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Business Entrepreneurship Progress

Caffeine and Chapters: Exploring the Business Mindset

Reading Time: 12 minutes.

Running entrepreneurial endeavours while being a developer and an artist at heart calls for a different mindset than the one shaped by code and creative culture. So at some point last year, I decided it was time to explore that mindset for my own growth—and picked up a few books to help. Here are some of the key lessons I took from them.

“Million Dollar Weekend” by Noah Kagan

Last year, James from Indie Makers space sent me a copy of this book with the condition that I would share my thoughts about it.

In general, it’s very honest and relatable, but also messy and chaotic, much like real business challenges can be.

Below are lessons, bits of wisdom, and interesting facts that I collected from the book.

The Business Playground: Think in Experiments

Everything you do—every launch, every product, every marketing strategy—should be treated as an experiment. And like all good experiments, some will fail. That’s not a sign to stop, but a signal to learn. Failure isn’t something to avoid; it’s something to expect.

The courage to begin, and to keep trying, is what separates creators from dreamers. This “Creator’s Courage” is what allows you to take an idea and test it in the real world, even if the outcome is uncertain.

Approach your business like a curious builder. Use it as a playground where you can test ideas, learn about yourself, solve problems you personally care about, and help others along the way. This mindset will help you become less self-critical and more open to creative possibilities.

Customer Problem First, Developing a Solution Later

For indie entrepreneurs, success isn’t just about building software or launching flashy products. At its core, business is about solving real problems. Your customers don’t want “more apps” or “innovative features”—they want results that make their lives better. Understanding this simple truth can save you years of chasing the wrong goals.

Marketing gets a lot easier when you have something genuinely useful. You don’t need to convince people if your product solves a real pain point. You don’t need to shout over the noise if there’s already demand and you’re just offering a better way.

Your role is to find existing problems, solve them effectively, and then ask people to pay for that solution. The mistake many make is trying to generate demand where there is none. Don’t convince—serve.

Ask Boldly, Fail Often

Most people never get what they want because they don’t ask. Kyle MacDonald famously traded a red paperclip up to a house, in just 14 steps—all by asking multiple people. If you believe your product or service can improve someone’s life, then not offering it is actually a disservice.

Adopt “rejection goals.” Try aiming for 25 noes. Each rejection is progress. Most “noes” are actually “not yets.” And every “yes” can lead to referrals, testimonials, or another experiment.

If you believe your product can fulfill a true need, it’s your moral obligation to sell it.
– Zig Ziglar

Focus Where It Matters Most

Too many first-time entrepreneurs spend most of their energy perfecting the product and very little time on customer discovery. The hard part isn’t the idea—it’s getting your first paying users.

Validation is simple: talk to people you know. Can you find three people within 48 hours who are willing to pay? That conversation shouldn’t be a pitch; it should be a chat. Ask things like:

  • What would make this a no-brainer for you?
  • Who do you know that might need this?
  • What would you pay for something like this?

Validation often happens faster on existing marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace, Reddit, and Craigslist. Even a basic landing page (try Instapage or ClickFunnels) with a clear call to action is enough to test demand.

Use Your Zone of Influence

Beginners often look too far beyond themselves for opportunities. But seasoned entrepreneurs tend to find them close by—among their own interests, skills, problems, and personal networks. Real opportunities come from real people with real names, often already in your life.

Look at what people are already spending money on. Can you build an add-on? Can you teach them how to use it better? Can you sell to that same crowd with a related service?

The easier path is satisfying demand, not creating it from scratch. If you’re opening a taco stand, look for a starving crowd—not people who are “open to the idea of tacos.”

Understand the Numbers

Running a business doesn’t have to be complicated. Know your Freedom Number—the monthly income you need to live the life you want. For example:

  • $1,000 for housing
  • $1,000 for food and travel
  • $1,000 for savings or investment Total: $3,000/month

Profit = Revenue – Cost

Now work backward. If you earn $30 profit per sale, you’ll need 100 sales a month. That’s clear, simple math.

Then, aim to improve your profitability:

  • Increase order size or frequency
  • Adjust your prices
  • Sell to higher-income customers
  • Add complementary products or services
  • Create recurring income (subscriptions or reorders)

Marketing: Do It 100 Times Before Quitting

Marketing is not magic. The Law of 100 says: whatever you try—tweets, blog posts, videos, emails—do it 100 times before evaluating. This shift in mindset helps you push through discouraging early results and build momentum.

Start on social media, but always move your audience to your email list. Without emails, you’re just borrowing attention from platforms. Be a guide, not a guru—share your journey, document your experiments, and invite feedback. One of the best first emails you can send:

“What could I write to provide value to you?”*

A good list doesn’t have to be big. Even a 20% open rate can be powerful. For example, AppSumo used to average $100 per newsletter email. But then made around $9500 when incorporated with better storytelling.

Track what works. Create a spreadsheet with your marketing tactics. List expected results and actual outcomes for each tactic within a chosen duration. Cut what doesn’t work. Focus where returns are strong—even if it’s only $100 or 30 minutes saved per week.

Build Systems That Support You

Being an entrepreneur means you get to design your own system. That’s both the privilege and the challenge. Make sure the system supports your happiness—not just your business growth.

Set ideal goals for the year and group them into categories like Work, Health, Personal, and Travel. Break them down into small steps and put them on a calendar using different colors for each area.

You also need people. Connect with ambitious peers—especially those who aren’t influencers yet but are on their way. These “prefluencers” can become great allies. A supportive community makes the tough parts of the journey more bearable.

And one final reminder: cut toxic relationships, even if they seem cool. Clarity and focus require emotional space.

“What They Teach You at Harvard Business School” by Philip Delves Broughton

The author of the book was a journalist who started studying at Harvard Business School to gain financial freedom. However, he realized that it’s a hardcore experience to study there, and it wasn’t exactly what he expected. While studying there, he learned more about business-oriented people than about doing business in large corporations.

Here are some knowledge bits I extracted from that book for my professional growth:

You Are the Product (Sometimes)

At HBS, days could start at 7 AM and end at midnight. Fifty-five hours of academic work per week seemed extreme to outsiders, but for some students coming from high-pressure jobs, it was actually a break. The stress was real: physical, emotional, and mental strain were constant companions. Yet, students were told their calendars would be full of amazing opportunities—just not enough time to do them all.

In such environments, you learn this: sometimes you’re the customer of the school. Other times, you’re the product. That’s not very different from running your own business. You sell, serve, pitch, learn, hustle—and if you’re not careful, you burn out.

