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I gave myself a little talking to today.

“Sit down. Wipe the Cheeto dust off your fingers if you must. We gotta talk.”

Me to my 18yo self basically.

As much as I could go back to my younger self and instil whatever wisdom I have painfully obtained over the years.

It still leads me back to the shitshow of 2020.

Because as much as I hate to admit it. We’re still up to our eyeballs in the same entertainment hell loop we fell into when 2020 rolled around. Remember it?

The world hit pause, and we all hit play.

Streaming became a lifestyle.

TikTok became a verb.

Zoom meetings became the place where your soul goes to die, even to this day.

(I’ve got one tomorrow and it’s the only one I’m actually looking forward to haha)

And somewhere, in whatever online wreckage came about, you and I became… content consumers.

Like rats pushing the dopamine lever. It all started to become weirdly addictive.

Everything evolved. (Like COVID, but less respiratory failure and more terminal cringe)

Now, you can’t just passively scroll, doom or otherwise.

You gotta be a guru.

A Thought Leader™.

A “personal brand.”

Which, let’s be honest, is just a fancy way of saying “the internet wants you to cosplay as Tony Robbins with an Instagram filter and a newsletter.”

But why?

Because the internet is bubbling over with festering A.I. generated slop.

Articles that read like a blender full of SEO keywords and corporate word salad. Shiny LinkedIn posts with zero actual human fingerprints (or, hell, fingerprints at all. Just smooth, uncanny valley language that makes you want to delete your brain for 48 hours)

“Experts” who’ve never done anything except regurgitate ChatGPT’s last meal.

So people…

The real, squishy, flawed, eye twitching people… are hunting for something else.

You can feel it, right?

That hunger for (and as much as I am in deep pain as I type the next word…)

Authenticity…

For the kind of artist who actually gives a damn about the craft, not just the clicks. For someone who bleeds on the page, who cares about the people they influence (even if they’re just yelling into space some days, like me, like you, like all of us)

And the thing is. There’s a craving for connection.

Being a “guru” is just the latest side quest.

You don’t need to be the all knowing oracle on a mountaintop. You just have to be the least bullshitty person in the room.

And if you’ve seen what’s passing for that online. It’s a low bar. So step over it.

Share your screw ups. Your weird hobbies. Your unhealthy obsession with Inbox Zero or Days Gone.

I’m still not over that post apocalyptic video game. It’s a support group at this point…

A.I. is the new gluten.

Everyone’s either allergic to it or pretending they are.

So what do you do?

You write like a human.

You bleed, sweat, and occasionally cry into your keyboard.

You call out the fakes, the flakes, the “look at me, I’m a thought leader because my bot said so” types.

And the real sauce is:

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be real.

You have to give a shit about the art, the audience, and the impact.

And if you’re worried about being too much, too weird, too honest? Just lean in.

So, yeah. We’re still stuck in the entertainment era. A hamster wheel powered by memes, robots, and the occasional clown with a chainsaw, but now, if you want to survive, you have to be the human in the room.

The one who cares.

The one who creates, not just for the bots, but for the person on the other side of the screen.

Be the anti-bot.

Be the artist.

Be the kind of “guru” who admits they’re full of shit sometimes, but keeps showing up anyway.

TL;DR version:

We’re still in the content circus. Now, more than ever, being a real, messy, passionate human is your only ticket out of the A.I. funhouse. So grab your chainsaw. Let’s go cause some trouble.

Stephen Walker

https://www.facebook.com/stphnwlkr

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

You know the drill. You’re sitting there, staring at the blinking cursor.

The coffee’s cold, your brain feels like a sad lump of potato salad left out at a barbecue, and the only thing you’re creating is a growing sense of dread.

Then it happens. Your body betrays you.

You blink. Maybe just a little too slow. And BAM. The Sandman sucker punches you, dragging you into the abyss of an unplanned nap.

