I read this quote a long time ago and it has stayed with me ever since:

“Someone once told me the definition of Hell: The last day you have on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.” – Anonymous

This idea sparked my lifelong pursuit of unlocking not only my own maximal potential but also helping others (those willing to go on this journey with me) do the same.

But how can life bear fruit without a purpose that is truly and personally yours? As Lewis Carroll said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

To navigate this uncertain world, I’ve always used a “3-axis model” to discover purpose: 1) what you love, 2) what you’re great at, and 3) what the world needs. This has guided me through college, my first startup, and continues to shape how I live.

Later, I came across the Japanese concept of “Ikigai”—a reason for being—which adds a fourth axis: what you can be paid for. This addition makes the model more sustainable over time.

But perhaps when one reaches true financial independence and, as Joseph Heller said, “the knowledge that you’ve got enough,” you can return to a purer three-axis purpose. (It’s interesting to see how similar words exist across cultures, such as the French phrase ‘raison d’être’ or the Sanskrit concept of ‘dharma.’)

Recently, I’ve been slow-reading The 5 Types of Wealth, and the chapters on “Time Wealth” and “Mental Wealth” inspired me to revisit and deepen my own life priorities. This reflection allows me to align my Ikigai not only to my vision but also to operationalize my day-to-day choices—deciding what to commit to and what to deliberately avoid.

Here’s a simplified version of my life’s top 5 priorities (and the anti-goals that help me avoid everything else). It’s meant to be audacious and somewhat grand-sounding, but the underlying motivation is to make it truly worthwhile—something worth betting everything in your life on:

Work — “The Big Rocks” (Combined 90%+ of my time; “work like a lion, not a cow” — Naval Ravikant)

1. Build a $100B+ technology business group focused on AI, productivity, longevity, and deep tech — Why? My life’s purpose is to be as useful as possible to humanity.
2. Build a $10B+ fund to invest in transformative technologies and exceptional entrepreneurs & creators around the world — Why? Meeting great entrepreneurs and learning about the potential of the technology inspires me, energizes me, and keeps me reaching higher.
3. Be a leader of a global community of 1,000 entrepreneurs working to reshape the trajectory of human civilization for a better future.

Family & Personal — “The Pebbles & Sand” (Combined ~10% of my time)

1. Be a devoted partner and father to 10+ children (yikes!😬), nurturing each of them to become impactful entrepreneurs in their own unique ways — Why? It brings meaning beyond my physical self and creates lasting contentment.
2. Build and maintain a strong, healthy body and mind to become the best version of myself. — Why? It’s the hygiene/sufficient condition to do everything above.

Today, I’m still VERY far from these goals, but they give me clarity and help me ignore distractions. I care less about popular shows, celebrities, sports, news, or other diversions that take time away from what truly matters (to me).

So how do I allocate my time and energy? For me, focus is everything—and so is my “Don’t-Do List”:

• Don’t-do Goals: Don’t do anything that wastes time and energy/dopamine.
  • Don’t spend more than an hour in a given day (ideally in a week) on activities outside these top 5 priorities.
  • Don’t consume and spend time on media or content (short form videos, tv shows, articles) that doesn’t align to top 5 priorities.
  • Don’t engage in energy-draining work that falls outside my zone of genius or competence (e.g., 6 types of working genius); instead, partner with others whose strengths complement mine.
  • Don’t invest in quantity of time; invest in high-quality, intentional time. (e.g., my family time usually is short, but intentional — e.g., Quarterly Family Reviews and focused 1on1s with kids)
  • Don’t engage in unnecessary social events that fall outside of these top 5 priorities.
  • Don’t take vacations unless absolutely necessary, as I recharge mostly through work, short meditation (NSDR anyone?), and learning.
  • Remember: Don’t waste your precious dopamine!

Now, I admit, sometimes I do fall into the ‘don’t-do goals’ trap, but I have built triggers to snap myself out of it. I aspire to the prolific lives of Benjamin Franklin, John von Neumann, Leonardo da Vinci, and King Sejong (one of the most productive kings in Korean history) to drive myself to be the best and most productive version of myself.”

This is not a good prescription for almost all people, but it’s how I stay aligned to my values and life’s priorities. In the long term, life has a way of rewarding intentionality, purpose, focus, and sacrifice (what I call deliberate investments).

The best way to be happy I found is to continue simplifying your life, be purposeful and healthy, spend time with a small group of people you care about (our team and family), and never compare yourself to or expect things from others—except when it comes to teamwork.

And the greatest gift, I believe, is to live a life where you never have to meet the person you “could have been”—because you became them.