My Five Weekly Lessons in Under a Minute. Intro Hi there! Welcome to my world! I’m starting this Weekly Wisdom series where I share my insights on life ,  business, careers, etc., all from the past week. So grab your coffee, stuff your chocolate bar or favorite snack, and relax on the couch as you explore what my mind is digesting from the previous week. Hopefully you learn something too! And, of course, let’s make this conversational — I would love to hear your thoughts as well. :) 1. If you have people genuinely rooting for you, keep them — they’re rare. True friends are hard to find and harder to keep. If you have friends that genuinely want the best for you, root for your success, and want you to win in life, then keep them close by - your success amplifies their belief in you. And if they believe in you and support you throughout, reciprocate it. It’s Ubuntu, not transactional. Eagles thrive with fellow eagles, not with chickens meddling in front of KFC. Be an eagle and keep your co-eagles close. Fly together. Soar together. Believe together. Live together. Laugh together. Love together. And die together. Because that’s what eagles do best. 2. Don’t dwell on the problem. Dwell on solving the problem. When a problem arises, it’s easy to exacerbate it and avalanche it into an endless corundum of other escalated issues. That, of course, doesn’t work. Never has, never will. However, if you switch to a problem-solver’s mindset, you will levitate towards formulating the solutions that solve what you’re (which you shouldn’t be) complaining about. Stop focusing on the problem. Focus on solving the problem itself. Channel your energy from complaining to eradicating what you’re complaining about. Complaining doesn’t solve the problem. Solving it does. 3. Don’t criticize without offering a solution. Criticize but also offer a solution. The point of (reasonable) criticism is to identify someone’s deficiencies and fill them accordingly. Constructive criticism is an excellent example of this — it shows where to grow and improve. Plus, one or two actionable insights to accompany the feedback for improvement are helpful. Criticism without a proposed solution, however, is as empty as the gap found in the critiqued. 4. Admit your fault when you’re wrong. Stand your ground when you’re not. The fine line between accountability and assertiveness. If you’re doing your job to your ability, you affirm that you did the right thing to your knowledge. (Deciding or executing the task with the limited resources available.) If the outcome was not the intended one, take accountability for it. Own your mistake and make your amends. Also, it's most likely a system error if you did the absolute task but the wrong outcome. Needless to say, it’s not your fault. And ideally, you’ll want to put in an undeniable amount of effort to clarify that it’s not your fault if something fails. Admit when wrong. Stand up when not. Which leads to my final point: 5. If you don’t teach someone how to do a job, don’t get mad at them when they get it wrong. This should be a top Management 101 lesson. You will have the desired outcome for a job - the perfect picture of it. You also acknowledge that you can’t do it all alone. You don’t know it all. The least you could do here is show your subjects your vision, which is why leaders are often visionaries. And if possible, explain the procedure for doing things to them. If you don’t, they will most likely try figuring it out on their own, which often goes only so far. Don’t blame them for the results they brought if you didn’t show them how to do it. I love this Computer Science principle: GIGO — Garbage In, Garbage Out. What you put in, you get out. What you sow, you reap. Put 100, get (at least) 100. Put 0, get 0. Easy. Show them what to do, and you’ll get what you show them to get…with the inverse holding true. Until next week. . . . ~T.K.K

I don’t think luck exists. Here’s why. Or maybe it does...but I refuse to acknowledge it - just a mindset hack. This is a mental model and personal philosophy I’m currently incorporating myself - susceptible to change in the future. I don’t quite believe in the existence of luck in the presence of hard work. Say you work extremely hard at something, dedicating your blood, sweat, and tears to creating an outcome many dream of. And the comments can come in as: “Lucky you.” “Lucky this.” “Lucky that.” And maybe you too fall into that “Was I lucky?” trap again. From what I see, luck derogates the preparation and effort needed to seize and capitalize on the opportunity. Disclaimer As I type this, I fully acknowledge the existence of circumstantial luck—you just happened to be in a better spot than others to achieve your goals. However, I’m referring to consequential luck (or outcome luck), where your efforts—not luck—vindicate your success. And from what I’ve seen, most people with circumstantial luck don’t achieve consequential luck mainly because of one thing—privilege. We move on. Luck Surface Area There’s a concept of Luck Surface Area, pre-eminently used by Jim Collins, and he describes it as “the amount of exposure an individual has to opportunities and