Essays on goals, habits and decisions.

How I set goals, build habits, make decisions and keep going when the work isn't easy. Written over five years: at university, as a McKinsey consultant and as founder and CEO of ICODOS.

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I categorize decisions into three types: shirts, hiring, and tattoos.Optimize for speed when it's reversible, diligence when it's costly, and deliberation when it's permanent.Goal Achievement How it Feels like Being an Early-Stage Startup FounderIt's a trailblazer's trek — isolating, heavy with responsibility, and still exhilaratingly free at every step.Goal Achievement This realization can change your life – finite vs infinite gamesCareers and health have no finish line — treating them as winnable games makes us unhappy.Goal Achievement How you can solve every problemHypothesize the solution first, then gather only the data that proves or disproves it.Goal Achievement How to properly design habitsPick a reliable trigger and a consistent reward, and the behavior stops needing willpower.Goal Achievement

More on goal achievement

Role ModelingAvicii's death reminds me why purpose beats success — I try to be the person my younger self would look up to.Goal Achievement More Than Just ‘Hola’: My Plan to Learn Spanish for a Greener FutureWhy my e-methanol startup made me commit to fluent Spanish, starting from zero words.Goal Achievement Changing your behavior won’t solve the climate crisis — why & what actually solves itMost emissions sit far beyond individual choices; only scaled climate technologies can remove them.Goal Achievement My trip to Paris – a story of resilienceViva Tech went wrong in every way — reframing, iterating, and humor kept me pitching investors.Goal Achievement Transforming into a great CEO – my first coaching sessionsI hired three coaches because the CEO ICODOS needs in five years doesn't exist yet.Goal Achievement Recipe for a happy and fulfilled lifeIt is just you versus you — small improvements daily, gigantic ambitions for the decade.Goal Achievement The art of dealing with negativity: my unconventional approachI resolve issues fast and confine the rest to one reflection a week — even if it makes me harder to read.Goal Achievement Almost every failed startup has a product but lacks tractionTraction deserves half the founding team's attention — product alone never saved a startup.Goal Achievement Consulting taught me how to achieve even my biggest dreamBreaking huge problems into small ones gave me the confidence to skip the MBA and start now.Goal Achievement From Mediocre to Great – How to Achieve Greatness in WorkGreat work starts with owning the outcome and knowing exactly whose needs it must serve.Goal Achievement Assertiveness: The key to the best possible lifeA bouncer broke my phone; staying calm and refusing to back down got it paid for.Goal Achievement 3 new habits I test in 2023Box breathing, weekend priorities, and a nightly question about how I actually came across.Goal Achievement How serial entrepreneurs make decisionsExpert founders don't hunt for perfect experts — they socialize problems and let committed stakeholders self-select.Goal Achievement Talking shit about a bad situation is fun, but…Venting relieves tension for a moment; framing challenges as growth builds the resilience that lasts.Goal Achievement The most important question to askEverything worth having comes at a cost — decide which pain you are willing to sustain and drop the rest.Goal Achievement How to achieve the most annoying tasksI eat the frog first thing each morning, aiming for one tangible outcome per session.Goal Achievement Socialize your problemMention your current problem in every conversation — someone has usually already solved it for you.Goal Achievement The learnings from the past weeks are clearSeven intense weeks taught me you cannot have it all — if you don't rest, your body makes you.Goal Achievement You have to receive feedback – here’s how you get itQuality feedback rarely arrives on its own — ask for it, narrow it, and give it back.Goal Achievement As much as I love it: this situation is challengingNever stress about what you cannot control — embrace the challenge and enjoy the ride.Goal Achievement Learning How to LearnFocused attention, basic understanding, and practice that simulates the real test build lasting knowledge.Goal Achievement Make better life decisions – elicit all optionsBefore a life-changing choice, ask fifteen people two or three steps ahead, including those who would contradict you.Goal Achievement Asking for help - how to get what you wantAlways ask for help — but the more concrete and personalized the request, the better.Goal Achievement An entrepreneur who makes money from students’ existential fearsA reputation takes decades to build and minutes to destroy; short-term greed rarely