🌱 Finding success in your 40s

The hidden principles shaping your life

Author

Mitchell Cohen
September 21, 2025

Here’s your 3 insights in 3 minutes.

✍️ Clear Thinking 

With AI now, it’s easy to stop writing. But before you fall into that trap, remember this:

Clear writing is clear thinking. 

And clear thinking shows up everywhere. From writing better prompts to having better discussions, to making better decisions…

The #1 way to improve all the above? 

Say it out loud. 

If you wouldn't say it to a friend, don't put it on a page. 

❌ Violating Your Principles 

“You never violate your principles: you only discover that they are not what you thought they were.”

Aaron Haspel, Everything

The answer isn’t more discipline, it’s more curiosity.
Watch what you actually do and then just get curious about why.

In 2015, my energy was low and I wasn’t excited about much. On paper, optimism was one of my values, but it wasn’t showing up in real life. So I started with what I could control: my physical health. Years later, now health has become my #1 value. 

You don’t decide your principles in theory.

You discover them in practice.

🪴 Success In Your 40’s

“The first move toward mastery is always inward—learning who you really are and reconnecting with that innate force. Knowing it with clarity, you will find your way to the proper career path and everything else will fall into place. It is never too late to start this process.”

Robert Green, The Daily Laws

Robert Greene had 80 jobs before writing The 48 Laws of Power at age 39. On the surface, it looked like he hadn’t “made it” until his 40s.

But I’d argue he was making it the whole time—by trusting his intuition, following his craft, and staying in the game long enough for it to click.

Where’s your “innate force” pulling you?

To wrap this up like a pig in a blanket: 

  • Write to think clearly (and speak to write clearly)

  • Discover your principles through action, not theory

  • Experiment and trust yourself, it’s never too late

Salud,
Mitchell