The Power of Accountability: Building Trust Through Action
\n\n
Accountability is skin in the game. Itâs the difference between talking and doing, between intention and results.
\n\n
What Accountability Really Means
\n\n
Accountability isnât just taking responsibility when things go wrongâitâs putting something real at stake when you make a commitment. Itâs the understanding that over a long enough time frame, you get exactly what you deserve based on your actions.
\n\n
When I think about accountability, I think about:
\n
\n
Public commitments that create social pressure to follow through
\n
Tracking results, not just inputs or good intentions
\n
Reputation as equity in your future opportunities
\n
Error correction as a core practice, not something to avoid
\n
\n\n
Why Accountability Works
\n\n
The magic of accountability lies in its ability to align your interests with your stated goals. When you have skin in the gameâwhether thatâs your reputation, money, or timeâyou naturally become more careful about your commitments and more diligent in your execution.
\n\n
The Social Element
\n\n
One of the most powerful forms of accountability is social accountability. When you make a public commitment, youâre not just accountable to yourselfâyouâre accountable to everyone who knows about that commitment. This creates a positive pressure that helps you push through the inevitable moments of low motivation.
\n\n
Results Validate
\n\n
Talk is cheap. What matters is what you actually accomplish. Accountability forces you to focus on outputs rather than inputs, on results rather than effort. Itâs easy to feel busy; itâs harder to show concrete progress.
\n\n
Building Accountability Into Your Life
\n\n
Here are some practical ways to embrace accountability:
\n\n\n
Make public commitments - Share your goals and deadlines with others
\n
Track measurable outcomes - Focus on metrics that actually matter
\n
Regular check-ins - Schedule time to review progress and course-correct
\n
Embrace criticism - Seek honest feedback, especially when itâs uncomfortable
\n
Own your mistakes - When you fail, acknowledge it quickly and learn from it
\n\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Accountability is about playing the long game. Every commitment you keep builds trustâboth with yourself and others. Every promise you break erodes it. Over time, this compounds into either a reputation for reliability or unreliability.
\n\n
The most successful people I know arenât perfectâthey make mistakes like everyone else. But theyâre accountable for those mistakes. They acknowledge them, learn from them, and adjust course quickly.
\n\n
Error Correction Over Perfection
\n\n
One crucial aspect of accountability is maintaining what I call âerror correction channelsââthe ability to recognize when youâre wrong and adjust accordingly. This is more valuable than being right all the time, because it allows you to improve continuously.
\n\n
Donât optimize for looking good; optimize for getting better.
\n\n
The Compound Effect
\n\n
When you consistently deliver on your commitments, something powerful happens: people start to trust you with bigger opportunities. Your track record becomes your credential. Your results speak louder than your credentials or intentions.
\n\n
This compounds over time. Each successful project makes the next one easier to get. Each kept promise makes people more likely to believe your next one.
\n\n
Conclusion
\n\n
Accountability isnât about punishmentâitâs about alignment. Itâs about making sure your incentives point toward the outcomes you actually want. Itâs about building the kind of reputation that opens doors rather than closes them.
\n\n
Start small. Make a commitment youâre confident you can keep. Track your progress publicly. Learn from what works and what doesnât. Over time, youâll build the muscle of accountability, and with it, the trust that enables bigger opportunities.
\n\n
Remember: accountability means getting exactly what you deserve over a long enough time frame. Make sure you deserve good things.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
The Power of Accountability: Building Trust Through Action
\n\n
Accountability is skin in the game. Itâs the difference between talking and doing, between intention and results.
\n\n
What Accountability Really Means
\n\n
Accountability isnât just taking responsibility when things go wrongâitâs putting something real at stake when you make a commitment. Itâs the understanding that over a long enough time frame, you get exactly what you deserve based on your actions.
\n\n
When I think about accountability, I think about:
\n
\n
Public commitments that create social pressure to follow through
\n
Tracking results, not just inputs or good intentions
\n
Reputation as equity in your future opportunities
\n
Error correction as a core practice, not something to avoid
\n
\n\n
Why Accountability Works
\n\n
The magic of accountability lies in its ability to align your interests with your stated goals. When you have skin in the gameâwhether thatâs your reputation, money, or timeâyou naturally become more careful about your commitments and more diligent in your execution.
\n\n
The Social Element
\n\n
One of the most powerful forms of accountability is social accountability. When you make a public commitment, youâre not just accountable to yourselfâyouâre accountable to everyone who knows about that commitment. This creates a positive pressure that helps you push through the inevitable moments of low motivation.
\n\n
Results Validate
\n\n
Talk is cheap. What matters is what you actually accomplish. Accountability forces you to focus on outputs rather than inputs, on results rather than effort. Itâs easy to feel busy; itâs harder to show concrete progress.
\n\n
Building Accountability Into Your Life
\n\n
Here are some practical ways to embrace accountability:
\n\n\n
Make public commitments - Share your goals and deadlines with others
\n
Track measurable outcomes - Focus on metrics that actually matter
\n
Regular check-ins - Schedule time to review progress and course-correct
\n
Embrace criticism - Seek honest feedback, especially when itâs uncomfortable
\n
Own your mistakes - When you fail, acknowledge it quickly and learn from it
\n\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Accountability is about playing the long game. Every commitment you keep builds trustâboth with yourself and others. Every promise you break erodes it. Over time, this compounds into either a reputation for reliability or unreliability.
\n\n
The most successful people I know arenât perfectâthey make mistakes like everyone else. But theyâre accountable for those mistakes. They acknowledge them, learn from them, and adjust course quickly.
\n\n
Error Correction Over Perfection
\n\n
One crucial aspect of accountability is maintaining what I call âerror correction channelsââthe ability to recognize when youâre wrong and adjust accordingly. This is more valuable than being right all the time, because it allows you to improve continuously.
\n\n
Donât optimize for looking good; optimize for getting better.
\n\n
The Compound Effect
\n\n
When you consistently deliver on your commitments, something powerful happens: people start to trust you with bigger opportunities. Your track record becomes your credential. Your results speak louder than your credentials or intentions.
\n\n
This compounds over time. Each successful project makes the next one easier to get. Each kept promise makes people more likely to believe your next one.
\n\n
Conclusion
\n\n
Accountability isnât about punishmentâitâs about alignment. Itâs about making sure your incentives point toward the outcomes you actually want. Itâs about building the kind of reputation that opens doors rather than closes them.
\n\n
Start small. Make a commitment youâre confident you can keep. Track your progress publicly. Learn from what works and what doesnât. Over time, youâll build the muscle of accountability, and with it, the trust that enables bigger opportunities.
\n\n
Remember: accountability means getting exactly what you deserve over a long enough time frame. Make sure you deserve good things.
Speed from clarity from knowledge from experimentation from courage.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about acceleration lately. Not the physics kind, but the life kind. How do you move faster toward what matters? How do you compound progress instead of just grinding through time?
\n\n
The Problem with Playing it Safe
\n\n
Most people optimize for not failing rather than for winning big. They mistake motion for action, hours clocked for progress made. But thereâs no speed limit to understanding and action. The constraint isnât timeâitâs clarity.
\n\n
When you know what youâre building toward, you can question every step. Elonâs algorithm applies everywhere: question, delete, optimize, accelerate, automate. Most of what we do can be deleted entirely. The rest can be done faster.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Code once, serve customers forever. Write once, reach infinite readers. Build something that works while you sleep. This is why permissionless leverage through code and media matters so muchâit decouples your input from your output.
\n\n
The internet is the greatest variance amplifier in history. It rewards the bold and punishes the timid. It creates power laws where the top 1% captures most of the value. Either youâre surfing that wave or getting crushed by it.
\n\n
The Compound Game
\n\n
Every finite thing you do denies an infinite compounding step at the end, where most gains occur. Thatâs why âdo 100 thingsâ works better than perfecting one thing. You get better at the meta-skill of creation, not just the specific thing youâre creating.
\n\n
Quantity leads to quality. Speed reveals what actually matters. You canât optimize a process you havenât started.
\n\n
First Principles at the Frontier
\n\n
At the frontier, there are no maps. You need correct axioms to derive solutions where there are no easy answers. The best areas are unexplored precisely because theyâre hard to navigate.
\n\n
This is where being principled matters most. Principles let you make decisions in uncharted territory. Theyâre your compass when everyone else is guessing.
\n\n
The Infrastructure of Speed
\n\n
Acceleration requires the right tools and environment. You need:
\n\n
\n
Systems that remove friction from creation
\n
Fast feedback loops to course-correct quickly
\n
Clear metrics to know if youâre winning
\n
Energy management over time management
\n
Problems worth solving at scale
\n
\n\n
The goal isnât to go fast for its own sake. Itâs to compress the time between insight and impact.
\n\n
Beyond Personal Acceleration
\n\n
Individual acceleration compounds into collective acceleration. Network effects emerge. The rising tide lifts all boats.
\n\n
This is why building in public matters. Your experiments become data for others. Your failures prevent others from making the same mistakes. Your successes show new possibilities.
\n\n
Weâre always at the beginning of infinity. There are always more problems to solve, more value to create, more understanding to gain.
\n\n
The Practice
\n\n
Generate, curate, elevate. Create volume first, then select the best. Double down on what works, delete what doesnât.
\n\n
Act on problems you genuinely face. Build things you would actually use. Ship fast and iterate based on real feedback, not imagined perfection.
\n\n
Remember: transformation requires energy. Change is upon us whether we participate or not. The question is whether youâll be shaping it or shaped by it.
\n\n
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
\n\n
There is no speed limit to the seeds you can plant.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
On Acceleration: Notes from the Frontier
\n\n
Speed from clarity from knowledge from experimentation from courage.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about acceleration lately. Not the physics kind, but the life kind. How do you move faster toward what matters? How do you compound progress instead of just grinding through time?
\n\n
The Problem with Playing it Safe
\n\n
Most people optimize for not failing rather than for winning big. They mistake motion for action, hours clocked for progress made. But thereâs no speed limit to understanding and action. The constraint isnât timeâitâs clarity.
\n\n
When you know what youâre building toward, you can question every step. Elonâs algorithm applies everywhere: question, delete, optimize, accelerate, automate. Most of what we do can be deleted entirely. The rest can be done faster.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Code once, serve customers forever. Write once, reach infinite readers. Build something that works while you sleep. This is why permissionless leverage through code and media matters so muchâit decouples your input from your output.
\n\n
The internet is the greatest variance amplifier in history. It rewards the bold and punishes the timid. It creates power laws where the top 1% captures most of the value. Either youâre surfing that wave or getting crushed by it.
\n\n
The Compound Game
\n\n
Every finite thing you do denies an infinite compounding step at the end, where most gains occur. Thatâs why âdo 100 thingsâ works better than perfecting one thing. You get better at the meta-skill of creation, not just the specific thing youâre creating.
\n\n
Quantity leads to quality. Speed reveals what actually matters. You canât optimize a process you havenât started.
\n\n
First Principles at the Frontier
\n\n
At the frontier, there are no maps. You need correct axioms to derive solutions where there are no easy answers. The best areas are unexplored precisely because theyâre hard to navigate.
\n\n
This is where being principled matters most. Principles let you make decisions in uncharted territory. Theyâre your compass when everyone else is guessing.
\n\n
The Infrastructure of Speed
\n\n
Acceleration requires the right tools and environment. You need:
\n\n
\n
Systems that remove friction from creation
\n
Fast feedback loops to course-correct quickly
\n
Clear metrics to know if youâre winning
\n
Energy management over time management
\n
Problems worth solving at scale
\n
\n\n
The goal isnât to go fast for its own sake. Itâs to compress the time between insight and impact.
\n\n
Beyond Personal Acceleration
\n\n
Individual acceleration compounds into collective acceleration. Network effects emerge. The rising tide lifts all boats.
\n\n
This is why building in public matters. Your experiments become data for others. Your failures prevent others from making the same mistakes. Your successes show new possibilities.
\n\n
Weâre always at the beginning of infinity. There are always more problems to solve, more value to create, more understanding to gain.
\n\n
The Practice
\n\n
Generate, curate, elevate. Create volume first, then select the best. Double down on what works, delete what doesnât.
\n\n
Act on problems you genuinely face. Build things you would actually use. Ship fast and iterate based on real feedback, not imagined perfection.
\n\n
Remember: transformation requires energy. Change is upon us whether we participate or not. The question is whether youâll be shaping it or shaped by it.
\n\n
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
\n\n
There is no speed limit to the seeds you can plant.
Speed from clarity from knowledge from experimentation from courage.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about acceleration lately. Not the physics kind, but the life kind. How do you move faster toward what matters? How do you compound progress instead of just grinding through time?
\n\n
The Problem with Playing it Safe
\n\n
Most people optimize for not failing rather than for winning big. They mistake motion for action, hours clocked for progress made. But thereâs no speed limit to understanding and action. The constraint isnât timeâitâs clarity.
\n\n
When you know what youâre building toward, you can question every step. Elonâs algorithm applies everywhere: question, delete, optimize, accelerate, automate. Most of what we do can be deleted entirely. The rest can be done faster.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Code once, serve customers forever. Write once, reach infinite readers. Build something that works while you sleep. This is why permissionless leverage through code and media matters so muchâit decouples your input from your output.
\n\n
The internet is the greatest variance amplifier in history. It rewards the bold and punishes the timid. It creates power laws where the top 1% captures most of the value. Either youâre surfing that wave or getting crushed by it.
\n\n
The Compound Game
\n\n
Every finite thing you do denies an infinite compounding step at the end, where most gains occur. Thatâs why âdo 100 thingsâ works better than perfecting one thing. You get better at the meta-skill of creation, not just the specific thing youâre creating.
\n\n
Quantity leads to quality. Speed reveals what actually matters. You canât optimize a process you havenât started.
\n\n
First Principles at the Frontier
\n\n
At the frontier, there are no maps. You need correct axioms to derive solutions where there are no easy answers. The best areas are unexplored precisely because theyâre hard to navigate.
\n\n
This is where being principled matters most. Principles let you make decisions in uncharted territory. Theyâre your compass when everyone else is guessing.
\n\n
The Infrastructure of Speed
\n\n
Acceleration requires the right tools and environment. You need:
\n\n
\n
Systems that remove friction from creation
\n
Fast feedback loops to course-correct quickly
\n
Clear metrics to know if youâre winning
\n
Energy management over time management
\n
Problems worth solving at scale
\n
\n\n
The goal isnât to go fast for its own sake. Itâs to compress the time between insight and impact.
\n\n
Beyond Personal Acceleration
\n\n
Individual acceleration compounds into collective acceleration. Network effects emerge. The rising tide lifts all boats.
\n\n
This is why building in public matters. Your experiments become data for others. Your failures prevent others from making the same mistakes. Your successes show new possibilities.
\n\n
Weâre always at the beginning of infinity. There are always more problems to solve, more value to create, more understanding to gain.
\n\n
The Practice
\n\n
Generate, curate, elevate. Create volume first, then select the best. Double down on what works, delete what doesnât.
\n\n
Act on problems you genuinely face. Build things you would actually use. Ship fast and iterate based on real feedback, not imagined perfection.
\n\n
Remember: transformation requires energy. Change is upon us whether we participate or not. The question is whether youâll be shaping it or shaped by it.
\n\n
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
\n\n
There is no speed limit to the seeds you can plant.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
On Acceleration: Notes from the Frontier
\n\n
Speed from clarity from knowledge from experimentation from courage.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about acceleration lately. Not the physics kind, but the life kind. How do you move faster toward what matters? How do you compound progress instead of just grinding through time?
\n\n
The Problem with Playing it Safe
\n\n
Most people optimize for not failing rather than for winning big. They mistake motion for action, hours clocked for progress made. But thereâs no speed limit to understanding and action. The constraint isnât timeâitâs clarity.
\n\n
When you know what youâre building toward, you can question every step. Elonâs algorithm applies everywhere: question, delete, optimize, accelerate, automate. Most of what we do can be deleted entirely. The rest can be done faster.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Code once, serve customers forever. Write once, reach infinite readers. Build something that works while you sleep. This is why permissionless leverage through code and media matters so muchâit decouples your input from your output.
\n\n
The internet is the greatest variance amplifier in history. It rewards the bold and punishes the timid. It creates power laws where the top 1% captures most of the value. Either youâre surfing that wave or getting crushed by it.
\n\n
The Compound Game
\n\n
Every finite thing you do denies an infinite compounding step at the end, where most gains occur. Thatâs why âdo 100 thingsâ works better than perfecting one thing. You get better at the meta-skill of creation, not just the specific thing youâre creating.
\n\n
Quantity leads to quality. Speed reveals what actually matters. You canât optimize a process you havenât started.
\n\n
First Principles at the Frontier
\n\n
At the frontier, there are no maps. You need correct axioms to derive solutions where there are no easy answers. The best areas are unexplored precisely because theyâre hard to navigate.
\n\n
This is where being principled matters most. Principles let you make decisions in uncharted territory. Theyâre your compass when everyone else is guessing.
\n\n
The Infrastructure of Speed
\n\n
Acceleration requires the right tools and environment. You need:
\n\n
\n
Systems that remove friction from creation
\n
Fast feedback loops to course-correct quickly
\n
Clear metrics to know if youâre winning
\n
Energy management over time management
\n
Problems worth solving at scale
\n
\n\n
The goal isnât to go fast for its own sake. Itâs to compress the time between insight and impact.
\n\n
Beyond Personal Acceleration
\n\n
Individual acceleration compounds into collective acceleration. Network effects emerge. The rising tide lifts all boats.
\n\n
This is why building in public matters. Your experiments become data for others. Your failures prevent others from making the same mistakes. Your successes show new possibilities.
\n\n
Weâre always at the beginning of infinity. There are always more problems to solve, more value to create, more understanding to gain.
\n\n
The Practice
\n\n
Generate, curate, elevate. Create volume first, then select the best. Double down on what works, delete what doesnât.
\n\n
Act on problems you genuinely face. Build things you would actually use. Ship fast and iterate based on real feedback, not imagined perfection.
\n\n
Remember: transformation requires energy. Change is upon us whether we participate or not. The question is whether youâll be shaping it or shaped by it.
\n\n
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
\n\n
There is no speed limit to the seeds you can plant.
Breaking Free: What Iâve Learned About Addiction and the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
The Game Youâve Already Won
\n\n
Hereâs the brutal truth about addiction: itâs playing a game youâve already won. Whether itâs reaching Legend in Hearthstone, getting that perfect Tetris score, or building the ultimate FIFA team â once youâve âwon,â continuing to play becomes a trap. The same principle applies to porn, video games, and countless other modern dopamine traps.
\n\n
I know this because Iâve been there.
\n\n
My Story: The Unholy Trinity
\n\n
In high school, I was caught in what I call the âunholy trinityâ for young men: porn, video games, and endless digital consumption. The porn addiction was the worst â a living hell that drained my dopamine reserves and left me feeling empty and ashamed.
\n\n
Now Iâm 2-3 years clean from porn (I donât even remember the last time I watched it) and about 8 months free from video games. It wasnât easy, but understanding the mechanics of addiction changed everything.
\n\n
Understanding the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
Think of dopamine as your brainâs currency â and itâs in short supply when modern life constantly inflates the costs. Every notification, scroll, and click extracts a price from your dopamine reserves.
\n\n
The equation is simple:
\n
\n
Dopamine drains: porn, video games, endless scrolling, constant music
\n
Dopamine sources: exercise, meaningful relationships, challenging work, real accomplishments
\n
\n\n
The key insight? You can both cut dopamine spending AND increase dopamine production simultaneously.
\n\n
Why We Get Addicted
\n\n
With any addiction, ask yourself: âWhy doesnât this person get what they need from real life?â
\n\n
Addictions are rational, self-sabotaging behaviors that happen because the person canât see the long-term light at the end of the tunnel. Theyâre distractions from something deeper weâre avoiding or lacking.
\n\n
For me, the porn addiction was about not knowing how to connect with real women. The video games were about avoiding the harder game of building an actual life worth living.
\n\n
The 2x Pain Multiplier
\n\n
Life has a built-in negativity bias â pain hits twice as hard as pleasure feels good. This applies to addiction too. The crash after the dopamine hit is always worse than the high was good.
\n\n
Understanding this helped me reframe temptation. Whenever I felt the urge to relapse, Iâd remember: âYou know this is hell. Youâve been there before.â
\n\n
Practical Steps to Break Free
\n\n
1. Add Friction to the Bad
\n
\n
Disable incognito mode (removes easy porn access)
\n
Set your phone to swipe mode for emails
\n
Remove apps that trap your attention
\n
\n\n
2. Subtract Friction from the Good
\n
\n
Make exercise equipment visible
\n
Keep books nearby, not your phone
\n
Design your environment for success
\n
\n\n
3. Start Good Addictions
\n
Get addicted to the right things:
\n
\n
Exercise (natural dopamine production)
\n
Reading and learning (builds better mental models)
\n
Real relationships and social connection
\n
Creating something meaningful
\n
\n\n
4. The Daily Cure
\n
Thereâs a cure for addiction, but it only works once a day. You need to renew it every morning through constant improvement â less bad habits, more good ones, through experiments and course correction.
\n\n
The Coffee Paradox
\n\n
Iâll be honest â Iâm still figuring out some things. Take caffeine: too much makes me anxious, too little makes me depressed. I canât quit cold turkey (I prefer âwarm turkeyâ â gradually weaning off).
\n\n
Maybe caffeine is what helps us fit the modern world, or maybe itâs another crutch. The key is asking: âDoes this make me a better person?â
\n\n
Real Life is the Best Game
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: real life is the best video game, the best movie. The difference is that YOU design the game, YOU write the story.
\n\n
Once you break free from the dopamine traps, you can invest your attention, energy, and mental resources into building something that actually matters.
\n\n
A Message of Hope
\n\n
If youâre struggling with addiction â whether itâs porn, games, social media, or anything else â know that change is possible. The dopamine drain is a terrible toll to pay, but you donât have to keep paying it.
\n\n
Start with one small change. Add friction to one bad habit. Remove friction from one good one. Build better explanations for why you want to change, and your predictive power will improve. Youâll start to see the path forward.
\n\n
Remember: youâre not broken. Youâre just playing the wrong game.
\n\n\n\n
If youâre struggling with porn addiction specifically, feel free to reach out. Iâm happy to share practical tips based on what worked for me. Youâve got this.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Breaking Free: What Iâve Learned About Addiction and the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
The Game Youâve Already Won
\n\n
Hereâs the brutal truth about addiction: itâs playing a game youâve already won. Whether itâs reaching Legend in Hearthstone, getting that perfect Tetris score, or building the ultimate FIFA team â once youâve âwon,â continuing to play becomes a trap. The same principle applies to porn, video games, and countless other modern dopamine traps.
\n\n
I know this because Iâve been there.
\n\n
My Story: The Unholy Trinity
\n\n
In high school, I was caught in what I call the âunholy trinityâ for young men: porn, video games, and endless digital consumption. The porn addiction was the worst â a living hell that drained my dopamine reserves and left me feeling empty and ashamed.
\n\n
Now Iâm 2-3 years clean from porn (I donât even remember the last time I watched it) and about 8 months free from video games. It wasnât easy, but understanding the mechanics of addiction changed everything.
\n\n
Understanding the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
Think of dopamine as your brainâs currency â and itâs in short supply when modern life constantly inflates the costs. Every notification, scroll, and click extracts a price from your dopamine reserves.
\n\n
The equation is simple:
\n
\n
Dopamine drains: porn, video games, endless scrolling, constant music
\n
Dopamine sources: exercise, meaningful relationships, challenging work, real accomplishments
\n
\n\n
The key insight? You can both cut dopamine spending AND increase dopamine production simultaneously.
\n\n
Why We Get Addicted
\n\n
With any addiction, ask yourself: âWhy doesnât this person get what they need from real life?â
\n\n
Addictions are rational, self-sabotaging behaviors that happen because the person canât see the long-term light at the end of the tunnel. Theyâre distractions from something deeper weâre avoiding or lacking.
\n\n
For me, the porn addiction was about not knowing how to connect with real women. The video games were about avoiding the harder game of building an actual life worth living.
\n\n
The 2x Pain Multiplier
\n\n
Life has a built-in negativity bias â pain hits twice as hard as pleasure feels good. This applies to addiction too. The crash after the dopamine hit is always worse than the high was good.
\n\n
Understanding this helped me reframe temptation. Whenever I felt the urge to relapse, Iâd remember: âYou know this is hell. Youâve been there before.â
\n\n
Practical Steps to Break Free
\n\n
1. Add Friction to the Bad
\n
\n
Disable incognito mode (removes easy porn access)
\n
Set your phone to swipe mode for emails
\n
Remove apps that trap your attention
\n
\n\n
2. Subtract Friction from the Good
\n
\n
Make exercise equipment visible
\n
Keep books nearby, not your phone
\n
Design your environment for success
\n
\n\n
3. Start Good Addictions
\n
Get addicted to the right things:
\n
\n
Exercise (natural dopamine production)
\n
Reading and learning (builds better mental models)
\n
Real relationships and social connection
\n
Creating something meaningful
\n
\n\n
4. The Daily Cure
\n
Thereâs a cure for addiction, but it only works once a day. You need to renew it every morning through constant improvement â less bad habits, more good ones, through experiments and course correction.
\n\n
The Coffee Paradox
\n\n
Iâll be honest â Iâm still figuring out some things. Take caffeine: too much makes me anxious, too little makes me depressed. I canât quit cold turkey (I prefer âwarm turkeyâ â gradually weaning off).
\n\n
Maybe caffeine is what helps us fit the modern world, or maybe itâs another crutch. The key is asking: âDoes this make me a better person?â
\n\n
Real Life is the Best Game
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: real life is the best video game, the best movie. The difference is that YOU design the game, YOU write the story.
\n\n
Once you break free from the dopamine traps, you can invest your attention, energy, and mental resources into building something that actually matters.
\n\n
A Message of Hope
\n\n
If youâre struggling with addiction â whether itâs porn, games, social media, or anything else â know that change is possible. The dopamine drain is a terrible toll to pay, but you donât have to keep paying it.
\n\n
Start with one small change. Add friction to one bad habit. Remove friction from one good one. Build better explanations for why you want to change, and your predictive power will improve. Youâll start to see the path forward.
\n\n
Remember: youâre not broken. Youâre just playing the wrong game.
\n\n\n\n
If youâre struggling with porn addiction specifically, feel free to reach out. Iâm happy to share practical tips based on what worked for me. Youâve got this.
The Power of Accountability: Building Trust Through Action
\n\n
Accountability is skin in the game. Itâs the difference between talking and doing, between intention and results.
\n\n
What Accountability Really Means
\n\n
Accountability isnât just taking responsibility when things go wrongâitâs putting something real at stake when you make a commitment. Itâs the understanding that over a long enough time frame, you get exactly what you deserve based on your actions.