survives scrutiny.Communication How people achieve extraordinary successOutliers are built by cumulative advantage, not talent — so socialize your vision and ask for help.Goal Achievement How to better deal with fear of missing outTime is the scarce resource, not events — every great party will happen again.Goal Achievement Your definition of success can change your lifeBorrowed definitions of success make us miserable — mine had to be anchored in a why.Goal Achievement Work hard, play hard – how to find the right balanceI burned out running on caffeine and three hours of sleep — rest is what makes hard work sustainable.Goal Achievement How to make work most enjoyableA sense of accomplishment, not salary, is what makes demanding weeks feel joyful.Goal Achievement How to work at an elite levelDistraction-free deep work is the increasingly rare skill that lets you master hard things fast.Goal Achievement A life without regrets – how to find out what you want from lifeClarity fuels ambition — picture your ideal normal day ten years out and work backwards.Goal Achievement How to stay calm in stressful situationsWhen panic hits, I ask whether stressing helps, write down the answer, and act on it.Goal Achievement Why I am happy working long hoursMy weeks look like work-work balance — purpose makes those hours the most meaningful ones I have.Goal Achievement Reliability matters — how to become more reliableI missed a meeting I cared about — reliability is respect for other people's time.Goal Achievement Learning something new – what an incredible journey so farWork turns us into experts who stop learning — people, podcasts, and practice restart the curiosity.Goal Achievement What makes for a dream job?Forget following your passion — six evidence-based factors predict job satisfaction far better.Goal Achievement Without this mindset you won’t climb the career ladderPromotions follow proof — end-to-end ownership means acting like the company owner before anyone asks you to.Goal Achievement This simple trick significantly increased my productivityNoise-canceling headphones cut distractions better than anything else I tried — deep focus only lasts four hours anyway.Goal Achievement A quality all millionaires have in commonDecisiveness is a learnable skill, and not deciding is usually the worst decision of all.Goal Achievement A skill everyone has to learnLife is a series of negotiations, and I practice every time I get the chance.Communication This technique increases my learnings by 10xA layered reflection routine turns my consulting work into compounding lessons I can actually build on.Goal Achievement New Year’s resolutions – how you can achieve all of themResolutions stick when they are concrete, backed by next actions, and framed as process goals.Goal Achievement Make better decisions by thinking in probabilitiesPerfect decisions exist only in hindsight — estimate the odds, weigh expected outcomes, then commit.Goal Achievement Vaccination – why making this decision is so clear to meMy values made a polarizing choice simple: risk appetite, trust in technology, and long-term thinking.Goal Achievement Be persistent and convince anybodyRejection is rarely about you — ask why, address the real reason, and try again.Goal Achievement Self-belief — and how to strengthen itI used to doubt everything — small goals and little wins built the conviction that carries me.Goal Achievement Master the skill of prioritizationTime, energy, and attention are scarce — value comes from choosing and communicating what matters most.Goal Achievement I asked for feedback and it changed my lifeRegularly asking, listening without defending, and acting on the answer is the fastest way I know to grow.Goal Achievement How to best deal with highs and lows in lifeHappiness always drifts back to baseline — savoring stretches the highs and softens the inevitable lows.Goal Achievement Find your strengths and focus on themWe’re raised on weakness-based feedback — differentiation comes from building what we’re already good at.Goal Achievement How to be an active team memberYou don't need to know anything to contribute from day one: ask, take notes, and own the next step.Goal Achievement How to find the ideal place to workCulture beats pay — define what you need, then ask insiders before committing to an employer.Goal Achievement How to wake up fully motivatedWhat made me love Mondays: knowing what tomorrow holds, a routine I enjoy, and a strong why.Goal Achievement How to become more persistent and achieve your goalsPerformance is talent multiplied by persistence — an obsessive goal, an adaptable plan, and unshakable faith.Goal Achievement 10 signs of personal growth – how to avoid getting stuckGrowth isn't inherently good; I'd rather choose my problems than let life pick them for me.Goal Achievement How to deal with unfortunate incidents (bad luck)When