About me - Peter Herbalski Notes

Hi, I’m Peter Herbalski — a Manufacturing Engineer, a lifelong learner, and someone who decided to stop drifting through life and start rebuilding it with clarity and direction.

For years, I lived in reaction mode.
I didn’t plan much — life just kind of happened.
I moved from Poland to England. Took job offers as they came.
Became an engineer because the path opened.
Moved cities because of job relocations.
Life was just throwing me around.

One day, I’d had enough.
I decided I wanted to take the wheel —
to finally live the life I actually wanted.
I knew I had to take full responsibility and start creating it on purpose.

At work, I was successfully fixing machines and optimising processes to reach their full potential.
So I asked myself:
Why can’t I apply the same approach to my own life?

One of my first engineering mentors once told me:

“If you understand how something works — you can fix everything.”

That stuck with me.

First, I applied that mindset to nicotine.
After 13 years of countless failed attempts, I finally quit.
Not through willpower — but through a deep understanding of addiction, which helped me build strategies that have kept me nicotine-free for over four years.

Overcoming that addiction — after years of being beaten by the same habit — taught me something important:
You should never lose hope.
You just need to understand what you’re really fighting.

So I started applying that same mindset to other areas of my life.

I wanted to understand the core principles that actually shape a meaningful life.

Psychology, mindset, self-discipline, finance, communication, health, relationships, addiction, productivity, habits —
the stuff that actually shapes us, but somehow never gets taught.

So I decided to educate myself.

I’ve been using my daily commutes for the past five years to listen to 50+ audiobooks and thousands of hours of podcasts.
And over time, that input started to rewire how I think and how I live.

What Actually Changed

I quit nicotine after 13 years. (4+ years clean)
Stopped smoking w33d. (6+ months free)
Let go of alcohol. (20+ months free)
Ran a half marathon — 2:13 after just 3 months of training
Doubled my income — without a university degree

But the most important changes aren’t numbers.

My physical and mental health have improved.
So has my self-esteem, my self-discipline, and my self-respect.
I show up differently now — with more clarity, more intention, and more focus.

And I’m not done.
I’m still learning. Still evolving. Still figuring it out.
But now, I’m doing it with direction — not just momentum.

Why I Write

This blog is my personal notebook.
It’s where I think out loud.
Where I clarify thoughts, track lessons, and make sense of what I’m learning — from books, podcasts, conversations, and real experience.

In your head, everything blends together.
Writing forces structure.
It helps you spot what matters — and what’s just noise.

And maybe, somewhere along the way, it helps someone else find a piece of what they’ve been looking for too.

Who This Is For

This space is for people who are ready for lasting transformation.

People who are tired of living on autopilot.
People who know — deep down — that they deserve more from life.
People who want to quit the habits that slowly drain them.
People who are done chasing shortcuts, and ready to do the real work.
People who want to think clearly, act deliberately, and build something they actually respect.
Even if it’s slow. Even if it’s hard.

If that sounds like you — you’ll feel at home here.

Welcome to The Notes.
This is where I document the work — in progress, in real time.

GO TO THE NOTES