\n\n
When I think about accountability, I think about:
\n
\n
Public commitments that create social pressure to follow through
\n
Tracking results, not just inputs or good intentions
\n
Reputation as equity in your future opportunities
\n
Error correction as a core practice, not something to avoid
\n
\n\n
Why Accountability Works
\n\n
The magic of accountability lies in its ability to align your interests with your stated goals. When you have skin in the gameâwhether thatâs your reputation, money, or timeâyou naturally become more careful about your commitments and more diligent in your execution.
\n\n
The Social Element
\n\n
One of the most powerful forms of accountability is social accountability. When you make a public commitment, youâre not just accountable to yourselfâyouâre accountable to everyone who knows about that commitment. This creates a positive pressure that helps you push through the inevitable moments of low motivation.
\n\n
Results Validate
\n\n
Talk is cheap. What matters is what you actually accomplish. Accountability forces you to focus on outputs rather than inputs, on results rather than effort. Itâs easy to feel busy; itâs harder to show concrete progress.
\n\n
Building Accountability Into Your Life
\n\n
Here are some practical ways to embrace accountability:
\n\n\n
Make public commitments - Share your goals and deadlines with others
\n
Track measurable outcomes - Focus on metrics that actually matter
\n
Regular check-ins - Schedule time to review progress and course-correct
\n
Embrace criticism - Seek honest feedback, especially when itâs uncomfortable
\n
Own your mistakes - When you fail, acknowledge it quickly and learn from it
\n\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Accountability is about playing the long game. Every commitment you keep builds trustâboth with yourself and others. Every promise you break erodes it. Over time, this compounds into either a reputation for reliability or unreliability.
\n\n
The most successful people I know arenât perfectâthey make mistakes like everyone else. But theyâre accountable for those mistakes. They acknowledge them, learn from them, and adjust course quickly.
\n\n
Error Correction Over Perfection
\n\n
One crucial aspect of accountability is maintaining what I call âerror correction channelsââthe ability to recognize when youâre wrong and adjust accordingly. This is more valuable than being right all the time, because it allows you to improve continuously.
\n\n
Donât optimize for looking good; optimize for getting better.
\n\n
The Compound Effect
\n\n
When you consistently deliver on your commitments, something powerful happens: people start to trust you with bigger opportunities. Your track record becomes your credential. Your results speak louder than your credentials or intentions.
\n\n
This compounds over time. Each successful project makes the next one easier to get. Each kept promise makes people more likely to believe your next one.
\n\n
Conclusion
\n\n
Accountability isnât about punishmentâitâs about alignment. Itâs about making sure your incentives point toward the outcomes you actually want. Itâs about building the kind of reputation that opens doors rather than closes them.
\n\n
Start small. Make a commitment youâre confident you can keep. Track your progress publicly. Learn from what works and what doesnât. Over time, youâll build the muscle of accountability, and with it, the trust that enables bigger opportunities.
\n\n
Remember: accountability means getting exactly what you deserve over a long enough time frame. Make sure you deserve good things.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
The Power of Accountability: Building Trust Through Action
\n\n
Accountability is skin in the game. Itâs the difference between talking and doing, between intention and results.
\n\n
What Accountability Really Means
\n\n
Accountability isnât just taking responsibility when things go wrongâitâs putting something real at stake when you make a commitment. Itâs the understanding that over a long enough time frame, you get exactly what you deserve based on your actions.
\n\n
When I think about accountability, I think about:
\n
\n
Public commitments that create social pressure to follow through
\n
Tracking results, not just inputs or good intentions
\n
Reputation as equity in your future opportunities
\n
Error correction as a core practice, not something to avoid
\n
\n\n
Why Accountability Works
\n\n
The magic of accountability lies in its ability to align your interests with your stated goals. When you have skin in the gameâwhether thatâs your reputation, money, or timeâyou naturally become more careful about your commitments and more diligent in your execution.
\n\n
The Social Element
\n\n
One of the most powerful forms of accountability is social accountability. When you make a public commitment, youâre not just accountable to yourselfâyouâre accountable to everyone who knows about that commitment. This creates a positive pressure that helps you push through the inevitable moments of low motivation.
\n\n
Results Validate
\n\n
Talk is cheap. What matters is what you actually accomplish. Accountability forces you to focus on outputs rather than inputs, on results rather than effort. Itâs easy to feel busy; itâs harder to show concrete progress.
\n\n
Building Accountability Into Your Life
\n\n
Here are some practical ways to embrace accountability:
\n\n\n
Make public commitments - Share your goals and deadlines with others
\n
Track measurable outcomes - Focus on metrics that actually matter
\n
Regular check-ins - Schedule time to review progress and course-correct
\n
Embrace criticism - Seek honest feedback, especially when itâs uncomfortable
\n
Own your mistakes - When you fail, acknowledge it quickly and learn from it
\n\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Accountability is about playing the long game. Every commitment you keep builds trustâboth with yourself and others. Every promise you break erodes it. Over time, this compounds into either a reputation for reliability or unreliability.
\n\n
The most successful people I know arenât perfectâthey make mistakes like everyone else. But theyâre accountable for those mistakes. They acknowledge them, learn from them, and adjust course quickly.
\n\n
Error Correction Over Perfection
\n\n
One crucial aspect of accountability is maintaining what I call âerror correction channelsââthe ability to recognize when youâre wrong and adjust accordingly. This is more valuable than being right all the time, because it allows you to improve continuously.
\n\n
Donât optimize for looking good; optimize for getting better.
\n\n
The Compound Effect
\n\n
When you consistently deliver on your commitments, something powerful happens: people start to trust you with bigger opportunities. Your track record becomes your credential. Your results speak louder than your credentials or intentions.
\n\n
This compounds over time. Each successful project makes the next one easier to get. Each kept promise makes people more likely to believe your next one.
\n\n
Conclusion
\n\n
Accountability isnât about punishmentâitâs about alignment. Itâs about making sure your incentives point toward the outcomes you actually want. Itâs about building the kind of reputation that opens doors rather than closes them.
\n\n
Start small. Make a commitment youâre confident you can keep. Track your progress publicly. Learn from what works and what doesnât. Over time, youâll build the muscle of accountability, and with it, the trust that enables bigger opportunities.
\n\n
Remember: accountability means getting exactly what you deserve over a long enough time frame. Make sure you deserve good things.
The Power of Accountability: Building Trust Through Action
\n\n
Accountability is skin in the game. Itâs the difference between talking and doing, between intention and results.
\n\n
What Accountability Really Means
\n\n
Accountability isnât just taking responsibility when things go wrongâitâs putting something real at stake when you make a commitment. Itâs the understanding that over a long enough time frame, you get exactly what you deserve based on your actions.
\n\n
When I think about accountability, I think about:
\n
\n
Public commitments that create social pressure to follow through
\n
Tracking results, not just inputs or good intentions
\n
Reputation as equity in your future opportunities
\n
Error correction as a core practice, not something to avoid
\n
\n\n
Why Accountability Works
\n\n
The magic of accountability lies in its ability to align your interests with your stated goals. When you have skin in the gameâwhether thatâs your reputation, money, or timeâyou naturally become more careful about your commitments and more diligent in your execution.
\n\n
The Social Element
\n\n
One of the most powerful forms of accountability is social accountability. When you make a public commitment, youâre not just accountable to yourselfâyouâre accountable to everyone who knows about that commitment. This creates a positive pressure that helps you push through the inevitable moments of low motivation.
\n\n
Results Validate
\n\n
Talk is cheap. What matters is what you actually accomplish. Accountability forces you to focus on outputs rather than inputs, on results rather than effort. Itâs easy to feel busy; itâs harder to show concrete progress.
\n\n
Building Accountability Into Your Life
\n\n
Here are some practical ways to embrace accountability:
\n\n\n
Make public commitments - Share your goals and deadlines with others
\n
Track measurable outcomes - Focus on metrics that actually matter
\n
Regular check-ins - Schedule time to review progress and course-correct
\n
Embrace criticism - Seek honest feedback, especially when itâs uncomfortable
\n
Own your mistakes - When you fail, acknowledge it quickly and learn from it
\n\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Accountability is about playing the long game. Every commitment you keep builds trustâboth with yourself and others. Every promise you break erodes it. Over time, this compounds into either a reputation for reliability or unreliability.
\n\n
The most successful people I know arenât perfectâthey make mistakes like everyone else. But theyâre accountable for those mistakes. They acknowledge them, learn from them, and adjust course quickly.
\n\n
Error Correction Over Perfection
\n\n
One crucial aspect of accountability is maintaining what I call âerror correction channelsââthe ability to recognize when youâre wrong and adjust accordingly. This is more valuable than being right all the time, because it allows you to improve continuously.
\n\n
Donât optimize for looking good; optimize for getting better.
\n\n
The Compound Effect
\n\n
When you consistently deliver on your commitments, something powerful happens: people start to trust you with bigger opportunities. Your track record becomes your credential. Your results speak louder than your credentials or intentions.
\n\n
This compounds over time. Each successful project makes the next one easier to get. Each kept promise makes people more likely to believe your next one.
\n\n
Conclusion
\n\n
Accountability isnât about punishmentâitâs about alignment. Itâs about making sure your incentives point toward the outcomes you actually want. Itâs about building the kind of reputation that opens doors rather than closes them.
\n\n
Start small. Make a commitment youâre confident you can keep. Track your progress publicly. Learn from what works and what doesnât. Over time, youâll build the muscle of accountability, and with it, the trust that enables bigger opportunities.
\n\n
Remember: accountability means getting exactly what you deserve over a long enough time frame. Make sure you deserve good things.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
The Power of Accountability: Building Trust Through Action
\n\n
Accountability is skin in the game. Itâs the difference between talking and doing, between intention and results.
\n\n
What Accountability Really Means
\n\n
Accountability isnât just taking responsibility when things go wrongâitâs putting something real at stake when you make a commitment. Itâs the understanding that over a long enough time frame, you get exactly what you deserve based on your actions.
\n\n
When I think about accountability, I think about:
\n
\n
Public commitments that create social pressure to follow through
\n
Tracking results, not just inputs or good intentions
\n
Reputation as equity in your future opportunities
\n
Error correction as a core practice, not something to avoid
\n
\n\n
Why Accountability Works
\n\n
The magic of accountability lies in its ability to align your interests with your stated goals. When you have skin in the gameâwhether thatâs your reputation, money, or timeâyou naturally become more careful about your commitments and more diligent in your execution.
\n\n
The Social Element
\n\n
One of the most powerful forms of accountability is social accountability. When you make a public commitment, youâre not just accountable to yourselfâyouâre accountable to everyone who knows about that commitment. This creates a positive pressure that helps you push through the inevitable moments of low motivation.
\n\n
Results Validate
\n\n
Talk is cheap. What matters is what you actually accomplish. Accountability forces you to focus on outputs rather than inputs, on results rather than effort. Itâs easy to feel busy; itâs harder to show concrete progress.
\n\n
Building Accountability Into Your Life
\n\n
Here are some practical ways to embrace accountability:
\n\n\n
Make public commitments - Share your goals and deadlines with others
\n
Track measurable outcomes - Focus on metrics that actually matter
\n
Regular check-ins - Schedule time to review progress and course-correct
\n
Embrace criticism - Seek honest feedback, especially when itâs uncomfortable
\n
Own your mistakes - When you fail, acknowledge it quickly and learn from it
\n\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Accountability is about playing the long game. Every commitment you keep builds trustâboth with yourself and others. Every promise you break erodes it. Over time, this compounds into either a reputation for reliability or unreliability.
\n\n
The most successful people I know arenât perfectâthey make mistakes like everyone else. But theyâre accountable for those mistakes. They acknowledge them, learn from them, and adjust course quickly.
\n\n
Error Correction Over Perfection
\n\n
One crucial aspect of accountability is maintaining what I call âerror correction channelsââthe ability to recognize when youâre wrong and adjust accordingly. This is more valuable than being right all the time, because it allows you to improve continuously.
\n\n
Donât optimize for looking good; optimize for getting better.
\n\n
The Compound Effect
\n\n
When you consistently deliver on your commitments, something powerful happens: people start to trust you with bigger opportunities. Your track record becomes your credential. Your results speak louder than your credentials or intentions.
\n\n
This compounds over time. Each successful project makes the next one easier to get. Each kept promise makes people more likely to believe your next one.
\n\n
Conclusion
\n\n
Accountability isnât about punishmentâitâs about alignment. Itâs about making sure your incentives point toward the outcomes you actually want. Itâs about building the kind of reputation that opens doors rather than closes them.
\n\n
Start small. Make a commitment youâre confident you can keep. Track your progress publicly. Learn from what works and what doesnât. Over time, youâll build the muscle of accountability, and with it, the trust that enables bigger opportunities.
\n\n
Remember: accountability means getting exactly what you deserve over a long enough time frame. Make sure you deserve good things.
A collection of hard-won wisdom distilled into actionable principles
\n\n
Life is fundamentally about problem-solving and decision-making. After years of mistakes, experiments, and learning from mentors, Iâve compiled these compressed truthsâthe advice I wish Iâd had earlier, organized for quick reference during lifeâs challenging moments.
\n\n
On Self-Improvement
\n\n
Live so you like you. This is the foundation. Before seeking approval from others, build a relationship with yourself that you can be proud of. Youâre the only one who knows the full story of your efforts and intentions.
\n\n
Problems are solvable. Every challenge you face has been solved by someone, somewhere. The question isnât whether itâs possibleâitâs whether youâre willing to learn and act on the solution.
\n\n
Be wrong on purpose. Seek out your mistakes early when theyâre cheap to fix. Being wrong quickly is better than being right slowly. Test your assumptions before they become expensive failures.
\n\n
Do 100 things. Want to get good at something? Do it 100 times. Volume plus feedback creates competence faster than perfectionism creates paralysis.
\n\n
On Relationships
\n\n
Simply be her best option. In dating, donât chaseâattract. Work on becoming someone worth choosing rather than convincing someone to choose you.
\n\n
Win and help win. The best relationships are positive-sum. Success isnât about beating others; itâs about elevating everyone in your circle.
\n\n
Ignore so much that only good remains. Curation is everything. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, the problems you focus onâchoose deliberately.
\n\n
Never pedastalize people. Heroes are just people further along the path. Admire their work, not their person. This keeps you humble and them human.
\n\n
On Work and Wealth
\n\n
Be so good they canât ignore you. Competence opens doors that networking canât. Focus on building skills that create undeniable value.
\n\n
Productize yourself. Find the intersection of what youâre good at, what you enjoy, and what people will pay for. Then systematize it.
\n\n
Never trade time for money long-term. Build leverage through code, media, capital, or people. Your goal is to disconnect input from output.
\n\n
Solve problems, donât compete. Competition is for losers. Find problems only you can solve in ways only you can solve them.
\n\n
On Decision-Making
\n\n
Hell yeah or no. If youâre not excited about an opportunity, itâs probably not worth your time. Mediocre yeses kill great possibilities.
\n\n
Choose long-term over short-term. Most regrets come from optimizing for immediate gratification at the expense of future wellbeing.
\n\n
Stress is untaken action. When anxiety builds, itâs usually because you know what needs to be done but arenât doing it. Act, and stress dissolves.
\n\n
The greatest power is walking away. Options create freedom. Always maintain the ability to say no to anything or anyone.
\n\n
On Learning
\n\n
Understanding precedes action. Donât just copy tacticsâunderstand principles. This lets you adapt when circumstances change.
\n\n
Learn from people you hate. They often reveal your blind spots better than friends who agree with you.
\n\n
All advice cancels to zero. Take wisdom from many sources, but think for yourself. What works for others might not work for you.
\n\n
If it repeats, systematize it. When the same problem keeps appearing, create a system to handle it automatically.
\n\n
On Health and Happiness
\n\n
A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love. These three pillars support everything else. They canât be boughtâonly earned through consistent practice.
\n\n
Sleep is non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys decision-making, creativity, and relationships. Prioritize it like your life depends on itâbecause it does.
\n\n
Energy management beats time management. Work with your natural rhythms. Do your most important work when youâre strongest.
\n\n
Presence is a gift. The person who shows up fullyâin conversation, in work, in relationshipsâbecomes magnetic.
\n\n
On Courage
\n\n
Do what scares you (if it wonât kill you). Growth lives on the other side of fear. The things youâre avoiding often hold your biggest breakthroughs.
\n\n
Never let cowardice be a bottleneck. Skills can be learned, resources can be found, but courage must come from within.
\n\n
Failure is irrelevant unless catastrophic. Most failures are feedback in disguise. The only real failure is not learning from the attempt.
\n\n
Daily Reminders
\n\n
\n
Problems are opportunities for virtue
\n
The bad is next to the good
\n
Focus on what you want to see more of
\n
Every no gets you closer to a yes
\n
You can figure it out
\n
Just solve problems
\n
\n\n
The Meta-Principle
\n\n
Behind all advice lies one truth: you must take responsibility for your own life. No guru, system, or philosophy can substitute for your own judgment and action. Use these principles as tools, not rules. Adapt them to your unique situation and discard what doesnât serve you.
\n\n
Life is the best game youâll ever play. Play it well.
\n\n\n\n
Remember: these are suggestions, not commandments. Your mileage may vary. Trust yourself, but verify with reality.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Life Advice: Compressed Truths for Better Living
\n\n
A collection of hard-won wisdom distilled into actionable principles
\n\n
Life is fundamentally about problem-solving and decision-making. After years of mistakes, experiments, and learning from mentors, Iâve compiled these compressed truthsâthe advice I wish Iâd had earlier, organized for quick reference during lifeâs challenging moments.
\n\n
On Self-Improvement
\n\n
Live so you like you. This is the foundation. Before seeking approval from others, build a relationship with yourself that you can be proud of. Youâre the only one who knows the full story of your efforts and intentions.
\n\n
Problems are solvable. Every challenge you face has been solved by someone, somewhere. The question isnât whether itâs possibleâitâs whether youâre willing to learn and act on the solution.
\n\n
Be wrong on purpose. Seek out your mistakes early when theyâre cheap to fix. Being wrong quickly is better than being right slowly. Test your assumptions before they become expensive failures.
\n\n
Do 100 things. Want to get good at something? Do it 100 times. Volume plus feedback creates competence faster than perfectionism creates paralysis.
\n\n
On Relationships
\n\n
Simply be her best option. In dating, donât chaseâattract. Work on becoming someone worth choosing rather than convincing someone to choose you.
\n\n
Win and help win. The best relationships are positive-sum. Success isnât about beating others; itâs about elevating everyone in your circle.
\n\n
Ignore so much that only good remains. Curation is everything. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, the problems you focus onâchoose deliberately.
\n\n
Never pedastalize people. Heroes are just people further along the path. Admire their work, not their person. This keeps you humble and them human.
\n\n
On Work and Wealth
\n\n
Be so good they canât ignore you. Competence opens doors that networking canât. Focus on building skills that create undeniable value.
\n\n
Productize yourself. Find the intersection of what youâre good at, what you enjoy, and what people will pay for. Then systematize it.
\n\n
Never trade time for money long-term. Build leverage through code, media, capital, or people. Your goal is to disconnect input from output.
\n\n
Solve problems, donât compete. Competition is for losers. Find problems only you can solve in ways only you can solve them.
\n\n
On Decision-Making
\n\n
Hell yeah or no. If youâre not excited about an opportunity, itâs probably not worth your time. Mediocre yeses kill great possibilities.
\n\n
Choose long-term over short-term. Most regrets come from optimizing for immediate gratification at the expense of future wellbeing.
\n\n
Stress is untaken action. When anxiety builds, itâs usually because you know what needs to be done but arenât doing it. Act, and stress dissolves.
\n\n
The greatest power is walking away. Options create freedom. Always maintain the ability to say no to anything or anyone.
\n\n
On Learning
\n\n
Understanding precedes action. Donât just copy tacticsâunderstand principles. This lets you adapt when circumstances change.
\n\n
Learn from people you hate. They often reveal your blind spots better than friends who agree with you.
\n\n
All advice cancels to zero. Take wisdom from many sources, but think for yourself. What works for others might not work for you.
\n\n
If it repeats, systematize it. When the same problem keeps appearing, create a system to handle it automatically.
\n\n
On Health and Happiness
\n\n
A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love. These three pillars support everything else. They canât be boughtâonly earned through consistent practice.
\n\n
Sleep is non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys decision-making, creativity, and relationships. Prioritize it like your life depends on itâbecause it does.
\n\n
Energy management beats time management. Work with your natural rhythms. Do your most important work when youâre strongest.
\n\n
Presence is a gift. The person who shows up fullyâin conversation, in work, in relationshipsâbecomes magnetic.
\n\n
On Courage
\n\n
Do what scares you (if it wonât kill you). Growth lives on the other side of fear. The things youâre avoiding often hold your biggest breakthroughs.
\n\n
Never let cowardice be a bottleneck. Skills can be learned, resources can be found, but courage must come from within.
\n\n
Failure is irrelevant unless catastrophic. Most failures are feedback in disguise. The only real failure is not learning from the attempt.
\n\n
Daily Reminders
\n\n
\n
Problems are opportunities for virtue
\n
The bad is next to the good
\n
Focus on what you want to see more of
\n
Every no gets you closer to a yes
\n
You can figure it out
\n
Just solve problems
\n
\n\n
The Meta-Principle
\n\n
Behind all advice lies one truth: you must take responsibility for your own life. No guru, system, or philosophy can substitute for your own judgment and action. Use these principles as tools, not rules. Adapt them to your unique situation and discard what doesnât serve you.
\n\n
Life is the best game youâll ever play. Play it well.
\n\n\n\n
Remember: these are suggestions, not commandments. Your mileage may vary. Trust yourself, but verify with reality.
Breaking Free: What Iâve Learned About Addiction and the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
The Game Youâve Already Won
\n\n
Hereâs the brutal truth about addiction: itâs playing a game youâve already won. Whether itâs reaching Legend in Hearthstone, getting that perfect Tetris score, or building the ultimate FIFA team â once youâve âwon,â continuing to play becomes a trap. The same principle applies to porn, video games, and countless other modern dopamine traps.
\n\n
I know this because Iâve been there.
\n\n
My Story: The Unholy Trinity
\n\n
In high school, I was caught in what I call the âunholy trinityâ for young men: porn, video games, and endless digital consumption. The porn addiction was the worst â a living hell that drained my dopamine reserves and left me feeling empty and ashamed.
\n\n
Now Iâm 2-3 years clean from porn (I donât even remember the last time I watched it) and about 8 months free from video games. It wasnât easy, but understanding the mechanics of addiction changed everything.
\n\n
Understanding the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
Think of dopamine as your brainâs currency â and itâs in short supply when modern life constantly inflates the costs. Every notification, scroll, and click extracts a price from your dopamine reserves.
\n\n
The equation is simple:
\n
\n
Dopamine drains: porn, video games, endless scrolling, constant music
\n
Dopamine sources: exercise, meaningful relationships, challenging work, real accomplishments
\n
\n\n
The key insight? You can both cut dopamine spending AND increase dopamine production simultaneously.
\n\n
Why We Get Addicted
\n\n
With any addiction, ask yourself: âWhy doesnât this person get what they need from real life?â
\n\n
Addictions are rational, self-sabotaging behaviors that happen because the person canât see the long-term light at the end of the tunnel. Theyâre distractions from something deeper weâre avoiding or lacking.
\n\n
For me, the porn addiction was about not knowing how to connect with real women. The video games were about avoiding the harder game of building an actual life worth living.
\n\n
The 2x Pain Multiplier
\n\n
Life has a built-in negativity bias â pain hits twice as hard as pleasure feels good. This applies to addiction too. The crash after the dopamine hit is always worse than the high was good.
\n\n
Understanding this helped me reframe temptation. Whenever I felt the urge to relapse, Iâd remember: âYou know this is hell. Youâve been there before.â
\n\n
Practical Steps to Break Free
\n\n
1. Add Friction to the Bad
\n
\n
Disable incognito mode (removes easy porn access)
\n
Set your phone to swipe mode for emails
\n
Remove apps that trap your attention
\n
\n\n
2. Subtract Friction from the Good
\n
\n
Make exercise equipment visible
\n
Keep books nearby, not your phone
\n
Design your environment for success
\n
\n\n
3. Start Good Addictions
\n
Get addicted to the right things:
\n
\n
Exercise (natural dopamine production)
\n
Reading and learning (builds better mental models)
\n
Real relationships and social connection
\n
Creating something meaningful
\n
\n\n
4. The Daily Cure
\n
Thereâs a cure for addiction, but it only works once a day. You need to renew it every morning through constant improvement â less bad habits, more good ones, through experiments and course correction.
\n\n
The Coffee Paradox
\n\n
Iâll be honest â Iâm still figuring out some things. Take caffeine: too much makes me anxious, too little makes me depressed. I canât quit cold turkey (I prefer âwarm turkeyâ â gradually weaning off).
\n\n
Maybe caffeine is what helps us fit the modern world, or maybe itâs another crutch. The key is asking: âDoes this make me a better person?â
\n\n
Real Life is the Best Game
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: real life is the best video game, the best movie. The difference is that YOU design the game, YOU write the story.
\n\n
Once you break free from the dopamine traps, you can invest your attention, energy, and mental resources into building something that actually matters.
\n\n
A Message of Hope
\n\n
If youâre struggling with addiction â whether itâs porn, games, social media, or anything else â know that change is possible. The dopamine drain is a terrible toll to pay, but you donât have to keep paying it.
\n\n
Start with one small change. Add friction to one bad habit. Remove friction from one good one. Build better explanations for why you want to change, and your predictive power will improve. Youâll start to see the path forward.
\n\n
Remember: youâre not broken. Youâre just playing the wrong game.
\n\n\n\n
If youâre struggling with porn addiction specifically, feel free to reach out. Iâm happy to share practical tips based on what worked for me. Youâve got this.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Breaking Free: What Iâve Learned About Addiction and the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
The Game Youâve Already Won
\n\n
Hereâs the brutal truth about addiction: itâs playing a game youâve already won. Whether itâs reaching Legend in Hearthstone, getting that perfect Tetris score, or building the ultimate FIFA team â once youâve âwon,â continuing to play becomes a trap. The same principle applies to porn, video games, and countless other modern dopamine traps.
\n\n
I know this because Iâve been there.
\n\n
My Story: The Unholy Trinity
\n\n
In high school, I was caught in what I call the âunholy trinityâ for young men: porn, video games, and endless digital consumption. The porn addiction was the worst â a living hell that drained my dopamine reserves and left me feeling empty and ashamed.
\n\n
Now Iâm 2-3 years clean from porn (I donât even remember the last time I watched it) and about 8 months free from video games. It wasnât easy, but understanding the mechanics of addiction changed everything.
