MaxO

The Open Cage: How Having an Anti-Vision, a Vision, and Clear Goals Secures My Freedom This week I finalized a career transition that most people think is impossible: I secured a significant salary increase while simultaneously reducing my working hours. I moved into a deep-tech role where I actually learn skills for my own long-term vision (more on how to create that vision later), all while getting paid more to do it. But here is the secret: The money and the time aren't the primary wins. They are merely byproducts of a superior mental framework I’ve been building for months. The "Light Switch" Moment The win didn't happen in the negotiation room. It happened at 5:00 AM that morning. While everyone is still sleeping, I sat alone and read through my Anti-Vision, my Vision, and my 1-3-10 year goals. It was like a light switch flipped in my brain. The inner fire didn't just flicker, it roared. Looking at that plan created a level of certainty so high that anxiety had no room to exist. Later that day at work, I didn't go into that meeting to ask. I went in there to execute a decision that had already been made in my mind, a decision that was based on what works best for me and my future self, derived from my goals. The Sovereignty Shift After being in the corporate world for a few years I’ve changed the way I view my role: It is no longer a job, it is a high-intensity lab for Mental Mastery. I stopped being a "Yay-sayer" and started practicing the art of the "No". Remember: Nobody gives you anything. You have to take it. I learnt it the hard way, you don't have to. In the end, you are the only person who can help you. You are your own most important asset. If you don't act, nobody will act for you. For me, every boundary set and every negotiation became a Daily Quest designed to build the psychological backbone needed not only for the markets, but for the quest to becoming a better man. I envisioned myself being the character I've played in World of Warcraft for many years, but now that character I level up is myself, myself in real life. Here is how I prepared: 1. Weaponizing the Anti-Vision. Inspired by @thedankoe and his great thread x.com/thedankoe/stat…, I spent that morning before negotiation staring at my Anti-Vision. I visualized the "stagnant soldier" (as I've described him), the man who spends 45 years renting out his mind for a mission he doesn't believe in, too tired at the end of the day to build his own dreams. That disgust fueled my resolve. When you are running away from a nightmare, you don't ask for a change. You architect a new reality because the alternative is death to your soul. 2. Trading Hours for Mental Capacity. The goal was never just a higher paycheck. The goal was Resources. By securing more income in fewer hours, I’ve reclaimed my most valuable assets: Time and Mental Capacity. In the markets, you need absolute focus. If 90% of your energy is drained by some (corporate) bullshit and 40+ hours of "busy work" (this is the worst, you really need to reduce cognitive entropy and find clarity), you have nothing left for execution. BUT NOW, I’ve effectively cleared my cache. I now have the mental quietude to build my personal brand, hit my trading targets with surgical precision, and document my journey to profitability on X. 3. The Spiritual Goal of the "No". Negotiation is weightlifting for the spirit, every rep is a rep closer to mental mastery. To walk into a room full of sharks and state your terms, knowing you are ready to walk away if your vision isn't met, is how you show your "Shadow Child" that you are good enough (The Child In You: The Breakthrough Method for Bringing Out Your Authentic Self - great book btw). You prove to yourself that you are worth fighting for. Confrontation is good, and running away isn't. Fight for youself. I am no longer a part of their system, they are an investor in mine. My job provides the steady cash flow while trading provides the infinite ceiling. The Lesson we can learn: The cage was never actually locked. Most people are just too busy polishing the bars to notice the door is ajar. Your ideal future can seem out of reach, which causes hesitation due to uncertainty, which then invokes anxiety. A plan creates clarity, and clarity creates action as Dan Koe states in his book The Art of Focus, so here are some steps you can undertake to create your clarity and to find meaning and purpose. Trust me it helps tremendously, and if you read this far, you know it does. 1. Define what you refuse to accept/what you despise becoming/who you don't want to be (Anti-Vision) 2. Define who you want to become (Vision) ‼️ 3. Derive Goals: Categorize them (Wealth, Health, Spirituality, Relationships) and set your timelines (1, 3, 10 years) 4. Build the skills to negotiate your freedom 5. Reclaim your time to build your empire Execution is everything. Start now. — Andi

The Great Reset I use periods of great transition to re-assess and redirect my course. Environmental change is the ultimate catalyst for growth, far more effective than any New Year’s resolution. It is the perfect window to install new habits and let go of the ones that no longer serve the mission. This moment marks one of the most significant shifts I’ve made in years. I am moving through 8 countries, traveling over 3,500km by land in my overland vehicle. Living outdoors 24/7, I am reducing my input from the man-made world to an absolute minimum. This is why I value strong seasons. The shift in color, temperature, and light conditions provides the optimal environment to ignite inner change. When you spend lots of time outside, a new season is a new house. It is a fresh start for the mind. I used and use it already to clean up my journal, mind and material processions, like you have seen for example yesterday in my biggest knowledge compendium ever released