9-5/Parent/Content Generator on a self-master journey - Mind Mining | Prismatic Thinking | Digital Distribution - I write to inspire, encourage and educate.
There's no better place to validate ideas than on X.
This used to be true for just writing.
After making over 100 short-form videos on X...
and over 200 long-form videos and streams on YouTube.
I can see it will be true for video as well.
Here are 7 tips to help you!🧵
@TheConquerMM
Gee, where do I start?
- lashing out
- insults
- impulsive behavior
- dishonesty
- redirection
- willful ignorance
- manipulative actions
There's more, but these come to mind first for me...
It took 45 days to get to 100 followers.
It took 28 days to get to 200 followers.
It took 17 days to get to 300 followers.
There's a definite pattern here...but it's not sustainable.
I'd have the world following me by the end of May!🤣
Thank you for sticking around!
9,161 tweets later...
I have the volume to see the truth about my writing.
I broke down and asked for help from ChatGPT...
And
@glennwrites1
showed me the way!
Here are the results of my analysis using his instructions in his thread.
ChatGPT gives me 1000s of high-performing content ideas.
You just need to input your best tweets and threads (simple).
If you want GUARANTEED banger tweet ideas, read this:
At 5 years
- art
- piano
- karate
At 10 years
- violin
- Tae Kwon Do
At 18 years
- cultural dance
- Crossfit
- Tai Chi
At 27 years
- social dance
- theater
At 35 years
- YouTube
- LinkedIn
At 40 years
- Twitter
Self-mastery is a lifelong process.
Never stop.
Self-mastery simplified:
Physical:
- eat what grows
- train with free weights
- aim for body weight utility
Mental:
- read everything
- write down your thoughts
- don't overconsume social media
Spiritual:
- share ideas
- don't judge others
- be grateful for your life
Listen.
Am I concerned about the recent revelations about the algorithm?
Not really.
Why?
Because I'm not writing for the algorithm.
I'm writing for the people that are interested in becoming better versions of themselves.
If they find me, I'm going to be here...
Sharing ideas.
You are naturally 100% imperfect.
If you're afraid to accept:
- your fears
- your failures
- your weaknesses
Then you'll never find your strengths.
You'll always fall short of your full potential.
Don't waste your time striving for perfection.
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
Live life.
Get out there and explore!
Live life.
Spend time with loved one!
Live life.
Be in nature.
Live life.
Feel the sun on your face!
Live life.
Feel the cool spring breeze.
Love life.
🌩️A reminder:
Most people don't listen with the intent to understand...
They listen with the intent to reply.
If you want to build trust:
1. be genuinely curious
and
2. have the desire to understand.
I spend an average of five to seven years on a craft before pivoting to something new.
That wasn't by choice.
Life steers you towards different skill sets so that you continue to grow.
Don't be sad that you have to shelve some skills to make time to develop new ones.
You can't do it alone.
Self-mastery doesn't mean you're:
▪️ a hermit in the woods
▪️ an intense stoic that doesn't bleed or cry
▪️ receptive to only those with your views and opinions
It does mean you're:
▪️ part of a community
▪️ vulnerable
▪️ open-minded
You're not alone.
I've always wondered if I would get to say the following:
"Woke up to X followers..."
If you had said this would happen at the beginning, I would have laughed.
Thanks for the love and support!
I'm going to keep building more for you!
Want to build authority and add value?
Here's a 5-step process:
1. Engage sincerely
2. Engage regularly
3. Check their profile
4. Reach out through DM
5. Outline a potential solution
6. Follow up with a check-in a week later
Do this for 2 or 3 people every week.
Earn it.
Pain is a part of the self-mastery journey.
We've all been there before:
- thinking we were at our limits
- pushing past those limits
- rising to the challenge
Pain can motivate and inspire you.
Pain can also tear you down and bury you.
Three types of pain in vignettes:
This past week, I crossed the 75-video mark...
When I started posting short videos with my tweets, I was
- nervous about speaking
- didn't know how I would look
- had no idea what I would talk about
Here are 7 things I learned that will help you start making short-form vids:
A million distractions every day!
