Our story
Why I Created Design Yourself
A quiet place to reflect, grow, and design your next chapter.
Eric Mallari
Founder & Opportunity Strategist, Design Yourself
For more than 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of helping people believe in themselves, build businesses, develop leadership, and create opportunities they never thought possible.
Along the way, I discovered something unexpected.
The people who lived the happiest, healthiest, and most fulfilling lives weren’t constantly trying to become someone else.
They kept growing.
They stayed curious.
They never stopped learning.
And they never lost sight of who they really were.
That realization changed me.
It also became the foundation for Design Yourself.
I didn’t create Design Yourself because I have all the answers.
I created it because I’m still asking the same questions many of us ask.
What’s next?
How do we keep growing?
How do we build a life that reflects who we truly are?
The more I searched for those answers, the more I realized they aren’t found in one book, one conversation, or one defining moment.
They’re discovered over a lifetime of learning, reflecting, exploring, and having the courage to begin again.
That’s what Design Yourself is about.
Not becoming someone else.
Becoming more fully yourself.
I’m still learning.
I’m still growing.
I’m still designing my own next chapter.
And if you’re asking those same questions, I’d be honored to explore them with you.
Welcome to Design Yourself.
The path here
The Journey That Led Me Here
My journey hasn’t followed a straight line, and I’m grateful for that.
For more than three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to help people build confidence, develop leadership, grow businesses, and create opportunities that changed their lives. Every conversation taught me something about people, purpose, and what’s truly important.
Outside of work, I discovered the joy of cycling, the perspective that comes from travel, and the energy that comes from staying active. More recently, I’ve embraced artificial intelligence, not because it’s replacing human potential, but because it’s expanding what’s possible for people who are willing to keep learning.
Looking back, I realize these weren’t separate chapters.
They were all preparing me for this one.
Design Yourself brings together everything I’ve learned about growth, curiosity, health, leadership, entrepreneurship, technology, and living with intention.
Convictions
What I Believe
- I believe your best chapter may still be ahead.
- I believe curiosity keeps us young.
- I believe your experience is one of your greatest assets, not something to leave behind.
- I believe learning is a lifelong practice.
- I believe meaningful relationships make life richer.
- I believe health creates freedom to enjoy the life you're building.
And I believe every one of us has the opportunity to continue designing a life filled with purpose, growth, and possibility.
The invitation
What You’ll Find Here
Design Yourself is more than a website.
It’s a place to think differently about what’s possible.
Through the Journal, thoughtful conversations, practical resources, and a growing community, my hope is to encourage people who believe life still has more to offer.
Whether you’re exploring a new career, learning new technology, improving your health, building a business, traveling more, or simply asking, “What’s next?”, I hope you’ll find ideas here that help you move forward with confidence.
You don’t have to figure it all out today.
You simply have to keep growing.
The origin
The Question That Started Everything
Design Yourself didn’t begin with this website. It began with a question that refused to leave me.
It began long before there was a Journal, long before AI, and long before social media.
It began with a simple question that stayed with me for years.
Are you making a living… or designing a life?
On September 23, 1998, I registered DesignYourself.com. I didn’t know it then, but that small decision would quietly shape the next three decades of my life.
At the time, I couldn’t have imagined where that decision would eventually lead.
I didn’t have a finished business plan.
I didn’t have a framework.
I didn’t have a Journal.
What I had was a question that never seemed to leave me.
Over the years, that question quietly shaped the way I lived.
It influenced the businesses I built, the people I tried to encourage, the communities I became part of, my commitment to health, my love of learning, and my belief that every stage of life can become a new beginning.
Looking back, I realize Design Yourself wasn’t waiting to be created.
It was taking shape through experience.
Today, Design Yourself has become the home for a philosophy that has been quietly taking shape for more than 25 years.
My hope is that somewhere in these pages you’ll discover an idea, a question, or a new perspective that encourages you to take the next step in designing a life that is meaningful, healthy, curious, and uniquely your own.
Because in the end, the most important question was never mine to answer.
It’s yours.
Are you making a living… or designing a life?
An open door
Let’s Keep Designing
If something you’ve read here resonates with you, I’d love to hear your story.
Not because I have a perfect roadmap.
But because some of life’s most meaningful conversations begin with one simple question:
“What’s next?”
If you’re ready to explore that question together, I’d be honored to continue the conversation.
Stay close
Occasional letters on learning, reinvention, and the next chapter.
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