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.

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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)

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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: 8hr 39min

• Art: 7hr 38min

• Interviews: 1hr 23min

• Memos: 3hr 36min

• Biz / career: 3hr 57min

Video content:

YouTube: 25hr 21min

• Life: 5hr 04min

• Art: 4hr 43min

• Interviews: 11hr 33min

• Biz / career: 4hr 01min

Documentaries: 45hr 46min

Total: 96hr 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

• Mental Wealth (12 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

• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas -A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1 hr)

• Federer as Religious Experience (30 min)

• 10 Principles of Good Design (5 min)

• How Pixar Foster Collective Creativity (20 min)

• Hayao Miyazaki: 9 Creative Lessons (15 min)

• The Man Who Ate Hollywood (1hr 15min)

• Daft Punk: An In-Depth History (25 min)

• Frank Sinatra Has a Cold (35 min)

• 100 greatest artists (1hr 40min)

• There’s no speed limit - Derek Sivers (3 min)

• Make Something Wonderful - Leslie Berlin (1hr 30min)

Biz / Career

• 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 (12 min)

• How McKinsey Makes Its Own Rules (6 min)

• What it’s like to work for Stripe (4 min)

• Kelly’s 14 Project Management Rules (5 min)

• What if you tried hard? (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

• The Playboy Interview With Miles Davis (15 min)

• The Playboy Interview With Jimmy Carter (1 hr)

• Quiet By Design: Naomi Campbell Interviews Jony Ive (8 min)

Memos

• 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 (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

• State Of Mind - Artbook

• Valve’s Handbook for New Employees

• The Last Question By Isaac Asimov

• Meta Redbook

• Netflix culture

• Mental Models

• The Final Hours Of Half-Life

• MrBeast Production Handbook

• Hubspot Culture Code

• The Personality System (+ prompts)

• Ray Dalio Principles Original Memo

• The Collected Works of Ray Peat

• Building the Professional Firm: McKinsey & Co.: 1939-1968

• Mindset Rewiring Workbook

Video content

YouTube

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

• 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 Misjudgement - Charlie Munger (1hr 15min)

Documentaries

• Icarus (2hr 0min)

• Cocaine Cowboys (1hr 58min)

• Deep Water (1hr 9min)

• The Last Dance

• Startup.com (1hr 47min)

• The Fog Of War (1hr 47min)

• Print the Legend (1hr 40min)

• Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (1hr 35min)

• Jiro Dream Of Sushi (1hr 22min)

• Man on Wire (1hr 34min)

• Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (1hr 57min)

• The Up Series

• Humas Need Not Apply (15 min)

• Icahn (1hr 41min)

• Agneli (1hr 43min)

• Rams (1hr 15min)

• Inside Job (1hr 49min)

• Valentino: The Last Emperor (1hr 40min)

• Senna (1hr 46min)

• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (1hr 50min)

• One Of One (1hr 20min)

• Nick Cave 20000 Days on Earth (1hr 37min)

• Sour Grapes (1hr 25min)

• His Way (1hr 23min)

• Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (1hr 43min)

• Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (4hr 36min)

• The Pixar Story (1hr 24min)

• The Kingdom Of Dreams & Madness (1hr 58min)

• Thank You For Smoking (Technically a documentary) (1hr 32min)

Library

Life & Philosophy

• 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)

Read more

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

WARNING: This post is not for sensitive people or those unable to think outside the black and white POV. You have been warned.

Table of contents:

• Detecting the average (15 common examples)

• Goal of this read?

• Average people. Average problems. Average life?

• 3 steps to dealing with the average

• Why most people fall into the average group (+ rise of the average)

• TLDR

Detecting The Average

1. I am a hard worker delusion (zero hard workers say this… #1 trait of the average - when you have to say things out loud to convince yourself)

2. 100% driven by emotion (reaction slaves without control)

3. Victim mentality (unable to take total control over their decisions)

4. Applying mainstream advice (taking advice from those spreading propaganda)

5. Living for the weekend archetype (missing the beauty and opportunity of daily life)

6. External motivation junkies (not sustainable long-term)

7. Operating in cycles (impossible to make real progress if you change your entire identity every few months)

8. Taking time for granted and waiting for the perfect moment (the perfect moment doesn’t exist)

9. Fear of judgment (not realizing no one cares if they fail)

10. Money doesn’t matter (a lie that serves as a defense mechanism)

11. No knowledge of personal finances (massive red flag)

12. Life used to be easier (For the average? Yes. For the outliers? Never been easier)

13. Unable to realize that no one is coming to save them

14. Signaling "luxury" (impressing those who don’t matter)

15. Building identity around sports, movie stars etc… (Tribalism in its peak form)

Goal of this read

Feeling like you are witnessing similar behavior or noticing patterns around you? What to do instead is listed under each point. It serves as a reality check if you find yourself falling for some of these ideas and want to change them. The same applies to the set of tools and ideas you could try to implement into your life. Ensure there is a mix between theory and the practical part.

Keep in mind: If you find yourself in any of these examples. It doesn't mean you are average. It means you possess an average trait. We all do. The good part? You can easily get rid of it in less than 3 months of focused work. Or less if you know what you are doing.

How to get the maximum out of this:

1. Detect the average trait

   1. If you are struggling with it. Read step 2. (below)

   2. If you know someone else around you is struggling. Read the three steps on how to deal with the average - further down below. Read this often. It will save you.

2. Become aware of them (traits, patterns, and behaviors) and of the impact they have on your life. Distance yourself as much as possible and try to audit it. Ask yourself. What kind of impact do they have on your life? Things that matter to you? Do they bring you closer to or further from your goal? It all comes down to this.

3. Over time, you will develop your own system for battling it and winning them over. Three months is more than enough time to reinvent yourself and get rid of the traits on the list. 

Good luck. You got it.

Average People. Average Problems. Average Life?

"I am a hard worker" (or any other self-convincing mechanism): As soon as you hear someone say that out loud. Run. You know with whom you are dealing… Average. Something you can further break down into a) the competency level and b) honesty based on one's effort. Better said, the average person knows what it takes to reach the top level. Yet their actions are not aligned with their desires. For that same exact reason, they have to say things out loud to convince themselves in the first place. As soon as you notice that someone is talking about reaching the top. But their actions don’t support their goal. You know you are dealing with someone who is operating out of a delusion. This often carries over to the other areas of their lives. Bold claims and out-loud convincing of internal beliefs. If not supported by their actions, are a clear sign of average.

What to do instead:

• Never say things you are not 100% convinced of, and follow through. Even less so when it comes to using those things as a system of conviction. People also lose respect if you don't deliver.

• Learn to talk less. This applies to everything you do. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for unnecessary pressure and judgment from your surroundings. See the point above.

• Understand that people who operate this way are delusional. Saying this out loud is a defense mechanism. No one who works hard has to say it out loud to others. The same applies to everything else. Have you ever heard a good person say "I am a good person"? Never. Lessons in there.

  

Driven by emotion: All of us are. We are human. What the average person can't do is help themselves (or even be aware) of the way they are operating. Have you ever witnessed someone having a mental breakdown because their favorite football team lost? Or because the restaurant ran out of their favorite food? How ridiculous is that? It happens because they are operating 100% from the outside POV. Being slaves to their feelings and how external factors make them feel. This operating principle applies to everything in their lives. Emotional purchases, short-term decisions, and an inability to see the situation for what it really is. Being blinded by emotion is real. One could argue that the average person has never had it easier and is three clicks away from solving most daily problems. Cooking? No one has time for that. Food delivery. An unlimited amount of entertainment? Everything you ever wanted is in your pocket. Where does that lead? To people becoming spoiled. Think of a kid throwing a tantrum because their parents didn't want to buy them the toy.

What to do instead:

• Start paying attention when you are being driven by an emotion and how it is taking over your actions.

• Come up with a protocol that works for you. One that calms you down and helps you appreciate what you already have. This works and often sets you on the right path… In a second. If you don’t have REAL emotional problems or other health disorders that are often associated with this (think BPD)

• Understand that acting on compulsion and short thinking has consequences that impact your life.

Tools to help yourself:

• Breathwork (sounds dumb until you figure out how to bring yourself into the present moment with it)

• The 10-10-10 rule (can be applied to this scenario)

• Practice putting yourself in third person (creates psychological distance)

Victim mentality (never taking ownership): It was not my fault… It happened because of… The system is designed to… Once you notice it, it just gets boring. The average person can't accept that it is their fault and will ALWAYS find mechanisms (item, system, thing, whatever you can think of) to justify their bad choice and poor decision. Better said. Blame someone else for their mistake. The problem with a victim mentality is that it completely blocks your ability to make small wins, which leads to bigger things. When you start owning things. No matter how bad they are or what choices you made around them. It will all start to work in your favor.

What to do instead:

• The key with this is to become 100% aware. Most people shift into passive mode and blame it on someone else.

• Realize that you have 100% control over your life and choices. No one else. Not the system. Not your parents. Not your teacher. Since you are here reading this, you have access to the internet. Meaning? No excuses.

Tools to use:

• Jocko Willink's mental exercises → ask yourself how you contributed to the negative outcome. Over time, you will gain a clear picture that most problems are your fault… Not someone else's.