You're never going to have a perfect moment to tweet.
No one is ever "ready" when that idea turns up!
So write that tweet and post it already!
Quick!
Before the next distraction grabs your heeey what's that over there...
My son just now:
"I had a dream last night...dad, are you too old to dream?"
"No, you're never too old to dream!"
It took a moment for me to realize the depth of that response.
Stealing other people's content and passing it off as your own?
Classy.
That's like repurposing used cardboard containers.
The original product is gone.
And there you are cramming your stuff into it hoping it holds together...
This isn't Costco.
Take ideas, not words.
What is "razor writing"?
- sharp
- brief
- clear
Example:
"I believe this is going to be a useful writing technique."
Razored:
"It will be a useful writing technique."
Sometimes it's better to cut the fluff and get to the point.
Who doesn't like a clean shave?
🌳Once upon a time, a young boy came upon the Tree of Knowledge,
a mystical being possessing all the wisdom and power of the world.
He stood before the tree with awe and curiosity.
In a voice that rang through his mind like a thousand leaves rustling, it spoke to him...
Just wanted to capture this moment...
Thanks for supporting me on this journey!
Here's to sharing more and being better...making a difference in the ways that matter!
Truly.
Thank you.
"I took your car!"
My hands trembled at my wife's text...
Where were our kids?
No!
She had left me...and had taken them!
"Now you're stuck at home." she continued.
"RELAX! Write. Watch a movie. Don't clean the house (I know you want to)!"
"We love you!!"
I needed this.
Wanna be somebody?
Invest in yourself.
Wanna grow mangoes?
Invest in yourself.
Wanna make a difference?
Invest in yourself.
Wanna make more money?
Invest in yourself.
Wanna make someone happy?
Invest in yourself.
Wanna help others find their way?
Invest in yourself.
The absolute worst thing you could do when starting anything:
Thinking you need to know the entire system before you begin...
Here's what I do:
- Build
- Iterate
- Build again
- Iterate further
Let attempts pile up so you have things to sort through...
Patterns emerge.
Self-mastery is brutal at the beginning stages...
It's like a seed wedged in the face of a cliff.
It fights for its moment to sprout.
It pries apart solid rock bit by bit.
It pushes in and takes root.
It takes years to see it.
It's worth it, though.
That sense of awe.
Have you ever seen a perfectly symmetrical tree?
No?
Why is that?
Because things grow and adjust depending on:
- location
- external forces
- weather conditions
- abundance of food
and a whole slew of other things.
Our growth is the same way.
It won't be perfect.
Adapt.
Self-mastery musing
#1
:
There are no questions that do not raise more questions...
There are only answers that halt the process...
99% of people choose to end it there.
Don't be that person.
After 7329 tweets...
I can safely say the majority of them are centered around self-mastery using:
- mixed media
- analogies
- stories
The problem?
It's a VERY broad topic!
I've realized I need to pare it down to the part I can write about from my life.
I found it.
🧵
Write like a farmer.
- chop "would" to burn
- shovel the "should" into the fields
- milk the cows that chew the "could"
all so we harvest the words we wish to share.
Every season, we gain clarity.
There's a huge difference between the pursuit of cash vs. cache...
AKA money vs. knowledge
If you're here to pursue one at the expense of the other, you're limiting yourself.
I've been scammed...
many times throughout my life.
People took advantage of:
- my insecurity
- my generosity
- my open heart
I have decided...
I will use them as well.
I will apply these tactics...
But I will use them for good...
I choose to impact the world with light.
Education is free.
You pay for:
▪️ clarity
▪️ delivery style
▪️ packaging and branding
▪️ consolidation of knowledge and experience
The convenience of high quality in all of these aspects streamlines your ability to learn.
We are born without constraints...
We're taught:
- to be practical
- to settle for enough
- to go with the safe bet
- to be grounded in our reality
We're taught to clip our wings to avoid the risk of falling from the sky.
This is one thing I will never teach my children.
