort is expected and should be embraced. That discomfort should be gone within 3 months. Putting yourself in a position where no matter what happens throughout your day, how hard your day is, or what kind of mood you are in. You have a system that works in your favor. Once you build that system and survive the initial phases (which are the hardest), you will find yourself executing every day without negotiation.

8. Your goal? Not to interrupt the compound

The reason this is the scenario you do not want to participate in is that every single interruption costs you. Losing the compounding and momentum those days would have generated, making it harder to start the next day. Another benefit of momentum-driven work is that each day becomes easier, reducing resistance throughout the discipline system you are trying to build. Everyone reading this can relate to something they have been doing for months, only to skip it one day or go on a trip and never return to that same activity. This is also where casino culture becomes even more dangerous when you put it in context. It does not just distract you. It gives you a reason to interrupt yourself because you are out there chasing something "better". Every time you go on a side quest, you fall victim to hitting the jackpot. You are not just losing your time. You are also losing the things you have managed to build into your system.

It would be impossible to expect to operate at 100% all the time. It is also normal to take the day off. Yet it is important to realize that each of those choices directly influences the resistance you are building and directly interrupts the power of compounding. The wrong way to look at it is to ask yourself whether you are performing at your best. The right way to look at it is to ask yourself whether you are still performing. Because if you do… There is nothing out there that will manage to win you over. Time is working in your favor. Experience is working in your favor. Compounding is working in your favor.

9. Negative compounding and its effect

Now that the positive parts of compounding are covered. What about the negative ones? The same mechanisms work against you. Take, for example, someone who consistently skips the gym. Not only do they get out of shape… They also decline. Each week of not going makes the comeback harder, ultimately leading to skipping things altogether and resulting in further decline. None of this seems dramatic or visible while it is happening. When it comes to negative compounds, they are always different from the positive ones. Because it only becomes apparent once the gap between where you are now and where you should be… Becomes huge.

Why does this part deserve attention? Because when compounding works against you, it often moves faster than the positive one. Take that fitness example. The reality is that if you have built solid fitness and have not hit the gym for 2 months, you will end up looking (and performing) drastically below your baseline standard. The same way that reading books for 3 weeks won't replace years of algo abuse.

Every area of your life that you are not actively working on by default falls under negative compounding. And if you are still not convinced... Think about it. Not hitting the gym and not eating healthy? Body and health deteriorating. Being antisocial and spending most of your time at home? Losing relationships. You get the point. Compounding never stops. The only question is in which direction.

10. 90-day direction check - patience or dumbness?

When it comes to patience, compounding, and how to approach it, you have to be careful. Compounding doesn’t care which direction it works in. Remember? If you are focusing on the wrong stuff… You will be compounding in the wrong way. So far, the post has told you not to quit, which is the right way to approach this. But this framework will tell you when quitting and focusing on something else is the right move.

The trap is to convince yourself that you are being patient when you are actually wasting time on the wrong things. Every 90 days you want to ask yourself:

1. Am I getting better at the thing? Your focus here should be on your skill set. If you cannot point to one specific thing you can do now that you could not do 90 days ago... That is a massive red flag.

2. What are my leading indicators? Are they moving? The effort you are putting into it. Sessions and the number of activities completed.

3. Has there been a big change in the environment that changes the efficiency of the original concept? There is a good chance that what you are working on now won’t be relevant in 3 years. This is a sanity check you need to do often. 

If 2/3 are negative and you do not have an answer to support what you are doing, then this means you are not being patient but quite the opposite. You are wasting your time. Instead, you should pivot to a path where your accumulated experience applies.

11. Patient one always wins

Before you misinterpret this… The passive ones DO NOT win. The patient ones do. There is a big difference between the two. Passive ones are wasting their time waiting for a miracle. Patient ones are putting in the work every single day without needing instant feedback. The reason this matters is that it is so rare that anyone who masters it has no competition in the long term. Most people fall into the category of pushing hard but quitting after less than a month without achieving the desired results. Take a two-week break. Back on track again. Repeating the cycle indefinitely. Completely missing out on the opportunity to compound and build something they could be proud of.

This is where the patient ones win the game. Ensuring they never got in the loop in the first place. When you are not competing with people who chase quick results and you know you will not quit... The results might not show immediately. But if you are doing what you should be doing and following the proven framework, there is nothing to worry about. The trick is pulling off the first 3-6 months, during which your internal belief system gets challenged. Mostly relying on the visible metrics while ignoring the smaller signals that play a crucial role in the whole approach.

The best part about trusting the process?

Once you have beaten self-doubt and pushed through the initial period, trusting the process becomes automatic. Experience + compounding now do the work for you, forming a new baseline that makes things easier because you have done it before.

12. Life worth living is all about compounding

None of this is complicated. That is the whole point of this post, and at the same time, the biggest problem. To get the most out of compounding, you do not have to be a genius. Neither does it require talent. It requires you to trust the process, work hard, and be patient. The only requirement is that you do not lose yourself to casino culture and abandon the process. The REAL results you are after are not built in the moment that looks impressive from the outside. It is all built on unsexy approaches and ordinary days.

Examples of positive compounding

These are realistic trajectories. Not guarantees.

Health

Daily activity: 10k steps a day. No junk food. 7+ hours of sleep on a consistent schedule.

• 30 days: Energy is more stable throughout the day. Sleep feels better, and you are waking up full of energy.

• 1 year: You look different in physical appearance, and the improvements are becoming more obvious. Perfect bloodwork results. More energy and drive to work.

• 5 years: Aging affects you less than people the same age who are doing nothing. Most days, you are full of energy and ready to take on new challenges.

Business

Daily: One hour of 100% focused work on just one idea, problem, or project.

• 30 days: Noticeable difference in your skill level. You can clearly see the improvement when you compare it with what you produced on day one.

• 1 year: What looked like no progress now makes complete sense. Output became even better. You found a small audience for your service. A new income stream started to come in.

• 5 years: This is now your primary income. You have access to people and opportunities that would not exist without the past five years of work. The compounding effect is becoming more obvious across your skills, network, and reputation.

Relationships (Romantic, business, friendships…)

Daily: Your goal is to have just one real conversation. No small talk.

• 30 days: You start noticing which people make conversation feel like work and which ones make it easy. As a result, you start spending more time with the easy group.

• 1 year: A few relationships have deepened and are past a surface level.

• 5 years: A handful of important relationships that have a massive impact on the quality of your life. A less wide social circle, but a more real one.

Mindset

Daily: Focusing on the long game and ignoring the casino thinking.

• 30 days: The internal self-belief system is noticeably getting better. Trusting in yourself finally makes sense. But you are still being pulled towards casino thinking.

• 1 year: The idea of hitting it big by getting lucky is becoming less attractive - the pattern others are operating based on is becoming more obvious. Internal belief system upgraded.

• 5 years: You operate differently from most people around you. Most people will not understand what you are doing or why.

No idea where to start?

Week 1: Pick ONLY ONE area (health, business, mindset, relationships) you want to get better at. Audit how many hours per week you are currently spending on it. Write that number down.

Week 2: Add 30 - 60 minutes of focused work per day based on your area of choice. Track it and do not switch between the areas. You only want to focus on one thing.

Week 3: Identify and remove any casino-like thinking (fast results, fast feedback loop…) from your daily routine.

Week 4: Count how many hours you have put into your chosen area. Then ask yourself, has any of this had a positive impact on your current situation?

Let the compounding work out in your favor.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

The cost of a thing is the amount of life you have to exchange for it. - Henry David Thoreau

This is one of the most requested reads. How should you spend your money? On what should you spend it? Bringing you the list of items, services, models, and perspectives on how to get the most out of your money. The only point of money? To improve your life.

Hierarchy Of High ROI Spending

Spending the money the right way comes down to one thing.

This means one of the three things:

1. Your money is working for you

2. You are having life-changing experiences

3. The things you buy have a high return on your life (improve it)

When it comes to spending money on items and services:

1. Health and energy

2. Time saving and convenience

3. Comfort and flexibility

Health comes first because everything else depends on it. Your output, your mood, your energy, and longevity. Saving time? Second point. Time is one of those resources you cannot earn back. Comfort and flexibility are the last ones, covering how to operate on your own terms. The key is to realize that every purchase you make costs more than money. It costs your time and energy.

The goal of this post is not to turn you into a minimalist or make you frugal. It is to help you understand what money is actually for. Most people spend their lives trading time and energy for things they never truly wanted.

Money making you more money

Foundation for everything else… and a good life. When you find yourself in a position where your investments cover your expenses. You know you have done the right work. If you take away just one thing from this post. Make sure it is this one. Your #1 priority when spending money should always be making more of it. Most people never get here because they are distracted by the things that don’t matter. Or because no one ever taught them to think this way.

To make this more practical:

• No business yet? Use your money to start one. The goal is to build something that generates an income.

• Business is growing? Use more of your money to speed the process and scale. When things are working out, you need to further invest in them. Reinvest.

• Already have a business and want to diversify? Put your money into stocks, crypto, or land.

If you are doing one of these. You are miles ahead of most people.

Life-changing experiences

How does one define a life-changing experience?

There is a good chance that everyone will answer differently. In the end? It all comes down to two things:

• Changing how you think

• Who you become in the process

What most people get wrong is assuming that life-changing experiences are all about traveling. Travel plays a role. But it would be a lie to say that you can't have a life-changing experience in your own hometown. The right question to ask yourself is this:

Will this change the way I see or experience the world?

If the answer is yes. It counts.

• The right book at the right time can be a life-changing experience

• Getting into a room with the right people can be a life-changing experience

• Buying a membership at a country club can be a life-changing experience

• Going to another continent can be a life-changing experience

Some are free. Others cost money. Does it matter? Not really. The framework you should be using is - would you pay again for those experiences? There is your answer.

Purchasing items that have a high ROI (How To Define Them)

The last piece of the puzzle? Buying items that actually improve the quality of your life. Things that will make your work easier, improve your health, and make you feel sharper. Another way to look at a high ROI purchase is from a time perspective. If something saves you time or energy. It is worth it.

To put it in perspective:

• $750 one time purchase → saves you 30 minutes a day

• 30 minutes * 365 days → 10,950 minutes a year

• 10,950 minutes = 180+ hours back in your life

Now apply this logic to multiple things…

Before buying anything, make it a habit to ask yourself whether this purchase will make you more productive, improve your health, or save you time? If it doesn’t tick at least 1/3. It is not a high ROI purchase.

The framework to use:

• Quality mattress → better sleep → more output

• Gym membership → health → more energy

• Software subscription → faster output → more free time

Knowing the value of your time: Before you start spending smarter. You need to know your number. Take what you earn in a month and divide it by the hours you work. That is your number. To completely change how you approach things, and whether something is worth it or not. Start by asking yourself how many hours of your life you will trade for it. The more you do this, the more obvious it becomes why most people are broke. Living paycheck to paycheck without ever paying attention to what matters.

How NOT To Spend Your Money

Buying things for the sake of buying things

How many times have you bought something on impulse to feel good? What happens 30 minutes later? You are back to emptiness. Consider that this happens every week or two… and by the end of the year. You end up with 30+ items that add no value to your life.

What to do instead: Postpone every purchase by 48 hours. Still feel that it is worth it after 48 hours? Buy it. Make it a habit to sleep on every purchase. Results? More money in your pocket and less clutter in your living space.

Impressing other people

One of the biggest lifestyle traps. Nothing is worse than doing things for other people’s approval. Spending your hard-earned money on the things you do not actually want. What no one tells you is that the people you are trying to impress are too busy even to notice. Spending hours of your life and money to get ignored.

What to do instead: Before every big purchase. Ask yourself: Am I buying this for myself, or for someone else’s approval?

The identity tax

Everything you buy carries an identity. Only buying cheap things? That says something about you. Paying for a gym membership, yet never going to a gym? Same. Buying an expensive watch when you couldn’t care less about watches? Same story. Every purchase that doesn’t align with who you actually are falls under identity tax. Spending money (hours and energy) on the identity that was not yours to begin with. Owning what your social circle owns and thinking that it is a must because others around you have it. Avoid it.

What to do instead: What you want to do is ask yourself if what you are buying fits with who you want to become, or if it is just an idea that you are borrowing from someone else. Every purchase should go towards building the life and the person you want to be.

Spending Money On Items And Services

1. Health and energy: We all know what money can buy. And we all know what money can’t buy. A sick man in bed only has one wish. You get the point. No matter how much you push yourself or how much money you have in your bank account. Your quality of life degrades rapidly if your health and energy are not in order. Spending your money on health and energy is always worth it. Making it your biggest priority.

2. Time saving and convenience: We all know that you can’t buy back time. No matter how much money you have. But what you can do is ensure that you do not find yourself in a position where you have to do the things you do not want to do. Stealing your time and focus from the things that actually move you forward. Outsourcing is often a key lever here. And it is the exact reason why living 10 minutes from work or having a gym in your building is worth more than most would like to admit.

3. Comfort and flexibility: When it comes to comfort. We all can agree that the environment is everything. It affects how you sleep, how you think, and how much you enjoy your life. It deserves your money and attention. Flexibility is the same story. One that ties directly to the previous two points. More money gives you more options. Options give you the power to walk away from anything that doesn’t serve you.

Note before we go forward: This post covers the third point - items and services. The first two (money-making money and life-changing experiences) deserve their own posts, and we are not going to push this and squeeze them in here. We will cover them in separate posts. This post already assumes you understand the principles and are working on them.

List Of Recommended Items - Improving Your Life

The items and services below are organized into categories:

• Health

• Lifestyle

• Productivity

• Software

Reason? It makes things easier for us. Health falls under the health and energy. Lifestyle covers comfort and flexibility. Productivity and software are both time-saving. Every item on the list fits at least one of the three criteria.

Notes on upgrading your lifestyle

There is only one rule when it comes to spending money for maximum return. You never want to go back. Once you upgrade your standard of living, dropping down is not an option. Why? Because you are in for the maximum pain. You should not upgrade your lifestyle if you cannot afford it. Don’t hire a cleaner if you can’t keep them for years. Don’t build a relationship with a private doctor only to find you can't attend the next appointment. You want to upgrade your life in order.

Prioritizing the spending hierarchy in the right order and ensuring the money works for you. Someone in their early 20s has completely different priorities than someone in their 40s, who is focused on buying back more of their time. That is exactly why getting the most out of this list requires you to audit your life. Knowing where your health, time, and energy are actually going. The goal is a compounding effect. One where all items and services are working together. Making everything easier for you.

Something that everyone should buy

These four items have the highest impact per dollar on the entire list.

Earplugs (Productivity): There is no reason not to get a pair. In terms of productivity vs. cost. It is arguably the highest on the list and one that can’t be beaten. If you want to start spending money to improve your quality of life. But not sure where to begin… This is it. Our pick? Loop Earplugs.

Wispr flow (Software): It has completely changed how we work, and it is worth every dollar. Give it a try and incorporate it into your routine asap. Probably one of the best subscriptions you can have at this moment.

Ergonomic chair (Productivity): The difference between a cheap chair and a proper one? Big one. Herman Miller or Steelcase is something you want in your workspace. The best part? You can find them cheap (and in good shape) from companies that went under or startups that only looked good on paper - often at 50% or more off the original price.

Bloodwork (Health): You will never regret getting your bloodwork done. Not only does it provide you with a reality check on where you stand. It also tells you what needs to change. All of us take it for granted that our hormones affect how we behave, what we do, and how we perceive the world. Knowing where you stand and what you could do better is the first step. Bloodwork 2x per year should be the standard for everyone reading this.

Health

Supplements: There is zero chance that you are getting all the nutrients you need through your diet. No matter how good it is. Spending money on the right supplements and incorporating them into your routine is the highest ROI on the list. One rule is always to buy quality, trusted brands.

What most people need to have in their diet:

• Vitamin D3 + K2 (get the bloodwork done)

• Magnesium (glycinate is our preferred form)

• Omega 3

• Vitamin B (made a massive improvement in our energy levels)

This is just the tip of the iceberg, and something everyone should use.

Air purifier: Get one. Especially if you are living somewhere with poor air quality. If we put aside the obvious health benefits. Clean air impacts your ability to think, focus, and operate at a high level. Extra points if you are struggling with allergies - you will notice the difference immediately… Coway makes great air purifiers, and for under $500, you can cover most of your space.

Quality mattress: The difference between a bad mattress and a quality one is never obvious until you try both of them. You spend 1/3 of your life on the mattress, and when you frame it in that way… It becomes painfully obvious that there are no reasons not to have a good one. Sleep affects every other category on the list. Buying a mattress is one of the highest ROI purchases you can make.

Not sure where to start?

• Saatva

• Helix Sleep

• Eight Sleep

CPAP study: It is one of those things that you will rarely hear someone mention. What it is all about is that you want to figure out whether you have sleep apnea, which is a largely underdiagnosed condition. If you are one of those who struggle with it, but at the same time ignore it or leave it untreated. You are actively shortening your life. Not only are you shortening your lifespan. But it is one of the main reasons people wake up feeling like they have not slept.

Private doctor: Massive ROI. The reason you want to have a private doctor? Simple one. You want someone who knows what you are about and has a full breakdown of your situation. Comparing it to the general GP (or public one) is not even comparable. Having someone who knows what you want and gives you advice that has not been outdated for the last 20 years is your goal. Extra points if you find someone early in their career who can follow your health for decades to come.

Hormone replacement (Optimization): Mid 30s is when this becomes worth looking into. If you are already doing bloodwork every 6 months. You will have a complete picture of what your body is missing. Making it a perfect scenario for you to start the therapy. There is a good reason why all the tech billionaires are doing exactly this. Having your hormones, vitamins, and overall health in order is the ultimate performance tool. Starting your hormone replacement is something you want to do after you find yourself a private doctor who will guide you through the process.

Wearable health trackers (Oura, Whoop): Years ago, we used to laugh at those who wore them. In our opinion? Scores and those gamified metrics that come with them are nonsensical. Something that will indirectly impact how you feel based on the random algorithm and the number on the screen. What is the real magic of health wearables? For us? It is in metrics such as the sleep debt. We are fully aware that it is not a 100% correct metric. Yet we know precisely that if our sleep debt hits 10+ hours. We know we won't be operating at full capacity. This alone makes it worth it in our books.

Blood pressure machine: Wish this were a joke. But it is not. There is a reason why blood pressure is called a silent killer. Start tracking it. No matter how old you are or in what kind of shape you are. Get yourself an Omron or something similar.

