Letter 8: Building a Universe to Grow In: Books, Friendships, Mentors
If you asked me what’s helped me reach where I am today…
This is a subject I am deeply passionate about. From early on, I found myself drawn to learning from the best people I could find. And somewhere along the way, I came to believe deeply in this idea: we become the average of the people we surround ourselves with.
Here’s a question to sit with: Who are you becoming, just by being around the people and ideas in your daily life?
Growth rarely happens alone.
You don’t rise to your goals in isolation. You rise to the level of your environment.
And your environment is not random. It’s shaped by what you choose to let in—the words you read, the people you trust, the voices you lean on when you’re unsure.
Think of it as the universe you’re quietly building around yourself.
1 – Books as Portable Mentors
A book is never just a stack of pages. It’s someone’s life, distilled. Their mistakes, their experiments, their truths. In a few hours, you can step inside decades of someone else’s learning.
But books only become mentors when you treat them as conversations. Read with a pen in hand. Argue with the author. Test the ideas in your own life. Then the book stops being entertainment. It becomes a guide you can carry anywhere.
Every book is a one-on-one with someone wiser—if you know how to listen.
2 – Friendships as Accelerators
Look at the people closest to you. They are not just companions. They are signals of who you are becoming.
Do they lift you, or leave you drained?
Do they push you to stretch, or keep you small?
Friendships shape your future quietly, the way a river shapes its banks—slowly, consistently, but with lasting force.
A single friend who shares opportunities, who tells you the hard truth, who believes in your potential when you doubt yourself—that friend accelerates your growth more than a hundred loose connections ever could.
Your circle is not just your company. It’s your future, rehearsed in advance.
3 – Mentors as Shortcuts
A good mentor can save you years. Not because they give you shortcuts, but because they help you avoid dead ends.
Don’t start with the question, ‘Will you be my mentor?’ That’s too heavy, too formal.
Instead, show up curious. Ask something specific. Act on the advice you’re given. When you do, the relationship grows naturally.
Mentorship isn’t a badge someone hands you. It’s the trust you earn by showing that their time and wisdom will not be wasted.
Mentorship isn’t asked for. It’s grown through action and trust.
Growth is never a solo act. It’s environmental. It’s shaped by the universe you build around yourself—the books you open, the friendships you invest in, the mentors you listen to.
If you want one line to carry with you, let it be this: ‘you grow into the universe you choose to build around yourself.’