When you wake up. Disoriented, drooling, and for a minute or two you think you’re either back in 1996 or the middle of an apocalypse…

You think, “Well, that was useless.”

But oh, my sweet, groggy friend, you couldn’t be more wrong…

Nap are the secret sauce to my creativity.

I always think of naps as some sort of mental car wash.

Power washing off all the grime of overthinking. You wake up with that weird, half dream haze, where ideas start connecting in ways they wouldn’t when you’re awake.

(Why does the villain in your story suddenly need a pet ostrich? Who cares. It’s genius. I’m gonna run with it)

There’s also this post nap weirdness.

That foggy, groggy state? Pure gold. It’s like your brain hasn’t quite reloaded all its filters yet, so your thoughts are raw, unpolished, uninhibited. You’re too disoriented to judge yourself, which means you’re primed to create something unexpected.

We don’t want perfection cause that is boring. Chaos is where all the good shit lives.

You know how your computer works better after you reboot it?

Same deal with your brain. That short nap hits the reset button on your mental processes, giving you a fresh perspective. Even if you wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck driven by a drowsy clown.

So keep a notebook handy. When you wake up, write down whatever weird ass thoughts are floating around in your head. Don’t worry if they make sense. “Purple cactus apocalypse” might not mean anything now, but it could be the seed of your next big idea.

People on social media are trying to tell you not to lean into the weird.

I say do the opposite.

That post nap haze is where the good stuff lives. You’d be silly to fight it…

Embrace it. Write the things, draw the things, create the things.

Keep the naps short. Preferably 30-45 minutes. You don’t wanna be dancing with Sleep Purgatory. There is no creativity there. Only grumpiness…

I guess I could say this is some sort of self care routine too.

Self deprivation does the same thing too but that is not something I’d recommend. Unless you want think up some genuine nightmare fuel for your next horror story.

Well. It’s just after 9pm here now and that nap served me well.

Stephen Walker

https://www.facebook.com/stphnwlkr

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

Heading into a nice little sun filled weekend.

I just wanted to take the time to say thank you and how much I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read and reply to my shenanigans.

I’ve made people laugh, cry or irrationally angry over technology, business, psychology and even books, movies and series.

I don’t do it to be malicious. I do it because I care about all of those things that line up in the creative world and all of the shifts that are happening.

And if I can give you a little option to think differently about a topic. I’ll write about it here.

I’ll keep showing up daily as always.

I appreciate you for sticking around and I’ll catch you later.

Time to go soak up the last little bit of Sun of the day…

Stephen Walker

P.S. If you want to keep up with my random memes, shit posts and occasionally wisdom drops. Come say hello over here: https://www.facebook.com/stphnwlkr

If you’re not diggin’ these tasty little emails anymore you can hit the unsubscribe button right here >>> unsubscribe

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

Check this headline out “Netflix will show generative AI ads midway through streams in 2026”

Netflix (and every other corporate shytlord) is doubling down on ways to distract you, monetise your attention, and make “content consumption” your default state.

Meanwhile, social media feeds you carefully curated highlight reels of others…

Making it easy to feel like you, raw, real, and unpolished aren’t enough.

And the crazy thing is. The more the world tries to homogenise, commodify, and shrink you into a “target audience,” the more powerful it becomes to show up exactly as you are.

Authenticity is genuine rebellion, like going back to the punk days.

And consistency is your superpower.

Cause showing up in the way you want is what’ll set you apart.

You remember when we used to sit around the campfire when we were younger and technology wasn’t all in your face?

We’d shoot the shit, tell stories, laugh and even fall in love.

Those were the simpler times. (The better times imho)

And the thing is. People are now slowly looking for it in the online space too.

Blogs, forums and shitty sites built by solo folks and yes…

Email too.

There is a shift happening and when it takes off. If you’re showing up as your weird self every day. People we see you as the “campfire” they want to hang around.

So if you haven’t written that blog post, email or built a terribly shitty site to sell your warez…

Get to it.

