Leonardo Afonso

5 years ago, I stumbled upon self-improvement. And over the years, it quickly became the worst phase of my life. I wasted thousands of hours. Went further a drift. But in that drift, I made a shift that will now put me on the right track. It all had started with a shiny white book. Atomic Habits I quickly began reading more, watching more, and seeking more. A few years in, and I was deep in self-improvement. But had no meaningful results to show for. I was like everyone else: » waking up at 7 a.m. to "learn" » increasing deep "work" sessions » stacking habits that I picked up from social media But to be honest, I wasn't achieving anything. I wasn't building anything. I looked like a junky. But for "improvements." Improving this, improving that. Jumping from shiny new thing to shiny new thing. From powerlifting to starting "businesses" (without any vision) to wanting to be super rich (thanks to a certain bald guy) I followed everything that came across my feeds. Or that came out of the mouths of people around me. I became more mediocre than ever before. Doing and thinking like everyone else. Then I got enough. I stopped. I stopped with "self-improvement": » checking checklists » learning the tips and hacks » "improving" everything and anything And switched to occupational design. I stopped consuming without a target. Or with a target that wasn't mine. And resolved to uncover my own: "What would I be working on for the next 5 years?" Then, I redirected all my other efforts to serve this target. It took me more than 2 years, but I finally have: » the concrete notion of what my self-aligned life looks like » the clear-cut steps to get there » the learning approach to get there And this is where I am now. ------------------------------ Now, looking back at what I did, I know that you can get all this in a fraction of that time. All you need is a focused approach. And to cut off every external influence. Because it's society that clouds our own inner voices. Then we become stuck in whatever shiny new thing it shoves down our throats with complete disregard for what truly matters to us. But following the example of the greatest masters of the past. Leonardo. Galileo. Newton. Einstein. Steve Jobs. We're going to break free from this. And carve our own path! ------------------------------ So if you're ready to break away from the pack, Drop me a follow There's a lot to come...

@Thezxyellow That's facts man

@IamLeoAfonso Self-awareness beats external validation every single time.

Others' positive reviews of you don't matter. Just because others say you're good at something. Doesn't mean it's something worth investing in. At the end of the day, they don't know you enough. They don't have access to your experiences. Only you can know that. It's the only positive reviews that you can't trust

@sheshn94 Now that you say... Why do I even do it? (joking)

Society trains you to hold in your farts but doesn't train you to make your own decisions. You were taught to raise your hand and ask permission to take a piss before ever being asked, "what do you want?" Shit's kinda fucked up but I laugh thinking back at it all.

@DerrickEmpowers You'll certainly fail if you don't leave the couch And this pain is deeper

Dude, if you won't give it to yourself then I give YOU permission to fail. Does failure hurt at times? Of course. But you know what? Stepping into the arena, failure or not, is exhilarating. There's freedom in facing your fear, locking into the moment, and seeing what you're made of. It captures the essence of what it means to be alive. STEP. IN. (Actual photo I took of the Colosseum when in Rome)

@Flaxenmind it's a necessary evil (depending on what you're doing)

You are not an indoor person, it's money that you don't have.

@Amthekenz Clarity is a life approach.

You don't need to post more. You need to post with clarity. Clarity is not just a writing skill. It's a growth strategy.

@EmailCopyJames let me make the script clearer: sit in a classroom » work 40y+ » retire (start living)

Here’s the hard truth: Most people will never escape average lives. Why? They follow the script: school → job → retirement. They wait for permission. They copy what everyone else is doing. You don’t have to. The internet rewards builders, not followers. • Start creating skills. • Start building an audience. • Start taking control of your path. Your freedom isn’t going to come from luck. It comes from consistent action and learning.

@GabrielTheOn3 Don't keep kicking the can of responsibilities down the road. Eventually, you'll get run over.

That thought you keep pushing down at 2pm on a Wednesday. You're in the meeting. Delivering. Saying the right things. But something underneath keeps pulling. Like you're supposed to be somewhere else. You shake it off. Close the laptop at 6. Tell yourself it's fine. It comes back. In the shower. On the drive home. Before sleep. No promotion fixes this. No new system. No certification. Because it's not about what you're doing wrong. It's about what you're not doing at all.

@Daily_Journaler Fresh paper fresh start

Cracked open a fresh pack of note cards. Time to build the next chapter of the book 👍

@RTthinks In this case you responded to another stimulus But please don't be a ball thrown back and forth by those stimuli (they're playing tennis with you!)

You aren’t controlled by your anger. You control it. I’ll prove it to you. Let’s say you’re angry at me. And your mum calls you. Will you pick up the phone and keep the same anger? No. You’ll tone it down and go back to normal. You just controlled your anger :)

@DANI_NOV4 This is a principle, it has a fancy name: via negativa (which probly means "by subtraction")

You don’t “find” focus. You eliminate everything that isn’t it. Focus is achieved through subtraction.

@tomas_yano good you got it man

@IamLeoAfonso "Nobody is coming to guide you by the hand. And you don’t need it" thats a gold nugget right there. took me awhile to get this!

90% of young adults are waiting for clarity to fall from the sky. But it’s nowhere to be seen. School has failed. Your parents have failed. You can’t wait much longer. You’re waiting for clarity to show up along the way. But clarity isn’t found. It’s built, intentionally. Built from the ground up. All the way to a clear target. You start by nailing down what your natural skills are based on what you’ve already experienced. Then define the occupation(s) they point you toward. Then you commit to one path and do everything in your power to get there. Mastering your occupation. Forging new relationships. Making an impact in the world. Nobody is coming to guide you by the hand. And you don’t need it. \ You can take charge of your own destiny today

@RTthinks This is only for those with the guts

@IamLeoAfonso It all comes down to if you wanna take responsibility of your life and figure it out. it is scary but it is the only way forward.

@DANI_NOV4 most people aren't active

@IamLeoAfonso clarity can't be a passive process. it's active, created that's why it's rare

If you're in your 20s and want to have concrete clarity on what to pursue I'm taking 2-4 people weekly on a 60-min “Quick Clarity” call, it's free: calendly.com/leonardo-c-afo…

@EmailCopyJames Simple is king

@IamLeoAfonso Young people search for complex systems that look cool, in reality all they need is to pick one skill then go all in until they get results

@Mtshub That's the process

@IamLeoAfonso Define your strengths, pick a path, commit fully, and build your future with deliberate action.

@ItsAndraz We gotta lock in

@IamLeoAfonso Clarity and what we want can only be discovered through action. And it's sad to see most people avoid it.

@HenriBranding That requires a strong will

@IamLeoAfonso The hard part isn't figuring out what to do, it's actually committing to one thing when everything feels possible.

@thedanielaros we need to take charge

@IamLeoAfonso We're either building our path or staying stuck in the same spot.