Half of all businesses die in the first 5 years.

But there is a problem more quiet than bankruptcy:

You buy the domain.

You start designing the logo.

You start reaching out to clients.

You start outlining your brand vision.

But the moment it gets boring, and results slow down, you quit.

You might be the aspiring entrepreneur or creator who started multiple business ideas or multiple attempts to post content, but were unable to create consistent creative output long enough to actually compound.

I have been in your position. I was an entrepreneur, then a creator and now a creatorpreneur.

I started posting content at 19 the first time.

Then I had 3 businesses:

1. A photography Airbnb Business in New Zealand, when I was 20.
2. My startup Xanevo GmbH, which I founded in Germany when I was 21.
3. A part-time photography business afterwards, shooting weddings and events at 24.

All of these businesses worked well and paid well, but I was bored to death. I wasn’t learning anything new, and life felt stagnant.

At the age of 25, I started a new business, a personal brand.

A business where I didn’t want to quit. A business that resembles who I really was, what I really wanted to aim towards, a business that feels like a home, not another shallow revenue-hitting target machine, as most businesses are and my past company Xanevo was.

You can sell products, but you can’t sell your business. It is a part of you. It is part of your identity. It becomes your expression of your individual self.

So if you are aiming to have a business (not the products) you can sell in the future, this letter might not be for you.

This is my 4th business, and it is going to be my last one, but not the last product.

And in this letter, I want to help you curate a business that becomes so addictive and fun, you don’t want to quit, not even in 20 years.

I Gamified My Life By Building A Routine Around My Personal Brand.

• I can travel to the most beautiful places from Canada and the Rocky Mountains, to the beaches in Uluwatu, Bali. (I have travelled to over 30 countries)
• I can play my three favourite video games like The Witcher 3, Elden Ring and Minecraft.
• I can spend as much time with friends as possible.
• I can enjoy the best steaks, sushi or ramen.

But what I can’t stop thinking about is going back the next day and executing the same routine, the same habits and the same exact process, every single day.

I can’t even enjoy travelling anymore, because it puts me out of this routine.

When I am travelling, the only thing I think of is that I hopefully can return to my routine tomorrow again.

Even writing this right now in a Starbucks in Jakarta, Indonesia, I can’t wait to be back at home and follow my “boring” routine. (I started this letter in Indonesia and continued in Germany)

People might think it’s boring, and maybe it would look boring on video. Because I am doing the exact same thing every single day, in the exact same order, at the exact same place, at the exact same time and with the same 4-6 hours of work every day.

I even drink the same two coffees every single day. I eat the exact same breakfast and lunch every single day. And I stand every day for 4-6 hours, with close to 0 time sitting.

I wouldn’t even need to film my routine twice, because nothing would change.

If I were to compare my “Creatorpreneur life” to one from an influencer, people would think I am depressed or extremely unhappy.

But actually it’s the exact opposite. Following this exact routine makes me incredibly happy.

In my life, I have never felt more aligned with my current self and my future self.

Sure, I still have goals I want to achieve, but it wouldn’t change much how I would spend my days.

What would happen if they are alone, without any stimulation, without their phone, without someone else stimulating their mind?

They would probably suffer from their own thoughts, because their mind is in the default mode network, and negative thoughts would spark in their minds because they never learned to manage them.

Don’t Focus On Your Goals. Curate An Environment More Addictive Than A Video Game. (The Path of Mastery)

I curated an environment mentally and physically that creates idea flows. It is so addictive, so fun, so enjoyable that I want to have this mental state every single morning for 4-6 hours.

To describe it better, Chris Williamson shared a beautiful story on his Podcast:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna.

The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said.

“You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat.

With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.

Instead of selling your catch to a middle-man, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery.

You could control the product, processing, and distribution,” he said.

“Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO, and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”

Life is often simpler than we make it.

~ END ~

Before I discovered purpose in life, I did what most people did. I followed the hedonic treadmill. Subconsciously, I knew it was wrong, but because I lacked confidence, I went with the grain instead of against it.

• Eat sugary food
• Play video games all day
• Don’t cook and eat outside all day
• Stay home all day and watch Netflix

I don’t know what’s wrong with society, but somehow the majority of people follow the hedonic treadmill and still wonder why they aren’t happy.

Same with my routine. It looks boring compared to social media, but it isn’t. It’s simple, cheap, and provides your mind with a frame to operate within, so you are able to do your best cognitive work, achieve a flow state on command (4% above your skill level), and follow the path of Mastery.

The Path of Mastery: A Frame That Orders Your Mind.

Your business needs to be designed like a video game.

A hierarchy of „questlines“.

An order and structure you can follow that keeps you inside this frame.

Without these „questlines“, you move outside of your frame, that’s where chaos and entropy occur.

See image:

A business needs to be ordered, structured and organized.

It needs to follow a main quest.

Similar to a video game.

And if you are able to design a routine you enjoy, put this routine into a weekly system (Monday to Sunday) and curate an environment that makes it easy to stay inside of this „frame“. I am pretty confident that you are not only going to build a business worth pursuing, but also a life indistinguishable from everyone else.

Your business is the main quest:

→ It is the straight line towards your goals.

But life happens with the side quests:

→ Led by curiosity, personal growth and wonder. Where you discover hidden treasures, but only when you move outside this straight line. When you let yourself wander. And by doing that, you might discover a secret weapon, a legendary armour, or a suitable helper that makes the journey easier and more enjoyable.

And this is The Path of Mastery. The Frame that orders your mind, that gives your life direction, purpose and clarity.

If you follow this path correctly and not only follow “The Path of the Entrepreneur”. (The straight line) which is going to make you miserable in the long run.

And you include “The Path of the Creator”.

You combine purpose and profit, and this eventually leads you to the Creatorpreneur.

The path less travelled.

A path 99% of people will never discover, because they are unable to explore their own minds.

How I Built My Entire Business Like A Video Game.

The entire arc of my micro personal brand started with the 90-Day Challenge. (Some of you might still be familiar with it.)

It started 1. September 2024 and turned into the business you read to this day, with over 300 letters written.

To explain to you how this works, I repeat the quote:

Your business needs to be structured, organized and systemized.

When I left my startup and started working alone, I had the issue of not being organized enough mentally because of my ADHD. So I knew I needed to learn to become more organized mentally and digitally.

So I started building systems, which eventually led to Chaos To Clarity.

The 90-Day Challenge is how I plan and execute my entire business.

You have 4 quarters per year.

4 x 3 months (aka 90 days).

Every quarter has one specific goal you are aiming towards, meaning one main quest.

Not more.

This can be making 10k or making your first 1k with writing and talking in public.

From there on, you break down the goal into 3 smaller milestones you can reach at the end of each month. Like a ladder. If you are able to achieve the 3 smaller milestones by the end of the 90-day challenge, you achieve the big goal.

Month 1: Could be gaining your first 100 newsletter subscribers.

Month 2: Could be gaining trust and positioning your authority by having weekly workshops.

Month 3: Could be launching your cohort or 1:1 consultation so you can make your first 1k online.

→ Only one person out of 100 needs to buy a $1000 product, or 2 people a $500 product.

You don’t focus on the big goal like making 1k. You focus on achieving each monthly milestone.

What you do, then, to avoid getting overwhelmed by all the tasks and things to do each week (which happens quickly, trust me), is set weekly projects you are aiming toward.

You are going to have 4x weekly projects = Monthly Milestones

See image here for full summary:

Here is an example of how I execute my weekly projects:

1. I write and focus only on 1 weekly newsletter/essay (The main project)
2. I repurpose this newsletter into a short version using my “What, Why, and How Framework,” and into 21-28 written posts that are posted on Threads, Substack, and X now.
3. This newsletter/essay becomes a live weekly workshop (Weekly ADHD Live Call)
4. I post the live recording as a YouTube video, upload it as a podcast on Spotify, and turn it into Instagram content. (I have an editor now, which makes my business much easier)
5. In every 90-Day Challenge, I have my Chaos to Clarity Cohorts, teaching my reading, writing and thinking system + how I manage and systematize my ADHD for Creatorpreneurship.

To keep it simple, my days always start the same; my routine is always the same.

I have a 2-hour creative writing block, followed by a 2-hour business block.

• 2-hour creative writing block is the Creator.
• 2-hour business block is the Entrepreneur.

→ Together, it balances purpose and profit, logic and creativity, yin and yang = Creatorpreneur.

As long as I stick to my weekly schedule and projects + maintain my daily routine, my ADHD is perfectly managed, and I don’t face any issues. The more I go out of this frame, the more chaotic my life and business get, and the less good results I create.

If this letter is too long or too complex, I will present it live on Wednesday at 12 pm CEST / 6 am EDT in our Discord community and in a shorter letter on Thursday (summarized).

Thanks for reading.

Jeff

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