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- ALL IN or ALL OUT! No Half Measures!
ALL IN or ALL OUT! No Half Measures!
YOUTUBE đź“š THE READING LIFE đź“š PATREON
đź“š Hey! Time to win.
I missed you guys. This is the first email I’m sending in October after taking a long step back, shifting my business priorities a little bit, and preparing to enter my “Winter Arc,” as the cool people like us call it!
Oh yeah, and for all the new people (there are about 10 of you), this is a daily email where I share wins, losses, and lessons from growing my creator business and help you grow your personal brand online as well.
So now that my 8-9 day break is finished, you can expect regular emails again.
Today I want to talk you about focus, and what I’m preparing to give up.
I don’t generally waste a lot of time as it is, but even I started to notice a few things creeping into my life that became unacceptable.
For example, I’d check the likes and comments on my latest reels (not the worst thing, but something to keep under control) and I’d notice myself drifting over to the reels tab and swiping through a few of them.
Then more than a few.
Then 30-40 reels.
And then I’d look up, forty-five minutes would be gone, and I’d still have a mountain of work left to finish.
Guys, forty-five minutes isn’t even all that long. There are people who give up hours of their lives to this stuff - every single day - and who are trapped in a cycle of distraction, laziness, and poverty.
Forty-five minutes is where it starts.
So going forward, I’ll be radically limiting the time I spend on social media. Basically as close to 0 minutes as I can get it, besides answering comments on my posts and running my business, etc. Only essential activities.
But that’s not all I’m giving up this winter. No way.
Except for having dinner with my family some nights during the week, I won’t be going out at all until at least Christmas Eve, which is when my current work sprint is set to end.
Actually, maybe occasionally I’ll take a Friday or Saturday evening to go do something, but I’m already not a big drinker, and while I’m out I probably won’t have anything to drink. Even then, I’m only going to stay out for an hour or two and then drive back home and get back to work.
I’m basically giving up EVERYTHING in my life that isn’t directly taking me where I want to go.
This isn’t forever, it’s just for now.
If you’re considering making a big change in your life, I want you to think about going ALL-IN. Go ALL THE WAY, instead of just “flirting” with making a change.
If you’re going to do something, and do something big, you owe it to yourself to experience what it’s like to just BURN the boats and give yourself no OPTION but to succeed. No choice but to WIN.
And to be clear, it’s not like I’m sentencing myself to endless months of drudgery. I like my work! I literally sit and read all day, then write and make videos about all the great books I’m reading. And then I get paid for it! It’s wonderful!
So I may be in my “Winter Arc,” and I may not be going out very much, or scrolling social media, or watching movies…but I’m still enjoying my life!
I’m just being very intentional with how I direct my focus and attention for the next few months - at least until Christmas Eve, at which point I’ll take a couple weeks and do whatever the hell I want.
Maybe even spend New Year’s in Vegas - Tiesto’s doing NYE at one of the clubs there and I have a few friends who live out there too.
Anyway, in these emails I don’t usually go on this long about myself, but I wanted to give you an explanation for why I haven’t been sending emails these last few days, what I’ve got cooking, and what you can expect going forward.
As always, my Progress Report is below, and tomorrow I’ll be back with a new video on how I’ve been able to build a rich, deeply powerful network, and how you can too.
There are still 10 spots remaining inside The Competitive Advantage community and you can grab one of the last remaining ones here.
If you want my personal help to add between $1-5K/month in monthly recurring revenue to your business, and grow your audience and authority by leaps and bounds at the same time, that’s exactly where you need to be. Join here.
Within My Direct Control:
Finish Reading 20 Great Books | 17 Books Left
Publish 12 Reading Life Issues | 11 Newsletters Left
Publish 10 New Course Videos | 10 Videos Left
Publish 15 YouTube Videos | 15 Videos Left
Publish 150 Medium Articles | 146 Articles Left
Completely Update My Social Media | Working on Instagram
Completely Update My Patreon Page | Working on Page Copy
Completely Update My Newsletter Platforms | Working on Welcome Sequence
Completely Update My Entire Main Website | Working on Referral Program
Update 40 Patreon Book Notes | 40 Book Notes Left
Not Within My Direct Control:
Get Monetized on YouTube | 3,462 Watch Hours Left (13.5% Complete)
Negotiate 12 Newsletter Partnerships | 12 Partnerships Left
Organize 12 Instagram Collaborations | 12 Collaborations Left
Reach 118,000 Instagram Followers | 2,912 Followers Left
Reach 24,000 Threads Followers | 2,600 Followers Left
Reach 10,000 Twitter Followers | 2,188 Followers Left
Reach 3,000 Medium Followers | 1,022 Followers Left
Reach 2,000 Facebook Followers | 690 Followers Left
Reach 2,000 LinkedIn Followers | 1,068 Followers Left
Reach 10,000 YouTube Subscribers | 8,435 Subscribers Left
Reach 10,000 Reading Life Subscribers | 5,370 Subscribers Left
Reach 1,000 Competitive Advantage Subscribers | 400 Subscribers Left
Reach 50 Competitive Advantage Members | 10 Members Left
Reach 50 Patreon Supporters | 20 Supporters Left
Note: I’ll update follower counts once per week, since it’s such a waste of time to go through all of them every single night. Also, Threads annoyingly doesn’t give exact numbers. Oh well.
Read 7 New Books | 7 Books Left
Publish 3 Reading Life Issues | 3 Newsletters Left
Publish 2 New Course Videos | 2 Videos Left
Publish 3 YouTube Videos | 3 Videos Left
Publish 35 Medium Articles | 35 Articles Left
Upload New VSL for Skool Community | Editing Now
Completely Update My Instagram Profile | Outlining Changes
Completely Update My Referral Program | Outlining Changes
Completely Update My Patreon Page | Working on Page Copy
Completely Update My Welcome Sequence | Planning Run-Through
Update 15 Patreon Book Notes | 15 Book Notes Left
Note: “Week Two” Runs From October 8th-14th
Woke Up: 12PM
Sleep Quality: 90%
Pages Read: 50
Workout: Rest Day (Taking the Week Off)
Work Completed:
Posted 1x on Instagram
Posted 4x on Twitter
Posted 4x on Threads
Posted 3x on LinkedIn
Posted 3x on Facebook
Posted 1x to YouTube Community Tab
Published 1 Medium Article
Outlined Next 5 Medium Articles
Worked on Current Author Campaigns
Worked on My Next Book Breakdown
Worked on My Next YouTube Video
Published The Reading Life Newsletter
Engaged on All Social Media Platforms
Managed Paid Competitive Advantage Community
Completely Organized My Workflow for Tomorrow
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I’m glad to be back! I actually REALLY enjoy writing this newsletter and keeping myself accountable to you guys, and I hope you get some value out of it too. I certainly try to add something to each issue that you’ll find helpful.
Tomorrow I’ll be publishing my next YouTube video, recording a few more, publishing some articles, working on my next book breakdown, etc. Busy day!
But hey, it’s 4:15AM here right now and I’m going to bed!
All the best,
Matt Karamazov
P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are three more ways I can help you:
Work with me personally to scale your business past $5K per month and experience the intoxicating freedom of finally being in control of both your time and your income. High-performers only.
Become a Premium Member of The Reading Life and enjoy unlimited access to 150+ Premium Book Breakdowns, my complete notes from 1,300+ books, exclusive discounts, monthly donations made on your behalf to an incredible literacy charity, and more!
Join The Competitive Advantage, my private business mastermind for creators looking to add at least$1,000/month to their revenue and save at least 20+ hours of productive time each and every week.