5 Truths I Live By (2025)

Five Truths I live by life by (2025)

Dear younger self,

Every January, the same exact play. ''New Year, New Me.'' By end of February, ''same old, same old''. But this year, this year I told myself enough is enough. It was time for a change. A change so big that even my parents wouldn't recognise who I would become.

We will go through what instigated this want for change on another blogpost, but for now, here are my 5 truths I live my life by in 2025, growing out of a ''people pleaser'' and turning into a people's leader.

• You are your Priority.

''You can't pour from an empty bucket''. Make sure you fill your own bucket first. Why is that important? Because, everybody asks you for things since the moment you wake up. So, in order to give them what they want, you need to make sure you have something to give! So, prioritise yourself!

• Start the day with You!

This second truth completes the first one. If you are your priority, then every day needs to start with you. Start the day with something that is designed to fill your bucket! This can be a morning workout, reading some personal development book, even just drinking your coffee in a quiet place connecting with yourself and the Creator. It doesn't matter what it is, just make sure it is designed to fill your own bucket first.

• Systems over Motivation

Real & Lasting transformation isn’t born from bursts of motivation — it comes from what you do when no one’s watching. As Leila Hormozi often says, motivation is unreliable, but systems and habits are, because they create consistency. Dr. Robert Cialdini's quote, in his classic book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, his quote is often paraphrased as ''“Humans have a deep desire to be consistent with who they say they are''. And in order to stay consistent with who you say you are, you need to act accordingly with that! And you don't do that, only when you feel inspired. In fact, you don’t need to feel inspired to show up — you need a structure that makes showing up inevitable.

• Do what you have to do

This might be controversial for a lot of people. Have you heard the quote ''listen to your body''? If you are a gym rat, this quote is overly spread at the gyms. And this is also a quote that I've caught repeating to myself for many years. The thing is that when I listen to my body, my body wants me to sit on the couch, watch series and eat crisps. It gives me no motivation to go out for a run or wake up early to go to the gym. So I had to completely flipped the script in my mind. Put together a solid plan and execute regardless how I'm feeling at the time. I had to repeat myself ''Vag, do what you have to do''.

• Environment over everything

Jim Rohn, legendary personal development speaker, famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” He believed that your environment doesn’t just influence you — it shapes your mindset, habits, and even your income. For me, the environment has the ability to shape who you become. It isn't by chance that most of the successful tech start -ups once started in Silicon Valley. That's because, the people around you quietly set the bar for what you consider standard. If you want to change your life, start by changing your circle.

These are the 5 truths that I've built my life upon since the day I decided to take control of my life. Maybe all of them resonate with you, maybe none of them do. But, if some of them do, do this! Take the one that mostly resonates with you, write it on a piece of paper, hang it on the wall opposite your bed and look at it when you wake up and before you go to bed. You will be surprised what this little trick can do to you and your decision making process, day in, day out.

Much love & respect,

Vag