Feeling stuck or uninspired?
Steal like an artist!
Here's my 4-step process on how I rewrite great tweets (with an example)!
1) Hunt
2) Copy
3) Brainstorm
4) Rewrite/Edit
Let's dig deeper...
It took
- 45 days to 100 followers.
- 28 days to 200 followers.
- 17 days to 300 followers.
- 34 days to 400 followers.
- 40 days to 500 followers.
- 28 days to 600 followers.
Show up and share your ideas...
I'm slow but persistent.
Don't give up!
My parents beat me regularly...
It didn't matter what time of day it was.
Some days they wouldn't do it as badly as other days.
Humiliating.
Their tool of choice:
- chess
- go
Now I beat my son:
- Chutes & Ladders
- Candyland
Can't wait for video games!
You'll have times when your content is on fire!
Strive to be the flint...
not so much the spark.
Focus on consistency and you'll never worry about quality.
That will take care of itself...
I spent the past 7 days practicing hook writing...
Viral Challenge Day 7 Review:
Week 1: Hook Writing 101
Solid hooks contain any combo of the following:
1. Target
2. Emotion
3. Curiosity
4. Specificity
5. Relevance
6. Social Proof
7. Transformation
Here's the breakdown:
IRL...
I'm an engineer
I have a career in tech
I am proud of my achievements
Digitally...
I'm a content creator
I have a vision for building my empire
I am writing my way toward it
I will make an impact
No matter how
difficult
it is.
500
For a brief moment today...
Regardless, it's been a true privilege to be on this journey with all of you!
I feel like the next stage is just around the corner -
I'm not the person I was 6 months ago -
Thanks to all of you!
I'm tired of pretending.
I'm tired of being the perfect child.
I'm tired of going through the motions.
I'm tired of being another cog in the system.
I'm tired of doing the same things.
I'm tired of pleasing others just to get by.
I'm tired of being a nobody.
Aren't you?
Beginnings suck!
You're a nobody at first...
You're at the mercy of others...
You're at the bottom of the pyramid...
So what do you do?
Fight.
Fight for your future.
Fight for your loved ones.
Fight for your foundation and position.
Your empire demands it!
"It's not what you think!" she cried.
He looks over the scene before him.
- open window
- disheveled bed
- clothes on the floor
He takes a deep breath...
and grins.
"What is it, honey?" he asks.
"I'm dressing Mr. Pandabear as a superhero, daddy!"
"Let's make him fly!"
Stuck on what to write about?
1. Go to your DMs.
2. Pick a great conversation.
3. Pick a topic
4. Expand, edit, and publish
5. Mention
No DMs yet?
1. Use the Twitter search or Twemex.
2. Find your comments.
3. Expand, edit, and publish
4. Mention
Endless content.
I don't write for my health.
I write to make an impact.
Stop overthinking every post you put out here.
The difference you make could be the one needed to change the course of someone's life...
Share it already!
You excel at everything in life.
One day you got up and started walking.
One day you got on a bike and started riding.
One day you got in a car and started driving.
One day you started writing on Twitter and went viral.
It was effortless...
Right?
BS.
Put in the work.
AI content generation is great for corporate brands...
It's terrible for personal brands.
So what's a poor solopreneur to do?
How can you use AI to stand out from the crowd?
WTF is "value"?
It's not just educational or actionable items.
It's also:
- being seen
- being thought of
- being acknowledged
Try this:
- thank someone in a tweet
- share your thoughts in a DM
- record audio or video to a person
To me, that's value.
Do you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach?
Where everything that you write just feels like sh*t?
Post it anyway.
You never know when your message will reach others...
It's worth it to change the life of one person.
I didn't start out wanting to write.
As a child, I loved to tell jokes and play games.
I loved to recite whole Disney movies on long car rides.
I imagined fantastic worlds and adventures only I could see.
Somewhere along the way...
I lost it.
One special memory.
That's all it took to rescue myself from drowning in my insecurities.
If you're at a low point in your journey, this will help you stay above water.
