# Chris MBS Latham 🍔 > A digital marketer fueled by childlike curiosity and fun facts, basically training for Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Believer in one truth: Happiness Loves Company. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### Thanks for subscribing to THE LATHAM URL: https://chrislatham.ca/news-thank-you/ Last updated: 2026-04-23T00:14:18.000Z My no-fluff newsletter about what I’m noticing in marketing, content, and building a business in public. ## One last step… prove you’re not a robot 🤖 ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/CleanShot-2026-04-22-at-17.10.30.png) Find this. Click confirm. Outsmart the robots. ## Your first issue is already on its way to your inbox. 🎉 ### Here’s what you can expect: - A real look at what I’m working on behind the scenes - Honest takes on what’s actually happening in marketing (not just the shiny parts) - Practical content ideas, frameworks, and prompts you can steal - Curiosity-fueled finds: ideas, rabbit holes, and mental models worth sharing - One clear takeaway you can apply to your own work or business ## 👇 While you’re here… ### 🔗 Whitelist my email Make sure it doesn’t get buried. Search for my first email, star it, reply to it, or drag it into your primary inbox so future issues land where you’ll see them. ### 📺 Subscribe to the YouTube channel If you like learning through video, I share breakdowns, rants, and behind-the-scenes thinking there too. [👉 Subscribe on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@coachlatham?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### 💼 Connect with me on LinkedIn I post marketing observations, content experiments, and in-progress ideas there before they turn into full newsletters. [🧳 Follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislatham13/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad%5Fflagship3%5Ffeed%3B3HPFf65YQPiM4i%2FsZPt8%2Bg%3D%3D&ref=chrislatham.ca) ### 🔁 Share the newsletter with a friend Know a founder, freelancer, or marketer who’d enjoy this? Send them this link so they can join the list too: [https://thelatham.net](https://thelatham.net/?ref=chrislatham.ca) 🙌 Thanks for being here. See you in your inbox. ### Free Resources URL: https://chrislatham.ca/free/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T09:22:57.000Z ## Some Free Dope Content I Created Everything below took countless hours of blood sweat and tears to create. **everything on this page** is entirely **FREE** there will be no upselling you into a paid product or version. To show how serious I am, I won't even be asking you for your e-mail in exchange for the content. Instead, I am flipping the normal routine on its head. If you believe you will enjoy the DOPE content, you can insert your e-mail after downloading it. *(To the marketers out there, I know what you are thinking this guy must be nuts. To that I say you are correct)* Enough of the explanation of the story behind everything on this page is simple. The content below is all things that helped me out when needed. In an effort to work on expressing myself I decided to put them in formats for you to enjoy. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/Freebie-Page-Cover.jpg) #### Ready Set Execute! The Goal-Setting Course This was created circa 2021 [ACCESS THE FREE COURSE](https://readysetexecute.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/Hip-Hop-Changed-My-Life.png) #### How Hip Hop Changed My Life This was created circa 2021 [DOWNLOAD THE FREE RESOURCE](http://bit.ly/Life-Changing-Story-CL?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/Build-Your-Brand-Foundation-by-Chris-Latham.png) #### Build Your Brand - The Foundation This was created circa 2021 [DOWNLOAD THE FREE RESOURCE](http://bit.ly/CL-build-brand-1?ref=chrislatham.ca) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/53-things-to-do-at-home-Book-Cover.png) #### 53 Things to Keep You Busy When Stuck at Home This was created during the middle of 2020 lockdowns [DOWNLOAD THE FREE RESOURCE](https://bit.ly/CL53StuckAtHome?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/Your-Daily-Happiness-Checklist.png) #### Your Daily Happiness Checklist This was created early 2020 [DOWNLOAD THE FREE RESOURCE](http://bit.ly/daily-happy?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### About Me URL: https://chrislatham.ca/about/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T23:57:13.000Z ## Let’s E-Meet Howdy, I love **learning about random facts**. You can say I’m secretly getting ready to be a contestant on ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.’ I’m a [digital marketer](https://burgergelato.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) and a lifelong learner. You can find me going down a YouTube or podcast rabbit hole, learning random facts at any time. My life is driven by a childlike curiosity for people, places, and things. Being a blend of dreamer and realist, I choose to see the good in people first. If you take away one thing, that is **Happiness Loves Company!** Peace out. ![Chris jumping in the air happy](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/Fun-2a.jpg) 💡 STAY RELENTLESSLY CURIOUS Marketer Stat Card v1 Available for campaigns CL # ChrisLatham Full-stack marketer / human-first, AI-fast 71 OVR Next level progress Current build Next build target ## Core attributes T-shaped and AI-native: wide across the stack, elite where it counts: SEO, content, video, and AI systems. Special ability Bridges human-first marketing and AI-powered execution without ever losing sight of the goal. Hands-onStrategicCustomer-first ### Here's a random quote to make me look smart > Negative and Positive thoughts/feelings are like clouds. When you are down, you can choose to stare at the one or move to the next. My Favourite Books - [Generations by Jean Twenge](https://www.amazon.ca/Generations-Differences-Millennials-Silents-Americas-ebook/dp/B0B3Y9RSFP?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Labor of Love by Moira Weigel](https://www.amazon.ca/Labor-Love-Invention-Moira-Weigel/dp/0374182531?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [The Art of War by Sun Tzu](https://www.amazon.ca/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1590302257/?ref=chrislatham.ca) My Favourite YouTube Channels - [Chris Williamson](https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisWillx?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Cold Fusion](https://www.youtube.com/coldfusion?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Wendover Productions](https://www.youtube.com/@Wendoverproductions?ref=chrislatham.ca) My Favourite Foods - Hamburger w/ mustard, pickles, onions, and a tiny bit of ketchup - Peanut Butter Cupcakes - Oven Baked Brussels Sprouts My Favourite Podcasts - [Business Wars](https://wondery.com/shows/business-wars/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Stuff You Should Know](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-you-should-know-26940277/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [The Michael Shermer Show](https://www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Big Questions with Cal Fussman](https://www.calfussman.com/podcast?ref=chrislatham.ca) My Favourite Quotes - **"It never hurts to see the good in someone. They often act better because of it."** \-Nelson Mandela - **"Progress is Irreversible"** \- Bugzy Malone - **"Maturity comes with experience, not age."** \-Ziad K. Abdelnour ### Contact URL: https://chrislatham.ca/contact/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T23:30:32.000Z _No content available._ ### Privacy Policy URL: https://chrislatham.ca/privacy-policy/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T08:07:15.000Z Please wait while the policy is loaded. If it does not load, please [click here](https://app.termageddon.com/api/policy/UWt4UWRFVnRWbTVITldOWWNGRTlQUT09?h-align=left&table-style=accordion&ref=chrislatham.ca). ### AI Native Builds URL: https://chrislatham.ca/built-with-ai/ Last updated: 2026-05-06T02:17:31.000Z These are real builds, screenshares I originally shared in Slack groups and online communities when I was figuring this out in public. No polished case studies. No "here's what AI *could* do" theory. Just what actually happened when I sat down and started building. Most of these are focused on marketing and content creation, because that's the work. A few go deeper into apps and systems. All of them started with a problem I was tired of paying someone else to solve, or tired of not solving at all. The tools have changed. Claude, NotebookLM, Remotion, Astro, whatever was the best option at the time of recording is what you'll hear me mention. That's intentional. I'm not loyal to tools. I'm loyal to getting things done. ## Content Briefs with a Claude Skill Marketing Workflow I show how I built a custom Claude Skill called **Blue Ocean Brief** to help marketers create stronger content briefs that go beyond “review the top 10 results and rewrite them.” The workflow takes a topic, analyzes what the SERP is already covering, identifies gaps, suggests sharper content angles, and generates interview questions to pull better insight from clients, subject matter experts, or internal teams. The goal is to make content more original, more useful, and less like recycled AI slop. This is especially useful for marketers who want to improve information gain, extract expert knowledge faster, and create content that actually sounds like it came from someone with experience. **Claude Skill Zip:** [https://files.burgergelato.com/blue-ocean-brief-claude.zip](https://files.burgergelato.com/blue-ocean-brief-claude.zip?ref=chrislatham.ca) **Video Walkthrough:** ## Motion Graphics with AI, No Design Skills Design Video No-Code I show how I used AI and Remotion to turn a simple inspiration GIF into a fully custom spinning logo animation, without designing anything manually. This is a glimpse into how motion graphics for videos can be generated programmatically with just assets and prompts. ***PS. My voice is low as I had a sleeping baby in my lap.*** **Video Walkthrough:** [Create Video Animations in Claude CodeVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/aLLYXj3Hk9apkYNvCgFa5MmDHhkdv6pRlNYIQWUE.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/m6G00F733m4bCYKbkTwN?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Rebuilding a Full Website from Screenshots Web Build No-Code Workflow I walk through how I used AI to recreate an entire blog and newsletter site by simply feeding it screenshots and exported content, no manual coding required. This shows how quickly you can spin up clean, modern websites using existing designs as inspiration and AI as the builder. **Video Walkthrough:** [Claude Code + Screenshots New Blog SiteVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/a0YNDfI9vZxKxQ4hHiMbRRdvjHdoIXU2APRRgqZv.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/cC0VRgksMprcqPyCvqjn?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## LinkedIn Ads from Swipe Files Marketing Ads Workflow I show how I built a simple AI workflow that takes inspiration from ad swipe files and turns them into full LinkedIn ad bundles, images, prompts, and copy included. This is an early look at how AI can rapidly generate high-quality “before vs after” style ads with minimal manual effort. **Video Walkthrough:** [Claiude Cowork Creates Image ads for LinekdIN & FBVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-2.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/Mmz7kc7EecowgqnqG8p8P4q5Z6HMaDScrPiG68VJ.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/0hXzsRmTyF53pXKfGv1T?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Building a Personal AI Brain Across Every Tool Workflow Productivity System I walk through an early experiment where I compiled all my chats, notes, and voice recordings into a single “Chris Clone” system that can plug into tools like Cursor, Gemini, and Claude. The goal is to create a portable AI context layer that understands how I think, what I’m building, and could eventually save massive time across workflows. **Video Walkthrough:** [Create Your AI Clone in Claude Code & MoreVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-3.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/NrwElmZgyl5cwF9SHMeVXxNHfozE7UtetcsFJzRR.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/TC0ZRQ4zjw3qy9zjN7mb?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Landing Page Rebuilt in 30 Minutes Web Build No-Code Design I show how I transformed a basic HTML page into a dynamic, animated landing page using AI tools like React and Astro, all from a single prompt. This is a glimpse into how quickly you can go from simple to high-end design without traditional dev work. **Video Walkthrough:** [I built a site using Gemini in 30 minutesVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-4.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/b2OQOZiBIiY9tk8trBEDSJM7Z9Ugw9qPiw2RCoFa.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/LYXktKhpYKX5GkBgP8t1?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Full Email Welcome Series with AI Marketing Email Workflow I walk through how I used an email marketing “skill” inside Claude to generate a complete 14-day welcome sequence, strategy, segmentation, A/B testing, and copy included. This is a powerful way to go from a blank page to a fully structured email system in minutes. **Video Walkthrough:** [Email bible SKill in Claude CodeVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-5.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/at6TfC44jwowygoHlSNLElwbKFGcKNgi47vUU921.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/ylRZD84ZRvJKnfx5xRX3?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Slide Decks into Marketing Assets with Claude Marketing Content Workflow I show how I fed a video script and slide deck into Claude, and it automatically converted the slides into readable images to generate feedback, ad copy, and campaign assets. This highlights how AI can adapt to messy inputs and still produce structured, usable marketing outputs. **Video Walkthrough:** [Claude Desktop Wins There is No CompetitionVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-6.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/pxgaNYPKecdu4pFTYnDXBupacZJJPuIj0pntyKFw.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/8X3tt3x9xy74mjwV1BHh?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Slide Decks & Blog Visuals with NotebookLM Design Content Workflow I walk through how I turned a blog post into a polished, visually consistent slide deck using AI, no design skills required. This opens up a powerful way to quickly create branded visuals, carousels, and blog images that actually look professional and cohesive. **Video Walkthrough:** [Notebook LM to Caroussel & MoreVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-7.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/YyjqptjyRyaCR2ybWaRVYqdGuuaejyAMd78yp6DL.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/5f1XV2jWpzBdjG93N8Mt?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## NotebookLM Outputs into Editable Canva Graphics Design Content Workflow I show how to take a slide deck generated from NotebookLM and bring it into Canva to fully edit, extract, and refine the visuals and text. This unlocks an easy workflow for turning AI-generated outputs into polished, reusable graphics for blogs, presentations, and social content. **Video Walkthrough:** [Edit text in Canva From NotebookLMVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-8.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/oQh8FV8kJNAeTI9YEIi3P1Syz6d8rw7ETfEw1BH0.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/sKbbtdlxQqFkTLngPFBr?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Consistent Blog Visuals with NotebookLM Design Content No-Code I show how I used a simple prompt inside NotebookLM to turn a blog/video into a visually consistent, high-quality slide deck. This opens up a fast way to generate branded blog images and social carousels, even if you have zero design skills. **Video Walkthrough:** [NotebookLM to create your slides and potentially graphicsVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-9.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/zDOcpwex1dUSuRj5Vf3kvt0RGSgPz2aukywmi3P4.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/0KFWgnlZk2p6rKzWZTF9?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Personal Fitness App with Claude Code App No-Code System Built a custom fitness tracking app tailored to how I actually work out (quick sets throughout the day vs. structured sessions), with logging, daily totals, and historical tracking by day/week/month. End-to-end was handled with AI, from PRD creation to UI design to deployment and security checks, so it’s a fully private, purpose-built alternative to paying for bloated fitness SaaS. [I Built My Own Fitness App With AI, Here’s Exactly HowA “showing my work” breakdown of going from idea to live app without writing a single line of code.![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/Chris-cartoon-Animated_Done-2.png)Howdy, I'm Chris Latham 🍔Chris Latham![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/I-Built-My-Own-Fitness-App-With-AI.jpg)](https://chrislatham.ca/how-i-built-a-fitness-app-with-ai/) Tools used: - Claude Chat & Code - Open AI Codex - CloudFlare - gitHub - Turso for Database - Stitch with Google **Video Walkthrough:** [How I Built a Personal Fitness Tracking App With AIVideo uploaded to CleanShot Cloud![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-10.png)![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/thumbnail/UOUP5ZLVmBztkcrisA01bcRlHj23XxDltWjrEkDr.mp4.jpg)](https://cleanshot.com/share/253NtVqCztj6llf20L7b?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## My Community recommendation: The Vibe Marketers My Community recommendation ### The Vibe Marketers A community I'm actually in, and actually active in. ![Skool 30-day leaderboard showing Chris Latham ranked #1 with plus 24 engagement points, ahead of Jackson Dean at #2 and Vee Khuu at #3](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/05/Chris-Leaderboard.png) I'm not just recommending it, I'm at the top of it. That leaderboard tracks real engagement over 30 days. I've been showing up, asking questions, sharing resources, and getting genuine value back. #1 on the 30-day leaderboard What's inside - Weekly live calls Regular sessions with real humans, not just async content drops - Guest speakers Practitioners sharing what's actually working right now - Training sessions Structured learning built for people building real businesses - Active members People who actually share, help, and engage, not just lurk [Join The Vibe Marketers → ](https://www.skool.com/the-vibe-marketers/about?ref=1b349de0bc0f40608c76fd530bc72534) Heads up, that's an affiliate link. I only recommend communities I'm genuinely in and getting value from. This is one of them. ### The Human-First Marketing Manifesto URL: https://chrislatham.ca/manifesto/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T03:30:28.000Z **The internet runs on fast-food content. I’m done eating it.** There’s a reason you scroll past most of what you see. A reason blogs sit unread. A reason brands feel hollow. No one’s home. No face. No voice. Just content for the sake of content. We’ve traded quality for quantity. Presence for output. Trust for traffic. And honestly? Most of us have been part of the problem. ## What I Believe I believe your story is your strategy. I believe confidence on camera is a skill, and skills are built, not born. I believe AI can write a post, but only a human can forge a connection. I believe the best content isn’t made by the fastest producers. It’s made by the most present ones. I believe trust can’t be outsourced. You have to earn it. Face-first. Voice-first. Truth-first. ## What I’m Here to Do Stop serving fast food. Not because fast food doesn’t get views. Sometimes it does. But because it doesn’t build anything. Doesn’t earn anything. Doesn’t mean anything. I’m building toward the seven-course meal. Content that takes real skill, real presence, and something worth saying. The kind of content people sit with, not just scroll past. And I’m not doing it alone. This isn’t “watch me while I figure it out.” This isn’t “let me tell you what you’re doing wrong.” It’s more like: I think we’ve both been settling for less than what content can actually be. So let’s both choose differently. Let’s show up on camera, really show up. Let’s learn this craft for real, one discipline at a time. Let’s stop producing and start communicating. Together. ## What We’re Leaving Behind - AI-generated content pretending to be expertise - Faceless brands that could belong to anyone - Volume over meaning - Output over impact - “Content strategy” as a substitute for actually having something to say ## What We’re Building - A face people recognize. A voice they remember. - Real camera confidence, built through reps, not tips - Marketing skills earned in public, tested in real conditions - Content worth finishing. Worth sharing. Worth something. - Trust built the old-fashioned way, by actually showing up ## Where I Am Right Now I’m not standing at the top handing down advice. I’m in it. Learning every marketing discipline from the ground up, and sharing all of it as I go. Showing up on camera through the hard days and the good ones. Building the audience the same way I’m asking you to build one. That’s the deal. No fast food. No shortcuts. Just someone showing up, doing the work, and proving it’s possible. **You can’t outsource trust. You have to earn it. Face-first. Voice-first. Truth-first.** ## Posts ### A million views can still be a failed video URL: https://chrislatham.ca/a-million-views-can-still-be-a-failed-video/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T14:40:09.000Z A million views can still be a failed video. And a video with 200 views can do exactly what the business needed it to do. The first thing I want to know is not, “How many views did it get?” I want to know: **What was the objective of the video?** If the objective was visibility or awareness, then the view count matters. From there, I want to dissect where those views came from. Were people watching on a television or a phone? Which regions did they come from? Does the available demographic data resemble the people the business actually wants to reach? But if the objective was conversion, views are not the priority. I want to know whether viewers followed the call to action, visited the intended page, filled out the form, or booked the call. You cannot decide whether a video worked until you know the job it was hired to do. ## Views just became an even looser number YouTube recently changed what it counts as a view. Starting August 24, a view is counted from the first frame across Shorts, long-form videos, podcasts, and live video. What YouTube previously treated as a view is now called an “engaged view,” meaning someone watched past that initial frame or clicked to watch. YouTube says recommendations did not change because of this update, and analytics such as click-through rate, average view duration, and retention remain anchored largely to engaged viewing. In plain English: the number at the top can rise without telling you that more people actually paid attention. That does not make views useless. It makes context more important. I have spoken with creators who have large followings, and they will tell you that getting views is the easy part. Getting people to take action is the challenge. Short-form platforms can send a video stratospheric. But you may have no idea how many of those viewers belong to your target market versus how many simply encountered it while scrolling. If a 10-minute video gets a large view count while most people leave after 10 seconds, the headline number is doing a lot of work that the audience did not. ## Three videos. Three different jobs. Not every video should be judged on the same scoreboard. ### **An awareness video** This should answer one of the common questions people have when they first discover your business. Tie the answer to a story if you can. Its job is to introduce your name, message, and way of thinking. **Reach and relevant views matter here.** ### **A consideration video** Should go deeper into how you solve a problem. It should also explain who you are not a fit for. Business owners often avoid that second part because they worry about turning someone away. But saying who you cannot help usually does more for your credibility than claiming you can address everybody. **Someone who is good for everybody is good for nobody**. ### **A conversion video** Should focus on one specific pain point. Walk through how you solve it. Use a whiteboard if that makes the process easier to see. Add a relevant case study or client testimonial when you have permission and real proof. The potential audience naturally gets smaller as the video moves closer to conversion. There are more people who can watch a broad awareness video than there are qualified prospects currently trying to solve the exact problem in your bottom-of-funnel video. Fewer views there may not be a failure. It may mean the video was built for a smaller, more valuable audience. ## Borrow this from old-school print advertising Before digital attribution, businesses placed different phone numbers in print ads for different regions. When the phone rang, the number told them which ad produced the call. Do the same thing with your videos. Stop sending every viewer to your homepage and trying to reconstruct a journey you cannot actually see. Create a dedicated version of the destination page for each channel. Give YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram their own URL or folder path. The pages can contain the same core information; the distinct address tells you where the visit began. You can still ask prospects how they found you. Their answer is often incomplete because they may remember the first place they saw you, the last place they clicked, or only the channel that stuck in their mind. If someone lands on your YouTube page and says they came from another platform, that is useful too. It shows you that the journey crosses channels. And no, creating another page is not overkill. It is 2026\. Copying a page and changing its URL is easier than ever. If you have a web designer, this may be one of the simplest requests you give them. ## Try this with one video Create one video explaining how your process differs from the alternatives, not by attacking competitors, but by showing how you work and why you work that way. Then: 1. Give the video one clear objective: awareness, consideration, or conversion. 2. Choose the metric before you publish it. 3. Give it one call to action. 4. Send viewers to one dedicated, channel-specific page. 5. Keep promoting it for weeks or months instead of posting it once and letting it sit. Your next video is also another chance to own your message online instead of leaving other people to explain your business and process for you. Nothing is better than hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth. If this was helpful, reply and say thank you. Or send me the objective of the video you are planning and the metric you intend to track. If you have a question about the setup, ask it. I would genuinely like to know where you are getting stuck. ### The Process You Explain Every Day Is Already Content URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-process-you-explain-every-day-is-already-content/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T15:14:35.000Z I met an HVAC owner at a networking event who asked what kind of video he should create. He is not quite my usual target client, and the conversation was mostly in passing. I asked a few questions, and then he casually dropped the gem: He had explained the same thing to customers **eight times that day**. Eight times. That was his first video. I did not need to understand all the HVAC terminology or hear his full process. The important part was hiding in plain sight: customers kept asking him for the same explanation, and he kept giving it from scratch. Most business owners do not recognize that as content. They recognize it as Tuesday. ## Your process becomes furniture When you have explained your process for years, it becomes like the furniture in your office. It is always there. You walk around it without thinking. Eventually, you stop noticing it altogether. But a prospect walking into the room sees it immediately. Your process may feel routine to you, but it can be one of the most important factors someone uses to decide whether to trust you. Put five competing businesses side by side and they may promise the same or similar outcome. That does not mean they use the same workflow, communicate the same way, anticipate the same problems, or make the client feel equally supported. Five competitors can have five separate processes for reaching a similar destination. That difference matters. The problem is that process explanations usually get sandwiched into the middle of a sales call, an onboarding meeting, or a client conversation. They are rarely the stated purpose of the call, so nobody on the team thinks, “We should capture this.” It just gets explained again tomorrow. And again the day after that. ## Not every video has the same job Part of the confusion is that many owners hear “video” and picture TikTok. It needs music. It needs to be entertaining. It needs an interview setup. It needs to look like content. Those formats can all have a role, but not every video is created for the same purpose or function. A process video is not trying to win a dance competition with the algorithm. Its job is to help a serious prospect understand how you work before they speak with you. That will not transform 100% of sales calls. Some people will not watch it. Others will watch it and still ask you the same question. That does not mean the video failed. The people doing deeper due diligence may notice that you are one of the few businesses willing to explain the process and put a human face on it. They see you on the website, hear how you think, and then meet the exact same person on the call. Familiarity starts before the meeting. Then, when they ask the question again, they may not be looking for the basic answer. They may be checking for consistency and congruency between what you said publicly and what you tell them privately. They may also ask it in the language of their own problem. That is where the conversation gets more valuable. ## The repeated question is not the only insight When a more informed prospect explains what matters to them, you can echo their words and connect your process to their specific concern. Your team can also listen for the language they use. What do they call the problem? Which part creates anxiety? What detail keeps coming back? Where were they uninformed, ill-informed, or misinformed after doing their own research? Those are not merely sales-call notes. They are clues about what your website and videos still need to explain. The goal is not to make the human conversation unnecessary. The goal is to stop using the human conversation only to repeat information that could have prepared the prospect for a better conversation. If someone arrives on your site with a question already in their head and finds you answering it clearly, the response is simple: > “This person gets me.” That is a very different starting point from making them jump from provider to provider, assembling pieces of an answer and trying to decide who understands the problem. ## Try this for two weeks For the next two weeks, choose two client or prospect conversations each day. Immediately after each call or meeting, write down two things: 1. The most important question they asked. 2. The question or phrase that gave you the biggest insight into what they actually cared about. Do not worry about scripting videos yet. Just collect the language. At the end of the two weeks, review the list. Look for the question that appears most often and the theme hiding underneath it. That is your first process video. Explain the answer the same way you would in person. Show your face. Describe what happens, why you do it that way, and what the client should understand before taking the next step. Then pay attention to what surprises you in your notes. The surprise is a big tell. It may show that what you thought you knew about your clients was wrong, or at least slightly off. If you try the exercise, hit reply and tell me what surprised you and which question kept repeating. ### AI Should Be Your Ghostwriter, Not Your Brain URL: https://chrislatham.ca/ai-should-be-your-ghostwriter-not-your-brain/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:12:28.000Z AI should be your ghostwriter, not your brain. That is the simplest way I can explain where most businesses are going wrong with AI-generated content. They outsource the idea, the writing, the tone, and essentially everything else to the tool. Then they wonder why the finished piece sounds like every other article, email, and LinkedIn post online. Here’s the thing. AI is producing an average of what it has already consumed. If you ask it to decide what you think, you will get an average of what everyone else has already said. Your advantage is not access to the tool. Everyone has access to the tool. Your advantage is your specific expertise, your judgment, your conversations, and the point of view you earned by doing the work. ## Look at how journalists use it Newsrooms are a useful example of the distinction. The Washington Post’s published standards say its reporters retain primary responsibility for reporting, writing, and fact-checking their stories. The Post also says journalists and technologists remain involved in vetting, editing, and contextualizing AI products and experiences. One of its opinion writers described using ChatGPT as a supplementary fact-checker and a tool to suggest clarifications and cuts before the work reaches a human editor. That is AI assisting the work. It is not AI becoming the journalist. The writer still needs the angle. The journalist still reaches out to knowledgeable people. The expert still supplies the judgment and quote that make the story more than a summary of existing summaries. There is an entire service built around that need. Help a Reporter Out, better known as HARO, connects reporters with credible sources who can provide insights, quotes, and interviews. It briefly disappeared, was acquired and revived, and is now free for both journalists and sources. Think about what that tells us. Journalists have better research tools than ever. They can ask AI to summarize a subject in seconds. They still need a real person who knows something, believes something, and is willing to attach their name to it. | A word from Show Up 30 Quick interruption, this isn't part of the newsletter, it's a plug for my own thing, so feel free to skip it. If you've been putting off getting on camera because you don't know what to say or you hate how you sound, Show Up 30 is a free 30-day challenge that fixes that with daily reps instead of a course you'll never finish. [Start free at showup30.com →](https://showup30.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ## People use AI without fully trusting it A new Gallup survey, reported by the Associated Press, found that about one in five Americans who sought financial advice during the previous year used AI. Yet only about three in ten U.S. adults had at least some confidence in AI’s money-management expertise. About eight in ten had at least some confidence in financial advisers. This was a U.S. financial-advice survey, not research about every professional service. So I would not pretend the exact percentages automatically transfer to lawyers, accountants, or consultants. But the tension is familiar: people will use AI to begin understanding a high-stakes problem while still looking for a human who can understand their situation and stand behind the advice. Even Google is making authorship more explicit. In an August 6 documentation update, Google added `author.url` as a recommended property for article structured data, a link to a page that uniquely identifies the person behind the article. That is not proof that adding an author page will suddenly make you rank. Google does not guarantee that structured data will produce a particular search appearance. My inference is simpler: when generic information is cheap, clearly connecting useful information to a recognizable expert becomes more important, not less. ## Use AI on the back end The fact that you have access to AI should remove work from the back end of the process, not the front end. The front end is where the value lives: - The question a client asked yesterday - The objection your sales team keeps hearing - The problem your staff just helped solve - The opinion you have after seeing the same mistake for ten years - The detail that changes the obvious answer into the honest one That is your goldmine. Once you supply the raw material, AI can help make the idea clearer and more concise. It can suggest an analogy. It can show you how to explain the same point to someone who does not share your technical vocabulary. We are not all wordsmiths. Some people are simply very good at what they do and have one or two ways they have always explained it. AI can help translate that expertise for a different audience without pretending to be the source of it. The workflow is the modern version of working with a ghostwriter. You do not call a ghostwriter and say, “Invent my experience, opinions, and point of view. Let me know what I believe when you are finished.” You brief them. You talk through the idea. You give them the stories, judgment, and rough language. Their job is to shape what is yours into something other people can understand. ## “I don’t have time to supply the ideas” Fair question. Then do not write a first draft. Record a voice note. Brain-dump everything you think about one real question. Explain it the same way you would explain it to a customer sitting across from you. Let it be repetitive. Let it be rough. Give the AI something human to work with before asking it to organize the answer. When the draft comes back, read it aloud. Not silently. Out loud. Does it sound like something you would actually say? Would those words come out of your mouth in a conversation with a client? There is no perfect checklist for that. Taste is the measure of success. If it sounds polished but foreign, the tool improved the grammar and erased the person. Put the texture back. ## Try this once Open the voice-notes app on your phone. Answer the most recent question a customer asked you, or explain the most recent problem you solved for one. Then give that recording to AI and ask it to organize the answer without changing your opinion or inventing details. Read the result aloud and fix anything you would never say. That is the job of AI in your content: not to replace the human idea, but to help the human idea travel further. If this changed how you think about using AI, hit reply and tell me what you were doing before, and what you will try differently now. --- ## Sources - [Associated Press: Some U.S. adults are using AI for financial guidance, but few trust it](https://apnews.com/article/7b77e31b127d83dd22c11161ffaddff2?ref=chrislatham.ca): Gallup/Edward Jones survey results and methodology - [The Washington Post: Policies and Standards](https://www.washingtonpost.com/policies-and-standards/?ref=chrislatham.ca): reporters’ responsibility for reporting, writing, and fact-checking; human involvement in AI products - [The Washington Post: How journalists can use AI ethically](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/04/05/artificial-intelligence-chatbot-writing-ethics/?ref=chrislatham.ca): a columnist’s described uses for supplementary checking, clarification, and editing - [HARO: How the journalist-source service works](https://www.helpareporter.com/journalists?ref=chrislatham.ca): reporters submit source requests and receive expert insights, quotes, and interview leads - [HARO: About Help a Reporter Out](https://www.helpareporter.com/about?ref=chrislatham.ca): current ownership, operating model, and free access - [Google Search Central documentation updates](https://developers.google.com/search/updates?ref=chrislatham.ca): August 6 addition of `author.url` as a recommended Article structured-data property - [Google Search Central: Article structured data](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/article?ref=chrislatham.ca): author identification guidance and limitations of structured data ### The Death of Faceless Marketing (And What's Replacing It) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-death-of-faceless-marketing/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T15:03:34.000Z You're walking down the street looking for dinner. You pass a restaurant with frosted windows. No menu, no way to see inside. Just a sign that says "Quality Food Solutions." Are you walking in? No. You assume it's closed, sketchy, or a front for something else entirely. Now picture the place next door. Open kitchen. You can smell the food. There's a chalkboard menu in the chef's own handwriting. People inside are eating, laughing, wine glasses clinking. Which one are you walking into? Here's the uncomfortable part: your current marketing is probably the frosted window. And your competitors, the ones getting the clients, the speaking gigs, the inbound leads, they're the open kitchen. You might genuinely be the better chef. Nobody will ever find out, because they can't see you. If you're building your career behind a corporate logo, a "we" voice, or the belief that your work should just speak for itself, that's not humility. It's a slow, quiet kind of professional suicide. Less qualified people are getting your opportunities. Your dream clients are following someone else. The conversation in your industry is happening without you in the room. ## We're Living Through a Trust Recession This isn't a vibe. It's measurable. The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer surveyed roughly 32,000 people across 28 countries. The finding: people now trust someone like me, a relatable peer, at a 74% rate. That's on par with scientists and credentialed experts. Meanwhile, more than 60% believe leaders in government, business, and media are actively trying to mislead them. Read that again. Your audience trusts a relatable peer as much as they trust a credentialed expert, and they actively distrust institutions. And it's getting worse, because now we've got AI slop, deepfakes, and a creeping sense that the internet is just bots talking to bots. Your audience is doing something you probably don't even realize. It's like a hostage negotiation scene in a movie where someone demands proof of life. They're scrolling your LinkedIn, searching your name on Google, checking your website, subconsciously asking: *is there a human in there?* If your marketing is stock photos and "we provide innovative solutions," a team page with no faces, a blog post that reads like ChatGPT wrote it, you just failed the test. You got quietly categorized as a bot. Untrustworthy. Meanwhile your face, your voice, your specific opinions, your weird stories, that's the proof of life. That's how you pass. ## The Frosted Window Effect, In the Wild Let's make this concrete. There are architects with 30 years of experience and award-winning portfolios who are still bidding on projects and competing on price. Then there's Stuart Hicks, a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. During the pandemic, he started recording his lectures. His students told him to put them on YouTube. He thought being on camera would make him look narcissistic. He did it anyway. Five years later: 600,000 subscribers, 90+ million views, and he's one of the most recognized voices in architecture, featured in the Chicago Architecture Biennial. He didn't get there by showing off his buildings. He got there by explaining the designs, on camera, in his own voice. The architects with three decades of experience probably think Stuart is less serious because he's "on YouTube." Meanwhile, Stuart is the one getting the speaking invitations. He didn't become a different person. He made his existing expertise visible. This is the same pattern I keep coming back to when I talk about [why video will crush written content](https://chrislatham.ca/why-video-will-crush-written-content-even-if-you-hate-being-on-camera/): the format isn't the moat. The willingness to show up in it is. ## Three Forces Are Converging, and They're All Saying the Same Thing **Force one: AI commoditizes expertise.** When ChatGPT can write a blog post, draft your proposal, and answer basic client questions, "I know things" stops being a differentiator. AI knows things too. The only moat left is you: your perspective, your stories, the way you apply knowledge in a specific, lived-in context. Your face is the one piece of IP that AI can't steal. At least not yet. I wrote about this exact mechanism in [5 Signs Your Content Doesn't Sound Like You](https://chrislatham.ca/5-signs-your-content-doesnt-sound-like-you/), the slow, brick-by-brick way creators let AI sand off the specific, weird, human parts of their voice until the content could've been written by anyone. Faceless marketing and voice drift are the same problem wearing different clothes. **Force two: the algorithms.** LinkedIn personal profiles get 5-8x more engagement than company pages. Employee-shared content gets 561% more reach than the identical post from the company account. Organic reach for company pages has dropped 60-66% since 2024\. Personal profiles now account for roughly 65% of what people actually see in their feed. If you're only posting from the company page, the room you're shouting into is getting smaller every quarter. I go deeper on how this plays out specifically on LinkedIn in [The LinkedIn Authority Paradox](https://chrislatham.ca/the-linkedin-authority-paradox/), where the platform quietly punishes the exact "professional" posting style most companies think they're supposed to use. **Force three: founder mode.** Paul Graham's viral 2024 essay codified something that was already happening. Manager mode, professional, bureaucratic, faceless, is failing. Nobody wants to consume content like that anymore. Founder mode, involved, opinionated, visible, is winning. Clients don't want to hire a firm. They want to hire the person who founded it. They want to know the chef in the kitchen. AI, the algorithms, and the culture are all pointing at the same conclusion. The era of the faceless expert is over. ## What This Actually Costs You This isn't philosophical. It's a real, compounding bill. You miss speaking opportunities, because organizers only invite the people they've heard of. Journalists Google you and find nothing. Inbound goes to the name people already recognize. You might be more qualified than your competitor, but if you're invisible, you're not in the consideration set, and then you're competing purely on price. If I'm choosing between two consultants and I don't know either of them, my decision comes down to price, availability, and who responded first. But if I've been following one of them for months, I'm not comparing prices anymore. I'm just hiring them. I came in pre-sold. And there's a deeper risk underneath it: no career insurance. If your company disappeared tomorrow, would anyone remember your name, or just the logo? A personal brand is the only professional asset that's genuinely portable. It's the throughline I keep returning to in [Thought Leaders Built Empires](https://chrislatham.ca/companies-should-nurture-and-hire-though-leaders/): the individuals outlast the companies, almost every time. Add it up, the missed opportunities, the price pressure, the career risk, and invisibility stops sounding free. It's expensive, and the bill compounds quietly in the background while your dashboard looks fine. ## The Objections (And Why They're Wrong) I know what some of you are thinking. Personal branding feels narcissistic. You're an introvert. Your work should speak for itself. I've heard it all before. Here's the reframe. **"Personal branding is ego."** No, it's accessibility. You're not promoting yourself, you're making your expertise findable. If you're holding knowledge that could genuinely help someone, and it's locked in your head because sharing it feels salesy, who is that serving? Not them. It's serving your own discomfort at the expense of their outcome. **"I'm an introvert."** Privacy isn't secrecy. You can be professionally public while staying personally private. You don't need to post selfies at lunch. You just need to share what you're actually thinking. **"My work should speak for itself."** Unfortunately, your work doesn't have a mouth. What you're really saying is: I'm making my clients do all my marketing for me. That's not generous. It's inefficient, and it's not fair to the people who'd otherwise refer you. Here's the truth underneath all of it: the discomfort you feel about this isn't proof you're not cut out for it. It's proof you're exactly the person who should be doing it. The shameless self-promoters don't feel that discomfort. Your hesitation is a signal of integrity, not a disqualifier. ## Your Face Is the Last Moat Here's what it all boils down to. In 2020, your competitive advantage was what you knew. In 2026, AI knows everything. Your new competitive advantage is who you are, and how you apply what you know. Your face is the last moat. Your personality is the last IP. Your specific, lived-in perspective is the last thing AI can't steal. And the window for claiming that space in your niche is closing. Early adopters right now are becoming the default authorities in their categories. Wait twelve months, and you're fighting to be heard in a sea of voices that already established themselves while you waited. If you don't claim the space, someone less qualified than you will. So stop framing this as self-promotion. Start framing it as strategic visibility. You're not bragging, you're making your expertise findable, building career insurance, and creating leverage you can't get any other way. The question was never *should I build a personal brand.* The question is: can you afford not to? Every industry thinks it's the exception. Yours probably isn't. It's humans buying from humans, still, even now, especially now. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is faceless marketing? Faceless marketing is a strategy where a business promotes itself through its brand voice, aesthetic, and content, without attaching a real person to it. Think stock photography, a "we" voice, unsigned blog posts, and a team page with no faces. It scales cheaply, but it's losing to personal-brand marketing as audiences grow more distrustful of anonymous sources. ### Is faceless marketing dead? Not literally dead, but structurally weakened. LinkedIn personal profiles get 5-8x more engagement than company pages, and organic reach for company pages has dropped 60-66% since 2024\. Faceless marketing still works for pure product ads and automated funnels, but for building authority, trust, and inbound demand, it's losing ground fast. ### Why is personal branding more trusted than company branding? The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer found people trust a relatable peer at a 74% rate, on par with scientists and credentialed experts, while 60%+ actively distrust institutional leaders. People trust people. They don't trust logos, and increasingly they don't trust anything that looks like it could have been written by AI. ### How do I start showing my face in my marketing if I've always been faceless? Start with visibility, not vulnerability. You don't need to post selfies or vlog your lunch. Share your actual opinions, your specific stories, and your real reasoning in public, under your name. That's the minimum viable version of face-forward marketing, and it's enough to separate you from the frosted-window competitors in your niche. ## Sources - [https://www.edelman.com/trust/2024/trust-barometer](https://www.edelman.com/trust/2024/trust-barometer?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### AI search is the shiny object URL: https://chrislatham.ca/ai-search-is-the-shiny-object/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T17:08:34.000Z Google announced last week that AI Mode has passed one billion monthly active users. That is a big number. A very big number. And I know exactly what happens when a business owner hears it. “Great. Now I need to spend all my time showing up in AI search.” No, no, no. That is the shiny object talking. Google also said overall Search usage reached an all-time high and that its AI-powered search features are sending billions of clicks to websites every week. In other words, search is changing, but the rest of the internet did not disappear while everyone was posting about AI. That distinction matters. Because right now, there is an entire industry trying to convince you that AI search is a completely new marketing discipline. New dashboards. New trackers. New acronyms. New “secret sauce.” Often, it is the same advice we have heard for years, repackaged under AI and sold back to us at a higher price. ## A dashboard is not a game plan I have watched the pattern spread from tools like Profound to established platforms like Semrush, and through the marketers, speakers, and promoters who have pivoted their messaging to AI everything. The pitch works because the FOMO is real. People remember the dot-com boom. They remember crypto. They remember every opportunity they think they missed, and they do not want to be the person who ignored the next big shift. I get it. But paying for an AI-visibility tracker before you have a functioning content engine is like paying an accountant to point at the line where you are losing money without helping you stop the loss. Useful information? Sure. Problem solved? Not even close. A tool might show you which questions people ask, where a competitor appears, or where your company is absent. It cannot do the part that creates visibility in the first place. The work. The clear answer. The useful explanation. The real expertise. The recognizable person willing to attach their face, voice, and reputation to what is being said. There is no reporting tool that will do that work for you. ## AI search is downstream of good marketing The fundamentals that helped people find and trust you before AI are the same fundamentals that make you useful to an answer engine: - Know what your actual customers ask, not what an old persona document says they ask. - Listen to sales conversations, objections, off-boardings, and support questions. - Publish clear answers on your website. - Show up consistently on the social platforms your customers already use. - Earn mentions and coverage where it makes sense. - Put a real expert’s face and judgment behind the information. That last part matters. Social and search platforms are relevance engines. Their job is to connect a person with information that fits what they are already trying to understand. The goal is not to create the most “optimized” answer in a vacuum. It is to create the most relevant, credible answer for a real person with a real problem. The human is still the one searching. ## What I would do with two hours Imagine you run a law firm. You are worried that competitors are appearing in AI answers and you are not. You have two hours this week to do something about it. Do not buy another dashboard. Record one substantial video answering the most common question or objection you heard this month. Explain it the way you would explain it to a client or a friend. Go into enough detail to be genuinely useful. Post the full video. Then, over the following week, turn that one answer into: - A short video - A newsletter for your client list - A useful blog post - Several social posts - A resource your sales team can send when the objection comes up again Do the heavy thinking once. Let your team, your systems, or an outside partner handle the repurposing. That one answer will do more for your authority than a report showing you 37 phrases where a competitor currently outranks you. Because the report measures the gap. The answer closes it. ## “But my competitors are publishing every day” Fair question. Your competitors may be flooding the internet with AI-optimized content. It may even look like they are winning. But building visibility, whether in classic search, social media, or AI answers, is a marathon. Shortcuts pull you into tactics that decay as soon as the platform changes its rules. One genuinely useful answer a week gives you roughly 40 strong videos in a working year. Those videos become articles, emails, clips, posts, and sales resources. The following year, you can record less often because you already own a growing library that answers different questions for different buyers at different stages. Someone discovering you today needs a different answer than someone comparing firms or getting ready to sign. You are not trying to satisfy this week’s algorithm. You are building a library that helps the right person find and trust you a year from now. ## When AI-search tracking does make sense If your content engine works, your paid acquisition works, your social presence works, and your email marketing works, and you have extra test budget, then yes, experiment with AI-search tracking. At that point, it is a diagnostic layer on top of a functioning system. It is not the system. And you may discover that the work helping you appear in AI answers is the work you were already supposed to be doing: understanding customers, answering their questions, building trust, and making your expertise easy to find. AI search is new. The reason someone chooses you is not. This week, take the two hours you might have spent comparing tracking tools and record one honest, detailed answer to a question a customer actually asked. If this pulled you back to reality, hit reply and say “thank you.” Or send me the question you are wrestling with about AI search and content. I read every response, actually me, not a ghostwriter. ## Sources - [Google and Alphabet Q2 2026 earnings remarks](https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/message-ceo/alphabet-earnings-q2-2026/?ref=chrislatham.ca) \- AI Mode usage, overall Search usage, and website-click claims ### 5 Signs Your Content Doesn't Sound Like You URL: https://chrislatham.ca/5-signs-your-content-doesnt-sound-like-you/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T01:18:55.000Z What you're sensing is part of a much bigger shift. We're two years into mass AI adoption, and we've officially hit the second wave. Not the experimentation phase. That was fun. Everyone was playing with prompt structures and marveling at instant paragraphs. This second wave is quieter. More dangerous. It’s the phase where creators, founders, and experts have gradually, sometimes completely without noticing, outsourced their voice. Not their video editing, not their graphic design, but their voice. And your audience is noticing. They aren't leaving angry comments or calling you out. They’re noticing the way you do when a close friend starts talking differently after getting into a new relationship. You can’t quite name it, but something has shifted. You trust them just a little less. You stop sharing things with them. You drift away. That is what's happening to your content right now, quietly and in slow motion. Here's why this is urgent: **Bot traffic officially surpassed human internet traffic.** More than half of everything online is now synthetic. The real audience, the ones who buy, refer, and show up, are wading through an ocean of AI slop every single day. They are exhausted, suspicious, and hyper-attuned to anything that feels even slightly fake. (If you want to know how to spot and fix this in your own strategy, you can run a complete [AI slop content audit](https://chrislatham.ca/the-ai-slop-audit-how-to-algorithmic-proof-your-content-in-2025/). In this environment, you have never had a bigger competitive advantage than your actual voice. And you might be throwing it away. Your voice isn't a personality trait. It’s a strategic asset. If you aren't guarding it, it's depreciating. Here are the five audible signs that your personal brand authenticity has drifted, and the exact steps to reclaim your voice. ## The Auto-Tune of Writing: Why We Drift Voice drift doesn’t announce itself. Nobody sits down at their laptop and says, *“Today, I think I’ll start sounding like a corporate LinkedIn content machine.”* It happens brick by brick. One AI-generated draft you quickly edit. One ghostwritten post that seems “fine.” One template that saves you twenty minutes. Each individual piece looks acceptable, but when you zoom out six months later, you’re looking at a body of work that could have been written by absolutely anyone in your niche. Think of it like the transition of auto-tune in the music industry. | **Raw Vocal Cadence** (Adele: Raw/Real) | → | **Subtle Auto-Tune** (Fixing minor pitch errors) | → | **Over-Processed Vocals** (Cheap & Uniform) | | --------------------------------------- | - | ------------------------------------------------ | - | ------------------------------------------- | Auto-tune was invented to fix minor pitch errors. Used subtly, it’s invisible. But when overused, that perfect pitch makes the music sound cheap, manufactured, and repetitive. Meanwhile, a slightly raw, imperfect vocal sounds expensive because it's authentic. Adele built a career on that raw edge. Her music works because it isn't mathematically perfect; it’s human. **AI is the auto-tune of writing.** It smooths your grammar, tightens your structure, and cleans up your syntax. But in doing so, it removes your weird tangents, your oddly formatted sentences, and the exact eccentricities that made you worth reading in the first place. It strips away the little black specks. How do you tell premium vanilla ice cream from the artificial stuff? By looking for the tiny black specks of the actual bean. If the ice cream is perfectly white and perfectly smooth, you assume it's fake. Your content works the same way. The hyper-specific anecdotes, the unexpected analogies, the occasional rant, those are your vanilla bean specks. They are your proof of life. The creators winning right now didn't win by being the most polished. They won by being the most specific. It's the exact reason why [video will crush written content](https://chrislatham.ca/why-video-will-crush-written-content-even-if-you-hate-being-on-camera/), because showing up on camera is the one thing bots can't fake. ## Sign 1: The Name-Swapping Diagnostic Read the last 10 pieces of content you published. Remove your headshot, your logo, and your name from the top of the page. Now ask yourself: **Could a competitor in your niche slap their name on this post, and would anyone notice a difference?** If the answer is yes, those specks of vanilla bean are gone. | CONTENT MEMBRANE | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **UNAUTHENTIC (WHITE)** Generic frameworks Mathematical formatting Zero risk opinions Swap-eligible name tag | **AUTHENTIC (SPECKLED)** Relational tangents Imperfect phrasing Uncomfortable convictions Unmistakably YOU | If your writing only covers generic industry frameworks, uses standard templates, and stays strictly within safe boundaries, you’ve built a content feed, not a personal brand. Your audience follows you because they want your specific lens on the industry. Everything you know, your frameworks, your processes, your insights, is already online somewhere for free. They don't need your information; they want to know how *you* see it, what *you* think, and what *you* would do. The moment your content could have been written by anyone, it might as well have been written by no one. ## Sign 2: Your Opinions Have Been Edited Out AI is programmed to write the mathematical average of the internet. It hedges. It balances. It relies heavily on phrases like *"it depends," "on one hand," and "it’s important to consider both perspectives."* That is the writing equivalent of a firm handshake paired with zero eye contact. It’s technically correct, but completely forgettable. Real voices take stands. They have opinions, sometimes uncomfortable ones. The creators with the most loyal audiences don't write to balance the ledger. They say specific, high-conviction things. They force the reader to think, *“I’ve never heard it framed that way before.”* **The Diagnostic:** When was the last time your content made someone uncomfortable? Not offensive, but uncomfortable. The kind of discomfort that makes a reader stop scrolling, screenshot your words, and text them to a colleague with the caption, *"Read this."* If you can't remember the last time you took a contrarian stance, your opinions have been sanitized out of your copy. You’ve traded authority for safety. ## Sign 3: An Absence of First-Person Specifics The third sign is the complete lack of timestamped, first-person stories. We aren't talking about the classic: *"I once worked with a client who struggled with X."