I grew up a gamer.

I played my first video game on a buttoned phone at age 2 and never looked back for 2 decades.

As time passed, I took my skills to bigger stages — smartphones, tablets, PCs, and consoles.

And not long after, I couldn’t stop myself.

Gaming was all I thought about. In class, between #2’s, and even in my dreams. So I shrunk the gap between thinking about gaming and gaming by sneaking a device into class, bathroom breaks, and bedtime. Of course, my mental, physical, and spiritual health declined because of this. But I kept mouthing “one more game” and ruining my real life for my virtual one.

It took many months of detox to break my gaming addiction, but today I’m more fulfilled thanks to it.

I rarely play video games like before because pursuing my purpose is way more exciting than pixelated quests. But I’ll never forget the lessons video games taught me.

For starters, video games are beloved because they give us something we all know and love, but lack; clarity.

At any point during play, players know their health status, inventory stock, exp points, tasks, missions, and more.

But the real world doesn’t have this.

Life doesn’t even come with a tutorial mode.

Sure, there’s culture and religion. But since some of us didn’t understand the culture and religion we were assigned from birth, it’s not as effective as it once was.

And between ages 5 - 8, when we try to uncover our authentic selves by stepping into the unknown and trying new things — a process called individuation — we’re pulled back, scolded, and indoctrinated into the default path.

• Go to school.

• Graduate University with maximum honours.

• Get a high-paying job (regardless of if you like it).

• Settle down, marry, and have kids.

• Retire at 65 and start enjoying your life.

• Die.

• Reincarnate (maybe) and repeat this unfulfilling cycle.

I was no special case.

I attended school, graduated high school without knowing who I was or what I wanted to do, and believed University was the answer to my uncertainties. 

2 years later, I realised I was wrong. University soiled rather than clarified my purpose and programmed me for 40 years of unfulfilling corporate work. So I ended my “education” and started pursuing my genuine curiosities.

And for the first time, I was free.

I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, where I wanted, how I wanted, with whom I wanted, and if I wanted.

However, this path isn’t all sunshine and rainbows like most solopreneurs make it sound.

It is as exciting as it is frightening.

But I only felt fear because I was uncertain about my purpose.

I couldn’t reach out to my parents because they weren’t like-minded, open-minded, or aware that I quit University until I told them 9 months later. (PS: I don’t recommend anyone keeps a secret so huge for so long.)

So I fired up YouTube, Twitter, Udemy, and any other knowledge stronghold in search of “life advice.”

And while hunting to solve one problem — “I don’t know what to do“ — I created a second, bigger problem; “I don’t know what to follow”.

*searches how to make money online*

Creator 1: “I made $1,000 watching videos online. Here’s how.”

Creator 2: “Forex Trading!”

Creator 3: “Get my affiliate marketing course @ $99 to make $9999 in 60 days.”

Creator 4: “Dropshipping on TikTok is like Facebook in 2005. This is the easiest path to $10,000 months. Grab my course now!”

*searches how to build an audience on X (then called twitter)*

Creator 1: “Send more replies and DMs, bro.“

Creator 2: “DMs are spammy. Write more threads. Here’s how:”

Creator 3: “Don’t write threads. They take hours to create and may not pop. Use my viral tweet framework instead.”

Creator 4: “Spaces are the new oil! You reach more people and build a deeper connection with them! How to host spaces with 10,000+ listeners.”

*searches how long should I work daily*

Dan Koe: “4 hours“

Alex and Leila Hormozi: “14 hours“

And then, that guy who somehow defied the laws of time and space: “27 hours“

In minutes, I went from ignorant to indecisive.

After weeks of this consumption chaos, I felt a growing negative pressure in my head.

This was no ordinary headache. We’ve all felt it — that miserable feeling you get when you learn something life-changing and don’t change your life accordingly. The new information then becomes a weed, lingering between your ears and making you feel pathetic for knowing and not doing.

This is tutorial hell.

We’ve all been there. But most never leave.

Luckily, after 2 years under the Data Devil’s spell, I figured out the code and escaped.

Today, I have crystal clarity on who I am, who I want to be, and how I’m going to bridge the gap. And everything I learn online solidifies, rather than scrambles, my vision.

You see, I thought video games and real life were different. But I was wrong. Again. Like video games, life is simple when you understand the rules and hard when you don’t. 

The only difference is the experience of gaining experience.

In video games, exploring new locations, mastering skills, and levelling up are exciting. Whereas in real life, it’s all excruciating.

