Stop scrolling, start selling

Since then, I’ve grown from 2,000 to 2.34 million followers.

What did I do?

I applied three simple methods to my social media usage to replace scrolling with selling.

Today, I’ll show you how I did it.

Hint:

It’s NOT about quitting social media for good. That might work for productivity gurus but never worked for me.

Today, I still scroll social media, but I do it in an way that makes me $$$. And I’m about to tell you how in a second.

You only need to do 3 things:

1) Observe, don't consume

2) Use friction tactically for habit moderation

3) Create content systems that run on autopilot

Let’s double-click on those:

1) Observe, don't consume

Whether you want it or not, you're a creator.

Don't believe me?

Observe yourself. As you're reading this, your mind is creating ideas. It makes sense of what I'm saying based on your past experiences:

• Maybe you're skeptical of the idea of replacing scrolling with selling.
• Maybe you just got an idea for your own newsletter.
• Maybe your mind is pondering something totally right now, and you're just reading passively.

The same content hits every person differently. Just like being in nature evokes different emotions for every person.

The point is -

Your mind is a creative jukebox. It's creating content 24/7 by default. But all that content goes to waste if you don't actively observe these ideas.

The goal isn't to stop consuming X, LinkedIn, and YouTube. It's to bring awareness to the content you read.

I used to watch YouTube all the time. I still do.

But ever since I started to bring awareness to the content I consume, I've started to build inspiration lists.

I have 23+ different playlists of videos that inspire me. Whenever I love a video angle, I screenshot it and add it to my swipe file. Then I use them as inspiration for my own videos.

Great readers are great writers.

Great learners are great teachers.

Great analysts are great strategists.

Great listeners are great musicians.

Great consumers are great creators. (click to tweet)

Observe to create.

Actionably, here's what that looks like:

1. Whenever you like a thread, save the hook and analyze the structure
2. Whenever you find a visual tasteful, save it in a swipe file
3. Whenever you watch a YouTube video to the end, study the storytelling

As you do this, you build taste, the ultimate pattern interrupt.

I recommend you create a Swipe File in Apple Notes or Notion, where you save anything that inspires you. This lowers the cognitive friction of saving great content.

Observe.

2) Use friction tactically for habit moderation

If you want to learn how to become a creator, you need to understand how to re-wire habits.

Scrolling is a habit. Creating is a habit. Selling is a habit.

So, how do you engineer your habits?

It might be worth reading "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. It's my favorite book about habits. Using its lessons, I was able to completely transform my content behavior 3 years ago. But today, I'll zoom in on one.

The only habit trick that ever clicked for me was friction:

• Add friction to engage less in undesirable habits
• Remove friction to do the habits you desire more often

Let's apply that to scrolling and selling.

How to create friction to scroll less

These 3 tiny habits decreased my social media usage by 82%:

• On my phone, I use OneSec to add a 15-second delay for opening social media apps
• On my laptop, I use Cold Turkey to block social media during deep work time (6 am -10 am)
• Set up a 30-minute screen time limit on your iPhone

(or, if you want to go the extra mile, use an app locker for all social media and give that code to your partner)

I found it easier to use these methods than deleting social media whatsoever.

How to lower the friction of creating content

If you want to create a lot, make it easy to create.

Some habits that have served me well:

1) Replace Apple Notes with X. Take notes in public. 90% won't go viral but 10% will, and you become more articulate.

2) Add the Otter.ai widget to your home screen to record transcripts. This widget makes it so easy to record your thoughts. Whenever I'm on a walk and have an idea, I record it here. I send the recordings to my team to create content for me (Not affiliated with Otter, just a great tool!)

3) When you have an idea, make a Loom about it and share it online. This summer, I stayed at my coach Ryan's place in Brooklyn. I didn't have much time to create. But whenever an idea crossed my mind, I just recorded a Loom sharing my thoughts and posted it in the community.

When you lower your friction to creating, you create a 5-step reinforcing flywheel:

1. You create more content
2. You improve your creation skills faster
3. You care less about the performance of every content piece
4. You even more content cause you don't care what people think about you
5. You make more money because more people see your stuff

Implement this NOW and I guarantee you'll make more money in December. But I got even more stuff in store for you...

3) Create content systems that run on autopilot

I spent 37 minutes running Herb last month.

It's an 8-figure company I built from the ground up, and now it runs by itself.

How did I do it?

Through systems.

Systems are force multipliers.

Your input stays the same, but your output explodes. Two years ago, I spent 3 hours a day on content. Today, I spent 1 hour a day on content. Yet I produce 4X more content with one-third the time commitment. That's possible because of two things:

a) I built systems to turn 1 input (like a transcript) into 20 content pieces

b) I hired weapons to create my content for me

How founders can create ridiculous amounts of content effortlessly:

1. Spend at least 30 minutes a day writing down your ideas or recording transcripts with Otter. That's your raw material.
2. Make three core hires. A social media ghostwriter, a newsletter ghostwriter, and a YouTube script writer.
3. Give your ghostwriters access to your daily raw material and let them rip content for you.

To make this work, you need 3 things:

1) A brand strategy for which content to create

2) Knowledge of what great content looks like

3) Access to world-class ghostwriting talent

...all of which you get access to in Founder OS+.

When you join, you get a personal founder coach to build out your strategy with you. You get access to all the systems I use in my own business (literally everything!). And you get access to Talent OS, my pool of world-class talent (in writing, sales, video, etc).

​>>> See if you're a fit for Founder OS+​

If you aren't there yet, I've curated my best free content systems for you to use. In Prolific Protocol OS, you get access to 4 world-class repurposing systems to turn your raw ideas into content.

​>>> Access Prolific Protocol OS​

That's all for today. This week was crazy. We hosted our Founder OS Mastermind in Sedona and had some heavy hitters here.

A lot of awesome things happened.

During our team hike at Bell Rock, my CRO got engaged with his now fiancé.

But it wasn't smooth sailing. The poor guy couldn't sleep the entire night before. Then, his cameraman canceled on them at the last minute. So he called me at 6 am and asked if I could take his place.

So I ended up sprinting after them to document the engagement myself. Mission accomplished.

Also, the mastermind was incredible. We found Sedona's best coffee spot Freeform Coffee Roasters, and went there every day. Their latte is unbeatable.

But best of all?

The attending founders said it was a “life-changing” experience.

I’ll tell you my lessons from it soon.

Until then...

Let's win together,

Matt

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

#1: If you want to learn more about how I turned things around to find more clarity, focus, and peace than I ever thought possible, check out my YouTube video on How To Make Your Life Insanely Simple (In 6 Months)​

#2: I’ll pay you $1,000 for each founder you refer to Founder OS. Just copy this link and send it to 5 founder friends: https://www.founderos.com/claim?referred_by=

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