You were built spiky.
Don’t let conformity sand you smooth.
School taught you to compete, not differentiate. Work rewards fitting the box, not breaking it. Self-help gives you labels that sit in a drawer.
The Zag is a newsletter about the opposite: figuring out how you’re wired and building something extraordinary with it.
By Chris Blachut · Join 3,000+ subscribers
Most driven people don’t have a motivation problem.
They have an articulation problem.
You know you have something different in you — capability, ideas, drive — but you can’t explain what ties it all together. So you collect inputs: assessments, books, journals, maybe a coach. Each gives you pieces. None gives you the whole picture.
Meanwhile, the world keeps filing you into categories that don’t fit. You keep describing yourself in language that doesn’t differentiate. And your effort keeps scattering on projects that don’t build on each other.
The Zag is about bringing everything together.
“Within months, I went from feeling stuck in a strategy consulting career to thriving in an executive role that fits me perfectly. ARC transformed how I see my potential.”
Seb
“Chris’ ARC process didn’t just tell me what I was good at—it proved it with eye-opening evidence from my own life. I’ve been confidently building on it ever since.”
Juan
“Chris helped me develop a practice that closes the gap between what I want and what I am actually doing. Now I feel more connected and intentional.”
Talgat
“Chris’ approach is structured but personal. It gave me the direction and motivation I needed.”
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“One month in, I’ve reclaimed my attention and refocused it in what matters. The changes are small but life-changing.”
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What Has Me Worried, Uncertain, and Excited
Updated Nov 12, 2025
General
Everyone’s unique wiring and position in the world differentiates themselves from others. And, by the principle of comparative advantage, even if someone could be better than you at everything, they’re better off at focusing on what they’re best at and leaving you to focus on whatever else you wired to excel at. So even though they could be better than you, they’ve bequeathed the “best” title to you.
Can this theory extend to everyone on the planet?
Not sure it matters at this point. More important to me is whether I can convince those fortunate enough to pursue ARC that it’s true for them.
I don’t specialize in single fields, lead through empathy, work in groups, operate what I build, or serve mass markets.
I can do those things, but I believe doing so would come at the cost of being unable to do their opposite, which is what I’m wired for.
Are these trade-offs worth it? I’m testing this personal strategic positioning strategy now, with myself and clients.
Read more about it here: Personal Strategic Positioning: Don’t Be Dull
I look at my brain like a company: B.R.A.I.N. Inc. Ideas are employees working toward our mission of unleashing individual’s unique potential. And like employees these days, if an idea feels undervalued, it quiet quits. Best to keep them engaged with intentional onboarding and clear roles.
With this in mind, I organized all my ARC ideas, including my blog archive, into a single living document. This ARC Methodology Overview is 83 pages and counting. Following Matt Mochary’s lead, I even linked it on my website’s main menu.
It forces intentionality about the information I collect and where it fits. And it’s become indispensable for working with AI (especially my board of directors).
I’ve suggested a couple of friends do the same. They’re full of knowledge, experience, theories, and education, but those ideas are all over the place doing je ne sais quoi. Maybe their B.R.A.I.N. could use some org chart discipline too.
Business Development
I have an 85-page methodology and 200+ post archive. Enough for a dense “Handbook for Human Uniqueness Engineering.”
I also wonder about constantly updating this “Handbook” after publishing it.
But investing tons of hours on a book does no good if nobody reads it. My hours are limited. And, the methodology is evolving (improving, I hope!) fast. So I suspect I’m better off investing my time in testing and honing the ARC process, thereby building credibility, and only writing the book if I get the impression people are begging for it.
On the other hand, a book nobody reads still communicates deep commitment. It wouldn’t take me that long, either. Maybe I could even have AI write it? Or a ghost writer?
I’ve run 13 people through the full ARC kit-and-kaboodle so far. Each has a compelling story. But I struggle with how to share them with you.
None have achieved measurable, brag-on-LinkedIn-worthy success thanks to ARC. What they have gained is frustratingly intangible: prescription lenses that sharpen their previously blurry understanding of their wiring. This helps them make better-aligned decisions, positively reframe what they’re already doing, and course-correct toward more exciting paths. It’ll be years before we see the compounding effect of these shifts.
But I don’t want to wait that long. I can’t.
So what to do? Colossus Magazine’s flurry of profiles sparked an idea. I’ve already collected digital reams of data on each client: hours of transcripts, in-depth interviews, written Q&As, psychometric assessments, peer feedback. Everything a journalist needs.
What if I wrote profiles on the guinea pigs?
Not stories of “colossal” success, but of self-discovery, course correction, and the messy middle of transformation. Sounds underwhelming even as I write it. But the truth is not. So the question is: Can I write about these brave guinea pigs in a way that resonates with you before we know how their stories end?
Here are some rough profiles I’ve put together so far, though I’m not sold they sell ARC the right way:
Every now and again, I come across business leaders sharing their “personal user manuals” on social media. Like this.
They claim to have been using them for years, and that their colleagues find them helpful. If so, wow, because they are so self-indulgent. No way any colleague’s reading something like this and thinking, “Oh wow! He likes to move fast and wants me to have initiative! I’m so glad I read this!”
