To be who you want to be, you only need know-how.

Welcome to Self-help 101 🙂

James Clear said once, “Life is the sum of your habits. Your daily routines form the little patterns and behaviors that accumulate, and when you turn around two or five years later, you say, Wow! I’m here because of what I got from my daily choices.”

And that is freaking awesome.

No matter who you are, you can change your situation by changing your daily habits, not doing fancy things, and only changing your everyday basics.

That’s the real alchemy in the 21st Century.

The game has changed. It’s no longer about turning lead into gold. Now, it’s about turning your time into gold.

Let’s start to shine.

Stop playing safe.

As Santiago, a young shepherd, pursued his dreams to the last circumstances in the book The Alchemist by Pablo Coelho, you must follow yours.

Santiago had to sell everything to travel to Egypt and live through a thousand misfortunes that changed him.

In the same way, you have to create and pursue your legend and your vision.

And it has to be big enough to change you completely.

So stop playing it safe and step into the unknown.

Think big.

Don’t choose easy dreams because easy dreams make you weak.

A senior military officer once said, “Mediocre goals create mediocre people. So make sure you have a good reason for doing things.”

And he was right.

A mediocre dream leads you to two things

1. Looking for shortcuts.
2. I am leaving the goal half-finished.

Let’s imagine my goal is to lose weight by summer.

It’s a mediocre goal because why do I want to lose weight?

Possibly to get looked at. (And that’s not a great reason, is it?).

So I will 1)look for shortcuts by going on the chard diet and damaging my health, or 2) by the middle of the month, I will abandon my goal and eat a family-size barbecue pizza with extra cheese.

And the same goes for studying for a career you don’t like or for any mediocre goal.

Now, you’re probably wondering how to choose goals that aren’t mediocre.

Don’t worry. Read on.

Please do it for the right reason.

Here is when I blow your head off (for the first time)

Want to lose weight? Please don’t do it to look good on the beach. Choose a higher motive. For example, complete a marathon.

Want to eliminate negative thinking? Please don’t do it to feel better about yourself so you can get on with your life without worry. Choose a higher motive—for example, volunteer at a nursing home.

Want to earn money? Please don’t do it for the travel and the Ferrari. Choose a higher motive. For example, create a product that improves the lives of others.

• If you train to complete a marathon, you will lose weight. But you will also become a healthy, athletic, and committed person.
• If you volunteer at a nursing home, you will feel better. But you will also become a more empathetic and patient person.
• If you create a product that makes people’s lives easier, you will earn money to buy the Ferrari, give meaning to your life, and feel fulfilled.

When you read the book Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future by author Ashlee Vance you realize that Elon Musk doesn’t give a damn about money. He cares about humanity.

Look around you, bro.

International conflicts, climate change, possible meteors that could hit the earth-I wouldn’t be surprised if one day Godzilla appeared on the news razing Tokyo to the ground 😉

Elon Musk doesn’t do it for the money. He does it because he believes he is saving humanity from extinction. That’s why he works 120 hours a week.

Closing the loop

Here is when I blow your head off (for the second time)

Do you remember the phrase from the beginning of James Clear?

We are the sum of our habits, and when you look back after a few years, you realize that you are where you are because of what you do every day.

If you meet the above points, you don’t have to break your head looking for those weird habits you must practice every day to become who you want to become: they will gradually and naturally come into your life.

If, for example, you choose to run a marathon, the first thing you will do is look for information, and you will find,

• A daily training plan to follow.
• A diet optimized for runners.
• Advice on the hours you should sleep and rest days.

And your life will magically organize itself and integrate the habits you need to achieve your main goal.

The same goes for all the other dreams you may have.

So don’t forget that it’s all about thinking big and stopping looking for shortcuts. Only then will you become the alchemist of your life.

A virtual hug

AG