Get inspired to live a fulfilling life I CEO and Founder of get inspired

Raphael Buck

Change your state, change your life. 
How to not miss your penalty shots in life.
  
Same moment. Different state. Different destiny.
 
You can often predict whether a player will miss or score 
a penalty before the ball is kicked just by the walk.
 
Player 1  
Shoulders tense. Jaw tight.  
Focus: “Don’t miss.”  
Meaning: “If I fail, I let everyone down.”  
The body contracts. The shot hesitates.  
Often miss.
 
Player 2  
Body loose. Breathe steady.  
Focus: “Pick the corner.”  
Meaning: “This is my moment.”  
The body expands. The movement flows.  
Often goal.
 
Same distance. Same pressure.  
Different state. Different result.
 
 
WHAT IS A STATE?

The concept popularized by Tony Robbins is simple:
State is the combination of three elements:

1. Physiology  
Posture, breathing, movement. 
The body influences the mind.

2. Focus  
What you pay attention to. 
Threat or opportunity.

3. Meaning  
The story you assign. 
Failure or training.

Physiology shapes focus.  
Focus shapes meaning.  
Meaning drives action.  
Action drives results.

  
WHY it matters
 
Decisions Improve  
Emotional state influences risk perception 
(Lerner et al., 2015). 
 
Energy Drives Execution  
Performance follows physiological activation. 
(Jamieson et al. 2010)
 
Identity Is Reinforced  
Repeated emotional states shape self-perception
(Damasio, 1994).
  
  
WHAT actions to take 
  
1. Activate Your Body
  
Before important conversations or decisions: 
move. Stand tall. Deepen your breathing. 
Elevate intensity for 60–120 seconds.
Body leads mind
  
2. Direct Your Focus
  
Ask better questions.  
Not: “Why is this difficult?”  
But: “What is the opportunity here?”  
Focus creates feeling
  
3. Reframe Meaning
  
Events are neutral. Interpretation is not.  
Replace “This is a problem” with “This is training.”  
Meaning shapes reality
  
4. Interrupt Fast
  
When you feel contraction, catch it early. 
Stand up. Walk. Reset breathing. 
Disrupt the loop
  
5. Create Rituals
  
Elite performers anchor peak states through routines: 
music, movement, visualization, breath. 
Build your own pre-performance ritual.
Ritual creates reliability
  

FINAL thought
  
Circumstances are rarely under your control.
Your physiology is.  Your focus is.  Your meaning is.


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Design a life that works for you 🔥
Raphael

Change Your State - Change Your Life

First Principles - Relationships. 
Why great relationships are not about you but about the other person and what you build together.

Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill’s mother, 
once attended two dinners with 
two different British prime ministers.

After the first dinner she remarked:
"When I left the table, 
 I thought he was the most brilliant man in England."

After the second dinner she said:
"When I left the table, 
I thought I was the most brilliant woman in England."

The first man impressed her.
The second man made her feel valued.

Great relationships when 
others feel seen, valued, and understood.

 
WHY it matters

Happiness
Quality relationships are the strongest 
predictor of long-term happiness 
(Waldinger & Schulz, 2023).

Health
Strong relationships significantly increase 
longevity and physical health
(Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010).

Resilience
Supportive relationships buffer stress and 
improve psychological resilience 
(Cohen & Wills, 1985).

 
WHAT actions to take

Five First Principles on Relationships

1. Trust
Trust grows through reliability and psychological safety. 
Keep your word, be consistent, listen without judgment,
and assume positive intent. 
Principle: Create psychological safety.

2. Understanding
Seek to truly understand the other person’s perspective, 
emotions, and aspirations. Ask thoughtful questions, 
listen carefully, and show genuine curiosity. 
Principle: Seek to understand first.

3. Appreciation
Express appreciation regularly. Notice small efforts, 
acknowledge strengths, and say thank you often. 
Principle: Show sincere appreciation.

4. Shared Meaning
Build experiences, rituals, and goals together. 
Travel, traditions, family habits, and common 
projects create shared memories and direction. 
Principle: Build something together.

5. Repair
Conflict is inevitable. What matters is repairing 
quickly. Apologize early, lower tension, and focus on
understanding rather than winning. 
Principle: Repair quickly.