\n\n
Understanding the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
Think of dopamine as your brainâs currency â and itâs in short supply when modern life constantly inflates the costs. Every notification, scroll, and click extracts a price from your dopamine reserves.
\n\n
The equation is simple:
\n
\n
Dopamine drains: porn, video games, endless scrolling, constant music
\n
Dopamine sources: exercise, meaningful relationships, challenging work, real accomplishments
\n
\n\n
The key insight? You can both cut dopamine spending AND increase dopamine production simultaneously.
\n\n
Why We Get Addicted
\n\n
With any addiction, ask yourself: âWhy doesnât this person get what they need from real life?â
\n\n
Addictions are rational, self-sabotaging behaviors that happen because the person canât see the long-term light at the end of the tunnel. Theyâre distractions from something deeper weâre avoiding or lacking.
\n\n
For me, the porn addiction was about not knowing how to connect with real women. The video games were about avoiding the harder game of building an actual life worth living.
\n\n
The 2x Pain Multiplier
\n\n
Life has a built-in negativity bias â pain hits twice as hard as pleasure feels good. This applies to addiction too. The crash after the dopamine hit is always worse than the high was good.
\n\n
Understanding this helped me reframe temptation. Whenever I felt the urge to relapse, Iâd remember: âYou know this is hell. Youâve been there before.â
\n\n
Practical Steps to Break Free
\n\n
1. Add Friction to the Bad
\n
\n
Disable incognito mode (removes easy porn access)
\n
Set your phone to swipe mode for emails
\n
Remove apps that trap your attention
\n
\n\n
2. Subtract Friction from the Good
\n
\n
Make exercise equipment visible
\n
Keep books nearby, not your phone
\n
Design your environment for success
\n
\n\n
3. Start Good Addictions
\n
Get addicted to the right things:
\n
\n
Exercise (natural dopamine production)
\n
Reading and learning (builds better mental models)
\n
Real relationships and social connection
\n
Creating something meaningful
\n
\n\n
4. The Daily Cure
\n
Thereâs a cure for addiction, but it only works once a day. You need to renew it every morning through constant improvement â less bad habits, more good ones, through experiments and course correction.
\n\n
The Coffee Paradox
\n\n
Iâll be honest â Iâm still figuring out some things. Take caffeine: too much makes me anxious, too little makes me depressed. I canât quit cold turkey (I prefer âwarm turkeyâ â gradually weaning off).
\n\n
Maybe caffeine is what helps us fit the modern world, or maybe itâs another crutch. The key is asking: âDoes this make me a better person?â
\n\n
Real Life is the Best Game
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: real life is the best video game, the best movie. The difference is that YOU design the game, YOU write the story.
\n\n
Once you break free from the dopamine traps, you can invest your attention, energy, and mental resources into building something that actually matters.
\n\n
A Message of Hope
\n\n
If youâre struggling with addiction â whether itâs porn, games, social media, or anything else â know that change is possible. The dopamine drain is a terrible toll to pay, but you donât have to keep paying it.
\n\n
Start with one small change. Add friction to one bad habit. Remove friction from one good one. Build better explanations for why you want to change, and your predictive power will improve. Youâll start to see the path forward.
\n\n
Remember: youâre not broken. Youâre just playing the wrong game.
\n\n\n\n
If youâre struggling with porn addiction specifically, feel free to reach out. Iâm happy to share practical tips based on what worked for me. Youâve got this.
Breaking Free: What Iâve Learned About Addiction and the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
The Game Youâve Already Won
\n\n
Hereâs the brutal truth about addiction: itâs playing a game youâve already won. Whether itâs reaching Legend in Hearthstone, getting that perfect Tetris score, or building the ultimate FIFA team â once youâve âwon,â continuing to play becomes a trap. The same principle applies to porn, video games, and countless other modern dopamine traps.
\n\n
I know this because Iâve been there.
\n\n
My Story: The Unholy Trinity
\n\n
In high school, I was caught in what I call the âunholy trinityâ for young men: porn, video games, and endless digital consumption. The porn addiction was the worst â a living hell that drained my dopamine reserves and left me feeling empty and ashamed.
\n\n
Now Iâm 2-3 years clean from porn (I donât even remember the last time I watched it) and about 8 months free from video games. It wasnât easy, but understanding the mechanics of addiction changed everything.
\n\n
Understanding the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
Think of dopamine as your brainâs currency â and itâs in short supply when modern life constantly inflates the costs. Every notification, scroll, and click extracts a price from your dopamine reserves.
\n\n
The equation is simple:
\n
\n
Dopamine drains: porn, video games, endless scrolling, constant music
\n
Dopamine sources: exercise, meaningful relationships, challenging work, real accomplishments
\n
\n\n
The key insight? You can both cut dopamine spending AND increase dopamine production simultaneously.
\n\n
Why We Get Addicted
\n\n
With any addiction, ask yourself: âWhy doesnât this person get what they need from real life?â
\n\n
Addictions are rational, self-sabotaging behaviors that happen because the person canât see the long-term light at the end of the tunnel. Theyâre distractions from something deeper weâre avoiding or lacking.
\n\n
For me, the porn addiction was about not knowing how to connect with real women. The video games were about avoiding the harder game of building an actual life worth living.
\n\n
The 2x Pain Multiplier
\n\n
Life has a built-in negativity bias â pain hits twice as hard as pleasure feels good. This applies to addiction too. The crash after the dopamine hit is always worse than the high was good.
\n\n
Understanding this helped me reframe temptation. Whenever I felt the urge to relapse, Iâd remember: âYou know this is hell. Youâve been there before.â
\n\n
Practical Steps to Break Free
\n\n
1. Add Friction to the Bad
\n
\n
Disable incognito mode (removes easy porn access)
\n
Set your phone to swipe mode for emails
\n
Remove apps that trap your attention
\n
\n\n
2. Subtract Friction from the Good
\n
\n
Make exercise equipment visible
\n
Keep books nearby, not your phone
\n
Design your environment for success
\n
\n\n
3. Start Good Addictions
\n
Get addicted to the right things:
\n
\n
Exercise (natural dopamine production)
\n
Reading and learning (builds better mental models)
\n
Real relationships and social connection
\n
Creating something meaningful
\n
\n\n
4. The Daily Cure
\n
Thereâs a cure for addiction, but it only works once a day. You need to renew it every morning through constant improvement â less bad habits, more good ones, through experiments and course correction.
\n\n
The Coffee Paradox
\n\n
Iâll be honest â Iâm still figuring out some things. Take caffeine: too much makes me anxious, too little makes me depressed. I canât quit cold turkey (I prefer âwarm turkeyâ â gradually weaning off).
\n\n
Maybe caffeine is what helps us fit the modern world, or maybe itâs another crutch. The key is asking: âDoes this make me a better person?â
\n\n
Real Life is the Best Game
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: real life is the best video game, the best movie. The difference is that YOU design the game, YOU write the story.
\n\n
Once you break free from the dopamine traps, you can invest your attention, energy, and mental resources into building something that actually matters.
\n\n
A Message of Hope
\n\n
If youâre struggling with addiction â whether itâs porn, games, social media, or anything else â know that change is possible. The dopamine drain is a terrible toll to pay, but you donât have to keep paying it.
\n\n
Start with one small change. Add friction to one bad habit. Remove friction from one good one. Build better explanations for why you want to change, and your predictive power will improve. Youâll start to see the path forward.
\n\n
Remember: youâre not broken. Youâre just playing the wrong game.
\n\n\n\n
If youâre struggling with porn addiction specifically, feel free to reach out. Iâm happy to share practical tips based on what worked for me. Youâve got this.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Breaking Free: What Iâve Learned About Addiction and the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
The Game Youâve Already Won
\n\n
Hereâs the brutal truth about addiction: itâs playing a game youâve already won. Whether itâs reaching Legend in Hearthstone, getting that perfect Tetris score, or building the ultimate FIFA team â once youâve âwon,â continuing to play becomes a trap. The same principle applies to porn, video games, and countless other modern dopamine traps.
\n\n
I know this because Iâve been there.
\n\n
My Story: The Unholy Trinity
\n\n
In high school, I was caught in what I call the âunholy trinityâ for young men: porn, video games, and endless digital consumption. The porn addiction was the worst â a living hell that drained my dopamine reserves and left me feeling empty and ashamed.
\n\n
Now Iâm 2-3 years clean from porn (I donât even remember the last time I watched it) and about 8 months free from video games. It wasnât easy, but understanding the mechanics of addiction changed everything.
\n\n
Understanding the Dopamine Economy
\n\n
Think of dopamine as your brainâs currency â and itâs in short supply when modern life constantly inflates the costs. Every notification, scroll, and click extracts a price from your dopamine reserves.
\n\n
The equation is simple:
\n
\n
Dopamine drains: porn, video games, endless scrolling, constant music
\n
Dopamine sources: exercise, meaningful relationships, challenging work, real accomplishments
\n
\n\n
The key insight? You can both cut dopamine spending AND increase dopamine production simultaneously.
\n\n
Why We Get Addicted
\n\n
With any addiction, ask yourself: âWhy doesnât this person get what they need from real life?â
\n\n
Addictions are rational, self-sabotaging behaviors that happen because the person canât see the long-term light at the end of the tunnel. Theyâre distractions from something deeper weâre avoiding or lacking.
\n\n
For me, the porn addiction was about not knowing how to connect with real women. The video games were about avoiding the harder game of building an actual life worth living.
\n\n
The 2x Pain Multiplier
\n\n
Life has a built-in negativity bias â pain hits twice as hard as pleasure feels good. This applies to addiction too. The crash after the dopamine hit is always worse than the high was good.
\n\n
Understanding this helped me reframe temptation. Whenever I felt the urge to relapse, Iâd remember: âYou know this is hell. Youâve been there before.â
\n\n
Practical Steps to Break Free
\n\n
1. Add Friction to the Bad
\n
\n
Disable incognito mode (removes easy porn access)
\n
Set your phone to swipe mode for emails
\n
Remove apps that trap your attention
\n
\n\n
2. Subtract Friction from the Good
\n
\n
Make exercise equipment visible
\n
Keep books nearby, not your phone
\n
Design your environment for success
\n
\n\n
3. Start Good Addictions
\n
Get addicted to the right things:
\n
\n
Exercise (natural dopamine production)
\n
Reading and learning (builds better mental models)
\n
Real relationships and social connection
\n
Creating something meaningful
\n
\n\n
4. The Daily Cure
\n
Thereâs a cure for addiction, but it only works once a day. You need to renew it every morning through constant improvement â less bad habits, more good ones, through experiments and course correction.
\n\n
The Coffee Paradox
\n\n
Iâll be honest â Iâm still figuring out some things. Take caffeine: too much makes me anxious, too little makes me depressed. I canât quit cold turkey (I prefer âwarm turkeyâ â gradually weaning off).
\n\n
Maybe caffeine is what helps us fit the modern world, or maybe itâs another crutch. The key is asking: âDoes this make me a better person?â
\n\n
Real Life is the Best Game
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: real life is the best video game, the best movie. The difference is that YOU design the game, YOU write the story.
\n\n
Once you break free from the dopamine traps, you can invest your attention, energy, and mental resources into building something that actually matters.
\n\n
A Message of Hope
\n\n
If youâre struggling with addiction â whether itâs porn, games, social media, or anything else â know that change is possible. The dopamine drain is a terrible toll to pay, but you donât have to keep paying it.
\n\n
Start with one small change. Add friction to one bad habit. Remove friction from one good one. Build better explanations for why you want to change, and your predictive power will improve. Youâll start to see the path forward.
\n\n
Remember: youâre not broken. Youâre just playing the wrong game.
\n\n\n\n
If youâre struggling with porn addiction specifically, feel free to reach out. Iâm happy to share practical tips based on what worked for me. Youâve got this.
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
\n\n
How I accidentally solved education by finding the school I always wanted
\n\n\n\n
The Great Unbundling
\n\n
I wanted to leave school at 15. Missing assignments, disconnected from classrooms that felt like factories churning out compliance rather than curiosity. The traditional pathâhigh school, college, corporate ladderâfelt like an elaborate game of permission-seeking that had little to do with actual learning or value creation.
\n\n
Now Iâm at Network School in Singapore, and everything makes sense. I love school nowâbut this isnât the school you know.
\n\n
Whatâs Wrong with Traditional Education?
\n\n
The lie lies in its unanimity. Everyone pretends the system works when deep down, we all know K-12 and especially college are pretty broken. But since thereâs no clear 10x alternative, the masses donât jump ship.
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve observed:
\n\n
\n
Degree inflation everywhere: A degree has become a status symbol, universities are talent aggregators with luxury brand pricing
\n
Teaching to the tool, not the problem: As Elon said, schools got it backwardâwe should teach to solve problems, not memorize abstract tools
\n
Permissioned everything: College, jobs, all the traditional paths require jumping through hoops that may have nothing to do with competence
\n
The burden of understanding is on the teacher, not the studentâyet most educational institutions flip this backward
\n
\n\n
Legacy students rack up student loan debt. Internet students rack up credit card debt. Both are trying to solve the same problem: How do you get credible signals of competence without spending four years and six figures?
\n\n
The Network School Alternative
\n\n
Network School feels like a modern version of the Ancient Greek Lyceumâeducation that incorporates not just thinking, but physical fitness, practical skills, and real community. Itâs startup Stanford, but with a crucial difference: weâre building the school while attending it.
\n\n
What Makes NS Different
\n\n
1. Problem-First Learning\nInstead of abstract curriculum divorced from reality, we start with real problems. Want to learn coding? Build something that matters. Want to understand economics? Create wealth. The relevance creates flow, and flow creates deep learning.
\n\n
2. Talent Curation\nWhat top universities do best is aggregate talent. NS does this too, but based on curiosity and competence rather than test scores and family wealth. It self-selects for continuous learners in free markets.
\n\n
3. Compressed Timelines\nWhy spend four years when you can get transformative education in 6-12 months? Intensive microcredentials with proof of work for concentrated skills and knowledge.
\n\n
4. Real Network Effects\nThis isnât just about individual learningâweâre collectively writing the newest testament of how education should work. Each student contributes to the institution while learning from it.
\n\n
The Bundling and Unbundling of Everything
\n\n
Weâre living through the great transition where old institutionsâuniversity, church, traditional employmentâare being unbundled and rebundled in new ways.
\n\n
Whatâs being unbundled from traditional college:
\n
\n
Information access (internet made this free)
\n
Credentialing (portfolio and proof of work matter more)
\n
Social signaling (can be achieved other ways)
\n
Network access (online communities and events)
\n
\n\n
What canât be easily unbundled:
\n
\n
Peer socialization and community
\n
Structured learning progression
\n
Mentorship and feedback loops
\n
Rites of passage and shared meaning
\n
\n\n
Network School rebundles the essential parts while discarding the bloat. We keep the academy, gymnasium, and shrineâthe spaces for learning, physical development, and meaning-makingâbut make them relevant to the modern world.
\n\n
The Economics of Alternative Education
\n\n
Free is overpriced if it doesnât create value. Traditional college costs six figures and four years for uncertain outcomes. NS costs a fraction of that for compressed, practical education with immediate applicability.
\n\n
But itâs not just about costâitâs about opportunity cost. Four years of prime learning and earning years spent in lecture halls versus building real competence in real markets with real mentors.
\n\n
The ROI calculation is clear when you consider:
\n
\n
Speed to competence
\n
Network quality over network size
\n
Immediate applicability
\n
Lower debt burden
\n
Higher agency and ownership
\n
\n\n
What Weâre Building
\n\n
This isnât just about creating an alternative schoolâweâre prototyping the future of human development. The components include:
\n\n
For Individuals:
\n
\n
Philosophy and wealth creation theory (foundational skills)
\n
Programming and persuasion (permissionless leverage)
\n
Health, wisdom, and practical life skills
\n
Clear progression paths and rites of passage
\n
\n\n
For Society:
\n
\n
Talent factories that actually produce talent
\n
Reduced credentialism and increased competence-based evaluation
\n
More apprenticeships and internships
\n
Open-source, forkable educational models
\n
\n\n
For the Future:
\n
\n
Network states and new forms of governance
\n
Companies as schools that pay you
\n
Continuous learning ecosystems
\n
Merit-based progression systems
\n
\n\n
The Path Forward
\n\n
Iâm proud of myself for staying true to my instincts about traditional education. Sometimes you outgrow teachers, sometimes you need to find new ones. The key is maintaining intellectual honesty about what you donât know while actively seeking better scaffolding.
\n\n
What makes someone intellectual? Itâs not degrees or credentialsâitâs the ability to think clearly, learn quickly, and create value in the world. Itâs being on the bleeding edge of knowledge in your domain while maintaining humility about everything you donât know.
\n\n
The ideal progression: Learn â Build â Teach â Repeat. Each cycle, youâre 80% competent for the next level, you learn the remaining 20%, then compound and repeat at the next project or challenge.
\n\n
Conclusion: The School I Always Wanted
\n\n
Iâll graduate from Network Schoolâthe school I always wanted but didnât know existed. Itâs solving the problem of educational cost while encouraging talented individuals from around the world. Itâs creating the conditions for accelerated learning, meaningful community, and practical competence.
\n\n
The future of education isnât about reforming broken institutionsâitâs about building better alternatives that make the old system obsolete. Network School is proof that when you start from first principles and focus on what actually matters, you can create something extraordinary.
\n\n
We are collectively writing the newest testament of how humans can learn, grow, and create value together. And for the first time in my educational journey, Iâm excited to be in school.
\n\n\n\n
Currently learning at Network School Singapore. Previously: college dropout, now: continuous learner in free markets. Building the future of education while getting educated in it.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
\n\n
How I accidentally solved education by finding the school I always wanted
\n\n\n\n
The Great Unbundling
\n\n
I wanted to leave school at 15. Missing assignments, disconnected from classrooms that felt like factories churning out compliance rather than curiosity. The traditional pathâhigh school, college, corporate ladderâfelt like an elaborate game of permission-seeking that had little to do with actual learning or value creation.
\n\n
Now Iâm at Network School in Singapore, and everything makes sense. I love school nowâbut this isnât the school you know.
\n\n
Whatâs Wrong with Traditional Education?
\n\n
The lie lies in its unanimity. Everyone pretends the system works when deep down, we all know K-12 and especially college are pretty broken. But since thereâs no clear 10x alternative, the masses donât jump ship.
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve observed:
\n\n
\n
Degree inflation everywhere: A degree has become a status symbol, universities are talent aggregators with luxury brand pricing
\n
Teaching to the tool, not the problem: As Elon said, schools got it backwardâwe should teach to solve problems, not memorize abstract tools
\n
Permissioned everything: College, jobs, all the traditional paths require jumping through hoops that may have nothing to do with competence
\n
The burden of understanding is on the teacher, not the studentâyet most educational institutions flip this backward
\n
\n\n
Legacy students rack up student loan debt. Internet students rack up credit card debt. Both are trying to solve the same problem: How do you get credible signals of competence without spending four years and six figures?
\n\n
The Network School Alternative
\n\n
Network School feels like a modern version of the Ancient Greek Lyceumâeducation that incorporates not just thinking, but physical fitness, practical skills, and real community. Itâs startup Stanford, but with a crucial difference: weâre building the school while attending it.
\n\n
What Makes NS Different
\n\n
1. Problem-First Learning\nInstead of abstract curriculum divorced from reality, we start with real problems. Want to learn coding? Build something that matters. Want to understand economics? Create wealth. The relevance creates flow, and flow creates deep learning.
\n\n
2. Talent Curation\nWhat top universities do best is aggregate talent. NS does this too, but based on curiosity and competence rather than test scores and family wealth. It self-selects for continuous learners in free markets.
\n\n
3. Compressed Timelines\nWhy spend four years when you can get transformative education in 6-12 months? Intensive microcredentials with proof of work for concentrated skills and knowledge.
\n\n
4. Real Network Effects\nThis isnât just about individual learningâweâre collectively writing the newest testament of how education should work. Each student contributes to the institution while learning from it.
\n\n
The Bundling and Unbundling of Everything
\n\n
Weâre living through the great transition where old institutionsâuniversity, church, traditional employmentâare being unbundled and rebundled in new ways.
\n\n
Whatâs being unbundled from traditional college:
\n
\n
Information access (internet made this free)
\n
Credentialing (portfolio and proof of work matter more)
\n
Social signaling (can be achieved other ways)
\n
Network access (online communities and events)
\n
\n\n
What canât be easily unbundled:
\n
\n
Peer socialization and community
\n
Structured learning progression
\n
Mentorship and feedback loops
\n
Rites of passage and shared meaning
\n
\n\n
Network School rebundles the essential parts while discarding the bloat. We keep the academy, gymnasium, and shrineâthe spaces for learning, physical development, and meaning-makingâbut make them relevant to the modern world.
\n\n
The Economics of Alternative Education
\n\n
Free is overpriced if it doesnât create value. Traditional college costs six figures and four years for uncertain outcomes. NS costs a fraction of that for compressed, practical education with immediate applicability.
\n\n
But itâs not just about costâitâs about opportunity cost. Four years of prime learning and earning years spent in lecture halls versus building real competence in real markets with real mentors.
\n\n
The ROI calculation is clear when you consider:
\n
\n
Speed to competence
\n
Network quality over network size
\n
Immediate applicability
\n
Lower debt burden
\n
Higher agency and ownership
\n
\n\n
What Weâre Building
\n\n
This isnât just about creating an alternative schoolâweâre prototyping the future of human development. The components include:
\n\n
For Individuals:
\n
\n
Philosophy and wealth creation theory (foundational skills)
\n
Programming and persuasion (permissionless leverage)
\n
Health, wisdom, and practical life skills
\n
Clear progression paths and rites of passage
\n
\n\n
For Society:
\n
\n
Talent factories that actually produce talent
\n
Reduced credentialism and increased competence-based evaluation
\n
More apprenticeships and internships
\n
Open-source, forkable educational models
\n
\n\n
For the Future:
\n
\n
Network states and new forms of governance
\n
Companies as schools that pay you
\n
Continuous learning ecosystems
\n
Merit-based progression systems
\n
\n\n
The Path Forward
\n\n
Iâm proud of myself for staying true to my instincts about traditional education. Sometimes you outgrow teachers, sometimes you need to find new ones. The key is maintaining intellectual honesty about what you donât know while actively seeking better scaffolding.
\n\n
What makes someone intellectual? Itâs not degrees or credentialsâitâs the ability to think clearly, learn quickly, and create value in the world. Itâs being on the bleeding edge of knowledge in your domain while maintaining humility about everything you donât know.
\n\n
The ideal progression: Learn â Build â Teach â Repeat. Each cycle, youâre 80% competent for the next level, you learn the remaining 20%, then compound and repeat at the next project or challenge.
\n\n
Conclusion: The School I Always Wanted
\n\n
Iâll graduate from Network Schoolâthe school I always wanted but didnât know existed. Itâs solving the problem of educational cost while encouraging talented individuals from around the world. Itâs creating the conditions for accelerated learning, meaningful community, and practical competence.
\n\n
The future of education isnât about reforming broken institutionsâitâs about building better alternatives that make the old system obsolete. Network School is proof that when you start from first principles and focus on what actually matters, you can create something extraordinary.
\n\n
We are collectively writing the newest testament of how humans can learn, grow, and create value together. And for the first time in my educational journey, Iâm excited to be in school.
\n\n\n\n
Currently learning at Network School Singapore. Previously: college dropout, now: continuous learner in free markets. Building the future of education while getting educated in it.
A collection of hard-won wisdom distilled into actionable principles
\n\n
Life is fundamentally about problem-solving and decision-making. After years of mistakes, experiments, and learning from mentors, Iâve compiled these compressed truthsâthe advice I wish Iâd had earlier, organized for quick reference during lifeâs challenging moments.
\n\n
On Self-Improvement
\n\n
Live so you like you. This is the foundation. Before seeking approval from others, build a relationship with yourself that you can be proud of. Youâre the only one who knows the full story of your efforts and intentions.
\n\n
Problems are solvable. Every challenge you face has been solved by someone, somewhere. The question isnât whether itâs possibleâitâs whether youâre willing to learn and act on the solution.
\n\n
Be wrong on purpose. Seek out your mistakes early when theyâre cheap to fix. Being wrong quickly is better than being right slowly. Test your assumptions before they become expensive failures.
\n\n
Do 100 things. Want to get good at something? Do it 100 times. Volume plus feedback creates competence faster than perfectionism creates paralysis.
\n\n
On Relationships
\n\n
Simply be her best option. In dating, donât chaseâattract. Work on becoming someone worth choosing rather than convincing someone to choose you.
\n\n
Win and help win. The best relationships are positive-sum. Success isnât about beating others; itâs about elevating everyone in your circle.
\n\n
Ignore so much that only good remains. Curation is everything. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, the problems you focus onâchoose deliberately.
\n\n
Never pedastalize people. Heroes are just people further along the path. Admire their work, not their person. This keeps you humble and them human.
\n\n
On Work and Wealth
\n\n
Be so good they canât ignore you. Competence opens doors that networking canât. Focus on building skills that create undeniable value.
\n\n
Productize yourself. Find the intersection of what youâre good at, what you enjoy, and what people will pay for. Then systematize it.
\n\n
Never trade time for money long-term. Build leverage through code, media, capital, or people. Your goal is to disconnect input from output.
\n\n
Solve problems, donât compete. Competition is for losers. Find problems only you can solve in ways only you can solve them.
\n\n
On Decision-Making
\n\n
Hell yeah or no. If youâre not excited about an opportunity, itâs probably not worth your time. Mediocre yeses kill great possibilities.
\n\n
Choose long-term over short-term. Most regrets come from optimizing for immediate gratification at the expense of future wellbeing.
\n\n
Stress is untaken action. When anxiety builds, itâs usually because you know what needs to be done but arenât doing it. Act, and stress dissolves.
\n\n
The greatest power is walking away. Options create freedom. Always maintain the ability to say no to anything or anyone.
\n\n
On Learning
\n\n
Understanding precedes action. Donât just copy tacticsâunderstand principles. This lets you adapt when circumstances change.
\n\n
Learn from people you hate. They often reveal your blind spots better than friends who agree with you.
\n\n
All advice cancels to zero. Take wisdom from many sources, but think for yourself. What works for others might not work for you.
\n\n
If it repeats, systematize it. When the same problem keeps appearing, create a system to handle it automatically.
\n\n
On Health and Happiness
\n\n
A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love. These three pillars support everything else. They canât be boughtâonly earned through consistent practice.
\n\n
Sleep is non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys decision-making, creativity, and relationships. Prioritize it like your life depends on itâbecause it does.
\n\n
Energy management beats time management. Work with your natural rhythms. Do your most important work when youâre strongest.
