As I'm going through all my notes and journals at the end of 2025, there are quite a few lessons that come to mind, with many of them being the affirmation of what's right and I should keep doing.
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Audiobooks creates false sense of progression. They feel productive as annual book count increases, but knowledge retention is weaker than reading. Neutral plasticity takes time.
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There are great values to read books that 1) overall genre you don't like and 2) other people cannot praise more about it
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AI / vibe code tools kept pushing the boundaries of what feels possible. What used to take heavy research and engineering is now ask, experiment, and iterate.
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The most important problem is often the easiest to ignore. For me, it's deciding what preventative healthcare to do based on clear, obvious family history.
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Calling my mom daily became a life anchor, even when she's busy and the calls are short. It also brings more happiness than almost all the 'fun' stuff out there.
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Enterprise AI culture is more cultural than technical. Technologies move at the speed of what it feels every few weeks bring a new advancement, but people don't evolve at the same speed.
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Internal change sometimes requires external signaling. Visibility outside an organization can unlock movement inside.
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Thinking externally is easier than internally. Once ideas leave the head through writing or speaking, clarity follows.
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Eating order matters for glucose: fiber first, then protein and fat, with carbs last. Energy crashes largely disappear. Bonus point to move around immediately after eating. (inspired by Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé).
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Apple cider vinegar works to slow glucose spiking, and the reason sounds silly but true: acidity paralyze enzyme, which slows carb breakdown and smooths glucose spikes.
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Don't test live wires with your hand. If you HAVE to, use the back of your hand.
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Paying for a marathon (or any athletic activity) a year early works because commitment upfront removes daily negotiation.
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In running and everything else, breakthroughs come from the hard workouts while foundations come from boring ones, and both are required.
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Talk about your goals & progress out loud to people you see every day. The universe responds through alignment with others.
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This is a symptom called pleuritis, it feels like a sharp pain at the edge of the lung that hurts more with deep breathing, it can happen when you run hard in dry or high-altitude, and when it happens don't panic. You should stop slow down, rest, breathe gently, hydrate, use warmth or light anti-inflammatories, and return to exercise only after the pain clearly fades.
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Mexico City is an exceptional place for culture, food, everything.
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When unsure how to behave, choose the version of yourself that won't annoy others.
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Ask often whether something is a slow-moving inevitability. If yes, act now.
Affirmations
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Choosing strengthening strengths over fixing weaknesses can have outsized returns.
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Great relationships are 80/80, not 50/50, because mutual over-giving creates trust.
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Busy people get things done. Make yourself busy.
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Once a problem is named it is half solved, and choosing to act or let go is still control.
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Step function changes are real; long flat lines precede sudden jumps.
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Better measurement changes outcomes, whether through DEXA scans, expanded blood panels, or clearer portfolio attribution.
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There are always more to be learned