* That is a placeholder. Your audience feels the vagueness. They know it’s a setup for a generic sales pitch. What we mean are stories where you: - Name the exact year. - Describe the physical room or the precise situation. - Include the weird, embarrassing details that have no business being in a "professional" post, but make the entire lesson land. That bizarre detail, the mistake that kept you awake at 11:00 PM on a Tuesday, the specific interaction that forced you to change how you do business, those are the things AI cannot write. Ghostwriters who don't know you deeply can’t write those stories either because they weren’t in the room. Without these details, your content is just information. And in an AI world, information on its own is worth nothing. ## Sign 4: The Mathematical Rhythm (The "Tuk-Tuk" Cadence) AI content has a very recognizable rhythm. It’s actually quite pleasant to read at first. It typically follows a predictable cadence: - One short, punchy sentence. - One medium, explanatory sentence. - A longer sentence that builds context and adds nuance. - A final short sentence to close. Over and over. It's a structured *tuk-tuk-tuk* framework. But your actual speaking voice is messier. When you get excited, you write run-on sentences that mimic your racing thoughts. When you want to drive a point home, you use one-word paragraphs. Just like this. You go on a tangent for three sentences, then snap back to the point. That irregularity isn't a writing flaw; it's your vocal fingerprint. When that fingerprint disappears, your writing starts to sound like a well-trained customer service bot rather than a human being. **The Diagnostic:** Read your latest piece out loud. If it sounds like it was written by someone slightly more competent but significantly less alive than you, the rhythm is broken. ## Sign 5: Your Content is Predictable Think about the creators you follow most loyally. Part of what keeps you coming back is that you don't always know what they are going to say. They surprise you. They connect dots you didn't see coming. AI is designed to be predictable. It optimizes for the next logical word based on what has already been written. It looks at the category of content you want and replicates the standard structure. When your audience can finish your sentences before they read them, you stop being a voice. You become a content category. This is the trap at the heart of [the LinkedIn authority paradox](https://chrislatham.ca/the-linkedin-authority-paradox/), trying so hard to look like an expert that you end up sounding like a textbook. Content categories are easily replaced. People are not. ## The True Cost of Voice Drift: Trust Equity This isn't just about slower growth. The real consequence of voice drift is the erosion of your **Trust Equity**. Think of your audience's trust as a bank account. | TRUST EQUITY ACCOUNT | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **DEPOSITS (+)** Oddly specific anecdotes Raw, high-conviction opinions Conversational, irregular cadences Unmistakably human formatting | **WITHDRAWALS (-)** Mathematical industry averages Safe, non-committal hedges Polished, templated structures Predictable, "auto-tuned" advice | Every time you publish something specific, opinionated, and unmistakably human, you make a deposit. Every time you publish something that sounds like the mathematical average of your industry, you make a withdrawal. Trust erosion is a lagging indicator. By the time your metrics actually start to drop, your core audience, the people who knew your original voice and were most likely to buy from you, have already checked out. Your dashboard looks fine, but your trust account is overdrawn. (And since [nobody's clicking anymore](https://chrislatham.ca/nobodys-clicking-anymore/), traditional traffic metrics are a vanity trap; relational trust is the only metric that matters). The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer found that people trust their peers, the people who feel like them and talk like them, at the same rate they trust credentialed experts. In an era of widespread institutional distrust, **personhood is the new credential**. When you optimize your voice out of your content to sound more "professional," you are running away from where trust is actually going. ## The Commoditization Spiral There is a direct business consequence to this: the commoditization spiral. Consider milk. Homogenization makes milk uniform, but it stops the cream from rising to the top. When you optimize your content to sound like everyone else, you are homogenizing your brand. You force yourself to compete on volume, frequency, and price. Every piece you publish carries less relational weight. The creators who sound unmistakably like themselves don't compete on volume. They compete on irreplaceability. And irreplaceable brands don't get compared; they get sought out. It's the same hard lesson I learned when [I killed a $90K business](https://chrislatham.ca/why-i-killed-a-90k-business/) because standard search engine playbooks got commoditized by AI. Look at what happened to *Sports Illustrated* in late 2023\. They were caught publishing articles by fabricated AI writers with stock-photo headshots. The backlash wasn't about the quality of the writing, the grammar was perfect. It was the fake personhood. It's the same reason [AI avatars are killing authority](https://chrislatham.ca/why-ai-avatars-might-be-killing-your-authority/); when you hide behind digital proxies, your audience feels the distance. They lost seventy years of compounding brand equity in a single news cycle. When your audience senses that the person behind the content has been replaced by a process, the feeling of betrayal is identical. It’s just quieter, and much harder to recover from. ## Reclaiming Your Voice: The 3-Step Protocol If you've noticed these signs in your writing, the way back isn't to abandon AI or fire your team. It's about reclaiming the instinct to use these tools on your terms, not theirs. Here is the three-step protocol to recover your brand voice. ### Step 1: Recover Your Voice Fingerprint Go back to early in your career. Find 3 to 5 pieces of writing you published before you worried about content strategy, algorithm optimization, or AI tools. Read them and ask: - What did you talk about then that you’ve stopped talking about now? - What weird analogies did you use? - What opinions did you share that you’ve since softened to avoid friction? That is your original voice fingerprint. That is where your vanilla bean specks live. Bring them back. ### Step 2: Run the "Only I Could Write This" Test Before any piece of content goes live on any channel, put it through this filter: > “Is there at least one specific story, one raw opinion, or one sentence in this piece that could only have come from my actual life?” If the answer is no, the content does not get published. Send it back to the draft stage. Inject a real detail, a specific mistake, or a firm take. ### Step 3: Enforce the Read-Aloud Rule Never hit publish on a written draft until you have read the entire piece out loud. Don't read it to check for grammar or spelling errors. Read it to ensure it fits comfortably in your mouth. - If you stumble over a sentence structure, it isn't how you talk. Rewrite it. - If a paragraph feels flat when you say it, it isn't how you think. Inject some energy. Your voice must live in your mouth before it can live on the page. ## The Authentic Moat In a world where AI can produce competent content in three seconds, **competence is worthless**. The only content that carries real weight and builds long-term authority is content that couldn't exist without you. It requires your history, your failures, and your specific way of looking at your industry. You are the only asset in your business that cannot be replicated by tools designed to copy everyone else. But that is only true if you show up fully. Specs and all. ### The Authenticity Debate Let's open this up in the comments: **Is a creator who uses AI to draft 80% of their content, but adds a genuine, polarizing opinion at the end, more authentic than a creator who writes 100% of their copy manually, but only says what they think their audience wants to hear?** Where do you land, and why? Let's talk about it below. ### You're Not Late to AI: The Case for a Relaxed Mindset URL: https://chrislatham.ca/youre-not-late-to-ai/ Last updated: 2026-05-23T15:25:15.000Z Howdy gang. Real talk: You're not late to AI. You’re not behind. You’re not missing the boat. And you certainly don’t need to feel that crushing weight of FOMO every time you open your feed. I recorded this, and now writing this, because I’ve had two conversations today that broke my heart. One was on a live call with a dope community, and another was in the forums. The sentiment was the same: *“Chris, I’m late. I need to find a way to integrate AI into my day-to-day right now or I’m going to be obsolete.”* Nonsense. Pure nonsense. If you’re not using AI yet, don’t worry about it. You’re actually still ahead of the curve. Here is why a relaxed mindset isn't just a "nice to have", it’s your only real competitive advantage in a world full of AI slop. ## The YouTube "Bajillion Dollar" Lie The pressure you feel isn’t coming from the technology. It’s coming from the marketing. You see the videos. The "YouTube bros" telling you they’re making a bajillion dollars using AI to automate their entire lives while they sip cocktails in Bora Bora. Newsflash: If they were making a bajillion dollars doing the thing, they wouldn’t be making videos telling you how they’re doing the thing. That’s Business 101. The FOMO is a sales tactic. It’s designed to make you feel panicked enough to buy a course, a tool, or a "comprehensive solution" you don’t actually need. If you're feeling pressured by work or by what you see online, take a breath. No one has actually figured this out yet. If they had, we’d all be sitting on a beach instead of still grinding at our desks. ## AI is Like Cooking (And You’re Probably Burning the Toast) Think of AI like learning to cook. If you’ve never stepped foot in a kitchen, you’re going to be trash at the start. You’ll try to bake a cake, and it’ll be a disaster. You’ll attempt a lasagna, and it’ll come out horrendous. You’ll probably even burn the toast. Some of you might be bad enough to burn boiled water. That’s fine. When you start with AI, your first prompts will be terrible. The output will be generic. It will sound like a bot (because, well, it is). But as you spend time in the "kitchen," you learn the fundamentals. You figure out the seasoning you like. You realize you’re more of an air-fry person than an oven-baked person. You only find your style by spending time in the trenches. You can’t rush the fundamentals, and you definitely can't outsource your taste. ## The Musician's Secret: The Power of Play The best "hits", whether in music, art, or business, don't come from a place of high-pressure ROI. They come from play. When a musician picks up a new instrument, they don't immediately try to write a chart-topping single. They explore. They try new notes. They see what sounds good and what sounds like garbage. Cooking is an art. Dancing is an art. Using AI is an art. If you're a 80s or 90s kid, remember getting a new TV? You didn't read the manual. You grabbed the remote and pressed every single button just to see what they did. You explored the connections. That is exactly how you should be approaching AI right now. Forget about "productivity." Forget about "streamlining." Just press the buttons. ## Why "Moving Fast" is a Trap We’re being told that if we aren’t moving at light speed, we’re dying. But here’s the truth: if everyone is moving at light speed, then everyone is producing the same generic, high-velocity slop. Moving fast without intention is how you kill your brand. It's how you lose the "Human-First" edge that makes people actually trust you. I’ve been around this space for a long time. I remember when Jasper was called Jarvis (before Disney sued them). I’ve given thousands of dollars to Copy.ai and every other "revolutionary" tool that promised to change my life. Most of them are shelfware now. The people who are winning aren't the ones who adopted every tool the fastest. They’re the ones who played with the tech until they found a use case that actually made their lives *less* stressful and *more* eased. ## How to Get Started (The Relaxed Way) If I were starting over today, knowing what I know now, here is exactly what I would do: 1. **Stop watching the "How I made $10k with AI" videos.** They are noise. 2. **Pick one tool.** ChatGPT, Claude, whatever. 3. **Play with it for 15 minutes a day with NO agenda.** Ask it to write a poem about your dog. Ask it to explain quantum physics like you're five. Ask it to help you plan a hypothetical trip to Bora Bora. 4. **Expect to be trash.** Embrace the "burn the toast" phase. 5. **Wait for the click.** Eventually, you’ll be doing a real task and think, *"Wait, I wonder if that tool can help me with this?"* That's the click. That's where the real integration starts. ## The Goal: Ease, Not Just Efficiency At the end of the day, the most important thing is that your use of AI makes your life better, not just busier. It should give you more ease. It should make your creative process more fun. Don't feel pressured. Don't feel rushed. You're not late. Just play. And if it’s sunny outside while you’re reading this? Do yourself a favor. Close the laptop. Go touch some grass. Ciao. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is it too late to learn AI in 2026? Absolutely not. We are still in the 'dial-up' phase of AI development. Most people are just scratching the surface, and being a 'second-mover' allows you to skip the hype and focus on what actually works. ### How do I catch up with AI technology without feeling overwhelmed? Shift from a 'productivity' mindset to a 'play' mindset. Don't look for immediate solutions; just explore the tools like a musician with a new instrument. The use cases will reveal themselves naturally once you lose the pressure. ### What are the risks of being a late adopter of AI? The main risk is perceived anxiety, but the advantage is significant: you avoid the costly mistakes, hallucinations, and 'shelfware' tools that early adopters wasted thousands of dollars on. ### How do I stop feeling AI FOMO? Recognize that most of the "results" you see online are manufactured for views. Real experts are in the trenches playing with the tech, not just shouting about it. Focus on your own curiosity rather than someone else's highlight reel. ### I Built My Own Fitness App with AI and Zero Developer Skills - Here's Exactly How URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-i-built-a-fitness-app-with-ai/ Last updated: 2026-04-20T04:39:51.000Z I've been paying for fitness tracking apps for years. Monthly fees. Features I don't use. Features I wish existed but don't. At some point I thought: what if I just built exactly what I needed? The old answer to that question was: *"You can't. You'd need a developer. That costs serious money."* The new answer? AI changed everything. Here's the full breakdown of how I built **Accumulate**, my personal fitness tracking app, from idea to live, secure, mobile-friendly web app. No developer. No code experience. Just AI tools, some good questions, and a few developer friends who pointed me in the right direction. ## **The Problem: I Don't Have 60-Minute Workout Windows Anymore** My days of blocking out an hour for the gym are done. Life happened. But I can squeeze in exercises throughout the day, 12 reps here, a plank there, a few sets of kettlebell rows between meetings. The apps I was paying for (like Heavy) weren't built for this. They're built for structured programs. I just needed one thing: log what I did, see it add up over time. And I wasn't going to keep paying a monthly SaaS fee for that one feature. So I built my own. ## **What Accumulate Actually Does** Before I get into the build, here's the finished product. The app is simple by design. I hit the **+** button, log an exercise, say, 12 reps of bent-over kettlebell rows with an 18kg kettlebell, and it logs to my daily totals: total reps, total weight moved, and active time for things like planks and holds. Then I can look back at history by day, week, or month. March: 297 reps, 7,283 pounds moved, 1:30 of active time. April so far: 46 reps, 1,737 pounds. It's not glamorous. It's exactly what I need. ![screenshot of accumulate dashboard](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/accumulate-dashboard-screenshot.png) screenshot of accumulate dashboard ## **Step 1: The Brain Dump - Claude Chat** Everything started in **Claude chat**. Not with a perfectly written prompt. With a brain dump. I literally talked into a microphone, explained what I wanted, had it transcribed, and pasted that into Claude. Something like: *"Hey, I've got this idea. I want to build an app to track my health and fitness, mainly exercise routines, here's everything I'm thinking..."* and then rambled for a few hundred words. Claude didn't just say "okay, here's your app." It asked me clarifying questions I hadn't even thought about: - What platform am I targeting first? (Mobile? Desktop? Both?) - What do I want to see on the home screen? - Should the app support multiple users? That last one, multiple users, I hadn't even considered. The answer was easy: no. Just me. But without Claude asking, I might have gotten something way more complicated than I needed. ![Screenshot of the Claude chat conversation showing the back-and-forth Q&A that led to the PRD](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/claude-ai-chat-for-accumulate.png) Screenshot of the Claude chat conversation showing the back-and-forth Q&A that led to the PRD ## **Step 2: The PRD - The Blueprint Everything Depends On** After the Q&A, Claude produced a **PRD file**: a Product Requirements Document. I had no idea what that stood for until a developer friend told me: *"Whatever you do, get a PRD made first. It's the blueprint. Any AI or developer you hand it to will know exactly what to build."* That advice was gold. The PRD captured everything: the purpose of the app, the features, the platform targets, the user flow, all of it. It became the single source of truth for the entire build. ![screenshot of accumulate prd](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/screenshot-of-accumulate-prd.png) screenshot of accumulate prd ## **Step 3: The Design , Google Stitch** I'm not a designer. At all. But I knew I needed something to show Claude Code what the app should *look* like, not just what it should *do*. I used **Google Stitch**, a free, AI-powered design tool. Think of it like Figma, but it does most of the work for you. I put in the goal of what I wanted to achieve and it generated a clean dashboard: total reps for the day, weight moved, active time, the log button, all of it laid out nicely. That screenshot became the design reference for the entire build. ![Screenshot of the Google Stitch-generated design mockup](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/screenshot-of-accumulate-design-build-in-google-stitch.png) Screenshot of the Google Stitch-generated design mockup ## **Step 4: Claude Code - Actually Building the Thing** With the PRD ready and the design screenshot in hand, I moved into **Claude Code**. My first message was direct: *"I want you to view this file and make sure you have everything you need to get this built, because I do not want to go back and forth a million times."* Then I fed it the design screenshot too. Claude Code can see images, which is a big deal, it meant it could understand the visual layout, not just the written specs. From there it was a back-and-forth process. Questions, adjustments, refinements. More back-and-forth than I would have liked (Claude credits add up fast), but it got there. ![screenshot of claude code with accumulate prd](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/screenshot-of-claude-code-with-accumulate-prd.png) screenshot of claude code with accumulate prd ## **Step 5: GitHub - Where the Code Lives** Once the app was built, it needed a home. That home is **GitHub**. I'll be honest, I'm still figuring GitHub out. But the short version is: it's where developers store and manage code. Claude Code helped me push the project there, and from GitHub it could be deployed. ![screenshot of accumulate github repository](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/screenshot-of-accumulate-github.png) screenshot of accumulate github repository ## **Step 6: Cloudflare - Making It Live** **Cloudflare** took the code from GitHub and made it accessible as an actual live URL I could visit on my phone or desktop. This is the part that still kind of blows my mind. I have a real, live web app. Not a prototype. Not a local thing that only runs on my laptop. A real URL I can bookmark, open on mobile, and use every single day. 0:00 /0:19 1× Video usage of accumulate ## **Step 7: Security - The Part Most People Skip** This is where most non-developer builders stop. The app works, it's live, done, right? Not quite. A developer friend warned me: *"People are building stuff, launching it online, and it's not secure. Your data is going out there."* That hit hard. So I took the code to **OpenAI Codex** specifically for a security audit. Not to build anything new, just to poke holes in what I already had. Codex found some weak points and I went back and forth to fix them. The most important fix: **the app can only be accessed with my email address**. You could open the URL in an incognito window right now and you're not getting in unless you have my email. That's a feature Codex helped me lock down. ![codex security check of accumulate app](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2026/04/codex-security-check-of-accumulate-app.png) codex security check of accumulate app ## **The Full Tool Stack** Here's every tool that touched this build: - **Claude Chat**: initial ideation, Q&A, and PRD generation - **Google Stitch**: free AI design tool for creating the visual mockup - **Claude Code**: the actual build, turning the PRD and design into a working app - **GitHub**: code storage and version control - **Cloudflare**: deployment, making the app live and accessible - **OpenAI Codex**: security audit and vulnerability fixes ## **What This Cost Me** A few bucks a month, maybe less. Way less than the SaaS app I was using before for one feature. The bigger investment was time and the willingness to go through the back-and-forth. AI didn't build this in one shot. It took rounds of questions, refinements, and adjustments. But at no point did it require me to know how to code. ## **What This Proves** I'm a marketer. I'm not a developer. I had never built an app before this. And now I have one. It's live. It's mine. It works exactly the way I want it to. And the only people who can access it are the people I allow in. The tools are there. The barrier isn't skill anymore, it's knowing what questions to ask. Get a PRD. Have a clear picture of what you want. Then let the AI do the heavy lifting. Personal apps aren't just for developers anymore. ### The AI Slop Audit: How to Algorithmic-Proof Your Content in 2025 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-ai-slop-audit-how-to-algorithmic-proof-your-content-in-2025/ Last updated: 2026-04-05T18:54:32.000Z Merriam-Webster just named "Slop" the **2025 Word of the Year**. If you're in marketing, that should terrify you. Or, if you're like me, it should be the loudest signal you've heard in a decade. The "Sea of Sameness" isn't coming. It's already here. It’s the millions of "Ultimate Guides" published every hour that say absolutely nothing. It’s the "robust solutions" and the "digital landscapes" that clog up our feeds. It’s slop. And in 2025, if your content sounds like a bot, your brand is already dead. I’m taking you into the trenches with me to show you how to audit your strategy, kill the faceless filler, and build a human-first engine that search engines actually respect. ## Why "Slop" is the Word of the Year (and the Enemy of Your Brand) When a dictionary names a slang term for "low-quality synthetic waste" as its word of the year, the market is screaming. The novelty of AI is gone. People are no longer impressed that a machine can write a 2,000-word blog post. They’re annoyed by it. They’re skeptical of it. They’re starving for a human face. Slop is what happens when you treat AI as a "Publish Button" instead of a "Draft Engine." It’s the result of lazy prompting and zero editing. It’s "empty calories" for the internet. And the cost is higher than you think. Every time you publish a piece of faceless slop, you’re training your audience to ignore you. You're teaching them that your brand has no soul. In 2025, attention is the only currency. You can’t buy attention with a bot. You have to earn it with insight. ## The Google 2025 "Filler" Penalty: Why Your 3,000-Word Guide is Failing For years, the SEO game was simple: write more words than the other guy. Google’s 2025 updates (specifically the June and December Core Updates) have officially killed that game. They've introduced what I call the **"Filler Penalty."** Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines now specifically target "filler content", those long, generic AI introductions that bury the actual answer under layers of "In today’s fast-paced digital world..." Google now frequently ranks an 800-word expert piece over a 3,000-word AI-generated "ultimate guide" that lacks original insight. Why? Because the 800-word piece has **Verified Authority.** Google is looking for "citation patterns", whether real humans are talking about your specific expertise. It’s looking for "First-Party Data", numbers you pulled from your own business, not a rehash of a Statista chart from 2019. If your strategy is to out-produce the bots, you’ve already lost. You can’t out-volume a machine. But a machine can’t out-human you. ## The "Read Aloud" Test: 5 Linguistic Markers That Scream "I'm a Bot" I have a simple rule in my agency: **If you wouldn't say it to a friend over a beer, delete it.** AI has a specific "scent." It writes in perfect grammar with zero personality. It uses words that nobody actually uses in real conversation. If you want to audit your content for slop, look for these 5 linguistic markers. If you see them, you’re leaking trust. ### 1\. The "Delve" Default If I see the word "delve" or "dive into," I immediately stop reading. Real people say "let's look at" or "here's the deal." AI loves the academic pretense of "delving." ### 2\. The "Robust" Reality Vague, corporate-speak like "robust," "comprehensive," or "seamless." These words mean nothing. They are placeholders for actual descriptions. Instead of "robust solution," tell me exactly how it saved a client 14 hours a week. ### 3\. The "Landscape" Lingo "Navigating the complex digital landscape." "In the realm of marketing." This is filler. It adds no value. It’s the hallmark of an LLM trying to sound smart while saying nothing. ### 4\. The Triple Pattern AI loves things in threes. Three benefits. Three examples. Three subpoints. It’s too clean. Humans are messier. We have two points, or four, or a rambling tangent that actually matters. ### 5\. Perfect Parallelism Every bullet point is the same length. Every sentence starts with a verb. It’s too rhythmic. It lacks the "Human Delta", the staccato, the fragments, and the "And" or "But" that starts a sentence for emphasis. **Try this:** Read your last blog post out loud. If you stumble, or if you feel embarrassed saying the words, it’s slop. Kill it. ## The Human Delta: Finding the 10% AI Can't Replicate I’m not anti-AI. I use it every day. But I use it for the 90% that doesn't matter. The **Human Delta** is the 10% that AI will *never* be able to write. This is where the battle for authority is won. The Human Delta consists of four things: 1. **Personal Experience with Specifics:** AI can tell you "how to run a meeting." It can’t tell you about the time you lost a $50k client because you forgot to record the Zoom call. That failure is your superpower. 2. **Proprietary Data:** AI remixes the web. It doesn't have access to your CRM, your client results, or your internal experiments. Use your own numbers. Even small numbers are better than generic ones. 3. **Opinion with Reasoning:** AI is a fence-sitter. It says "Some experts believe X, while others say Y." Real experts have takes. They say "X is bullshit, and here is exactly why." 4. **Current Context:** AI is trained on the past. It doesn't know what happened on Twitter three hours ago. It doesn't know the specific vibe of your industry right now. If your content doesn't have at least one of these in every section, it’s a commodity. And commodities are being replaced by free AI tools. ## From "Publish Button" to "Draft Engine": A New Content Workflow Most people use AI like a "Publish Button." They prompt, they copy, they paste. That is how you build a faceless brand that nobody cares about. In my "Human-First" approach, I use AI as a **"Draft Engine."** Here is the exact process we use in the trenches: ### Step 1: Think by Hand (or Voice) We start with a voice memo or a messy pen-and-paper outline (best achieved when written by hand). We define the "Human Delta" first. What is the one thing we know that a bot doesn't? ### Step 2: The Junior Intern Prompt We feed that raw insight into the AI. We treat it like a junior intern. We say: "Here is my core idea. Give me 5 different ways to structure this. Find 3 statistics that back up my point about X." ### Step 3: The Brutal Feedback Agent We use a second AI agent specifically tasked with being a "Slop Auditor." We tell it: "Find every corporate word in this draft. Flag every sentence that sounds like a textbook. Where am I being generic?" ### Step 4: The Human Polish This is where the real work happens. We rewrite the intro. we add the fragments. We inject the "I" and the "You." We apply the "Read Aloud" test. This process takes more work than hitting "Generate." But the result is content that actually builds a business. ## The Algorithmic-Proof Checklist: Auditing Your 2025 Strategy Before you hit publish on anything this year, run it through this audit. If you can't check every box, you're publishing slop. - **Does it answer the query in the first 200 words?** (No "digital landscape" intros). - **Is there at least one personal story or "in the trenches" failure?** - **Are there specific numbers or proprietary data?** - **Does it pass the "Read Aloud" test?** (Would you say this to a friend?) - **Is the "Human Delta" visible?** (What is the 10% a bot couldn't write?) - **Does it take a clear stand?** (No fence-sitting "some experts say" talk). - **Are the headers scannable but high-insight?** The era of "volume-based" content is over. The era of "trust-based" content is just beginning. If you want to survive the AI flood, stop trying to be more efficient. Start being more human. No fluff. No dancing. Just the real strategy. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is AI slop? AI slop is low-quality, mass-produced synthetic content that adds no value, lacks human insight, and is often generated by users who hit 'publish' without editing. It's the digital equivalent of empty calories, it looks like content but provides no nutritional value to the reader. ### Does AI content hurt SEO in 2025? Google doesn't penalize AI content just for being AI. However, it does penalize 'filler content' and content that lacks original insight. If your AI-generated content is generic, repetitive, and provides no unique value (aka slop), it will be de-ranked under Google's 2025 Quality Standards. ### How to identify AI slop in marketing? The fastest way is the 'Read Aloud' test. If a sentence sounds like something no human would ever say to a friend, it's slop. Look for linguistic markers like 'delve,' 'robust,' 'landscape,' and perfect-yet-boring sentence structures. ### What is the 'Human Delta' in content? The Human Delta is the 10% of content that AI can't replicate: personal experience, proprietary data, unique opinions, and 'in the trenches' failures. It's the difference between a generic how-to guide and a practitioner's field report. ### Are we using AI as a 'Draft Engine' or a 'Publish Button'? A 'Publish Button' approach is where you prompt and post. That's a one-way ticket to slop. A 'Draft Engine' approach uses AI to organize your thoughts, research facts, or suggest outlines, while a human writes the final voice and adds the insight. ### How to prove content is human-written in 2025? You don't prove it with badges; you prove it with proof. Use specific numbers, mention real client results, admit to mistakes you've made, and link to your own source material. Proof of work is the only anti-slop signal that lasts. ### Why I killed a $90K business URL: https://chrislatham.ca/why-i-killed-a-90k-business/ Last updated: 2026-02-28T14:57:30.000Z ## **I walked away from $90,000 a year.** Not because the business failed. Not because clients left. I let it go. In 2020 I started an SEO freelance business in Vancouver. Over five years I grew it to $90K/year, while staying employed full-time. Local businesses, e-commerce clients, Google rankings, the whole thing. Life was genuinely good. Then AI rewrote the rules. When Google started rolling out AI Overview, that big box that pushes organic results below the fold, I saw the writing on the wall. My local clients were never going to do what it takes to win in the new landscape: Reddit presence, YouTube content, high-friction, always-on content creation. They didn't have the budget. They didn't have the time. And I wasn't going to keep taking their money knowing the ROI was gone. So I ended it. All of it. Told every client to go run paid ads. Referred them out. Said goodbye. **It cost me $90,000 a year to do the right thing.** It's also the decision I'm most proud of. Now I'm rebuilding from scratch, in public, pivoting into video-first content with a new business called Expert Insight Sessions. I'm documenting every step here, live, as it happens. The wins, the mistakes, the weird ideas I'm testing at 11pm. This is Stream 001\. This is Issue 001. Let's go. ## **① The Employeepreneur Advantage** Everyone online tells you the same story: build your side business until it replaces your income, then quit and go all-in. I'm glad I didn't listen. Being employed while running a business isn't a stepping stone, it's a strategic position. The bank loves you. You get enterprise-scale learning *and* boots-on-the-ground experimentation at the same time. You can take real risks without desperation driving every decision. I call it the Employeepreneur model. Not a consolation prize. A deliberate choice. And I think it's the right model for a lot of people who have the drive to build but don't want to bet the mortgage on it. More on this in a future post, I'm planning to go deep on the concept. But it's a core thread running through everything I'm doing. ## **② The Wu-Tang Content Strategy** RZA's genius wasn't just the music, it was the distribution (RZA was the leader and creator of The Wu-Tang Clan). Nine artists. Nine different record labels. Each label pushing the Wu-Tang logo with their own marketing budget, their own tours, their own reach. One brand, everywhere, all year, without RZA paying for all of it himself. That's exactly the model I'm running for Expert Insight Sessions. One client interview per month. One piece of source material. Repurposed into blog posts, newsletters, LinkedIn clips, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts. The content does the touring. The client only shows up once. Cream gets the money. Wu-Tang is for the kids. And one interview should last a full month. ## **③ Skip the Sales Call. Send a 5-Minute Video.** Nobody actually wants to book a 60-minute discovery call. They click the button, they dread it, then half of them ghost you anyway. I'm testing something different. When someone raises their hand on an ad, I send them a personalized 5-minute video, pain point, solution, process, pricing, next step, everything they need to decide, in one short watch. No scheduling anxiety. No pitch deck. No hour-long dance. If they're in, they click forward. If they have questions, we jump on a 15-minute call to close it out. That's it. It's a crazy idea, maybe. But I'd rather send 50 five-minute videos than sit through 50 glazed-over discovery calls. We'll see what the data says. --- This is Stream 001 of Building in Public, a weekly Sunday 8am PST livestream where I'm building Expert Insight Sessions live, in real time. No polish. No highlight reel. Just the actual work. If you want to follow the full journey, watch the first stream here: **→ \[**[**Watch Stream 001**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekqB7214cvQ&t=19s&pp=0gcJCb4KAYcqIYzv&ref=chrislatham.ca)**\]** See you next Sunday at 8am PST. — Chris *P.S. .— If you know someone who's been sitting on business idea but can't figure out how to make it work alongside their day job, forward this to them. The Employeepreneur conversation needs to happen more.* ### Nobody's Clicking Anymore: So What the Hell Are We Optimizing For? URL: https://chrislatham.ca/nobodys-clicking-anymore/ Last updated: 2026-01-09T14:57:49.000Z # Here's the uncomfortable truth nobody in marketing wants to say out loud: **people have stopped clicking.** Not because your CTAs suck. Not because your landing pages are broken. But because they're getting what they need without ever visiting your site. I saw a [post from Amanda Natividad](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7414697334942576640?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs%5FupdateV2%3A%28urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7414697334942576640%2CFEED%5FDETAIL%2CEMPTY%2CDEFAULT%2Cfalse%29&ref=chrislatham.ca) recently that hit me like a ton of bricks. She broke down some research showing that AI Overviews in search results have absolutely **tanked** click-through rates. We're talking a 61% drop in just a few months. And it got me thinking: **if nobody's clicking anymore, what the hell are we even optimizing for?** People are reading AI summaries and calling it a day. They're bouncing to YouTube for a quick explainer. They're checking Reddit threads. They're asking ChatGPT. They're doing literally everything *except* clicking through to your carefully crafted landing page. The game has changed. And most of us are still playing by the old rules. ## The Funnel Is Dead (Or At Least on Life Support) If clicks are dying, then we need to ask ourselves a hard question: **how do we actually drive action?** The traditional playbook went something like this: show up in search, get the click, optimize the funnel, track everything, convert. But that playbook is broken. Even when people *do* click, attribution is a mess. Social platforms strip referral data. Cross-device tracking is sketchy at best. And let's be honest, most of the energy we're spending on building the "perfect funnel" could probably be spent doing something that actually moves the needle. I'm not saying funnels don't matter. But the obsession with tracking every micro-conversion and perfecting every step? That energy needs to go somewhere else. ## The New Game: Show Up Where They Already Are Think about old-school advertising for a second. You couldn't force someone to buy by cold-calling them every week. But you *could* put your billboard on their daily commute. Run your ad in the paper they read every morning. Sponsor the local sports team they follow. **That's where we're headed again.** If people aren't clicking search results but they *are* watching YouTube videos? You need a video on YouTube with your message. If they're digging through Reddit threads for real answers? You need to be part of that conversation. If they're asking their LLM of choice? Your brand better be one of the sources it's pulling from. This isn't about being everywhere. It's about being **everywhere your audience actually is,** with the same consistent message, so when they're ready to move, you're the obvious choice. ## What This Actually Means for You Stop chasing clicks. Start chasing **recall**. Start chasing **top-of-mind awareness**. Start chasing being the brand people think of first when they're finally ready to act. Here's what that looks like: - **Consistent messaging across platforms** \> perfect funnel optimization - **Being present where your audience is** \> obsessing over attribution - **Capturing the right attention** \> casting the widest net possible You can't force someone to buy. But you can make damn sure you're visible wherever they're looking for answers. ## The Uncomfortable Truth Marketing isn't getting easier; it's getting harder. The brands that win won't be the ones with the best funnels or the slickest attribution models. They'll be the ones who figured out how to stay relevant when nobody's clicking anymore. They'll stop optimizing for traffic and start optimizing for **memory**. So here's the real question: **Are you optimizing for clicks, or are you optimizing to be remembered?** Because in 2026, only one of those strategies actually works. ### Why Video Will Crush Written Content (Even If You Hate Being On Camera) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/why-video-will-crush-written-content-even-if-you-hate-being-on-camera/ Last updated: 2025-12-27T15:28:24.000Z ## Why Video Is the Smartest Business Move You're Not Making (And Your Competitors Won't Either) Everyone wants to know why I'm all-in on video. Like, *obsessively* all-in. And I get it, it seems counterintuitive. Written content is easier. It's faster. You can knock out a blog post in an afternoon, maybe outsource it to a writer, slap some SEO keywords on it, and call it a day. But here's the thing: > **Easy doesn't equal effective anymore.** And if you're still betting your entire content strategy on written content in 2025, you're playing a game that's already rigged against you. Let me explain. ## The Netflix Lesson Nobody Talks About Think about Netflix for a second. When Blockbuster was king, the entire video rental industry was built on one thing: late fees. That's how they made their money. Return your movie late? Pay up. Netflix looked at that system and said, "What if we just... didn't?" No late fees. No driving to the store. No awkward interactions with the clerk judging your rom-com choices. And Blockbuster? They laughed. They thought Netflix was insane. Why would you give up your main revenue stream? But Netflix wasn't trying to play Blockbuster's game. They were creating a new one entirely. **That's what video is for your business.** Everyone else is still playing the written content game, fighting over the same keywords, publishing the same listicles, trying to out-SEO each other into oblivion. Meanwhile, video lets you opt out of that entire circus and build something completely different. ## The AI Problem (Or, Why Your "Easy" Strategy Just Got Way Harder) Here's the uncomfortable truth: Written content used to be hard. You needed skill. You needed talent. You needed someone who could actually *write*. Now? ChatGPT can spit out a 1,500-word blog post in thirty seconds. And yeah, I know, "AI content isn't good!" "Google will penalize it!" "People can tell!" Maybe. But here's what's actually happening: **the perceived value of written content is cratering.** Because when everyone thinks they can do it themselves (or get AI to do it for them), suddenly nobody wants to pay for it. Copywriters are scrambling to prove their worth. Content agencies are slashing rates. Businesses are wondering why they should pay someone $500 for a blog when they can get something "good enough" for free. But video? Video still has barriers. Not everyone knows how to record. Not everyone knows how to edit. Not everyone is comfortable on camera. And crucially, **not everyone is willing to put in the work.** Which means if you do? You're immediately in a different league. ## Doing the Hard Thing Nobody Else Wants to Do You know what separates successful businesses from everyone else? It's not talent. It's not luck. It's not even having the best product. **It's doing the hard thing nobody else wants to do.** If you're an athlete, it's showing up to practice every single day. Going to bed early when your friends are out. Sticking to the routine when it's boring and repetitive, and you'd rather be doing literally anything else. In business? Same principle. Everyone wants to take shortcuts. Everyone wants the hack. Everyone wants the "one weird trick" that gets them results without the grind. But the reality is, the hard stuff is *always* what gets you the win in the long-term. And right now, video is the hard stuff. ## Why Video Builds What Written Content Can't Here's what you lose when you only do written content: **You lose the human connection.** People don't form relationships with blog posts. They don't trust a headline. They don't feel like they *know* you because they read your LinkedIn article. But put your face on camera? Let people hear your voice, see your expressions, watch you get passionate about something? That's when the magic happens. That's when someone goes from "this is interesting information" to "I want to work with *this person*." You can't fake that in a blog post. You can't manufacture it with clever copywriting. Video gives you something written content will never deliver: **a relationship before the sale.** ## The Great Irony of "I'm Not Good On Camera" I hear this all the time. "I'm not good on camera." "I don't know what to say." "I freeze up." And I always ask the same question: **Can you talk to a customer?** Because if you can have a conversation with a client, if you can explain your service at a conference, or talk someone through your product over coffee, then congratulations, you can do video. It's literally the same thing. You're just talking to a camera instead of a person. Same energy. Same expertise. Same passion for what you do. 💡 The barrier isn't skill. The barrier is ****willingness.** And that's exactly why it works. Because when everyone else says, "I can't do video," and you say, "I'll figure it out," you've already won half the battle. ## What This Actually Means for You Look, I'm not saying written content is dead. It's not. But I *am* saying that if you're building a business in 2025 and beyond, you need to be thinking about how you're going to stand out in a world where everyone has access to the same tools. And video is the answer. Because while your competitors are outsourcing blog posts to freelancers or feeding prompts into ChatGPT, you're building something they can't replicate: **A real, human connection with your audience.** You're showing up. You're putting your face out there. You're doing the thing that's uncomfortable, hard, and requires actual effort. And that effort compounds. Every video you make gets easier. Every time you hit record, you get more comfortable. Every piece of content you create builds on the last one. Before you know it, you're not just "doing video." You're the person in your industry who *gets* video. Who uses it effectively. Who builds trust and authority in a way nobody else can match. ## The Bottom Line I'm all-in on video because I believe in doing the hard thing. I believe in building skills that can't be outsourced, automated, or replicated by AI. I believe in creating content that actually connects with people, not just feeds the algorithm. And I believe that in five years, the businesses still relying solely on written content are going to be wondering why they're invisible. So yeah, video is harder. It takes more time. More energy. More vulnerability. But that's exactly why it works. And that's exactly why I'm betting everything on it. ### AI Marketing Is Just Old Marketing With a New Price Tag URL: https://chrislatham.ca/ai-marketing-is-just-old-marketing-with-a-new-price-tag/ Last updated: 2025-12-15T01:53:50.000Z **Is it just me, or does "AI marketing" feel like the same tired playbook with a fresh coat of paint?** Everywhere I look, agencies are selling "AI visibility," "AI optimization," and "AI strategy" like it's some brand-new secret sauce. But here's the thing, it's not new. It's just marketing. Good old-fashioned, been-around-forever marketing. Except now it comes with buzzwords and a premium price tag. We've seen this movie before. Dot-com bubble. NFTs. Crypto. The hype machine kicks into gear, everyone rushes to sell you the "secret recipe," and most people end up holding an empty bag. So let's cut through the noise and talk about what AI *actually* does, and why most of what's being sold right now is just repackaged BS. ## **How AI Actually Works (In Plain English)** AI models, also called large language models, learn from two main sources: **1\. Training data (foundational knowledge):** Think of this like K-12 education. All that information gets locked into long-term memory. If your brand was mentioned across enough websites and talked about in enough contexts, the AI already knows about you. It absorbed that info while scanning the web. **2\. Real-time web search:** If the AI doesn't know something, it searches the web in real time. That means it's pulling from blogs, forums, review sites, social media, videos, whatever's out there. Here's the uncomfortable truth: **if no one online is talking about your brand, the AI won't either.** And it's not because your website isn't "AI optimized." It's because you're invisible. ## **So What's the Strategy?** Let me save you thousands of dollars and endless Zoom calls with agencies trying to sell you a quick fix: > **You need to do real marketing.** You know, the classic stuff: - Build a brand that people actually talk about - Show up on different platforms - Offer something worth sharing - Provide good service that gets people talking - Promote your customers and showcase their wins - Call your leads back (seriously, do this) - Make noise in your industry - Host an in-person event - Sponsor a local team All of this is what AI sees. And it's the part most businesses skip in favor of some flashy tool. ## **This Reminds Me of 2010s Instagram Hype** Remember when Instagram was booming, and everyone was obsessed with "optimizing hashtags," "posting at the right time," and "curating the perfect feed"? It was just another way to do marketing. The platforms change. The fundamentals of marketing stay the same. ## **The Million-Dollar Question** What if, instead of chasing "AI strategies," we all just doubled down on good old-fashioned marketing? - Call your leads back - Improve your product - Get people talking about you - Post grade-A content across various platforms - Share the wins and stories of your customers - Show up where your customers are spending time, online and offline Because, whether it's Google, ChatGPT, or some AI tool we haven't heard of yet, they're all just gathering information based on what's already out there. ## **What About All Those Technical Optimizations?** Yes, technical optimizations have their place. Things like embeddings, RAG, schema, and semantic SEO do matter. But **only after you've done the basics.** If you're already crushing it, killing it with your marketing, visibility, and customer engagement, then sure, maybe those extra two or three drops of juice from the lemon are worth it. But should you be spending thousands of dollars trying to squeeze that last drop before you've even peeled the lemon? That's where I start to question the ROI of these "AI optimization strategies." How many of us actually have all our ducks in a row? Unless you're Red Bull, who absolutely crush their marketing, I think most of us would benefit more from fixing the fundamentals. ## **Here's What I'm Trying to Say** What's being sold right now isn't new. It's the same old marketing, dressed up in fresh, spiffy AI clothes. And if you're already doing what you should be doing, building relationships, creating visibility, delivering value, then the AI will catch up to you. So before you jump into the next big "AI visibility product," ask yourself: > **Is this really new, or just old marketing with a fancier invoice?** I'm not saying I have it all figured out. I'm genuinely open to being proven wrong in the comments. But from where I'm standing, good old-fashioned marketing is the foundation. Everything else? Just a cherry on top of a finished cake. ### Why AI Avatars Might Be Killing Your Authority (And What to Do Instead) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/why-ai-avatars-might-be-killing-your-authority/ Last updated: 2025-11-15T11:38:21.000Z Video of Chris explaining why AI Avatars are for cowards ## 🤖 The Illusion of Perfection: Why Flaws Actually Build Trust Let’s start with a mind-bender: **perfect equals suspicious**. Why? Because **vulnerability signals authenticity**. When you hear a seasoned pro say, “I used to struggle with this,” your brain goes *ding ding ding,* this person is real. But AI avatars? They’re *programmed for perfection.* No stumbles. No stories. No soul. And that’s the exact reason they backfire when it comes to building real trust. > ✨ **Pro Tip:** A 2025 study published in the ACR Journal found that consumers are *more likely to trust* brands that are transparent. ## 👣 Authority Is Built in the Trenches, Not in a Studio Let’s be real. When you think about the experts you respect, odds are: - You've seen them evolve. - You’ve witnessed them bomb a talk and come back better. - You trust them because they've earned your trust through *visible growth*. That growth is the real brand equity. And here’s the kicker: **AI avatars skip the struggle**. They jump straight to the polished final product, skipping the backstory, the bloopers, and the breakthroughs. That shortcut kills credibility. > “Your audience wants to *grow with you*, not just consume your conclusions.” ## 🧠 The Psychological Bombshell AI Avatar Companies Don't Talk About Alright, here’s the part that really gets under my skin… Our brains are literally *wired* to trust **in-person human signals**, micro-expressions, vocal inflection, and body language. These are *primitive trust triggers* baked into our evolution. AI avatars? They can't replicate that. Even the most advanced AI-generated voice can’t deliver: - That slight nervous laugh - The sparkle in your eye when you're excited - The moment you pause to *think* before answering ## 🎤 Real Opportunities Happen in Real Rooms You don’t become an industry leader by uploading pre-scripted AI videos. You do it by: - Speaking at events - Hosting live Q&As - Building genuine strategic partnerships - Having hallway convos at conferences These are *IRL trust deposits* that build your long-term authority. Sure, AI might help with scaling content. But when it starts **replacing** your voice, your story, your presence, that’s when you’re trading authenticity for efficiency. And that trade-off? It’s expensive. ## 🧱 Building Authority Is a Rep-by-Rep Game Let’s keep it 100: There are no shortcuts. Building your brand authority takes: 1. **Showing up on video** with your real voice 2. **Sharing your evolution**, the good, bad, and ugly 3. **Doubling down** on human connection Want to scale your brand? Cool. Just don’t scale yourself *out of it*. Because while others are out here chasing automation and perfection, *you* can win by being relentlessly human. ## 🚀 The Low Down on Why You Should Stay Human | AI Avatars | Real Human Presence | | ---------------------------------- | --------------------------- | | Programmed perfection | Authentic vulnerability | | No journey, just the end product | Shared evolution over time | | Efficient, but emotionally sterile | Messy, but deeply memorable | | Scalable | Trust-building | **So, what’s your move?** Ready to build your authority brick-by-brick instead of outsourcing it to a digital clone? ### The LinkedIn Authority Paradox: Why Most Professionals Are Posting Wrong (And the 3-Step Fix) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-linkedin-authority-paradox/ Last updated: 2025-11-15T11:37:12.000Z There's a massive disconnect happening on LinkedIn right now, and it's costing professionals serious opportunities. On one side, you've got LinkedIn crushing every other social platform with a 6.50% average engagement rate, absolutely demolishing [Facebook (5.07%), TikTok (4.86%), and Instagram (1.16%)](https://buffer.com/resources/average-engagement-rate/?ref=chrislatham.ca). On the other side, you've got professionals posting like they're at a casual networking happy hour instead of building genuine authority in front of 1.2 billion members. The result? The platform with the highest engagement and the most B2B decision-makers is being used by professionals who are afraid to actually demonstrate their professional expertise. It's like having access to the world's largest professional conference that never ends, and using it to share breakfast photos and motivational quotes. ![LinkedIn Potential vs Misuse](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/LinkedIn-Potential-vs-Misuse-1024x683.webp) ## The LinkedIn Authority Paradox: Why Everyone's Getting It Wrong Here's what's driving this paradox: LinkedIn has become the most engaging social platform on the planet, yet most professionals are using it in ways that actually hurt their authority instead of building it. ![Professional Insights vs motivational fluff](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Professional-Insights-vs-motivational-fluff-1024x683.webp) The numbers tell an incredible story. **LinkedIn's Engagement Dominance:** - LinkedIn: 6.50% engagement rate - Facebook: 5.07% engagement rate - TikTok: 4.86% engagement rate - Instagram: 1.16% engagement rate But here's the kicker: while LinkedIn's engagement jumped from 6.00% in January 2024 to 8.01% in January 2025, most professionals are still posting content that could appear on any social platform. Meanwhile, the data is screaming at us about what actually works: - 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for lead generation - 40% of B2B marketers rate LinkedIn as the most effective channel for driving high-quality leads - 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing - [33% of B2B decision-makers use LinkedIn to research purchases](https://engage-ai.co/linkedin-statistics-facts-b2b-business-owners-should-know-2024/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - 50% of business users use LinkedIn to make purchase decisions Notice what's missing from that list? Generic motivational content and personal life updates. ## The Facebook Syndrome: Why Professionals Are Scared to Be Professional Most professionals suffer from what we call the "Facebook Syndrome", this weird belief that professional content has to be boring, corporate, or overly formal. So instead of sharing their expertise, they default to: - Motivational quotes over stock photos - Generic "lessons learned" posts that could apply to anyone - Random personal updates that have nothing to do with their field - Vague "thoughts on leadership" without specific insights This approach isn't just ineffective, it's counterproductive. When you post generic content, you're training the algorithm (and your audience) that you don't have anything valuable to say about your actual area of expertise. The professionals who are winning on LinkedIn understand something crucial: LinkedIn rewards expertise, not personality alone. ## The Authority Building Opportunity (That Most People Are Missing) LinkedIn is literally handing professionals the biggest authority-building opportunity in business history, and most are walking right past it. Consider the scale: - 1.2 billion members globally - 1.77 billion monthly visits - A quarter of users interact with brand content daily - [81% of B2B buyers share business-related content with their LinkedIn network](https://www.searchwarrant.ca/linkedin-b2b-marketing/?ref=chrislatham.ca) This isn't just a social media platform, it's the world's largest professional conference that never ends. Unlike expensive industry events where you might meet 50 people over three days, LinkedIn gives you access to every decision-maker in your industry, every single day. **But here's the catch:** they're not looking for your thoughts on work-life balance or your weekend updates. They're looking for insights, expertise, and solutions to their actual business problems. The professionals who understand this are building incredible authority, consultants becoming industry thought leaders in 18 months, executives becoming the go-to experts in their field, and business owners turning their LinkedIn presence into their most effective sales channel. ## The 3-Step Fix: How to Actually Build Authority on LinkedIn After analyzing hundreds of successful LinkedIn authority builders, here's a simple 3-step framework that works consistently. ### Step 1: The Expertise Audit (Stop Being Everything to Everyone) The first mistake most professionals make is trying to be interesting to everyone. They post about leadership, productivity, industry trends, personal development, and whatever else they think might get engagement. This approach is backwards. The most successful LinkedIn users pick 2-3 specific areas of expertise and become known for those topics. That's it. **The Expertise Audit Process:** Ask yourself these three questions: 1. What do people come to me for advice about? 2. What problems do I solve better than most people? 3. What topics could I talk about for hours without preparation? The intersection of these three answers is your LinkedIn sweet spot. ![LinkedIn Sweet Spot venn diagram](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/LinkedIn-Sweet-Spot-venn-diagram-1024x682.webp) Instead of posting about "leadership lessons," get specific: "How to run effective remote team meetings when half your team is in different time zones." Instead of "productivity tips," try "The project management mistake that's costing your agency 15 hours per week." The more specific you get, the more valuable you become to the right people. **Reality Check:** Look at your last 20 LinkedIn posts. How many of them demonstrate specific expertise that only you could share? If the answer is less than 15, you've found your problem. ### Step 2: The Video-First Authority Strategy (Because the Algorithm Loves It) Here's a stat that should change how you think about LinkedIn content: users are creating 2x more videos than other content formats, and video gets the most shares on the platform. But LinkedIn video isn't about production value, it's about expertise demonstration. The most effective LinkedIn videos aren't polished marketing pieces. They're professionals sharing insights, walking through problems, or explaining concepts in their area of expertise. ![video benefits on linkedin](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/video-benefits-on-linkedin-1024x683.webp) **The Video-First Authority Framework:** **Week 1:** Share a specific insight or lesson learned - "Here's what I learned from analyzing 50 failed product launches..." - "The biggest mistake I see companies make with their pricing strategy..." **Week 2:** Answer a common question in your field - "Someone asked me about X, so here's my take..." - "I keep getting asked about Y, so let me break it down..." **Week 3:** Break down a current industry trend or news - "Everyone's talking about Z, but here's what they're missing..." - "Here's what this new regulation actually means for your business..." **Week 4:** Share a behind-the-scenes look at your process - "Here's how I approach \[specific challenge\]..." - "Walk through my framework for \[specific outcome\]..." The key is consistency and specificity. You're not trying to go viral, you're trying to build a reputation as someone who consistently shares valuable insights in your field. **Resource Alert:** These YouTube tutorials break down successful LinkedIn video approaches: - [The Best LinkedIn Growth Strategy For 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBlvV0W4bDc&ref=chrislatham.ca) - [How To Build Your Online Authority on LinkedIn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1CCKxIC3MY&ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Step 3: The Conversation Catalyst (Turn Engagement Into Authority) Most professionals post content and then disappear. They treat LinkedIn like a broadcasting platform instead of a conversation platform. The real authority building happens in the comments, the DMs, and the follow-up conversations that your content sparks. ![Linkedin comments to DMs tin-can telephone](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Linkedin-comments-to-DMs-tin-can-telephone.webp) **The Conversation Catalyst Strategy:** **Before you post:** End every piece of content with a specific question that invites expertise sharing, not just opinions. Instead of: "What do you think?" Try: "What's been your experience with \[specific situation\]?" Instead of: "Agree or disagree?" Try: "How have you handled \[specific challenge\] in your organization?" **After you post:** Spend 30 minutes engaging with every comment. Not just liking them, actually responding with follow-up questions or additional insights. **The follow-up:** When someone shares a particularly insightful comment, send them a DM: "Really appreciated your perspective on \[topic\]. I'd love to hear more about \[specific aspect they mentioned\]." This approach signals to the algorithm that your content is generating meaningful engagement (which means more reach), and positions you as someone who's genuinely interested in learning from others, not just broadcasting opinions. ## The LinkedIn Content Performance Matrix: What Actually Works ![LinkedIn Strategy Monitor dashboard](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/LinkedIn-Strategy-Monitor-dashboard.webp) After analyzing thousands of successful LinkedIn posts, here's what actually drives engagement and authority building: | **Content Type** | **Engagement Rate** | **Authority Building Score** | **Best Use Case** | | ------------------------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------ | | Industry Insights | 8.2% | High | Establishing expertise | | Behind-the-Scenes Process | 7.8% | High | Demonstrating competence | | Trend Analysis | 7.1% | Medium-High | Thought leadership | | Case Study Breakdowns | 6.9% | High | Proving results | | Q&A/Problem Solving | 6.5% | High | Building trust | | Professional Stories | 5.8% | Medium | Humanizing expertise | | Industry News Commentary | 5.2% | Medium | Staying relevant | | Motivational Content | 4.1% | Low | General engagement | | Personal Life Updates | 2.8% | Very Low | Personal branding | *Note: Authority Building Score based on correlation with business inquiries and speaking opportunities* The pattern is clear: content that demonstrates specific expertise consistently outperforms generic content, both in engagement and in business outcomes. ## The Time Investment Reality: Why Most Professionals Give Up The uncomfortable truth about LinkedIn authority building is that it takes time, and most professionals give up before they see results. The typical timeline: **Months 1-2:** Posting consistently, but engagement is low. Questioning whether it's worth it. **Months 3-4:** Beginning to see traction. A few industry peers start engaging regularly. **Months 5-6:** First business inquiry that directly traces back to LinkedIn content. **Months 7-12:** Recognition as a thought leader. Speaking opportunities, collaboration requests, and premium business opportunities start flowing. Most professionals quit somewhere between months 2 and 4, right before the momentum kicks in. ![The long-game payoff of being on LinkedIn](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-long-game-payoff-of-being-on-LinkedIN.webp) This is where having a systematic approach becomes crucial. Instead of trying to come up with content ideas from scratch every week, successful LinkedIn authority builders develop systems that make consistent posting sustainable. ## The 60-Minute Authority Building Solution The most successful professionals don't spend hours creating LinkedIn content. They spend 60 minutes once a month having strategic conversations about their expertise, and those conversations become the foundation for weeks of authority-building content. The challenge isn't knowledge, it's extraction and presentation. You already have the expertise, the insights, the frameworks, the lessons learned, and the solutions to common problems in your field. When you sit down for a guided conversation about your expertise, you naturally share insights, explain concepts, and provide solutions in a way that's authentic and valuable. No staring at blank pages, no writer's block, no wondering what to post about. ![content repurposing system](https://burgergelato.