Read on...
Beware of the echo chamber mentality!
Everyone wants to be:
- safe.
- heard
- accepted
- appreciated
Beyond the safety of the bubble, there are no guarantees of these desires.
HOWEVER
Beyond is where you truly grow.
Explore and be fearless.
There are riches yet!
⭐Your knowledge retention has a shelf life.
The domain you focus on is always evolving in:
- the way it's interpreted
- how it's applied
You have to stay current to stay in the game!
🧵Here's a list of ways to keep up (thread):
As much as I enjoy my 9-5...
I don't like the games that people have to play to survive in this world.
Unfortunately, corporations treat people like skin cells.
Useful for taking the brunt of the work, but when they fall off, there's no notice and no mention they were there.
I've spent years trying to prove to my parents that I was worthy of the privileges I've been given.
5 years ago, I started my own family.
I realized that I had always been enough for them.
Love your children.
You don't have to prove anything.
Keep going.
No matter what.
Put in the time and show up.
You are not the same person you were a year ago...
You will not be the same person a year from now...
Draw strength from that.
Live as if you were already that person.
You'll be glad you did!
How do you have nothing to write about?
We're surrounded by things that are
- funny
- ongoing problems
- remind us of a memory
If they're completely original, nobody will relate to them...
I remind myself that I'm not unique in that sense.
How I see the world is.
YES
You are the HERO in your own life...
BUT
You are NOT when you are helping others...
You are NOT when you are serving others...
You are NOT when you are guiding others...
You are the MENTOR.
Keep your focus on them in this capacity.
I put a solid amount of effort into contributing to posts.
5 steps of the authentic response:
1. Check my initial reaction
2. Choose my response
3. Reflect and edit
4. Add extras
5. Publish
Let's dive in:
I hit the "beginner hell" milestone today...
I never thought I'd get this far...
Here's to all of you who've been here and supported me.
Things are changing fast.
👇
I've realized something...
Being a citizen on Twitter is much like being a citizen IRL
...especially if you've ever lived abroad!
Here are 5 things I've noticed that can help you become a better citizen
both IRL and on social media:
Acts of sacrifice are everywhere.
- Parents
- Soldiers
- Teachers
- Policemen
- Celebrities
There may come a time when you must give far more than you bargained for...
What will you do?
What will you give?
There is a risk in every action you take.
Stand for something.
It took me:
- 163 days
- 504 followers
- over 11k tweets
- 233 people DM'd
- 1,592 lbs of mangoes
to find my writing pillars...
Here's what I've learned from mining my mind...
Entrepreneurship creates valuable assets for
- health
- wealth
- happiness
Something I've noticed about myself:
1. Health is more appealing as I age
2. Wealth is only interesting in the context of my family
3. Happiness is less a pursuit and more of a lifestyle
Serve others.
Easy pill to swallow:
Nothing is sacred or untouchable except for 3 things:
1. Your family
2. Your values
3. Your dreams
Everything else is temporary.
So don't be too proud of
- that bank account
- that big house
- that fancy car
Love people.
Use things.
Not vice versa.
Content creation is hard.
Parenting is hard.
9-5 is hard.
It's ALL hard.
...but you're here, aren't you?
Might as well build something to show for it!
So don't leave until you do, got that?
I have 2 hours a night to:
- write
- engage
- network
- build my services
- research and read
Many have offered programs to help me grow.
I hate saying "no for now".
Is it hypocrisy?
"Don't be afraid to ask for help."
but I need context and experience.
Pulled thin ATM.
3 squares a day...
I used to think this was just for my physical health...
Now, it's the foundation to the self-mastery process:
- for my body
- for my mind
- for my spirit
Feels like I'm powering up...
🧵Here's how this 9-5 parent/inspirator does it...
You can sh*t on me for not having an offer.
You can sh*t on me for not having reached $10k/month.
You can sh*t on me for not having reached 1k followers.
I'm still here after almost a year.
That's more than I can say for most who started with me.
I'm still calibrating.
We can maintain roughly 200 meaningful connections.