Stephen Walker

Obnoxiously super long hyperlink to the article that did this write up if you’re curious to read it…

P.S. The next time Netflix tries to sell you a mid roll ad for something you don’t need, remember this… Your attention is valuable. Spend it on things (and people) that deserve it. Starting with you.

If you’re not diggin’ these tasty little emails anymore you can hit the unsubscribe button right here >>> unsubscribe

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

So a few days ago I wrote about watching some of the classic Final Destination movies.

And tonight I thought I’d treat myself by taking myself on a date to watch the new Final Destination Bloodlines…

Let me tell you. It was equal bits cheesy and great all wrapped into one.

The thing with these types of movies is that yes they may be predictable and the characters easily guessed in terms of the roles they play…

But there is equally a reason behind why such cult fanbases emerge for the genre of these types of films.

Yeah it’s B rated horror thriller trash. But it’s my kind of trash and to be honest it’s a treasure in and of itself…

They’re easily predictible.

They always show up and are consistent throughout their genre and they always keep you guessing.

That is why from a writers POV – I love these films.

If you can show up every day.

Show your imperfections.

And show your audience your true character.

You will always win.

And so it is with these types of films and how it should be with your work.

That is it.

Follow this “pattern” and your audience will love you for it.

Stephen Walker

If you’re not diggin’ these tasty little emails anymore you can hit the unsubscribe button right here >>> unsubscribe

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

So we all get caught chasing micro hits of dopamine while doomscrolling our way through another social media hellscape of the day…

Similar to how a rat would inside of a Skinner box except the box is your phone, and the cheese is that glorious, glowing red notification.

And so this whole “you gotta do a dopamine detox” thing pops up every now and then.

No, not the kind where you go live in a cave and eat moss until you hallucinate a spirit animal.

I mean the kind where you pry your eyeballs off whatever internet hamster wheel we’ve created since the 90s and try to…

Wait for it… (In my best Barney Stinson impression)

…be a person again.

The internet is broken. No, not like “404 error” broken.

Like “Twitter is now X, Elon is cosplaying as Emperor Palpatine, and everyone is arguing about whether pineapple belongs on pizza while Rome burns” broken.

Also just a sidenote: Pineapple belongs wherever the hell you want it. Also, stop fighting about it, you beautiful weirdos.

But why you might ask?

Well sometimes your brain resembles a microwave burrito left on high for too long.

Every dumb argument you avoid = one more neuron that survives the gladiator pit of internet discourse.

You might just maybe remember what it’s like to enjoy things without needing 12 strangers to validate you with heart emojis or that obnoxious little fucker cry face emoji.

You get to watch your sanity crawl back from the abyss, middle finger raised at all of those politically bent algorithms trying to mainline outrage straight into your cortex.

Generally speaking. Social media is a dumpster fire, and you’re the raccoon poking around for scraps of validation and memes. (No shame. We all love a good meme. But raccoons get rabies)

You don’t want rabies, right?

You don’t have to quit everything. (cue dramatic Hans Zimmer score)

Because the only thing you’re not allowed by law, by blood oath, by whatever eldritch contract you signed when you landed here…

Is to quit is these emails. My emails. The ones you’re reading right now.

Because unlike the endless scroll of “who wore it better” and “your uncle Gary’s political meltdown,” this is the good stuff. The dopamine you want. Not the kind that makes you want to bleach your brain with off brand tequila.

Stay subscribed, and I’ll keep showing up in your inbox like a friendly poltergeist with stories, rants, the occasional existential crisis, and zero pineapple on pizza debates. (Unless I’m feeling spicy. Then all bets are off)

Unsubscribe? That’s banishment, friend.

Exile. You’ll be cast into the outer darkness, where there is only weeping, gnashing of teeth, and endless TikToks about air fryers.

So again your prescription for today:

Detox from the social media platforms you dont need to be on.

