I’m obsessed with mental models.

But when I was young, I wasted years drinking, working way too hard, and optimizing for things that didn’t matter.

Learn from my mistakes.

16 mental models I wish I knew earlier: Wabi-Sabi

This Japanese concept celebrates the beauty in imperfection.

Always be authentic. Share the wins, losses, and everything in between.

Before my first business took off, I was drowning in $30K of debt and battling daily panic attacks.

That struggle was part of my journey.

Harsh truth:

Most leaders hire for skill when they should hire for character.

16 other leadership principles I know at 35 that I wish I had known at 21: 1. Paying A Sh*tty Salary Is Your Most Expensive Mistake

The real cost isn't $20K extra. It's $200K in lost opportunities when B-players fail to deliver.

2. If They Need To Be Micromanaged, You Hired Wrong

Great hires deliver without supervision. The rest drain your focus.

I'm 35.

Here are 41 short pieces of life advice:

1. Taste is the ultimate competitive advantage 2. The future belongs to founders who think like creators, and creators who think like founders.

3. Your personal brand is the greatest asset you'll ever build.

4. Entrepreneurs are intellectual athletes. If you want peak performance — workout, sleep well, eat clean.

The greatest director of our lifetime:

Christopher Nolan.

He's the man behind movies like Inception and Dunkirk.

And once said: "You're never going to learn something as profoundly as when it's purely out of curiosity."

8 storytelling secrets that made him a cinematic legend: Simplicity Over Complexity

Nolan starts with complex ideas. But he breaks them down to their “essence.”

Inception is a layered dreamscape with shifting realities. But at its core, the story is simple—plant an idea in someone’s mind.

Nolan on how he got the idea for the film:

Harsh truth:

Peace is not by chance but by choice.

Here’s how I designed my business for both happiness and freedom: While in Japan, snowboarding with friends, I realized something about business:

You need to loosen your grip.

If you're creating solid systems & a strong team, you need to let compounding work its magic.

That said, here’s how to optimize for freedom:

Steve Jobs once said:

"The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller."

Sadly, most people never learn how to tell a good story.

10 storytelling secrets that make you impossible to ignore: Never Rush

Poor pacing can kill a fantastic story.

Long-winded introductions bore readers/listeners, and rushing through key moments feels unsatisfying.

Instead, expand important moments & compress transitions.

Watch how Jobs does it:

The master of focus:

Cal Newport.

He has published 3 New York Times bestsellers, sold 2,000,000+ copies and has a PhD from MIT.

Yet, he refuses to work past 5:00pm.

Here's his Deep Work protocol for unstoppable productivity: But first, what actually is “Deep Work”?

It’s intense, distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive limits.

Those who master it create breakthroughs—for example, JK Rowling locked herself away for 6 months to finish Harry Potter.

Here’s Cal himself on Deep Work:

The richest people in 2026 will be ordinary people who master one skill:

Personal Branding.

9 founders who built empires with nothing but their story:

1. Emma Chamberlain Emma started as a casual vlogger sharing unfiltered stories that clicked with Gen Z.

Her content evolved into:

• Collabs with Louis Vuitton & Levis
• Launching Chamberlain Coffee—now a multi-million dollar brand

All built by being unapologetically herself.

YouTube is the most powerful platform on the planet.

Over the last 15 months, I’ve invested $100,000+ and 500+ hours into growing my channel to 144,000 subscribers.

Here’s the exact 10-step YouTube system I’d follow if I had to start over: Find Your Niche

Think Ikigai. Your content must sit at the intersection of:

• What you're skilled at & passionate about
• What people actually want

YouTube is massive.

If you're not targeting something specific, you'll get lost.

Every business grows in 5 phases.

Sadly, most founders never make it past phase 2.

Here's how to build automated wealth without burning out: I’ve gone from broke to building an automated empire in 3 years.

The journey followed these 5 phases:

• Phase 1: Foundation
• Phase 2: Systemization
• Phase 3: Delegation
• Phase 4: Automation
• Phase 5: Expansion

Most founders get stuck because they try to skip phases or do them all at once.

