So you don't miss a thing. Hi there! A number of you have recently subscribed to The Weekly Chronicle . Of which I appreciate. Here's the list of past volumes. So you don't miss a thing. . . . ~T.K.K Volume 36: Dream. Execute. Repeat. Volume 35: 20 Lessons from 2024 Volume 34: A Top 1% Skill Volume 33: It Takes More Effort than You Think Volume 32: Life Lessons from a 60-Year-Old Friend Volume 31: Thanksgiving Volume 30: Work = Creating Output Volume 29: 13 Lessons in 13 Months - Lessons from my Early Career Volume 28: If You Don't Know What to Do With Your Life Volume 27: Seasons Volume 26: Rule of 26 Volume 25: You Are Your Own Competition Volume 24: Do It Scared Volume 23: Build II Volume 22: The Overthinking Paradox Volume 21: You are the Goal Volume 20: What Goes Into a Minute Volume 19: Don't Sacrifice Quality Volume 18: Happy Birthday Uncle Warren 🎊🎉🎈. Volume 17: Letter to my 18-Year-Old Self Volume 16: Luck Doesn't Exist Volume 15: Build Volume 14: Be Good. Be Ethical. And Be Honest . Volume 13: The Meaning of a Newsletter Volume 12: Write Volume 11: The ROI Mindset Volume 10: Doing Meaningful Work Volume 9: The Weekly Chronicle Special - A Quintuple Series 9.1: Part I: Intro 9.2: A Meaningful Goal 9.3: The Journey Between 9.4: The Journey is the Destination 9.5: Rounding It Up - Goal Setting Volume 8: The Rule of 36 Volume 7: Meeting Jordan Peterson Volume 6: The Art of Mini-Tasking Volume 5: Stop Trying Too Hard Volume 4: The Nothing Week Volume 3: Do It for Yourself Volume 2: " I don't have to - I get to " Volume 1: Welcome

20 Lessons from 2024. 2024, like previous years, had its lessons. And I'm glad I learned most of these. Will I practice them? I hope so. Regardless, here they are: Have a plan Learn to rest Stay learning Health is wealth Know your place Move with speed Nothing beats family Take that leap of faith Have visionary friends Building is a meta-skill Leadership is admirable Play to your imagination Visualization is a big tool You are your biggest critic Things can work without you Underestimate not your impact Preparation is vital - So is execution Invest in your personal development You are the reward of your hard work Abundance Mindset > Scarcity Mindset And many more I might have forgotten. Nonetheless, Let's dive right in. I might end up writing an almanac with these. We'll see. Have a Plan ➢ I learned late last year and this year the importance of having a plan. ⇝ Because: The plan bridges you to the goal. ➢ I used to choose between " having a plan " and " going with the flow. " The difference was whether I would accept the results of each. ⇝ With a plan, I knew what I'd get myself into and would instantly accept its result, whether in or out of my favor. ⇝ By going with the flow, I accepted that " whatever happens happens. " ➢ However, everything clicked when I learned that... Having no plan is still a plan. ➢ So, in everything I do, I have a plan, even if the plan is doing nothing at all. Bottom line: Always have a plan. Learn to rest ➢ Once a hustle-culture fanatic, I got fried like a Kentucky Fried Chicken - Story for un otro dia . ➢ Regardless, rest is part of the process. ⇝ You demand energy whenever you engage in activities demanding of your physical, mental, and emotional faculties. ⇝ Meaning, when you're done working, you have low energy, like an empty battery. ➢ Plus, it's pointless working on low-energy - ⇝ You aren't just tiring yourself more - Your work becomes crappy. ⇝ As a car can't function on 'E,' so can you. ➢ Give yourself time to rest, recharge, relax (Triple R), and unwind. ➢ Naturally, your best efforts come after blissfully relaxing. Take care of your body. Bottom line: Rest as hard as you work. Stay Learning ➢ Learning is a superpower. Stay Learning. Stay Curious. ➢ There is an unsurmountable wealth of knowledge for us to evolve. ( Thank you, Sir Internet. ) ➢ A Swahili Proverb I love is " Elimu ni Bahari. "   ⇝ Translated: " Education is an ocean. " ⇝ Learning is infinite - It never ends. Learning doesn't stop in school; It transcends throughout life. ➢ Learning is a transferable skill ( check no. 19 below ) that transfers across multiple settings. ⇝ You can learn a lot from school, your job, relationships, and other scenarios. Learn. Bottom line: Stay learning. Stay curious. Learning as a meta-skill coming soon. Health is Wealth ➢ I got sick on January 2nd - An interesting way to start the year. ➢ 'Couldn't work for two days, and I had an important meeting on the 4th - Good thing I was mostly healed by then. ➢ I read that a millionaire would give their millions away to be healthy again for one day…and that hits true. ⇝ Think about it: What's the point of having riches but no health to enjoy them? ➢ Take your health seriously: Proper nutrition, exercise, and constant medical checkups. ⇝ A -1-degree temperature dip or rise is a big deal. ⇝ And a healthy body is a well-functioning engine. Bottom line: Stay healthy. Know Your Place ➢ I mentioned this as one lesson from my early career - Applies to life too. ➢ In the grand scheme of things, you're a speck in the dust - A needle in a haystack. ⇝ This frame reminds me to ground myself and realize that I'm not as big of a deal as I think. (Reframed as " I'm not important. ") Helps me stay humble. ➢ Everything can happen with or without me. ( Check no. 13 ) ➢ Optimistically, however, knowing your place helps you analyze how it works and assess your contribution (Think: Value Proposition .) ⇝ This way, you approach situations humbly rather than having a " know-it-all " or " larger-than-life " mentality. Work your way up instead of being the instant talk-and-flop of town. Bottom line: Know your place. Assess, stay humble, then climb up. Move with speed ➢ Speed implies accomplishing something as fast as possible, optimized for efficiency and quality output. ⇝ Meaning, when you do something, you'll want to complete it quickly with optimal effort and the best quality. ➢ The opposite of speed, in my books, is haste. ➢ Haste involves doing things haphazardly as fast as possible, accomplishing the bare minimum, regardless of quality. ⇝ Haste compromises quality, efficiency, and the entire process itself. More haste, less speed. ~John Heywood ➢ Codie's quote below gets me everytime... Move with speed. Bottom line: Optimize for speed. Nothing Beats Family ➢ In the past decade, I made two decisions on leaving my family to pursue my dreams: ⇝ 2017: From Kenya to the United States. ⇝ 2022: From Seattle to Pittsburgh. ➢ I often wish someone invented a teleportation machine to transport me to my family in five minutes - Good thing social media ( sort of ) makes up for that. ➢ Depending on family dynamics, family remains family, whether by blood, marriage, or adoption. ⇝ And from my experience, I can vouch for more time with family - Or at least I miss mine. ➢ Work stays. Friends come and go, but family will always be family. Cherish them. Bottom line: Cherish your family. Take