Financial Wisdom Is Simpler Than It Looks

Finance is often seen as complex, but the core ideas are surprisingly simple:

  • Cash is king. More cash is better than less. Sooner is better than later. Certain is better than risky. And never run out of it.
  • Valuation matters. Business is often about assigning value to assets. Whether you’re pricing a digital product or evaluating your startup, the question is: how much is it worth, and why?
  • Inventory basics: A simple formula for product-based businesses:Cost of Goods Sold / Inventory shows how quickly products are moving. Less inventory is better if you’re trying to be lean.
  • In banking: Loans are assets (money going out to earn interest), and deposits are liabilities (money banks owe their customers). That’s the reverse of how most of us think.

A Good Product Is Not Enough

Many entrepreneurs believe a great product will sell itself. It won’t. To succeed, you need:

  • Marketing – to reach people.
  • Sales – to convert them.
  • Customer service – to keep them coming back.

Harvard Business Publishing alone makes $100 million a year selling content for entrepreneurs. If they need marketing, so do you.

Think Like an Economist

Sometimes, small shifts in thinking make a big difference. One example from a restaurant: instead of a full kitchen, have chefs cook at the table. Smaller kitchen, lower rent. Another example: fewer menu items means less waste.

Big companies use this thinking too. McDonald’s decided it was smarter to sell franchises and support them than to own millions of properties. Fashion designers often don’t own factories—they just provide the design specs.

Ethics Are Flexible, But Important

Business ethics weren’t about fixed rules. They were about adapting to changing situations while maintaining basic decency. In business, things rarely fit a formula. But you still need your own boundaries—your “strong moral compass.”

You can lead others through tools like salaries, perks, team-building, promotions, and values. But ethical leadership is what makes those tools effective and keeps your company culture strong.

Know What Gives You an Edge

There are a few main types of competitive advantage:

  • Cost advantage – You make and sell something cheaper.
  • Differentiation – Your product is somehow better or more suited to a specific group.
    • Vertical: better or worse in quality.
    • Horizontal: offering more options or variety.

If you can keep your edge despite competition, that’s called sustainable advantage.

Risk Goes Both Ways

Risk isn’t only about something bad happening. It’s also about something good not happening on time. Not starting a business on hyped services might mean missing a great opportunity.

Pitch Like You Matter

Venture capitalists often invest in people, not just ideas. Put your bio upfront in your pitch deck. They want to know who you are and what drives you.

A good pitch answers two questions:

  • What problem are you solving?
  • Why should I buy it from you?

And always, always pick a niche. A broad audience is harder to reach than a focused one.

Reflect on Your Best Self

One exercise from HBS can be useful for indie founders. Ask yourself:

  • When do you feel like your best self?
  • What helps that version of you show up more often?
  • What keeps you from it?
  • How can you structure your life to bring it out every day?
  • What should you stop doing?
  • Where should you focus more?

Building a business isn’t just about systems and products. It’s also about building yourself.

Nine Out of Ten Fail. So What?

Yes, most businesses fail. That’s reality. But if you’re resilient—if you keep learning, adjusting, and showing up—you increase your odds.

Harvard teaches a lot of theories. But one lesson stands out for anyone starting their own business:

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
— Gandhi

In the end, business isn’t just about profit. It’s about building something that matters, growing through it, and doing it in a way you can be proud of—whatever your size or path.

“What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School” by Mark H. McCormack

The author of this book teaches lots of practical street-smart business tips from his first-hand experience. To do business, you don’t have to be a Harvard Business School graduate, but you have to be brave and proactive.

Here is what I learned from that book:

The People Side of Business

Starting and growing a business isn’t just about products, plans, or tools. It’s mostly about people. Whether you’re closing a deal, negotiating a contract, motivating a team, or just trying to get your first customer, your success depends on how well you understand and work with others.

Business is rarely about logic alone. It’s about reading between the lines, understanding moods, and listening more than you speak. Many successful entrepreneurs develop a kind of “street smarts”—they trust their instincts, ask smart questions, and pay attention to what people don’t say.

When you’re talking with someone, listen carefully to how they phrase things. Small pauses, hesitations, or strong words can reveal what matters most to them. Ask questions and resist the urge to answer them yourself. Let silence do the work—it can often lead others to reveal more than they intended.

How You Come Across

Your appearance, tone, and timing all send signals. For example, your clothes should fit well but not scream for attention. People who seem too perfect might be more focused on looking good than doing good. In business, real achievement speaks louder than polished appearances.

You don’t need to impress everyone directly. Let others mention your achievements. Avoid flattery—it feels fake. Instead, treat people the way they want to be treated. Personalize your messages, don’t waste anyone’s time, and above all, keep your promises. If you say you’ll deliver something and don’t, people lose trust—and that’s hard to win back.

Understand the System

Every company, every team, and every industry has a system—even if it’s unspoken. Your job is to understand it. Within companies, people often copy the style and habits of their bosses. Pay attention to how someone’s assistant acts—you might learn something about the person in charge.

Formal business situations usually reveal the least. People wear their “game face.” But behind the scenes, you can often learn more. A smart move is to help others without expecting anything in return—like connecting two people who could help each other. They’ll remember you.

Don’t try to be perfect. Instead, learn from your mistakes and own them. People who admit errors and move on are more respected than those who hide them or blame others.

How to Stand Out

If you’re an employee, your challenge is to make sure the decision-makers know your value—without upsetting the people between you and them. If you’re an employer, you must look beyond appearances and identify real talent.

Here are some basic rules to follow:

  • The fittest survive—not necessarily the flashiest.
  • Your peers are your allies, not your enemies.
  • There’s always a system—find it and work with it.

The Power of Asking for Help

Not asking for help is short-sighted. The smartest people ask questions, learn from others, and grow faster. Your value increases as your knowledge expands.

Leverage your time and energy. Ask: 

How can I make the biggest impact in the shortest time?

If you’re bored, it’s probably your fault. You haven’t found what makes the work meaningful—or haven’t tried hard enough to shape it into something better.

Selling Is Survival

Even if you don’t like selling, it’s essential. Without sales, there’s no business. The best salespeople don’t push—they wait for the right moment—timing and patience matter as much as skill.

In fact, many ideas fail not because they’re bad, but because they’re too early—or too late. Mature entrepreneurs learn to wait for the right time, even if it means delaying their own plans.

Try renewing contracts or asking for upgrades when the other side is happiest, not when the deadline is near. Sell to people who are either just starting a new role (they want to prove themselves) or about to leave (they have nothing to lose).

And once the sale is made, stop selling. Talk about something else—something personal or human. Over-explaining your product might make them regret the decision.

Focus on What Works

Use the 80/20 rule: 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. Identify them early and build long-term relationships. Also, figure out who really decides in the companies you deal with. It’s not always obvious.

Find the rising stars in other businesses and become their ally. Ten years from now, they might be in influential positions—and remember you.