resources that can lead to success.” However, I won’t use that definition - I have my own. Back to the first principles: Surface area is the area of a surface. Easy definition. Luck surface area thus becomes your scope of luck - how much luck you can generate and access. Basically, the harder, smarter, more intentional, and more strategic your work is, the greater the chances of luck happening. And hence, the greater your luck surface area. Let’s use an example. The Allegory of the Arrows Say you’re at a shooting range. You have two bows: A simple one and a mechanical one. With your simple bow, you have one arrow. With that arrow, your chances of hitting a bull’s eye are abysmally small. Now, say you have a mechanical bow—handmade, structured, and concretely made. You have 58 arrows, all of which you can shoot simultaneously if you want—your chances of hitting the target become humungously large. You increased your chances of hitting the bull’s eye because you purposefully crafted your bow: You measured the correct dimensions. You sourced the right material. You applied the proper Physics. You created slick arrows. You’ve probably practiced 1,000 times. You’re not lucky if you hit the bull’s eye nine times out of ten. You prepared for it. Now, others will claim you’re cheating - fair game - but were there rules to the game to begin with? And if there were, then in the game of success, the rules are either: Meant to be broken, or Redefined I’ve learned that successful people mostly play by their own rules, even if it means breaking some of them. They are the mavericks of society who aren’t afraid to challenge the norm to achieve their dreams. And one of those rules is to work ridiculously hard that success becomes inevitable. And when you’re in that state of hardwork, you increase your chances of luck. Simply because you can’t lose. In fact, I like to twist it this way: You don’t need luck—luck needs you. Luck needs you to stay relevant. The Relevance of Luck Interestingly, I learned this from a popular figure. First, some got extremely lucky where the effort doesn’t justify it: gamblers, crypto pumps, excessive risk-takers, etc. These folks skew the numbers against the commoners’ odds, making the latter dislike them…and, thus, any following sense of “luck.” When you think about it, it’s something popular in the online guru culture; many “gurus” are likely to host a $25,000 mastermind course, which, counterintuitively, earns more than what got them rich in the first place. However, these phenomenons lack one thing: The skills and character that necessitate their success. (I’ll give a parable on this soon.) Regardless, they took the shortcut to success. And as far as success is concerned, there are no shortcuts. And so, by that merit, they haven’t succeeded. They only succeed when they go through what it really takes to succeed. The dirty work. The failed attempts. The late nights and early mornings. The empty fridges and cold floors. Everything that validates the success they have today - they skipped that. To Jim Rohn’s analogy, a duck will always be a duck even if it convinces itself (and others) it’s an eagle simply because it’s in eagle school. That’s why, despite the quick windfall, 70% of lottery winners are likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years. Re-enter Luck Surface Area It can be argued that most successful people got lucky at some point - no doubt about that. However, they determined their luck and how often they would get lucky. Or rather, they capitalized on their Luck Surface Area. I learned from Alex Hormozi that the more times you do stuff and the more iterations you make, the luckier you become simply because you increase your chances of success by +1 each iteration. You’re increasing the likelihood that, at least by one more trial, you’ll get the big hit. You’ll likely get that one viral video if you post 1,000 times than you do 10. You’ll likely close a sale if you cold-call 1,000 times more than you do 10. You’ll likely return 750% from one investment as a VC firm if you invest in 1,000 startups than you do 100. (Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator as examples.) And so on. I like how Hormozi sums it: “Volume negates luck.” Back to the successful If someone got extremely lucky and made a fortune from a quick buck, credit to them, even though it’s likely a one-off. But I don’t think it would be considered luck anymore if a person got lucky even seven times along the way - that’s too many chances of (un)intentional luck. A person of that caliber is just built differently. Conclusion And for that, I don’t think you need luck to succeed. Again, I personally dismiss the notion of luck, though that might change in the future. We’ll see. I like intentionality. I like strategy. I like anticipation. And I like preparation. I like being ready, prepared, and qualified for when the right opportunity comes, coupled with the ability to skillfully maneuver the situation to get an ideal (or even better) outcome. That, to me, replaces luck. You work so hard that luck needs you. You create your own luck. . . . ~T.K.K If you like this, definitely subscribe.

