10 lessons I learned the hard way over the past year

On entrepreneurship, relationships and personal transformation this past year has been wild for me

By this time last year, I was a Portuguese 9 to 5 wagie working in a cubicle 9 hours a day for €650 a month

These days I make +10x that on the Internet There have been ups and downs. But some very valuable lessons learned along the way

I’ll now share these with you in hopes you can make some practical use out of them


1 - It’s supposed to be “hard”

The first lesson that I learned on this journey that ironically made everything else easier

Look Any fulfilling, meaningful venture you pursue will be intense. It’s supposed to be. It’s intense for everyone

It’s something that’s not exclusive to you

You’re not special. Nobody is “Hard” or “intense” is what makes gives life to life. “Hard” is necessary for you to push through your own barriers and evolve as a human

Embrace this reality for it will save you from falling into a victimhood mindset when things do get hard


2 - Nothing is inherently special

We live in a world where everything is romanticized . You’re told since you’re a kid. “Oh you’re special, you’ll do great things”

You’re not

Nothing is

Nobody is

It’s us, the individual who makes things special. It’s by exerting energy onto something with enthusiasm and effort that things slowly but surely build up to become special

This applies to everything

Relationships, partnerships, opportunities, ventures etc

Sure there are good fits and bad fits

Just like everything in life

But you don’t find something or someone “special”

In the end, it’s you, the individual, who builds something to be special


3 - It’s not about hard work, it’s about leverage

Not saying that “hard work” isn’t important

But much more important is. Being at the right place
Building up the right set of skills
Connecting with the right set of people
Pulling the right lever

Think in leverage

Put hours of “hard work” in things that will provide you leverage in the future

Again, this applies to anything


6 - The struggle is addictive

All of my life up until last year I struggled. Always had to prove somebody wrong
Always me vs. the world

Got used to live that way

The struggle is what fueled my ambitions. But once I stopped struggling… There was no drive anymore. I didn’t even feel like myself So I would subconsciously try to self-sabotage to put myself in that place again. Only recently I’ve realized this But in order to truly evolve You have to let go of the life you used to have

7 - If it comes fast it will go fast

Won’t go too deep into this one

Just know it’s true

8 - Negative emotions as fuel

Nothing more potent than negative emotions to achieve massive breakthroughs

I felt a lot of negative emotions last year

It was the most relentless I’ve ever been

Some sort of lesson in there



9 - It never ends

I’m always playing catch-up

It’s the downside of being young and ambitious

The journey never stops

There’s always a step above

Always something more to do

It’s not the prize that’s rewarding

It never was

It’s what you learn and experience along the way that makes life worth living.



10 - Everything is energy

Conversations, money, thoughts

Everything is a result of exerted energy

All the energy you put out to the world

Comes back to you 10x

Become more aware of what you’re putting out

Make your outputs more positive

And you shall receive more positive outcomes

There are many more things I’ve learned so far

But I think these are some of the more important ones

I’ve probably forgotten some

But I hope this helps you in some way

Thank you for reading

With love,