After 9 months writing online:

• I had under 100 followers
• I wrote blogs no one read
• I felt like a failure & was ready to give up

But in the last 5 years, I've added 410k followers & grew a newsletter to 140k readers.

These 6 perspective hacks changed everything:🧵 1. In the beginning, no one is watching—and that's a good thing.

At first, I thought to myself:

"No one is reading this. What's the point?"

And this bummed me out & held me back for a while.

But then, I reframed it into an advantage:

This is one of Charlie Munger's favorite books.

He first read it 20 years ago, inspiring his legendary decision-making mental models.

Here are 3 lessons from "Deep Simplicity" that helped him invest in billion-dollar companies and build his $2.6B+ fortune: 🧵 In 2004, Munger mentioned "Deep Simplicity" at Berkshire's annual meeting.

He couldn't buy it for people in the U.S. because it was only out in England.

But its ideas had already influenced his thinking.

Here's everything you need to know:

In 1999, an 18-year-old kid built Napster to save the world from expensive CDs.

It got shut down but accidentally created a 1.5 TRILLION dollar industry that everyone hates.

Today, Netflix, Amazon, and Big Tech use this trick to bleed you dry.

Here's the full story:🧵 In 1998, a teenager proposed an idea in a chatroom: What if people could share music directly from their computers?

Most thought it was impossible. But Shawn Fanning started coding at his uncle's office to prove them wrong.

This man created one of the most luxurious brands—but no one talks about him.

With a $3.1 BILLION turnover in 2024, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, and Burberry envy their success.

Here's the forgotten story of how a father's ultimatum created a billion-dollar empire: 🧵 René Lacoste was born on July 2, 1904, in Paris.

His parents were wealthy, and he could have done anything with his life.

But at 15, he fell in love with tennis—a sport he wasn’t naturally gifted at.

His father wasn’t impressed.

And then came the ultimatum.

This is one of the wealthiest men to have ever lived.

He turned $2 into a $310 billion fortune, controlled America's steel industry, then gave away ~90%.

Here's how Andrew Carnegie built the most powerful monopoly in history: 🧵 In 1848, a 13-year-old boy arrived in America with $2 in his pocket.

His first job was working 12 hours daily in a cotton factory for $1.20 per week.

This is BlackRock.

With over $11 trillion in assets, they have invested in Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and even governments.

Here's the story behind one of the wealthiest companies in the world—that no one's talking about:🧵 Let's go back to 1988.

Fresh off a devastating $90M loss at First Boston, Larry Fink started BlackRock as part of Blackstone Group.

His goal? Build a firm that would never make the same mistake he did:

This is Jeff Bezos’s favorite book.

He’s been rereading it for 25 years straight, and it inspired his most famous decision-making model.

Here are the 7 lessons from "The Remains of the Day" that helped him build his $200B+ Amazon empire: 🧵 In 1987, Bezos discovered "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro.

The story of a butler's lifetime of regret struck him like lightning.

It would later become the foundation of Bezos's entire philosophy:

This family runs one of the world's most successful empires—but no one talks about them.

With $17.7 billion turnover in 2023, Hershey, Cadbury, and Lindt envy their success.

Here's the full story behind Ferrero Rocher—the most powerful chocolate brand in the world: 🧵
It started in a small Italian bakery in 1946.

Pietro Ferrero, a master pastry chef in Alba, Italy, had an obsession: finding the perfect balance between cocoa and hazelnuts.

This obsession would birth a dynasty worth billions:

The best book I've ever read on money:

How To Live by Derek Sivers.

Buried inside are 4 short pages packed with insights on building wealth.

These 23 quotes will change the way you think about money:🧵
1. "Making money isn't evil, greedy, shallow, or vain.

Your biggest obstacle to getting rich is the harmful meaning you've attached to it."

24 questions to reflect on 2024 (and make 2025 your best year yet):🧵 This list will help you:

• Recap the year
• Take stock of where you are
• And refresh your perspective heading into 2025

It's the exact process I used to do my Yearly Review.

Let's dive in:

Look at this legendary writer.

The US banned some of his books from publication for 30 years.

But in 1930, Henry Miller made a list of 11 Commandments that are a must-read for any aspiring writer.

Here's the breakdown:🧵 First, some context.

Miller's autobiographical novel, The Tropic of Cancer, was banned in the US soon after it was published in 1934.

