I recommend everyone to make a list of the things that made them proud.
If something makes you proud, it usually means you learned something valuable for life.
Here is my list. These moments give me confidence and courage in my daily life.
At 10, I helped my parents stop smoking.
This is probably the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done. I was a kid watching TV when I saw an ad saying that if you smoke, you die. In the ad, there was a scene with a child and their parents smoking; after a break, the child was walking alone. I remember thinking: my parents smoke too… will I be alone? I started crying.
It was December 31st, the whole family was at home. I think it really shocked my parents. They started reducing their consumption, and after three months, no more cigarettes. They ate more and drank more coffee, but that’s still better than smoking. I cried at the right time, and it changed our lives.
At 17, I started going to the gym.
I was skinny, no girlfriend, nothing, just my PlayStation and Coca-Cola. I started lifting weights, running, and swimming. I’ve always been a bit hyperactive, so sport fit me well.
Now I’m 21 and I haven’t quit. I train five times a week, not extremely hard, but consistently. I believe in long-term consistency rather than short bursts of intensity. As a bonus, my parents now go to the gym too. My dad is 50 and in great shape.
At 17, I also started reading seriously.
I stopped playing video games around 16–17 because they started to feel empty. I wanted something to train my brain. At school, books were imposed, so I never read them. When I started choosing books I actually liked, everything changed.
Today, I’d say 80% of my knowledge comes from books. It’s incredibly efficient: you sit down and learn directly from some of the best people on earth, how they think, live, and make decisions. I especially recommend biographies and sales books.
At 21, I did my first internship as a software engineer.
I built a product for a startup that is used by the biggest sports clubs in my region. When you go to a basketball game in your city and see an app you built displayed on a big screen and used by thousands of people, it’s hard to describe the feeling. I’m simply proud.