I love U2, always have, and one of my favorite lines is “she’s running to stand still.” That lyric has really hit home for me over the last few years. I’ve been running all over the world, only to realize I needed to stop, find my pace, and focus on writing and creating content. Do you ever feel like that too?

This week, we hit a huge milestone—over 500 subscribers! Thank you all for following, supporting, and reading. It truly means the world to me.

In today's storyletter:

• We can have a safe life

• Storytelling tips – reading out loud

• The personal poll

• Building in public

• From the web
  

  Let’s go!
  
  

THOUGHTS

With over 40 million tourists in 2024, this country is proving that everyone could get along, feel safe, and worry less.

After two and a half months in Thailand, I just moved to Vietnam, and one of the most noticeable things is that there are no helmets on the motorcycles. In most places in Thailand, you can literally leave your helmet on your bike or even forget your keys in the car ignition.

Sounds crazy? What about leaving your wallet or cell phone on the table? And it’s completely fine. Landing in Da Nang, Vietnam, almost immediately reminded me that this is not a common thing. In fact, in most countries, you can’t leave your stuff lying around or your laptop in a coffee shop and just walk away.

Tourists love it. They’re shocked. But it got me thinking—if everyone from around the world comes to Thailand and it works, what isn’t working in other countries? If we all agreed to uphold this, the world would be different, right?

In Thailand, safety isn’t enforced by heavy policing—it’s a collective agreement. It’s not about fear of punishment but a mutual understanding of respect and trust. What if we all made that agreement, no matter where we live?

Is it our human nature? Society? Culture?

How can we make a change? How do you spread an idea so crazy—that we simply do not steal things that don’t belong to us? How can we create a mind shift? Most people will say it doesn’t work like that, that it’s not possible. But it works, in a country with 70 million residents and over 40 million tourists.

The world could be safer if we embraced ideas and cultures from other places. If we embraced the good and found a few others to follow us.

Every person traveling to Thailand loves this, talks about it, is amazed by it—yet we don’t embrace it when we go home. This means that in order to maintain this in Thailand, over 40 million tourists agree to keep this alive. How crazy is that?

More than that, it means it’s possible. I know you might say, "It’s tourism," but 40 million people, plus 70 million locals, prove the potential to create a safer world. The problem is, we all need to agree on one thing: mutual respect.

Find your ideas, don’t give up, and make the world a better place—because safety is one of the most important things we deserve, need, and want to leave for future generations.

Storytelling

Tips and tricks

Say it before you share it

Why is it interesting?

At my agency, we used to hire juniors, and one of the first tasks I would give them was to write an email to a client on a specific matter. I would then read it back to them, showing them how I understood something completely different from what they intended.

You see, people read your content in their minds, assigning a tone and style that may not match what you meant.

Reading your content out loud before you share it is a powerful tool to improve your writing. It helps ensure your message is clear, gives you a chance to refine it, and allows you to add emotions or small details that might be missing.

How to start?

Once your content is ready, read it out loud and see how it flows.

1. Fix any grammar and punctuation mistakes you notice. Make sure your text has some breathing room—we don’t want them to read too fast.

2. Go through each paragraph and sentence, making sure the emotion and key message are clear.

3. Can you remove unnecessary words while keeping the same message? Keep it clear, concise, and easy to read.

What to expect?

You might be surprised to realize that you’ve sent thousands of emails that didn’t mean what you intended. Once you start reading your writing out loud, your content will change—it will become more intentional, clearer, and sometimes even shorter.

Don’t let AI do it for you. Craft it yourself and just let AI check your grammar. This is how you improve faster.

Before:
"We need to discuss the changes. Let me know when you're available."

After (with better clarity and tone):
"I’d love to go over the changes with you. Let me know when you have a few minutes to chat."

This small tweak changes the tone from demanding to collaborative. Note the change in emotions. Read both and see how you use your tone.

Why is it good?