Embrace uncertainty and take the first step. One thing I’ve learned looking back is that it’s not all quite clear who we will become in the future. “Who will I become 10 years from now?” “What do I wanna do for the rest of my life?” One probably won’t get these answers instantly…but that’s okay. And if you do, you’re gifted. Sometimes, having faith and taking the first step is all you need to do. Scary as it is, it’s necessary. It likely won’t be the perfect step, but it’s definitely a good first step…and given the circumstances, that’s all that matters. Plus, at least you won’t die…lol. The more steps you take, the more of an identity you develop, slowly finding yourself in this world of chaos and instant gratification. You probably don’t need a final goal in mind—you need faith that you will get somewhere if you just take the first step and make the leap. You try things you think you like. If you don’t like them, okay - you can start over again. No effort is wasted. If you do like them, the better. And the more you figure out what you like and don’t like, the closer you get to your purpose. The likelier you’ll find something you love…and the more your way manifests. And just like my guy Rumi says, “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” So start walking on the way today. God bless you. . . . ~T.K.K

The two kinds of stubborn; which one are you? Most successful people I know share one quality: They are stubborn. But wait…hold up. Lemme explain. We normally think of “stubborn” as a negative word because we associate it negatively - fair point. But the dictionary definition shows us otherwise. The successful people I know fit the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th definitions of stubborn seen above. They refuse to conform. They refuse to sink into mediocrity. They refuse to fit in when they know they can stand out. They’re the kind of people who would go right because there’s nothing left. I call them Stubborn-Persistent - Persisting to their goals no matter what. Those who fit the first definition of stubborn above are Stubborn-Obstinate. And truth be told, helping these people is futile. Give them the right thing to do - they won’t do it. Advise them on the tips to succeed - they won’t listen. Try convincing them that a product will benefit them - you’re better off grazing a dog. And unfortunately, Stubborn-Obstinate never ends well. They’ll see it for themselves. By definition, I like to think of stubborn in two ways: Stubborn-Obstinate: Refusing to listen to wise counsel and things that will benefit you. Doesn’t end too well in most cases. Stubborn-Persistent: Refusing to bend to others’ declarations of you when you want to achieve this (your dreams), but they tell you otherwise. Staying the track, unrelenting focus. I prefer no. 2. So, given the choice, I prefer stubborn persistence - The art of relentless persistence toward your goals no matter what. However, with all good things, there should also be moderation. After all, don’t let your persistence lead you to obstinance toward your success catalysts - proponents that should vindicate your persistence in the first place. Balance + constant self-analysis = key here. Peace. . . . ~T.K.K An interesting article from 16Personalities - “I’m Not Stubborn, I’m Persistent.”

