Hey friends, welcome back. I hope you enjoyed the previous reflections. If you haven’t read them, check them out: last week’s reflections.

Now, onto my reflections for the past week:

A Quote I Liked

Growth Mindset

What do people who fail and people who succeed have in common? Both of them have the same goals.

But if that says anything, it’s that goals don’t matter as much. They’re just vanity metrics.

As James Clear outlines in Atomic Habits, “We do not rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems”.

I want to retire by August 2024, when I’m 26. So what are my systems?

This is what my ideal morning looks like. Almost every day looks like this, except for Saturdays when I do a weekly detox from tech and structure.

Note: There is no slot for building [anything new or optimizing existing products] on Friday because I bucket my days so that there’s less context switching, which more often than not, wrecks my productivity and creative flow. Fridays to Mondays only have distribution tasks, like marketing.

But here’s what my days actually look like:

• flow state: I’m supposed to walk 10 minutes the first thing every morning to get into the flow state. I only do this maybe 2/3 days a week.

• daily goals: I set these goals the night before and keep them in my calendar so they’re pinned there. I don’t skip on this.

• marketing: Consistency is key, especially on social media where you have to cut through the noise. I engage with other brands almost daily (the actual time of day varies).

• visualization exercise: I’ve done this 0 times in the past 2 weeks. This is one I’m struggling with the most because I haven’t found a structure for visualization that keeps me pumped while not feeling too repetitive.

• upskilling: I learn coding, French, and Japanese every day. I haven’t missed a day of coding learning in months, and language learning in over 1.5 years. Making it a point to do it early in the day helped. (Fun fact: I understood ~40% of what people were saying during my month’s stay in Nice because of my >1-year Duolingo practice)

• reading: Based on my Kindle stats, I’m on a 15-week streak, 23 days in a row. I plan to keep this up by reading right before bed and substituting certain useless habits for reading (like scrolling on TikTok on the toilet).

• deep learning: This one is new so I haven’t gotten to it yet but I’ll be studying one or all of these 3 topics every day; transhumanism, AI, and robotics. If we could do it in school, why don’t we make it a point to consistently learn more now?

My system isn’t perfect and I change it now and then to suit my goals and circumstances best but I’m proud to have consistently built the momentum with those few habits that I haven’t missed in months/years.

Entrepreneurship

I launched CommunitySetupPro on Halloween! Earning your first internet dollars hits differently.

Now, the hard part: the distribution and iterating on the product. It always seems like the next stage in your journey is the “hard part”, and it can come off as demotivating but to that I say, learning to have fun with the hard parts is the best part.

Fulfillment comes from pushing the boundaries of ourselves and our species. Breaking down the hard parts should be an enjoyment!

In the coming week, I should be rapidly experimenting with all available distribution channels/methods, and working on a new boring business “VPN Review Experts”.

On another note, Galactic Crew’s Twitter/X reach is growing. Based on last week, threads with pictures are the best-performing posts so far and I did it under 15 minutes with DALL-E. If you aren’t incorporating more AI into your day to lighten the load, you’re getting left behind.

Freedom

I’ve always loved Halloween; it’s my favorite season (sorry, Christmas). But my home country, Malaysia, doesn’t embrace Halloween much. So I’m extra grateful this season to have attained the freedom to travel to places that celebrate it.

The environment we live and breathe in shapes us. Reading The Anthology of Balaji, a part of me felt less lonely because I resonated deeply with Balaji’s high school experience. I didn’t feel like I “fit in” in high school, thought the subjects taught were redundant or focused on the wrong things, and didn’t enjoy the way other kids spent their time.

I remember reading Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and The History of God while everyone else was running about. In that situation, although my environment didn’t suit me, I created a little bubble within it to make things work.

So if you’re in a place that isn’t conducive, isn’t supportive, isn’t encouraging you to be your best self, then leave it for an environment that does. If that’s not within reach yet, then create one and slowly expand it outwards. Don’t let society pressure you inwards.

I’m grateful to have the freedom to choose my environment. The Internet has democratized that ability (you can find the most specific of communities where you feel you belong), so make use of it.

Homework

Fall to the level of your systems. What are the 3 habits that have the most leverage to getting you closer to achieving your goals?

We often overestimate what we can achieve in a day, and underestimate what we can achieve in a year. Work backward from your goals, and write on a sticky note the 3 habits you must get done every day. Get 1% better daily and you won’t even recognize yourself a year from now.

Till we meet again next week.

Cheers to the future,
Ernest
indiepreneur, digital nomad, transhumanist

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