Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life?

Small town in New Hampshire. It made me appreciate an idyllic American life, and as the years have gone by I appreciate simplicity a lot more. This has extended to how I create products too… simple is the best. There doesn’t need to be all this glamour or sophistication with life and products. We can make simple, beautiful things that just work. Like Apple!

What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?

Start a business. Everyone should start businesses when they’re younger, especially when they have low costs and no obligations. I wish I had started businesses right after college instead of following a “traditional” job path at first. The people who start businesses earlier may fail with their earlier businesses, but they’ll eventually find success and because they started younger it’ll come much earlier compared to most people.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?

Basically everything. Most marketing blog posts or posts about how to build successful companies are written by people who have never done it themselves. If you’re reading info about marketing or creating a business, look at the author and research them before you take action. Make sure they’ve actually done it themselves. There are things that SOUND good, but don’t actually work in reality. Trust only the people who have walked the path before.

Tell me about one of the darker periods you’ve experienced in life. How you came out of it and what you learned from it?

In 2013 I moved to San Diego and it took me nine months to find a job. I was living on a shoestring budget to make sure I could afford living expenses and came very close to moving back to the northeast multiple times. The biggest lesson is: Sometimes there’s no lesson. Occasionally, life just sucks and we have to fight through it. 

What is one thing that you do that you feel has been the biggest contributor to your success so far?

Work ethic. Do something long enough, and you’ll eventually figure it out. I always feel like I’m not the most skilled, or the most intelligent, but I will simply do something for longer than almost anyone else until I’m successful. Not giving up has been a blessing in many ways, but it also comes with its downsides.

What is your morning routine?

I don’t have a consistent routine nowadays. I get up somewhere between 6:30 and 8 am depending on the day. I start the day by relaxing, watching some YouTube videos to learn different things or hear interesting learnings, and then get into work.

What habit or behavior that you have pursued for a few years has most improved your life?

Meditation. 30 minutes of meditation typically 2-4x per week has had a massive impact on my life. And, reading fiction books at night. It’s great to curl into an enjoyable book and I like pushing my imagination.

What are your strategies for being productive and using your time most efficiently?

Limit distractions by just not having them around. Similar to how the best way to be healthy is to just not keep junk food in the house, limit all the apps, products, toys you’re buying, and instead invest it into either creating businesses, furthering your education, helping people in need, or saving for retirement.

What book(s) have influenced your life the most? Why?

I think the emphasis on “read, read, read” is overblown. It is important to read and to learn, but all the theoretical knowledge in the world doesn’t matter if it’s not applied. Nowadays, I read less because I’m always experimenting first-hand — and talking to friends to hear about their experiments that I can try myself.

But that’s not to say you shouldn’t read at all. Reading can be really helpful, it’s just a matter of managing expectations of what we’re reading and not getting carried away instead of actually DOING.

Here are the 3 books that changed my life:

4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. I read this while in London in 2009 on a study abroad program. I vividly remember reading this book in the park every day and taking copious notes. This book completely changed the way I think about success, building a career, and being happy.

I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi. The definitive guide on creating a financial system that works for you. 10+ years later this is still the financial system I use to this day even though my income and sources of income have changed significantly. The methodologies Ramit mentioned in this book can scale with you for the rest of your life.

Power vs. Force by David Hawkins. A more spiritual book that made me re-examine my way of living.

Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself” and “the zen you bring to the top of the mountain is the zen you have with you” are two that I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently.

With so many people — myself included — unable to distract themselves with things to do during COVID, we’re all forced to really examine our thoughts. And I’m realizing the importance of being happy.