When discussing prices, avoid round numbers. They feel negotiable. Odd prices seem more considered and firm. And when you’re drafting contracts, try to write them first. Avoid too much legal jargon—it can create distance. Send your proposal to the person you’re dealing with directly, not just their legal team.

Build a Real Business, Not Just a Plan

Successful businesses are built on common sense—plus the courage to act on it. Many good ideas fail simply because no one turns them into action.

Smart companies invest in training, not just hiring. Here are four basic principles to guide how you treat your team:

  • Pay them what they’re worth.
  • Make them feel valued.
  • Encourage them to think for themselves.
  • Keep work and personal life separate.

Start with modest pay. Let your employees prove themselves. Then reward them well. Motivate with both encouragement and high standards—but don’t ask anything you wouldn’t do yourself.

Time Is Your Most Valuable Asset

Time control is productivity. Once you believe that managing your time makes work better and life easier, everything else becomes more manageable.

Think of your week as 168 hours. Plan time for work, rest, and recharge. Organize tomorrow at the end of today. The same goes for weeks, months, and quarters.

Don’t let your phone control you. Make calls on your schedule, and ensure every call serves a purpose. If someone is too hard to reach, it’s usually not a technical issue—it’s a lack of interest.

Start Small, Stay Smart

Bootstrapping—building your business with limited funds—is often more effective than chasing investors. The more money you need upfront, the less likely your business will succeed.

People often say, “Don’t work hard—work smart.” The reality? You need to do both. Work smart and hard, and long. That’s how progress happens.

Finally, one last note: avoid having business partners if you can. Many of the most successful entrepreneurs went solo. The more people involved in decision-making, the more complicated things can get.

How Deep Am I Willing To Dive Into This

For me, entrepreneurship is about turning ideas into reality and sharing them with the world. It’s deeply fulfilling to build something meaningful—something enjoyable to create and that can also be financially rewarding. I’m not drawn to business for its own sake.

At the same time, making an entrepreneurial journey profitable requires more than creativity or being an indie maker. It takes rational thinking, initiative, and courage—traits I know I need to develop further to succeed and grow sustainably.

I’m not aiming to build a large corporation or climb the corporate ladder. Still, I understand the importance of knowing how those structures operate, especially if I want to offer services or products to people working within them.

Ideally, I’d keep my company small, with minimal hierarchy—bringing on only the people necessary to help with tasks I choose to delegate.

I see the ideas from business books as one end of a spectrum—something I can learn from, but not a destination I’m aiming for. My main goal is to create high-quality online tools and platforms that serve people and make a positive impact.

Credits: cover photo by Lexi Lauwers.

Disclaimer: I used ChatGPT to systemize and adapt the knowledge for this article at the comprehension level I wanted to maintain.

Categories
Life Progress Self-awareness Spirituality

Mindware: Influences on My Inner Operating System

AI-generated bonsai
Reading Time: 4 minutes.

Lithuanian polymath Tomas Jonas Girdzijauskas has said once that every man must develop his own Operating System – the core structure and mechanism on how he perceives the world. The Operating System of my worldview is based on many different influences. Still, at its core, I see the philosophies and paradigms of three men who analyzed the human mind and spirit. They are Ken Wilber, David R. Hawkins, and Carl Jung.

Ken Wilber – Integral Theory

I learned about Ken Wilber through a Mindvalley webinar, read online about his theories, watched another webinar that illustrated his theories by themes in movies, and watched a biographical depiction of his love life, titled “Grace and Grit.”

At a young age, Ken Wilber studied lots of philosophies and religions, and combined what he learned into Integral Theory. He defines stages of personal development, ranging from the physical self to the godly self, and assigns colors to each stage, progressing from infrared to clear light. Human consciousness evolves from being ego-centric to caring about one’s close ones, then about their communities, their city, their country, their continent, their planet, all living physical beings, and non-physical ones too.

There are many aspects to explore in Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory, and I may delve into his books at a later stage of my maturity.

For those curious about me, in the past couple of years, I transitioned from Turquoise to Indigo as my baseline – the first level of spiritual awareness. I have encountered the most resistance from people at the Amber level during my growth.

David Ramon Hawkins – Kinesiology

I learned about David R. Hawkins from a Lithuanian Facebook group focused on consciousness, which cited his book. As the texts resonated with me a lot, I purchased the mentioned book, Power vs. Force. An Anatomy of Consciousness-and it was another eye opener for me.

David R. Hawkins analyzed how kinesiology can help you read your intuition. The idea is that people are connected to a common consciousness field, which can be read from by checking the strength of muscle tension. The mind might doubt or lie due to various biases, but the body feels the field more strongly. There are different muscle tests to check the truthfulness of your true-false statements. Some checks I would start with: “My name is …”. Insert your name and the other person’s name there, and see the difference in your muscle strength. Then, check the statements “I am a body” and “I have a body.”

Eventually, those muscle tests fail too, especially when you are sceptical. However, using those methods, David R. Hawkins deciphered and evaluated consciousness levels with their frequencies ranging from 1 to 1000. That has a similarity to Ken Wilber’s consciousness levels. Hawkins’ consciousness levels address different emotions as the baseline of what a person feels every day. At the bottom of the scale are shame (20), guilt (30), apathy (50), and grief (75). At the top are love (500), joy (540), peace(600), and enlightenment (700-1000).

At some point in my life, while having the consciousness map in front of me, I could empathetically recognize at which frequency a person is currently living.

Carl Gustav Jung – the Shadow

I learned about Carl Jung from an artistic and technical friend, then watched a few introductory YouTube videos, such as comparisons with Buddhism, listened to the This Jungian Life podcast, and read some related threads on X.

The main idea of Carl Jung’s theories was that a person has their conscious thinking and a persona as a chosen representation to others, as well as a significant shadow side (unconscious), hiding all the suppressed beliefs about themselves and past traumas.

For example, one of the topics of the unconscious is how a person perceives the archetypical masculinity and femininity in themselves. 

In society, a lot of humor is based on the assumption that a man is manly and a woman is womanly, and if one has any features of the opposite sex, it’s something to laugh about. But in reality, every one of us has features of both sides; however, some people suppress the features they don’t want to show and accept.

Carl Jung also defined character archetypes: the Hero, the Mentor, the Explorer, the Lover, the Caregiver, the Rebel, the Jester, the Ruler, the Innocent, and the Sage. These archetypes are often used to define personas in marketing. You can recognize similar profiles at 16personalities.

How it all comes together

You can’t get to the surface of the water if you are carrying stones in your pockets.

– Me on socials

As we live at a particular consciousness level as our baseline, we usually have suppressed traumas from the past that raise fears and insecurities about growing into the next levels of consciousness.