Massages: Nothing beats a massage after a hard day. Similar to the private doctor scenario. You want to aim for someone with whom you will build a good relationship. Someone you keep coming back to for years to come. Going to a massage 1x per week will completely change how your body feels.

Theragun: If massages are still not within your budget. Theragun is the next best thing. 30 minutes of work on the back or legs once or twice a week is all it takes. Extra points if you are sitting the whole day or over 40 years old.

Lifestyle

Grocery delivery: Going to the grocery store is a huge waste of time. Luckily, there is grocery delivery. Saving you about 5x time for 10% above the in-store prices. Giving you one less reason to waste your time. If you want to take it even further, check out your local meal prep companies. Having someone else prepare your meals saves you hours and removes the excuse to eat junk food.

Espresso machine: The idea is not to turn coffee into a 30 minute morning ritual. It is also not about saving money by skipping the coffee outside. But not drinking terrible-quality coffee… Might be a good enough reason. This is not a recommendation for everyone. But if coffee is already part of your routine. Having a proper espresso machine at home beats most of the shops by miles. The machine pays for itself within 4-5 years. Giving you a high-quality energy boost for half the price per cup of coffee.

Cleaning services: One of the best ways to spend your hard-earned money. Saving you hours in the process. Not to mention the energy and effort that go into cleaning. The only problem is that you have to find a trusted service or a person to do it for you. Our advice is to never let someone you have not vouched for (or who is not an employee of a vouched company) into your living spaces. There are too many stories of theft.

Robot help (Vacuum, pool, lawn…): If you cannot afford cleaning services. Yet. Make sure to at least get a robot cleaner (vacuum). The technology improves year over year, and prices keep going down. By the time this post is 2 years old… There is a chance you can get an even better robo cleaner for your money. Robo vacuums are the best place to start, and the difference in your day to day will be obvious.

Blackout curtains: Arguably one of the most impactful home purchases you can make. It is also one of the cheapest ones on the list. If you have ever wondered why you always get a better rest sleeping in hotels. This might be one of the main reasons.

Sleeping face mask: Every time we travel. It becomes clear why a sleeping mask is a high ROI purchase.

To keep it practical:

• Already have blackout curtains and don’t travel much → Skip it

• No blackout curtains (or in a position where you can’t make your room fully dark) → Get one

• Traveling a lot and sleeping in hotels? → Get one

For the last couple of years, we have been using multiple generic ones from Amazon. None lasting more than a year or two. But after multiple people have recommended something better... We have decided to get ourselves a Manta.

Water filter: The less you know about the tap water you are consuming, the happier you will be. Even more so if you live in a part of the world where it is still considered "normal" to drink unfiltered tap water. Get an under-sink version that removes impurities you didn't know you were consuming. A reverse osmosis solution is what you want to install as soon as possible.

DNA Testing: This could easily be in the health section. But on purpose, we are putting it in the lifestyle section. Because if you do things right around DNA and combine your DNA results with bloodwork and AI... You are creating a killer stack that is hard to beat.

To get the most out of it:

1. Get your DNA test and wait for the results.

2. Once the results are done → download your raw DNA data and upload it to Genetic Genie.

3. You will receive your results. Deficiencies based on your DNA (which should serve as a basis for your nutrition). The next step? Use Chris Masterjohn’s choline calculator. Giving you choline intake and how much you should consume (an important one for energy).

4. Want to take it further? Combine your bloodwork + DNA results + The Mood Cure.

Ebook reader (Kindle - Kobo): Similar to wearable health trackers. We used to make fun of people who had them. But if we are 100% transparent. Nothing comes close if you are traveling a lot and want to read. It is just practical and worth your money. Not sure where to find your next read? 40 books no best sellers.

Solid suit and dress shoes: You do need two different combinations you can use. It might be a different scenario if you are a professional who has to wear suits daily. For everyone else? The same applies to shoes. Buy stuff that will last you years if you take care of it. That you can often find barely used suits second-hand for 50% off the original price.

Suit brands worth your money:

• Zegna

• Canali

• Isaia

Shoe brands worth your money:

• Crockett & Jones

• Allen Edmonds

• Carmina

Good accountant: Find one you can fully trust and rely on. This never makes sense until you run your own business and see what a good accountant can do for you. Once you start hitting the proper numbers. It is time to hire a serious accountant. The same applies to a lawyer once you reach a certain point of no return. The better team behind you, the easier your life becomes.

Trezor Wallet: If you have any crypto. You want to have a hardware wallet. It is one of those things that can help with security, and keeping things on the exchange means that they are not yours. The entire setup process takes no more than 30 minutes.

Mindset rewiring workbook: For anyone feeling held back, overwhelmed or lost. This is where you want to start. Give it 6 months, and there is a good chance you will get rid of most of the things that are bothering you. The closest you will get to therapy without going to a professional.

Hobby Clubs (Tennis, golf, old-timer cars…): This should be high on your priority list. The same goes for country clubs or anything else that filters out the masses. Why is this a high ROI? Because you are buying access to the people with connections, money, and influence. The whole point is to surround yourself with the people you want to be around. It is worth noting that sports associated with these places are often structured to allow people to enjoy them later in life. Worth mentioning that most of them offer a gym, pool, and saunas that you can use.

High-end gyms: Similar to hobby clubs. If you are not in a position yet to join one… This is where the high-end gyms come into place. Why does it matter? Because chances are you are going to surround yourself with those on a mission similar to yours. On top of that, you will get an experience that is much better than that of the standard gym - sauna, pool, equipment…

If you are over 40 and have never been to a gym before. Make sure you get a personal trainer. You need someone who knows what they are doing and will keep you injury-free.

Productivity

Top Line Laptop: If you want something that will last for years. Buy the best you can afford. We don’t replace our electronics every 2 years. Buying once and choosing a quality product means it will last for years without slowing you down. Most do not think that way and would rather spend less and look for another upgrade in a few years. Waste of time in our books. This is especially important if your income depends on your machine. 

Notebook (or pocket notebook): For most people, the pocket notebook is a better choice. Making it easier for you to carry around. If you prefer something bigger or want to journal. Go with a standard notebook. Why is this a high ROI? Because every area of your life improves once you start writing things down. Seriously.

AI Tools: Not sure how many times we have recommended a Claude subscription over the past couple of years. The hard pill to swallow is that you will either embrace these tools and become proficient with them, or be left behind by those who ensure they master them. The same applies to everything else. Not just Claude. Make sure you are ready to invest and stay in the loop with what is happening. AI should serve as your personal assistant. Saving you hours of time and energy in the process.

Breath Nose Strips: More oxygen = better performance. They are also great for sleeping. Helping you breathe better and wake up with more energy. It is one of those items that are so cheap there is no reason not to give them a try and experience them yourself.

Treadmill: We put this under productivity on purpose. If you are not getting out of your house for walks and hitting 10k steps regularly. The treadmill will completely change how you approach things and the sharpness you feel. All it takes is one 30 minute session. One of our favorite purchases in recent years. Limited on space? A walking pad might be a solid replacement.

Hardware security key: You need two. They are cheap and efficient, reliable to the point that there is no reason you should not have a few of them. Ensuring that you are safer than traditional authenticator apps or other forms of 2FA. Our pick? YubiKey.

Standing desk: We have one and hold mixed opinions on it. If you are someone with specific health problems or looking to do something different instead of sitting all day. A standing desk is not a bad option for your workspace.

Looking for ways to upgrade your office space? Check out workspaces.

Software

Findymail: We have been recommending this solution since we started in 2023. If you are someone who operates online. Sooner or later, you will need someone's email address. This is where Findymail comes into play. Arguably the most cost-effective option / per valid email address.

Othership / Breathwrk: Both are solid. Othership is the more premium option and comes with features you may not need. The exact reason why we are putting both of them here. If you have yet to try breathwork… Prepare to be surprised by how powerful it is. The focus and clarity it provides are hard to beat. Not to mention the health benefits that come with consistent practice.

Jomo: Great application worth your time. If you struggle with screen time or spend too much of your day on things you should not… Give this one a try, and make sure you read our latest unfair advantage post. Having a clear mind is a must.

1Password: Hard to beat and pairs well with the YubiKey. Don’t have it yet? You need it.

HeyReach: If you are doing any kind of marketing or trying to get customers on LinkedIn… This is the #1 software you want to have. Pricey, but not comparable to anything else out there.

AI meeting notes (Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai): Most built-in transcription tools are not where they should be in terms of efficiency and accuracy. For those who have multiple meetings per day. This is where the power of a tool like this becomes obvious.

VPN: If you are traveling. You want to have one.

Readwise: To be more precise… Readwise Reader. There is no better tool for getting the most out of your reading. It lets you centralize everything in one place. From PDFs, YouTube, RSS, to random web highlights. If you are a power reader (most people reading this are). Give this one a try. You will be surprised by how things are structured and how much more you can get out of reading.

Implementing just 30% of this list into your daily life… will change who you are.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question. - Eugène Ionesco

The reality is that there is no advantage to 80% of the prompts out there.

Most people reading our website are already using AI to their advantage. So it would only be fair to create a prompt library that goes beyond what most other prompt libraries offer. Building out a prompt library for people who are tired of prompt libraries.

What we decided to do is a bit different. Instead of having each prompt in a separate post. We bundled everything and created a library (repository) focused on areas where prompts actually work. The idea is to create something that will age properly and a place where we can continue to update it as tools improve and things move forward.

What no one told you about prompting… but we will: What everyone around you has been trying to convince you of over the last few years is that prompting will change your life. The answer is maybe. Maybe if you know what you are doing. Being in a position to reflect on your situation beyond the surface. What we will not deny is that it will bring awareness. And if used properly, it will make you think in ways that change your perception or make you question yourself.

Will this happen by default once you start prototyping? Probably not. It is also one of the reasons you need to create high-quality inputs to gain insights you never had before and to question yourself and what you know about yourself.

Prompts are split into 5 categories:

• Inner work

  • Focusing on beliefs, patterns, and identity.

• Life design

  • Focusing on vision and how you want to live.

• Decision and clarity

  • Focusing on making moves, resolving indecision, and scenarios.

• Money and business

  • Focusing on the execution part. Income, offers, copy, business models.

• Misc

  • WD Prompts

  • Mindset Rewiring Workbook prompt

To get the most out of this: Pinpoint exactly what you are struggling with. If you know you have been having problems with energy or feeling depressed. Don’t waste your time on prompts about reflection. Do the bloodwork prompt and the cure mood one. Those directly impact the problem you have been dealing with. This logic applies to everything else as well. 

This prompt library will be updated over time.

Read more

Since most problems are created by our imagination and are thus imaginary, all we need are imaginary solutions - Richard Bandler

There is no single place on the internet that collects mental exercises from the best in the world. Executive coaches, high-performers, psychologists…

So we built one.

When something is not working out in your favor, when you are feeling lost, or when you don’t know what the problem is. This is where these exercises come. Pick the category that matches where you are right now. Pick an exercise. Try it. Study it. Start noticing the differences. Once you are done? Move to solving the next problem.

Everything has been split into five categories:

1. The Audit - start here if you are not sure what to work on

2. The Reprogramming - when you know the problem but can’t get rid of it

3. The Relationships - when you are missing control over your relationships and how you behave

4. The Body - when you are trying to get rid of the stress

5. The Emotions - when you are feeling stuck in a loop without going anywhere

New exercises will be added over time. As we find the ones worth being here.

The Audit (Self-Discovery)

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. - Carl Jung

The most important category of all. Why? Most people skip this one. Because they are looking for exercises and tools rather than understanding themselves. The audit is where everything starts. Because if you do not know what the problem is. How can you fix it?

When to use an audit:

• When something is not working and you are not sure why

• When you are feeling stuck or can’t describe your feelings

• When you are just starting with material like this for the first time

The Abundance Mindset Exercise

Time: 15 - 20 min | Difficulty: Low | Best for: When you feel lost on a decision or don't know what you actually want

1. Set The Scene

• Find a quiet place (close your eyes if it helps). Let go of your bills, obligations, and to-do list.

• Imagine 50 million in your bank account. Money is no longer the reason for anything you do.

• Sit with that feeling. Nothing to chase. Nothing to prove. You already have it all.

2. Ask Yourself

• What would I actually do with my time?

• Where would I go? What would I spend my days on?

• What would my passion be? My hobbies? My routines?

• What would my relationships look like? Would I have a family?

• How would I carry myself? Who would I become?

3. Write It All Down

• Get it all out. No filter. Just write.

• Notice what came first. The first answers are usually the most honest ones.

• Everyone’s list looks different.

4. Read What You Wrote

• When you feel lost on a decision. Come back to this.

5. Why This Works

• It moves you from "I don’t have it yet" to "I already have it".

  • That shift changes how you think and act.

• When you are desperate for something, you make different decisions than when you already feel whole. This exercise puts you in that second state.

• Remove scarcity. What is left is what actually matters to you.

Pair this exercise with: Fear setting. This should give you an idea of what you want, and fear-setting shows you what is stopping you from going after it.

Fear Setting - Tim Ferris

Time: 20 - 30 min | Difficulty: Medium | Best for: When you are stuck on a big decision and fear is the real blocker

1. Define The Worst-Case

• Write down the worst things that could actually happen. Be specific. Vague fears only get stronger when you ignore them.

• Rate each one from 1 to 10. How permanent would it really be? Most land between 1 and 3.

• A named fear is a fear you will get rid of. An unnamed one grows until it fills everything.

2. Prevent And Repair

• Prevent: What could you do right now to make each worst-case scenario less likely? Even one action per fear changes the picture.

• Ask yourself: If it did go wrong, how would you recover? Who would help? What do you already have?

3. What If You Succeed

• List the benefits of even a partial win. Finances, health, relationships. All of it.

• Rate the upside from 1 to 10. Most land between 7 and 10. That gap is the whole point.

• The downside is recoverable. The upside is not. That is your answer right there.

4. The Cost Of Inaction

• If you do nothing, where will you be in 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years? Be as specific as you were with the worst-case.

• Staying put is not neutral. It has a cost. Physical, emotional, financial. It compounds.

• We fear the cost of acting and ignore the cost of not acting.

  • This step puts both in the same frame.

5. Now Make The Move

• You have named the fears. Built a plan. Seen the upside. Felt the cost of doing nothing.

• What is the smallest action you could take in the next 24 hours?

• Write it down. Give it time. This only works if it ends with execution.

Read more

My dad’s favorite saying was: nothing is impossible for a man who refuses to listen to reason. - Gary Halbert

What it takes… And what no one tells you.

1. What you have to realize is that making your first money online is without a doubt one of the top 5 feelings you can experience in life. It is hard to put into words the rush you will feel as the numbers on the screen go up. What will happen from that moment on is that you will be spending the rest of your time working harder than ever and chasing that feeling all over again.

2. Never allow yourself or your business to be dependent 100% on the algorithm. If you find yourself in a position where you have no other way to drive traffic to your product… You have a massive problem that will only become apparent down the road.

3. You can have the best product in the world. But without creating content around it and hacking people's attention. You will not get far. Those days of having a great product and waiting for the customer to come? Gone.

4. Stop selling features and what your product brings to the table. What you want to sell is the outcome. Your customers are buying the vision of who they will become and what their life will look like after using your product.

5. If you are not using AI to automate tasks and improve your workflows. You are doing something wrong. And at this point in technological advancement, you are putting your business in danger.

6. The entire online sales process comes down to removing the friction. Make it easy for your customers to discover and buy your product. Simple landing page. Built into a one-click checkout system, etc. Do the heavy stuff for them by removing the unnecessary. You want to be the master at identifying frictions and removing them.

7. You should be able to come up with the domain. Set it up. Have everything hosted, and make it look visitor-friendly in less than 24 hours. Suppose you are not there yet. You have some work to do.

8. There is no permanent business model on the internet. Forget about one method. One source of traffic or one business mechanism. Sooner or later, it will stop working. Or it will get saturated to a point where your method will no longer be efficient. It is the nature of the online business. Your ability to reinvent yourself and adapt what you do is what will keep you in the online money-making game.

9. Rebills, blackhat, shady practices, or selling something that YOU know doesn’t work in the first place… It all comes back to you. One form or another. It is one of those unwritten rules of life. Act accordingly.

10. The louder someone has to showcase their wealth or status symbols. The more you should be cautious around them. Are they selling the BizOps (money-making) course at the end? It all makes sense. You are being the prey.

11. Never allow yourself to fall for the idea that you are not ready. You will never be ready. What you want to do instead is rely on speed and execution. Failing multiple times. Iterating multiple times. Getting better with each attempt. 2 weeks in the arena beats 6 months of preparation in terms of the experience you gain. Meaning that the next iteration will be much easier and faster.

12. Everything that you find useful or interesting around your online business should be saved. Funnels. Websites. Promotional emails. Landing pages. Quizzes. Ads. Swipe all of those and make your life easier down the road. Having a swipe file is a must.

No idea where to start?

• Swiped.co

• Reallygoodemails

• Milled

13. Never underestimate the power of being in the right market at the right time. Or being first at something that will yet blow up. If stars align and you manage to pull this off. No matter how mediocre your offer is or how far below your usual standard. You will outperform an amazing offer that has not been positioned correctly.

14. Marketing (driving traffic), distribution (knowing how and where to present it - in which form), and sales. They are mandatory for your online business. Without them in place, you will not get far. What you want is to master at least 2 out of 3.

15. When you are unsure whether something has a demand or how others would perceive it. The worst thing you could do? Spend months building something that you are unsure has the demand in the first place. The best thing you could do? Spend a week or two building something that looks as close to the final product, and try to drive traffic to it. What you want to do is test the demand. Doing this will tell you everything you need to know. Whether you have a solid product or offering or not. It again comes down to speed and how you position yourself.

How to validate (test demand) your idea:

• Come up with the idea and check if competitors already exist (how they are doing it)

• Build a landing page (before you have a product) and make it look as real as possible.

• Start with paid traffic to test how things are working out. Make sure to take their email. Don’t want to pay for the traffic? Social media.

• The positive sign you are looking for? People are either giving their email addresses or asking how they can buy it. The negative sign? Lots of visitors and no emails.

16. The internet is full of bots. Metrics matter, and KPIs do matter. But at the end of the day. The only things that truly matter are how many checkouts you have and what you put in your bank account. This will only get worse as time goes on and the dead internet theory becomes more apparent. Attention means nothing if you are not converting it.

