My Journey Optimizing Life for Maximum Fulfillment

Lessons on purpose, balance, and feeling alive every day

Abstract

This article challenges the toxic mindset of “no pain, no gain” by proposing a different approach to fulfillment and performance. True growth requires effort and sacrifice, but not at the cost of health, happiness, or time. Drawing from personal experiences in business, sport, and leadership, the article explores the meaning of feeling alive, the importance of purpose, and the balance between wealth, health, and time. It introduces a practical method to step off auto-pilot and live intentionally: doing things well, investing time wisely, and allowing space for dreams—both big and small. Fulfillment is not a distant destination but a daily practice of aligning energy, choices, and joy with one’s purpose.

Introduction

One of the reasons I write this newsletter is because I believe the culture of “no pain, no gain” is sick.

Let’s be clear: without effort, nothing is achieved—or at best, very little—because if you want to improve at something, sacrifice is required. No doubt about it. And there are no shortcuts.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is always a sacrifice—otherwise, it wouldn’t be called comfort.

The point is that sacrificing a big part of our lives in the hope of living well later is, let me say it, very risky and far from optimal. Not only that, but it tends to push happiness into the future, almost as if it were a destination to reach—when in fact, happiness is a choice, a state of mind.

Work gives dignity and meaning, but only if it brings fulfillment and is lived alongside joy in every moment—without postponing life for weekends, holidays, or what comes after.

Yes, but what does this fulfillment really mean? And how do we reach it?

In this article, I’ll share what I’ve learned after years of mistakes, successes, study, and ongoing reflections on how to improve myself and feel alive.

Discussion

Feeling alive—that’s what fulfillment means to me. The word itself is even misleading; no one really wants to be “full-filled,” because that would mean having no further desires. For me, feeling alive does not mean the peace of the senses or the cancellation of dreams. On the contrary, it means continuing to dream. Every single day. Without feeling like you’ve “arrived,” and without being frustrated about where you are—or aren’t—yet.

In Memento Mori

“Live every day as if it were your last.” But how would you live it if you really knew it was the last?

Don’t tell me you’d go to work, train, and feel alive. I’d feel already dead and would just arrange things to say goodbye to everyone. I wouldn’t produce, improve, or create value anymore.

The Memento Mori of Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism, as well as its modern versions, remind you of something else: don’t get swept away by daily routine—be alive. Time is finite and must be used to its fullest. Live every second and feel alive, because you don’t know how long you’ll live, but today—today you are alive. So go out there, dream, and give your all to get what you truly want.

Getting off Auto-Pilot with a Purpose

I’ve asked myself this many times: But what do I really want? At twenty, the answer was easy—I wanted money, recognition, success, to build something. In the early years of my career, starting with my first startup while I was still at Politecnico di Milano, that was my focus.

Then I began to think it would be way cooler to achieve success and make money by changing something in the world—for the better. I remember a video of Steve Jobs that was eye-opening.

From there, I began a long inner search for life’s purpose, what I wanted to be, and what I wanted to change. It took me a long time to realize that what I loved most, what made me feel alive, was making others feel alive. Helping them break out of auto-pilot, improve a little, every single day.

Despite five startups, years in Cerved Group, and now in CRIF Asia, this remains my purpose: to make people happier, more alive, better. That makes me feel alive.

At first, I tried to do this with my employees, then with my teams, and with all the people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and influencing.

You might wonder why I work in data and credit risk. Wouldn’t it make more sense to teach (I did that briefly) or work in an industry closer to people’s daily lives? I asked myself that too. And here’s my answer: few things improve people’s lives as much as credit. Gaining credibility with a bank or a client makes a huge difference for a person, a family, or an entrepreneur. After all, no economic transaction exists without trust, and modern GDP growth would not have happened if someone in Italy, back in the 1400s, hadn’t invented double-entry bookkeeping and modern credit.

But is knowing what makes you feel alive enough to feel alive every day? In my experience, it helps a lot, because it gives meaning to choices (provided you remind yourself of it often) and lets you set clearer goals. But no, it’s not enough. Sometimes it can even be frustrating—especially when you’re far from your goal or feel your impact is negligible. That’s why you need a method. I’ll share mine—not perfect, but at least it’s what I’ve learned so far.

Wealth, Health, and Time

If you work like crazy every day, head down on your goals, you may have the best purpose in the world, but sooner or later you’ll burn out—paying with your health or losing all sense of direction. And if, like me, your goal is to improve people’s lives, how can you expect to do that if yours is based on 14 nonstop hours of work each day?

Adrenaline and dopamine from daily wins can sustain you for a while, but eventually they fade and you’re left exhausted. Because the first thing I learned is that in life there are plenty of green lights (as Matthew McConaughey calls them in his book—which I recommend). Moments when everything flows and you’re moving forward strongly. You can even seek them out, work for them. But eventually an orange or red light will come too, and those are the best opportunities to learn and improve. The catch is: if you arrive at them already burnt out, they’ll crush you like a train.

My method is based on balance between wealth, health, and time.

I always keep in mind the famous words of the Dalai Lama:

“He sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

In other words, we need to stop thinking life is made of phases—first you work like crazy, then you start to enjoy, and only at the end do you really live.

We must find a way to enjoy every day, while increasing over time the impact we’ve chosen as our purpose—that which makes us feel alive.

What I do every day is push hard toward my goals, but I never (or almost never) sacrifice training, because it’s part of the goal. That’s what I recommend to everyone who wants to feel stronger, happier, sharper.

Usually, I train in the morning. I’m not one of those 5:00 a.m. people, partly because I live in Asia—at 5 a.m., the world is mostly asleep (Europe for sure, the U.S. is ending its day). The 5 a.m. routine makes sense in California, where waking at 8 a.m. means you’ve already missed Asia and Europe.

I wake up around 7:00 a.m., sometimes 8:00 if I stayed up late. Sleep (I’ll write an article just on this) is now a priority. I always neglected it, but in recent years I’ve noticed it makes a huge difference in performance the next day. If I sleep well consistently, I’m faster—not just in sport, but especially at work.

I eat a good breakfast and start reading the main news (I subscribe to most of the world’s major economic newspapers—I still believe there’s great value in them). My mornings are usually dedicated to market analysis, contracts, and tasks requiring deep focus. Around 11:30 a.m., I train—about an hour, sometimes 90 minutes or more. Then shower, lunch, and meetings.

If I’m in Singapore, I always try to avoid morning meetings. When traveling (which is almost every week), it’s harder, but I’m working on protecting my agenda.

The point isn’t to work less, but to work better—and avoid drifting from meeting to meeting unprepared, as if attending meetings were a job itself.

Time, in this balance, is the most important component. Our lives are finite—we need a sense of urgency. If you fill your week with useless things, you’ve lost a week of your life for your goals. Sounds obvious, but it’s not. We burn weeks as if we had infinite supply. Measuring everything in time helps. Seeing your time as an investment. I try to ask myself for every meeting and activity: how much of my time will this cost, and is it really worth it? Because time is finite and must be allocated wisely.

Doing Things Well

In my experience, doing things well greatly helps balance goals, health, and time investment. Not settling for good enough forces strong focus on what matters most and endless no’s to everything else. It’s therapeutic. You feel satisfied, stronger, and in control of your time instead of on auto-pilot.

Don’t Wait for the Good Things

Likewise, I’m convinced that owning beautiful things—in moderation—brings happiness. I try to buy little, but well. I’m not one of those who dismisses material aspects of life as irrelevant or misleading. On the contrary, I think they help you feel alive. There’s nothing wrong with admitting it.

For example: if I’m in a period where I don’t feel like running, a new pair of shoes (ASICS are my favorite) gives me the boost to start again. Same with a nice shirt or suit—it makes me feel better. What I avoid is buying in excess just to own. I’d rather have fewer things that bring me great joy.

So my advice: if you dream of something beautiful, don’t wait too long. In the right measure, get it now—it will make you feel more alive.

I’ll tell you a personal story that marked me. Like many Italians, my father loved cars from a young age. His dream was a Ferrari. When I was a boy in the ’80s, he ran a successful business and earned well. Buying one would’ve been a bit crazy, but possible.

I remember we went to an auto show in Turin (yes, they still existed then) and visited the Ferrari stand. I was thrilled, and you can imagine how my father felt. We even got a quote—probably for a Ferrari 328 GTB. But when we returned home, he reasoned it out: two kids still to marry, a dream for a family house, other priorities. So he let it go.

He built a great career, a beautiful villa, and enjoyed many achievements, but he died with one dream unrealized: a Ferrari.

I don’t know if your dream is a Ferrari or something else. But know this: there’s nothing wrong with having it. And if you can, take the risk—don’t wait. It will help you reach your goals earlier and better. It will help you feel alive. Every single day.

Conclusions

Fulfillment is not about reaching a final stage in life where one can finally relax and be happy. It is about creating the conditions to feel alive every single day—through purpose, balance, and conscious choices. Wealth, health, and time must be managed together: without health there is no wealth, without time there is no impact, and without purpose both lose their meaning.

The key lessons are clear:

• Dream daily and never settle into auto-pilot.

• Protect your health and energy, because they sustain long-term impact.

• Invest your time wisely, treating it as the most finite resource.

• Do things well, not just “good enough,” to strengthen focus and satisfaction.

• Don’t postpone joy—a dream pursued today makes you stronger and more alive tomorrow.

Ultimately, a meaningful life is not about waiting for the right moment but about living fully in the present while building the future. The choice is not between sacrifice now and happiness later, but between drifting passively or choosing to feel alive—today.

References

• Matthew McConaughey – Greenlights
  A memoir blending life lessons, resilience, and the metaphor of “green lights” that guide us forward.
  👉 Greenlights on Amazon

• Marcus Aurelius – Meditations
  Stoic reflections on how to live with purpose, urgency, and wisdom.
  👉 Meditations (Modern Library)

• Ryan Holiday – The Daily Stoic
  366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and living a meaningful life.
  👉 The Daily Stoic

• Dalai Lama – The Art of Happiness
  Insights on fulfillment, balance, and the connection between mind, body, and joy.
  👉 The Art of Happiness

• Steve Jobs – Stanford Commencement Address (2005)
  A powerful speech about connecting the dots, finding purpose, and living with urgency.
  👉 Watch on YouTube

• Steve Jobs – The Secret of Life Interview (1994)
  Jobs explains that life is created by people no smarter than you — a call to dream bigger and reshape the world.
  👉 Watch on YouTube

• Bill Perkins – Die With Zero
  A bold framework for maximizing life experiences, spending with intention, and ensuring you live fully instead of leaving unused wealth behind.
  👉 Die With Zero on Amazon