There’s never been an easier time in history to build a personal brand.

Sadly, most people think this takes years to achieve.

Here's my exact blueprint to grow and monetize any audience without sounding like a sellout: Most founders struggle with monetizing their personal brand.

It’s often because they never take the time to build a path to revenue.

My Content GPS solves this. It’s how I’ve turned attention into a predictable profit machine without feeling sales-y.

Let me break it down…

Sales is simple when you understand this secret:

The moment you start selling, you've lost.

Here's my system that makes people sell themselves: If you absolutely hate selling, I get it.

I used to be terrified of sales calls. Sweaty palms. Racing heart. The whole deal.

Now my team and I close without ever feeling like we're "selling."

Using a proven system I call “Pitch OS”.

How I travel 6 months a year (and grow 2 businesses simultaneously): Imagine having 4 systems that allow you to:

• Travel the world
• Build your dream life
• Scale your business effortlessly

All while controlling who you work with and what you work on.

But it wasn't always like this...

The greatest storyteller in human history:

Pixar.

They’re the creative geniuses behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Cars.

And in 2011, former employee Emma Coats revealed Pixar’s "22 Rules For Storytelling."

Here's how I used their frameworks to grow my YouTube by 583%: When most founders try to build a brand, they look at Louis Vuitton, Elon, or Nike.

Me? I look at Pixar.

Because while big brands sell status and tech icons sell ambition, Pixar does something far more powerful:

They make us care…

Benjamin Franklin once said:

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

Here's how a simple master plan will get you ahead of 99% of people in 2025: Every December, I sit down and create my annual master plan.

I've been doing this for 10 years, and it's the exact framework that's helped me build multiple 7-8 figure businesses while working just 4 hours a day.

Here's my 2025 masterplan, broken down section by section:

YouTube is free education.

10 channels that will teach you more in 2025 than a Harvard MBA:

1. Huberman Lab Learn from the Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford, @hubermanlab.

He decodes the science of peak performance:

• How to improve your brain health
• Learn the "do's and don'ts" of behavioral tools
• How to get better at sleeping, learning, and focus

The greatest mind of the 21st century:

Naval Ravikant.

He was an early investor in Uber, Twitter, and Notion.

And he famously said, “If you need a degree to do it, it’s not going to make you wealthy.”

His 9 lessons on building wealth that changed my life: Build Or Sell

"Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable."

• Build: The ability to create value
• Sell: The ability to communicate that value

Doing both is an unbeatable combination.

James Clear once said:

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Here’s how I reclaimed 40 hours every week (while growing my business): At my first startup, I didn’t know what “free time” meant.

I worked 14-hour days, and I felt too busy to stop being busy.

Everyone said "work ON the business not IN it" but nobody showed me how.

Now, I run multiple 8-figure companies while only working 4 hours a day.

The most powerful platform to build your personal brand in 2025:

YouTube.

Here’s what I’ve learned growing from 0 to 140,000 subscribers: But before we dive in, a quick story…

In 2023, I realized that YouTube was the best platform to grow my audience.

So, in 2024, I invested $100,000+ and 500+ hours into making YouTube work for me.

The results? I grew my CEO brand from ~10,000 to 136k subscribers in 12 months.

If you want to 10x your business by June, follow these 9 steps: Make Content Your #1 Priority

Almost every founder I know has an attention problem.

How to fix it:

• Post content every day
• Double down on the top 20%
• Study other creators and reverse engineer their wins

The more people know you exist, the more money you make.

The most powerful skill in the world:

Copywriting.

Over the last 3 years, I’ve built an audience of 2,500,000 by studying the greatest copywriters in history.

Here are 7 copywriting principles I’ve learned to master the art of writing: Don't Describe An Emotion, Make It⁣

Hemingway mastered what he called the "Theory of Omission."

Delete every sentence that explains an emotion:

• "He was angry" → "His fists clenched"
• "She felt sad" → "Tears fell into her coffee"
• "They were excited" → "They couldn't sit still"

The less you explain, the more your readers feel.