that Leap of Faith ➢ It's a Leap of Faith because you don't know what will happen once you jump, but you believe in the best outcome happening. ⇝ And faith , by definition, is the belief of what is unseen. ➢ You know something good is out there for you, but you can't tell with 100% certainty. It's only by jumping that you will ascertain. Have faith. ➢ And more often than not, it ends up being rewarding. Bottom line: Take the leap of faith. Have visionary friends ➢ Having friends with the same vision of the future implies that you are not a lone wolf but a pack united in mission. ➢ When you find these friends, cherish them - No guarantees you'll find them elsewhere. ➢ These relationships are best built when young and transcend throughout life. Play long-term games with long-term people. ➢ Build a camaraderie with these people. The Camaraderie of Success. Bottom line:   Find friends with the same mission and vision as you. Building is a meta-skill ➢ Building is a stupendous skill to have. ⇝ Building is a collective skill that combines many others to create something. ⇝ And these skills include creativity, strategy, planning, resourcefulness, consistency, vision, etc. ➢ Think about it: You're building something every day: ⇝ At work, you're building your career. ⇝ In the gym, you're building your body. ⇝ Saving and investing build your finances. ➢ You're likely building something somewhere without realizing it. ➢ Everything changes when you reframe your actions as building. ➢ I discuss more about building as a meta-skill here: ⇝ The Art of Building ⇝ Building Thyself Build. Bottom line: Build. Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle Newsle tter  for weekly motivational insights in under a minute. Leadership is admirable ➢ The world needs leaders. ⇝ It's run by those who take the initiative to lead, uphold responsibility, and provide direction. ➢ People look up to and emulate leaders. Hence, leaders inspire. ➢ Find an opportunity to lead, whether a project or a team. Lead with Vision. Bottom line: Take charge and be a leader. Play to your imagination ➢ Your mind has infinite possibilities from its subconscious. Manifest. { PJ's my mentor btw. } ➢ And the way to manifest your imagination into reality is through action. ➢ When I imagine something, I visualize it from the end (" What could it be?" ) and then reverse-engineering it to my daily actions. ( Check no. 13 below . ) ➢ My imagination comes together piece-wise like a jigsaw puzzle through my tiny actions. ➢ It's more abstract than it seems ( I'll write a separate piece on this someday ), but until then, if your mind visualizes something, you can manifest your desired result. Bottom line: Play to your imagination. Visualization is a big tool ➢ By visualizing, you imagine the end-result and picture it in your mind. ➢ With this end-in-mind process, you ask yourself: ⇝ " What does success look like? " ⇝ " What would it take me to get there? " ⇝ " Who do I have to become to achieve that? " ➢ And the best part is reverse-engineering the process to its current state - Today. ➢ Visualization changed my life recently as it's helped me play to my imagination numerous times ( No. 12 above ) and discover the unimaginable, further proving my thesis that the mind has infinite possibilities. Bottom line: Visualize and reverse-engineer your goals. You are your biggest critic ➢ When something goes south, it's natural to blame yourself. ⇝ But the funny thing is that no one cares. ⇝ And even funnier: No one's watching. ➢ We end up criticizing ourselves more than others critique us ( if they do. ) ➢ I have a personal saving grace: Hold yourself accountable. Blame yourself for the outcomes...but also give yourself grace. ➢ There's a good chance you did your best, and remember that you blame yourself the most when it fails. ➢ If you think it's a big deal, it likely isn't; You're exaggerating scenarios in your head. Bottom line:   You are your biggest critic. Remember that when you think it's a "big deal." Things can work without you ➢ I had a reality check in March when I attended my first NSBE Convention outside of NSBE Leadership - Bittersweet experience. ⇝ Bitter because they planned a conference without me. ( Being extra here. Guilty. ) ⇝ Sweet because NSBE thrived without me. ( As it always has. ) ➢ This reality reinforced the underlying belief that you are not as important as you think and the world can move on without you. ( See no. 5. ) ⇝ All the more reason to remain humble. ➢ Better yet, if you wish to sustain something, realize that its continuity should be independent of you. ⇝ At some point, you must relinquish control. ⇝ Besides, legacies outlast their owners. ➢ Everything is temporary - Build something until it runs independently; then, you can watch it from the sidelines or pivot to another endeavor. Bottom line:   Things can work without you. Underestimate not your impact ➢ You'll never know your impact until you share it. ⇝ Your "dumb" idea might save the company $17 million. ⇝ Your question might be the missing piece to a bug update. ⇝ Your compliment might save someone from suicide. ➢ Your influence could be impactful if you give it a chance. ➢ You fearing sharing what you have is a sign that the world needs it right now the most - Double down on it. Make an impact. Bottom line: Don't underestimate your influence. Preparation is vital - So is execution ➢ I initially believed execution trumps preparation. ➢ However, as of lately, I admit that preparation and execution are equally vital - Or rather, I include preparation in my execution strategy. ⇝ Execution with little preparation will take you somewhere but that's about it. ⇝ On the other hand, executing with proper preparation trains you to be more intentional and resourceful. This also improves your preparation strategy, leading to better outcomes overall. Proper preparation makes all the difference. ➢ Reminds me of the Agile way of working : Two days of planning, two weeks of execution, and a retrospective at the end. ➢ For now, I stand on preparation being just as vital as execution - Just don't overprepare. Bottom line: Prepare. Execute. Repeat. Invest in your Personal Development ➢ A rule of thumb I've held closely: Do not think twice when investing in your personal development. ➢ I learned from Alex Hormozi that you are the best investment. ⇝ Investing $X,000 into the S&P500 gives decent returns, but the same $X,000 invested in yourself ( i.e., S&ME500 ) can bring outsized returns. ⇝ And these investments manifest through skills, experiences, and habits . ➢ By viewing yourself as an investment, you become intentional with your resources, actions, and what you consume. Bottom line: You are the best investment. You are the reward of your hard work ➢ No hard work is ever lost. ➢ When working on something, at least one of two things happens: ⇝ You achieve that something. ⇝ You become a better person. ➢ And the more you work, the more you