Taking mainstream advice: Something you should avoid. Yet the average person builds their beliefs around it and doesn't even bother to challenge what has been said. There is a good chance that the mainstream advice is 2 - 5 years (depending on the topic) behind what is actually happening and what you should pay attention to. The way you should approach mainstream advice is to realize it should be looked at through the lens of fun. Entertainment. There is some truth in the statements. But with a bit of effort and research. You should have a clear picture of what they are doing wrong and why. Interest groups, corporate lobbying… The list goes on. What does the average completely miss? Exactly that. If you 100% offload your thinking to the mainstream (and "their experts"). You are done. Everyone reading this should understand that mainstream media doesn't have your best interests in mind. 

What to do instead:

• Avoid taking advice from mainstream media and "their experts".

• Realize where that advice is coming from, and ask yourself whether you really want to live the life that people who take that advice live.

• Stick to scanning FT headlines and avoid giving in to the madness the mainstream media and the news bring.

Tools to help yourself:

• Find sources (such as this website or other decentralized sources) that are completely independent of the mainstream - yet are relevant and directly affect the quality of your life.

• Build your own newsfeed.

Knowing something doesn’t mean you actually understand it: It is funny that we even have to mention it. But there is a good reason it is here. If you spend time around Reddit, podcast people (those who spend 24 hours consuming information on specific topics. It would be impossible to deny that they won’t memorize certain info. That is why Reddit (mentioning it again) is a perfect example of a high-level-only archetype. Huberman said… Joe Rogan said… This study was done on… That study was done on… Memorizing things doesn’t mean that you actually understand them. This is something we as a society largely accept. But it is wrong and should be avoided. Your knowledge and expertise in the topic come down to execution. Not whatever information you possess that others don’t. What do we mean by that? Everyone can spend 2 hours studying a certain topic. But not everyone can take those same two hours and execute based on the information they already have. Average is an expert at fronting that they know something others don’t. Yet that knowledge they possess (memorization based on massive consumption) leads nowhere.

What to do instead:

• Don’t become the study type of guy (Reddit NPC - podcast 24/7 in the background)

• If you are REALLY interested in a specific topic and your only source of information is high-level podcasts. Go deeper and start studying it.

• Remind yourself daily that 1 year of executing and failing is worth 10 years of studying. Seriously.

• Collect all relevant material (books, articles, research, etc.) → put everything into the Notebook LMs → dig deeper without frying your brain or wasting hours. 

Tools to use:

• NotebookLM

• Learn how to chase momentum and use it for effortless execution (best described in the Mindset workbook)

No curiosity (being boring): It is hard to pinpoint why this happens. Probably because most ordinary people live on autopilot. More on that later in this post. But after 30s, you start noticing that people have zero ideas to expand beyond their knowledge (comfort zone). We are not talking about jumping out of a plane with a parachute or going through a midlife crisis by popping bottles. We are talking about having ANY interest outside of your job, learning new things, or researching topics the average person has never touched before. Zero interest. Results? The average is boring individuals who can't talk about anything other than the latest show on TV or what the mainstream media has covered in the past 48 hours. It is a clear sign that goes hand in hand with offloading everything to others and living on autopilot. On top of that, add no hobbies or social life, and there is a direct answer to how average operates as such.

What to do instead:

• This is where understanding why you want to get rich ASAP matters

• Choose at least 2 topics you have always been interested in and start diving deeper into them. Woodworking, architecture, art… It doesn’t matter. You have to have something going on, and 2 areas of your interests are a minimum. This prevents you from being a boring person without anything going on.

• Learn to expose yourself and build a social circle.

Living for the weekend: If you work 9 to 5 and spend time around average. You know that most of them live for the weekend. How many times have you heard: can't wait for the weekend to do _____. Or a variation of the same. We would argue that it is one of the most obvious signs that you are dealing with the average person. The question you should be asking yourself. Why would anyone wait for the weekend to do something? What is stopping them? It makes sense if you are talking with someone who wants to hike to the nearby mountain, since it is a 6-hour trip. It doesn't make ANY sense if someone is waiting for the weekend to watch their favorite Netflix show or to try to start a business from their bedroom. This is exactly why most people use it as an excuse and a defense mechanism. These are the two most extreme examples we could think of. Yet most will be able to relate to them. Everything you want to do (and need to do…) should not be postponed. 

What to do instead:

• Realize that this is not long term sustainable. If you hate your workdays and can’t wait to have a bit of "rest". Escape. It means your lifestyle and priorities are off. This is something you should think about.

• When it comes to lifestyle choices and actions that matter. Start incorporating them into your weekdays. There is no reason to wait for the weekend to build your landing page or read the book you have always wanted.

Tools to use:

• Not necessarily a tool. But you can get a quick reality check on how much time you are wasting by having a one-week time audit.

  • Take the next 7 days.

  • Once you get home from your job. Write down each day what you did and how much time it took.

  • Ensure you include everything - from scrolling on your phone to midday naps. This will give you a complete overview of the situation.

  • Once you are done with it… There will be nothing to hide, and you will have no other excuse but to start getting more serious with your time.

Motivating yourself to do something: One of the most common signs. Let me watch this YouTube video to get pumped before we hit the gym. 80% of the people reading this have heard this at least once in their lives. There is nothing wrong with motivating yourself and working toward something. We all do it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it every time before you have to do something, or offloading part of your success to external motivators. It all has to come from the inside. That is why you need to have clear answers to why you are doing something. What is the purpose of what you are doing? And what you are trying to achieve by it. Once you pass a certain point, it is impossible to motivate yourself by external factors, and it will all come down to answering the questions and operating, no matter how you feel about it. Motivation could be summarized as a quick fix for a long-term pain. Average is desperate for it.

What to do instead:

• Come up with a standard process to prepare you for what you are going to do. Let’s say you want to hit the gym. Instead of watching videos. Get dressed in your workout clothes. Prepare a cup of coffee 30-45 minutes before, and do everything else as you normally would. Without motivational slop.

  • The idea is to make a minimal investment and get yourself involved. The chances are that if you put on your gym clothes, you will actually go to the gym instead of staying at home…. Over time it becomes part of you and with the right mindset. You will no longer need to motivate yourself.

Average operates in cycles: Life works in cycles. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. Everything works on those principles. In the same way, you will have different priorities at different times in your life. But if you know someone who sticks to the gym (again, the gym example) for 3 months, then the next 3 months they are wanna-be business owners, and for the rest of the year they are into playing video games and doing nothing else… You are dealing with the average. There is not a single thing you can achieve success in less than a few months. Dedication is everything. Hitting the weights and taking care of your health are lifelong processes. The same applies to most of the things you want to get better at. The idea that you have to hit it big in the first few months or change from something else is nonsense that will keep you at the same point for years until you finally give up. The grass is not always greener.

What to do instead:

• Approach it by thinking about what you can do on your worst day. If everything goes south. But you are still doing what you have planned, even when you are not feeling it… That is a good sign. It means you will be able to stick to it for years. It is that simple.

• Realize that you won’t get any results in three months of work.

Taking time for granted (and waiting for the perfect moment): You do have time. Not to sell you the black pill or doomerism. But you absolutely can’t take that time for granted. Neither should you. When you take time for granted, you show a certain kind of disrespect for the life you are living. This doesn’t mean you have to be on the grind 24/7. It is a common lifestyle trap. This brings us to our next point. The perfect moment. The perfect moment doesn’t exist. What do average people always do? Wait for the perfect moment. One that will never come. When you think about it, it works hand in hand with someone who doesn’t respect time. Average people wait for the perfect time to start a business. Looking for a date to take care of their weight, or simply operate when _____ happens - that is when I will be ready to _____. That is not how life works. Everyone reading this should understand that it is another coping mechanism.

What to do instead:

• Realize that the perfect time doesn’t exist. Stop waiting for a specific date to go after a certain outcome. Think New Year or Monday. Every day is an opportunity to get better.

• Don’t take the time you have for granted. Focus on the things that push you forward. Or at least bring you that deep sense of joy and fulfillment.

The trouble is… You think you have time. - Jack Kornfield

Fear of judgment: What others will say about me destroyed thousands of top performers and put them into mediocrity… The day you realize that no one cares and it is all your ego talking is the day you will change your perspective and how you approach things. Parents, teachers, friends… They all do care. But in a way that is different from what most think. The reason the average person is afraid of judgment or what others will say about them is that they are unable to detach their ego from what they are doing. Everyone knows someone who goes once to _____ activity and decides to base their whole personality around it. Remember the tweet from above? It is not the same thing as fear of judgment, but the root cause is the same. The average person is unaware others could not care less about them.

What to do instead:

• Everyone is the protagonist of their own story. No one cares about you.

• Stop telling everyone what you are going to do or what you are working on right now. This helps a lot and will point you in the right direction.

• Use Tim Ferriss's method to solve the problem → write down what you are afraid will happen if you do something. Follow up with the worst-case scenario and how you would fix it. On top of that, ask yourself what would happen in 6 months if you keep waiting.