Take a walk. Eat some real pizza. Hug a tree. Scream into the void or whatever.

But keep these emails. This is your lifeline. Your golden ticket. Your permission slip to sanity.

Stephen Walker

Thibaut Meurisse has a slew of productivity books and his dopamine detox book is spot on.

P.S. The unsubscribe button is a trap. Don’t touch it.

If you’re not diggin’ these tasty little emails anymore you can hit the unsubscribe button right here >>> unsubscribe

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

Hey you. Yes, you.

The one reading this email instead of working or whatever…

I get asked this occasionally and so I thought I’d just give you the down and dirty way of making coins on the internet.

And like everyone now in this space we’ve all started off by googling something like “how to make money online” only to then be bombarded with penis pills and shitty adverts on shitty blogs selling crap.

I actually miss the early 2000s internet tbh.

Anyways here goes…

You don’t need a degree, a trust fund, or the charisma of a golden retriever. You need a page.

Just like the one that landed you on this email list. Yeah, that one. The sneaky little opt in that promised forbidden knowledge and delivered, well, me. The one with the words and the things and the stuff.

And so it is with step 1.

The Page is the Thing

Call it a sales page, a landing page, a digital mousetrap. The goal? Catch eyeballs. (Not literally. Please don’t go all Cronenberg on your audience)

Write like you’re having a 1 on1 with your reader. Not a speech. Not a TED Talk. More like, “Hey, I see you. You want this thing? Here’s why you need it. Here’s why you’d be a fool not to click buy.”

Don’t overthink your first offer. Ebook? Mini course? Niche templates for left handed underwater basket weavers?

It does. Not. Matter.

Just pick something. Ship it. (Perfectionism is a corpse in a clown suit. Leave it behind.)

And if you see the things that are floating around on the internet now…

There is a market for EVERYTHING.

And so it is with a simple process.

If you’re good at a specific thing you can teach others how to do it. Let’s just for interest say you do Yoga and have done so for years.

You can jump onto Amazon and search for anything and everything Yoga related. Read some reviews, especially the terrible ones and see if there something that is missing. A likely problem that’s not specific.

So you’ve found the problem and you know how to solve it because hey you’ve been there.

So you spend a few hours writing a little guide or a mini book on the topic. It doesn’t have to be hundreds of pages. Just short and sweet and to the point.

So you’ve got your thing and you’re setting up your page to sell that thing. You’re basically in business.

Now you just need to get eyeballs on it.

Where do those eyeballs come from? Anywhere where people talk about Yoga.

Pinterest. Reddit. Facebook Groups and Pages, Twitter etc.

The thing is. It really is this simple. It’s not easy because you have to do a bit of work and learn a whole bunch of new things but once you make that first sale.

That’s when the shift inside happens.

And when you’ve got them on an email list that is just about Yoga and yoga best practices, guess what?

You can talk about Yoga and sell them more stuff about it too.

This is the type of thing I do and it’s fun.

I’ve also recommended this book in the past. It goes more into concepts of direct response marketing which applies to old print styled marketing and selling, but this all applies online too.

Now go make a thing and go sell the thing.

Stephen Walker

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

Here’s how you can build a “voice” so entertaining even your inner critic will shut up and listen…

But first let’s hit a little truth.

Not everyone’s born with the electric charm of a stand up comic.

(R.I.P George Carlin)

And you? Maybe you’re about as riveting as a beige wall at dusk.

Maybe you have the personality of cold oatmeal.

Maybe you’re convinced there’s a secret gene for “entertaining writer” and, oops, you missed the distribution line.

But there is some good news. It’s not the end of the road for you just yet…

The lies you’ve been told are all total bullshit.

Entertaining voices aren’t just something you’re born with. It takes years of being exposed to other people’s parts.

(Woah that sounds a bit pervy lol but I’m not rewriting it cause it’ll make sense in the next sentence)

Mix that in with some weird obsessions, and a dash of unhinged self awareness and you got something that is wildly Frankensteined together that even Mary Shelley would’ve been proud of.