In real life, the pain of growth and the risk associated is real and sometimes irreversible, making it a much harder game.

But still a game.

And a game with much bigger pay-offs.

That’s why I spearheaded the movement of getting paid to play.

But before you get paid to play, you need to learn how to play.

Before you learn how to play, you need to learn the rules.

Before you learn the rules, you need the principles.

Today, I’ll uncover the principles and show you how to create your own rules with them. Because in life, there is no rule; no one-size-fits-all solution.

This letter won’t change your life. But it will change how you think — and that will change your life.

Our first stop: Understanding the bug in this game.

My first 4 months as an online writer were depressing. I didn’t know what to do, and the overwhelm caused by the contradicting “advice“ online didn’t help.

But I ended that year with 50,000+ followers and almost $10,000.

How?

• Clear goals and a path to them

• Understanding the principles of audience growth and monetisation

• And guidance from someone ahead of the game

I recently opened 1:1 coaching slots to guide you to your first 5,000 followers and $5,000 online. If that interests you, click here to work with me.

Celebrity Worship — The plague

I’m a Virgo — serene, practical, logical, structured, and perfectionistic.

I have a bunch of Libra friends — those obsessed with equality.

Despite my birthday being right before Libra begins (September 22), I am nothing remotely like a Libra.

Libras are delusional lol.

Equality is a myth.

Yes, spiritually, all life is just as valuable because Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross for us all. But equality doesn’t exist in this earthly realm.

Every ecosystem has a hierarchy.

In the Jungle, there are alphas and betas.

In society, there are those with money, fame, and power, and those who consciously or subconsciously wish they did. We don’t need those things to be fulfilled, but we need them to see another day.

(Going forward, I’ll describe those with money, fame, and power as celebrities. It’s not the best word, but you get the idea.)

Since most people aren’t celebrities, they do whatever it takes to associate themselves with those “above them”. They buy their products, ask for selfies and autographs, stalk them, and listen to their every word.

In summary, the masses worship celebrities.

This makes sense.

Humans need to believe in someone, something, or some being to feel whole. Our body is designed to surrender, not to be sovereign. That’s why we feel good when we praise and uncomfortable when we are praised. So we look up to any entity that is where we want to be and similar to us — in looks, experiences, interests, values, etc. Bonus points if they want to help us and have helped others like us recently to get to their dream destination.

That’s why God in the form of Jesus passed his message more effectively than in his omni-everything form. The masses connected to him because he was relatable, not untouchable.

But since Jesus went to be with the Lord 1000s of years ago, who do you think most people started listening to — considering we pay more attention to the here-and-now than tradition?

Celebrities.

This is a problem.

Unlike Jesus, celebrities are human.

They may look the same, but one can guide you to salvation and the other can’t.

Regardless of how the media promotes celebrities, these “megastars” breathe air, make mistakes, can’t control time and space, and don’t have their entire life figured out.

But still, many listen to their every word as their parents, schools, and the government trained them to — to take external perspectives as law and never think for themselves.

This is the modern-day enslavement — mental, not physical.

When you read a book, you don’t just read words. You consume them; ingest them; become one with them. It’s kinda like sex. Intellectual intercourse. Or like Dan Koe calls it; mental impregnation.

When you repeatedly consume someone’s content, you subtly start worshipping them.

• You show up whenever they upload.

• You buy their products.

• You say nice things about them to your friends and family.

• You destroy anyone who slanders them.

• You tell everyone whenever they engage with you — on or offline.

None of these are necessarily wrong.

Learning from others gives us a heads-up on what’s ahead, confirms our suspicions, validates us, allays our fears, and teaches us the principles to succeed. It’s a legal growth hack.

But it becomes a problem when we inhale a worldview as the worldview.

Most people are miserable today because they’ve delegated their reasoning abilities to celebrities.

They listen to their every word without question and become a clone of their idol instead of their authentic self.

This reminds me of an interview with the rapper Lil’ Wayne years ago. His interviewer kept highlighting Wayne’s recent arrest for drug possession, expecting him to be remorseful. He wasn’t. Enraged, the interviewer finally asked him, “But what do you say to all the young people who look up to you to know how to live their own lives?”

Wayne responded, “Man, if you need a rapper to tell you how to live, then maybe you ain’t really livin’ at all.”

Or something recent like Hamza Ahmed — the self-improvement YouTuber with 2M+ subscribers who was recently criticised for “bad dating advice” because after making many videos teaching men how to build romantic relationships, he broke up with his girlfriend. His “fans“ filled his comments with replies saying they looked up to him and he let them down. He let them down for… not being perfect? This needs a Lil’ Wayne remix.