But if execs actually use their useless manuals, there’s a business opportunity for making them actually helpful.
Easy to be the world’s greatest “Human Uniqueness Engineer” when nobody else calls themselves that.
But who’s my stiffest competition at helping people get deep clarity and confidence on their innate wiring?
Some coaches and psychologists work on parts of this, but I know of only a couple of people dedicated to solving the exact same problem as me: life-misalignment. Maybe Jack Skeen or Marloes Bouwmeester?
I want to know who else, so I can learn from them, collaborate with them if they’re open to it, and figure out how to hone what I’m world’s best at.
My boundary line:
I don’t specialize in single fields, lead through empathy, work in groups, operate what I build, or serve mass markets.
Also, I don’t troubleshoot tech problems, build beautiful products, or enjoy making money. But for ARC to thrive, and take on CliftonStrengths and Myers-Briggs, for example, I need someone who’s wired for those things. Someone to turn my Google Form manual process into a pretty, automated “Innate Edge Report” product. And someone who gets their rocks off marketing it.
I would love to have such a product as an ARC onboarding and proof of concept. I would also hate my life building and selling it.
So do I need to start recruiting?
Product Development
These corporate assessments make big money selling glimpses of pieces of an individual. ARC outlines the whole. ARC will happily even incorporate those assessment’s output into it’s broader mapping.
So, in theory, ARC can provide a more thorough self-understanding.
But those assessments have simplicity, legacy, and credibility in their favor.
Read more on this here: I Tried to Build a Better CliftonStrengths. Here’s What Happened
Some clients have deeply brainwashed and committed themselves to being something they’re not. So all the self-assessment, narrative, and Q&A data I collect on them is infected by this bias.
External feedback is the counter. We collect some in the ARC process. But to fully sanitize self-reporting bias, I’d need to collect A LOT more. Multiple interviews with people who’ve interacted with clients—family, colleagues, clients, etc. That takes more investment than most people are willing to make.
So what’s the ideal balance here?
The core I currently use are personality (BFAS), values (PVQ-RR), and strengths (VIA).
I wonder most about aptitude battery tests. The Highlands Ability Battery, for instance. Or maybe the RIOT IQ test.
No doubt these would add signal. But is that additional signal worth the time and money to incorporate them?
What missing assessments have hugely positive ROI?
Every Sunday evening, I go for a walk to voice record my thoughts as I review my daily logs from the past week: memorable moments, what went well, what could’ve gone better, lessons learned, etc. Back home, I have AI transcribe this recording and organize it into a standard template, which I then edit and finalize into a weekly review.
I do something similar for monthly reviews (reviewing my weeks), quarterly reviews (reviewing months), and, come January 1, yearly reviews (reviewing quarters).
I’ve found this process more enjoyable and effective than my old approach of sitting down and typing out these reviews.
Can it work for others, too?
I’ve tried on various occasions in the past to help people implement systems to work on their life not in it. It’s an invaluable practice for developing a broader perspective. But it almost never sticks. Maybe a product like this—that facilitates regular oral review and synthesizes into a template—has potential?
As valuable as it might be, I don’t think I’m the right person to make it. But I’d love to help someone else do so.
I regularly feel uncertain on my unconventional path, wondering what my next stepping stone should be.
It’s helped to turn to an AI board of directors.
I upload the extensive context of my past few months (from my monthly reviews), my user manual, and instructions for how the directors to act, then start the board meeting. My board members: my 95-year GOAT self, a devil’s advocate, and the CEO of Humanity.
Their input usually challenges my thinking in a constructive way and improves my creativity. Sometimes, though, it’s pure nonsense… I think. But how can I be so sure? Maybe some of their input I accept is truly nonsense and I should abide by their wisdom that I think is dumb. This puts the whole practice into question.
A real board of directors would be the ideal. I believe a simulated one is better than nothing. But I need to figure out how improve it .
Personal
My son Zac is set to start kindergarten next September. Kim and I have no idea how that’s going to work.
The sound of the clock ticking is starting to make me shake. Or is that clock a time bomb attached to our fantasy lives?
Will we have to settle down, most likely in Vancouver, and give up our winter-escaping ways? Don’t our kids deserve stability? Does there have to be a trade-off?
The way I see it, the fundamental question is one that most parents can’t and don’t want to answer, and if they do, their answer is so half-baked I can poke holes in it with a paper straw: What are you optimizing for in raising your kids?
Most say, “I just want them to grow up happy.” But happiness isn’t something you become. It’s a fleeting feeling generated as an output of something deeper. What’s the generator of this happiness? Also, what about other positive feelings, like flow and fulfillment?
I want my kids to lives full trifecta activities they 1) enjoy, 2) look forward to more of, and 3) look back on proudly. While it’s inherently selfish, it also is the surest way to contribute your best to what matters most to you. So it’s selfish-less.
To design such lives, my kids have to understand their unique values and potential, and develop the ability to fulfill them within society. That’s what I’m optimizing for.
