Author: admin

We are not machines.

We have souls.

We need little bits of music and connections and sunsets with laughter. Those little pockets of joy…

…we need to prioritise that.

Your life depends on it.

Life is not meant to be a cycle of stress and survival or flight or fight.

Pause.

Look up.

Inhale.

Sunsets should remind you to live.

Life isn’t a to do list or a sequence of check boxes.

It’s a precious gift.

Take slower steps and hug longer.

Laugh louder and love deeper.

As the clock ticks away…

Your presence needs to be timeless.

We’ve been conditioned to believe that constant productivity equals worth.

We humans weren’t designed for endless output. We need moments that leave us in wonder and awe and connection and rest…

Not as a reward for hard work but as essential ingredients that make for a meaningful life.

Stephen Walker.

https://www.facebook.com/stphnwlkr

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

Okay not so great Scott Adams (Author of Dilbert) went a little off the deep end a little while ago.

I guess politics and other things just make people lose their minds and once they’re far gone, there’s no turning back.

Unless turning back is dragging them behind an old 7 Eleven and delivering 2x .45 ACP rounds to the skull…

Although as much as someone is an asshole. You can separate that from their art/knowledge.

So here’s 5 things he wrote/talked about and they do make sense. They will sound basic but often, it’s the basic that matters cause we like to chase fancy…

Goals suck. Use systems.

Goals are specific outcomes that often rely on luck and timing.

Where systems are repeatable processes that keep you improving and moving forward every day. Focus on daily habits, not distant trophies.

Strategically selfish.

Adams argues that taking care of your own health, energy and mental sate first, makes you more useful to others in the long run. We don’t need ego at there door. You want to go for sustainability.

Passion is overrated.

Passion often follows success. Not the other way around. Most successful people weren’t passionate about their field until they got good at it. Skill, not raw enthusiasm tends to win.

Maximise your energy. Not your schedule.

Managing time > managing your energy. When are you most productive? Take that time and that’s where you need to start your day. Make sure you sleep properly. Make sure your nutrition isn’t jumping off of the cliff. Don’t get me wrong. Eating 3 pop tarts and drinking a litre of coffee does sound good but it’s gonna ruin you in the long run. Don’t forget to exercise.

Failure is a necessary investment.

Every single failure carries knowledge and every attempt is a point of data.

He treats failure as normal, expected and beneficial. Provided you can extract a lesson and apply it forward…

IF YOU WANT TO READ HIS BOOK YOU CAN CLICK THIS OBNOXIOUSLY LONG LINK TO CHECK IT OUT

All of that said. Yeah he’s a bit of a dick and has said a lot of dumb shit but there’s a lot of wisdom in what he talks about.

It’s August now and I take it as my birthday month. So I’m still deciding if I’m going to hit you with one of those “X lessons I’ve learnt because I’m so old lol” posts/emails. I dunno.

I did manage to pickup some more books yesterday which I’m busy re-reading. So I’ll drop some info-nuggets here and there when I can.

Have a wicked weekend.

Go for a walk. Drink some water. Tell someone they’ve got a nice butt.

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

Let’s talk mindset. Not the Instagram kind. Not the “manifest your matcha latte” kind.

The real, ugly, under the fingernails kind. The kind your parents accidentally bent out of shape, out of love, sure, but still…

(Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. It’s not your fault. Or maybe it is, but you probably meant well)

I’ll also preface that you don’t have to make this your whole personality.

If you try to keep at this practice 24/7 and cut EVERYTHING out. You will explode mentally.

So here’s a few lies you might’ve been told when you were a kiddo…

Hard work guarantees success.

If you’re struggling, try harder. (Or just be quieter about it)

You are what you repeatedly do. (But only if what you do is what everyone else wants you to do.)

Self deprecation is charming, and “tough love” is the best love. (Side quest: Your subconscious is an idiot. It doesn’t get sarcasm. It just eats what you feed it, no questions asked)

And sure, if you’ve got kids, you know the cycle.

You want them to be better, softer, safer.

You want to wrap them in bubble wrap and send them into the world with a pre printed apology note.

The most important thing though. The one nobody ever tells you…

…is how you TALK to yourself.

Remember…

Your brain is a sponge.

It soaks up everything, even the garbage. Especially the garbage, cause there’s more garbage than good in the verbal world.

If you call yourself a dumbass enough times, guess what? That voice sets up camp. Puts its boots on your coffee table. Wipes Cheeto dust on your soul.

