Turning 29 felt like a good moment to pause, reflect, and share what I’ve learned.
These principles weren’t discovered easily. They were shaped by struggles, challenges, victories, and failures along the way.
My hope is that at least one of these lessons resonates deeply with you, sparks a meaningful shift, or simply reminds you that you aren’t alone on this journey.
Here’s what matters most to me after 29 years of life, distilled into principles that guide me daily.
Highest Goals
Freedom, faith, and family are paramount. These are the true measures of success and happiness. Prioritizing these values provides a foundation that withstands life’s ups and downs.
Prioritize health, wealth, and happiness. Focus on your physical health, financial stability, and emotional well-being. Maximizing these aspects of life leads to lasting fulfillment.
Challenge & Resilience
Choose the harder path. The difficult road builds strength, skill, and character. Comfort rarely leads to true growth. It’s through struggle that we discover our deepest potential.
Discomfort is a tool. Actively seek challenges to grow resilience. Use discomfort as a deliberate strategy to build discipline and expand your limits.
Confront your inner fears daily. Personal growth happens when you face what scares you. Regularly challenging yourself prevents stagnation and leads to continuous self-improvement.
Life & Personal Growth
Discipline is freedom. Discipline enables true freedom. When you control your impulses and actions, your possibilities expand.
Motivation isn’t enough. You need a system. Habits beat motivation every day. Relying solely on motivation sets you up for inconsistency. Robust systems ensure consistent progress.
Small habits build big character. Who you become depends on what you consistently do. Daily habits shape your identity more than occasional big actions.
Fast regularly. Fasting resets your mind, strengthens your discipline, and clarifies your purpose. Periodic fasting teaches self-control and heightens self-awareness.
You are your actions, not your thoughts. Intentions matter, but actions define who you become. Acting consistently in alignment with your values brings true self-respect.
Simplicity brings clarity. Remove noise from your life to discover what truly matters. Complexity obscures your true priorities and drains your energy.
Your life is a project. Optimize it carefully with meaning and love, not blind ambition. Approach your life intentionally, creating it thoughtfully and purposefully.
Masculinity & Meaning
Men must build their value. Of course, you have inherent value as a human being made in the image of God, but in every practical sense, if you’re a man, you aren’t born valuable (I don’t make the rules). You become valuable through purposeful action. Take responsibility for your growth and actively cultivate skills and virtues.
Step into pain intentionally. Growth doesn’t come from comfort but from willingly facing discomfort. Seek challenging experiences. They transform you.
No one’s coming to save you. And that’s your greatest opportunity. To save yourself. Embrace accountability. True empowerment begins when you take ownership of your outcomes.
Be useful. Focus on providing value, and respect will follow. Genuine contributions garner trust and build lasting relationships.
Quiet strength wins respect. Confidence and humility speak louder than ego. Cultivate calm assertiveness rather than arrogance or insecurity.
Own your mission. Never delegate your life’s purpose to someone else. Define your path clearly and stay committed to your vision.
Faith & Philosophy
Without God, you fill the void with something lesser. As a former atheist, it’s clear to me how faithless people, in an attempt to find deeper meaning, make gods out of ideologies, animalistic pleasures, humans, or even themselves. This is dangerous. The truth is that spiritual grounding gives purpose to every action. Aligning your life with deeper spiritual principles provides lasting peace and direction.
The Bible and ancient texts are still profoundly relevant. Ancient wisdom still applies powerfully today. Timeless truths guide decisions and provide clarity amid modern chaos.
True self-development is spiritual. Growth without spiritual grounding is superficial and fleeting. Integrating spiritual insight creates deep and lasting personal growth.
Pray deeply. Act boldly. Faith isn’t passive. It’s active trust in action. Let your faith fuel courageous, bold, and decisive actions.
Serve something greater than yourself. Ego fades quickly, but service leaves a lasting impact. Contribution beyond self-interest enriches life deeply and meaningfully.
Business & Mindset
Grow systems. Efficiency and clarity beat scale every time. Streamlined, efficient systems outperform even large-scale enterprises. As signüll said, in this new age of AI, “you don’t scale by adding people, you scale by removing the need for people”.
Don’t confuse activity with impact. Busy doesn’t mean effective. Results matter. Measure outcomes clearly to ensure you’re making genuine progress.
Build leverage early. Prepare resources before you need them, not when it’s too late. Strategic foresight sets you up for future success.
Clear KPIs solve confusion. Define success clearly, and the path becomes simpler. Explicit goals provide direction and clarity. In business (and in life), it’s all about incentives. Clear incentives result in great outcomes.
Clarity beats working harder. Stop hustling blindly. Get clear on your priorities. Intentional focus multiplies your productivity and satisfaction.
Delegate everything but vision and quality. Trust others with tasks, but hold onto your standards. Effective delegation frees you to lead strategically and maintain high standards.
Final Thoughts
These principles aren’t just guidelines but reminders born out of lived experience, victories, setbacks, and everything in between.
My hope is that they inspire you to reflect, challenge yourself, and build a life that’s intentional, meaningful, and fulfilling.
Here’s to continuing to learn, grow, and thrive. One year, one principle, and one challenge at a time.