By getting into an emotionally safe space and then meditatively going back to the past in memories and re-experiencing the first occurrences of the events that blocked us later in life, we can send energy, love, and understanding to the past version of self, to dissolve the emotional tensions and get free from that trauma that shaped how we react to similar events later in the lifetime. It’s called shadow work, and it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially with the heaviest experiences. However, the more we work on that, the healthier, more loving, and peaceful our life gets later in the future.

By starting to care about bigger and bigger groups of people, we raise our consciousness, increase our responsibility, and create or recall larger missions for why we are here and what we are supposed to do here, or how important it is what we do in the overall journey or grand scheme.

[…] we will see that power arises from meaning. It has to do with motive and it has to do with principle. Power is always associated with that which supports the significance of life itself. It appeals to that in human nature which we call noble, in contrast to force, which appeals to that which we call crass. Power appeals to that which uplifts and dignifies-ennobles. Force must always be justified, whereas power requires no justification. Force is associated with the partial, power with the whole.

– David R. Hawkins

Categories
Life Self-awareness Spirituality

2023 Raised Me Spiritually

2023 raised me spiritually
Reading Time: 4 minutes.

Usually, I express myself online or in live communications secularly, without mentioning any references to God and spiritual living. However, the past years have raised and strengthened me spiritually, and I came to a point where I felt a need to talk about that with people with similar deep and high experiences.

If you are someone I know and reading this text, it might be a surprise for you. On the other hand, if you had some hunch about this, it might be an explanation. But most importantly, I want to reach soulmates and twin flames with whom I could openly talk about deep stuff.

Some keywords for the things I will write further would be healing from past traumas, manifestations, astral projections, and channeling, not according to theoretical books or people who teach their secrets for thousands, but as I have experienced and understood them.

We live in a collective dream. We project the multidimensional reality through our minds to 3D and experience it. I don’t believe that everything is possible. There are limitations in the multidimensional reality that were formed over time of existence in the collective consciousness. All the things that science analyzes make reality solid: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. But certain areas like quantum physics open possibilities to experience more than the 3D to which we might be used.

From a quantum-physics perspective, humans are spiritual multidimensional beings living 3D experiences a day at a time. Every day, we are dealt a hand of cards we need to play with. Have you ever noticed that one day, you or your closest ones look or behave a little bit differently than other days? Or maybe that some days you remember a good or bad habit or have some health issue. That happens from time to time, repeatedly.

Some of us realize that and can shift the 3D experience from one spot to another on demand. It’s not physically changing places but instead changing your configuration to lead you better to what you want to have or be. That’s called manifestation. It’s an intentional change of your 3D experience towards a goal that you want to achieve. The common goals are becoming healthier, fitter, more beautiful, more financially successful, more free, or more abundant in another way.

There is a saying: “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.” Wherever we focus, we manifest more of that in our minds. With the fixed mindset, we are in a loop of repeating actions, behaviors, and circumstances, often followed by guilt, blame, hopelessness, or anger. With the growth mindset, we experiment and shift perceptions and identity until we become what we want to be. And that is often followed by optimism, trust in faith, peace, and love.

No one here on Earth is left behind. Even the most introverted persons are not alone. We are all being helped by souls and spirits. Just not everyone sees that. Especially if you are absorbed into your egoistic self, you might not see the signs around you. The more you think about how you could serve the world better, the more help you receive.

2021, for me, was when I realized that we are not alone. We are always surrounded by other souls. I started learning to communicate with them, remembered some episodes from my childhood related to them, and even cleared some memories from before arriving in this material world.

In 2023, I had lots of spiritual experiences during meditations, and not only that. I was healed from my biggest life traumas. Paradoxically, the beginning of feeling the spiritual experiences in 2021 was one of those traumas because many spirits around me were very negative about me.

Past traumas are psychological blocks from the past that have negative outcomes on our bodies. They can be felt as headaches or other illnesses and pains in our physical body. Healing from them happens by recognizing the real cause of the tension in a particular body part and releasing the tension with forgiveness, peace, and trust, sometimes also with love. By cleansing the tensions, you open for the energy to flow throughout your body, which leads to quicker and easier manifestations.

Over the past two years, I developed an ability not only to feel others empathetically but also to physically feel the pains and pleasures of others and sometimes let them heal their past traumas. Some of the spiritual experiences I had were quite dark and painful for me. Some of them were delightful, peaceful, and full of love.

Several events in 2023 had an energetically strong influence on my life, reaching the souls of very energetically high people and getting some realizations I wouldn’t normally get if I had a fixed mindset and was always moving in the same circle. The strongest ones energetically were an online meeting of the community of the “Think and Grow Rich: The Legacy” movie and the online workshop “The LightWorkers’ Persecution Imprint” by Edward Mannix. The people of the Think and Grow Rich community were all directed toward financial growth and success. The people at the lightworkers’ workshop were empaths, healers, star seeds, and other lightworkers helping other people spiritually, but at the same time, they have had lots of social criticism since burning witches.

I am not planning to work as a healer because I don’t know more than I know in this field, and I have already defined my path for the future. Now, I am manifesting my designed future day by day by taking action toward it. Daydreams can be manifested in 5 or 10 years without action, but they are fulfilled faster if they are led by action.

The last thing that I became aware of is channeling. Most of the creators, performers, public speakers, politicians, and other public figures experience spiritual help from other souls, spirits, or God, being aware of that or not. And I had experienced channeling several times in 2023 with my awareness. Note that channeling still happens through the prism of your own belief system, and it’s probably impossible to express something from you that you are against. By channeling, spirits help you unlock the corners of your subconsciousness, which would help you express yourself in a given situation.

There is much more that I could write on these topics, but I will leave that to private conversations with people who will appear in my life after this writing.

Peace and love!
Aidas

Categories
Life Self-awareness

If Aliens Made Clones of You…

If aliens made clones of you...
Reading Time: < 1 minute.

If aliens made 100 clones of you with your skills, knowledge, attitude, and mindset, would the world be a better place to live or worse?

👽👽👽

Press, radio, TV, and social media are precisely clone-making machines.

Each of us resonates with what we consume.

👤 ➔ 📺📻📱 ➔ 👥👥👥😉👥👥👥

We have a conscious or unconscious tendency to copy who resembles us.

That’s called homophily (“love of being alike”).

👥👥👥 ❤️ 😉 ❤️ 👥👥👥

For example, people may be more likely to follow trends or form friendships, romantic relationships, or professional connections with individuals who share interests or have similar educational backgrounds at similar times.

👩‍🎓🧑‍🎓😉👨‍🎓👩‍🎓

Our network shapes us, and we shape our network as well. We copy not only our relatives and friends but also friends of friends and friends of friends of friends.