It’s an amazing tool to:
✅ Find your voice
✅ Ensure they read it as you intended
✅ Make sure your text conveys the right message

It removes the guesswork from writing.

How often?

Every time you feel stuck. Every time the text is important—whether it’s an email, a long blog post, or a pitch.

Let me know how it feels!

Building in public

What are you building over there?

About Building in Public

Sharing the journey in an open, unfiltered way, the good, the bad and the behind the scenes of scaling my next idea.

Quick tip: Look at everything you’re doing at work. Identify one big task and one small task that you can either drop or delegate. What would you like to replace them with? Great. Happy to help.

What I’m about to say might sound counterintuitive, but hear me out. Let go—simply let go. If you want to create more content, if you want to build your content muscle, just let go.

When my social media numbers declined, I could have given up, but I decided to follow my gut and post what I wanted. And it’s starting to work.

If you want to attract the right followers, if you're not in it for the numbers but rather the right fans and clients, let go and start creating for yourself before anyone else.

For the past few years (probably since 2015), I’ve posted a daily Instagram story with my morning coffee. That’s it. It’s my little thing, and I love it. People often ask why I do it or if I’m okay when I miss a few days.

I’ve never posted these anywhere else, but as my LinkedIn numbers declined here in Asia, I thought—why not? So, with a short three-liner and a daily coffee pic, I started posting. And the best part? People like it, and I enjoy making them. Same goes for my YouTube videos, Medium articles, and podcast.

People say no one cares. And while that’s true, people also love to see behind the scenes—to root for (or against) you. It’s up to me to deliver value and share the journey.

YouTube

Had a great time filming two videos at once—saved me a few hours, and the Building in Public video had better sound. All in all, great fun filming in a different location. I’m trying to balance filming, sharing, and delivering value.

Educational Thursday is a 30-Day Marketing Challenge, specifically designed for people who want to start but are afraid. Watch it and let me know if you need any help.

As my first hire is starting to find her way, my focus is now on mapping out what else I need. There are three things guiding my work in the coming months—things you might want to think about in your own business:

1. Vision – What do I love doing that can also make money? Should it be a service, a product, a revenue stream, or a marketing tool? My focus is on content creation (mainly YouTube and LinkedIn), book writing, and expanding the university reach of my current book.

2. Process – What’s required in terms of staff, hours, and tools? Planning saves so much time and money. For example, hiring a freelance video editor and thumbnail designer will help me scale YouTube—but only after I’ve committed to creating the videos, not before.

3. Execution – The day-to-day operations I neither want nor should be handling. Contracts, issues, problems—there’s a huge difference between work styles. I’m not an operator, and I don’t want to be.

Identify who you are, define the space where you can make the biggest impact, and move the needle. I’ve made a list, and I’ll hustle through it.

Webinars

With three major webinars this week—most of them in the middle of the night—it’s going to be a busy one. But time zones are what they are, no complaints. Over 250 people will learn about marketing and how to create content consistently. Next week, I’ll be launching a closed mastermind for U.S.-based businesses, and I’m so excited about it.

If you plan on pitching your company or service and haven’t yet picked up Fck the Slides*, I highly recommend it (and yes, I’m biased).Overcoming fear, gaps, and everything holding us back starts with seeing it, saying it, writing it, and then changing it. Don’t do what you did before—do it better.

Keep replying, keep rocking, and let me know what you think. As always, here’s my usual spreadsheet.

My top three priorities are always available. Click here for my updates file

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Just for Fun

Take a break and enjoy these links

🎵 Music: This week’s newsletter was created while listening to Essential 1995 Music Selection—loved this one, hope you enjoy it too!
👉 Listen here: 1995 Essential Selection

🎤 Clip: Lola Young covering The Cure—really enjoyed this version.
👉 Watch here: Lola Young – The Cure Cover

🔥 Video: Is pineapple fireproof enough to walk on fire? What???
👉 Watch here: Pineapple Fire Test