Tools to use:

• Read Narcissism

• Read The War Of Art (One part of the book covers the fear of judgment perfectly)

Money doesn’t matter: It does. Money matters more than one would like to admit. That you should be desperate for it, or do things you shouldn’t to get more of it. Yet it would be a straight-up lie to say. The average? They tend to downplay it considering they deep down know they can’t obtain more of it. Coming down to the defense (another coping mechanism). Built on protecting themselves. There is no reason to expand on this point further. Money matters. Money only stops mattering when you have so much of it that you could decide not to work again and still be okay. Does that mean you should make it your #1 priority? Probably not.

What to do instead:

• Understand the rules of money and why you need it. Once you accept that money is not the root of all evil, that you should care about it, and that it directly affects the quality of your life.

Zero idea about personal finance: Inflation. Compounding. Taxes. Debt. Mortgage. Retirement plan. If you ask people randomly to explain these basic financial concepts. You would be surprised how many would not be able to do it. Yet all of them directly affect your quality of life. Not just your quality of life. But also, how you should approach things and what kind of strategy you should use. Knowing that $5mil now won’t be worth the same in 20 years. Or that, instead of letting your money sit in a bank account and be eaten by inflation, it should be invested in an index fund, is not something the average person knows. If you ever find yourself in that type of situation, when it comes to this topic, and someone is unable to explain to you any of these… You already know the answer.

What to do instead:

• Make sure you understand inflation, cash flow, compounding, emergency funds, net worth, insurance, credit scores, risk tolerance, asset allocation, taxes, and debt.

• Do what no one else will tell you. Take a few hours of your day and write down everything you own. Cash in the bank, stocks, debt, loans, and everything else. Subtract one from another. Play around with the basics of compounding and try to figure out how much $$$ you will have in your bank account in 10 years if inflation is… This will make everything click.

Tools to use:

• Read Unscripted (covers basic stuff in depth)

• Understand the risk management (this might change your life)

• Try the networth calculator (FIRE tool)

• Watch the Ackman on the basics of business and finance.

Using excuses such as life used to be easier: The big one. Especially among the younger crowd and those who are not pushing themselves as they should. Average. How many times have you heard life used to be easier because people could afford _____ (insert house, vacations, car…). Doubt there is a single person reading this who has never heard it. As much as there is truth to this. On the other side, you are living in a world where you have two tools that can help you reach millions with a bit of effort. You can change your life completely while working from your bedroom. Yes. Your grandad could buy a house by working for a year. What you can do is sit in your bedroom, access the most intelligent people in the world, and make enough money from the things your granddad could only dream of when he was working 8 hours in a factory full of poisons. This is the truth most don’t want to accept. The only time you will hear life used to be easier is when you are dealing with the average person. Why? Because the average person is unable to recognize the opportunity we have been given. Everyone reading this is on the right side of the internet and should fully understand that the situation is different. Life was easier for the average person. Life is much easier for outliers who are not in that category. 

What to do instead:

• Pay attention to the opportunities around you. They are everywhere.

• Learn to be grateful for the access to the information you have. What used to cost $50k a year. Now you can get access for free.

• Without building something and sharing it with the world to see. None of this will make sense.

• Find something you like or are good at + share it with the world = get paid for it.

No one is coming to save you (politician, government, boss...): No one. Not to sound like a doomer. But if you think 80% of politicians, government, or even your boss cares about you. YOU are wrong. When you go to work, what are you driving by? Most will say their salary is the main motivator, and that is the reason they show up to work every day. What do you think is different in this case? It is all a performative act. The same way you are just a number in your boss’s spreadsheet, and in case things go south, he could replace you in less than 2 weeks. Based on one's needs and wants. Those same people, organizations, systems… Simply could not care about you. Neither you nor anyone else should expect that because you are paying taxes, things must be working in order. Forget about that. The reality is that from a young age. The system pushes you to hold this opinion, which is far from the truth. Being entitled to something and expecting it from those who don't have any repercussions if they don’t deliver… Wild game you don’t want to play in the first place. One you want to avoid. 

What to do instead:

• Be 100% aware of how things are working out. The only one who can save you is yourself. The day you become the main character of your story is the day your life will change.

• Once something happens in your life that you are unhappy about, instead of asking who is going to fix this. Ask yourself what YOU should do about it.

Signaling “luxury” items: We are sorry to disappoint anyone reading this who thinks that having the latest MacBook is a status signal and something to be proud of. Social media is full of it. The same applies to your Armani shirt with a massive logo all over it or a second-hand Rolex Datejust from 1987. The real ones know how easy it is to obtain those items, which automatically makes them unattractive and reduces their value to those who aren’t planning to play the same games as everyone else. The Cucinelli example above is perfect. If someone gave you a $20 Zara shirt without you being able to look at the sticker behind. There is a good chance you would not be able to tell which one costs 100x more. Much less so if you are not able to recognize the patterns or different textiles (which 80% of people cannot). The point of the story? When you see someone flexing on largely easily accessible goods or trying to look as flashy as possible. There is a good chance they fit the group you don't want to be associated with. The signaling is part of human nature (to a point), and only those who know they can't have more or obtain "resources" that others around them can have this urge to show themselves off. It is one of those tribal traits (human nature) we will touch on below. Signaling middle-class stuff is what people do to recognize the other average. Want to take it further? People are taking on debt to buy the same items. Ridiculous.

What to do instead:

• Buy items ONLY for yourself.

• Understand that if you are flexing something that can be bought with less than the average salary in most of the world. You are doing it wrong. Quite the opposite, you are looking bad in front of those who actually matter.

Tools to use:

• If you are struggling to buy items only for yourself, the question you should ask is: "Would I buy and wear this if no one else saw it?” This gives you the right perspective. It also applies to every single purchase you make.

Creating your identity around sports teams, a famous person, a series… (being a fanatic about people who never heard of you): To wrap up the list with a common one. The big trait of the average person is basing their identity on something external. A football team, a famous person, a political party… Tribalism. You can’t escape it. Everyone does it to a point. Yet there is a big difference between those who 100% offload their common sense, identity, and thinking to a group. All of those actions are driven by a certain emotional trigger. Us vs. them, feeling moral support (from your tribe). It goes deep. The point of our story? Those same sports teams, players, famous people, movie stars… They could not care less about you. The point of the story? It would be much more beneficial to use that energy for something else. Building something you have always wanted. Trying something new. Or spending it with those who matter. Stop being invested (both in energy and emotionally) in people who have never heard of you or could not care less.

What to do instead:

• Adopt distance POV. There are zero reasons to make them your identity.

• Understand how those people who average looks up to got to where they are in the first place. They did not get there by idolizing others. They got there because they focused on one thing for hours and hours. Do the same.

3 Steps To Dealing With The Average People - The ONLY Method

1. Once you are 100% sure that someone fits the average category based on their beliefs and life choices… This is where you stop taking all their communication seriously. Not in a way that mocks them or makes you seem like you know better than they do. Just in a way that you know their advice doesn’t carry weight. Don’t. Realize that it is a waste of time.

2. Be fully aware that there is not much you can do. This applies to your friends, family, and close associates. If they have a specific average trait and don’t fully self-internalize it… They won’t be able to change it. No matter how much effort you decide to put into it. Read the first point again.

3. When you find yourself in a discussion with them, you can feel them getting emotionally involved in the topic. Smile, nod, and agree. Congrats. You just saved yourself a headache and hours of unnecessary disagreement.

Why Most People Fall Into The Average Group (+ Rise Of The Average)

Only read the rest if you want to go deep.

Rise of the average (PAY ATTENTION): Bit off the topic. Yet crucial when it comes to a deeper understanding of what is happening and what things are affecting everyone, and why this topic exists in the first place. If you have been paying attention to the new world. You may have noticed how everyone offloads themselves and forgets who they are. Yet it seems that the average person has never been more efficient. These illusions are becoming more common as technology grows. We mention this because we want you to be aware of what is happening and what the future holds. The days of people with specific tastes (not algorithm driven), knowledge, and abilities that others around them don’t possess… Are slowly coming to an end. We are entering the era of algorithmic brainwashing, where anyone who does not think the same will be defined as an outlier. What would be the one way to define the opposite of those outliers?

Average.

Living on autopilot: If you had to take one thing from this post… It is this one. The reason most people are not where they want to be is that they have completely outsourced their lives to autopilot. Think about it for a moment. When all your daily actions are on autopilot, you don’t even have to think about what you are doing. Luckily for those who are aware, it is easy to see why someone is living on autopilot, because when you think about it. Since childhood, they have been actively trying to kill your curiosity and ability to do side quests. Always pushing you into a predictable routine - exactly knowing that you will have to be in kindergarten, school, high school, college, and in the end, a career. Then they sell you a story, and you end up with the golden handcuffs. 

If you are one of those lucky winners who have good health and live long enough. Maybe you even win a jackpot. And your kids put you into the retirement home. Where guess what? You will have another schedule to follow. Before you comment that this is normal and the schedule is an enemy to chaos. No one can deny it. Unfortunately. The consequence of living like that is that you end up living on autopilot. Taking your energy away and your ability to think outside the box. It kills the possibility that you might end up grateful and recognize the opportunities around you. There are ways to fight it off and regain control over your life. From just noticing that you are operating outside the pattern. All the way to starting your side business to escape the race they are pushing you into.