The thing is. You can build yours, right here, right now. No sacrificial goats required (unless you’re into that, in which case, yikes, but also: we’ll need to talk)

How do we do it?

Blatant Outright Theft

Yep that’s right. No we aren’t going to prison but keep reading…

Consume: Read, watch, listen, scroll. Devour writers with voices you wish you had. Chuck Palahniuk, Samantha Irby, that one unhinged TikToker who reviews haunted dolls. It doesn’t matter. Drown in their cadence, their metaphors, their attitude.

Dissect: What makes their voice work? Is it the cussing? The pop culture deep cuts? The way they break the fourth wall and slap you with a joke? (The answer is yes, yes, and hell yes)

Remix: Grab what works. Stitch it together with your own weird quirks. Like that time you ate an entire pizza alone while doom scrolling Twitter. Mash it all up until it sounds less like “carbon copy” and more like I dunno? A casserole?

Sneaky Pro tip in Italics: The only original thing in art is your voice. Everything else is recycled. So steal. Steal with style.

Write Like Nobody’s Watching (Because Nobody Is, Yet)

…and you’re not going to have some writer-ly committee peering over your shoulder and watching you type words…

So get to it.

Break grammar rules. On purpose. Sentence fragments? Do it. Em dashes like you’re fencing with punctuation?

Hell yes. Parentheticals (like this) to whisper secrets to the reader? Don’t just allow it. Use it like a weapon.

(Tbh I used to love a good Em dash, but since A.I. has shit all over the internet while using it incorrectly, I’d maybe give that one a little bit of a swerve for now)

Talk to the reader. Second person isn’t just a POV.

When you think of second person. It’s more of a direct line. A psychic text message, straight into their brain.

“You ever feel like your writing is a cardboard cutout? Yeah, me too. Let’s set it on fire.”

Get weird. Use metaphors that make people squint and then snort.

“My prose was so dry it could sand the paint off a car. Time to lube it up with some personality.”

If you feel slightly embarrassed hitting “publish,” you’re probably on the right track.

Why? Because that shit is entertaining. I’m here to entertain myself firstly and if I’m entertained. You’re entertained.

Turn Up the Volume on You

1) Mine your flaws. Are you anxious? Chronically sarcastic? A recovering perfectionist who alphabetises their cereal?

Good. That’s fuel.

The world doesn’t need another slick, sanitised “personal brand.” It needs the real, raw, slightly unhinged you.

2) Embrace the cringe. Your inner critic is a gremlin that lives under your desk, gnawing on your confidence.

Give it something spicy to chew on. Like a story about the time you peed yourself in third grade.

(No? Just me? Moving on)

3) Make lists. (See what I did there?)

Bullet points and numbered lists are dopamine for the ADHD riddled TikTok internet brain.

Use them. Abuse them. Break up your text like it owes you money.

Bonus Round: Horror, Humour, and Heartbreak. Mix It Liberally

Nobody wants oatmeal. They want something electric, something that makes them laugh, wince, and maybe clutch their pearls. So throw in a little body horror

“My first draft was a shambling zombie, missing half a face. Beautiful in its grotesquery”

A little gallows humour, and a little raw, emotional honesty, bleeding right through your lines.

And if it gets a little messy? Good. Messy is memorable.

TL;DR:

Your voice isn’t missing. It’s just waiting for you to get weird, get real, and stop trying to be “professional.”

Break stuff. Eat the paint chips. Write something so entertaining, your inner critic will slink back into its lair, too stunned to complain.

We only live once, so we better make it memorable and entertaining.

Stephen Walker

P.S. I’m not gonna make you click any links today and do my bidding and if you’ve made it this far. I appreciate you sticking around and reading what pours out of my skull cavern.

If you’re not diggin’ these tasty little emails anymore you can hit the unsubscribe button right here >>> unsubscribe

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