#46: Back to Principled Basics

Greetings from Lebanon 🇱🇧

Took a pause from writing newsletters to go deep with my 2025 Try Life On mastermind students. (Check out Podcast Episode 106 for a topic we unpacked). Also been walking my own path, simplifying, stepping back from ventures in favor of more living, and getting even more intentional about how I live between two countries.

Still a Dad. Still running three virtual businesses. Still building community through Try Life On. But doing it with even more clarity.

Life is to be practiced. It’s not a destination.

That’s what I’ve been doing. Practicing. Refining. Returning to the rhythm that makes life feel aligned. This is one of the base Try Life On principles I always come back to. A reminder that the designed life you want won’t show up perfect, but it will meet you in the reps.

Everything I’ve done — military, real estate, travel hacking, executive roles, Mediterranean living — didn’t happen overnight. I practiced. I figured it out like a craft. Same goes for the folks I coach. Together, we use the same principles I’ve refined over the past 20+ years.

Here are six you can start applying now. The full list is at trylifeon.com/principles.

1. Status Quo is a Default Language

The system teaches “safe” paths. School. Job. Forty years of work. Retire. That’s not a fact. That’s a script. A language. You don’t have to speak it.

Seyi was in tech but dreamed of being a travel photographer. He thought he had to wait until retirement. We rewired the story.

He took a sabbatical, launched a photo series, and now licenses work to travel publications. Still does part-time tech work on his terms. It became real because he stopped defaulting.

Try this
Next time you hear yourself say “I can’t because…” pause. Flip it. Ask: “If I could, what would I try first?”

2. Design Your Perfect Day

Forget five-year plans. Start with Tuesday.

Write down a regular weekday that would feel amazing to you.
What time do you wake up? What do you eat? Who are you with? Are you outside? Are you building something? Moving your body? The key is to focus on the emotion of it all. That's what drives inspired action to make it all happen.

Karla’s perfect day included sunrise runs, coffee with her sister, and no Zoom after 3pm. That became her design blueprint. She restructured her freelance schedule and started living closer to her vision without blowing up her life.

Try this
Block 30 minutes this week. Write your Perfect Tuesday, hour by hour. Then change one thing in your actual Tuesday to bring it closer. Need a guide? Check out Newsletter 18 where I walk through the full Perfect Day design process. You can also listen to Podcast Episode 84.

3. Reality is What You Consistently Think and Act On

Your mindset isn’t a bonus. It’s the foundation.

Devon believed he wasn’t good with money. That belief cost him years. Once we reframed it, he started reading 10 minutes a day about personal finance. He tracked his financial life through a TLO Financial Blueprint exercise (income, expenses, balance sheet, storage ability). Built a small win. Then another. Now he owns 3 properties and teaches these same principles to his teenage sons.

Try this
Write down one belief that’s holding you back. Then write three counter-examples that prove the opposite might be true. That’s how you start to shift your default programming.

4. Secure Basic Needs First

Freedom doesn’t come from chaos. It starts with stability.

Trying Life On doesn’t mean quitting your job cold. It means stacking leverage. That might be steady income, healthcare, housing. Build the base, then design around it.

Leah wanted to leave her job but feared losing benefits. We helped her land a part-time consulting role that kept her insurance intact while she built her side business. Now she has both. Income and ownership.

Try this
List your non-negotiables: healthcare, housing, family responsibilities. Build your experiments after those are secure. Stability creates space for risk.

5. Ask Better Questions

Most people ask, “Can I afford this?”
 

Better question: “What would have to be true for this to work?”

Michael wanted to move his family to Costa Rica. At first it felt impossible. So we broke it down.

Can your job go remote?
Could you trial it for 30 days?
What’s the actual visa process?
How much would it cost, really?

The shift wasn’t magic. It was better thinking. Ask sharper questions, get sharper options.

Try this
Pick one area where you feel stuck. Write down three questions that start with “What would have to be true for…”

6. Can't Solve a Problem with Same Mindset That Created It

If what you’re doing isn’t working, don’t push harder. Shift your lens.

Rami kept trying to budget his way to financial freedom. It wasn’t working. He was stuck in scarcity. Once we reframed the focus to income generation, specifically through real estate, his results changed completely. Same goal. New mindset. New outcome.

Try this
Think of one problem you’ve been spinning in circles. Ask: “What belief is anchoring me here?” Then ask: “What would someone completely outside this situation do instead?” New lens. New action. 

These aren’t hacks. They’re practiced ways of living. And yes, all the examples above are true, but the names are changed :).

Like all of them, no one is born knowing how to design a lifestyle. But anyone can learn it. One principle at a time. One rep at a time.

Status quo is just a default. Your perfect day is waiting to be practiced. Your thoughts are building your future whether you realize it or not. So make them count.

Secure the base. Ask better questions. Shift the mindset. Then keep going. Keep Trying Life On.

Maurice