Hey 👋
This newsletter is for independent creators, expression-minded solopreneurs, and makers who want to build meaningful work without losing heart in the process.
This one is different.
Today is my 31st birthday. And this is newsletter #33 (Jesus age!).
That means for more than 8 months, every Sunday at 10am Polish time, new newsletter went out. Rain or shine, good week or rough one. It just kept going.
70-80 people read this every week (I'm saying about opening rate, not how many subscribers I have). I know that's not a big number by most standards. But honestly? It feels huge to me. Thank you for being here.
My wins this year aren't spectacular. No big launch, no viral moment, no number that makes a great headline. Just steps. Small ones, sometimes barely visible. But looking back from 31 - they add up. They really do.
A few years ago, I couldn't have imagined being exactly where I am right now. It's not perfect. I want more, I always will. But it's good. Actually, it's really good.
I switched this newsletter to English a couple of issues ago. If you're still reading - thank you. That means something to me.
This week, instead of the usual format, I wrote 31 things I know at 31. Reflections and my lessons. One for each year. Some are big, some are small. All of them are real.
Let's go.
🧠 31 things I know at 31.
1. 5 years ago, past version of me would've wanted this. Cebu, Philippines. I'm 31 today. The version of me from five years ago would've wanted exactly this life.
2. "It's not enough" - and that's also beautiful. There's always something next. That used to feel like a problem. Now I think it's just what it means to be alive and wanting things.
3. Having the desire to act is a gift. I look at people around me - some with real financial security - and what strikes me is how rare actual desire is. Not everyone has the hunger to build. If you have it, don't take it for granted.
4. Focus and flow are the king. Everything else is secondary. Tools, routines, habits. Two hours of real focus beats eight hours of noise. That's the whole secret.
5. My energy - I don't want to quiet it. A few months ago I decided to stop taking methylphenidate (for adhd). One reason: I don't want to suppress something that's actually mine and very precious - my energy.
6. Suffering exists on every path. Choosing safety doesn't remove discomfort. It just changes what kind of. More and more I'd pick the struggle that comes with building.
7. Follow your bliss. Follow your curiosity. Follow the flow. This has always mattered. As AI takes over more of the functional work, following what genuinely excites you will be the only real advantage worth having.
8. Technology and heart are not opposites. The most meaningful things required both. I stopped treating them as separate departments.
9. Digital skills equal freedom. Not metaphorically. You can work from anywhere, for anyone, on your own terms.
10. People everywhere are more similar than different. Traveling across Vietnam, the Philippines, Asia - you keep seeing the same thing. Good hearts are the default, not the exception.
11. "This is who I am. Period." At some point you stop editing yourself for the room. That point has been slowly arriving. I'm glad it is 🙏.
12. Friends are one of the greatest assets I have. Not a network. People who actually know you. The older I get, the more obvious this becomes.
13. Long-distance relationships are harder to maintain without physical interactions.
14. The distance between me and 'success' is work. Dopamine comes from results, not from planning. I can build beautiful plans. The feeling I'm chasing only shows up when I ship something.
15. Less and less noise in my head. The comparison, the imagined judgments, the unnecessary pressure, the 'I'm not good enough'. Each year there's a little less of it. Beautiful.
16. Time in my 20's was very colorful. Workshops, communities, substances, countries, people - all of it. It was a lot. I walked into my room in Cebu yesterday and realized - I've already lived so much.
17. The journey is also inward. Through travel, yes. But also through therapy, workshops, courses. Both paths lead somewhere worth going.
18. The body needs more attention. More stretching, more consistent movement. It's asking. I'm starting to listen.
19. Teaching someone what you know accelerates your own thinking. After a consultation with a guy who bought my course, I kept coming back to it. Explaining something forces you to think it in different way.
20. I undervalued my ease with people. For years, when someone said "you're great at this," I deflected. A friend told me he genuinely admires it. I'm done deflecting.
21. The energy of beginnings is real - and it's a skill. I arrived in Cebu, went to the rooftop, and within an hour the whole night opened up. New place, new people, that first-day flow. It happens every time.
22. Procrastination is not laziness. It's identity. When I keep avoiding something, I'm not tired. Part of me doesn't believe I'm the kind of person who does that thing. That's the only thing worth fixing.
23. I was finally 10/10 Bart - fully present with a woman. Last week, one of the best weekends of my life. Flirting, music, conversation, presence. No performance. Just exactly who I want to be as a men.
24. Grateful for every experience I've collected. Meeting people in HCMC, I just felt it - this deep calm from having already lived so much. The good and the hard. All of it counts.
25. Recording a DJ set is my form of keeping a diary. A postcard from a moment I actually lived. A place, a feeling, a city - captured in music. That's my version of travel documentation.
26. A 1 year in Asia - and the regret of not traveling is fading. I used to carry guilt about not seeing enough of the world. Now these thoughts are going away.
27. I'm exploring my ways of traveling - I love to play DJ sets in a places, where I am. I played sets in Da Nang, in Saigon. Music and dancing crosses every language barrier. This is exactly why I do it.
28. AI won't replace presence, energy, or expression. The part of you that's unrepeatable is the thing worth protecting. Use AI for everything else.
29. I started a podcast, a course, a newsletter without knowing if any of it would work. None of it had a guaranteed outcome. All of it moved something. Starting before you're sure is the whole game.
30. We're inside one of the greatest technological revolutions in history. AI has been public for 3.5 years. It was just November 2022! We are early. I want to be someone who understood what was happening while it was happening.
31. I know this year is going to be a strong one. Not as a mantra. Just a feeling that's been building for a while. Something has shifted.
Thanks for reading this.
Dziękuję 🙏
💬 Any thoughts or reflections? Text me back!
Thanks for being here.
Have a good week and see yaa next Sunday ✌️
Bart