maintain the essence of hard work. ⇝ Since you know what hard work feels like, you transfer that idea to other endeavors. ⇝ Take an elite marathoner wanting to become a prominent entrepreneur, for example. The traits of discipline, perseverance, and grit from preparing for marathons can transfer to raising profits for his business. Skills transfer over. ( Image generated by Copilot. ) ⇝ You work hard on Project B as you would on Project A because the magnitude of hard work is equal on both projects. ➢ All effort is transferable, whether or not you work on the right things. ⇝ I have experience working in the retail, admin, nonprofit, and finance sectors - I can vouch that many skills are transferable: Communication, strategy, client-centricity, organization, problem-solving, etc. ⇝ I know of a Starbucks employee who became a Meta Technical Program Manager. During the interviews, he played to his strengths in communication, attention to detail, leadership, and collaboration. ➢ And whether or not you achieve your goal, you were the goal all along - You became someone worth achieving goals. Bottom line: You are the result of your hard work. Abundance Mindset >>> Scarcity Mindset Abundance Mindset Scarcity Mindset Believes that there are enough resources and opportunities for everyone Believes that resources and opportunities are limited. Sees opportunity in everything. Sees detriment in everything. Views its desires in massive abundance, creating no lack of opportunity. Views the lack and problems in everything Characterized by optimism, positivity, willingness to share and collaborate, focus on growth and opportunities, and gratitude and appreciation. Characterized by pessimism and negativity, the reluctance to share and collaborate, focus on limitations and obstacles, and the fear of loss and insecurity. "There is always a way." "Something MUST go wrong somewhere." ➢ Winners are optimists who possess an abundance mindset. Bottom line: Think in abundance. Conclusion So...yeah, That's it with my 2024 Reflections. And that was a good year too. Hopefully some of them resonate with you. ( Curious to know which ones. ) As for me, I'd rate my 2024 at 80%. My target for 2025? 85%. What's the 5% difference? More ideation , implementation , and execution ; Story for another day. Will I hit that? Only one way to find out. We'll see. Until then, God bless you. Stay safe. And see you in 2025. Peace, . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle  for weekly motivational bangers in under a minute.

08/14/2024 I celebrated my one-year job anniversary just shy of a month and some change ago. Needless to say, August 2024 was my best August yet:  Birthday  and  back-to-back conferences . And my job-versary was the barbeque gravy. A lot has happened since  this date a year ago . So, without further ado, Let's dive right in. 13 Lessons from My Early Career We begin. 1. Know your place ↠ To thrive in a particular setting, it calls to know where you stand in the grand scheme of things and learn how you contribute to the grander picture. ↠ This takes time as a new environment has its own circumstances and challenges, so you'll also have to adjust. And adjustment, too, takes time. ↠ Knowing where you lie can help you cultivate your  value proposition  depending on what you do there. ACTION:   Just like you thrived in school, learn the workplace too. Then, learn how to flourish in it. 2. Master your communication OBSERVATION:   No one is a good communicator until they learn how to communicate with others accordingly. ↠ Eloquence and tact are one thing together, but if your message can't get across to your team, miscommunication occurs, leading to misunderstandings. Personal revelation:  Changing how I spoke - not what I spoke - to the recipients of my message was the greatest improvement in my communication. ACTION:   Learn how to communicate so your colleagues understand; Tweak your speech for them to interpret well. 3. Cultivate empathy ↠  Empathy  is seeing situations from others' POVs or " being in someone's shoes. " ↠ You will work with colleagues with conflicting ideologies - I mean, they learned their thought processes elsewhere, and so did you. ACTIONS: Understand that your colleagues, too, want to succeed, and their actions reflect their career goals. So do you. Understand where they are coming from and why they reason the way they do. Take nothing personally when conflict arises. In a conflict, tailor your proposals from "I'm right" to "What can we do to achieve this?" Everyone wants to win. { I touch on empathy  here . } 4. Corporate and school are different environments ↠ " The Real World " vastly differs from college. ↠ From dealing with peers and agemates, you now deal with colleagues and workmates, creating a dichotomy of characters and personalities.  ACTION:   Take your time to learn your new environment and the people in it, and adjust accordingly.  ( Refer to #1 . ) 5. Take your time to learn ↠ Learning on the job differs from in school primarily due to the discrepancy in feedback loops. ⇒For instance, in school, your feedback is immediate, as seen in tests and assignments. ⇒At work, however, your feedback is delayed because you must first learn the job ( which takes a while)  and then do the job itself, whose results might not manifest for the first X months. ↠ It's partly why many new hires feel lost and unsettled as they're unsure of what to do during the first X months of their job. Personal rule of thumb:   It will take you 6-8 months to settle into your role - four if you're fast. Take your time to learn. 6. Learning is a superpower ↠ Learning is essential for professional development, and most employers provide free employee training. ↠ Most CEOs, executives, and career-glittery successes attribute their success to continuous learning and applying their lessons in different career stages. ACTION: Stay curious. Be a lifelong learner - It will take you places. Learning does not end with a degree - It is eternal. Stay Learning. Stay Curious. 7. Job satisfaction = Liking what you do + Who you do it with ↠ I invented  The Law of Job Satisfaction  that I use to gauge how much I like my job ( which I do ): Carerra's Law of Job Satisfaction ↠ If you like what you do, that's the equation half done. ↠ If you like who you do it with, that's almost all of it completed. ACTION:  Balance both - Liking what you do and who you do it with. You have some work to do if there's an imbalance on one end.  Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly insights in under a minute. 