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Lex Fridman’s “Day in the Life” Can Help You Smash Your 6-Month Goals

Give it a try

Scott Stockdale
The Startup
Published in
6 min readJul 3, 2022

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Photo by Lex Fridman on YouTube

Lex is one of my unofficial mentors.

He’s the host of The Lex Fridman podcast and has interviewed leading figures, including Elon Musk.

Lex is also a YouTuber who keeps things simple. His videos are loosely edited. He often wears suits.

In one of his videos, he shares a day in his life. Pinching ideas from it has helped me smash my 6-month goals.

Here’s a breakdown of his day.

Mantra Routine — Morning

This isn’t woo-woo. Lex is practical, and his mantra routine reflects this.

It’s split into four parts.

Part I: Rules

He says, “I remind myself of the constraints in which the game is to be played.”

Such rules include:

  • Getting 6–8 hours of sleep each night
  • Only checking social media when he posts (1–3 times a day)
  • Exercising every single day — even if he’s in pain. “I find a body part that’s not injured and exercise that.”

Part II: Visualise

Next, he visualises his day ahead. “Like I’m in a game of Sims…”

He then says aloud three things he’s grateful for and meditates on the idea he might die.

“Today could be my last day on Earth.”

Part III: Goals

After visualising his day, he visualises his goals. He starts with ambitious ones. These are long-term, five-year goals.

His short-term goals follow these. Lex defines them as things he can do by the end of the year.

Just out of reach but achievable.

Part IV: Principles

Finally, he lists his core principles. You can think of these as affirmations. Things he strives to do.

He admits his principles are cliche. They’re about being compassionate, empathetic, and having strength.

Here’s a screenshot of my own mantra routine:

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The Startup
The Startup

Published in The Startup

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Scott Stockdale
Scott Stockdale

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