MTF needs a slumpbuster: Too many swings, no hits.

[MTF]

I think you've read Phil Kinght's bio – he too was a step from bankruptcy even when the firm was making millions in revenue.

I've read it. As far as I remember he wanted to turn this into a huge business right away. I have no such wishes.

Everyone who follows your path at best gets lucky once and "retires" just like you. Then they end up being back to broke 20-30 years later. Because you cannot escape the fundamental reality that competition eats away profits, and your golden opportunity is BOUND TO fail given sufficient time. It's by definition unsustainable, otherwise you would not be able to make such large profits so quickly.

It doesn't matter that your golden opportunity is bound to fail as long as you get enough time to reinvest the profits into other stuff. If you made $1 million a year for 5 years, who cares that your business would eventually fail? If you reinvested the $5 million into a sensible paycheck pot, it wouldn't matter.

I can live off my investments and savings for the rest of my life. I can't buy expensive houses or cars but my current lifestyle (which is very comfortable) is sustainable. The only reason why I want to build another business is to get to that next level. It's not a need anymore but a want.

 

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[MTF]

I'm not sure what you currently do, but if you do have a 20k subscriber email list then there are so many ways to monetize them.

I don't want to go back to this niche and list but the general problem is its quality. There are no ways to monetize a list where up to 50% is from countries like India, Pakistan, or Nigeria. They just aren't buying anything and will never buy anything.

What are you currently doing to monetize your lists?

Here's what I did:

• selling my books - out of 30-40k people (as the list was before cleaning), I got at most 200-300 sales when launching a book for $0.99,
• affiliate marketing - including extremely solid offers when products worth a few thousand dollars were sold for $100 (it was a huge bundle),
• selling low-ticket and more expensive digital products of many kinds, including audio courses, templates, email courses, Udemy video courses, and text-based Teachable courses with my direct involvement,
• a combination of these with upsells and stuff.

 

[MTF]

I feel you with this, have been feeling in the same position. Started reading 12m to 1mil by ryan daniel moran and felt very motivated again and “i cant wait to start” but when reaching the part where it talks about finding your target customer, feel that “shit i cant think of anything feeling.”

In reality pushing past is the best way forward and even though nothings immediately come to mind, I’ll keep researching.

Also love how he mentioned about not taking a profit from the business, made me realise I gotta work a lot more and make some short term cash to pay for my driving lessons and anything I want to buy in the meantime.

I do have plenty of ideas but for other people. For myself, I struggle because I don't buy much stuff and I don't like selling stuff I consider to be wasteful (like clothes) or stupid (like decorations). The stuff that I do buy is not the kind of stuff I can sell easily.

 

[MTF]

@MTF your post had 18 responses so I moved it to its own thread.

Thank you. I hope this can help other people as well as I didn't want to start a thread just for myself.

Now, I can't make sense of anything you're doing because you've gotten away from 1 + 2 = 3 and everything is always so indirect and convoluted.

Create value and sell it.

Iterate through 1 and 2, and 3 will come.

Thank you for explaining this like that, I understand it better now.

And no, writing 100 articles for Google and hoping people click to your ad-heavy website is not value, it's just a dumb arbitrage game that is a waste of your talent. And if you insist on dismissing people due to a survivor bias (But S. Bloom can sell anything and make money!) then why can't you also dismiss the person who makes a killing doing these stupid arbitrage games?

Fair point.

The same skills that made you a great free diver is the same skills that will make you a success in business. Again.

Just to clarify that, I'm very far from being a great freediver. But I did overcome tons of obstacles as nothing was given to me in freediving. If anything, I'm exceptionally untalented.

 

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[LightHouse]

There is a lot of great advice in here and also references and perspectives.

I want to approach at a different angle that has nothing to do with the logical breakdown or tactics.

Given some of the statements you made about yourself, I'd say focusing on winning in anything is going to be tough in your current mental state. I can't say this for sure because I am not a licensed clinical psychologist... however the patterns are pretty clear.