😉 ⇄ 👤 ⇄ 👤

You are connected to anyone on Earth by 6 degrees of separation: your friend is 1 degree from you, the friend of your friend is 2 degrees, and so on.

But we have influence and are influenced by 3 degrees on average.

😉 ⇄ 👤 ⇄👤 ⇄ 👤 ⋯ 👤 ⋯ 👤 ⋯ 👤

If you have 120 acquaintances, and each of them has 120 acquaintances, and each of those has that many, too, you can imagine how many people you may influence just by your presence.

And if you are on social networks, you probably have way more friends than 120.

🕸🕸🕸😉🕸🕸🕸

So, a few questions for you:

  • Does this make you feel paralyzed or more responsible for your actions?
  • Do your actions match your virtues?
  • Are you living your best self?

🦸‍♀️🦸🏻‍♂️🦸🏽‍♀️😉🦸🦸🏿‍♂️🦸🏻‍♂️

This information was strongly influenced by the book “Connected” by Nicholas Christakis, MD, Ph.D., and James Fowler, Ph.D.

😉📙

Cover photo by cottonbro studio.

Categories
Life

How to Handle Work Responsibilities During Personal Crises

How to Handle Work Responsibilities During Personal Crises
Reading Time: 2 minutes.

Dealing with work priorities can be challenging on its own, but when personal matters come into play, it can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s a family crisis or a personal health issue, finding a way to balance your work responsibilities while still taking care of yourself and your loved ones is crucial.

Certain life events are sometimes so stressful, that they make it impossible to keep your attention at work related matters. Breakups, divorses, losing loved ones, emerging serious illnesses, financial hardship, being a victim of a crime or violence, and experiencing a natural disaster are all situations that make our lives unbearable. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also been a major source of stress and mental health decline.

It’s important to communicate with your manager or supervisor if you’re experiencing a personal crisis that may impact your work priorities. Whether it’s a family emergency, health issue, or other private matter, letting them know what’s going on can help them offer support and adjust your workload accordingly or give flexible work hours.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from colleagues. They may be able to offer you support, advice, or assistance with tasks or projects. And remember, this applies to company owners too – if you’re dealing with a personal crisis, you should feel comfortable communicating with your team to ensure work priorities are managed effectively.

Next, it’s essential to prioritize your tasks and focus on the most critical ones first. This may mean delegating some tasks to others or postponing non-essential tasks until you have more time and energy to tackle them.

If you’re struggling to stay productive at work while going through a personal crisis, know that you’re not alone. It’s common to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated during difficult times, and it’s important to prioritize your well-being and mental health above all else. There are several resources and strategies you can utilize to help manage your work productivity while navigating a personal crisis.

Also, seek out support from outside resources. Professional counseling or therapy can help you address the root causes of your personal crisis and provide coping strategies for managing your emotions. Support groups or peer networks can provide a sense of community and understanding, helping you feel less isolated and alone.

Finally, don’t forget to take care of yourself. Make self-care a priority, and don’t hesitate to take time off work if needed. Ensure you get enough sleep, eat healthy, and take breaks when needed. Use your breaks throughout the day to stretch, meditate, or take a walk outside. Remember, your well-being is more important than your productivity, and it’s okay to take things one day at a time. By utilizing these resources and strategies, you can manage your work productivity while prioritizing your mental health and well-being during a personal crisis.

Dealing with work priorities while being overwhelmed with personal matters can be a difficult and stressful experience. However, by communicating, prioritizing, taking care of yourself, and seeking help when needed, you can find a way to manage both your work and personal responsibilities. Remember to be kind to yourself and take things one day at a time.

Cover photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Categories
Life Progress Self-awareness

15 Priceless Productivity Tips for Procrastinators

Productivity Tips for Procrastinators
Reading Time: 3 minutes.

This post first appeared on the 1st things 1st blog.

What a paradox that to write about productivity for those who always postpone things, I am procrastinating myself while scrolling productivity and business tips on Twitter. The problem is that I shouldn’t focus on productivity to be productive. Instead, I should focus on my goals. And develop effective habits.

The trick is just to start doing what you planned. And so I started, and in this article, I will give you a glimpse of those habits that you should develop to live a more thriving and meaningful life.

Know your WHY’s

Always be aware of why you are doing what you are doing. You will always have very little motivation if your reasons are vague.

Do you work just for survival? Or for financial stability? Or for recognition? Or for impact? Or for self-expression? 

Finish what you started

Decide in advance which of your projects are to be finished and which of them are just experiments.

Don’t start working on new projects until the old ones are completed. Learn the habit of getting things done.

Focus on your strengths

Nobody is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. As well as their strengths. 

Don’t be sorry about what you can’t do. Identify what you can do best, and make that even better. 

Ask others for help when it’s too hard to handle yourself or takes too much time.

Start now with what you have

Perfect conditions will never exist. So you have to start doing what you want or need to do now. Not next month, not next week, not tomorrow. But now.

Start ideating, prioritizing, and planning. Take the first steps. Even if that’s for 20 minutes. The goal is to build productive habits.

Create TODO lists

Have three TODO lists: “Must do,” “Should do,” and “Want to do.” Execute tasks from those lists according to your priorities and energy levels.

Don’t waste your time on “wants” if your “musts” are not done yet.

Break big tasks into smaller chunks

Sometimes your tasks are so huge that you just get overwhelmed and perplexed. Where should you start? How can you plan and estimate?

The trick here is to split the big task into smaller ones and evaluate them separately.

Find your prime biological time

Identify your most productive time of day. Maybe it’s your mornings, maybe afternoons, or maybe nights.

It’s your Power Hours that you should use for the most critical or creative work.

Schedule daily work time in blocks

Split your days into segments and dedicate those segments to different types of work. For example, 13:30 – 15:00 is for writing and replying to emails.

Do only one thing at a time. Don’t switch contexts. You will be more productive, focussing on only one type of work at a time.

Gamify your work

Try not to break a chain by working on something for a regular time daily. For example, building something for 1 hour every day.

Or, if you have some tedious tasks to do, decide on some point system to reward yourself for a certain amount of completed tasks.

Choose peace, not conflict

When communicating, aim to be calm, understanding, and harmonious. Unnecessary conflicts just drain your energy and make you less than productive.

Usually, complicated people are so because of their difficult pasts. So be aware of that, and it will help you be more peaceful.

Have an accountability partner

Struggling on your dreams alone might be difficult. There are a million reasons not to do something you wish to have done. The tiredness after the primary job, wishing to spend time with your friends or family, exciting TV show, or a new series on Netflix.

Don’t make excuses, and have a friend to talk with about your progress. This will make you more inspired and accountable against that person.

Control your devices

Don’t fall into the trap of digital devices. Instead, make smartphones, computers, and TV work for you, not control you.