The difference between a joke and a curse is repetition.

Your subconscious doesn’t know you’re kidding. It just gets the memo: You suck.

Daily affirmations? They sound like cringe, but they work. Because your brain doesn’t know the difference between fact and fiction until you make it learn.

The present tense is everything.

“I’m making $10,000 a month.” Not, “I will, maybe, if I’m good, if the algorithm is kind.” NOW. Speak like it’s happening. Because your mind listens. And then it starts looking for ways to make it true.

Reconditioning sucks.

It’s like trying to teach a stubborn, half feral raccoon how to use the toilet. Messy. Stubborn. Sometimes it bites.

But every time you catch yourself saying something self destructive, swap it out for the truth. Or at least, the truth you want to become true.

Soft language isn’t weak.

I don’t want you to turn into a marshmallow. But also there is no need to be an asshole to yourself. You wouldn’t call your kid a loser for dropping their ice cream. So why do you do it to you?

So here’s your challenge, because I’m not your guru and I don’t have a course to sell you…

Talk to yourself like you actually give a damn about your own future.

Use language that builds, not digs.

Speak in now. Not “someday.” Not “when I finally stop screwing up.”

Catch yourself in the act. Swap out the “I’m such an idiot” for “I’m figuring this out.”

The only thing standing between you and the life you want is the story you keep whispering to yourself when nobody’s listening.

Switch up the story. Make it present. Make it true.

You’ll be shocked at how fast the world changes when you stop feeding your subconscious the same old bullshit.

Mindset isn’t everything.

It’s the only thing you need to get right.

Now go say something nice about yourself. Out loud. (Your brain’s listening)

Stephen Walker.

P.S. If you catch yourself slipping. Don’t worry about it. It’s okay. We’re all reformed raccoons here. Just don’t set up camp in the dumpster.

P.P.S. Shad Helmstetter has a great book you can check out on self talk.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

There comes a time when we get so wrapped up in the real world.

We get so glued to our day to day routines, we forget about that child like spontaneity we used to have.

You ever stay in one place for so long that you want to combust into flames, because you feel like the art you’re meant to get out into the world is just sitting there slowly burning out?

This is your reminder that you need to mix it up.

Do something you’ve not done for a while. Book a train journey to anywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Reconnect with a friend. Get away from your industry for a week and take up Mongolian throat singing. You know?

What I’m trying to say is that we need to shift away from this chronic online life we live.

(Yes I know the irony is not lost on me by writing that, however I am sitting in Scotland right now, sipping on a nice cup of tea while recharging my emotional and spiritual batteries…)

And in a few minutes I’m taking a trip down to the beach. (I promise I won’t get swept away by some freak undercurrent or whatever…)

If you’ve got a bit of time. Hit reply and tell me about things and stuff going on in your world. Tell me about your last spontaneous thing you’ve done…

Catch ya later.

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

So I’m on my way to Scotland for the next few days. So these emails might be early or late. All depends on the signal…

…cause out around this neck of the woods (While travelling on the train) I’d be lucky if I get anything that remotely resembles dial up speeds from the 90s.

Anyways.

Now I’ve noticed a lot of us creative types tend to agonise and go for perfect.

The perfect time to create.

The perfect time to post.

The perfect time to do anything that’ll move the needle forward.

We want the perfect audience, the perfect clients all wrapped up in our perfect little products that we can inject into their perfect little worlds…

But what we keep forgetting that nothing is perfect and that’s why they come to us. That’s why they’re attracted to us in the first place.

Cause we’re able to share what they wish they could share or do the work that we do.

They live through us and hopefully are inspired by us to follow their dreams too.

Yet here we are. Agonising. Waiting for everything to be perfect.

I know for years I got stuck on this whole perfection trap.

And I’ll tell you what…

It’s not easy to get over it. You must push. You’ll need to ignore the perfect lives of everyone else whose always talking about it online.

(Secretly we all know that things are not perfect)

But we’ve been stuck in a world of delusion that’s been fed to us by the lies of the perfect world shown to us on the internet.

I remember following Mel Robbins when she launched her 5 second rule.

The TL;DR version of it is: If you need to do something. No matter what it is. Whether you’re sitting down to write, draw, paint or gonna rush into a wedding venue to call it off and profess your undying love the bridge/groom or both…

You have exactly 5 seconds to make the decision to do it. To start. To crack on…

You count down mentally from 5 to 1 and go.

