I disappeared for 6 months.
No announcement.
No "taking a break" post.
No dramatic exit.
I just... stopped.
And I need to tell you why.
I spent a decade building.
12 businesses. 8-figure valuations.
The money. The team. The applause.
And at the top?
I felt nothing.
I kept trying to prove my worth.
To others.
To parents.
To myself.
To the younger me who believed that money solved all problems in the world.
Because his trauma stemmed from a lack of it.
So the chase to the top is what drove me.
And on that journey I sacrificed friendships, moments, time.
All of which I can never get back.
Then the person I trusted most took everything overnight.
The company. The team. The assets. Gone.
I relapsed. Hard.
The vices I thought I'd outgrown rushed back like they never left.
But now? I had run out of places to run.
So I did the opposite.
For the first time in my life...I stopped.
10 days. Silent meditation retreat.
No phone. No speaking.
Just me and the truth I'd been avoiding for 20 years.
And in that silence, something revealed itself.
Not a new version of me.
But...the original one.
Underneath the trauma.
Underneath the proving.
Underneath the performing.
For the first time in my life I wasn't chasing anything.
I was just... still.
And in that stillness I realised something that changed the direction of my life.
"I don't need to prove anything anymore. I never did.
And now I need to help others see what I almost didn't.
That they were never broken in the first place."
So I went silent.
Not to find myself.
I'd already done that.
I went silent to build.
I spent 6 months writing a 550-page book about everything I've learnt rebuilding my life from rock bottom. 90 truths across 10 pillars. Identity. Mind. Body. Relationships. Purpose. Enlightenment.
All of it.
Then I spent another 6 months vibe engineering an AI companion called Yui from the ground up. Solo. No team. No funding. No coding background.
An emotionally intelligent & hyper-personal AI that listens, remembers, and helps you see yourself clearly every single day.
Because no one walked beside me on that journey.
And I don't want anyone else to walk it alone.
I don't know if any of this will work.
I don't know if the book will land.
I don't know if anyone will use the app.
But I know why I'm doing it.
And for the first time... that's enough.
So here I am.
Back on LinkedIn.
Back in public.
Back with something real.
If you're still here after 6 months of silence...
Thank you 💛
And if you're in the middle of your own rebuild right now...
Stay close. This is going to be a wild ride.
P.S. What's one thing you walked away from that everyone thought you were crazy for leaving?
I'd love to hear below~
No announcement.
No "taking a break" post.
No dramatic exit.
I just... stopped.
And I need to tell you why.
I spent a decade building.
12 businesses. 8-figure valuations.
The money. The team. The applause.
And at the top?
I felt nothing.
I kept trying to prove my worth.
To others.
To parents.
To myself.
To the younger me who believed that money solved all problems in the world.
Because his trauma stemmed from a lack of it.
So the chase to the top is what drove me.
And on that journey I sacrificed friendships, moments, time.
All of which I can never get back.
Then the person I trusted most took everything overnight.
The company. The team. The assets. Gone.
I relapsed. Hard.
The vices I thought I'd outgrown rushed back like they never left.
But now? I had run out of places to run.
So I did the opposite.
For the first time in my life...I stopped.
10 days. Silent meditation retreat.
No phone. No speaking.
Just me and the truth I'd been avoiding for 20 years.
And in that silence, something revealed itself.
Not a new version of me.
But...the original one.
Underneath the trauma.
Underneath the proving.
Underneath the performing.
For the first time in my life I wasn't chasing anything.
I was just... still.
And in that stillness I realised something that changed the direction of my life.
"I don't need to prove anything anymore. I never did.
And now I need to help others see what I almost didn't.
That they were never broken in the first place."
So I went silent.
Not to find myself.
I'd already done that.
I went silent to build.
I spent 6 months writing a 550-page book about everything I've learnt rebuilding my life from rock bottom. 90 truths across 10 pillars. Identity. Mind. Body. Relationships. Purpose. Enlightenment.
All of it.
Then I spent another 6 months vibe engineering an AI companion called Yui from the ground up. Solo. No team. No funding. No coding background.
An emotionally intelligent & hyper-personal AI that listens, remembers, and helps you see yourself clearly every single day.
Because no one walked beside me on that journey.
And I don't want anyone else to walk it alone.
I don't know if any of this will work.
I don't know if the book will land.
I don't know if anyone will use the app.
But I know why I'm doing it.
And for the first time... that's enough.
So here I am.
Back on LinkedIn.
Back in public.
Back with something real.
If you're still here after 6 months of silence...
Thank you 💛
And if you're in the middle of your own rebuild right now...
Stay close. This is going to be a wild ride.
P.S. What's one thing you walked away from that everyone thought you were crazy for leaving?
I'd love to hear below~