8. Hone in on competency, resourcefulness, and reliability ↠  Competency  is knowing your stuff. People love someone who knows their stuff. When you master competency, you become indispensable to your team and a role model to colleagues wanting to learn from you. ↠  Resourcefulness  is using the resources at your disposal to garner a particular result. Use the tools in your arsenal to craft the best outcome possible, after which your creativity shall skyrocket once blessed with more resources. ↠ By  reliability , your team can count on you to show up when needed. Starting out, you won't have much to show apart from your eagerness to help. Assist your team members wherever you can, and learn some skills to fill their gaps in the process. Challenge yourself to come in as clutch as often as possible. ACTION:  Hone in on competency, resourcefulness, and reliability. 9. Leadership is impressive ↠ People like leaders. They like someone who can usher a team on specific tasks when the need calls for it. ↠ And in   every team, anyone can be a leader. ACTION:   Cultivate your leadership early in your career. Shadow acclaimed leaders and take on projects where you can lead; Your late twenties will thank you. 10. Your Job is your Job ↠ Put frankly, no one cares who you are outside your job. ↠ You could be an Olympic Gold medalist, an acclaimed tuba player, or a nonprofit founder...but at your job, they want results first. That's what they're paying you for. ↠ This is not to discourage you from pursuing extracurriculars but rather to provide a reality check that you are compensated for your work at your workplace; All else is secondary. ACTION:   Know your place.  ( Refer to #1 . )  Understand that your job is the level playing ground to cultivate your results - The rest is trivial. 11. Be Teachable ↠ As a twenty-something-year-old, you have much to learn in your career and life - Inclusive of any achievements you've had in college. ACTION:   No matter your status, stay humble and be teachable. Most mentorships start this way, and life-changing opportunities follow. Refer to points #5 and #6 . 12. You Will Mess Up ↠ Failures are inevitable - You will mess up at some point. Everyone has such moments. ↠ No one expects you to master your craft five weeks into your job. Learning takes time, and mistakes expedite that. ↠ Your mess-ups can be career lessons for you to learn, shape yourself up, and get you on your feet towards succeeding in your job. ( Story for another day: My biggest mistake that was my wake-up call and steered my career forever. ) ACTION:   Learn from your mistakes. Note how they occurred, and remedies for next time...because a mistake avoided is better than one solved. 13. Master Personal Finance ↠ Today's education system underemphasizes personal finance skills to thrive in today's economy; Only  22.7% of US high schoolers can access personal finance courses . ↠ Once in a job, the income windfall is tempting for someone earning considerable chunks at a go. Effects include lifestyle inflation, lavish spending, taxes, and eating out, etc. ↠ And as of December 2022,  51% of six-figure earners live paycheck to paycheck . ↠ I often quote myself: Just because you have a job doesn't mean you have money. ACTION: Money management and personal finance can help you control your income and cashflow, as does  Maslow's Hierarchy of Financial Needs . Start with opening a Traditional 401K with your employer, a Roth IRA, and employing the 50-30-20 rule. Plug: I have a friend who emphasizes money mastery and wealth-building (probably the next Dave Ramsey? Idk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). Follow my guy John Henry - Millennial Wealth - for wealth-building insights. 'Hope this article helped you. If you're starting your career, I wish you nothing but the best of luck and massive success in it. Go ace it - You've got this. Peace, love, God's blessings, and success, . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly bangers in under a minute.

For the year that was, 2024 gave me plenty for me to be thankful for, Which I don't take for granted. Here are my Top 10: The gift of life. Not everyone made it this far in life, so every day is a gift. I have a roof on top of my head. Sure, rent takes X% of my monthly salary, But at least I have a place to call home. Again, it could've been worse. I have food to eat. I'm not at a point where I can order takeout everyday if I wanted to, Or consistently do Teriyaki ad hoc… But I have enough that gets me through the night and not go to bed hungry. I have a loving family and good friends. The older I grow, the more I appreciate the people in my circle because of the mutual rapport we share. They sustain me in one way, and I can reciprocate it in the spirit of Ubuntu. As Les Browns says, " Focus on your OQPs - Only Quality People. " I have a cool job. 15 months ago, I couldn't tell exactly what I was diving into. But I'm glad I get to play with tech tools for a living and help my clients make the most out of them. ( Business Data Analysis ) I have a good camaraderie of colleagues. I'm thankful for the people I work with, whether it be colleagues or clients. Through my interactions, I've become a better leader and communicator and have created wonderful working relationships with clients who refer to me more business. I have mentors. I have guides who are where I want to be and have done what I want to do. So, by learning from them, I expedite my dreams in half the time. And I reciprocate their efforts by reflecting on their advice and becoming ( one of ) their best mentee(s) yet. I have mentees. My mentees motivate me by keeping me accountable for my word, And I'm honored to be their pillar of support in their growth journeys. I pray that they succeed more than I ever do. I can write and communicate. While I can't judge how proficient my writing is ( at least objectively ), I can acclaim that my writing and articulation have drastically improved over the last year. I have a vision. I'm thankful for the North Star I have that guides me to my desired destination, and everything I do daily leads up to it. I pray that you too may have a peaceful Thanksgiving. God bless you, and have a good one. Peace, . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle  for weekly bangers in under a minute.

We'd love to hear them too. I learned something interesting in my personal life: ( Which applies professionally too. ) Success is a highlight reel. We’re naturally pre-conditioned to show progress on our timelines. ( Or at least signs of it. ) I’ll take my generation as an example —  Gen Z : ↳ A Rolex ↳ Beaching in Miami ↳ 10,000 sq ft mansion ↳ A closed business deal ↳ Flashy lives on Instagram. ↳ “ Benjamins ” in your hands ( A “Benjamin” = A $100 bill because it has Ben Franklin’s face on it. ) And while that is okay, It's better to acknowledge our failures more often. It’s through our failures that we’re more: ↣ Relatable ↣ Authentic ↣ Human And most failures naturally occur behind the scenes: ↳ Divorce. ↳ Job layoffs ↳ Business shutdown ↳ A 1.9 GPA in high school. Endless list. People yearn for failures — They relate most to that. Today’s message: ↳ Fail more. ↳ Celebrate. ↳ Rebuild. Until you win. Happy Tuesday. . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly insights shared in under a minute.

