My Weekly Achievement Report (September 26th — October 3rd, 2022)

Publishing my progress to keep myself accountable as I launch my career, build my body, and read all the best books.

October 06, 2022

Before You Begin Reading: Many of the sections in this Achievement Report don’t change all that much from edition to edition.

So, in brackets next to the section headings, I tell you how often they’re updated. Feel free to skip. And really, these Reports are just to keep myself accountable to the whole internet, so I don’t expect you — or anybody, really — to read every single section or be interested in the whole thing.

But you might try publishing one of these yourself! There are pros and cons to doing so, but I find it incredibly motivating, and you can copy my structure here if you’d like.

Alright, let’s get started…

The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else, and the best way to achieve your goals is to tell a bunch of people about them so they can call you out if you quit.

That’s what this article is — an honest, transparent assessment of my progress toward my goals, an accountability device to keep me focused, and a way to help people like you achieve your goals.

Every week, I’ll be posting these Achievement Reports to show my followers and supporters that I’m working just as hard as they are to make big things happen.

I’m going to start off with a little explanation of what I’m currently working on, and then I’m going to move on to a breakdown of my 7 different income streams and a few additional income sources that I’ve got in development.

After that, we’ll move on to talk about long-term goals, a different way to think about short-term goals, a radical reimagining of the boring old “to-do list,” and also a little preview of what I’ve got coming up in my life and business, as well as a list of all the books I’ve finished this month.

Finally, we’ll end with some last words about simplicity, success, and where you and I can go from here.

Let’s get into it…

What I’m Working On (Mostly the Same, Week to Week):

I’ve got a few different projects on the go, but for the most part they all fit together under “Writing and Publishing,” “Reading Books,” and “Working Out.”

It may seem like I’m going off in several different directions, but as you can see, most of what I do informs and impacts the other stuff — either that, or I’m just so incredibly fired up about it that I have to make it a part of my life or I could never live with myself.

Anyway, here are the most important things I’m working on right now:

The Stairway to Wisdom: A collection of book breakdowns for people who actually like to read, not just for “busy” people who want cheap, 5-minute book “summaries.”

This is currently my largest income stream (more on that below), and will probably remain so, because I’m dedicated to steadily growing it and I have a great team behind me too. You can check it out here.

Reading: This is basically what I’ve made my life about. I love reading — I love books and literature almost as much as life itself. To me, they are life itself, and I read between 150–200 books every single year. You can find my full reading list here.

Writing: Again, this sort of fits in with the Stairway to Wisdom above, but here I’m also talking about writing on Medium.com, writing on my own site, on other websites, writing my first book, etc. I’ll have more to say about Medium and all that below.

Social Media: I recently hit 27,000 followers on Instagram, but I’m also working on growing my presence on several other platforms, such as YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Plus, I use my following on social media to grow my business, attract new readers to my website, etc. So, it all works together!

Fitness: Don’t make me choose between books and barbells! I refuse! Again, working out is just one of those things that my life has to be about, and I give my all to building the greatest physique I possibly can. If you want or need help developing your own body, click here.

Charity: A life lived solely for yourself isn’t much of a life, and I’ve found that money can buy happiness — when you spend it on other people. My favorite charities are First Book, a children’s educational charity, and Doctors Without Borders, the international humanitarian relief organization. I donate regularly to both — as well as a few others — and I plan to increase the size of my contributions very soon.

My Income Streams (Breakdown Below):

I have 7 different income streams right now, which, of course, sounds like a lot to handle. But as you’ll see, most of them are connected, a few of them don’t require much work at all, and one of them doesn’t pay very much but it’s just…fun. I like it, and that makes the time/money factor irrelevant.

When you’re first starting out, I would focus on just 1–3 income streams, but I think it’s important to build up several eventually, so that you’re protected if you lose some earning power for whatever reason.

If you make all your money at one job, what happens if you lose it?

With multiple streams of income, you’ve got multiple layers of financial protection.

I should also point out that even though the total amount of money shown here isn’t that much, it more than pays for my lifestyle, and I also have complete control over how I spend my time.

I’m effectively semi-retired at 32, and I spend all day reading books, working out, and creating cool stuff online!

But okay, so here are all my current and future revenue streams, broken down by amount:

Current Revenue Streams (Updated Weekly):

Stairway to Wisdom: This is the book summaries service that I mentioned above. Like a 10% drop this month — not great. Retention is generally good, but we haven’t really been bringing many new members in, and we had a few leave. The future looks good, but I hate to see members leave! Right now, I’m working on a new sales page, and we’re going to roll out an affiliate program before the end of the year, both of which should explode sales.