Have you ever been in therapy or advanced therapies in the past? DO you even desire to change your mental condition?

If so, I would focus solely on that before you try to do the mechanical work.

You can't solve problems in the same state that you created them.

 

[MTF]

Just wanted to say thanks for opening up and sharing this. I'm sure it wasn't an easy post to type.

I wasn't sure whether to post it but I'm glad to hear it resonates with others as well.

You seem like a good dude who is smart and very capable. Maybe by focusing on yourself first will get you better results than jumping right into another business? (Or worse, throwing in the towel completely.)

I actually did that a few times already, taking time off for up to 6 months or so. But I've never had any clarity afterward. Granted, I did not talk with a therapist but I did take my mind completely off the business stuff. After each break I thought I was ready only to launch another stupid "business."

 

[MTF]

Because the competition today for selling books is 100x what it used to be.

If back 10 years ago clients had MTF's book or 4-5 alternatives, now they have MTF's book and 100+ other alternatives.

That's exactly the problem. When I was starting out there was more demand than supply. Now it's the other way around and I'm unable to beat the competition.

He needs to find a way to sell – that's what he can't do today. He can't sell. And he expects that if he just places the product in front of people, they will buy, but clearly that's not working out so well.

That's exactly the case as well. I didn't have to learn how to sell because I succeeded by not having to do that. That's why I loved it so much and that's why I struggle to accept that it's not possible anymore.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I wasn't sure whether to post it but I'm glad to hear it resonates with others as well.

I think every single one of us has dealt with some manner of what you're feeling, just might not be all business related.

None of are strangers to frustrations and feeling injustice or unfairness in market interactions.

For me personally, I have an "injustice" gene in my DNA that infuriates me when I see people get away with bullshit, or in your case, you see people with garbage content/products that have 100X success than you and then say, "Oh just post on Twitter every single day and it will happen!" Problem is, 1000s of people do, and they still don't have a massive following.

 

[KJFast]

I do have plenty of ideas but for other people. For myself, I struggle because I don't buy much stuff and I don't like selling stuff I consider to be wasteful (like clothes) or stupid (like decorations). The stuff that I do buy is not the kind of stuff I can sell easily.

How do ideas differ for yourself and other people? Maybe think of friends and what they buy too. There’s some businesses I wouldn’t do with my strong morals but still plenty opportunity

 

[MTF]

I have a lot of thoughts and opinions on this for @MTF. I can't share them all here, but I will share 10 or so.

Thank you so much, Jason. That was a very insightful and thought-provoking post.

1. I think with any success, once you learn and become smarter from the success.. you can start to doubt yourself. There are many people under you, less talented and younger making more only because they haven't learn to doubt themselves yet. I would learn to control that doubt. Yes, it is hard, it will always be with you. I struggle with the same as well but I have learned to somewhat control it.

I've experienced a lot of this in the last few years. When I was younger I didn't deal with doubt. These days, self-doubt rules my life.

But from memory, it seemed things start to maybe go downhill when Amazon reduced or removed the bonus payout from the Audio portion of it's sales. I maybe have this wording wrong, but didn't Amazon pay out money for those that joined via or joined into the audio portion of their program? Once that hit, i think it was a slow slump in revenue for you. I think as an early pioneer, you got in and dominated a niche that had great payouts multiple ways, and over time competition came in and payouts changed.

Yes, that was the exact moment it all went downhill. Before they implemented this change I had known that it would eventually end. Had it lasted 1-2 years more I wouldn't have needed to start any new businesses anymore as it was a crazy good earner for me.

5. I feel like we have seen you do this on the forum before. It seems a lot of highs and some lows. I feel like in other threads you have mentioned this at least 2 other times where you were down about business and your abilities at different points in time over the years.

I try to keep this to myself but sometimes I don't know where to look for help and then I end up posting here. I've been suffering from depression ever since I was a kid. When it comes, it makes me question everything, including my desire to continue existing.