17. Mindset and positive outlook play a huge role in running a successful online business. Because everyone who is doing or participating in this game goes through multiple ups and downs. Only those who manage to stay sane and not crack under the pressure win.

18. The more sophisticated your buyers are, the more exposed they are to the same methods and tactics. Making them harder to sell to. The less sophisticated your buyers are, the more likely they are to purchase from you. That is why you should not blindly bet on the big trends and business models.

19. The most effective products and business models (things you are selling) always tap into the core human desires:

• Survival - older people, the desire to live longer and stay healthy.

• Security - the desire to feel protected and have peace of mind.

• Status - younger people, the desire to be seen and respected.

20. Never take word of mouth and social proof for granted. They are the most powerful and sustainable factors you can utilize to keep your business going. It is one of those things that are easy to underestimate, but will start to make sense.

21. Know your product economics. Every product has a frontend (the price your customers think they are paying) and a backend (which includes additional upsells, referral links to software your customers will use...). This might not make sense if you are starting. But it will click once you realize how much money you are leaving on the table by not having the two working together. Paid traffic and acquiring customers that way will confirm it.

Product economics 101:

• Paid traffic acquisition cost (ads): -$50

• Frontend offer (ebook): +$27

• Backend offer (coaching, group): +$97

Scenario 1 (Frontend only): -$50 + $27 = -$23 (You are losing money on every customer)

Scenario 2 (Frontend + Backend): -$50 + $27 + $97 = +$74 (You are now profitable)

22. Living in the attention economy means that awareness creates a massive advantage. You cannot sell a solution to someone who doesn’t know they have a problem. Meaning that the absence of competition doesn't necessarily mean you have something unique to offer to the market. Quite the opposite. It might mean there is simply no demand for it. Results? No customers. What you need is to find a market with existing demand and a hunger for a fresh angle no one has covered yet. This is where the difference between someone who is just looking to make quick cash from an opportunity and an expert who knows what is happening in a specific domain becomes apparent.

The dumbest version of a product you ship today is worth more than the polished version you never ship because you are still researching. - Callicrates

23. Everything you repeatedly do in your online business should be based on a template. Protocol. Instead of spending 2 hours coming up with something and reinventing things every time... Use a template-based approach that takes 50% of that time. As time goes on, and you expand your offering (or change how you do things). The template should also be updated to reflect those changes.

24. Timeline language converts the best. Everything you offer must have a clear timeline. One that moves people from where they are to where they want to be. 2 weeks. 3 months. 6 months. When you have a clear, defined timeline, you give them hope and something that they want to believe in. Making it easier for them to decide that your product is worth their money.

25. Never tell anyone:

• How much money you make.

• What niche you are in.

• What your offer looks like.

You are only painting a target on your back. Once the opportunity is gone, there is nothing left for you to make out of it. You can start talking about it.

26. Never allow yourself to fall for the idea that your online income will grow in predictable increments. That is not how it works. That only happens if you are working in the corporate world. It is normal (and expected) to stay stuck at a certain income for 6 months, then rapidly leap to the next tier as your skill set catches up.

27. When something is working exceptionally well, and you are achieving results you could never even imagine. The best you can do is go all in and double down on the opportunity. Ignore everything else. You want to put every dollar back to work for you and bring you more out of it. This is where material distractions will become apparent, and you will have to learn how to fight them off.

28. One of the reasons why great business people and smart people start to push mediocre products comes down to one simple fact… They lock themselves into a lifestyle of fixed expenses. High rent. Car payments. Unnecessary luxury goods. To keep up with all those financial obligations. You have to start thinking short-term. Solution? Make as much as possible, as fast as possible. Pushing products they themselves would not purchase, and in some cases scamming their customers. This is how many online business people destroy their reputations overnight and never manage to recover.

29. A common misconception among those who are starting is that more revenue = success. That is partly true. However, if you are only keeping 10% of the margins… There is a good chance that you are getting lapped by someone who is pulling 50% margins on a much smaller revenue.

Work hard at your job and you can make a living. Work hard on yourself and you can make a fortune. - Jim Rohn

30. Starting a business while you have a job is one of the best things you will ever do for yourself. Learning how to monetize the time you spend online is a close second.

31. The only social media you have should serve you as revenue generating mechanisms. Marketing your skills or products. If it is not generating revenue, you are doing something wrong and wasting your time.

32. Your job as someone selling to the masses is to give emotional buyers enough support to justify the purchases to themselves and their social groups. The more emotional a purchase, the more they need to post-rationalize it. Convincing themselves and others that it was the smart purchase all along.

33. Staying in the loop on what is happening in your market is non-negotiable. Subscribe to your competitor's newsletter. Buy their product. Go through their entire checkout flow. Dive deeper into their email sequences. Everyone who is winning in this game is paying attention to what others around them are doing. Your competitors are your most valuable marketing asset.

34. One of your goals should be to build a lean system that runs without you. When you find yourself in a position to take a few days off and come back to more money than you had before you left. That is the sign that you are doing something right.

35. Being antifragile is overlooked when it comes to running your online business.

36. Never allow yourself to make a big business decision when you are stressed. Or angry. Or running on three hours of sleep. The decision you make in that state is not the one you would make if you were not feeling that way. Things are much less urgent than they seem. And it is on you to recognize that and not do anything you will later regret.

37. Every decision your customer has to make burns mental energy. The less cognitive load your customer has to use to be convinced that your product is good, the easier it will be to get those checkouts. It is all about more choices with fewer decisions.

38. When it comes to paid traffic. The game is won by whoever can pay the most to acquire a customer. Meaning that you have to optimize maximum lifetime value on the back end. Reread point #21.

39. Track everything. Cost per lead. Your open rates. Payment fees. CPA. LTV. Churn. You need to know the numbers to support your business and make it sustainable. Sounds boring until it is not.

40. If your sales page cannot be understood by a 12 year old. You are doing something wrong. Always aim to dumb things down to no higher than an 8th grade level. Clarity + simplicity = sales.

Not sure how to approach this?

Hemingway editor

41. The hard pill to swallow about online business is that it is entirely meritocratic. Meaning if you are not winning. It is fully on you. There is no boss to blame. System holding you back or any other excuses… Everyone has access to the same platforms, the same tools, the same algorithm. The only difference between you and everyone else is how you use them.

42. The internet works very differently today than it did in its early days. Especially from the brand (and creator) perspective. Owning your audience used to be the key back in the day. Now you have to focus on re-earning their attention every single day to stay relevant. Platforms used to guarantee followers would see your posts. Now the algorithm decides who gets seen and who does not. This means followers don't really matter anymore. And the fresh content gets attention. The closest you will get to this old type of the internet is growing your email list and getting directly to someone's inbox.

43. The game resets every year. And there is a good chance that what worked last year won’t work next year. Sticking to one playbook works until it doesn’t. This applies to every single area, from marketing to your product. Reinvention is the name of the game.

44. If you have yet to start your online business and have no idea where to start. You want to pick a niche rooted in your existing career and knowledge. What does that mean? If you are in sales. Start a lead generation agency. Software engineer? Start a one-man shop. Working in finance? Start your accounting practice. The key is to use the knowledge you have (and network) and leverage it into something bigger. Once again, it all comes down to the least friction.

45. Run as clean a business as possible. Clean books. Clean tax strategy. Don't mix things up (personal and business) or do something you will regret down the road. More so if one of your goals is to sell your business and exit it in the future. The cleaner your business structure is, the easier everything else becomes.

46. Running an online business is not as sexy as everyone claims it is. Working next to the pool or spending 80% of your time traveling is a lie. Someone is funding their lifestyle off you. It is hard work. And you will not be able to pull it off without ridiculous amounts of dedication.

47. Every time you find yourself stuck or dealing with periods of uncertainty. Ask yourself a simple question. Which decision will you regret more in 10 years? Quitting or pushing through and trying something different. You will be surprised by the clarity this provides.

48. There is no best business model. There is only the best business model that works for YOU. What might work for someone who is 22 years old and full of energy? It might not be the best option for someone who is 40 years old with a family and kids. You want something that works for you, and it is sustainable in the long run.

49. Next time you find yourself dealing with inaction. Try to break it down further and identify the real blocker. Scratch past the surface level. Keep asking yourself why until you don’t have any logical answers anymore. Doing this will help you identify the root cause of why you are not doing what you should be. Once you find that root cause. Go through it step by step. Break it down into its consequences and how they would affect your current life structure.

50. In the online business, the real leverage and the money all come from renewals and repeat purchases (+ back-end offers). If you can build a system where customers always get more value than they pay for. Or better yet, a system that makes them perceive that. You have a winning formula.

51. Most of the courses on the online business are straight-up garbage. Built on the methods that used to work. And that is why they are being published and sold now to the masses. Once a strategy stops working, most gurus package their methods and sell them to beginners. The real alpha? Private group chats.

52. Anyone running a service business and working directly with customers should never be afraid to fire them. Vampire customers are not worth your time. When you consider all the costs associated with them time, energy, and stress. You realize it is not worth it and you are the one getting less out of that relationship. Refund them. Remove them. Your quality of life will improve. And you will have more power to get the customers who actually deserve your work.

53. Reddit threads, Amazon reviews and Trustpilot pages will tell you more about your customers real pain than any research tool on the market. The key is learning how to reverse-engineer feedback and turn it into something you could charge them for. Want to take it a step further? Look into one and two-star reviews or any other negative feedback. This is where you can create a competitive advantage.

54. Never bet against a great headline. You have a maximum of 10 seconds to capture someone's attention and pull them in. The headline is the only thing that determines whether they read anything else at all.

55. The customer who buys from you twice is worth 10x more than the one who buys once. Everything about your purchasing experience should be engineered to make that second purchase feel obvious and easy. Removing any limitations around it. This is what most businesses get wrong. Focusing entirely on acquiring customers and not keeping the ones they have already won over.

Repeat buyer scenario (3 purchases over 12 months):

• Paid traffic acquisition cost (ads): -$50

• Ebook - product #1: +$27

• Templates - product #2: +$7

• Private group - product #3: +$47

Scenario 1 (One-time buyer): -$50 + $27 = -$23

Scenario 2 (Repeat buyer): -$50 + $27 + $7 + $47 = +$31

56. Learn the art of storytelling. The same story that works in the email will work in an ad, on a landing page, in a podcast or in DMs. Understand the structure of a story that sells, and you will never run out of ways to present your offer or position it.

57. The best copywriting advice one could give you is that the subconscious does not read words. It works based on mental movies. Meaning? That is why vague and abstract copy dies immediately and doesn't hold someone’s attention. When readers can picture what you are saying and clearly see what you are describing. That is when your words start to impact them.

58. Cheap paid traffic is never a permanent solution. When you spot a platform, geo market, or format that is working and is cheap. You have to put in 110% effort to take that opportunity while the window is still open and before everyone else catches on. What happens when other players enter the same source? Costs go up. Your returns go down. Advantage? Gone. That is why everyone who did Facebook ads back in 2013 made a fortune with little to no effort. The same thing happened with TikTok in 2020.

59. The only time you should hire is when you identify a skill gap that is a direct bottleneck in your business. Most business owners hire to hire or think it will help scale more easily. The right way to hire is to find a skill that will unlock 2x revenue and go all in on finding the right person for that role.

60. If you are stuck on the same problem for more than a month. You are not doing enough to solve it. Leave that problem unsolved for 6 months… It will compound. And your business will experience a decline or a bigger problem that will take even longer to solve.

61. Whether you want to accept it or not. Every hobby, obsession, and niche now has an audience big enough to build an online business around. What does this mean for you? Stop worrying about market size and focus on reaching the right audience. Better said. Start asking yourself, do you have something worth distributing to others?

A focused fool can accomplish more than a distracted genius. - Alex Hormozi

62. Persistence is the only determinant of whether you will succeed or not in your online business. What nobody tells you is that if you are stubborn enough, you will never quit. You will win.

63. The more time you spend in the online business. The more you realize that the key is always to analyze what is working. At the same time remove everything that is not. And once again, focus on doing more of what is already working. But better...

64. One trick to always get more out of your business is to do the thing you resist and fear the most. This applies to everything in your life. Not just your business. Resistance always signals directly at what matters.

65. Your judgment is a skill worth developing and working on. When everyone can produce more than decent outputs. Only those who can judge and feel what will work and what won't get massive rewards. Taste, intuition, and pattern recognition. Focus on those.

66. Different seasons put people in different moods. January is a decision month. December is more of a reflective type of month. In the warm half of the year, people are more into big commitments, while the cold half is more about emotional tone and problem-aware messaging.

67. You only need one good idea in an online business to change your life.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

Zoom in and obsess. Zoom out and observe. We get to choose. - Rick Rubin

Staying sane in insane times

For those who have been with us for years, you already know that one of the things we are bullish on is mental health. To be more precise… What it takes to stay in good mental shape, how you protect that shape, and how to get you going. You also know that we are not optimistic about the masses or their outlook on the world. To the point that chances are that in the next 20 years, most of the people you will meet will experience certain mental problems. Goal of our post? To teach you how to protect yourself and stay sane… In insane times.

The average: To make our point clearer. Take the average person, for example. Spends the whole day on social media. Offloading all their tastes and deep insights to the algorithm. Completely losing themselves in the big sea of nothingness. On top of that, add that the same algorithm provides you with an unnecessary amount of materialistic content that will leave you in a forever comparing yourself to others loop that leads nowhere. Take a teenager. Put them into the mix with this combination, and you know what to expect over the next 15 - 20 years.

You get someone who:

1. Doesn’t know who they are.

2. Doesn’t know what they want out of their life.

3. Doesn’t know what makes them happy.

4. Doesn’t know what gives them a deep sense of joy.

This might not seem like a problem at first. But it is a big one. Nor does it mean your answer will always be the same. But it means that you have to have it. Suppose you ask yourself any of these questions right now. Would you be able to answer them without giving any basic nonsense answers? If not, you might have a problem... The good thing? You can absolutely change it in less than a year. Probably in less than 6 months if you put in the real effort.

What is good about YOUR situation

You don't have to fix everything at once. Chances are that you are a young person reading this. Somewhere in your 20s. Having more than enough time to address your situation. The fact that you are reading this already puts you ahead of most people. That you are even aware that there is a problem around. What you want to do is fix the key points (the core structure) and build on top of them.

Who will get the most out of this read:

• Especially young people (optimism, awareness, higher levels of neuroplasticity).

• Those who are feeling stuck but unable to pinpoint why exactly.

• Those who know they are capable of more, but for some reason, are not doing it.

• Those who understand the importance of mental health.

• Those who don’t want to be part of the masses + play a long-term game where the decline of mental health and insane times will be more than obvious.

Time to break things down further.

Reading experience is completely up to you. You can treat each section as a separate read, or you can read everything in order. Keep in mind that each concept builds on top of another, and the only way that you will get the most out of this read is by going through everything. This is a long read and written differently from our usual material.

How Mental Health Plays A Role In Your Life

Mental health = everything: What do we even mean by that? When you are not 100% set as you should be. Every single area of your life will be impacted. One way or another. From making poor decisions. Lack of energy and ambition all the way up to relationships. Mental health shapes how you experience your life. It affects your physical health too. From chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and a weak immune system. The mind-body connection has been confirmed. Where are we going with this? Mental health dictates how you interpret what is happening around you and the reality it creates. That is why there are multiple cases where two people with different points of view (and mental health) experience reality completely differently. Mental health forms a construction layer for everything else to build on. That is why people who are in great mental shape tend to think more clearly, make better partners, and believe that they are capable of achieving big things. Because… They are.

Signs that you are broken: To paint our picture better and give you something that you can use in your life, around your friends and family. There are different tiers to mental health decline.

Tier 1 - You don’t even notice it

• Things you used to enjoy no longer excite you.

• Can’t sit alone in the silence, or you have to be stimulated 24/7.

• Getting lost without a purpose multiple times throughout the day.

• All of your days feel the same, and you can't remember what happened 48 hours ago.

Tier 2 - It is becoming obvious

• Brain fog (unable to put your thoughts down)

• Sleep schedule is off

• Getting upset about the smallest things without being able to explain why

• Know that something is off, but you have accepted it as normal

• No motivation to stick to one thing for more than 3 days

• Short attention span. Can’t watch a movie or read 20 pages of the book without picking up your phone

Tier 3 - Deep Into It

• Stopped caring about your health or looks

• Self-inflicting aggression and hate towards your actions and lifestyle

• Purposely isolating yourself from society

• Escaping from reality (junk food, drugs, alcohol, p0rn)

• Living the life based around avoidance (people, tasks, anything outside of your routine)

Read more

Why You Can’t Blame Them - Advice From The Old World

Here is why:

1. They didn’t know any better (lack of experience and vision)

2. The game they played was easier

3. They only wanted the best for you (safest options)

4. They gave advice based on a world that doesn’t exist anymore (they grew up in it)

Old world: Everything was easier. And the rules of the game were different. The game was different. No matter how average a performer you were. You could still live an extraordinary life with low to medium effort. Today? It is very different. And every year, it gets harder because those middle opportunities get deleted. In a way that the more average you are, the less opportunity you will have to escape it. Everyone reading us already knows our take on it. It is impossible to put in the same effort and do the same things as your parents did and still expect the same results. You need to 10x their output. Those days of being in a comfy position, getting a job in a big corporation, and getting a 20-year mortgage. Gone. What does it mean for you? It leaves less room for bad advice and the old-world thinking that your parents were raised on and built on.

The Playbook That Is Keeping You Stuck (Lies You Were Raised On)

Lie #1 - Be a good employee and you will be rewarded accordingly

Yet every time it comes to promotions and raises. You end up being passed over. Reality is that those who are good employees and put in more effort than others do not necessarily get rewarded. It also does not guarantee you success. Once you bring the human factor into the equation (knowing who you need to impress). Everything changes. And those with better connections are the ones who will move forward. Not the best ones or the hardest working ones. It would be a lie to deny the importance of performance, and you want to be in the top 30% of the team. But without the social aspect and knowing who to impress. It won’t matter. This becomes painfully obvious after a few years in the corporate environment, where being a good employee is at most 50% of the story. The other part of the story comes from relationships and knowing who to impress to get what you need.

Lesson: Being a top performer is less important than knowing how and who to talk to. What you want to do is to identify the key (2 to 3) people you know who have a direct impact on your positioning inside the company. Start building rapport with them (visibility is key). Start practicing selling yourself and taking credit for the work you have done. This will automatically set you up so that it will be hard for you to lose. No matter how much effort or how good an employee you are.

Lie #2 - Find a stable company and stay there for a lifetime

This is not how things work. Over time, you will find yourself in a position where you are underpaid and underappreciated. Positioning yourself into a massive disadvantage once you look for the escape. Only to realize that you are so deep that there is no escape. No one will want to give you a chance because you will have this massive line on your CV signaling that you were too lazy (afraid) to expose yourself to new environments and challenges. The case is different if you are working with a truly big logo (think Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple). But again, the idea that you will be set for a lifetime just because you are in the right company is wrong. As management changes and roles are restructured, the concept of a single lifetime role is gone. You also don’t want to be in a position with so much exposure to uncertainty and work only to make the others rich. If your salary is not increasing annually. You are doing something wrong. The idea that you will be rewarded and respected more because you have been with one company for multiple years is wrong. Reality is quite the opposite. Loyalty doesn’t exist in the corporate world.

Lesson: There is no reason for you to do so and stay in one company for multiple years. Employers should be treated as golden tickets that will allow you to start your own business while paying you as much as possible while you are making them richer. Read how to get rich to understand our point. It might change your life. What you want to do is stay long enough to learn something, yet never get truly comfortable. 2 to 3 years is what most need to get the most out of their employer. It is a perfect spot if you are chasing a 15 - 25% salary bump by switching employers.

The whole framework you should use comes down to:

1. Learn the new skills.

2. Meet new people and build relationships with them.

3. Put yourself in a comfortable position to build a side business.

4. Switch every few years to raise your salary and make your life easier.

Lie #3 - Just be yourself (also known as JBY)

We already wrote about advice like this in our advice on what people give you when they don't want you to win. JBY is terrible advice if you are in a position you don’t want to be in. Why would you continue to do the same if things are not working out in your favor? It only makes sense if things are working out in your favor and everything is going your way. In that case? This is a golden type of advice. Otherwise, a massive waste of time and one you should not follow. The reason your parents are saying stuff like this to you is that it serves as a perfect defense mechanism. Not to hurt you by pointing out what you lack. Something you can’t really blame them for. But a necessary reality check.

Lesson: You got everything working in your favor? Be yourself. Not happy where you are now and looking to improve your position? Ignore this advice and understand where it is coming from. Have you been hit with this type of advice multiple times? It means that you must start breaking things down into the basics and look into the patterns you are making. There is a clear signal you are not catching. Yet that same thing is slowing you down.

Lie #4 - Good things come to those who wait

Will things work out in your favor if you are just hoping for the best without putting in any effort? Not really. This is one of those things that ONLY work if you are NOT expecting them to work. Good things come to those who put in more effort than people around them. Not to those who are doing nothing. Sitting on the couch and watching Netflix. The only time this will become obvious is when you are already working and the thing you have been waiting for to happen. Becomes your reality. In that scenario, you have massive momentum and can achieve quantum leaps in no time. The universe is working in your favor. There is a big difference between you being out there working towards something and knowing that you will be rewarded. Compared to sitting at home on the couch doing nothing, and thinking that you will be rewarded.

Lesson: Good things only come to those who put in more work than others + increase their exposure + use momentum to their advantage when that "good thing" comes. Thinking that things will work out because you are waiting at home? Not how it works. Making this a common lie that you have been told since an early age. There is a BIG difference between someone actively waiting for things to work in their favor and someone passively waiting for them to happen. The whole difference between the two? Comes down to how much effort you are putting in. Applying for jobs, trying new things, and getting better at least in one area of your life. Those are the clear signs you are doing the right things.

Lie #5 - Save for retirement

Retirement is a scam. Waiting for retirement is a scam. Thinking you will be happy once you retire is a scam. Living for it and counting the days until retirement? Scam. Old and free. A combination that doesn’t really work together. Never allow yourself to fall for this idea. You are already free. The old boomerish advice on retirement is to chip away at everything, put it into an index fund, and forget about it. That is right. The core concept as such is not wrong. You should definitely do it to preserve (or even grow) your wealth. What is wrong with it? Most people who listen to this advice play the game in defensive mode. Focusing 110% on the saving part, without ever exposing themselves or trying to figure out ways to make more. That is where things go wrong. Instead of ending up with the REAL savings for retirement that mostly came from your income streams. You end up with an amount that is not enough since inflation and COL play tricks on you. Year over year. Just to end up in a scenario where you could only save so much without setting up additional income streams. Saving for retirement is a must. But not from the perspective that your parents have told you. It has to be done in a way that ensures multiple income streams and allows you to save when times are good. Not penny pinching or becoming frugal.

Lesson: Forget about retirement and the concept as such. Forget about penny pinching for your retirement. What you want to do instead is focus on increasing income and saving (investing) a percentage of it for bad days. Nothing else, nothing more. Saving for retirement will not save you. Making more for retirement will save you.

Lie #6 - You must get a degree

Especially if you are going to a place where other successful and wealthy individuals send their kids. This will allow you to build your network more easily and take advantage of the benefits that come with it. Since that won’t be the case if you are not going to one of the top places. You should know it might not be the best choice. No doubt that going to college will give you certain social skills and life knowledge. But if you are going for the wrong degree or to the wrong place. It is a massive waste of time and money. It is no longer prestigious, and it does not guarantee you a "safe job" once you are done with it. That doesn’t mean you should be at home wasting your life away. But it means that if you have something going on and are already contributing to the community, you can monetize it. It might be better for YOU to continue focusing on that and expanding further. If you want to play it safe and have a safety net - get a job (corporate route) and build on the side. This is where this route (getting a degree) makes much more sense. The reason this advice is on the lie list is that if done poorly. It will set you back and waste your time.

Lesson: Another old-world piece of advice. Degrees are not what they used to be, and there is no guarantee that you will be in a safer position if you pick the wrong one. You have to put yourself in a position where strong connections will surround you. To make it simple. You will have access to the top talent, connections, and knowledge if you go the degree route? 100% set on a corporate career and want to build your business on the side? This is where this idea of getting a degree makes much more sense. Not sure if that is the case, or if you don’t have an idea what you want to get out of your degree and college? Skip it. Still lost when it comes to this?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Will getting a degree put me in the room with the people I want to be surrounded by?

2. Do I have a specific career path I want? (Think medicine, law)

3. Do I want to have that safety?

4. Am I already monetizing something, or do I have a passion project on the side?

Lie #7 - Buy a house (property) as soon as you can

Depending on how old your parents are. You might (or might not) have heard this advice being given to you. Should you buy a house as soon as you can? Maybe. If you are 100% set on the place you want to live and are in a position to offset all the costs associated with it. Don’t have any major or big risk moves coming. Think that you are in a position where your investments can cover the mortgage payment. Since that is not the case for most people, and will be even less so as the future goes on and prices increase (the middle class gets permanently deleted). The sense that this advice makes is minimal. It is actually one of those that will lead you towards 30 to 40 years of slavery to the bank in most scenarios. The story is different if your rent equals your mortgage payment. This has been the case recently in certain parts of the world. Another downside of buying a house as soon as possible is that it will take up hours of your time. Anyone who owns a property knows what we are talking about. Making it a hard scenario if you don’t have someone else to help you or take care of the stuff around your property.

Lesson: There is no need to make a rapid decision about something that will leave a massive impact on your life. There is no reason to rush this decision. As your time would be better spent making things easier for yourself down the road - making more money and having a better quality of life than yesterday. Better said putting energy and effort into the other higher ROI things. What you have to consider with things like this is that you have to calculate the renting (vs. mortgage payments) and invest the difference you might be left with. This is the key everyone overlooks. The story is different if the rent = the mortgage. However, there are still factors such as insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. Do yourself a favor and don’t rush this.

Lie #8 - Starting a business is risky

It was back in the day when one could not test demand by clicking the magic internet button and doing everything for less than $500 from your bedroom. That was when starting your business was risky. It is also something that your parents could only imagine doing. They still probably think it is impossible. It is hard to explain to someone that you could throw your money on the screen, and someone somewhere in the world would give you more money back. A hard concept to process and even harder to explain to others who have never experienced it. Yet most of us at this point are taking it for granted. Take it as a fun exercise and compare it to how it used to be and how much effort it required back then. Different game. Meaning this advice given to you is completely irrelevant in this day and age. Starting a business is not risky if done right. One could argue that it is much more dangerous to let your employer be 100% in control of your cash flow and everything else that comes around it. It is something that everyone has a different perspective on.

Lesson: Starting a business has never been easier. The risk? Minimal if done right. Not sure how to approach this? Realize that the healthiest approach is to accept that the chances of you hitting it big on your first try are minimal. The better approach is to treat it as a learning experience.

Taking it to another level:

1. Pick a skill you already have or something you can do better than most of the people around you (everyone possesses this).

2. Set up a basic landing page and website.

3. Offer your service or simply start putting the content out there.

4. That is the whole playbook that will instantly put you in the top 20%. Something that can be done over the weekend and should not take more than a few hours.

5. Ready to risk more? Turn those ads on and learn how to experiment with them. It will be useful, more than you would like to think.

Lie #9 - They know better than you do (media, politicians…)

They don’t. You should stop paying too much attention to the mass media. Everyone is playing their own game and trying to bend the rules to get the most out for themselves. Everyone is out for themselves. There is no reason for you to follow the same pattern as your parents did. They had to do so because they didn’t have the opportunity to find other sources of information. There was not any. While you have access to the brightest and smartest minds who have ever walked this earth. Yet taking it for granted. That everything on TV is mostly a lie. And propaganda paid for by someone. In politics, there are only a few people who are not in it for their personal interests. This old concept that they know better because they are in the media or in the government is nonsense.

Lesson: Avoid ANYTHING mainstream. Books, interviews, interesting podcasts, life-changing material… You have access to everything. Next time you hear a flashy headline or someone in politics making ridiculous claims. Ask yourself. Who benefits from me believing in this? The answer will tell you everything.

Lie #10 - Be humble and don't promote yourself

What most cannot realize is that the only way you will win in this attention economy is by promoting yourself (selling + distribution). Selling yourself. Selling your work. Selling your ideas. Thinking that because you have made something, you deserve to be noticed is wrong. Producing the output has never been easier, and the barrier to entry has entirely disappeared. Everyone is fighting for others attention. Important part? Back in the day, fighting for attention simply was not part of the game. It didn’t matter the way it does now. Simply because the world went full-on digital and now you are competing with everyone. Especially when it comes to getting someone’s attention and holding it. Your parents were taught to blend in and not be different from each other. Why? Because it would make them look like fools. Different. Not part of the norm. The whole goal was not to stand out or do anything differently. That is not how the game is being played today, and things won’t work out in your favor if you do so.

When we say sell ourselves, we mean:

• When you know how to do storytelling (sell your work and your story) and position yourself in a way that you are someone who can be trusted and counted on.

When we say distribution, we mean:

• When you know how to drive traffic and hold the attention of the masses (attention hacking) in a way that makes you someone who can be trusted and counted on.

Lesson: Being humble has nothing to do with promoting yourself. The self-promotion part is mandatory, and the only way you will move forward is by doing it. Not by waiting to be recognized and rewarded accordingly. For those who have no idea where to start with this one. Just pick one relevant platform (YouTube, Twitter…) and start posting on it. Documenting. Don’t worry about selling or marketing. Just make sure you are putting something out there for the world to see. This should help you get out of your head and overthinking phase.

Things Your Parents Were Actually Right About

Advice that was actually good: When you put aside all the lies and bad advice your parents told you. All the old-world advice and what has become outdated. All the things that don’t work anymore. There is also advice that makes sense and remains relevant. It serves as a great baseline for everything that is to come. The truth? Not everything your parents have been telling you since childhood is wrong.

1. Money doesn’t buy happiness

Those who have achieved financial success know this is the truth. If you think that one day you will wake up happy because you have ______ number in the bank account. You are wrong. Money buys happiness. But not in a way that most people think it does. Suppose you take someone who is completely lost and doesn’t know what they want out of their life. Money will only lead to long-term degeneracy and unhappiness. That is why so many lottery winners lose it all and go broke. For those who know what they want in life and are working towards it. Those are the ones who will get the most out of their money. Because that money serves as a support tool. Not as the main driver of anything. At the same time, that money will improve their quality of life and allow them to spend it on what ACTUALLY matters.

Lesson: Your parents were not wrong. Money doesn’t buy happiness. It buys things that might provide you with temporary happiness. But if you do not have a deeper meaning or know what you appreciate in life. What you will get with it doesn’t mean much. Money is a tool and not a final goal. If you are one of the lucky ones, you will start looking into it as a byproduct of your work. Something that will come no matter what.

Don't believe us?

1. Take a piece of paper.

2. Write the 3 things that made you feel most alive this year.

3. Chances are that money was the support behind all of them. It is hard to deny that. But there is a good chance that none of the things on the list were 100% money driven. If that is the case, and they were fully driven by the money. If that is the case, it might be a sign that you are doing something wrong and not living the life you should live.

2. Follow your passion

Monetizing your passion from day one is a mistake. It is by far the easiest way to hate what you are doing. What is right about the advice your parents have given to you? It would be a lie to deny that passion plays a massive role in your life. If you put everything you are doing right now aside. Had an unlimited budget and unlimited free time. The chances that you would spend 100% of your time on that passion thing of yours? Pretty big. Knowing what you are passionate about plays a big role in the quality of your life. That doesn’t mean you have to monetize it or follow it. But it means you still need to know what gets you going and how to approach your passion. Better said. What your passion actually is. This might seem unnecessary until you are in the building mode. But once you get out of it and you are set or want to take it a bit slower. It becomes apparent why you need to know it. This doesn’t mean that all your efforts should be spent on monetizing your passion or anything similar. You just have to know what your passion is and how it serves you.

Lesson: Passion matters much more than what the average internet personality will want to admit. The key is to find a balance where you know what your passion is and what gets you going. It is something that most never figure out. At the same time, following your passion as such is often misunderstood because people associate it with money and making money. Yes, it can be that. But no. It is not strictly just that.

3. Don’t talk about the money

You should never talk about money and how well you are doing unless it is with your close family or partner. If you are not convinced by our take here. Ask yourself. What will sharing this information do for me? The answer is simple. Nothing. There is no point. There is nothing for you to get out of it. There is nothing to help you in life. What you are looking for is a 3 minute ego trip you should not go on in the first place.

Talking about money always leads to resentment, hate and jealousy from those you shared your information with

Lesson: Your parents were right. As you make more money, things start to work out in your favor. The more you make, the more you need to learn to downplay things. Don't talk about all the stuff (money especially) with anyone. One basic example you want to avoid at all costs? Still working 9to5? Remember that there is no point in talking with your colleagues about buying a sports car or investing 80% of your salary in stocks.

Only people who need to know how much money you have:

1. Your family (just the closest family members)

2. Your partner

3. Your accountant (or a lawyer)

4. Don’t mix friendships with money

The first sign that you will lose a friend is when they ask you for money. This is where the discussion could stop. The only time you want to mix friends and money is when you are not afraid to lose either of those two. Money or your friends. The same principles apply to running a business together and sharing the equity. Everything is working for those who are not afraid to walk out on one another. Priorities change. Goals change. People change. You have been warned.

Lesson: ONLY mix friendships and money if you are not afraid to lose them in the first place. If you are someone who cares and would not want to lose the other side. Your parents were more than right. Do not do it.

Always ask yourself this:

Would I be okay if this ended the friendship?

5. Your network matters

The younger you are, the less sense this makes. As you get older, the power of your network becomes apparent. When you need someone to connect you with someone. Or when you are looking for a specific individual who can solve your problem. There is a good reason they say your network is your net worth. What no one tells you when it comes to a network is that the real power only comes to those who are valuable to others. If you bring nothing to the table. Don’t expect anything back.

Lesson: There is a realization that power comes from a guy who knows the guy. It is one of those things that your parents were right about. Much less so now that everyone struggles to form basic connections (relationships) and stay in touch with others. For those struggling to keep up with their connections, don’t overthink it. Just calling someone for 2 to 3 minutes once every month or two. Instead of listening to a podcast or YouTube while walking or driving, should be more than enough.

6. You become who you surround yourself with

The point above brings us to this. Remember when your parents told you that the people you surround yourself with, you become one of them? They were right. You become like the people you spend your time with. Manners. Ideas. Goals. Plans. All the way down to how you react and see the world. We all know that bad company corrupts good character, or vice versa. Something you want to remind yourself of often.

Lesson: Not much to add here. What you need to do is be careful about who and what you allow into your life. Not only do you have to be careful about who you allow. But be aware of those who enter your life, because one day you might wake up and realize you are doing the same things they are. One practical thing you can do is to audit the people you spend most of your time with. Write them down. List a few characteristics for each one of them. Do they talk about the future or live fully in the past? If the characteristics and things you value don’t align. You have work to do.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. - Jim Rohn

7. Discipline over motivation

If you have ever had your parents tell you that you need to do things, no matter how lazy or tired you are. They were right. The more you progress, the more sense it makes. The reason your parents were right is that, after a certain point, you realize that the chances of being in the right mood every day, ready to give your best, are not realistic. If you want to get the results. You will have to sit down and start, no matter how you feel or what has happened that day. This applies to everything, not just getting work done. From staying in touch with important people, hitting the gym, or trying to start your online business. Discipline is everything, and you have to work on it. It is a skill. Meaning it can be trained and improved.

Lesson: The reason your parents were right is that if you want to achieve the big things, you will have to work even when you are not feeling it. If you are someone who struggles to focus or get things done. Make it a non-negotiable to do just 30 minutes of it each day. No multitasking. No context switching. Just one task (you are not feeling) for a maximum of 30 minutes. What you want to do is create a default scenario for you. One that will not require much thinking, yet you will execute on it.

8. Nobody is coming to save you

If you have ever heard your parents tell you this. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. It is one of the best pieces of advice you could be given. More so if you are a young person and have experienced it firsthand. Seeing your parents knowing and living that nobody is coming to save them. The reality? You are the creator of your own life. Your own luck. Your own mind. Meaning that there is no one else to blame but YOU.

Daily reminder that nobody is coming to save you.

Lesson: You have total ownership of your situation. The people you surround yourself with. The things you do. The information you consume. It is all you… Still not getting it? Write every area of your life where you are waiting for something to happen. It will not take you more than 5 minutes to realize that all those things are on YOU and that you are just a few right actions away from making things happen.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

The Permanent Underclass Arrived 30 Years Ago

The permanent underclass is a sociological concept referring to a segment of society that is chronically and persistently trapped in poverty, with little to no realistic opportunity for upward social mobility. Unlike temporary poverty, membership in the permanent underclass tends to be long-lasting and self-perpetuating across generations. - Claude

The underclass is already here: This is the hard pill to swallow. Because if you reflect on how your grandparents used to live, it becomes quite clear. The underclass lifestyle has been here since the late 80s. What do we mean by that? Once the average person had to go into 30 year long debt just to buy a home… That is a clear sign that we are talking about a permanent underclass. There is not a single normal thing about being in debt to a bank for 30 years. Yet by the 2000s, it was completely normal to do so. Proof that the permanent underclass has been here longer than most realize. Our point? There is not that much space for drastic changes. You already can't own a home without getting into debt. Your employer is taking you for granted and paying you a minimum to survive. And you have never had a harder time finding the right sources of information, since everything is based on clickbait content. Forget about a change so drastic that it would leave you worse off than you already are (in terms of starting position). We are already there. Whether you want to accept it or not. The reason there has been so much attention about it recently is that people fear the unknown.

Bargaining power of the working class: What we can’t deny is that as time goes on. Careers are becoming a worse and worse choice. Young people already understand that. As someone who has written multiple in-depth articles about it and has always been preaching them to others. Most careers are not what they were a decade ago. The analyst’s work is getting one shotted by the AI. Designers have never had it easier to be replaced. Who needs customer support when there is a chatbot? This is where that uncertainty factor comes into play. Unfortunately, if we said things are going to change for the better. We would be lying to you. The power of the white-collar working class will decrease until we reach a point where most current roles are reshaped (restructured) into something new. Meaning? Your goal should not be to make your career your identity. You are not your job. You are not your role. The whole goal of getting yourself into a career is to use it to your advantage to start something of your own. As time goes on, it will be a waste of time and effort that you should spend elsewhere.

At this point your career should serve you:

1. Get experience across multiple topics (from creating presentations to understanding numbers).

2. Serve as your funding (golden ticket) - allowing you to build a business on the side while getting paid by your employer.

3. Create connections and lifelong partnerships (become the guy who knows the guy)

Those days of you getting one job. Cruising and thinking, you will live a good life based on what has been gone for the past decade. What persists is this boomer idea that it is how things should be done. Wrong. Forget about the old world rules and how things used to work… Reality is that to escape the permanent underclass. You have to become someone who owns 100% of your time and energy.

Mass layoffs are not the end: Things are progressing. No one can deny it.

Where do things get interesting?

1. Everyone is telling you that money will soon be irrelevant and that UBI is coming.

2. Mass layoffs are happening all around.

3. Wars, a shaky economic situation, and everything else that…

The first two points are so powerful that no one can ignore them. They make a great clickbait headline. Which is why the media pushes them. Our take on it? We simply don’t buy it. To be 100% transparent, the reason is mostly that the people pushing this narrative are pushing harder than ever. Does that make sense? Some would say it is because it is a last chance to make it. Others will say it is because of that uncertainty factor and a lot of things happening at the same time (technological advancement, mass layoffs, wars..). Our take? Those pushing the UBI/AGI scenario HARD are selling you something. Stirring up your emotions of uncertainty and the unknown. Or trying to get investors money… It is hard to distinguish between the two. We have yet to see how accurate this prediction is. What we can say with confidence is that AI has intensified this fear. Not only the fear but also the gap between those producing high output and those falling behind. Which is when you put everything on paper. The biggest issue for the people who are not adopting.

The mass layoffs?

This argument makes more sense and should not surprise anyone. Things will get worse before they get better. What we can say with 100% confidence is that, over the last couple of years. There have been unnecessary hires and overspending. Which is now, after a few years of pretending… A big reality check. It finally made sense to look into the headcount and the total cost of the unnecessary hires. The results of this are more than obvious. People are panicking + media is using it to get clicks and sell fear and a story that is not fully aligned with the real picture. If you are one of those lucky ones being on the right side of the internet. You already know that it is all part of the big picture (noise) to distract you from what matters. Getting the most out of your life and having total ownership of your situation. To make our point clearer, and why none of this should scare you, because nothing dramatic happened over the last couple of years.

Where are we now:

• The average person can’t buy a home without getting into massive debt.

• The average person is completely detached from reality (TikTok brain).

• The average person doesn’t know who they are or what makes them happy.

• The average person feels helpless.

• The average person has no idea what it takes to win (and how much effort it requires).

The starting point is not that good when you think about it. That may not be the case for YOU. But for the big majority of people around you. This is the exact scenario…

Permanent argument: That is where things go from well, it might make sense to full-on BS. To make it clear. We don't believe fiat currency will fall. We don't believe that all the wealth will be distributed among the top 5 AI companies. We don't believe that there will be a total labor collapse. We don’t believe white-collar workers will become irrelevant over the next 10 years. We don't believe AGI is close.

This is the real permanent class argument.

We believe all this noise is someone else occupying your mind while they focus on the important stuff. While you are caught in the endless loop of worry. Without actually doing anything. Your goal? Ignore the noise and put in the work. The only way that you will end up in the permanent underclass is if you do the easier thing… Give up. We can guarantee there will be MUCH less space for the middle players. Just like the middle has been shrinking for the last 30. What do we mean by that? That is in order to live the life you want to live. You will have to get out of the middle ASAP. The good thing?

It is in your control.

The Middle? The Middle Is… Shrinking.

Before reading any further make sure you understand:

1. You are not a victim.

2. You have total ownership of this situation (even if you think you don’t).

3. You will never be left behind if you are putting in the work.

4. You can escape the “permanent underclass” by doing what others are not.

Our next point… Young people giving up: This is where the problem becomes more apparent. Young people are not giving up because of the rapid technological advancement. Or because they have to work 12x longer to get the things their grandparents did. The reason young people are giving up is that it is the easier option. One click away from everything we want. One click away from all the knowledge in the world. Bringing us to where we think we have everything. Yet we have nothing. Everything in the sense that you can get any information in less than 20 seconds. Get in contact with someone across the world with one click. Or order your food with less than three swipes. None of that matters. Because, deep down, you feel you will never own your home, live debt-free, or possess something of your own. Because technology might replace your current role. And because you spend most of your free time disconnected from society. Where does this lead us? You get lost in the comfort zone, noise, and ultimately give up. Results? Permanent feeling of helplessness. You stay stuck in the infinite loop of doing nothing and justifying it to yourself. That is what the permanent underclass looks like. You know you will never get out of your situation, so why even bother playing?

The hard pill to swallow: Everything in your life is in your control. Before you ask yourself how everything is in your control, and isn’t this a straight-up contradiction? It is not a contradiction because no one is stopping you from doing what others around you refuse to do. Don’t want your life to depend on a role that might be extinct soon? Change it. You want to ensure that you are in a safe position? Start your business. You don’t want to depend on mediocre information and mass media? Curate your info sources. Tired of only living for the weekend? Change it. Don’t want to be left behind? Start saving and investing your money. What do all of these share?

They are all in YOUR control.

The Escape Plan And What It Takes

Read more

We just hit 40k on Twitter. To celebrate, the annual Substack subscription is 30% off for the next 48 hours. Thank you! We appreciate every one of you 🥂

Take your 30% off

Every result in your life (good or bad) comes down to the questions you ask. The one you asked. The one you didn’t ask yourself. The one that made you think. The one that gave you a perspective you had not considered… What is this about? Questions. Once you start asking yourself the right questions, your life will begin to change.

Questions You Should Ask Yourself

1. Will I be glad I did this looking back?

Watch the video before you go any further. It is a good one, and the framework itself is powerful. The full interview is available by clicking here. Back to our question. When was the last time you asked yourself this question? Reflecting on our past decade, we made some big decisions using this framework to simplify how we justified our choices. Especially the high-stakes decisions. Ones where failure meant real pain.

To get the most out of this. Make sure to use this question in the right context. Such as when it comes to life-changing stuff, getting rid of bad habits, or doing something you were afraid to do. Running through different variations based on what matters most to you. If we had to pick the three most effective questions from this post. This would be one of them.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: Because regret is the most avoidable pain there is. It is also one of the hardest to get rid of once it takes hold.

2. What would I do if money were not a problem?

Since we have not been dealing with money problems for some time. We can reflect back and say that the period after that initial realization can be tricky. It is similar to setting your goals poorly and overachieving every single one. Zero satisfaction mixed with the confusion. Sort of a strange emptiness where you don't know whether to celebrate or worry.

The answer you want to find with this question is the one that aligns with your current lifestyle. The bigger the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Means you will have to work harder to get there. Not rocket science when you think about it. Those who are already living the way they would with a few more zeros in the bank account? They are the ones winning. Because it means their current lifestyle choices are not selling them short or forcing them to cope with a life that doesn’t match what they want.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: This question kills the belief that you need more to start living the life you actually want. Most overestimate what they need. Then they use that big vision as a coping mechanism. One that will stop them from ever starting.

3. What brings me an enormous amount of joy and happiness?

Less is more. For us? Happiness comes down to few things. Once you dig into them, all of them are based on freedom. It took us years to process this and internalize. Because the answer is rarely on the surface. Meaning you have to know yourself well enough to get there.

How do you use this question? Take a laptop (or replace it with any other materialistic item). That laptop you want. The one that feels like it would make everything better and make your work easier. Now ask yourself why you need it. Because you give yourself a simple reason, such as that it is the best or it has a great screen you "REALLY" need. Dig deeper. Ask yourself is that a real reason? Or is it because you know you can carry it anywhere and use it however you want.

This is not easy to pick up. But after some reflection, you will realize it was never about the laptop. It is what a laptop means to you. The deeper meaning behind it. It might mean that you can take it and work from anywhere you want… Or the complete opposite. It is subjective and all of us are different. When you dig past the surface-level thinking. It is all about the freedom that a laptop provides. The same approach works for every other item or the thing you want. Dig deeper.

How to get the most out of this:

1. Pick 3 - 4 things that bring you 80% of the happiness.

2. Find the pattern. What do they share?

3. Keep asking yourself why they bring you happiness. What is the meaning behind them? What you think you value and what you actually value are rarely the same thing.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: The deeper you go into your work and daily life. The more pressure and confusion there will be around the things that matter to you. We all know that it has never been easier to lose this sense of what brings you joy. The purpose of this question is to find deeper meaning and figure out what actually carries weight for you.

4. Who inspires me?

It took us years to process. Years before we managed to shape it into something that actually made sense. Before you ask yourself… What does this have to do with improving my life? The answer is everything. To give you more context, ask yourself why you spend time with the people you do.

The answers will come down to:

1. They make you feel good.

2. You trust them, and they have your back.

3. They share similar ideas to the way you think.

Let's say you are one of those who follow our principles for being more social. There is a good chances you have multiple groups of friends. Look across all those different groups. What you will notice is that they all share similar patterns, with at least 2/3 of the answers from the list above. For those wondering what any of this has to do with inspiration. It is the same mechanism behind it. The people who inspire you and the ones who impress you. They all share these patterns…

The ones you WANT to know more about.

Write down a few people you find inspiring. Cross-reference them. What do they all have in common? Chances are, they share at least 60-70% of traits. The patterns you keep noticing across all of them? That is your answer. Pay attention to it.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: On the surface, it looks like you are searching for a role model. But that is wrong… You are not. This question helps you to look for characteristics and patterns that impress you. The ones you want to possess yourself.

5. How do you spend your weekends?

A question that might completely throw you off at first. Yet powerful because it shows you how you value your time. We always find it funny when people say their work drains all their energy. They spend five days waiting for the weekend just to do nothing. Thinking that something different will happen during those 48 hours. In the end? Netflix. Video games. Watching sports or wasting time any other way.

Now imagine waking up one day and the work you hate is gone. No emails. No meetings. No colleagues talking about their pets. Just you and your time. Basically, your weekend… But permanent. Are you still doing everything the same? Or are you finally giving yourself permission to do something that actually matters and will move you forward?

Weekends are there to build your future life. 48 hours that show you what your life could actually be if you put your foot down and get serious enough. Something you want to think about... Often.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: For those who are still locked into a strict Monday - Friday schedule and looking for an escape on the weekends. This one is for you. How you spend your weekends tells you everything about what you actually value and where you are headed. This question might be the wake up call you didn’t know you needed.

6. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

No one teaches you to ask yourself this question. It is something you need to revisit every year, especially now that we live in a time of rapid change where nothing stays certain for long.

What makes this question powerful is that it forces you to actually stop and think. It helps you reverse-engineer what you are doing right now. If you know where you want to be in five years. It means you have to determine what you should be doing now to reach that goal. Why only 5 years? Because a 5 year plan is close enough to feel real. At the same time, it is far enough to require effort and real change. Plans for 10 or 20 years are unrealistic because too many variables are at play.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: There is no fancy answer here. This question works because it makes you think in layers.

The answers will come down to:

1. Where are you now?

2. Where do you want to be?

3. What has to happen to close that gap?

7. What would I do if I knew I could not lose and everything worked out in my favor?

It took us 30 years to realize that it is impossible to lose. It really is. That comes with a big "IF" and there is no denying it... But if you follow the rules of the game. It is hard to deny that you will make it. The hard pill to swallow is that the world is full of mediocre performers living lives you dream about.

This question? All about alignment. Lost on how to answer this? Start with the one thing in your life you would change first. Look for the things that you would do differently. If your answer is work you are already doing, the things you are building, and the life you are living. You might be one of the lucky aligned ones. Which is a massive positive. If the answer is something completely different. Then you need to look for the reasons that are stopping you right now.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: It exposes what you actually want in a scenario where nothing is working against you and there are no limitations.

8. One thing in my day to day that could be simplified?

It doesn’t matter what it is. Your diet. Your job. A routine you repeat without thinking. Always ask yourself: how do I get the same results or better… By doing less? The whole concept of simplification should be based on this. Or finding a way to spend less energy, less time, and less money getting there

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: Out of every question here? This is the one that anyone can act on immediately. Low effort - high ROI.

It’s easy to say ‘simplify.’ But it’s very difficult to do it. - Elon Musk

9. If I continue to live the same life I am living right now until the end of time. Would I enjoy it?

Everyone falls for the illusion that success by other people's standards means you are doing things right. It is a massive lifestyle trap. Especially when you consider that the average person is out of shape, full of debt, living to impress other people, and has no idea what they actually like. The question is powerful because it forces you to ask whether you are actually doing what you should be doing. The only way you will ever feel like your life is truly yours is by doing the things you want to do. Not for the others. Not to fit the society norm. Not to be like everyone else around you. Once again. Only the things YOU want to do.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: It connects all the dots. Most people live day to day in ways imposed by those around them. Thinking that something will eventually change. The power of this question is that it puts you in a position where something has to change. Not later, but now. At the same time, you have to be the one driving that change forward. Ask yourself are you really living the life you want to live, or are you living someone elses story?

10. If I wake up tomorrow with $0, would I do the same thing I am doing right now?

The older you get, the more you realize that there are multiple ways to reach your goals. You also realize that your way might not be the best way to achieve them. You might even realize that instead of taking 4 steps to achieve what you want, you could do it in 2 steps, but there is ____ (insert your own) reason you are not doing it. This is just a high-level overview of what this question is all about. The answer you get will tell you a lot. At the same time, it is one of those questions that can be either surface-level or go as deep as it gets. We are leaving this one open on purpose. The answer will tell you more than we can.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: If you are someone living in a comfortable situation? Good job, steady income, things working out your way… It is easy to stop questioning things. Money has the power to make things feel right even when they are wrong. This should strip that away and give you a proper overview of where your time and energy are actually going.

11. What is the one thing I am spending A LOT of my money on?

There is nothing to hide here. Be honest with yourself. Pull up your card statement from the past few months and look at where the money actually went. It should be clear. For us? It connects directly to few things that make us happy. Which is a good sign. It means our spending is aligned with what actually matters to us. The alignment is all that matters.

This question is a quick reality check on whether you are buying things for yourself or to impress others. If most of your money is going towards your quality of life, you are doing the right thing. If it is not… You need to rethink your priorities or stop living someone else’s life.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: Because most people have no idea where their money goes. This question gives you that overview. Revealing your real priorities and not the ones you are telling yourself you have. What you are looking for is simple. Does my spending pattern match my values? If they do… You are in control. If they don’t, you have just found the reason it never feels like you have enough.

12. What is one thing I can't stand and want to avoid at all costs?

For us this comes down to masses, noises, and people we have no interest in being around. Positive? It is easy to avoid them. Negative? It is impossible to cut yourself off from society. To the point that there is no good reason to do so. Cutting yourself off from everything will only hurt you. But knowing what drains you gives you clarity.

Everyones answer to this question will be different. The power of this question is in realizing how little you actually need to feel fulfilled. At the same time, how much of what you hate and want to avoid have you been exposing yourself to? Your answer should not be based on defense mechanisms. Purposely avoiding something because you find it hard or don’t want to expose yourself to uncomfortable situation. It should be based on something you have complete control over and refuse to waste your energy on.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: Everyone tells you what you should add to your life to make it better. No one tells you what you should remove to make it better. Funny enough - removing things is often the easier and more efficient path.

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. - Warren Buffett

13. What is the one thing you are avoiding but know should be done?

Around 2010 for us it was affiliate marketing. We knew the opportunity was there. It was easy, and you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to make the money. Much more so if you were in the right circles. Instead of going all in… We split our attention between 2 - 3 things at once. The results? We ended up in the same place we would have reached with affiliate marketing. Except it took 5 - 7 extra years. Think about what else we could have done with that time. Massive opportunity cost. There is also a good chance you know at least ONE thing you should be doing right now. But you are not doing it. The question is why and what is stopping you? Those quantum leaps everyone talks about? They are usually built by using this question and challenging yourself.

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: The biggest leaps in your progress come down to 1 - 2 things that you know you should be doing. But you are not. The funniest (or saddest) part is once you start answering this question. You know exactly what you should do. Everyone does if they can look deep down. Answering this question and admitting that you are avoiding something (becoming aware) + putting it out to self-accept it and embrace it will provide you with clarity and sharpness.

14. Who are you?

Last question on the list. On purpose. On the surface, it is the easiest one here. But once you start going deeper and looking for the answer… It becomes the hardest. Be honest with yourself. How many times have you asked yourself?

Who am I?

Not what you do for a living. Not what others think of you. Who are you? Do you know what you like? Do you know what pulls you out of bed each morning? Or do you think you know? All the previous questions could fall under this one…

Do you know who you are when no one is looking?

Why do you want to ask yourself this question: Because your answer will tell you everything you need to know about yourself. If done right this will change your life. Good luck.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

Before we continue. Some of you have been DMing about the mindset workbook. Grab it here. Thanks to everyone who reached out.

Welcome reader! How many times have you found yourself going through something you can’t explain? We all have. The difference is that no one told you there were unwritten rules to life... Until now.

No One Ever Taught You This… Until Now

Additional reading on rules and how life works:

• Random quality of life improvements that will change your life

• Life is what you make it

1. The more you complain about the meaningless stuff that is fully in your control. The harder your life will be. The less energy you will have. Outcome of that? The unhappier you will be.

2. You only begin to see the beauty of life and what it offers once you stop worrying about the things everyone else around you worries about. Bills, mortgages, paying the rent, or putting food on the table.

3. Everything you give without expecting anything back in return will 10x in your favor, every single time. This applies to everything. One of the most obvious unwritten rules of life once you start paying attention to it.

4. Confidence and the ability to project it (sell yourself) will take you further than intelligence ever will.

5. Never feel jealous when someone close to you wins. It will block your progress and keep you stuck. It is not just an unwritten rule of life. But it is also one of those lifestyle traps that no one pays enough attention to.

6. The moment you start taking things that you once dreamed about for granted is the moment you have lost. That is when the universe will find a way to put you back in your place. Which brings us to the next point…

7. The universe will always find a way to test you. Your patience, and whatever you are worth or not. Always giving you a complex challenge (test, decision, or a choice) right before your next big win.

8. To live a happy life, avoid unhappy people. It is one of those easier said than done.

9. If you are not into mindset work and don't believe in woo-woo stuff. Just keep one thing in mind. Rather than focusing on what you don’t want in your life… Focus on what you do want.

10. Whether you want to accept it or not. Your parents and the environment you grew up in had a huge impact on you. The limitations you feel about yourself? They have been there since early life, and there is a good chance you can figure out why they are there in the first place. Better said… They are self-imposed. Only those who become aware of this realize they can literally do anything.

11. The moment you accept that you are a victim (or position yourself in that way) is the moment you have lost the precious game you are playing. One called life.

12. Picking books at random and striking up conversations with strangers, without expecting anything from them, will always reward you with a perspective or insight you never knew you needed (or thought about).

    

13. The money you make doing things you are not 100% aligned with. Or feel in your gut, it is not the right thing (carries a certain weight and feeling behind it). It is simply not worth it. Everyone who has done it knows it will bring you more bad than good.

14. One of your goals in life should always be to produce more than you consume. It is hard to say exactly why. But there is a good chance you will be rewarded beyond your capacity to understand why in the end.

15. Your mind creates reality. Pay attention to what you allow to enter your life and what you don’t.

16. Always be kind to waiters, cleaning staff, and receptionists. Most people underestimate how much power these people have to mess up your life. From not getting the job you want to eating something you should not.

17. The secret to winning the long game comes down to optimizing for optimism and enthusiasm. One of your goals should be to make choices throughout the day that keep you energetic and full of childlike curiosity. To a point where it is hard for you to fall asleep at night. Because deep down, you will feel that you are missing out on some new information.

18. There is a clear rule. Whatever people feel the need to say out loud about themselves (or make claims)… This usually means the opposite is true. Have you ever heard a genuinely good person say out loud I am a good person? Or a hard worker saying that they are a hard worker? Pay attention.

19. Whenever you cancel or can't follow through on plans with someone. Rescheduling and ensuring it happens are your obligation. Making this a habit is a must.

20. Whether we want to accept it or have a hard time seeing it. There is an abundance of success (+ opportunities) for those who want to see it. Meaning that you can stop worrying about what others are doing because their success has nothing to do with yours.

21. The thoughts you carry throughout the day shape the reality you live in. You will never believe this until you catch yourself becoming part of your own scenario. Thinking about the things that end up happening, and you magically find yourself in those. When you think about it, it happens more often than we would love to admit.

22. You are the same person as the one you spend most of your time with.

23. The halo effect is real. Something we have written about before, and something you should be fully aware of. A good haircut and hitting the gym regularly are all you need to be in the top 20%.

24. It takes your employer less than 2 weeks to replace you. You are on a mission there, and not to give your life away to make someone else rich. The story is different when you are working for yourself and building YOUR future.

25. Every 3 to 6 months have a 1on1 conversation with yourself and see where things are going. Being 100% transparent and honest. Going over the most important aspects of your life, from relationships, money making, to your love life. The reason this is one of the unwritten rules is that it will provide you with active clarity on where things are going. Yet no one ever taught you this.

26. The reality is that it is impossible to lose. All the games you are playing in your life. You can win. But you will have to show up early. Work harder than anyone else. Might get obsessed with it. And might let go of a relationship or two. But you will win in the end.

27. When you cheap out on things you should not. You end up paying double. Buy proper shoes and compare them with the cheap ones. It becomes very clear why one costs twice as much and lasts 3-4x the others.

28. If you have access to the internet, you have no excuse not to make money from it.

29. Under no circumstances should you use speakerphone or play music out loud in public. One of the best headphones ever made costs only $20.

30. Nobody cares about you. The only people who care about you are your family and close friends.

31. Never sleep with someone you would not be comfortable telling others about. This will save you a lot of pain in life and ensure you do not destroy your reputation.

32. The secret to winning more often usually comes down to reducing its importance. Less importance = less resistance. This applies to everything.

33. The reason schools have such strict rules is that they act as incubators for what comes after them. Working for someone else in the corporate world is no different than going to school.

34. Long walks without your phone (+ no notifications) are going to be one of the most productive parts of your day. There is a good chance all your big breakthroughs will come from them.

35. Whatever you write down on paper has a 10x greater chance of becoming reality.

36. The cheaper and more frugal you are with your money, the less you will have of it. That is why those who are the first to split the check are often the most miserable ones. If you don't believe us pay attention… It will just click.

37. There is nothing more valuable in life than being able to do what you want, when you want to do it, and how you want. The most valuable thing in life is freedom. The second on the list? Total ownership of your time.

38. Never say things you don't mean out loud. Not even as a joke. There is a good chance they will become part of your reality. And not necessarily in a good way.

39. What no one tells you is that at some point. Once you have been doing something for a long period of time. You have to stop following the same pattern and ask yourself - what would be an easier way to do this? You will be surprised how far that gets you. After one point it is easy to fall for the trap of operating from habit and not efficiency.

40. Your gut and first impressions are right in most cases. When you meet someone and your gut goes off. That is your warning system signaling you.

41. Daily reminder that life is not fair.

42. The day you stop asking for the big things from the people around you is the day you have lost the game. The only way to get further in life is to ask for more and know (believe deep down) that you are worth it.

43. The speed of actions matters much more than preparation. The bolder you allow yourself to be, the higher the chances that you will end up with a positive outcome.

44. You should always break the rules to get what you want. At the same time, you should never break the law to achieve the same. Only a few will understand.

45. Under no circumstances should you apologize for the small stuff. Forget about it. People will start to take advantage of you once they figure it out.

46. The longer a product's expiration date is. The worse it is for your health. The shorter it is, the higher the chances it will be good for you.

47. When you are unsure whether someone is genuine or just using you to get what they want. What you should do is ask yourself whether they would do the same if the tables were turned. This will give you all the answers

48. Before every major life-changing win that shifts the trajectory of your life, there is going to be a slow period of confusion mixed with multiple losses in a row. It is one of those rules of life you can’t go against.

49. Making long-term plans (10 years or more) is a waste of time. You need a grand vision to follow. No doubt. At the same time, you have to be 100% aware that planning things in 5 year blocks is a much better option. We live in the new world, and things are changing rapidly.

50. Meeting someone in their 30s with strong opinions usually means they will never change them. Persuasion is mostly a waste of time and an unnecessary way to create enemies.

51. The more you compare yourself with others, the more you will feel this sense of worthlessness and pressure. There is not a single area of your life that will improve by doing this.

52. Your mind and body believe every story you tell yourself. This is why you should avoid saying negative things about yourself out loud. Even the smallest stuff. Next time, pay attention when you are complaining about how tired you are or not feeling it. That might be why you feel the way you do.

53. Relationships are largely all about transactions. One side always needs the other, and when the cost exceeds the benefits, it usually ends. This also serves as a cold reminder that the person who needs the other less holds all the power.

54. Most of normal life is a trap. Mortgage is a trap. Retirement is a trap. Climbing the career ladder is a trap. Spending hours on social media every day is a trap. Pay attention to everything you are told. It is in someone's best interest, not necessarily yours.

55. Salary makes you comfortable. Tranquil. Slow. Predictable. Dependent. It is a poison and the cure at the same time. Depending on who is using it and how.

56. You can tell everything about someone from how they approach small and worthless tasks. The same goes for the way they treat people who can’t do anything for them.

57. What no one tells you is that the faster you check your phone after waking up, the more it directly impacts your concentration and creativity for the rest of the day.

58. One way you can get rid of depression or feeling down is by removing the blockade that makes it hard for you to express your emotions. Saying what you want to say, doing what you want to do, and being who you really want to be. Once you open those forms of expression, things will start working out in your favor. You will also feel noticeably more relaxed and sharper.

59. People remember how you make them feel, not what you have said. Meaning? The stronger persuasion tool is not manipulation. It is making people feel good and heard.

60. The most precious and expensive real estate in the world is inside your head.

61. Each piece of advice you are given should not be approached from the perspective of the rule. Or something you necessarily have to follow to make it work. A better way to approach it is to realize that each piece of advice should serve as a guideline you adapt to your situation.

62. When an item, event, or person suddenly starts to reappear multiple times throughout your day, with no connection between them. It is a clear sign you should do something about it. Better said, react to it. You are getting signals you should not ignore.

63. The more money you spend helping others and supporting them. The more support and help YOU receive. Results? More results on your end.

64. Things always work out in your favor if you take one step at a time. Always. By doing so, all those self-created limitations disappear. It is much easier than we like to think. The idea that you need to see the whole path before you start your journey is wrong.

65. Prestige is a trap created by the approval of people whose opinions you should not care about in the first place.

66. Fun and happiness should not be your main goals in life. Yet they affect every area of it. Something you should consider when optimizing.

67. Never take advice from someone with less experience than you. It will cost you more than you want to admit and throw you off your initial instincts or ideas.

68. The only way to achieve what you want to achieve is to know what you want in the first place. When was the last time you asked yourself what you want out of life? Do it often.

69. What no one tells anyone in life is that to build momentum and have this feeling of unlimited energy. The secret? Every task that takes less than 2 minutes should be done immediately. Trust us on this.

70. No one ever tells you that you need to figure out what brings you peace. Nature, long baths, saunas, or driving without music or podcasts. Spend hours finding what works for you and puts you in a state of relaxation.

71. 80% of your happiness in life comes from 3-5 material items. Those you should never cheap out on. Everything else carries much less weight and gives you space to play with.

72. Creative imagination is one of the most important tools you have to learn how to use. Want something for yourself and the people you care about? You better be able to see yourself with it before you even have it. Imagination directly plays a role in whether you achieve something.

73. All the self-help content is nothing but giving yourself permission to believe in yourself.

74. The more money you make earlier in life, the easier your life becomes. The only requirement is that you are not doing dumb stuff to impress the people who don’t even know you.

    

75. There is a good chance you don’t have to be the best at what you do. The smartest. Or even the most capable. You just have to be consistently stupid about it to not give up.

76. If you want to understand why someone is doing something, always ask yourself what they are being paid to do. Doctors who get paid per product will recommend more products. A manager who gets promoted for short-term gains will sacrifice the long-term ones. It all makes sense…

77. Desires are replaced as soon as they are fulfilled. Remember the last time you wanted something so badly you thought your whole world revolved around it? Feeling you could never be happy without it. What happened once it was yours? You wanted something else. Desires play a role in every single decision we make.

78. No one is coming to save you.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

What You Need To Run This

Things you will need:

• Pen and paper. Not necessary… But it will help.

• Space and some time.

• Answer 21 questions about where you are and who you are. This will be 10x faster if you have already worked with the mindset workbook.

• AI tool of your choice

AI tools

• Claude - $20

Some tests are free (such as MBTI), while others are not (such as wealth dynamics). We will provide you with the links that are closest to the original stuff. By original, we mean the paid versions (official ones). If you do not care about it and just want the official ones… Here is what it would look like.

Cost breakdown

• Free route: $0

• Budget (AI + most important ones): $50 to $120

• Complete (AI + official tests - overkill for most): $160 to $250

The next step is deciding how deep you want to go and what you want to get out of this. You need a clear answer to why you are doing this.

There are three possible scenarios

• Level 1 - Takes about 4 hours.

• Level 2 - Takes about 6 - 8 hours. Depending on how many tests you complete.

• Level 3 - Takes about 10 - 12 hours. Overkill for most people. Something for those who want to take things to another level. There is an opportunity cost associated with this level.

This system will help you gain insights into things you never thought of before. Mostly coming down to awareness and connecting the dots. From your social life and why you behave as you behave, all the way to your career or running a business. Working around your pattern recognition mechanisms.

It is worth mentioning that:

• This system serves as a personal operating manual. Giving you insights into who you are.

• Without putting effort daily (in all areas of your life). This won’t matter.

• Personality patterns are real. You can’t go against them.

• The important part is to approach this from a fun perspective. Some tests will be life-changing and make you nod your head. Others might tell you something that is completely off from what YOU think about yourself. Pay attention.

When not to do this

• You are feeling lost or in crisis mode (doing things that lead you nowhere).

  • This process will point you towards something that might not be the best for you… But best for the type of personality you have.

• You do not have a few hours to spare.

  • The reason you do not want to rush this is that tests alone will take you a solid amount of time if you are really reflecting.

• You have not done the first part - answering the questions.

  • This is key because it allows you to compare your beliefs and self-perception with your test results.

• You are under pressure.

Choose Your Level

Level 1. - Getting To Know Who You Are

• Time needed: 3 - 4 hours

  • Answering the initial questions: 30 min

  • Assessment (3 of them): 1 - 2 hours

  • AI Prompting: 1 hour

  • Analyzing + reflecting + Implementation advice: 30 min

• Cost: $0 - $50

• Who should do this?

  • Those who have never done something similar or have zero idea about their personality characteristics.

• What you will be able to answer:

  • How you process the information and what type of work energizes you.

  • Core traits and values (things you are naturally good at).

  • Career paths and social dynamics that actually fit you.

Level 2. - Optimization (Career + Biz)

• Time needed: 6 - 8 hours

  • Answering the initial questions: 30 min

  • Assessment (5 of them): 3 - 5 hours

  • AI Prompting: 1.5 hours

  • Analyzing + reflecting + Implementation advice: 1 hour

• Cost: $50 - $120

• Who should do this?

  • Those who are looking deeper into the motivations and relationship approaches (from a romantic perspective, all the way to running a business)

• What you will be able to answer:

  • Why do you do certain things in relationships

  • What business models and structures fit you

  • Why do you clash with certain personality types

Level 3. - Complete Overview

• Time needed: 10 - 12 hours

  • Answering the initial questions: 30 min

  • Assessment (7 of them): 5 - 7 hours

  • AI Prompting: 2.5 hours

  • Reflecting + Implementation advice: 2 hours

• Cost: $160 - $250

• Who should do this?

  • Those who are hiring people, working in complex environments, or want to be fully in line with who they are.

• What you will be able to answer:

  • How to build a team (it is not as easy as everyone claims)

  • Your leadership style (better said, how others perceive you)

  • Business models and structures that align with your type

Don’t skip the levels: If you want to do all three levels, that is fine. But understand that to get the most out of it, you want to do levels 1 and 2 first. If you have already done them and have results. Perfect. Feel free to skip those levels if that is the case, and start with the others.

The Tests This System Is Built Around (+ Where To Take Them)

Read more

Life-Changing Experiences

1. Getting out of survival mode

We often talk about this survival mode, yet we have not given it a full write-up. Once you are out of survival mode, you will see what things are all about. Only then does the beauty of life become apparent. When you don't have to worry about paying the bill. Or whether you will have enough money left to cover the rent. On top of that, add a few years to that equation and... Congrats. You are officially out of survival mode. What getting out of survival mode allows you to do is not worry about the things other people around you are worrying about.

What are the results of that? You will have much more time, energy, and mental space to focus on what actually matters. Focusing on how to make more money, taking care of the people you love, or improving your health. Stuff that actually matters. It is impossible to deny that survival mode is the sad reality for the average person and that 90% of the people around you struggle with it. It is also one of the reasons your employer, the government, and everyone else (the system) want you in that position. The main reason? Survival mode prevents you from thinking things through. It prevents you from seeing things as they truly are and how broken the living standard is for the average person.

You already know the results of that. When you can't think things through, you won't reach a conclusion that will have a big impact on your life. You don't have enough time to think through how to start a business. You do not have time to focus on losing 20 lbs. Your focus is 100% on what you should do to survive until the end of the month. The same principles apply to your energy. It will all be used up on things you should not worry about in the first place. One of your top priorities in life should be to get out of this phase and recognize the possibilities around you. If we had to put #1 on the list of why people are not living the life they should be living, this would be it. A few dumb moves in your life (debt, bad career choices) can easily put you in this position. One where you will have to waste an enormous amount of energy to get out.

Why it matters:

• The ability to take care of areas that will improve your quality of life and actually matter (money, health, time).

• Your ability to think about things you never thought about before.

• Giving yourself more space to do the things that will move you forward. Without worrying if you will have enough.

• It helps you avoid the cognitive robbery the system puts you through.

2. Making your first dollar online

Life-changing for most people reading this who have not yet experienced it. For those who know what we are talking about. There is so much you will be able to disagree on. Nothing will ever be the same once you realize you can make money from anywhere in the world. Just by clicking the right combination of buttons on your screen. Once you achieve this, you will feel like the whole world is yours and that opportunities are endless. And they are. You will never have to worry about meeting your boss's goals, being in the office, or being tied to one location. Gone. Everyone will have their own reasons why this is a game changer. For some, it provides the opportunity to do things they have never done before. For others, it offers a sense of freedom and creation. But mostly it will come down to realizing that opportunities are everywhere and that you have complete control over your future.