my bike got wrecked, asking how a role model would cope beat getting angry.Goal Achievement The limits of self-improvementI aspire to never be satisfied, but time and energy are finite — the why behind improvement matters.Goal Achievement How to give your best to your lifeDoing my utmost means being fully present in each moment — judged by effort, not results.Goal Achievement My learnings from optimizing caffeine intake for 1 yearTwo cups before lunch and one caffeine-free day a week keep the drug working for me.Goal Achievement Why mindset mattersI once believed success needed talent and luck — adopting a growth mindset taught me otherwise.Goal Achievement Feeling too dumb to speak up? How to deal with it and change your perspectiveThe sense of being the dumbest in the room is a comparison error — your perspective still counts.Goal Achievement 3 tips to withstand high pressureA brain dump, honest priorities, and self-care turn crushing pressure into something workable.Goal Achievement How to become more consistentWe overestimate what a few weeks can do and underestimate what ten years of persistence delivers.Goal Achievement How to actually solve your problems by thinking outside the boxCreativity starts by making the box visible — name your implicit assumptions before pushing past them.Goal Achievement Greatly increase your productivity – harness the 80/20 ruleFind the two activities that truly drive your results, then eliminate, automate, or pause the rest.Goal Achievement How to better deal with stress and grow fasterStress mainly harms those who believe it does — embrace acute strain and recover deliberately.Goal Achievement How to boost your learning curve: From challenges to learning opportunitiesDiscomfort often signals a safe chance to grow — spot it, weigh the long-term benefit, act fast.Goal Achievement Live a better life – fall in love with solving problemsThere is no problem-free life — happiness means trading bad problems for ones worth solving.Goal Achievement Gratefulness – a secret weapon to a happy lifePracticing gratitude is my counter to hedonic adaptation — the mind's habit of dulling every win.Goal Achievement Easier and better decisions – how to deal with riskWhy loss aversion paralyzes us, and how quantifying outcomes helped me decide on eye surgery.Goal Achievement 8 signs of true self-confidenceConfidence built on external validation is fragile; the real kind lets you admit your weaknesses.Goal Achievement How a simple rule can boost your productivityIf a task takes two minutes or less, do it immediately — but only within your priorities.Goal Achievement How to make better decisionsClear personal principles freed me from decision paralysis — I judge every choice by long-term happiness.Goal Achievement Do more and do better – the importance of breaks and restControlled, scheduled pauses are a performance tool, not laziness — how I sustained 80-hour study weeks.Goal Achievement Focus on things you can control, ignore the restAn unfair teacher taught me to own my reactions instead of blaming what I couldn't change.Goal Achievement How to make stress your secret weaponStress I load on myself makes me sharper — health, rest, and purpose keep it from turning chronic.Goal Achievement Always determine the next stepIdeas die without an owner — every meeting should end with a next action assigned.Goal Achievement Why and how I always take notesListening alone stores almost nothing — a notebook in every meeting forces the engagement that makes knowledge stick.Goal Achievement Say yes to great opportunities (how & why)When in doubt I say yes — my 80-year-old self regrets missed chances more than failures.Goal Achievement How to determine what really matters to youThe pandemic taught me that cutting something out is the surest way to learn its value.Goal Achievement How to convince people – never hesitate to admit a mistakeOwning your errors fast builds trust — sometimes an apology wins even when you were right.Communication Set process goals – make your ambitions a realityOutcome goals depend on factors you can't control — goals built on daily actions guarantee progress.Goal Achievement Transform your life – make more conscious decisionsMost choices happen on autopilot — long-term thinking and clear values turn daily seeds into a better future.Goal Achievement Become a top performer – fall in love with the processTop performers show up through the boredom because they love the daily practice, not the outcome.Goal Achievement Become outstanding – learn to work when work isn’t easyWhat separates high achievers is the ability to keep working when motivation is at rock bottom.Goal Achievement Want to really support your loved ones? Just do itOffered help almost never gets accepted — real support means doing the favor without waiting to be asked.Goal Achievement Grow personally by measuring