Letters to My 18-Year-Old Self

Don’t be lazy in learning: First, how to do well. Next, how to live well. 

Don’t be lazy in learning and practicing the Art of Economics, practicing the Art of Productivity, and practicing the Art of Lifestyle

I would say to that teenager who has just matriculated:

It is not a lot of things, my dear boy, that you need—or think you need—in order to feel proud and confident in yourself.

It is not money, nor the approval of a thousand cities, nor a perfect body —

What you actually need is a mission—something to strive for every single day. And when you no longer enjoy that specific mission, find another—better and finer — to test all your powers against.

Strive to do it well. Hence: study, practice, strengthen your philosophy, and mind your own business. Understand the internal and external factors required to excel in your mission—and concentrate on those.

Money, public approval, the admiration of many —easy to desire, but dangerous to depend on. They have broken more spirits behind closed doors than any weapon of war. They are invisible chains to the human heart.

Attain them by chance or force, and you’ve bound yourself to a life of anxiety, restlessness, and delusion.

Attain them in blind hope that they’ll fuel your confidence—and in despair, watch them amplify your self-doubt instead.

There are no certainties. There are no guarantees, my boy—only this:

Only what you practice will you deserve.

Only what is right and ripe will you attain.

Only what is pure and simple will amplify your confidence.

Growth, not glory, is the real prize.

All else—though loudly advertised—is mere dust.

Cancelo Alvarez

A Newsletter - Thoughts Triggering Thoughts

Orange Book on Twitter (X)  

True failure is not when you try and it doesn’t work out. It’s when you are young, have little to lose, yet are scared of doing something different and “risky.” You will wake up in a few decades, wondering why so many people who were not smarter than you, ended up so far ahead. — Orange Book, Twitter

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There is nothing cute about lacking self-confidence past a certain age, there is nothing impressive about getting angry all the time either, if you refuse to grow into a calm, confident, smart person, don't be surprised if you never seem to attract "good people" into your life.

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You aren't struggling because life is unfair, you are struggling because life wants you to have a taste of the enormous satisfaction that comes from being rewarded after decades of self-belief and well-directed efforts.

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Getting frequently rejected and ignored is actually healthy, it helps you stay as driven as you were when you still had everything to prove, it reminds you that no one cares until you make the effort to become a valuable person first.

 Cancelo Alvarez 

Happiness Isn’t Postponed — It’s Practiced

 

Writer and philosopher Michel de Montaigne reveals what wisdom looks like:

“The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness.”

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A written piece from one of Jim Rohn’s timeless seminars:

"The ultimate challenge of life is to take your results, take your money, and fashion for yourself a good life — with your own hands, your own ideas — like painting a masterpiece.

A good life does not happen by accident."

When I was 25, my teacher gave me two phrases that changed my life. I want to share them with you.

Here’s the first one:

“If you wish to be wealthy, study wealth.”

He gave me a whole new economic philosophy. I studied, I practiced, and I became wealthy.

Here was the second phrase he gave me:

“If you wish to be happy, study and practice the art of happy living.”

Up until then I had no concept that happiness was a study. My best hope for happiness at age 25 was just to go through the day with my fingers crossed… Hoping somehow something would make me happy.

But my teacher said:

“No! Happiness is not something you postpone.

Happiness is not something off in the future.

Happiness is something you design.

Happiness is a study.

Happiness is a practice.

Happiness is an art — it’s not an accident.”

Anyone who wants to can study and practice the art of happy living.

Start with your family. If you want a happy weekend, you’ve got to design it. You’ve got to fashion it. You’ve got to weave it — like a tapestry — with your own hands, your own ideas.

Don’t leave an important weekend to the ‘winds.’ Don’t leave a child’s birthday to the ‘winds’ and let the ‘winds blow’.

Fashion the day. Fashion the weekend.

Engage in this happy living called: Lifestyle.

Another part of it is culture.

Take an hour. Take an evening. And go soak up the music. Soak up the symphony. You gotta let these things affect you.

Happiness is like culture. Money doesn’t make you cultured.

Culture is a study. Intelligence is a study. It’s not an amount, It’s not an account. It’s a study.

Money doesn’t make you intelligent or cultured.

Only study and practice make you intelligent, only study and practice make you cultured, only study and practice make you happy, study and practice make you rich.

Key phrase:

“Don’t be lazy in learning — first, how to do well. Next, how to live well.”

Don’t be lazy in learning and practicing:

• The Art of Economics
• The Art of Productivity
• The Art of Lifestyle

My mentor taught me these things in such simple terms.