Here's what Miller had to say about his book (and how he chose the title):

Princeton grad.
BlackRock trader.
Making $180k at 22.

But the biggest "jaw-drop" moment in my 20s?

Getting this $5,000 PayPal payment from a stranger on the internet.

Here's my full story (and how you can do the same):🧵
After college, I was checking every box:

• Princeton grad
• NYC finance life
• BlackRock trader
• 22 years old on track to make $180k

But then I witnessed something that changed everything:

The one habit that made me $10,000,000:

Writing 90 minutes every single day.

But most people will wait for January 1st to start.

So here are my 5 proven steps to help you start writing today (and kickstart 2025 early):🧵 By the end of this thread you will have:

1. Found time to write
2. Generated 12 months of ideas
2. Set a daily publishing cadence
4. Overcome your procrastination
5. Built a bulletproof accountability system

So you can start writing today (and not wait for 2025).

Let's go:

The most underrated, misunderstood, yet powerful book in marketing:

Scientific Advertising.

Ogilvy said read it 7 times. Halbert called it his bible. Its ideas have generated billions for over 100 years.

Here's why it works and how to master it:🧵 Claude Hopkins started as a $12/week copywriter in Michigan.

By 1918, he was making $185,000/year ($6M today) which makes him the greatest direct response marketer ever.

His track record is A star↓

Most people go their *entire* life without reflecting.

And before they know it, they've wasted decades and it's too late to change.

To avoid this fate, I created the Monthly Review.

Grab a pen, crack open your notebook, and answer these 5 questions: Your monthly reflection:

1. What were my biggest wins?
2. What were my biggest realizations?
3. What areas am I most satisfied? Least satisfied?
4. What am I going to do more of this month? Less of?
5. What am I thinking about for the upcoming month?

Let's explore these:

My paid “Write With AI” newsletter just hit $300k/year.

This is *double* my old Wall Street salary.

That job required 80-hour weeks.

But this newsletter only takes me 4 hours every week.

Here's the breakdown of how it works:🧵 In this thread, we’re going to cover:

1. Why we went with a paid newsletter (hint: because we’re in a free newsletter bubble)

2. An overview of the organic content funnel we use to drive subscribers

3. Our gameplan to grow it to $100k / month in 2025

Let’s dive in.

This is Eugene Schwartz.

In 1966, he published Breakthrough Advertising, a book so good the original hardcover sells for $247.

Inside, he shared the daily writing routine that helped him write effortless, high-converting copy.

Here's how it works:🧵 Eugene's secret:

He treated his writing like athletes treat going to the gym.

It started with accepting a simple truth:

Writing every day is one of the hardest things in the world.

So if he wanted to do it consistently, he needed a system that didn't rely on willpower.

I’m 28.

When I was young, I wasted years as a horrible writer.

But then I found a timeless guide to writing by two legendary advertising executives.

Here are 12 of their tips you should staple to your desk:🧵 The goal of your writing is effective communication—writing that *works.*

Busy people read what you write.

So you are more useful to them when your writing takes up less of their time.

Invest the time to write well now to save others time in the future.

It took me 25,000 posts, 5,000 hours, and nearly 4 years to grow to 400,000 followers on 𝕏.

I could've done it 90% faster if I'd used more viral topics.

Here's how anyone can generate 100 viral content ideas in 30 minutes (in any niche):🧵 This thread will give you a dead-simple system to:

1. Discover the topics you want to write about.

2. Get specific with those topics so readers will trust you (even if you're not an expert).

3. Come up with engaging ideas about those topics that go viral.

Let's dive in:

This is Jean-Claude Van Damme.

In 2013, he drove the world crazy—but not because of his movies.

His genius viral marketing stunt put Volvo on the map and is arguably the greatest ad of all time:🧵 In 2012, Volvo Trucks were facing a massive challenge:

• They had almost no marketing budget.
• They were stuck in a "boring" B2B industry.
• They needed to launch 5 new trucks globally.

But they had this one insight: ↓

Look at this guy.

In the 60s, he created legendary ad campaigns for Rolls Royce, Schweppes, & Dove.

And in 1982, he sent a memo to his staff called "How to write."

In 10 bullets he put together a masterclass in effective writing:🧵 David Ogilvy was a British advertiser known as "The Father of Advertising."

He wrote successful ad campaigns using his "Big Idea" framework.

But it's this memo that all writers should study.

Let's dive in: