UP Case Study #2

Goals

1. Create lasting impact that may not have existed without me
   1. Achieve 10^10 counterfactual QALYs (by 2040)
   2. Three subsubgoals
2. Be free in time, body and in thoughts
   1. Four subgoals
   2. Three subsubgoals
3. Push the boundaries of what is possible
   1. Two subgoals
4. Ensure deep relationships
   1. Two subgoals
5. Live happily all my life (at 8+/10 for 95% of days and 9+/10 for 50% of days)

Intervention

• Type: Individual DIY UP -> Individual Annual UP -> Individual Variable UP
• Length: Ongoing, 3 years and 9 months as of this update
• Support:
  • 247 UP Coach Calls + 163 UP Coach Tasks + 0 UP Assistant Tasks + 0 Other Personal Team Tasks = 410 Tasks
  • 377 UP Coach Hours + 0 UP Assistant Hours + 0 Other Personal Team Hours = 377 hours

Background

This well-resourced, highly rational individual chose to do an UP to upgrade every area of his life. He was smart, in a relationship, and had no major obligations to attend to. He spent a lot of time conducting personal research, connecting with others, and improving himself. He was deeply immersed in self-development, rationality, and effective altruism. His life was already very good when he began his UP.

Methods

The participant’s UP included specialized coaching from a rationality coach, access to a team of behavior change experts and assistants, and use of 50+ digital behavior change tools. He took multiple subjective and objective assessments near the beginning of the UP and set a number of short-term and long-term goals. His team helped him advance on these goals through regular calls and ad hoc task completion.

Results

Protocol Completion

56%

Top 3 Successes

1. Improved overall Life Score from 6.7 in 2019 to 8.9 in 2022
2. Moderately advanced the progress of a globally recognized individual’s exceptionally high-value research (which he considered the most important work in the world)
3. Created a holistic sensemaking approach that included a quantitative life model to strategically decide life path and make annual trade off decisions for resource allocations

Top 3 Failures

1. Lost six months of time and six figures doing crypto day trading (against his UP Coach’s advice)
   1. Did almost earn several million dollars and was financially “up” most of the time
   2. Did substantially deepen his rationality and financial skills
2. Failed to launch a nearly VC-backed biotech startup he helped co-found
   1. Did earn nearly six figures supporting its development and primarily left to pursue more impactful projects
3. Failed to maintain full trust a globally recognized individual doing exceptionally high-value research
   1. Did develop an overall strong personal and professional relationship with the individual

Evaluation

1. It was a good UP overall that was enjoyable for both the client and UP Coach and was relatively easy to design and execute
2. The client made moderate progress on his goals in line with his expectations
3. The client estimated a 8% impact on his overall goal attainment over the UP
4. The UP Coach estimated a 8% impact on the client’s overall goal attainment over the UP