Networking enhances it...
like the roots of a plant.
2 styles:
1. Numerous and shallow
2. Few and deep
Your brand is that plant.
Is it a shrub?
Is it a tree?
Grow it.
3 key differences between selling and monetizing:
1. Ownership
2. Control
3. Access
I plan to sell nothing.
I'd prefer to increase the value of my offers over time.
I'm a complete beginner, but this my approach based on what I believe.
What is your strategy?
I used to play World of Warcraft.
- the lore
- the grind
- the stories
- the community
I loved it all.
Then one day, I read this in guild chat:
"One sec, guys, I gotta feed my kids in the playpen."
This was 10 years ago.
I haven't played it since.
That could've been me...
I'm here to share my thoughts and ideas...
They are centered around 3 things:
1. analogies
2. storytelling
3. mixed media
The themes that I write around:
1. self-mastery
2. content creation
3. authenticity and core values
What am I doing?
I want to write better for you.
I had to ask myself this question recently:
Why the hell do you want followers?
Don't you want friends?
Better yet...
Don't you want fans?
Or maybe even...customers?
Improve your writing to serve others.
"What are you doing!?"
He looked at me with fear...
Cheeks whiter than snow...
More of the stuff across his forehead...
"Daddy..."
Wide-eyed and confused, tears welling up in his big brown eyes...
"I'm putting lotion on my face!"
I read the tube label:
"Butt paste"
You are valuable just as you are.
Your gifts
Your abilities
Your curious nature
Place yourself where others will see it.
You are already doing your best...
Why not be where it matters the most?
I tread a thin line every day...
Working a 9-5 and taking care of my family by day...
Writing and hopping on calls by night...
wrapping up my 35-day writing challenge.
What broke me?
Adding another challenge that I didn't announce...
It was supposed to be fun.
It was not.
Try this:
Have an action list of what you would do with
- 60 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 15 minutes
- 5 minutes
- 1 minute
If you're a parent, the amount you can do in the last three categories becomes legendary...
This is how I get sh*t done.
It's not what you say...
It's HOW you say it.
- Tone
- Speed
- Volume
- Rhythm
- Body language
You can make a heartfelt statement come across as creepy, menacing, and cruel.
You can make a scathing insult seem sweet, mild, and unassuming.
Here in the South...it's an artform.
Lunch!
Finally!
I eagerly opened my bag...
- Snatched the container out
- Tore the lid off quickly.
I could almost taste the yogurt!
The cup inviting and cool to the touch.
The sweet fruit at the bottom waiting to be mixed in.
I couldn't wait!
...I packed a fork.
😱
So not everyone is going to resonate with your posts.
That's ok.
Are you writing for everyone?
Yes?
Then you're writing for no one.
Don't be a country artist trying to open for BTS.
Clarity comes with volume
Volume comes with execution
Execution comes with persistence
Persistence comes with discipline...
If you're lost, be disciplined.
You will gain clarity.
8 months ago, I started posting on this platform.
Every.
Single.
Day.
~16k posts
> 100 short videos
~ hundreds of images
Consistently tweaking
Experimenting
Creating
~100 new people per month.
Thank you so much for supporting me!
"Alright..."
He stands before them.
Ready.
With resolve.
Bound to this station.
10 pairs of eyes bore into him.
He steels himself as he meets every single gaze.
Each one is a challenge. Hungry.
He squeezes the handle...ready
He grins.
"Who wants ice cream?"
Are you a 9-5 parent with no time for deep learning?
Do the next best thing:
- Pick a subject
- Spend 4 weeks learning
- Study it for 5 minutes every single day
Yes, you HAVE 5 fucking minutes!
By the end, you'll have spent over 2 hours on it...
No excuses.
Try it!
Creators: What's your long-term goal in networking on Twitter?
Is it to HELP?
OR
Is it to MONETIZE?
If it’s not the former, the latter will NEVER happen.
If it’s the latter, the former will feel like sh*t and won't last.
Not a hard choice...
Do you care about success?