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/content-repurposing-system.webp) That 60-minute conversation can be transformed into: - 4-6 video posts for LinkedIn - 8-12 shorter clips for different platforms - Blog content that supports your LinkedIn strategy - Speaking presentation materials - Email newsletter content The key is having someone who knows how to ask the right questions to extract your most valuable insights and present them in a way that builds authority. If you're tired of the content creation hamster wheel and want to explore how a strategic, guided approach could accelerate your LinkedIn authority building, it might be worth having a conversation about how Expert Insight Sessions could work for your specific expertise and goals. ## The Algorithm Advantage: Why LinkedIn Rewards Expertise LinkedIn's algorithm is specifically designed to surface expertise and professional insights. Unlike other social platforms that prioritize entertainment or personal content, LinkedIn's algorithm looks for signals that indicate professional value: - Comments that include industry-specific terminology - Shares from people with relevant job titles - Engagement from users who typically interact with professional content - Time spent reading (which correlates with content depth and value) When you consistently share expertise-based content, you're not fighting the algorithm, you're working with it. The data backs this up: professional content on LinkedIn sees 2-3x higher reach than personal content, and posts that include industry insights get 40% more engagement than generic business content. ## The Network Effect: How Authority Compounds LinkedIn authority building compounds over time. When you consistently share valuable insights in your field, three things happen: 1. **Peer Recognition:** Other experts in your field start noticing and engaging with your content 2. **Algorithm Amplification:** LinkedIn's algorithm begins showing your content to more people in your industry 3. **Opportunity Attraction:** Decision-makers and opportunity creators start reaching out directly This creates the "Authority Flywheel." Each piece of valuable content you share makes the next piece more likely to be seen and engaged with. Each new connection you make through your content expands your potential reach. Each opportunity that comes your way increases your credibility and authority. Successful professionals don't just post content, they build systems for consistent expertise sharing that compound over time. ## The Measurement Framework: Tracking Real Authority Building Most professionals measure LinkedIn success wrong. They focus on vanity metrics like likes and comments instead of authority indicators. Here's how to measure real LinkedIn authority building: **Immediate Indicators (0-3 months):** - Quality of comments (are people asking follow-up questions?) - Profile views from relevant industry professionals - Connection requests from potential clients or collaborators - Direct messages about your content **Medium-term Indicators (3-9 months):** - Speaking invitation requests - Media interview requests - Collaboration opportunities with industry peers - Inbound business inquiries **Long-term Indicators (9+ months):** - Industry recognition and awards - Board or advisory position offers - Premium pricing acceptance - Thought leadership platform invitations The goal isn't to become LinkedIn famous, it's to become the go-to expert in your field. ## The Common Mistakes That Kill LinkedIn Authority The most common mistakes that sabotage LinkedIn authority-building efforts: **Mistake #1: The Spray and Pray Approach:** Posting about everything instead of focusing on specific areas of expertise. This confuses your audience and dilutes your authority. **Mistake #2: The Broadcasting Trap:** Posting content without engaging in conversations. Authority is built through dialogue, not monologue. **Mistake #3: The Perfection Paralysis:** Waiting for the "perfect" post instead of consistently sharing valuable insights. Consistency beats perfection every time. **Mistake #4: The Generic Content Curse:** Sharing insights that could come from anyone instead of leveraging your unique experience and perspective. **Mistake #5: The Platform Confusion:** Treating LinkedIn like other social media platforms instead of recognizing its unique professional context. **Mistake #6: The Impatience Problem:** Expecting immediate results instead of understanding that authority building is a long-term strategy. ## The Future of LinkedIn Authority Building What's coming in the LinkedIn landscape: **Video Will Dominate Even More:** With users already creating 2x more video content, and shorter videos (under 15 seconds) showing the highest engagement, professionals who master video-first authority building will have significant advantages. **AI Will Make Authenticity Premium:** As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, authentic expertise and personal insights will become even more valuable. **Niche Expertise Will Win:** As the platform becomes more crowded, professionals who establish authority in specific niches will outperform generalists. **Community Building Will Matter:** Professionals who build engaged communities around their expertise will see the highest returns. The opportunity is massive, but the window for easy authority building is closing. Professionals who start building systematic, expertise-based LinkedIn strategies today will be the recognized authorities tomorrow. ## Your Next Steps: From LinkedIn Lurker to Authority Here's your action plan: **This Week:** - Complete your expertise audit (identify your 2-3 authority topics) - Review your last 20 LinkedIn posts and identify the expertise gaps - Plan your first expertise-based video post **This Month:** - Implement the Video-First Authority Strategy - Start using the Conversation Catalyst approach - Begin measuring authority indicators, not just engagement metrics **This Quarter:** - Develop a systematic approach to consistent expertise sharing - Build relationships with other authorities in your field - Track business outcomes from your LinkedIn authority-building efforts You already have the expertise. You already know things that would be valuable to your industry peers and potential clients. The only question is whether you're going to share that expertise strategically or keep it to yourself. The LinkedIn Authority Paradox is real: the platform with the highest engagement and the most decision-makers is being underutilized by the professionals who could benefit most from it. The professionals who understand this and take action will build incredible authority. Those who don't will continue wondering why their LinkedIn presence isn't generating the opportunities they deserve. Your industry is waiting for your insights. LinkedIn is ready to amplify them. The only thing missing is your commitment to showing up consistently as the expert you already are. ## References - Buffer - Engagement in 2025: Where Social Media Users Are Actually Interacting: [https://buffer.com/resources/average-engagement-rate/](https://buffer.com/resources/average-engagement-rate/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - Sprout Social - 28 LinkedIn Statistics That Marketers Must Know in 2025: [https://sproutsocial.com/insights/linkedin-statistics/](https://sproutsocial.com/insights/linkedin-statistics/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - Engage AI - LinkedIn Statistics and Facts B2B Business Owners Should Know: [https://engage-ai.co/linkedin-statistics-facts-b2b-business-owners-should-know-2024/](https://engage-ai.co/linkedin-statistics-facts-b2b-business-owners-should-know-2024/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - Search Warrant - 6 Reasons LinkedIn is Great for B2B Marketing: [https://www.searchwarrant.ca/linkedin-b2b-marketing/](https://www.searchwarrant.ca/linkedin-b2b-marketing/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - LinkedIn Business Solutions: [https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions](https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Is Marketing Built to Protect Jobs or Serve Customers? URL: https://chrislatham.ca/marketing-job-protection-vs-customer-value/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T08:54:21.000Z > Here’s a hot take: **Most modern advertising isn’t built for customers, it’s built to protect marketing jobs.** I know, ouch. But hear me out. ![A marketer standing between a customer and a boss each pulling them in opposite directions](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/A-marketer-standing-between-a-customer-and-a-boss-each-pulling-them-in-opposite-directions.webp) We’ve become so obsessed with attribution, metrics, and dashboards that we’ve forgotten what made ads great in the first place: they made people *feel* something. These days? We’re not crafting stories that stick; we’re chasing clicks we can screenshot for the QBR. It’s not that the tools are broken. It’s that we’re using them to serve fear instead of vision. And as someone who’s spent the past 5-6 years inside the house of marketing, I’m starting to wonder: are we optimizing for what actually matters, or just for what’s easiest to justify? ## The Rise of the ROI Safety Net: *Marketing That Defends, Not Inspires* I’m still relatively new to this industry, but there’s something I’ve always found odd. Why does it feel like everyone in marketing is chasing what’s easiest to measure, even if it’s not what actually works? When I first got into the field, I assumed advertising was about connecting with customers. Learning what makes them tick. Crafting stories that stick in their heads for years. But what I walked into felt different. Budgets are leaning heavily toward what’s closest to the purchase. Campaigns are sliced up by channel silos. Success is defined by metrics that are easy to defend, not necessarily meaningful. ![A boardroom scene where marketers present a bar graph to a robot](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/A-boardroom-scene-where-marketers-present-a-bar-graph-to-a-robot.webp) At first, I thought, *“Maybe I just don’t get it yet.”* But now I’m wondering if the real issue is that we’ve gotten so good at tracking performance that we’ve stopped asking whether we’re building anything lasting. I mean, when did it become normal for TOFU campaigns to be an afterthought? Why are brand efforts often the first to get cut when budgets tighten? And how did we get to a place where ads need to justify their existence within 30 days? I’m not trying to stir the pot. I genuinely want to understand. Because to me, this feels like a system optimized for short-term validation, not long-term value. ## The Soul Swap: From Emotion to Metrics The more I looked around, the more I started to notice a pattern. It wasn’t just isolated to one team or one company. It felt systemic, like the whole industry had quietly agreed on a new rulebook. One that prioritized what we *can* track over what we *should* care about. Which brings me to this next big question. **Have we swapped customer-centric marketing for metric-centric marketing?** That might sound dramatic, but think about it: fifty years ago, advertising books were packed with insights about psychology, why people buy, how emotions shape behaviour, and what earns trust. Today? Most of what I see in decks and meetings is about impressions, click-throughs, ROAS, and conversion rates. We’ve gone from *“what makes people feel something?”* to *“what moved the needle this week?”* ![A human heart vs. a spreadsheet one labeled Feeling, the other Proof](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/A-human-heart-vs.-a-spreadsheet-one-labeled-Feeling--the-other-Proof.webp) And look, I get it. If you’re a CMO with a quarterly target breathing down your neck, it’s tempting to pick the path that leads to quick results. But I keep wondering, at what cost? **Have we unintentionally created a culture where the safest move is the one that’s easiest to prove? And if so, are we slowly designing ads for the algorithm, not for actual people?** Because I don’t know many customers who say, “Wow, that ad changed my life, I just had to click it immediately.” But I do know people (myself included) who still remember an ad they saw 20 years ago, even if they didn’t buy the product until much later. For me, it’s those old [Nike soccer ads](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP5Ye5-LES8&pp=ygUXbmlrZSBhaXJwb3J0IGNvbW1lcmNpYWw%3D&ref=chrislatham.ca). The 1998 World Cup, one with the Brazil team playing in an airport? Absolute magic. No CTA, no promo code, no “Buy Now” button, just pure joy, rhythm, personality. Then there was the one in the early 2000s with [the cage match on a boat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2r7%5FOKIFWg&ref=chrislatham.ca), underground soccer with legends like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, and Totti. I didn’t have cable, but I still found a way to watch that ad online at 360p on Yahoo Videos. And here I am, two decades later, still thinking about it. So, how did those ads work their way into my memory? They didn’t interrupt me, they *invited* me in. They weren’t optimized for clicks, **they were optimized for culture.** That’s what makes me wonder: **if Nike had to justify those ads with attribution reports and ROAS metrics in the next board meeting, would they even have gotten made?** ## Buying Decisions That Break the Funnel And it’s not just about the ads we remember, it’s about how we *actually* make decisions. Because when I zoom out and think about the brands I’ve chosen over the years, it rarely fits into the neat little funnel we all love to present in slides. The truth? Real buying behaviour is messy, emotional, and often unfolds over years, not weeks. And yet, we keep acting like customers live inside clean attribution models. Let me give you a few examples from my own life. This disconnect really hit me when I started looking at my own buying decisions. Like, who actually gets credit for them? Take my bank, for example. I didn’t choose it because of a perfectly timed ad or a killer offer. They showed up at my elementary school one day, handed out savings booklets, and opened accounts for us. That was 30+ years ago. I still bank with them. That wasn’t a conversion funnel, it was a trust deposit. And I doubt anyone on the marketing team is still around to take the credit. ![A tangled yarn path labeled Customer Journey vs. a straight funnel.](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/A-tangled-yarn-path-labeled-Customer-Journey-vs.-a-straight-funnel..webp) Or look at Wealthsimple. I first heard about them during the robo-advising wave in the late 2010s. Didn't sign up. Years later, in 2025, a friend sends me a video on WhatsApp, [Wealthsimple Presents: *The End of Banking?*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zokVUFCJzMo&t=1s&ref=chrislatham.ca), and suddenly I’m seriously considering switching everything over. **One brand. Two touchpoints. Nearly a decade apart. Who gets to “claim” that?** Same thing with my Subaru. It wasn’t the ad creative. It wasn’t a slick influencer campaign. It was the interest rate. Plain and simple. The numbers made sense at the time. And yet somewhere, a dashboard is probably counting that as a programmatic win or a retargeting success. And that’s the weird part. I’m a real customer, but I’m not sure any of the attribution models would know what to do with me. So it makes me ask: **if our attribution tools can’t explain how real buying decisions unfold, why are we treating them like gospel?** ## Marketing as a Team Sport (But Everyone’s on a Different Bus) The more I thought about it, the more I started to realize, it’s not just how we *measure* marketing that’s broken. It’s also how we *structure* it. Because even if we wanted to build a campaign that mirrored how people actually buy, I’m not sure we’d be set up to do it. And that brings me to another head-scratcher: **Why is advertising done like a series of solo acts when customers experience it like a full concert?** In every company I’ve worked with or talked to, it feels like each channel, Paid, Organic, Social, Programmatic, is its own little fiefdom. Each team has their own budget, their own KPIs, and, let’s be honest, their own internal competition. It’s not about what works together, it’s about what wins credit. ![A row of silos labeled SEO Paid Social Content Email with no bridge between them](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/A-row-of-silos-labeled-SEO-Paid-Social-Content-Email-with-no-bridge-between-them.webp) But here’s what I keep coming back to: customers don’t think in channels. They don’t separate the blog post from the Instagram ad from the YouTube pre-roll. It’s all one brand experience to them. So why aren’t we working that way? It’s wild to me that we’ll spend weeks optimizing a carousel for engagement or running A/B tests on headlines, but we rarely ask, “What’s the full story we’re telling across everything?” Imagine if **instead of each team running their own race, we built campaigns like ensemble casts, each channel playing its part to bring a shared narrative to life.** Maybe we’d spend less time fighting over budgets and more time making ideas stick. Because I have a hard time believing that back in the days of Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and the Robb Report, brands ran one print ad and then declared the campaign a failure after 30 days. But that’s how we treat most digital efforts now, like one asset, one sprint, one shot. **What could we build if we stopped optimizing in isolation and started thinking as a team?** ## Fast-Food Marketing vs. Michelin-Star Brands And maybe that’s the heart of it. We’ve built a system that rewards fast wins over lasting change. Quick campaigns over thoughtful strategy. Channel-specific “success” over unified impact. It’s no wonder the work often feels scattered, and honestly, kind of forgettable. That’s when it hit me: this isn’t just a marketing problem. I’ve seen this pattern before. Before I got into marketing, I was in the fitness world. And the same tension played out there too. You had the “fast-food” trainers, always chasing the next trend. TRX one month, CrossFit the next. Low-fat diet to paleo to keto in a flash. These were the folks promising six-pack abs in six weeks, using whatever buzzwords were hot at the time. Sure, they got attention. But their clients were constantly yo-yoing, never building something that stuck. Then you had the Michelin-star trainers. The ones who built systems around real lifestyle change. They focused on habits, confidence, and education. No gimmicks, no hacks, just consistent, thoughtful coaching. Their clients didn’t drop 20 pounds in a month. But they kept it off for life. Sound familiar? The fast-food approach is performance marketing: high output, short runway, heavy on the “quick win.” The Michelin-star method? That’s brand building. It takes time, trust, and a little guts, but the payoff lasts a whole lot longer. ![A gym with neon signs promoting 6Week Abs across from a calm wellness studio titled Lifestyle Coaching](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/A-gym-with-neon-signs-promoting-6Week-Abs-across-from-a-calm-wellness-studio-titled-Lifestyle-Coaching.webp) So here’s what I’m wrestling with: **in today’s marketing culture, do we even allow room for the Michelin-star playbook? Or have we built an industry where the only way to “win” is to keep promising fast results, even if we know deep down they won’t last?** ## The Call to Reimagine: Don’t Make One Great Ad, Build a World The more I sit with this, the more it feels like the problem isn’t just about how we plan or budget or measure. It’s about how we *think* about advertising altogether. Because if we know short-term sprints aren’t enough, if we know customers don’t follow clean funnel lines, then maybe it’s time to stop treating single ads like silver bullets. **What if a great campaign isn’t about the *one* hero ad, but about the supporting cast that surrounds it?** Back in the day, you could drop a legendary 60-second TV spot, buy some magazine placements, and call it a day. But that playbook doesn’t work anymore. People don’t consume media the same way. Heck, a lot of people go out of their way to *block* ads now (I know I do). And honestly? That says more about ad quality than attention spans. Today, it should not be about one perfect piece of creative, it should be about building a world your audience actually wants to step into. That might be a mix of short-form video, behind-the-scenes content, stories from real users, thought leadership on LinkedIn, and yes, even the humble email. Not because you need more *stuff*, but because customers need more *context*. ![Marketing Ecosystem as a Theme Park Map](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/2025/11/Marketing-Ecosystem-as-a-Theme-Park-Map.webp) Think less of “ads as announcements” and more of “campaigns as conversations.” And maybe, just maybe, **the job of advertising isn’t to chase attribution, but to create something sticky enough that your customer’s kid buys it 20 years later**. ## Closing Question: So here’s where I land: **Are we designing marketing to truly connect with people, or just to prove we did something?** I don’t have all the answers. But if you’ve ever looked around and thought, *“There’s got to be a better way to do this”.* Let’s talk about it. ### The Great Millennial Exodus: How Housing Costs Are Tearing Families Apart URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-great-millennial-exodus/ Last updated: 2025-11-14T00:11:22.000Z ## **The Illusion of Doing Everything Right** Imagine doing everything right. You grow up in Canada, the child of immigrants. You work jobs through high school and college, keep your head down, and save what you can. You land a degree, climb the ladder, and by your late 20s, you’re making over $100,000\. Sounds like you’ve made it, right? **Here’s the catch:** you live in a big city, your office job demands long hours, and you don’t own a car. Most of your paycheck goes to rent, groceries, and takeout because you're working late. Now you’re 34, and the only home you can afford is three hours away from your job. You can afford a down payment nearby, sure, but not the monthly costs: **mortgage, utilities, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance**. So much for the dream. That’s not a sob story. That’s a pretty common millennial experience these days (if you don’t have the bank of mom and dad to support). ## **When Average Becomes a Luxury** There was a time when someone working at the local factory or teaching at the neighbourhood school could buy a home, raise a family, and retire with a pension. They weren’t rich. They were just… average. But that average life was enough. Now? That same lifestyle is gated behind elite income, extreme sacrifices, or decades of saving while living like a monk. The bar has quietly moved. What used to be "normal" now requires millennials and younger generations to be exceptional. And that should worry all of us. ## **A Society Running on Empty** Because here's the thing, when regular people feel like there's no way up, motivation tanks. You stop striving. You start settling. Or worse, you get angry. Disillusioned. Maybe even radicalized. And when enough people feel that way, society gets wobbly. We're not just talking about dreams deferred. We're talking about the erosion of the middle, the part of society that holds everything together. If only high performers can afford homes, start families, and build some wealth, what happens to everyone else? What happens to the people who bag our groceries, fix our cars, teach our kids, or care for our aging parents? ## **The Boomer Bottleneck** That brings us to the next part of the story. Many boomers and members of the silent generation are sitting on accumulated wealth and delaying retirement, which makes sense. We're living longer and, in many cases, staying healthier as we age. For the silent generation, being 80 and still independent has become fairly common. It's reasonable to expect that boomers could extend that independence well into their 90s. All of this is great and should be the goal for any civilization. **This system should be celebrated**. Ideally, it would be passed down and made accessible to younger generations. **But here's the twist:** if younger generations can’t afford to live near their aging parents or work in essential support roles: like home care, nursing, or community health, then who will be there to help boomers when they reach their 90s and need assistance with basic needs like medication? At the same time, many boomers and members of the silent generation rely on their homes as a key piece of their retirement plan. But if younger generations can’t afford to buy those homes, who will they sell them to? If even the highest-earning millennials and Gen Z workers are burned out, financially stretched, and quitting care-oriented roles, who exactly is left to support an aging population and help older generations "cash in" on retirement? **It won’t be robots. It won’t be outsourced.** ## **Cracks in the System Are Already Showing** We’re already seeing the cracks, care homes struggling to hire, nurses burning out, and elderly people living in vans on the West Coast. And here's a grim thought: as medically assisted death becomes more accessible, is it also quietly being accepted as a pressure valve for a system that can't care for its aging population? (this is just a question) ## **This Isn’t Just About Fairness** This isn’t just about fairness or generational resentment. It’s about what happens when a society makes it nearly impossible for the average person in their prime to build stability. If the next generation can’t survive, let alone thrive, the whole system starts to fold in on itself, and everyone across all generations begins to suffer. We need to rethink what success looks like and who gets access to it. Because when high performers can’t afford average lives, that’s not a personal failure. That’s a systemic one. ## **More Cascading Effects (Food For Thought)** ### **The Birth Rate Decline** Millennials aren't avoiding parenthood because they've rejected family values. They're postponing or abandoning it because they can't afford stability. Without secure housing and manageable work hours, having children feels irresponsible. Birth rates have plummeted precisely in regions with the highest costs of living. (this obviously isn’t the only reason) ### **The Coming Labour Shortage** Fewer young people means fewer workers in essential positions. Local cafés, restaurants, and neighbourhood services already struggle to find staff. When small businesses can't operate, they close. When corporations can't find workers, they automate or relocate. The community fabric unravels. ### **Families Torn Apart** When millennials must relocate hundreds of kilometres away for affordable housing, they leave behind more than expensive real estate, they leave their parents and extended family. The intergenerational bonds that once provided emotional support and practical help break down. ### **Isolated Final Years** After decades of building a community, many aging Canadians may find themselves without children and grandchildren nearby. Not because younger generations don't care, but because economic realities forced them elsewhere. The isolation this creates adds another burden to an already strained eldercare system. These aren't minor inconveniences. They represent fundamental tears in our social fabric with consequences that will echo across generations. A society that makes average life unattainable for high performers isn't just unfair, it's unsustainable. ## Addendum I just found this video where he explains that as a millennial, he was able to buy a home from a boomer who was a professional clown (it was a rental property). ### Thought Leaders Built Empires: Just Ask Tony Robbins and Lil Wayne URL: https://chrislatham.ca/companies-should-nurture-and-hire-though-leaders/ Last updated: 2025-05-05T01:55:08.000Z > *People don’t follow brands. They follow people. In business, just like in sports, the name matters more than the jersey.* ## 🧠 Why Trust, Not Logos, Drives People's Decisions “People buy from people.” You’ve heard it. You’ve maybe even said it. But let’s be real, how often do companies actually live it? Even in billion-dollar boardrooms, decisions get made based on trust, familiarity, and human connection, not just slick branding. We’re deep in the age of digital word-of-mouth, where a single LinkedIn post or podcast shoutout can move the needle more than your last three ad campaigns combined. I’ve seen this play out firsthand. Back in my fitness days (pre-Instagram flex era), I followed my bodybuilding coach through three gyms, *and* tacked on a 60-minute rural bus ride when he moved. Not because I cared about the gym. I was loyal to him. His name carried the weight, not the logo on the door. The same is true in business. People follow people. So, if your company has trusted, visible voices? Your brand becomes sticky as hell. ## 📢 Thought Leaders = Digital Word of Mouth on Steroids A thought leader isn’t just someone with a hot take; they’re a trusted source, a respected voice, and a walking credibility boost. They educate, spark conversations, and build relationships at scale. Even better? They’re algorithm-proof. While trends shift and platforms shuffle the deck, thought leaders stay relevant because they’ve built real trust. And when you’ve got **multiple** thought leaders in your organization, it doesn't just raise your visibility, it multiplies your influence. That influence compounds. 💡 It’s not just visibility, it’s velocity. *A rising tide lifts all ships, and your company is the ship.* ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Tony-Robbins-infront-of-a-live-crowd.webp) ## 🕰️ Tony Robbins: A Masterclass in Staying Power Want to talk longevity? Let’s talk Tony Robbins. This man has been dominating the personal development space since cassette tapes were a thing. That’s right, **cassettes**. Then he rolled into DVDs. Then, online courses. Now, he’s doing digital masterminds and livestreams like a pro. And the whole time? His message never wavered. Just the format. While musicians had to watch their royalties shrink in the digital age, Robbins likely *increased* his margins because digital delivery is cheaper, faster, and scalable. He adapted without selling out. He evolved without disappearing. He’s still the face of an empire decades later. ### ✅ Takeaway: Thought leadership isn’t a hack. It’s a long-game strategy that survives platform changes and content trends. Trust lasts longer than traffic spikes. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-of-drake-nicki-minaj-and-lil-wayne.webp) ## 🎤 Cash Money Records: How One Mentor Created a Talent Empire Let’s talk nurture & scale. Cash Money Records at its peak wasn’t just a label; it was a factory of influence. At the center? **Lil Wayne**, who in 2007 alone dropped mixtapes and featured on over *100 tracks* with other artists. He wasn’t just a rapper, he was a *walking billboard* who carried the label on his back. But here’s where it gets juicy: Cash Money launched a subsidiary called **Young Money**, and that’s where Lil Wayne mentored two future GOATs, **Nicki Minaj** and **Drake**. Nicki’s stats? Ridiculous: - First female rapper to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 since Lauryn Hill in 1998 - First female solo artist to have *seven* songs on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time (2010) - In 2019, became the *first* female artist to hit 100 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart And Drake? Well… Drake’s been number one for so long, they might as well rename the Billboard charts the *Drakeboard*. This man’s been chart-topping for a *decade straight*, effortlessly blending genres, cultures, and formats, from hip-hop to pop to Afrobeats. 💰And who got paid the whole time? **The label that invested in them.** They didn’t just build stars. They built a *talent tree*. And the fruit keeps coming. ### ✅ Takeaway: Investing in one thought leader is powerful. Investing in several can transform your brand into an ecosystem of influence. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/goose-laying-a-golden-egg.webp) ## 🛡️ Worried They’ll Leave? Build Moats, Not Cages Of course, the fear is real: what if they leave? What if your thought leader gets poached or goes independent? Here’s the truth: most aren’t sitting on enough capital to become your direct competitor tomorrow. What they *do* have are eyes, and they’re watching how you treat them. So instead of clinging tight and micromanaging, try building a system that makes them want to *stay*. ### Retention Moves That Actually Work: - **💵 Performance Bonuses** – tie their impact to outcomes (leads, media hits, partnerships) - **🏆 Title Elevation** – give them titles that reflect their influence (Director of Community, Chief Evangelist) - **🎤 Recognition & Autonomy** – let them shine. Give them freedom to speak, lead, and grow Want to keep the goose that lays golden eggs? Make sure it doesn’t feel like it’s trapped in a cage. ## 🚀 The Bottom Line: Invest in Humans, Not Just Hype Thought leaders are a moat. They are the living, breathing embodiment of your brand’s credibility and trust. They attract leads, inspire loyalty, and keep your company top-of-mind long after the campaign ends. - They build trust. - They attract leads. - They make your company *memorable*. Hire them. Nurture them. Invest in them. Because when people buy from people, the smartest investment you can make… is in your people. ### How to Revamp Your YouTube Banner Without Losing Your Sanity URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-revamp-your-youtube-banner-without-losing-your-sanity/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T09:02:14.000Z Alright, you beautiful marketing mavericks! Chris Latham here, your host with the most, back at it again with another episode of *Marketing in Public*. Yes, I’m still rocking the same outfit because this is video number four in a back-to-back marathon. Why? When the creative juices are flowing, you don’t stop to change shirts; you ride the wave. Let’s go! Today’s mission? A quick and dirty guide to updating your YouTube banner. If you’ve ever stared at your channel art and thought, “This could use a glow-up,” you’re in the right place. And spoiler alert: Canva is about to become your new best friend. Let’s dive in. --- ## Why Your YouTube Banner Deserves Some Love First things first, your YouTube banner is like the welcome mat to your channel. It’s the first thing people see when they land on your page, and if it’s looking like a relic from 2012, you’re not exactly screaming, “I’m a pro, trust me!” Think of it this way: Would you show up to a job interview in sweatpants? No? Then don’t let your banner show up looking like it just rolled out of bed. A polished banner signals that you mean business, whether you’re building a personal brand, launching a new service, or just flexing your creative muscles. --- ## Step 1: Enter Canva, the MVP of Design Tools Let me just say this: If Canva were a stock, I’d have sold my left kidney to invest in it early. It’s *that* good. Canva makes it ridiculously easy for non-designers (like yours truly) to create something that looks like it was whipped up by a professional. Here’s why I love it: - **User-friendly:** No design degree? No problem. - **Templates galore:** From minimalist to bold and colourful, they’ve got you covered. - **Customizable:** You can tweak everything, fonts, colours, layouts, to match your vibe. If you’re not already using Canva, what are you even doing with your life? --- ## Step 2: Nail the Right Dimensions (Because Size Matters) Here’s where most people trip up: YouTube banners have specific dimensions, and if you don’t get them right, your design will look like it got caught in a bad crop job. The magic numbers? **2560 x 1440 pixels.** Pro tip: Canva already has a pre-sized YouTube banner template. Just type “YouTube banner” into the search bar, and boom, you’re ready to roll. No need to mess around with aspect ratios or pixel math. Canva’s got your back. --- ## Step 3: Choose a Design That Screams *You* Now comes the fun part, picking a design. Canva has a ton of templates, but not all of them will work for your channel. Here’s what to keep in mind: - **Keep it simple:** Don’t overload your banner with text or images. Less is more. - **Stay on-brand:** Use colours and fonts that align with your channel’s vibe. If you’re all about bold, edgy content, don’t go for a pastel floral theme. (Unless irony is your thing, in which case, carry on.) - **Centre your text:** YouTube crops banners differently on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Make sure your key info (like your channel name or tagline) is smack dab in the middle. For my banner, I went with a clean, straightforward design that says, “Hey, I’m here to help you build your marketing game from idea to paid.” Simple, effective, and to the point. --- ## Step 4: Resize, Tweak, and Test (a.k.a. The Trial-and-Error Phase) Here’s the deal: Even with Canva’s templates, you might need to do some resizing to make everything fit perfectly. I won’t lie, this part can be a bit of a pain. You’ll upload your banner to YouTube, realize something’s off, go back to Canva, tweak it, and repeat. It’s like trying to hang a picture frame straight, it takes a few tries, but once it’s up, it’s worth it. Pro tip: Always preview your banner on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) to make sure it looks good everywhere. You don’t want your tagline getting chopped off on mobile because, let’s face it, that’s where most people are watching. --- ## Step 5: Hit Publish and Bask in Your Glory Once you’ve got your banner looking just right, it’s time to upload it to your channel and hit publish. Take a moment to admire your work. You did it! Your channel now looks like it belongs to someone who knows what they’re doing. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably find yourself refreshing your channel page just to see that shiny new banner in action. No shame in that. --- ## TL;DR: The Quick-and-Dirty Recap - **Your banner matters:** It’s the first impression of your channel, so make it count. - **Use Canva:** It’s the easiest way to create a professional-looking banner without losing your mind. - **Get the dimensions right:** 2560 x 1440 pixels is your golden ticket. - **Keep it simple and centred:** Don’t overcomplicate it, and make sure your key info is visible on all devices. - **Test and tweak:** Be patient, it might take a few tries to get it perfect. --- ## Over to You: Ready to Give Your Banner a Makeover? So, what are you waiting for? Fire up Canva, pick a template, and start designing. Trust me, your channel will thank you. And hey, if you hit a snag or just want to show off your new banner, drop a comment below. I’d love to see what you come up with. Until next time, keep building, keep creating, and remember: The only way to get left behind is to stop moving forward. Peace! ✌️ ### How to Turn One YouTube Video into a Content Goldmine URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-turn-one-youtube-video-into-a-content-goldmine/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T09:02:02.000Z Alright, content creators, marketers, and curious minds! Let’s talk about something that’s going to save you time, energy, and maybe even your sanity: **repurposing your YouTube videos into multiple pieces of content.** Because let’s be real, who has time to reinvent the wheel every single day? Not me, not you, and definitely not Beyoncé. In this post, I’m breaking down how I take one video and turn it into a YouTube transcript, a killer description, and even a blog post. Oh, and if you’re not already doing this, buckle up, because your content strategy is about to get a glow-up. Let’s dive in. --- ## Why Repurpose Content? (Hint: Work Smarter, Not Harder) Here’s the deal: **you create once, and distribute forever.** Shoutout to Ross Simmonds for that gem of a mantra. The idea is simple, why pour hours into creating a single piece of content and then let it collect digital dust? Instead, you can repurpose it into multiple formats and reach different audiences on different platforms. Think about it: - **YouTube video** → Blog post - **Blog post** → Social media snippets - **Blog post** → Email newsletter It’s like turning one loaf of bread into sandwiches, croutons, and French toast. Delicious, right? --- ## Step 1: Transcribe Your Video (The Easy Way) First things first, you need to turn your video into text. Why? Because AI tools and large language models (like ChatGPT) are way better at processing text than video. Plus, having a transcript is like having a cheat sheet for all the juicy content you can create. Here’s what I use: - **MacWhisper**: This tool uses OpenAI’s Whisper model to transcribe your audio or video into text. It’s fast, accurate, and a one-time purchase (no annoying subscriptions). - **Not a Mac user?** No worries. There are cloud-based options like Otter.ai or Descript that work just as well. Pro Tip: If you’re feeling fancy, you can even translate your transcript into other languages. Bonjour, global audience! --- ## Step 2: Craft a YouTube Description That Pops Once you’ve got your transcript, it’s time to create a YouTube description that actually makes people want to click. Here’s my go-to formula: 1. **Start with a hook**: Summarize the video in one or two sentences. Make it snappy and engaging. 2. **Highlight key points**: Share 2–3 takeaways from the video. Keep it concise but valuable. 3. **End with a CTA**: Encourage viewers to visit your website, subscribe, or check out related resources. For example, here’s a description I whipped up for a video on building lead magnets: > "Want to create a lead magnet that actually works? In this video, I share how to build an interactive quiz that engages potential clients and grows your email list. Plus, I’ll show you how to leverage AI for brainstorming and setup tips. Ready to level up your marketing? Visit [RetainGenius.com](https://retaingenius.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) for more!" Boom. Short, sweet, and action-packed. --- ## Step 3: Turn That Transcript into a Blog Post Now for the fun part, turning your transcript into a blog post. This is where you can really flex your creativity and connect with your audience. Here’s how I do it: ### 1\. **Start with a Hook** Your intro needs to grab attention faster than a cat video on TikTok. Use a personal anecdote, a surprising fact, or a rhetorical question. For example: > "Ever feel like your content is working harder than you are? Same. That’s why I’m obsessed with repurposing my YouTube videos into blog posts, descriptions, and more. Let me show you how to do it too." ### 2\. **Break It Down with Subheadings** Nobody likes a wall of text. Use bold, catchy subheadings to guide your readers through the post. Think: - Why Repurpose Content? - Step 1: Transcribe Your Video - Step 2: Craft a YouTube Description - Step 3: Turn That Transcript into a Blog Post ### 3\. **Add Actionable Takeaways** Each section should leave your readers with something they can try today. For example: - Use MacWhisper or Otter.ai to transcribe your videos. - Write a YouTube description that hooks viewers and drives clicks. - Repurpose your transcript into a blog post with clear subheadings and visuals. ### 4\. **Wrap It Up with a CTA** End your blog with a motivational takeaway or a call to action. Something like: > "Ready to work smarter, not harder? Start repurposing your content today and watch your reach skyrocket. Got questions? Drop them in the comments or ping me on Twitter, I’d love to hear from you!" --- ## Bonus Tips for Blog Awesomeness - **Add visuals**: Screenshots from your video work great. Use tools like Chrome’s Video Screenshot extension to grab high-quality stills. - **Proofread like a boss**: AI is amazing, but it’s not perfect. Always double-check for errors or weird phrasing. - **Hyperlink your video**: Embed your YouTube video at the top or middle of your blog to drive traffic back to your channel. --- ## TL;DR: Create Once, Repurpose Forever Here’s the quick and dirty version: 1. Record a YouTube video. 2. Transcribe it using tools like MacWhisper or Otter.ai. 3. Use the transcript to create a YouTube description, blog post, and more. 4. Add visuals, proofread, and share across platforms. The goal? **Maximize your content’s lifespan while minimizing your workload.** It’s like cloning yourself, but way less creepy. --- ## Over to You What’s your favourite way to repurpose content? Got any tools or tips I should know about? Drop a comment below or hit me up on social media, I’m always down to learn something new. Peace out, Chris Latham ### How to Build a Killer Welcome Email Series (Without Losing Your Sanity) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-build-a-killer-welcome-email-series-without-losing-your-sanity/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T08:59:45.000Z Alright, folks, let’s talk about something that’s as essential to your business as coffee is to Monday mornings: your email welcome series. You know, that magical sequence of emails that turns a random stranger into your new BFF (or at least a paying customer). In today’s episode of *Marketing in Public*, I’m pulling back the curtain on the welcome series I just created. Why? Because I’m all about building relationships, not just email lists. And let’s be real, if you’re not nurturing your leads, you’re basically ghosting them. Don’t be that person. So grab your favourite beverage, settle in, and let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of how I set up my welcome series, why I’m obsessed with Liz Wilcox’s email framework, and how you can steal (ahem, *borrow*) these ideas for your own business. --- ## Why Your Welcome Series is the Beyoncé of Email Marketing Let’s start with the basics. Your welcome series is the foundation of your email marketing strategy. It’s like the opening act at a concert, it sets the tone, gets people hyped, and makes them want to stick around for the main event. Here’s the deal: I’m all about getting the foundational stuff done *before* I start reaching out to new audiences. Why? Because once the foundation is set, I can focus on growth without having to circle back and fix the basics. Think of it like building a house. You wouldn’t start decorating the living room before the walls are up, right? Same goes for your email marketing. --- ## The Framework That Changed the Game Confession time: I didn’t come up with this welcome series on my own. I used Liz Wilcox’s email framework, and let me tell you, it’s a game-changer. Why Liz? - She’s straight to the point (no fluff, no BS). - She’s got that fun, relatable energy that speaks to my 80s/90s kid soul. - Her membership is only $9/month. Yup, nine bucks. That’s like two fancy coffees. Liz’s framework is all about simplicity and clarity. She breaks down email types into categories like: - **Get Replies** - **Sales Emails** - **General Newsletters** - **Pre-Launch/Product Emails** - **Click-Rate Boosters** For my welcome series, I focused on her “Welcome Sequence” template. It’s a four-email sequence designed to: 1. Deliver the freebie you promised. 2. Share your best content. 3. Set expectations for future emails. 4. Explain your “big why.” Let’s break it down, shall we? --- ## The 4-Email Breakdown ### **Email 1: The Freebie Delivery** This is where you deliver the goods. In my case, the freebie is a quiz result paired with my *Digital Marketing ROI Matrix*. It’s a handy guide that helps business owners figure out where to spend their marketing budget based on their time and resources. Subject line: *“Your Quiz Results Are In! Let’s Talk Leads”* Opening line: *“Hey there, quiz taker extraordinaire! You took the quiz to find out how solid your follow-up game is, brave move, by the way.”* The goal here? Build trust and deliver value right off the bat. --- ### **Email 2: Show Them Your Best Stuff** This email is all about micro-conversions. Share your best blog posts, guides, or resources to keep them engaged. For me, it’s my *Pre-Digital Marketing Checklist*. This checklist helps business owners figure out if they’re ready to dive into digital marketing. Spoiler alert: If you don’t know your ROI goals or have a clear offer, you’re not ready. --- ### **Email 3: Set Expectations** Here’s where you let them know what’s coming next. Are you sending weekly tips? Monthly updates? Let them know so they’re not blindsided by your emails. For me, it’s a biweekly newsletter packed with actionable marketing advice. No fluff, just the good stuff. --- ### **Email 4: Your Big Why** This one’s my favourite. It’s where you get personal and share your “why.” Why do you do what you do? What’s your mission? For me, it’s about helping small business owners navigate the overwhelming world of digital marketing without losing their minds (or their budgets). --- ## The Tech Setup: Automation Made Easy Now, let’s talk about the nerdy stuff, automation. I’m using Retain Genius for my email marketing, and here’s how I’ve set it up: 1. **Trigger**: When someone fills out my quiz, they’re automatically added to my email list. 2. **Sequence**: - Day 1: Send Email 1. - Day 2: Send Email 2. - Day 3: Send Email 3. - Day 4: Send Email 4. 3. **Transition**: After the welcome series, they’re moved to my biweekly newsletter list. > Pro tip: Don’t bombard your subscribers with too many emails at once. Let them breathe. --- ## Metrics That Matter Let’s get one thing straight: Open rates are dead. Thanks to iOS updates, most emails are marked as “opened” even if no one actually reads them. So what should you focus on? - **Click-through rates**: Are people clicking your links? - **Replies**: Are they engaging with your content? These are the metrics that actually matter. --- ## TL;DR - Your welcome series is the foundation of your email marketing strategy. - Use a simple, proven framework like Liz Wilcox’s to create a 4-email sequence. - Automate the process to save time and keep things consistent. - Focus on engagement metrics like click-through rates and replies. --- ## Your Turn Now it’s your turn to create (or revamp) your welcome series. Got questions? Drop them in the comments below. Want to see my email copy? I’ve got a Google Doc link waiting for you. And hey, if you found this helpful, share it with a friend who’s drowning in email marketing chaos. Let’s spread the love (and the knowledge). Until next time, keep hustling and stay awesome. Peace, Chris ### How I Built a Lead Magnet That Doesn’t Suck (And Why You Should Too) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-i-built-a-lead-magnet-that-doesnt-suck-and-why-you-should-too/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T09:00:21.000Z Alright, let’s talk lead magnets. You know, those shiny little freebies you dangle in front of potential customers to get their email addresses. Everyone’s doing it, but let’s be real, most lead magnets are about as exciting as watching paint dry. Another eBook? Hard pass. A PDF checklist? Meh. So, when I set out to create a lead magnet for my new service offering, I knew I had to do something different. Something engaging. Something that wouldn’t just sit in someone’s inbox collecting digital dust. And because I’m all about building in public (or marketing in public—still workshopping the name), I’m taking you along for the ride. Let’s break it down. --- ## Step 1: Why Even Bother With a Lead Magnet? Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s address the elephant in the room: Why do you even need a lead magnet? Simple. It’s the gateway drug to your email list. And your email list? That’s your golden ticket to building relationships, nurturing leads, and eventually making sales. But here’s the catch: Your lead magnet has to be GOOD. Like, “I can’t believe this is free” good. Otherwise, people will just ghost you faster than a bad Tinder date. --- ## Step 2: The Brainstorm (AKA Me vs. AI) When it came time to decide what kind of lead magnet to create, I did what any self-respecting marketer would do: I asked AI. Specifically, I used **you.com** (because why not switch it up from ChatGPT?) and gave it a detailed prompt. Here’s the gist of what I asked: - “Hey AI, give me six lead magnet ideas that align with my ideal customer profile (ICP).” - “Now, get creative and think outside the box. No boring eBooks, please.” And let me tell you, AI delivered. It spits out the usual suspects—eBooks, checklists, templates—but then it hit me with something that made my marketing brain light up like a Christmas tree: **an interactive quiz.** --- ## Step 3: Why a Quiz? (Because Engagement, Baby) Here’s the thing about quizzes: They’re fun. They’re interactive. And they’re sneaky-good at getting people to self-identify their pain points. Think about it. When someone takes a quiz, they’re not just passively consuming content—they’re actively engaging with it. And if you frame your questions right, you can guide them to realize, “Oh crap, I *do* have this problem, and maybe this person (ahem, me) can help solve it.” For my quiz, I wanted to focus on lead follow-up processes. The title? **“Is Your Follow-Up Process Failing Your Sales? Take the Quiz.”** Boom. A question and a call-to-action all rolled into one. --- ## Step 4: Building the Quiz (No Fancy Tools Required) Now, let’s talk execution. You don’t need to drop a ton of cash on fancy software to build a quiz. Here are a few options: - **Google Forms**: The OG of free tools. Simple, effective, and gets the job done. - **JotForm**: A step up if you want more customization. - **Fluent Forms**: My personal pick because it integrates seamlessly with my website. I used Fluent Forms to create a quiz that not only collects emails upfront (because let’s be honest, people WILL drop off halfway through) but also scores responses to qualify leads. Here’s how it works: 1. **Capture Emails First**: Before they even start the quiz, I grab their email. That way, if they abandon halfway through, I can hit them with a friendly “Hey, don’t forget to finish your quiz!” email. 2. **Scoring System**: The quiz isn’t about right or wrong answers. It’s about figuring out if someone is a good fit for my service. High scorers? They’re already crushing it but could use a little extra help. Low scorers? They might not be ready for what I offer. Middle scorers? That’s my sweet spot—clients who are making an effort but need a time-saving solution. 3. **Conditional Confirmation Pages**: Based on their score, they get a tailored message. For example: - High scorers: “Congrats, you’re a Lead Follow-Up Champion! But hey, there’s always room for improvement. Book a free consult.” - Middle scorers: “You’re on the right track, but let’s take it to the next level. Book a free consult.” - Low scorers: “You’ve got some work to do, but don’t worry—I’ve got your back. Book a free consult.” --- ## Step 5: The Techy Stuff (Pop-Ups and Triggers) To make sure people actually SEE the quiz, I’m using two types of pop-ups on my landing page: 1. **Exit-Intent Pop-Up**: When someone’s mouse moves toward the “X” button, BAM—quiz pop-up. 2. **Scroll-Triggered Pop-Up**: After they’ve scrolled a certain percentage down the page, the quiz slides in like, “Hey, don’t forget about me!” The goal here is to catch people’s attention without being obnoxious. (Because let’s face it, no one likes a pop-up that feels like it’s yelling at them.) --- ## Step 6: Lessons Learned (AKA What I’d Do Differently) Look, no project is perfect, and this one’s no exception. Here’s what I’m tweaking: - **Thank You Page Design**: Right now, it’s a little…meh. I need to space things out, make the call-to-action button pop, and generally make it look less like a Word doc and more like a polished landing page. - **Quiz Completion Rate**: I’m keeping an eye on how many people actually finish the quiz. If the drop-off rate is high, I’ll simplify the questions or shorten the quiz. --- ## Step 7: What’s Next? (Spoiler: Email Sequences) Now that the quiz is live, the next step is creating a killer welcome email sequence. I’m taking a page out of Liz Wilcox’s playbook (seriously, check her out if you love 90s nostalgia and no-BS email marketing advice). Her $9/month membership is a goldmine, and I’m using her strategies to build trust and nurture leads right out of the gate. --- ## TL;DR (For the Skimmers) - **Lead magnets** are essential for building your email list, but they need to be engaging. - I chose an **interactive quiz** over a boring eBook because it’s fun, engaging, and helps qualify leads. - Tools like **Fluent Forms** or even **Google Forms** make it easy to build a quiz without breaking the bank. - Use **pop-ups and triggers** to make sure people actually see your lead magnet. - Always be tweaking. Your first version won’t be perfect, and that’s okay. --- ## Your Turn: What’s Your Lead Magnet? So, what’s your go-to lead magnet? Are you team eBook, or are you ready to jump on the quiz bandwagon? Drop a comment below or hit me up on \[insert social platform of choice\]. Let’s swap ideas and level up together. And hey, if you’re curious about how your follow-up process stacks up, you know what to do: **Take the quiz.** 😉 ### How to Create YouTube Thumbnails Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Sanity) URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-create-youtube-thumbnails-without-losing-your-mind-or-your-sanity/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T09:00:47.000Z Alright, let’s cut to the chase. You’re here because you want to make killer YouTube thumbnails without spending hours crying over colour palettes or fonts. I get it. I’ve been there. The good news? You don’t need to be Picasso or some design wizard to make it happen. You just need **Canva** and a little bit of sass. Let me walk you through how I, a self-proclaimed non-designer, whip up thumbnails that don’t suck. Spoiler: It’s stupidly easy. --- ## Why Canva Is the MVP of Thumbnail Creation Let me be real with you: I have zero design skills. Like, if you asked me to match colors or pick a font, I’d probably just stare at you blankly and mumble something about Comic Sans. But here’s the thing—**Canva** is like having a team of designers in your back pocket. They’ve already done the hard work, so all you have to do is copy, tweak, and call it a day. Here’s why Canva is a game-changer: - **Templates Galore**: They’ve got templates for days. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just pick one that vibes with your style. - **Background Remover**: Upload a photo of yourself, click a button, and boom—no background. It’s like magic, but without the wand. - **Branding Made Easy**: Canva lets you save your brand colors, fonts, and logos so everything looks cohesive. Fancy, right? --- ## Step 1: Start with a Template (Because Who Has Time to Start from Scratch?) First things first, log into Canva and hit that “Create Design” button. Type in “YouTube Thumbnail,” and voilà, you’re in. On the left-hand side, you’ll see a buffet of templates. Pick one that doesn’t make you cringe. Pro tip: If you’ve been on YouTube for more than five minutes, you’ve probably noticed a trend, big faces, open mouths, and dramatic reactions. You don’t *have* to do that, but hey, it works. Experiment with what feels right for your vibe. --- ## Step 2: Upload Your Face (Or Use Bitmoji If You’re Camera-Shy) Here’s the deal: People connect with faces. So, if you’ve got a stash of photos of yourself, upload them to Canva. If not, no worries, Bitmoji has your back. It’s like a cartoon version of you, and honestly, it’s kind of fun. ### How to Use Your Photo: 1. Drag your photo into the template. 2. Use Canva’s **Background Remover** to get rid of the clutter. (This feature alone is worth the paid subscription.) 3. Resize and position your face like the star you are. ### How to Use Bitmoji: 1. Create your avatar on Snapchat. 2. Search for poses that match your thumbnail’s vibe (e.g., “idea” or “excited”). 3. Drag and drop it into Canva. Done and dusted. --- ## Step 3: Match Your Brand (Because Consistency Is Sexy) If you’re serious about your YouTube game, you need to stay on brand. Canva makes this ridiculously easy with their **Brand Kit** feature. Here’s how to set it up: - Upload your logo (transparent background, please). - Choose your brand colours. (I used a free online colour generator because, again, I’m not a designer.) - Select your go-to fonts. Once your Brand Kit is locked and loaded, you can apply it to any template with a single click. It’s like a makeover montage, but for your thumbnails. --- ## Step 4: Add Text That Pops (But Keep It Simple) Your thumbnail text should be short, snappy, and easy to read. Think of it as a headline for your video. Canva’s text tools make this a breeze: - Use bold fonts for your main title. - Stick to 2-3 words max for the headline. (Nobody’s squinting to read a novel on a thumbnail.) - Align your text to the right or left for a clean, professional look. For example, my latest thumbnail says: **“A New Direction”** *Behind the Scenes of a New Service.* Simple, right? Less is more, my friend. --- ## Step 5: Download and Upload (The Final Stretch) Once your masterpiece is ready, rename it something like “A New Direction Thumbnail” (because organization is key, even if you’re winging it). Download it as a PNG for the best quality, and upload it to your YouTube video. Pro tip: Pair your thumbnail with a killer video description. I use AI to help me craft descriptions that hook viewers. But that’s a blog post for another day. --- ## Bonus Hack: When in Doubt, Leverage Bitmoji Let’s say you’re having a bad hair day or just don’t feel like using your real face. No judgment. That’s where Bitmoji comes in clutch. It’s a quick and quirky way to add personality to your thumbnails without overthinking it. Plus, it’s kind of hilarious to see cartoon-you in action. --- ## TL;DR: Thumbnail Creation Made Stupidly Simple Here’s the cheat sheet for creating YouTube thumbnails like a pro (even if you’re not one): 1. **Use Canva**: It’s the easiest tool out there, hands down. 2. **Leverage Templates**: Don’t start from scratch—work smarter, not harder. 3. **Upload Your Face**: Or use Bitmoji if you’re camera-shy. 4. **Stay on Brand**: Use Canva’s Brand Kit to keep things cohesive. 