There is an incredible rush that comes with waking up to email notifications of people buying your products. While in exchange you are helping them to improve their lives or make it easier for them. It is one of the purest experiences you can go through and something you will never come close to in your 9to5. Being able to transfer your knowledge, expertise, and experience, and INSTANTLY get rewarded for it…It is a life-changing experience. No doubt. We have never met anyone who has made money online who didn't agree with our take here. This is especially true if you are an ADHD + high-intensity type. Without a doubt, you are going to get hooked. Results? There is a good chance that you will become unemployable and struggle to take advice that:

1. Doesn't directly impact your cash flow or work in your favor (becoming fully aware of opportunity cost).

2. Comes from people you don’t respect or who you feel know less than you do.

Why it matters:

• You will realize that opportunities are endless and that you can make money from anywhere in the world.

• Allows you to operate in a 24/7 system that doesn’t sleep while you do - running a business.

• The painful realization that there is a good chance you have been underpaid your whole life, and that your skill set has never received the recognition it deserves.

• The downside? There is a good chance you will become unemployable.

3. Fragility of life

The death of a friend or family member, illness, or something else in that category. These are all things that show you how quickly life can change and how little you can prepare for them. They make you recognize that most of the worries in our day to day life actually don’t matter. There is both a blessing and a curse in situations such as these. It is a curse because you know that things will never be the same. It is a blessing because you know you have to push into the next gear if you plan to achieve your goals. Experiencing any of these can easily one shot you. Showing you how quickly things can change.

The most relatable experience for most is going through a traumatic event (think a car crash) and coming out of it with a completely new perspective on their life. It is hard to relate to this if you have never been in such a position. But for those who have experienced it... You know what we are talking about. They realize they don't have time to waste and that life is fragile. They don't want to spend their precious time doing things that make them miserable. We are repeating ourselves. It is both a blessing and a curse. At the same time, this should push you to be grateful for your life and to practice gratitude daily.

You can also pick up the mindset workbook to help you with that.

Why it matters:

• There is a realization that you don’t have as much time as you tend to think you do → a sharp wake-up call.

• It creates a moral obligation to stop taking things for granted and to stop wasting your life on things you don't enjoy.

• Encourages daily gratitude and teaches you how to be grateful for the life you live.

4. Hitting rock bottom

As you get older, you realize that life works in cycles. For a few months, you are king of the world. The next few months might be the hardest of your life. This scenario is much more common for business owners, who suddenly find their mid-level happiness wiped out - leaving them with only high highs and low lows. To make this more relatable. We encourage you to give yourself a few minutes to reflect on your earlier life and identify the moment you hit rock bottom (first time). We would argue that once you manage to get yourself out of that situation. Pay attention to it, because there are many patterns. The following period? Full of wins and new insights. Giving you a sense of the direction you should be taking and the things you should be doing. To get back to our point about getting older and realizing what it is all about…

So how do you actually move forward? The only way to move forward and achieve what you want is to reinvent yourself. What do we mean by that? It means hitting rock bottom. Which you will… Multiple times throughout your life. You have to approach it as something inevitable. It is part of the game. It will happen again. As a result, you will have to start again. Not necessarily from ground zero. But if you make the right moves each time rock bottom comes. It is impossible to deny that you will start from a higher position each time. Making it easier to bounce back. This experience and mindset shift are important because nothing is permanent. There is no permanent business model. There are no permanent life situations or permanent solutions. The real importance of it? It forces you to think long-term. Why does this fall under life-changing experiences? Because not everyone manages to get out of this state the first time they hit it. Everyone knows someone who was winning in high school and college. But as soon as the first problem appeared, they lost it across all of their areas. Never being able to come back and recover.

Why it matters:

• It gives you the perspective of an optimistic approach - where you know deep down that things will work out in the end. But they will require hard work and sacrifices on your part…

• It changes how you approach and perceive risk.

• Makes you understand that when things are working in your favor. You should do everything you can to ride the momentum.

• Keep in mind that if you are doing things the right way. Each time you hit rock bottom, you will be positioned higher and more comfortably than you were before.

5. Suddenly getting into a lot of money

Once you start making real money (or at least what you consider life-changing money). That is when you will start experiencing problems you never had before. From people asking you to borrow money, all the way to new friendships you can’t even explain. Your mission? Be careful. Pay attention to things you didn’t pay for before. Extra points if you come from a poor background and this is your first time experiencing what money is all about. What will happen once you suddenly get into a lot of money is that you are going to start doing things you have never done before. Your subconscious and the emotional baggage you have carried throughout your life will slowly surface. You will show the world who you really are and how you behave when you are in a better position than those around you. Those who end up in the wrong groups experience the worst of it. From doing drugs regularly to spending 5+ figures per month on bottle service to impress people who don’t care about them. Everyone goes through this phase, and everyone experiences it differently. For those who are yet to go through this phase, it is important that you understand:

1. Your money-making mechanism is never permanent. Meaning that your income stream will change over time (from the amount of money you are making to how you are making it).

2. You want to minimize the damage as much as possible (emotional, financial, and healthwise).

What do we mean when we say that money is never permanent? Your #1 goal when you suddenly get a lot of it is to do the opposite of what everyone else around you is doing. Don’t play dumb games with dumb people. Instead put yourself in a position where you will have so much space and a safety net that no matter what happens to your income. There is nothing to worry about. It is a hard pill to swallow that there is a good chance you will need 2-5 years to secure yourself and your finances. Understanding the risk management and what it takes. Repeating ourselves. Your goal when money starts pouring in is to do what others around you would not. It sounds boring until they start getting into financial problems, while you are in cruise mode, no matter what happens.

As for the second point, if you are going through this phase and money is easy to make. It usually comes down to not respecting the money. That is not the right way to look at it. Neither should you be afraid or insecure around money. Deep down you have to know that you will be able to make it no matter what. At the same time, you must respect money by being clear about your goals and their role in your life. Most people around you have no clue about this. The point is that everything will change once you start dealing with larger amounts of money. You will change. The way you talk to people, approach things, and spend money will all change. Getting a large sum of money in a short period of time is a life-changing experience, and you should approach it carefully. There is a fine line between being stupid with it and ensuring you are set for the future.

Why it matters:

• The wrong moves, and people will set you up for the max long pain.

• The right moves will set you up for life and ensure you will never have to worry about your risk factors - cruise mode.

• It will reveal a lot about your character and how you behave when things are going your way. Pay attention.

6. Finding a first mentor

Once you process that you can make quantum leaps because you have someone who has gone through a similar scenario to the one you are going through right now… The game changes. We already covered how to find a mentor and what it takes. What we didn't go deeper into is what kind of impact your first mentor has on you. For those who have yet to read the full post on mentors. If you found someone who is genuine and has enough experience that you can relate to. Think 15 - 20+ years of experience in the industry. We would go so far as to say that it is impossible for you not to get something positive out of those mentorship relationships. Having someone give you practical advice relevant to your situation, that you can immediately apply. Hard to beat. There is no doubt that your mentor will want to help you even further if you are leaving a good impression. Giving them the option to introduce you to others in the same industry. This could potentially 10x your progress. Having the right mentor is like being given a cheat code. Seriously.

Why it matters:

• It allows you to achieve quantum leaps and save you years of needless pain and suffering.

• Position you with industry experts and hand-hold you (to a point) in the right direction.

• Great introduction to other big names in the industry.

7. Taking ownership

There are many ways you can take ownership of something. From starting your own business to buying your first property, all the way to having kids and realizing that now you have someone who is 100% dependent on you and your life choices. Everyone's situation will be different. Some will start their families first, while others will start their businesses first. What no one tells you is that each choice has its own consequences and how you approach them. From a risk perspective (now you have something to lose) to how you have to plan going forward (your employees, family, or your kids counting on you). Most people around you won't be able to process these life-changing situations because they can't think outside the box. Or see things for what they are in the long run.

What you need to understand is that each of those big moves or decisions you make has a deep impact on you. If you just bought your primary residence. There is a good chance you will stay and live there for at least the next few years (if not decades). Now imagine receiving an international job offer that requires relocation. You get the point. In the same way, you won't be able to gamble anymore (in the sense of risk). You can no longer take on ridiculous debt to buy inventory and gamble on whether you will be able to sell it or not. Your risk profile changes. If you have someone working for you and they have a family to feed at home. You will want to pay them for what they do for you. Because deep down, you know they have someone who is counting on them. Each big ownership pushes you towards a new way of thinking and a full picture of what you have to do. A few of those in your life (think late 20s), while your peers might experience none. Over time, you will notice how hard it is to relate to them.

Why it matters:

• It will help you to see things for what they are, as well as the consequences of not following through.

• Going through this experience helps you avoid impulsive choices.

• Each area of ownership builds on top of the others. It is not the same to run a business vs. running a business + having a family that counts on you. Different risk profiles and the way you should approach them.

8. Travelling the world

From the movie Tokyo Blood - Directed by Sogo Ishii

This might not be something you would expect to hear from us. But looking back at all our travels... They have definitely played a big role. When we talk about travel, we are not talking about going from London to Berlin or from New York to Miami. We are talking about REAL travels. The kind where you experience completely different cultures, behaviors, nature, and ways of life. Basic examples would be anywhere in the Third World or in places that feel different from everything else - such as Japan or Iceland. Another option would be experiencing wild nature, which most people never get to do (think the Amazon rainforest or Australian deserts). These experiences are powerful because doing them gives you a clear sense of what you value and what you don’t in your daily life. This is something we have briefly touched on in our discussion about why you want to get rich ASAP. Insights mixed with personal experience are an unbeatable combination. You may discover the peace that the desert brings, or it might make you aware of how lucky you are to live where you do.

On the other hand, it may make you realize how little you actually need to live the life you want. In any case, you will rarely meet someone who has gone on a few proper trips and hasn't come up with new insights that have had a deep impact on them. Not just on their mindset, but also how they are approaching things. Travelling also serves as a great reminder of what matters in your daily life and how often you take it for granted. The important thing is that after you travel, you never base your whole identity on those experiences. Something we covered in our post - average traits of ordinary people.

Why it matters:

• New insights and personal experiences that will carry over to multiple areas of your life (all of them).

• Helps you recognize what you value in your daily life and what to focus on.

• Gives you an idea of what your perfect lifestyle looks like. Which is a key to a good life.

9. Deep solitude

The first time you experience deep solitude, you realize why all the great minds throughout history always went for it. Life instantly gets easier when you don’t have to respond to emails. When no one is bothering you. When the only thing you have to do is what you want. In other words, when you have enough time to focus on what you want to focus on. There is tremendous power in peace and in allowing yourself to go with the flow. The reason this is on the list of life-changing experiences is that in the 21st century, it is impossible to live this way without actively forcing yourself into it. Chances are minimal that you will find yourself somewhere outside the big city without anyone bothering you.

Our advice is to pull the trigger. Take a few days off at a remote location and completely unplug yourself from your daily routine. After 48 hours, you will feel a sense of complete control over your time and actions. You will know exactly what you need to do to move forward and which actions actually matter. You will develop a deep sense of what noise is and what the real thing is. The truth is that we are all so disconnected from what matters to us that this kind of solitude is more than necessary. And one of the first things you should do after reading this is to go out there and seek that same experience. Trust us on this.

Why it matters:

• Gives you enough space and clarity to think things through and come up with solutions you never considered before.

• There will be a realization that we are not meant to be constantly bothered or bombarded with problems 24/7. This limits your ability to reach your full potential.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

How To Be Rich…

1. Create multiple income streams. Stop relying solely on an income stream that has too great an impact on your quality of life. Stop being a hostage to your own life.

2. You won’t get rich by working for someone else. Jobs and careers are great until you realize the salary they give you is not enough to fund any major life change. Performance-based roles are a MUST and the only right thing to do when it comes to building your career.

3. An emergency fund (3 to 6 months of monthly expenses) is essential. That should be your #1 priority if you do not have one. There might be a time (hopefully it won't) when this fund will save you. Yes, this belong into the being rich post. One would be surprised how many people don’t have it.

4. Definitions you have to fully understand (+ can apply to your daily life):

   1. assets vs. liabilities

   2. interest

   3. debt

   4. leverage

   5. compounding

   6. inflation

   7. opportunity cost

   8. net worth (difference between liquid and illiquid)

   9. cash flow

5. Forget about getting rich in your late years. There is so much you can do in your 60s or 70s. Not even considering your health or what you will be able to do. You want to be rich ASAP. As it will allow you to buy yourself time, peace, or avoid doing things you didn’t want to do in the first place.

6. The best thing you can do today is to start tracking how you spend your money. Not to save more. Not to penny pinch. Not to become frugal. But to become aware of what takes up most of your time and energy. Every purchase we make requires energy. It might sound stupid until you realize it is true.

7. If you have yet to pick a career and you want to maximize your income. The answer will always come down to sales. Enterprise sales, investment banking (sales), consulting (sales), private equity (sales)… Sales. Unlimited cap and unlimited opportunities. It is all about performance-based roles.

8. Get a good accountant at all costs. Someone you can trust to ask for advice only those in the industry know. Once you reach the 7-figure territory with your assets. Get a good lawyer. Both will get you out of trouble and save you money.

9. The sooner you realize the power of compounding, the richer you will be.

   

10. Forget about keeping up with your neighbors, friends, and the Joneses. There is a good chance they are highly leveraged… And broke.

11. Equity and ownership at all costs. Give yourself enough space so you do not have to deal with equity vampires or those trying to take away what matters.

13. Your pain tolerance directly correlates with your ability to make money.

14. You can make 1 mil/month, but if you spend 1.1 mil/month. You are broke. Many examples out there, especially in sports and entertainment.

15. The most practical way to stop spending money on unnecessary things is to identify 3 - 4 items in your life that bring 80% of your happiness.

16. There is no crying in a casino.

17. The only way to get rich is to start a business.

18. Read How To Get Rich. Everything you need to know about becoming rich is in it.

19. One key requirement for getting rich is to dive deeper into mindset work so things work in your favor. You first have to believe in and visualize them. How do you plan to obtain the amount of money you have never seen before?

20. Your spawn location (and where you live) plays a huge role in your mission to be rich. There is a massive difference between a top 3 city in the world, where only the sky is the limit, and living in a tier 3 city. Internet money has made this 10x better for everyone. Yet the same rule still applies (connections, potential…).

21. Marry rich. This might be a joke or not.

22. Never be 100% invested in ONLY one asset. One industry. One niche. One product. Diversify. While we are at it. Never sell your assets. What you want to do instead is hold and contribute to grow it further.

23. The game of getting rich is largely about two things you have to accept:

    1. Bending the rules

    2. Knowing the guy who knows the guy

24. The easiest place to get rich? Nothing comes close. America.

25. To get rich, you will have to be happy for those around you to have more than you. Those who cannot push through that usually never make riches themselves. It really is that deep.

26. Make it a habit to negotiate your salary often. Selling yourself, your ideas, and your capabilities should come naturally. If you don't ask, you won't be given it. 

    Actionable advice for those who want to make the most out of their life.

27. If you are a young person making a ridiculous amount of money. The saving and investing part will never make sense. Until you witness someone with 3x your net worth lose everything, and you start relating to yourself.

28. Avoid taking financial advice from boomers. They are the reason the game is the way it is today. The average boomer had it 10x easier than it is today.

29. The most efficient way to catch up with rich people is to do something they are not doing.

30. Remind yourself often that the game is heavily rigged and that you are playing against a cabal of unimaginably powerful opponents.

31. Remember often to "be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful." There is much truth in that.

32. Make sure you read and understand the rules of money.

33. Under any circumstances, you should NOT let others know how your finances are working out. Neither how much you make per year or what you are doing with it. Learn to downplay it, or the average people will start to despise you and see you as a threat.

34. Be careful what status games you want to play. There are not many. Better said. There are none.

35. Once you understand how to make money, the problem is not getting rich. But whatever the time it takes and the willpower it requires to do the boring work for years until it works out. You can’t avoid that part of the process.

36. The key to being rich forever is earning more. Penny pinching will only get you so far. The goal should always be to make more. Not try to save more.

37. You will never become rich by trading time for money.

38. When you find yourself in a large group with a bunch of random people, and the question starts popping up about how you got to where you are right now, what you are doing, and how you got all that wealth. Give all the credit to your grandma. No one needs to know the specifics. Neither should you tell them.

39. Don’t split a check. Never. Especially not with people close to you.

40. Respect money and be indifferent to it.

You can find more videos such as this in our archive.

41. Tax is the hidden enemy of wealth. That doesn't mean you want to avoid paying it. But it might be something you want to think about in the future.

42. What is better than two income streams? Three income streams.

43. Retirement and everything else that comes with it should be considered a scam. The same way you should not expect a system (country, government) to take care of you. They will do so with the least resources possible and ensure they have only ticked off the box on the paper.

44. Freedom is the true measure of wealth and the most important asset one can possess.

45. Being lucky plays a massive role in getting rich. No one who got rich will deny it. Trust us on this one.

46. One of the main reasons you want to read books is so that you are in a position to talk about the multiple topics (connect the dots, uncommon knowledge…) that others in your circle talk about. Most will not understand it or be able to relate to this.

47. No one wants to admit. That being rich is the result of the right series of choices. Right job. Right knowledge. Right partner. Right business model. Right investment. A bit of exposure, hard work, and everything is possible.

48. Learning to channel inner anger and resentment against the modern world is the ultimate tool for getting rich.

49. You will never get rich by not buying coffee outside. Stop believing this nonsense. It is not 2009.

51. Learn what the top 5 wines are right now, and always ensure that once you find an opportunity… You name-drop it. Especially around executives and those who care about prestige. Wines are their weak spot.

52. One good way to get a sense of how you are doing with your money is to use the FIRE calculator. Reminding yourself that if you decided to live a completely different life tomorrow… You could.

53. True wealth is the ability to fully experience life. - Henry David Thoreau

54. If you are not willing to suffer and push through enormous amounts of pain, uncertainty, high highs and low lows... You will never be rich. One doesn't work without the other.

55. Take care of your health while you are young. This is financial advice.

56. A clear sign that you are rich is when you can start midday drinking by the pool while the rest of the world has to work.

57. Without discipline, nothing will work along your way.

58. Getting rich and staying rich are two different games. One requires vision and quick moves. The other requires strategy and slow moves.

59. Those $250 you spent this week on Uber Eats and restaurant slop would be better invested in VOO. Your body would thank you too.