"What am I getting out of this?" Edited July 8th, 2024. What's an ROI? ROI = Return on Investment. Basically, what you put in is what you get out - Your return on investment. AKA, ROI. And everything we do has a return to it. Our actions have results and consequences, constituting our ROI. An ROI answers the question: "What am I getting out of this?" We do many things in life and attain results, both good and bad. The investment needn't always be financial but rather about action. It starts from: "What am I getting myself into here?" to "Is the effort worth it?" In investing, you ask, "What am I getting from this investment?" In the real world, you ask: "What am I getting from this action?" Habits and ROI For habits, the ROI is compounding — You don't see results instantly, but they occur in the long run. Let's use investment terminologies here: Say you invest $100 with a 10% return annually. ( Assume a perfect world. ) In your first year, you make $10; Total = $110. In your second year, you make 10% of what you made your previous year. That is 10% of $110 ( $11. ) Total = $121. The third year, 10% on $121 becomes $133.2 And so on. By compounding, you earn interest on your investment, building on top of what you've already built. Hence why Albert Einstein said that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. The same goes for habits. Your habits compound the longer you do them. If you workout everyday, you improve on your previous workout. If you learn a new skill, you build on the last time you practiced it. Communicating more with people improves your social capital through networking. The ROI of good consistent habits is compounding. Playing the Long Game Say you're lifting weights: You won't gain muscle doing 40 reps in two days. But you will if you do 20 reps over 1,000+ days. Instead of expecting immediate results, delayed gratification is your best friend here. With habits, the ROI isn't immediate but gradually compounding over time. 20 pushups daily for a year will be a toned upper torso. One Quora answer per week equals 52 articles per year. $200/week in an index fund over five years at 8% returns yields $58,356. And much more. For such reasons, consistency, patience, and faith are highly underrated values in today's instantly gratified society. ROI Mindset Starter Pack SMART Goals. A goal is vital toward embracing the ROI mindset, with the best goals being SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant ( or Realistic ), and Time-Bound. ( More about SMART goals here. ) Self-awareness & honesty. You must be honest and aware enough to know your limits and capabilities. If you aren't self-aware, you'll run into ends that make nada sense, and if you aren't honest with yourself, you'll dig yourself into a pit of regret and lost time. Optionalities. When plotting how to achieve your goals, consider your options and their potential returns. Will they add to your goals? Will you meander? Do they align with your passions? Make informed choices that will yield a return on your time, effort, and energy. Energy and time. Time and energy are critical resources, and how you spend them matters. Assess whatever consumes your time and energy; see if it aligns with your goals and whether it energizes or drains you, then act accordingly. Progress tracking, wins-stacking. Tracking your progress enhances your efficiency, which helps your ROI. If there's an optimal route to achieving your goal, you'll achieve it more efficiently. The mini-wins you hit along the way deserve credit, too—they serve as evidence of the accomplished milestones in achieving your main goal. A Growth Mindset. The growth mindset is the " always learning, always improving " mindset. With this, every obstacle is an opportunity to grow, and overcoming each obstacle yields mini-ROIs through experience, resilience, and wisdom. Isn't this selfish? It might look like it... but it's not. The goal of the ROI mindset is to help you live a more intentional life that aligns with your priorities. And an ROI can be anything...including a goal that benefits others. If I participate in a local environment clean-up, the ROI is a clean( er ) neighborhood and personal satisfaction from that mission. If I donate to a local charity, the ROI is the charity receiving extra funding as I receive a tax break—A Win-Win situation for both parties. Social workers are a good example of this - Their ROI is service to others. How the ROI Mindset can help you Improved decision-making. By clearly understanding your objectives, you decide how you invest your resources: Time, energy, and capital. You achieve your goals faster. By investing in the right areas, you strategize your plans well and accelerate progress toward your goals. A more intentional life. By adopting an ROI mindset in your life, you make more calculated choices that align with your goals. This leads to a higher sense of purpose, improved relationships, and overall satisfaction. Carerra's Take I've embraced the ROI mindset since late 2022—still a work in progress. It's helped me abundantly in rationalizing some life-changing decisions. Corporate vs. Grad School Which post-grad job to take Where to live during and after school Et cetera. I'm not an SME on it yet, but through practice, it'll take me places. And I'm yet to fail at it. Conclusion Our actions are our investments with good actions breeding progress. For a quality life, Perform quality actions And get a positive ROI. The same applies to misactions...but no one wants to get there. In today's rushed economy, the ROI mindset is key. And to get ahead in life, ask yourself at any chance, "What do I stand to gain from this?" Then get your deserved ROI. . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly insights in under a minute.

Which is more important? Someone asked me: Which is more important - Consistency or Intensity? I think consistency. Why? By ( my ) definition: ↳ Intensity = How much you’re doing now. ↳ Consistency = Showing up everyday. ( Or at least periodically. ) The argument is: Too much intensity upfront can disintegrate your consistency. You focus on too much output too soon That you burn yourself out And dysfunction on most other days. Demotivated on the rest. For example: The intense rabbit couldn't beat the consistent tortoise. Most people go hard in the gym the first week and quit the second. 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by March . Instead, Aim for consistency first. Get into the habit of starting out gradually, Showing up daily, And putting in however much effort initially. ↳Going to the gym is tough the first week. ↳That will improve the second. ↳You get the hand of it the third. ↳And then raise your intensity the fourth. And so on. Consistency over Intensity. ( In my humble analysis. ) What do you think? . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly insights in under a minute.

