The Systems Guy • Follow me for systems on health, wealth, and free time ⚡ Cornell MBA • 2M+ audience

Hi, I'm Ben Meer.

Tired of non-actionable life advice, I started writing online in February 2022.

Here are the results:

→ Built social audience from 0 to 2M+ (across IG, LinkedIn, and X) 
→ Grew 0 to 690K+ followers on LinkedIn in 21 months
→ Scaled newsletter—System Sunday—from 0 to 270K+ subscribers

There are 2 primary ways I can help you:

1) System Sunday Newsletter

Most people don't know how to build life systems to accelerate personal growth. So I created a weekly newsletter that teaches these systems (it's free). Subscribe to unlock new levels of wealth, health, and freedom.

→ Try it: benmeer.com/ss

2) Archimedes [Coaching]

Access the most exclusive members' club for LinkedIn thought leaders. Get the proven systems, resources, and community to 10x your personal brand. 

→ Check it out: joinarchimedes.com

——

Sponsorships: partnerships@benmeer.com

Ben Meer

How to live life like it’s your second time around.

5 rules to experience more joy and less regret:

1. Remember the Spotlight Effect.

We think people are paying far more attention to us than they are. 

Harsh truth: 

Your freedom begins the day you realize nobody is thinking about you.

—

2. Consider the things you won’t care about in 5 years. 

• Other people’s opinions
• Petty disagreements
• Sensationalized news 

Allow yourself to stop caring now.

—

3. Shift your mindset from ‘I don’t know how’ to ‘I don’t know how yet.’

In the words of Adam Grant:

• Impostor syndrome: ‘I don't know what I'm doing. It's only a matter of time until everyone finds out.’

• Growth mindset: ‘I don't know what I'm doing yet. It's only a matter of time until I figure it out.’

The highest form of self-confidence is believing in your ability to learn.

—

4. Make 'No' your default. 

Whether it's a new work project or social gatherings, saying 'Yes' to non-priorities ruins your priorities. 

As Derek Sivers says, if it's not a 'Hell yeah,' it's a no.

Then pour that time into what actually excites you.


—

5. Normalize being weird.

“Weirdness is what sets us apart, gets us hired. Be your unapologetically weird self. In fact, being weird may even find you the ultimate happiness.” —Chris Sacca

—

We only get one do-over in this beautiful life. 

Make sure to live it intentionally. 🙌

♻️ Repost to help others live life to the fullest.
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If I had to restart my career tomorrow, these are the 9 soft skills I’d learn first:

1. Be the person who gets things done
↳ Organizations reward initiative.
↳ Solve problems proactively (promotions follow naturally).

2. Leverage the 7-38-55 Rule
↳ Other’s impression of you comes primarily from nonverbal cues.
↳ Focus on your tone and body language to elevate your communication.

3. Use the 4-Bullet Update
↳ Remind leaders of the task, your actions, blockers/risks, and follow-ups.
↳ You respect their time and show ownership.

4. Practice the Gratitude Loop regularly
↳ Spot good work, call it out specifically, and reciprocate.
↳ You will build loyalty and strong alliances fast.

5. Treat your speaking like game film
↳ Record calls/meetings and review them often. 
↳ It’ll help eliminate filler words and sharpen your delivery.

6. Send weekly Friday Highlights 
↳ Recap your wins and things you’re looking out for next week. 
↳ You both build trust in the moment and create a stack of evidence for review season. 

7. Apply the Plus One Rule everywhere
↳ Find ways to leave every process 1% better. 
↳ Consistent small upgrades make you indispensable.

8. Give yourself a Personal MBA
↳ 30 minutes of daily business reading sharpens your mind over time. 
↳ You’ll be thinking (and acting) like an executive before you know it. 

9. Eliminate complaining and gossip
↳ Your words about others reflect directly on your integrity.
↳ Replace negative speak with direct, respectful communication.

The AI era is here, and hard skills can be outsourced faster than ever.

What can’t be outsourced?

Your reputation.
Your initiative.
The trust you build with the people around you.

People skills are the real opportunity in 2026 and beyond.

And the best part is, anyone can learn them.

♻️ Repost to share these skills with your team.
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This quote hit home for me.

12 small life edits that have outsized returns:

Morning Routines

1. Make your bed first thing. You build momentum and set the tone for the day. 

2. Step outside. A healthy tide of cortisol is released when you step outside at daybreak, allowing you to become more alert. You'll reset your circadian rhythm.

3. Send a good morning text. Gm texts >>>. Make someone's day.

—

Evening Routines

4. Write down your 3:3:3 plan for tomorrow: 3 hours on your most important project, 3 shorter tasks, 3 maintenance activities (h/t Oliver Burkeman).

