A lesson I wish I learned four years ago:

If everyone likes your writing, no one loves it.

When you try to please everyone, you please no one. The aim is to get your reader to say "Hell yeah" not "Yeah yeah”.

To do so, you must be polarising.

Consider our magnet analogy. For a magnet to be effective, it needs a positive and negative node.

This mirrors how humans think. We respond to both positive and negative forces. But our monkey minds have skewed our perspective: we pay more attention to the negative.

This is why the news and politics are so poisonous—why appeal to what you love when I can tap into what you fear?

Now, I'm not suggesting you become a dick or rely on clickbait for attention.

But the lesson is there, loud and clear:

There is no room for a weak message in a crowded market.

You can’t grow your business if your audience don’t care.

If you want them to know what you stand for, they must know what you stand against.

Your Core Values

Now, this email is about you. Not me. But I’d struggle to show you the power of values without a monologue. Please humour me for 5 minutes. You’ll see how to apply this to your own content.

First, here are my core values:

• Freedom
• Mastery
• Impact
• Character
• Truth

By themselves, these words are hollow.

But when you define your values, you bring them to life. They impact every choice and consequence—shaping your reality. And like magnets, they draw in the people you're meant to serve.

People you can serve.

I recorded a video sharing how to find your core values below. But finish this email first.

Creating a Message of Meaning

Once you know your core values, ask:

• What does this mean to me? (positive node)
• What pisses me off about it? (negative node)

Let’s run through mine.

Freedom

I value being able to do what I want, where I want, when I want.

I want to be free from anxiety, fear, and (too much) stress. When I give these things up, I know I’ve strayed from my most important principle.

What pisses me off is that society sells freedom as a retirement gift. A carrot dangled at the finish line of a 40-year marathon—keeping us running until our legs give out.

From the day we’re born, we’re force fed the idea that success is measured in fame, not freedom. And so we chase money and status without realising these are the things that keep us in chains.

They are not the point of life, but tools to live it well.

We’re always chasing, comparing, and competing. But if you understand that the point is not to win, but to enjoy, you can be free. Right here, right now.

Mastery

Everyone has something they can be great at.

What pisses me off is that we have never had such an opportunity to make that statement a reality.

But instead of taking advantage, we’re perpetually distracted.

We give away our attention without understanding the cost. We expect instant results without understanding good things take time. We're too scared to take risks despite never being more secure.

Character

Character is being clear on, and sticking to, your principles.

It’s about reacting well, treating people fairly, finding the positive angles. It’s about being the person you say you are. Not just when it’s easy, but when life throws 10 tonnes of shit your way.

What pisses me off is inauthenticity and superficiality.

I don’t like to associate with people whose principles shift at the slightest wiff of an issue or short-term incentive. Victim mentality, pessimism, selfishness, dishonesty are all traits of weak character.

Impact

Zig Ziglar once said, “you get to what you want from life when you help other people get what they want.”

It’s one of my favourite quotes.

To stop obsessing over the self, we should commit to something bigger than ourselves. We should solve problems and strive to be useful.

What pisses me off is when people expect the world yet give the world nothing. We’d would much happier if we got off our phones, switched off our TVs, and got to work.

Truth

I value truth—from myself and the world around me. I added this to my list recently.

Why?

Because I realised almost every unhappy outcome in my life was a result of dishonesty—usually with myself. I'm a recovering people pleaser who never trusted my intuition.

But it’s better to live an uncomfortable truth than a comfortable lie.

This is why I stand against fakeness on a societal level.

Happiness has become a marketing ploy, not a state of being. The News warps our perception of how good life is. Social media is a highlight reel masking the fact most of us are tired, anxious, and insecure. Politicians pretend they’re for the people, when they just want power for themselves.

Underneath the myriad of lies there is a beautiful reality rolling by. We're just too distracted to notice it.

Who are you?

Phew, monologue over.