Traditional schools are not optimizing for the same. So, as much as I used to strongly stand for public school, if I were to be re-raised as a kid today I’d want my parents to put me in something more experimental. Something more modern, but also more like the way kids were raised before industrialized schooling.
What is that? Time’s ticking to figure it out.
Kim continues to scatter her efforts in uncertainty. She has no long-term professional purpose. She lets short-term priorities drown out any form of long-term progress.
I’ve done the ARC process for Kim. We made her user manual. I find it useful for understanding her and debugging misalignment between us. But I can’t get her to put it to use.
My excuse: It’s hard to interact as objectively with a spouse as I do with others.
My anti-excuse: Who cares how “hard” it is? Very little is more important than helping my wife thrive.
Every year since 2017, Kim and I have fled Vancouver’s winter for somewhere warmer. First Medellin, then six straight years in Cape Town, then last year’s tour through Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica. This year?
We want to go back to Cape Town. But we’re also not convinced it’s the right long-term second base for our kids. If only there were a Cape Town that was closer, followed the same school calendar, and had better infrastructure for families.
Kim and I spent many a precious evening after the kids were asleep messaging friends, mining Reddit, interrogating AI, skimming YouTube. Mexico? Costa Rica? Bali? Thailand? Australia? Spain? And which city?
Life’s tough, I know.
Still, it’s a tough decision. Super important, too. We want a downhill playing field for the game of life.
So we forced ourselves to rank what mattered most:
- Better Weather
- Community Density
- Kid’s School/Daycare Options
- No Car Needed
- Beach
- Activities for Kids
- Grocery Quality
- Proximity to Canada
- Affordability
Ranking these felt nearly as impossible as choosing a favorite child. But it clarified our choice.
The temporary verdict: Barcelona (where we are now) until November 22. Then south—probably near Alicante—until January 14. Then way south to Cape Town until March 31, before returning to Vancouver.
After less than a week in Barcelona, we’re happy with our decision. The city’s got tons going on, but doesn’t feel chaotic. It’s built for people, not cars.
Is it the winner? Not yet. I doubt we’ll ever be sure of where the perfect place is. Classic paradox of choice. But I am sure that wherever we land, we’ll be glad we approached such a consequential decision with intention rather than impulse.
I’ve logged everything I do every day since September 22, 2015. The practice in its own right has been immensely valuable. Now, thanks to AI, I suspect I’m only scratching the surface of this goldmine.
Ok, maybe I’ve gone deeper than the surface. Using a year’s worth of logs and reviews helped me slingshot 2025 in a great direction. But there’s a lot more to mine in these 10 years: stories, patterns, biases, etc.
I consolidated and uploaded all of my month and year reviews to Google’s NotebookLM. The videos it generated on my story of the decade resonated—and inspired me for this coming decade. But NotebookLM is better at reporting than analyzing. But digging into it would likely become a wormhole I’d get lost in. So I’d love others’ thoughts, ideas, and recommendations.
About Chris
I spent my twenties in corporate finance building spreadsheets that saved millions. At 27, I quit and spent a decade trying to find my fit — running a hostel, failing at startups, exporting blueberries, blogging about travel. Each thing taught me what I’m not. None of them taught me what I am.
When my first son was born, I got obsessed with one question: what’s innate and what’s conditioned?
That obsession became ARC — a methodology for decoding how people are uniquely wired and building it into a system they actually use. The Zag is where I write about the ideas behind it.
Ready to go deeper than reading?
ARC is a methodology that helps driven professionals decode their wiring and design where it fits.
You get two tools: an Operating Manual (your decision framework) and a Positioning Report (how to explain your edge to the world).
What’s Stopping Us?
- Evolution that has wired us for energy-preservation, short-term thinking, and risk aversion
- Outdated societal norms that standardize, industrialize, and centralize.
But these are not acceptable excuses anymore.
We can systematically challenge the status quo to make extraordinary the norm.
Tired of Racing Around Un-Extraordinarily?
You need “command center” that systematically helps you:
- Engineer to optimize your energy
- Maintain clarity on what truly matters
- Guide decisions in the right directions
- Feel accountable to make extraordinary happen
My system helps me craft an unconventional, fulfilling life. Now I’m helping others achieve “true success” through:
- Free DIY implementation
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(Not-So-) Superpower?
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It’s real.
Bring together your strengths to passionately do things you find admirable. It makes life more fulfilling, impactful, and fun.
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Zagging 101
If you understand these fundamentals, you hardly have to read anything else on this site.
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Too bad these rules to live by aren’t as easy to follow as they are to understand. But try your best to abide to live your best life.
Pursue a Life of Perpetually Perfect Days
Why you should squeeze “perpetual” into the question, “What’s your perfect day?” and how to work toward it.
Why You Should Be Living Your Own Unconventional Life
An unconventional life is one not bound by what is usual or the way most people do things. It’s up to you.
The Physics of Expanding Your Comfort Zone
How the forces of reality and complacency make it challenging to expand your comfort zone into your theoretical potential.
Like a Gym For Your Comfort Zone
Tighten and tone your:
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