MAT DO

How I'd start a one-person business from scratch:

If you feel overwhelmed: Grab a pen & paper. Lock yourself away. Write what's bothering you. Go to bed. Let it breathe. Look at it with fresh eyes. Declutter the page. Develop what you need. Delete what you don't. You need a go-to protocol when negative thoughts take over.

You need to be cringe before you can be competent. Get your first iterations out as soon as possible so you know what the bar feels, looks, and sounds like. Being so afraid that you never step in the arena is how you ensure spectator status for the rest of your life.

Curiosity is the fuel that turns interests into obsessions. Curiosity is the catalyst to education and the cure to stagnation. Curiosity is what impels you to go 2-steps further than your competition. The problem is most people let it die the minute they get a college degree.

Be the expert who shares beginner advice for free. Don’t be the beginner who charges 'expert' advice they haven’t yet earned.

Your potential depends on the amount of uncertainty you're willing to confront.

When you're young it's: "Question everything, the sky is the limit!" When you get older it's: "Stop asking questions, it's time to be realistic." No wonder most people feel defeated.

One massive yearly goal. Split into monthly milestones. Chopped into weekly checkpoints. Pulled by the repetition of daily levers. It's hard to be anxious about your future when you can see how it all fits in the big picture.

Long-ass morning routines are just another way of avoiding the work you know you should be doing. You wouldn't need 4 hours of stress relief if you dealt with what stresses you most, first thing in the morning.

If you suck at something, do more. Write more. Build more. Sell more. We’re wired to do less of what we suck at, which is why most aren’t exceptional. If being cringe is inevitable, then you may as well get it out now while no one's watching.

Overthinkers are like lights that lose intensity because they can’t laser in on a single goal. Fix that and you'll realize overthinking is actually your competitive advantage.

Your problems are your purpose. Your purpose are your projects. Your projects are you products. The core philosophy of the one-person business is that personal & business growth are one and the same.

Your business dies the moment you get caught in the maze of tools, tactics, and trends. A pretty logo, a fancy website, and a catchy slogan mean nothing if you neglect solving real problems for real people.

People love to talk about reaching their full potential, but most can't even show up on time.

Steal like an artist. Have zero shame in swiping, synthesizing, and putting your own spin on ideas from those you look up to. It's literally how civilization was built.

Life becomes infinitely more meaningful, joyful, and fulfilling when you are solving problems you care about, sharing them with people you care about, and building a reputation that you can leverage for years to come.

The information age is kind to those who know exactly what they want in life and brutal to those who don't.

Feeling lonely is the universe giving you space to get your shit together.

It's hard to be anxious when you're building toward a future you've been visualizing every single day.