It's February 28th, 12:16 at the Arlanda Airport on my way back home for a short visit. Time to sit down and use the spare time wisely to put down some thoughts on paper.
When writing a fraction of what happened down, I realize how much has already happened.
Sport: Hyped up by the boost of the new year (always, even though technically it is just another day!) I started extremely strong with sports and made a solid streak of 21 days in the gym before hurting myself. Slipped on ice while going for a run. Destroyed my phone and had to fix this too.
Cold showers: As in this year, cold showers have been a great companion over time. I've been doing it for ages, more or less regularly since 4 years or so. It currently is the second best start in the morning for me. After getting out of bed fast.
Journaling: I don't even consider it in stuff I do but I recently realized that my most consistent habit is journaling. I've been doing it for 5 years now. It is so good. Just writing down stuff. Privately as well as publicly like this article here. I apply the same with video clips I do. I film myself and share my thoughts. Imagine having a knowledge base of so many thoughts you had over the years. Super fascinating and exciting.
Learning Languages: Learning a language every day for 15 minutes, with a language app (https://www.sprachenlernen24.de/). It is way too old but at least works well when learning new vocabularies without much hustle. Wouldn't buy it again, but now that I have it, I'll use it. I started with Swedish and incorporated some English now, where I want to broaden my vocabulary as well.
My ideal week looks like consistently waking up at 6, doing all the work required during the week and doing whatever I want to do on the weekend. This seasonality helps and is amazing. Intentionally slowing down is super good for me because I often do things way too excessively until I eventually burn myself out.
In the first 2 months, I also had to cut some amazing things because of multiple reasons, but mostly time & effort required for too little expected output.
Student ball: Thought of organizing a student ball in the most amazing venue possible but realized that this is just way too expensive to set up.
Campus Run: Thought of organizing a campus run, but would be too much of a commitment setting everything up as the main organizer, while juggling too many other things.
Stockholm.Student: Also quit the Stockholm.Student (a platform to streamline activities from Stockholm University, we were quite a brand at some point) which I initiated and put quite a lot of effort into. It was hard but I think it is necessary for me to focus on a few but more important things. I feel lighter again which is good.
Studywise, I don't really participate in my master's program. It is not what I expected it to be. I still keep on going, because I see so much value here outside this degree. At least, I wrote my exams for which I performed fine regarding the effort I put in. Life here gives you so many opportunities and after all, you, only you are responsible for where you put your time in, so in this case I just study stuff outside of this master's program. Everything is already out there anyway. My generation grows on such a treasure of knowledge which I sometimes take for granted and don't exploit sufficiently. The perceived value of it is so low because we can access it for free without any problems, whether it is some YouTube tutorial or a speech from a famous person.
Stockholm.Student: Regarding the Stockholm.Student project: In January, I pitched a project in front of 300 students which was a good experience. I really wanted to make this experience to speak in front of such an audience. Everyone is looking at you and expecting something. To be honest, this was not the greatest speech at all. But it was a good start and I can build upon that, wherever I will speak in the future again.
Stockholm Speakers Club: As part of experiencing new things, I went to the Stockholm speakers club. I believe that speaking in front of an audience is an essential skill I need to possess for my future life.
City tour guide: Gave a city tour for new students. This was fun. As part of the welcome week for newly arrived exchange students, those people could witness a legendary guided tour from Johannes Brix. Happy customers, happy Johannes.
Came back from a looong social media break. Still in the process of figuring out a strategy on how to use social media more intentionally. I came to the conclusion that for now, it is better for me to use Instagram than not to have it. I can recommend everyone to take a break of 30 days on any platform you think influences your life in some way (especially bad!) to check if you get more out of it than not having it.
As part of my new Web Development journey, I stumbled across a tool called Lovable. Turns out the company is based in Stockholm and this got me hooked. I remember it was the day before going to Helsinki and I knew I needed to give it a try to work for them. I did a quick research with perplexity (so good!) and spotted the potential office location of the company. I didn't even know if they actually had their office in this building but gave it a try anyway.
The next morning before going to the airport, I went there with some quickly prepared notes on how I could contribute to the success of the company. I turned out to be lucky. I made it through 2 receptions and managed to talk to 2 employees. We scheduled a follow up call together as a result after talking for about 20 minutes.
I mentioned this web development journey. This is also currently on hold but I started learning some git and how to use cursor for developing web applications.
Went to Helsinki. Such a great reunion from my exchange in Singapore after 2 1/2 years with Tella, Janne and Joni! It was such a blast. Received incredible hospitality. A highlight: sauna and ice bathing with the Finns on the first evening. Such a great start of the trip doing this fun activity together. I don't want to go to Helsinki just to visit it, I was fully interested in how their life looks like and how they were raised here. Those moments behind the curtains are the special memories I will remember forever.
One of them had lunch together with Tella's family. The food and hospitality were incredible and it was such a vibe playing games with them.