\n\n
Presence is a gift. The person who shows up fullyâin conversation, in work, in relationshipsâbecomes magnetic.
\n\n
On Courage
\n\n
Do what scares you (if it wonât kill you). Growth lives on the other side of fear. The things youâre avoiding often hold your biggest breakthroughs.
\n\n
Never let cowardice be a bottleneck. Skills can be learned, resources can be found, but courage must come from within.
\n\n
Failure is irrelevant unless catastrophic. Most failures are feedback in disguise. The only real failure is not learning from the attempt.
\n\n
Daily Reminders
\n\n
\n
Problems are opportunities for virtue
\n
The bad is next to the good
\n
Focus on what you want to see more of
\n
Every no gets you closer to a yes
\n
You can figure it out
\n
Just solve problems
\n
\n\n
The Meta-Principle
\n\n
Behind all advice lies one truth: you must take responsibility for your own life. No guru, system, or philosophy can substitute for your own judgment and action. Use these principles as tools, not rules. Adapt them to your unique situation and discard what doesnât serve you.
\n\n
Life is the best game youâll ever play. Play it well.
\n\n\n\n
Remember: these are suggestions, not commandments. Your mileage may vary. Trust yourself, but verify with reality.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Life Advice: Compressed Truths for Better Living
\n\n
A collection of hard-won wisdom distilled into actionable principles
\n\n
Life is fundamentally about problem-solving and decision-making. After years of mistakes, experiments, and learning from mentors, Iâve compiled these compressed truthsâthe advice I wish Iâd had earlier, organized for quick reference during lifeâs challenging moments.
\n\n
On Self-Improvement
\n\n
Live so you like you. This is the foundation. Before seeking approval from others, build a relationship with yourself that you can be proud of. Youâre the only one who knows the full story of your efforts and intentions.
\n\n
Problems are solvable. Every challenge you face has been solved by someone, somewhere. The question isnât whether itâs possibleâitâs whether youâre willing to learn and act on the solution.
\n\n
Be wrong on purpose. Seek out your mistakes early when theyâre cheap to fix. Being wrong quickly is better than being right slowly. Test your assumptions before they become expensive failures.
\n\n
Do 100 things. Want to get good at something? Do it 100 times. Volume plus feedback creates competence faster than perfectionism creates paralysis.
\n\n
On Relationships
\n\n
Simply be her best option. In dating, donât chaseâattract. Work on becoming someone worth choosing rather than convincing someone to choose you.
\n\n
Win and help win. The best relationships are positive-sum. Success isnât about beating others; itâs about elevating everyone in your circle.
\n\n
Ignore so much that only good remains. Curation is everything. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, the problems you focus onâchoose deliberately.
\n\n
Never pedastalize people. Heroes are just people further along the path. Admire their work, not their person. This keeps you humble and them human.
\n\n
On Work and Wealth
\n\n
Be so good they canât ignore you. Competence opens doors that networking canât. Focus on building skills that create undeniable value.
\n\n
Productize yourself. Find the intersection of what youâre good at, what you enjoy, and what people will pay for. Then systematize it.
\n\n
Never trade time for money long-term. Build leverage through code, media, capital, or people. Your goal is to disconnect input from output.
\n\n
Solve problems, donât compete. Competition is for losers. Find problems only you can solve in ways only you can solve them.
\n\n
On Decision-Making
\n\n
Hell yeah or no. If youâre not excited about an opportunity, itâs probably not worth your time. Mediocre yeses kill great possibilities.
\n\n
Choose long-term over short-term. Most regrets come from optimizing for immediate gratification at the expense of future wellbeing.
\n\n
Stress is untaken action. When anxiety builds, itâs usually because you know what needs to be done but arenât doing it. Act, and stress dissolves.
\n\n
The greatest power is walking away. Options create freedom. Always maintain the ability to say no to anything or anyone.
\n\n
On Learning
\n\n
Understanding precedes action. Donât just copy tacticsâunderstand principles. This lets you adapt when circumstances change.
\n\n
Learn from people you hate. They often reveal your blind spots better than friends who agree with you.
\n\n
All advice cancels to zero. Take wisdom from many sources, but think for yourself. What works for others might not work for you.
\n\n
If it repeats, systematize it. When the same problem keeps appearing, create a system to handle it automatically.
\n\n
On Health and Happiness
\n\n
A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love. These three pillars support everything else. They canât be boughtâonly earned through consistent practice.
\n\n
Sleep is non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys decision-making, creativity, and relationships. Prioritize it like your life depends on itâbecause it does.
\n\n
Energy management beats time management. Work with your natural rhythms. Do your most important work when youâre strongest.
\n\n
Presence is a gift. The person who shows up fullyâin conversation, in work, in relationshipsâbecomes magnetic.
\n\n
On Courage
\n\n
Do what scares you (if it wonât kill you). Growth lives on the other side of fear. The things youâre avoiding often hold your biggest breakthroughs.
\n\n
Never let cowardice be a bottleneck. Skills can be learned, resources can be found, but courage must come from within.
\n\n
Failure is irrelevant unless catastrophic. Most failures are feedback in disguise. The only real failure is not learning from the attempt.
\n\n
Daily Reminders
\n\n
\n
Problems are opportunities for virtue
\n
The bad is next to the good
\n
Focus on what you want to see more of
\n
Every no gets you closer to a yes
\n
You can figure it out
\n
Just solve problems
\n
\n\n
The Meta-Principle
\n\n
Behind all advice lies one truth: you must take responsibility for your own life. No guru, system, or philosophy can substitute for your own judgment and action. Use these principles as tools, not rules. Adapt them to your unique situation and discard what doesnât serve you.
\n\n
Life is the best game youâll ever play. Play it well.
\n\n\n\n
Remember: these are suggestions, not commandments. Your mileage may vary. Trust yourself, but verify with reality.
\n","url":"/advice/","draft":false,"categories":[],"layout":"post","title":"đŁď¸Advice To Myself.","slug":"advice","ext":".md","tags":[],"date":"2025-09-30 04:34:43 -0700"},{"path":"_jekyll_posts/2025-08-14-academia.md","relative_path":"_jekyll_posts/2025-08-14-academia.md","excerpt":"
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
A collection of hard-won wisdom distilled into actionable principles
\n\n
Life is fundamentally about problem-solving and decision-making. After years of mistakes, experiments, and learning from mentors, Iâve compiled these compressed truthsâthe advice I wish Iâd had earlier, organized for quick reference during lifeâs challenging moments.
\n\n
On Self-Improvement
\n\n
Live so you like you. This is the foundation. Before seeking approval from others, build a relationship with yourself that you can be proud of. Youâre the only one who knows the full story of your efforts and intentions.
\n\n
Problems are solvable. Every challenge you face has been solved by someone, somewhere. The question isnât whether itâs possibleâitâs whether youâre willing to learn and act on the solution.
\n\n
Be wrong on purpose. Seek out your mistakes early when theyâre cheap to fix. Being wrong quickly is better than being right slowly. Test your assumptions before they become expensive failures.
\n\n
Do 100 things. Want to get good at something? Do it 100 times. Volume plus feedback creates competence faster than perfectionism creates paralysis.
\n\n
On Relationships
\n\n
Simply be her best option. In dating, donât chaseâattract. Work on becoming someone worth choosing rather than convincing someone to choose you.
\n\n
Win and help win. The best relationships are positive-sum. Success isnât about beating others; itâs about elevating everyone in your circle.
\n\n
Ignore so much that only good remains. Curation is everything. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, the problems you focus onâchoose deliberately.
\n\n
Never pedastalize people. Heroes are just people further along the path. Admire their work, not their person. This keeps you humble and them human.
\n\n
On Work and Wealth
\n\n
Be so good they canât ignore you. Competence opens doors that networking canât. Focus on building skills that create undeniable value.
\n\n
Productize yourself. Find the intersection of what youâre good at, what you enjoy, and what people will pay for. Then systematize it.
\n\n
Never trade time for money long-term. Build leverage through code, media, capital, or people. Your goal is to disconnect input from output.
\n\n
Solve problems, donât compete. Competition is for losers. Find problems only you can solve in ways only you can solve them.
\n\n
On Decision-Making
\n\n
Hell yeah or no. If youâre not excited about an opportunity, itâs probably not worth your time. Mediocre yeses kill great possibilities.
\n\n
Choose long-term over short-term. Most regrets come from optimizing for immediate gratification at the expense of future wellbeing.
\n\n
Stress is untaken action. When anxiety builds, itâs usually because you know what needs to be done but arenât doing it. Act, and stress dissolves.
\n\n
The greatest power is walking away. Options create freedom. Always maintain the ability to say no to anything or anyone.
\n\n
On Learning
\n\n
Understanding precedes action. Donât just copy tacticsâunderstand principles. This lets you adapt when circumstances change.
\n\n
Learn from people you hate. They often reveal your blind spots better than friends who agree with you.
\n\n
All advice cancels to zero. Take wisdom from many sources, but think for yourself. What works for others might not work for you.
\n\n
If it repeats, systematize it. When the same problem keeps appearing, create a system to handle it automatically.
\n\n
On Health and Happiness
\n\n
A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love. These three pillars support everything else. They canât be boughtâonly earned through consistent practice.
\n\n
Sleep is non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys decision-making, creativity, and relationships. Prioritize it like your life depends on itâbecause it does.
\n\n
Energy management beats time management. Work with your natural rhythms. Do your most important work when youâre strongest.
\n\n
Presence is a gift. The person who shows up fullyâin conversation, in work, in relationshipsâbecomes magnetic.
\n\n
On Courage
\n\n
Do what scares you (if it wonât kill you). Growth lives on the other side of fear. The things youâre avoiding often hold your biggest breakthroughs.
\n\n
Never let cowardice be a bottleneck. Skills can be learned, resources can be found, but courage must come from within.
\n\n
Failure is irrelevant unless catastrophic. Most failures are feedback in disguise. The only real failure is not learning from the attempt.
\n\n
Daily Reminders
\n\n
\n
Problems are opportunities for virtue
\n
The bad is next to the good
\n
Focus on what you want to see more of
\n
Every no gets you closer to a yes
\n
You can figure it out
\n
Just solve problems
\n
\n\n
The Meta-Principle
\n\n
Behind all advice lies one truth: you must take responsibility for your own life. No guru, system, or philosophy can substitute for your own judgment and action. Use these principles as tools, not rules. Adapt them to your unique situation and discard what doesnât serve you.
\n\n
Life is the best game youâll ever play. Play it well.
\n\n\n\n
Remember: these are suggestions, not commandments. Your mileage may vary. Trust yourself, but verify with reality.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Life Advice: Compressed Truths for Better Living
\n\n
A collection of hard-won wisdom distilled into actionable principles
\n\n
Life is fundamentally about problem-solving and decision-making. After years of mistakes, experiments, and learning from mentors, Iâve compiled these compressed truthsâthe advice I wish Iâd had earlier, organized for quick reference during lifeâs challenging moments.
\n\n
On Self-Improvement
\n\n
Live so you like you. This is the foundation. Before seeking approval from others, build a relationship with yourself that you can be proud of. Youâre the only one who knows the full story of your efforts and intentions.
\n\n
Problems are solvable. Every challenge you face has been solved by someone, somewhere. The question isnât whether itâs possibleâitâs whether youâre willing to learn and act on the solution.
\n\n
Be wrong on purpose. Seek out your mistakes early when theyâre cheap to fix. Being wrong quickly is better than being right slowly. Test your assumptions before they become expensive failures.
\n\n
Do 100 things. Want to get good at something? Do it 100 times. Volume plus feedback creates competence faster than perfectionism creates paralysis.
\n\n
On Relationships
\n\n
Simply be her best option. In dating, donât chaseâattract. Work on becoming someone worth choosing rather than convincing someone to choose you.
\n\n
Win and help win. The best relationships are positive-sum. Success isnât about beating others; itâs about elevating everyone in your circle.
\n\n
Ignore so much that only good remains. Curation is everything. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, the problems you focus onâchoose deliberately.
\n\n
Never pedastalize people. Heroes are just people further along the path. Admire their work, not their person. This keeps you humble and them human.
\n\n
On Work and Wealth
\n\n
Be so good they canât ignore you. Competence opens doors that networking canât. Focus on building skills that create undeniable value.
\n\n
Productize yourself. Find the intersection of what youâre good at, what you enjoy, and what people will pay for. Then systematize it.
\n\n
Never trade time for money long-term. Build leverage through code, media, capital, or people. Your goal is to disconnect input from output.
\n\n
Solve problems, donât compete. Competition is for losers. Find problems only you can solve in ways only you can solve them.
\n\n
On Decision-Making
\n\n
Hell yeah or no. If youâre not excited about an opportunity, itâs probably not worth your time. Mediocre yeses kill great possibilities.
\n\n
Choose long-term over short-term. Most regrets come from optimizing for immediate gratification at the expense of future wellbeing.
\n\n
Stress is untaken action. When anxiety builds, itâs usually because you know what needs to be done but arenât doing it. Act, and stress dissolves.
\n\n
The greatest power is walking away. Options create freedom. Always maintain the ability to say no to anything or anyone.
\n\n
On Learning
\n\n
Understanding precedes action. Donât just copy tacticsâunderstand principles. This lets you adapt when circumstances change.
\n\n
Learn from people you hate. They often reveal your blind spots better than friends who agree with you.
\n\n
All advice cancels to zero. Take wisdom from many sources, but think for yourself. What works for others might not work for you.
\n\n
If it repeats, systematize it. When the same problem keeps appearing, create a system to handle it automatically.
\n\n
On Health and Happiness
\n\n
A calm mind, a fit body, a house full of love. These three pillars support everything else. They canât be boughtâonly earned through consistent practice.
\n\n
Sleep is non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys decision-making, creativity, and relationships. Prioritize it like your life depends on itâbecause it does.
\n\n
Energy management beats time management. Work with your natural rhythms. Do your most important work when youâre strongest.
\n\n
Presence is a gift. The person who shows up fullyâin conversation, in work, in relationshipsâbecomes magnetic.
\n\n
On Courage
\n\n
Do what scares you (if it wonât kill you). Growth lives on the other side of fear. The things youâre avoiding often hold your biggest breakthroughs.
\n\n
Never let cowardice be a bottleneck. Skills can be learned, resources can be found, but courage must come from within.
\n\n
Failure is irrelevant unless catastrophic. Most failures are feedback in disguise. The only real failure is not learning from the attempt.
\n\n
Daily Reminders
\n\n
\n
Problems are opportunities for virtue
\n
The bad is next to the good
\n
Focus on what you want to see more of
\n
Every no gets you closer to a yes
\n
You can figure it out
\n
Just solve problems
\n
\n\n
The Meta-Principle
\n\n
Behind all advice lies one truth: you must take responsibility for your own life. No guru, system, or philosophy can substitute for your own judgment and action. Use these principles as tools, not rules. Adapt them to your unique situation and discard what doesnât serve you.
\n\n
Life is the best game youâll ever play. Play it well.
\n\n\n\n
Remember: these are suggestions, not commandments. Your mileage may vary. Trust yourself, but verify with reality.
\n","url":"/advice/","draft":false,"categories":[],"layout":"post","title":"đŁď¸Advice To Myself.","slug":"advice","ext":".md","tags":[],"date":"2025-09-30 04:34:43 -0700"},"id":"/academia","collection":"jekyll_posts","next":{"path":"_jekyll_posts/2025-08-14-adventure.md","relative_path":"_jekyll_posts/2025-08-14-adventure.md","excerpt":"
Life really is like an MMORPG. You spawn somewhere random, you level up your skills, you find your crew, and you go on quests. The difference is thereâs no respawnâthis is hardcore mode.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after spending time at Network School in Malaysia. When youâre surrounded by people from 100+ countries, all working on different projects, it hits you: weâre all playing the same game, just with different strategies.
\n\n
The Adventure Mindset
\n\n
Adventure isnât just about traveling or extreme sports. Itâs about approaching life with curiosity instead of fear. Itâs about asking âwhat if?â instead of âwhatâs safe?â
\n\n
Some thoughts Iâve been collecting:
\n\n
\n
Death is a one-way door - so we might as well see what we can make of this one life
\n
The biggest risk is taking no risk - especially when youâre young
\n
Flow is optimal - when thought connects directly to action, like surfing or soccer
\n
Create, donât just consume - make things that didnât exist before
\n
\n\n
From Guam to the World
\n\n
Growing up on Guam, I felt trapped by geography. 1/8 million people on an island. But the internet changed everything. Now I can collaborate with people everywhere, learn from the best minds, and contribute to projects that matter.
\n\n
The trick is being âinternet-firstâ - build online, then meet offline. Find your tribe through your work, not your zip code.
\n\n
Experiments in Living
\n\n
Iâm trying to approach life like a series of experiments:
\n\n
\n
100 songs to learn music production
\n
100 apps to understand building things people want
\n
100 conversations with interesting people
\n
Soccer, BJJ, rock climbing - different ways to use your body
\n
Psychedelics, meditation, cold plunges - different ways to expand your mind
\n
\n\n
The pattern is always the same: try something small, see what resonates, then go deeper on the things that work.
\n\n
The Network State Experience
\n\n
Living at Network School has been like adult summer camp for builders. Everyoneâs working on somethingâapps, startups, art projects, research. The energy is infectious.
\n\n
What Iâve learned: your environment shapes you more than you realize. Surround yourself with people doing things you want to do, and youâll naturally level up.
\n\n
On Meaning and Play
\n\n
I used to think you had to choose between being serious about life or having fun. Now I think the best approach is treating life like a game youâre genuinely excited to play.
\n\n
Games have:
\n
\n
Clear objectives
\n
Immediate feedback
\n
Increasing difficulty
\n
Social elements
\n
A sense of progression
\n
\n\n
Life can have all of these too, if you frame it right.
\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Iâm 22. If I live to 100, I have 78 years left. Thatâs enough time for multiple careers, multiple identities, multiple adventures. The question isnât âwhat should I do with my life?â Itâs âwhat should I do first?â
\n\n
Right now Iâm focused on:
\n\n
Getting out of debt
\n
Building things people want
\n
Finding my tribe
\n
Staying healthy and growing
\n\n\n
Everything else is details.
\n\n
Notes to Self
\n\n
Some reminders I keep coming back to:
\n\n
\n
Never forget what you saw in Singapore (the possibility, the energy)
\n
Physical over digital when possible
\n
Help others win, not just yourself
\n
Document the journey - youâll want to remember this
\n
Stay open to serendipity
\n
Trust your curiosity over other peopleâs expectations
\n
\n\n
Whatâs Next?
\n\n
I donât know exactly where this path leads, and thatâs the point. Adventure means heading toward the unknown with good principles and an open mind.
\n\n
If youâre reading this and feeling stuck, try one small experiment. Book a flight somewhere. Start a project. Message someone you admire. The treasure you seek is in the cave you fear to enter.
\n\n
The game is on. Letâs see how far we can go.
\n\n\n\n
These are raw thoughts from someone figuring it out in real time. If any of this resonates, Iâd love to connect. Lifeâs more fun with co-conspirators.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Life as Adventure: Notes from the Edge
\n\n
Raw thoughts from someone learning to live fully
\n\n
The Game of Life
\n\n
Life really is like an MMORPG. You spawn somewhere random, you level up your skills, you find your crew, and you go on quests. The difference is thereâs no respawnâthis is hardcore mode.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after spending time at Network School in Malaysia. When youâre surrounded by people from 100+ countries, all working on different projects, it hits you: weâre all playing the same game, just with different strategies.
\n\n
The Adventure Mindset
\n\n
Adventure isnât just about traveling or extreme sports. Itâs about approaching life with curiosity instead of fear. Itâs about asking âwhat if?â instead of âwhatâs safe?â
\n\n
Some thoughts Iâve been collecting:
\n\n
\n
Death is a one-way door - so we might as well see what we can make of this one life
\n
The biggest risk is taking no risk - especially when youâre young
\n
Flow is optimal - when thought connects directly to action, like surfing or soccer
\n
Create, donât just consume - make things that didnât exist before
\n
\n\n
From Guam to the World
\n\n
Growing up on Guam, I felt trapped by geography. 1/8 million people on an island. But the internet changed everything. Now I can collaborate with people everywhere, learn from the best minds, and contribute to projects that matter.
\n\n
The trick is being âinternet-firstâ - build online, then meet offline. Find your tribe through your work, not your zip code.
\n\n
Experiments in Living
\n\n
Iâm trying to approach life like a series of experiments:
\n\n
\n
100 songs to learn music production
\n
100 apps to understand building things people want
\n
100 conversations with interesting people
\n
Soccer, BJJ, rock climbing - different ways to use your body
\n
Psychedelics, meditation, cold plunges - different ways to expand your mind
\n
\n\n
The pattern is always the same: try something small, see what resonates, then go deeper on the things that work.
\n\n
The Network State Experience
\n\n
Living at Network School has been like adult summer camp for builders. Everyoneâs working on somethingâapps, startups, art projects, research. The energy is infectious.
\n\n
What Iâve learned: your environment shapes you more than you realize. Surround yourself with people doing things you want to do, and youâll naturally level up.
\n\n
On Meaning and Play
\n\n
I used to think you had to choose between being serious about life or having fun. Now I think the best approach is treating life like a game youâre genuinely excited to play.
\n\n
Games have:
\n
\n
Clear objectives
\n
Immediate feedback
\n
Increasing difficulty
\n
Social elements
\n
A sense of progression
\n
\n\n
Life can have all of these too, if you frame it right.
\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Iâm 22. If I live to 100, I have 78 years left. Thatâs enough time for multiple careers, multiple identities, multiple adventures. The question isnât âwhat should I do with my life?â Itâs âwhat should I do first?â
\n\n
Right now Iâm focused on:
\n\n
Getting out of debt
\n
Building things people want
\n
Finding my tribe
\n
Staying healthy and growing
\n\n\n
Everything else is details.
\n\n
Notes to Self
\n\n
Some reminders I keep coming back to:
\n\n
\n
Never forget what you saw in Singapore (the possibility, the energy)
\n
Physical over digital when possible
\n
Help others win, not just yourself
\n
Document the journey - youâll want to remember this
\n
Stay open to serendipity
\n
Trust your curiosity over other peopleâs expectations
\n
\n\n
Whatâs Next?
\n\n
I donât know exactly where this path leads, and thatâs the point. Adventure means heading toward the unknown with good principles and an open mind.
\n\n
If youâre reading this and feeling stuck, try one small experiment. Book a flight somewhere. Start a project. Message someone you admire. The treasure you seek is in the cave you fear to enter.
\n\n
The game is on. Letâs see how far we can go.
\n\n\n\n
These are raw thoughts from someone figuring it out in real time. If any of this resonates, Iâd love to connect. Lifeâs more fun with co-conspirators.
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
\n\n
How I accidentally solved education by finding the school I always wanted
\n\n\n\n
The Great Unbundling
\n\n
I wanted to leave school at 15. Missing assignments, disconnected from classrooms that felt like factories churning out compliance rather than curiosity. The traditional pathâhigh school, college, corporate ladderâfelt like an elaborate game of permission-seeking that had little to do with actual learning or value creation.
\n\n
Now Iâm at Network School in Singapore, and everything makes sense. I love school nowâbut this isnât the school you know.
\n\n
Whatâs Wrong with Traditional Education?
\n\n
The lie lies in its unanimity. Everyone pretends the system works when deep down, we all know K-12 and especially college are pretty broken. But since thereâs no clear 10x alternative, the masses donât jump ship.
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve observed:
\n\n
\n
Degree inflation everywhere: A degree has become a status symbol, universities are talent aggregators with luxury brand pricing
\n
Teaching to the tool, not the problem: As Elon said, schools got it backwardâwe should teach to solve problems, not memorize abstract tools
\n
Permissioned everything: College, jobs, all the traditional paths require jumping through hoops that may have nothing to do with competence
\n
The burden of understanding is on the teacher, not the studentâyet most educational institutions flip this backward
\n
\n\n
Legacy students rack up student loan debt. Internet students rack up credit card debt. Both are trying to solve the same problem: How do you get credible signals of competence without spending four years and six figures?
\n\n
The Network School Alternative
\n\n
Network School feels like a modern version of the Ancient Greek Lyceumâeducation that incorporates not just thinking, but physical fitness, practical skills, and real community. Itâs startup Stanford, but with a crucial difference: weâre building the school while attending it.
\n\n
What Makes NS Different
\n\n
1. Problem-First Learning\nInstead of abstract curriculum divorced from reality, we start with real problems. Want to learn coding? Build something that matters. Want to understand economics? Create wealth. The relevance creates flow, and flow creates deep learning.
\n\n
2. Talent Curation\nWhat top universities do best is aggregate talent. NS does this too, but based on curiosity and competence rather than test scores and family wealth. It self-selects for continuous learners in free markets.
\n\n
3. Compressed Timelines\nWhy spend four years when you can get transformative education in 6-12 months? Intensive microcredentials with proof of work for concentrated skills and knowledge.
\n\n
4. Real Network Effects\nThis isnât just about individual learningâweâre collectively writing the newest testament of how education should work. Each student contributes to the institution while learning from it.
\n\n
The Bundling and Unbundling of Everything
\n\n
Weâre living through the great transition where old institutionsâuniversity, church, traditional employmentâare being unbundled and rebundled in new ways.
\n\n
Whatâs being unbundled from traditional college:
\n
\n
Information access (internet made this free)
\n
Credentialing (portfolio and proof of work matter more)
\n
Social signaling (can be achieved other ways)
\n
Network access (online communities and events)
\n
\n\n
What canât be easily unbundled:
\n
\n
Peer socialization and community
\n
Structured learning progression
\n
Mentorship and feedback loops
\n
Rites of passage and shared meaning
\n
\n\n
Network School rebundles the essential parts while discarding the bloat. We keep the academy, gymnasium, and shrineâthe spaces for learning, physical development, and meaning-makingâbut make them relevant to the modern world.
\n\n
The Economics of Alternative Education
\n\n
Free is overpriced if it doesnât create value. Traditional college costs six figures and four years for uncertain outcomes. NS costs a fraction of that for compressed, practical education with immediate applicability.
\n\n
But itâs not just about costâitâs about opportunity cost. Four years of prime learning and earning years spent in lecture halls versus building real competence in real markets with real mentors.
