It has now been 3 years and 3 months since my book Building a Second Brain came out in the U.S., and I’ve just received word that it has now earned out its advance! That probably doesn’t mean anything to readers, but to me as an author, it means a ton. It means that the…
17 years ago, at the age of 22, I uploaded my first YouTube video. My high school friend Derick and I had set up a digital camcorder, faced the camera with our backs to his bedroom wall, hit record, and just started talking about 3D printing, which was to be the first episode in a…
In June 2024, I attended VidCon, the preeminent global conference on YouTube and all things Creator Economy. It was the first large-scale event of its kind I’ve ever been a part of, and it introduced me to many fascinating and surprising trends emerging on the Internet. Here are my top takeaways from the conference that…
I recently announced my next major book project: a book on how to complete a year-end life review as a ritual for self-reflection and growth. I’ve had an annual review practice in some form since 2008, and I can’t think of anything else that has more dramatically impacted my life in that time. I can’t…
For 10 years, I’ve been immersed in the world of online education. Courses, social media, blog posts, videos – these have been my daily tools of the trade in developing the Building a Second Brain (BASB) ecosystem. Yet I’ve recently been haunted by the feeling that we’re still barely scratching the surface – that after…
One of the most common sources of confusion I see in the world of productivity and self-improvement is a failure to distinguish between beginner-level advice and advanced-level advice. In any given pursuit – tennis, chess, jiu-jitsu, painting – there is a hierarchy of skills that you have to acquire one by one to progress. More…
At the start of 2023, as I reviewed the end-of-year financial report sent over by our accountants, I had a stunning realization: our net income had dropped 87% in 2022 compared to the year before. From an incredible 64% profit margin in 2021 we ended 2022 with a razor-thin 6%. The picture got even worse…
There’s something book publishers don’t tell you when you sign their offer on the dotted line: almost all the responsibility for promoting your book will fall on your shoulders. A lot of authors complain about this fact, as if it represents publishers shirking their duty or being lazy. I see it quite differently: authors are
I recently completed one of the most powerful exercises I’ve ever invented for delegating aspects of my work to others. After hosting an insightful weekend retreat with other founders last month, some of whom had significantly larger businesses than mine, I realized I was ready to take a major step I’d been contemplating for some…
I recently hosted our first-ever in-person mastermind, unanimously dubbed “The Wholesome Mastermind,” at a retreat center in Ojai just north of Los Angeles. I’ve been interested in masterminds for years, but the ones available never seemed quite right for me – whether because of the travel requirements, the format, or the kind of people who…
The next area I want to examine is finances: How much money has the book made in the year since its release? How much did I spend to catapult it to bestseller status? And would I do anything differently? Here are the real numbers.
It has now been 10 months since my first published book Building a Second Brain was released in June 2022. And over 4 years since I kicked off the project in January 2019. The book has been an astounding success by any measure. Here are some of the milestones I’m most proud of…