FINAL thought

The secret of great relationships is surprisingly simple:
Make the other person feel bigger.
As writer Maya Angelou famously said:

“People will forget what you said, people will forget 
what you did, but people will never forget 
how you made them feel.”

Design a life that works for you 🔥

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Raphael

First Principles - Relationships

Be a Free Spirit. 
Live by choice, not convention.

I find it fascinating what drives people 
to live their lives as they do.

There are countless explicit and implicit conventions 
about what a successful career looks like, 
what defines a great relationship, how to raise a family, 
and how to live healthily.

Many follow conventions without ever challenging them. 
They climb a ladder they never placed. 
They follow a script they did not write.

A free spirit is different.
“A free spirit is someone who is internally free enough 
to choose their life deliberately and 
brave enough to accept the consequences.”


WHY it matters

Agency
A free spirit strengthens agency 
Higher perceived control increases motivation, 
persistence, and performance under uncertainty 
(Bandura, 1997).

Coherence with What Matters
Living by chosen values increases coherence. 
When behavior aligns with intrinsic goals, well-being and 
sustained motivation rise significantly 
(Deci & Ryan, 2000).

Flexibility & Resilience
Detachment from rigid identity increases adaptability. 
Psychological flexibility improves resilience
(Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010).


WHAT to do

1. Awareness & Detachment
List the conventions shaping your career, relationships, 
money, and health. Question each: 
Did I choose this or inherit it?
Principle: See the script

2. Curiosity
Expose yourself to alternative models of success 
and living. Read outside your field. Seek opposing views. 
Curiosity expands possibilities. 
Principle: Expand the frame

3. North Star
Define your core values, long-term ambition, 
and non-negotiables. 
Write a one-page personal constitution. 
Freedom requires direction, not drift. 
Principle: Choose your direction

4. Courage
Act in alignment even when approval declines. 
Make one visible decision that optimizes for meaning 
over optics this year. 
Freedom requires tolerating friction. 
Principle: Accept the cost

5. Discipline
Build systems that protect your autonomy: 
health routines, financial runway, deep work blocks. 
Discipline sustains freedom over time. 
Principle: Protect your freedom
 

FINAL thought
Being a free spirit is not about rebellion. 
It is about authorship.
Not escaping structure but choosing it. 
Not rejecting responsibility but owning it.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become 
who you truly are.” Carl Jung

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Design a life that works for you 🔥
Raphael

Be A Free Spirit

Either / Or:  How to make major life decisions?
A simple question provides the right path. 

Major life decisions. Everyone faces them.  
Do I pursue this career or that career?  
Do I stay in my current job or change?  
Do I engage with this partner or another?  
Do I commit to the relationship?  
Should we get married?  
Should we have children?
  
All of these are major life decisions.
  
Some decisions feel clear; 
Others are far less obvious.  
Because they offer different paths.  
They involve trade-offs. 
Those choices can lead to regret
The regret of an alternative life.
  
I recently came across a beautifully 
simple question for navigating such choices.  
It comes from Søren Kierkegaard in Either/Or:
  
“𝗢𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 
𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵.”
  
 
WHY it matters
  
Clarity
Focusing on intolerable regret simplifies 
complex choices by revealing what truly matters, 
reducing cognitive overload and indecision 
(Iyengar & Lepper, 2000).
  
Commitment
Decisions aligned with deeply held values 
create stronger motivation and persistence  
(Self-Determination Theory; Deci & Ryan, 2000).
  
Life Satisfaction
People who make decisions consistent with 
intrinsic priorities report higher long-term 
life satisfaction and lower regret 
(Schwartz et al., 2002).
  

WHAT to do 
  
1. Imagine Both Futures
Visualize both life paths in vivid detail
career, relationships, daily life, identity. 
Notice which imagined future creates 
deeper excitement or discomfort.
 