\n\n
The ROI calculation is clear when you consider:
\n
\n
Speed to competence
\n
Network quality over network size
\n
Immediate applicability
\n
Lower debt burden
\n
Higher agency and ownership
\n
\n\n
What Weâre Building
\n\n
This isnât just about creating an alternative schoolâweâre prototyping the future of human development. The components include:
\n\n
For Individuals:
\n
\n
Philosophy and wealth creation theory (foundational skills)
\n
Programming and persuasion (permissionless leverage)
\n
Health, wisdom, and practical life skills
\n
Clear progression paths and rites of passage
\n
\n\n
For Society:
\n
\n
Talent factories that actually produce talent
\n
Reduced credentialism and increased competence-based evaluation
\n
More apprenticeships and internships
\n
Open-source, forkable educational models
\n
\n\n
For the Future:
\n
\n
Network states and new forms of governance
\n
Companies as schools that pay you
\n
Continuous learning ecosystems
\n
Merit-based progression systems
\n
\n\n
The Path Forward
\n\n
Iâm proud of myself for staying true to my instincts about traditional education. Sometimes you outgrow teachers, sometimes you need to find new ones. The key is maintaining intellectual honesty about what you donât know while actively seeking better scaffolding.
\n\n
What makes someone intellectual? Itâs not degrees or credentialsâitâs the ability to think clearly, learn quickly, and create value in the world. Itâs being on the bleeding edge of knowledge in your domain while maintaining humility about everything you donât know.
\n\n
The ideal progression: Learn â Build â Teach â Repeat. Each cycle, youâre 80% competent for the next level, you learn the remaining 20%, then compound and repeat at the next project or challenge.
\n\n
Conclusion: The School I Always Wanted
\n\n
Iâll graduate from Network Schoolâthe school I always wanted but didnât know existed. Itâs solving the problem of educational cost while encouraging talented individuals from around the world. Itâs creating the conditions for accelerated learning, meaningful community, and practical competence.
\n\n
The future of education isnât about reforming broken institutionsâitâs about building better alternatives that make the old system obsolete. Network School is proof that when you start from first principles and focus on what actually matters, you can create something extraordinary.
\n\n
We are collectively writing the newest testament of how humans can learn, grow, and create value together. And for the first time in my educational journey, Iâm excited to be in school.
\n\n\n\n
Currently learning at Network School Singapore. Previously: college dropout, now: continuous learner in free markets. Building the future of education while getting educated in it.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
\n\n
How I accidentally solved education by finding the school I always wanted
\n\n\n\n
The Great Unbundling
\n\n
I wanted to leave school at 15. Missing assignments, disconnected from classrooms that felt like factories churning out compliance rather than curiosity. The traditional pathâhigh school, college, corporate ladderâfelt like an elaborate game of permission-seeking that had little to do with actual learning or value creation.
\n\n
Now Iâm at Network School in Singapore, and everything makes sense. I love school nowâbut this isnât the school you know.
\n\n
Whatâs Wrong with Traditional Education?
\n\n
The lie lies in its unanimity. Everyone pretends the system works when deep down, we all know K-12 and especially college are pretty broken. But since thereâs no clear 10x alternative, the masses donât jump ship.
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve observed:
\n\n
\n
Degree inflation everywhere: A degree has become a status symbol, universities are talent aggregators with luxury brand pricing
\n
Teaching to the tool, not the problem: As Elon said, schools got it backwardâwe should teach to solve problems, not memorize abstract tools
\n
Permissioned everything: College, jobs, all the traditional paths require jumping through hoops that may have nothing to do with competence
\n
The burden of understanding is on the teacher, not the studentâyet most educational institutions flip this backward
\n
\n\n
Legacy students rack up student loan debt. Internet students rack up credit card debt. Both are trying to solve the same problem: How do you get credible signals of competence without spending four years and six figures?
\n\n
The Network School Alternative
\n\n
Network School feels like a modern version of the Ancient Greek Lyceumâeducation that incorporates not just thinking, but physical fitness, practical skills, and real community. Itâs startup Stanford, but with a crucial difference: weâre building the school while attending it.
\n\n
What Makes NS Different
\n\n
1. Problem-First Learning\nInstead of abstract curriculum divorced from reality, we start with real problems. Want to learn coding? Build something that matters. Want to understand economics? Create wealth. The relevance creates flow, and flow creates deep learning.
\n\n
2. Talent Curation\nWhat top universities do best is aggregate talent. NS does this too, but based on curiosity and competence rather than test scores and family wealth. It self-selects for continuous learners in free markets.
\n\n
3. Compressed Timelines\nWhy spend four years when you can get transformative education in 6-12 months? Intensive microcredentials with proof of work for concentrated skills and knowledge.
\n\n
4. Real Network Effects\nThis isnât just about individual learningâweâre collectively writing the newest testament of how education should work. Each student contributes to the institution while learning from it.
\n\n
The Bundling and Unbundling of Everything
\n\n
Weâre living through the great transition where old institutionsâuniversity, church, traditional employmentâare being unbundled and rebundled in new ways.
\n\n
Whatâs being unbundled from traditional college:
\n
\n
Information access (internet made this free)
\n
Credentialing (portfolio and proof of work matter more)
\n
Social signaling (can be achieved other ways)
\n
Network access (online communities and events)
\n
\n\n
What canât be easily unbundled:
\n
\n
Peer socialization and community
\n
Structured learning progression
\n
Mentorship and feedback loops
\n
Rites of passage and shared meaning
\n
\n\n
Network School rebundles the essential parts while discarding the bloat. We keep the academy, gymnasium, and shrineâthe spaces for learning, physical development, and meaning-makingâbut make them relevant to the modern world.
\n\n
The Economics of Alternative Education
\n\n
Free is overpriced if it doesnât create value. Traditional college costs six figures and four years for uncertain outcomes. NS costs a fraction of that for compressed, practical education with immediate applicability.
\n\n
But itâs not just about costâitâs about opportunity cost. Four years of prime learning and earning years spent in lecture halls versus building real competence in real markets with real mentors.
\n\n
The ROI calculation is clear when you consider:
\n
\n
Speed to competence
\n
Network quality over network size
\n
Immediate applicability
\n
Lower debt burden
\n
Higher agency and ownership
\n
\n\n
What Weâre Building
\n\n
This isnât just about creating an alternative schoolâweâre prototyping the future of human development. The components include:
\n\n
For Individuals:
\n
\n
Philosophy and wealth creation theory (foundational skills)
\n
Programming and persuasion (permissionless leverage)
\n
Health, wisdom, and practical life skills
\n
Clear progression paths and rites of passage
\n
\n\n
For Society:
\n
\n
Talent factories that actually produce talent
\n
Reduced credentialism and increased competence-based evaluation
\n
More apprenticeships and internships
\n
Open-source, forkable educational models
\n
\n\n
For the Future:
\n
\n
Network states and new forms of governance
\n
Companies as schools that pay you
\n
Continuous learning ecosystems
\n
Merit-based progression systems
\n
\n\n
The Path Forward
\n\n
Iâm proud of myself for staying true to my instincts about traditional education. Sometimes you outgrow teachers, sometimes you need to find new ones. The key is maintaining intellectual honesty about what you donât know while actively seeking better scaffolding.
\n\n
What makes someone intellectual? Itâs not degrees or credentialsâitâs the ability to think clearly, learn quickly, and create value in the world. Itâs being on the bleeding edge of knowledge in your domain while maintaining humility about everything you donât know.
\n\n
The ideal progression: Learn â Build â Teach â Repeat. Each cycle, youâre 80% competent for the next level, you learn the remaining 20%, then compound and repeat at the next project or challenge.
\n\n
Conclusion: The School I Always Wanted
\n\n
Iâll graduate from Network Schoolâthe school I always wanted but didnât know existed. Itâs solving the problem of educational cost while encouraging talented individuals from around the world. Itâs creating the conditions for accelerated learning, meaningful community, and practical competence.
\n\n
The future of education isnât about reforming broken institutionsâitâs about building better alternatives that make the old system obsolete. Network School is proof that when you start from first principles and focus on what actually matters, you can create something extraordinary.
\n\n
We are collectively writing the newest testament of how humans can learn, grow, and create value together. And for the first time in my educational journey, Iâm excited to be in school.
\n\n\n\n
Currently learning at Network School Singapore. Previously: college dropout, now: continuous learner in free markets. Building the future of education while getting educated in it.
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
\n\n
How I accidentally solved education by finding the school I always wanted
\n\n\n\n
The Great Unbundling
\n\n
I wanted to leave school at 15. Missing assignments, disconnected from classrooms that felt like factories churning out compliance rather than curiosity. The traditional pathâhigh school, college, corporate ladderâfelt like an elaborate game of permission-seeking that had little to do with actual learning or value creation.
\n\n
Now Iâm at Network School in Singapore, and everything makes sense. I love school nowâbut this isnât the school you know.
\n\n
Whatâs Wrong with Traditional Education?
\n\n
The lie lies in its unanimity. Everyone pretends the system works when deep down, we all know K-12 and especially college are pretty broken. But since thereâs no clear 10x alternative, the masses donât jump ship.
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve observed:
\n\n
\n
Degree inflation everywhere: A degree has become a status symbol, universities are talent aggregators with luxury brand pricing
\n
Teaching to the tool, not the problem: As Elon said, schools got it backwardâwe should teach to solve problems, not memorize abstract tools
\n
Permissioned everything: College, jobs, all the traditional paths require jumping through hoops that may have nothing to do with competence
\n
The burden of understanding is on the teacher, not the studentâyet most educational institutions flip this backward
\n
\n\n
Legacy students rack up student loan debt. Internet students rack up credit card debt. Both are trying to solve the same problem: How do you get credible signals of competence without spending four years and six figures?
\n\n
The Network School Alternative
\n\n
Network School feels like a modern version of the Ancient Greek Lyceumâeducation that incorporates not just thinking, but physical fitness, practical skills, and real community. Itâs startup Stanford, but with a crucial difference: weâre building the school while attending it.
\n\n
What Makes NS Different
\n\n
1. Problem-First Learning\nInstead of abstract curriculum divorced from reality, we start with real problems. Want to learn coding? Build something that matters. Want to understand economics? Create wealth. The relevance creates flow, and flow creates deep learning.
\n\n
2. Talent Curation\nWhat top universities do best is aggregate talent. NS does this too, but based on curiosity and competence rather than test scores and family wealth. It self-selects for continuous learners in free markets.
\n\n
3. Compressed Timelines\nWhy spend four years when you can get transformative education in 6-12 months? Intensive microcredentials with proof of work for concentrated skills and knowledge.
\n\n
4. Real Network Effects\nThis isnât just about individual learningâweâre collectively writing the newest testament of how education should work. Each student contributes to the institution while learning from it.
\n\n
The Bundling and Unbundling of Everything
\n\n
Weâre living through the great transition where old institutionsâuniversity, church, traditional employmentâare being unbundled and rebundled in new ways.
\n\n
Whatâs being unbundled from traditional college:
\n
\n
Information access (internet made this free)
\n
Credentialing (portfolio and proof of work matter more)
\n
Social signaling (can be achieved other ways)
\n
Network access (online communities and events)
\n
\n\n
What canât be easily unbundled:
\n
\n
Peer socialization and community
\n
Structured learning progression
\n
Mentorship and feedback loops
\n
Rites of passage and shared meaning
\n
\n\n
Network School rebundles the essential parts while discarding the bloat. We keep the academy, gymnasium, and shrineâthe spaces for learning, physical development, and meaning-makingâbut make them relevant to the modern world.
\n\n
The Economics of Alternative Education
\n\n
Free is overpriced if it doesnât create value. Traditional college costs six figures and four years for uncertain outcomes. NS costs a fraction of that for compressed, practical education with immediate applicability.
\n\n
But itâs not just about costâitâs about opportunity cost. Four years of prime learning and earning years spent in lecture halls versus building real competence in real markets with real mentors.
\n\n
The ROI calculation is clear when you consider:
\n
\n
Speed to competence
\n
Network quality over network size
\n
Immediate applicability
\n
Lower debt burden
\n
Higher agency and ownership
\n
\n\n
What Weâre Building
\n\n
This isnât just about creating an alternative schoolâweâre prototyping the future of human development. The components include:
\n\n
For Individuals:
\n
\n
Philosophy and wealth creation theory (foundational skills)
\n
Programming and persuasion (permissionless leverage)
\n
Health, wisdom, and practical life skills
\n
Clear progression paths and rites of passage
\n
\n\n
For Society:
\n
\n
Talent factories that actually produce talent
\n
Reduced credentialism and increased competence-based evaluation
\n
More apprenticeships and internships
\n
Open-source, forkable educational models
\n
\n\n
For the Future:
\n
\n
Network states and new forms of governance
\n
Companies as schools that pay you
\n
Continuous learning ecosystems
\n
Merit-based progression systems
\n
\n\n
The Path Forward
\n\n
Iâm proud of myself for staying true to my instincts about traditional education. Sometimes you outgrow teachers, sometimes you need to find new ones. The key is maintaining intellectual honesty about what you donât know while actively seeking better scaffolding.
\n\n
What makes someone intellectual? Itâs not degrees or credentialsâitâs the ability to think clearly, learn quickly, and create value in the world. Itâs being on the bleeding edge of knowledge in your domain while maintaining humility about everything you donât know.
\n\n
The ideal progression: Learn â Build â Teach â Repeat. Each cycle, youâre 80% competent for the next level, you learn the remaining 20%, then compound and repeat at the next project or challenge.
\n\n
Conclusion: The School I Always Wanted
\n\n
Iâll graduate from Network Schoolâthe school I always wanted but didnât know existed. Itâs solving the problem of educational cost while encouraging talented individuals from around the world. Itâs creating the conditions for accelerated learning, meaningful community, and practical competence.
\n\n
The future of education isnât about reforming broken institutionsâitâs about building better alternatives that make the old system obsolete. Network School is proof that when you start from first principles and focus on what actually matters, you can create something extraordinary.
\n\n
We are collectively writing the newest testament of how humans can learn, grow, and create value together. And for the first time in my educational journey, Iâm excited to be in school.
\n\n\n\n
Currently learning at Network School Singapore. Previously: college dropout, now: continuous learner in free markets. Building the future of education while getting educated in it.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
From Dropout to Network School: Rethinking Education for the New Age
\n\n
How I accidentally solved education by finding the school I always wanted
\n\n\n\n
The Great Unbundling
\n\n
I wanted to leave school at 15. Missing assignments, disconnected from classrooms that felt like factories churning out compliance rather than curiosity. The traditional pathâhigh school, college, corporate ladderâfelt like an elaborate game of permission-seeking that had little to do with actual learning or value creation.
\n\n
Now Iâm at Network School in Singapore, and everything makes sense. I love school nowâbut this isnât the school you know.
\n\n
Whatâs Wrong with Traditional Education?
\n\n
The lie lies in its unanimity. Everyone pretends the system works when deep down, we all know K-12 and especially college are pretty broken. But since thereâs no clear 10x alternative, the masses donât jump ship.
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve observed:
\n\n
\n
Degree inflation everywhere: A degree has become a status symbol, universities are talent aggregators with luxury brand pricing
\n
Teaching to the tool, not the problem: As Elon said, schools got it backwardâwe should teach to solve problems, not memorize abstract tools
\n
Permissioned everything: College, jobs, all the traditional paths require jumping through hoops that may have nothing to do with competence
\n
The burden of understanding is on the teacher, not the studentâyet most educational institutions flip this backward
\n
\n\n
Legacy students rack up student loan debt. Internet students rack up credit card debt. Both are trying to solve the same problem: How do you get credible signals of competence without spending four years and six figures?
\n\n
The Network School Alternative
\n\n
Network School feels like a modern version of the Ancient Greek Lyceumâeducation that incorporates not just thinking, but physical fitness, practical skills, and real community. Itâs startup Stanford, but with a crucial difference: weâre building the school while attending it.
\n\n
What Makes NS Different
\n\n
1. Problem-First Learning\nInstead of abstract curriculum divorced from reality, we start with real problems. Want to learn coding? Build something that matters. Want to understand economics? Create wealth. The relevance creates flow, and flow creates deep learning.
\n\n
2. Talent Curation\nWhat top universities do best is aggregate talent. NS does this too, but based on curiosity and competence rather than test scores and family wealth. It self-selects for continuous learners in free markets.
\n\n
3. Compressed Timelines\nWhy spend four years when you can get transformative education in 6-12 months? Intensive microcredentials with proof of work for concentrated skills and knowledge.
\n\n
4. Real Network Effects\nThis isnât just about individual learningâweâre collectively writing the newest testament of how education should work. Each student contributes to the institution while learning from it.
\n\n
The Bundling and Unbundling of Everything
\n\n
Weâre living through the great transition where old institutionsâuniversity, church, traditional employmentâare being unbundled and rebundled in new ways.
\n\n
Whatâs being unbundled from traditional college:
\n
\n
Information access (internet made this free)
\n
Credentialing (portfolio and proof of work matter more)
\n
Social signaling (can be achieved other ways)
\n
Network access (online communities and events)
\n
\n\n
What canât be easily unbundled:
\n
\n
Peer socialization and community
\n
Structured learning progression
\n
Mentorship and feedback loops
\n
Rites of passage and shared meaning
\n
\n\n
Network School rebundles the essential parts while discarding the bloat. We keep the academy, gymnasium, and shrineâthe spaces for learning, physical development, and meaning-makingâbut make them relevant to the modern world.
\n\n
The Economics of Alternative Education
\n\n
Free is overpriced if it doesnât create value. Traditional college costs six figures and four years for uncertain outcomes. NS costs a fraction of that for compressed, practical education with immediate applicability.
\n\n
But itâs not just about costâitâs about opportunity cost. Four years of prime learning and earning years spent in lecture halls versus building real competence in real markets with real mentors.
\n\n
The ROI calculation is clear when you consider:
\n
\n
Speed to competence
\n
Network quality over network size
\n
Immediate applicability
\n
Lower debt burden
\n
Higher agency and ownership
\n
\n\n
What Weâre Building
\n\n
This isnât just about creating an alternative schoolâweâre prototyping the future of human development. The components include:
\n\n
For Individuals:
\n
\n
Philosophy and wealth creation theory (foundational skills)
\n
Programming and persuasion (permissionless leverage)
\n
Health, wisdom, and practical life skills
\n
Clear progression paths and rites of passage
\n
\n\n
For Society:
\n
\n
Talent factories that actually produce talent
\n
Reduced credentialism and increased competence-based evaluation
\n
More apprenticeships and internships
\n
Open-source, forkable educational models
\n
\n\n
For the Future:
\n
\n
Network states and new forms of governance
\n
Companies as schools that pay you
\n
Continuous learning ecosystems
\n
Merit-based progression systems
\n
\n\n
The Path Forward
\n\n
Iâm proud of myself for staying true to my instincts about traditional education. Sometimes you outgrow teachers, sometimes you need to find new ones. The key is maintaining intellectual honesty about what you donât know while actively seeking better scaffolding.
\n\n
What makes someone intellectual? Itâs not degrees or credentialsâitâs the ability to think clearly, learn quickly, and create value in the world. Itâs being on the bleeding edge of knowledge in your domain while maintaining humility about everything you donât know.
\n\n
The ideal progression: Learn â Build â Teach â Repeat. Each cycle, youâre 80% competent for the next level, you learn the remaining 20%, then compound and repeat at the next project or challenge.
\n\n
Conclusion: The School I Always Wanted
\n\n
Iâll graduate from Network Schoolâthe school I always wanted but didnât know existed. Itâs solving the problem of educational cost while encouraging talented individuals from around the world. Itâs creating the conditions for accelerated learning, meaningful community, and practical competence.
\n\n
The future of education isnât about reforming broken institutionsâitâs about building better alternatives that make the old system obsolete. Network School is proof that when you start from first principles and focus on what actually matters, you can create something extraordinary.
\n\n
We are collectively writing the newest testament of how humans can learn, grow, and create value together. And for the first time in my educational journey, Iâm excited to be in school.
\n\n\n\n
Currently learning at Network School Singapore. Previously: college dropout, now: continuous learner in free markets. Building the future of education while getting educated in it.
Originally published from raw entrepreneurial notes
\n\n
Agency isnât just a buzzwordâitâs the fundamental difference between those who shape their reality and those who get shaped by it. After months of building products, freelancing, and navigating the entrepreneurship landscape, here are the patterns that keep surfacing.
\n\n
The Agency Formula
\n\n
The clearest framework Iâve found: Agency = Judgment Ă Action
\n\n
You need both. Great judgment without action is just sophisticated procrastination. Frantic action without judgment is just expensive thrashing. But when you combine good explanatory mental scaffolding with deliberate, diligent actionâthatâs where transformation happens.
\n\n
The Productization Mindset
\n\n
Hereâs what clicked for me: You are a product. Not in a dehumanizing way, but in the most empowering sense possible. You can be refined, improved, marketed, and sold. You can generate value that people will pay for.
\n\n
The traditional path says: get credentials, find a job, trade time for money. The agency path says: identify problems, build solutions, capture value. One makes you a replaceable cog; the other makes you irreplaceable.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Navalâs framework hits different when youâre actually building: You get paid for giving society what it wants but doesnât know how to make yet. This isnât theoryâitâs the operational reality of every successful product Iâve built.
\n\n
The key insight: leverage comes in multiple forms:
\n
\n
Code: Write once, run forever
\n
Media: Create once, distribute infinitely
\n
Capital: Money working instead of you
\n
Labor: Other peopleâs time and skills
\n
\n\n
The magic happens when you combine these. A software product (code) promoted through content (media) funded by customers (capital) built with contractors (labor) = compounding returns.
\n\n
The Local-to-Global Strategy
\n\n
Start where you are. Master your local market first. Iâm building products on Guam not despite the small market, but because of it. You can test faster, iterate cheaper, and build real relationships before scaling globally.
\n\n
The pattern: dominate locally â extract principles â apply globally.
\n\n
Agency in Practice
\n\n
Real agency looks like:
\n
\n
Building products that solve your own problems first
\n
Charging for transformations, not time
\n
Creating systems that work without your constant input
\n
Saying no to opportunities that donât compound
\n
Optimizing for optionality over security
\n
\n\n
Itâs not about hustle culture or grinding 80-hour weeks. Itâs about working on the right problems with the right leverage at the right time.
\n\n
The Network Effect
\n\n
Your peer group determines your trajectory more than talent or effort. Surround yourself with other agentsâpeople who build, ship, and iterate. Avoid the trapped mindset of those whoâve accepted their local minima.
\n\n
Great times of volatility are great times for the agentic. While others wait for permission or perfect conditions, agents experiment, fail fast, and compound learnings.
\n\n
Practical Next Steps
\n\n\n
Audit your current situation: What problems do you uniquely understand?
\n
Build something small: Solve it for yourself first
\n
Find your first customer: Sell the transformation, not the product
\n
Reinvest profits: Into better tools, faster feedback loops, or more leverage
\n
Scale what works: Double down on success, abandon what doesnât
\n\n\n
The Meta-Game
\n\n
The real insight: everything is a system that can be understood and optimized. Your health, wealth, relationships, skillsâall systems with inputs, processes, and outputs. Agency is about taking responsibility for optimizing these systems instead of hoping theyâll improve by accident.
\n\n
Donât give up. Be agentic.
\n\n\n\n
This post distilled from hundreds of raw notes taken while building products, freelancing, and learning to think like an entrepreneur. The messiness of the process is part of the pointâagency emerges from action, not from perfect planning.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Building Agency: From Notes to Action
\n\n
Originally published from raw entrepreneurial notes
\n\n
Agency isnât just a buzzwordâitâs the fundamental difference between those who shape their reality and those who get shaped by it. After months of building products, freelancing, and navigating the entrepreneurship landscape, here are the patterns that keep surfacing.
\n\n
The Agency Formula
\n\n
The clearest framework Iâve found: Agency = Judgment Ă Action
\n\n
You need both. Great judgment without action is just sophisticated procrastination. Frantic action without judgment is just expensive thrashing. But when you combine good explanatory mental scaffolding with deliberate, diligent actionâthatâs where transformation happens.
\n\n
The Productization Mindset
\n\n
Hereâs what clicked for me: You are a product. Not in a dehumanizing way, but in the most empowering sense possible. You can be refined, improved, marketed, and sold. You can generate value that people will pay for.
\n\n
The traditional path says: get credentials, find a job, trade time for money. The agency path says: identify problems, build solutions, capture value. One makes you a replaceable cog; the other makes you irreplaceable.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Navalâs framework hits different when youâre actually building: You get paid for giving society what it wants but doesnât know how to make yet. This isnât theoryâitâs the operational reality of every successful product Iâve built.
\n\n
The key insight: leverage comes in multiple forms:
\n
\n
Code: Write once, run forever
\n
Media: Create once, distribute infinitely
\n
Capital: Money working instead of you
\n
Labor: Other peopleâs time and skills
\n
\n\n
The magic happens when you combine these. A software product (code) promoted through content (media) funded by customers (capital) built with contractors (labor) = compounding returns.
\n\n
The Local-to-Global Strategy
\n\n
Start where you are. Master your local market first. Iâm building products on Guam not despite the small market, but because of it. You can test faster, iterate cheaper, and build real relationships before scaling globally.
\n\n
The pattern: dominate locally â extract principles â apply globally.
\n\n
Agency in Practice
\n\n
Real agency looks like:
\n
\n
Building products that solve your own problems first
\n
Charging for transformations, not time
\n
Creating systems that work without your constant input
\n
Saying no to opportunities that donât compound
\n
Optimizing for optionality over security
\n
\n\n
Itâs not about hustle culture or grinding 80-hour weeks. Itâs about working on the right problems with the right leverage at the right time.
\n\n
The Network Effect
\n\n
Your peer group determines your trajectory more than talent or effort. Surround yourself with other agentsâpeople who build, ship, and iterate. Avoid the trapped mindset of those whoâve accepted their local minima.
\n\n
Great times of volatility are great times for the agentic. While others wait for permission or perfect conditions, agents experiment, fail fast, and compound learnings.
\n\n
Practical Next Steps
\n\n\n
Audit your current situation: What problems do you uniquely understand?
\n
Build something small: Solve it for yourself first
\n
Find your first customer: Sell the transformation, not the product
\n
Reinvest profits: Into better tools, faster feedback loops, or more leverage
\n
Scale what works: Double down on success, abandon what doesnât
\n\n\n
The Meta-Game
\n\n
The real insight: everything is a system that can be understood and optimized. Your health, wealth, relationships, skillsâall systems with inputs, processes, and outputs. Agency is about taking responsibility for optimizing these systems instead of hoping theyâll improve by accident.
\n\n
Donât give up. Be agentic.
\n\n\n\n
This post distilled from hundreds of raw notes taken while building products, freelancing, and learning to think like an entrepreneur. The messiness of the process is part of the pointâagency emerges from action, not from perfect planning.
Life really is like an MMORPG. You spawn somewhere random, you level up your skills, you find your crew, and you go on quests. The difference is thereâs no respawnâthis is hardcore mode.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after spending time at Network School in Malaysia. When youâre surrounded by people from 100+ countries, all working on different projects, it hits you: weâre all playing the same game, just with different strategies.