You’re still the best country in the world — Don’t mess it up. Written on July 4th, 2024. You are the greatest country on this planet. Let no one tell you otherwise. ↣ You are the richest. ↣ The most resilient. ↣ The envy of the world. ↣ The most hardworking. There’s a reason you’re on top —  You stood on your values. Values of: ↳ Freedom ↳ Equality ↳ Justice America, You gave: ↣ Hope to the hopeless. ↣ Hard work to the needy. ↣ Prosperity to the seekers. You gave everyone a chance. That’s why we call it: The American Dream. Something the Founding Fathers would be immensely proud of. The Benjamins. The Jeffersons. The Hamiltons. The Adams. They would’ve been proud of you today. But you’re messing up somewhere. You got too much power. And became drunk with it. And we know what happens next: ↳ Wars ↳ Crises ↳ Revolts ↳ Classism ↳ Discrimination ↳ Neocolonialism I could go on. Need not to mention more. And that’s not nice. But what’s more terrible: You’re fighting yourself. Not Russia. Not China. Not Korea. It’s you against you. You forgot what brought you to the top, So you’re slowly dismantling yourself inside out. And your foes are watching, Like a cheetah, ready to pounce. Dear America, Stop the infighting, Before the world does that for you. Sort out your own mess. Else you’ll go from a world champ one decade, To a world chump the next. You’ve still got time.  Idk how long, but act now. And act fast. ↳ China’s watching. ↳ Russia’s watching. ↳ Middle East’s watching. Act fast. Straighten yourself up. ↣ You’re neither red nor blue. ↣ Neither black nor white. ↣ Neither rich nor poor. You’re American. And that’s all that matters. I say this as a Kenyan Immigrant myself. From a Third World to the First World. I’ve seen the best of both worlds, I can say: America, you are miles ahead of everyone. ↣ Everyone imitates you. ↣ Everyone wants to be you. ↣ Everyone desires to enter your country. You have so much opportunity it’s not even funny.  I want you to realize that. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Many are pessimistic about you; But I’m optimistic. Because: Your best days are yet to come. Figure yourself out first. God bless America. . . . ~T.K.K Subscribe to the Weekly Chronicle for weekly bangers in under a minute.

Getting more of what you put in. Think about it... You wake up everyday. You feeling behind. Other times, tired. You're stuck at work. You're unproductive - You label it as "busy." Because if you were productive, you would've felt accomplished. Yet you didn't. You have no goals. You have no systems. You have no clarity. Your to-do list is Mount Everest - You never reach it. Distractions are everywhere: 37 unread emails TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat Arguments with your colleagues Fantasies of your 12:03 PM lunch And so on. This is not your life. You're better than that. I know it. I believe in you. You can achieve much more with much less effort if you have the right methodology for doing things. This is your life. Take control of it while you still can. Stop working for work's sake. And start working for the meaning of it. Bottom line... Start prioritizing meaningful work. How? As seen below. 1. Identify what you're working on If you don't know what you're doing, you're wasting your time, energy, and resources. 2. Assess your time Assess how much time you have. Your time is limited. It's finite. It's money. It's dollars. Dólares si Español. Time is dollars. Once you realize how much time you have, you can't waste it working inefficiently. 3. Work in sprints Apply the Pomodoro Technique. Divide your work into 10-minute sprints. (It's a "sprint" because you should focus on one task in a short time.) Work intensely in those 10 minutes. Accomplish the most in those 10 minutes. 10 minutes is good enough: Long enough for meaningful work. Short enough for your attention and urgency. "We practice improvement through work, work through improvement, one sprint at a time!" ~Agile Actors, Medium. 4. Aim for speed Solve problems fast and efficiently. Don't overthink. Don't be perfect. (You'll never be anyway.) So drop the act - The act of perfectionism. Speed. Not haste. Speed optimizes for efficiency and output. Haste does things haphazardly. "More haste, less speed." 5. Eliminate distractions Time is short. Just 10 minutes. You can't spend it on distractions. 6. Focus on the solution Focus on the solution, not the problem. The time you take dwelling on a problem is the same amount of time you take solving it. So you might as well solve it anyway. Recall that time is finite. Solutions, not problems. 7. Push the needle You have only so much time: 10 minutes. You can't afford to spend it on meaningless tasks. Focus on the things that push the needle the most. Incorporate Pareto's Principle: 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. And 80% of the effort goes to the last 20% of the results. Focus on the things that matter. There are a few. You think you need 10 steps to accomplish something? Nope. You need only three. Find those three. Focus on the things that matter. 8. Reward yourself After 10 minutes of work, Have 10 minutes of play. You put some serious effort in the last 10 minutes. Reward yourself. Enjoy yourself. But also enjoy it in moderation. Don't over-enjoy too much that it doesn't reciprocate your hard work. Similarly, don't work too hard that you can't enjoy yourself after. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Don't be like Jack. Be like Jude. And score goals. 9. Assess your work once done Before you realize it, Subconsciously, You'll have accomplished your desired outcome. You'll stun yourself. "That's it?" You thought it would be hard. It's easier than pie. Simpler than the alphabet. Easier than you thought. Congratulations. You've done meaningful work. All the best, . . . ~T.K.K Join other smart folks who get weekly insights in under a minute here.