Switch off most notifications not to distract you. Then, when you need more focus, go to Airplane mode.

Install apps that let you prioritize, plan your time, focus better.

Focus on the 20% most important tasks

The Pareto principle says that by doing just 20% of the most critical tasks, you can achieve 80% of the impact.

Identify which tasks make this 20% of your lists and focus on them.

Work hard on your mindset

Life is as finite and fatal as you define it. You can have a fixed mindset, thinking that you have developed during your childhood and youth, and nothing can be changed afterward.

Or you can be in a growth mindset thinking that you can continuously develop yourself, survive mistakes and learn from them, and work on life-changing projects.

Hold yourself accountable – drive your own life

Don’t wait for someone else to fix your life and make your dreams come true. Be the driver of your own life.

Design your life, take action, and go forward!

Invitation

There is more to that. If you learned something new and want to dive deeper, check these concise productivity tips I recently published. There are many more tips there (80 to be exact) for your goal setting, motivation, self-awareness, priorities, planning, efficiency, and growth.

Cover photo by cottonbro

Categories
Ecology Life Sustainability

17 Django Project Ideas that can Make a Positive Impact around You

17 Django Project Ideas that can Make a Positive Impact around You
Reading Time: 4 minutes.

This post first appeared on the DjangoTricks blog.

For more than a decade, I was focused only on the technical part of website building with Django. In the process, I have built a bunch of interesting cultural websites. But I always felt that those sleepless nights were not worthy of the impact.

They say, “Don’t work hard, work smart!” I agree with that phrase, and for me it’s not about working less hours. For me, it’s working as much as necessary, but on things that matter most.

So after years of collecting facts about life, I connected the dots and came up with make-impact.org – a social donation platform, which became one of the most important long-term projects. All my planning goes around this project.

And I believe I am not the only programmer who sometimes feels that they want to make a positive impact with their skills. So I brainstormed 17 Django project ideas. You can choose one and realize it as a hobby project, open-source platform, startup, or non-profit organization; alone, with a team of developers, or collaborating with some non-technical people.

Idea #1: Low Qualification Job Search

The job market is pretty competitive, and not all people can keep up with the train. You could build a job search website for jobs that don’t require high education or lots of working experience. It could be helpful for people with language barriers, harsh living conditions, or those who are very young or very old. You could build it for your city, region, or country.

Idea #2: Discounted Meals and Products

Get inspired from Too Good To Go and build a progressive web app for your city about discounted restaurant meals and shop products whose expiration date is close to the end, but they are still good to eat.

Idea #3: Personal Health Advisor and Tracker

Build a website for setting your personal health improvement goals and tracking the progress. For example, maybe one wants to start eating more particular vegetables every week, jogging daily, lose or gain weight, or get rid of unhealthy addictions. Let people choose their health goals and check in with each progressive step. Allow using the website anonymously.

Idea #4: Online Primary and Elementary School Materials

Some people don’t have access to schools in general or miss some classes because of illnesses. You could build a global and open wiki-based primary and elementary school education website for children and adults. It should be translatable and localizable. It would also be interesting to compare the same subject teachings in different countries side-by-side.

Idea #5: Psychological Support for Women

You could build a website with a video chat providing psychological support to discriminated or violently abused women. The help could be given by professionals or emphatic volunteers. The technical part can be implemented using django-channels, WebSockets, and WebRTC.

Idea #6: Rain-harvesting Companies around the World

Rain harvesting is one of the available ways to solve the problem of the lack of drinking water. There could be a platform comparing rain-harvesting companies all around the world. What are the installation prices? What are the countries they are working with? How many people have they saved? This website would allow people to find the most optimal company to build a rain harvesting system for them.

Idea #7: Closest Electric Car Charging Stations

Use the Open Charge Map API and create a progressive web app that shows the nearest electric car charging station and how to get there.

Idea #8: Escrow-based Remote Job Search

As remote jobs are getting more and more popular, there is still a matter of trust between the employees and employers. “Will the job taker complete their job in a good quality?” “Will the company pay the employee on time?” There are Escrow services to fix this issue. These are third parties that take and hold the money until the job is done. You could build a remote job search website promoting the usage of Escrow.com or another escrow service provider.

Idea #9: Open Work Locations

You could build a website listing coworking spaces and cafes with free wifi in your city. It should include the map, price ranges, details if registration is required, and other information necessary for remote workers.

Idea #10: Most Admired Companies

There could be a social website listing the most admired companies to work for in your country. Companies could be rated by working conditions, salary equality, growth opportunities, work relations, and other criteria. Anyone could suggest such a company, and they would be rated by their current and former employees anonymously.

Idea #11: Tiny Houses

The cost of accommodation is a critical problem in many locations of the world. You could develop a website that lists examples of tiny houses and their building schemas and instructions.

Idea #12: Catalog of Recycled Products

You could work on a product catalog with links to online shops, selling things produced from collected plastic. For example, these sunglasses are made of plastic collected from the ocean. Where available, you could use affiliate marketing links.

Idea #13: Information for Climate-change Migrants

You could work on a website for climate-change migrants with information about getting registered, housing, education, and jobs in a new city or country with better climate conditions.

Idea #14: Fishes, Fishing, and Overfishing

Scrape parts of FishBase and create a website about fishes, fishing, and overfishing in your region or the world. Engage people about the marine world and inform them about the damage done by overfishing.

Idea #15: Plant Trees

Create an E-commerce shop or Software as a Service and integrate RaaS (Reforestation as a Service). Let a tree be planted for every sale.

Idea #16: Positive Parenting

Create a progressive web app about positive parenting. For inspiration and information check this article.

Idea #17: Constructive Forum

Create a forum with topic voting and automatic hate speech detection and flagging. For example, maybe you could use a combination of Sentiment analysis from text-processing.com and usage of profanity words to find negativity in forum posts.

It’s your turn

I hope this post inspired you. If you decided to start a startup with one of those ideas, don’t forget to do your research at first. What are the competitors in your area? What would be your unique selling point? Etc.

Also, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Which of the projects would seem to you the most crucial? Which of them would you like to work on?

Cover photo by Joshua Fuller

Categories
Life Self-awareness

Short-term vs. Long-term Decisions

Short-term vs. Long-term Decisions
Reading Time: 4 minutes.

This post first appeared on the 1st things 1st blog.

“Most people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning a life.”

― Chet Holmes

When choosing your future, some of your decisions will have long-lasting effects and can lead to lots of success or disappointments, whereas some others will be valid only for a day or two, so why bother about them too much. You could follow the Pareto principle saying that for 80% of the effect, you will need 20% of effort, so you should identify the 20% of what’s long-term and act on it. Let’s explore which decisions are short-term and which are long-term.