6. Weren't you selling a service to help people write or publish their books? Wasn't this how @Fox got his book up? Why are you not doing that service?

Yeah, we worked together and I did have this service. I stopped doing it because it cost me too much time and stress (working with some clients - but not with Rob - made me go CRAZY).

I made very little money on each project and struggled to find new clients. Most authors are broke and don't want to pay a lot of money to get their book published. And big names go to businesses launched by big names (like Scribe).

7. I think you are a great writer, but I think what failed was you didn't adapt to the changes in the industry. I think you tried to, but never really did the change. Maybe you gave up early in the changes to be able to adapt.

I felt that I was forced to give up the pen name and start building my personal brand through social media or keep things as they are and see if I can figure it out without changing my strategy too much.

My approach didn't work. But at the same time, I wasn't (and still am not) interested in becoming famous in any way, even if semi-famous in a small niche.

8. I've noticed too, like others have mentioned, the giving up early or frowning down on advice given to you in the past about things on the forum here from others.

I'm aware of that and I'm trying to rectify it (admittedly, with varying success).

9. It's going to be hard to compare everything to what it was before. You need to adapt to new outcomes and just realize if $2.5k is all you can get from the email list of 20k people.. it's not a failure, its the new normal. And you just need to improve the new normal to $4k... instead of thinking it's failure and giving up.

Expectations definitely play a big role here. If I had none, then I would probably be happy with that $2.5k. As it is now, if I compare it to all the numbers thrown around (like average 1% conversion rate), $2.5k from 20,000 is a rounding error.

10. You need to break out of the niche of book you write, or provide different value if you keep writing the same niche going forward. You maybe have different niches and pen names under your belt, but I'm talking about what was ( and maybe still is ) your main niche and pen name. Once someone like me has 2 or 3+ of your books, a lot of the same info is repeated in all the books with just a little difference it seems in the new ones. The stories may be different, but the main points and takeaway are often the same as prior titles.

I decided to give up this niche altogether as I'm no longer interested in it and can't provide any unique advice.

 

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[MTF]

I don't know about your last business ventures. But how many of them were in industries similar to the Kindle trend of Amazon a couple of years ago?

Most of them since that's my only real skill.

I know quite a couple of successful entrepreneurs. All of them made their wealth in industries that have been around for decades and will be around for decades (if AI doesn't get involved ) None of them founded a start-up with an unproven idea and non of them jumped on a hot trend in a new industry. I think the highest likelihood of success in entrepreneurship is to go into a proven industry, get very skilled at it, and then show up with persistence and a value skew.

I do agree with this and understand it 100%. The problem is that if you want to have an online business, there's no industry that has been around for decades and will be around for decades. Or is there? Do you have any examples?

Example: Let's say someone wants to start a business with an almost guaranteed success rate. I would guess that if you decide to become a skilled plumber and start your own business, learn something about digital marketing and just show up long enough, your odds of failure are slim and you will become a multi-millionaire within 20 years. Now does that sound exciting? Maybe not... but what I am trying to say is that if you keep failing at business, maybe it's the industry and your skill level that decreases your odds of success from the beginning.

I agree with that as well. If I could have such a boring but online business, then that would be fine. I don't need a sexy business. I just can't have an offline business as I travel too much and it's often the only thing that keeps me sane. Being next door to the biggest military conflict in decades that may spiral out of control doesn't inspire confidence in having a local business, either.

 

[MTF]

Keep going man, don't give up. The journey is no hard no doubt. You got this. Keep kicking, something will happen.

Thank you.

 

[MTF]

Have you ever been in therapy or advanced therapies in the past? DO you even desire to change your mental condition?

No. As for the second question, I don't know. In this state, I have little desire to live, let alone bother changing my mental condition.

I do know that I have no desire to talk with a therapist as I don't believe in it.

You can't solve problems in the same state that you created them.

As I mentioned before, I took extensive breaks from business and thought I was refreshed and ready to try again only to make the same stupid mistakes. So I'm not sure if it's the mental state or just the bad strategies.

 

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[MTF]

I think every single one of us has dealt with some manner of what you're feeling, just might not be all business related.

None of are strangers to frustrations and feeling injustice or unfairness in market interactions.

For me personally, I have an "injustice" gene in my DNA that infuriates me when I see people get away with bullshit, or in your case, you see people with garbage content/products that have 100X success than you and then say, "Oh just post on Twitter every single day and it will happen!" Problem is, 1000s of people do, and they still don't have a massive following.

I understand logically that the world isn't fair but I guess it's an emotional reaction so you can't solve it with logic.

And yes, that Twitter example is exactly what makes me angry and it's even more annoying when they say "just post every single day."

 

[MTF]

How do ideas differ for yourself and other people? Maybe think of friends and what they buy too. There’s some businesses I wouldn’t do with my strong morals but still plenty opportunity

They don't have the same requirements as I do. For example, they're happy living year round where they live. They don't have to travel, they know where they want to live, so they can start offline businesses or work with local businesses online.

As for morals, that's another thing. The weirder you are (and I'm an eccentric), the harder it is to know what to sell because you can't relate to an average person or don't agree with many industries.

For example, a friend offers marketing services for pet food companies. As a vegan, I couldn't do that.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

It sounds like you’re bored @MTF but at the same time you’re comfortable. You’re not in a place where you’re willing to do anything to be successful — quite the contrary, you seem to feel quite safe and complacent.

My prediction, and I hope I’m wrong, is that this pattern will continue for years to come. There is no immediate, massive pressure that could push you out of what has become your comfort zone.

And I don’t mean this as an insult, similar things could equally be said about me. I also have a big attraction to doing what is comfortable for me, even though most people would find it uncomfortable.

You will continue to, for lack of a better word, feel disappointed about your lack of progress, but the disappointment will continue manifesting as verbal rants but won’t really go to the level of action. Because once again, fundamentally you know this is a luxury, not a must-have. You know that all is well if you don’t make another dollar again. Sure you won’t have the big mansions and cars, but you’ll go on having a decent life materially speaking.

So it’s very hard for me to see how a change can happen if there is little will from your end to make it happen.

 

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[eliquid]

After reading your responses @MTF, I feel you are very open and accepting of what happened to the business and your situation. That is a good thing.

Also, you have a great advantage of not having to "work" it seems, since you mentioned you can keep your lifestyle up as is, based on investments and other things you did. Also good.

I know this doesnt help at all. Ive been there, so I know.

But man, you have such a level ground right now to do anything you want and not be tied to certain things others are.

Again, I know that won't help.

But I hope that it shows you should not give up because you are in a rare situation right now other people would kill for.

All I can say is, it only takes 1 home run to win again.. and maybe that home run wont be another Grand Slam ( if you know baseball ), but it's a home run that wins the game none the less

 

[MTF]

It sounds like you’re bored @MTF but at the same time you’re comfortable. You’re not in a place where you’re willing to do anything to be successful — quite the contrary, you seem to feel quite safe and complacent.

My prediction, and I hope I’m wrong, is that this pattern will continue for years to come. There is no immediate, massive pressure that could push you out of what has become your comfort zone.

And I don’t mean this as an insult, similar things could equally be said about me. I also have a big attraction to doing what is comfortable for me, even though most people would find it uncomfortable.

You will continue to, for lack of a better word, feel disappointed about your lack of progress, but the disappointment will continue manifesting as verbal rants but won’t really go to the level of action. Because once again, fundamentally you know this is a luxury, not a must-have. You know that all is well if you don’t make another dollar again. Sure you won’t have the big mansions and cars, but you’ll go on having a decent life materially speaking.

So it’s very hard for me to see how a change can happen if there is little will from your end to make it happen.

