Reader, Happy Sunday.

As I’ve ventured on this journey of sharing my ideas online, creating artistic content and building a community that aligns with it all… I realised that my story wasn’t exactly plastered on billboards for everyone to see.

I get asked constantly about how I got to where I am now, and although I’ve never hidden it, I think it’s time I share a little more about the man behind the loop.

By the way, it's flattering to receive so many messages of support and curiosity too, I can’t respond to all of them but just know the energy is appreciated deeply.

At the time of writing this, I am counting my blessings.

Sometimes, you’re so caught up in chasing the next thing, that you don’t realise you’re in the middle of what you used to pray for, you know?

When I stop to audit my life, as of now, I get to build out ideas and create Art that is really just an extension of me online, and attract like-minded people, opportunities, and brand deals in the process…

I get to travel to new countries, write from beautiful locations, film with high-profile guests and more ↓

Life feels full again.

Full of Purpose
Full of Authenticity
Full of Connection

I’ve kept a note on my iPhone since 2018 and it serves as a mission statement:

”Raise the collective consciousness through your entertainment.”

And above my bed I keep a post-it note (so I see it when I Rise and Sleep):

I know, given enough time and effort, this vision is crystallizing in the material world.

I feel excited to work and build because it’s all in the service of something greater than me.

But it wasn’t always like this…

Look, I’ve been doing this for a decade now. And by “this” I mean, forging my own path, not conforming to the norm, and brute forcing my way forward despite what logic would say to do…

There have been plenty of times you enter what James Clear calls “the valley of disappointment”

Take 2019 for example - I was on my last amount of funds, after a tough year of freelancing jumping from client to client, grabbing hold of any odd job to make ends meet…

On a whim, I used my remaining amount of student loans to fly to Bali from London (a calculated risk?)

On the 19-hour flight there I did a lot of reflecting (there’s something about planes and being that close to the heavens that helps you have epiphanies I guess…) I thought, by age 20 I was supposed to have it all figured out.

I reflected on my progress and direction in life.

Lost in the depths of my consciousness, I felt heavy, and it didn’t help that my age mates were all flying with their careers or businesses every time I opened Instagram...

A few days into the trip, after the initial dopamine wore off, I felt emotionally, financially and physically burnt out.

This meant I continued my bad habits of late nights, later mornings, and wasting time so I didn’t have to face reality.

Sometimes, I would even spend 3-4 hours in the gym to feel productive, when truthfully, that was just another form of escapism.

8 days into the trip, getting back in the early hours of the morning, my friends went into their rooms and called it a night.

I came back out shortly after they fell asleep, walked over to the sunbeds, sat in a lotus position by the illuminated pool, and just tried to listen to the birds chirping, trees swaying in the breeze, and focus on the moonlight subtly glimmering in the ripples of the water.

Meditating and occasionally opening my eyes to stare out into the Indonesian night sky, catching a glimpse of the brighter-than-usual stars, I set my intention and prayed that my next steps would be made clear that year…

You see, I always had these vivid dreams of being someone when I was young, and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that I wasn’t there yet, or worse, that I was never going to get there.

The F.T.E

M.J Demarco (author) says everyone has an F.T.E. - a “f*ck this event” - a point in time in which you’ve had enough, enough to propel you forward into action.

That night in Bali was mine.

I’m not sure if it was the energy of the full moon or that I finally was made conscious of my own self-sabotaging rituals, but something changed.

Movement creates more winners than meditation.

I had heard this phrase some time ago and it always stuck with me. You cannot think your way out of a rut. That’s like trying to sniff your way out of a cocaine problem.

I immediately made a plan.

I knew it wasn’t about the business model, the career or the place you live. Although they all play a role in “success”.

I understood that outer reality is just a reflection of the inner. So, using logic, I thought: I must fix myself first, and the rest will come with time.

And that’s exactly what I did. Slowly but surely, the nights got earlier, the time spent was more intentional, and the self-examination was deeper than it had ever been.

I was fortunate enough to have built a great network by that point so I had entrepreneurs to look to to tell me “Focus on the basics, Milan.” and so I did.

I spent most of my time around those I wanted to be like. I unconsciously picked up their habits (good and bad) like working at a certain time, rising at a certain time, creating structure in my day, skill stacking, training, picking a business model and sticking to it, and iterating 10,000 times over.

And in under 18 months, I had my first Million Dollar Business. There are no coincidences.

Reflecting on this, and asking myself, what was the catalyst? how can I repeat this?

The answer was clear - it was the process of mastering the self.

Every good thing is downstream of mastery. (which is why I harp on about it so much…)

Reflections

I’ll be transparent with you - I’m not saying self-mastery is your golden lotto ticket to an easy life. Far from it.

Nor am I saying Money is the answer to your problems, it was just an example.

The problems in your life will continue to arise. Since 2019 I have had a handful more of F.T.E’s, downward spirals, career changes and more.
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In fact, that same business later crashed and burned.

But that’s the point, if you’re evolving, you will constantly ride this pendulum.

If you want stability, stop reading this, and go and indulge in the illusion of a secure mainstream path.
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(spoiler: It’s no more secure than hiding a spare key under the ‘secret’ rock everyone knows about)

If you can acknowledge that there will always be problems, and life is a series of solving problems in a sequence, but you can do it whilst remaining positive, you will win.

Cynics get to be “right” because they are on the sidelines, and hardly in the arena. However, the optimists will create the courage to enter the arena and take risks despite failure.

The life hack is - being able to withstand any amount of short-term problems, so you are around long enough to enjoy the long-term growth.

I like what Tim Cook once said about Apple:

With the foundation of mastery, you are no longer taken by the winds, but you get to control your own fate. Your emotional regulation helps you show up despite how you feel.

I reflect on this often. What seems like second nature to me now in my routine, is foreign to others, and that’s the fundamental difference.

My focus on mastery acts as a catalyst to unlock all other areas of success in my life, and the same is true for any elite performer you can think of.

Anyone who has sustained success, and feels fulfilled in the process, has an underlying focus on self-mastery.

So, Reader, as you enter this new week, try and reflect on what I’ve shared here…ask yourself

what is the level of my training?
what are the needle-moving tasks in my life?
how do I feel after wasting a day?
how do I feel after making the most of a day?
what are the choices I make on each of those days?

Take an hour to self-examine, to plan, to act before the F.T.E. arrives.

You have infinite potential within you, but the webs of programming, limiting beliefs and projections of others lie in the way.

Grab a hammer and start chipping away.

And please, if this resonated, and you read all the way through to the end here, send me a reply or a DM on what you thought, what you connected with, and if you’ve felt a similar way before.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time,

Milan
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