5. **Keep It Simple**: Bold text, clean design, and a pop of personality. --- ## Your Turn: Let’s See Those Thumbnails! Now that you’ve got the blueprint, it’s time to put it into action. Go create a thumbnail that makes people stop scrolling and start clicking. Got questions? Drop them in the comments. Want to share your masterpiece? Tag me—I’d love to see what you come up with. And hey, if you found this helpful, hit that subscribe button (or whatever the blog equivalent is). I’ll be back with more tips, tricks, and behind-the-scenes chaos soon. Until then, keep creating and stay awesome. Peace! ✌️ ### From Fitness to Funnels: My New Journey into Marketing Automation URL: https://chrislatham.ca/from-fitness-to-funnels-my-new-journey-into-marketing-automation/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T09:01:31.000Z If you’ve been around for a while, you probably know me as the guy who’s done everything from fitness coaching to podcasting to dabbling in life-coachy wisdom (you know, the kind where you say something obvious but make it sound like a TED Talk). But today? Oh, today we’re flipping the script. I’m diving headfirst into a new project, and I’m taking you along for the ride. So grab your coffee (or whatever fuels your hustle), and let’s talk about my new direction, my goals, and why I’m basically building a business in public. Spoiler alert: It’s messy, it’s exciting, and it’s all about helping service-based businesses stop leaving money on the table. --- ## The Big Pivot: What’s This New Project About? Alright, let’s cut to the chase. For the past six months (okay, maybe closer to a year, but who’s counting?), I’ve been working on a new service called **Retain Genius**. What is it? Glad you asked. It’s an **automated follow-up and reminder system** for service-based businesses. Think of it as your digital assistant that never forgets to nudge you about that lead who filled out your form last week. Here’s the deal: - You’re paying for ads. - You’re getting traffic. - People are filling out your forms. - And then… crickets. Why? Because you’re busy running your business, and follow-ups fall through the cracks. Been there, done that, lost money. With Retain Genius, I’m here to fix that. We’re talking: - Automated reminders for you and your team. - CRM integration to keep everything organized. - No more “Oh crap, I forgot to call them back” moments. It’s like having a personal assistant who doesn’t need coffee breaks. --- ## Why Am I Doing This? Let’s be real for a second: Yes, I want to make money. Who doesn’t? But it’s not just about the Benjamins. For over a decade, I coached athletes, moms, and kids to crush their fitness goals. Nothing, and I mean *nothing*, beats the feeling of helping someone level up their life. That’s the energy I’m bringing to this new venture. I want to help business owners: - Stop wasting money on ads that don’t convert. - Get organized without drowning in sticky notes. - Actually close the leads they’re working so hard to get. And honestly? I’m doing this because I’ve been there. I’ve felt the pain of forgetting to follow up, losing clients, and leaving money on the table. This service is as much for me as it is for you. --- ## The Game Plan: How I’m Building This Thing Here’s where it gets fun (and by fun, I mean chaotic). I’m documenting the entire process of building and marketing Retain Genius. Why? Because I want to show you the good, the bad, and the “What was I thinking?” moments. ### Phase 1: Build a Content Database Step one is creating a library of helpful content. For me, that means videos. Why? - They’re quick to make. - They’re easy to repurpose into bite-sized clips, blog posts, or newsletters. - And let’s be honest, you don’t care if my background has a garbage bin in the corner (it does). The goal here is to provide value first. If someone stumbles across my channel, I want them to think, “Wow, this guy actually knows his stuff.” ### Phase 2: Find My People Once I’ve got content, it’s time to find my audience. Whether it’s Reddit, LinkedIn, or some obscure Facebook group, I’ll be hanging out where my potential clients are. The strategy? - Listen to their pain points. - Offer solutions. - Be a human, not a sales robot. Because let’s face it: People buy from people. If they like me, they’re more likely to trust me with their business. ### Phase 3: Grow the Brand This is the big one. I’m talking podcast guest spots, collaborations, and maybe even some in-person events. The goal is to get my name out there and build trust. And here’s the kicker: I’m not just selling a service. I’m building a **brand**. Why? Because in the age of AI and ever-changing algorithms, having a recognizable brand is your golden ticket to staying relevant. --- ## The Tools I’m Using (and What I’m Skipping) Let’s talk tech. Here’s what’s in my toolbox: - **Landing Page**: [RetainGenius.com](https://retaingenius.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) (simple, clean, and to the point). - **CRM Integration**: To automate those follow-ups like a boss. - **Video Content**: Because it’s versatile and engaging. What I’m NOT doing: - **Cold Emails**: Nope. Not my vibe. - **Spreading Myself Too Thin**: I’m focusing on a few key platforms instead of trying to be everywhere at once. --- ## What’s Next? In the next video, I’ll be brainstorming a lead magnet (aka a freebie to get people into my funnel). Think checklists, templates, or something equally irresistible. But here’s the thing: This isn’t just about me. I want to hear from YOU. - What challenges are you facing in your business? - What would make your life easier? - Got questions about marketing automation? Drop them in the comments or hit me up. --- ## TL;DR I’m pivoting from fitness coaching to marketing automation with a new service called Retain Genius. It’s all about helping service-based businesses stop losing money by automating follow-ups and reminders. I’m documenting the entire journey, from building content to growing my brand, so you can see what works, what doesn’t, and how you can apply these lessons to your own business. Stay tuned, stay curious, and let’s crush this together. --- ### Your Turn What’s one thing you’ve been procrastinating on in your business? Let me know in the comments, or shoot me a message. And if you’re curious about Retain Genius, check out the [landing page](https://retaingenius.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca). Until next time, keep hustling and stay awesome. Peace, Chris ### The Self-Help Scam: Why These Books Don't Deliver on Their Promises and What You Can Do About It URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-self-help-scam/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T01:07:37.000Z **You've probably seen the ads, splashed across the internet**: “*Transform your life in just weeks*,” “*Change your life for the better*,” “*Live the life you truly deserve!*” Such promises made by self-help books and programs often seem too good to be true and for good reason—they are. Before you invest your time and money into the latest self-help craze, it's important to understand the **truth and potential dangers** of these books. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/1--The-False-Promises-of-Self-Help-Books.webp) ## The False Promises of Self-Help Books Self-help books and courses make many promises, like helping you identify and overcome patterns of negative thinking, build greater self-esteem, boost your happiness, and more. All of these claims can be compelling, especially if you feel stuck or unhappy in your life. However, it's important to realize that the vast majority of self-help books are nothing more than grandiose marketing ploys with little scientific evidence to back up their claims. Despite this lack of evidence, there are many common selling points made by self-help books that can easily lure people in. Here are just a few of the most commonly cited claims made in self-help literature: - You’ll achieve instant gratification with long-term results - You can attain radical transformations with minimal effort - You’ll be liberated from practical limitations quickly - Unlimited happiness awaits when you purchase the book/course - Success will automatically follow if you devote effort to what is prescribed in the book/course It's important to remember that these grand promises are in fact just marketing gimmicks meant to draw customers. Be skeptical! There is no magic pill when it comes to growth often significant changes **take time and hard work.** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2--The-Dark-Side-of-Self-Help.webp) ## The Dark Side of Self-Help Many popular self-help books promise *quick solutions* but fail to deliver on their promises. Let's take a closer look at why self-help books **don't always work** and what you can do to find *better solutions*: ### Lack of evidence-based advice Many self-help books provide advice (often general like a fortune cookie), but don’t back their guidance up with scientifically proven techniques or studies. Because of this, it can be difficult to determine whether a particular book is actually going to work or not. The lack of **evidence-based advice** in many self-help books has the potential to lead readers down a path that’s not actually helpful. This can ultimately lead to frustration and make it more difficult for them to reach their goals. Or worse you begin to feel like a failure. To avoid this problem, it’s important for you to make sure that any advice they take from self-help books has been **backed up by reliable evidence**. Additionally, you should be aware that there may be other approaches and solutions available that have been *proven effective but are not included in any particular book*. Looking beyond what's offered in self-help books can ensure that you get sound guidance and **increase your chances of achieving success through your own efforts**. ### Unclear language and concepts Unfortunately, many self-help books are filled with abstract concepts and ambiguous language that can be difficult to understand. When tackling complex topics such as stress, anxiety, depression or relationships, simple language and direct advice is important for providing clarity. However, when writers rely on vague terms such as *"love yourself"* and *"be present in the moment"* it can actually be a detriment to those looking for specific guidance or instruction. Without an understanding of what those phrases mean and how they relate to the issue at hand, you may finish the book feeling confused or inadequate. Furthermore, if the book doesn't address the potential causes of the issue being discussed it may leave you feeling disappointed and lost. It's important when selecting self-help books to make sure they provide: - Clear explanations - Detailed advice - Address potential causes of issues rather than simply stay on the surface level. Doing this will ensure that you find a resource that is truly helpful in tackling your problem rather than just something that restates the obvious but provides no actionable steps for success. ### Lack of actionable steps There’s a reason why many books don’t seem to be delivering on their vast promises. Most self-help books lack **realistic and actionable steps**. The authors often promise successes like improved relationships, increased energy levels, perfect wealth management skills, and so on. These sound great but oftentimes go far beyond what can be realistically accomplished by the average reader within a set time frame. For instance, few people will be able to follow *complex or expensive philosophies of wealth management* within just a few weeks or months of reading a book. Worse yet, many self-help books don’t provide any actionable steps that are needed for success. They simply repeat vague affirmations and platitudes without providing any direction for how to actually implement them in everyday life. “A thought without action is just a dream” Key word there is ACTION! To take action you need a plan. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/3--Alternatives-to-Self-Help-Books.webp) ## Alternatives to Self-Help Books Enough bashing these books let’s think of actual solutions. Nothing will ever beat a personal touch and accountability. This is where seeking professional help or communities is more powerful than anything a single book can provide. We are human, and humans need community. ### Professional counseling While self-help books can be useful in giving us new perspectives and ideas, they have their limitations and can be unhelpful or even harmful if our issues are complex or deep-seated. By contrast, seeing a qualified mental health professional such as a psychotherapist, psychologist or psychiatrist is more likely to result in change. In counseling, the primary benefit is that it’s tailored to your specific needs and goals. Having a real person to talk with, someone who isn’t biased by personal experience like the authors of many self-help books, also provides a valuable perspective. A professional counsellor will work with you to help you identify patterns of behaviour that may not be apparent on your own and develop strategies for changing those patterns. Doing so can allow for **long term changes** to take place as opposed to only dealing with occasional symptoms as one might from reading a book. When considering whether professional counseling is right for you, it's important to find someone who has the appropriate qualifications and experience and with whom you feel comfortable discussing difficult topics. The expectations should always be discussed openly between yourself and your counselor before beginning therapy, so ask questions such as: - What happens during each session? - How often are sessions scheduled? - How long does this type of counselling typically last? Remember finding a good counselor is like finding the perfect dress or suit. It will take a few tries before finding the perfect fit. ### Online courses Online courses come in many different forms and can give you access to a range of ideas and techniques that don’t appear in self-help books. You can find courses on subjects like *mental health, business, relationships,* and more from well-known platforms like **Udemy** and **Coursera.** I will say ideally focus on a course where you learn an actual skill, or where you are meant to take physical action. It can be easy to fall into these online “communities” for a price that ends in a 7 ($997). The benefit of a course is that it allows you to interact with your instructor, receive feedback from other learners in the course, and complete assignments for a better understanding of the material. Most importantly, you will be able to practice the skills that are discussed in the course so that you can use them on a daily basis for self-improvement. ### Support groups Joining a **support group** can provide an excellent impact on your lifestyle and well-being. Joining a support group is free or at times very minimal cost, in comparison to buying self-help books. In a support group, you get guidance from someone who is unbiased and who has been in your shoes. They are people who are bringing shared experiences to the table, helping one another by offering positive reinforcements and constructive feedbacks. The cohesiveness builds within a supportive environment that aids in building relationships faster. You can build deep meaningful relationships much quicker with people you meet at a support group where they can help you work through common issues together. If you think about it, the people present have been through similar situations like yours, which provides more knowledge than any book ever could: - You get *guidance from someone who is unbiased and experienced* in the field. - You get *positive reinforcements and constructive feedbacks*. - You can build *deep meaningful relationships much quicker* with people you meet at a support group. - You get more knowledge than any book ever could, as the people present have been through similar situations like yours. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4--Take-Action.webp) ## Take Action With Self-Care It’s also important to prioritize **self-care** so that you are better equipped to handle the challenges that life throws your way. Aim for balance in all areas – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – as well as sleep, nutrition and exercise. It’s essential that you learn effective coping strategies to manage stress (*e.g., mindfulness meditation*) and self-soothe when negative emotions arise (*e.g., journaling*). To prevent burnout and exhaustion, be sure to take regular breaks from work or daily activities for some downtime with family and friends or just moments of reflection and relaxation when needed. Also, don’t forget to practice **gratitude** every day by focusing on the positive aspects of life – *gratitude journaling* can be especially helpful in this regard – while also maintaining **realistic expectations** of yourself so that you don’t become discouraged or overwhelmed by the magnitude of what needs to be done. Seeking out meaning and purpose can also keep things in perspective during difficult times while helping promote inner fulfillment regardless of external circumstances. ## **The Big Self-Help Scam** When taking advice from a self-help book, it is important to remember that these books are often written by people with no expertise in their field. They may be motivated by profit, rather than any desire to help. Though these books may appear to **promise the world**, they often don't deliver on their promises. *Learning to help yourself* is important, but it's important to have realistic expectations and to recognize when the **promises made by the self-help industry are too good to be true.** Remember Confucius says “start living a life based on action. And only through action can one find purpose.” ### 5 Tips to Help You Stay Focused When Working From Home URL: https://chrislatham.ca/5-tips-to-stay-focused-when-working-from-home/ Last updated: 2022-10-28T00:04:05.000Z I used to be one of those people who would get easily distracted when working from home. I'd start out with good intentions, but before long, I'd be browsing the internet, cleaning my room, or watching TV. I knew that I needed to find a way to stay focused if I wanted to be productive and make progress on my work goals. So I tried a few different things until I found what worked for me. Here are five tips that helped me stay focused when working from home. ## 1\. Make a schedule and stick to it If you're like most people, you probably have a lot of things on your to-do list. And if you're like most people, you probably find it hard to stay focused and productive when working from home. One of the best ways to stay focused and productive at home is to make a schedule and stick to it. When you have a set schedule, you know exactly what needs to be done and when. This can help you avoid getting distracted by other things that need to be done or that you want to do. It can also help you focus your energy on the task at hand instead of dissipating your energy on multiple tasks. Of course, making a schedule is only half the battle. The other half is sticking to it. This can be difficult, especially when there are so many distractions at home. But if you can commit to following your schedule, you'll find that you're much more productive and focused. And in the end, that will make completing your tasks much easier. ## 2\. Create a distraction-free workspace One of the most important things you can do when working from home is to create a distraction-free workspace. A cluttered desk or a messy room can make it difficult to focus on your work, and it can also lead to feelings of anxiety and stress. By taking the time to declutter your space and create a peaceful environment, you can set yourself up for success. Here are just a few reasons why a distraction-free workspace is so important. First of all, it helps to reduce distractions. When your workspace is clean and organized, it's easier to focus on your work and tune out distractions like the TV or your phone. Secondly, it can help increase your productivity. A tidy environment can help you stay motivated and on task, whereas a chaotic one can lead to procrastination and feeling overwhelmed. Finally, having a designated workspace can help you to separate your work life from your home life. This is important for both your mental health and your relationships. When you have a specific place to work, it's easier to leave work at the office and enjoy your free time without stress. So if you're looking to increase your focus and productivity at home, creating a distraction-free workspace is a great place to start. By taking the time to set up a space that promotes concentration and peace of mind, you'll be setting yourself up for success in both your professional and personal life. ## 3\. Take breaks, but make sure they're scheduled When you're working from home, it's easy to get caught up in your work and forget to take breaks. However, there are several good reasons why taking scheduled breaks can help you stay focused and productive. First of all, taking a break gives your mind a chance to rest and recharge. If you've been staring at a computer screen for hours, your brain will appreciate the opportunity to take a break and stretch your legs. Secondly, scheduled breaks can help you avoid burnout. Working from home can be demanding, and if you don't take breaks, you may start to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Taking regular breaks ensures that you don't get too bogged down in work and helps you maintain a healthy balance. Finally, scheduled breaks can actually help improve your focus. When you take a break, your mind has a chance to reset and refocus on the task at hand. As a result, when you return to work after a break, you'll be more focused and productive than if you had just kept working without taking any time out. So next time you're feeling bogged down by work, remember that taking a break can actually help you get more done! ## 4\. Stay organized When you're working from home, it's crucial to stay organized and on top of your tasks. This can be difficult, especially if you're used to working in an office where someone else is responsible for keeping track of deadlines and meeting dates However, there are a few simple strategies that can help you stay organized and stay on task. - Create a designated workspace in your home. This will help to minimize distractions and set the tone for a productive day. - Establish regular work hours and stick to them as much as possible. This will help to keep you focused and avoid burnout. - Use a planner or calendar to keep track of deadlines, meetings, and other important dates. This will help you stay on top of your work and avoid missing any important deadlines. - Take regular breaks throughout the day. Step away from your desk for a few minutes to stretch or take a short walk. These mini-breaks will help to refresh your mind and refocus your energy. By following these simple tips, you can create a more organized and productive workspace - and ultimately boost your overall productivity levels. So instead of letting chaos reign, take control of your environment and see just how much more you can accomplish! ## 5\. Drink plenty of water and get enough sleep It's no secret that when we're feeling our best, we're able to work more effectively and be more productive. That's why, when working from home, it's important to make sure you're taking care of your health is crucial. It is easy to let your healthy habits slide. After all, no one is around to remind you to take a break or drink plenty of water. However, staying focused and productive requires more than just willpower; it requires taking care of your body and mind. That's why it's so important to drink plenty of water and get enough sleep while working from home. Staying hydrated helps to improve brain function, making it easier to focus and stay on task. Getting enough sleep is essential for keeping your energy levels up and your mind sharp. So next time you're feeling tempted to skip your morning walk or stay up late working, remember that taking care of yourself is the best way to stay focused and productive. ## Conclusion Working from home can be an excellent opportunity to save time and money, but it can also be challenging to stay focused on your work. These five tips will help you stay focused and get the most out of your work day. If you find that you need more help staying focused, consider talking to a professional about setting up a distraction-free workspace in your home or finding other ways to make working from home more productive for you. ### How to Become a Lifelong Learner URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-become-a-lifelong-learner/ Last updated: 2022-04-07T04:24:09.000Z We all want to become lifelong learners. Unfortunately, the reality is that very few of us ever get around to learning anything new. How do you change that? The good news is that it's not as hard as you might think – all you need is a little bit of motivation and some basic tips. Keep reading to learn how to become a lifelong learner and never stop growing! Table Of Contents show - [**What is a lifelong learner?**](#-what-is-a-lifelong-learner-) - [**Why become a lifelong learner?**](#-why-become-a-lifelong-learner-) - [**When should I become a lifelong learner?**](#-when-should-i-become-a-lifelong-learner-) - [**How can I become a lifelong learner**?](#-how-can-i-become-a-lifelong-learner-) - [**What are some benefits of becoming a lifelong learner?**](#-what-are-some-benefits-of-becoming-a-lifelong-learner-) - [**Create your own learning toolbox**](#-create-your-own-learning-toolbox-) - [**Organize your learning**](#-organize-your-learning-) - [**Ask questions when you're confused**](#-ask-questions-when-youre-confused-) - [**Improve your memory**](#-improve-your-memory-) - [**Accept responsibility for your own learning**](#-accept-responsibility-for-your-own-learning-) - [**Final thoughts**](#-final-thoughts-) - [**References**](#-references-) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/What-is-a-lifelong-learner-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **What is a lifelong learner?** A [lifelong learner](https://chrislatham.ca/the-9-habits-of-a-lifelong-learner/) is someone who never stops learning. They are always looking for new opportunities to learn, whether it's through taking online courses, reading books, or attending workshops and lectures. The most important thing is that they find something that interests them and stick with it. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that once you have a degree or diploma, your education is complete. In reality, there are many ways to learn outside of a classroom setting and make new connections with other people who share your interests. The key is finding something that resonates with you and going after it full force - no excuses! ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Why-become-a-lifelong-learner-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **Why become a lifelong learner?** It's no secret that the world is changing faster than ever before, so it's important to become a lifelong learner. You need to constantly learn new things, and there are many different ways to go about it. Lifelong learning is essential for keeping your mind sharp and your skills up-to-date. It also helps you stay motivated and engaged in the world around you. You never know what new thing you might discover or how it will impact you, so it's always good to be prepared. The main [benefit of being a lifelong learner](https://chrislatham.ca/benefits-of-being-a-self-directed-adult-learner/) is that you keep growing as a person and continually expanding your mind. When you seek out new information, you can't help but learn and grow. You'll never be bored, and your life will constantly feel fresh and exciting. Plus, learning new skills will help keep the mind active in old age so that when you retire from work, you'll still be able to fill your days with enjoyable activities. ## **When should I become a lifelong learner?** There's no time like the present to start learning! All kinds of learning experiences are available at any time in your life. It doesn't matter if you're last year of high school about to head off to university or if you're an adult already in the workforce. Whether you're pursuing learning out of passion or necessity, anything that helps you grow and expand your mind is worth pursuing. ## **How can I become a lifelong learner**? There are many ways to become a lifelong learner. Some people like to take formal classes. Online courses provide an excellent opportunity for lifelong learners to learn anything they're interested in, from art history and computer coding to languages and business management. You can also take the untraditional route and read or listen to books on various subjects you might be interested in. But what if you already have an established career and don't want to go back to school? You can still follow your interests by attending workshops, lectures, seminars, conferences, etc. There are plenty of ways for lifelong learners to continue learning without setting foot inside a classroom. The most important thing is to find something that truly holds your interest and stick with it. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/What-are-some-benefits-of-becoming-a-lifelong-learner-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **What are some benefits of becoming a lifelong learner?** There are many benefits to becoming a lifelong learner. When you learn new things, your brain releases dopamine, making you feel happy and keeping you feeling young. It also helps [improve cognitive skills](https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/train-your-brain?ref=chrislatham.ca), memory function, increase self-esteem, and decrease the risk of depression. There are also many benefits when it comes to your career. Learning new skills can help you gain more responsibilities at work and even earn a promotion in some cases. You might also switch careers later on or start your own business if you have the proper knowledge. **The most significant benefit of all is it brings you one step closer to being crowned 'The most interesting person in the world.'** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Create-your-own-learning-toolbox-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **Create your own learning toolbox** A learning toolbox is a great way to organize your learning materials and keep track of your progress. It can include anything from textbooks and notebooks to online courses and flashcards. Here are a few tips on how to create your own learning toolbox: 1\. **Choose the right materials.** Not all materials are created equal, so choosing the right ones for your needs is important. Make sure the materials are relevant to your goals and interests and that they fit into your budget. 2\. **Understand your learning style.** If you're a visual learner, you may benefit from using visual learning tools like videos. If you're an auditory learner, you may prefer podcasts or audiobooks. If you prefer Reading & writing, you can read books, blogs and write down notes in a notebook. If you're a kinesthetic learner, you may want to try a more hands-on approach with practical application. 3\. **Find your own pace.** Part of becoming a lifelong learner is knowing how to learn at your own pace and not deferring to someone else's timeline or schedule. If you find yourself following their schedule and struggling, consider moving more quickly through some lessons and slowing down on others so that you can master the material before moving on. 4\. **Keep track of your progress.** This can be done in many different ways, but one way is to write your learning goals down on a piece of paper and check them off as you go along. This will help to keep you organized while motivating you to keep going. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Organize-your-learning-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **Organize your learning** One of the most important things to remember when learning is that you need to organize your material. This can be done in various ways, but an excellent way to start is by creating a study schedule and dividing your material into manageable chunks. An often forgotten and overlooked part of organizing your study/practice time is to schedule time for taking a break. Taking breaks will relieve stress and increase your focus. Trust me, you will come back from your break feeling refreshed. ### **Take advantage of your surroundings** Besides organizing your material and scheduling time, you will also want to organize your study environment. Nobody wants to sit at a desk to get work done, and there is garbage all over the place. So when it comes to your surrounding, you will want to have a dedicated study area that is free of distractions. When it comes to studying, you will want to have a nice, quiet place with a lot of natural light. For example, create a "study corner" in your room where you can go to study/practice without being distracted by any other things going on around you. People who enjoy the outdoors might consider taking advantage of nature and studying outside. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ask-questions-when-youre-confused-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **Ask questions when you're confused** It's perfectly natural to feel a bit intimidated when you don't know something. After all, nobody likes feeling like they're the dumb one in the room. But don't let that fear keep you from asking questions. The people around you will appreciate your willingness to learn, and you'll gain a lot of valuable knowledge in the process. Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question. So don't be afraid to speak up and ask away. You may be surprised at how much you can learn by simply asking for clarification. And if you still don't understand after someone has tried to explain it to you, then don't be afraid to ask again. There's no shame in admitting that you need help or that you don't understand something. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Improve-your-memory-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **Improve your memory** When it comes to learning, having a good memory is essential. If you can't remember what you've learned, you're going to have a hard time retaining the information. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to improve your memory. One of the best ways is to practice mindfulness. When you're mindful, you're focused on the present moment and not worried about the past or the future. This can help you remember things more easily because you're not distracted by other thoughts. Another way to improve your memory is to exercise regularly. Exercise helps keep your brain healthy and functioning at its best. It also increases blood flow to the brain, which helps deliver oxygen and nutrients essential for cognitive function. Finally, make sure you get enough sleep. Sleep is critical for memory because your brain uses that time to process and store memories. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Accept-responsibility-for-your-own-learning-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **Accept responsibility for your own learning** Being a lifelong learner requires taking responsibility for your own learning. This means being self-motivated and accountable, setting goals and deadlines, and tracking your progress. It's also important to find resources that work best for you, whether it’s books, lectures, online courses, or workshops. The most important thing is to keep challenging yourself and expanding your horizons. Finding a resource that works best for you ## **Final thoughts** Learning is a lifelong pursuit, and there are many different ways to go about it. The most important thing is finding something that interests you and stick with it. I've learned a lot from reading books, watching YouTube videos, taking online courses on Skillshare or Udemy, attending workshops or lectures at my local library, and even just talking with friends who have different perspectives than mine. The point is that there isn't one best way to do it, as long as you're constantly learning new things! If you want some help finding your own personal path of lifelong learning but don't know where to start, email me anytime for suggestions. Learning should be something that never stops once we've left school behind us. ## **References** [https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/l/learning-new-things-the-benefits/](https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/l/learning-new-things-the-benefits/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/12-signs-you-are-lifelong-learner.html](https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/12-signs-you-are-lifelong-learner.html?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/train-your-brain](https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/train-your-brain?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046518](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046518?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifelong\_learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifelong%5Flearning?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/05/26/the-mindset-of-a-lifelong-learner/](https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/05/26/the-mindset-of-a-lifelong-learner/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195390483.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195390483-e-001](https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195390483.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195390483-e-001?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://theartofeducation.edu/2018/01/25/means-lifelong-learner/](https://theartofeducation.edu/2018/01/25/means-lifelong-learner/?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### The 9 Habits of a Lifelong Learner URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-9-habits-of-a-lifelong-learner/ Last updated: 2022-02-10T08:45:15.000Z It's no secret that the world is constantly changing. To keep up, you need to be a lifelong learner. That means being [open to new ideas](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-be-open-minded/), constantly improving yourself, and learning from your mistakes. Here are seven habits of a lifelong learner that will help you stay ahead of the curve. Table Of Contents show - [**They embrace change**](#-they-embrace-change-) - [**They attend various courses**](#-they-attend-various-courses-) - [**They read daily**](#-they-read-daily-) - [**They believe it's never too late to start something**](#-they-believe-its-never-too-late-to-start-something-) - [**They challenge themselves with specific goals**](#-they-challenge-themselves-with-specific-goals-) - [**They love making progress**](#-they-love-making-progress-) - [**They have different passions**](#-they-have-different-passions-) - [**They actively seek opportunities to grow**](#-they-actively-seek-opportunities-to-grow-) - [**They network and build relationships**](#-they-network-and-build-relationships-) - [**Final thoughts**](#-final-thoughts-) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Embrace-Change-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They embrace change** [Lifelong learners](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-become-a-lifelong-learner/) are constantly seeking new knowledge and personal growth. They are not afraid of change but rather see it as an opportunity for growth. They are always looking for new ways to improve themselves and their lives. Embracing change is only a natural step in this ongoing journey. Change is the one consistent variable in life that forces us to adapt. Being an adaptable human being is not allowing fear of change to drive your life but rather embracing it as a means of personal growth. When you stop fearing change, you can start doing things differently and adapting yourself to new situations. If you want to evolve as a person, embracing change is inevitable. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Attend-Various-Courses-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They attend various courses** Lifelong learners attend various courses to keep up with the changing times. They are always looking for new and innovative ways to learn and grow. Courses can include anything from online learning to traditional classroom settings. Lifelong learners are also willing to try new things, so they are so successful in their pursuits. You can find countless courses available for beginners and professionals if you search online. These are fantastic ways of meeting intelligent, like-minded individuals and learning from them. Outside of digital, the world has literally endless opportunities for growth and learning. You can explore traditional learning environments such as community colleges, continuing education programs or night schools. You can also try new and innovative courses such as yoga, taekwondo or judo. Regardless of your choice, knowing [how to study effectively](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-study-effectively-for-adults/) is of utmost importance. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Read-daily-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They read daily** Lifelong learners are voracious readers, and they consume information like their lives depend on it. They know the importance of continuous learning, and reading is a crucial component of this. Many lifelong learners have extensive libraries at home filled with self-help, personal development and business books. Reading expands your horizons by opening up a whole new world of information to you. It helps you discover new ideas, techniques and strategies that can help you improve yourself and your work life. More importantly, it can challenge you to think differently. With so many books to choose from, you never have to read the same book twice. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Start-something-new-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They believe it's never too late to start something** Lifelong learners believe that it’s never too late to learn new things and pursue new goals. No matter your age, there are always opportunities for growth and learning. They are also not afraid of making mistakes because they know that mistakes are a part of the learning process. Continually starting new projects is a critical component of self-growth, and it allows you to overcome failure and reach your full potential. Everyone desires to grow, but not everyone executes on doing so. Action is what separates lifelong learners from others who might have similar interests or goals. Some people believe that they can't start something until they get older. In reality, this is just a means of avoiding a familiar place. So, if you want to be a lifelong learner, never give up and always keep moving forward. Pursue your dreams and goals with passion and determination, and you will ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/New-Challenges-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They challenge themselves with specific goals** Lifelong learners are constantly challenging themselves with specific goals. They know the importance of setting and achieving goals, which is why they are often so successful in life. They can push their limits and achieve things they never thought possible by continually challenging themselves. Many lifelong learners like to define and set[ SMART goals](https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm?ref=chrislatham.ca). This allows them to experience continuous growth and helps them stay motivated. They also take their goals seriously and never give up. Once they commit to something, they carry it through to the end. For example, if you want to be a better public speaker, you can set the goal of giving three presentations every week for one month. By doing this consistently, you will gain experience and knowledge quickly. You will also learn to overcome stage fright and gain more confidence in yourself. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Enjoy-making-progress-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They love making progress** Lifelong learners are always looking for ways to make progress. They know that continuous growth is the key to success and happiness, and this is why they are always trying new things and seeking new knowledge. Making progress usually involves setting and achieving goals. By doing this, lifelong learners can measure their success and see how far they have come. Additionally, making progress allows them to constantly improve themselves, their work, and life. The most important thing about progress is that they understand there will be many failed attempts. Each mistake made is used as a learning tool and an opportunity to improve. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Have-different-pasions-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They have different passions** One of the most impressive things about lifelong learners is that they have many different passions. They are not one-dimensional individuals who are only interested in a particular topic or activity. Instead, they are curious and passionate people who constantly explore new interests. This curiosity allows them to learn new things quickly and effectively. They also tend to be very good at many different things because of their varied interests. Lifelong learners can often find joy in many other areas of life. One thing that all lifelong learners have in common is their willingness to try new things. They understand that it's important to constantly expand their horizons if they want to continue growing as individuals. This is why they are always willing to explore new activities outside their comfort zone. By doing different things, you gain more confidence, thus making you more efficient in tackling problems and with less effort. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Seeking-growth-opportunities-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They actively seek opportunities to grow** All lifelong learners are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to grow and challenge themselves. They understand that growth is the key to success and happiness, and they are always looking for ways to improve themselves. One of the best ways to find new growth opportunities is by actively seeking them out. This means being willing to try new things and explore new interests, and it also means being open to learning from others. Lifelong learners understand the importance of continuous learning and expanding one's skillset. This is why they are always willing to learn new things, regardless of how challenging it may be. Additionally, they are willing to take risks and push their limits. By doing all of these things, lifelong learners can continue growing as individuals. They often manage to achieve great things and take their lives to the next level. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Build-relationships-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## **They network and build relationships** One of the best things about being a lifelong learner is that you are constantly meeting new people and building relationships. This is due to your desire to learn new things and explore new places. Networking is one of the best ways to meet new people and build relationships. When you network, you can connect with like-minded individuals who share your interests. Additionally, networking allows you to build professional relationships that can be beneficial in the future. You will find that most of your lifelong learners can build meaningful connections with others. Due to their vast array of knowledge and expertise, they aren’t afraid to share it with the world, and they do this by networking with people they encounter in everyday life. You'll often find that lifelong learners are comfortable in their own identity, making it easier to build strong relationships. They aren’t worried about what people think of them, so they can be themselves when it counts. This allows them to develop genuine connections that last for a long time. ## **Final thoughts** If you can relate to most of these signs, congratulations! You are a lifelong learner and likely to achieve great things in life. The good news is that it's never too late to start learning and growing. So whatever your passions may be, go after them with enthusiasm and don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Growth opportunities are all around us; we just have to be open to finding them. How do you continue learning and challenging yourself? [Shoot me an email](mailto:hello@chrislatham.ca) to let me know! **Reference:** [https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/12-signs-you-are-lifelong-learner.html](https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/12-signs-you-are-lifelong-learner.html?ref=chrislatham.ca) [https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/05/26/the-mindset-of-a-lifelong-learner/](https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/05/26/the-mindset-of-a-lifelong-learner/?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Why Budgeting Sucks! Track Your Net Worth Instead URL: https://chrislatham.ca/budgeting-sucks-track-your-net-worth-instead/ Last updated: 2022-01-21T12:43:02.000Z A few years ago, I was a personal trainer with variable income. Essentially each month, the money going into my account changed. All the budgeting rules and tricks I read in books and blogs never applied. When I switched to **tracking my net worth**, only then was I able to get a grasp on my finances and [eliminate $14K of credit card debt](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-get-14k-in-debt/). That is a much longer story. Let's dive into the benefits of using a net worth calculator. Before I forget: **This is not financial advice.** This is just info coming from a man who enjoys life with no friction. Table Of Contents show - [What does net worth mean?](#what-does-net-worth-mean) - [Budgeting is wack!](#budgeting-is-wack) - [Why track your net worth?](#why-track-your-net-worth) - [How do you keep track of your net worth?](#how-do-you-keep-track-of-your-net-worth) - [What to include in your net worth?](#what-to-include-in-your-net-worth) - [Using the net worth spreadsheet](#using-the-net-worth-spreadsheet) ## What does net worth mean? Net worth is the total value of everything you own, minus everything you owe. It's the sum of all of your assets and liabilities. It's a powerful metric to use to plan and track your financial journey and manage your money. If you are serious about managing your finances, I have a free downloadable spreadsheet that you can use. This is the same one that I use to manage my own money. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Planning-to-budget-Chris-Latham.png) ## Budgeting is wack! Let me be clear budgeting isn't a bad idea. Just like a meal plan, it makes sense on paper. The challenge lies in the application of the budget. I'm sure you've done a budget before, and you sat down and planned out every dollar that you were going to spend and save. You know, doing the right thing and being proactive. The issue in being proactive with your budget is that you cannot predict the future. By this, I mean car breaking down, medical bills, having the kids. The list is endless that things come up out of nowhere that can quickly throw your budget off track. Budgeting only works if you know how to apply it if you know how to make a plan and adapt as needed. What if instead of setting yourself back by spending days or weeks creating a budget, you didn't have to? Let's look at a better way... [![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Net-Worth-Calculator-Screenshots-Chris-Latham.jpg)](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZtdqBHDExEqYX2NOIKyterbz0sk6v-SG4fEBsWrR8IY/edit?usp=sharing&ref=chrislatham.ca) ## Why track your net worth? You want to track your net worth because it helps you understand where you stand financially. You want to know if you're making positive or negative gains. Using a [net worth spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZtdqBHDExEqYX2NOIKyterbz0sk6v-SG4fEBsWrR8IY/edit?usp=sharing&ref=chrislatham.ca) is one of the most effective methods to assess your entire financial health. It's about taking a step back and looking at the big picture of your finances. Your net worth analyzes everything rather than focusing on just one thing. On a personal level tracking my net worth monthly in a spreadsheet made it easier for me to pay off my debt. I was seeing the liabilities section go down month after month motivated me to bring it down to 0! ## How do you keep track of your net worth? The simplest way to get started is to pull out all your statements and organize them into an assets pile and a liabilities pile. Once a month, you will add up all your assets and liabilities. ### What is the difference between an asset and liability? A liability is something a person or company owes, usually a sum of money. Liabilities are settled over time through the transfer of economic benefits, including cash, goods, or services. ([Investopedia](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liability.asp?ref=chrislatham.ca)) An asset is a resource with economic value that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit. ([Investopedia](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/asset.asp?ref=chrislatham.ca)) Simply put, assets put money in your pocket, and liabilities take money out. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Assets-or-liabilites-Chris-Latham.png) ## What to include in your net worth? When it comes to calculating net worth, everyone has a different opinion on which assets to include. For assets, you will want to include: - Cash - Bank accounts - Investment properties (property in your name where the cash flow is greater than your mortgage) - Investments (gold, stock, crypto, wine, retirement fund, and more.) - House (only if paid in full. Mortgage = debt) As for liabilities, it is pretty simple. If you owe money towards it, then add it. For liabilities, you will want to include: - Credit cards - Car payments - House/Condo Mortgage (I don't care what you say, as long as you're paying the bank monthly, it's a liability) - Rent - Credit line - Taxes you owe ## Using the net worth spreadsheet My goal is that [the spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZtdqBHDExEqYX2NOIKyterbz0sk6v-SG4fEBsWrR8IY/edit?usp=sharing&ref=chrislatham.ca) is easy to use. You can change the row labels to match your account. The colourful rows at the bottom are all preset with a formula to take the thinking out. Watch the video, download your copy of the spreadsheet and stay on top of your finances. If this helped, or you have any questions, leave a comment below. ### How to Study Effectively For Adults URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-study-effectively-for-adults/ Last updated: 2022-01-06T18:57:00.000Z Learning is for life. It's never too late to get back into the habit of studying and learning new things, but it does take some work. With a little bit of time management, you can find ways to study efficiently as an adult. The following are the top five tips to help you stay on track! **The 5 keys to studying effectively for adults:** 1. Manage your time efficiently 2. Make studying a habit 3. Schedule time to study 4. Set objectives and track your progress 5. Enjoy what you are learning ## Manage your time efficiently One of the most important tips for students is to learn how to manage time and prioritize tasks. Many adults have more demands on their time than students with a single job or young children, so planning is vital. You also need to be honest with yourself about how long your course will take and add in the extra time you'll need to study or take care of other responsibilities. Make a schedule that works for you, and try to stick to it! ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Make-studying-a-habit-Chris-Latham.png) ## Make studying a habit It is possible to fall into a habit of studying too much, so it is essential to take breaks. Even if you can't study every day, taking a break is crucial. You'll need a little bit of time for yourself and for your family, but you should make sure that you have enough sleep. The more rest you get, the better your brain will work, and you'll have a better chance of passing your exams. If you're an adult learner, you have more commitments, but this doesn't mean you can't get the work done. While you're studying, you should try to stay free of distractions. It can be easy to get distracted by the internet or social media. Still, these things will only take away from your focus. Find a place to study where you won't be disturbed, and make sure all of your materials are ready to go before you start. Breaking out of bad habits is never easy, but it's worth it! If you've been struggling with studying. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Schedule-time-to-study-Chris-Latham.png) ## Schedule time to study When it comes to finding time for studying, remember that adult students usually have jobs and families that may interfere with their studies. The best way to allocate time for studying is to ensure there's no interruption. Your goal should be to find quiet times of the day, free from distractions and other activities. Your daily study goals should align with your schedule, and be realistic about the amount of time you have. By creating a routine that allows you to do this, you will increase your chances of success in your studies. You must make sure to set aside a set amount of time for studying. Whether you're working or taking a class, you need to schedule time for studying. Ideally, you should be able to study without interruptions and other activities. But even if you have a dedicated study space, you should set daily goals that coincide with your time constraints. If you can't find enough time for studying, it's better to work on your schedule and focus on other aspects of your life. When it comes to studying as an adult, you have a lot of things on your mind. Your time is valuable, so take advantage of it. You should set a time when you can study effectively and keep it. The best time is when you can do everything without distractions. You should be able to focus on your studies for the whole day. And it's best to find a place where you can sit down and focus. ## Set study objectives and track your progress Studying is difficult for many adults. If you are an adult, it's probably because you never learned how to study as a child. But don't worry, there are plenty of things that can be done now to make studying much easier and more productive. Here are some tips on how adults should set goals when studying: - What do you want to learn? - What resources (books, internet, etc.) will you use? - How much time will you need to devote to studying? - Make a study schedule and stick to it! One of the best ways to ensure efficient studying is tracking your progress. Studies have shown that adults who track milestones and follow through with them are more likely to meet those goals than those who don't keep up with their studies. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Enjoy-what-you-are-learning-Chris-Latham.png) ## Enjoy what you're doing The final tip for studying is to enjoy your course. If you aren't having fun with what you are learning, it will be a lot harder to stick with them and study consistently. No matter how long it takes or what sacrifices have to be made, if you genuinely love something, then don't give up. It's worth it in the end! ## Final Thoughts Studying as an adult is different than learning in school. You have more commitments, but this doesn't mean you can't get the work done. As long as you're willing to put in some effort and be smart about your time management, there should be no problem getting yourself back into the habit of learning new things. By setting a good schedule, studying in the right place and keeping track of your progress, you can make studying much more effortless. If you follow these tips, there's no doubt that you'll feel more productive and confident about what you're doing. You might need to make some changes or even break bad habits at first, but once it becomes a routine, you'll be able to focus on your studies and achieve great things. Just remember that it's always important to enjoy what you're doing! ### The Benefits of Being a Self-Directed Adult Learner URL: https://chrislatham.ca/benefits-of-being-a-self-directed-adult-learner/ Last updated: 2022-01-04T05:10:35.000Z ## Is Self-Directed Learning Effective For Adults? For 80% of my adult life, I would identify myself as a self-directed learner. From personal training, nutrition, digital marketing and now [coding](https://chrislatham.ca/learning-how-to-code-in-100-days/). Self-directed learning is a type of education that has been rising in recent years. Instead of being taught by someone else, you are responsible for your own learning in self-directed learning. You decide what to learn and how to learn it, all without any guidance from a teacher. Some people see this as a positive way for adults to get an education. In contrast, others worry about the lack of structure and supervision in self-directed settings. This article will explore the benefits and drawbacks of self-directed learning for adults. Table Of Contents show - [Is Self-Directed Learning Effective For Adults?](#is-self-directed-learning-effective-for-adults) - [What is self-directed learning?](#what-is-self-directed-learning) - [The benefits of self-directed learning for adults](#the-benefits-of-self-directed-learning-for-adults) - [How to be successful with your own learning?](#how-to-be-successful-with-your-own-learning) - [The drawbacks of self-directed learning](#the-drawbacks-of-self-directed-learning) - [Successful strategies for being self-taught](#successful-strategies-for-being-self-taught) - [The learning process when self-taught](#the-learning-process-when-self-taught) - [The effectiveness of a self-directed education](#the-effectiveness-of-a-self-directed-education) - [Final Thoughts on Self-Directed Learning for Adults](#final-thoughts-on-self-directed-learning-for-adults) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/What-is-self-directed-learning-Chris-Latham.png) ## What is self-directed learning? Self-directed learning, also known as autodidacticism, is basically an education that involves little or no physical instruction from other people. In this model of education, instead of going to class, you learn through books, podcasts, YouTube videos, or any other media. In self-directed learning, you choose what, when and how long your education should be. It's important to note that self-directed learning does not mean self-teaching. Self-teaching is when you teach yourself a subject about which you don't know anything and then use your newly found knowledge to teach others. With self-directed learning, people are just educating themselves on what they want to learn without paying for it. Being a self-directed learner as an adult has many benefits over those who do not educate themselves outside of school or work hours because it allows them to pursue personal interests at their own pace without feeling pressured by deadlines or grades like in traditional education systems. There are also some drawbacks to self-directed learning. One of the most significant drawbacks is that self-directed learners are usually dealing with more work, especially if they are also working a full-time job in addition to trying to do self-directed learning. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Benefits-of-self-directed-learning-for-adults-Chris-Latham.png) ## The benefits of self-directed learning for adults The top benefits of self-directed learning for adults are that they can take control over their own education, learn at their own pace, and have the flexibility to take courses in any subject of their choosing. Adults who learn independently often adapt the learning methods to fit their busy schedules. Self-directed learning allows you to determine what works for you and choose appropriate learning strategies that correspond to your learning interests. You can tailor the learning process to fit your schedule and your interests, and you can even change your goals along the way. This is an essential aspect of self-directed learning. You can choose to learn about topics you're interested in or explore new ones that interest you. Self-directed learners also enjoy increased productivity due to decreased procrastination. The downside is that you need a lot of discipline because no one else tells you what to do or when to do it. But with enough self-motivation and support, it's possible for anyone to achieve. For example, a self-directed learner may require accountability from others, while another may need competition or assistance. To find like-minded people who want to share their knowledge, check out online groups, hackerspaces, or find a mentor. Regardless of your motivations, make sure that you have a positive attitude and the right resources. Another way self-directed learning is beneficial for adults is that it saves them a lot of money. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Be-successful-with-your-own-learning-Chris-Latham.png) ## How to be successful with your own learning? Self-directed learning is a style of education that has been growing in popularity over the last few decades. It emphasizes self-motivated study and independent problem solving without relying on teachers or textbooks. The most successful self-learners take advantage of all their resources to learn what they want when they want it. There are four key points to remember if you're going self-directed: make an outline, choose your own topics, use outside sources for information and get help from friends when needed. When you go with this type of learning plan, you will be able to teach yourself anything that interests you in a way that suits your needs best. You can also spend more time exploring ideas before deciding which ones have the most relevance for you. ## The drawbacks of self-directed learning The main disadvantage of self-directed learning is the lack of feedback. I've found that when people are not getting the results they want, it is challenging for them to figure out what may be wrong with their approach. This can lead to frustration and discouragement as one tries, again and again, to do things differently but still does not see any progress. Another drawback is that there are no experts guiding you through the learning process, so you will have difficulty figuring out how to tackle problems or make decisions. Because self-directed learners don't have anyone else to turn to for help, they often feel isolated and alone in their work, leading them to feel discouraged or even depressed because they don't see any progress. The third drawback is the lack of structure and clear directions. As a self-directed learner, you have to find your own way through a maze of information that is out there in the world, just waiting for you to pick up and absorb. You have no one telling you what is important or how to get from point A to point B. This can take a lot of time and still not provide the desired results. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Successful-strategies-for-being-self-taught-Chris-Latham.png) ## Successful strategies for being self-taught Educating yourself can be a daunting task. One helpful strategy is to focus on the question "What do I want to learn?" and break it down into more minor, more manageable questions. Once you answer these questions, you'll find many ways to learn what you need to know to get where you want to go. Another strategy is to educate oneself using different resources such as books, videos or even podcasts that cover topics of interest. These resources will not only teach about one subject but also give links and references, which can lead the learner further into their desired topic area. It all comes down to being able to connect the dots when learning. ## The learning process when self-taught When it comes to your own learning process, it is crucial that you are persistent! Persistence builds skills and provides motivation which are necessary components of self-directed learning. The self-directed learning process can be broken down into three parts. 1. Goal-setting is the activity of determining where you are in reference to your goal and planning ways to reach it. 2. Feedback, or monitoring progress, is one of the most important components because it helps determine whether or not a learner is on track or not. This feedback helps adjust the plan, identify problems and obstacles that prevent the learning goal from being reached and provide motivation to increase effort when needed. 3. Reflection helps self-directed learners turn to action by clarifying what has been learned and identifying changes that might need to be made in their goals or strategies. As you can see, self-directed learning is an active learning process where learners themselves take responsibility for their education. Learners should be able to drive what they need when they need it, which will result in more efficient learning than if they were following someone else's plan. ## The effectiveness of a self-directed education The research on self-directed learning is limited. However, the positive effects are more significant in those who learn independently. Self-directed learning is effective for those who have the self-discipline and motivation and the time and place to do it. Your success relies on you. It is up to you how much effort you put in and what goals you set for yourself. If you stick with it, your efforts will pay off. There are no grades to live up to, and nothing compares to the self-satisfaction of succeeding in a self-directed learning experience and mastering a new area or subject. Another critical factor in improving success is to be a [lifelong learner](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-become-a-lifelong-learner/). Adult learners need to assume personal responsibility for their desired outcome. As the saying goes learning is a lifelong process. Knowing this, we should educate ourselves throughout our lives and not just in school. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/My-Final-Thoughts-on-Being-Self-Taught-Chris-Latham.png) ## Final Thoughts on Self-Directed Learning for Adults Self-directed learning can be an empowering way to learn on your own terms, and it is a great way to keep your mind sharp and learn new skills. The benefits of self-directed learning are varied, but they include the ability to create a personalized curriculum and use what you've learned for personal or professional purposes. Although there are some drawbacks to self-directed learning, these are primarily rooted in not having access to tutors or mentors when you need them most. If this sounds like something that could work well with your goals, it may be worth exploring informal learning tactics to help you achieve success! ### Learning How to Code Python Day 1-10 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/learning-how-to-code-python-day-1-10/ Last updated: 2022-01-01T04:09:00.000Z As you know I decided to learn how to code. If you want the full break down visit the previous post I created where I explain [why I am learning to code](https://chrislatham.ca/learning-how-to-code-in-100-days/), and why I chose Python. And if you are up to date, dive in below for days one to ten. Table Of Contents show - [Day 1](#day-1) - [Day 2](#day-2) ## Day 1 ### Learning to Code Python Day 1 Today marks the end of Day one in learning how to code Python. To get started, the first thing I did was log into an old [FreeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn?ref=chrislatham.ca) I made back in 2016\. FreeCodeCamp is a non-profit program that aims to help people learn to code for free. Why learn how to code, you may ask? The main reason is to improve my problem-solving skills by forcing me to think differently about problems. Plus, I always thought it was cool. ### What I learned on day 1 I started off by getting 2 lessons deep in the FreeCodeCamp. The First lesson explained the fundamentals of what are variables, expressions, and statements. **Variables** are a place where you can store data for later use, almost like a shortcut or bookmark in the browser. ``` name = "Mike G" age = 72 ``` ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Day-1-Coding-Variables-Chris-Latham.png) Example of Python Variables **Expressions** are values that are made of symbols, letters, and words. Expressions can either be an identifier or some kind of mathematical function. Pretty much anything that comes after the '=' sign is an expression. **Statements** are instructions, and they are a sequence of words and symbols that provides information about the problem you're solving. From there, I dove into a more hands-on youtube tutorial, '[Learn Python - Full Course for Beginners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw&ref=chrislatham.ca)' and dove right into creating. I have to say I definitely enjoy this style of learning as it forces me to figure out and connects the dots while executing. Often, that is the best way for me to understand what I am learning. What's funny is only after the 2 hours session did I realize that the video was from FreeCodeCamp. ### Day 1 accomplishment What I accomplished after Day 1 was in creating a basic arithmetic calculator. Take a look below at the first GIF I created. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Day-1-Basic-Calculator-Chris-Latham-.gif) Basic Arithmetic Calculator After the first day, I realize my best plan of action is to spend the first half of my time doing the course and learning all the fundamentals. Then I spend the last half of my time learning through building and writing code. ## Day 2 Yesterday I learned about Variables, Expressions, Statements and made a calculator. ### What I learned on day 2 Today's lesson was about Conditional Execution and the famous IF statement. Using IF statements will help the program make decisions. We need to create a variable to get this done, then tell the program what to do. Say I create a program that wants to know if someone is above 18\. I want the program to spit out the phrase 'legal' if they are 18 and older, and if they are under 18, it will say 'underage'. We would need to create a variable and give it a value to get that done. I will use the variable 'age' and assign it the value of '18.' ``` age = 18 ``` Then I need to implement conditional execution to guide the program on what to do. The first thing I want to do is let the user enter their age. ``` age = input("how old are you: ") ``` Then I want the program to read the number they input and spit out either the word 'legal' or 'underage. For that I have: ``` if age < str(18): print("underage") if age >= str(18): print("legal") ``` When I put it all together it looks like this: ``` age = 18 age = input("how old are you: ") if age < str(18): print("underage") if age >= str(18): print("legal") ``` When you let that run you get the following: ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Day-2-Age-Verification-with-Python-Chris-Latham.gif) I have to say I am quite proud I did the above without using my notes. When I read this sentence back after day 100, I'm sure I will have a good laugh. But hey, no matter how big or small the win, I have to celebrate them regardless. ### Day 2 Accomplishments Today on the practical side of things, I learned to build a guessing game. The game's premise is you have three tries to guess my favourite fruit. If you guess the answer correct in three attempts, you'll read the message "You win!". If you get it wrong after three tries, you will get the message, "You are out of guesses. Sucks to be you." This is what it looks like: ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Day-2-Guessing-Game-with-Python-Chris-Latham.gif) Today's big takeaway is that you have to blend practical work with studying no matter your learning style. You got to get intellectual and physical. If you are not, then you risk only having intellectual entertainment. As much as I would love to claim that quote, I heard it first from Nishant Kasibhatla. You can watch a dope [video of him here](https://youtu.be/AWCwY%5F4le7M?ref=chrislatham.ca). The crazy thing is the video came out the same day as I wrote this. Talk about perfect timing. Follow the journey and see what happened on day 3. ### Learning How to Code in 100 Days URL: https://chrislatham.ca/learning-how-to-code-in-100-days/ Last updated: 2021-12-30T16:21:40.000Z # Learning How to Code in 100 Days A few days ago, I decided to learn how to code, and I thought it would be fun (and hopefully helpful) to document my journey. This would be my second attempt at learning code since 2018\. If you're wondering why I'm learning to code, the answer is simple: because I can! And because it's fun to learn new skills, especially if they could come in handy down the road. I'm determined not to give up, and I'll be sure to share my successes (and failures!) along the way. Wish me luck! Table Of Contents show - [Why I'm learning how to code](#why-im-learning-how-to-code) - [Why 100 days?](#why-100-days) - [My goals in learning to code](#my-goals-in-learning-to-code) - [Why I'm choosing Python?](#why-im-choosing-python) - [Where am I going to learn from?](#where-am-i-going-to-learn-from) - [My current coding skills](#my-current-coding-skills) - [My Gameplan](#my-gameplan) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Why-learn-to-code-Chris-Latham.png) ## Why I'm learning how to code To be honest, I've wanted to learn how to code since December 1999\. This was right after watching the Matrix for the 30th time in a row. (No exaggeration) This has been something I have always wanted to learn. I attempted to learn back in 2018 but failed to follow through. Looking back, I can say the reason for the lack of follow-through comes down to not having a use for it. Instead, I decided to dive into the world of marketing and learn paid ads. From there, I branched out and found a passion for SEO. It tapped into my wanting to understand how things worked and solve problems with a holistic approach. The need to learn to write code goes hand in hand with improving my SEO skills. Simply put, SEO has a lot of repetitive tasks like an accountant. Having good enough skills in specific programming languages will help automate tedious SEO tasks. ### Future-proofing my skills If you didn't know, I love looking into the future and hedging bets on the new trends. When it comes to web design, more and more sites are being built with Javascript. I have to say the sites are beautiful and visually appealing. The downside is that when it comes to SEO, Google has a hard time scanning Javascript-heavy sites and can't always tell what the web page is about. If you didn't know, Google scans web pages for text and code to understand what the page is about and who to serve it to when using the search engine. This is the equivalent of you scanning books in a library printed with invisible ink. Unless you have the perfect lighting, you won't know what the book is about or understand what you are reading. Seeing the direction websites are going, one of the programming languages I plan to learn is Javascript. This will help me implement Edge SEO, which answers the invisible ink Google has a hard time scanning. ## Why 100 days? To be honest, I came across [#100DaysofCode](https://www.100daysofcode.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) and thought, what the hell? Why not. Plus, I love a time-based goal. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/My-Goals-in-learning-code-Chris-Latham.png) ## My goals in learning to code ### My personal goals I'll start off by sharing my personal goals in order of importance. 1. To learn a new skill/language 2. To improve my writing through documenting the journey 3. Document the journey. (written & video) 4. To create & repurpose content The first point of learning a new skill is easy for me. I enjoy going into a cave (metaphorical) and coming out with a new skill. I always feel like Goku going into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Every time I came back out, I levelled up in skill. With that said, the most challenging part for me will be the third point, documenting my journey. I'm very much someone who likes to just get things done with no glory, and I see the bigger picture of documenting my journey as something I will love to look back to years from now. Plus, it can possibly help guide someone who's looking to do the same thing. Who knows, one day, I may have a name and brand that inspires people to seek and try new experiences. ### What I want to get out of the journey I spent a good few minutes thinking of this, and the main thing I want to get out of this is to improve my problem-solving skills. The most important part of being a good problem solver is the ability to break down a large problem into bite-size chunks is crucial. Learning to code will help develop such a valuable skill. By the end of the 100 days, I want to have developed a game or tool that will make my life easier. As of now, I m not sure what I will develop, but I'm confident by day 75, I'll have a better idea of what to create. Choosing a programming language When it comes to choosing a specific programming language to start with, there are many to choose from. You have C++, HTML5, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, and many more. As much as it would be cool to understand each language, I need to be realistic and stay focused on what I want to achieve. In looking at all the coding languages, two stood out as ones that can help with my career. Javascript & Python both are popular languages I have seen floating around the SEO-sphere. This is true when it comes to automating tasks. Like I said, SEO has many repetitive tasks, and I am all about living a life with the least amount of friction. I decided to start my 'Learn To Code' journey with Python. The most important thing for me to remember is I want to get good enough to leverage coding to help make my life easier, and this means I will need to know when and where to stop. It may sound counterproductive, but I understand that coding is its own career path. In learning a new skill, primarily digital skills, there is a point you get where you are good enough to get a job. That is not my intention at all, as it would take away from my bigger picture. The goal is to be good enough to be dangerous but not dangerous enough to be good. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Why-learn-python-Chris-Latham.png) ## Why I'm choosing Python? I chose Python as it was the one language that is the easiest to read and is considered an interpreted language. You can read more about why [Python is easy to learn here](https://www.thinkful.com/blog/how-hard-is-it-to-learn-python/?ref=chrislatham.ca). Essentially Python was built to be easy to understand, although basic is used in many complicated systems. ### What is Python? Python is a programming language that can be used to make games, stories, and more. Python is open-source software meaning that it's free to edit to make modifications. This makes the language more flexible than other types of languages that are closed-source. Python is popular for building websites and automating tasks. Because it's easy to learn, it's suitable for non-programmers. In fact, it's used for everything from creating Netflix's recommendation algorithm to writing software for self-driving cars. Although Python is mainly used for programming, non-programmers have also been taking advantage of its ease of use to automate many of their daily tasks. Unlike other programming languages, Python is one of the easiest to learn and use. Although the language is 30 years old, it still retains its mystery. As an example, several other coding languages, including Ruby and Swift, are based on Python but are much more complicated. ### Ok, what is open-source code? Open-source code is the most democratic of all coding languages because people can engage with the programmers, and programmers can then engage with the people, shaping what they want to happen. Open-source code reflects a more cooperative attitude about programming and about life in general. It's based on this idea that we're in it together--that when we share our work, our innovations, and collaborate in good faith, everybody wins. That kind of cooperation is needed today, and open source is making headway in helping us with finding solutions to so many problems we face as a world population. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Where-I-am-going-to-learn-coding-Chris-Latham.png) ## Where am I going to learn from? This is where I implement the world-known **Latham Accelerated Learning Method**. **The LAL Method** is simple; it involves knowing what learning styles suit you best. Then you find resources for each of the visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and read/write learning styles. From there, you fully immerse yourself in one subject. - For visual learning, I'll be consuming Youtube videos as follow-along guides and theory explanations. - For auditory learning, I'll be consuming podcasts and video interviews. - For kinesthetic, I will be using the CodeRunner editing tool for implementing everything I learned. I will also take an online coding course. This will help get structure in what I am learning. - For read/write, I will read blogs and take notes. This method of learning is something I have done time and time again. I can say that the method has two milestones. One is at the very start when you are consuming the content and nothing makes sense, and the other happens at about 75% of the way there. The second moment often comes as an aha moment. For it usually happens when I listen to a podcast, and halfway through, I realize that I understand everything they are talking about. I got from barely catching on to 10% to what is being said to fully comprehending and understanding their thought process. ### My current resources #### Video [Learn Python - Full Course for Beginners \[Tutorial\]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw&ref=chrislatham.ca) [12 Beginner Python Projects - Coding Course](https://youtu.be/8ext9G7xspg?list=PL02ADnXys9-0c71qdTY6hwvqkycKk0UMh&ref=chrislatham.ca) [Agency Automators' SEO How-Tos Videos](https://www.youtube.com/c/AgencyAutomators/videos?ref=chrislatham.ca) #### Blogs [An Introduction to Python for Technical SEO](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/python-technical-seo/330515/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [How to Use Python to Analyze SEO Data: A Reference Guide](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/python-seo-data-reference-guide/287927/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [Python for SEO: Complete Guide (in 6 Chapters)](https://www.jcchouinard.com/python-for-seo/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [Real Python Blog](https://realpython.com/python-beginner-tips/?ref=chrislatham.ca) #### Online Course [Free Code Camp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/scientific-computing-with-python/?ref=chrislatham.ca#python-for-everybody) [Code Academy](https://learningseo.io/automate-tasks/?ref=chrislatham.ca) #### Podcasts [Talk Python to Me](https://talkpython.fm/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [The Real Python Podcast](https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/?ref=chrislatham.ca) [Profitable Python](https://anchor.fm/profitablepythonfm?ref=chrislatham.ca) ## My current coding skills Currently, my skills are level 0\. The one piece of advice given to me was to write notes when I start writing code. This isn't notes like on pen and paper; instead, it means writing notes inside the code I am writing itself. Here is a visual example, all the notes are written behind a # sign. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Taking-notes-in-CodeRunner-Chris-Latham.png) Taking notes in CodeRunner ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/My-learn-to-code-gameplan-Chris-Latham.png) ## My Gameplan The part you have been waiting for, how exactly will I go about learning to code Python in 100 days? The most important thing when it comes to learning code or any skill for that matter is getting your reps (hours) in. I've created a simple game plan that is built on SMART goals. 1. Monday to Friday, I will spend 90 minutes a day coding. (I need to leave room to keep levelling up my SEO skills) 2. Saturday and Sunday, I will spend a minimum of 2 hours coding a day 3. Write 100-200 words a day on what I have done and learned 4. After 10 days, record a video going over what I have learned in the past 10 days 5. Invest 75-80% of my content consumption routine to Python 6. Create 15-second snippets for social media sharing the journey There you have it. [Click here to start reading my 100 days to learn code journey](https://chrislatham.ca/learning-how-to-code-python-day-1-10/). ### How to Not Be a Boring Person URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-not-be-a-boring-person/ Last updated: 2021-12-29T18:34:03.000Z # How to Not Be Boring It can be a little nerve-wracking the first time you meet someone, especially if you don't know what to say or do. Then there's the feeling of being judged or not knowing how to act in front of this person who may be judging you. But the good news is that meeting people doesn't have to stress you out so much! You just need some advice on how to not be boring when meeting people. Here are 6 tips for those awkward first encounters: 1. Be open to meeting new people 2. Talk about your hobbies, interests, and passions 3. Start new activities and hobbies 4. Be genuinely curious about whom you are talking to 5. Find common ground with someone you meet 6. Avoid talking about politics or religion unless someone brings it up first Table Of Contents show - [Be open to meeting new people](#be-open-to-meeting-new-people) - [Talk about your hobbies, interests, and passions](#talk-about-your-hobbies-interests-and-passions) - [Start new activities and hobbies](#start-new-activities-and-hobbies) - [Be curious and ask questions](#be-curious-and-ask-questions) - [Find common ground with someone you meet](#find-common-ground-with-someone-you-meet) - [Avoid talking about politics or religion unless someone brings it up first](#avoid-talking-about-politics-or-religion-unless-someone-brings-it-up-first) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Meet-New-Poeple-Chris-Latham.png) ## Be open to meeting new people The first step to not being a boring individual is being open to meeting new people. If you are a shy individual, you will need to overcome that shyness. Instead of finding it hard to talk to new people, see it as an opportunity. There are so many kinds of people out there that you don't know. Meet them! You just might become best friends with them or meet your future spouse. It is all about being open to new possibilities and new people. When you meet someone, try to be yourself. Don't pretend to like something you don't like or pretend to be someone you are not. People will see through the false pretenses, and then they won't want to be around you anymore. They also will not respect your character. Don't all your friends were strangers once upon a time. In the wise words of Devin The Dude > "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet." > > Devin the Dude ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Talk-About-Hobbies-Chris-Latham.png) ## Talk about your hobbies, interests, and passions Talking about what you are passionate about will get people interested in speaking to you. It makes them want to know more. By talking about the things that interest you or that you love doing, shows people that you are interesting too! Who doesn't want to speak with someone who keeps things interesting in life? The plus side about bringing up your hobbies is that it gives you an opportunity to find common ground with your new friend. Something that you are both interested in, making the conversation easier. And who knows, maybe your new friend enjoys an activity you haven't tried before! For example, if you are at a party, bring up your interests instead of feeling obligated to make small talk with people around you when there is nothing in common. Let others know what you love doing in your spare time. If someone is interested, they will ask more questions about it. This makes the conversation more accessible for everyone involved because it makes the other person less scared to speak. It also opens you up to asking the other person about their current hobbies and interests. These are usually questions people don't mind answering and can spark a conversation. Take your hobbies and interests with you! Don't let something come between you and the things you love doing. If it is an activity, bring it along! You never know when it might be helpful to have something at hand for those awkward gaps in conversation. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Start-a-New-Hobby-Chris-Latham.png) ## Start new activities and hobbies I guess I should have started with this point first. You can only talk about your hobbies and interests by having them. If you have no hobbies for whatever reason, I urge you to find one. Starting a new hobby or activity does a few things for you. It forces you out of your comfort zone, you learn something new, and gives you a great reason to meet new people. People are enthused to connect with you if they know that you're always learning new things. Let's be honest most people do the same things week after week. As humans, it can be hard to break from our routines. Challenging yourself to learn something new helps break away from the monotonous daily routine. As mentioned above, starting a new hobby is an easy way to meet new people and open up your social circle. Whether through an organized group, meetup.com, or just someone you can invite to join in on your new hobby. Many people are looking for friends, so they will be excited to meet up with you! For example, I recently started to learn how to code. Since starting, I have been able to connect more often with a friend, and I have also been able to find communities on Twitter, Slack, and Discord. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Be-Curious-about-others-Chris-Latham.png) ## Be curious and ask questions Let me share the number one rule when it comes to interacting with humans. People love to talk about themselves. If you're networking, on a date, or meeting a new group of people. The ultimate secret is to get people to talk about themselves. Now, this does not mean going in there and being a reporter and asking them question after question. Nobody enjoyed being interrogated. Let me share with you a very simple recipe I've learned from spending 1000 hours of training, countless hours of talking, and the most important lessons passed down to me from wise monks with bald heads. The easiest way to get people to talk about themselves is to **ask open-ended questions** \+ **listen** \+ **share your experience/thoughts**, + **dive deeper with follow-up questions**. Voila! I saved you $497 from some online course and/or guru. In the future, I can go into more detail about this recipe. Essentially you want to remember that people get excited and giddy when talking about their passions. Being curious about others proves to them that you are interested, you won't judge them, and you want to get to know them. The same way I geek out about burgers or the Matrix, other people are dying to share what they are passionate about with someone open and willing to listen. Think back to your nephew who can't stop talking about Paw Patrol or how you couldn't stop talking about Power Rangers when you were a kid. Adults really are just overgrown kids with more responsibilities. Most of us are tired of having the same conversations about the weather and the pandemic. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Find-Common-Ground-Chris-Latham.png) ## Find common ground with someone you meet You want to find something in common with your new acquaintance the same way a hostage negotiator wants to find something in common with the Captor. (I was watching Inside Man & Man on a Ledge, and I have negotiators on my mind, sorry, not sorry). Finding something in common helps the person know that they can trust you and will be willing to engage with you. Think about anytime you went on vacation and met someone who came from the same country as you or spoke the same language. Or if you are a hardcore fan of an obscure band and the person you meet is as big of a fan. Boom! Instant connection, sparks fly, and a 30-year friendship ensues. In all seriousness, people like to spend time with similar people. Finding common ground with your new acquaintance is easy, and all you need to do is listen and give them a chance to open up. As mentioned previously, one great way to find something in common is to ask thoughtful questions about their life/interests. Like any other skill, finding common ground with someone you meet takes practice. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Avoid-Politics-Religion-Chris-Latham.png) ## Avoid talking about politics or religion unless someone brings it up first My mom taught me some great lessons in life; one thing was to never talk about religion & politics. I've come to learn it's not that the subject matter itself is dangerous, like talking about illegal activities. The problem with the two subjects comes down to humans. Both religion and politics have people who blindly subscribe to a party or practice. Thus, they are not open to hearing anything other than their beliefs. Simply put, too many people are closed-minded. I can say that in 33 years of life, I have broken that rule several times and have had Though changing conversations in and around religion and politics. I've learned the rules for engaging in either topic are simple. All participants agree to [keep an open mind](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-be-open-minded/), be open to hearing another point of view, and be open to being proven wrong. The most important rule of all is to be open to learning from an opposing point of view. You mixed all that in with religion and politics, and you are bound to have a fruitful and civil conversation. Honestly, the chance of the above being in place upon first meeting people is the same chance I have to become the next great virtuoso. It is best to avoid politics and religion, with that being the case. Truth be told, some people will forever see you differently depending on your point of view. If you want to avoid being boring when meeting people, be open-minded and welcoming. Share your hobbies with others in a genuine way or ask questions about what they like to do for fun. You can also find common ground with someone by asking about their interests and passions. And don't forget that it's always best not to talk politics or religion unless the other person brings up these topics first! ### Action-Oriented: How to Get Things Done URL: https://chrislatham.ca/action-oriented-how-to-get-things-done/ Last updated: 2021-12-19T15:54:00.000Z Do you have trouble taking action? Or do you find yourself procrastinating on the simplest of tasks? It's time to take action. Action is an essential part of getting things done, and this blog post will show you how to get started! Table Of Contents show - [Procrastination is a problem for many people.](#procrastination-is-a-problem-for-many-people) - [What action-oriented people do](#what-action-oriented-people-do) - [Why action-oriented people are successful](#why-action-oriented-people-are-successful) - [Why is taking action so important?](#why-is-taking-action-so-important) - [How to take action?](#how-to-take-action) - [Time management ](#time-management-) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Procrastination-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## Procrastination is a problem for many people. Many people think they're procrastinating when in fact, they're just being thoughtful. However, there is a big difference between the two. The problem with procrastination is that it often goes hand-in-hand with laziness and indecision. Procrastinators rarely progress because their attention wanders to other tasks or goals instead of focusing on what needs to be done now. This could be because the task at hand does not seem like an immediate priority for them, or it may simply be something they dread doing. Still, either way, this habit can lead to many problems if left unchecked. The worst part of procrastinating is that you can often feel like you're not making any progress even though you may be working all day long. This is because productive work time gets wasted on pointless tasks or distractions, which can be highly frustrating. It is important to remember that procrastination is a habit that can be broken with practice. ## What action-oriented people do Action-oriented people do many things, but they seldomly "procrastinate." They know that there is no such thing as "too soon," and that even taking care of something in the future can be beneficial. Action-oriented people are in a continual state of doing what is required, whether it's now or later. And because they don't wait for tomorrow to get started on today's tasks, they're not only more productive than most, they also have plenty of time left over. It's said that action speaks louder than words. The world needs more action-oriented people because many problems in today's world need solving. If you're an action-oriented person, then I have some excellent advice for you: "Don't wait for tomorrow." Do what needs to be done now! You'll be glad you did later when the day has passed, and your work is complete. ## Why action-oriented people are successful We all know people who are much more productive than others, and they seem to get things done in half the time it takes other people. They're o often seen as leaders in their field or in their company because they accomplish tasks that many of us would consider impossible. But what is it about these people? What makes them so different from everyone else? The answer seems simple: successful people take action! In fact, according to a study by Stanford University psychologist [Carol Dweck](https://profiles.stanford.edu/carol-dweck?ref=chrislatham.ca), those with a "growth mindset" have an innate drive for achievement and prefer challenges over easy problems. This type of person will see something that needs doing and just do it without waiting for someone else to tell them how and this attitude is a key predictor of success. Let's be honest most people often think of a plan but rarely execute it. This might be due to a lack of drive, fear, or simply put, the pain of remaining the same is less than the desire to alter. That's why people who take action tend to be successful, and they are not bogged down by the fear of making a mistake or feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand. ## Why is taking action so important? I'm sure by now you can see where this blog is going, and you can begin to understand why it is crucial to be an action-oriented individual. There are many reasons why it is crucial to take action. One reason is that **nothing will happen if you don't do anything**. If I don't start my car and put it in reverse, the car won't move at all. The same thing applies to taking action in life. If we want something to happen, we have to make an effort to happen by doing something about it. Another reason why it's important to take action is because inaction can be a form of laziness or procrastination. Inaction also happens when people say "yes" but never follow through with it. This can be due to being too busy or not having enough energy for the task. The last reason why taking action is essential is that your dreams will never come true without any effort at all, and nothing will change. If you want something different out of life, you have to go get it. You can't just sit around and wait for things to magically change. This is what we call the law of attraction: if you want something bad enough and put all your energy into it, you will achieve it. However, for this to work, you need to take massive action. ## How to take action? Being an action taker is as simple as the Nike slogan and as challenging as rocket science. On one end, you need to know exactly what you want and to be actively involved daily in making it happen. On the other end, you need to work on time management, have good habits, stay focused, and not waste opportunities. Here are a few steps that any ordinary person can start acting on. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Failure-Chris-Latham.jpg) ### Failure shouldn't dissuade you It's good to be reminded that you are not alone in the struggle, but it can also be discouraging when you feel like your efforts are pointless. You may have many reasons for feeling this way, but I want to share one of mine: I feel like my failures will never stop, and I'm always going to be stuck with them. The thing is, we all fail, and nobody gets away unscathed. It's just a matter of how we react to our mistakes - do they make us stronger, or do they weaken us? Do we use them as stepping stones, or do we let them hold us back? We should always try and find the lesson in every failure because there is something there that will help keep us on track next time around! That, my friend, is the best attitude to have towards failure. It's as the overused acronym for FAIL goes First Attempt In Learning. As cheesy as it is, it's actually true. This is a skill I learned in playing football. Anytime the coach pulled me out for messing up, I would ask what I did wrong. Even back in 2008, I was cultivating a growth mindset. ### Picture yourself as the person you want to be One of the easiest things is to picture yourself as the person you want to be, and this will help keep you motivated and focused on your goals. When training for football, I would often use "What Would Maurice Jones-Drew Do." This helped me drastically when I would train on leg day. If I'm frank, he's one of the many reasons I enjoy training legs today. Outside of legs being the body's foundation, my goal was to have massive legs. There is nothing wrong with finding motivation or direction in asking what would a person you look up to would do. This can work for anything in life. You can use this method to determine your intent, figure out what you need to do, and discover the motivation to accomplish it. It's not about copying someone else but finding what works best for you by using their successes as an inspiration. What would make you excited to wake up and become that person? How could you make their traits your own? ### Plan to improve focus It's important to plan before taking action because we often make mistakes when we act without thinking things through. Think of the last time you tried to do something, and a lot was going on around you, like in a busy office or at home with kids running around. You probably got sidetracked by all that activity and couldn't stay [focused on your goal](https://chrislatham.ca/goal-setting-workbook/) for very long. And chances are, it took even longer than usual to get anything done! Planning is key to success: if you don't know what needs doing, how can you expect to do it? So be sure to take some time out from the daily grind and set aside an hour or two each week for planning before jumping into any new project. ### The curse of too much planning On the flip side, there is such a thing as too much planning to the point of analysis paralysis. Analysis Paralysis is a severe problem regarding work, fitness goals, or planning the best date. If you're constantly waiting for the "perfect" plan to materialize, you'll never get anything done! So try to find a healthy balance between planning and taking action. A fairly easy way to do this is to give yourself a time limit to get a particular task done. An artificial deadline is a perfect way to tap into urgency. With time in limited resources, you can set tasks where you usually lose focus. ### Reward yourself Reward yourself! When you work hard on achieving your goals, it's important to give yourself a pat on the back. Rewarding yourself can help keep you motivated and provide an extra boost of happiness in addition to what you get from accomplishing your goal. There are many ways to reward yourself, including taking action, doing something enjoyable or eating a favourite food. The key is that the reward must be directly related to reaching one of your goals so it will have meaning for you. Start off by making a list of things that make you happy or feel good about life. Next, determine which activities might not be healthy for you in the long run but would still make an excellent short-term reward for all your hard work. Finally, prioritize each activity by how much it will help you stay on track and motivated. So remember: **work hard, play hard, and reward yourself along the way!** You deserve it. It's important to find a balance between healthy and unhealthy rewards and short-term and long-term rewards. By rewarding yourself in various ways, you'll be more likely to stick with your goals for the long haul! Here are a few examples of rewards you can use. **Healthy rewards:** - Exercising or going for a walk/run - Eating healthy foods like fruits and vegetables - Meditating or practising mindfulness **Unhealthy rewards:** - Eating unhealthy foods - Watching TV - Shopping online or in a store for clothes, shoes or other items you may not need. **Rewards that will keep you motivated:** - A massage/spa day at home with your favourite oils and relaxing music playing in the background ### Discipline yourself The key is discipline. This means not allowing yourself the luxury of taking time off from acting to daydream about what you could do if you were more motivated or had more energy. It's okay if your action takes place on a small scale, and that counts too! For example, taking five minutes during your lunch break at work each day to meditate. That can make all the difference between feeling like you have no control over anything and feeling like there are still some moments in your life where you are in the driver's seat. Being disciplined is a skill that can be learned and perfected over time. The action itself is often not as important as the action's consistency. It needs to be something that you can realistically do every day for at least a year to see results. Discipline yourself when being action-oriented by practicing self-control, which will result in taking action consistently over time. Building discipline is a good habit to have in one's organized life. Remember, action begets action. Once you start taking action, momentum will build, and it will be easier to keep going. Plus, when you do achieve something as a result of all that effort, the sense of accomplishment is that much sweeter! When you successfully complete your goals, you build a track record that helps make your self-confidence. This is a fairly easy way to improve one's life & focus. Remember to take action, stay disciplined and reward yourself along the way! You can do it. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Time-management-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## Time management Time management is an action-oriented skill that can help you get things done. The ability to manage time has many benefits, and the most important of these is that it helps you avoid stress. Time management can also help with your focus, productivity and efficiency. If you can manage your time well, then there will be less work for you in the future and a higher quality of work. If you think about it, time management is one of the only ways to add an extra hour to the day. Sort of, follow me on this one. With proper time management, you get work done in less time, which gives you more free time. If you are open to going far-fetched here with me, the free time you gain in your day can potentially add up to an extra hour in a day. If you want to get things done, action is the key. The point of this blog was to show you that by being action oriented, things get done. It's not always easy or comfortable but it does work! I’ve seen this work time and again in my own life. The more you take action, the easier it is to do something with less effort over time. It sounds simple enough but so many people never get started because they are too overwhelmed by all of their options or don’t believe that what they have planned will actually happen. But when you start taking baby steps towards your goal, things seem much simpler than before because you are already building momentum for achieving long-term success. So go ahead-take a step today! ### I Caught The Writer's Bug URL: https://chrislatham.ca/i-caught-the-writers-bug/ Last updated: 2021-12-17T14:16:49.000Z Howdy Family, ????????‍♂️ A few days I randomly got the urge to write and do a brain dump. This motivation came from the conversations I have in my head. A few days ago, many of the discussions in my mind centred around how to explain complicated topics as efficiently as possible. This is something I find myself doing more often. A lot of it stems from work, and I live by the simple rules of the ever-popular ELI5 subreddit. Explain it to me Like I'm 5 Years old. Within 4 hours, I wrote, edited and formatted 2 blogs. In this email, I will share the first one, which is all about [being open-minded](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-be-open-minded/). The challenge in writing this was finding out how to explain something that seemed easy for me. I would love your feedback in letting me know if I did a good job explaining how to be open-minded. I ask you to read the blog [here](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-be-open-minded/). Then, [email](mailto:chris@chrislatham.ca) me and let me know if I was on point or totally missed the mark. Thank you & Have an AWESOME day! Chris "I Wrote 2 Blogs" Latham ✌???? ### How to Improve Your Critical Thinking URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-improve-critical-thinking/ Last updated: 2021-12-16T15:06:34.000Z # How to improve critical thinking How often do you find yourself making decisions based on emotions rather than logic? This is a problem because feelings don't always lead us to the correct decision. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about a given topic. It involves analyzing and interpreting information with a skeptical eye, and it's essential for making sound decisions. Critical thinkers understand that their own beliefs and values influence their perception of reality. In this blog post, I will cover the importance of critical thinking and how to develop it. Table Of Contents show - [What is critical thinking, and how does it help us in the 21st century](#what-is-critical-thinking-and-how-does-it-help-us-in-the-21st-century) - [What are some of the benefits of being a critical thinker?](#what-are-some-of-the-benefits-of-being-a-critical-thinker) - [How can we improve our own critical thinking process?](#how-can-we-improve-our-own-critical-thinking-process) - [How can you improve your critical thinking skills?](#how-can-you-improve-your-critical-thinking-skills) - [How to be an effective communicator](#how-to-be-an-effective-communicator) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Critical-Thinking-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## What is critical thinking, and how does it help us in the 21st century Critical thinking is the ability to think about information and ideas logically and objectively, rather than subjectively. Critical thinkers welcome challenges and enjoy debating their views with others, but they [maintain an open mind](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-be-open-minded/) and resist emotional arguments. They are not afraid to change their minds in response to new evidence or a better view. Thinking critically can be learned just like any other ability by practicing methods that gradually develop your abilities. It's never too late for anyone to start improving their critical thinking abilities can do so at any age, even if they have lived a long life without much formal education. It's never too late for learning! ## What are some of the benefits of being a critical thinker? Nowadays, we are all bombarded by information from many sources almost daily, so critical thinking skills are vital for making sense of what we see and hear regardless of whether we're watching TV news broadcasts or reading online articles. Good critical thinkers possess certain qualities that enable them to make the most of information. These qualities include independence, healthy skepticism and a desire for accuracy. In addition, they can see both sides of an argument when others can only see one side. They have strong reasoning abilities, which allow them to make important decisions independently without feeling that they need someone else's approval before taking action. Some people think that being a critical thinker will allow them to be more successful because they can make informed decisions based on facts rather than emotions. Critical thinking is also beneficial for personal relationships as it allows us to see things from other people's points of view and understand their motivations. So overall, critical thinking skills can benefit us in many different ways, both professionally and personally. We just need to ensure that we're using these skills daily and not taking information at face value without questioning its validity. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Improve-Your-Thinking-Process-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## How can we improve our own critical thinking process? Critical thinking is the process of analyzing and evaluating ideas based on reason, logic, and evidence. Strong critical thinkers can think about their own thoughts. They also ask questions such as "What am I missing?", "Why do I believe this?", "Is there another way to look at it?" or "How does this fit with what we already know?". Becoming a critical thinker involves: • Cultivating a questioning attitude • Learning how to think about your thinking • Developing intellectual courage to challenge your own beliefs ### Cultivating a Questioning Attitude One of the most important things you can do to improve your critical thinking process is cultivating a questioning attitude. Be willing to ask yourself tough questions and explore different points of view. Be skeptical of your own assumptions and biases, and be prepared to change your mind when presented with convincing evidence. Cultivating a questioning attitude will allow you to see past your own biases and evaluate new ideas with fresh eyes, which could help you develop better solutions! ### Learning how to think about your thinking Learning to be critical about one's thoughts is a necessary skill to have in life. You will need this ability when trying to make the optimal choice, such as what college major should I pursue? Or which career path would be best for me? More importantly, analyzing one's thoughts will help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself. This will help you navigate life more successfully than those who do not know how to think critically about their own thoughts and decisions. There are a few steps that you can take to improve your critical thinking skills. First, start by being aware of the different thought patterns you often fall into. For example, do you tend to jump to conclusions without giving things enough thought? Or do you usually ignore evidence that contradicts your point of view? Once you become aware of these, you can then challenge them and explore other viewpoints. Another helpful strategy in developing your critical thinking ability is to practice questioning your assumptions. Many of our thoughts are based on underlying assumptions that we may not even be aware of. By examining these assumptions, you can better understand why you think the way you do. Finally, it's important when developing a critical thinking process to keep an open mind not just with other's also with one's own thoughts. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/intellectual-courage-Chris-Latham.jpg) ### Have intellectual courage to challenge your own beliefs Certainty is a powerful drug, and when we're in its grip, we feel competent and good about ourselves. If you're not careful, though, certainty can become an addiction that robs you of the ability to think creatively or even rationally. But how do you break this addiction? It's all too easy for people addicted to certainty to stay that way. Challenging how you think can be uncomfortable, even painful. And once you're aware of how the addiction works, it's difficult to turn off your brain whenever certainty rears its ugly head. It's much easier to simply double down on your current beliefs and refuse any new evidence as either irrelevant or deliberately falsified by the "enemies" (of truth). To have the courage to change your mind in the face of new evidence takes intellectual honesty and a willingness to be wrong, and it also requires what's called "intellectual courage." [Intellectual courage](https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528?ref=chrislatham.ca) is the ability to stand up for your beliefs even when they're unpopular or could make you look bad. It's being willing to risk social disapproval, offending others, or looking like an idiot. It's understanding how the world really works and is willing to face that honestly, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable or angry. Challenging how we think can be difficult and uncomfortable, but it is an integral part of intellectual courage. When you can recognize your addiction for certainty and break free from its grip by challenging how you think, there's a good chance that the quality of your thinking will improve significantly. It may take time and patience to retrain yourself out of this habit (especially if you've been addicted for years), but with hard work, the rewards could be worth it! ## How can you improve your critical thinking skills? To improve your critical thinking skills, you should ask questions, challenge assumptions, make connections between ideas and organize information into categories. In other words: think! It sounds too simple because it is, and too many people never question the way they see things or consider alternate possibilities. This leads to a lack of creativity and innovation in their lives and careers. The key is not just asking questions but following up on them with research or experimentation so that you can get answers for yourself rather than relying on someone else's opinion about what's true or false. This will give you confidence in your own judgment, which will lead to a better decision making process and greater success at work or school. So to develop critical thinking skills, start by asking these three questions: - What evidence supports this belief? - How does this idea connect to others I know about? - What are all the possible explanations for this event or situation? From there, you can explore other ways to challenge your thinking, your own opinions and improve your critical thinking skills. Happy questioning! ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Be-an-effective-communicator-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## How to be an effective communicator We all know how hard it can be to resist talking back when somebody is rude or unkind. It's only natural that we want to defend ourselves and our thoughts, but it just makes things worse in the long run. Responding to someone in a hostile way will only make them more defensive and less likely to listen to what you have to say. It's also important not to take things too personally when communicating with others. People can be rude or unkind for all sorts of reasons that don't have anything to do with you. It The ancient wisdom of Yoga agrees with this modern psychological research: > When someone is angry at us, the best course of action is usually silence. There are two main reasons why you should not enter into a verbal battle with an angry person: First, most people who spew anger do so because they don't feel heard or understood by others—they need someone on their side who will listen to them. Second, the anger itself becomes a barrier to clear communication. When you try to talk to someone angry, their adrenaline and cortisol levels are already through the roof, which means that they're not going to be able to process information or think straight. All they're going to be able to do so with a calm and clear mind. So how can we be better communicators while also remaining open-minded and skeptical of the person we are communicating with? Here are a few tips: - Try to understand where the other person is coming from. What might their experience or perspective be? - Practice active listening. Make an effort to listen more than you talk. - Try to avoid getting angry yourself, it won't help you communicate more effectively, and it will only make the other person angrier! Remember that how people respond when upset is almost never about us personally. Improving how you communicate with others is one of the most important skills to develop strong critical thinking abilities. Critical thinking is an essential skill for today's society because it helps us analyze and interpret information with a skeptical eye. This article discusses how to improve critical thinking skills through recognizing our own biases, asking questions, challenging assumptions, making connections between ideas, and organizing information into categories. The ability to think critically will help you make informed decisions in life that are based on logic rather than just your emotions. Now go out there and be the best thinker you can be by applying these principles! ### How to Be More Open-Minded in Your Everyday Life URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-be-open-minded/ Last updated: 2021-12-14T22:56:47.000Z # How to be Open-Minded? I don't think there's anything more frustrating than arguing with someone who is close-minded. You know the type they've already made up their mind about something, and no amount of reasoning or evidence will change it. It can be really tough to try and discuss things with them when they're not open to new ideas. But fortunately, there are ways to become more open-minded, and in this blog post, I'm going to share them with you. So read on if you want to learn how to be more open-minded! ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/be-open-minded-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## What does it mean to be open-minded? To be open-minded means to be [willing and able to entertain new ideas](https://psychologycompass.com/blog/open-minded/?ref=chrislatham.ca). It's not just about being more accepting of other people; it's also about being more accepting of yourself and your own ideas. Being open-minded is a state of mind that can help you deal with the world around you in a much healthier way than if you were closed off from all possibilities. It's natural to be close-minded about some things, but that doesn't mean you want to be. You may have once had an idea of what your life would look like, and it didn't turn out the way you wanted. Maybe you weren't able to go back to school or travel around the world as much as you had hoped. Being open-minded means being willing to try new things and learn more. It can also involve putting yourself in situations where you might not feel comfortable at first so that new opportunities can come your way. It also helps with understanding other people's points of view on different topics too! There are many benefits of being open-minded, which is why it's essential for all of us who want a better quality of life to become more open-minded instead of being status quo. ## What is open-mindedness? Open-mindedness is the ability to consider ideas and beliefs, regardless of your beliefs. It also means considering other possibilities or interpretations, even if they seem unlikely or absurd. Being open-minded doesn't mean abandoning your own opinions or ideas; it just means that you're willing to listen to arguments from other points of view. Open-minded people are more likely to be creative thinkers because they're not afraid of exploring new ideas. They're like explorers who go into uncharted territory with no preconceived notions about what will happen next (except that it'll be interesting). In a sense, being open-minded is the opposite of having an opinion; it's about being curious and eager to discover something new. Open-mindedness can be a great way to make friends and live a happy life. It is also the key to success in many different careers, from teaching to sales. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Open-minded-person-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## Why it's important to be an open-minded person? Being open-minded is vital to being able to see the other side of an argument. This helps you make better decisions and also understand that there are two sides to every story. You should always do your research, but don't forget that there's another side. This comes with being able to let go of outdated or incorrect beliefs when you come across new ideas. Working on being an open-minded person forces you to work on rational thinking and think from the other person's point of view. This can be highly challenging with strongly held beliefs. Adopting open-minded thinking is an excellent way for you to reduce cognitive bias, get out of your comfort zone, and improve your personal growth. The best part is you'll find that you have more friends and are generally happier when you're not close-minded. This is because closed-mindedness can lead to resentment, anger and frustration, and all of which will just make your life more difficult. ## 7 Ways to be more open-minded in your daily life The world is a complex and fascinating place, filled with endless possibilities. But it's also a place where we spend our days buried in routine. We go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch TV, the same thing every day. As a result, our minds get bored and restless from doing the same things over and over again. And without new input from outside sources like books or travel or people who think differently than we do, our brains start to turn against us. They become closed-minded and stubborn about even considering other points of view. But there are ways to fight this. Here's how you can be open-minded in your everyday life: 1. **Read more books than you watch TV or listen to the radio.** Instead of watching that same show every night, read a book on an unfamiliar subject matter. This will force your brain out of its comfort zone and open it up to new ideas. 2. **Make friends with those who are from a different culture or background.** This can be done in various ways through travel or by simply engaging with people from other walks of life. Learning about their experiences will help you see the world in a new light and understand that there is no one "right" way to live. 3. **Experience different cultures and cuisines through travel or try new things yourself.** To be more open-minded, you need to experience the world, not just how it is in your small corner of America, Europe, or Asia. Travelling helps people realize that there are many different ways of looking at the world, and that's a good thing. 4. **Challenge your own beliefs.** This can be difficult, but it's one of the most important things you can do to open your mind. Questioning your thoughts and ideas helps you see them in a new light and understand that there is more than one way to look at any given situation. 5. **Be curious about new things.** When you see or hear something that's unfamiliar to you, ask questions instead of immediately dismissing it. This curiosity will help you learn about the world and teach your brain that something is different doesn't mean it's automatically bad or wrong. 6. **Be willing to change your mind.** It's okay to be wrong sometimes! If someone tells you they disagree with you, don't automatically tell them they are wrong. Instead, ask why they feel that way and learn how they came to their point of view. 7. **Ask questions if you are unsure.** If you don't understand something, the worst thing you can do is just pretend like it doesn't exist. Instead, politely ask questions about why people act or think in specific ways. Suppose you are willing to be wrong and open-minded enough to try new things without judgment. In that case, your brain will begin to transform into a more positive way of thinking. The world is a fascinating place, and if you take the time to learn more about it, your brain will reward you for being open-minded. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Close-minded-Chris-Latham.jpg) ## How can I stop being close-minded? One of the most important things is being open to having your ideas challenged and temporarily letting go of your existing beliefs to allow other ideas in. Doing so may help uncover mental blind spots. Also try reading books, watching TV less and travelling more. ## Are open-minded people more intelligent? Open-minded people are not more intelligent, but they're willing to change their minds and try new things, which is the mark of intelligence. It's unfair for close-minded people to assume that all open-minded people are more intelligent because it creates an elitism that divides the world into two camps: poor, unintelligent sheep who can't think for themselves and enlightened intellectuals leading the way towards some sort of future utopia. Everyone reading this blog is open-minded enough to be reading what I am writing. The world and its people are not perfect, but we can still find ways to be happy. Being open-minded is essential for living a full and exciting life. By trying out these tips, you can start to break out of your routine and see the world in all its beauty and complexity. I hope this blog post has shown you that no matter what happens, there is always a way for us to prosper and grow as individuals. If you learned one thing, that is to open your mind - it's worth it! ### Create a Blog Post Blueprint URL: https://chrislatham.ca/create-a-blog-post-blueprint/ Last updated: 2021-11-15T03:10:56.000Z Howdy Family,????????‍♂️ I spent this Sunday being creative and downloading information in my brain onto my first infographic. The infographic idea came about after having a client call this week, where I explained to them the importance of creating blogs. The goal of helping grow their brand I had to help them unlearn and relearn. Time was spent going over how to format and structure the blog. Writing a blog doesn’t sound complicated, I know. A blog isn’t like your school research paper. You will want to keep your paragraphs and sentences short and concise. When it comes to online nobody wants to read a long block of text. \*cough\* Take a second to notice the structure of this email. Breaking things out this way makes it easier to read. Download the [Create a Blog Post Blueprint.](https://burgergelato.com/create-a-blog?ref=chrislatham.ca) The main goal of a blog post is to have someone read it from start to finish. To achieve that we want to make the reading process as frictionless as possible for the reader. This means a few things: - Have a catchy title - Use subheading - Bold importance texts - Include images that add context - Link to other pages - Include a Call to Action The best part of explaining this during the call is when the client pauses just before their aha moment. The aha moment is always followed by them saying “ohh snap that’s so true!” --- ## **Why create an infographic?** A few weeks before the call I sent the client ‘[A Blog Writing Guide](https://burgergelato.com/how-to-write-a-dope-blog/?ref=chrislatham.ca)’ I created. To be honest it is a lot of text. It is essentially a recipe guide for all the ingredients you need to have in a blog. After Friday's conversation, I understood that I needed to produce a visual and an easy-to-understand version of the writing guide. That’s where I spent 8-10 hours today thinking of a way to break down the above blog into bite-size pieces. If I were to breakdown the hours, it would look something like this: - 3 hours getting the important points of the blog & rewriting them in an easy - 2 hours thinking of how to make it look (this is not my strong point) - 3 hours designing the actual infographic (I used Canva ????) - 1 hour repurposing the infographic into a newsletter, blog, carousel, and LinkedIn post So by now, you are probably curious to know what the[ Create-A-Blog Blueprint](https://burgergelato.com/create-a-blog?ref=chrislatham.ca) looks like. Feel free to download your copy for FREE. I only ask one favour. > **Share the Blueprint with any bloggers you know.** --- > Chris “Made His First Infographic” Latham✌???? > > [My Dream Podcast Guest](https://chrislatham.notion.site/Next-Gen-Fridays-Dream-Podcast-Guest-613152c0cd48447cbc2935b02e19b34f?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Explaining SEO Like I'm Five URL: https://chrislatham.ca/explaining-seo/ Last updated: 2021-11-07T23:02:17.000Z Howdy Family, It’s been just over a year since starting a new career path in Digital Marketing. The branch of Digital Marketing that caught my interest was SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I have to say it is the one part of digital marketing that is the hardest to explain. Businesses know they need it but have no idea what it is. Took me a year to finally come up with a proper high-level explanation of SEO. The one-liner: > **I help make your website attractive to Google.** Here is the best example I have come up with to explain SEO. You want to think of Google as a librarian and your website being a book to help feed a searcher’s intent. If Bob (*searcher*) walks into the Library and asks the librarian (*Google*) for information about ‘What do Dolphins eat?’ The librarian (*Google*) is going to scan (*crawl*) its database to find the right book (*website*) for Bob. Now Bob can do one of two things that will let the librarian know what to do next time someone is looking for a similar topic. - **Option 1**: If Bob is satisfied with his book he will keep the book and go on about his day. - **Option 2**: If Bob isn’t happy with the book he will bring it back to the librarian asking for another book. Why are the two options above important? This (plus many other factors) is how Google knows what site should be at the top of rankings. In option one, Google now knows that the website given to Bob gave the best answer to his request. In option two, Google learns that the website given to Bob didn’t help him. Because of this Google will be reluctant to present this website to the next person making the same or similar request. --- To carry on with the book analogy. Just like in a book store the more popular books are in front of the store. > **The goal of SEO is to help Google deliver to visitors the best website that answers their requests.** --- > Chris "Working In Marketing For 12 Months" Latham ✌???? > > [My Dream Podcast Guest](https://chrislatham.notion.site/Next-Gen-Fridays-Dream-Podcast-Guest-613152c0cd48447cbc2935b02e19b34f?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Feeling Overwhelmed URL: https://chrislatham.ca/feeling-overwhelmed/ Last updated: 2026-01-08T14:51:58.000Z Howdy Family ????????‍♂️, It’s been a minute. To give you an idea of the state I am in. I’m sitting at the window and I just realized today was Halloween after watching the 4th kid go by in a costume.????????‍♂️ Honestly it really only clicked when I saw a dad dressed up as the Big Bad Wolf. With his daughter dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. I digress. Some quick life updates: 1. I recently moved (hopefully for the last time) 2. Gained more responsibility at work which means opportunities to learn. ???????? 3. Had launched 3 client websites in the same weekend. That was a roller coaster. Definitely work I am proud of, check them out 1. Here [www.thegoodchocolatier.com](http://www.thegoodchocolatier.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) 2. Here [www.hdrussellboots.com](http://www.hdrussellboots.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) 3. And here [www.metropower.ca](http://www.metropower.ca/?ref=chrislatham.ca) 4. Currently working on a complimentary service to go with the web designing business. For the past few weeks, I’ve been glued to a computer screen from 7-10 pm. I know right who would have thought to go from fitness on my feet all day to sitting all day. This week was also the first at the end of a workday I needed to just sit and take a break. Your boy was definitely overwhelmed for a hot minute. Just like a tennis ball, I bounced back. I’ll let you know that yesterday I went for a walk!!!! I still do my morning stretches. On a serious note, the above may seem excessive I can honestly say I am loving it. When I think about it, the part that keeps me charged up and excited like a kid the night before Christmas. Is that I know everything I am doing now is getting me closer to a goal I set out 3 years ago. It honestly feels like a video game each day striving to learn more. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only person who does not enjoy being the dumbest person in the room. Because I clearly get FOMO with knowledge & information. If you know something that I don’t know and need to know I will GO ALL IN on learning everything I can to understand. These are the moments I dive into the cave and BLOCK OUT THE REST OF THE WORLD. This most definitely isn’t the healthiest thing but hey nobody is perfect right? > **I am curious what imperfections do you have that you are aware of and are ok living with?** --- Chris "Feeling Overwhelmed" Latham ✌???? ### 7 Steps To Maximize Loving Life URL: https://chrislatham.ca/7-steps-to-maximize-loving-life/ Last updated: 2021-08-11T02:10:23.000Z Being Happy is Hella Infectious Think about it and tell me a kid's laughter doesn't put a smile on your face Here are 7 actionable steps for you to start loving life. 1. [Be Selfish](#selfish) 2. [Put Your Phone Away](#phone-away) 3. [Be Relentlessly Curious](#curious) 4. [Never Stop Being Silly](#silly) 5. [F\*\*\* What Others Think](#others-think) 6. [Expect Good From People](#expect-good) 7. [End of Day Reflection](#reflect) ## 1\. Be Selfish -- Do more of what makes you happy If you are not sure what makes you happy I recommend you create a ENERGIZE ME list. Simply put you write out a list of things you enjoy doing that charge you up. It is just like any investment it is all about getting an ROE (Return on ENERGY).???? The type of activities after every time you do it you walk away happy, smiling, and loving life. Here is a glance at part of my ENERGIZE ME list ![Chris Latham ENERGIZE Me List](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Chris-Latham-ENERGIZE-Me-List.png) ACTION STEP: **Write out your list of things that ENERGIZE you.** ## 2\. Put Your Phone Away -- Don't multi-task when out with friends/family The world is becoming more digital by the second. Getting time away from our technology is crucial to us finding balance. When you are out with friends and family this is a great opportunity for you to dive into people and not technology. Get this done by putting your phone away or better yet play a game. ACTION STEP: **The first person who looks at their phone pays the bill.** ## 3\. Be Relentlessly Curious -- Keep a learner's attitude for people, places, and things Feeding your curiosity is the easiest and most fun way to be excited about life. Keeping a curious mind is the best way to keep learning. Plus you never know what dope or wacky information you can learn. Here are a few of my favourite questions to ask people: - What is the story and/or meaning behind your name? - What is the most recent thing you were excited about? - What are you currently very passionate about? - How do you enjoy spending your time when not at work? - What is one thing people often misunderstand about you? - What would be the one thing you can do today that would turn this day from average to AMAZING? ACTION STEP: **Ask people you meet the above questions.** ## 4\. Never Stop Being Silly -- Make the effort to sprinkle child-like moments in your day The secret to staying young is to laugh. A step up from that is remembering to be silly throughout the day. The great thing about it is that you have to not take yourself so seriously to fully commit. That alone gives you a break from having to be a “hardcore adult” 24 hours, 7days a week, 365. Here are a few ways to be silly: - [Play a prank ](https://mashable.com/article/easy-pranks?ref=chrislatham.ca#:~:text=Part%20I%3A%20Harmless%20Pranks)on a friend or family - Temporarily dye your hair - **Eat spaghetti with your hands (this is my favourite)** - When walking on the sidewalk exaggerate how you prevent stepping on the crack - Have a random dance-off in public - Play a game of rock paper scissors with a stranger - Jump in a puddle ACTION STEP: **Incorporate the list above into your week.** ## 5\. F\*\*\* What Others Think -- Learn to value your own opinion of yourself over other people's Straight up this is by far the hardest thing to do and no list can get it done. I’ll be honest this step takes tremendous work to stop caring what others think about you. My best piece of advice to give you for this. Is to spend more time doing the things you love and bring you joy, then start to read the book [The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F\*ck.](https://www.amazon.ca/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062641549/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Subtle+Art+of+Not+Giving+a+F%2Ack&qid=1628639677&sr=8-1&ref=chrislatham.ca) ACTION STEP: **Work on building your confidence, do more of what makes you happy, and read the book.** ## 6\. Expect Good From People -- Start your interactions and/or relationships expecting the best from others. Nelson Mandela said it best > It never hurts to see the good in someone. They often act better because of it. > > Nelson Mandela This is an easy way to stop yourself from thinking everyone is out to get you. Let’s be honest here nobody really cares about you like that. We are all so caught up in our heads and our own world, we barely pay attention to others. This is also an easy hack to start seeing the world in a more optimistic light. Instead of zooming out and having an optimistic view of the world. We will zoom in and have an optimistic view of the people we interact with. Don’t forget Happiness Loves Company ???? ACTION STEP: **Go into all interactions with humans expecting the best from them.** ## 7\. End of Day Reflection -- Think about what you are grateful for & what you could do to make the day better If you didn’t hear by now practicing gratitude is important, and the best part is it’s FREE. The easiest way to get started is 10 min before going to bed. Sit down and reflect back on your day and find just one thing you are grateful for. That is it. You are probably thinking I have no idea what to be grateful for. Well, I got you. Back in the fall of 2020, I shared my daily gratitude ritual for 14 days. Here is the [first video ](https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGaGEUMji38/?ref=chrislatham.ca)to my 14 days of Gratitude ACTION STEP: **Sit down for 10 minutes at the end of the day and write down one thing you are grateful for.** ### The Get Up & Go Morning Routine URL: https://chrislatham.ca/get-up-and-go-morning-routine/ Last updated: 2021-08-07T23:56:00.000Z Howdy Family,????????‍♂️ This morning, as I woke up did my get out of bed stretch, opened the laptop and started to do some research on investing in insurance companies. ([future planning ](https://chrislatham.ca/i-stay-future-thinking/)again) I’m sure as you read that you may notice the morning routine is quite short. You are right. I only realized this while taking a shower. That for the longest while I have not been doing my normal routine. 4 months ago I had a full routine, with stretch, breathing exercise, bored time™, brain shake, reading, etc. Now my morning routines comprise of a get out of bed stretch. Just the one. For a good 30 seconds, I started to think about why the change in routine. Well, that is all the time I gave to it just 30 seconds, and I didn’t come up with anything. To be honest I really don’t care about figuring out why the change. As long as I reach my daily markers of health, recovery, clarity, focus, and energy then I’m all good. If I had to give a name to my perfect morning routine I would call it > “The Get Up & Go Morning Routine” The main takeaway from this is that you have to leave room for change in your routine. If your body is still able to perform then do what you need to do. This also reminds me of an example my friend Wes went through. He had a strict morning routine but he hated waking up early (5 am). He now has morning habits that start around 9-11 am. He too is still as productive and is more excited than ever. **Have you made any recent changes to your morning routine?** --- Chris "Morning Routine" Latham ✌???? [My Dream Podcast Guest](https://chrislatham.notion.site/Next-Gen-Fridays-Dream-Podcast-Guest-613152c0cd48447cbc2935b02e19b34f?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Politics Are Not for the Young URL: https://chrislatham.ca/politics-are-not-for-the-young/ Last updated: 2021-07-19T00:00:00.000Z Howdy Family,????????‍♂️ Last week while visiting my good friend Marcelo. When Marcelo and I link up, conversations go from far left to far right. Our conversations ranged from housing cost, gender terms, trans sports athletes, dating, and politics. What I love most about chatting with Marcelo is that we can play devil’s advocate on all topics in the pursuit of understanding all angles. I have to say while we spoke about politics we had one hell of a mind-blowing moment. ???? As the title reads Politics Are Not for the Young, this all kicked off right after we spoke about housing and if the government can do anything at all to help skyrocketing costs. The important question that came up is why are young people not involved or interested in politics. If you think about it, it would be in young people’s best interest to get involved because the laws and rules set into place now affect the future we will live in. We spent time spitballing on how politicians need to do a much better job at marketing to the youth. Year after year the demographic that barely shows up to vote are the ones that recently got the right to vote. I have to say as a former Young person that just got the right to vote, I can say my reasons for not voting are not knowing what the parties were, what they stood for, and how it affected me. Now it could be my own ignorance for not taking the time to learn about it. At the same time, I had one of life’s most stressful and challenging questions hanging over my head. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Understanding that young adults have a million other stresses in their life to figure out. We began to go down the opposite path and ask the very scary question. What if they intentionally don’t want young people to vote? Stay with me now this isn’t such a crazy thought. We know that when you are 18-24 you are living for the moment and trying to build some of life’s best memories. (If I can interject and say your 0s are way better). For the 99.99% of people that age, very few are thinking about 15, 20, 30 years out from now. ???????? What are the top two things in life that force an adult to think long-term and make sane decisions? Having a child and owning (*cough* renting) a home. Stay with me now. When you have kids or own a home your views tend to shift towards the conservative side. I’m not saying you are making a full swing but your cha-cha sliding your way to the right.????‍♂️ Ride this wave with me.????????‍♀️ If you had to pass laws that affected society in its present and future form. Would you want a group of people who have nothing to lose being the overwhelming majority of voters? Doesn’t sound so crazy does it! I will leave you with that. > **What do you think, should politicians start marketing to young people?** --- Chris "The Politician" Latham ✌???? [My Dream Podcast Guest](https://chrislatham.notion.site/Next-Gen-Fridays-Dream-Podcast-Guest-613152c0cd48447cbc2935b02e19b34f?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### How I Mitigate Future Stress URL: https://chrislatham.ca/mitigating-future-stress/ Last updated: 2021-07-11T22:01:00.000Z Howdy Family ????????‍♂️, For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been home 95% of the time. The crazy thing is that the weather has been getting warmer as the days go by. If you didn’t know I love me some 30+ & 40+ Celcius days. Needless to say, I was very much a happy camper being in the house all day. I fell into one of my "in the cave" moments. An "in the cave" moment is when you stay in the house and just bang out work. I know I know "all work and no play makes Chris a dull boy" Let me explain to you why I was happy the entire time. Currently, I am a one-man show with a full-time job, freelance web designer, web hosting provider, Podcast (editor, scheduler, interviewer, recruiting, etc.), Content Creator, and social life. As someone who thinks about the future all the time, I was able to forecast the path I was on was going to lead to stress-filled days. And well with a goal of making it to 120 years old, I need to dodge stress like Amazon dodges taxes. ???? (if you don’t know what I am talking about check out this dope video here) ## How exactly am I working on mitigating future stress? I start off by looking at all the things I am doing and ask myself one question "which of the tasks has the highest probability of something going wrong that is out of my control?" It comes down to freelance website design and Podcasting. ## Podcasting These are the 2 variables heavily dependent on someone else. In podcasting, the variable I have no control over is a guest needing to reschedule. This leaves me with diminishing the amount of time it takes, to edit the audio format, edit the video to create snippets, create the podcast & magazine cover, rewatch the interview to timestamp the important parts, and schedule the social media posts. I can say with the 3 weeks I have been able to chop off 30 minutes of my editing and scheduling time. The next step in this is to create a process so that I can outsource the work. Freelance Web Design With freelance web design, the biggest factor I came across here is clients not getting all their content (images & copy) ready to start building the site. The last thing I want is to be waiting for one photo to have a new site up and running. Or worst yet a client’s site gets hit with a virus or being hacked. To mitigate that future stress, I have worked on building a process to make the customer journey as easy and frictionless as possible. I call it the Amazon experience in that at each step of the journey the client knows where they are at all times. To mitigate the chance of a client’s site being hacked, I’ve built in several backup systems and learn enough to know where to go if things really get wild. I have to be honest I know the number of hours it can take to fix a hacked site, and I am not trying to lose my sleep for that. ## But, why is this fun for you? The fun for me is having spent time now to make sure the future Chris Latham can enjoy life with less stress. As much as I love to be present I also understand I don’t want to get old and have to work as hard as I am now. If I zoom out 3 weeks is barely a blink of an eye. One of the things that always happens when I enter "in the cave" is my social life goes right out the window. If I am, to be honest, I am totally fine with that. I know that people who are closest to me know that how I feel for them doesn’t change. What I love about the deep friendships I have is that we could not talk for 2 years and reconnect like we were apart for 24 hours. If you get anything out of this. I ask you one thing What can you do today to mitigate future stress? --- Chris "In The Cave" Latham ✌???? ### Thank You, Mom URL: https://chrislatham.ca/thank-you-mom/ Last updated: 2021-07-03T21:58:00.000Z Howdy Family ????????‍♂️, "Reporting live from the land of the hopeless Representing for the team that won rings with no coaches" Early last week I put on my Stay Focused playlist (I have more than one ????) on Spotify and in a song from Nipsey Hussle a featured artist started his verse with the above lines. Immediately I took a step back from what I was doing and had to rewind the verse. This was a song I’ve listened to at least 100x times before. Those two lines trigger a rabbit hole of me reflecting back on life. I grew up in a single-parent home. The part of town that I grew up in was well less than humble. The best way to put it there were a lot of unlawful activities taking place. ## "Reporting live from the land of the hopeless" Statistics say that growing up in an area like that with a single parent my life should have gone down a different path. It would have been easy to go down a road filled with unlawful activities. I am grateful that my mom always took the effort to take me out of the city and show me other parts of the country. Granted moms didn’t drive, we had many day trips on a Greyhound bus visiting nearby cities. I think that was a major reason as to why I didn’t subscribe to the lifestyle that was handed to me due to my Postal Code. To be honest, as I write this tears and laughter come to me as I realize mom did all she could to nurture my greatest distraction. CURIOSITY. I spent most of my time learning about how and why things worked. That distraction would carry me through my early years of school. I spent my years of K to Grade 6 at a private school that had and has an even heftier price tag to it????. Never did I once sit and complain about or even notice that I was the only kid in the whole school who had a different upbringing. My energy was always placed in learning something or trying to figure out how and why something worked. ## "Representing for the team that won rings with no coaches" One thing I am often asked is how was I affected by growing up without a dad. To be honest I couldn’t tell you about the downsides. Again you don’t know what you don’t know. I do recall the last time I ever asked my mom about my dad I was about 6 or 7 years old. In all honestly I never really cared. It’s like I would tell people I never met the guy in my life, it is not as if I had him for 6 years and then he left. Looking back now as an adult who constantly thinks about how I plan on raising my future kids. I laying a claim to it now. ## I WILL BE THE GREATEST DAD IN THE WORLD. That deserved getting its own sentence. ???? Again as an adult, I realize the sacrifices my mom had made in raising me and keeping me on a path with lawful activity. I am sure not having a dad I have missed out on many lessons that only a man can teach a boy. I will say that my Curiosity has 100% helped me go out in life and get those lessons from all types of people. One thing I learned from a teacher of mine named Bruce Lee. He says to "keep what is useful, discard what is useless" That lesson has helped shape how I view and acquired role models. I am a firm believer that everyone in the world has a message and lesson for you to learn. That it is our job to go out there and get that lesson. I quickly learned that not everyone is perfect. With that, I was able to build the ultimate role model. ## FacePalm Realization ????????‍♂️ As I write the above on a Saturday morning. I now realize why I spend so much of my time transferring information to others and mentoring the youth. It all comes from me having a lack of a role model and going out to find the bits and pieces to make up the ultimate role model. It’s so that someone else wouldn’t have to do the hours of research in trying to find the answers they need to make a change. I swear writing this journal is therapeutic. ???? ## Closing Note I have to be honest it was hella weird writing about myself. I am not one who likes to shed light on himself. I much rather transfer that light onto others. But hey this is my newsletter and I should get comfortable with the uncomfortable right. This email has been long enough If you made it this far I want to say thank you. ???????? If your parents are alive today I urge you to call them up and just say thank you. Until next time family. Have an AWESOME day!!! --- Chris "Your Environment Doesn’t Dictate Your Life" Latham ✌???? ### 5 Life Lessons From Mom URL: https://chrislatham.ca/5-life-lessons-from-mom/ Last updated: 2021-05-23T13:55:31.000Z Howdy Family ????????‍♂️, ## **Top 5 Life Lessons From Mom** 1. Stay Curious (especially in people). 2. Give to others without expecting anything in return. 3. Learn from other people’s experiences. 4. If you don’t have the answer. Go & Find It. 5. Remain Cool when confronted with ignorance. This week was my mom’s birthday. The phone had its usual check-in routine filled with the “make sure to wear your mask”. No matter how often she says it, I never get tired of it. Even in my 30s, she tells me to look both ways before crossing the road. ???? Like most of our calls, my mom often has a story to share with me. As I sat on the phone listening to a story my mom has told me 20x before, that’s when it hit me. All the stories she has repeated time and time again were filled with lessons. It hit me that growing up in a single-parent household, mom’s had to do the best with what she had. My mom was a behind-the-scene social butterfly. I recall going into restaurants, and stores where the owner or cashier were of different nationalities. Mom always seemed to know how to say “*Hi, How are you*?” in multiple languages, from Greek to Farsi, to Arabic, to Mandarin (from the time I went to Chinese Summer Camp for 4 weeks). It always amazed me to see people’s eyes light up.???? Which really comes down to noticing and acknowledging the people you come in contact with in life. It was her way of saying “I see you” which made people feel special. One of my favourite stories my mom would share was of the interactions with a racist/prejudice (still thinking of the right word) client. Mom worked in sales and customer service for a clothing company. For months she’d have weekly called with a client that placed orders. Call after call the customer got comfortable and opened up more and more when talking to my mom. On a few occasions, the client would express her hate and disgust for African Americans. This went on for weeks. Then came the day the customer came to the factory to pick up an order. At the front desk, she asked for my mom, and well the lady was speechless when my mom walked out. Mom would explain to me to not let someone's ignorance or hate take you off your cool. I like to think I carry that with me to this day. I call it the Triple C’s Calm, Cool, & Collected ???? This allowed me to see a woman who has never travelled across the Atlantic be able to connect with so many strangers and make them feel at ease within seconds of contact. I was planning on writing about my experience in growing up without a permanent role model. I am reminded that I want to keep these short. Next week I’ll share about how the following lyrics made me reflect on growing up in a single-parent home. *“Reporting live from the land of the hopeless* *Representing for the team that won rings with no coaches”* Chris "Aha❕❕ Moment" Latham ✌???? ### You Don't Know What You Don't Know URL: https://chrislatham.ca/you-dont-know-what-you-dont-know/ Last updated: 2021-05-16T04:07:14.000Z Howdy Family ????????‍♂️, Late email today yes yes. The house I recently moved into (April 2021) is now being sold. With today being a viewing that means the room is barebones right now and the living room has an echo when talking. The day started with packing up my bag and making my way to the paintball field. Had a blast felt good to be out in the sun ???? and running around. Let's be honest paintball is probably the most COVID-friendly activity ????. After cleaning up I ran my first online workshop going over how to start building an email list. While having a chat with a participant I had a big AHA❕❕ moment. Midway through explaining the purpose of why I'm doing the workshop I dropped a gem "You don't know, what you don't know".???? **When you don’t know what you don’t know**, you often spend your time looking for the information you **want** but not what you **need**. This is something I am seeing with individuals and businesses building their brands/business online. The reason this hit me was with everyone being forced to run their business online without understanding the proper etiquette. Also that there are many moving parts to being successful. For example, a business going online needs to have a 1. Website 2. Email Marketing Software 3. Social Media 4. Paid Ads 5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) 6. Sales Funnel 7. Sales Page 8. Email Marketing That's a lot of moving parts!!! Just on building a website alone, you have many steps: - Pick your name (domain) - Find the place you’re going to have your site live (hosting service) - Pay someone to build the page (web designer) - Get the proper website copy to convert a visitor to a customer (copywriter) - Have quality images (photographer) All that just to have your site up and running. ???? Often times decisions are made based on what is most common and not what is best for us. In everyday life, we know that the biggest names are not necessarily the best thing for us. For example, I can go anywhere in the world and say Hamburger someone will yell out Mcdonald’s or Burger King. ???????? Reflecting at the end of the call I realize the goal is to pass on the information to help redirect someone to what they need. If you had information that you know someone needed would you make the effort to let them know? Have an AWESOME evening/morning! Chris “Aha Moment” Latham ✌???? ### Saving Money Through Learning URL: https://chrislatham.ca/saving-money-through-learning/ Last updated: 2021-05-09T20:41:57.000Z Howdy Family ????????‍♂️, I have to say the past 36 hours have been one hell of a ride. I spent the entire day Saturday sitting on a couch with my laptop. But wait! Before you judge me on it. Me sitting on the couch allowed me to cut one of my biggest yearly expenses by more than 50%.???? What cost exactly am I being able to cut? That is my web hosting which is/was $25USD/month will be going down to $10/month. Total savings of $180 US Dollars! #WINNING ???? The easiest way to explain web hosting for those who don’t know is to compare it to cell phones. You have your cellphone(website) and you need a cellphone service provider like Bell(web hosting). The new service I found is faster and way cheaper. The main reason it’s cheaper is that you have to do the setup manually instead of a 1-click option from most hosting providers. For 30 extra minutes of my life totally worth it. On a similar note, Saturday started off with me being super excited. To the point, I did a happy dance. In the excitement that the new email provider for [chris@chrislatham.ca](mailto:chris@chrislatham.ca) had a smooth migration. Long story short I made the change because when sending an invoice to a client it kept going to Junk.????????‍♂️ Sitting down writing this I realize that When I am curious about something I go to the furthest degree to better understand something. Went in their knowing 20% walked out knowing 80%. Feeling Just like Neo in the Matrix. If you take one thing away from this it is to be RELENTLESSLY CURIOUS! If you are the Curious type make sure to check out [Curiosity Stream](https://curiositystream.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca). It’s Netflix for learning. ???? For the low low price of $20/year. \--------- Chris "Saving Money" Latham ✌???? ### Journal Entry #025 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/journal-entry-025/ Last updated: 2021-05-03T02:01:08.000Z Howdy Family????????‍♂️, Full disclosure I have been seriously slacking these past few weeks. I noticed this last night when I was up till 3 am after watched a 2 hour long YT interview followed by not one but two Movies on Amazon Prime!! As much as I would want to say it was a terrible thing I’d be lying. The combination of the interview and movies left me in deep reflection. The thought of retirement came to mind again, and I realized I have a fear of being old and homeless. 100% this was a dark thought to have. One thing I learned is that when thoughts like these come to mind I have to ride the wave. The same way I ride the wave of a positive thought I have to do the same for the negative ones. If you want to know more about this new fear I will go into more details at the end of the email. I do want to focus on me slacking these the past few weeks. After reflecting during the past 24 hours I have learned that I have been spending way more time watching Youtube videos and consuming fewer podcasts. More Youtube videos mean more chances of me being distracted. I initially started with Youtube videos with the mindset of learning something new. And well, curiosity and nostalgia got the best of me. Endless science videos and Wild ‘n Out videos flooded my page. Part of me being distracted these past few weeks came from me wanting to shut my brain off and also being on a quest of finding my starting project. Which is now [Next-Gen Fridays](https://chrislatham.ca/next-gen-fridays/).???? I also learned that I pulled away from the initial reason why I started this website and newsletter. The purpose was for me to work on better expressing myself. Those who have been here since day 1 can see a major improvement. (my grammar used to be way worse than this \*cough\* you know who you are ????) In an effort to go back to the essence of sharing my thoughts and life. I will take the time to write down my reflections. To respect your time and to not spam you (lord know I hate spam and pop-ups. Don’t get me started on pop-ups ????). I will let you know what to expect in the Subject line of the e-mail this way you can choose what you to consume. I will also learn what you guys enjoy most. Here are examples of future subject lines: - Journal | Entry #025 - Podcast | New Episode With Kate Soar - Video | What I Learned About Community at a U-Haul Party I have to say I had a good time sitting down at my laptop with half a watermelon and spoon by my side writing this out. Now it’s time for me to get back on track. If you made it this far I want to say thank you. ???????? If you want to know about where my fear of being old and homeless came from, [click here](https://chrislatham.ca/fear-of-being-old-and-homeless/). \--------- Chris “Fear of Being Homeless” Latham ✌???? ### Fear of Being Old & Homeless URL: https://chrislatham.ca/fear-of-being-old-and-homeless/ Last updated: 2026-01-08T14:52:27.000Z *Disclaimer: This is a raw & live blog post. Raw meaning that it is a brand new thought that still needs time for me to develop a deeper point of view.* *Live meaning that I will be updating this post over the days and weeks as I uncover more.* For those who don’t know my mind often thinks about the future and what life will be like. This also means what the retirement lie will be life. This thought alone had me, deep-dive, into the world of Financial Literacy and [remove 14 Thousand dollars of debt](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-get-14k-in-debt/). The fear of homelessness came in after watching the movie [99 Homes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh0piQN1%5FLY&ref=chrislatham.ca) at 1 am in the morning. Great film with great acting btw. I do want to say that although this is a new fear. I am making the conscious decision to place the fear behind me. This way I can push myself to keep going. Instead of having it in front and it blocking me from growth. ???????? This is a raw thought haven’t had much time to sit like a monk and ponder on the thought. In a barebones fashion the ingredients of this new fear are: - The rising cost of housing (especially in major cities) - Salary’s rising at a snail’s pace - Pension is a thing of the past - We are living way longer - Peers not planning for retirement - The cost of living keeps going up. ## Rising Housing Costs As a millennial, I and many of my peers realize that owning a home is a wild and almost fictitious idea. Yes, we can choose to not live in the major city, Let’s be honest many of us want to live near the heart of the city. Historically speaking owning a home is a great first step to building wealth. When I say owning I mean you no longer have a mortgage to pay. As we reach adulthood we hear stories of how mom and dad bought a home for $300K and were able to sell it for $600K. And yes this does vary from city to city and the work done on the home. Either way, mama and papa were able to make a profit. Fast forward to today where homes in the heart of the city have starting prices of $750K and up. And when I say home I am also lumping in Condos in there because let’s be honest we won’t all be able to live in homes. ### Foreign Investors & Investment Firms Ohh baby! This is going to be fun. Not only are homes crazy expensive, we now have foreign investors coming in snatching up real estate. Which the government in some places has made efforts to give a fighting chance to individuals and couples. For the fun of it let’s also throw it into the mix of Investment Firms that have an endless supply of cash. Are now into the landlord business. Now am I mad at any of the investors or firms buying up the homes in North America, No. I understand what it is to live in a capitalistic society and I do not hate it, they are playing the game by the rules. Would I say it’s fair, hell no! Let’s be honest life ain’t fair and I am not about to sit like a 5-year old kid crying that the game is rigged. ### A Solution to Housing Costs The way I see it the few options we have to be homeowners are to live away from the heart of the city, move to smaller towns, live abroad where the cost of living is lower. On a personal level, living abroad is my number one choice. I have 3 simple criterias. 1. Warm weather year-round (20℃ & minimal mosquitoes. I hate them suckers????) 2. Not spend 50% of income on housing 3. To be able to maximize my saving and investing over the next 30 years. Being from Canada the only criteria that can work is not to spend 50% of my income on housing. That would also mean moving to a city/town that is cold in the winter.???? Living on the outskirts of a major city or even living in a smaller town has much more appeal to it now ever since the pandemic. Granted if you are able to work remotely, living away from a major city means you get to deal with less traffic, affordable housing, more often a quiet neighbourhood, and more. To be Continued... ### Do You Own Your Digital Name? URL: https://chrislatham.ca/do-you-own-your-digital-name/ Last updated: 2021-02-19T14:19:57.000Z Wouldn't it be great if you could own your own digital identity? Your name says a lot about you, so it makes sense to have your digital name reflect the essence of the person you want people to think you are. The fact that you can own your own domain and use that as your business name is a huge step forward in your professional career.????????‍???? We now live in a world where if anyone wants to find information about you all they need to do is search online. Instantly they can find photos of you partying while on vacation, that video of you doing something embarrassing that a friend tagged you in. Hell, you may even be one of the few who has photos and videos of you as a child online. It comes to no one’s surprise now that employers do look up your digital footprint to get an idea of who you are. If you are dating don’t be surprised that the special person you are talking to will inevitably look you up. (I have never done this, a friend told me about it ????). Let’s be honest the way we present ourselves on social media platforms is different than who we are in real life. Think of how you present yourself on LinkedIn vs Instagram. Totally different right. I know what you are thinking Chris ain’t nobody posting their cat photos and breakfast on LinkedIn. So what exactly is my point here your probably asking. I’m gonna make a claim here that everyone should own their full name as a domain. For example [https://chrislatham.ca](https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-build-a-killer-ai-powered-ghostwriter-for-your-brand-without-losing-your-voice/) (This guy has a pretty dope site with tons of free stuff. I highly recommend checking it out.????) Back on track, my reason for everyone owning their domain name is simple. It is an opportunity for you to control your online image. Plus with everything and everyone going online it definitely is a good idea to own your name which can be seen as Digital Real Estate. Digital Real Estate is a great term as there is such a business of buying domain names and reselling them for 100x profits. This is called Domain arbitrage and /or domain flipping. If you are curious read more about it [here](https://arbitrageinfo.com/domain-arbitrage-and-flippingtips-2020-edition/?ref=chrislatham.ca) and [here](https://www.godaddy.com/garage/what-is-domain-flipping/?ref=chrislatham.ca) The big benefit of owning your domain name is the potential for growth. Outside of you having your site as a go-to place for people to learn about you. You also open yourself up to the possibility of you selling a course, product, service, or build a community. Granted this is an added bonus as who knows what you will be doing with your life in 10 years from now. If the day comes and you plan to pivot, you will be happy you own your name. ???? And hey if you do choose to just keep it as a simple one-page site that’s totally fine. You now own your piece of real estate in the digital world. The choice is yours, if you do plan on making the move I highly recommend using [Google Domains](https://domains.google.com/registrar?ref=chrislatham.ca) to purchase your name, as included in the price you get privacy protection. Aka your address won’t show to those who know where to look. ???? If you bought your domain name and are now looking for how to figure out your vision & mission statement. Get a copy of my [Build Your Brand guidebook](https://chrislatham.ca/free/). ### How to Get 14K in Debt URL: https://chrislatham.ca/how-to-get-14k-in-debt/ Last updated: 2020-12-17T02:23:11.000Z In less than a year and a half, I paid off over $14,000 in debt. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. If I can do it, so can you! Here's how I did it... ## Introduction Let me start off by saying I am not a financial expert and everything you read from here on out is me sharing my experiences and what I have learned. For those who, when reading like jumping straight to the nitty-gritty, each section of the story will have action steps. You can jump right to them. In Fall of 2018 I took a look at my credit card statements. I had three cards at the time, one of which was a cashback card. Surprise surprise! Two out of three cards were maxed out. That other one card- well it had about $500 room left on it. One card was maxed at $2000, the cashback card was maxed out at $7000, and the one unicorn card had a $4500 balance on it. Here I was sitting in my room looking at a total of $13 500 in credit card debt. For reasons you will later learn, I did not add in the $17 300-ish left for my car payment. How exactly did I get here? A simple recipe, to be honest. You mix in impulse purchases, neglected/late credit card payments, lack of personal finance education, not having a budget, and not knowing where I want to go in life. As they say, when a person has a reason they can achieve anything. Let’s dive into it. The rest of this post will be broken down into chapters > **Let Me Put You up on Some Game Young Blood** ## Learn the Money Game After seeing just how much debt I had, something had to be done. I had two options: I could keep doing what I have been doing or make a change. The choice was really just that black and white. Since you're reading this, you already know which choice I made. I got my bathing cap on and dove in headfirst into making a change, baby! Ok, I lied. I didn’t dive headfirst. I merely dipped my toes in the water first before taking a plunge. By that I mean I knew I had to up my knowledge of the money before any changes can be made. Let’s be honest, it’s the 21 century, my ass is gonna sit on top of the shoulders of giants and learn from their mistakes. That launched the first time I ever dove into Accelerated Learning. Accelerated Learning is when you immerse yourself head deep in information and come out of it with basic to above basic level knowledge. ![Photo of spiderman reading](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/road-trip-with-raj-o4c2zoVhjSw-unsplash-scaled-ozz7knwdi09gijffl04rkcosyxung91vbpahzcgw32.jpg "road-trip-with-raj-o4c2zoVhjSw-unsplash") ### Learn the Game Action Step The first thing I had to do at this stage is understand how money works, find people who have paid off debt, learn how credit cards and interest rates work, and understand the impact of my credit score. **The Steps:** 1. Learn how money and banking work. You want to be able to know why banks offer you such a low percentage of returns on a savings account. Once you understand the game, you will then be better able to navigate the world of money. You will also understand why they charge you money to hold your money. 2. Find stories of other people who have gotten out of debt. Take down notes and see what they all have in common. As they say, success leaves clues. These stories are all over Youtube. This also serves as motivational stories. 3. Get your credit score. Understand how that affects your life, the ability to get a loan if needed, get an increased limit on credit card, ability to purchase property, and much more. The higher the number, the more you get treated like royalty at the bank. 4. This is the weirdest thing ever: credit card interest rate and Billing Cycle. Many cards have a 28-day billing cycle which means that you will need to pay your balance within 28 days. Which means the due date changes every month. ## Do a Self-Assessment After getting a better understanding of how money works, it felt like I had lived under a rock and missed out on some important lessons about money. Understanding that I have a long road ahead, I decided to do something about it. At this point, the end goal was to pay off $13 500\. If I have an end goal it would mean I need a starting point. Mid-October 2018 was the first time I decided to track all my current and past expenses. To help keep track of it all, I downloaded an app called [Monefy Pro](http://www.monefy.me/?ref=chrislatham.ca). This was by far the easiest app to use out of all the ones I tried. The interface was simple and visually pleasing, better than any excel sheet. With the app now in hand, I had to go back three months and see where I spent my money. This is by far the most time-consuming thing to do: pulling out nine credit card statements and paper receipts. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Monefy.jpg) This required a certain level of organization for me to be able to track Assets & liabilities. This is a lesson I learned after reading the book “Eventual Millionaire” by Chris Hogan. If you have not read it I highly recommend it. Chris shares examples of common-day people who are Millionaires. What makes them Millionaires is their Net Worth. Yout Net Worth is how much money you have after calculating all liabilities (things that need to be paid off). Here is a photo to help explain. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Assets-Liabilities.png) To help track everything, I created a Net Worth excel sheet, which you can [access here](https://bit.ly/latham-net-worth?ref=chrislatham.ca) . ### Your Monthly**Net Worth** Calculator Get instant access to a monthly net worth calculator for FREE What is great is that you get to see the change in your [Net Worth on a month-to-month](https://chrislatham.ca/budgeting-sucks-track-your-net-worth-instead/) basis. With everything being tracked, I have to say I started to feel a sense of ownership in my financial life. Once you have the clarity in seeing where all your money is coming from and where it’s going, it becomes much easier to start to navigate the Money game. Let’s be honest, it is a game. The sooner you learn the rules, the less financially stressed your life will be, provided you execute what you’ve learned. ![Photo of Calvin building a snowman](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/snowman_house_of_horror_02.jpg) ## Let’s Build a Snowman First things first, we have to give attention to the elephant in the room: Credit Card debt. This will forever be the bain of many people’s existence. As I write this, the national average for credit card debt per Canadian is $23,800\. W-T-F!!! Read that number back again Twenty-Three Thousand & Eight Hundred Dollars!!! Per person living in Canada. That’s bonkers to think of. That’s more than a down-payment on a home. Looking deeper, I learned that the national credit card debt total is $80,000,000,000\. As [GreedyRates.ca](https://www.greedyrates.ca/blog/10-canadian-credit-card-facts/?ref=chrislatham.ca#:~:text=Canadians%20carry%20approximately%20%2480%2C000%2C000%2C000%20of,about%205%2C700%20transactions%20per%20minute.) shares, this is more than the GDP of Cuba!!!! Needless to say, a lot of us are living day to day in debt, and not financially free. I won't dive into the psychology of spending or how XYZ failed. This isn’t the place for such a discussion. When it comes to credit card debt, I learned that there are a few ways to handle things. You can choose the SnowBall Method, Pay Largest First, Balance Transfer, and use a Line of Credit. I won’t go too deep into explaining each method. [ For more info, click the link to find a great resource.](https://www.creditcardinsider.com/learn/reducing-debt/?ref=chrislatham.ca#ways-to-pay-off-debt-on-multiple-cards) ### Pay Smallest Balance First aka Snowball Method Method #1 of paying off your credit card is the all famous Snowball Method. The rules here are simple: you start off by paying the minimum balance for each card. Then you take the leftover money and put it into paying off the card with the smallest balance and work your way up. The main thing here is that it builds up a winning streak, and each card paid off allows you to see the light. ![Giant Snowball](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Giant_Snowball.jpg) ### Pay High Interest First aka Avalanche Method Method #2 of paying off your credit card is the Avalanche Method. Just like above, you want to pay the minimum payment on each card. Then you focus all the leftover money on the card with the highest interest rate. The goal here is to stop paying interest, which you learn is just stupid. The high interest rate puts you into a downward spiral. ### Balance Transfer Method #3 is more of a tactic than a method. It involves a balance transfer. So if you never paid attention, every now and again your bank will send you a letter saying you can transfer the debt from another credit card onto your current card with 0% interest for six months. The goal here is to have more money going into paying off your debt and not paying interest. ### Use a Line of Credit Method #4 is, once again, more of a tactic. A Line of Credit, for those who don’t know, is a set amount of money your bank has set aside for you to use as a loan. The great thing here is that it has a low interest rate, and you can use it for whatever you want. The goal here is to pay off all your cards with your Line of Credit. Then pay it off with a 3-5% interest rate versus the 19.99% credit card rate. This is also known as consolidating your debt. Oftentimes, when it comes to consolidating your debt, you can be asked to lower the limit of your other card. ![IMG_20200610_185414](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/IMG_20200610_185414-scaled-ozz7tgnzh6b374nb7b21emr55shci8zev954plf83c.jpg "IMG_20200610_185414") ## How Exactly Did I Do It? Armed with all the knowledge I needed to get started, it was now time to **EXECUTE**. In looking at the first two methods, Snowball and Avalanche, I did a quick self-assessment and decided to go with the Avalanche. The reason I went with the Avalanche Method was because the idea of paying interest pissed me off. The thought of not giving away money was all the motivation I needed. I have to be honest with you, the path I took was very unconventional as, while paying off my debt, I decided to simultaneously invest $250/month in my Mylo, now called Moka account. For those who don’t know, Moka is a robo-advisor app that rounds the money up you spend each day and invests it. Now this is not the best way to go about paying off debt. This for sure extended the speed at which I could have paid off my debt. The only thing I hated more than the high interest rate was being late to the party of Compound Interest and investing. 30 days later, after executing my debt payoff plan, it felt like I hadn't climbed an inch on this debt mountain. I took a hard look at myself and asked myself one question: “Chris, are you really doing all that you can?” I really wasn’t. You know the guy Eric Thomas who is famous for saying “Do you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe?” That video just flashed back in my mind. That’s when I sat down and devised a plan to **EXECUTE**! Right there on my laptop I wrote down everything I was willing to sacrifice to get out of debt as fast as possible and to be able to start investing. My ass had to play catch-up on the investment game. Some folks had investment funds since knee-high (being a kid). Granted, let me say that as much as I was upset about my past actions in spending and not knowing about investing, I am happy that I learned about it when I did. More about that later. Some of the sacrifices I had to make were: - No going on dates. - No going out spending money (like I mentioned above, no bachelor Party) - No buying food in restaurants - Cutting back on spending (this also meant food) - No new anything (not even clothes when I got a gift card) - Cut back on the amount of food I purchased (a lot of my bills were towards groceries) - No travel (duh! This also meant work-related which was hard as I love to learn) **Then some changes I made in lifestyle were:** - Cutting back on the amount of food I ate. I would end up having one shake and one meal at the end of the day. Which mean my ass fasted 7 days a week #NoRegrets - Walk out of the house with no money or credit cards - Look at my accounts daily as a reminder to stay on track - Increase my income by accepting to work with any and every client, never saying no, at any time of the day. - All money outside of mandatory bills went right into paying off debt. ![change-948024_1920](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/change-948024_1920-ozz82c940ugkujr3d576ye3v4sq57c85f6y7vo9d2m.jpg "change-948024_1920") ### Lifestyle Changes Let me dive deeper into my lifestyle changes. I know that the above seems extreme, and what I am about to say is even moreso. I’ll be honest with you guys, a large part of why I did this to myself was to punish myself for not having followed through. And for being so reckless. What do I mean by follow through? Back in my last year of high school, I made my way to the BANQ (a massive library in Montreal). The BANQ is where all the cool kids hung out. One day I was curious about money and I took out a book on investing. This book was advanced and I spent most of my time with a dictionary going through the book. The one thing I recalled from that book was that Mutual Funds are a waste of time. So yeah, me taking these drastic measures was to punish myself for not doubling down on my curiosities. How exactly did my day to day look like? Pretty simple. ### A Day in the Life of Someone Who F\*\*\*Ed Up I would wake up early in the morning, meditate, go over my finances, journal or read (depending on my mood), make my way to work, have a high fat shake and work most of the day. When I was not working, I’d listen to finance and investing podcasts, and listen to Nipsey Hussle. I would skip lunch and either meditate for a bit, go for a drive listening to a podcast or Nipsey. I would come back to work then go home and warm up food from the freezer. Many times on the drive home I would tell myself I could just go buy food or groceries. I played this fun game where I’d tell myself how inconvenient it would be to have to make a left turn and then spend time finding parking when home. 99.9% of the time I chose to drive home and skip getting food. What I would do once a week is order a large pizza for $12 as a way to get a big influx of food. My sort of reward for staying on track. When we’d order food at work, I would politely say no, to the point that people stopped asking, which didn’t bother me at all as I was on a mission to eradicate this debt. ## How Exactly Did I Do It? Cont’d Two months into this routine, I knocked off about $1500 of my debt. Things were on the up and up. Ya boy was feeling good, but not distracted. At this point I started to learn about a line of credit. I contacted Anhony’s cousin, Dylan, as he worked at the same bank I was using for my main account. Dylan was my contact to the bank. He helped explain to me a lot of the processes at the bank. When I wanted to create a TFS (Tax Free Savings Account) to invest in, he told me what was needed. I would then go to my branch, since his workplace was 40 minutes away. After he explained to me how to go about getting a Line of Credit, I made an appointment with my branch. I walked into this meeting feeling great about the strides I’ve made in paying off my debt. I calculated that If I got the Line of Credit, I’d be giving away less money to interest. Long story short, I didn’t get the Line of Credit because my credit score was too low. The lady at TD who saw how motivated I was, told me to keep doing what I was doing and come back in a few months. Now four months in on this new routine of mine, I have to be honest, I have learned to really enjoy not spending money. I would talk about it with a friend of mine and she told me she did the same thing too. At the end of each day I would look back at my balance and smile seeing the number get smaller and smaller. Month 5 is when I decided I had to learn how to invest my money. ![business station - 1280x738](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/business-station-1280x738-1-ozz8d1mxux452o7aurs8couuorymv8q3k6fan4dxxi.jpg "business station – 1280×738") ### Learning to Invest While I was putting myself up on some game (learning), I decided to learn about what the next steps were for after paying off my debt. Everywhere I looked they spoke about investing. Not knowing much, I leaned to a good friend of mine, Marcelo Taboada, who is in the finance world. He is part of a dope podcast called The Empowered Investor & Nerds (a kick-ass podcast about ideas, culture, and politics). Throughout my journey, all he would do is point me in the right direction and answer most of my questions by giving me resources to read. He and I are similar people: we love to learn. He knew very well that just giving me the answer wasn’t going to cut it. He guided me and gave me clarity on what I was learning. Crazy enough, being Canadian, much of the information when it comes to investing is mostly about living in the US. Dude was like Yoda, and I was Young Skywalker. The scary thing when you want to learn about how the Stock Market works is there are so many resources. I decided to choose to follow people who understood where I was coming from. That is when I found Dr. Boyce Watkins. He was (and probably still is) the only Melanated person to have a PHD in finance. Let’s read that again. The only Melanated person to have a PHD in finance. After spending a few days watching his videos on YouTube, I took the plunge and bought his course. I know I said I wasn’t going to spend any money. I can tell you as I'm writing this, that course has paid an ROI 10 fold. I signed up for his [Black Money 102: How to Invest in the Stock Market](https://theblackbusinessschool.com/p/black-money-102-how-to-invest-in-the-stock-market/?ref=chrislatham.ca) course. That is when I got to learn the fundamentals of investing. The information coming from a man of colour who understands the history and the world we live in was a major plus. For me it was important that I voted with my dollars and spent it on his course. This is a man who quit his job as a professor at Syracuse to start an online curriculum to help other melanated people. That right there is a mission I stand behind. ## How Exactly Did I Do It? Cont’d Again Eight months in and I have officially finished paying off my cash back credit card. BOOH YAHH!! ![Photo of football celebration](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/source-1.gif) With $7000 paid off, I was feeling great. No more interest rate of 20.99%. Now it wasn’t time to slow down and get comfortable. I was just at the halfway mark. I still had two more cards to pay off. At this point, not spending money was a habit. I’ve grown used to my self-imposed daily fastings and learning more about finance. With one credit card paid off, I moved my focus to the next card. With the knowledge I gained about investing, I started to create a mock portfolio to get myself prepped and ready for where I will be putting my money in my future debt-free life. One thing I learned is that every dollar you make has to have a purpose and a place to go. 10 Months in and the speed at which I was paying off this debt increased. The hours at worked increased, and I was now sitting at $4500 of debt to pay off. Within the month, I got a letter from the bank saying that they are offering at 0% interest the opportunity to do a balance transfer. The next day I got back from work, called up the bank and organized to have my debt transferred. Now I was looking at a maxed out credit card and another card that was empty. I decided to keep the empty card as a backup backup emergency fund. A backup backup because one of my goals, once being debt-free, was to have a $1000 emergency fund and a $5000 emergency fund. What I loved most about having all my debt on one card was no longer needing to transfer money from one bank to the next and no longer needing to manage two different due dates. 