This Month: $978

Last Month: $1,071

Next Goal: $2,000

Medium: Publishing on Medium.com, where I get paid — according to my calculations — about $1 for every 25 people who read my articles. I haven’t been writing much on here lately, but I need to step it up, because I’m just leaving free money on the table if I don’t. It doesn’t look like much now, but my earnings are tabulated daily, so this being early October it’s pretty low!

This Month: $24 (so far)

Last Month: $226

Next Goal: $1,000

Amazon Affiliate Program: I don’t get paid every month by Amazon, because you need to hit an earnings threshold of $100 before they issue a check.

Most months I earn less than $100 from Amazon, so I don’t get paid every month. But it’s a nice little bonus I get a few times a year, and it comes from basically taking 4 seconds to add a link to a book or something that I recommend in my articles or emails.

Then, when people click the link and buy the book, I get like 40 cents or something. Not much, but it adds up!

Not only that, but you also get credit for everything that person buys after they go through your link. So they could buy the book and like a $2,000 watch, and I would get a commission on that too.

This Month: $0

Last Month: $0

Next Goal: $100

My Patreon: This is where I share my book notes from the 1,000+ books that I’ve read ever since I started counting, and I also offer other rewards to supporters here.

I only have 7Patrons right now, but over the years this has generated thousands of dollars in income for me. And I’ve met some really cool people along the way who have decided to support me on Patreon too!

This Month: $85

Last Month: $68

Next Goal: $100

Modeling: As you can see, I haven’t earned much here recently. The pandemic kinda threw me off and I didn’t get much work, plus I’ll need more rhinoplasty before I’m ready to jump back into earning money from modeling again. But this year I’m going to get back into it!

This Month: $0

Last Month: $0

Next Goal: $1,000

The Bar: I also have a job at a bar that I do part time and I love it. Nobody ever believes me when I say that, but it’s true!

The pay is sh**, I don’t finish work until 4 in the morning, and sometimes I have to fight angry drunks and wrestle them out of the bar, but I have no plans to leave that job. It’s awesome and I f***ing love it.

Fine. Don’t believe me :)

This Month: $1,000

Last Month: $1,000

Goal: $1,000

Savings and Investments: I have quite a bit of money invested in the stock market, and a little bit of savings, but I haven’t decided whether I want to share exact dollar amounts yet. I probably will eventually, but honestly, it’s not that impressive right now! I do add money to my investment accounts every month though.

Upcoming Revenue Streams (5 Being Added):

YouTube Adsense: When I hit 1,000 subscribers on YouTube, I’ll be eligible to place ads in front of my videos and earn money from them. It won’t be a lot of money, but it’ll be fairly consistent ad revenue for very little additional work.

Reading Mastery: Eventually, I plan to re-release my online course on how to become a better reader, but it’s not really a priority right now. I’ll probably develop other online courses as well, but I’m just too focused on building out my other revenue streams at the moment.

The Competitive Advantage: This is my Substack publication that I mentioned earlier (where these Achievement Reports will also be published!) and where I help people stick to their plans, accomplish their goals, and elevate their quality of life. It’s free for now, but I’ll be adding paid membership tiers soon.

Published Books: I’m going to write and publish a book — probably several of them — but now is not the right time. I have tons of ideas, and with my growing audience, finding a publisher won’t be that hard, but again, I’m just too busy building out my other income streams.

Sponsorships: By this, I mean placing ads in my emails, within my YouTube videos, in my IG Stories, etc. Right now, I mostly promote my own stuff there, but when the right sponsorship opportunity comes along, I’ll probably take them up on it.

Total Monthly Earnings from All Revenue Streams: $2,087 (So Far This Month)

Next Monthly Earnings Goal from All Revenue Streams: $3,000 (Easily Doable)

My Long-Term Goals (These Stay the Same):

“Long-term,” for me, means my entire life. These are my current lifetime achievement goals, and this is basically what I’m going for in my life. I don’t care how long it takes me — I will succeed.

In no particular order:

  • Raise $1,000,000,000 for Doctors Without Borders

  • Raise $1,000,000,000 for First Book

  • Live on just 1% of my yearly income and donate the rest

  • Travel to outer space (and back!)

  • Own at least part of a space tourism company

  • Own at least part of a successful nightclub

  • Publish at least 10 books

  • Read at least 10,000 books

My Short-Term Goals (These Are More Fluid):

My definition of “short-term” is much different than most people’s. I think in decades, and so I’m more interested in playing the long game and becoming wildly successful over time, rather than settling for something smaller than I know I’m capable of achieving.

I’m only 32, and with the ridiculous advances in medical technology and everything, it’s not unreasonable to assume that I’ll live to be well over 100. So, what’s “short-term”?

