In December 2020, I was 13. After talking with my parents, they advised me to act; I told them I wanted to become an entrepreneur. It was that single event that transformed my life forever. Before December 2020, I had wanted to become a scientist my entire childhood, but on that day, I woke up. I started to take action, and my purposeful chapter started. I quickly decided to specialize in apps and started with web development. My determination was gigantic. I programmed for up to 14 hours daily, solving children's programming tasks. I had no ego and just worked. After three months, I was ready to begin with actual programming. But something else happened. I programmed so intensively that I lost interest in programming.
That was no problem. I knew I needed a break, and nothing was dramatic about it. I emigrated from Belarus to Germany in 2013. After another talk with my mother, she revealed that she learned to speak German from scratch in just three months. Having heard that, I was shocked; of course, I knew that, but I wasn't aware of it for some reason. However, I knew that she spoke five languages. I knew I would regret not learning Chinese while I was young. I found nothing in the bookshop and wanted to use an app. I had to be fast. So, right after I had a light burnout from programming too much, I started to learn Chinese. I finished half the app’s course, and since I never stopped, I have an 800-day streak and can say quite a lot.
After this purpose was fulfilled, I started to think more long-term. It was May 2021. I understood back as a 13-year-old that I needed to create content to become relevant, especially if my business was about apps. In May 2021, I made my first video: Shortcuts on Windows 10. A couple more followed pretty quickly. Before learning how to code, I learned how to cook. In 2020, I made at least 130 pizzas. That's why I also tried to make culinary videos. Then, I decided to make more progress and purchased video editing software. I made a 5-minute video talking about bits and data. It was without speaking, only text with graphics and music. Then I made a second one. I did that for a school project and also uploaded it to YouTube. It failed because of copyright. I had no idea about copyright; I was 14. That marked a new beginning. I had two options: either give up or try something new. The only way to live is to try out something new. I started to create cinematic videos after seeing this YouTube video. I recorded time-lapses on my phone and found deep joy in them nonetheless.
Spring 2021 also saw me decide to skip 9th grade, which meant I went from 8th to 10th grade. I knew I needed to be fast and purposeful in my actions.
Only a few weeks later, my programming course started. It was challenging for adults and those in Russian. It took around 12 hours per week from July 2021 to March 2022. I learned a lot and forgot most of it, but I did learn one thing: how to work.
At the beginning of 2022, I got my first camera, and after the programming course ended, I started creating a massive amount of cinematic, timelapse, and slow-motion YouTube shorts. I made 375 shorts in just two months, got half a million views, and learned even more. The process of creating these videos was both challenging and rewarding. However, after the views started to stagnate because I ran out of ideas, I decided to take a break and explore other creative avenues.
In June 2022, I started to work on my first app, Helimath. Initially, I intended to make just a mental math app, but then someone gave me the idea of including games. Because AI didn't exist and I had minimal experience in programming, I just worked until I could no longer do so - in the summer holidays for up to 16 hours a day. It was the hardest I had ever worked. Retrospectively, that was absolute insanity, and I don’t know how I could pull that off. That's why the first version of Helimath was already released in August 2022, three months after I began development. In the following months, I continued to work intensely on my app because it was far from done. I also created 70 YouTube shorts documenting my experience, but they failed. These video projects gave me confidence in my future videos. In February 2023, my app could be considered done, and every additional development would only be an improvement.
Do you know what's beautiful? In February 2023, I also started going to the gym. In March, I started creating YouTube videos with similar content to my blogs. Here I am now.
In this story, I haven't mentioned movies, friends, hot blondes, hobbies, fun, or parties. They didn't exist in my life during this period. This might be hard for outsiders to understand, but one thing is sure: A life like this is rare and hard to replicate. I’m excited to gain more experience and momentum. Everything will start to compound. The key is never to stop learning and growing, always striving for more, and never settling for mediocrity. The joy of learning and the thrill of growth are unparalleled.
Imagine you were an old wise man with grey hair strolling through the park, seeing young people doing sports. You would romanticize your youth and little adventures and conclude that it must be nice to be young. How nice it was to have time and energy…
Live by your deepest realization.
If a decision needs to be made, you can’t wait. Do the things you know need to be done. Try that new thing out. Stop waiting; start taking action. Do not be afraid to sacrifice. Ask yourself daily, ‘What’s the biggest thing holding me back?’
Think of the ideal life you want. Be authentic in your wishes. Then, do something to get it. It’s as simple as that.
Live as if every day is a gift.
Long-term thinking is the cornerstone of success. It's about making strategic decisions that will set you
ahead in the long run rather than focusing on short-term, meaningless pleasures.
Everyone understands what eating junk food does, yet most are unwilling to do what they are supposed to and
instead consistently pick the ‘easy and fun’ option. They are too weak to decide what’s right and mindlessly
follow their primal desires. Most people are nothing more than a collection of their bad habits. I used to
be one of them, and my life was awful. I used to watch videos every night until I dozed off. I knew what I
was doing as an 11-year-old was wrong. Fortunately, I found my purpose in life and removed every bad habit.
I haven’t been watching videos for months now. I'm 16 years old, and since I was 13, I’ve only been thinking
long-term. It served me extraordinarily well.
Consistently executing what’s right will make your life monumental. I love my purposeful and disciplined
life; I enjoy every second. You need a purpose to resist short-term hedonism, i.e., cheap pleasures. With a
why, you can almost any how.
Procrastination is caused by excessive comfort and distractions. Without a why, there’s no how. Procrastination is the art of making life more challenging than it is. Idleness can be caused by laziness, comfort, or fear, mainly by a lack of deep purpose. Complacency is losing one’s drive and desire, starting a mundane existence. Extreme complacency means one is unable to get out of bed. That’s no desirable life.
Fear can prevent danger, but most of the time, it is unfounded. I was scared to talk into the microphone for the first time, but I still did it. That fear was pointless. Similar to fear, doubt can prevent heavy mistakes. Yet, if you doubt yourself, so will others, and people feel how you think of yourself.
Focus. Focus means not doing more but doing more of the same things. Focus means doing only what matters.
Tell people what you want. While recording videos, my family often makes noise in the background. I asked
them to be quiet, and my problem disappeared. Frequently, the solution to life’s problems is asking. Don’t
hesitate to look dumb or awkward; tell people what you want!
Do it quickly.
One of my fundamental tenets for life is speed. On a Wednesday evening, I got the idea to create this website. By Thursday noon, I had published three texts. That’s speed. When you read this, I believe my texts will surpass everyone in quality and quantity. Speed coupled with excellence yields indomitable results.
Sharpe your axe before you chop trees.
I created 375 timelapse shorts on YouTube in 60 days and saw no success; I stagnated. That's why I quit. There is no point in continuing if you lose. Sometimes, giving up and moving on is the right thing to do. Before you think of quitting, did you put enough tries into it? If yes, go ahead. Often, tactical retreat is the best move on the chessboard
How can you make progress if you always blame others, are slow, and make excuses? How are you supposed to
progress if you constantly mess things up and never keep your word?
I recently asked nine people to fill out a poll about a new potential mental math app. This time, I
thought I would create the polls before creating another variant of my main app. Only one person brought it
the next day; all the others constantly forgot it. How can you live like that? How could the other eight
people be unreliable enough not to fill out a five-minute form?
I concluded that I must be the sexiest person in my town of twenty-five thousand inhabitants. I act accordingly. Such a self-image makes it impossible for me to procrastinate or to waste my time on social media. This self-image makes me work with pride. It makes me believe my texts are unique, and thus, I put in more effort. If you view yourself as an athlete, you will have better workouts. If you view yourself as a generally reliable and fast person, guess what that will change.
When I eat cake, I get depressed. My mind does not necessarily cause this. Palm fat, sugar, and other fancy ingredients cause inflammation, influencing my mind and emotions. One could not be aware of it and make a stupid decision, while the actual solution is merely healthier food. Furthermore, food made without love gives the wrong energy, and you don’t want to absorb it. A lack of sleep often causes a lack of creativity. If you eat unhealthy food, you will surely be fatigued. Many of your mental, performance, sexual, emotional, and physical problems come down to your health – sleep, motion, sunlight, and diet.
This has been my biggest problem since I had no empathy with anyone because of everything I experienced. Still, I have almost fixed it because I took accountability and stopped making excuses. When you read it, I will be charming, full of warmth and empathy.
You can’t thrive if everyone around you is negative and unsupportive. Make new friends and create a better environment. That will also help with every other area discussed. Identity and personality can quickly improve in shifting surroundings.
Subtract everything holding you back. It compounds. You know exactly what to do. The choice is yours.