publicly. x.com/_MaxO22_/statu… Im also going to use this journey to reset my dopaminergic system, by limiting screen time to one hour per day max from the day we leave the house we lived for the past 2.5years. I even aim for less screen per time per day if not necessary. Time flies by like crazy and the those years have been among my most transformative. More about that in a separate post soon. On a personal level, one of our biggest adventures awaits. We have traveled extensively before and for prolonged periods, but this time is different because we are a pack of six living beings. To our original pack of three, we added a local street dog and two adopted cats this winter. Traveling with animals, especially four of them, is as different as you might imagine. Many would claim it’s not possible, but anything is possible if you want it enough. We need to plan more, and differently, for sure. Ultimately, we are looking forward to traveling across the globe with our pack. Our cats were raised by dogs, so they are a bit different, and yes, we are going to be those European weirdos running around with cats on a leash in countries where most dogs aren’t even allowed inside houses. We also have a clear objective this time. Before, we just traveled whenever and wherever we wanted. This time, we have a schedule because our next big project is waiting. As many of you know, sovereignty and self-sufficiency are my biggest core values. If you don’t want to rely on the system, you need a broad range of skills that go beyond making money in a specific niche with specialised knowledge. Growing our own food and providing for our essentials is a much more complex undertaking than we first thought. Seasons, soil, animal husbandry, and much more are waiting to be explored on a deeper level. A month ago, the universe provided us with what I would call one of the "luckiest" coincidences I have ever experienced. An old school friend of my fiancé saw her start doing social media, and they began talking. It turns out she married into a mountain farmer family that has a hut that needs to be looked after every summer. It also turns out we were looking for exactly that and better yet, we can live there for free without the weight of most of the European paperwork. Four animals are also not exactly what landlords typically look for in long-term tenants. Call it destiny, call it luck. I call it right time, right place, and right thoughts. If you know what you want and communicate it clearly, opportunities will open up that you couldn’t even have imagined before. In exchange for living there, we simply need to keep an eye on the cows, horses, and chickens roaming the open mountain plains. This allows us to gain our first real experience with farm animals, providing us with both food and knowledge. It also aligns perfectly with a plan we formed late last year to spend more time closer to family, as the hut is near where we grew up. Several things deserve credit for this: First: The Universe, Infinite Intelligence, or God. Whatever you choose to call it, some things are simply out of our control. Gratefulness is the currency we use to pay for these "lucky coincidences." Second: The fact that we cultivate our minds and thoughts like a garden. Verena is the master gardener here, and I am her student most of the time. I have to remind myself through books. For her, it comes more naturally. Third: The fact that we always put ourselves out there. Sharing goals and visions publicly creates opportunity. If Verena had not started her yoga channel and begun using social media, she would never have gotten back in contact with her old friend. The biggest lesson from this is that every bad thing that happens in life might just be a step closer to your actual dreams and visions. Because of Verena’s knee injury mid-winter, we decided it was best for her to recover in Germany, where distances are short and the environment is familiar. Ultimately, that was the reason she got back in contact with her old friend. Below you can see the hut we are moving to. I’ve cropped this image to remove any easily distinguishable landmarks, minimising the risk of AI-assisted geolocation for obvious reasons. It’s in a beautiful area with a traditional food manufacturers nearby, and close some smaller "cities" to get supplies. The hut has running water, electricity, and a wood-burning stove, which might seem standard, but is often a luxury in remote areas. We are even being supplied with free wood. It is a stunning hiking area where people come to escape the stress and hectic pace of the modern world. As I mentioned, it is very close to our families, whom we can now visit whenever we wish. In simple terms: It’s perfect, and exactly what we envisioned. This is where we will spend our summer while we figure out our plan for the winter. The owner warned that it gets too cold and there is too much snow to stay up there, but I’ve already told him we will see about that. The summer will tell us if we can make it through the winter, if not, the next amazing chapter is already loading right behind it. We don't know what it looks inside nor did we ask for the exact location. We are excecutioiners not planners. If the universe is providing opportunity and you feel it's the right path, thinking is the enemy. I know this region like the back of my hand. Between 3D maps and the clues I’ve dropped over the last 2.5 years, the location is there for those who know how to look. If you have elite orientation and memory skills, you’ll find it. The Challenge: The first person to DM me the exact coordinates on Discord wins a free spot in my group mentorship program. I love a guade Schnitzeljagt. If i could find it on the map, you can too. Dare to dream. Put in the uncomfortable work. Put yourself out there, and never let critics or fears hold you back. Truly grateful to be alive.