Youtube: Started YouTube. Again! We are back in business. With a challenge which is made for me: a video every 2 weeks for an entire year or donate 10,000 Euros to charity. I know I can do it, but taking action can sometimes be hard for whatever reason. That's why in this case I wanted to force myself to do it. I know it will be a good investment.
I would describe my relationship to YouTube as: we have ups and downs but in the end we always find back together. :)
LinkedIn: Posted for the first time on LinkedIn. In contrast to producing around 40 reels in the last 4 months for Instagram, the people on LinkedIn at least seem to care a bit more. Instagram is just a big mess. It is all about catching attention. I didn't want to play this game.
With the newly found time, I started my favorite habit of this year so far: Reading. I "only" finished 2 books so far, but I read many blog posts too, started some more books and read them in parallel.
Caesar (Adrian Goldsworthy): Finished Caesar book, which was incredible. From what the remaining sources have covered, Caesar moved through life with such an elegance. This book is a blast for everyone interested in "how to become great". Will probably make my next YouTube video about my take on it.
Deep Work (Cal Newport): Finished the book "Deep Work", because I want to get inspiration on strategies on how to get the most out of my time. In a balanced way with some bursts of hard working sessions but also phases of mindfulness. The book is a great investment, if you want to improve your working habits and handle distractions. Will also make a YouTube video about this.
Launched the next NUS trip. I am so hyped for this. For the 3rd year in a row, we'll have a reunion again with fellow NUS exchangers. Used curiosity gaps to announce the trip in bits which was quite a fun experience. I made a 5-part trailer for announcing what we'll do and cut it in parts, they got a piece every 3 days. Works like magic every time.
Friends came to visit (Lukas & Paul). It was so good to see them in Stockholm. It always strengthens the relationship if someone shows up and invests in it. I was very happy & fulfilled when spending time with them and it makes me smile when thinking back.
Organized the Stockholm Startup Society Summit. I like to unite people under a certain thing which interests me as well. I try to spot problems me and some other people share and provide the space for it to solve this problem. Take the Stockholm International Community as an example. Everyone needed a place to exchange & connect, including myself. I did the same for the Stockholm Startup Society Summit, a community meetup for gathering together people interested in the topic of "Startups". I really wanted to meet people who have knowledge in the field, so I created the environment for it. Something like this will always be a good experience. You always learn and you get rewarding side effects too. I got to know exciting new people, new events to join and experience for running a 2-hour long event.
No matter how hard you grind, sometimes the results suck because you simply do too much. Your attention is limited, so it is important to regularly ask if what you're doing is the right thing and if it makes sense to continue it. After an analysis, I freed myself from obligations which occupied too much of my time for too little output. I had to make a cut, all in or nothing.
My contribution for St.St. in the last 2 months was entirely focused on producing content for Instagram and this was an activity for almost no real output. A nice to have but nothing more even though it went well. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of constantly creating content which did not fulfill me at all. So I made the cut, which was hard but necessary.
I learned a lot again through this and I am always grateful for this experience. I should also be more aware of having the end in mind and the consequences when starting something, especially when things don't turn out to go your way.
At least, it made me dislike the negative consequences of social media even more as someone producing content for grabbing attention.
Now is the time to conquer. That's why I booked my America Trip for this summer. San Francisco to get my foot in Silicon Valley, a place I know I have to see. And Barbaros to celebrate my 23rd birthday at my friend Luka's home. And maybe visiting Alistar, which is not certain yet.
I like creating collaborative environments for pushing a skill together. For YouTube I partnered up with Leon and Matej to get better at YouTube together. I currently create a feedback loop which encourages every participant to improve one thing every video and by time evolve into creating amazing YouTube videos. Sounds like nothing special but I think we're onto something. Coming together to improve is so good. Not many people do that and we'll learn with 3 brains now! Exactly THOSE projects behind the YT channel excite me. Where you can tackle this problem together with cool people, have a great time and get better faster.
Creating YouTube videos teaches me so much. Again from the last 2 videos, I got to know 2 more really cool tools called Blip for blazing fast file transfer across all your devices (like airdrop but for everything) and yt-dlp for downloading YouTube videos.
Not only reflecting but also planning a bit ahead. Taking the time to sit down and think where I want to go on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. I think, even if you spend an entire day on it, it is worth so much more than walking around without something to tackle. If I write down something, my brain can grasp it way better. And I don't want to let these words just be words. They have to become actions!
One of the better investments was that I took some hours for my year outlook. Locked myself in a room and filled out the https://yearcompass.com/ which is an amazing tool to set a vision for the year ahead. I once in a while look back at it to keep it fresh.
After writing this I realized again: No matter if it's shared like here or made personally: It is so valuable to put your thoughts on paper. Try it out. It is like planting a tree. You'll see the reward not directly but after a while it will come out and grow to something majestic.
This does not have to be any followers or whatever. YOU put yourself out there, YOU now have this knowledge base of you. That is amazing!
