Jack Ben Vincent

It is one of the most frustrating feelings in the world: trying to restart something you used to be great at. Maybe it has been half a decade since you regularly lifted weights, and your current goal is simply to build some muscle and get back to a healthier baseline. Or maybe it’s a creative hobby you haven't touched since college. Whatever the habit is, stepping back up to the starting line is often harder than starting from scratch. Why? Because your ego remembers your peak, but your body...

Every monumental structure, before it ever touches the soil, exists in only one place: the mind of its creator. In the building industry, we never start pouring concrete without a completed architectural rendering. We need to see what the finished project looks like so we know exactly where to place the very first brick. Yet, when it comes to personal development, many people simply start laying bricks in random directions, hoping they eventually build something meaningful. If you want to...

When we want to change our lives, our instinct is usually to reach for the wrecking ball. We think we need a massive, overnight transformation—a totally new routine, a completely different mindset, a sudden demolition of our old selves to make way for the new. But in structural engineering, tearing a building down and starting from scratch is the most expensive, disruptive, and risky thing you can do. The most enduring structures in the world aren't maintained through massive overhauls. They...