Note to College Grads Somebody asked me: What advice would you give to a recent college grad starting a full-time job to be successful? And, of course, I have numerous thoughts on this. To preface: I'm not a career expert. Nor am I a counselor. Just some random Black Gen Z on the internet 11 months into his career who plays with data for a living. So, objectively, I wouldn't categorize myself as "successful" yet. But I'm still happy to share my learnings with those coming after me, including these. I don't know everything yet—still figuring it out—but I hope this helps somebody. PS: Updated as necessary. 1. Establish your value proposition Your value proposition is the value you provide. It dictates how useful you are in a setting. It answers the question: "What value do I provide?" And I see four tiers to this: Yourself Your team Your division The Enterprise a) To yourself To feed others, you must feed yourself first. And the way I see this happening is by continuous learning. Learning new skills is imperative for being more valuable anywhere you go. Learn a new, applicable, and marketable skill that will keep you in demand no matter the market downturns. Cultivate in yourself a habit of learning - your value will never expire. I talk more about learning and how to be good at anything here. How to provide value to yourself: Stay learning and applying new skills. b) To your team Each team has a different dynamic - learn how you fit and contribute to the picture. Observe your team members and complement them wherever the chance arises. If a team project needs Skill A and you're good at Skill A, capitalize on it and deliver some results. Your value proposition will thus become noticeable to the team. How to provide value to your team: Know where your skills are needed in the team and apply them. c) To your division Things get trickier here because the scope is much larger than your team's; kinda like leaving your country to explore a continent. A division has multiple teams, hence the disparity. Many people are comfortable in the their team's precincts but not to a division because of the potentially countless eyeballs. However, if you play your cards wisely, you can reap substantial benefits from sharing your talents. People outside your team could use your expertise too; wherever possible, complement them too. Bonus points if you're in a client-facing role - You're subconsciously selling yourself to them through your service to them. It's through this route that opportunities arise through comments such as, "Hey, you did a good job for my team! I've an opening at my place I'd like you to consider if that interests you." :) How to provide value to your division: Replicate your value in any divisional setting when the chance arises. d) To the Enterprise This is an extreme one, and the good kind. And the larger the scope, the more ways to scale your impact. It could be: Good PR Volunteering Outstanding academic achievement. List is endless. Anything goes, provided it's within the bounds of all that's acceptable. Be a good ambassador for your company - It's through you that many people learn about your employer. Like a water drop that causes ripples in the ocean, it's encouraging to see how you can showcase your value to the company. How to provide value to your company: Explore any opportunity to do so, do your best always, and have a positive image. Provide value wherever you go. 2. Work towards a goal. Have a 3-5-year goal you want to achieve and curate everything to it. Visualize where you want to be in X years and hold that goal clearly in your mind. Then, ensure that everything you do in your job matches up to it, no matter how big or small the task. Example Assume you're a Business Analyst wanting to become a Product Manager. Start by identifying overlapping skills: Analysis, problem-solving, and excellent communication. Highlight relevant tasks. As a Business Analyst, you're soliciting requirements, analyzing data, and communicating with stakeholders - tasks proportionately important to a Product Manager. You'd then take on projects relevant to your desired role that liaise with any product management teams around you so you can "drink their wisdom." Certification and coursework can also help with gaining the necessary PdM knowledge. Often your employer provides free education for professional development. Network with current Product Managers, learn their work, and help them wherever possible. And the rest apply: LinkedIn, interviews, etc. All to prove the point of: Have a goal Curate everything you do to it. 3. Be Patient You will likely spend the first 6-8 months trying to figure out your job. Four if you’re fast. It's okay to not know everything from the get-go; nobody does. And learning is a huge component of it. Be patient. Stay hungry. Stay curious. Stay learning. 4. Gather a support system You'll need a support system to thrive in your early career - No one can do it alone. Find some allies, sponsors, peers, mentors, and coaches. Ally - Someone you "feel" is on your side. Sponsors - Someone more achieved in the workplace (usually a senior) who knows your work and can advocate for you. Peer - Someone at the same level as you also seeking the same growth as you. Mentor - A guide to your growth who shares with you the lessons from their experiences and advises on the best steps to take in yours. Coach - A more hands-on person who gives you practicable steps to advance your career and improve on your overall performance - like a game coach would do. These people can be in or outside your workplace and also have varied career experiences: Mid-Career, 10+ years ahead of you, etc. Your support system will immensely expedite your growth. 5. Mind the conflict Conflict in the workplace is inevitable; Good thing it's also avoidable. There is healthy conflict and not-so-healthy conflict. It just is. Learn to pick your battles wisely and also escalate what needs escalation. In case of conflict, prioritize: Logic Empathy Fact-finding Solving the problem Tactful communication Finding common ground Maintaining the relationship 6. Invest in skills Gaining skills is the best way of inculcating value in yourself. So, in your early career, skills become your best friends. Chase skills first, promotions later. Hone in on 1-2 skills really well - The current economy handsomely rewards specialists who know their stuff. And two insanely powerful skills I've seen so far: Leadership Communication 7. Strive for excellence Excellence, in my books, means doing your absolute best. So do your best always. Put your best foot forward. There's always someone out there watching you who’s either: Inspired by you Competing with you, or Waiting to grant you an opportunity Regardless, someone is always watching you from somewhere and for some reason. Do your best always. 8. Build relationships Network and create relationships. You won't be self-made in your career—you will need help advancing through its different stages. Even think about it: You will need to build relationships if you are to gather a support system as in no. 4. You will always meet people wherever you go. Network with those you'd love to build a relationship with Besides, life is 80% relationships outside of your career —at least one of them will be your next opportunity. 9. Supercharge your performance As learned from Alex Hormozi and Codie Sanchez: "Find the hardest worker in the room - Double their output." Find a super-achiever, learn how they think and how they work, and formulate your own ethic from that. If you want to earn like the 1%, you have to work like the 1% and emulate the 1%. 10. Overcommunicate Only if need be. One of my former managers told me, "I'd rather you overcommunicate with me, and I have the full story, and we're on the same page, than under-communicate and miss a lot of details." And I thought that hit home. Constantly communicate enough on the job to ensure everyone is on the same page. That way, you are transparent. TL;DR All the best. . . . ~T.K.K Updated as necessary. Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly insights delivered in under a minute.