\n\n
The Adventure Mindset
\n\n
Adventure isnât just about traveling or extreme sports. Itâs about approaching life with curiosity instead of fear. Itâs about asking âwhat if?â instead of âwhatâs safe?â
\n\n
Some thoughts Iâve been collecting:
\n\n
\n
Death is a one-way door - so we might as well see what we can make of this one life
\n
The biggest risk is taking no risk - especially when youâre young
\n
Flow is optimal - when thought connects directly to action, like surfing or soccer
\n
Create, donât just consume - make things that didnât exist before
\n
\n\n
From Guam to the World
\n\n
Growing up on Guam, I felt trapped by geography. 1/8 million people on an island. But the internet changed everything. Now I can collaborate with people everywhere, learn from the best minds, and contribute to projects that matter.
\n\n
The trick is being âinternet-firstâ - build online, then meet offline. Find your tribe through your work, not your zip code.
\n\n
Experiments in Living
\n\n
Iâm trying to approach life like a series of experiments:
\n\n
\n
100 songs to learn music production
\n
100 apps to understand building things people want
\n
100 conversations with interesting people
\n
Soccer, BJJ, rock climbing - different ways to use your body
\n
Psychedelics, meditation, cold plunges - different ways to expand your mind
\n
\n\n
The pattern is always the same: try something small, see what resonates, then go deeper on the things that work.
\n\n
The Network State Experience
\n\n
Living at Network School has been like adult summer camp for builders. Everyoneâs working on somethingâapps, startups, art projects, research. The energy is infectious.
\n\n
What Iâve learned: your environment shapes you more than you realize. Surround yourself with people doing things you want to do, and youâll naturally level up.
\n\n
On Meaning and Play
\n\n
I used to think you had to choose between being serious about life or having fun. Now I think the best approach is treating life like a game youâre genuinely excited to play.
\n\n
Games have:
\n
\n
Clear objectives
\n
Immediate feedback
\n
Increasing difficulty
\n
Social elements
\n
A sense of progression
\n
\n\n
Life can have all of these too, if you frame it right.
\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Iâm 22. If I live to 100, I have 78 years left. Thatâs enough time for multiple careers, multiple identities, multiple adventures. The question isnât âwhat should I do with my life?â Itâs âwhat should I do first?â
\n\n
Right now Iâm focused on:
\n\n
Getting out of debt
\n
Building things people want
\n
Finding my tribe
\n
Staying healthy and growing
\n\n\n
Everything else is details.
\n\n
Notes to Self
\n\n
Some reminders I keep coming back to:
\n\n
\n
Never forget what you saw in Singapore (the possibility, the energy)
\n
Physical over digital when possible
\n
Help others win, not just yourself
\n
Document the journey - youâll want to remember this
\n
Stay open to serendipity
\n
Trust your curiosity over other peopleâs expectations
\n
\n\n
Whatâs Next?
\n\n
I donât know exactly where this path leads, and thatâs the point. Adventure means heading toward the unknown with good principles and an open mind.
\n\n
If youâre reading this and feeling stuck, try one small experiment. Book a flight somewhere. Start a project. Message someone you admire. The treasure you seek is in the cave you fear to enter.
\n\n
The game is on. Letâs see how far we can go.
\n\n\n\n
These are raw thoughts from someone figuring it out in real time. If any of this resonates, Iâd love to connect. Lifeâs more fun with co-conspirators.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Life as Adventure: Notes from the Edge
\n\n
Raw thoughts from someone learning to live fully
\n\n
The Game of Life
\n\n
Life really is like an MMORPG. You spawn somewhere random, you level up your skills, you find your crew, and you go on quests. The difference is thereâs no respawnâthis is hardcore mode.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after spending time at Network School in Malaysia. When youâre surrounded by people from 100+ countries, all working on different projects, it hits you: weâre all playing the same game, just with different strategies.
\n\n
The Adventure Mindset
\n\n
Adventure isnât just about traveling or extreme sports. Itâs about approaching life with curiosity instead of fear. Itâs about asking âwhat if?â instead of âwhatâs safe?â
\n\n
Some thoughts Iâve been collecting:
\n\n
\n
Death is a one-way door - so we might as well see what we can make of this one life
\n
The biggest risk is taking no risk - especially when youâre young
\n
Flow is optimal - when thought connects directly to action, like surfing or soccer
\n
Create, donât just consume - make things that didnât exist before
\n
\n\n
From Guam to the World
\n\n
Growing up on Guam, I felt trapped by geography. 1/8 million people on an island. But the internet changed everything. Now I can collaborate with people everywhere, learn from the best minds, and contribute to projects that matter.
\n\n
The trick is being âinternet-firstâ - build online, then meet offline. Find your tribe through your work, not your zip code.
\n\n
Experiments in Living
\n\n
Iâm trying to approach life like a series of experiments:
\n\n
\n
100 songs to learn music production
\n
100 apps to understand building things people want
\n
100 conversations with interesting people
\n
Soccer, BJJ, rock climbing - different ways to use your body
\n
Psychedelics, meditation, cold plunges - different ways to expand your mind
\n
\n\n
The pattern is always the same: try something small, see what resonates, then go deeper on the things that work.
\n\n
The Network State Experience
\n\n
Living at Network School has been like adult summer camp for builders. Everyoneâs working on somethingâapps, startups, art projects, research. The energy is infectious.
\n\n
What Iâve learned: your environment shapes you more than you realize. Surround yourself with people doing things you want to do, and youâll naturally level up.
\n\n
On Meaning and Play
\n\n
I used to think you had to choose between being serious about life or having fun. Now I think the best approach is treating life like a game youâre genuinely excited to play.
\n\n
Games have:
\n
\n
Clear objectives
\n
Immediate feedback
\n
Increasing difficulty
\n
Social elements
\n
A sense of progression
\n
\n\n
Life can have all of these too, if you frame it right.
\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Iâm 22. If I live to 100, I have 78 years left. Thatâs enough time for multiple careers, multiple identities, multiple adventures. The question isnât âwhat should I do with my life?â Itâs âwhat should I do first?â
\n\n
Right now Iâm focused on:
\n\n
Getting out of debt
\n
Building things people want
\n
Finding my tribe
\n
Staying healthy and growing
\n\n\n
Everything else is details.
\n\n
Notes to Self
\n\n
Some reminders I keep coming back to:
\n\n
\n
Never forget what you saw in Singapore (the possibility, the energy)
\n
Physical over digital when possible
\n
Help others win, not just yourself
\n
Document the journey - youâll want to remember this
\n
Stay open to serendipity
\n
Trust your curiosity over other peopleâs expectations
\n
\n\n
Whatâs Next?
\n\n
I donât know exactly where this path leads, and thatâs the point. Adventure means heading toward the unknown with good principles and an open mind.
\n\n
If youâre reading this and feeling stuck, try one small experiment. Book a flight somewhere. Start a project. Message someone you admire. The treasure you seek is in the cave you fear to enter.
\n\n
The game is on. Letâs see how far we can go.
\n\n\n\n
These are raw thoughts from someone figuring it out in real time. If any of this resonates, Iâd love to connect. Lifeâs more fun with co-conspirators.
Life really is like an MMORPG. You spawn somewhere random, you level up your skills, you find your crew, and you go on quests. The difference is thereâs no respawnâthis is hardcore mode.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after spending time at Network School in Malaysia. When youâre surrounded by people from 100+ countries, all working on different projects, it hits you: weâre all playing the same game, just with different strategies.
\n\n
The Adventure Mindset
\n\n
Adventure isnât just about traveling or extreme sports. Itâs about approaching life with curiosity instead of fear. Itâs about asking âwhat if?â instead of âwhatâs safe?â
\n\n
Some thoughts Iâve been collecting:
\n\n
\n
Death is a one-way door - so we might as well see what we can make of this one life
\n
The biggest risk is taking no risk - especially when youâre young
\n
Flow is optimal - when thought connects directly to action, like surfing or soccer
\n
Create, donât just consume - make things that didnât exist before
\n
\n\n
From Guam to the World
\n\n
Growing up on Guam, I felt trapped by geography. 1/8 million people on an island. But the internet changed everything. Now I can collaborate with people everywhere, learn from the best minds, and contribute to projects that matter.
\n\n
The trick is being âinternet-firstâ - build online, then meet offline. Find your tribe through your work, not your zip code.
\n\n
Experiments in Living
\n\n
Iâm trying to approach life like a series of experiments:
\n\n
\n
100 songs to learn music production
\n
100 apps to understand building things people want
\n
100 conversations with interesting people
\n
Soccer, BJJ, rock climbing - different ways to use your body
\n
Psychedelics, meditation, cold plunges - different ways to expand your mind
\n
\n\n
The pattern is always the same: try something small, see what resonates, then go deeper on the things that work.
\n\n
The Network State Experience
\n\n
Living at Network School has been like adult summer camp for builders. Everyoneâs working on somethingâapps, startups, art projects, research. The energy is infectious.
\n\n
What Iâve learned: your environment shapes you more than you realize. Surround yourself with people doing things you want to do, and youâll naturally level up.
\n\n
On Meaning and Play
\n\n
I used to think you had to choose between being serious about life or having fun. Now I think the best approach is treating life like a game youâre genuinely excited to play.
\n\n
Games have:
\n
\n
Clear objectives
\n
Immediate feedback
\n
Increasing difficulty
\n
Social elements
\n
A sense of progression
\n
\n\n
Life can have all of these too, if you frame it right.
\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Iâm 22. If I live to 100, I have 78 years left. Thatâs enough time for multiple careers, multiple identities, multiple adventures. The question isnât âwhat should I do with my life?â Itâs âwhat should I do first?â
\n\n
Right now Iâm focused on:
\n\n
Getting out of debt
\n
Building things people want
\n
Finding my tribe
\n
Staying healthy and growing
\n\n\n
Everything else is details.
\n\n
Notes to Self
\n\n
Some reminders I keep coming back to:
\n\n
\n
Never forget what you saw in Singapore (the possibility, the energy)
\n
Physical over digital when possible
\n
Help others win, not just yourself
\n
Document the journey - youâll want to remember this
\n
Stay open to serendipity
\n
Trust your curiosity over other peopleâs expectations
\n
\n\n
Whatâs Next?
\n\n
I donât know exactly where this path leads, and thatâs the point. Adventure means heading toward the unknown with good principles and an open mind.
\n\n
If youâre reading this and feeling stuck, try one small experiment. Book a flight somewhere. Start a project. Message someone you admire. The treasure you seek is in the cave you fear to enter.
\n\n
The game is on. Letâs see how far we can go.
\n\n\n\n
These are raw thoughts from someone figuring it out in real time. If any of this resonates, Iâd love to connect. Lifeâs more fun with co-conspirators.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Life as Adventure: Notes from the Edge
\n\n
Raw thoughts from someone learning to live fully
\n\n
The Game of Life
\n\n
Life really is like an MMORPG. You spawn somewhere random, you level up your skills, you find your crew, and you go on quests. The difference is thereâs no respawnâthis is hardcore mode.
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after spending time at Network School in Malaysia. When youâre surrounded by people from 100+ countries, all working on different projects, it hits you: weâre all playing the same game, just with different strategies.
\n\n
The Adventure Mindset
\n\n
Adventure isnât just about traveling or extreme sports. Itâs about approaching life with curiosity instead of fear. Itâs about asking âwhat if?â instead of âwhatâs safe?â
\n\n
Some thoughts Iâve been collecting:
\n\n
\n
Death is a one-way door - so we might as well see what we can make of this one life
\n
The biggest risk is taking no risk - especially when youâre young
\n
Flow is optimal - when thought connects directly to action, like surfing or soccer
\n
Create, donât just consume - make things that didnât exist before
\n
\n\n
From Guam to the World
\n\n
Growing up on Guam, I felt trapped by geography. 1/8 million people on an island. But the internet changed everything. Now I can collaborate with people everywhere, learn from the best minds, and contribute to projects that matter.
\n\n
The trick is being âinternet-firstâ - build online, then meet offline. Find your tribe through your work, not your zip code.
\n\n
Experiments in Living
\n\n
Iâm trying to approach life like a series of experiments:
\n\n
\n
100 songs to learn music production
\n
100 apps to understand building things people want
\n
100 conversations with interesting people
\n
Soccer, BJJ, rock climbing - different ways to use your body
\n
Psychedelics, meditation, cold plunges - different ways to expand your mind
\n
\n\n
The pattern is always the same: try something small, see what resonates, then go deeper on the things that work.
\n\n
The Network State Experience
\n\n
Living at Network School has been like adult summer camp for builders. Everyoneâs working on somethingâapps, startups, art projects, research. The energy is infectious.
\n\n
What Iâve learned: your environment shapes you more than you realize. Surround yourself with people doing things you want to do, and youâll naturally level up.
\n\n
On Meaning and Play
\n\n
I used to think you had to choose between being serious about life or having fun. Now I think the best approach is treating life like a game youâre genuinely excited to play.
\n\n
Games have:
\n
\n
Clear objectives
\n
Immediate feedback
\n
Increasing difficulty
\n
Social elements
\n
A sense of progression
\n
\n\n
Life can have all of these too, if you frame it right.
\n\n
The Long Game
\n\n
Iâm 22. If I live to 100, I have 78 years left. Thatâs enough time for multiple careers, multiple identities, multiple adventures. The question isnât âwhat should I do with my life?â Itâs âwhat should I do first?â
\n\n
Right now Iâm focused on:
\n\n
Getting out of debt
\n
Building things people want
\n
Finding my tribe
\n
Staying healthy and growing
\n\n\n
Everything else is details.
\n\n
Notes to Self
\n\n
Some reminders I keep coming back to:
\n\n
\n
Never forget what you saw in Singapore (the possibility, the energy)
\n
Physical over digital when possible
\n
Help others win, not just yourself
\n
Document the journey - youâll want to remember this
\n
Stay open to serendipity
\n
Trust your curiosity over other peopleâs expectations
\n
\n\n
Whatâs Next?
\n\n
I donât know exactly where this path leads, and thatâs the point. Adventure means heading toward the unknown with good principles and an open mind.
\n\n
If youâre reading this and feeling stuck, try one small experiment. Book a flight somewhere. Start a project. Message someone you admire. The treasure you seek is in the cave you fear to enter.
\n\n
The game is on. Letâs see how far we can go.
\n\n\n\n
These are raw thoughts from someone figuring it out in real time. If any of this resonates, Iâd love to connect. Lifeâs more fun with co-conspirators.
Iâve been thinking about aging latelyânot in the way most people do, with resignation and fear, but with curiosity and defiance. Thereâs something fascinating about the arbitrary nature of chronological age versus the malleable reality of biological age.
\n\n
The Numbers Game
\n\n
Age is just a number, but which number are we really talking about? I can influence my epigenetic age, and honestly, I donât care much about my chronological age anymore. Itâs like separating time from substanceâwhat matters isnât how many years youâve accumulated, but how much life youâve actually lived within those years.
\n\n
Looking at Forbes lists organized by age tells an interesting story. Some people accomplish more in their twenties than others do in decades. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like Iâm late to the party, watching younger people achieve success while Iâm still figuring things out. But maybe thatâs the wrong lens entirely.
\n\n
The Healthspan Question
\n\n
This isnât really about life extensionâitâs about youth extension. Longevity means more life and a longer healthspan. Who doesnât want to be healthy? The goal isnât necessarily to live forever, but to make death optional while weâre working on the project of being fully alive.
\n\n
Imagine being like Aragorn: 80+ years old but young in body, carrying the wisdom of age and experience. Thereâs something vampiric about this ideaâthe accumulation of knowledge and perspective without the physical decay. Maybe thatâs why the archetype is so compelling.
\n\n
The Competence Curve
\n\n
Hereâs a good argument for the âdonât dieâ approach: humans take an incredibly long time to ramp up in competence. Just as my life gets better at compiling experiences into wisdom, why cut it short? It seems wasteful to spend decades learning how to live, only to have the body fail right when youâre getting good at it.
\n\n
Those close to death fear littleâthereâs a freedom that comes with age, a gradual caring less about what others think. But there are also tradeoffs. Just because someone is old doesnât automatically make them wise. Age brings vulnerability alongside strength, both physical fragility and existential resilience.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture
\n\n
In 200 years, thereâll be a whole new set of people roaming this earth. Thatâs both sobering and liberating. It makes me think about what really mattersânot the accumulation of years, but the substance packed within them.
\n\n
Maybe as we get older and see ourselves in other older people, they become more malleable in our eyes. We start asking, âWhy donât you do this? Why donât you change?â Perhaps we project our own unrealized potential onto them, seeing possibilities where they see limitations.
\n\n
The Release Valve
\n\n
Sports serve as a release valve for testosterone, aggression, and violenceâchanneling destructive energy into constructive competition. Maybe thinking about aging needs a similar outlet. Instead of letting the fear of time passing consume us, we can redirect that energy into optimizing the time we have.
\n\n
Quality Over Quantity
\n\n
The question isnât just how long we live, but how much of that time constitutes actual living. Better people, better philosophy, better use of the years weâre given. The elderly can be both physically vulnerable and mentally formidableâitâs a paradox worth embracing rather than fearing.
\n\n
In the end, it comes down to this: substance, not time. The goal isnât to collect years like trophies, but to make each year count. Whether thatâs through better health, deeper relationships, meaningful work, or simply the wisdom to know what matters and what doesnât.
\n\n
The aging game isnât about winning or losingâitâs about playing it well, for as long as we possibly can.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Aging: Substance Over Time
\n\n
August 14, 2025
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about aging latelyânot in the way most people do, with resignation and fear, but with curiosity and defiance. Thereâs something fascinating about the arbitrary nature of chronological age versus the malleable reality of biological age.
\n\n
The Numbers Game
\n\n
Age is just a number, but which number are we really talking about? I can influence my epigenetic age, and honestly, I donât care much about my chronological age anymore. Itâs like separating time from substanceâwhat matters isnât how many years youâve accumulated, but how much life youâve actually lived within those years.
\n\n
Looking at Forbes lists organized by age tells an interesting story. Some people accomplish more in their twenties than others do in decades. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like Iâm late to the party, watching younger people achieve success while Iâm still figuring things out. But maybe thatâs the wrong lens entirely.
\n\n
The Healthspan Question
\n\n
This isnât really about life extensionâitâs about youth extension. Longevity means more life and a longer healthspan. Who doesnât want to be healthy? The goal isnât necessarily to live forever, but to make death optional while weâre working on the project of being fully alive.
\n\n
Imagine being like Aragorn: 80+ years old but young in body, carrying the wisdom of age and experience. Thereâs something vampiric about this ideaâthe accumulation of knowledge and perspective without the physical decay. Maybe thatâs why the archetype is so compelling.
\n\n
The Competence Curve
\n\n
Hereâs a good argument for the âdonât dieâ approach: humans take an incredibly long time to ramp up in competence. Just as my life gets better at compiling experiences into wisdom, why cut it short? It seems wasteful to spend decades learning how to live, only to have the body fail right when youâre getting good at it.
\n\n
Those close to death fear littleâthereâs a freedom that comes with age, a gradual caring less about what others think. But there are also tradeoffs. Just because someone is old doesnât automatically make them wise. Age brings vulnerability alongside strength, both physical fragility and existential resilience.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture
\n\n
In 200 years, thereâll be a whole new set of people roaming this earth. Thatâs both sobering and liberating. It makes me think about what really mattersânot the accumulation of years, but the substance packed within them.
\n\n
Maybe as we get older and see ourselves in other older people, they become more malleable in our eyes. We start asking, âWhy donât you do this? Why donât you change?â Perhaps we project our own unrealized potential onto them, seeing possibilities where they see limitations.
\n\n
The Release Valve
\n\n
Sports serve as a release valve for testosterone, aggression, and violenceâchanneling destructive energy into constructive competition. Maybe thinking about aging needs a similar outlet. Instead of letting the fear of time passing consume us, we can redirect that energy into optimizing the time we have.
\n\n
Quality Over Quantity
\n\n
The question isnât just how long we live, but how much of that time constitutes actual living. Better people, better philosophy, better use of the years weâre given. The elderly can be both physically vulnerable and mentally formidableâitâs a paradox worth embracing rather than fearing.
\n\n
In the end, it comes down to this: substance, not time. The goal isnât to collect years like trophies, but to make each year count. Whether thatâs through better health, deeper relationships, meaningful work, or simply the wisdom to know what matters and what doesnât.
\n\n
The aging game isnât about winning or losingâitâs about playing it well, for as long as we possibly can.
Originally published from raw entrepreneurial notes
\n\n
Agency isnât just a buzzwordâitâs the fundamental difference between those who shape their reality and those who get shaped by it. After months of building products, freelancing, and navigating the entrepreneurship landscape, here are the patterns that keep surfacing.
\n\n
The Agency Formula
\n\n
The clearest framework Iâve found: Agency = Judgment Ă Action
\n\n
You need both. Great judgment without action is just sophisticated procrastination. Frantic action without judgment is just expensive thrashing. But when you combine good explanatory mental scaffolding with deliberate, diligent actionâthatâs where transformation happens.
\n\n
The Productization Mindset
\n\n
Hereâs what clicked for me: You are a product. Not in a dehumanizing way, but in the most empowering sense possible. You can be refined, improved, marketed, and sold. You can generate value that people will pay for.
\n\n
The traditional path says: get credentials, find a job, trade time for money. The agency path says: identify problems, build solutions, capture value. One makes you a replaceable cog; the other makes you irreplaceable.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Navalâs framework hits different when youâre actually building: You get paid for giving society what it wants but doesnât know how to make yet. This isnât theoryâitâs the operational reality of every successful product Iâve built.
\n\n
The key insight: leverage comes in multiple forms:
\n
\n
Code: Write once, run forever
\n
Media: Create once, distribute infinitely
\n
Capital: Money working instead of you
\n
Labor: Other peopleâs time and skills
\n
\n\n
The magic happens when you combine these. A software product (code) promoted through content (media) funded by customers (capital) built with contractors (labor) = compounding returns.
\n\n
The Local-to-Global Strategy
\n\n
Start where you are. Master your local market first. Iâm building products on Guam not despite the small market, but because of it. You can test faster, iterate cheaper, and build real relationships before scaling globally.
\n\n
The pattern: dominate locally â extract principles â apply globally.
\n\n
Agency in Practice
\n\n
Real agency looks like:
\n
\n
Building products that solve your own problems first
\n
Charging for transformations, not time
\n
Creating systems that work without your constant input
\n
Saying no to opportunities that donât compound
\n
Optimizing for optionality over security
\n
\n\n
Itâs not about hustle culture or grinding 80-hour weeks. Itâs about working on the right problems with the right leverage at the right time.
\n\n
The Network Effect
\n\n
Your peer group determines your trajectory more than talent or effort. Surround yourself with other agentsâpeople who build, ship, and iterate. Avoid the trapped mindset of those whoâve accepted their local minima.
\n\n
Great times of volatility are great times for the agentic. While others wait for permission or perfect conditions, agents experiment, fail fast, and compound learnings.
\n\n
Practical Next Steps
\n\n\n
Audit your current situation: What problems do you uniquely understand?
\n
Build something small: Solve it for yourself first
\n
Find your first customer: Sell the transformation, not the product
\n
Reinvest profits: Into better tools, faster feedback loops, or more leverage
\n
Scale what works: Double down on success, abandon what doesnât
\n\n\n
The Meta-Game
\n\n
The real insight: everything is a system that can be understood and optimized. Your health, wealth, relationships, skillsâall systems with inputs, processes, and outputs. Agency is about taking responsibility for optimizing these systems instead of hoping theyâll improve by accident.
\n\n
Donât give up. Be agentic.
\n\n\n\n
This post distilled from hundreds of raw notes taken while building products, freelancing, and learning to think like an entrepreneur. The messiness of the process is part of the pointâagency emerges from action, not from perfect planning.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Building Agency: From Notes to Action
\n\n
Originally published from raw entrepreneurial notes
\n\n
Agency isnât just a buzzwordâitâs the fundamental difference between those who shape their reality and those who get shaped by it. After months of building products, freelancing, and navigating the entrepreneurship landscape, here are the patterns that keep surfacing.
\n\n
The Agency Formula
\n\n
The clearest framework Iâve found: Agency = Judgment Ă Action
\n\n
You need both. Great judgment without action is just sophisticated procrastination. Frantic action without judgment is just expensive thrashing. But when you combine good explanatory mental scaffolding with deliberate, diligent actionâthatâs where transformation happens.
\n\n
The Productization Mindset
\n\n
Hereâs what clicked for me: You are a product. Not in a dehumanizing way, but in the most empowering sense possible. You can be refined, improved, marketed, and sold. You can generate value that people will pay for.
\n\n
The traditional path says: get credentials, find a job, trade time for money. The agency path says: identify problems, build solutions, capture value. One makes you a replaceable cog; the other makes you irreplaceable.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Navalâs framework hits different when youâre actually building: You get paid for giving society what it wants but doesnât know how to make yet. This isnât theoryâitâs the operational reality of every successful product Iâve built.
\n\n
The key insight: leverage comes in multiple forms:
\n
\n
Code: Write once, run forever
\n
Media: Create once, distribute infinitely
\n
Capital: Money working instead of you
\n
Labor: Other peopleâs time and skills
\n
\n\n
The magic happens when you combine these. A software product (code) promoted through content (media) funded by customers (capital) built with contractors (labor) = compounding returns.
\n\n
The Local-to-Global Strategy
\n\n
Start where you are. Master your local market first. Iâm building products on Guam not despite the small market, but because of it. You can test faster, iterate cheaper, and build real relationships before scaling globally.
\n\n
The pattern: dominate locally â extract principles â apply globally.
\n\n
Agency in Practice
\n\n
Real agency looks like:
\n
\n
Building products that solve your own problems first
\n
Charging for transformations, not time
\n
Creating systems that work without your constant input
\n
Saying no to opportunities that donât compound
\n
Optimizing for optionality over security
\n
\n\n
Itâs not about hustle culture or grinding 80-hour weeks. Itâs about working on the right problems with the right leverage at the right time.
\n\n
The Network Effect
\n\n
Your peer group determines your trajectory more than talent or effort. Surround yourself with other agentsâpeople who build, ship, and iterate. Avoid the trapped mindset of those whoâve accepted their local minima.
\n\n
Great times of volatility are great times for the agentic. While others wait for permission or perfect conditions, agents experiment, fail fast, and compound learnings.
\n\n
Practical Next Steps
\n\n\n
Audit your current situation: What problems do you uniquely understand?