5. End your workday with a shutdown ritual (h/t Cal Newport). Close your laptop, plug in the charger, and spend 2 minutes tidying your desk. Then say "shutdown". Separating your work and life is key.

6. Journal 1 beautiful life moment. Delicious tacos, presentation you crushed, a moment of inner peace. Write it down. Gratitude programs a mindset of abundance.

—

Meals

7. Prioritize unprocessed, whole foods: eggs, blueberries, dark leafy greens, and walnuts. You'll feel on (finally).

8. Hydrate before you caffeinate. Drink a full glass of water right away. 60% of your body is water. Replenish it.

9. Follow Japan's 80% Rule: Only eat until you are 80% full. Overeating makes the body divert blood & energy to digestion (causing drowsiness). Nobody has time for a food coma.

—

Home

10. Establish a home for every item. My advice: List your most misplaced items (keys, wallet, etc.) and standardize a home for these things today.

11. Choose practical materialism. Buy things that make you healthier, wealthier, or provide you free time. Products that make a material difference in the quality of your life.

12. Follow the 1 In, 1 Out Rule. If you purchase one item, then donate, toss, or sell another. Manage both inbound and outbound possessions to enjoy equilibrium.

—

One last thing:

It's not just your environment worth editing. Your inner dialogue shapes your life, too.

Audit your thoughts to make sure they align with who you want to become.

Your future self will thank you. 

♻️ Repost to share these tips with others. 
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How to subtly upgrade your life in 2026.

Dial in these 5 everyday inputs:

1. Social Inputs

You become the 5 people you spend the most time with.

Choose wisely:

• Find intellectual sparring partners (where you help one another).
• Resist false kindness: Create an inner circle that will give you honest feedback.
• Avoid energy vampires: Spend more time with people who give you energy and less time with those who steal it.

—

2. Information Inputs

Elevate your sources. 

If you want to level up your information diet, here are some immediate upgrades:

TED Talks, documentaries, insightful podcasts, books that challenge and inspire, and unbiased news sources.

See the comments below for a curated list of my favorite resources.

—

3. Mental Inputs

Small shifts in language create big mindset shifts.

Among my favorites:

• Failure → Learning
• Stuck → Exploring new angles
• Nervous → Energized
• Hate → I prefer
• Have to → Get to

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4. Health Inputs

Your brain influences every thought, feeling, and action you take.
So prioritize your brain health:

• Take long walks.
• Sleep 7+ hrs nightly.
• Have a strong rest ethic to avoid burnout.
• Rebalance your dopamine with less screen time.

—

5. Environmental Inputs

Pare down to essential items.

Then, manage both inbound & outbound possessions.

Inbound:
• Choose quality > quantity
• Purchase less; love every single item more

Outbound:
• Follow the 1 In, 1 Out Rule: If you buy one item, then donate, sell, or toss another

—

Your future results are a lagging measure of your current inputs.

Choose wisely. Everything else is downstream.

♻️ Repost to spread this message to your network.
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Social intelligence quietly determines who gets promoted.

Here are 20 sentences to master it:

These may be called soft skills, but there is nothing soft about their impact. 

♻️ Repost if you found this useful. 
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The ultimate career superpower?

Learning faster than everyone else.

These 4 science-backed frameworks make it possible:

1. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
↳ Identify the 20% of material driving 80% of learning.

2. Spaced Repetition 
↳ Revisit concepts at growing intervals. Memory compounds with time.

3. Feynman Technique
↳ Break an idea down into its simplest parts to deeply understand it.

4. Memory Palace
↳ Attach facts to memorable mental images. Visuals are hard to forget.

 —

Accelerate your learning with AI:

Here’s 3 prompts to use:

1. “Explain [topic] to me as if I’m 12.”

2. “Quiz me on [topic] with 5 questions, then give hints only if I’m stuck.” 

3. “Generate a spaced-repetition schedule for mastering [skill] in 30 days.”

Paste these into your favorite AI to take action. 

—

The best investment you’ll ever make is in your own mind.

Information is abundant. It’s the willingness to learn that’s rare.

💾 Save this to find it later.
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"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." —Peter Drucker

20 simple phrases to build a healthy team culture:

If you want to install a growth mindset:

1. "What did we learn?"
2. "How might we…?"
3. "I need your help…"
4. "What are your thoughts on…?"
5. "Thanks for taking that risk."

If you want to build trust:

6. "I made a mistake."
7. "You've got my full support."
8. "I appreciate when you…"
9. Help me understand…"
10. "I trust your judgement."

If you want to cut out toxic language (avoid these):

11. "That's not my job."
12. "We've always done it this way."
13. "Who's to blame?"
14. "That'll never work."
15. "Just do what I say."