All you need to know about Blockchain. I like Cathie Wood's description of everything new related to the Web: "More unfinished business of the Internet." Because it just got more interesting...and decentralized. It's revolutionary, redefining transport, communication, and information transparency as we know it. And because it's birthed Web3 and cryptocurrencies, I'm also following this field. I'm talking about Blockchain. What is Blockchain? Blockchain is a decentralized public ledger that stores, records, and shares digital transactions across a computer network. How Blockchain works Think of it as "a chain of blocks." Each block is a computer on the network, and each computer has a unique ID called a hash. Jargon: Computer = Block = Node. Same thing. Each computer has two hashes: Its own and that of the previous computer. Each participant on the network has a copy of the entire blockchain and its transactions, hence the transparency. Blockchain transactions are secure, so you can't tamper with them. Blockchain is decentralized - it's free from a central authority. If something happens to one block, the whole chain and the hashes of each block are altered. Blockchain's most popular use is transactions. Blockchain Features Transparency: Everyone can see blockchain transactions. Immutability: No one can edit a transaction once it's on the blockchain. Security: Just like crypto, blockchain uses advanced cryptographic techniques to secure data. Decentralization: Blockchain is decentralized, so there's no central authority to govern it. Consensus Mechanisms: This is how nodes "agree" on a transaction in a blockchain. Bitcoin uses Proof of Work (PoW), while Ethereum uses Proof of Stake (PoS). How to create a Blockchain Choose the right tech stack: Using programming languages and environments such as Python, JavaScript, and Go. Design the Data Structure: You choose how to compose each block, its hash numbers, and the information that will traverse the blockchain. Choose a consensus mechanism: For now, either Proof of Work or Proof of Stake. Connect each block. Test and debug. Deploy. Blockchain Use Cases Cryptocurrencies: Read about cryptos here. Smart Contracts: These are self-executing contracts that trigger an action once a specific condition is met. Think of a Smart Contract as a vending machine. When you insert some quarters into the machine and select a snack, the machine automatically operates once you've chosen a snack (e.g., Mint Chocolate for $2.25) and will dispense it to you. Similarly, a smart contract has several predefined codes that will trigger once a specific condition is fulfilled, e.g., paying 3 ETH for an NFT. NFTs: NFTs are digital assets minted and distributed on the blockchain. Watch this cool NFT video. dApps: Decentralized apps built and run on a blockchain. Supply Chain Management: Blockchain can track the movement of goods along the supply chain. Voting Systems: You can vote on the blockchain because your votes are publicly visible and hard to tamper with. This will likely reduce election malpractices worldwide. Healthcare: Health professionals can secure patient data on the blockchain and trace drug distribution from suppliers to pharmacies and to the final patient. Pros and Cons Pros Increased trust and transparency because all nodes share the same ledger and approve its transactions. Enhanced security from the cryptographic techniques used to craft blockchain. Reduced costs by eliminating the transactional middleman. Improved tracing of goods along the supply chain. Cons Accessibility: At its basic form, blockchain requires internet access, limiting places that have none. Scalability: It's hard to scale blockchain because the existing ones (Bitcoin and Ethereum) are slow, have high costs, and can't transact huge volumes at a go (versus Visa.) Regulation: Bitcoin is unregulated, and unregulation breeds illegalities. Governing the blockchain might be the only cure here. Energy Consumption: Ethereum's Proof of Work consensus, for example, consumes enormous amounts of energy enough to raise environmental concerns. Conclusion Blockchain is a big, transformative, and legendary technology that's just warming up. It can revolutionize industries worldwide and empower us to rethink new transportation applications. I think blockchain is one to watch out for in the future; like all pieces of tech, it's evolving. But one thing is for sure: As it stands, the future is decentralized. Until then, . . . ~T.K.K References Blockchain - Wikipedia Subscribe to The Weekly Chronicle for weekly insights delivered in under a minute.

The first of many - Meeting the modern philosopher. I met Dr. Jordan Peterson on Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 during the book tour for his latest book, We Who Wrestle with God. The book analyzes the Bible stories and explains them from a scientific and conscientious perspective. Pittsburgh was one of his pitstops, so I snagged a VIP pass to meet him. ($492, in case you're wondering.) Who is Jordan Peterson anyway? Jordan Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist and a 3x best-selling author who has written: Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (1999) 12 Rules for Life: The Antidote to Chaos (2018) Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (2021) All of whose themes revolve around psychology, mythology, religion, personal development, literature, and philosophy. He also has an extensive academic career as a Psychology professor, having lectured and extensively researched at Harvard University and the University of Toronto. Tammy's husband and father to Mikhaila and Julian Peterson, Jordan is also the founder and architect of the Future Authoring Program and Peterson Academy, the latter of which is coming soon. Learn more about Jordan Peterson here. My notes In Jordan Peterson's language. On Writing Writing is the deepest form of thought. When you think, you translate your thoughts into words through writing. This is why I write. On Righteousness To sin is to miss the target. Biblically, sinning is going contrary to God's command. Thus, you miss the target of spiritual salvation. On Inspiration The USA is a country where people's success encourages others; It's called The Land of Opportunity for a reason. It's also partly why capitalism thrived while communism crumbled post-Cold War. Great players are inspirational people. They don't just win the game - they inspire other players to win it as well. Always aim upward. On Adventure At 75 years old, Abraham left Midian to seek an adventure on God's command. God promised Abraham (nee Abram) an eternal covenant and an eminent reputation. And there is nothing that protects you more than a reputation. On Sacrifice Christ is the Spirit of voluntary self-sacrifice. His life epitomizes the willingness to die for humanity's malevolence. On Integrity If you don't speak up, something will happen. Abraham spoke and saved his nephew Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. On the other hand, Jonah refused to speak, and a fish gobbled him up for three days. When you lie, you live a lie and enact a life full of lies, not your life. Stop lying. Freedom of speech, defined by the First Amendment, is not about insulting or attacking others but speaking the truth against tyrannies. On Faith You should have immense faith that you accept whatever happens to you as the best thing that could ever happen to you. Don't lose faith, no matter what. Prayer is a faith catalyst that most religions emphasize on its importance. Prayer is also a form of gratitude - At least you're not on fire. On Responsibility Sacrifice yourself to the highest possible, self-imposed responsibility you can take and watch yourself bloom into the incomparable reward it brings. With responsibility comes meaningful suffering, and that is life's essence. And that reward mostly justifies the suffering. The greatest game to play is the highest possible aim you can give yourself. You don't need politicians to change the world if you take personal responsibility and do it yourself. Do not under any circumstances abdicate your moral obligation like Jonah. "What would you tell 23-year-old Jordan?" There was also a Q&A session where attendees asked 517 questions through a QR code. And with limited time, Jordan can answer only so many. But, of course, I still took my shot, so I asked mine. Interestingly enough, you could upvote the intriguing questions, which would bump them higher on the list. But anyway, Jordan answered three questions. And thanks be to God, the last one was mine. "What would you tell 23-year-old Jordan?" His answer: As summarized by Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jordan would tell his 23-year-old self to: Stop drinking. Marry Tammy sooner. Stop making a fool of himself. Conclusion Jordan is someone I emulate to be as a motivational speaker, not a psychologist. (People dub me for motivational speaking; we'll see.) I also like how he speaks on the spot and sometimes with his laptop. There's a fandom theory that goes: Jordan is a having a conversation with himself and we have the pleasure of listening in. And I thought that was true. Needless to say, Jordan is indeed a man of our times. It's like seeing Plato, Aurelius, or Socrates alive in the 21st century - Jordan, to me, is their 21st-century counterpart. This isn't the last time I'm meeting him. First of many, God willing. Until then, . . . ~T.K.K