The Great Reset I use periods of great transition to re-assess and redirect my course. Environmental change is the ultimate catalyst for growth, far more effective than any New Year’s resolution. It is the perfect window to install new habits and let go of the ones that no longer serve the mission. This moment marks one of the most significant shifts I’ve made in years. I am moving through 8 countries, traveling over 3,500km by land in my overland vehicle. Living outdoors 24/7, I am reducing my input from the man-made world to an absolute minimum. This is why I value strong seasons. The shift in color, temperature, and light conditions provides the optimal environment to ignite inner change. When you spend lots of time outside, a new season is a new house. It is a fresh start for the mind. I used and use it already to clean up my journal, mind and material processions, like you have seen for example yesterday in my biggest knowledge compendium ever released publicly. x.com/_MaxO22_/statu… Im also going to use this journey to reset my dopaminergic system, by limiting screen time to one hour per day max from the day we leave the house we lived for the past 2.5years. I even aim for less screen per time per day if not necessary. Time flies by like crazy and the those years have been among my most transformative. More about that in a separate post soon. On a personal level, one of our biggest adventures awaits. We have traveled extensively before and for prolonged periods, but this time is different because we are a pack of six living beings. To our original pack of three, we added a local street dog and two adopted cats this winter. Traveling with animals, especially four of them, is as different as you might imagine. Many would claim it’s not possible, but anything is possible if you want it enough. We need to plan more, and differently, for sure. Ultimately, we are looking forward to traveling across the globe with our pack. Our cats were raised by dogs, so they are a bit different, and yes, we are going to be those European weirdos running around with cats on a leash in countries where most dogs aren’t even allowed inside houses. We also have a clear objective this time. Before, we just traveled whenever and wherever we wanted. This time, we have a schedule because our next big project is waiting. As many of you know, sovereignty and self-sufficiency are my biggest core values. If you don’t want to rely on the system, you need a broad range of skills that go beyond making money in a specific niche with specialised knowledge. Growing our own food and providing for our essentials is a much more complex undertaking than we first thought. Seasons, soil, animal husbandry, and much more are waiting to be explored on a deeper level. A month ago, the universe provided us with what I would call one of the "luckiest" coincidences I have ever experienced. An old school friend of my fiancé saw her start doing social media, and they began talking. It turns out she married into a mountain farmer family that has a hut that needs to be looked after every summer. It also turns out we were looking for exactly that and better yet, we can live there for free without the weight of most of the European paperwork. Four animals are also not exactly what landlords typically look for in long-term tenants. Call it destiny, call it luck. I call it right time, right place, and right thoughts. If you know what you want and communicate it clearly, opportunities will open up that you couldn’t even have imagined before. In exchange for living there, we simply need to keep an eye on the cows, horses, and chickens roaming the open mountain plains. This allows us to gain our first real experience with farm animals, providing us with both food and knowledge. It also aligns perfectly with a plan we formed late last year to spend more time closer to family, as the hut is near where we grew up. Several things deserve credit for this: First: The Universe, Infinite Intelligence, or God. Whatever you choose to call it, some things are simply out of our control. Gratefulness is the currency we use to pay for these "lucky coincidences." Second: The fact that we cultivate our minds and thoughts like a garden. Verena is the master gardener here, and I am her student most of the time. I have to remind myself through books. For her, it comes more naturally. Third: The fact that we always put ourselves out there. Sharing goals and visions publicly creates opportunity. If Verena had not started her yoga channel and begun using social media, she would never have gotten back in contact with her old friend. The biggest lesson from this is that every bad thing that happens in life might just be a step closer to your actual dreams and visions. Because of Verena’s knee injury mid-winter, we decided it was best for her to recover in Germany, where distances are short and the environment is familiar. Ultimately, that was the reason she got back in contact with her old friend. Below you can see the hut we are moving to. I’ve cropped this image to remove any easily distinguishable landmarks, minimising the risk of AI-assisted geolocation for obvious reasons. It’s in a beautiful area with a traditional food manufacturers nearby, and close some smaller "cities" to get supplies. The hut has running water, electricity, and a wood-burning stove, which might seem standard, but is often a luxury in remote areas. We are even being supplied with free wood. It is a stunning hiking area where people come to escape the stress and hectic pace of the modern world. As I mentioned, it is very close to our families, whom we can now visit whenever we wish. In simple terms: It’s perfect, and exactly what we envisioned. This is where we will spend our summer while we figure out our plan for the winter. The owner warned that it gets too cold and there is too much snow to stay up there, but I’ve already told him we will see about that. The summer will tell us if we can make it through the winter, if not, the next amazing chapter is already loading right behind it. We don't know what it looks inside nor did we ask for the exact location. We are excecutioiners not planners. If the universe is providing opportunity and you feel it's the right path, thinking is the enemy. I know this region like the back of my hand. Between 3D maps and the clues I’ve dropped over the last 2.5 years, the location is there for those who know how to look. If you have elite orientation and memory skills, you’ll find it. The Challenge: The first person to DM me the exact coordinates on Discord wins a free spot in my group mentorship program. I love a guade Schnitzeljagt. If i could find it on the map, you can too. Dare to dream. Put in the uncomfortable work. Put yourself out there, and never let critics or fears hold you back. Truly grateful to be alive.