\n
Build something small: Solve it for yourself first
\n
Find your first customer: Sell the transformation, not the product
\n
Reinvest profits: Into better tools, faster feedback loops, or more leverage
\n
Scale what works: Double down on success, abandon what doesnât
\n\n\n
The Meta-Game
\n\n
The real insight: everything is a system that can be understood and optimized. Your health, wealth, relationships, skillsâall systems with inputs, processes, and outputs. Agency is about taking responsibility for optimizing these systems instead of hoping theyâll improve by accident.
\n\n
Donât give up. Be agentic.
\n\n\n\n
This post distilled from hundreds of raw notes taken while building products, freelancing, and learning to think like an entrepreneur. The messiness of the process is part of the pointâagency emerges from action, not from perfect planning.
Originally published from raw entrepreneurial notes
\n\n
Agency isnât just a buzzwordâitâs the fundamental difference between those who shape their reality and those who get shaped by it. After months of building products, freelancing, and navigating the entrepreneurship landscape, here are the patterns that keep surfacing.
\n\n
The Agency Formula
\n\n
The clearest framework Iâve found: Agency = Judgment Ă Action
\n\n
You need both. Great judgment without action is just sophisticated procrastination. Frantic action without judgment is just expensive thrashing. But when you combine good explanatory mental scaffolding with deliberate, diligent actionâthatâs where transformation happens.
\n\n
The Productization Mindset
\n\n
Hereâs what clicked for me: You are a product. Not in a dehumanizing way, but in the most empowering sense possible. You can be refined, improved, marketed, and sold. You can generate value that people will pay for.
\n\n
The traditional path says: get credentials, find a job, trade time for money. The agency path says: identify problems, build solutions, capture value. One makes you a replaceable cog; the other makes you irreplaceable.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Navalâs framework hits different when youâre actually building: You get paid for giving society what it wants but doesnât know how to make yet. This isnât theoryâitâs the operational reality of every successful product Iâve built.
\n\n
The key insight: leverage comes in multiple forms:
\n
\n
Code: Write once, run forever
\n
Media: Create once, distribute infinitely
\n
Capital: Money working instead of you
\n
Labor: Other peopleâs time and skills
\n
\n\n
The magic happens when you combine these. A software product (code) promoted through content (media) funded by customers (capital) built with contractors (labor) = compounding returns.
\n\n
The Local-to-Global Strategy
\n\n
Start where you are. Master your local market first. Iâm building products on Guam not despite the small market, but because of it. You can test faster, iterate cheaper, and build real relationships before scaling globally.
\n\n
The pattern: dominate locally â extract principles â apply globally.
\n\n
Agency in Practice
\n\n
Real agency looks like:
\n
\n
Building products that solve your own problems first
\n
Charging for transformations, not time
\n
Creating systems that work without your constant input
\n
Saying no to opportunities that donât compound
\n
Optimizing for optionality over security
\n
\n\n
Itâs not about hustle culture or grinding 80-hour weeks. Itâs about working on the right problems with the right leverage at the right time.
\n\n
The Network Effect
\n\n
Your peer group determines your trajectory more than talent or effort. Surround yourself with other agentsâpeople who build, ship, and iterate. Avoid the trapped mindset of those whoâve accepted their local minima.
\n\n
Great times of volatility are great times for the agentic. While others wait for permission or perfect conditions, agents experiment, fail fast, and compound learnings.
\n\n
Practical Next Steps
\n\n\n
Audit your current situation: What problems do you uniquely understand?
\n
Build something small: Solve it for yourself first
\n
Find your first customer: Sell the transformation, not the product
\n
Reinvest profits: Into better tools, faster feedback loops, or more leverage
\n
Scale what works: Double down on success, abandon what doesnât
\n\n\n
The Meta-Game
\n\n
The real insight: everything is a system that can be understood and optimized. Your health, wealth, relationships, skillsâall systems with inputs, processes, and outputs. Agency is about taking responsibility for optimizing these systems instead of hoping theyâll improve by accident.
\n\n
Donât give up. Be agentic.
\n\n\n\n
This post distilled from hundreds of raw notes taken while building products, freelancing, and learning to think like an entrepreneur. The messiness of the process is part of the pointâagency emerges from action, not from perfect planning.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Building Agency: From Notes to Action
\n\n
Originally published from raw entrepreneurial notes
\n\n
Agency isnât just a buzzwordâitâs the fundamental difference between those who shape their reality and those who get shaped by it. After months of building products, freelancing, and navigating the entrepreneurship landscape, here are the patterns that keep surfacing.
\n\n
The Agency Formula
\n\n
The clearest framework Iâve found: Agency = Judgment Ă Action
\n\n
You need both. Great judgment without action is just sophisticated procrastination. Frantic action without judgment is just expensive thrashing. But when you combine good explanatory mental scaffolding with deliberate, diligent actionâthatâs where transformation happens.
\n\n
The Productization Mindset
\n\n
Hereâs what clicked for me: You are a product. Not in a dehumanizing way, but in the most empowering sense possible. You can be refined, improved, marketed, and sold. You can generate value that people will pay for.
\n\n
The traditional path says: get credentials, find a job, trade time for money. The agency path says: identify problems, build solutions, capture value. One makes you a replaceable cog; the other makes you irreplaceable.
\n\n
Leverage Changes Everything
\n\n
Navalâs framework hits different when youâre actually building: You get paid for giving society what it wants but doesnât know how to make yet. This isnât theoryâitâs the operational reality of every successful product Iâve built.
\n\n
The key insight: leverage comes in multiple forms:
\n
\n
Code: Write once, run forever
\n
Media: Create once, distribute infinitely
\n
Capital: Money working instead of you
\n
Labor: Other peopleâs time and skills
\n
\n\n
The magic happens when you combine these. A software product (code) promoted through content (media) funded by customers (capital) built with contractors (labor) = compounding returns.
\n\n
The Local-to-Global Strategy
\n\n
Start where you are. Master your local market first. Iâm building products on Guam not despite the small market, but because of it. You can test faster, iterate cheaper, and build real relationships before scaling globally.
\n\n
The pattern: dominate locally â extract principles â apply globally.
\n\n
Agency in Practice
\n\n
Real agency looks like:
\n
\n
Building products that solve your own problems first
\n
Charging for transformations, not time
\n
Creating systems that work without your constant input
\n
Saying no to opportunities that donât compound
\n
Optimizing for optionality over security
\n
\n\n
Itâs not about hustle culture or grinding 80-hour weeks. Itâs about working on the right problems with the right leverage at the right time.
\n\n
The Network Effect
\n\n
Your peer group determines your trajectory more than talent or effort. Surround yourself with other agentsâpeople who build, ship, and iterate. Avoid the trapped mindset of those whoâve accepted their local minima.
\n\n
Great times of volatility are great times for the agentic. While others wait for permission or perfect conditions, agents experiment, fail fast, and compound learnings.
\n\n
Practical Next Steps
\n\n\n
Audit your current situation: What problems do you uniquely understand?
\n
Build something small: Solve it for yourself first
\n
Find your first customer: Sell the transformation, not the product
\n
Reinvest profits: Into better tools, faster feedback loops, or more leverage
\n
Scale what works: Double down on success, abandon what doesnât
\n\n\n
The Meta-Game
\n\n
The real insight: everything is a system that can be understood and optimized. Your health, wealth, relationships, skillsâall systems with inputs, processes, and outputs. Agency is about taking responsibility for optimizing these systems instead of hoping theyâll improve by accident.
\n\n
Donât give up. Be agentic.
\n\n\n\n
This post distilled from hundreds of raw notes taken while building products, freelancing, and learning to think like an entrepreneur. The messiness of the process is part of the pointâagency emerges from action, not from perfect planning.
AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Enhancement
\n\n
The intersection of artificial intelligence and human longevity represents one of the most fascinating frontiers of our time. As we develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems, weâre also unlocking new possibilities for extending and enhancing human life.
\n\n
The Bryan Johnson Effect
\n\n
Thereâs something compelling about figures like Bryan Johnson who approach longevity with the systematic rigor of a startup founder. The idea of âupgrading the upgraderâ - using technology and data to enhance our biological systems - represents a fundamental shift in how we think about aging. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, we can view our bodies as systems to be optimized.
\n\n
This connects to a broader theme: we are essentially âself-upgrading AGIsâ ourselves. Our brains adapt, learn, and modify their own programming throughout our lives. The question becomes: how can we accelerate and direct this process more intentionally?
\n\n
AI as a Longevity Tool
\n\n
Several applications of AI could dramatically impact how we age:
\n\n
Personalized Health Optimization: AI can process vast amounts of biomarker data, sleep patterns, exercise metrics, and nutritional information to provide highly personalized recommendations. Imagine an AI that knows your genetic predispositions, tracks your daily habits, and continuously optimizes your lifestyle for longevity.
\n\n
Preventive Medicine: Rather than treating diseases after they manifest, AI could predict health issues years in advance, allowing for preventive interventions that keep us healthier longer.
\n\n
Drug Discovery and Development: AI is already accelerating the discovery of new compounds and treatments. This could lead to breakthrough therapies for age-related diseases and potentially aging itself.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture: Digital Immortality
\n\n
Beyond biological longevity, AI opens up questions about digital persistence. If we can create increasingly sophisticated AI models trained on our online presence, conversations, and knowledge, what does that mean for human legacy and continuity?
\n\n
The notes mention creating AI clones of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin or Socrates. While we canât bring back the dead, we might be able to create increasingly sophisticated digital representations of people based on their recorded thoughts and works.
\n\n
Challenges and Considerations
\n\n
This intersection of AI and longevity raises important questions:
\n\n
\n
Equity: Will life extension technologies be available to everyone, or will they create new forms of inequality?
\n
Purpose: If humans live significantly longer, how do we maintain meaning and purpose across extended lifespans?
\n
Resource Allocation: How do we balance extending individual lives with sustainable population and resource management?
\n
\n\n
Moving Forward
\n\n
The convergence of AI and longevity research isnât science fiction - itâs happening now. Companies are using AI to analyze aging at the cellular level, predict health outcomes, and develop personalized interventions.
\n\n
The key insight from observing this space is that aging might not be as fixed as we once thought. Just as we can update software, we might increasingly be able to update our biological âhardwareâ - with AI as the tool that makes this possible at scale.
\n\n
The question isnât whether AI will impact human longevity, but how quickly and in what ways. Those who understand both domains will be best positioned to navigate and shape this future.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Enhancement
\n\n
The intersection of artificial intelligence and human longevity represents one of the most fascinating frontiers of our time. As we develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems, weâre also unlocking new possibilities for extending and enhancing human life.
\n\n
The Bryan Johnson Effect
\n\n
Thereâs something compelling about figures like Bryan Johnson who approach longevity with the systematic rigor of a startup founder. The idea of âupgrading the upgraderâ - using technology and data to enhance our biological systems - represents a fundamental shift in how we think about aging. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, we can view our bodies as systems to be optimized.
\n\n
This connects to a broader theme: we are essentially âself-upgrading AGIsâ ourselves. Our brains adapt, learn, and modify their own programming throughout our lives. The question becomes: how can we accelerate and direct this process more intentionally?
\n\n
AI as a Longevity Tool
\n\n
Several applications of AI could dramatically impact how we age:
\n\n
Personalized Health Optimization: AI can process vast amounts of biomarker data, sleep patterns, exercise metrics, and nutritional information to provide highly personalized recommendations. Imagine an AI that knows your genetic predispositions, tracks your daily habits, and continuously optimizes your lifestyle for longevity.
\n\n
Preventive Medicine: Rather than treating diseases after they manifest, AI could predict health issues years in advance, allowing for preventive interventions that keep us healthier longer.
\n\n
Drug Discovery and Development: AI is already accelerating the discovery of new compounds and treatments. This could lead to breakthrough therapies for age-related diseases and potentially aging itself.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture: Digital Immortality
\n\n
Beyond biological longevity, AI opens up questions about digital persistence. If we can create increasingly sophisticated AI models trained on our online presence, conversations, and knowledge, what does that mean for human legacy and continuity?
\n\n
The notes mention creating AI clones of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin or Socrates. While we canât bring back the dead, we might be able to create increasingly sophisticated digital representations of people based on their recorded thoughts and works.
\n\n
Challenges and Considerations
\n\n
This intersection of AI and longevity raises important questions:
\n\n
\n
Equity: Will life extension technologies be available to everyone, or will they create new forms of inequality?
\n
Purpose: If humans live significantly longer, how do we maintain meaning and purpose across extended lifespans?
\n
Resource Allocation: How do we balance extending individual lives with sustainable population and resource management?
\n
\n\n
Moving Forward
\n\n
The convergence of AI and longevity research isnât science fiction - itâs happening now. Companies are using AI to analyze aging at the cellular level, predict health outcomes, and develop personalized interventions.
\n\n
The key insight from observing this space is that aging might not be as fixed as we once thought. Just as we can update software, we might increasingly be able to update our biological âhardwareâ - with AI as the tool that makes this possible at scale.
\n\n
The question isnât whether AI will impact human longevity, but how quickly and in what ways. Those who understand both domains will be best positioned to navigate and shape this future.
Iâve been thinking about aging latelyânot in the way most people do, with resignation and fear, but with curiosity and defiance. Thereâs something fascinating about the arbitrary nature of chronological age versus the malleable reality of biological age.
\n\n
The Numbers Game
\n\n
Age is just a number, but which number are we really talking about? I can influence my epigenetic age, and honestly, I donât care much about my chronological age anymore. Itâs like separating time from substanceâwhat matters isnât how many years youâve accumulated, but how much life youâve actually lived within those years.
\n\n
Looking at Forbes lists organized by age tells an interesting story. Some people accomplish more in their twenties than others do in decades. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like Iâm late to the party, watching younger people achieve success while Iâm still figuring things out. But maybe thatâs the wrong lens entirely.
\n\n
The Healthspan Question
\n\n
This isnât really about life extensionâitâs about youth extension. Longevity means more life and a longer healthspan. Who doesnât want to be healthy? The goal isnât necessarily to live forever, but to make death optional while weâre working on the project of being fully alive.
\n\n
Imagine being like Aragorn: 80+ years old but young in body, carrying the wisdom of age and experience. Thereâs something vampiric about this ideaâthe accumulation of knowledge and perspective without the physical decay. Maybe thatâs why the archetype is so compelling.
\n\n
The Competence Curve
\n\n
Hereâs a good argument for the âdonât dieâ approach: humans take an incredibly long time to ramp up in competence. Just as my life gets better at compiling experiences into wisdom, why cut it short? It seems wasteful to spend decades learning how to live, only to have the body fail right when youâre getting good at it.
\n\n
Those close to death fear littleâthereâs a freedom that comes with age, a gradual caring less about what others think. But there are also tradeoffs. Just because someone is old doesnât automatically make them wise. Age brings vulnerability alongside strength, both physical fragility and existential resilience.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture
\n\n
In 200 years, thereâll be a whole new set of people roaming this earth. Thatâs both sobering and liberating. It makes me think about what really mattersânot the accumulation of years, but the substance packed within them.
\n\n
Maybe as we get older and see ourselves in other older people, they become more malleable in our eyes. We start asking, âWhy donât you do this? Why donât you change?â Perhaps we project our own unrealized potential onto them, seeing possibilities where they see limitations.
\n\n
The Release Valve
\n\n
Sports serve as a release valve for testosterone, aggression, and violenceâchanneling destructive energy into constructive competition. Maybe thinking about aging needs a similar outlet. Instead of letting the fear of time passing consume us, we can redirect that energy into optimizing the time we have.
\n\n
Quality Over Quantity
\n\n
The question isnât just how long we live, but how much of that time constitutes actual living. Better people, better philosophy, better use of the years weâre given. The elderly can be both physically vulnerable and mentally formidableâitâs a paradox worth embracing rather than fearing.
\n\n
In the end, it comes down to this: substance, not time. The goal isnât to collect years like trophies, but to make each year count. Whether thatâs through better health, deeper relationships, meaningful work, or simply the wisdom to know what matters and what doesnât.
\n\n
The aging game isnât about winning or losingâitâs about playing it well, for as long as we possibly can.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Aging: Substance Over Time
\n\n
August 14, 2025
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about aging latelyânot in the way most people do, with resignation and fear, but with curiosity and defiance. Thereâs something fascinating about the arbitrary nature of chronological age versus the malleable reality of biological age.
\n\n
The Numbers Game
\n\n
Age is just a number, but which number are we really talking about? I can influence my epigenetic age, and honestly, I donât care much about my chronological age anymore. Itâs like separating time from substanceâwhat matters isnât how many years youâve accumulated, but how much life youâve actually lived within those years.
\n\n
Looking at Forbes lists organized by age tells an interesting story. Some people accomplish more in their twenties than others do in decades. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like Iâm late to the party, watching younger people achieve success while Iâm still figuring things out. But maybe thatâs the wrong lens entirely.
\n\n
The Healthspan Question
\n\n
This isnât really about life extensionâitâs about youth extension. Longevity means more life and a longer healthspan. Who doesnât want to be healthy? The goal isnât necessarily to live forever, but to make death optional while weâre working on the project of being fully alive.
\n\n
Imagine being like Aragorn: 80+ years old but young in body, carrying the wisdom of age and experience. Thereâs something vampiric about this ideaâthe accumulation of knowledge and perspective without the physical decay. Maybe thatâs why the archetype is so compelling.
\n\n
The Competence Curve
\n\n
Hereâs a good argument for the âdonât dieâ approach: humans take an incredibly long time to ramp up in competence. Just as my life gets better at compiling experiences into wisdom, why cut it short? It seems wasteful to spend decades learning how to live, only to have the body fail right when youâre getting good at it.
\n\n
Those close to death fear littleâthereâs a freedom that comes with age, a gradual caring less about what others think. But there are also tradeoffs. Just because someone is old doesnât automatically make them wise. Age brings vulnerability alongside strength, both physical fragility and existential resilience.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture
\n\n
In 200 years, thereâll be a whole new set of people roaming this earth. Thatâs both sobering and liberating. It makes me think about what really mattersânot the accumulation of years, but the substance packed within them.
\n\n
Maybe as we get older and see ourselves in other older people, they become more malleable in our eyes. We start asking, âWhy donât you do this? Why donât you change?â Perhaps we project our own unrealized potential onto them, seeing possibilities where they see limitations.
\n\n
The Release Valve
\n\n
Sports serve as a release valve for testosterone, aggression, and violenceâchanneling destructive energy into constructive competition. Maybe thinking about aging needs a similar outlet. Instead of letting the fear of time passing consume us, we can redirect that energy into optimizing the time we have.
\n\n
Quality Over Quantity
\n\n
The question isnât just how long we live, but how much of that time constitutes actual living. Better people, better philosophy, better use of the years weâre given. The elderly can be both physically vulnerable and mentally formidableâitâs a paradox worth embracing rather than fearing.
\n\n
In the end, it comes down to this: substance, not time. The goal isnât to collect years like trophies, but to make each year count. Whether thatâs through better health, deeper relationships, meaningful work, or simply the wisdom to know what matters and what doesnât.
\n\n
The aging game isnât about winning or losingâitâs about playing it well, for as long as we possibly can.
Iâve been thinking about aging latelyânot in the way most people do, with resignation and fear, but with curiosity and defiance. Thereâs something fascinating about the arbitrary nature of chronological age versus the malleable reality of biological age.
\n\n
The Numbers Game
\n\n
Age is just a number, but which number are we really talking about? I can influence my epigenetic age, and honestly, I donât care much about my chronological age anymore. Itâs like separating time from substanceâwhat matters isnât how many years youâve accumulated, but how much life youâve actually lived within those years.
\n\n
Looking at Forbes lists organized by age tells an interesting story. Some people accomplish more in their twenties than others do in decades. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like Iâm late to the party, watching younger people achieve success while Iâm still figuring things out. But maybe thatâs the wrong lens entirely.
\n\n
The Healthspan Question
\n\n
This isnât really about life extensionâitâs about youth extension. Longevity means more life and a longer healthspan. Who doesnât want to be healthy? The goal isnât necessarily to live forever, but to make death optional while weâre working on the project of being fully alive.
\n\n
Imagine being like Aragorn: 80+ years old but young in body, carrying the wisdom of age and experience. Thereâs something vampiric about this ideaâthe accumulation of knowledge and perspective without the physical decay. Maybe thatâs why the archetype is so compelling.
\n\n
The Competence Curve
\n\n
Hereâs a good argument for the âdonât dieâ approach: humans take an incredibly long time to ramp up in competence. Just as my life gets better at compiling experiences into wisdom, why cut it short? It seems wasteful to spend decades learning how to live, only to have the body fail right when youâre getting good at it.
\n\n
Those close to death fear littleâthereâs a freedom that comes with age, a gradual caring less about what others think. But there are also tradeoffs. Just because someone is old doesnât automatically make them wise. Age brings vulnerability alongside strength, both physical fragility and existential resilience.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture
\n\n
In 200 years, thereâll be a whole new set of people roaming this earth. Thatâs both sobering and liberating. It makes me think about what really mattersânot the accumulation of years, but the substance packed within them.
\n\n
Maybe as we get older and see ourselves in other older people, they become more malleable in our eyes. We start asking, âWhy donât you do this? Why donât you change?â Perhaps we project our own unrealized potential onto them, seeing possibilities where they see limitations.
\n\n
The Release Valve
\n\n
Sports serve as a release valve for testosterone, aggression, and violenceâchanneling destructive energy into constructive competition. Maybe thinking about aging needs a similar outlet. Instead of letting the fear of time passing consume us, we can redirect that energy into optimizing the time we have.
\n\n
Quality Over Quantity
\n\n
The question isnât just how long we live, but how much of that time constitutes actual living. Better people, better philosophy, better use of the years weâre given. The elderly can be both physically vulnerable and mentally formidableâitâs a paradox worth embracing rather than fearing.
\n\n
In the end, it comes down to this: substance, not time. The goal isnât to collect years like trophies, but to make each year count. Whether thatâs through better health, deeper relationships, meaningful work, or simply the wisdom to know what matters and what doesnât.
\n\n
The aging game isnât about winning or losingâitâs about playing it well, for as long as we possibly can.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
Aging: Substance Over Time
\n\n
August 14, 2025
\n\n
Iâve been thinking about aging latelyânot in the way most people do, with resignation and fear, but with curiosity and defiance. Thereâs something fascinating about the arbitrary nature of chronological age versus the malleable reality of biological age.
\n\n
The Numbers Game
\n\n
Age is just a number, but which number are we really talking about? I can influence my epigenetic age, and honestly, I donât care much about my chronological age anymore. Itâs like separating time from substanceâwhat matters isnât how many years youâve accumulated, but how much life youâve actually lived within those years.
\n\n
Looking at Forbes lists organized by age tells an interesting story. Some people accomplish more in their twenties than others do in decades. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like Iâm late to the party, watching younger people achieve success while Iâm still figuring things out. But maybe thatâs the wrong lens entirely.
\n\n
The Healthspan Question
\n\n
This isnât really about life extensionâitâs about youth extension. Longevity means more life and a longer healthspan. Who doesnât want to be healthy? The goal isnât necessarily to live forever, but to make death optional while weâre working on the project of being fully alive.
\n\n
Imagine being like Aragorn: 80+ years old but young in body, carrying the wisdom of age and experience. Thereâs something vampiric about this ideaâthe accumulation of knowledge and perspective without the physical decay. Maybe thatâs why the archetype is so compelling.
\n\n
The Competence Curve
\n\n
Hereâs a good argument for the âdonât dieâ approach: humans take an incredibly long time to ramp up in competence. Just as my life gets better at compiling experiences into wisdom, why cut it short? It seems wasteful to spend decades learning how to live, only to have the body fail right when youâre getting good at it.
\n\n
Those close to death fear littleâthereâs a freedom that comes with age, a gradual caring less about what others think. But there are also tradeoffs. Just because someone is old doesnât automatically make them wise. Age brings vulnerability alongside strength, both physical fragility and existential resilience.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture
\n\n
In 200 years, thereâll be a whole new set of people roaming this earth. Thatâs both sobering and liberating. It makes me think about what really mattersânot the accumulation of years, but the substance packed within them.
\n\n
Maybe as we get older and see ourselves in other older people, they become more malleable in our eyes. We start asking, âWhy donât you do this? Why donât you change?â Perhaps we project our own unrealized potential onto them, seeing possibilities where they see limitations.
\n\n
The Release Valve
\n\n
Sports serve as a release valve for testosterone, aggression, and violenceâchanneling destructive energy into constructive competition. Maybe thinking about aging needs a similar outlet. Instead of letting the fear of time passing consume us, we can redirect that energy into optimizing the time we have.
\n\n
Quality Over Quantity
\n\n
The question isnât just how long we live, but how much of that time constitutes actual living. Better people, better philosophy, better use of the years weâre given. The elderly can be both physically vulnerable and mentally formidableâitâs a paradox worth embracing rather than fearing.
\n\n
In the end, it comes down to this: substance, not time. The goal isnât to collect years like trophies, but to make each year count. Whether thatâs through better health, deeper relationships, meaningful work, or simply the wisdom to know what matters and what doesnât.
\n\n
The aging game isnât about winning or losingâitâs about playing it well, for as long as we possibly can.
The Artistâs Manifesto: On Creating, Curating, and the Courage to Ship
\n\n
Raw thoughts on art, music, and the compulsive need to create
\n\n
Art is Permissionless
\n\n
Thereâs something beautiful about the permissionless nature of art. You donât need anyoneâs approval to create. No committee to approve your song, no board to greenlight your painting, no authority figure to validate your vision. Art exists in the infinite vector of possibility, and you can move along it wherever your taste and courage take you.
\n\n
The internet has made this even more true. With a guitar, a voice, and a WiFi connection to upload to Spotify, SoundCloud, and Instagramâthatâs all you need. The barriers have never been lower, which makes the question not âcan I create?â but âwill I create?â
\n\n
The 100 Song Theory
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: you need to write 100 shitty songs to find your voice. That one brilliant song everyone remembers? Itâs built on the foundation of 100, maybe 1000 mediocre ones that came before. Volume teaches you things that perfection never can.
\n\n
Better to release one brilliant song than 100 mediocre ones, but you canât get to that one brilliant song without going through the 100 mediocre ones first. Itâs the paradox of creative workâyou have to be prolific to be selective.
\n\n
Create. Curate. Elevate. Repeat.
\n\n
Music as the Perfect Metaphor
\n\n
Music might be the perfect metaphor for life itself. Every note is both dissonant and resonant with other notes, depending on context. Weâre all songs listening to each other, trying to find harmony in the chaos.
\n\n
Music bottles time, place, and feeling for later retrievalâlike emotional time capsules. A song from five years ago can transport you instantly back to who you were then. Making music every few years becomes a beautiful time capsule, showing you how far youâve come while honoring where youâve been.
\n\n
The Art of Stealing (Like an Artist)
\n\n
None of what I collect is original, but the taste that collects them is uniquely mine. Your tasteâwhat you choose to pay attention to, what you choose to combineâthatâs where originality lives. Not in the components, but in the curation.
