Remember that the practice of comparing yourself to other people is the fastest way to make yourself miserable. You are enough as you are right now. Stay connected to your purpose and keep going. Build the castle one brick at a time.

A few days ago I played my first live poker tournament in ~2 years. Poker is a game where I previously gave 6.5 years of my life — attempting to master & improve at every aspect of the game: mathematical, psychological, and emotional. My career ended with a realization that my job was slowly killing me, both physically and mentally. I found the lifestyle to be very draining as it often required late nights, long hours of sitting and staring expressionless, and I noticed my emotions slowly becoming numb over time. I found being around gamblers all day to be unhealthy for my soul. Losing is a big part of the job which isn’t fun, but you get used to it, and eventually, I found winning to be miserable, as winning requires someone else to lose, which is at best a net-neutral energy exchange. I realized humanity isn’t becoming a better place as a whole by this type of work. Exactly two years ago today, I went to my first international retreat simply looking for rejuvenation as I was feeling depleted, but I came out of the experience realizing all of the things I’ve described above. It was a powerful experience for me and I continued to discover my true self over the next couple years through travel and meeting new people in different industries. It’s been a fun journey with many ups and downs, but I’m so happy I took the leap of faith and trusted my intuition. Now that I’ve competed in a live poker tournament again, I was able to reenter the casino with new eyes. Even though I haven’t done any work on my game, I felt very sharp making decisions. I was able to advance to the final day of the tournament, which is tomorrow, qualifying in the top 9 out of 73 players in my flight. I’m a highly competitive guy so I did enjoy competing, especially when I lost a hand, and got to analyze and pinpoint exactly why I lost and how I can adjust for the next hand. It was enjoyable to put together a strategic game plan for each new level as the blinds increased as we were now forced to put in a higher percentage of our stack each hand. But the reality is that all of my realizations still hold. I could feel my emotions getting zapped slowly but surely once again. I could feel the emptiness within me as I managed to knock out players of lesser skill. Luckily, I’ve been loving the depth of one-on-one mindset coaching and can’t wait to bring that energy into in-person retreats, centered around nourishment, rejuvenation, movement, nature, and the kind of real, in-person connection we’re all craving more of. Poker will always hold a special place in my heart — I gave a lot to it, and it’s a beautiful game that brings people together from all walks of life. But I don’t plan to return to it consistently. I may play the occasional tournament as a lesser hobby, but I feel so much healthier — mentally, emotionally, and physically by stepping away from that world. So the lesson I want to leave you all is this: If you’re feeling drained by something you once loved, you’re not broken — you’re evolving. Trust that feeling. It might just be your soul calling you into something greater.

Men who numb & suppress their pain stay stuck. Pain is the portal, not the enemy. You want to grow? Feel it, face it, and move through it. That’s the only way to level up.

What's truly risky: • Staying in the job you hate for 40 years • Remaining in relationships that diminish you • Suppressing your authentic self to please others • Postponing your dreams until "someday" Security is often the riskiest choice of all.

You can’t do everything you want, but you can definitely do anything you want. Decide, create the plan, then build. Let’s go.

If a woman asks you to make a decision on something, please don’t say “I don’t care, can you choose?” Take a deep breath, make a decision that feels right to you at your core, and proceed to have a good time.

Write down goals so big that even you scratch your head when you read it back. If they don’t make you a little nervous, they’re not big enough. Trust yourself. You wouldn’t have the vision if it wasn’t possible to make it real.

Growth is when you stop explaining yourself and just walk away from anything that feels dishonest or misaligned.

Unhealed trauma doesn’t disappear. It just gets handed down. If you don’t face your wounds, your children will end up carrying them. But when you choose to heal, you don’t just free yourself — you free future generations too 🫶

Be careful with early signs of disrespect in a romantic relationship. It often starts small like a dismissive comment or a broken promise. But over time, it will likely progress to bigger lies and can completely erode the connection and safety you have built. Once that pattern sets in, it’s hard to undo. Make sure to address it early on before it’s too late.

Happy Sunday everyone. Remember to cherish those people who are there for you when it’s inconvenient for them. The ones who don’t need anything from you but just genuinely want to support. They’re rare. Keep them close & give them love.

The foundation of all healthy relationships: Self-sovereignty. The ability to: • Feel without blaming • Need without demanding • Desire without attaching • Love without controlling • Care without caretaking You must belong to yourself before you can truly connect.

You start to win at life when your self-respect outweighs your desire to be loved. Needing love makes you chase validation whereas having self-respect makes you magnetic. Stop abandoning yourself just to be chosen 🫶

The myth: Freedom means having no limitations or constraints. The truth: True freedom comes from finding your authentic boundaries & honoring them knowing what matters most to you and organizing your life around those values. I had more "freedom" as a poker player but felt trapped by misalignment. Freedom isn't absence of commitment. It's presence of choice.

If someone has proven they’ll betray you once, they’ll do it a hundred more times if you let them. Don’t let them. You deserve better.

Thinking you’ve figured it all out is the fastest way to lose your edge. Stay sharp. Stay a student.

I love being around great company more than anyone, but the greatest life hack I’ve found is to become to own your best friend. Learning how to enjoy your own company is what turned loneliness into peace and silence into power. Master this and you’ll never feel lost again.

Don't copy someone else's life design. Build yours from foundational truths: • What energizes you? • What contributions matter most? • What environments help you thrive? • What relationships bring out your best? First principles > Best practices

If love costs you your self-worth, it’s not love. Real love is safe, honest, and mutual. It will nourish you, not drain you. It will challenge you, but never break you. It won’t require a sacrifice of your soul. Just the alignment of your truth.