Feel free to give it a try.
I also want to share some of the content I consumed over the last 2 months with a quick teaser for what to expect, because I stumbled across some pretty amazing content and gained a lot of wisdom from it.
If you haven't created an outlook for the next year, I can highly recommend checking out the Year Compass.
Roosevelt: Such a great documentary about his extraordinary life. So much energy.
Watch the documentary
Lincoln the Unknown: This is part of a book written by Dale Carnegie about Abraham Lincoln. I am especially interested in how these great leaders interacted with their surroundings, which is why Dale Carnegie is the best author for this. Also, super interesting intimate insight into his tragic relationship with the love of his life.
Watch the video
Tarantino: Christoph Waltz is one of my favorite actors. Combining this with the master storytelling of Tarantino is just next level.
Watch the video
Warren Buffett: He is the GOAT. Especially follow his rules on his diet (24:20+) :))
Watch the video
Cliff Weitzman: From the founder of Speechify in his early years. Great to see what projects he tackled back then. YouTube is so good.
Watch the video
Jürgen Klopp: How Jürgen Klopp Changed Football. He certainly is an amazing manager.
Watch the video
Walter Isaacson: A Refreshing Talk About His Book Leonardo da Vinci.
Watch the video
Stanford Management Class: Amazing lecture about management. Amazing decision framework. The example story about Toussaint Louverture is especially fascinating—a slave turned general who led the only successful slave revolt ever. Looking at all the perspectives of people affected by the decision.
Watch the lecture
Ali Abdaal: Great video on Naval Ravikant's take on Financial Freedom. Got to know the concept of specific knowledge (what you do effortlessly while others consider it work), which I used for my own YouTube video.
Watch the video
AI Coders: We are living in fascinating times. Web Development is becoming more and more non-coder friendly. I watched this video to prepare for my Lovable presentation, a tool for creating web applications with prompts. Super fascinating.
Watch the video
Command Line: 1-hour course on how to use the terminal on your computer.
Watch the course
Git Course: 1-hour course on how to use git, a system for storing checkpoints of your code.
Watch the course
How to take over the world: The one and only. Listened to the episodes on Lee Kuan Yew, Picasso, and Augustus.
Sleep sufficiently after a great day. Your memory will thank you later.
Read the article
Find a good strategy on how to take notes while reading. Best takeaway: create a repository with best takeaways. Combine this with other ideas from other sources.
Read the article
We have limited but enough time to achieve big things.
Read the article
Creativity = Connecting things
Read the article
Albert Einstein's biggest skill: To recognize the essence in something. What is the central core element of this matter?
Read the article
Charles Darwin: Being obsessive with every craft. Inspired by the right heroes. Looked at everything, was extremely curious, then looked at abnormalities.
Read the article
As part of my Helsinki trip, I wanted to learn more about Supercell, a gaming company that produced games such as Clash of Clans and Hay Day. I like to read those yearly reflections about how the company performed and how to adjust and improve for the future.
Read the article
Red Bull is one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to marketing. On paper, they only sell an energy drink, but in reality, they sell so much more. Their media empire & brand is incredible. I wanted to learn more about their strategy on how to get their product & brand out in the world.
Read the article
For me, I associate Apple with world-class design. I love designing things myself, so I wanted to get some insights behind the curtain. Some interesting lessons from someone who worked there.
Read the article
Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters are incredible. You learn so much about what things to consider when taking a long-term view on stocks or even people.
Read the letters
I consume a lot of content from him lately. He knows his stuff about the creator business and is a trusted source.
What game are you playing? Are you playing a finite or infinite game? Are you learning from better players? What are your rules? And much more...
Read the article
Creator brand in a nutshell. Such a great article. How to get legitimacy? What makes a good brand? A lot of value in here.
Read the article
What do you stand for? People have to understand what you stand for. They have to care, and you have to differentiate yourself.
Read the article
Super interesting guy. A good creator. Very able and honest. At least that's how I feel about his content.
Good approach to learning in general.
Read the article
Such a simple but incredible question about designing something!
Read the article
How to host a conference. Obsess about every little detail.
Read the article
I personally don't like receiving his newsletter or the one from James Clear nowadays. Instead, I pick articles from his incredible archive on his website, so I can decide what and when to consume. I will definitely check out his archive more in the future.
One super interesting concept he shared is fear setting. A great framework for making decisions. Particularly well suited when fearing something.
Read the article
Jan Pastel: I love these mixes by my friend Jan. They are so good.
Listen to the mix
Charlotte de Witte: This mix is a techno masterpiece.
Listen to the mix
Akki: I've been following Akki for quite a while. Still going strong.
Listen to the mix
That's it for today!
What's next?
Wow, if you've made it until here, congrats! You did an amazing job! I'm not 100% sure when I'll do something like this again, but would love to hear your thoughts after reading this.
Hope you gained some wisdom from it.
Best,
Johannes (03.03.2025)