It's interesting that I don't have such issues with my other goals. Granted, I struggle a lot with freediving but I refuse to give up and I keep practicing it even when I don't have access to water and get bored. Same with learning languages.

Perhaps all the business failures have simply conditioned me to expect more of the same and it manifests as the problem you described. Why bother if I don't need it?

 

[MTF]

After reading your responses @MTF, I feel you are very open and accepting of what happened to the business and your situation. That is a good thing.

Also, you have a great advantage of not having to "work" it seems, since you mentioned you can keep your lifestyle up as is, based on investments and other things you did. Also good.

I know this doesnt help at all. Ive been there, so I know.

But man, you have such a level ground right now to do anything you want and not be tied to certain things others are.

Again, I know that won't help.

But I hope that it shows you should not give up because you are in a rare situation right now other people would kill for.

All I can say is, it only takes 1 home run to win again.. and maybe that home run wont be another Grand Slam ( if you know baseball ), but it's a home run that wins the game none the less

Setting aside the emotional stuff, logically I understand and deeply appreciate my position. At the same time, I can now even better understand why very rich people or very famous actors take their lives. It's hard to understand it unless you're in the same position. Seemingly a situation to kill for but you can still be dead inside.

 

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[StrikingViper69]

I'm totally unknown and wrote a book. No list, no following. Some pretty shit videos on my IG. Sold over 8,000 copies so far. People love it and comment on my ads that they enjoy the book and found it useful. I would probably sell more if I could stomach putting it on Amazon again. It's not Fastlane money, but it's a start, and shows you don't need fame to sell.

Being famous definitely makes life easier. But a good product also makes like easier.

It's easy to look at others and say "it's so easy for them, so why try?". But if your products are good and there's demand (you need both, not just one), then it'll sell. You don't need an audience or a bajillion followers.

I started running ads for £3 a day. Why build an audience when you can buy for a few quid?

 

[Yula]

I don't want to go back to this niche and list but the general problem is its quality. There are no ways to monetize a list where up to 50% is from countries like India, Pakistan, or Nigeria. They just aren't buying anything and will never buy anything.

I see, then that's definitely the problem. Can't you focus on only getting subscribers from places like the US? You do have the skill set to grow a list, it's just a matter of choosing the right locations.

This way, your problem doesn't necessarily lie in the niche itself.

Here's what I did:

• selling my books - out of 30-40k people (as the list was before cleaning), I got at most 200-300 sales when launching a book for $0.99,
• affiliate marketing - including extremely solid offers when products worth a few thousand dollars were sold for $100 (it was a huge bundle),
• selling low-ticket and more expensive digital products of many kinds, including audio courses, templates, email courses, Udemy video courses, and text-based Teachable courses with my direct involvement,
• a combination of these with upsells and stuff.

Same applies here.

Your audience needs money before they can buy any of these products. If they do and your products are still not converting, it either concerns your offer or the emails you're sending.

Let me know if you're still planning on growing a new list, I'd be happy to share some additional tips and tricks if you do.

 

[machinistguy]

But if your products are good and there's demand (you need both, not just one), then it'll sell. You don't need an audience or a bajillion followers.

Yeah I don't know why there's so much talk on this thread about needing connections, marketing strategies, competition, or other nonsense. The 20% of work that gets you 80% of the result comes down to this, giving customers who have money what they need better than they can get it from somewhere else.

If a girl is struggling with weight loss and you write a book that actually gets her to lose weight you don't think every other girl around her is going want that book too? If you create a component that makes HVAC systems 5% more energy efficient, you don't think HVAC vendors will be fighting each other to get an exclusivity deal with you?

20% of the work is building an amazing product with a strong need. Do that and 80% of your problems will take of themselves.

 

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[MakeItHappen]

I started running ads for £3 a day. Why build an audience when you can buy for a few quid?