Every small decision leads to significant events and decisions. You progress whenever you make the right decisions and refuse to be weak. Based on the previous chapter, doing something for life shatters expectations. You will become highly successful if you keep investing and learning for decades. There is no other option; if you keep doing the brave thing, you can’t fail. You understand that life consists of short moments and small decisions—all decisions compound and matter.
I once hesitated to discuss the meaning of life, feeling uncertain and inadequate. But after two and a half years of profound self-improvement, my perspective has been transformed entirely. Now, I embrace this question with pride and conviction: What's the meaning of life? Striving.
Let's assume I wouldn't have skipped 9th grade, started learning Chinese, started writing and creating videos, or started coding. Where would I be now? How could I be looking in the mirror, having missed so many opportunities?
Visualize yourself at your funeral. Visualize every single decision, every significant and insignificant one. Do you feel uneasy? That’s your sign to change. Try to visualize yourself as brave, hard-working, competent, secure, and reliable. How would your life turn out?
I can't exist simply in regret because regret is a feeling that can't be removed and will only worsen with time. This could be the day you take control of your life and change it forever. The sooner you take action, the more impact your decisions have.
This is your sign to ask her out, and if she says no, who cares?
Yet, be careful. You may regret constantly sacrificing and never having fun. Don’t try to solve future problems merely to avoid regret! At some point, enjoy yourself.
Some people are only happy when they suffer. Without pain, there’s no plot. Pain is the taste of life. The only way to happiness is to struggle. While others complain, I'm glad I'm suffering. Such is the price for greatness. Sacrifice, discipline, growth – they are all pain.
This is the only way to live.
Constant growth is the only way to avoid regret, and you need to live your life like you want to live it for the rest of your life; you will need to suffer. Desirable things take time and pain. How often was going uphill atop a mountain worth it, leaving you with a fantastic view? Every time.
Every person looked up to or legendary never focuses on minor things. These people were focused, fearless, brutally competent, and lived their lives fully. To be happy, you need to get better every day. If you don't try hard enough, you will feel regret.
There’s a person who jumped forty kilometers out of a spaceship. That's the perfect example of living life fully, without fear or hesitation, and while growing. Everyone thinks he’s crazy. I understand him; this is the only way for some people to live. I don’t yet fully understand why that is. I only know that life without constant struggle is incredibly mundane. I can’t just sit in a sunny garden with friends and family enjoying tea. I can’t function in an everyday existence.
At the end of the day, what are you living for? Are you living for cheap pleasure or trying to become your best version? Do you want a purposeful life? You need to decide that. Suffering and growth give you a purpose to exist.
The last two and a half years were a complete sacrifice. I lived beyond my comfort zone, kept learning and growing, and did everything tough without distractions or fun. Every decision will compound. You need to live your life as if it's in the final form, by the most profound realization, and you need to start doing that today until it's too late because otherwise, you will regret it. Constant growth is the only way to happiness.
Firstly, I am grateful to you for reading this text. This story did not contain any tutorials, and that's good the way it is. Not everybody needs to live beyond their comfort zone. I hope this text has helped you understand these extreme people better.
View it from an evolutionary point of view; everyone is unique to contribute to society.
It may seem that these extreme people contribute a lot more than others. Yet, they got there because of their circumstances, which are often invisible. Sometimes, invisible parents raise their children to live purposeful lives. I did not choose to live as I do; I see no other option.
I did not regret sacrificing my last two and a half years; I am very grateful. I feel motivated to continue every time I look at what I have done. I must admit that the time from December 2020 (I was 13) till September 2022 (I was 15) was so focused that I did not socialize and only cared about progress. I am grateful for it, but that has not been sustainable for a prolonged period; since December 2022, I have also started to relax and improve my social skills. In March 2023, I removed absolutely every bad habit. My life was never been better. Now, I also understand that taking a break is sometimes the right thing. Thinking long-term sometimes includes taking a break.
Thinking short-term symbolizes an unsuccessful life; the good news is that this is simply a bad habit that can be fixed. I don't have any short-term thoughts anymore. If something doesn't affect me for the next ten years, I don't think about it. I don't care about short-lived things with zero significance in the long run.
Now that you are in the flow of reading. Here is one last thought. A grasshopper enjoys the summer, and an ant works in the summer for the winter. Both may die. So, who is more successful?