If you were on Wikipedia, who would you be? This was a shower-thought question. "What if I was on Wikipedia?" "Who would the world know me as?" "Who would the internet know me as?" "Who would YOU know me as?" An interesting frame of mind to consider. Starting from Realizations I've had one realization and one epiphany, both of which I feel will massively impact my life to come: Realization: I'm a Generalist - I have multiple interests that intrigue me that I want to dive deeper into - Tech, Finance, Personal Development, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, etc. I have seven facets to self: 8-YO me, 23, 30, 45, 63, and 85-YO me. I also have a Billionaire-self and possibly a centi-billionaire-self coming soon. These frames of mind have made me think more holistically about who I'm becoming since, after all, Life is a state of becoming, not become. ~Madam Pamela. So, to my Wikipedia question, my 30-YO self would answer it best. Who is 30-YO me? 30-YO Me is likely my icon of success in the near future, standing by my success metrics. Having a good (and possibly respectable) job, an accomplished leader, friend to many, loyal to his family, a millionaire, and someone who loves doing what he does best - inspiring others. If I were to think of success, I couldn't think of anyone else besides him: A big brother I never had, a paragon I could look up to. I love that guy; I wanna be like him when I grow up. And good thing is: he is me...in six years. Carerra on Wikipedia If I were to be on Wikipedia, the soonest that would be is at 26. Not saying that will happen; that's just when I would be there soonest. And considering my Generalist self, I have a few platforms that could elevate my self-actualization between now and age 30, all of which could start revealing themselves from age 26. Writer. Carerra's Chronicles is mostly writing, so I'll have invested a lot of time doing that. I'm also imagining expanding to Medium, possibly Quora, and my newsletter in the works. Entrepreneur. I've recently started liking entrepreneurship for its massive potential. I like how you can start something (possibly from scratch) that can influence people's lives at scale and earn a financial return, as is the case for for-profit routes. At the start of my thirties, I see myself doing this with stakes in the tech, finance, education, and fashion industries. We'll see. Investor. Something I pray for is financial prosperity that I can propagate towards bettering the common good, thanks to Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth. In my early thirties, God willing, I see myself as an angel investor doing some private equity in the Silicon Valley and the East African business community. We'll see. Author. I have three imaginary books in mind, one of which, as of 2030, would be close to publication. I'd hope they become bestsellers for the consequent impact they have on the readers, but for now, c'est un imaginacion. Regardless, being an author is in the books, no pun intended. Podcaster. I want to interview inspirational people, whether academic sages or a fascinating lad I met at a gala Saturday night. I like continuously learning from people; sharing their insights with the world seems fun. Speaker. I've been contemplating for a while now and imagine myself becoming an on-demand motivational speaker. It'd be a fantastic way to disseminate my knowledge and experiences, hoping that I inspire someone, somewhere, someday. CEO of Carerra's Chronicles. Without doubt, this is who I'll become. For now, Carerra's Chronicles is where I share insights on topics that interest me: Tech, Finance, Personal Development, Leadership, etc. Thus, I imagine 30-year-old Me scaling on these interests and laying stake in them. This would be me transitioning from a Generalist to a Polymath - story for another day. Conclusion My 30-YO self is one with diverse interests and beginning to capitalize on them. He's likely to scale Carerra's Chronicles into a holding company to encapsulate his interests. I shouldn't be worried at all about him - he should be worried about me not taking action to exercise my foothold in these domains. Back to me, I think this is me subtly outlining my future plans & goals. Not concrete yet, but this is more like a vivid visualization getting more precise the more I describe it. Otherwise, we'll see what God and the universe have in store for me in the future. For now, I'll let ChatGPT put the icing on the cake. . . . ~T.K.K

Napoleon wrote the book...but didn't own the ideas. So...Napoleon Hill wrote "Think and Grow Rich," a timeless book on acquiring limitless wealth in a lifetime while exploring the intersection between personal development, business, finance, and philosophy, amongst other genres. As of 2022, thing's sold 70+ million copies with no signs of stopping. And the author is Napoleon Hill... But he did not own it. He did not own the ideas in the book he wrote. Rather, he wrote them in place of Andrew Carnegie, one of the wealthiest men ever. A bit about Andrew Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and philanthropist who immigrated from Scotland to Pittsburgh, PA, at 12. Andrew was one to revolutionize the US steel industry as we know it today, having built Carnegie Steel Company and sold it to JPMorgan for $303.45M then ($10.67B today.) Through his philanthropy, he advocated for the use of wealth for societal betterment. He was pro-taxes, societal good, and supporting scientific research - documenting all these in his famed 1889 article, The Gospel of Wealth. He is easily remembered as Pittsburgh is a steel city from his endeavors and has Carnegie Mellon University in his memorabilia. Andrew Meets Napoleon In his sunset years, Andrew, alongside his comrades - Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John D. Rockefeller - found it illegal to die with their immense information. He needed someone to distill his experiences, tactics, and philosophies and chronologize them. And that someone happened to be 25-year-old Napoleon Hill, a simple journalist working on his dad's local wealth magazine. Andrew believed that anyone could (and still can) succeed with the insights he had, so he took Napoleon under his wing as a mentee and told him to write his thoughts down in chronological fashion. And thus, "Think and Grow Rich" came to be. And in the words of Bob Proctor: "Andrew probably made 50 millionaires over his lifetime; Napoleon Hill made millions of them." Which has me thinking: Mansa, the richest man ever lived - Andrew peaked at no. 3. Story for another day. . . . ~T.K.K You may buy Think and Grow Rich here.

If you're a seasoned writer or have 500-2000 subs, I need your help. I'm writing this article writing on the fly, by the way. I'm a bit stuck with Medium, having returned to it after a year's hiatus and now wanting to get serious. It'll be a monumental but also fun process where I'll gain insights, make friends, and scale myself along the way. After all, I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Hence why I'm documenting this journey - to publicly share my thought process and growth for the world to see and for moi to be self-accountable on my journey to success. Read on. Why I need help To begin, I want to scale my writing and online presence meaningfully. For instance, I already have social media (shameless plug: Instagram and LinkedIn), so sites like Medium, Substack, and Carerra's Chronicles are me creating my online library. I'm doing this because I want to build Carerra's Chronicles, my blog where I share my thoughts on topics that interest me. That building will come from having an audience that validates your credibility. And to build that audience, I must have a platform. And my platform is Medium. Hence why I need help. My history with Medium I first joined Medium in 2019 when I liked it for its intellectual community of avid readers and writers - sharing ideas and creating meaningful connections. I then stinted at writing during the pandemic through 2021. The results were manifesting, but school got in the way, so priorities shifted. Nothing changed my liking for the platform; I still like the community for the ideas shared and the fact that anyone can be celebrated if they put in the work. ('Should take that advice myself.) So, right now, in 2024, I'm getting back in. I've admittedly lost some steam, but I'm trying to build on it and regain my writing momentum. Up to here, what are your best Medium practices, especially for starting out? 'Would love to hear them! :) Where I'm going with this First, writing is an excellent skill to have - adored and admirable. And as Dan Koe says, writing is the best skill to have as it is the basis of everything. So at the absolute worst, I'll be an evolved writer. Second, to continue writing for writing's sake. Playing the infinite game with word on paper but not play Scrabble. Third, building an online community of like-minded individuals from whom I can learn and to whom I can share. Fourth, to scale my audiences online - on Medium, Substack, and my social media, and to build Carerra's Chronicles. Fifth, in the long run, Medium would be my online library, which, hopefully, for decades to come, will continue sparking the messages and lessons I've learned from the 21st century. Conclusion So that's how things are looking like so far. I have big plans and a long way to go, so cheers to me again for making it to my starting point. I'll need help and possibly all the help I can get. So, if you're an experienced writer of any kind, I'd love to learn from you. This is me putting myself out there by publishing my thought process online, especially since I know my brand will grow monumentally, God willing. I'll look back on this article and say, "These were the days." Meantime, I hope you enjoy the few articles below on where I'm at. . . . ~T.K.K

Everything here is a God willing, by the way. Until recently, I imagined myself on my deathbed (hopefully in 7+ decades) with $100M to my name. Of course, you can't take that to the grave. I get that. I think a net worth of that sort would amount to the contributions I'll have had on the planet by then. So, you have me, at 98, on my deathbed, with $100M about to dish out in inheritance, charities, etc. Then I remembered one of the most interesting quotes I found about goal-setting - either from Tim Ferriss or Jim Rohn. And if neither of them said it, I'll claim it. "Set a goal so audaciously high not for what you achieve, but for who you become in the process of attaining it." ~Carerra (until I find the source.) And that made instant sense. The Right Question in Setting Goals In setting goals, we often ask, "What should I do?" But we forget an even more critical question: "Who should I become?" The rationale is that you want to imagine yourself as having achieved that goal, asking yourself how you would feel like having accomplished the goal. Thus, I think visualization and clarity on the end goal are essential here, and the clearer your goal, the more aligned your pathway toward getting there. Read Mindvalley's Article on The Power of Visualization. "Visualization only works if you work hard." ~Oprah Winfrey Journey > Destination Another thing I noticed, and you might agree: We don't really like the goal