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.
7 Takeaways For Entrepreneurs From Derek Sivers's Book "Hell Yeah or No"
Social media would have us believe we need to say “Yes” to more to succeed, but that’s not true.
• Change your default answer to "no"
• Believe you are below average
• Great goals cause change now
• Don't use single advice
• Embrace new ideas
• Share what is obvious to you
• Success comes from evolution
What Business Owners Can Learn From Anakin Skywalker
Star Wars is full of things we can learn, but business owners can learn 2 key things from Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin is fully convicted of his beliefs and acts on it.
Anakin acts immediately without overthinking.
While other Jedi are still strategizing what the best move is, Anakin has already completed multiple battles.
The Number 1 Reason Your Content Business Is Failing
For years, I wondered why others succeeded and I was not online.
Lack of consistency.
Most people see an "overnight success" wondering how it happened. We don't see the weeks, months, or even years of work that went into it without anyone seeing it.
Lock in for consistency this week.
5 Books Every Content Creator Should Read (And Implement)
Reading has helped me think about and implement business ideas more than anything else (other than doing the work). These are my 5 favorites for content creation.
• Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
• The Art and Business of Online Writing by Nicolas Cole
• Building A Second Brain by Tiago Forte
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek
2 AI Prompts To Gain Business Clarity (Even If You Haven't Used AI Much Yet)
My 2 favorite AI prompts I’ve used to gain business clarity:
1. Clarifying target audience & value proposition
2. Identifying social content gaps
AI is not going to replace businesses, but businesses that use AI to gain leverage will.
5 Takeaways For Content Creators From "Start With Why"
Most businesses owners spend so much time focusing on what they do and why they do it that WHY is forgotten. WHY you should Start with WHY:
1. WHY before What and How
2. Aim for innovation, not novelty
3. Destination (What) < Journey (WHY)
4. Authenticity comes from WHAT aligning with WHY
5. Run advice through The Celery Test
Your WHY is your compass.
5 Practices Business Owners Can Learn From Makers
The business sphere of social media parrots the same advice over and over, but Makers offer 5 different mindsets.
1. Practice on yourself
2. Forget perfection
3. Get better every project
4. Change what isn't working
5. Create your ideal environment
Makers are natural learners and implementers that business owners would do well to imitate.
The 1 Reason Writing Is Now Essential For Business Owners
Most business owners discount the importance of writing, but they shouldn’t for 1 major reason.
AI.
Writing helps you clarify your thinking.
Better thinking leads to better prompts.
Everyone who wants to succeed in business or content must embrace AI and therefore writing for better prompts.
4 Takeaways For Makers From Austin Kleon's "Show Your Work"
Many on social media only show the finished result, but Austin Kleon recommends showing the work in progress for success.
1. Show the work in progress
2. Daily content is feasible
3. Always give proper credit
4. Start an email list
Social media needs more Makers showing what they are creating, not just the final products.
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 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.
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.
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.
3 Boring Parts Of Small Social Business That Are Critical To Success
3 boring parts of small social business that are critical to success.
1. Researching content strategies
2. Diving into analytics
3. Aligning systems to goals
Those who succeed get very good at the boring things others don't see.
Successful Entrepreneurs Push Through When They Want To Quit
Some people who tried and failed will tell you that entrepreneurship is impossible, the market is too saturated, or that the big companies just have too much power. The good news is that it’s not impossible, but it is incredibly hard to do.
The 1 Thing Busy Entrepreneurs Can Do Now To Find The Time You’re Looking For
You want to build your business, but just can't seem to find time in your busy schedule.
You've probably heard that you can't find time, but you have to make it. That's all well and good, but whoever said that doesn't get your "special circumstances." They just didn't understand why you don't have as much time, right?
This is how I discovered just how much time I really had to focus on my business.
The 1 Reason You Need To Embrace Boring To Grow Your Business In 2026
I get it, I don't like to be bored either.
In fact, I successfully failed to grow my Instagram account past 8.5k subscribers since 2017 because I got bored creating Maker content on a consistent basis. I wasn't even consistent with the types or themes of my builds over the years because I was so boring-averse. I was all over the place, and the flatline of my Instagram growth is a direct result.
I failed because I didn't want to be bored, but you don't have to make the same mistake I did.
4 Entrepreneurs I'm Constantly Learning From
I love learning new things.
This year started like many others with lots of things I wanted to learn more about, watch, and read. However, one major things was different: I was also focusing on implementing the ideas in my life and business. Instead of reading and watching, but doing nothing—which is just entertainment—, I challenged myself to actually put what I was learning into practice.
Why Being A Maker Made Me Want To Start A Business
Lately, I've gotten serious about building a maker-focused business, but where did it come from?
I've always been interested in how things work, even as a kid. I would take apart old VCRs (who remembers what those were?), try to figure out how they worked, tinker, and try to put them back together... unsuccessfully. I was even fascinated with the DVD bonus features of how movies were put together and why magic tricks fooled people.
Without knowing what a Maker was or how to use any tools, I had started down the Maker path that I love today.