“Bro, if you need an unmarried 26-year-old to tell you how to find a life partner, then maybe you ain’t really livin’ at all.“

“So, Francis, who should I listen to?“

Yourself.

The only one who can advise you is you.

You are a physiological commodity, but a spiritual rarity.

No one in the history of humanity has had your unique combination of genes, experiences, perspectives, likes, dislikes, curiosities and capacities, kinks, fingerprints, personality type, brain type, zodiac signs, human design, and more.

You actually are special.

This is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing: you get first dibs on being you.

The curse: you don’t know what to do or who to ask because you’re scaling uncharted territory.

This uncertainty sucks, and most people do anything and everything to escape. Popping pills, seeking therapy, numbing their mind with entertainment, and taking life advice from people who don’t have their life.

To be exceptional means to be an exception.

And this is your goal, right?

You want to go where no one ever has to get what no one ever will, right?

So if you’re lost, good.

Uncertainty is a certainty on the road to genuine greatness.

The feeling of not knowing what you’re doing is the price of being someone who has never lived before — your authentic self.

Uncertainty feels like hell, but what’s on the other side feels like heaven.

And it’s certainty most people seek, which makes them unknowingly sabotage their authenticity.

Content creation is self-education packaged for public consumption.

The creator creates for their younger self — the inexistent avatar they are most suited to help. Then, they upload it and you think it’s advice. 

It’s not.

It’s an opinion, not an order. 

It’s an idea, not an instruction.

It’s a perspective, not a prescription.

So take what people say online, including me, at literal face value. Consume it, ruminate over it, and create your own way of doing things.

Do not take it as advice.

The only person who can advise you is you.

Mama may know what’s best for you to survive, but only you know what’s best for you to thrive.

You are the only one with a complete understanding of your situation and aligned incentives.

So take your own advice. If you don’t, you’ll have to take it from someone else.

If someone can tell you what to do, they can tell others and then you’re screwed.

When you have another problem, don’t go online first. Instead, do this:

• Sit

• Pull out a notebook or Google Doc

• Have a conversation with your higher self on how to solve it

• Based on your conclusions, take action

• Then, keep experimenting until you get what you want and repeat

Now, if you have no clue how to solve your current problem, use this 5-step framework:

Step 1: Listen to everything

Pay attention to 3 people you like, 3 people you want to be like, and 3 people you don’t like or want to be like.

This will give you an objective overview.

Don’t hunt for tactics; instead, look for patterns.

Do you notice any consistencies?? If you do, bingo! That’s a principle you can use to create your own way of doing things.

This process will be difficult, but it’s worth the blood, sweat, and tears.

Step 2: Trust nothing

Don’t just keep your eyes open. Keep your mind open, too.

Slapping a label like “good“ or “bad“ on something limits your experience. You need to f-word around to find out because the grass may truly be greener on the other side. Life is too short to shorten your potential experiences. Replace judgment with curiosity.

(This swippity-swap makes you a better thinker, listener, and human being.)

Step 3: Test everything

Most people hate experimenting because there’s a certain possibility of failure.

But failure is needed for success.

Pain is the price for gains.

The best mental model I’ve found to embrace failure so I can succeed is to stop aiming for success. I take small steps that align with my values, stay present in the process, and succeed without trying to. I’d need a whole letter to explain this method to you, so stay tuned.

You can only know by not knowing first. So make a ton of mistakes, learn from each one, and scale.

Step 4: Stick to what works for you

Once you find what works for you, stick to it, but always be ready to lose it because….

Step 5: Swap it when you find a better method

To evolve means to kill the old self and its corresponding elements.

Holding tight to something is the literal definition of close-mindedness.

If you find something better — aka easier, faster, cheaper, or a combination — swap your current philosophy.

I’ve used this framework repeatedly, and it’s the very foundation of my existence.

The word “educate” originated from the Latin word “educere“ now known as “educe“ meaning “to bring out.“ The modern education system doesn’t live up to its name. It doesn’t educe, it induces.

This is the true education process.

It’ll be uncomfortable, but you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, right?

I hope this philosophy helps you crush the game of Life.

But remember, the words you’ve read aren’t advice.

— Francis

PS: If you want to build an audience online and get paid to practically play, work with me 1:1.

PPS: I just launched a podcast. Listen, follow, and rate the show (if you like it).