Pay attention:

• Become aware of what is happening around you. Whether you are actively participating and fully in control of it, or you are just observing and letting others dictate how you should live.

• Are you doing things because you want to do them or because you have found yourself in a position where you have to do them? The answer will tell you a lot.

• Start building out your own kingdom

NOT doing things for themselves: This brings us to the next point. When was the last time you decided to do something that was outside your comfort zone? Not necessarily outside your comfort zone. But something you thought you were better than. From the most basic things, such as cleaning the car and cooking. All the way to doing basic accounting tasks for your business. It is in our nature to take the path of least resistance. Think about how many times you have ordered food just in the past month. But is it actually something you want? We are including this block of text in this post because it contains an important lesson about offloading everything. When you are regularly offloading all the daily tasks to become more efficient. You are technically offloading the future version of yourself to others. You lose the ability to see things for what they are, how they are made, or how they support other areas of your life. There is a hidden beauty in that, and 80% of the people reading this need to think it through before it makes sense to them. Offloading everything to others leads to one-dimensional thinking.

Where one-dimensional thinking (offloading everything to others) leads to:

1. It makes you terrible at being an outside-the-box thinker. How you do anything is how you do everything. It is a rule of life. One thing carries over to other areas of your life. The same applies to your skills, experience, knowledge.

2. You forgot who you are and what brings you happiness because you have offloaded everything onto the others around you.

3. Develops a limiting pattern that prevents you from discovering new interests and passions (removes part of the natural progression and curiosity)

The examples above are just high-level basics most people can relate to and process. It is actually much deeper. The reason this fits into the article and how it impacts people is that they numb themselves to the point of becoming inhuman. Removing the process from their lives and focusing only on the results. Before you comment that this doesn’t make sense and that your favorite guru told you it is better to work 24/7 while things take care of themselves. No one can deny it. There is truth in that as well, especially when you are building something bigger. What that same guru won’t tell you is that there is a good chance that once he unplugs himself and detaches his identity from the work he is performing, or lies down in bed before sleeping. He is miserable. Much more so when it comes to offloading everything.

You end up not knowing:

1. What do YOU like?

2. What gets YOU going?

3. What inspires YOU?

4. Who YOU REALLY are.

If you don’t have clear answers to the above… You have a problem. Something to think about.

TLDR

• It is easy to fall for the average trap and start designing your life according to it. Average people are everywhere around you. They are your colleagues. Your friend. and the people you pass on the street. Does that mean they are bad people? No. Does that mean you should be like them? Absolutely not.

  • Ask yourself whether you want to live the life they are living. The answer will tell you everything.

• Most average traits are ownership issues. Once you take control of your actions, emotions, and thoughts. It will all click.

• Three months is all you need to get rid of a pattern or behavior you want to change.

• To solve most of the traits mentioned, the first thing you should try is distance yourself and observe what is happening and how it impacts your life. This is the key to permanently deleting them from your life. If you can distance yourself without getting emotional… You have already solved 80% of your problem.

• DON’T TRY TO CHANGE OTHERS AROUND YOU. Smile, nod, and agree. Otherwise, you will burn yourself out and get frustrated with why they are not making progress.

• Never fall for the psyop that life used to be easier. Today can make a living out of your bedroom.

• Life has never been easier. It is predictable, and the system as such pushes you into the average.

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

2025 In A Review

Big thank YOU: Before we go any further. We feel obliged to thank everyone who has supported us and the content we have been putting out for years. It means a lot. Another point worth mentioning is our lifetime subscribers. We managed to 2x it compared to the previous year… At the same time, we have never had more social media and Substack DMs thanking us for our work. This is something we appreciate. Since we always do our best to provide the REAL answer that will help you move forward. Or at least be 100% transparent. We are not the right people - you should be asking those questions in the first place. That does happen more often than you would think. To not make this unnecessarily long. Thank you. Thank you for supporting our work. Thank you for believing in what we do.

Where we are: One point we covered last year in this post (reflecting on 2024) was that we estimate we have created around $1 million for others. If we had to put numbers on it and include this year's growth. It would probably be 3x that. Maybe 4x. $5 million is not that unrealistic a projection. Based on the DMs we get on regular. People starting their own funds, some crypto plays, internet marketing (and distribution), all the way to getting solid 6figure careers. Everyone is playing a different game with the same goal. What do they all have in common? It gets people closer to the dream life they deserve.

To answer the question. Where are we? In the sweet spot. Satisfied with the content we have been putting out. With the consistency of it. At the same time, we are not afraid to invent and try new things. Such as the Artbook - which was a challenge of its own. All the way to creating our first playlist (thanks for 700 saves on it). The part we are most proud of? It feels like the balance between content that is practical today and content that will be practical in 5 to 10 years has been found. Or at least that is how we feel. Better said… The content we put out will age like fine wine. This has always been one of our goals and motivators for our work. Similar to what WSP managed to do back in the day, and how many lives they have impacted along the way.

Reflecting On Our Work

15k Subs: Sometime during July, we surpassed 10k subscribers. A few months later? 15k. It might not be impressive to some. But in our books, considering the specific content we are putting out. More niche than mainstream. It shows the rapid progression and momentum we will try to ride as long as possible.

Resources section: By our standards, not enough content has been added this year. Part of the reason is that we have been preoccupied with other things. One could argue that it is more important. Not to mention that our #1 has always been the posts themselves. At the same time, the resource section is something everyone reading this should check and dive deeper into. Worth mentioning, we are working directly to get some new products in front of others that should improve quality of life at the same time and fit with our affiliate strategy (never promoting anything we would not use ourselves).

Top 10 favorite reads: This year has been a bit different from 2024 and from how we used to do things. We would argue that our writing style has improved. Allowing us to put life-changing ideas and complex topics into practical advice. Something you will decide for yourself… Our favorite 10 reads from 2025.

1. The Mindset Rewiring Workbook: To be 100% transparent. We never thought it would blow up as it did. Putting us in the top part of the Substack leaderboard for multiple weeks. Again, this would not have been possible without your support. The workbook? Gold. Give it 6 months. There is a good chance you will gain a new perspective on your life. 2.300 downloads at this point.

2. Articles That Will Impact Your Life: Quite far from the masterpiece. But it is the type of post that could have such a huge impact without you even realizing. The idea behind it? A collection of articles that will impact your life. The title says it all. Our advice? Dive deeper into it. There is a lot of content inside. Zero chance you will regret it. The best part? This is not even 20% of the library we have around the old internet, and the content everyone should read. The idea for this year is to come up with part 2 and expand on our collection.

3. Social Skills 101: How To Talk To Anyone And Build Connection: We emphasize this social skill because the bar has never been lower. Meaning? There is an enormous opportunity for those who are not afraid to push themselves out there and go get what they want. We live in times when people have forgotten that social skills and who you know dictate a large percentage of your success. This doesn’t apply to everything. No denying it. But if we are talking about careers, promotions, social life, or other forms of business… You should not sleep on social skills. It is one of those low-hanging fruits considering the competition out there. There is none. Much more so if you are a young person and everyone is ready to give you a chance. 

4. FAQ - How to Escape Mediocrity & Rise Above the Average: Intro read to everything this website and project stand for. Should update it accordingly in the next year. If you have to choose just one post to read from us. This is the one, as it covers the fundamentals of what it takes to win.

5. Escape The Cubicle: Building Your Online Business On The Side: For those who are still working their 9to5, having their corporate career or are yet to start their business. Do yourself a favor. Read this. It offers a practical approach to using your career as a golden ticket (to a point of abusing your employer) to build something else on the side. 

6. 27 - The Year Everything Changes: For everyone who has yet to celebrate their 27th birthday. This is a must-read. There is a good reason why there is so much debate about what magically happens once you reach 27. Reality? You start noticing things you have not noticed before. Results? You either find a way to push through it or get stuck. We wish this were a joke. But it is not.

7. Mental Models To Help You Get More Out Of Your Life: Another of those posts we plan to expand on in the next year. It is a practical collection of mental exercises you can use to improve your quality of life and to understand who you really are. There is a good reason the exercise above managed to get 1.5 million views on Twitter. They work.

8. Make Luck Work For You: Take Control And Get Lucky: Luck can be engineered, and the sooner you realize how to pull it off. The easier your life will become. This post should serve as a great reminder of what it takes. Exposure + opportunities + positive self-belief system = luck engineering. It is not that hard, and it is something everyone should do, or at least give it a try. 

9. Random Quality Of Life Improvements That Will Change Your Life: The reason this post gained traction is its practicality. It is one of those posts you can read and immediately apply to your situation. Everyone knows this stuff. All of us living busy lives get lost and it takes a tiny bit of text, a video, or an image to spark our imagination. Solid read with a balance between being practical and at the same time deep enough to make you think about what really matters. 

10. Why You Really Want to Get Rich ASAP: If you put aside everything gurus tell you about why you should get rich: watches, cars, a penthouse in Miami, and all the other tools of external validation. This is the real reason you want to get rich ASAP. It is not to live other people’s dreams.