12 months in I decided to book that appointment to get a Line of Credit. This time around, I called my boy, Daniel, and made the 40 min drive to his office and secured myself my first Line of Credit ever!! Not gonna lie, the process was super easy this time around. I walked in, we chatted and he congratulated me on the speed at which I chopped down my debt. He even admitted he’s never heard of anyone doing it that fast. I told him these exact words “I’m a man on a mission BABAY!” We laughed, he logged in, got the info I needed and seconds later I had a Line of Credit with a few thousand dollars at my disposal. Walking to the car, the first thing I did was transfer over $3000 dollars onto my credit card. I have to say it was nice seeing that credit card balance at $0\. Looking back now, I think that triggered something in me. ### The Victory Lap Within the next 45 days I paid off $3000 and was OFFICIALLY DEBT-FREE!!!! Immediately after I made that last transfer I contacted my friends that were with me on this journey to share with them the good news!!! ![photo of race car driver celebrating](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/source.gif) They were super excited and proud of what I had accomplished. At the end of each call, I reminded them, but mostly myself *“The Journey ain’t over. Now it’s time to Build a Safety Net Phase”.* Here, family, is where this chapter ends. I will most definitely do a part 2 of this story and share my journey on How I Built My Emergency Funds and my portfolio to 2.5x my original debt within two years. For now here is a list of the things I learned during this journey. ## What I’ve Learned - Spending money is an emotional thing - Not spending money is super fun - Having a plan for retirement is crucial to your future life - Learning the basics of investing is mandatory no matter how boring the subject. It’s like learning how to cook - Power of saying No Thank You ## Action Steps & Resources ### Learn How Money Works 1. [I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi](https://www.amazon.ca/Will-Teach-You-Rich-Second/dp/1523505745/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?dchild=1&keywords=i+will+teach+you+to+be+rich&qid=1608089953&sr=8-1&ref=chrislatham.ca) 2. [The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason](https://www.amazon.ca/Richest-Man-Babylon-Magic-Story/dp/1939438632/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=2QLXHETJRJ2M9&dchild=1&keywords=richest+man+in+babylon&qid=1608089980&sprefix=richest+man+in+bab%2Caps%2C234&sr=8-1&ref=chrislatham.ca) 3. [The Maple Money Show](https://maplemoney.com/show/?ref=chrislatham.ca) 4. [Ben Felix](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDXTQ8nWmx%5FEhZ2v-kp7QxA?ref=chrislatham.ca) 5. [Rational Reminder ](https://rationalreminder.libsyn.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) 6. [The Money Guy Show](https://www.stitcher.com/show/brian-prestons-money-guy-blog-and-podcast?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Learn About Credit Card Debt and Paying It off - [Dave Ramsey ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN4yoAI6teRMrJftv0iKEEoU-%5FrxxqZha&ref=chrislatham.ca)(Would this list be a thing without his name) - [The Financial Diet](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSPYNpQ2fHv9HJ-q6MIMaPw?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Minority Mindset](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT3EznhW%5FCNFcfOlyDNTLLw?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Learn About Investing - [Dr. Boyce Watkins](https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBlackFinancialChannel/videos?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Earn Your Leisure ](https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure?ref=chrislatham.ca) (early episodes) - [Minority Mindset](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT3EznhW%5FCNFcfOlyDNTLLw?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Ben Felix](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDXTQ8nWmx%5FEhZ2v-kp7QxA?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Build Wealth Canada](https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-build-wealth-canada-podcast-personal-finance-investing?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [The Canadian Investor](https://open.spotify.com/show/2NG24rv3Mv09EMsIc6rVfs?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Canadian Couch Potato ](https://canadiancouchpotato.com/podcast/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi](https://www.amazon.ca/Will-Teach-You-Rich-Second/dp/1523505745/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?dchild=1&keywords=i+will+teach+you+to+be+rich&qid=1608089953&sr=8-1&ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan](https://www.amazon.ca/Everyday-Millionaires-Ordinary-Extraordinary-Wealth%5Fand/dp/0977489523/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?dchild=1&keywords=everyday+millionaires+chris+hogan&qid=1608099142&sr=8-1&ref=chrislatham.ca) - [The Empowered Investor by Keith Matthews](https://www.tma-invest.com/the-empowered-investor-book/?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### Apps & Courses To Level Up - [Monefy Pro](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.monefy.app.pro&ref=chrislatham.ca) (track your expenses) - [Investmate](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.capital.investmate&ref=chrislatham.ca) (to learn how to invest on mobile) - [Moka](https://moka.ai/en/?ref=chrislatham.ca) (a tool used to save & invest my spare change) - [Learn: how to invest in stocks](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=rubicoin.rubicoinlearn&ref=chrislatham.ca) (to learn how to invest on mobile) - [Black money 102: How to Invest in the Stock Market](https://theblackbusinessschool.com/p/black-money-102-how-to-invest-in-the-stock-market/?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Net Worth Calculator](https://bit.ly/latham-net-worth?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### 024 - Week of September 20, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/024-week-of-september-20-2020/ Last updated: 2020-09-27T22:17:00.000Z ## **24 WEEKS** What’s good Family, This week has been one I will never forget. I came close to colliding with a moose on my way to Thunder Bay, seen guys build a TeePee, visited a Bushplane Museum, Met people from Hudson Quebec while on a hike, and so much more. I’ll be honest I haven’t spent much of this time reflecting, This e-mail will mostly be filled with Images showing some of my experiences. Head up next week’s e-mail will be the same format as I will be making my way to BC ????. I am stocked to get there, I have so many places to visit while I drive through. Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ## **HOW I'M ROAD-TRIPPING????** Before getting into the photos I want to share with you guys just exactly how I am doing this road trip. A lot of the planning on what activities to do and sights are to be seen are panned the day before by putting into Google "what to do in \[insert city\]". From there I look into maps to figure out the best route to take, while also plugging in bathrooms stops and gas fill-ups. All of this sounds simple and the norm. Well here is the secret when driving to a destination my eyes are constantly scanning for interesting things that stand out. That has led me to see a TeePee being built, Climb the top of a defunct lighthouse, a Winnie The Pooh Statue ????, and a couple wearing cool sweaters. The other trick to finding cool stuff is to talk to strangers and ask them what they recommend doing that is how I met and made new friends on this journey. ## **THE PHOTOS** Here are a few photos of my trip so far. --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "Drove 3,000 Km" Latham ### 023 - Week of September 13, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/023-week-of-september-13-2020/ Last updated: 2020-09-20T22:08:00.000Z ## **DOING JORDAN NUMBERS** **23 WEEKS** What’s good Family, As you can tell I am late in sending this e-mail out. Not gonna lie with packing and getting ready for the move I totally forgot to set time aside to write this week’s catch up. Needless to say, I made it safe to my first destination the home of the 6 God aka T.Dot, aka the New York of Canada. During my first day here I am doing things the local way. Travelling via public transport and enjoying the sights and smells. I have been to Toronto before usually it’s been for a seminar. This is my first-time gong at it for pleasure. I have to say I am beginning to see the charm of the city. Not going to lie I was in awe staring at the skyscrapers driving in. Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ## **A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS????** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/429fb237fa180201c1a428a219a83bb4.jpg) Today is the official first day of my journey travelling out west. So far I have spent my morning catching up with a friend. I have to say it was a kick-ass hanging out session. It is always a blast when you get to meet up with a like-minded individual who is also a Future-Thinker. [To know more about being a future-thinker watch this.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=54A81A2A629&ref=chrislatham.ca) It’s been great to be able to talk about tech, finance, retirement, lifestyle, and many other interesting topics. I loved that I got to walk away from our moment being CHARGED UP!!!!! She had asked me how I viewed my future, and I started to explain that I have a 20-year plan. As I finished showing her my plan she mentioned that she just started reading this book that spoke about that. Low and behold it is my book of the year [There’s No Plan B For Your A-Game by Bo Eason](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=54A81A2A630&ref=chrislatham.ca). **PAUSE!!!!** This book is a definite read for everyone. So much so since I finished the book have given away a dozen copies to people. The book is just about to pass [The Mastery of Love](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=54A81A2A631&ref=chrislatham.ca) as my all-time greatest book giveaway. ## **THIS WEEK'S JAM** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/6bebc5eb838fc79e4a054ee0538bbc48.gif) This week I am bringing you a classic R&B song, sobeautiful by Musiq Soulchild, If you don’t know who he is then slap yourself in the face????. This track had me singing and bobbing my head heavy during the drive. As I write this now I have it playing and I am seconds away from standing on the table and start dancing like Tom Dubois. *If you know, you know* Listen Here: - [Youtube](https://youtu.be/LgPpowVNEfE?ref=chrislatham.ca) - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/2PN3gbuBn5WBEwrEJH3xiu?si=s0azeObMS3yqdsuTyUQtfQ&ref=chrislatham.ca) --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "I'm Late" Latham ### 022 - Week of September 6, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/022-week-of-september-6-2020/ Last updated: 2025-11-12T13:48:31.000Z ## **22 Weeks & Countin'** What’s good Family, Just finished up my second week of temporary, part-time, semi-retirement (fine combo of words ????. I have to say it was a blast. I got to spend much time connecting with friends, and family. For the first time being able to connect without having to worry about I need to be somewhere afterwards. I have to say it felt very liberating not to have my day dictated by appointments. Living life at my own pace has been AWESOME. I am still waking up around 5 am and recently started back my morning reading routine. Last year I read 20+ Books this is in-between my podcast, music listening and youtube watching. If you know me by now you know that I spend **A LOT** of my time consuming content feeding my curiosity. [Here is the list of books I read in 2019.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=52A75A2A613&ref=chrislatham.ca) [**If you have any books I recommend reading please let me know.**](mailto:chris@chrislatham.ca) I hope you guys had a Kick-Ass week! Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ## **RICH OR FAMOUS MY RESPONSE????** ## **ENGLISH ISN'T THAT EASY TO LEARN** I was having a conversation about languages with a friend the other day. We were talking about how French has so many rules to follow. I had brought to her attention that English isn't any better. I think as a native speaker there a few things that we take for granted with the English language. I will be giving you a few examples, go into it with a mindset of someone who never spoke the language before and is trying to make sense of it all. **I present to you Exhibit A:** - There is no ham in hamburger. - Neither is there any apple nor pine in pineapple. - If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? - If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? - “Overlook” and “oversee” have opposite meanings, while “look” and “see” mean the same thing. **Exhibit B:** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/english_irregular_verbs.png) **Exhibit C:** - I decided to desert my dessert in the desert (the first “desert” means “abandon” and has the emphasis placed on the second syllable; “dessert” is pronounced the same but means a pudding; and the second “desert” means the dry, sandy environment with camels, and is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable). - When you pronounce the word Wound as woond, it means an injury. But if you say wownd, you mean that you coil or wrap up something, such as a rope or a bandage. - Close with more of a ”z” than an ”s” sound means to shut a door, window or any opening. When the word is pronounced with an ”s” sound and silent ”e,” its means near. - Putting stress on the lasts syllable of Contest indicates that you are arguing whereas putting the emphasis on the first syllable and pronouncing it with more of an ”a” than ”o” sound indicates that there is competition. **Exhibit D:** - "Barking up the wrong tree" - “The straw that broke the camel’s back” - “Raining cats and dogs” - "She kicked the bucket" - "Play it by ear" **Exhibit E:** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/img_3128_20200912_233600.jpg) ## **PHOTO OF ME WITH A DOG????** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ab6d7e9a47f004a84df1c248e140c640.jpg) --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "Semi-Retired" Latham ### 021 - Week of August 30, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/021-week-of-august-30-2020/ Last updated: 2020-09-06T21:50:00.000Z ## **WEEK 21** What’s good Family, 1This past week I got a taste of the retirement life.???????????? I did the typical retirement stuff like play with the grandkids, feed ducks in the park, and go for walks with a walking club in a mall. ???????? Early retirement comes at a time when I am in between jobs. Currently getting myself for an across the country road trip.????????????‍♀️ I gave myself 2ish weeks of no work, and take the time to get myself ready and plan the drive. Most people will think being retired means having a lot of free time to do nothing. Without a surprise I find myself staying just as busy and productive. See the photo below⬇⬇⬇ Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ![taste of retirement](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20200901_080809_522.jpg) ## **STORY BEHIND RELENTLESSLY OPTIMISTIC** ## **CONTENT W/ CHRIS????????????** More dope videos this week**.** 1\. [Are you living a life worth sharing?](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=50A73A2A583&ref=chrislatham.ca) Are you having new experiences, exploring new places in life? 2\. [There is a reason why we don't have monorails](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=50A73A2A584&ref=chrislatham.ca) 3\. Earlier this week went to the dentists and had to get a cavity filled. I was always curious about what it looked like. I found a great video explanation on cavities and how dentists fix them. --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "The Retired Life" Latham ### 020 - Week of August 23, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/020-week-of-august-23-2020/ Last updated: 2020-08-30T21:44:00.000Z ## **Gone Camping** What’s good Family, This week's newsletter will be coming to your inbox Monday. Saturday mid-day I will be out in the forest camping. ⛺ I will have no cell service until Sunday evening. And as a bonus, it will be raining so this will be one hell of an experience. ???? I hope you have an AWESOME weekend! --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "Gone Camping" Latham ### Make Friends Anywhere URL: https://chrislatham.ca/make-friends-anywhere/ Last updated: 2020-08-25T17:11:28.000Z ***Transcript:*** What’s good family! So right now I’m in selfie mood for some reason Go Pro camera is not working too well and I’m making this video at night ‘cause I just ended a pretty cool afternoon, an afternoon that started off by me just going around skating, checking out some different art in the Hochelaga Maisonneuve area and ended up bumping in to three people making some brand new friends and hanging out with them for about three to four-hours’ time or two to three-hours’ time, at least two hours’ time and what’s really cool was that the fact, the way that we connected was that they had their long board, I had my long board and they were like, hey you long board? And I’m like Yeah! And just from that our conversation started and it made me realize how, to connect with other humans and to make friends does not have to be really the most challenging of a thing it’s just allowing yourself to open up to different interactions that could potentially take you to a place, and that alone allows you to make new friends anywhere in the world. Like if I think back to my time in Mexico when I was in a hostel hanging out, chilling, chit chatting and one guy I met was from France and he spoke French and I’m like oh “tu parle francais” (You speak French?) am like “yeah I speak French too” and he’s like where are you from? I’m from Quebec and he’s like oh shit! And right there instantaneously just of a language we became friends, friends for the trip like I don’t remember the guy’s name, at this point in time we didn’t get that close and personal but I want you to think to the fact that often times we may find, we may close ourselves off when going in to a different environment which then could make us perceive as not being say hoping, opening, open, wow! It’s clearly the end of the day, it may not, may have us come off as not as open or friendly, but all the time you can just live with an open heart, live with an open mind, live with just being open accepting whoever is out there, you’re always going to connect and meet some interesting people along the way. Now if ever I am in the Hochelaga Maisonneuve area I have three new friends I can hang out with which is pretty sick and awesome. So once again stay open, be open minded, accept what Is out there, make a new friend, see who you can connect with and now I realize I’m looking at the camera over here when the camera is actually down on the phone. I’m going to have to flip this around when I use this phone for a video. So once again guys, peace out, take care, have a kickass weekend, enjoy the sunshine. Peace! ### 019 - Week of August 16, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/019-week-of-august-16-2020/ Last updated: 2020-08-23T21:28:00.000Z ## **19 Weeks & Counting** What’s good Family, This past week has been one filled with memories and goodbyes. As some of the athletes, I who I have been coaching for 5+ years are leaving to go back to school. Normally this is a quick goodbye, followed by a "see you in the winter". This time around it is feeling very different. On a positive note, I had a pleasant 'aha' moment ????. I realized with COVID and many students not coming back to town, I will potentially have an easier finding a place to live in Vancouver this fall. #PerfectTiming ⏰ Time for to wrap this up as I head out to go rock climbing. ????????‍♂️ Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ## CONTENT W/ CHRIS???????????? More dope videos this week**.** 1\. [How Zellers went from being number 1 to disappearing off the face of the map.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=48A70A2A550&ref=chrislatham.ca) If you grew in Canada, I am sure you have good memories vising Zellers. 2\. [There is a group of people with the power to shut down the internet as we know it.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=48A70A2A551&ref=chrislatham.ca) 3\. [Why UPS trucks never turn left.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=48A70A2A552&ref=chrislatham.ca) Let's be honest turning left while driving totally sucks. 4\. [The Coffee Crisis. The prices will be skyrocketing in a few years.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=48A70A2A553&ref=chrislatham.ca) Soon you'll be sipping on Liquid Gold. --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "Gone Climbing" Latham ### 018 - Week of August 9, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/018-week-of-august-9-2020/ Last updated: 2020-08-16T21:28:00.000Z ## **Legally 18 Weeks Old** What’s good Family, Someone asked me why do I mention the week number at the top of the email. It serves as a reminder that I have been consistent for said number of weeks. In short, it helps fuel and charges me up to keep the ball rolling. This week was interesting as things started getting real that my last day of work is August 31\. The thoughts of I am no longer going to see my clients anymore, all the progress, fun conversations, different personalities, will all be coming to an end. ???? On the flip side, this does mean that I have the opportunity to build a whole new family and community. With all-new people and personalities to learn from. More about this below. Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ## **I'M MOVING!!!????** ## **THE END OF A CHAPTER** Before I continue let me rewind. For the past 10 years, I have been coaching people to move better, feel better, and look better. With coaching many people they all come with relationships and dealing with different personalities. The best parts of coaching has been seeing the growth and development of each person, not just on a physical level. It is seeing a shy kid come in barely speaking a word. To then months later is cracking jokes and laughing with the entire team. It is the feeling of seeing a teenage girl come in wearing leggings and a big t-shirt to months later her feeling confident and wearing shorts with a sleeveless top. It is having a man in his 50s come in stiff and tight, to then being able to run, jump, and be intimate with his wife pain-free. It is seeing a determined and focused 8-year old turn into a 13-year old teenager with a level of discipline that most adults would envy. It is having a young girl coming in saying "I can never do push-ups to a year later banging out 4 with 10lbs plate on her back. It is seeing a young athlete come in with dreams of making it to the Olympics, and years later see them get accepted into an American University. It is having an out of shape dad come in now being able to have fun doing activities with his family. Being a coach was more than just a job in helping people look good naked. It was about building relationships and being the one place they had in their week where they know I was there to be a positive role model and push them to be better versions of themselves. It is scary to think of all it comes to an end. What I can say is that I will be back in a bigger way. ???????? ## **CONTENT W/ CHRIS????????????** This week I have some kick-ass podcast content to share with you all. From a wide range of topics. Most of them are interview format types of podcasts. **Podcast listening tip you can skip the first 30-90 seconds of most podcasts as they usually have a promo during that period.** 1\. [Retirement. a word most people think long and hard about the closer they get to it. the earlier you start planning for it the better your retirement life.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=47A69A2A530&ref=chrislatham.ca) Also, the host is a good friend of mine who helped guide my financial education. 2\. [Being the go-to person at work is usually the best way to make your self indispensable at work. This does come with its downsides.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=47A69A2A531&ref=chrislatham.ca) 3\. [When working towards your goals, set priorities and work towards them one at a time.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=47A69A2A532&ref=chrislatham.ca) 4\. [Are you future-proofing your business' growth strategies? The world is forever changing, start thinking about different types of scenarios and to plan for them.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=47A69A2A533&ref=chrislatham.ca) --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "New Chapter" Latham ### The Adulting Paradox URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-adulting-paradox/ Last updated: 2020-08-09T15:25:28.000Z ***Transcript:*** What's good family, it's another day I keep looking at the wrong place. It's family. It's another day. Look, weather's pretty awesome outside. So today I'm going for a hike. And I want to share with you an interesting conversation I had yesterday. I was talking to a little group, but in the group, they're all generally talking to a 19 year old and another name for what I'd call this. But the best I can think of right now is the adulting paradox. So essentially the adulting paradox is we spend our years from like, say, grade one all the way to finishing university, just trying to fit in, just trying to not stand out, trying to be like everybody else. And we want to be cool. You want to be hip. You want to be just pretty much like your peers. You don't be the odd one sticking out, of your peers. And I am pretty sure that a bit about this called being different in the past. But essentially the adulting paradox comes around to when you finish school and become well say an "adult" in society's terms for this case and you start going look for jobs. And what are the number one questions to ask when you're looking for a job is so what makes you different? Like, oh, the queue in the DJ scratch. You mean to tell me I spent the past 18 plus years of my life trying to fit in, not stand out because I want to get made fun of or be seen as different or be bullied or whatever the case may be. Now, the first thing you're going to ask when I get into this adult world is what makes me different. I have no idea what makes me different at this point. It's the type of thing that you think of how when you watch kids age, they go from being super curious with their own little personalities. And essentially you can kind of see that spirit kind of die off as they head into puberty where we're all we're all confused and feel like we feel lost, we got hairs on our armpits, you got hairs on our pubes. Our voice is changing. Some of us are getting acne. And we're all going through these changes thinking like we're the only one going through this one of the exact same time. All of our peers are freaking out about the exact same thing. But no one is talking about it because nobody want to be seen as different and we want to stand out as weird, it just kind of all sit down for a second and realise we all going through the exact same thing. So, yeah. So that to me is the adulting paradox to where we spend most of our formative years growing up trying to blend in, fit in. And in the second we get into this adult world, we're supposed to know what makes us different compared to everybody else, so we can stand out above the crowds, either get that job, get that promotion, be chosen as a partner in a relationship or work situation and just be able to get ahead in anything we try to excel on. So, yeah, that's what I said. I thought you guys was a really good conversation. It really had my mind racing for the next few hours and especially on the drive home. But yea, tell what you think about that. The adulting paradox. I'm really happy with that name. So apart from that, you guys have an awesome rest and they enjoy some sunshine while you can piece out. ### 017 - Week of August 2, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/017-week-of-august-2-2020/ Last updated: 2020-08-09T09:09:00.000Z ## **We 17 Weeks In** What’s good Family, As you are reading this I am currently in the middle of a mountain hiking!! ???? I am out spending time with a good friend while we recharge and soak in some of that good sun ????. And hopefully, some time spends in the lake chillin' like a villain. This week I spent some time looking for places to rent in the west coast of Canada, I have to say I am shocked to see just how common it is for rooms to have wall to wall carpet. ???? To be honest I am excited and nervous to see that I have been doing a newsletter for 17 weeks. My initial challenge was to do 52 weeks. I can say that the easiest thing when it comes to doing it is just sitting down t do it. Like NIKE says Just Do It. There are times where I feel like I have nothing to write about and BOOM! 60 minutes later everything is laid out. #StickWIthIt Let’s dive into the past week. ???? ## **The Adulting Paradox** ## **Content w/ Chris** Thought I'd try something different this week. I will share with you a portion of the content I consumed this week. This Week I share the Youtube videos. Next Week Podcasts. 1\. [The First content I bring to you is a video explaining how with the pandemic, how important thread manufacturing is.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=46A66A2A511&ref=chrislatham.ca) 2\. [Is a kick-ass interview with Patrick Bet-David as he shares his life story and what it is like being an entrepreneur.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=46A66A2A512&ref=chrislatham.ca) 3\. T[his is for the car people it explains how the sound of car alarms has changed over the years. Grand Theft Auto was much easier in the early years of cars.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=46A66A2A513&ref=chrislatham.ca) 4\. [For my Tech people here is a little history of why Ctrl-Alt-Delete was created.](https://chrislatham.acemlna.com/lt.php?notrack=1¬rack=1&s=bad97c655476f96a390a72c05a742011&i=46A66A2A514&ref=chrislatham.ca) --- That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.???????? Peace out Family✌ \-Chris "The Adulting" Latham ### The #1 Thing To Ask Yourself In Hard Times URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-1-thing-to-ask-yourself-in-hard-times/ Last updated: 2020-08-02T17:12:00.000Z ***Transcript:*** What’s good family, Chris here! So as you can read by the title I’m going to jump right in to it. The phrase that I learnt about, not learnt about, but that was told to me yesterday was to remind yourself when going through a hard time or any challenging moment that this is a character building moment. I know just brrrrrr! That just blew my mind, at the pause everything I was doing was like holy crap that is an amazing line to say and what I like most about it is that just in saying this is a character building moment, flips the situation around from oh man I feel bad for myself, this sucks, feeling pity onto yourself to like you know what? This moment sucks and force you to look at things in a way of what can I learn from this to make things better or to grow from this moment. And essentially that is how we should, like I say “we should”, essentially look at any challenging moment we come across in life whether it’s the worst situation, relationship situation, or out in public at the grocery store bumping in to someone or someone getting mad for cutting you off or whatever. Just whatever the case may be that we could come across through life. Reminding yourself that this is a character building moment, allows you to just kind of set yourself up in a way that, if it does happen again, you know how to better manage yourself within that situation, or you better know how to navigate yourself through that situation, navigate is the word I want to use, navigate yourself through that situation. So yeah, quick video, something to think about, when going through any challenging moments or hard times, ask yourself this is a character building moment. This is not my personal thing, this is something I was told by a client while training them on the weekend, on Saturday and right there I had to freeze, pause everything and just, poooof! Blew my mind of a thought and I love that. So again I’m just sharing that with you guys. Peace out, take care! ### 016 – Week of July 26, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/016-week-of-july-26-2020/ Last updated: 2020-08-02T15:11:14.000Z ## How are you doing? ? What’s good Family, We are heading into week number five. I appreciate you all being here with me for this journey. What I really want to know is how are **YOU** doing right now? Let’s pause on the about Chris, tell me how **YOU** are holding up during this pandemic? What do **YOU** have planned for today? What are **YOU** looking forward to? [Message me and give an update on **YOU!**](mailto:chris@chrislatham.ca) Let’s dive into the past week. ? [⬇⬇FREE GIFT BELOW⬇⬇](#free-gift) ## New Podcast Episode? This week I interview a college buddy of mine Maurice Humphrey. Get amuse-bouche below. ****[Make sure to search and follow Happiness Loves Company of your favourite podcast player.](https://anchor.fm/happiness-loves-company?ref=chrislatham.ca)** --- ## ****FUTURE THINKING ?** --- ## ****RANDOM PEANUT BUTTER FACTS?** ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Peanut-Butter.png) So here I go again down another rabbit hole of feeding my curiosity. This time around Peanut Butter and the story behind it caught my attention. Here are some of the coolest things I’ve learned, and well, know you’ve learned. Whoever said learning can’t be fun. ?? - In 1971 the FDA made it law for it to legally be called peanut butter it has to contain 90% peanuts. If not it’s called peanut spread. - The term “Peanut Gallery” came from the period of the Civil War. When the circus would come around the soldiers would by hot peanuts. If they didn’t like what they were seeing they would throw their peanuts at the stage. - The USDA has a grading system for peanut butter that includes colour. You are required to get a colour sample from Agtron Inc. - Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches were popular amongst US soldiers in WWII [*Peanut Butter Resource 1*](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/12/food-labels-peanut-butter-hearings/?ref=chrislatham.ca)[*Peanut Butter Resource 2*](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/02/surprisingly-short-history-peanut-butter-jelly-sandwich/?ref=chrislatham.ca) --- ## ****HELPING OTHERS TOO??‍♂️** For the past few weeks, I have been helping some people work on Leveling up in life. Now I am not saying I am an expert at levelling up, far from it. What I am is someone who spent the past 18 months consistently working to better understand myself and my purpose on this earth.? I’ve purchased, books, webinars, courses, the whole gamut of things. With it being income tax season it clearly shows I have spent much more on Personal Development this past year. It is to the point I have become a podcast junkie and can easily binge episode at 2x speed.? If I am honest the main reason why I am confident in helping them is that the person to understand you most is the one a few steps ahead o you and not too far removed. ![Photo of Frank Abagnale](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/unnamed.jpg) [http://www.ldsfilm.com/movies/CatchMeIfYouCan.html](http://www.ldsfilm.com/movies/CatchMeIfYouCan.html?ref=chrislatham.ca) As I rewrite the previous sentence I can’t help but think of Frank Abagnale. You know the guy who’s life made the basis for the fantastic movie Catch Me If You Can. Granted I am not saying I am out here being a fraud HELL NO! ? I just like the concept of it can be easy for someone who is an expert to be so far disconnected from what it is to be a beginner. I know there is a term for that I just can’t remember, if you happen to know please let me know, thanks. I have definitely felt that being a personal trainer.??‍♀️ I am far from achieving my goals (getting closer every day), but if I can somehow influence those around me to do the same, then I know the journey there won’t be lonely. What’s better than one AWESOME person? Two! ✌? So, for me it’s a win-win, I keep working towards turning my dreams to reality, and I get to live up to my core unbiased self in serving those around me. I was named after St. Christopher TL;DR Christopher would help people cross a dangerous river by carrying them on his back. One day dude unknowingly carried Jesus and the weight of the world across a river.?? --- ## NEW FREE GIFT? ![Chris Latham 2020 Goal Setting & Action Workbook](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Goal-Setting-Action-Workbook.jpg) The guidebook is something created during 2 Sundays in December during what I like to call “PRODUCTIVITY TIME”. It takes place every Sunday early morning, at a different cafe each week. There are 3 simple rules. Rule #1 Don’t talk about PRODUCTIVITY TIME.? Rule #2 Don’t talk during PRODUCTIVITY TIME. Rule #3 Deep dive into uninterrupted & distraction-free work for 4-6 hours.? Essentially I took everything I have learned, all the activities I completed, and remixed it up to a simple and easy to follow Goal Setting Workbook. The biggest difference with this workbook is that I included **Action Steps**. One of the problems I often found in many self-help and goal setting books/videos, is that they never mention how to implement. If you have read The Secret you know what I am talking about, the whole book is about thinking **without** action.⛅ Long story short click below to get your copy. [GOAL SETTING WORKBOOK](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1T9a1u5yztJBtXhE1XPXIbUVX1J9fnn4F&ref=chrislatham.ca) ## FREE GIFT? Do the words Chill hop, Ambient music, or Lo-Fi Hip Hop ring a bell? If ever you find yourself having trouble focussing on tasks or sleeping. Also for those who just want to be able to improve their levels of concentration. I bring to you 1 month of FREE access to [Brain FM](http://brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx?ref=chrislatham.ca), no Credit Card required. Simply put they are sounds to help put you in a state to improve focus and/or sleep. I make no money off of this, Just spreading the good word. [FREE BRAIN FM ACCESS](brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx) That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.??‍♂️ Peace out Family✌? ### We Are All Born to Win URL: https://chrislatham.ca/we-are-all-born-to-win/ Last updated: 2020-06-25T17:35:09.000Z ***Transcript:*** What’s good family! It’s your boy Chris here. So, it’s another day, and I’ve got the hood on, hair’s looking a little scruffy, got a whole lot of new growth coming in, so it’s about to get fixed up next week, so I’m excited to see what happens there. But essentially today’s video, I was having a conversation, oh damn, battery’s about to be low. Let’s try to get this out asap. So, I was having a conversation with a friend named Pharoahe while recording a podcast interview, and something I said had really caught my interest, and we were talking about how…I asked her a question about, if you could do anything in the world with no chance of failing, what would you do? And for which she replied which I thought it was, like there is no, there is no failure, like failure is not an option, which later led on to continue that you know you are right cos like if you think about it, from the second we are born all we ever do is fight to win, and if you think about it, first you crawl, you learn how to walk, and then you get to learn to walk and run and get up on two feet that’s a struggle but you keep fighting for it. Then talking, you start sounding out random words, random sounds that make no sense really, but eventually end up learning how to speak a language one, two or three, sometimes four, some people even four or five languages. So now, that led me to think that at the end of the day we are all born winners, like I even brought it back to as far as, you know the sperm race, you won! Like you are here, like you won. You have a higher chance of winning the lotto max than it is you wining the chance of you being a sperm that made it to the egg. So right there off the bat our DNA is set with wining. So now, I’m curious to know at what point in our lives are we taught to lose, are we taught to accept failure. Cos If everything you do from your childhood on is wining, fighting, fighting, fighting, progressing, consistency, getting better at it and then mastering it, at what point do we start saying screw it I’m going to give up cos its hard. That has to be something that is taught, it’s not in-grown in our DNA when we look at things that way there is no sense for any of us to feel anything. Yes, you may have come in second place or third place in a race or any particular event, but at the end of the day if you are giving it your all, you’re getting better every day, you are still running regardless. So yes, that is just my thought I have right now and I want to share that with you guys today. In thinking about changing our perspective on, what is it that, with winning and losing in our day to day life. If we are born to win, we are born to succeed, at the end of the day whatever we want to set our minds to, whatever we want to achieve that we right down as a goal. Set up the game plans, create the habits, build the routine, you have no choice but to win, it is in your DNA, we are all winners. Peace out fam, I’m going to end this before the battery runs out. Peace! ### Disconnect For Quality "Me" Time URL: https://chrislatham.ca/disconnect-for-quality-me-time/ Last updated: 2020-06-25T17:26:29.000Z ***Transcript:*** What’s good family! It’s another beautiful, beautiful, beautiful sunny day and I was listening to podcasts as usual and one of the things I was thinking of is that, right now we are living in a world where obviously very connected with each other, there are social media, there is the internet, there is TV networks, the whole nine. And one of the things I kept wrapping my mind around was that thought of, in this world that we are so connected it could be very hard for us to have time just for ourselves to kind of disconnect from the world and be completely shut off and have us some quality me time. so one of the things I was thinking about Is that a great habit, skills or thing to do once a week is, when you get in to the house put your phone on “Do not disturb”, disconnect yourself from what is going on in the world, say it’s even for half an hour to an hour, whatever is happening that time the world is not going to burn and if it does well, shit! So be it, but trust me the world is not going to burn within that hour. And in that hour spend time doing something for yourself, whether it’s like a project you already wanted to get started, it could be coloring, it could be as simple as coloring in a coloring book, cleaning that room you have being meaning to clean up, scheduling time to meditate, taking a nap even that could be a thing too, it really just comes down to that hour, that hour and a half, or thirty minutes that time you set to have your phone on “DO NOT DISTURB”, is to have nothing from the outside world to distract you and just have quality time for you to sit with yourself, whether it is with your thoughts, journaling, writing things down in to a book or audio journaling or even doing a visual-video journaling, like wow, video journaling like I’m doing now, is just find time put your phone on “DO NOT DISTURB” enjoy some quality “me” time and then come back to the world charged up and ready to go. So yeah, that’s it for today guys. Peace out, have a kickass weekend, enjoy the sunshine, soak up some more of that vitamin D baby. peace! ### Progress Foundational Pillar of Happiness URL: https://chrislatham.ca/progress-foundational-pillar-of-happiness/ Last updated: 2020-06-14T17:28:00.000Z ***Trascript:*** What’s good family! So I listened to a podcast, the Noah Kagan podcast where he had on Tom Bilyeu, one of, this guy is awesome, he is a really dope dude. He created Quest nutrition bars, he is the host of impact theory, which is a really dope interview based video podcast style. The dude wanted to go so grand scale he hired the… I think the set director that used to work for opera, so that kind of gives you how big scale this guy is going and he was mentioning that he heard a quote from Tony Robbins that goes “progress is one of the pillars of happiness” now this really hit me ‘cause like the whole thing I have being thinking of a lot has been progress is irreversible you just keep getting better, one step forward, one step forward, keep moving and moving , you are guaranteed your just going to find yourself either being an expert or exponentially better than where you were when you started to the point where you can teach others or help others that are following in that’s same path of yours, and when he mentioned the part of happiness I’m like yeah makes lot of sense ‘cause if like you are not getting better at anything you are going to feel really shitty about yourself, like imagine if you’re kid learning how to crawl and to this day you are still crawling on your knees you never quite got better, that would suck. But, you just keep getting better you move from crawling to walking to running, jumping, you start mumbling out different sounds to making words, sentences and phrases to being able to have full blown arguments we want in different languages if possible too. So it just goes to show that in our age we are meant to continue to progress and get better and sometimes it could get easier to feel like we are not really getting anywhere but I find that if we track somethings we will feel a whole lot better and you could actually look back to see how far you have come ahead. So yeah, I just wanted to share that with you guys, keep that in mind, progress is one of the pillars of happiness. So you guys have a kickass weekend. Peace out! oh I also put a link to the podcast. Peace! ### Do You Own Your Digital Name? - Vlog URL: https://chrislatham.ca/do-you-own-your-digital-name-vlog/ Last updated: 2020-05-24T20:16:00.000Z ***Transcript:*** What's good family? So I'm here for another video, so now for this video I want to talk about is digital ownership. I was having a conversation with a friend and we're talking about the website, and I was curious. I asked her did you ever think of looking up your domain name. She hadn't so I looked it up real quick and it was available. And the reason I'm thinking about this is that we're going into -- not going into, we're being pushed into the internet revolution. In the real world outside the digital world, everything's about ownership - do on your home do you own your car, do you own land do you own property, so on and so forth. But those same rules should definitely apply to digital because now a lot of us have social media accounts that could get shut down at any time so we don't really own that or own those. They have all the information and sell to make tons of money off of that and when I say tons I mean like billions buku buku money coming their way off of the stuff we give them for free. So, and I've been thinking also like, I think one of the reason else why I started a website on my own domain name was to have something that I owned and which when you own your own digital space it's like owning your own property, your own land, your own home. You could do with it as you wish and no one could say anything about that and no one could ban it, no one could shut it down or close it. You have total ownership of that and the biggest thing about having a website that you own or your domain name is that you could convey whatever message it is you want to convey. No one could twist it, no one could edit it no one could say it's banned for disapproval. It's your message as you want to see fit, if you want to proofread, if you want to make a professional shots, do as you wish with that thing but it also comes down to thinking also where we're going to the digital world and one of the most important things I think people don't really take it seriously is, password protection. Now, I'm not giving you guys a link to some sort of password app to get discount, I don't have it like that. But if you think of password protection you want to think of the number one thing we use the most every day is our email and if you think about it our email has access to everything about our lives. So in turn our email's pretty much just like our social insurance number, you wouldn't give your social insurance number to just any random person on the street would you? Hell no! So it comes to email, your password shouldn't just be like password or my favorite dog is Rover. It really should be something that's much more concrete in details, long phrases mixed with numbers and signs. If the numbers and signs gets too complicated, just think of long sentence that no one would ever guess. Because then again someone gets access to your email or like with your say they could take all your information from your social media accounts possibly banking if you save information in there. Information by your life, your relationships, work, the whole line that can cause digital havoc to your life. So again, think about what digital ownership means to you, do you own your name, do you own the platform you're posting on? Like right now I'm posting this on YouTube, I don't own YouTube but for sake being I know YouTube's not going anywhere and I'm not out of point or talking about anything that's controversial that I'm going to get flagged or banned. But worst-case scenario that ever does happen, I'll upload it to my own hosting page - it is what it is. So again, do you own your own name, do you own the only place you're posting your information? Easier password for your email secure, again, sounds crazy and stupid but all it takes is one time for you to get hacked and your whole thing is ruined down the drain so I want you guys to stay safe out there. Again, think about that if you want to buy your domain name, I recommend is going to Google domains. It's cheap and if you're Canadian it's seventeen dollars Canadian with privacy protection so no one could look up into your domain name and figure out where you live because that is creepy as hell so you want to stay safe out there. You wouldn't go into the bedroom without protection, you're not going to go online without protection. Yes, I went there and those of you that know me knows I was going to get there at some point or another. So here I am. Once again, stay safe guys. Peace out family. ### I Stay Future Thinking. URL: https://chrislatham.ca/i-stay-future-thinking/ Last updated: 2020-05-17T22:30:00.000Z ***Transcript***: What's good family. So the premise of today's video is future thinking and thinking about what your future is going to look like. So now we are in the middle of the pandemic called COVID 19 and when I think about it, what scares me and also makes me sad but not to the point where I messed up inside. Just like when I'm empathetic and I think about I don't know the situation is, people that are just kind of spending your time right now Netflix-ing, eating a bunch of junk food or just eating and not really being anything productive - are essentially building up habits that they're going to have a really hard time breaking in a post COVID life. And it's really unfortunate because we have all this free time that's like if some of you are still working I get that but we have more free time on our hands to do all the things we've always said we wanted to do but never made time for and some folks are just kind of spending it by watching TV and granted if that's what makes them happy I'm not here to judge them. I'm not here to say what's wrong or right but I just kind of think what if that person's really starting to feeling down about themselves, feeling a little bit sad six months, nine months, a year and a half from now and you realize that they've really just reinforced poor habits in themselves by just choosing to sit back and chill and take the easy route. So when it comes to future thinking, I also had a similar conversation - not similar, a conversation with a friend of mine about goals I've set, why I want to achieve these certain goals, what I have planned and for myself it all came down to, all my goals boil down to being the best dad in the world possibly. Picture what great dad you know. I want to be that guy times 10\. Let's forget that times 10, to the exponent power of 10, I'm going to be that guy. And the reason that's important for me is that I want to be able to set up a world and environment where I could have much kids grow up, I feel one in a safe environment, build them with confidence, respect for self, loving themselves and also helping others - our fellow men. And I realize that every action I take now and everything I do now helps build that future that I want to have. Similar to those that are just kind of chilling right now. On the opposite of this picture they're just chilling, eating, watching TV- being lazy. You're going to build that life for yourself of being lazy and chilling in the future unfortunately regret it. Some people may have that willpower to flip a full 180, I'm always going to believe in someone's ability to do that but end of the day I'm making this video, just wanted to let you know to think about what does your future hold? What does your next 5, 10, 15 years look like? Are you goal setting, is there anything you've planned out? If you haven't thought of goal setting, in the description below I'm going to put a link to a document that I've made that I've been sitting on it for a long time and never really did anything with it. So I'm going to start sharing with you guys now. It's a goal setting and action workbook and the reason I put action in there it's not just about saying what goals you want to achieve and what you want to get done, the book is set up in a way for you to create actionable steps and learning what you need to learn so that you could turn those dreams into reality. So until next time, guys. Peace out family. [GOAL SETTING WORKBOOK](https://chrislatham.ca/goal-setting-workbook/) ### Be a Creator Not Consumer URL: https://chrislatham.ca/be-a-creator-not-consumer/ Last updated: 2020-05-10T22:33:00.000Z ***Transcript:*** What's good family. So yesterday I woke up and I'd seen a sign that I have on a door, it really right there. It says, be a creator not a consumer and that hit me. So I started thinking about -- like all right. So I spent a lot of time focusing on reading, studying, learning a bunch of stuff. But when I was reading that I started to realize that a lot of the stuff that I'm reading and studying, it comes to a point where it's not only adding any more value until you kind of get your hands dirty and then I know for a lot of us we like to stay in a theory stage but not quite jump into the practical stage because it could be scary. There's a chance of failure, there's a chance of messing up. There's a chance of not being good at it at all but it had me thinking about all this time we spend studying and reading, you just got to dive right in, like just jump right into the deep end and see what happens. And you just got to trust yourself to know that everything you learned up to this point will keep you afloat and all you could really do is just get better because as time goes on and on you're going to keep gaining those skills and getting better and improving. So I think back to my years of coaching, when I first started out I didn't really know that much. I read a lot of books, read a lot of articles but I didn't have as much confidence going into it. Because I'm like oh I feel like a fraud and then the person I'm training - they think I'm an expert but I'm not really an expert, I just started out. But then people don't really care it was the biggest thing I find that’s the most important is that it's not so much what you know now but it's the fact that a month later, six months later, a year later that you know more and you're able to implement and put more action into it. Because that's what shows growth because at the end of the day, you do not want to be the same person you were three months six months a year or two years prior. That's literally just wasting time. It's like I don't mean to say you could rot on the street because a banana will even decompose and change with ten months. If you would just stay the same it's just like a waste of -- I guess I can say a waste of air. That's just terrible you don't want to be a waste of air come on, you don't like that, you're better than that. So yeah, so I'm going to challenge myself for this week is to spend less time reading and studying on stuff and just put more time into putting things into practice so that's my challenge to myself this week. What things have you been, how to put say not procrastinating but I've been focused on just learning and learning and learning and have been shying away from implementing? Leave something to comment below or just reply back to the email. Peace out family. ### 015 - Week of May 3, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/015-week-of-may-3-2020/ Last updated: 2020-05-10T14:34:04.000Z ## The Journey Continues What’s good Family, I have been wide awake since 4 am and asking myself what will I write about this week. I reflected back on my week and I have to say that a highlight was getting to hang out with two good friends of mine via Zoom. From the outside looking in it doesn’t look like much. I have to say left the virtual hangout sessions feeling pumped up. ? I strongly believe that when you bring two of your friends together and they get along uber well. It speaks volumes on you and the people you choose to associate with. All this to say look at your circle and take the time to appreciate who you have. Let’s dive into the past week. ? [⬇⬇FREE GIFT BELOW⬇⬇](#free-gift) ## New Podcast Episode? This week I interview a good friend of mine Emily Stott. Get amuse-bouche below. ****[Make sure to search and follow Happiness Loves Company of your favourite podcast player.](https://anchor.fm/happiness-loves-company?ref=chrislatham.ca)** --- ## ****Produce vs Consume** --- ## ****Making Major Change?** Imagine being put in prison for 2-10 years and upon your release, you are making $50,000 legally.? This is what Last Mile is doing in helping those incarcerated to learn the much-needed skill of coding. This is flipping AWESOME this gives people an actual second chance. On top of that 0% of those in the program have reoffended. Doing good in life really comes down to having opportunities. **[The ability to give others opportunities is part of my life goal of helping change 10 million lives. Full disclosure the first time I saw this I teared up.](https://chrislatham.ca/10-million-lives-changed/)** ****[Watch the video on how Last Mile is helping.](https://youtu.be/7P4klAfyiG8?ref=chrislatham.ca)** --- ## ****Music & People That Motivate Me?** By now I am sure you know music is a big part of my life. I have the stats to prove it. As you will see below I spent a fifth of 2018 listening to music. Spotify also shows who were your top artists, and most played songs. ![Time Spent listening to Spotify](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20191205-060814_Spotify.jpg) ![Nipsey HUssle my most listened to artist in 2019](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20191205-060629_Spotify.jpg) ![New Artist Most Listened to in 2019 Spotify](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20191205-060754_Spotify.jpg) ![Nipsey Hustle My Artist of the Decade](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20191207-183701_Spotify.jpg) --- If I reflect back to 2019, the reason for the drop in numbers is that I spent more time listening to audiobooks and podcasts. I spent a lot of time listening and studying these guys. 68 & 118 hours to be exact. ?When I think as to why they captured so much of my attention compared to others. It is that I can see similarities in our starting stories. The one song that gives me chills every time it plays is **[That’s How I Knew by Nipsey Hussle.](https://youtu.be/yk7k10--TuQ%5C?ref=chrislatham.ca)** The song always dials me back in and have me think about the path I have chosen. I can’t help but think to myself writing out your own story is a selfless act. You aren’t writing the story for yourself; you are doing it to share with others. In such, you can help inspire and/or motivate another person. Wouldn’t that mean it is all our jobs to live our lives to the fullest and share out story? Just a thought. ?? Listen to the playlist that keeps me focused. No R&B songs on this one. ?? [**Follow Your Dreams Playlist**](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3NOyG2KpVZpF2u0fOQGZme?si=j0yrlTNnRPaNiTM7PEIaJw&ref=chrislatham.ca) --- ## FREE GIFT? Do the words Chill hop, Ambient music, or Lo-Fi Hip Hop ring a bell? If ever you find yourself having trouble focussing on tasks or sleeping. Also for those who just want to be able to improve their levels of concentration. I bring to you 1 month of FREE access to [Brain FM](http://brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx?ref=chrislatham.ca), no Credit Card required. Simply put they are sounds to help put you in a state to improve focus and/or sleep. I make no money off of this, Just spreading the good word. [FREE BRAIN FM ACCESS](brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx) That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.??‍♂️ Peace out Family✌? ### 014 - Week of April 26, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/014-week-of-april-26-2020/ Last updated: 2020-05-05T20:03:44.000Z ## The Journey Continues What’s good Family, What’s good Family, I’m going to try something different this time around. As you know a life without experimenting is well, a boring life. This week’s content will be shorter and include video. ? If you are a fan of the uber-long content here is something different for your taste buds. On a side note been practicing 10-15 minutes a day skateboarding. I am proud to say I can officially do a manual for 4 seconds. BOOH YAH BABAY!!!? That’s enough about me let’s dive into this past week. ? [⬇⬇FREE GIFT BELOW⬇⬇](#free-gift) --- ## New Podcast Episode? This week I interview a good friend of mine Fotar Tunteng. Get a feel for the energy in the teaser below. Make sure to search and follow Happiness Loves Company of your favourite podcast player --- ## Why So Happy? ? --- ## Save The Trees? As a proud member of Youtube University, I am always going down rabbit holes and have list of channels I follow that constantly feed my curiosity. This week I came across a video that explains to us the purpose of having trees in cities. I’m not sure about you but I never put much thought into why we need trees, past grade school science class on photosynthesis. In the past weeks, I have been spending time learning about houseplants. At this point and time, I have enough responsibility in me to take care of a cactus. Did you know trees help prevent mudslides, the roots prevent floods, and that hospital patients who have views of trees recover quicker than those with views of brick walls. ? Also since 1967 Singapore has planted more than 1.2 MILLION!!! trees. Not thousand but MILLION. [Watch it here.](https://youtu.be/zarll9bx6FI?ref=chrislatham.ca) --- ## Started Reading? ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/expert-secrets-by-russel-brunson.jpg) You know how they say in life everything is about timing. Well, this book could not have come at a better time. It has been on my list for months now just never had the need to get it. Until recently a friend recommended I get it. I am 45 pages into the kindle version, and got damn! I don’t think I have ever made so many notes before. This book is fire. ? The book has so many points that hit me like a sack of bricks. Take a look at some of my favourite so far. ![Excerpt from expert secrets by Russel Brunson](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20200502-072329_Amazon-Kindle.jpg) --- ![Excerpt from expert secrets by Russel Brunson](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20200502-072440_Amazon-Kindle.jpg) --- ![Excerpt from expert secrets by Russel Brunson](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20200502-072540_Amazon-Kindle.jpg) --- ![Excerpt from expert secrets by Russel Brunson](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_20200502-072609_Amazon-Kindle.jpg) --- ## Music Got Me Vibing?? **Homegirl by Leven Kali ft. Smino & Topaz Jones** This week I bring to you a dope ass track that would easily fit into the early 90s era of Hip-Hop. All before labels executives chose to heavily promote misogyny in rap lyrics. I'm not hoping on a holier than though rant. All I want is to see the balance Hip-Hop once had with the positive and negative. Life's about the Ying & Yang baby!☯ Right at the start, you know what the song is about **Memorable line:** "That ain’t my bitch, that’s my motherfuckin’ Homegirl" If you have [Spotify click here](https://open.spotify.com/album/5G1iAACrVwK9cjrioFotQI?ref=chrislatham.ca) if not the video is below. [And if that type of song is your cup of tea, I have a playlist on Spotify click here.](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/60QEqAkcrWCVIihp4mbdci?ref=chrislatham.ca) The playlist is a mix of Hip-Hop and R&B songs about your girl, or that special girl being flipping AWESOME! Amply titled She's The Best. --- ## FREE GIFT? Do the words Chill hop, Ambient music, or Lo-Fi Hip Hop ring a bell? If ever you find yourself having trouble focussing on tasks or sleeping. Also for those who just want to be able to improve their levels of concentration. I bring to you 1 month of FREE access to [Brain FM](http://brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx?ref=chrislatham.ca), no Credit Card required. Simply put they are sounds to help put you in a state to improve focus and/or sleep. I make no money off of this, Just spreading the good word. [FREE BRAIN FM ACCESS](brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx) That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.??