If you want to prevent eroding your culture (avoid these):

16. "They should have…"
17. "You're wrong because…"
18. "That's a stupid idea."
19. "Why didn't you…"
20. "I told you so."

The words you speak become the culture you work in.

The best ones don't just happen overnight.

They're built one word, phrase, and conversation at a time.

♻️ Repost to champion healthy workplace communication.
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Jim Bouman

I am a growth coach who works with youth (35 and younger), startups and SMEs to make this world a better place.

My purpose is to help others realize their passion and purpose, and empower them to achieve higher performance, higher income and live a more fulfilling life - for themselves and for the people they touch.

I succeed when you no longer need me. The earlier, the better.

---- For individuals ----

I help you
- identify your passion/purpose (what you really want in life)
- discuss your options (including ones you're unaware of)
- simplify and create a roadmap for you
- help you set up your own continuous self-improvement system

Goal: create a fulfilling, ever-improving life (and income) around your passion/purpose.

---- For young/small businesses ----

You tell me your situation and your idea, opportunity or struggle and I tell you your options.
Whichever works best for you, I help create an easy-to-implement roadmap for you.

Goal: making your passion (business) sustainable, profitable and ever-growing.

---- Free coaching ----

- Guides: https://jimbouman.com/guides
- Daily newsletter with best practices & lessons learnt: https://letters.jimbouman.com/

Growth Coach

Awaji Youth Federation

Be part of the AYF global community: https://awaji-youth-federation.com/global-community/

After my Fellowship, I joined the Program Secretariat to further develop the program (i.e. corporate incubator) and provide an even better experience for new batches of Fellows.

I mainly worked on the recruitment of new Fellows, mentoring and creating a stimulating work environment for current fellows and taking care of fellows' needs.

Having gone through the Fellowship myself, I acted as a bridge between existing fellows and other stakeholders, both internal and external.

Program Assistant

The Awaji Youth Federation provides a 1-year fellowship program that brings young people from all over the world together on Awaji Island, in rural Japan.

The goal of the program is to bring more people to rural Japan and revitalize the local economy and community with both short- and long-term projects.

Simply put: it's a corporate incubator.

I focused on rebuilding a run-down shopping district in the northern part of the island and helped with various events run by my colleagues.

Wanting to improve the program's effectiveness and help the other fellows have a great time doing social work, I acted as a fellow representative and liaison with upper management.

Fellow

TFJoy Limited

Tasked with the goal of converting our team's effort to joy for our customers. 

Led an international team, oversaw day-to-day operations and worked on improving TFJoy's portfolio and staff in an effort to realise TFJoy's vision: using (mobile) games to bring joy to the daily lives of as many people as possible.

General Manager

Brought joy to the Dutch market by localising and launching TFJoy's first 3 games for the Dutch market. Engaged and retained users via in-game events and social media support.

Country Manager

Henkel

Marketing Intern

Life mission: to be able to help anyone in 5 minutes, now and 300+ years after I’m gone.

Now building: a text-based personal brand agency for founders and executives.

Why? 
I fundamentally believe the world would be a better place if people have more autonomy (personal brand). I want the best stories of (wo)men in the "arena" told and told well. Passionate and skilled writers ensure these people (and their work) get the attention they deserve. 

This startup is part of my self-designed Empowering MBA, in which I build 18 startups in 18 months.

I believe the world would be a better place if everyone would (and could) pursue their calling. 
I work to make that a reality.

---- Me in 30 seconds ----

After business school I planned to become a professional football/soccer coach. I joined a startup instead, helped grow it to 25 people before having to fire half of them.

I moved to rural Japan to join a corporate incubator, couldn’t handle the bureaucracy and quit after 2.5 years to start my own thing.

Then I drop-shipped, day-traded, consulted startups, did digital marketing for local businesses, and coached young people and small businesses.

Along the way, I found my calling. 
I call it Empower: to be able to help anyone in 5 minutes, now and 300+ years after I’m gone.

I spend my time reading, learning, writing and building empowering startups. (With some coaching on the side.)

Dutch native turned global citizen, I now live in central Japan.

---- What I’m working on ----

Empowering MBA – I’m launching 18 startups in 18 months.

Currently building – A text-based personal brand agency for founders and executives.

(Growing my mom’s real estate agency on the side. Out of love.)

---- Contact me? ----

Coaching, collaboration, speaking or interview request?
- Schedule a call here: https://cal.com/jimbouman/

Anything else? 

- Email or DM me. I do my best to reply but get too many to answer everything.

P.S. I share business opportunities and what I'm up to in my newsletter. Some feel empowered by it. Determine for yourself: https://letters.jimbouman.com/

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