Biggest flop reads

To make things more interesting. A few posts that have flopped by our standards…

• The 21 Day Goal Blueprint: Substack deliverability problem. Terrible headline. Unnecessary mention of the investment required (time). One of the best systems out there. Give it a read.

• Mentors: Why You Need One, What It Takes, And How to Get Them: Very practical from the POV of how to get someone to mentor you. Yet have not seen anything similar to this. Solid read for those looking to find mentors. 

• How To Invest Your Money - First Portfolio Update: Multiple 2x - 3x on the initial investment from February, when the post was published (AMD, PLTR and a few others…). We would argue it was a good post.

• 104 Tips For Online Business Owners: The name says it all. Collection of thoughts, practical advice, and tips that every online business owner or one who wants to become one… Should understand. Not just understand. But be fully aware of how the game is being played.

2026 Plans

Articles: What does the future bring when it comes to articles? To sum it up. We will continue doing what we are doing now. It just works. It feels to us that we have found the right balance based on the feedback we have been getting. It also feels like we are operating far from our maximum, which means there is more space for improvement. 

Focusing on:

• Practical advice - advice that you can implement and see the results in less than 6 months.

• Breaking down complex topics that don't get enough attention + making others aware of them.

• Futureproofing. No matter what happens… The idea is that content will still get you further vs. your peers. There is a good reason we are focusing on social skills and distribution.

• Things that will spark your imagination and creativity + self-fulfillment. Those are the things everyone has never needed more of. Especially now, when everyone is offloading their brain to the machines. You want to be different. Since it will give you a competitive advantage that others don’t have.

• Getting more out of life.

Interviews: Having Landshark and TJ on this year was perfect. It was another learning experience and a skill set entirely different from ours. You might think that coming up with the questions is an easy job. Quite far from it. Something we plan to brush up on over the next year and publish a few more of. It is fun. Yet it takes hours to do it right and organize everything. At the same time, it would be a lie to say we didn’t enjoy doing it.

Physical product: Some of you might already know that the mindset rewiring physical version is done… Not yet available for purchase because we must verify quality before making it available to others. This way we are 100% sure we won't underdeliver and sell something we would not buy ourselves. Stay tooned. Worth mentioning that this is likely not the only thing that will be published for physical products. There is an inexplicable amount of beauty in seeing something you had as a mock on paper turn into a real thing.

Wrap-up: In terms of our work and writing. This has been the best year. It is miles better when compared to the previous ones. Meaning? The next one will be even better. The concept and how things will be done going forward stay the same. Sticking to the same schedule, themes, and practical advice that will actually get you somewhere, and you can use to your advantage. As always… The best is yet to come.

AMA + Giveaway

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. Since this AMA is available to both free and paid subscribers… Questions of little value will be ignored.

Giveaway

Doing it a bit differently this time. We are giving away three gifts in total (yearly memberships + two surprises) to show our appreciation to everyone who has been with us…

How to enter the giveaway:

1. Every like, comment, share on social media, or restack counts as a vote → each action = 1 entry

2. Engagements on previous posts count too.

3. Winners will be chosen at random (picking three winners in total)

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

Check out the other reading recommendations:

1. Articles That Will Impact Your Life

2. Winter Holiday Reading List

3. Books Worth Reading - 2024 April

4. Books Worth Reading - 2025 April

What Have We Been Reading

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Blueprint Download

Clean version (Print this one out)

Goal Setting Blueprint - Empty Version

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The rest of the post below provides a more in-depth breakdown of the blueprint.

21 Day Goal Setting (3 Phase Approach)

Additional reading on the topic:

• The mindset rewiring workbook

• What You Can Do To Make Next Year Better

• The REAL Personal Lessons Learned In 2025

What you need to know: December is the perfect time to reflect on the year behind you. Wins, losses, lessons, and everything else… December is usually a slow month. Especially for those working in the corporate world. That makes it even better to think through the details and draw conclusions. What is this prep phase about? It will help you get the most out of this. The prep phase is structured into 3 stages. Each phase should take about a week to complete. The 21 days should be more than enough to have a complete overview of your situation.

More In-Depth Breakdown: How Each Phase Should Look

1. Phase 1 (Days 1 -7): Focus on the past year (completely focus on the past). Let your thoughts run free. The idea is not to push it, but to allow them to come naturally. This will happen as long as you spark that initial idea. 

2. Phase 2 (Days 8 - 14): Focus on the past year and the present moment (shift focus between the past and present → thoughts and putting them into practice). Similar to phase 1. The main difference is that here you start writing things down and keeping track of everything. The difference is that as you build your thoughts over time, you will come up with more of a compounding-like conclusion. Better said, a grand idea that you should put on paper.

3. Phase 3 (Days 15 - 21): The final and most active phase of goal setting for your upcoming year. The best way to approach it is to divide it into two parts:

   1. Answer all 33 questions to gain better insights into what matters.

   2. Focus on the next year (focus entirely on the future - planning mode). Follow the goal setting principles below to get the most out of it.

Things To Keep In Mind

• The idea here is not for you to sit down and analyze things or spend hours doing it. Your thoughts should come naturally as you go through your daily life. That is one reason the blueprint takes 3 weeks and is split into phases. With each phase having a specific goal, you can focus on it.

• It is all about the journey in this case… Not the final destination. Focus on insights and what stuck with you. The same reason phase 1 is the most important.

• Phases 1 and 2 are more passive. Do not push it. Give yourself time and space, and the things you are looking for will come. Phase 3 focuses on planning and understanding what you want. Basic breakdown and something to keep in mind:

  • Phase 1 - passive approach

  • Phase 2 - passive approach

  • Phase 3 - active approach

• Make sure you take the time to answer the questions in phase 3. If you have done the previous two phases right.. You are going to come up with insights you never thought of before.

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. - Alan Lakein

33 Questions YOU Want To Ask Yourself

The answers you are looking for:

1. Did you achieve your previous year's goals? What was the reason for your answer?

2. What was one key lesson you picked up this year?

3. What was the major blow you experienced this year?

4. What was your biggest win?

5. What was your biggest failure?

6. What is one thing you want to know more about?

7. What is one thing you want to know less about?

8. If you had to pick one word to describe your year, what would it be?

9. Who was the most inspiring person of the year for you?

10. What was the most important lifestyle change you made?

11. What was the best book you have read?

12. What was one thing you didn't do but wanted to?

13. What would 10x the year you had?

14. What area of your life has increasingly gotten better?

15. What area of your life has increasingly gotten worse?

16. Have you traveled anywhere this year?

17. Who was the most interesting person you have met this year?

18. What is the one thing you want to do more of?

19. What is the one thing you want to do less of?

20. What was the best season of this year? Why?

21. What was the worst season of this year? Why?

22. What new skill have you learned?

23. What new skill did you want to learn but didn't end up learning?

24. One new habit you have picked up?

25. One old habit you got rid of?

26. What was your best purchase this year?

27. What was your worst purchase this year?

28. What activity made you feel alive?

29. What is one thing you put too many hours into, but should not have?

30. What is one thing you have ignored, but should not have?

31. One thing that had a massive effect on your focus?

32. Looking back at your year and knowing what you will go through. What is the one thing you would tell yourself?

33. When you reflect on everything you wrote down. All the answers and insights. Compared to the same time last year. Do you feel you have improved your life?

How to Set Goals You Will ACTUALLY Achieve And Adjust As You Go

Setting Goals You Will Achieve

Read our older work on this topic.

• Be realistic. Optimistic. But realistic.

• Come up with your ideal scenario (a day or a week) that you can clearly visualize. The reason for doing this is that it will guide you in the right direction. 

• Break goals into smaller chunks. There is a small chance that one day you’ll wake up and be driving a Ferrari, while the day before you didn't even have a bike. Everyone reading this should get our point. Progress happens naturally.

• Actionable steps over everything.

• There needs to be a good balance between short-term and long-term goals. Each one builds on the other and allows you to ride the momentum.

• Define key areas of your life. For us? Health, personal finance, business, and social (relationships). Give it some time and think it through.

• The long-term game is all about damage control. Yes, it is impressive to achieve 2x your income from the previous year. What is not impressive is putting on an extra 20lbs at the same time. Balance. Sounds ridiculous until it is not.

• Be prepared to adjust your goals mid-year based on how things are going. The idea here is not to set them once and be done with them. You have to review them.

• Your goals will not work out without a ridiculous amount of effort from your side.

• Our advice? 80% on goals that can be achieved within 1 - 3 months, and the remaining on those longer ones. What often happens when you plan long-term is that you don't account for variables and how things can go wrong.

• Remember never to share your goals with anyone else.

The Review System (How To)

• Forget about complicated systems. You need something simple so you can stick with it for years. This should be your #1 priority. Everyone will have their own version and review system.

• Adjusting your goals every other week is perfect for most people. Provides consistency without becoming too much or overwhelming. You don’t want your system to feel like a burden.

• It should not take you more than 20 minutes per session (less than an hour total each month).

• Adjustments are important because there is no guarantee everything will go according to plan… A major change in your plans can delay your goals. Have to keep it real.

• The system should be heavily shifted toward short-term goals (1-3 months) to help you take advantage of opportunities and set aside everything else. This doesn’t mean you should not plan long-term. But what often happens is that you can't see the forest for the trees.

