Next year I turn 40.

There’s something about round numbers that makes my systematic brain think they have special meaning. This makes me seize the moment to reorganize myself a bit.

That's why this year’s theme is laying the foundations for the next ten years.

To do this, I’m reflecting on what’s working, what’s not, how I want to design my future, and developing some necessary skills to make it happen.

Things I Learned in My 30s

In some ways, I feel like my 30s were just a more sophisticated way of understanding the world compared to my 20s. It was a deeper iteration of comprehension about how the world works, or at least parts of it.

Here’s a somewhat incoherent collection of things that stand out.

I Shouldn’t Take Anything for Granted

I need to be grateful that Aldi and Dori are with me and enjoy every moment we have together. The same goes for my family and the people I love.

I need to be grateful for the work I have and the ability to work.

I Can’t Keep My Brain in Overdrive

In 2019, I started getting migraines. Since then, I’ve essentially been dancing around headaches, unable to use my time the way I used to.

Clearly, the way my brain worked up to now isn’t sustainable, and now I’m suffering the consequences.

More and more, I hear people mention that they can’t do what they used to when they were younger. 🤷

As part of my studies on migraines, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which wasn’t a huge surprise: hyperfocus was my superpower throughout my life. But now my brain isn’t so happy, so I have to start limiting how and how much I use it.

This also makes me think about what kinds of future occupations I can consider, as having a calm pace helps eliminate many options that would be harmful to my health.

Thinking Statistically

Thanks to studying Nassim Taleb’s Incerto series, I began to understand a bit more about the importance of statistical distributions in randomness and how this is much more relevant in daily life than one initially realizes.

This may be the biggest influence on my "worldview" over the last ten years.

Taleb is a complicated character, but in his raw and arrogant way of stating things, he has very important ideas that are becoming increasingly relevant.

I think I’d like to continue incorporating other cosmologies, especially from more regional thinkers, because I’m tired of Anglo-Saxon individualism.

I Lost and Found My Love for Music

At some point, I stopped listening to and making music. I suppose leaving Días Felices, along with not managing to start anything new afterward and redirecting my attention to video games, broke something in my relationship with music.

I stopped discovering new bands, stopped playing music while working, stopped playing the guitar.

At some point, mewithoutYou brought back a bit of that goosebump feeling.

And at some point, Sophie reignited the flame.

Last year, I took a few lessons, and some interesting things came out of them with my dear friend and excellent producer Rodrigo Caro.

Now I’m at a weird point. I’d like to make music again, but I’m mentally overloaded. Deep down, I think I’m waiting to move to San Eduardo, but more on that later...

I Don’t Enjoy the Video Game Industry

Well, it’s tough to come to this conclusion after more than 10 years of pouring so much effort into trying to live off it, but I’ve realized I no longer want to make a living from video games.

The main reason is that it’s not fun. Sustaining yourself by making video games has a lot of implications that you don’t see when you think, “how nice it would be to make a living from games,” and those implications wore me out.

I might write a specific article about this, but in summary: I don’t want to deal with the stress of managing a large team and convincing unpleasant people to finance our games. I’d rather spend my time sharing ideas and experiences with creative people.

What I Want in My 40s

Here’s another incoherent list of things to pursue in the next 10 years.

Intentionality

If I had to sum up how I want to live the rest of my life in one adverb, it would be intentionally.

I feel like I’ve always had clear goals and pursued them, achieving varying levels of success along the way. That’s fine for your 20s, even your 30s, but from now on, I think it would be nice for my goals to be chosen more intentionally.

Cal Newport proposes the concept of Lifestyle-Centered Career Planning, where you define how you want your lifestyle to be and build everything around that, intentionally.

Even if you don’t achieve the lifestyle you originally envisioned, there’s a better chance you’ll end up in a better place if you plan holistically.

Quality of Life

Every time we travel to Mar del Plata, we feel better.

That’s why we’re moving to Mar del Plata.

We bought a plot of land there and are building a house using bioconstruction.

The project is being carried out by Fede Moretti from Tribu de la Tierra.

The idea is to create a forest of native plants, some fruit trees, a garden, and workshops for Aldi and me, so we can live among the plants and close to the sea💚.

The workshop’s goal is to create a space where I can explore creative disciplines that come to mind—I still need to learn electronics, work with wood, and who knows what else.

Sustainable Work

The business model of seeking publishers doesn’t appeal to me. It imposes too many conditions that I no longer want to meet.

The same goes for the traditional startup model: seek investment, grow like crazy, or close down.

Both models are designed for people with excess energy or people who don’t mind breaking their lives. I’m tired of putting so much energy into making money.

That’s why this year, I’m delving into the world of bootstrapped companies, mostly through the MicroConf community.

I’m also trying to reorganize myself a bit using the principles of Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity:

• Do fewer things
• Work at a natural pace
• Obsess over quality

Living a Creative Life

In the end, all of this connects to my overarching goal of living a creative life.

Having my own space where I can express that creativity is essential.

That’s why I’m using this year to build the foundations so I can explore my creative interests sustainably over the next 10 years.

As for games, I’ll focus on making text-based interactive fiction games without commercial aspirations that stress me out.

This will be reflected in the development of Cuentitos Studio, a tool for developing interactive narratives designed to eliminate the friction of this activity, and by building relationships with writers and artists interested in it.

As of May 11, 2025, Hidden People Club will become a publisher of interactive fiction.

Conclusion

This year, I’m laying the groundwork so the next 10 years will see a radical shift in how I approach life: intention, slowing down, and enjoying more.