itself. Rather, we like the pursuit of it instead. We like pursuing the goal rather than owning it because the goal itself becomes a momentary facade. You will enjoy years of chasing that promotion until you finally get it, then ask yourself, "What's next?" or, "Was it worth it?" And after hitting every goal we could think of, "What's next?" becomes a never-ending recurring question. Read this Evernote Article on Why the Journey Matters More than the Goal. Figures why, contrary to public opinion, the journey overrides the destination. The infinite game (loving the process) over the finite (hitting a goal). I like how Alex Hormozi puts the Infinite Game. And life is an infinite game. Play it that way. A summary of Simon Sinek's Infinite Game. Anyway, back to the original point: Setting a big and audacious goal that you evolve in the process. And that gave me an instant perspective switch. I don't want $100M at 95. Instead, I want $1Bn at 65. The Billion-Dollar Problem Now, here's the problem: I have a hard time visualizing myself as a billionaire. At least by 65. I've divided my life into seven different facets: Me at 8 - He's a proud kid right now. Me at 23 - Currently. Me at 30 - In six years. Me at 45 - At the boil of my career. Me at 63 - Retired. Me at 85 - Waiting for the Lord to call me Home. These facets are always talking to each other. And I talk most with Me at 30. Millionaire-Me vs Billionaire-Me I'm confident that 30-YO Me will be a millionaire; probably multi, but deca unlikely. He'd also be married with a kid on the way, fresh from an MBA and closing on corporate retirement. That's whom I converse with daily before I sleep. Now, back to my problem. I can visualize myself at 30 and a bit at 63.30-YO Me is a millionaire, 63-YO Me a billionaire. However, I can't get the answers right away to becoming a billionaire. I asked my 30-year-old self this, and even he doesn't know it. He asked 63-YO me, but the old man was, "Just figure it out. You've got this." "I have the secret sauce," he said, "but I don't want to spill it out yet, else you'll miss out on all the fun." And he has merit to say that. First, life offers no cheat code. You get what you want through the hard (and sometimes the only) way. Second, if it was easy, then what would've been the point of life if not enjoying the journey all along? Three, you won't always have all the answers, and that's okay. If 30-YO Me is my epitome of success, and even he hasn't figured it out yet, then who am I to do so? And four, you must know your place and work your levels accordingly. Make your first $100,000 before your first milli, and so on. Conclusion So that's how my mind looks right now as I chart my path toward (my definition of) success. ~I have the goal in mind - $1Bn. ~It's a SMART goal - by age 65. ~However, I don't have complete clarity on the plan yet, so that will be a work in progress. But I do know what will get me to a milli by 30, God willing. And in closing, recall that everything I mention here is a work in progress. I don't have all the answers yet...and possibly never will, and that's okay. And for transparency's sake, I'm starting right now with relatively nothing other than grit, curiosity, discipline, the internet, and the Will of God. And if you're a billionaire reading this, I happily welcome your mentorship. Let me know your thoughts. . . . ~T.K.K

The following are impactful quotes serving as splendid advice in one-liners - constantly updated. On Ambition “People who make things happen run into people who make things happen.” Codie Sanchez. On Art “I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music.” Johann Sebastian Bach. “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” Vincent van Gogh. On Entrepreneurship “Start young…especially if you want to be an entrepreneur. I started at 58.” Irene Shimizu. On Health “Treat your body like a house you’d want to live in for the next 70 years.” A 94-year-old’s advice on life longevity, as mentioned by Sahil Bloom. On Leadership “If you can’t feed them, you can’t lead them.” Confucius. On Legacy “Let the work that I’ve done speak for me.” My ex-manager’s grandmother. “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever. The goal is to create something that will.” Chuck Palahniuk. On the Neuros “The supercomputer of your brain is not the fore-brain — the part of the brain that formulates strategy. Rather, the supercomputer of your brain is the unconscious mind.” Dr. Paul Conti On Personal Development “Have your principles.” Ray Dalio. “I want to be remembered as someone honest.” Jordan Peterson. “Put your house in order before thinking of changing the world.” Also