Anything past that and the brain automatically stops you from taking action.

I’ve adopted this practice for years now and even though I sometimes slip up and get kicked in the face by the brain. 9 out of 10 times it works.

Grab her book. Give it a read and stop waiting for perfect.

Done is easy and once it’s out into the world. We can always (If we have to. Go back and make it perfect)

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

You’ll find in this little passage over here:

“It was a pleasant café, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old waterproof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a café au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write. I was writing about up in Michigan and since it was a wild, cold, blowing day it was that sort of day in the story.” – Ernest Hemingway.

I’d say for decades everyone has tried to emulate Hemingway. Myself included. You see people in the marketing/copywriting world to this day, run their copy through the Hemingway editor.

(Which has sadly been bastardised even more cause they decided Hemingway needed to be A.I. integrated)

But as much as my days of trying to be the next Hemingway are behind me.

The last sentence hits one of the most important things…

“I was writing about up in Michigan and since it was a wild, cold, blowing day it was that sort of day in the story.”

Being present. Taking what’s happening to you or around you and incorporating it into the writing you’re doing there and then.

Your social media posts. Stories or even your ad copy.

This works especially well if you’re trying to talk about what prospects are going through in your ads. It takes a little digging and it’s not always going to be easy to hit them where they currently are.

If you’re writing songs or making visual art. Learn to add your day to day story snippets into your work.

If you want to get people addicted to your work, this is the easiest way to do it.

You don’t have to be incredibly detailed about it.

Stephen Walker.

P.S. Here’s a couple of examples just to give you an idea of what I mean…

Art Collection Release

” ‘Morning Rituals’ / Oil on Canvas, 36×48

Created during this winter’s first snowfall, while my hands were wrapped around a mug of chai tea. The steam inspired those ethereal wisps you see dancing across the top third of the canvas. You’ll notice the colour palette is unusually warm for a winter piece. That’s because I painted this in my sunroom, watching the cold world outside while basking in a patch of surprising January sunshine. Those who’ve followed my work know I rarely use such bold oranges, but sometimes comfort comes in unexpected places. Like many of you who’ve messaged me about your own morning rituals, this piece captures that sacred moment when the world is still quiet, and possibility hangs in the air like morning mist. Limited to 50 prints, each signed while listening to the same playlist that inspired the original work.”

(I remember having a chat with Colin Theriot. And as a fellow art nerd he always said. It’s not about the actual art. But being able to bullshit about your art is what got those art critics and professors interested in your work)

Pain Relief Product Ad Copy Example:

“It’s 6 AM. I’m writing this from my kitchen counter. Hunched over like I’ve been most mornings lately. My back is screaming. The same way yours probably is right now. The coffee maker is gurgling, but I can barely focus on the sound because of this familiar, unwelcome companion. You know the one. That constant, nagging pain that makes even reaching for your morning cup feel like a marathon. But here’s the difference between my morning and yours… Three weeks ago, I discovered [Product]. Now, I’m still at my kitchen counter at 6 AM, but I’m standing straight. The coffee maker isn’t just background noise to my pain. Now it’s just making coffee. Imagine that. Just a normal morning, being normal. Remember those?”

(These types of micro stories work well in direct response email format because you can just casually link them to the sales page of the product. You’re not really selling them anything you’re telling them a story and they’re going to investigate on their own. The product sales page will be doing all of the heavy lifting for you)

Learn to tell stories. Micro stories that include little bits of your day, or whatever it is that’s going on in your clients world into the work.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

I’m prepping to vanish for a few days over the weekend, so I’m gonna leave you with another little piece you might find useful…

If you haven’t gotten where you need to be. Or you’re always seeing people overtake you.

Don’t let that stop you from outworking them. Our success happens when it happens.

Sometimes it’s faster than others. Sometimes it’s not.

But you have to be willing to work.

I mean put your nose down and do the work.

It’s all mental masturbation if you keep comparing yourself to others.

The thing you CAN control…

It’s your own work ethic. You show up. You do the work. Repeat until your fingers start to bleed.

Nobody. And I mean absolutely nobody, can stop you from outworking them. They can’t break into your house and tie you to your bed. They can’t force feed you Netflix. They can’t superglue your laptop shut.

The only person who can stop you from putting in the hours is the jackass in the mirror.

So focus on what you can control.

Your output.

