no monkey no more

Close your eyes and listen to your breath for 15 minutes a day.

Ask yourself is it one day or day one. Will you postpone your goals, or new habit(s) indefinitely or will you start now?

Just take a walk in a park or forest once or twice a week and let your mind calm down.

Pick your closest friends wisely. They will shape and influence who you are and who you will become.

The attention industry in the form of social media, endless news cycles, streaming, and gaming services will turn you into a mindless consumer. It will keep you away from your goals.

The past can not be changed and the future is unknown. There is only this moment in the here and now. Make the best out of this moment.

Make it a daily habit to bring your thoughts and feelings to paper. There is no better way to learn more about yourself.

Monitoring progress is a great way to see if your new habits stick and if you are reaching your goals. Review your day before you go to bed.

It takes time to establish new habits. Take microsteps in the beginning and reach your goals step by step.

Learn to love reading books and there will be no boring moment in your life. Get inspired and turn some learning into action. Little tip on how to find time for reading: Before you reach out to your smartphone to surf the internet grab a book instead.

I will always remember this part of the ancient stoic philosophy: You do not control the crazy world around you, but you control how to respond to it.

Time is the scarcest resource you have. This sounds ridiculous for young people, but wait until you turn 40.

Set yourself goals and find your own pace to fulfill them. Do not compare yourself with other people. It does not matter if they are faster or whatever.

Anchor your day is the concept of repeating your daily routines/goals on autopilot. They are now part of your DNA. You are not thinking about the little exercise in the morning, reading a book, etc....you just do it.

Learning to say no to external requests like meetings and invitations will give you more me time and the ability to do things that really matter to you. Do not run on other people's schedules.

Breaking a sweat once or twice a week will do wonders for your physical and mental health. Combine sun exposure, and fresh air with some exercise and you will feel like a newborn. As mentioned before start slow.

Giving your body enough rest for 7 to 8 hours every night is the base for a successful and productive day/life. Try to keep this balance for an extensive period of time.

Life can be tough sometimes. Never let negative things break you. Bounce back and overcome these challenges no matter what.

Where you put your attention to determines your happiness and quality of life.

The daily grind and discipline is needed to achieve your goals. Never forget: The price of regret is much higher than the price of discipline.

The best investment you can make is in yourself. Read, study, travel and it will broaden your horizon in every imaginable way.

What would you tell your younger self? Think about the lessons you have learned along the way. There is great wisdom in this exercise. The famous author Mark Twain said once: "I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened."

What would you like to be remembered for if this would be your last day on planet earth? How would you define a life worth living? How your family and friends should see you? Take a moment to answer those questions.

Be no leaf in the wind without any direction. Keep yourself focused. Do not listen to negative forces around you.

It is easy to say to focus only on the important things in life. Here is a little helper. Vilfredo Pareto (1848 - 1923) discovered the 80/20 rule. It says that 20% of your efforts will generate 80% of your outcomes. It is astonishing how accurate this rule is in many areas of life.

If you plan to start something new think about the possible outcomes. What if everything goes wrong? Could you still use the learning for a different approach in the future? Which strategy could you use to avoid these negative outcomes? Write your thoughts down. Expectation setting is a great mental model to prepare yourself for different outcomes/situations before they happen.

Be a lifelong learner. Every day when you go to bed be a little bit smarter than when you woke up. It will give you the edge over time.

It is one of the great mental models to guide you through life. Ask yourself what are the opportunity costs. Let’s say you have 1 hour a day of free time. You could use it for watching cat videos on YouTube or you could learn something about investment strategies in the stock market. The scarcity of our resources (time, money, etc.) is one of the key decision-makers. You can not have it all.

Here is a challenge for you. Reduce your screen time for laptops, smartphones, and TVs one day per week to zero. We are living in the digital age and cutting this addiction will give your mind a well-deserved rest.

Lower your expectations and do not try the impossible. The smaller the gap between the actual outcome and the expected outcome the happier you are.

Good nutrition is one of the main ingredients for a sharp mind.

To get a positive mindset write down every morning three things you are grateful for. It could be as simple as that: I have a roof over my head, a full fridge and I am feeling healthy.

Your DNA and upbringing define who you are, but not who you will become.

You are focused on your task and there are no distractions around you. Staying in or reaching this flow state is doing wonders for your productivity. Make it your goal to create this environment for you.

Very often we are our harshest critics. Our inner voice never stops. Take a step back and show some love to yourself and accept the way you are.

Being a good listener is a very underrated skill. A deep understanding of the other side comes from listening first.

To put things in perspective zoom out a bit or better more than a bit. Look from the stars down to planet Earth. Do you see this tiny little blue dot in the middle of nowhere? You are existing there for a blink of an eye. Ask yourself how important you really are and if it is worth wasting this millisecond of existence with endless suffering.

One of the most important decisions you can make in your life is to find the right place to live. Relationships, job opportunities, and much more are directly related to this. Choose wisely.

Make room in your life for a place with absolute stillness and go there often. You will learn a lot about yourself.

Leave your comfort zone for personal growth. Unlock the door and explore new things and possibilities.

It is important to focus on solutions not problems. If you face challenges in your job do not complain or avoid finger pointing instead work out a solution.

Create unforgettable moments and experiences for you and your family instead of buying the next pair of whatever.

Be your best self and do not copy other people. Your personal growth over time will be one of your greatest achievements.

Many activities you do right now (investments, diet, exercise, etc.) will show their results or impact in the long run. Be patient and the reward will come.

Stop the things you hate doing. Many people do not realize this, but you have the choice. You can find a new job, reduce commute time, change the neighborhood, city, etc.

In the capitalist world what they want from you is your money and your attention. The less you give of those the more freedom you have.

Never forget you have the privilege to hold no opinion about a subject. This keeps your mind free for the truly important things in life.

With meditation, self-observation, and stoic exercises the goal is not to make you immune to negative forces around you. The goal is to come back faster to your inner center after you experience a rush of anger, exhaustion, stress at work, etc... Once you start understanding yourself and your motivations better the faster you can center yourself and reach a relaxed peaceful state.

Do not try to change other people. You will not be successful. But you have all the power in the world to change yourself.

Decouple your happiness state from something you try to achieve or get in the future. People who think like I can only be happy with this new job title or with this bigger car will miss the pure joy in the here and now.

Daily life keeps you always busy. Days and weeks passed by and you had no focus and progress in many areas. This endless rat race is one of the reasons why people feel so unhappy and stressed. Break that cycle create some me time for yourself and fight for these spots like a lion.

Enjoy your good days to the deepest and when you have a bad day look forward with joy and excitement to the good days……..and repeat.

Always nourish this little flame of hope in you. A hope that pushes you through the bad days. Nothing is static in life and there will be better times coming…for sure.

We all create our own bubbles around us. We follow certain news, books, beliefs, etc… It is good to expand your horizons and burst those bubbles once in a while.

Teach yourself how to think, not what to think. Do not jump to conclusions too fast, gain knowledge about some topics first, see both sides in a conflict, etc…

Many people know once you feel this rush of anger in response to an insult or bad behavior this can end up in very destructive scenarios. It is better to break this pattern by putting some time between stimulus and response. Next time you feel this way start counting till 10 or go for a walk and calm down first.

There is always someone who is better at something, has more wealth, and success and people get easily envious. The better strategy is to use these situations as an inspiration to improve yourself. Turn it into fuel for your own progress.

Have always something to look forward to. It could be meeting friends, planning your next trip, seeing a new movie, etc… These things make your life exciting and joyful.

Consistency is needed to achieve your goals. Consistency means doing it when you don't feel like doing it. Consistency makes the difference.

Curiosity is one of the driving forces to gain more knowledge. Foster this part of you as much as possible.

How to find balance in a busy life? The answer is to look for things you truly love to do. It could be working out, meeting friends, a quiet moment in the park, etc...

Just small things like being kind to others can make all the difference. You should create an environment where people around you feel comfortable.

Do not let your life be dictated by other people's agenda. If you are constantly in a rush to fulfill other people's needs, take a break, push back, and reserve time for yourself and your goals.

Your energy flow is directed by your attention. Invest it wisely.

A constant high-stress level is really bad for your health and longevity. A more relaxed approach to life should be the goal. Little hint focus only on the things you have influence on.

The world around us is full of wonders. We tend to forget this in our busy life. View the world through the eyes of a child. Everything is new to them without prejudice.

Ask yourself: What would be the one thing you have to do today to make your life a bit easier tomorrow? Focus on that task and repeat it daily.

You need honest feedback for your personal growth. Avoid people who are not trustworthy. Surround yourself with people who aren't afraid to tell you the truth, even if it's sometimes painful.

If you have to make a decision to start something new. Listening to your gut feeling first and if it's not a hell yes, do not do it.

Many times in life you will face some big and small obstacles. Before you push through this wall head first, find ways to work around your problems. Reach out for help, listen first before you act, minimize risks, change your mindset, etc.

Do not forget an overload of information creates a poverty of attention.

Everyone has a different opinion of what a good life means personally. As a first step have great and meaningful relationships, take care of your finances, eat healthy, exercise daily, and have enough sleep.

The secret to overcoming a bad mood or negative thoughts is really simple put your shoes on and take a walk for half an hour. This physical activity will change your mindset and you can focus your attention on more positive thoughts.

Do not wait till things happen to you. Approach your goals in a proactive way. For example, if you are looking for a new job send out applications and do not wait till accidentally a company finds you.

Jump over your shadow and show forgiveness if someone tells you I am sorry. This is much better than letting the resentments grow and grow...

In times of sorrow, instead of sitting at home and letting your thoughts run wild, keep moving forward. Set yourself little goals like going out in nature, doing some exercise, and getting out of this hole.

Many people tend to overthink upcoming challenges. To tell you the truth you will never be able to know all the possible outcomes. Too many - what-if - scenarios will paralyze your decision-making. Set your goal, go for it, and make adjustments along the way.

In your life the question is not so much to find out how best to play the game, the question is to find out what game is worth playing.

If you want to create something unique do not follow the herd like a sheep. If you do what everyone else does you will not achieve extraordinary results. Do not read only the bestseller books, do not follow the daily news, etc… Develop your own unique mindset.

A great thought exercise is what an ideal day for you looks like. Let’s say you have all the freedom in the world for the next 24 hours to do whatever you want. Write it down. You need to create this North Star goal to know what you are really striving for in life. Now you can create steps to reach this goal.

I like the Japanese term Shoshikantetsu, which can be translated into Shoshi -> original intent - and - kantetsu -> to carry out. The meaning is to complete something you have originally planned to do. In other words, do not procrastinate. It also does not matter if the task takes a bit longer than intended.

Ask yourself what is holding you back to achieve your goals. Self-imposed limits like no one cares what I have to say, I am not able to learn this, I am not smart enough to start this project, etc. are very common. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead start with the question: What do I need to do to get this done? Growth comes with pushing the limits.

Do not be like a puppet on a string and make your own decisions. Do not let other people control your actions and way of thinking.

Why do you do the things you do? Answering this why and having a personal goal(s) makes it easier to find the energy to fulfill this vision. It starts like why do I want to lose weight because I would like to live longer and be healthier. The next step is creating an actionable plan on how to achieve it.

There are many gurus and books out there to tell you how easy it is to have success (whatever that means for you). They offer top ten lists on how to get rich fast, being successful at founding a company etc… What they do not tell you is the factor of pure and sheer luck. With the right mind and skillset, you can increase the probability of success, but there is no guarantee that you will reach your goal(s). The point is not to discourage you, but to be realistic.

People often make the mistake of basing future expectations on past experiences and facts, and expecting the same outcomes as before.

When you are facing a problem it is helpful to reframe it in your head, like a problem becomes a challenge becomes an opportunity. Remember this, when you get stuck in such a situation.

Changing your mind about important topics is not a consequence of stupidity, but a sign of intelligence and learning effect.

Walking is a game changer when it comes to finding new ideas. I don't know what the secret sauce is, but my best ideas always came when I walked for at least 30 minutes and let my mind wander. Try it.

Nothing in life is forever. Nothing is set in stone. Once you are aware of this, you must make adaptation your greatest skill. The quicker you adapt to a new situation (relationship ending, job loss, health problems, the rise of AI, etc.), the better off you will be.

Once you find your true calling/occupation immerse yourself in your work. It takes many hours to master a certain skill, but the secret to success is to stick with it.

We should be making Artificial intelligence a copilot — not the autopilot — for our life and learning. It is a difference if you read a book of 400 pages or if you autogenerate a book summary in 1 sec. Taking always a shortcut is not at all helpful for a deep understanding of a subject.

Everyone should understand early in life that financial security means that your passive income should cover your monthly expenses. Living from paycheck to paycheck is a recipe for daily stress and a tough life. Again start very early with small investments in stocks etc... and participate in the compound interest over the years.

It is a good idea to structure your day to not feel lost and distracted all the time. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment every night. That does not mean to plan every minute of the day. There should always be some flexibility.

The famous writer Hemingway said once: "The first draft of anything is shit." And he was right. Do not get discouraged when the first attempt fails. Keep going and hone your craft. No matter if it's writing a book, programming a website, etc… Stay focused, keep going and you will get so much better over time.

It is not a weakness to admit that you don’t know something! It will actually make you a better person. People can teach you the missing fact(s) or you will learn it later by yourself.

The worst advice you can get for your professional career is to change yourself to somehow fit in. Much better to find your unique strengths and then find a fitting job/career where you can apply those as an advantage.

A great definition for the word insanity is when you do the same thing again and again and again and expect different outcomes. This can extend to many areas in someone's life.

It is very important to understand these two concepts of effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness means doing the right things. Efficiency means doing things right. In your life, you should set the right goal(s) and be efficient in achieving them.

Serenity is the ability to filter the noise from the important stuff. Focus on your plans and work and do not make it your goal to be liked or loved by everyone. Ignore the naysayers, get constructive feedback from people you can trust, and live your life to the fullest.

After big and small decisions make a postmortem on your thinking process. Examples: With the information you have now would you do the same? Why was your opinion changed? What could be the lessons you have learned from this victory or failure? Write down some recommendations/learnings for your future self....and repeat.

Do not tie your identity to a job or job title. Base your identity on your values like having a good character, being a good husband or wife, father or mother, friend, etc… Many people fall into a deep hole once they lose their job for whatever reason. Just as a reminder you're much more than just a job.

People often think that somewhere I will be happier or richer or more successful. The fast solution seems to move to another city or country to leave all the problems behind. You should never forget that wherever you go, you will take yourself and your mindset with you.

Preparing for freedom is an important lesson to learn. Put in the hard work first to understand how the market, game, profession, etc… works. Once you know the rules by heart then you can improvise or follow your instinct in that situation where it counts because you laid already the foundation.

Copying people and not knowing what kind of game they are playing is a huge mistake.

The advantage of getting up early (before 6 am) is that nothing is distracting you in the first 1 - 1,5 hrs of the day, which is a big win in itself already in this noisy world. Use the time for some thinking, journaling, book reading, sports activity, meditation, or whatever rocks your boat. Important: During that time stay away from your smartphone as far as possible:) This habit works only if you go to bed early enough otherwise it will drain you out.

Keep your eyes on the prize, but be flexible in how to approach your goal. Sometimes you have to change your tactics when you're not getting the result you want.

We are living in a highly distractive world. It is therefore crucial to make space to think. The concept is straightforward sit there without any distraction in a quiet environment for 30 to 60min. Think about your ideas, options, next steps, and come up with necessary decisions. This counts for your job, family life, financial planning, etc… It is impossible to see all the options without a safe quiet space.

Avoiding alcohol brings more benefits to your health and performance than drinking alcohol. Nothing more nothing less.

Pura Vida is a Spanish phrase from Costa Rica that means "Pure Life". It is a simple, beautiful, and very meaningful life philosophy. In short, be grateful for what you have and focus on the positive. Connect yourself with nature and the people around you. Find joy in the little things, embrace challenges with a smile on your face, and do not think too much about the future. Be present in the here and now.