Short term

Short-term decisions are usually triggered by life events and news and are often made based on emotions. Short-term considerations could be caused by fear of missing out or worry about what other people will think about you. On the other hand, they can be spontaneous, playful, opportunistic, open-minded as well.

  • Things to do during the day. Unless it’s some life event like a birthday party, wedding, job interview, conference talk, or a show, you usually won’t need lengthy preparation.
  • What to wear. Why spend too much time thinking about what to wear on a regular day? Instead, just choose something that matches together, fits the weather, suits the occasion, and is comfortable.
  • What to eat. Choose whatever you like or are used to unless you are on a special diet.
  • What music to listen to. Listen to what follows your mood or supports the mood you would like to get into.
  • What presents to give to your friends, family, lovers. Most of the celebrations in life are recurring and relatively frequent. So surprise your people with something spontaneous.
  • What TV programs or movies to watch. Choose whatever seems essential or entertaining to you.
  • What galleries or museums to visit. Take opportunities to see whatever interesting exhibitions are open in your city or the city you visit.

As a proverb says, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

Long term

Long-term decisions are usually based on personal philosophy of life. You use logic and strategies to direct your energy towards growth. Otherwise, your life will likely stagnate or destroy you, and you will have lots of regrets about living conditions.

  • Where to live. Your living location and conditions will have an effect on your solitude or social life, career, love life, speed and rhythm of daily routine, etc. You can choose to live with your relatives, in a shared apartment with flatmates, in a dormitory, in a rented or owned apartment, house, or villa. And all that will have different outcomes on your future life.
  • What to study. Your job opportunities, quality of life, and overall happiness in your life will depend on what you learn at University, College, Academy, or Professional School. Will you study something that you are interested in or something that your parents were impressed about? Will you learn something that you are passionate about, something that the market demands, or something in between?
  • Where to work. Will you work for survival, self-expression, self-fulfillment, or a local or global mission? It all depends on what job you will choose and how it matches your personality. Will, each of your employment, be the basis for your following ones, or will they be just a waste of career experience while searching for your field?
  • What name to give to your baby. In my life, I’ve met people who hated their first or last names because those names made them difficult to reach the expectations they had from life. Not in all countries, it is possible to change your name. So when choosing a name for your newborn, choose wisely.
  • What name to give to your company, product, or service. Just as for the baby name, the name of your business can also have a long-lasting effect. Especially if you care not only about the sales but also about your company’s branding and distant future.
  • What goals to aim for. You can have many passions in life and lots of possible directions to go with your life. But which of those directions is the most optimal for your character, skills, and needs?
  • What’s your main reason for living. Why were you born on this planet? What’s the purpose of your life? These existential questions are definitely long-term and require deep self-analysis.

“Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values.”

– Joshua L. Liebman

It depends

Some decisions can either be quick and spontaneous or thoughtful and logical depending on what kind of person you are:

  • What events, conferences, or festivals to go to. Are you going to different gatherings for entertainment or getting information and resources for your projects?
  • What books to read. Are you reading books to have rest or to get knowledge for your career and self-development?
  • What podcasts to listen to. Do you listen to podcasts to fill your silence with chitchat or to learn something valuable and inspirational for life?
  • What country to visit for vacation. Do you choose your traveling spontaneously, or do you have a bucket list for life?
  • What newspapers or magazines to subscribe to. Do you read whatever is popular or what supports your knowledge for lifestyle or career?
  • What theatre plays to watch. Do you go to theaters to have a good time or to widen your viewpoint?

If you consider that your time is limited, you will probably try to save it by choosing what goes along with your values and goals. You will visit events, read books, and listen to podcasts useful for your primary activities. On the other hand, if you consider that your time is limitless, you will make decisions based on what feels right at the moment: you will go to events that will seem attractive, shocking, or inspiring. You will read books that entertain you much. You will listen to podcasts where the people seem most charismatic or grounded according to your preferences or where the topics seem interesting to you.

How to solve short or long-term decisions?

You can make short-term decisions using intuition, common sense, or randomness. For example, it doesn’t really matter so much what exactly you gonna wear today at work. What matters more is what clothes you buy to wear for work. It doesn’t really matter what dish you are going to try today. What matters more is what diet you are going to take in your life. It doesn’t matter too much what song you will listen to today at your lunch break. What matters more is in what mood and mindset your playlists are going to put you into.

When it comes to short-term decisions, choose what inspires you or solves a problem.

When it comes to long-term decisions, it’s better to weigh the options before making a decision. And for this reason, the most valuable tool to do that is probably the strategic prioritizer “1st things 1st”. Half an hour of prioritizing with “1st things 1st” can save you from months or even years of frustration and regrets. “1st things 1st” lets you make the most optimal decisions based on your knowledge and intuition.

This is how it goes. First, you start prioritization by defining your success criteria. Second, you list out things to prioritize. Third, you rate each item by each measure. And lastly, the tool calculates your priorities and groups them into something to choose for sure, things to consider, and things to eliminate or skip. It’s as easy as that.

Interested? Try it out for free.

Cover photo by Brayden Law

Categories
Life Progress Self-awareness

Needs and Priorities: Important Questions to Ask Yourself

Reading Time: 5 minutes.

This post first appeared on the 1st things 1st blog.

Somewhat 80 years ago, an American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow generalized a hierarchy of needs, where each level of needs builds upon the previous one. At the very base, people require a smartphone with the Internet. Just kidding.

The overview of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

At the very base, we all have physiological needs. To stay alive, we need to eat when we have hunger, drink when we are thirsty, have something to wear for the right body temperature, get to the WC when we need it, have a place to sleep, and probably someone to sleep with.

Then we have safety needs, such as a stable source of income, having where to live, being secure outside, at home, and at work, having some rules to follow, being treated well in case of illnesses, and getting help in case of fire or other catastrophes. At this level, we want to have structure and order. We want to know our limits and live stable and predictable lives.

These two steps ensure that a person will survive physically in this world.

Then we have a need to love, be loved, and belong. At this level, life without connections feels empty. We require pets, friends, lovers, family, coworkers, communities. We want to be a part of something bigger. We want to share intimacy and tenderness, affection and belonging. 

The next level is the need of esteem. We want to feel strength, self-esteem, and self-love inside of us. At the same time, we want recognition for our achieved mastery and respect for our competence from the outside world. At this level, we demand reputation and prestige.

Then there is the need of self-actualization. At this level, we want to explore, learn more, stimulate our minds. We want to play, grow, bring our best to the world. We need to be in harmony, order, and beauty.

The needs and priorities

At all of those levels we make decisions. 

