Stop watching dumb stuff and get to work.

I mean me, not you.

While working here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I’ve been catching up on some YouTube videos, and one of them got me thinking. What started as “WTF is this guy talking about? That’s impossible!” slowly turned into, “Maybe… what if I try it?”

Curious? I’ll share more about that next week.

But for now, in this week’s storyletter, we’re diving into:

• A man I met on a plane

• A recording app I love

• A new section: shoutouts to great ideas and people

• Why 3 tasks a day can take you a long way

  
  

  Let’s go

THOUGHTS

Simple work - Might be the best type of work

This guy worked the same “mundane” job for 43 years, and what he shared with me next was amazing.

While on a plane from Vietnam to Thailand, the man sitting next to me sparked a conversation. He seemed eager to ask questions—about who I am, where I’m from—and when I turned the questions back to him, he smiled and shared his story. He was incredibly humble.

Every year, he takes a couple of months off to travel the world. He owns three houses in Manchester, UK, all debt-free. When he’s home, he works just four hours a day, four times a week. And the rest of his time? He spends it with his grandkids and friends down at the local pub.

He’s 63 but looks younger than that—and happier than most. His secret? Keeping the same “mundane” job for 43 years: cleaning windows.

He told me he still remembers conversations with CEOs who envied his job. “No hassle, no long meetings, no worries,” they’d say. “Same job, day in, day out.”

He went on to explain that he focused on doing one thing exceptionally well—cleaning windows. He collected the money, hired more employees when needed, and kept cleaning those windows. Over time, more clients came his way.

“Most people don’t want to clean windows,” he said. “They’re willing to pay for it. But more than that, people used to look down on me for doing it. They felt sorry for me, cleaning their windows. Meanwhile, I was making £50–£200 an hour, saving money, and building my life to help my kids.”

His success came from being content with what he had, ignoring what others said, keeping his head down, and saving money. Not exactly what we see celebrated on social media today.

What we often see on social media is people going to the gym, putting in the reps, making more, and having more. But this man’s life is the real definition of compounding: same work, small savings, and over time, they compound into something extraordinary. How much of our daily or monthly work are we putting aside to save? How much of what we do is actually compounding? Or are we just going through the motions without saving or growing?

Think about your own “compound” effect:

1. Are you saving money every month?

2. Does your work attract bigger clients or a growing audience over time?

3. Is the content you create improving with each effort?

Being intentional about the compounding effect has helped me say no to things that don’t serve that purpose. It’s a reminder to focus on the small, consistent actions that lead to meaningful, long-term results.

I think about him often since that flight a couple of weeks ago. Would you clean windows to retire early? Do you care what others think of you? Maybe if we rethink the way we look at things, some great opportunities lie ahead.

Food for thought—let me know what you think.

P.S
Mundane meaning: lacking interest or excitement; dull.

Stumble Upon

Stuff I find on the web and feel like sharing

About AudioPen: A Tool You Can Use

Don’t like writing but always have a lot to say about everything?

A few years ago, I came across Louis launching his web app and decided to back him. I paid something like $30 and got my hands on a nice-looking app called AudioPen. It was a bit clunky when it came to understanding my strange accent, but it showed a lot of promise.

Since then, Louis, a solo entrepreneur and IndieHacker, has launched AudioPen on Android and iOS with great success. The app lets you dictate your thoughts, organize them, and transcribe them effortlessly. It supports countless languages, and my main use now is taking notes for my upcoming book and keeping everything under a dedicated tab.

Posts like this one? They now take me about 2 minutes to record, 5 minutes to edit, and another minute to proofread.

Do yourself a favor and check it out—you’ll thank me later.

Shout-out

People and Ideas i’ve worked with and like

Clean isn’t really clean

This company is developing the next generation of biodegradable materials technology to help factories operate more efficiently, reduce pollution, and—most importantly—save over 150,000 lives each year.

This man and his idea will forever be part of my journey because he’s not only a great guy but also someone building something truly disruptive—and I’ve been privileged to play a tiny part in their success.

When I met Tzvika Furman, it was during Covid. I believe it might have been my first in-person workshop that year, and I was immediately struck by his idea and enthusiasm. We stayed in touch until mid-2022, when he called me.

I had just landed in Toronto to speak at Collision when Tzvika shared the news: he’d been accepted last minute to pitch their product in Singapore. Of course, we both knew the schedule would be tight, but we got to work.

It would take us about 8 hours to craft a strong pitch. Out of 50 companies, Tzvika delivered his 3-minute pitch and advanced to the final 10. When I work with clients, the trailer pitch is crucial—it’s not just about showcasing your company but ensuring your message is sharp enough to win competitions.

The next day, Tzvika delivered his final pitch and took first prize. While he had two additional minutes to present, we barely needed one.

Tzvika’s company, Kiinns, is about to close their funding round soon (and yes, they still have room if you want to invest). They’re set to revolutionize the way factories operate. Since its inception and our first collaboration in 2022, the company has achieved meteoric progress and is now in the process of negotiating its first international sales.

Here’s a short blurb about Kiinns:
Kiinns, a trailblazing Deeptech startup, is reshaping industrial production with a revolutionary solution that redefines production line cleaning. Kiinns eliminates the need for traditional, harmful, costly, and polluting cleaning processes and all of their risks in industrial (food and other) production lines.

And here’s the winning pitch video: Click here

Feel free to reach out to Tzvika (his Linkedin) —tell him I sent you!

Building in public

Let’s Be Honest

Being away from home—what some of you might call a “digital nomad” (I prefer “a man on a mission”)—while juggling client work, writing a book, and enjoying new places around the world—well, it ain’t easy to balance it all.

Last week, I had an idea: why not explore more content creation? (Spoiler: it’s hard!) Some of the key things on my task list became overwhelming. Between maintaining my clients, researching book concepts, and trying to create consistent content, it just felt like too much.

That’s why I think I need your help—to keep me accountable. I’m starting a new daily post where I share the top three things I need to create, write, or execute each day.

I believe building in public can take many forms. For me, being honest with myself—and with all of you—might be the key to achieving my 2025 goals. Because, let’s face it, doing it alone is so much harder.

For example, today’s goals were to write this newsletter, draft a new Medium blog post, and work on a script for YouTube—another tough task for me.

From now on, I’ll be posting regularly across several social platforms to share the journey, the ideas, and the behind-the-scenes process. I left to come back better, stronger, changed, and inspired.

But when you strip away the buzzwords, it all comes down to the daily grind. From nobody to somebody. Whatever it takes to build something I’m proud of.

Got questions? See you on the other side.

P.S.
I’m relaunching my YouTube channel this week. You can wish me luck—or better yet, subscribe and support.