Most audiences today aren't built organically anyways. If you are lucky to be an early adopter of a new social network, then maybe, but otherwise, audiences are built via joint ventures, etc., for the most part, and I view this as a form of paid traffic. I am pretty sure that you can buy access to almost anyone's audience. If you have a great offer for a revenue share deal, or you pay $X, you can work with Bloom and Co. You obviously have to be unique and great in order for the paid traffic to give you a good return on investment, but you also need to be unique and great to build an audience via organic growth

 

[Black_Dragon43]

20% of the work is building an amazing product with a strong need. Do that and 80% of your problems will take of themselves.

This is a very good point — I’ll just make the addition that often to “build an amazing product” you need to make a lot of sales and gain a lot of experience of trying to solve the problem, sometimes unsuccessfully.

The roadblock for a lot of people is that they can’t sell, so they never get the chance to iterate on their product and make it amazing.

 

[MTF]

Let me know if you're still planning on growing a new list, I'd be happy to share some additional tips and tricks if you do.

Thank you. I won't be using this list anymore but if I decide to grow a new one for some reason, I'll reach out.

 

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[Ravens_Shadow]

MTF, I'm not sure what the books you wrote were about, or if the content websites you were trying to flip, or buy in the past contained much of value. Believe it or not, the internet probably doesn't need much more content and being a content machine doesn't sound very fulfilling.

Sit down and think about something far beyond yourself that could be interesting and then pursue that without the worry about making money for now since you already have money. This sort of meandering path on a niche idea can take you to big places and you get to decide how big you want something to be. I'm not saying I have mastered the path of fulfillment, but I'm on a pretty steady path and have a lot of the successes people would want and that's at least moderately fulfilling.

As @million$$$smile told me, sometimes you just have to go out and drive nails into wood with a hammer to be fulfilled. In his case he was building houses for those in need in south america. Go do something with your hands. Get off the F*cking computer and go learn a new skill with your hands (pottery, wood working, metal fabrication, etc). And direct your energy into things like that for a while. Once your mental foundation is setup again, build a business of actual value, that truly helps people, vs bullshit content.

And finally, find a really good therapist if you haven't. I've been in therapy for a few years and it's been awesome for my mental health.

My 2c without much context into your life, struggles, mental state, etc.

 

[IceCreamKid]

In this state, I have little desire to live, let alone bother changing my mental condition.

I can't remember if it was you or another forum member, but weren't you the one that was struggling with physical health such as perpetually low energy levels?

It's hard to think with clarity when you're tired. It's also hard to execute when there's no gas left in the tank.

Perhaps let's explore your physical situation before diving into biz strategies?

Regardless, I've always rooted for you and ChickenHawk behind the scenes.

 

[Oso]

I completely lost any belief in my business skills. I feel like all the success I have I owe just to luck and the right timing. Without it, I'd be nothing.

These days, I'm just a cynical hypocrite. Friends ask me for business advice but honestly what the F*ck do I know? Just the shit I read online since I've been unable to make any business work for the past 4 years.

I just can't find any energy anymore to keep trying to figure it out. Little things overwhelm me. I've lost that resolve and the entrepreneurial spirit of figuring things out.

Not sure what to do about it other than rant since trying just doesn't work and leads to even more failure and disappointment.

I'm going to be real with you here, bruv: not a single part of me believes this bullshit you're spewing. I may not know you personally, but I've seen enough of your posts to know you more than know what you're talking about.

You're in a slump. It happens. Shit happens. Maybe it's your offer(s). Maybe it's your audience(s). Maybe it's your timing. Maybe it's your niche(s) Maybe it's a combination of them all. Regardless, you are correct: being difficult on yourself will lead to additional failure and disappointment.

So, what do you do? Simple. Challenge that inner voice that tells you you're failing and that you're a disappointment. Go back to the actual drawing board and start from scratch. Analyze what ignites your curiosity. Adjust what you're doing. Act upon new discoveries.

And if nothing else, remember what Alfred said...

"Why do we fall, Mr. Wayne? So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up."