‍♂️ Peace out Family✌? ### Happiness Is Having a Child-Like Curiosity URL: https://chrislatham.ca/happiness-is-having-a-child-like-curiosity/ Last updated: 2020-05-02T20:23:00.000Z ***Transcript:*** What's a good family? Another nice beautiful day, just finished doing a little bit of skateboarding right now. Got to practice my manuals, trying to be able to manage myself up on two wheels and hold that for longer than four seconds right now. So I'm here today because I was talking to a friend late last night and one thing she would ask me was, how was it I do to maintain to stay positive and happy especially during these particular times that we're in? And at the moment to be honest I didn't have an answer. I was racking my head all night trying to figure out what exactly was or what it is and granted I'm fully well certain it's not just like one particular thing it's a build of stuff that takes place over time but one of the key things that I found that keeps me always excited for life and trying things and seeing what's around the corner is keeping a childlike curiosity. Now doesn't mean being childless, just having a childlike curiosity is always being excited for what's around the corner, always seeing new opportunities and looking for things in a different light. Looking for things with a different point of view, not always letting old experiences dictate what could potentially happen with a new experience. So you think of a kid that's getting ready to open a birthday gift, there's a whole lot of excitement that's coming in or you think of a kid that's going on to see his favorite movie for the 20th time and the same level of excitement that has on number 20th as it did on the first time. It's keeping that type of excitement for whatever it is happening in life whether it's a work situation, relationship situation, an activity, a meal or just spending time with someone, it's having that again that childlike curiosity for things. To want to explore and I think that being curious comes out to being willing and wanting to explore different things in life, and I find that's one of the key things that keeps me energized, keeps me excited, keeps me happy, keeps me always looking for the good in things. Because every experience you are going to have will be a whole new journey that you'll be able to tell your kids in the future or you'll be able to share with someone else, be able to better relate with them in the potential present or in the future. So yeah, just something I wanted to share with you guys, think about that for yourself. Peace out family. ### 013 - Week of April 19 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/013-week-of-april-19/ Last updated: 2020-04-26T14:40:32.000Z [⬇⬇FREE GIFT BELOW⬇⬇](#free-gift) ## Got Me Smiling Like I Won the Lottery? **14-year-old CEO turns $178 clothing empire and retires his mom in the process**. That is one hell of a captivating title don’t you think. Well, this more than just a title but a reality for [Trey Brown ](https://www.instagram.com/ceotreybrown/?ref=chrislatham.ca)?the creator of [SPERGO](https://spergo.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca). We live in a world where people are always saying the youth are lazy, \[insert any negative comment\], etc. Here once again is an example of the next generation showing the exact opposite. Filling up my newsfeed with stories like this is one of the ways I keep my positivity meter filled up. Keep that meter filled is what keeps being Relentlessly Optimistic. Despite all the old people complaining I will always have faith in the next generation no matter what! Peep out his full interview on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9%5FMDty-oXeI&ref=chrislatham.ca). ## Feeding My Curiosity? This one came about me being in yet another Youtube Rabbit Hole. If you think about it how cool would it be for your 9-year-old self to be able to ask any question you want and get an answer through video? I know that most of you just as myself spent much of their time as a kid looking through encyclopedias, National Geographics, watching Popular Mechanics for Kids, and finding any other way to understand how things work. High 5 if you were just like that✋?. The video going in on how elevators coming to a free fall like in action movies, by design will never happen in real life. Like did you know that elevators are safer than escalators? Well, now you do. If I think about, I have heard stories, people, laces getting stuck in escalators and hurting themselves at the top or bottom. You can learn more about that in the video. The part that really has me going is how Hollywood has played on our fears of elevators (sounds silly saying it). As they mention it goes against our human impulses, we voluntarily pout ourselves into tight spaces, heights, and lack of control. If we zoom out and just view the fear of height and how we can conquer that easily by standing in an elevator. Imagine what other fears we can overcome by shifting our perspective. Here is an example riding an elevator vs rock climbing. In the red corner, we have riding elevators that include being in a tight space, going to insane heights, and a major lack of control. In the blue corner, we have rock climbing(indoors) that comes with open space, climbing to moderate heights and complete human control. If we break out down like that it’s obvious the clear winner of the least scary is rock climbing ?. It’s as clear as a freshly Windexed window on a clear summer day that changing our point of view on something can affect how we react. Granted when being in the midst of things it can be hard to get perspective. If we are able to zoom out we can then see the full picture. I believe that is a major skill to learn in life. ![Perspective is it a 6 or a 9?](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Perspective.png) Clearly I went off on a tangent, what started as a cool video about elevators turned into a Socrates like thought process on perspective. Here is the video ## Is There a Better Way?? I am going to start off by saying I am a fan of Gary Vee and believe his story speaks to a particular demographic of people. Like my mentor, Bruce Lee says “Take what is useful and get rid of what is useless”.??‍♂️ That is my rule of them when looking at anyone for example. Being a Hip Hop fan this holds true for Kanye West. if you have followed him since College Dropout you understand how hard it can be to defend an artist. Everyone has a message and we take away from it what we choose. Gary Vee came up in an article I read about [Struggle Porn](https://medium.com/@nateliason/no-more-struggle-porn-202153a01108?ref=chrislatham.ca) (I know such a great title you can see why I clicked it). The author of the article Nat describes Struggle Porn: *a masochistic obsession with pushing yourself harder, listening to people tell you to work harder, and broadcasting how hard you’re working.* All our lives we are told two conflicting messages. One being “you have to work hard to succeed” the other “work smart, not harder”. Imagine being 18 years old trying to decipher the two opposing views. We do live in a society that congratulates people for how hard they worked. I can’t help but think about athletes and scientists. Being the best at both takes tremendous hard work that’s without a doubt, and no knock to any other profession I’m using the two for simplicity. I think what is more important than hard work is the transition that is made to working smart. To break it down at the beginning of anything we do in life, we need to spend time learning the fundamentals. During this stage when you want to work hard. This is where you hone your skills. Then to become great you need to work smart and work on creating systems. Without systems, you are forever stuck in amateurville. The system is where you put your skills into action and away from the practice. For many people taking that step is scary. This involves us leaving our zone of comfort. Then again an eagle can never fly the skies if it never leaves the nest?. If you manage to transfer that energy you put for practice and put it into creating systems you would then no longer need to participate in Struggle Porn. This comes off the tail of me finishing the book Company of One. Ask yourself what can you do tomorrow or in the next few weeks/months that can turn your current work into a system that gives you less stress. ## Finished Reading? Company of One by Paul Jarvis is the perfect book to read during Quarantine. Honestly, it’s just a good read no matter the time. We are living in a time where living a Nomadic life is all the rage. I think at that root of the appeal in that is having freedom. To be honest it is what captured my attention. Thoughts of being able to travel, meet new friends, and work at the same time, that’s a major win. Living the Dreamlife baby!? As I look deeper into what I wanted from more freedom, it mostly came down to being able to the things I enjoy without interruption. Like being able to read a book for as long as I feel like it instead of having a 30-minute timer set at 4:30 am (pre-COVID life) or being able to say I want to snowboard every day for 1 month out of the year or being able to take an intensive pilot lesson class. These blocks of time are one of the ways that I enjoy doing things. I remember the day I went from thinking about Nomadic life to thinking about blocks of time was when I met a new client. This particular client spends the winter months in Vancouver skiing. You’re probably asking yourself how does one afford to do that yearly. I’ll give you a few hints he’s old and semi-retired. Does this mean I have to wait until I am old and almost retired to start enjoying these activities to the fullest? Hell nah!!!! ??‍♂️ I refuse to believe that, but then again if you were to take a poll of the people who go on several vacations a year, have the disposable income to enjoy many activities. There is a high probability that they are 50+ in age and retired. Like in the above section we are told to work hard and then when you are old you can enjoy the fruits of your labour. Refusing to believe that those rules apply to everyone fate would have it that the next book in my reading list was Company of One. in the Prologue on page xiii the author has a conversation with his accountant friend while surfing. I will quote this next part as this is the reason why I was able to finish the book in a week. “We were sitting out there, waiting for the next decent wave, and he turned to me and said, ‘I’m stocked! I’ve just about made enough to take the rest of the year off to go rock climbing.’ It was August. Puzzled by what he said I missed the next few waves...” Now I am not sure if it’s the fact dude was doing two activities I enjoy greatly ??‍??‍♂️ or if it’s that he had the freedom to do as he wished for the Fall & Winter season. Here is another excerpt that helps explain the point. “Past that, he didn’t need any more money… he hit his ‘enough’ amount and travel for the rest of the year. He didn’t want to grow his accounting business into a bigger company with employees and offices in every city. If he did, his ‘enough’ number would also grow, from having to manage more employees and a bigger business. He wouldn’t be able to spend as much time rock climbing (or surfing). His focus in his business was being better, not growing bigger.” Finishing this book has my mind racing at 100 Mph ?. For those interested, it doesn’t give you a blueprint in saying follow this business model, etc. It is more about changing your point of view on being a solopreneur. I am sure by now you see a recurring theme, **Perspective**. Take a look at what I've read in [2019](https://www.pinterest.ca/chrislatham3/books-ive-read-in-2019/?ref=chrislatham.ca) & books read in [​2020](https://www.pinterest.ca/chrislatham3/books-ive-read-in-2020/?ref=chrislatham.ca). ## Music Got Me Vibing?? If Spotify was a person I would say it is my best friend. When I am not learning or exploring, you can always find me listening to music. For 3-4 minutes you get whisked away in melody and sounds to take part in the story the artist has penned together. I can break down my listening to percentages. R&B accounts for 50%, Hip-Hop 25%, and everything else 25%. The song that has my head bouncing like a bobblehead is I Got Money Now by Deante’ Hitchcock & JID. It’s a classic come-up story from how they made it through difficult upbringings and now doing better. Memorable line: “Remember my mom bein' broke as a joke, pay the rent with the light bill, shawty They cut off the lights, it was dark at the house But I knew I was bright still, shawty” ## FREE GIFT? Do the words Chill hop, Ambient music, or Lo-Fi Hip Hop ring a bell? If ever you find yourself having trouble focussing on tasks or sleeping. Also for those who just want to be able to improve their levels of concentration. I bring to you 1 month of FREE access to [Brain FM](http://brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx?ref=chrislatham.ca), no Credit Card required. Simply put they are sounds to help put you in a state to improve focus and/or sleep. I make no money off of this, Just spreading the good word. FREE BRAIN FM ACCESS That’s it for this week. Speak to you guys next week.??‍♂️ Peace out Family✌? ### 012 - Week of April 12 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/012-week-of-april-12/ Last updated: 2020-04-19T16:43:05.000Z [⬇⬇FREE GIFT BELOW⬇⬇](#free-gift) --- # Big Changes in The World? One of the many ways that I feed my curiosity is through podcasts. If you aren’t up on the podcast wave, its time for you to hop on and ride the wave. ??‍♂️ Think about it you can intake information while doing any other task such as dishes, driving, shower (Bluetooth speakers), cooking, public transport, etc. etc. One of the podcasts I can say I am officially a Day 1 Fan is the Earn Your Leisure podcast. They are part of the inspirations for me creating my own podcast. In this particular episode, they shed some light on how major changes will be taking place during and after COVID-19 (this is assuming we are still practicing social distancing in 2021). Includes: - Daycare industry is in major trouble - Distance Learning may be the new norm. The interesting thing is how SATs for 2020 have been cancelled ? It Makes you think if it every was really necessary, to begin with. - In the US it is projected that 47 million of the population will be unemployed which will equal 32% of the population. The last time it was anywhere that high was during the Great Depression where it was 23%. - Airlines are screwed right now. Listen to it [here](https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure/episodes/EYL-75-State-of-Emergency-ecpfvn?ref=chrislatham.ca). # Inside My Head? Perspective. That has been the one thing on my mind since having to practice SD (social distancing). Why perspective? I will be the first to say that our current state of events totally sucks. At the same time, I can’t help myself in seeing the silver lining of it all. Most of us now have an extra 2-10 hours extra in our day. Some of us no longer are working, and some no longer have to commute to work and back. SO now with all that extra time we now have an amazing opportunity to LEVEL UP ?. Think about it we all have projects we always wanted to start but never did, a book you wanted to read, go back to playing guitar, clean and organize your home, upgrade your skill for a career change, or as simple as just calling up your family and friends to reconnect. Essentially what I am getting at is we no longer have any excuses. Look at it this way, We are back in the world with a less strict SD, and another 5-10 years passed. When you look back to 2020 what will future you be happy and grateful that current you did? ? Hold up a second, everything doesn’t have to be about skill acquisition. It can be as simple as taking this opportunity to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health. # Money Making Mitch? For those with free time on their hands and like to take control of their finances. With a change in perspective, this would be the best time for you to develop a side hustle. Instead of listing out ideas, I bring to you 2 resources. This right here is the holy grail, and where you may just find your money-making answers.? **Numero uno**. Noah Kagan the creator of appsumo.com made a list of 23 things you can do to start making money. [23 Side Hustles](https://okdork.com/best-side-hustles/?ref=chrislatham.ca) **Numéro deux.** I bring to you the Side Hustle School podcast. This ish right here are for those who want to hear of success stories before making the jump. Or if you just want to get a few creative ideas. [Side Hustle School](https://sidehustleschool.com/podcasts/?ref=chrislatham.ca) # Positive Perspective? “ It’s not what Social Media does to us it’s what we do with Social Media”? I heard that in a [video ](https://youtu.be/4xNyp8czWKg?ref=chrislatham.ca)this week. It had me smiling ear to ear for the rest of the day. We live in a world where everyone says technology and social media are distractions and is public enemy #1\. With the negative rep, it gets I have always said it has done more good than bad in bringing people together. ?? Let’s paint a picture it’s 1990 BI (Before Internet) you are 15 years old and in high school. Most of the kids in school are into sports and going partying, yet you are the only one in school who is into music and dresses in goth attire. I bet you’d be feeling pretty lonely. Let’s fast forward 20 years same situation, you no longer feel alone as you have active friends with the same interest as you on social media. You are no longer feeling misunderstood all day long. To be clear this is just an example to prove a point that when used with proper intent technology is flipping AWESOME! Here is the video: [https://youtu.be/4xNyp8czWKg](https://youtu.be/4xNyp8czWKg?ref=chrislatham.ca) # Book Excerpt? Currently, I am reading the book Company of One by Paul Jarvis. I recommend the book to anyone looking to create, understand, or first with the idea of being a Solopreneuer. In the book, Paul Describes a Company of One as “...is simply a business that questions growth. A company of one resists and questions some forms of traditional growth, not on principle, but because growth isn’t always the most beneficial or financially viable move.” Let that marinate in your mind for a bit. Here is another snip of a section ![Caption of the book Company of One by Paul Jarvis](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200418_164934.jpg) # FREE GIFT? Do the words Chill hop, Ambient music, or Lo-Fi Hip Hop ring a bell? If ever you find yourself having trouble focussing on tasks or sleeping. Also for those who just want to be able to improve their levels of concentration. I bring to you 1 month of FREE access to [Brain FM](http://brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx?ref=chrislatham.ca), no Credit Card required. Simply put they are sounds to help put you in a state to improve focus and/or sleep. I make no money off of this, Just spreading the good word. [⬇⬇FREE BRAIN FM ACCESS⬇⬇](http://brain.fm/invite/4B0dAmL4Jx?ref=chrislatham.ca) That’s it for this week.??‍♂️ Peace out Family✌? ### My Return to Social Media URL: https://chrislatham.ca/my-return-to-social-media/ Last updated: 2020-01-31T20:44:41.000Z # How did I get here? The return back to social media. Its been just over 5 years since my last post on a now Deleted Facebook Fan Page (I am seeing if it can be restored). Why all of this. I was driving back to work and listening to a [podcast by Peter Voogd ](https://peterjvoogd.com/182/?ref=chrislatham.ca)it left me thinking about how in 2020 we all need to be posting on social media. This thought then led me to have a conversation with a good friend of mine. In order for me to make it to that next level and to achieve one of my goals for 2020, I will need to hop back on the social media train. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/WhatsApp-Image-2020-01-30-at-2-18-00-PM.jpeg) chat with friend about returning to social media For the next few minutes, I took the time to think and meditate on how I feel about getting back on this ride. This is an all too familiar ride. One that I promised-ish to never get back on. ## Why I disconnected? A little back story from 2010-2014ish my number one life goal was to be known as The Best Fitness Model Athlete & Powerlifter. The goal was to compete in both Fitness Model/Bodybuilding competitions, compete in powerlifting meets (the official term for the competitions), and to grace the cover of magazines worldwide. Although I did not make it to the cover of Men’s Health I did manage to make it into 2 issues of Fitness Quebec Magazine. Which my mom still holds copy of to this day. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IMG_20181209_222114.jpg) Photo of me in Fitness Quebec I will save all this for a future My Story post. The year was 2014, from the eyes of a fan I was on the up and up. I started to place higher in Fitness competitions, got the Provincial record for Powerlifting, had photos in a fitness magazine, had hundreds of active followers on Facebook with a community, was a sponsored athlete, Youtube views started to increase. It was all sunshine, roses, and gumdrops ahead. Then one day I went to Facebook deleted my fan page wit hundreds of posts. I went to Youtube made all my videos private. Changed my Twitter account from public to private. Deleted a new and on the rise app Instagram. For context here In 2014 Facebook was king, people read magazines, Netflix & Chill wasn’t a thing, most content online was long-form. The day I shut it all down was when I did a daily reflection and realized I didn’t live to live, I lived to post. Almost every decision I made was with the thought of how can I get more views, followers, comments, and likes. This went as far as when I decided to post one of my failed deadlift attempts to youtube I wanted to thumbnail and caption it “I just couldn’t Get It Up” with the Viagra logo as I thought it was funny. My at the time girlfriend gave me a look and advise against me doing it. I no longer wanted to live a life I thought others would find interesting and started to live a life for myself. Thinking about all this now I realize why for the past 6 years I had a could care less attitude for social media posts. so that like someone who has been sober for many years I did not want to relapse. Every now and again I would try it out and find myself getting an uncomfortable feeling inside and stop. ## Why come back? Its been 6+ years of soul searching, figuring out a purpose, and getting to know my self. I understand this is a search that never ends. The life I live out now versus then has drastically changed, Some may say that I have grown wiser. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ClipartKey_713269.png) The main reason for the return is for me to work on expressing myself. I am a very private person and keep my personal and work life separate. This will give me a chance to share many different things about myself. The First step I took was to reopened my Youtube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/user/CLTraining](https://www.youtube.com/user/CLTraining?ref=chrislatham.ca) On reopening it I made all my videos public. Some have had thousands of views and I simply put them on private. ### 011 - Week of Jan 19, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/011-week-of-jan-19-2020/ Last updated: 2020-01-26T18:09:30.000Z # Finished Reading ## [There's No Plan B for Your A-Game: Be the Best in the World at What You Do](https://amzn.to/30XycRP?ref=chrislatham.ca) Holy cow? This was one hell of a good read. I truly believe every person should read this book. The only other book that had me feel similar was [Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.](https://amzn.to/2O0bnYq?ref=chrislatham.ca) Other than Bo Eason’s crazy story what I enjoyed most what that here is a book that gives the reader actionable steps. The common thing many books that bring p goal setting is that there are no actionable steps included. In short, Bo tells u to set your self a long term 15-20 year goal. Then work backwards from there. What I like about a 15-20year goal is that it gives you enough room to adjust your action plan. The plan may change but the goal remains the same. In the book Bo shares the story of him as a child and having the opportunity to practice his football drills with an NFL Quarterback. On his way there his dad told him that when he gets there to treat the QB like his peer and to act like his equal and not a fan. Fans ask to take photos and freak out, while players act normal. This is were the impactful question of “Are you a fan or player?” this one question hits hard like a ton of bricks. > “Fans watch the game, while Players play the game. Which one are you?” The second I heard that the book jumped to the top and entered my favourite books of all time. # Things I’ve Learned ## Lifebook by MindValley For the past 3 weeks, I have been working on my Lifebook. Lifebook is a program by MindValley that divides your life into 12 categories. You then think about how you want to live out the 12 categories. Here is a video explaining. What I enjoy most about the journey so far is that I am able to think about exactly what I want from my life in grave detail. Breaking things down by section forces me to stay focused in one lane and not allow my mind to wander. This allows for more clarity in what I want. Within each category, you start by filling out sentences that describe your Premise, Vision, Purpose, and Strategy. Then at the end of the week, you fill up your category with photos that align with what you want. I have to say the search for photos has been much more fun than I expected. ### 010 - Week of Jan 12, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/010-week-of-jan-12-2020/ Last updated: 2020-01-19T19:29:43.000Z # Finished Reading ## [Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller](https://amzn.to/37l8060?ref=chrislatham.ca) The best way I can break down the book is that Donald gives you a formula to better connect with your target audience. On a personal level, I enjoyed the read as it helped me figure out what my story is and fall in line with my objective of getting better at expressing myself. In the book Donald gives you a 7 step process to better connect with your customers. This allows you to better understand the struggles they are going through and how your product or service can help them find the solution. Simply put your customer I the main character in the story. The villain is the problem they are trying to solve. You offer them the strategy to help solve their problem. Reading this has allowed me to reflect on my own journey and how I can express the challenges I have gone through to get to where I am today. # Random Thoughts ## We Have So Much Time to Achieve All Goals & Dreams I was talking with a friend about the realization I had a while ago. If you think of it in our lifetime we have more than enough time to achieve our dreams and goals. Let’s break it down say the average human lives until the age of 85 with no major health issues. From the age of 0-18 is a sandbox in computer terms. This is a period where you try new things and test out what works. It’s the place where you develop basic life skills. That means from 18-85 we have 67 years living an adult life. Now to some 67 years may not seem like a lot, but let’s breakdown everything we ave achieved in 18 years of living. Starting off at age 0 we begin to learn: - How to walk - How to jog - How to run - How to jump - How to talk - How to read - How to write - Learn a second language(if you are so fortunate) - How to interact with other humans - Go through school making it to University level (for some of us, you get the point) - Learn to play several different sports - Learn various skills - Participate in a variety of hobbies and activities - Learn how to understand our and other people’s emotions - Learn what you enjoy and don’t enjoy in life from food to movies - First 1-5 years spent sleeping half the time - Etc. etc. etc. I am sure you get the point. That is a ton of stuff we learn in 18 years of living. Now we experience all of these having started off with a blank slate. Now imagine all that we can learn, accomplish, and experience from the age of 18 and on. With all the above as our foundation, the possibilities are endless. Let’s say we consider the first 18 years of our lives as book #1 in our collection of life. In Book #1 we fill it up with everything I mentioned above and more. This means that we still have Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, & Book #5 to create and fill in. > Each book equates to 18 years = 216 months = 939 weeks = 6570 days = 157,680 hours. THAT IS SOOOO MUCH TIME! In life, the one thing that we have absolute control over is what we do with our time. Hell, you can choose to follow your dream of acting at the age of 54 which is the start of Book #3 and spend the next 18 years sharpening your craft. From 72 on you still have ¾ left of a book to write. Now armed with this new perspective, take time to write out all that you want to achieve in life, and create a timeline. ### 009 - Week of Jan 5, 2020 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/009-week-of-jan-5-2020/ Last updated: 2020-01-12T17:44:07.000Z # Random Thoughts ## Match Their Energy I will start with a blurb/quote I came up with while reflecting. > “If someone comes to you excited to share something with you. Be as excited for them when receiving the news. Enough people in their day will attempt to dim their light, be the one person who keeps their Happiness going.” -Chris Latham This came across my mind while reflecting on a day I had. I was thinking about how we are all the protagonists in our own story. With that, we are always thinking about what is going on in our lives be it positive or negative. It can be easy for use when someone comes to us with happy news and we are stuck in our head that we intentionally or unintentionally are unresponsive to their news. I understand that if we are having a bad or rough day it can be challenging to find the energy to be happy for someone else. On this planet we share we are all neighbours, it should be our duty to help keep our neighbours light shining bright. If the tables were turned and you were on Cloud 9 skipping your way through your day you too would want people to keep up shining bright instead of trying to bring you down. Let’s make a conscious effort to math someone’s energy when they come to you with positive news. That one small gesture can cause a snowball effect on others around them. If we all have our lights shinning the world would be a much brighter place. # Finished Reading ## [Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday](https://amzn.to/2RmVQTN?ref=chrislatham.ca) This was one hell of a read. Everything I thought about the news cycle and what I being reported has been turned upside down. Granted yes this is just one guys story and his Point of View. What I enjoy most is that after reading the book it forces you to think more critically about the information we consume. Yes yes, w should all be doing this anyway, it is good to get reminders and reasons as to why we should. He goes into detail about his days in marketing where he would set up elaborate plans to have his stories and clients get the most exposure regardless of it was factual or not. He also explains how the blogging industry and the nature of the business being on the internet forces poor quality and low hanging fruit of stories to be published. The mains purpose of the blog is to get clicks and get paid. This forces writers to create eye-catching posts similar to the headlines you see on the magazines when standing at the grocery checkout line. And we can’t get mad at the nature of the internet. Again at the end of the day blogs get paid from advertising & web traffic. # Good News - Get Your Smile On ? TL;DR a guy named Sean started a company that recycles the half-used soaps from hotels. Once recycled and sterilize he then donates them to children and families across the world who don’t have easy access to soap. [Read more about the organization here.](https://cleantheworld.org/?ref=chrislatham.ca) ### 008 - Week of Dec 15, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/008-week-of-dec-15-2019/ Last updated: 2020-01-12T16:35:29.000Z # Random Thoughts ## What does getting old look like for you? While driving home after work, I pull up to a red light and I see an elderly man crossing the street. Now normally thins wouldn’t capture so much of my attention, but I couldn’t help but notice how the man was hunched over with a walker. This then led me to think about what does the process of ageing look like? Many people talk about how as you age you start having pains, you start slowing down, you can’t recover as quickly as you used to. My mind started racing on the idea of what if we lived our younger years with the intent of being as able body and mentally quick as we are in our 20s. What would one have to do to make that a reality? I believe that for one to age pain-free while maintaining youthful energy are things have to be taken care of. Our Mental, Physical, Spiritual, and Health. Let’s break these down. Mental: - One would have to live a life on continuous learning. Be it a skill, language, hobby, etc. Keep the brain sharp is crucial. - We would have to do something that keeps us thinking, solving, and learning. Physical: - As they say a body in motion stays in motion. Just like a bicycle chain if it not well maintained or stays still it will begin to rust or breakdown. The body is the same. - Doing any form of exercise is highly advantageous versus doing nothing and sitting all day. - Find something tt keeps the body moving in more ways than one. Spiritual: - Keeping a balance withing ourselves is crucial to thwarting off negative thought and energy. - Doing things like listening to music, reading, meditating, Journaling, have thoughtful conversations, having sex are all great ways to keep you ENERGIZED from within. Health: - In ageing youthfully the body needs to be nourished the best way possible. - Doing things like eating quality food, laughing, having fun & creative thoughts. - Keeping a child-like imagination is another crucial thing. ## Reverse Gossip - Talk good behind people’s back I keep thinking about what it would be like if everyone when talking behind people’s back only spoke about the good. This would potentially change how people’s reputation precedes them. At the same time, this can increase the level of excitement when meeting said, person. Or help us have a new appreciation form someone we already know. My dream is to live in a world where people constantly amplify the good in others. this reminds me of a quote > "It never hurts to see the good in someone. They often act better because of it." -Nelson Mandela This is one of the quotes that greatly explains the way I view my interactions with other people. We all have good and evil within us, the goal is to keep feeding the good versus the evil. This is a two-pronged approach to things. One one end the more we talk good about people the more we improve our skills of talking up. We are also forced to use more positive words in our day to day that will feed our subconscious. On the other end, this forces us to get good at seeing the best in people. No matter who we meet we all have both degrees of good and bad. I personally continue to practice seeing the good in people versus putting light on the negative. ### 007 - Week of Dec 8, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/007-week-of-dec-8-2019/ Last updated: 2019-12-15T18:16:43.000Z # Podcast of the Week ## [“Why Small Talk Should Be Banned & 9 Questions That Go Deeper”](https://jayshetty.me/why-small-talk-should-be-banned-9-questions-that-go-deeper/?ref=chrislatham.ca) ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screenshot_20191215-124953_Player-FM.jpg) Just before the week’s end, the title of Jay Shetty’s podcast caught my attention [“Why Small Talk Should Be Banned & 9 Questions That Go Deeper.”](https://jayshetty.me/why-small-talk-should-be-banned-9-questions-that-go-deeper/?ref=chrislatham.ca) Now let me state I am not saying that we should never have small talk. Earlier in 2019, I learned that small talk has a purpose in our lives. Here is a great video explaining the reasons. TLDR: it serves as a way to screen who we are talking to. Back to the podcast, I have to say off the top it was a fun and refreshing listen. The part that caught my attention the most was the dinner party he had where you were no small talk was allowed. It seems like a cool idea I will want to try. While listening I noted down the 9 questions. Before I go asking other people any of these questions I will spend time thinking about my own response. Here are the 9 questions for those who are on the TLDR train. 1. What was the last lie you told? Would you do it again? 2. If your younger self met you today, what would make them happy and what would make them sad about you today? 3. What situations make you feel awkward and why? 4. What did you buy recently that you now regret? 5. Have you ever been to jail, been arrested, or gotten away with something of the like? 6. What do you think makes a person most attractive? How attractive are you on that scale? 7. Complete this sentence, if you really really really knew me, you would know that... 8. What do you fight about most in your romantic relationships? 9. What would you talk about the most in a 1-hour therapy session? # Random Thoughts ## **Why are negative thoughts the default reaction?** I asked myself and a few friends this question. One common response was fear. This comes in many ways. Here are a few examples: Person 1: I was thinking of going to Columbia for vacation. Person 2: Oh no, it’s super dangerous in those parts. In the news, they talk about kidnappings and high crime rates all the time. --- Person 1: I have been really stressed for the past few months at work. There seems to be no end in sight. I am thinking about making a change and going into a different career path. Person 2: You make a good salary, will you be able to find the same level of income in your new domain? What if things don’t work out what will you do then? --- Person 1: I was thinking about this and ever since I was a kid I have always wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle. I am thinking about signing up. Person 2: That’s dangerous. My cousin Bob got injured in a terrible accident years ago and is now in a wheelchair. You can see how easily these moments can creep into your day. Here you are thinking about a change and the person you are talking to immediately shuts it down by feeding you doubt. This also happens on a personal level where we begin to question ourselves before starting anything. I had similar thoughts about starting this page. What will I write about? Why will some care about what I have to say? I am normally in bed by 10 am no one will want to hear about that life? Thoughts like that and others have been tenants in my mind for a few weeks. Then one Sunday morning at a cafe I decided to pull the trigger. This can go one of two ways, it becomes a huge success or it flops. Either way, it is a learning opportunity for me. It is most importantly great practice for me to express myself. Why is it that doubt and other negative thoughts our first impulse, I have no idea. What I do know, is that the energy it takes to think of a negative outcome is the same amount of energy it takes to think of a positive outcome. You probably going yea I heard this before. Let’s put this practice into simple practice. Racecar drivers will sometimes end up in a situation when the car is spinning out of control. The most important thing they are taught to navigate such a scary moment is to not look at the wall. Why is that you ask, simple? If you look (focus your energy) at the wall(negative outcome) you will end up going into the wall(negative outcome). Instead, they look (focus energy) at the clear path ahead (positive outcome). Another example, if you have ever gone downhill mountain biking the one thing they tell you is to look at where you want to go, never look down at the wheel. Same concept looking ahead = a positive outcome. # Good News - Get Your Smile On ? This story is funny and goes to show the power of choosing love as your default. TLDR a grandmother sends a thanksgiving invitation via text to her grandkids. Turns out the people she texted were total strangers. Upon finding out they were not her grandkids she extended the invitation to the strangers. This has now turned into a yearly tradition. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5fwab7lUhO/?igshid=15p0fhx88v24k ### The Books That Changed My Life Forever URL: https://chrislatham.ca/the-books-that-changed-my-life-forever/ Last updated: 2019-12-13T20:50:06.000Z The list below is in no particular order. These are the books that have helped shaped me into the person I am today and tomorrow. # [The Art of War by Sun Tzu](https://amzn.to/34KcNgo?ref=chrislatham.ca) I first came across this book back in Cegep. I was around 17-18 years of age. Having just finished high school I was heavy into martial art films (which now seem to have disappeared), and hip-hop music. Of the many artists I listened I would often hear reference to the title Art of War. Two good examples would be the iconic group Wu-Tang Clan that their entire name and style are based on martial art films. Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony another group whos best selling album was titled The Art of War. # [48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene](https://amzn.to/35OUpD1?ref=chrislatham.ca) Years after reading it I realized that this is one of those books EVERYBODY had read. Rightfully so. Around 18 years of age Hip-Hop music has guided to this book. I have to say for a young kid who just started reading I loved the fact they had stories to help further explain all 48 laws. # [The Ethical Slut by Janet Hardy & Dossie Easton](https://amzn.to/2P53Ozo?ref=chrislatham.ca) This is a book I will always remember when I found it. It was August 15, 2008\. That was the day the film Vicky Christina Barcelona was released. Normally not a film I would go see a good friend of mine wanted company, and I am sure as hell happy I went. Having seen the relationship dynamic I immediately felt my heart and brain tick. This made sense, being the curious mind I was that night searched the internet and found out about Polyamoury and the Book Ethical Slut. The following day made my way to the library and took out the only copy of the book they had. This book single-handedly helped shaped the way I handle jealousy, communication, and conflict in relationships. You need not be in a Poly relationship to appreciate and learn ways to communicate with your partner. I highly recommend when reading the book look past the Polyamorous aspect and take in the tools and skills they teach. Worst case scenario you build a stronger relationship between you and your partner. # [Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins](https://amzn.to/2DAjDco?ref=chrislatham.ca) I have to be honest this book has been on my Amazon Saved for Later list for a few months until I herd him in an interview and mentioned [Taking Souls on the Joe Rogan podcast](https://youtu.be/oTrlRR-WB8o?t=75&ref=chrislatham.ca). At that moment I pressed pause, went to my Saved for Later list and purchased it with next day delivery. This book right here! This book right here! Is the epitome of how powerful our mind is. We all know the mind is the most powerful tool, David Goggin’s story is the perfect example of how you can get yourself to achieve whatever you want if you set your mind to it. # [Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit](https://amzn.to/2RccMO7?ref=chrislatham.ca) > “Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own.” -Bruce Lee Whenever I am asked if I could spend the day with any person dead or alive, the answer is always Bruce Lee. This was an easy find, the best way to sum it up is. Chris has a new love for reading, Chris is a huge fan of Bruce Lee, Chris gets his first credit card, Chris connects to Amazon and purchases book. The part that resonated with me the most in his story, is when it came to his style of fighting he had a simple rule. “Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own.” being a young adult and impressionable this has become one of my rules of life. # [Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell](https://amzn.to/34HzDoA?ref=chrislatham.ca) Malcolm Gladwell is another of those authors who everyone has read his books. Having first read The Tipping Point and Blink it only made sense to purchase his third book. This was another book I read in Cegep, and if memory serves correct it was the first non-fiction book I ever completed in a 24 hour period. To this day Malcolm Gladwell is the only other of which I own and read all of his books. # [Mastery of Love by Miguel Ruiz](https://amzn.to/2P1dV8r?ref=chrislatham.ca) Oh, baby! This is the one and the only book I have purchased more than 10 copies of. The story goes a Sunday morning I find out about the book through a text exchange with a friend. Still morning I take a 15 min drive to the Indigo book store, ask the clerk as to where I can find the book. I hastily make my way to the shelf, grab one of six copies, and pay for it at the cash. Now from the cash register to my parked car was a 3-minute walk. During that walk my eyes were glued to the pages, I sat in the car, and put the key in the ignition. As I closed the book I noticed a guy next to me waiting for my parking spot, that’s when I got the impulse to make my way back to Indigo and purchase the remaining 5 books. This is one of few books I continue to purchase and hand out to gifts as people. Before I hand it I make sure to leave a message for the person. ![](https://chrislatham.ca/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG-20191202-WA0003.jpg) Message I leave in every book I hand out. ### 006 - Week of Dec 1, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/006-week-of-dec-1-2019/ Last updated: 2025-11-14T14:54:22.000Z # Finished Reading ## [What School Could Be by Ted Dintersmith](https://amzn.to/2LAHSeG?ref=chrislatham.ca) > “Kids don’t need to be taught, given the right challenges and devices they will learn.” > > “Our education system is stuck in time. Training students for a world that no longer exists.” > > “Is the purpose of school to develop human potential, or to rank it.” Those three quotes give a good example of the book. This isn’t about telling kids don’t go to school. But rather let’s have a system that addresses the different learning styles. It’s crazy to think of how learning in man schools are geared towards a student passing a test versus setting them up with the skills and knowledge they need for life. # Random Thoughts ## Limiting Thoughts Thinking small versus bigger can lead us to a life that is less fulfilled. Why do we set limits on ourselves when we think about what we can achieve. It’s crazy to think that we love watching movies about the underdog who dreamed big and achieved their goal. Yet in our reality, not everyone works towards pursuing their dreams. It reminds of a conversation I had with a young man in his early 20’s. We discussed the future of his life and what he wanted to do when he finished university. As we spoke about different ideas and opportunities, he kept coming up with reasons as to why you can’t do that. I bounced right back with more ideas. I can summarize the conversation to 2 sentences. Him: What about if I’m doing *\[insert idea\]*, and *\[insert a possible future problem\]* goes wrong? I don’t want that to happen to me. Me: What if *\[insert a possible future problem\]* doesn’t happen? We danced this dance for a few minutes. Later that night my mind went racing on why for some the default is to play it safe. I realized that for many of us myself included when growing up during our adolescent years. We spend most of our time trying to fit in and not stand out, in other words, plating it safe. Similar as to why no one ever puts their hand up to ask questions in class for fear of being different. This all takes place during the most crucial identity-forming years. This fear of being different can be a reason as to why we set limits on ourselves. We chose to stay in the comfort of playing it safe, while we look up to artists, athletes, and other celebrities who live their lives being different and taking chances If you made it this far in the reading I want you to ask yourself. What am I limiting myself in life? How am I different than my peers? What is something I’ve been saying I wanted to do but never took action on? # Good News - Get Your Smile On ? Continuing with the theme of education. Here is an example of one teacher making a conscious effort to remind his students, that are amazing beings that can achieve whatever they set their minds to. “I AM STRONG, I AMM CONFIDENT, I AM AMAZING!!” https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ikSaIJM-H/?igshid=1otwnhdfm33ib ### 005 - Week Of Nov 24, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/005-week-of-nov-24-2019/ Last updated: 2019-12-01T17:06:27.000Z # Random Thoughts ## Do Audiobooks count as reading? While listening to [episode 275 of Sales Funnel Radio Podcast.](https://pca.st/2befxjme?ref=chrislatham.ca) An interesting talking point was brought up on if listening to a book counts and holds the same value as reading a physical book. After some thought, I realize that it doesn’t matter how you consume a book. Let’s be honest we all open books for one of two reasons. The first reason is to be entertained, the other is for acquiring information. Whether the reading is done for pleasure or business/school, the way we consume it is irrelevant. The most important part is did you get what you wanted out of the experience? Personally, I enjoy both versions of books, if I am honest as of late I tend to lean towards audiobooks. Mainly because I can consume content while doing something else. Reading books has always been a way to acquire new information. My books of choice are non-fictions. As I save the fantasy experience of fiction books to be taken in via music and film. For times when I want to get straight to the point of a book, I like to use the app Blinkist. Blinkist takes non-fiction books and summarizes it into 15-minute audio and text bites. All books are summarized in a few key points. The best part is that If you are an Evernote user all of the sections you highlight in the summary get copied into its own notes. Example below # Finished Reading ## [Relentless by Tim Grover](https://amzn.to/37Xd4hG?ref=chrislatham.ca) > “You don’t compete with anyone, you make them compete with you.” - Tim Grover That is by far my favourite quote in the book. To me, that shows the exact mentality of a Cleaner. Before I explain what is a cleaner, Tim breaks people down into 3 categories. Coolers, closers, and cleaners. **Coolers** They are the people that get the job done when instructed to. They have a hard time making decisions, and when the pressure hits they pass the task to someone else. **Closers** They are a level up from Coolers. They can handle the pressure better, they enjoy being rewarded and praised. They too need to be instructed, trouble arises when they are met with a situation they have not prepared for. **Cleaners** They don’t wait to be told what to do they just act. They have spent years practicing their craft to a point the act on instinct. Cleaners are always looking for ways to improve. They don’t worry about the competition as they know they can handle anything coming their way. # Good News - Get Your Smile On ## Voluntourism Voluntourism is what is taking place on the Faroe Island (part of Denmark). Tourists are coming in to help clean up the environment, by building paths, repairing cairns. In return, they get free accommodation, food, and transport. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B5Pnj40oUMm/?igshid=cf1ofe2trxpl ### 004 - Week Of Nov 17, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/004-week-of-nov-17-2019/ Last updated: 2019-11-24T15:54:38.000Z # Impactful Quote When listening to an [interview of UK artist Bigzy Malone](https://youtu.be/j620Ivv1vNg?ref=chrislatham.ca) this quote stuck out to me: > “PROGRESS IS IRREVERSIBLE” -Bugzy Malone When hearing this I can’t help but think of a caterpillar going through a metamorphosis. Through each stage of transition from egg to larva to pupa to the final stage of the butterfly, it grows and changes. Each transition is an irreversible change, there is no undo, no Ctrl-Z. As a larva, it spends its days eating endlessly working towards the goal of making it to a butterfly. As it eats the caterpillar(larva) grows, as it grows it sheds its old skin. It will do this a few times until it is finally ready to create the cocoon. It then goes into its final transformation before becoming a caterpillar. Like the caterpillar, we have to keep putting in that work towards our goals and dreams. Every second and minute we spend on working towards the goal is irreversible, it can’t be undone, there is no Ctrl-Z. Throughout the journey like the caterpillar, you will begin to change. The “Future You” will be different as you will have more hours of practice under your belt, with that brings a new level of confidence in yourself. If ever doubt creeps into your mind, look back to all the purposeful hours you put and remind yourself that SUCCESS will be the byproduct of all that you have done. # Finished Reading ## [The War of Art by Steven Pressfield](https://amzn.to/2D5eclk?ref=chrislatham.ca) > “The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing matters except sitting down every day and trying.” - Steven Pressfield Resistance is the main reason why many of us don't follow through on our dreams, goals, and tasks. Resistance is that little voice in your head that tells you to stay where you are and don’t take chances. Sometimes that little voice leads us to act in or on many of the different branches. Resistance has many branches - Procrastination - Sex - Trouble - Self-Dramatization - Victimhood - Self-Medication - The Choice of a Mate These forms of resistance can’t be seen or touched. It can be felt, it’s when your energy pulls you away from what you know needs to be done. The remedy to this is to treat your dreams like a full time job. Create a schedule, and have a set place to do your work. No matter how you feel, or what day it is, you go to that place and put in that work. When your dreams become a full-time job there is no such thing as not having inspiration, or being hit with writer’s block. You show up shut up and put in the work you need to achieve your goals. # Good News - Get Your Smile On Back in 2014 Flint, Michigan had a water crisis in which the cities water was contaminated with high levels of lead. It’s now 2019 and the problem still persists. This is where Moses West comes in. He built the first machine that turns air into water. https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ccd0jheXn/?igshid=141q24xyo89k6 ### 003 - Week Of Nov 10, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/003-week-of-nov-10-2019/ Last updated: 2019-11-17T17:28:47.000Z # Impactful Quote When watching an [**interview between Tim Ferriss and Dr. Gabor Maté**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5F%5FJLFw2FtEQ&list=WL&index=3&t=0s&ref=chrislatham.ca) this quote stuck out to me: > “We don’t respond to what happens, we respond to our perception of what happens... It’s with our minds we create the world.” -Dr. Gabor Maté When I think of this it all goes back to the fact we create the world we want to live in. I like to think of the life we live as a high budget feature film. In which we are the director, producer, writer, talent scout, etc. With this point of view any experience we go through in life we can choose to edit it, change the lighting, angles, and turn it into whatever we want. The way we perceive anything that is incoming is all dependent on the lenses we choose to wear. The way we choose to view things will dictate and help guide the experiences we have in life. An example of this is in the episode called [**The Secret of Luck by Derren Brown**](https://youtu.be/RuRGzZAk7S4?t=1747&ref=chrislatham.ca). TLDW (too long didn’t watch) In this episode Derren Brown conducts an experiment on an entire village. He creates a fake story about a lucky dog statue. More importantly, you meet a butcher named Wayne. Wayne mentions that he is the most unlucky individual, and nothing good ever happens to him. Derren stage a series of opportunities for Wayne that if he were to simply engage he would be the winner. Few examples are the chance for him to win are: 1. A scratch card that would give him a free TV 2. A market research survey that would give him 20$ if he gave the name of 5 different cuts of beef. 3. Placing 50$ bill on the floor on his path, that if he looked down it would be in his possession. Looking at this you can realize that our perceptions of what goes on in our life is heavily dependent on the lense we have on. In the above example Wayne has told himself for years he was unlucky, that forced to view the world in a lense where great opportunities were far and few. Making a small shift in how we choose to view the world we can change our experiences and response to what happens to us. Watch below a quick summary of the above experiment. # Finished Reading ## The One Thing by Gary Keller > “Not everything matters equally, some things matter more than others” Out of the entire [**book**](https://amzn.to/2Qy1T9f?ref=chrislatham.ca), the above quote to me was the most impactful. That quote was the biggest take away for me from the book. When we make the decision to be productive our first step is to create a to-do list. The downside of having a list is that everything on there holds equal value. When in reality if we break it down, some of the things on our list are more impactful than others. One thing I have started doing with my lists is to add stars next to the most important tasks. And to get those done first. Prioritizing your list will help bring down the stress anxiety you have as the day goes on. With the most important stuff completed every other task is a breeze. # What I’ve Learned ## Virtual Reality (VR) For Sensitivity Training In the Podcast [**Venture Stories**](https://player.fm/series/venture-stories/investing-in-arvr-with-greg-castle?t=2130&ref=chrislatham.ca) the topic of AR & VR came up. They talk about the difference, the uses, and the advances in both VR(Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality). Overall great conversation. What stood out to me most was that when using it **VR creates a feeling of empathy in the person.** The company [**Vantage Point**](https://www.tryvantagepoint.com/?ref=chrislatham.ca) is using VR as a tool to train people on Sexual Harassment and Sensitivity training. Through the use of VR, it helps people to understand what it’s like to be in uncomfortable situations. Seeing it through the other person’s eyes gives you a whole new perspective. Understanding the other persons’ perspective is HUUUGE!!! That alone will help humans to better connect with one another. [**Listen Here**](https://player.fm/series/venture-stories/investing-in-arvr-with-greg-castle?t=2130&ref=chrislatham.ca) ### 002 - Week Of Nov 3 , 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/002-week-of-nov-3-2019/ Last updated: 2019-11-10T15:37:13.000Z # Impactful Quote > “Love is Looking Over Various Errors” The first time I listen to the song Prisoner 1 & 2 by Lupe Fiasco the quote jumped out at me. I immediately pressed pause and rewind. The song holds as two stories. In the first half Prisoner 1 is a prisoner who has been racially profiled and incarcerated. In the second half Prisoner 2 is a prison guard working at the prison, who himself is trapped but in a different way. [https://genius.com/Lupe-fiasco-prisoner-1-and-2-lyrics](https://genius.com/Lupe-fiasco-prisoner-1-and-2-lyrics?ref=chrislatham.ca) The song is filled with explicit lyrics and some may find the story he is telling to be grim. Keeping the quote inline with the song content, I am reminded that we live in a world that when people come out of incarceration they are automatically stigmatized. When it comes back to being integrated most people don’t want to give them a chance. We as humans have all done something bad(errors) in our life, be it something small as talking ill of someone or as big as committing a crime. We as humans are constantly evolving and this means we are growing and changing, with that being the case should someone be judged on what they did years, months, or weeks ago? It it’s clear change is shown let them turn the page and create a fresh start. I try my best to not judge someone solely on past actions. One of the processes that has helped me with managing expectations with people is by letting others be the author of their own chapter in my book of life. Always Believe in People. A great example of this is [Tom Bilyeu](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnYMOamNKLGVlJgRUbamveA?ref=chrislatham.ca) the creator of Quest Nutrition (now a billion dollar company). In 2010 he created the company in Compton (considerably a “dangerous” neighborhood). In an interview about how he started he says: > ..my employees were former gang members, ex-drug dealers, felons. We were in Compton, and we literally told everybody in the neighborhood, “I don’t care if you’ve been convicted of a crime. I just want to know if you’re willing to bust your ass to change your life, and if you are, you’re going to get an interview. And I’m not going to ask for your resume. I don’t care about your resume. Your resume tells me where you’ve been. It doesn’t tell me the price you’re willing to pay to become somebody new.” # Interesting Video - Flow State For the entire year of 2019, I have been fascinated by this thing called being in a state of flow. Spent the entire year trying to get into it. The video below came across my Youtube feed. As the gentleman spoke I reflected and realized I have in several instances get into a state of Flow. This is a state in which your body and mind just go without through. It’s as if everything is automatic. Many athletes get into a flow state when everything just clicks this can be known as runner’s high, or being in the zone. When in flow I have been able to read and absorb texts at high speed, been able to write text flowing like the Niagara Falls. I have been able to figure out answers to questions I have had and been able to brain dump in a clear and organized fashion. Watch the video below. # Finished Reading [Leaders Eat Last](https://amzn.to/2quokkx?ref=chrislatham.ca) by Simon Sinek. In listening to the book the best quote that stood out is > “the true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.” For me this is a great way to describe leadership. Even if you don’t manage a team you can display leadership by helping the person next to you. As long as you make contact with another human in your day, you have the ability and opportunity to help someone. This can be from holding the door open for a stranger, helping a neighbor bring their groceries to their door. You may ask yourself what does all of this have to do with leadership. In the quote above if we focus on the last part “at the expense of self-interest”. That to me is the most important part, it comes down to serving others. We live on and share this planet with billions of neighbors, imagine if we all just took a moment to help the person next to us how AWESOME the world would be. It’s like the old adage “Be the change you want to see in the world” ### 001 - Week Of Oct 27, 2019 URL: https://chrislatham.ca/001-week-of-oct-27-2019/ Last updated: 2019-11-04T00:40:03.000Z # Finished Reading This week I finished the audiobook version of Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. One of the things that stood out to me from the book. Is that we should learn to have our devices used as a purposeful tool. We all know that time is the most valuable asset. Yet we spend a lot of time checking our phones, websites, and apps. Not that any of this is bad, but we can better set up time frames in our day or week to consume such. Ideally, the tools should be used to support the things we value. # Random Thoughts Life is a never-ending journey. We all are inspired by different things and at different times in our lives. While at a cafe doing Productivity Time (will make a post about this at a later date) I had an impactful conversation with a friend. Later in the day while I reflected back on the time we shared. It led me to realize that On our journey of life we all move at different speeds and are not all at the same point. At times this can cause a level of frustration to rise when talking to someone one. This frustration can stem from the fact your friend or colleague isn’t moving at the same pace as you are, or are going in the opposite direction. Regardless of our where we all stand and how fast we move, we HAVE to be Understanding and Respect each person on their own path. # Get Your Smile On While scrolling Instagram I came across a post that shows a man who is a Crossing Guard, at the corner of an intersection tying the tie of a young man. I can only assume the young man was either getting ready for school or a job interview. Either way Seeing content like this is of the many reasons I stay RELENTLESSLY OPTIMISTIC. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4V7LBopv0e/