• Don’t stress it. You need to be accountable without getting sick to your stomach if you don't achieve your plan. It means you need to project better. Which is not a problem… Considering you have more than enough space to do it throughout the year.

FAQ

1. Does the blueprint need to be followed in three phases, or can it be shorter?

   We recommend at least two weeks. Reflecting + planning are the minimum. You could go so far as to extract useful parts and leverage them to your advantage.

2. Can the blueprint be completed midyear, or is it intended for the new year, given the name and mention of December?

   The blueprint can be done mid-year. We chose the new year because most people set new goals at the start of the year. Plus it is December. So why not give them the system they will actually stick with? Also, most people reflect on the year they had. Making it a perfect opportunity. In any case… Blueprint works. No matter which part of the year you decide to try it. Just do it - you won’t regret it.

3. Why 3 phases?

   Because each of them brings something else. If you follow the blueprint right… It will be clear why. It also gives three perspectives on the past, present, (sort of), and future. A hard to beat approach.

4. Why are there 33 questions to answer? It seems unnecessary.
   Wrong. Those questions are a MUST, and you should answer them. Why? Because by doing this, you are going to get the answers you never thought about. Most of the questions follow positive/negative patterns. Meaning? There is a good chance you never asked yourself certain questions.

5. If you had to emphasize one part of the blueprint. What should we focus on?
   Learn how to set the goals you will actually achieve and how to come up with a system to review them. Reflecting on this… Maybe we should do a separate post about it.

6. What would you recommend to someone who is following the blueprint for the first time?

   Print everything out. Read the printed blueprint. Read the post. Give yourself 20 to 30 minutes to grasp the concept. Start. That is all it takes. The initial effort is minimal. Phase 1 is straightforward and requires no action on your part. Meaning? No excuses.

Good luck. You got it...

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

Personal Lessons From 2025

Additional reading on the topic:

• 98% of People Won’t Understand These 2025 Observations

1. Your creativity is directly connected to how many things you are postponing: the big regret of this year has been putting off things that would eventually need to be finished anyway. These are things you can only avoid up to a certain point, after which you will find yourself with your back against the wall. What no one will tell you is that this same thing drains a massive amount of your energy (and subconscious power). Knowing deep down you should be attacking it and working on it. Instead of finding an excuse to do something else. It happens more often than we like to admit. The problem? It drains an enormous amount of energy. It makes your vision foggy. Drains you of your willpower. It messes with your subconscious, which you can only eliminate by actively working on solving the problem. Results? Creativity block. New ideas become much harder than they need to be. Feeling of weight on your shoulders... You can only run from it so much. Why instead of running from it, not fully embrace it and attack it?

2. Building is an antidote to slop: Creating, making, building, producing, developing, composing, engineering… No matter what you do. As long as you are doing something that fits into these categories, you are doing something right. When 98% of the people around you feel lost and aimless, those 2% who are doing something meaningful with life are going to reap rewards that others won’t. Or at least won't find themselves in the situation where others will. Lost. Miserable. Without purpose. It runs deep, and the best way to prevent yourself from ever going there is to build. No matter what it is, as long as it gives you that sense of fulfillment, it means you are on the right track. The goal is not necessarily to create something that others will find a use for, or that you can exit. The goal is to find yourself and who you are in that work.

3. Everything that can be done today should be done today: No matter how big or small the task is. Whether it takes 20 minutes or 2 hours. If you know it can be done today, and it WILL HAVE to be done sometime in the near future. Do it today. You will have to do it anyway. Why burden yourself and your subconscious by putting it off? Do it now. Not only will you be thankful in the end, but it will also help with momentum. Giving you a clear advantage. 

4. You don’t need a lot of stuff, just a few right ones: Material stuff and buying things drain a massive amount of energy. The sooner you realize that you are better off buying three proper items throughout the year and assigning each a specific value, the sooner your quality of life will improve. You don’t need more stuff. You need MORE of the right stuff. Start by getting rid of the cheap stuff that you don't even need in the first place. After that, start replacing other items with higher-quality ones that you can tell were born of passion and obsession (best products… Trust us on this). Soon, you will start noticing a difference in how things are created and put out for others. No one can deny it. Less is more. Buy quality, and you will suddenly get more enjoyment from using those things. 

5. Optimizing for walking: Easily one of the best things done this year. The whole concept comes down to doing as many things as possible, walking, and getting those steps in. It heals your soul. It is good for your body. The only downside? It takes up more of your day. Positives? everything else. Walk more… Your health will change. Your energy levels will change. Your life will change.

6. The dead internet theory: It feels more true each year. AI posts. AI comments. AI videos. AI music. You can feel the slop. The cheapness behind it. Giving you a sense that it was not created by someone who put effort, passion, and time into it. Those high intellectual discussions you used to have on the internet 10 - 15 years ago? Gone. The internet economy (attention economy) now rewards memes, hooks, clickbait, and rage engagement. The internet already seems dead, but it is hard to believe it won't get worse over time. Sounds ridiculous… But it is hard to see something (you spent an enormous amount of time on) turn into something completely different. With confidence, we can say that the glory days of the internet are gone. At this pace, it will serve only as a layer (a bridge) between buyers and sellers. The future lies in private communities and niche groups.

7. Multitasking is a myth: It simply doesn’t exist. Whatever you are doing and whatever you want to do properly. You will need to focus on one thing at a time. Multitasking makes sense only when you are handling low-value, low-cognitive tasks that don't require attention and can be automated if possible. Since that is not always the case… That is when you start multitasking. Everything else? Not worth it. It is bad and kills your work and creativity.

8. Knowing what type of performer you are (early or late night) will change how you work: Pay attention. It is one of those things you need to remind yourself of often. When you manage to achieve more and deliver better results between 6-8am vs 8-12pm, you realize that you should prioritize working in the morning. It sounds ridiculous until you start paying attention and notice the pattern. Those 2 hours spent waking up earlier every day might save you 10 - 20 hours per week if done right. Start paying attention to who you are as a performer (early or late one). It might change how you approach tasks and how much work you can deliver.

9. It is all about gratitude: Every day when you wake up, tell yourself how happy you are to be in the position you are. Struggling with this daily practice? Want to take it further? Take a moment to look around for an item that gives you something and is within your reach. Come up with 3 - 5 things you are grateful to have in your life (how they help you), and in what way. Do this every day. Do the same for the people. Let them know how much they mean to you. Do the same for the work you do. Let yourself realize how much it means to you. This is what it is all about. Simply being aware of what you have in your life can improve it.

10. Luck can be engineered: Seriously. Wake up, tell yourself you are the luckiest person today, expose yourself to uncomfortable and new situations, + put effort into things others are not ready to put… And quickly, you will find yourself in a position where others are not. Some might even call you lucky in the process. Works 10/10 times.

11. When you are riding that momentum… RIDE it: Everything in life works in cycles. Things are going great for 3 months, and then the next 3 months could be the worst ones you have ever experienced. The experienced players know that when things are working in your favor, that is when you should push even harder. If you are unaware of this… The first step is to start paying attention and notice which part of the cycle you are in. It doesn't mean that if you are not on a winning streak or things are not working in your favor. You should give up. No. Quite the opposite. It means that once you get out of it, you will skyrocket and establish a new baseline. But recognizing that you should push harder when things are going your way is not something everyone can conceptualize or grasp. Most instead of taking it harder decide to take it easier. 

12. Good music is still being created: Once you pass a certain age. The more often you will be hit with the idea that good music is no longer being made. Wrong. There is a lot of it. The problem, as with everything else on the internet, is how to detect it in the sea of nonsense. GOOD music is still being created. For those who don't believe us…

13. Woo-woo stuff never makes sense… Until it does: If you are wondering why elite businessmen, investors, founders, CEOs, coaches, entrepreneurs, tycoons, and high network individuals are all into mindset (woo-woo) stuff. It is because they no longer need to worry about the basics or be in survival mode. When bills, food, and who is going to pick up the kids from school or clean the bathroom don’t cause problems anymore. Better said, it is out of the picture. That is when you have enough mental space (ability) to think about things that don't directly impact your survival. But it has a massive effect on your daily activities and how you approach life. There are only two groups of people who neglect mindset work and its power. Those struggling to keep up with the basics (survival mode) and fools. Don’t be any of those.

14. Mental health should be one of the top priorities: We doubt we realize how bad things are for most people around us. Those reading this are the lucky ones. The ones on the right side of the internet with the right perspective on life. Most people around you? Opposite of that. For everyone living in a big city, you already know what we are aiming at. Miserable, jealous, resentful, dangerous, unpredictable, aggressive. The state of the average. Normies. NPC. Zero idea how to define them. Dangerous individuals. Your goal? Not to fall into the same category. Mental health is important, and understanding how to nurture it and stay sane has never been more critical. This is phase 1 of mental health decline. One that you should be aware of. Meaning you know where things are headed and what you can do about it.

15. You need to do something with your hands: It will give you a deeper understanding of what life is truly about. To a point, it gives you meaning. Directly connected to creation. There is something powerful in creating with your hands and making things work, or in seeing them completely transform into something different from what they originally were. Giving them new life and a new purpose. It goes deep. And this should be your sign to try something new. Work on an old car engine, create something from wood, or fix the old electronics lying around in the attic. There is tremendous power in it, and one that enhances your life.

