from Dan Martell (https://www.danmartell.com/) "Everything is so competitive. It's so hard to succeed nowadays." Is it? Sure. A lot of people want things. Far fewer are willing to stick around long enough to get them. Imagine 1,000 people who all want the exact same thing as you. Here’s what your competition actually looks like: (see the graphic) _ _ _ That’s the part people forget. You’re rarely competing with all 1,000. Most people remove themselves through hesitation, distraction, inconsistency, or quitting. Then eventually you’re left with... You. And maybe one other dude. So as long as you keep going, you'll win. As the great Charlie Munger said: “take a simple idea, and take it seriously.”

I get a newsletter from Justin Walsh (https://justinwelsh.me/) is a writer and entrepreneur who has become very successful in running a "one-man show". I like how he writes and the advice that he gives. This morning's article buttressed many of my own choices in work and life... perhaps it will be of benefit to you in yours... _ _ _ TLTR? _ _ _ "Is it money that drives you, or a simply a better life?" List out your non-negotiables — then monetize. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ JUSTIN'S POST: When my business hit its peak in 2024, it earned over $4M in profit that year. I probably won't make that much money ever again in a single year, nor am I interested in trying. Some people just can’t fathom that. Every single day, I get emails, comments on my social posts, and DMs from people who say something like this: “Justin, if you just did advertising, you could add another million dollars in sales…” “Justin, if you just hired a team of content creators, you would sell so much more…” “Justin, if you opened a community, built a membership, ran events, and just…” On and on and on. And the thing is, they might be right. I can imagine running ads successfully, or hiring some talented people who would help me sell more. These aren’t necessarily bad suggestions. And it’s not that I don’t like making money. I do. I’m wired to look at opportunities and immediately begin figuring out the best way to monetize them. So when somebody tells me how I could add another million dollars in sales, I understand the appeal. But let’s say I take their advice and it works. Then what? Maybe I hire that team of content creators. They’re good at what they do, produce more content than I ever could by myself, and sales go up. All of the people who told me to hire a team get to say, “See? Told you so, Justin.” But now I have a team of people who need direction, feedback, and decisions from me. Someone has a question about process. Another person has an idea and wants to meet with me to talk about it. Two of the content creators are in an argument about how to do something, and I need to get involved. Now, I could hire someone to manage all of that, too, but I’d have to find that person, interview them, onboard them, and manage them.

(from snagged.com) Do Movie Domains Die? 🎦 ☠️ _ _ _ We often think of movies as being “permanent,” especially after seeing a poster advertising it. But, just like the actors in movies, the digital assets associated with movies age….specifically domains. The other day, we noticed a movie poster on the wall – (yes, it was Zoolander, and YES, it brought back epic memories and a few one-liners) – and it got us thinking….does that domain still exist!? Turns out DerekZoolander.com (which was printed on the movie poster) didn’t have the same longevity that the movie had has. The domain is now for sale and it simply points to a GoDaddy lander. It’s obviously too late to go back and change the Zoolander posters which have the domain printed on them, (and are still floating around in the man-caves of middle-aged Millennials and Gen-X’ers), but it does feel somewhat permanent to have the domain “exposed” like that. It turns out that Zoolander isn’t a unique case (and likely won’t be for years to come). _ _ _ Some disappeared entirely, and others are sitting on domain marketplaces, waiting for a new owner. A few are still alive, but have nothing to do with the movies they were created to promote. BeingJohnMalkovich.com, for example, no longer has much to say about John Malkovich – (it leads to an international gambling site). ForgettingSarahMarshall.com has moved on to hotels and travel (specifically in Hawaii). TYPE IN YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE FROM THE PAST... what rabbit hole does it lead to? 🎬 Perhaps now's your chance to snag a great domain for next to nothing! 😅

I'm 64. I run my own show. I'm married. I'm happy. I've won plenty of awards. I've made lots of money. I've spent lots of money (I have kids and a wife who rides horses). I've worked for big agencies. I've worked for small agencies. I've worked in corporate and I've worked for myself. THIS GROUP IS FOR YOU... NOT ME. So. What do you want?

PRODUCT MARKETING _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ If people use your product more than once, you can design a ritual around using it, and they’ll enjoy it more and pay more for it. The same few steps, every time. Not random gestures. It has to fit how people already use the thing, and it has to make the thing better. Familiar ones: - Oreo: twist, lick, dunk in milk. - Corona: press a fresh lime wedge into the bottle. - Champagne: pop the cork, cheer, pour into flutes. Why rituals work: - A ritual tells people the “right way” to use it. - It’s a small version of the IKEA effect. If you did part of the work, you value the result more. - It gets them in the right mindset before they start. It also turns a mundane moment into an occasion. Popping a cork is how you mark a win. That’s why it feels different from unscrewing a cap. Elements of a great ritual: - Easy to do. If it’s hard, people won’t do it. - Tied to an emotion. Celebration for champagne. Relaxing for Corona and lime. - Has a trigger. KitKat built theirs around coffee, because drinking coffee is already something people do every day. - Adds to the experience. Corona on its own is kinda meh. Add the lime and suddenly you’re on vacation. Once you have an idea and an emotion to tie it to, test it on a small scale. Then show the ritual next to the feeling you want attached to it. Lime in the Corona, someone on a beach in Mexico. Done right, the ritual becomes the reason people reach for you instead of the identical thing sitting next to it. demandcurve.com