A reflection on a timeless Jim Rohn seminar.

How To Master The Art of Happiness

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I hope you enjoyed.

Cancelo Alvarez

The Invisible Advantage - A Newsletter

For more of these lines: Visit or Sign up to Shane Parish’s blog: Farnam Street Blog (Articles)

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Results are forged from invisible efforts.

That hit song? Years of practice, countless unheard tracks. The championship athlete? Countless hours of unseen training. The successful entrepreneur? Working on a Friday night, again.

The invisible advantage is choosing to do what other people could do, but don’t do. Behind every great achievement lies a long, unseen journey.

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The hard part isn’t knowing what to do; it’s doing it daily, whether you feel like it or not.

The challenge isn’t knowing you should work out; it’s putting on your shoes and running in the cold when you’d rather sit at home under a warm blanket.

The challenge isn’t determining the most important project; it’s sitting down and doing it when you’d rather browse social media.

If you’re waiting for inspiration, you’ve already lost.

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The lazy lose to the average.

The average lose to the focused.

The focused lose to the obsessed.

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Final Words:

Consistency builds ability.

Ability fuels confidence.

Confidence enhances performance.

Performance drives success.

 

Envy, Anxiety, and the Art of Refocusing

 

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said:

“All this anxious overthinking and concern about how people view me — someone said something bad about me, and you get so upset about it — is wasted time and energy.

Your only focus should be on getting better at what you’re doing. Focus on what you are doing. Get better at what you are doing. Everything else is a waste of time.”

It’s a simple but powerful idea — and it doesn’t just apply when people say things about you.

But what about the other side?

What about when you’re the one imagining or saying bad things about someone else — not because they’ve wronged you, but because their name keeps coming up in praise? Because your friends or colleagues speak highly of them? Because they’ve succeeded at something you secretly wished you had?

That, too, is wasted energy.

Envy, like anxiety, jealousy, and insecurity, is natural. It’s baked into the human experience. But just because it’s natural doesn’t mean we should feed it. The best we can do is learn how to disarm these negative, energy-draining emotions.

The trick isn’t to pretend they don’t exist, but to starve them of our attention.

We remind ourselves:

“Our focus should be on getting better at what we are doing. Concentrate on what we are doing. Practice what we are doing. Everything else is a waste of time.”

Because whether it’s fear of judgment or the quiet pull of envy, the cure is often the same:

Refocus. Return to your work. Sharpen your blade.

Cancelo Alvarez 

The Quiet Power of Gratitude

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart."

—Helen Keller

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"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."

—Kahlil Gibran

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"Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses." —Alphonse Karr

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There is strength and power in our ability to control and change our thoughts — especially when they refuse to be changed. This happens in both heartbreaking and victorious moments alike. Yet both extremes can cloud our judgment: one leads to underconfidence, the other to overconfidence. And we need not explain those further — they are self-explanatory.

In moments of stress and heartbreak, we cultivate this strength by reflecting, in quiet solitude, on all the positive things in our lives. It helps to try every method available, to truly explore all that is going well, all that is beautiful, all that is worth appreciating right now.

Go out and look at the world — and think:

“How many are in jail? How many are disabled? How many were killed by a stray bullet and didn’t make it home for dinner — with a chocolate gift in their pocket for their children?”

Think:

“How lucky I am to be alive at this moment — and what a waste of precious time it is to dwell on the little negative that just visited me.”

“Some of you say, ‘Joy is greater than sorrow,’ and others say, ‘Nay, sorrow is the greater.’
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
They come together, and when one sits with you at your table, remember that the other is resting upon your bed.”
— Kahlil Gibran (adapted from “The Prophet”) 

In both difficult and victorious times — be like a wise king: modest, grounded, and composed. For they know that life moves in cycles, like day and night, and flows in seasons, like summer and winter. It is a Law. It is a Science.

The brave-hearted embrace it — with open hands, steady hearts, and eyes that see beyond the present season.

Cancelo Alvarez

The Luckier You Are The Nicer You Should Be

By Morgan Housel and Orange Book

Nothing too good or too bad stays that way forever, because great times plant the seeds of their own destruction through complacency and too much risk, and bad times plant the seeds of their own turn-around through opportunity and panic-driven problem-solving. 

Life moves in cycles.

But we treat risk and luck very differently: We notice risk and uncertainty right away and want them gone fast. But when luck arrives, we act like it’ll stay forever. This shows up in investing and in life:

When the market or our portfolio losses money, we look for someone to blame.

