50 Things I Know
What I've learned that have made my life better
Special.
Last week, I celebrated my 30th birthday. It was so nice to spend time with my wife and our friends. We drove to a magnificent manor in the Cotswolds; it was just outstanding. We ate great food, spent time in nature, and played tennis. I will remember this for sure.
So, for my 30th birthday, I wanted to make this newsletter special - one about 50 things I know that can relate to you.
The world is a far more complex and impenetrable place than I had ever realized, with a lot of closed "doors" for you.
There are many doors and many different keys. I've found a few of them. Honesty is the key to everything. It can be uncomfortable, but eventually, this discomfort pays off.
Genius and curiosity almost open every door.
There is nothing you cannot negotiate. This is applicable to EVERYTHING - hotels, taxis, fines, emails, phone conversations. Think about it. It's just worth a shot trying and finding the right words.
The right words can help you. They can explain better, they can bear the results you're betting on. Be creative with it.
To get to $1B requires a lot of luck, more than any skill or any profession.
To get to $10M is just hard work and time, no other secret out there.
Consistency is another key to success. It practically doesn't matter what you do, but if you are consistent you are getting the results. If you are doing day over day, month over month, year over year the same thing, I can bet on this - you will be more than successful even with things you don't even like.
The ultimate weapon is consistency fueled by work, hobbies, or anything else you like. Combining these two brings just astonishing value.
Work-life balance is a lie. There is another key behind - responsibility. You manage your life in a way, you decide what you're doing, what are you committing to, and you calibrate your "work-life balance" with responsibilities you take.
Community of your people. People that surround you matter more than the country you are living in. With the right people you can achieve more and get less anxiety down the road.
You are not alone in what you are doing. Everyone struggles.
Risk is a fun and interesting key to use. But be ready to work with consequences.
Find your natural talents. I started to dive into it only close to my 30s and I got surprised that I have hyperflexibility with my joints and can be or meant to be a good dancer or gymnast (not a founder lol).
Love is not something you hunt for - it's something that finds you.
Money should be thrown to the fair wind.
Money doesn't matter. Only your perception does.
The world is unfair and cruel, but positive mental attitude is my personal key to get over it.
Positivity opens hearts.
Bootstrapping is cool until you realize that this is the most difficult way to create something.
Hobbies. I have plenty of hobbies and the way I approach them is always fully equipped. We have a short life and I want to try as many activities as I can with the best way to do it. To create fun, to create this hobby for me.
The frontier of tech shifts constantly, but most people don't notice it. What's overlooked is that being early doesn't guarantee success - you need to build what no search result can show you.
AI won't replace you, but someone using AI will. The real competitive advantage isn't knowing one tool deeply - it's orchestrating multiple tools across domains.
Speed is the ultimate currency in modern entrepreneurship. While others plan for months, build proof-of-concepts in days.
Every generation thinks they invented struggle. Truth is, the game changes but the fundamentals don't - persistence, adaptation, and knowing when to pivot.
Your first idea is rarely your best idea. But your tenth iteration of that first idea might be gold.
Sleep is the currency you spend. To be in “Avatar mode,” for example, requires a lot of currency that you need to recover on weekends, vacations, or days off. If you neglect recovery, the debts you owe your body will hit you hard. Managing energy beats managing time. You can have all the time in the world, but without energy, you're just burning daylight.
Sub-agents and delegation apply to AI just like they do to teams. Stop trying to make one AI do everything - orchestrate.
The best time to start was yesterday. The second-best time is now. The worst time is "when everything's perfect."
Most advice is autobiographical. When someone tells you what works, they're telling you what worked for them, in their context, at their time.
Learn from others.
The gap between GPT-1 and GPT-5 isn't just technical - it's philosophical. We went from outputs to framing, from answers to understanding.
Complexity is easy. Simplicity is hard. But simplicity scales while complexity breaks.
Your network isn't just who you know - it's who trusts you to deliver. One person who believes in you is worth a hundred of your connections and followers.
Pattern recognition across industries is an undervalued skill. The solution to your problem probably already exists in a different domain.
Comfort is the enemy of growth, but constant discomfort is the enemy of sustainability. Choose between the two.
Most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a decade.
The best business model is the one that lets you sleep at night. Revenue without peace of mind is expensive money.
Writing forces clarity. If you can't write it clearly, you don't understand it fully.
Everyone's fighting a battle you know nothing about. Default to kindness, but don't mistake kindness for weakness.
Frameworks are training wheels. Use them to learn, then develop your own approach.
The cost of inaction is usually higher than the cost of imperfect action. But nobody invoices you for opportunities missed.
Success is rented, not owned. And the rent is due every day.
Your beliefs should be testable hypotheses. Hold them lightly enough to update when evidence changes, firmly enough to act on them today.
The future is already here - it's just not evenly distributed. Position yourself at the intersection of what's coming and what's needed.
Most breakthrough moments come disguised as ordinary Tuesdays. Show up especially when it feels pointless.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast, but vision sets the menu. You need all three, but in that order.
The hardest problems often have simple solutions that require complex execution. Don't confuse simple with easy.
They said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. But having a plan means you know what you're deviating from.
Your thirties aren't your twenties with more money. They're your twenties with more data.
If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. Life is short, but it's the longest thing you'll ever do. Make it count, but don't forget to enjoy the tennis matches along the way.
This edition was inspired by 30 Lessons Learned in 30 Years, 50 Things I Know, and 100 Things I Know. Sometimes the best insights come from looking at what others have learned and finding your own truth within.
Thank for being with me.
Vlad
Happy (slightly) belated 30th, Vlad 🎉
Wishing you fair winds and smooth sailing in the years ahead.😊
I really enjoyed your 50 Things, especially point 7 on consistency. That one hit home, as it’s something I’ve always wrestled with. Your words were the reminder I needed to keep showing up.
Thanks for sharing such genuine insights. Keep going, the world could use more of that energy. 🎨