  • At the bottom of the hierarchy we need to choose what to do to survive physically. 
  • Then we need to make decisions what to do to survive psychologically without becoming robots or zombies. 
  • Then we need to decide what to do to become more than social animals. 
  • Then we need to find a way how to escape the narcissism and arrogance. 
  • Finally we need to make decisions what to do to achieve the full harmony in the world. 

To make conscious decisions we have to prioritize some things over others. Let’s explore some of the crucial decisions we make at each level of our needs.

Physiological needs

What are you going to eat and drink to survive another month, week, or even this day?

When choosing food and drinks, you would typically ask yourself: Is your food cheap? Does it fill you? Is it tasty?

To get to the upper levels, you should also ask: Is your food healthy? Is your food nutritious? Does it give enough energy to you? Will your friends or family like it? Will you get a compliment for making this dish? Will your cooking skills be honored? Is it made from the best ingredients? Won’t you need to throw half your ingredients away? Is your food supply chain practical, ethical, fairtrade?

What are you going to wear?

When choosing clothes and shoes, you would typically ask yourself: Do they fit the season? Are they clean? Do they look appropriate?

To get to higher levels, you should also ask: Are they comfortable? Do they look good? Will your friends and loved ones like it? Do you feel like yourself in those clothes? Do you look respectful with this outfit? Do you need another piece of jacket this year? Are you living your authentic self with these clothes?

Safety needs

What job should you have?

When choosing a career, you would typically ask yourself: Is it paid enough? Do you understand, and can you do what they ask you there? Is it not too hard? Is it not too boring?

To get to the upper levels, you should also ask: Do you feel accepted by coworkers? Are coworkers friendly? Are you recognized for your work? Does your salary match your skills? Does the work fulfill you? Do you grow enough there? Do you do something meaningful there? Are you living your full potential at your work?

What should you buy today?

When choosing a purchase, you would typically ask yourself: Is it affordable? Do you want it? Do you need it?

To get to the higher levels, you should also ask: Is it long-lasting? Will that improve your comfort? Will that improve your relationships? Is that a brand you like? Will that look prestigious? Will that represent the status you are at? Is it useful? Does it look authentic and original? Is it ethically and ecologically made and brought to your shops?

Love & belonging needs

Which event should you attend?

When choosing events to go to, you would typically ask yourself: Would you go to this event for solidarity? Do you like the content of the event? Do you like the people who will gather there? Is it a chance to make new friends?

To get to the upper levels, you should also ask: do you feel like yourself in these kinds of events? Is it a chance to express yourself and gain recognition there? Is it not too long? Is there a chance to meet people of the same interests and social status? Can you make an impact at such events? Can you feel authentic at such events?

What present to get to your friend?

When choosing a present, you would typically ask yourself: Can you afford it? Will your friend like it? Is it something they don’t have yet?

To get to the higher levels, you should also ask: Will that present match your friend’s social status? Will that gift show your admiration and respect for your friend? Will that present lift your friend? Will that present add up to the authenticity of your friend?

Esteem needs

What should be your goals for the upcoming years?

When choosing long-term goals, you would typically ask yourself: Is that goal specific? Can it be measured? Is it attainable for you? Is it realistic to achieve it? Is the timing correct for this goal?

To get to the upper level, you should also ask: Is the goal positively stated? Is it ethical? Is it challenging you? Is it environmentally sound?

What books should you read?

When choosing your next book to read, you would typically ask yourself: Does it bring you knowledge and understanding? Does it improve your skills? Is it widespread or reputable literature? Is it interesting? Is it entertaining?

To get to the higher level, you should also ask: Does it make you a better human being? Does it lift you up spiritually? Does it help to find yourself or going towards your personal mission?

Need for self-actualization

What are the activities that you could call your Ikigai?

When choosing your reason for being, you would typically ask yourself: Do you love doing it? Are you good at it? Can you be paid for it? Does the world need it?

To go even further, you should ask yourself: Is it healthy? Is it ethical? Is it sustainable? Is it ecological? Is it progressive?

What should you do today?

When choosing the next optimal action to do today, you would typically ask yourself: Does that bring you closer to your goals? Does it remove bottlenecks? Does it make money or reduce costs?

To go even further, you should ask yourself: Is it impactful? Is it ethically, socially, and ecologically responsible? Does it bring more health and clarity to your life?

Invitation

So you have to make decisions and prioritize your choices at all levels of needs. The strategic prioritizer “1st things 1st” was designed to help you not lose yourself among all those choices and dimensions and help you grow as an individual, personality, and spirit. You are invited to use it and make your life more progressive.

If you are still struggling at the survival phase, but you would still like to make better decisions in your life, drop me a message and your reasons at the contact form. Every month I will select several people to use the tool for free.

Cover picture by Chester Wade

Categories
Learning Life Self-awareness

The Cycle of Long-term Success (UPDATED)

The Cycle of Long-term Success
Reading Time: 2 minutes.

This post first appeared on the 1st things 1st blog.

One kind of events in life happens spontaneously, unplanned, powered by intuition, and seeming random. Calling a friend, buying a chocolate bar, or sitting down on a bench at a fountain doesn’t require special preparation.

Another kind of events requires making hard decisions because of the urge to gain something huge or the risk of losing something important. In those cases, it’s better to get prepared.

In life, as in nature, everything happens in cycles. Previously I introduced you to the cycle of long-term success as I saw it at that moment. Today, I have refined the mentioned cycle, and now it consists of these 5 steps: research, prioritize, plan, act, reflect.

1. Research

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.
– Zora Neale Hurston

First of all, before taking a measured action, you would need to find out what your choices are today. You can use a search engine, Wikipedia, references, podcasts, magazines, books, or anything else that provides you with information that you could utilize in your field of focus. Gather information with the intent to incorporate it into your activities.

2. Prioritize

“If everything is important, then nothing is.”
– Patrick M. Lencioni

There are several ways to set priorities for your activities. You can use the flexible and mighty prioritizer “1st things 1st”, decision matrices in Excel sheets, Eisenhower Matrix on a piece of paper, or maybe just selecting the first several priorities intuitively.

3. Plan

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
– Jim Rohn

Put your most important activities on the schedule. You can use Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, monday.com, any other scheduling app, or even an analog calendar on your wall or in your Moleskine. Try not to have more than 3 activities in a day. Book yourself or your colleagues for the vital work to do.

4. Act

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
– William James

Now it’s time to do what you have planned. Have a necessary meeting or a zoom call, speak, write, or perform what’s on your list today this hour.

5. Reflect

It is only by reflecting on the past that one can create a better future.
– Rithy Panh

If you got positive results, celebrate the wins. If you failed, see what you can learn from your mistakes. The next time will be better. Now go back to the first step and do the new research.

Final words

If you master the cycle of long-term success, you form a habit of success. Whether you win or lose, you gain experience and become excellent at what you do.

Cover photo by Ian Stauffer