👻 Why I Ghosted You

Welcome back!

In case you’re wondering, you haven’t missed any newsletters. After issue number 50, I made a real-time decision to take the summer off.

It was a tough call to break a 25-week newsletter publishing streak and 166-day writing streak, yet the truth is that the need for me to reset and completely unplug was long overdue.

I hope you’ve had an incredible summer full of adventure and inspiration and have invested time to unplug, recharge, and reset. You deserve it!

Without further delay, let’s get into it.

— Gordon

👻 Why I ghosted you

This issue is a bit of a life update, with some takeaways.

My previous newsletter in June discussed how I had hit a massive mental block, and I shared some tips on how to work through such blocks.

Unfortunately, by that point, my mental space for creativity and, well, life, was completely maxed out.

The only way to create space in my mind and allow me to move forward was to do a hard refresh and completely unplug for a couple of weeks.

Thankfully, I happened to be in the south of France with my family for the rest of June, where life is much slower, and the views are stunning.

I walked everywhere, enjoyed delicious meals, swam in the Mediterranean Sea, saw the Olympic torch pass through Cannes, and never skipped dessert.

All the while, a couple of great friends made sure my clients were in the best hands, so I could keep my iPhone on Airplane Mode and be fully present with my family.

Takeaways

1. Great work requires great rest

2. No one succeeds alone. Find coverage for vacations

3. Have an adventure. Experience another culture. Explore our world

📝 Since my return to the states

We returned home just before the 4th of July.

The following week, I joined a four-week Writer’s Bootcamp to continue improving my writing and learn to create a stronger foundation and more streamlined system for creating impactful content through posts, threads, and newsletters.

This bootcamp was exactly what I needed. It took what I’ve been learning and obsessing about for the past year and a half and provided clarity, focus, and a prioritized path forward to building my business.

Takeaways

1. Never stop learning

2. Implement knowledge as you learn it

3. Find “mentors” who are where you’re going

4. Surround yourself with people on a similar journey

🧭 Where to next?

It’s time to prioritize daily writing and researching to grow an audience on Twitter/𝕏.

Why 𝕏? While the platform is a bit cringe these days with Elon running things, it’s still the biggest writing platform in the world.

More importantly, the platform doesn’t penalize you when you post bad content or a lot of content, which is perfect for getting started. You want to write and post as many ideas as possible to see what resonates with people. And as with anything, you’ll suck when you start. It’s normal. Get over it.

My plan is to use what I’ve learned in the Writer’s Bootcamp to define my brand, build my workflow, and establish a foundation of evergreen content from what is performing well.

At the same time, get into a groove with researching one topic a week for writing this newsletter, filming it for YouTube, and creating posts (short-form) and threads (medium-form) for 𝕏 from that long-form content.

I also need to build more relationships with other creators and find a small group to help each other grow. This part is critical. 🤝

Oh, and reply with something valuable on large creator’s posts 10 to 50 times daily. Also, critical. 😅

I can guarantee this will be messy and out of sorts for a while. Until it isn’t.

Takeaways

1. Learn new things

2. Write and publish daily

3. Share what you’ve learned

4. Create a community for support and accountability

5. Create a personal brand, build an audience, package and sell your expertise

Thanks for sticking around the past couple of months.

I’m glad you’re here. It’s going to be a hard road ahead, and I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned along the way.

See you next week.

ONWARD TOGETHER.

My Favorite Things 💙
What I’m reading, watching, and studying

1. YouTube: I watched this Alex Hormozi video, This Simple Productivity System Made Me $100 Million, during a lovely slow morning in June (yes, this is how I relax), and it might be one of the most important videos you’ll ever watch as a business owner, a manager, or a creative. 10/10 highly recommend watching from start to finish, whether at once or in chunks. Solid gold nuggets throughout the entire video. Reply with your biggest takeaways!

Everyday Insights 👀
Keeping you in the know

This week, I’m including some extra links to articles I’ve been reading over the past eight weeks, sorting them from newest to oldest, just for you. 😉

• 7 Ways to Weave Mindfulness into Your Workday [Harvard Business Review]

• Why financial inclusion is the key to a thriving digital economy [World Economic Forum]

• The rise of smart contracts and strategies for mitigating cyber and legal risks [World Economic Forum]

• Instagram Chief Reiterates That Sends Are Now a Key Focus [Social Media Today]

• Pinterest Adds Options for Sharing Pin Boards To Other Apps [Social Media Today]

• How to Get Your Colleagues On Board with Your Idea [Harvard Business Review]

• Leaders Need to Reframe the Return-to-Office Conversation [Harvard Business Review]

• Instagram Adds Music for Carousel Posts With Video [Social Media Today]