Mind of a Maker
A daily blog inspired by Matthew Dicks
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
To become better at something, you have to practice. What better way to become a better writer and storyteller than to practice by making a habit of writing daily?
In this daily blog, we’ll discuss Maker-related topics as well as what inspires projects, including YouTube videos, Movies, TV Shows, Disney, Star Wars, LEGO, Books, and more. Everything is on the table, and nothing is off-limits.
Disclaimer: The thumbnail images featured on this blog are often AI-generated. See Disclosure page for more information.
6 Steps To Realign Annual Goals (Even If Your New Year's Resolution Already Failed)
80% of goals fail by February, so here are 6 simple steps to realign your 2026 goals.
1. Identify Jan mistakes
2. Dig into the root cause of mistakes
3. Plan to reduce or remove the root causes
4. Reaffirm Q1 and Feb goals
5. Forget Jan mistakes
6. Put Feb goals into action now
The Best Way To Confront Your Mistakes & Move Forward
Most people dwell on mistakes. Dwelling can make people spiral and grind any progress to a screeching halt.
Successful people acknowledge mistakes, take appropriate action, then move forward.
Faster recovery = more success.
4 Sketches To Clarify Jumbled Idea Messes
Sketching ideas seems obvious for Makers building things, but it’s also helpful for business owners working through messes of ideas.
1. Product or service stacks
2. One-pager ideation
3. Video background concepts
4. Pillar content connections
Sketching ideas captures the feeling before sinking tons of time, effort, and money into them (just like with build ideas).
5 Ways Side-Hustlers Can Gamify Consistent Productivity
Gamifying boring work is a path to success through 5 ways:
1. Consistency streak
2. Stat buffing
3. Epic playlists
4. Bury loot
5. Player avatar
Gamifying keeps you in the game when the grinding for the next level gets boring.
My 3 Levels For Organizing Notes In Notion
I used to keep all my ideas in a pocket notebook, but had trouble finding ideas when I needed them. Instead, I now have 3 levels in Notion:
1. Fleeting Notes (inbox)
2. Slip Box (organize)
3. Relations to Second Brain (reference)
Separating how notes are input, organized, and referenced has helped me get ideas out of my head, find them, and have them immediately available.
3 Takeaways For Entrepreneurs From "The ONE Thing"
Most aspiring entrepreneurs get frustrated when their big goals fall flat, but their focus is too fractured.
1. Narrow goal focus till there is only ONE thing
2. Don't settle for small goals
3. Don't try to do everything right
Having big goals is amazing, but focus every day on the ONE thing that will give you leverage.
What Most Companies Misunderstand About Brand Loyalty
As companies look for customers, most misunderstand loyalty.
Loyalty is customers choosing a brand over better quality or cheaper prices, but most companies miss why.
It's not the company's Mission Statement.
It's about trust. Trust comes from actions and giving away free value.
The 1 Thing Frustrated Creators Get Wrong About Their Target Audience
Most frustrated creators blame the algorithm and think they need a shift.
They think "my target is too small."
Think like an archer trying to hit a target in a football stadium.
Aim at the field? Hit, but no points.
Aim at the target? Might miss the bulls eye, but still score.
5 Ways To Start Dominating Your Week Instead Of Playing Catchup
I got tired of feeling constantly behind, but found 5 ways that help me own my week instead of feeling owned by it.
1. Don't wait till Monday to plan
2. Zero all your inboxes
3. Clean up projects & tasks
4. Sync your goals
Now you're set up to not play catchup, but we can do one better.
5. Set this week's non-negotiables.
Lock in.
3 Reasons Star Wars Builds Are Perfect For Beginner Makers
3 reasons Star Wars builds are perfect for beginner makers.
1. Turn trash into projects
2. Hide mistakes with weathering
3. Finished pieces shouldn't be uniform
Dystopian projects lend themselves well to beginners because they leverage common mistakes as features, not failures.
3 Ways I'm Learning That Discipline = Freedom
Discipline = Freedom, but how does that show up in business?
1. Business consistency
2. Waking up & going to bed early
3. Idea clarification
Extreme Ownership introduced me to the concept in 2018, but it took me 7 years to finally see the results in my own life.
4 Reasons Consistency Is Critical For Entrepreneurs (And It Isn't About The Audience)
Consistency is critical for Entrepreneurs. Why?
1. Separate feelings from actions
2. Volume > perfection
3. Develop delayed gratification
4. Public consistency = private consistency
Yes, consistency is good for algorithms, but it’s more important for you.
6 Practical Ways Writing Will Improve Your Online Business
Writing provides leverage in your online business if used intentionally. Try these 6 ways.
1. Notecard motivation assist
2. Journaling
3. AI prompt engineering
4. Publicly seed small ideas
5. Publicly expand resonating ideas
6. Give value directly to your audience.
Writing helps clarify your thinking, so leverage it.
The 1 Way "Fail Fast" Falls Short & Leaves Side-Hustlers Burned Up On Reentry
We've all heard that successful companies fail fast (and it's repeated on X every day).
But if lessons from failure are not applied to the next iteration, it's insanity.
Use data to inform the next iteration.
The Number 1 Key To Consistency For Aspiring Entrepreneurs
When you miss, don't fall into guilt and stop.
Get back up immediately and get back into it.
James Clear said it best: "Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit."
1 Simple Framework For Deciding How To Be Productive Each Day (And Not Just Busy)
The Eisenhower Matrix.
Dwight D Eisenhower sorted tasks in do 4 categories:
• Do
• Decide
• Delegate
• Delete
It has helped me be productive and not feeling (as) pulled in 100 directions.
The 1 Reason Most Newsletter Opt-Ins Are Low (And How To Double It This Weekend)
No one wants "news & updates."
% off coupons only solicit bargain hunters.
Readers want value in exchange for their email.
Solve a problem or educate on an issue. Make it valuable and tangible.
5 Time Reframes To Make The Most Out Of Your Busy Schedule
1. Busy & productive are not equal
2. Rest is not unproductive
3. Research > mindless scrolling
4. You'll never "find time"
5. Time fills the space available
I'm still working on being productive, but these helped me.
4 Key Newsletter Metrics And What To Test For Each
1. Opt-In: promised value in exchange for email.
2. Open: subject line
3. Click-through: is the product aligned to value
4. Unsubscribe: did the reader get what was promised
Pick a metric and A/B test just that for a month.
The 1 Framework For Scaling Your Content Ideas Without Unnecessary Frustration
Most creators go directly to long-form video with their idea and get frustrated if it falls flat.
Successful creators engineer that success by continually expanding on ideas.
Start small and continue to expand what works.