📝 Editor’s Note
When I first stepped on my high school campus I was a short and chubby 14 year old. The seniors were intimidating as hell. Two of them, Kwame and Myles, were the best athletes and in the most important school leadership positions. We couldn’t have been more different.
Life has a funny way of coming full circle.
Last week, Kwame, Myles and I got on a 6 a.m. Zoom (much to my wife’s chagrin) to catch-up and learn how Kwame is using AI. 20 years ago, if these two were getting up at 6am it was to hit the weight room to prep for a State Championship. Kwame posted about his AI workflow here, which you should check out in addition to his consulting work.
One workflow I shared with them is writing 10 bullets each morning into ChatGPT. I’ve done this every day for the past two months. This is my prompt —
Your role is to be my accountability partner and mentor. Your persona should be a mix of Tim Keller, Simon Sinek, and Warren Buffet. Please review my morning ten bullets. These are a stream of consciousness with my personal and professional life. Analyze these bullets referencing my values and my 2025 goals to share three themes you are noticing, three questions, and three pieces of encouragement to have a great day.
I asked chatGPT for 3 themes it has noticed in my 60 days of morning journaling:
1. Disciplined Restlessness
You're balancing ambition with discernment — exploring multiple opportunities while staying grounded in values like stewardship, clarity, and long-term alignment. You consistently resist urgency in favor of patience.2. Family as Compass
Family shows up not as a sidebar, but as a north star. You regularly measure professional decisions by their impact on your role as a husband, dad, and son — and it’s clear that legacy matters more than leverage.3. Creative Generosity
From surprise videos to pizza parties and birthday gifts, you show a recurring desire to create meaningful, joyful experiences for others — often through small but intentional acts.My wife insists I’m sharing far too much information with chatGPT…
Without further ado….
Why Youssef?
Emily Kellert recommended Youssef because he is “a hyper-focused entrepreneur in Hong Kong. Whenever we spend time together, I always leave our time together feeling inspired and motivated.”
Connect with Youssef on LinkedIn.
Self-Description
My name is Youssef and my friends call me Youss, while autocorrect loves to call me ""Yourself"".
I'm Moroccan & Austrian but my home is Hong Kong where I live with my partner Sarah. I always worked in tech and venture capital, now the founder of a SaaS company called Scalelist, I was once listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list (though I'm not under 30 anymore... *sigh*).
My friends usually nag me about the fact that I can't survive more than a day without fruit and that I like to go to bed before their grandma does.
I find myself mostly chatting about music (as a DJ, I post some of my mixes on YouTube), fitness, business and spirituality. I'm not opposed to other topics but I may yawn.
Youssef’s 6 Recommendations
Written in his own words…
1. Minute EP - Xavier Polycarpe
A recent discovery of the French Indie/Alternative rock scene. At 58K monthly listeners on Spotify, I've been binging on his good mood music. Some tracks are in French, some in English (with slight french accent, oui oui).
Definitely start with his EP called "Minute", maybe you'll catch the bug too.
2. Imminent - Luis Elizondo
This is for the UFO/UAP lovers of this world. You probably have seen the author, Luis Elizondo, on the Joe Rogan or DOAC podcasts, or possibly in a recent Congress hearing about the topic.
As a former Pentagon employee with the highest security clearance, he now works on bringing highly classified UFO/UAP investigations to the public light.
The book is literally mind bending. It updates unanswered questions about our place in the universe, how we deal with the unknown and some of the author's personal experiences.
3. 10-minute breathwork
Starting my day with a 10-minute breathwork has always helped me ground myself. I'm not as consistent as I pretend to be, but there has not been a single time where I've done breathwork and I didn't feel grounded or relaxed afterward. Wim Hof has an easy 10min guided breathwork you can find on YouTube. Try it out and see how you feel.
Vice: I tell everyone that I cut on sugar and I can't eat dairy because of a lactose intolerance. The reality is that I'm addicted to Milka Oreo chocolate bars, they're just too good. Don't tell anyone I told you.
4. Dim Sum Square
I can't rave enough about Dim Sum. The world famous Cantonese specialty is more than just food, it's a way of life. Dim Sum represents a large variety of steamed food, mostly dumplings steamed in bamboo steamers. All of which are tasty and generally eaten in one unforgettable bite.
While there are many excellent restaurants to choose from, I religiously take every person who has ever visited me in Hong Kong, to Dim Sum Square. An institution. And guess what, they all want to come back.
5. The Matrix (1999)
I've never watched a movie as often as Matrix 1 (2 and 3 not so much - let's keep the 4th for a separate debate). I watch the first episode at least once a year, and every time I do I discover something new, and am amazed by some of the projections stated, particularly now with the accuracy of how we see AI evolve. If you're looking for a movie to activate your brain cells, just to watch, or watch again - this is it. :)
6. The Dome Sauna
The Island of Koh Phangan in Thailand is famous for its full moon parties and hippie/spiritual retreats. I've done both, but definitely recommend the latter over the former.
Koh Phangan hosts The Dome Sauna, one of the most relaxing experiences in the world.
Michael, the owner, welcomes guests every evening from 6 to 10/11pm to enjoy the comforting heat of two saunas built in the shape of a dome with incredible acoustic resonance - for those who want to practice tuning their Aum. A small, 2-person pool to cool down, an outdoor fire pit surrounded by mats to lay on, a mesmerizing 3D projection of geometrical forms in his garden, chill background music, starry night sky, fruit platters and tea, and a gong bath/Tibetan bowls every other hour.
All for just a small entrance fee of 300 baht (about $9). A real trip.
Plug | My YouTube Channels — @yousdj & @TheYoussTube
Want to get in touch with Youssef? Reach out to him via email — youssef@scalelist.com
P.S. from Rambull — My cousin Peanut operates Wild Hope Farm in Chester, SC, which provides local produce and flowers. Peanut and her husband, Peyton, recently built a farmhouse designed by Peyton’s friend from college. Their home was featured in the New York Times Real Estate section this week. The rustic-modern design is striking.
I love the ChatGPT/10 bullets idea. Do you have any more context on how you initially setup up the conversation? How you communicated your values, etc.? I assume the initial bit of instruction was more involved.