Jordan Peterson. “Don’t be afraid to start stupid; stay learning. Stay curious.” Abdulhamid Ali, University of Washington. “The greatest value of life is not what you get. The greatest value of life is what you become.” Jim Rohn. On Personal Finance “Act your wage, not your age.” Obioha Okereke, CEO of College Money Habits, on financial responsibility post-college. “Live below your means.” Common sense. On Productivity “Automate and iterate.” Naval. “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. On the Pursuit of Success “Enjoy the process; enjoy the journey.” Ali Abdaal. In a similar light, “Patience with the results, impatience with the journey.” “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Oprah Winfrey. “This is what hard feels like.” Also Alex Hormozi on endurance and perseverance. “Don’t ridicule another man’s hustle.” Gavin Mungai. “Do your best, no matter what.” Carerra. “If the ‘why’ is powerful, the ‘how’ is easy.” Jim Rohn. “Consistency is the only cheat code.” Terry Rice. On Relationships “Iron sharpens iron, just as one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 On Resilience “I never lose. I either win, or I learn.” Nelson Mandela. “Failure and success are on the same path. Failure comes first.” Alex Hormozi. “Be courageous driving through uncertainty.” Carerra. On Self-Mastery “You don’t become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror, but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are. Outwork your self-doubt.” Alex Hormozi. (My personal favorite.) “Fear of the worst is greater than the danger itself.” Keito from Bakugan. “If you’re a friend to everybody, then you’re an enemy to yourself.” Mike Tyson. On Spirituality “Do the Will of God.” Carerra. On Wealth “Get paid by results, not by time.” Graham Stephan. “Earn with your mind, not with your time.” Also Naval. “Money not found in a job is gotten by skills not found in school.” Dan Koe. Will add more as I learn. . . . ~T.K.K

The ten undeniable truths of life, and it's only by accepting them that life becomes easier to understand. Btw, I’m just spitting random thoughts from experience. I am not a motivational speaker (yet) nor a life coach; I am Carerra. :) Might lead to a sequel. Learn to take responsibility. Accepting responsibility shows growing maturity and experience. You’ll become wiser and headstrong in the adversities that lie ahead without excuses. You can’t change your past. The most you can do is appreciate the good moments, learn from the experiences, live in the present, and focus on what’s next. The future is unpredictable. The short-term is predictable; the long-term is not. Only God knows what will happen in the distant future. Until then, create your own via your actions. Success is different for everyone. Success is objective; my definition of success will be different from yours. Play down the comparison game, and compete with who you were yesterday. You are alone in life. You came into life alone, and you will leave alone. In the middle, make memories with your family, friends, and all those you love. Thanks to research, as you grow older, loneliness becomes but a state of mind. Failures are inevitable. Failures are a part of life. If you aren’t failing, then you aren’t trying. Remember, success delayed is not success denied, and failure is a detour, not a dead-end. Life is flawed. It isn’t fair. It won’t always go as planned, and that’s okay. Life isn’t always meant to be happy. Bad things will still happen, but regardless, be stoic and accept it for what it is. Nothing is permanent. Everything is temporary; nothing lasts forever. The only permanent thing is change. The perfect time doesn’t exist. There’s never a better time to start. Instead, make each moment perfect and begin as early as possible. Death is inevitable. You might as well live life and pursue your passion - whatever it is. Don’t foolishly YOLO, though, but within those fearful decisions lie the best moments of your life. A few bonuses: Money is important. It’s not everything, but it’s important - note the difference. Having tons of it is your choice, but undeniably, money is vital. Case in context: Think about how you will put food on your table tonight. Don’t make a sunk-cost decision. Among the few economics rules that apply to real life, don’t make a decision you won’t like just because it justifies the last action you still didn’t want. No one is perfect. We are all flawed as humans, which is natural to us. We can be self-aware, though; being aware that we are imperfect is the first step toward self-fulfillment. Also, flaws do make life exciting and worthwhile. What did I miss? . . . ~Carerra.