My advice for you is just get paid dude. You spend so much time building, but where’s the money?! It’s like trying to put together a brothel you got all this nice furniture and it looks amazing but where are the hoes?!

This is the single greatest metaphor ever expressed on this forum in all of its history. Thank you, sir.

Stop trying to do complicated things and start asking yourself how you can get your hands on $$. That’s your priority numero uno as an entrepreneur. No $$, no nothing. You can’t even be an entrepreneur without money. It’s like saying you’re a general without any soldiers. The general is defined by his soldiers. What will you do without resources? These days even going to a public toilet costs money. Maybe you laugh, but it’s true!

This x100. And please say it louder for the "new entrepreneurs" that come to this forum, dead broke, and more or less have the attitude of "I'm above working a job to get a cash flow going."

I'm pretty sure OP is beyond this phase regardless (if I remember his story correctly), but this is still something I believe should be pinned at the top of the forum.

Let me tell you a story — last year early on we got hired by this agency. They were 3 guys, relatively early stages, they basically had 3 clients paying them $10K/mo in total. We helped them cross not 6 figures, but 7-figures.

Guess where they are at now today? Down to $20K/mo and looking to quit. They quickly discovered that the biggest problem, once you know wtf you’re doing, isn’t making sales. That’s something we can iron out quite quickly. It’s building a sustainable company. Most agencies will never tell you this, but their churn rates are 70%+ on average over a year from what I’ve noticed — especially true for advertising, SEO, PPC and marketing agencies.

Can you imagine? Bring in $1M worth of business, and 1-year down the line you just have $300K worth of business left. 2 years down the line and you just have $90K left. It’s like the sales have to keep ploughing in or you’ll go bankrupt. Is it any wonder that even if they cross 7-figures they’re not rich?

This is 90% of the reason as to why I hate agencies and never wanted one. Yet, here I am, on agency 2. My initial handful of clients were all profitable, month-to-month, for the entire duration of our contract. In most cases, they were seeing rather impressive returns. Of those clients, however, not a single one of them still works with us. Agencies feel very "sell 24/7 or die."

I've been considering veering my agency more towards app development instead of marketing, but we'll see what ultimately happens.

Cheers.

 

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[MTF]

Believe it or not, the internet probably doesn't need much more content and being a content machine doesn't sound very fulfilling.

I believe it and I 100% agree.

Sit down and think about something far beyond yourself that could be interesting and then pursue that without the worry about making money for now since you already have money. This sort of meandering path on a niche idea can take you to big places and you get to decide how big you want something to be. I'm not saying I have mastered the path of fulfillment, but I'm on a pretty steady path and have a lot of the successes people would want and that's at least moderately fulfilling.

Good suggestion, I like it. Thank you.

As @million$$$smile told me, sometimes you just have to go out and drive nails into wood with a hammer to be fulfilled. In his case he was building houses for those in need in south america. Go do something with your hands. Get off the F*cking computer and go learn a new skill with your hands (pottery, wood working, metal fabrication, etc). And direct your energy into things like that for a while. Once your mental foundation is setup again, build a business of actual value, that truly helps people, vs bullshit content.

I do focus on freediving and language learning in my free time. Once the spring finally arrives I'll do more stuff outside and that, hopefully, will help me recover.

I like your idea and I like the bluntness of the last sentence.

As for learning new skills with my hands, I don't think there exists anyone as terrible at it as I am and anyone that gets as frustrated as I get while doing it. I can't drive a nail straight. I can't assemble any furniture. I can't use any tools. I gave up a long time ago on anything related to DIY.

That could be a cultural difference as I know that most people in the US are great at all this stuff.

 

[ZCP]

Go visit other Fastlaners. Go see Rob. Go get energy from others. Patience. An idea will pop up that you will handle.

I like what @Ravens_Shadow is saying. Get busy doing stuff / challenging yourself and hang out with other people. Something will present itself when you are ready! You got this!