When it rises, we credit our own intelligence and game-plan.

Maybe the best way to stay grounded is simple:

• The luckier you are, the nicer you should be.
• The more successful you are, the nicer you should be.
• The better life treats you, the kinder you should become.

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Orange Book — On the Beauty of the Climb

People want to get rich immediately. 

They want to meet the perfect partner, get fit, become wise—now.

But the truth is, it’s easy to feel lost and even depressed once you’ve reached every goal.

Be grateful you still have work to do.

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Let this remind you:

Success is a cycle, not a finish line.

The journey—full of uncertainty, effort, and growth—is the reward.

And if you’re lucky enough to be doing well, don’t forget to be kind.

Your Actions Are Votes — Choose Wisely

 

Today's Article

“The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of life is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The beauty of life is to give.”
— Happier Lives

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On Persistence — Susan Sontag

“It never occurred to me that I couldn’t live the life I wanted to lead. It never occurred to me that I could be stopped…
I had this very simple view: that the reason people who start out with ideals or aspirations don’t do what they dream of doing when they’re young is because they quit.
I thought, well, I won’t quit.”

What a powerful reminder from Sontag: many people don’t fail because they’re incapable — they simply stop. They surrender their ideals too early. Her words challenge us to persist, even when it’s hard, even when it’s inconvenient, even when we’re uncertain. Just don’t quit.

As Jim Rohn put it, “The real value of setting goals is not in their achievement, but in who you become in the process.”
The pursuit shapes you — and that’s the deeper reward.

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On Identity — James Clear, Atomic Habits

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

Let that sink in.

Think of it this way: every vote a citizen casts helps shape the leadership of their country — at least, that’s how democracy is meant to work. Similarly, in our personal lives, every choice we make is a vote for the kind of person we’re becoming.

Here are just a few examples of those personal “votes”:

• The time you choose to go to sleep.

• The first thing you do when you wake up.

• The dinner you choose to eat.

• The friend you decide to visit on the weekend.

• The movie you watch, the course you postpone, the book you pick up — or don’t.

Each one might seem small, but over time, they stack up and shape your identity — and eventually, your reputation in society.

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Final Thought

You are becoming someone every day. Make sure your votes are going toward a future self you’re proud of.

The Seasons of the Mind

 

    "Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must." — J.W. Goethe

Endurance — the ability to experience an unpleasant or difficult situation without losing yourself.

Some years you win,

Some years you build character. — Steve Jobs

You will know that you are enjoying when your heart is positively eager, curious, and excited about the future — maybe after a compliment, a profit, or a promotion. These feelings encourage you to see the beauty in life, the necessity of being alive, and the unique opportunity to experience it all.

Your endurance will be most required when your self-image or beliefs are proven fragile or misinformed. Feelings of dejection, hopelessness, and frustration chase each other around your mind in search of existential answers.

But again — what did you expect?

This is life: a rare, miraculous, once-off experience on a planet revolving around gigantic stars and galaxies. Governed, as it seems, by nothing but time, space, and silence.

Continually remind yourself, therefore, that it is not your job to control everything or create magic that works only in your favor — but rather, to open your heart and mind to the experience. Smile often. Serve humanity. Sleep peacefully.

Because we are all destined to return to the silence from which we came — and that’s not tragedy, it’s clarity.

“Look around for some enduring good instead. And nothing answers this description except what the spirit discovers for itself within itself. A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.” — Lucius Seneca

And while you're here, understand and appreciate these words by Kahlil Gibran:

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain…

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

In the end, it is not about avoiding the seasons — but learning to move through them with wonder.

— Cancelo Alvarez

The Price Tag of Success

 

Everyone dreams big until they see the price tag.

But to really progress in your goals, you must develop a taste for saltwater.

"You see, most people mistake discomfort as a signal to stop and quit; the great ones see it as evidence they’re on the right track. Excellence is just pain tolerance disguised as genius. The real advantage isn’t talent — it’s cultivating a perverse appreciation for the discomfort others instinctively avoid."
— Shane Parrish

Orange Book on Twitter echoes this mindset:

There is no stress-free life. There are only people who appear to be stress-free because they are constantly investing in themselves in order to become a person who can handle any situation with calm.

Everyone dreams big until they see the price tag.

Until they face the quiet assassin: their own laziness.
Until they face the louder demon: their self-doubt.

But let us close this article with these obvious words:

You don’t have talent?
You don’t have connections?
You don’t have qualifications?
There’s still a solution within your control: wake up earlier.

— Cancelo Alvarez