16. When you can’t recognize the beauty around you: No matter what everyone tries to tell you. The beauty is everywhere around you. If you don't believe it, just spend 10 minutes looking out your window. Sun, birds, plants… Everyone defines beauty differently. It might be the smell of the coffee you had this morning. Or the music you played while taking a shower. The beauty is everywhere. Not noticing that beauty? Everything feels off? It is a clear sign that something is holding you back. Too much on your plate? Not happy with your current situation? Dig deeper… There is a good chance something is holding you back. We can guarantee that something is holding you back. If you are in that situation right now and can't see the beauty in the world… You have work to do.

17. Getting to know who YOU are: The common misconception is that you know who you are and that you should define it by your 30s. Wrong. There are people out there who are technical individuals living creative lives, people running teams who should not be running teams in the first place, and creatives struggling to keep up with deadlines and fit into routines. Once you figure out who you are, start positioning yourself accordingly. That is when things will start clicking. Good metric to follow? How effortless it feels to work. Struggling to keep people in check? It might not be something you were meant to do in the first place. If coming up with new designs and ideas feels effortless. It is a clear sign. The best part? It is never too late. The only thing you need to do is pay attention and implement this thought (idea, insight, process, or however you want to classify it) in what you are doing with your life right now. You might realize that the path you are on is not the one you should be on.

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

Important to mention:

1. This is our first time doing this. Keep that in mind.

2. We definitely realized why there are usually dedicated teams of graphic designers doing this… It is not as easy as it looks, and we made bold claims back in October. Something to think about

3. The PDF is around 450 MB (we set it to the highest quality possible so you can download and use it…).

4. If you see something that doesn’t align or could be better… Feel free to comment. The family effect is real, and after one point, you stop noticing those small details.

5. Play the artbook playlist in the background for maximum effect.

6. Take your time and enjoy.

State Of Mind - Artbook

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Once again a quick shoutout to everyone who has supported our work over the past few weeks by printing out the Mindset Rewiring Workbook and tagging us on Twitter. We managed to break into the top 10 of the leaderboard in our category, going up against Dan Koe, Zizek, and other brilliant minds. Just a reminder that the lifetime deal (one-time payment) will remain on until the end of the month. As this is something most of the readers request. Thank you all.

Stop paying monthly. Get lifetime sub.

Welcome reader! A bit of a different one for today. It is either something you will find ridiculously valuable or completely irrelevant. Our advice? Be open-minded and try to go through it. If you have never tried it… Give it a go. Maybe apply some principles and see how they impact your life.

Power Of The Vision Board - What YOU Have To Know

Additional reading on the topic:

• What You Can Do To Make Next Year Better

• Mental Models To Help You Get More Out Of Your Life

Vision board: There is a good chance that there is no one reading this who doesn’t know what a vision board is. The easiest way to put it is the sort of collage that supports your big vision. Serving you as a reminder of what keeps you up at night and gets you up in the morning. If you put aside everything and had to put it in only one sentence, what would vision boards be all about? They serve as something to keep the dream on your mind 24/7. Make it visible and remind you what it is all about. Everyone will have a different definition of what a vision board is. But this is ours, and one that makes the most sense.

Use case: What is the purpose of vision boards? Why would someone have one? Or what are their advantages over others? Similar to mental rewiring. Some call it the law of attraction. Others call it manifesting reality. Some claim that everything you think about and reinforce in your life eventually becomes part of it. It is hard to say. We even heard people say it triggers emotions that make you feel more fired up when working toward their goals and increases the chances of making them a reality for the same reason. We would go so far as to say that the part of the process is what keeps you on track. It is something that forces you to keep your eyes on what matters most and what you have always wanted for yourself. One way to think of vision boards is as a system that keeps your vision alive.

Use case and why you would want one:

• Something to help you spark your inner fire (emotions)

• Visualization tool + clarity on what YOU want (it should help you put pieces together)

• Creativity booster (no one can deny this)

• Support system for your vision (a reminder of why you are doing what you are doing)

Finding your balance: The key to a good vision board (and one that will work out in your favor) is that it requires you to be true to yourself. Every item you put out there has a deeper meaning. It also involves knowing yourself and being the creator of your own kingdom. Suppose you are not 100% sure about your vision or what you want. There is a good chance you will be limited in what you can get out of it. This also brings us to the point of fulfilling it just for the sake of fulfilling it. Don’t do it. As soon as you feel you are doing it from that state of mind, it means it is time to stop. Putting something you don't believe in or find inspiring at the #1 place on your board is something to avoid. It leads nowhere and takes you away from your mission. One way to approach this is to remind yourself that everything on the board should have a deeper reason it is there. This is one of those prerequisites to pull this vision board off. At the same time, this doesn't get enough attention.

Preparation: What we mean by that is that to get the most out of your vision board. The way to prepare is to start saving all relevant information before you even create it. Let's say you spend the next month or two thinking about what you want and what things spark your imagination and emotions. The best thing you could do is start saving them into one folder that you will reference and use as a base for building your vision board. Preparation might not be the right name. But it will make your job easier and give you enough time to think it through. Whether it is really something you want on your board.

Difference Between Mediocre And Proper Vision Board

Be specific: As with everything else in your life. If you want results… You can't half-ass it and expect results. Stay away from general claims. Or a vision you can’t support with smaller bits and pieces. You want to be specific. You are not going to travel to Europe next year. You are going to travel to the _____ country. You are not going to start building your summer house somewhere in Europe. You are going to build it in the _____ city. This sounds ridiculous. But it is one of the key requirements between a mediocre vision board and a good one. You need to be specific with your vision and what you want. To make it easier for yourself… The difference between mediocre and good board is that one board is based on macro principles (general, without specifications) while the other one is more on the micro side (full of specifications → when put together form a big vision). It is a bit difficult to put it into words. But this should provide you with a clear idea.

Common misconception (time component) that builds on the above point: Until the end of the year (month, week or any other time period) I am going to _____. Don’t make these claims and don't include those time elements on your vision board. Yes, they make it more specific. But if you know you have not done what you are claiming you will in _____ period... Don’t put it on your vision board. It is the wrong approach, and it will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. The time component, if not followed through, is one of the ways to kill momentum and the whole power of the vision board.

Things you should avoid putting on the board:

• Until end of the year I am going to _____.

• In the next few months I am going to _____.

• The next year I am going to _____.

Revisiting your vision board: Vision boards are not a one-time thing. Quite the opposite. As you grow and experience different things, your vision will change. Meaning? You will need to revisit your vision board. Better said. Remake it. Our advice? Don’t allow yourself to fall in love with what you created. You have to, to a certain point, consider every item on it has to hold a certain weight. But knowing that you will have to recreate it sooner or later gives you a better POV and a healthier perspective. Nothing should be set in stone, and the same applies to your vision board - keep this in mind. As in the 6 months your board might become irrelevant to who you are and what you achieve. 

Taking your vision board to the next level: The massive difference between the good and bad vision board comes down to the basic principles that you will never hear mentioned because 80% of the people doing boards don't understand it. Focusing 100% on the vision and the dream without supporting it with the current situation you are in. Results? You already know the answer.

The principles we are talking about:

• Putting things on the board that completely don't align with your current lifestyle and the life you live.

• Not creating a vision board that supports (forms) a big picture.

  • To get the most out of the vision board. You have to create it in a way that allows it to be broken down and connected with other parts. You want a whole story, not just pieces put together that should work.

• Not revisiting your board, depending on how your life priorities change.

We would go so far as to say that most of the vision boards we have seen and have spoken with people are not even built on 1/3 of these principles. Deeply convinced that 2/3 and up puts you in the top 10% of those who have ever created and attempted to use one. 3/3, and you are probably in the top 1% who will see a positive ROI+ from it.

Should YOU do it: It is hard to say. We would go so far as to say it depends on your character. For us? We never had much success with it, as we were constantly reminded of our goals and vision. Never worked for us. Quite the opposite. It is a distraction. On the other hand, we know of many people who swear by it and say it is efficient. Mostly coming from those who suffer from ADHD or have a hard time focusing - having those constant reminders going in their favor. Does that mean that if you don't fit that category, you should not give it a try?

No.

Quite the opposite. Considering there is no entry on this (just a bit of thinking and effort from your side), we encourage you to give vision boards a try to see how they work out for you. It is one of those low-effort / high-output activities. Another thing worth mentioning is that, compared to something like our workbook or similar, the effort required is minimal. Once you invest your initial time into creating your vision board (max a few hours if you follow our approach). The only thing you will have to do is reference it. This means there is no more time to invest from your side. This is the big point in favor of vision boards and something you should consider.

Requirements

Prerequisites

• Being true to yourself.

• Being optimistic but realistic (finding the balance between too far in the future and where you are right now).

• Knowing who you are (or at least knowing yourself enough).

• Understanding what each item on your vision board represents and the weight it carries.

• Put it somewhere in a form that you can reference quickly. If you work on a computer, having it next to you is the perfect place.