2. Identify the Regret
 Ask: ten years from now, which missed path 
would create the heavier regret? 
Regret reveals priorities
  
3. Remove Perfection
Accept that no choice eliminates trade-offs. 
Every meaningful path sacrifices another possibility. 
Life is trade-offs
  
4. Follow Aliveness
Notice which option feels more alive, meaningful, 
or expansive, even if it is harder or riskier. 
Growth usually lives there. 
Energy signals direction
  
5. Commit Fully
Once chosen, stop revisiting the alternative path. 
Invest your energy fully in building the life you selected.
Commitment creates meaning
  

FINAL thought
  
“Life can only be understood backwards; 
but it must be lived forwards.” Søren Kierkegaard
  
  
Design a life that works for you 🔥

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Raphael

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Either / Or - Life Decisions

Valentine Boyev

CEO at Halo Lab ✦ Helped 500+ companies to raise 💲revenue and investments through digital design and marketing → $500M+ in client total funding

With a passion for creating unique and scalable digital products, I help brands achieve their goals and enhance their online presence.

Key Achievements:

✅ $500m+ in client total funding

✅ 500+ happy clients

✅ 99+ international awards

✅ 120+ glowing reviews


I specialize in:

⤷  Web Design Services: Creating eye-catching and user-friendly websites that grab attention and drive results.

⤷  Website Development: Building strong, reliable websites that fit your business perfectly.

⤷  User Experience Design: Making sure your users have a smooth and enjoyable experience.

⤷  Brand Design: Crafting unique brand identities that really pop.

⤷  Conversion Optimization: Helping turn your visitors into loyal customers.

⤷  Digital Web Solutions: Providing all the web solutions you need in one place.

⤷  Website Redesign for Results: Giving your old website a makeover to boost performance and engagement.

———————————————————————————

My Journey

My career began 15 years ago as a UI/UX designer, driven by a passion for creativity and beauty. For me, design is more than a job—it’s a way of life, an ever-exciting, fantastic world.

I believe in thinking outside the box and continuously renewing my knowledge. This mindset has guided me in helping people fall in love with brands and assisting agencies in winning new business.

———————————————————————————

Halo Lab

Another passion I discovered is mentoring young designers at Halo Lab, where I help them become true professionals. Sharing my knowledge not only helps others but also fuels my own learning journey.

———————————————————————————

Have a BIG idea in mind?

Contact me directly: inquiry@halo-lab.com

Co-Founder & CEO

Halo Lab is a full-stack design & development team.

We created digital projects almost every day since 2013.

We work with a diverse range of innovative startups and established companies. We've launched over 350 projects, helping our clients secure a total of $370M in funding. 

Some of our standout projects include:

- Kinetik: A healthcare platform with over 3,500 integrated providers.
- Bookclub24: A German online library for book collectors.
- Raven.gg: A leading brand in custom esports clothing design.
- Mighty Buildings: Pioneers in sustainable 3D-printed houses.

You can hire a designer. Or you can hire a design brain.

One gives you beautiful screens. The other gives you a product that thinks.

When you hire a single designer, you get skills.
When you hire a team that works as one brain, you get experience that compounds.

At Halo Lab, our teams don’t work in silos.
The UX researcher sees what frustrates users.
The product designer connects it to business goals.
The UI designer turns it into clarity and trust.
The developer translates it into something fast and functional.

Each person covers a blind spot the others can’t.
And together, they don’t just design, they solve.

That’s the difference between design as a task and design as a system.
Between a pretty interface and a product that scales, converts, and feels effortless to use.

If you’re scaling your product, don’t just hire a designer.
Hire a brain that’s trained to think like your users and build like your business depends on it.

If you’re looking for a design brain that can start in weeks (not months), let’s talk👉 https://bit.ly/49wqB0p

🔔 Follow Valentine Boyev for more updates!

CEO @ Halo Lab ✦ Leading a 130+ design-driven B2B software company → 500+ products shipped & scaled

“$5K for a full app” sound too good to be true.

A credible app budget runs anywhere from $50K–$250K+, depending on scope and complexity. 

At $5K, what you’re really buying is a prototype, a landing MVP, or a template, not a production-grade product.

The hidden costs show up later:

✦ No QA.
✦ No security.
✦ No IP clarity.
✦ No discovery.
✦ No maintenance plan.

So what does a serious proposal include?

1. Discovery: user flows, integrations, edge cases.
2. Delivery plan: milestones, QA, release strategy.
3. Security & compliance baked in.
4. Ongoing ops & maintenance plan.

🚩 If a vendor quotes $5K for the whole thing, don’t think “deal.” 
Think “demo.”
The real bill will come later, in rewrites, downtime, or lost trust.