Don’t wait for the New Year to start hitting your New Year's Resolutions. Today is Sunday, December 26th, 2021, less than a week into 2022. It’s that time of the year when people plan their New Year’s Resolutions for the next year, hoping to achieve them. With resolutions coming up thick and thin, there’s no guarantee one will achieve all of them, and that’s okay. However, self-improvement and taking action don’t have to begin on January 1st. First, time itself is abstract; the concept itself doesn’t fathom whether it’s the year 2032, 1946, or 378 AD. It just is, and man made it seem that way - I’d love to know the construct behind this. Second, if you’re going to start your self-development journey, you might as well do it anyway. The whole idea behind self-improvement is to take action immediately towards improving yourself. That said, waiting 5-6 days to start taking action is already beating the purpose itself. While creating New Year’s Resolutions is still okay, only 8% of all people who set their resolutions actually achieve them, with 80% of resolutions already going down the drain in February. Today’s advice? Normalize not waiting for the New Year to chase your goals. Hunt them now. . . . ~Carerra, 2k21.

This is my daily mantra that has yet to fail me. What keeps me going is knowing that I will succeed at my goals one day, God willing. I’m currently a Math senior at the University of Washington, and so far, the ride has been anything but easy. After a couple of failed classes, some imposter syndrome, and sleep deprivation, I end up questioning my sanity and life decisions sometimes. For the first time in my life, I’m living alone, so basically, I’m absorbing adult responsibilities: rent, a job, personal finances, etc. Being an adult isn’t as engaging as it seemed as a child. Digress: I’m on a personal mission to make it as fun - if not more - as childhood would be; I believe my adulthood is what I make of it, just that the definition of fun varies from childhood to adulthood. Since I’m graduating, the expectation is to land a job immediately after college. No pressure, though, but I can’t get complacent yet, so I must seek a post-grad leeway. A bit tricky here. All these, however, are the dust before me, and as always, dust settles. I know for a fact that God willing, I’ll be my own boss, my own CEO, and my own person. I will establish a brand that will change the world because that’s who I am: a go-getter, an achiever, a leader, and an optimist. I know friends who’ve achieved what I want, and my family and loved ones are rooting for me to succeed- that’s most of the motivation I’ll need. Of course, I have role models, too, from whom I’ll learn how to level up 1% per day towards my goal. Lastly, from my faith, I have God. I could be as determined and ambitious as Dwayne Johnson hitting another gym rep, but I’m seriously nothing if I don’t have God on my side. Fortunately enough, He always is. In case you’re wondering, I’m constructing my site, Carerra’s Chronicles, which is my repository of thoughts (I don’t like to call it a blog, but there’s no other way to describe it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) Iwante to span the plethora of thoughts I have surrounding my interests - personal development, technology, finance, business, leadership, etc. - and hope to share what I learn with the world. I consider Carerra’s Chronicles an extension of my personality where I wish to inspire people through my thoughts, words, and actions, and that in any way, shape, or form, I help somebody somewhere. Still a work in progress, but I pray for big things to emanate from it in the coming years. Looking at my goals, I know that the short-term turbulences are a speck in the eye - they won’t matter much in the long term. I’ll keep at it, stay focused and consistent, work smart, do my best, pray, and hope for something eventual. That said, I keep going. Keep pushing. Keep grinding. . . . ~Carerra, 2k21.