your lifeWhat you track, you improve — a rough proxy and three metrics create the awareness that matters.Goal Achievement How reading has changed my lifeBooks alone change nothing — I write three to-dos after every one to put it into practice.Goal Achievement Harness clarity — achieve your goals and become more productiveVague to-dos make the brain say no — break every task into small, concrete pieces.Goal Achievement How to set priorities & get more out of your timeNobody lacks time — we just avoid admitting that some things don't matter enough to us.Goal Achievement Give without expecting something in returnNo expectations means no disappointment — I give kindness freely but guard my time and money.Goal Achievement Why integrity is crucial — and how to build itHow you do anything is how you do everything — consistent standards buy trust and peace of mind.Goal Achievement For every setback there is a comebackSeven consulting rejections led me to SAP — failure is only final if you stay down.Goal Achievement Self-control — and how to improve itSelf-control predicts life success as strongly as intelligence — and habits make discipline nearly effortless.Goal Achievement The happiness equation – keep joy, fun, and pleasure in balancePleasure can be bought but joy has to be earned — a happy life needs deliberate doses of both.Goal Achievement Reduce distractions, increase productivityThe phone in another room, single-tasking, and taming interruptions buy back hours of focus.Goal Achievement Create the life you dream of – harness a five-year planYou can't plan happiness, but a five-year plan shrinks what makes you unhappy.Goal Achievement Uncertainty – how to deal with itUncertainty is a feeling, not a fact — worst-case thinking and borrowed experience turn it into energy.Goal Achievement The Surprising Benefits of JournalingTwo minutes of writing each night turned into ideas, perspective, and most of my achievements.Goal Achievement Focus on quality instead of quantityNothing in large amounts makes you happy — except at the start, when volume beats polish.Goal Achievement Forget about perfection! Focus on progression and compound improvementsOne percent better a day, compounded, is 3800 percent a year — consistency beats chasing ideals.Goal Achievement Failure – how to deal with it?I failed my GMAT after four months of prep — how I turned it into a lesson.Goal Achievement Consistency – why is it essential for success?Success is small efforts repeated daily — we overestimate weeks and underestimate a decade.Goal Achievement Why I always write down ideas immediately & how it’s changed my lifeThe brain generates ideas but can't store them — capturing every thought and reviewing them built my projects.Goal Achievement How to add more variety to life?Novelty in two of three categories — places, people, activities — keeps a routine-driven life vibrant.Goal Achievement How to deal with the chaosThree principles for a pandemic: stay calm, protect the weakest, and respect the rules.Goal Achievement How to stay productive in chaotic times (COVID-19 Crisis)Box your worries into fixed daily slots, keep a routine, and turn isolation into an opportunity.Goal Achievement Why reflection is so importantExperience alone teaches little — my reflection routines turn it into happiness, ideas, and faster learning.Goal Achievement Why great things take timeOvernight success hides thousands of hours — the real question is whether you'll pay the price.Goal Achievement Never regret anything – how to guide your decisionsSkipping Bethlehem taught me to test choices against the regret I’d feel in 80 years.Goal Achievement How to deal with a lack of motivationWhen GMAT drills wore me down, going back to my why restored the drive.Goal Achievement Long-term patience – key for your successGreat things come from small daily efforts — sprint in the moment, stay calm for years.Goal Achievement Late? A plan does not work out? Why I won’t stress myself any morePlanning is freedom, but when things collapse, accepting the situation beats losing my mind over it.Goal Achievement How to get the most out of your dayThree habits: wake to an alarm every day, plan three vital tasks, schedule each morning.Goal Achievement How to become more optimisticOptimism can be trained — watch your inner dialogue and stop downplaying your wins.Goal Achievement Don’t give up until you’ve even triedHow talking my way out of a non-refundable booking taught me to act before conceding defeat.Goal Achievement The power of marginal gainsOne-percent improvements compound — they took me from worst in class to best in school.Goal Achievement How to get startedAccepting that my first tries will be bad is what lets me begin at all.Goal Achievement Start now and get perfect laterFeeling unready is the excuse I kept making — the perfect moment to begin never arrives.Goal Achievement