Foundations Project

What Is The Foundations Project?

Beginning in 2024, I embarked on a year-long project to improve my foundations in life. Each month I chose a different foundation, worked on establishing a new keystone habit and read copiously from the best experts about how to improve that area of my life.

Below is a list of all the public essays and videos I wrote about the project. In addition to this, however, I also have a companion course ^[1] which goes into more depth teaching the foundations and guiding students through making their own foundations stronger.

Foundations Explained: An Ten-Part Essay Series

1. The Universal Foundations for a Good Life ^[2] – What is a foundation? Why does it matter?
2. The Twelve Foundations for a Good Life ^[3] – An essay outlining my project, and which foundations I chose to work on, along with my tentative plan for each month.
3. The Sweet Spot: Why More Effort Isn’t Always Better ^[4] – Why mediocrity beats mastery when it comes to your foundations
4. The Three Gaps ^[5] – Three gaps define the difference between how we would live ideally and how we actually do in practice, and of those gaps, one is the most important.
5. A Solid Foundation is More than Just Habits ^[4] – Why building strong foundations depends on more than just having “good habits.”
6. The Foundations for Success and Happiness Are the Same ^[6] – The road to happiness and achievement are the same path.
7. 12 Obvious (and 12 Not-So-Obvious) Tips for Living Better ^[7] – Sharing some obvious, and not-so-obvious advice about each foundation.
8. Where’s Your Blindspot ^[8] – In the end, it’s not the problems you know you have, but the problems you don’t even realize you have that get you.
9. How to Be Well-Rounded ^[9] – In terms of Foundations, it’s all about balance, not extremes.
10. What Could you Change in a Year? ^[10] – Take up the challenge for yourself!

My 12 One-Month Challenges