60. Waking up in the morning full of enthusiasm and a positive outlook on life is an underrated sign of wealth.

61. At this point in reading this post. You should be fully aware that all of you have a different definition of what rich means. Some think it is having 7 figs in your bank account, others prefer their freedom.

    1. Ask yourself the same.

    2. Take the 10 minutes of your time

    3. If someone asks you to describe rich, what would you say? Number in the bank account? Freedom? Total ownership over every single thing you do in your day? Avoid normies? Mental health? Everyone’s definition will be different.

    4. Write it down.

    5. The answer is what you want to work towards.

62. Only wear clothes without visible logos. The more money you have the less logos should be visible.

63. The secret to being rich is not spending money on things you do not care about and wasting your precious energy on constant searching. Think about it. Come up with a list of 3-5 things that matter and devote 80% of your time and money to them. You will never feel happier or better doing so.

64. Your salary will be your biggest support and your biggest enemy at the same time. Your biggest benefit is that it will let you start things and minimize risk. Your biggest enemy is that it will keep you addicted, coming back every month for more. It is easy to get addicted and not see the big picture and what actually matters.

65. What most don't want to hear is that the right career choice early in life can 10x your chances of becoming rich.

66. Everything you will ever need to know about how to get rich can be picked up in one evening with a group of REAL wealthy people.

67. Tennis. Sailing. Golf. Pick any of these as your hobbies, and you won’t regret it. It is impossible to go against health, the circle of high-achievers, and the sun.

68. Assets are for diversification and protection, not for growth, as most tend to think. To grow, you will need a predictable cash flow coming in each month.

69. Health, energy, and childlike curiosity are the biggest flexes. Much bigger than the number in your bank account.

70. Everyone can get rich. But most can’t get out of survival mode. Being unable to think things through or see them for what they really are. That is exactly what they want. Predictable patterns without an option to escape them.

71. Knowing how and when to outsource your weaknesses.

72. Budgeting and cutting costs will never be able to cover a small income.

73. Cliche as it sounds, wealthy people use debt to buy assets while poor people use debt to buy liabilities. Lessons in there somewhere.

74. Forget about positioning yourself for maximum prestige. Your goal should always be to prioritize money and forget about playing the games that lead you nowhere.

75. Timing plays a huge role in everything. It definitely plays a MAJOR role in becoming and staying rich.

76. Never underestimate how one right (or wrong) decision can change your entire life trajectory. Yes. This is the financial advice and applies to all areas of your life.

77. Never reveal how much money you have. Not even to your best friends. It is something you want to share only with your closest family. Revealing your numbers has no positive effects. Only negative ones.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

Table of contents:

1. Selling yourself?

2. How to sell yourself - formula approach

3. Where selling yourself matters (plot twist… everywhere)

4. How others perceive you

5. Quick Start Guide (for those who want just the basics)

6. Practical Advice On Selling Yourself

   • Level 1 - Core knowledge and skills

   • Level 2 - The development skills

   • Level 3 - Another level

7. What NOT To Do (Avoid mistakes)

8. Actionable summary

Selling Yourself?

Why you should learn to sell yourself: There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to this topic. No surprises. Some people hate marketing themselves. Others don’t know what it even means. And some are not even aware of why they should do it in the first place. Better said. What is the real benefit of knowing how to sell yourself? Luckily for those who are reading this. You might be aware of why it matters and what it is all about. The concept can't be summarized in one sentence. The best way we could put it is to get what you actually want out of your life. You will have to sell.

The work (product, software, your skills…) will speak for itself: Lies from the old world. Since everyone is optimizing to grab attention (media, brands, etc.). This old idea that your work will be seen and heard without you doing a thing to market yourself is wrong. If you remember only one thing from this article, remember this. The idea that selling and marketing should feel forced or unnatural is wrong. It is not easy. But it is something you should become comfortable with and get used to over time. Otherwise, there is a good chance you will never be heard or that your talent will never get deserved attention. We all live in an attention economy. Meaning all of us should be optimizing for it. Whether we like it or not. Whether we find it hard or unnatural. No matter what you are doing or trying to achieve. The only way you will gain the recognition you deserve is by having complete ownership - even when it comes to distribution, marketing and selling.

Basic formula for selling yourself:

Read more

• Added categories for each documentary

• New documentaries:

  • The Kid Stays in the Picture (1hr 33min)

  • Momentum Generation (1hr 44min)

• New written format:

  • Mr. Jaynes’ Wild Ride (20 min)

Share

General Disclaimer: This website contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available for educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

Affiliate Disclosure: This site participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click a link and buy something, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The Internet is dead. The best we can do? Try to save it. We are bringing you a curated collection of written and video content created by people who have made a real impact. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly. To support the project - make sure to share it by clicking the button below. Have a collection of your own? Feel free to DM us or post a comment. We would love to share it.

Amount of content in hours

Written format:

• Life: 10hr 49min

• Art: 7hr 51min

• Interviews: 1hr 32min

• Memos: 3hr 42min

• Biz / career: 5hr 28min

Video content:

YouTube: 26hr 06min

• Life: 5hr 04min

• Art: 4hr 43min

• Interviews: 12hr 18min

• Biz / career: 4hr 01min

Documentaries: 70hr 41min

Total: 124hr 36min

Keep in mind

• All content is backed up (in case someone decides to take it off)

• Save, share, and support.

• The idea is to update this regularly and turn it into a proper archive.

• Looking for vouched products? Click here.

• No Substack account? Want to stay anonymous? No problem. If you want to stay anonymous but have life-changing material or a perspective? You can drop your recommendations anonymously via Google Form or chat.

Archive Of Life-Changing Material

Written content

Life

• Mr. Jaynes’ Wild Ride (20 min)

• The Only Thing to Do (4 min)

• The Self-Help Trap: What 20+ Years of “Optimizing” Has Taught Me - Tim Ferriss (20 min)

• The Real Heroes Are Dead (35 min)

• Honesty and the Human Body (15 min)

• Mental Wealth (12 min)

• Social Status: Down the Rabbit Hole (36 min)

• 50 Ideas That Changed My Life (5 min)

• A Project of One Own (5 min)

• Random Ideas About Life (4 min)

• Becoming the person who does the thing (5 min)

• Advice That Actually Worked For Me (10 min)

• The Inner Ring (8 min)

• School is Not Enough (15 min)

• Richard Feynman and The Connection Machine (15 min)

• Why I Write - George Orwell (15 min)

• Playing Doc Game (1hr 10min)

• Willingness to look stupid (8 min)

• Extreme brainstorming questions to trigger new, better ideas (10 min)

• What is Hedonic Adaptation and How Can it Turn You Into a Sucka? (7 min)

• Industrial Society and Its Future (1hr 10min)

• Notes on Internet Addiction (2 min)

• Playing to win - David Sirlin (5 min)

• Do It Now - Steve Pavlina (15 min)

• 101 Additional Advice - Kevin Kelly (12 min)

• Why am I always late (10 min)

• Doing well in your courses - Andrej Karpathy (5 min)

• Dog Story - Scott Adams (3 min)

• How Social Media Shortens Your Life (20 min)

• I am rich and have no idea what to do with my life (4 min)

• 100 Ways To Live Better - Putanumonit (15 min)

• Keep your identity small (5 min)

• Politics And English Language (18 min)

• 100 Tips For A Better Life (12 min)

• Hunter S. Thompson’s Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life (5 min)

• How to Time Travel (2 min)

• Principles - Nabeel S. Qureshi (3 min)

• 100 ways to live better - Lesswrong (16 min)

• Ten Step Nightlife Preparation Routine - G Manifesto (8 min)

• 1,000 True Fans - Kevin Kelly (12 min)

• FUNDAMENTALS -- NEVILLE (5 min)

• The days are long, but the decades are short (6 min)

• Why You Need F-You Money (4 min)

• $1 Million, 10 Years, Zero Excuses - WSP (12 min)

• High Agency in 30 minutes - George Mack (30 min)

• Today You, Tomorrow Me (3 min)

• How to Get Lucky: Focus On The Fat Tails (5 min)

• If Charlie Munger Didn’t Quit When… - Joshua Kennon (2 min)

• Solitude and Leadership - William Deresiewicz (7 min)

• Childhoods of exceptional people (14 min)

Art

• Lectures on the Art of Reading - Andrew Symons (13 min)

• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas -A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1 hr)

• Federer as Religious Experience - David Foster Wallace (30 min)

• 10 Principles of Good Design - Dieter Rams (5 min)

• How Pixar Foster Collective Creativity - Ed Catmull (20 min)

• Hayao Miyazaki: 9 Creative Lessons - Trungphan2 (15 min)

• The Man Who Ate Hollywood - Mark Seal (1hr 15min)

• Daft Punk: An In-Depth History (25 min)

• Frank Sinatra Has a Cold - Gay Talese (35 min)

• 100 greatest artists - Rolling Stone (1hr 40min)

• There’s no speed limit - Derek Sivers (3 min)

• Make Something Wonderful - Leslie Berlin (1hr 30min)

Business / Career

• Building the Professional Firm: McKinsey & Co.: 1939-1968

• Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued (35 min)

• Why Software Is Eating the World - Marc Andreessen (8 min)

• How to Do Great Work - Paul Graham (35 min)

• How to be successful - Sam Altman (9 min)

• The 37signals Guide to Making Decisions (4 min)

• Lessons from Keith Rabois (8 min)

• Morgan Housel - Betting On Things That Never Change (6 min)

• Patrick Colisson - Fast (8 min)

• GOLDEN RULES FOR MAKING MONEY - P.T. Barnum (1hr 10min)

• Ben Horowitz - Nobody Cares (7 min)

• CEOs Don’t Steer - Venkat (12 min)

• How McKinsey Makes Its Own Rules - Ian MacDougall (6 min)

• What it’s like to work for Stripe - Alex MacCaw (4 min)

• Kelly’s 14 Project Management Rules - Kelly Johnson (5 min)

• What if you tried hard? - Aaron Francis (4 min)

• How CEOs Manage Time (25 min)

• The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework (5 min)

• The Ultimate Guide for Becoming an Idea Machine (10 min)

• We Don’t Sell Saddles Here (7 min)

• The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office” (20 min)

• Jesse Willms, the Dark Lord of the Internet (12 min)

• Productivity (15 min)

• Brian Armstrong of Coinbase with an email to a new PM (2 min)

• Career Advice (4 min)

• Marc Andreessen on talent and hiring (7 min)

Interviews

• Peter Thiel on what works at work (9 min)

• The Playboy Interview With Miles Davis (15 min)

• The Playboy Interview With Jimmy Carter (1 hr)

Memos

• The Education of a Libertarian - Peter Thiel (6 min)

• The Same River Twice - David Quammen (12 min)

• Memos from the Chairman (Bear Stearns) - Alan C. Greenberg (1 hr)

• Bessemer Venture Partners (collection)

• Jobs On Flash - Steve Jobs (7 min)

• The Internet Services Disruption - Ray Ozzie (18 min)

• Tidal Wave - Bill Gates (10 min)

• The Ugly - Andrew Bosworth (4 min)

• How we work and why - Hunter Harrison (1hr 40min)

• The Commoditization of the Starbucks Experience - Howard Schultz (5 min)

Misc

• Resource section

• The Road to Self-Renewal - John Gardner

• State Of Mind - Artbook

• Valve’s Handbook for New Employees

• The Last Question By Isaac Asimov

• Meta Redbook

• Netflix culture

• The Final Hours Of Half-Life

• MrBeast Production Handbook

• Hubspot Culture Code

• Prompt Library

• Ray Dalio Principles Original Memo

• The Collected Works of Ray Peat

• Mindset Rewiring Workbook

Video content

Life

• The biggest lies we tell ourselves all start with “tomorrow” (35 min)

• Off the Grid with Thomas Massie (47 min)

• Top 10 Life Lessons - Robert Joss (47 min)

• This Is Water David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech (23 min)

• A day in the life of Japan’s most famous grandpa’s hot dog shop (30 min)

• “I loved every minute of it, however hard it had been” (3 min)

• Outliers: Why Some People Succeed and Some Don’t (1hr 15min)

• Sam Harris basically unlocks the secret to life (4 min)

• Anton Kreil - Respect Money & Be Indifferent Towards It (17 min)

• An old mans advice. (5 min)

• Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him (2 min)

• What Truly Determines Your Future - Jim Rohn Seminar (16 min)

Art

• David Bowie - On Why You Should Never Play To The Gallery (1 min)

• Everything is a Remix (1hr 5min)

• David Lynch - Meditation, Creativity, Peace; Documentary of a 16 Country Tour (1hr 10min)

• Jay Z at studio making The Black Album (23 min)

• Tom Ford Documentary (41 min)

• The Day You Became a Better Writer -- Writing Tips from Dilbert Creator Scott Adams (30 min)

• The privilege of failure (8 min)

• “You and Your Research” (45 min)

Interviews

• Interview with Luigi Colani (45 min)

• Jeff Bezos interview on Starting Amazon (2001) (47 min)

• Jim Simons - Numberphile (1hr)

• A conversation about advertising, with David Ogilvy (55 min)

• When You Truly Work for Yourself (3 min)

• The One Percent (1hr 15min)

• Sam Altman’s Method for Clear Thinking (5 min)

• Hunter Thompson profile (5 min)

• Steve Jobs - The Lost Interview (1hr 6min)

• A 28-year-old Steve Jobs gives a talk at the 1983 International Design Conference in Aspen (55 min)

• John McAfee Wild Interview (21 min)

• Michael Jordan’s Wisdom (21 min)

• The Number 1 Thing People Get Wrong About Happiness - Brian Chesky (1hr 41min)

• Hans Zimmer talks (49 min)

• Kapil Gupta: Conquering the Mind (40 min)

• FUN TO IMAGINE with Richard Feynman (1hr 6min)

• What makes a great music producer tick? Brian Eno Interviewed (24 min)

Biz / career

• Bankrupt - Pan Am (18 min)

• Competition is for losers (4 min)

• Peter Thiel - Original Thinking (2 min)

• Life lessons from an ad man | Rory Sutherland (19 min)

• Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement (15 min)

• “In Search of Excellence” at Apple Computer in 1984 (11 min)

• How to start a startup - YC series

• Phone 1 - Steve Jobs MacWorld keynote in 2007 (1hr 20min)

• Felix Dennis Words Of Wisdom Can You Get Rich? (8 min)

• The 9 traits Sam Altman looks for to identify founders who can build a $10 billion company (5 min)

• Secrets of success in 8 words (4 min)

• The Psychology of Human Misjudgment - Charlie Munger (1hr 15min)

Documentaries

Biz / Career

• Startup.com (1hr 47min)

• Icahn (1hr 41min)

• Agnelli (1hr 43min)

• Inside Job (1hr 49min)

• Print the Legend (1hr 40min)

• General Magic (1hr 32min)

• Triumph of the Nerds Series

• The Pixar Story (1hr 24min)

• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (1hr 50min)

• Sour Grapes (1hr 25min)

• One Of One (1hr 20min)

• Rams (1hr 15min)

Art

• David Lynch: The Art Life (1hr 28min)

• The Salt of the Earth (1hr 50min)

• Man on Wire (1hr 34min)

• Civilisation Series

• The Kingdom Of Dreams & Madness (1hr 58min)

• Valentino: The Last Emperor (1hr 40min)

• Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (1hr 57min)

• Nick Cave 20000 Days on Earth (1hr 37min)

• Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (1hr 43min)

• Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (4hr 36min)

• The Kid Stays in the Picture (1hr 33min)

• His Way (1hr 23min)

• Jiro Dream Of Sushi (1hr 22min)

Adventure & Sports

• Momentum Generation (1hr 44min)

• 180 South (1hr 26min)

• Coyote: The Mike Plant Story (1hr 46min)

• Dogtown And Z-Boys (1hr 30min)

• Riding Giants (1hr 41min)

• Grizzly Man (1hr 44min)

• Deep Water (1hr 9min)

• LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching (1hr 59min)

• When We Were Kings (1hr 27min)

• Senna (1hr 46min)

• Icarus (2hr 0min)

• Choke (1hr 38min)

• The Last Dance

• Shelby American: The Carroll Shelby Story (1hr 58min)

Life

• Psywar - The Real Battlefield Is The Mind (1hr 39min)

• The Century of the Self Series

• Cocaine Cowboys (1hr 58min)

• The Fog Of War (1hr 47min)

• Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (1hr 35min)

• The Up Series

• Humans Need Not Apply (15 min)

• Thank You For Smoking (Technically a documentary) (1hr 32min)

Library

Life & Philosophy

• Books That Changed Your Life

• How Rich People Think

• The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions

• Narcissism: Denial of the True Self

• Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality

• On Having No Head

• The Craft of the Warrior

• The War of Art

• The Art of Worldly Wisdom

Art

• The Creative Act: A Way of Being

• Paul McCarthy: Head Space Drawings 1963-2019

• Dieter Rams: The Complete Works

Biographies, autobiographies & things that actually happened

• The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son

• The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa

• When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man

• Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle

• Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage

• Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World

• The Mastermind: A True Story of Murder, Empire, and a New Kind of Crime Lord

• The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich

• Let My People Go Surfing

• No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes

Biz / career

• How to Get Rich

• UNSCRIPTED: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship - M.J.DeMarco

• The Power Broker

• Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

Fiction

• The Count of Monte Cristo

• The Magus (as recommended by Mr. Landshark)

• Shogun: A Novel of Japan (as recommended by Mr. TJ)

Note: The rare PDFs & books section has moved to the chat.

Share

Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.

Today’s post? This one was not on a schedule. But considering Scott Adams has passed away. And the last time we did a post like this, we started with his work. To avoid making this unnecessarily long. We are bringing you a list of articles that will impact your life (volume 2).

Important To Mention

Before going forward: make sure you read the 2025 version (Volume I) of the article. Plus, try to understand how to get the most out of the internet. Or at least the image below. Things have changed, and the things you have access to now. Might not be available in the near future. If you read something that had a deep impact on you, and you were unable to stop thinking about it. Make sure you save it somewhere safe. Not only that. Read it often. There is a reason it has left an impact on you.

How one defines life-changing articles: 

1. You read at the right moment in your life (subjectively)

2. Provides you with another perspective you never considered (big one)

3. You can’t stop thinking about it (it happens often, and it is a clear sign that you should pay attention)

4. The lessons you have read have direct application to your situation (when you notice the patterns around you and how things are working out)

Read more