My best year... because I stopped doing these 5 mistakes
Apartment Dwellers on New Year's Eve (1948), by John Falter
I’ve made a lot of super-dumb content mistakes in my short career.
In 2025, I stopped a few of them, and my business growth shot up.
Here are 5:
1.Pick better “future thoughts”
James Clear once said:
“Every idea you have is downstream of what you consume. You’re (literally) choosing your future thoughts.”
This year, I can say with some confidence that I picked my future thoughts very carefully.
I read only high-quality books, stayed away from socials for ~16 hours a day on average, and simply refused to brain-rot myself.
What followed was 20+ million impressions.
2.Get pigeonholed
I’ve always felt the whole point of brand and content is to become easy to recall.
To become “that guy.”
For that, you have to trap yourself like a pigeon.
So, I’ve actively tried to associate myself with research-driven content.
You can see sprinkles of its essence in everything I write.
This has compounded. A lot of leads I got came simply because I used this angle—annoyingly—everywhere.
My friend is connecting me to a new prospect by highlighting my research skills.
3.“Can I add this to my email sequence or blog?”
A lot of the content I produced in my first two years had no shelf life beyond 12–24 hours.
It was a complete waste of time and energy. Now, before I write anything, I ask myself:
"Can I add this to my email sequence or blog?"
If the answer is NO, I simply don’t produce it.
4.The Heidegger tool trap
Earlier, my writing tool stack changed every few months.
A new tool would drop, and I’d turn it into some Indian god that would solve all my problems.
Now I’m back to the old ways. Handwritten notes for research. Self-made swipe files for inspo. And Notion for writing.
5.What you write > how well you write
Average writing on good topics always beats brilliant writing on poor topics.
One helps you build trust, even if it’s small.
The other just impresses other writers, not your target audience.
That's why I only pick topics that I understand really well.
This usually means I have read material about them. I thought about them on my walks. I can write the first draft of the post simply from my memory.
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.
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Badum...tssh!
And a happy new year to you.
That's it for the day.
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That's it for the day.
This is part of an email that I sent to my list.
If you wish to read my emails regularly, join my newsletter below.
Thank you for your attention.
