Paolo, you often say, "If you want to change your output, change your input." Could you elaborate on what you mean by that?

"If you want to change your output, change your input." It’s one of those statements that sounds simple but is profoundly transformative when you really think about it. What I mean is that the quality of what you produce, whether it’s your work, your ideas, your energy, or your overall success, is directly influenced by what you’re taking in—mentally, emotionally, and even physically.

Let’s dive in. If you’re trying to achieve better results in your life or career, you have to start by examining what’s feeding your mind, your environment, and your body. If your “input” is low-quality, your “output” will reflect that. It’s like expecting to run a high-performance engine on cheap, watered-down fuel—it’s not going to work well.

Mentally, if you’re consuming garbage—mindless scrolling on social media, constant negativity, or uninspiring content—how can you expect to generate creative, high-impact ideas? If you want your work to be original and meaningful, you need to feed your mind with rich, diverse, thought-provoking content. That could mean reading books that challenge your thinking, engaging in conversations with inspiring people, or even consuming art, podcasts, or music that push you to see the world differently. Your mind will only be as innovative and sharp as the quality of the information and inspiration you’re putting into it.

Emotionally, if you’re surrounded by people who drain you or environments that make you feel stressed and uninspired, your output will suffer. You can’t expect to be full of positive energy and focus if your input is filled with drama, negativity, or toxic relationships. Sometimes, to change your emotional output, you need to change the people you spend time with, or at least set better boundaries to protect your emotional well-being. Surround yourself with people who uplift you, challenge you to be better, and fill you with a sense of possibility.

Physically, the concept applies just as strongly. If you’re eating junk food, neglecting your sleep, or not moving your body, your physical energy will reflect that. You can’t expect to operate at a high level, to be productive and focused, if your body is being fueled poorly. Changing your input means taking care of your physical health: eating nourishing foods, getting good sleep, and moving your body in ways that energize you.

But this concept isn’t just about health or content consumption. It’s also about the environments and systems you create for yourself. If your workspace is cluttered, distracting, or uninspiring, your work will probably feel the same way. If your daily routine is chaotic, your output will reflect that lack of structure. To get better results, you might need to redesign your environment to better align with your goals.

Take it into the realm of work or creativity: If you’re frustrated that your projects aren’t innovative or impactful, look at what’s inspiring or influencing you. If all you’re consuming is the same conventional ideas everyone else is exposed to, how can you expect to create something groundbreaking? But if you start exposing yourself to different disciplines, new cultures, or fields outside your expertise, suddenly your brain has fresh material to work with. That’s when you start to see original, out-of-the-box thinking emerge.

So, when I say, “If you want to change your output, change your input,” I’m challenging you to look at every area of your life. Ask yourself: What am I feeding my mind? What am I surrounding myself with emotionally? How am I treating my body? How am I structuring my environment? Because if you want to elevate what you’re producing—whether that’s work, relationships, or your overall impact—you have to level up what you’re consuming. The better the input, the better the output. Simple as that, yet deeply powerful when you truly put it into practice.