The smarter play: if budget is tight, scope a small, clear MVP with defined limits and a real path to production. 

That way, your “cheap” start doesn’t become an expensive rewrite.

♻️ Share it resonates.
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“So… how much does it cost to build an MVP?”

That’s the question I get from almost every founder we talk to.

There’s no one-size-fits-all number, but there is a clear pattern in how MVP costs break down.

And understanding it early can save you from burning six figures in the wrong phase.

Typical MVP cost.

1. SaaS MVP: $30,000–$100,000 (more with complex backend or AI features).
2. Mobile App: $60,000–$150,000 (iOS + Android doubles cost unless cross-platform).
3. Marketplace: $30,000–$150,000 (multi-role logic and payments drive cost).
4. Internal Tool: $15,000–$100,000 (simpler UI but requires solid integrations).

How founders blow the budget:

1. Too many “nice-to-haves.”
You don’t need every feature. 
You need one that solves a real pain.
Amazon’s MVP sold only books, that’s it.

2. Reinventing what already exists.
Use Stripe, Auth0, Firebase, Twilio, not custom clones.
Integrating proven services can cut MVP costs by up to 60%.

3. Building all at once.
Launch the essentials (Phase 1), test, iterate, then scale.

4. Ignoring “hidden” costs.
Hosting, compliance, and early marketing add up fast.
Always keep a 20% buffer, it’ll save your runway when surprises hit.

5. Skipping validation.
A small discovery phase costs 5% of the budget but prevents 50% of rework later.

The best MVPs aren’t just cheap.
They’re intentional, focused, and fast to learn from.

P.S. Smart Calculator to estimate your project cost 👉https://bit.ly/469trIn

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7 UI rules I wish I knew earlier.

(to make the UI work for the product growth).

1. Focus on fixing real user problems, not curious design. Function over form.

2. Stop guessing what works. Test all UI elements - buttons, CTAs, days of the week, color schemes - before you make a decision. Let the data choose.

3. Waiting for the perfect design means you're going to miss the needs of your users. Get feedback early and iterate fast.

4. Do not make the user think. Use simple, clear language that anyone can understand. The simpler the better.

5. The best way to reduce friction is to eliminate a choice.
 Focus on what matters.

6. Your UI is never "finished." It will evolve with user feedback and as your product changes.

7. If your product isn't optimized for mobile, you're losing users (we saw 40% drop-off on mobile checkout before the redesign).

Ultimately, outstanding UI is about making your product simple, clear, and effective for the people using it.
Design for your users, not for your ego.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in designing for usability?

♻️ Share this to help others avoid mistakes.
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If 40% of users would be “very disappointed” without your product, you’re close to PMF.

But users don’t feel “very disappointed” because of features.
They feel it because:
The product solves a real pain
The value is obvious
The experience feels effortless
That’s UX.

Data shows:
88% won’t return after one bad experience.
69% of enterprise software fails to deliver value.
60% of users abandon purchases due to poor UX.
42% of startups fail because there’s no real market need.

Most of those failures are about building the wrong solution, making value hard to access, creating friction before the “aha” moment.

Great UX design does three critical things:

1. Identifies the real problem before you build.
2. Clarifies the value proposition instantly.
3. Removes friction between intent and outcome.

Without that foundation, development becomes expensive experimentation.
With it, you build toward validated demand.

What about the ROI? Forrester reports:
415% ROI from UX investment.
Payback in under 6 months.
Massive reduction in rework costs.

PMF isn’t when users say, “Nice product.”
It’s when they say, “I can’t work without this.”

That’s a UX outcome.

We help product teams turn friction into traction through strategic UX design. Explore our UX design services → https://lnkd.in/dm3U-5yX

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How UX drives product-market fit

Stop increasing your expenses by 200% to 300%.

Start choosing the right build path.

Here is a rough estimate of costs associated with the two approaches based upon typical U.S. agency pricing and costs for the first year.

If your product is a marketing site, landing page, content hub, or simple store
→ Choose Webflow - аaster launch, lower cost, no dev retainer, easy updates.

Year-one cost:
🔹 $3.5K–$25K build.
🔹 $200–$900/year hosting.
🔹 $0 maintenance (no updates, no security patches, no plugins to babysit)

Explore our Webflow services 👉 https://lnkd.in/dHvy96bR

If your product needs real logic.
→ Choose custom code - because Webflow can’t handle user auth, multi-role logic, complex data structures, or real product architecture.

Year-one cost:
🔹 $25K–$150K+ build.
🔹 Hosting: $50–$200/mo
🔹 Ongoing engineering maintenance required.

Explore our Web development services 👉 https://lnkd.in/dKwsDnTh

The simple rule:
If the website’s job is to communicate → Webflow.
If the product’s job is to compute or interact → Code.
That’s it.

And the fastest way to save time + money is knowing the difference early.

♻️ Share this to help others make a choice.
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Freelancers execute tasks.

Dedicated teams build products.

That’s the real difference.

And it’s why enterprise companies increasingly choose dedicated product design teams over solo contractors.

1. No “Vacation Pause”.
2. You’re getting product intelligence.
3. Real consistency.
4. Strategic partnership.

Last quarter, we analyzed costs for 23 SaaS products: freelancer projects averaged 40% more in rework costs despite lower rates.

The freelancer model often means:
- Coordination overhead
- Inconsistent quality
- Rework
- Delays

Dedicated teams deliver faster, more predictably, and with built-in quality control.

If you’re building a serious product in SaaS, fintech, healthtech, you need a systemized, cross-functional product design engine.

👉 Partner with Halo Lab’s dedicated product design team and build with consistency, speed, and strategic clarity 👉 https://bit.ly/49wqB0p

Let’s talk about your next release.

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What a dedicated product design team does

I watched a founder burn $180K on hiring before shipping a single feature.

Here's the math they missed:

🔹 In-house.
High salaries + benefits.
Recruitment delays + costs.
Equipment + admin overhead.

🔹 Dedicated team.
No hiring delays.
Immediate start with senior talent.
Clear monthly cost, no hidden overhead.

One client switched after 4 months of failed interviews — saved $60K and launched 6 weeks later.

Dedicated teams aren’t just cheaper. They’re faster.
You skip 3-6 months of recruitment delays.
You get structured delivery and clear accountability.
While others are still hiring, you’re already shipping.

Want to know your project cost?
We built a Smart Calculator to help founders like you get a realistic cost estimate. 

Try it here 👉 https://bit.ly/469trIn

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Dedicated vs in-house

Every product fosters feelings.

Slack develops curiosity (you check threads). 
LinkedIn develops affirmation (you observe reactions). 
Airbnb develops trust (you reside within somebody else's space). 
Uber develops control (you follow the car, the route, the pricing).

The emotional loop your product supports, becomes the habit that makes users return or leave.

And here is where many teams miss. Your design doesn't just support feelings. It influences them.

✦

For every engagement - a micro-feeling is triggered - frustration, relief, pride, fear. 
These micro-feelings accumulate into a memory. Then memory drives retention.

Behavioral design studies confirmed that:

✦ Positive feelings (clarity, control, competence) are proven to increase engagement by 30-40%.

✦ Unresolved frustration (human error, waiting, loss of context) is the leading cause of churn within SaaS and consumer apps.
So when your UX creates anxiety (loading uncertainty, unclear steps, overwhelming dashboards) - the user has accomplished their task, but subconsciously will avoid returning.

✦

Every product trains some solution.
Banking apps establish trust through clarity, confirmation, and feedback.
Healthtech products establish calm through predictability, empathy, and clarity in high-stress situations.
Productivity tools establish competence through progress visibility and responsive approaches.
E-commerce establishes confidence through speed, reassurance, and visual clarity.

If your UI, motion, and feedback loops do not align with the emotion you want to establish, they will establish the opposite.

Ways to audit emotional design in your product.

1. Avatar the emotion you want your users to feel. (Do you want them caring, empowered, energized, etc.?) 

2. Map the emotion to each interaction. For every step: "What is this moment teaching?" 

3. Test the users' reactions, not just the usability. Record facial expressions or tone, or even keywords in a survey, after each interaction. 

4. Design feedback loop(s)- use motion, microcopy, timing, etc. to bake enrich positive emotions in the experience.

Any emotional association your product will have already taught emotion - even if you weren't designing for it. Are you sure it was the right one?

♻️ Share this to help others audit their products.
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The Battle

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