If I accomplish the following “short-term” goals in 5–25 years, that’s a good start:

  • Reach 220lbs with less than 10% body fat

  • Reach 1,000 Patreon supporters

  • Reach 1,000,000 followers on Instagram

  • Reach 1,000,000 subscribers on YouTube

  • Reach 1,000,000 followers on Twitter

  • Build an email list of 1,000,000 readers

  • Earn $10,000,000 in a single year

  • Invest $10,000,000 in the stock market

  • Model for an international agency

  • Sign with a literary agent for my first book

My Audience Growth Targets (Updated Weekly):

This is an exciting time for me, as I’m starting to gain a lot of traction online and build up momentum. I actually have, like, an audience now, and that’s pretty damn cool. And it’s also a big responsibility!

The way I think about it is that every single follower is a real person (obviously), with real goals and struggles and challenges and interests — everything that makes them who they are.

So yes, I’m building up a massive following online, but I never lose sight of the fact that I’m talking about real, infinitely valuable people who deserve to get my absolute best.

First, I’ll give you a few numbers from where I was just last year in terms of audience growth. Then, my current numbers.

My Audience/Platform in 2021:

My Audience/Platform in 2022:

My “Done” List for Last Week:

Okay, so for everyone who doesn’t know what a “Done” list is, it’s basically a list of every task or project you’ve completed during a certain time.

To-do lists are never-ending, stress-inducing, and all the rest of it, so you’re much better off using a “Done” list instead to motivate yourself to accomplish more and to show yourself how far you’ve come.

I keep a daily “Done” list, and I’ll be adding to this section soon to show everyone what exactly it is that I, you know, do all day. Stay tuned!

What I Plan to Accomplish in October:

The rest of this month, I’m really going to lock in my productivity (like I’ve been doing the last few weeks) and get my platform organized. That’s the focus right now.

For example, my website needs to be updated, I need to record and release some new video trainings, update my social media profiles — that kind of stuff.

By the end of the month, I will:

  • Launch the new sales page for the Stairway to Wisdom

  • Get ahead on my weekly book breakdowns for Stairway

  • Update my Patreon page

  • Update my social media profiles

  • Outline my new marketing funnel and lead magnets

  • Stay up to date with my content schedule

  • Go on a short vacation to recharge

Books I’ve Finished So Far in October:

This is going to be such a great month for reading. I’m going on a short, week-long vacation and I’ll be able to sit back and read, with very few other responsibilities or tasks to finish.

Anyway, the numbers beside the titles refer to the order in which I read them this year, with #69 being the 69th book I read in 2022. My full reading list is here.

My complete notes from all of these books will be made available on my Patreon, but for now, the ones I enjoyed the most or can most highly recommend are in italics:

67. Regarding the Pain of Others, by Susan Sontag

68. The Circle, by Dave Eggers

69. The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James

You can also find my complete notes from all 1,000+ books that I’ve read since 2014 on my Patreon as well!

Other “Life” News (Updated Whenever):

Yes, I work a lot, but I also love being alive, so I don’t want to give the impression that all I do is write articles online and post on Instagram. I have a life too, and here’s a little bit about what I’ve been up to:

  • I’m planning some more vacations, including a flight to Toronto to visit family and another, longer trip to Europe where I’ll be spending a month or so in Greece and traveling around.

  • I’ve been feeling super overworked recently, and I’m starting to look at hiring assistants and freelancers. I think it’s really going to free up a lot of time and headspace. Just a bit more progress on my income goals and I can hire someone.

  • I just bought a 2002 Porsche Boxster, and I’ve been loving it. I’ve literally been giggling like an idiot as I drift around turns and change lanes like a Formula 1 driver. Anyway, yea. That’s pretty much all my news!

When All is Said and Done…

…More is usually said than done. That’s the reality. Most people will talk about all these things that they want to do, and then they’ll do…nothing.

But you and I are not those people.

We have made a commitment to excellence, and we know that nobody succeeds alone.

We all travel further together, and that’s one of my main motivations for starting The Competitive Advantage, and for writing these Achievement Reports.

I’ve developed an extremely effective system for achieving my goals and reaching the kind of success that I want for myself, but your system will undoubtedly look different than mine.

However, I want you to remember that the absolutely “perfect” system that you never even look at again is never going to be as effective as the perhaps-slightly-imperfect system that you actually use.

“Action! Action is the only salvation that exists!”

A little Nikos Kazantzakis there for ya…

Anyway, I like to err on the side of taking massive action, and doing whatever it takes to hit my targets. I never reduce those targets; all I do is increase my level of action.

That’s the key.

So I hope that all of this was helpful and/or enlightening for you, and I’ll be active in the comments, so definitely let me know how you’re going to apply some of what we talked about in your own life! I’d love to hear about it.

All the best,

Matt Karamazov