\n\n
Stealing like an artist means recognizing that everything is a remix. The Beatles influenced everyone who came after, but nobody sounds exactly like the Beatles because everyone brings their own taste to the influence. Cover songs reveal your authentic voice precisely because youâre not trying to be originalâyouâre just being yourself with someone elseâs framework.
\n\n
On Creative Compulsion
\n\n
If the creative does not create, she withers. Creativity is almost compulsiveâlike a plant that needs water, like breathing. Itâs not about money or fame (though those can come); itâs about the need to express, to say something, to leave a mark.
\n\n
True art grips you and doesnât let go. Whether itâs a song that stops you in your tracks or a painting that demands your attention, authentic art has a magnetic quality. Itâs transformative truthâthe kind that shifts something in you permanently.
\n\n
The Long Game of Bodies of Work
\n\n
All it takes is one creation to point to an artistâs whole portfolio. One brilliant song can make people dig through your entire discography. One viral reel can expose years of accumulated work.
\n\n
Bodies of work are kindling waiting for fire. Youâre gathering wood, building the pile, staying ready for that moment when lightning strikes. At the end of a career, all the individual pieces form one long paintingâan odyssey of expression across time.
\n\n
Art as Offering
\n\n
Artists are priests and priestesses in the temple of human experience. We point to infinity, to the divine, to whatever transcends the mundane. All art is an offeringâto beauty, to truth, to the mysterious force that makes us want to create in the first place.
\n\n
Music heals souls. Writing untangles thoughts. Visual art makes the invisible visible. We create what is needed and remove what holds us back.
\n\n
The Courage to Ship
\n\n
Real artists ship. This might be the hardest partânot the creating, but the releasing. Putting your work into the world where it can be judged, ignored, or misunderstood. But keeping it hidden serves no one.
\n\n
Art done for yourself feels like play. If you create it for yourself, itâs art. If you create it for others, itâs business. Both have their place, but the art that comes from authentic expressionâthatâs the stuff that lasts.
\n\n
Living Like a Song
\n\n
Life itself is a work of art when lived intentionally. You design the equation and act it out through time. Every choice is a note in the composition of your existence.
\n\n
The question isnât whether you have artistic talentâeveryone does. The question is whether you have the courage to honor it, to create consistently, and to share your unique perspective with a world that needs more beauty, more truth, more authentic human expression.
\n\n
Music was my first love, and in returning to it, I remember why. In a world of artificial experiences, creating something realâwhether itâs a song, a painting, a story, or a life lived with intentionâmight be the most radical act of all.
\n\n\n\n
The art is all that matters. Everything else is just noise.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
The Artistâs Manifesto: On Creating, Curating, and the Courage to Ship
\n\n
Raw thoughts on art, music, and the compulsive need to create
\n\n
Art is Permissionless
\n\n
Thereâs something beautiful about the permissionless nature of art. You donât need anyoneâs approval to create. No committee to approve your song, no board to greenlight your painting, no authority figure to validate your vision. Art exists in the infinite vector of possibility, and you can move along it wherever your taste and courage take you.
\n\n
The internet has made this even more true. With a guitar, a voice, and a WiFi connection to upload to Spotify, SoundCloud, and Instagramâthatâs all you need. The barriers have never been lower, which makes the question not âcan I create?â but âwill I create?â
\n\n
The 100 Song Theory
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: you need to write 100 shitty songs to find your voice. That one brilliant song everyone remembers? Itâs built on the foundation of 100, maybe 1000 mediocre ones that came before. Volume teaches you things that perfection never can.
\n\n
Better to release one brilliant song than 100 mediocre ones, but you canât get to that one brilliant song without going through the 100 mediocre ones first. Itâs the paradox of creative workâyou have to be prolific to be selective.
\n\n
Create. Curate. Elevate. Repeat.
\n\n
Music as the Perfect Metaphor
\n\n
Music might be the perfect metaphor for life itself. Every note is both dissonant and resonant with other notes, depending on context. Weâre all songs listening to each other, trying to find harmony in the chaos.
\n\n
Music bottles time, place, and feeling for later retrievalâlike emotional time capsules. A song from five years ago can transport you instantly back to who you were then. Making music every few years becomes a beautiful time capsule, showing you how far youâve come while honoring where youâve been.
\n\n
The Art of Stealing (Like an Artist)
\n\n
None of what I collect is original, but the taste that collects them is uniquely mine. Your tasteâwhat you choose to pay attention to, what you choose to combineâthatâs where originality lives. Not in the components, but in the curation.
\n\n
Stealing like an artist means recognizing that everything is a remix. The Beatles influenced everyone who came after, but nobody sounds exactly like the Beatles because everyone brings their own taste to the influence. Cover songs reveal your authentic voice precisely because youâre not trying to be originalâyouâre just being yourself with someone elseâs framework.
\n\n
On Creative Compulsion
\n\n
If the creative does not create, she withers. Creativity is almost compulsiveâlike a plant that needs water, like breathing. Itâs not about money or fame (though those can come); itâs about the need to express, to say something, to leave a mark.
\n\n
True art grips you and doesnât let go. Whether itâs a song that stops you in your tracks or a painting that demands your attention, authentic art has a magnetic quality. Itâs transformative truthâthe kind that shifts something in you permanently.
\n\n
The Long Game of Bodies of Work
\n\n
All it takes is one creation to point to an artistâs whole portfolio. One brilliant song can make people dig through your entire discography. One viral reel can expose years of accumulated work.
\n\n
Bodies of work are kindling waiting for fire. Youâre gathering wood, building the pile, staying ready for that moment when lightning strikes. At the end of a career, all the individual pieces form one long paintingâan odyssey of expression across time.
\n\n
Art as Offering
\n\n
Artists are priests and priestesses in the temple of human experience. We point to infinity, to the divine, to whatever transcends the mundane. All art is an offeringâto beauty, to truth, to the mysterious force that makes us want to create in the first place.
\n\n
Music heals souls. Writing untangles thoughts. Visual art makes the invisible visible. We create what is needed and remove what holds us back.
\n\n
The Courage to Ship
\n\n
Real artists ship. This might be the hardest partânot the creating, but the releasing. Putting your work into the world where it can be judged, ignored, or misunderstood. But keeping it hidden serves no one.
\n\n
Art done for yourself feels like play. If you create it for yourself, itâs art. If you create it for others, itâs business. Both have their place, but the art that comes from authentic expressionâthatâs the stuff that lasts.
\n\n
Living Like a Song
\n\n
Life itself is a work of art when lived intentionally. You design the equation and act it out through time. Every choice is a note in the composition of your existence.
\n\n
The question isnât whether you have artistic talentâeveryone does. The question is whether you have the courage to honor it, to create consistently, and to share your unique perspective with a world that needs more beauty, more truth, more authentic human expression.
\n\n
Music was my first love, and in returning to it, I remember why. In a world of artificial experiences, creating something realâwhether itâs a song, a painting, a story, or a life lived with intentionâmight be the most radical act of all.
\n\n\n\n
The art is all that matters. Everything else is just noise.
AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Enhancement
\n\n
The intersection of artificial intelligence and human longevity represents one of the most fascinating frontiers of our time. As we develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems, weâre also unlocking new possibilities for extending and enhancing human life.
\n\n
The Bryan Johnson Effect
\n\n
Thereâs something compelling about figures like Bryan Johnson who approach longevity with the systematic rigor of a startup founder. The idea of âupgrading the upgraderâ - using technology and data to enhance our biological systems - represents a fundamental shift in how we think about aging. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, we can view our bodies as systems to be optimized.
\n\n
This connects to a broader theme: we are essentially âself-upgrading AGIsâ ourselves. Our brains adapt, learn, and modify their own programming throughout our lives. The question becomes: how can we accelerate and direct this process more intentionally?
\n\n
AI as a Longevity Tool
\n\n
Several applications of AI could dramatically impact how we age:
\n\n
Personalized Health Optimization: AI can process vast amounts of biomarker data, sleep patterns, exercise metrics, and nutritional information to provide highly personalized recommendations. Imagine an AI that knows your genetic predispositions, tracks your daily habits, and continuously optimizes your lifestyle for longevity.
\n\n
Preventive Medicine: Rather than treating diseases after they manifest, AI could predict health issues years in advance, allowing for preventive interventions that keep us healthier longer.
\n\n
Drug Discovery and Development: AI is already accelerating the discovery of new compounds and treatments. This could lead to breakthrough therapies for age-related diseases and potentially aging itself.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture: Digital Immortality
\n\n
Beyond biological longevity, AI opens up questions about digital persistence. If we can create increasingly sophisticated AI models trained on our online presence, conversations, and knowledge, what does that mean for human legacy and continuity?
\n\n
The notes mention creating AI clones of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin or Socrates. While we canât bring back the dead, we might be able to create increasingly sophisticated digital representations of people based on their recorded thoughts and works.
\n\n
Challenges and Considerations
\n\n
This intersection of AI and longevity raises important questions:
\n\n
\n
Equity: Will life extension technologies be available to everyone, or will they create new forms of inequality?
\n
Purpose: If humans live significantly longer, how do we maintain meaning and purpose across extended lifespans?
\n
Resource Allocation: How do we balance extending individual lives with sustainable population and resource management?
\n
\n\n
Moving Forward
\n\n
The convergence of AI and longevity research isnât science fiction - itâs happening now. Companies are using AI to analyze aging at the cellular level, predict health outcomes, and develop personalized interventions.
\n\n
The key insight from observing this space is that aging might not be as fixed as we once thought. Just as we can update software, we might increasingly be able to update our biological âhardwareâ - with AI as the tool that makes this possible at scale.
\n\n
The question isnât whether AI will impact human longevity, but how quickly and in what ways. Those who understand both domains will be best positioned to navigate and shape this future.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Enhancement
\n\n
The intersection of artificial intelligence and human longevity represents one of the most fascinating frontiers of our time. As we develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems, weâre also unlocking new possibilities for extending and enhancing human life.
\n\n
The Bryan Johnson Effect
\n\n
Thereâs something compelling about figures like Bryan Johnson who approach longevity with the systematic rigor of a startup founder. The idea of âupgrading the upgraderâ - using technology and data to enhance our biological systems - represents a fundamental shift in how we think about aging. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, we can view our bodies as systems to be optimized.
\n\n
This connects to a broader theme: we are essentially âself-upgrading AGIsâ ourselves. Our brains adapt, learn, and modify their own programming throughout our lives. The question becomes: how can we accelerate and direct this process more intentionally?
\n\n
AI as a Longevity Tool
\n\n
Several applications of AI could dramatically impact how we age:
\n\n
Personalized Health Optimization: AI can process vast amounts of biomarker data, sleep patterns, exercise metrics, and nutritional information to provide highly personalized recommendations. Imagine an AI that knows your genetic predispositions, tracks your daily habits, and continuously optimizes your lifestyle for longevity.
\n\n
Preventive Medicine: Rather than treating diseases after they manifest, AI could predict health issues years in advance, allowing for preventive interventions that keep us healthier longer.
\n\n
Drug Discovery and Development: AI is already accelerating the discovery of new compounds and treatments. This could lead to breakthrough therapies for age-related diseases and potentially aging itself.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture: Digital Immortality
\n\n
Beyond biological longevity, AI opens up questions about digital persistence. If we can create increasingly sophisticated AI models trained on our online presence, conversations, and knowledge, what does that mean for human legacy and continuity?
\n\n
The notes mention creating AI clones of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin or Socrates. While we canât bring back the dead, we might be able to create increasingly sophisticated digital representations of people based on their recorded thoughts and works.
\n\n
Challenges and Considerations
\n\n
This intersection of AI and longevity raises important questions:
\n\n
\n
Equity: Will life extension technologies be available to everyone, or will they create new forms of inequality?
\n
Purpose: If humans live significantly longer, how do we maintain meaning and purpose across extended lifespans?
\n
Resource Allocation: How do we balance extending individual lives with sustainable population and resource management?
\n
\n\n
Moving Forward
\n\n
The convergence of AI and longevity research isnât science fiction - itâs happening now. Companies are using AI to analyze aging at the cellular level, predict health outcomes, and develop personalized interventions.
\n\n
The key insight from observing this space is that aging might not be as fixed as we once thought. Just as we can update software, we might increasingly be able to update our biological âhardwareâ - with AI as the tool that makes this possible at scale.
\n\n
The question isnât whether AI will impact human longevity, but how quickly and in what ways. Those who understand both domains will be best positioned to navigate and shape this future.
AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Enhancement
\n\n
The intersection of artificial intelligence and human longevity represents one of the most fascinating frontiers of our time. As we develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems, weâre also unlocking new possibilities for extending and enhancing human life.
\n\n
The Bryan Johnson Effect
\n\n
Thereâs something compelling about figures like Bryan Johnson who approach longevity with the systematic rigor of a startup founder. The idea of âupgrading the upgraderâ - using technology and data to enhance our biological systems - represents a fundamental shift in how we think about aging. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, we can view our bodies as systems to be optimized.
\n\n
This connects to a broader theme: we are essentially âself-upgrading AGIsâ ourselves. Our brains adapt, learn, and modify their own programming throughout our lives. The question becomes: how can we accelerate and direct this process more intentionally?
\n\n
AI as a Longevity Tool
\n\n
Several applications of AI could dramatically impact how we age:
\n\n
Personalized Health Optimization: AI can process vast amounts of biomarker data, sleep patterns, exercise metrics, and nutritional information to provide highly personalized recommendations. Imagine an AI that knows your genetic predispositions, tracks your daily habits, and continuously optimizes your lifestyle for longevity.
\n\n
Preventive Medicine: Rather than treating diseases after they manifest, AI could predict health issues years in advance, allowing for preventive interventions that keep us healthier longer.
\n\n
Drug Discovery and Development: AI is already accelerating the discovery of new compounds and treatments. This could lead to breakthrough therapies for age-related diseases and potentially aging itself.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture: Digital Immortality
\n\n
Beyond biological longevity, AI opens up questions about digital persistence. If we can create increasingly sophisticated AI models trained on our online presence, conversations, and knowledge, what does that mean for human legacy and continuity?
\n\n
The notes mention creating AI clones of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin or Socrates. While we canât bring back the dead, we might be able to create increasingly sophisticated digital representations of people based on their recorded thoughts and works.
\n\n
Challenges and Considerations
\n\n
This intersection of AI and longevity raises important questions:
\n\n
\n
Equity: Will life extension technologies be available to everyone, or will they create new forms of inequality?
\n
Purpose: If humans live significantly longer, how do we maintain meaning and purpose across extended lifespans?
\n
Resource Allocation: How do we balance extending individual lives with sustainable population and resource management?
\n
\n\n
Moving Forward
\n\n
The convergence of AI and longevity research isnât science fiction - itâs happening now. Companies are using AI to analyze aging at the cellular level, predict health outcomes, and develop personalized interventions.
\n\n
The key insight from observing this space is that aging might not be as fixed as we once thought. Just as we can update software, we might increasingly be able to update our biological âhardwareâ - with AI as the tool that makes this possible at scale.
\n\n
The question isnât whether AI will impact human longevity, but how quickly and in what ways. Those who understand both domains will be best positioned to navigate and shape this future.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Enhancement
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The intersection of artificial intelligence and human longevity represents one of the most fascinating frontiers of our time. As we develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems, weâre also unlocking new possibilities for extending and enhancing human life.
\n\n
The Bryan Johnson Effect
\n\n
Thereâs something compelling about figures like Bryan Johnson who approach longevity with the systematic rigor of a startup founder. The idea of âupgrading the upgraderâ - using technology and data to enhance our biological systems - represents a fundamental shift in how we think about aging. Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, we can view our bodies as systems to be optimized.
\n\n
This connects to a broader theme: we are essentially âself-upgrading AGIsâ ourselves. Our brains adapt, learn, and modify their own programming throughout our lives. The question becomes: how can we accelerate and direct this process more intentionally?
\n\n
AI as a Longevity Tool
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Several applications of AI could dramatically impact how we age:
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Personalized Health Optimization: AI can process vast amounts of biomarker data, sleep patterns, exercise metrics, and nutritional information to provide highly personalized recommendations. Imagine an AI that knows your genetic predispositions, tracks your daily habits, and continuously optimizes your lifestyle for longevity.
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Preventive Medicine: Rather than treating diseases after they manifest, AI could predict health issues years in advance, allowing for preventive interventions that keep us healthier longer.
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Drug Discovery and Development: AI is already accelerating the discovery of new compounds and treatments. This could lead to breakthrough therapies for age-related diseases and potentially aging itself.
\n\n
The Bigger Picture: Digital Immortality
\n\n
Beyond biological longevity, AI opens up questions about digital persistence. If we can create increasingly sophisticated AI models trained on our online presence, conversations, and knowledge, what does that mean for human legacy and continuity?
\n\n
The notes mention creating AI clones of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin or Socrates. While we canât bring back the dead, we might be able to create increasingly sophisticated digital representations of people based on their recorded thoughts and works.
\n\n
Challenges and Considerations
\n\n
This intersection of AI and longevity raises important questions:
\n\n
\n
Equity: Will life extension technologies be available to everyone, or will they create new forms of inequality?
\n
Purpose: If humans live significantly longer, how do we maintain meaning and purpose across extended lifespans?
\n
Resource Allocation: How do we balance extending individual lives with sustainable population and resource management?
\n
\n\n
Moving Forward
\n\n
The convergence of AI and longevity research isnât science fiction - itâs happening now. Companies are using AI to analyze aging at the cellular level, predict health outcomes, and develop personalized interventions.
\n\n
The key insight from observing this space is that aging might not be as fixed as we once thought. Just as we can update software, we might increasingly be able to update our biological âhardwareâ - with AI as the tool that makes this possible at scale.
\n\n
The question isnât whether AI will impact human longevity, but how quickly and in what ways. Those who understand both domains will be best positioned to navigate and shape this future.
The Artistâs Manifesto: On Creating, Curating, and the Courage to Ship
\n\n
Raw thoughts on art, music, and the compulsive need to create
\n\n
Art is Permissionless
\n\n
Thereâs something beautiful about the permissionless nature of art. You donât need anyoneâs approval to create. No committee to approve your song, no board to greenlight your painting, no authority figure to validate your vision. Art exists in the infinite vector of possibility, and you can move along it wherever your taste and courage take you.
\n\n
The internet has made this even more true. With a guitar, a voice, and a WiFi connection to upload to Spotify, SoundCloud, and Instagramâthatâs all you need. The barriers have never been lower, which makes the question not âcan I create?â but âwill I create?â
\n\n
The 100 Song Theory
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: you need to write 100 shitty songs to find your voice. That one brilliant song everyone remembers? Itâs built on the foundation of 100, maybe 1000 mediocre ones that came before. Volume teaches you things that perfection never can.
\n\n
Better to release one brilliant song than 100 mediocre ones, but you canât get to that one brilliant song without going through the 100 mediocre ones first. Itâs the paradox of creative workâyou have to be prolific to be selective.
\n\n
Create. Curate. Elevate. Repeat.
\n\n
Music as the Perfect Metaphor
\n\n
Music might be the perfect metaphor for life itself. Every note is both dissonant and resonant with other notes, depending on context. Weâre all songs listening to each other, trying to find harmony in the chaos.
\n\n
Music bottles time, place, and feeling for later retrievalâlike emotional time capsules. A song from five years ago can transport you instantly back to who you were then. Making music every few years becomes a beautiful time capsule, showing you how far youâve come while honoring where youâve been.
\n\n
The Art of Stealing (Like an Artist)
\n\n
None of what I collect is original, but the taste that collects them is uniquely mine. Your tasteâwhat you choose to pay attention to, what you choose to combineâthatâs where originality lives. Not in the components, but in the curation.
\n\n
Stealing like an artist means recognizing that everything is a remix. The Beatles influenced everyone who came after, but nobody sounds exactly like the Beatles because everyone brings their own taste to the influence. Cover songs reveal your authentic voice precisely because youâre not trying to be originalâyouâre just being yourself with someone elseâs framework.
\n\n
On Creative Compulsion
\n\n
If the creative does not create, she withers. Creativity is almost compulsiveâlike a plant that needs water, like breathing. Itâs not about money or fame (though those can come); itâs about the need to express, to say something, to leave a mark.
\n\n
True art grips you and doesnât let go. Whether itâs a song that stops you in your tracks or a painting that demands your attention, authentic art has a magnetic quality. Itâs transformative truthâthe kind that shifts something in you permanently.
\n\n
The Long Game of Bodies of Work
\n\n
All it takes is one creation to point to an artistâs whole portfolio. One brilliant song can make people dig through your entire discography. One viral reel can expose years of accumulated work.
\n\n
Bodies of work are kindling waiting for fire. Youâre gathering wood, building the pile, staying ready for that moment when lightning strikes. At the end of a career, all the individual pieces form one long paintingâan odyssey of expression across time.
\n\n
Art as Offering
\n\n
Artists are priests and priestesses in the temple of human experience. We point to infinity, to the divine, to whatever transcends the mundane. All art is an offeringâto beauty, to truth, to the mysterious force that makes us want to create in the first place.
\n\n
Music heals souls. Writing untangles thoughts. Visual art makes the invisible visible. We create what is needed and remove what holds us back.
\n\n
The Courage to Ship
\n\n
Real artists ship. This might be the hardest partânot the creating, but the releasing. Putting your work into the world where it can be judged, ignored, or misunderstood. But keeping it hidden serves no one.
\n\n
Art done for yourself feels like play. If you create it for yourself, itâs art. If you create it for others, itâs business. Both have their place, but the art that comes from authentic expressionâthatâs the stuff that lasts.
\n\n
Living Like a Song
\n\n
Life itself is a work of art when lived intentionally. You design the equation and act it out through time. Every choice is a note in the composition of your existence.
\n\n
The question isnât whether you have artistic talentâeveryone does. The question is whether you have the courage to honor it, to create consistently, and to share your unique perspective with a world that needs more beauty, more truth, more authentic human expression.
\n\n
Music was my first love, and in returning to it, I remember why. In a world of artificial experiences, creating something realâwhether itâs a song, a painting, a story, or a life lived with intentionâmight be the most radical act of all.
\n\n\n\n
The art is all that matters. Everything else is just noise.
\n\n
\n \n \n\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\n\n","content":"
The Artistâs Manifesto: On Creating, Curating, and the Courage to Ship
\n\n
Raw thoughts on art, music, and the compulsive need to create
\n\n
Art is Permissionless
\n\n
Thereâs something beautiful about the permissionless nature of art. You donât need anyoneâs approval to create. No committee to approve your song, no board to greenlight your painting, no authority figure to validate your vision. Art exists in the infinite vector of possibility, and you can move along it wherever your taste and courage take you.
\n\n
The internet has made this even more true. With a guitar, a voice, and a WiFi connection to upload to Spotify, SoundCloud, and Instagramâthatâs all you need. The barriers have never been lower, which makes the question not âcan I create?â but âwill I create?â
\n\n
The 100 Song Theory
\n\n
Hereâs what Iâve learned: you need to write 100 shitty songs to find your voice. That one brilliant song everyone remembers? Itâs built on the foundation of 100, maybe 1000 mediocre ones that came before. Volume teaches you things that perfection never can.
\n\n
Better to release one brilliant song than 100 mediocre ones, but you canât get to that one brilliant song without going through the 100 mediocre ones first. Itâs the paradox of creative workâyou have to be prolific to be selective.
\n\n
Create. Curate. Elevate. Repeat.
\n\n
Music as the Perfect Metaphor
\n\n
Music might be the perfect metaphor for life itself. Every note is both dissonant and resonant with other notes, depending on context. Weâre all songs listening to each other, trying to find harmony in the chaos.
\n\n
Music bottles time, place, and feeling for later retrievalâlike emotional time capsules. A song from five years ago can transport you instantly back to who you were then. Making music every few years becomes a beautiful time capsule, showing you how far youâve come while honoring where youâve been.
\n\n
The Art of Stealing (Like an Artist)
\n\n
None of what I collect is original, but the taste that collects them is uniquely mine. Your tasteâwhat you choose to pay attention to, what you choose to combineâthatâs where originality lives. Not in the components, but in the curation.
\n\n
Stealing like an artist means recognizing that everything is a remix. The Beatles influenced everyone who came after, but nobody sounds exactly like the Beatles because everyone brings their own taste to the influence. Cover songs reveal your authentic voice precisely because youâre not trying to be originalâyouâre just being yourself with someone elseâs framework.
\n\n
On Creative Compulsion
\n\n
If the creative does not create, she withers. Creativity is almost compulsiveâlike a plant that needs water, like breathing. Itâs not about money or fame (though those can come); itâs about the need to express, to say something, to leave a mark.
\n\n
True art grips you and doesnât let go. Whether itâs a song that stops you in your tracks or a painting that demands your attention, authentic art has a magnetic quality. Itâs transformative truthâthe kind that shifts something in you permanently.
\n\n
The Long Game of Bodies of Work
\n\n
All it takes is one creation to point to an artistâs whole portfolio. One brilliant song can make people dig through your entire discography. One viral reel can expose years of accumulated work.
\n\n
Bodies of work are kindling waiting for fire. Youâre gathering wood, building the pile, staying ready for that moment when lightning strikes. At the end of a career, all the individual pieces form one long paintingâan odyssey of expression across time.
\n\n
Art as Offering
\n\n
Artists are priests and priestesses in the temple of human experience. We point to infinity, to the divine, to whatever transcends the mundane. All art is an offeringâto beauty, to truth, to the mysterious force that makes us want to create in the first place.
\n\n
Music heals souls. Writing untangles thoughts. Visual art makes the invisible visible. We create what is needed and remove what holds us back.
\n\n
The Courage to Ship
\n\n
Real artists ship. This might be the hardest partânot the creating, but the releasing. Putting your work into the world where it can be judged, ignored, or misunderstood. But keeping it hidden serves no one.
\n\n
Art done for yourself feels like play. If you create it for yourself, itâs art. If you create it for others, itâs business. Both have their place, but the art that comes from authentic expressionâthatâs the stuff that lasts.
\n\n
Living Like a Song
\n\n
Life itself is a work of art when lived intentionally. You design the equation and act it out through time. Every choice is a note in the composition of your existence.
\n\n
The question isnât whether you have artistic talentâeveryone does. The question is whether you have the courage to honor it, to create consistently, and to share your unique perspective with a world that needs more beauty, more truth, more authentic human expression.
\n\n
Music was my first love, and in returning to it, I remember why. In a world of artificial experiences, creating something realâwhether itâs a song, a painting, a story, or a life lived with intentionâmight be the most radical act of all.
\n\n\n\n
The art is all that matters. Everything else is just noise.