What NOT to do (think)

• Put stuff on the board just to put it there (or you might end up living someone else's dream).

• Think it is a one-time thing (you will have to revisit it and update).

• Think of it as a sort of magical tool (it is not).

• Not being specific enough or creating it in a way that doesn’t form the big picture.

• Making it hard for yourself to reference it (important one).

WARNING #1: As with most of the material that fits a similar narrative. Nothing ever works if you are not the one putting in the necessary hours and effort. No matter how many vision boards you have or what images you hold for yourself. It won’t come to life if you are sitting on the couch all day doing nothing. The way you should approach this is to treat it as a support system for your plan. Something that you now believe can become reality if you are doing enough of _____. The reason we mention this often in posts like this is that it… Because it is the only morally right thing to do. Remember. Without effort, hard work, and preparation, neither manifestation nor visualization works. They make a point. But the universe ONLY rewards those who put their energy into the stuff MUCH MORE often. Similar concepts to those unwritten rules of money.

WARNING #2: We already mentioned that you need to find a balance between what you put on the board and what it means to you. What we didn’t mention is that to get the most out of your vision boards… Striking the balance between YOUR big vision and the things that are not too far in the future is important. What do we mean by that? If you are at step 1, who is going directly to step 3 on your board… That might backfire. The reason is that if the goal is so big and you are relentlessly working towards something so far away in the future, you are missing step 2 in between. Why does step 2 matter? It all comes down to psychology. Achieving your step 2 will fire you to reach your step 3 faster. It is simple and makes a lot of sense once you start thinking about it. It all comes down to momentum and seeing the things you once dreamed of come to life.

To give you more context:

• Step 1: Where are you at right now

• Step 2: Something you can achieve in 1 - 3 years

• Step 3: Something you can achieve in 3 - 5+ years

Following our approach instead of the common one - put your dreams on a vision board and hope for the best. It provides you with a more relatable vision that will be supported by the momentum and the things you have already achieved. 

WARNING #3: The big reason we are not as bullish as we should be about our vision boards is that people are living other people’s dreams. We already mentioned that each item on the board should carry a certain weight + meaning behind it. Those who do not follow our principle might find themselves adding items to their board that do not align with their big vision. This is quite common, and when you think about it, most people are doing exactly that. Following someone else's plan, vision, and dreams, not knowing what they enjoy, love, and are passionate about. The point we are making. Don't turn your vision board into someone else's vision of their future. You have slowly adapted and modified it to be yours. You want to be 100% owner and stand behind what is on your vision board. Better said, know what it is in the first place.

5 Step Approach To Getting More Out Of YOUR Vision Boards

1. Do the opposite of what everyone else around you is doing. The #1 thing that makes a good vision board is knowing what you want on it in the first place. The first step is not doing your vision board. But thinking and reflecting on what matters. These are the questions you should 100% have answers for:

   1. What do I want from my future?

   2. What does my ideal life look like?

   3. How will this vision board support that?

   4. What items do I even need to put on top of it to get the most out of it?

2. Decide how you will approach creating your vision board. Digitally or physically version. If you have been reading us for some time. You already know that the physical version has advantages over the digital one. Lazy man's solution? Make a digital version and have it printed. This is our recommended approach.

3. Before going any further. Combine steps 1 and 2. Do you already have a vision of how your vision board will look? If not. Stop and do something else. You are not ready and need to rethink it so it doesn't end up being someone else's vision you have adapted and convinced yourself was yours. Read warning #3 to get a better understanding.

4. Does your vision board and the items you plan to put on it evoke any feelings? Or you are just putting things on it for the sake of it? If it does evoke your emotions… That is a positive sign. Emotions = better chance of you pushing it through = bigger chance of your board turning into reality.

5. Reference our approach on how to take the vision board to the next level. 1/3 principles is the minimum you want. Without at least having one of those down, and not understanding what it is all about. It is all worthless. 2/3 is a sweetspot and something you should aim for when creating your vision board.
   
   Reminder:

• Only put things that support your big vision (not because someone else told you to put it there, but because you want to).

• Only put things that support your future and who you want to become (be careful for what you wish for).

• Make sure you understand that you will have to revisit your vision board often (it is not a one-time thing). That is why it is important to build out the system to make it work.

Physical Version Of The Vision Board

Requirements:

• Understanding the principles mentioned in this post

• Printer (you can do it without, but it is not recommended)

• Glue (no, it is not for sniffing)

• Solid amount of patience

• Use at least an A3 paper (larger-sized paper is a must - forget about A4)

• Get into the flow (forget about multitasking)

• Have your “items” (images, quotes, or whatever else you are putting onto the vision board) ready. We suggest putting everything into one folder… It will make things easier down the road - items folder.

How To:

1. Prepare your "items folder".

2. Bring out the paper and glue.

3. Begin printing out those images you saved. Quotes can be either handwritten or printed. This is a personal preference.

4. Arrange items in the way you find best or in a way that inspires your creativity (supports your vision).

Digital Version Of The Vision Board

Requirements:

• Tool of your choice (Figma, Canva, Notion…)

• Printer (this is more of an extra)

• Get in the flow (forget about multitasking)

• Have your “items” (images, quotes, or whatever else you are putting onto the vision board) ready. We suggest putting everything into one folder… It will make things easier down the road - items folder.

How To:

1. Prepare your “items folder”.

2. Choose the tool of your choice (list below) and how you are going to use it. Our advice is to keep it as simple as possible. Forget about fancy Photoshop or anything else that requires experience to pull off.

3. We suggest taking a larger space (paper, file, template) so you are sure everything you plan to put on it will fit properly.

4. Arrange items in the way you find best or in a way that inspires your creativity (supports your vision).

5. Want to get even more out? Print it out.

Tools you can use:

• Figma

• Canva

• Notion (one of the best digital ones we have seen was done in Notion, unfortunately don’t have access to it anymore)

• Pinterest

Keep in mind: The technical part is the easy one. The thinking (vision) part is where you have to collect everything, think it through, assign values to things, and then think it all through again. Making it a much harder one. 80% of your time should be spent on the preparation part, while the remaining should be spent on you actually doing it. This is max 2 hours of your time from the technical perspective (putting it all together). But much more when it comes to collecting (could easily take a few weeks). That is why the preparation phase we have mentioned above is crucial and makes a big difference.

A Few Extras To Get The Most Out Of Your Board

Phase approach

The image above should make our point clear. One way to build your vision board is to base it on phases (or blocks). Phase 1 is something you are most likely to obtain in the next few months or a year. Phase 2 will require a bit more work and take more time. The phase 3… You get the point. The reason this is powerful is that once again, it comes down to momentum. Imagine seeing one part of your vision board (block) and being 100% there. Achieving everything you have dreamt about, getting ready to attack phase 2. This is something we have never seen anyone mention. But it makes a lot of sense, and it should be considered one of the approaches you can use.

Come up with the playlist

It sounds ridiculous if you don't consider that music has a massive impact on your emotions. Six to eight songs are all you need for your playlist. The playlist should be listened to only when things get tough or when you need a reminder of why you are doing what you are doing. This is a similar concept to the one we used in our workbook post. This works, and you should try it yourself.

Quick reference

Having your vision board as a part of your lock screen is the perfect approach. Why? Because it is something you will look at multiple times throughout the day, and you can always remind yourself what it is all about. The same principle you should apply to everything else that you can quickly reference. You can use the same approach with everything else from the open vision board in your browser to the printed version next to your monitor.

There is no right or wrong

Don’t fall for this idea that your vision board has to be specific or look specific. It doesn’t. Some prefer it clean and fully transparent. Others prefer it messy with more content. There is no right or wrong to it. The only things that matter are whether you are satisfied with what you have created or not. The same idea applies to everything else, from sticking to only one shade to the format and how you want it to look. Limitations are in your head.

Don't offload creating YOUR vision board to others

We have seen this on Reddit. The whole idea was that someone suggested others just send all the material (collect it) to someone else and let them create it for them. The user claimed that this way you are saving your time and effort. In our books? Nonsense. If you are someone who can't put aside a few hours to pull it through. Forget about the vision board. No one else can do it for you.

Nothing will happen if…

You already know the answer. None of this matters if you are not putting in the effort required. Nothing. It is all a waste of time. But if you are someone who is working hard, giving their best, and in a better position than yesterday… Vision boards are meant to help you get to where you want to be. No one can deny their power. Nothing much else to add here… Good luck. You got it.

TLDR

• Vision boards work. They are powerful. But to get anything out of them, you will have to work harder than those around you.

• Everything you put on your vision board must have a meaning. If it carries no weight, there is no reason to put it there in the first place.

• 80/20 rule - preparation and collecting the right material / putting the material onto the paper. One matters more than the other. Preparation matters more than assembly.

• Make it easy for yourself to reference it and learn to love them for what they are… Support system.

• Your vision board has to be built on principles that support your current life. It is not all about the future and where you want to be. Where are you now, and how realistic is it for you to be there?

• Follow our principles. 2/3 principles put you in the top 10% of those who have ever tried to create a vision board. 3/3 principles put you in the top 1%. It is clear what you have to do.

• The secret to the non-BS vision board lies in its momentum. Position it strategically so that one success builds on the next.

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