I'm Mateo,
a digital nomad, designer, and marketer with a strong belief in the power of learning and experiencing new things through the cycle of life.
IYour 20s are meant for finding yourself and establishing your mindset. I don’t think you should niche down or specialize in something to quick. Experiment with technology, careers and with your body, you have so much more time now and you can take risks.
This is how I established a growing mindset…
My First Mindset (Beginner's Mindset)
My worst mindset evolved when I moved to the Netherlands and tried to pursue a career as a trader. Most of my time I was looking at the screen for 8 hours straight, trying to make a living from crypto, while working weekends, just to invest more money.
Trading and being independent sucked my energy completely, to the point that I started having uncontrollable panic attacks.
Don't panic!
My panic attacks happened with no explanation. But my mind didn’t accept this and I always seeked for a cause. My way of coping was at first seeking help from others. This helped, but after a few weeks, it started all over again.
Later on, I began visiting the doctor’s office, which was far from ideal given that every visit was payable, and only to hear that my health was alright and to receive a prescription for medication that I never even collected. As time ticked by, I continued experiencing panic attacks, not just in my home, but also at the gym – a place where I had hoped to relax my mind.
Following that, I experienced an intense panic attack and called an ambulance. Despite my fears, they confirmed that I was in good health and there was no cause for concern. It was at this point that I was able to break free from my recurring cycle.
I have full control now.
As time progressed, I started openly talking about my panic attacks, this is where I noticed a shift in my mindset. I realized that panic attacks are within me and my problem so I started with meditation, utilizing breathing techniques that I learned from Wim Hof and Google. Through this process, I learned to regulate my panic attacks – all through the power of realization and simple breathing techniques.
One realization that appeared on me was that panic attacks had become a part of who I am, they were now an aspect of my being. However, the biggest change I noticed was that I had gained control over them. Even though I still feel the onset of an attack, I now possess the ability to manage it and control its effects, allowing me to live a normal life.
Growing Mindset
I define my mindset as a growing one. This means that my set of skills are always developing. One way to influence your mindset to grow is by accepting and seeking new challenges. The most important part is sustaining your current mindset and slowly adding new things to your routine in order for it to grow.
You may be familiar with the 1% principle: 1% = 5 minutes of smart work each day. By following this equation, you improve by a small factor (37.8) every year. However, we often complicate things and attempt to do everything at once. But here’s the thing: 5 minutes is actually quite insignificant. Where can I invest just 5 minutes each day? Running for 5 minutes or reading for 5 minutes? Doesn’t make sense. Instead, I tried to do everything simultaneously—running for an hour, reading for an hour, learning for an hour, and working for over 6 hours every day. Engaging in this daily routine is utterly exhausting.
Optimize your time
What I had to understand is time management, for this to really make sense and it to be fulfilling. Take the same 5 minutes of running, but instead doing it daily, do it weekly. This would mean, one day in the week, I went out running for 35 minutes. This approach suddenly made more sense. I extended this strategy to every task, routine, and activity. Here’s my weekly routine of the most important aspects to sustain my growing mindset:
This is the beginning of the Growth Mindset Blueprint. This FREE, but limited (only 15) Notion blueprint helps you cultivate a growth mindset and encourages daily steps towards personal growth. It includes practical steps and a time management system to guide you towards a growth mindset.
By following these steps daily, you’ll create a foundation for personal development and acquire valuable skills to propel you forward. I am creating this blueprint from my own experience, but keep in mind everything can be customized the way you want it and I will be making updates frequently.
What you get:
- goal system,
- time management system,
- journal,
- my recommendations on self-development, marketing, design, entrepreneurship. A library of books, links, articles that I recommend,
- access to my closed group of growth-minded individuals.
*BONUS* 30 Day Challenge
I have decided to challenge myself and live without* distractions for one month. I will be documenting every day and you will get my insights next month. Here are my rules & goals for the upcoming 30 days.
*the goal is to bring my mind into a peaceful state and unleash my creativity and productivity, by excluding any distraction or negative receptors.
Goals & rules for the next 30 days:
- maximum of 1h screen time (YouTube, social media, series, etc.) and no screen time 1h before sleep,
- 4 healthy meals (less sugar and no coffee & alcohol),
- 7:00 wake up call followed by a 30 min meditation,
- 30 minute walk to come up with new ideas,
- 6 hours of productive work and no more,
- 8 hours of sleep,
- Sunday or Saturday no work,
- learning a new skill and reading books.
If you made it to the end, I would like to thank you for reading. Feel free to message me, if you are just starting or already are an entrepreneur I am always open to talk to new people and listen to new ideas!
P.S. Subscribe on LinkedIn for a journey beyond your comfort zone. ❤️
Mateo Jakelic