Your consistency.

Your willingness to keep going when it sucks.

Everything else is just noise designed to keep you stuck in the comparison trap.

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

We’re all dopamine junkies…

We have those days where we’re slumped over our desks like a sack of wet regrets, scrolling through the endless shitstream of notifications, memes, and rage bait that’s turning our brain meat into a dumpster fire.

I get it. The endless scroll fest, the notification orgies, the perpetual ping pong match between apps that are forever digging their fingers into our cerebral cortex.

So it’s time to yank the emergency brake.

We need a little bit of a factory reset and this is one of the many ways I’ve found it works:

Kill the notifications. All of them. Yes, even that “important” Discord server about optimising your morning routine.

Throw your phone in a drawer for 24 hours (or at least pretend it’s 1999)

Read an actual book. You know, those rectangular things made of dead trees. Nothing digital. No kindle or kobo or whatever.

Go outside and touch grass (bonus points if you talk to an actual human)

The first 6 hours will feel like trying to teach calculus to a goldfish.

Your brain will scream. It’ll beg. It’ll promise to be good.

Don’t listen.

By hour 12, something magical happens…

Your thoughts start flowing like actual thoughts instead of feeling like your drowning in quick sand.

Try it. What’s the worst that could happen?

(Besides missing another viral TikTok about a cat playing piano while making sourdough bread)

I actually have been enjoying learning to make sourdough bread though…

Thibuat Meurisse has a wicked sick book on helping you get rid of all of those distractions too

And if you want a guide to beat your phone into submission and make it the slave and you the master. Hit reply and I’ll send it your way.

Stephen Walker.

P.S. If you’re reading this while simultaneously watching YouTube and checking Twitter, you’re exactly who needs this message.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

“Of all the things I’ve lost I miss my mind the most” – Ozzy Osbourne

R.I.P to an absolute legend of the music industry.

It also got me thinking about how we all got to know about his antics way back before the internet really took off.

He was imho the poster child for virality back then. There’s a lot we could learn from the Prince of Darkness himself.

I’ll probably break down a few things in a future email.

That being said.

I’m heading to Scotland over the weekend. Which means I’m going to have a whole bunch of hours on the train to write and something that crops up a lot of the time is how did I get started in this whole game.

So instead of making some course. The next best thing is just a series of emails that’ll be talking about mindset, ideation, addiction (the good kind), what to sell or skills to develop and how I treat people who happen to come into my world.

Nothing I’ll be sharing is unique or new. It’s just things I’ve learnt from trial and error and from people much smarter than me.

That’s the plan in a nutshell though.

Write some emails and just get ’em out into this here list.

Whether you use it or not. It’ll be done and MAYBE…

I’ll flesh them out and put them into a paid for video sequence or whatever.

I’m not about that A.I. life.

And I definitely won’t be forcing any of that garbage down your throat. We’re about thinking and becoming good at our chosen craft.

If you want 1 prompt pack to rule them all. A quick google search will give you what you so desire.

If you want to shock the world like our main man Ozzy did. This is the place to be.

Now excuse me while I go re-listen to some of his classics.

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

A few people have replied to my emails and asked why I don’t post my long form content and ideas on social media.

There’s a few reasons.

I use social media to find people who have a sense of humour and don’t take life too seriously.

They don’t have business or entrepreneurship as their whole personality.

They’re just good people trying to do good work. While making their mark and hanging their shingle for all to see.

So the stuff I post on social media is more for my own entertainment. I poke fun at the bullshit and rally people around a single message that I believe in.

I also have no interest in becoming a guru figure or an influencer. (Ugh I nearly got sick in my mouth writing that) yet I know that this will inevitably happen the more you post over time.

So I’m in two places about it.

Although I have been working on my outrageous community that should be finished up soon. Like I said in previous emails I’m going old school baby. Good old fashioned forums.

I want it to be for all the creative types. Writers, visual artists, musicians etc. Hell… If you sell pictures of your feet or your own brand of bathwater. You’re welcome to join too.

This next bit is stolen by my main man Dan Meredith

Life is about fun AND profits. So that’s where I want everything to be.

All of these social media platforms are incredibly loud right now. On top of that. The trends that are going on. Especially with AI… Are just plain old exhausting to witness.

I’m trying to keep things as human and fun as possible and if the by product is making some extra $. That to me is a win.

Lastly. If you’re still here reading. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to be apart of my world.

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom