AI tools & automation

YouTube

A three-step framework for setting and achieving annual goals

Matthew Volkwyn December 22, 2025

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AI tools & automation 8

Processes & SOPs 5

• Your biggest bottleneck is almost always the thing you most resist.
• One-year goals are too short — three years unlocks real ambition.
• Most people quit just before compounding growth finally kicks in.

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Conflict resolution

YouTube

How your energy determines the outcome of every conflict

Brendon Burchard December 22, 2025

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Conflict resolution 9

Resilience & grit 7

• Your energy inflames or resolves conflict before you say a word.
• Making someone wrong then threatening them guarantees escalation.
• Framing conflict as a shared problem unlocks real progress.

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Deep work & focus

Podcast

Six non-self-help books for living more deliberately in the new year

Deep Questions with Cal Newport December 22, 2025

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Deep work & focus 9

Productivity & habits 7

Work-life balance 5

• Walden is the first lifestyle-design manual, not a nature book
• Escaping distraction requires a compelling alternative life, not willpower
• Lincoln built moral intelligence through thinking — outsourcing that thinking destroys it

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Branding

YouTube

StoryBrand framework taught through a board game rescue audio drama

StoryBrand With Donald Miller December 22, 2025

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Branding 9

Pitching investors 7

Product-market fit 6

• Talking about your own goals instead of customers' problems kills sales
• Each buyer type needs its own brand script — one size fails all
• The guide role beats the hero role: empathy plus competency closes deals

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Identity & self-belief

Podcast

Stake your own claim: stop quoting, start thinking

The Daily Stoic December 22, 2025

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Identity & self-belief 8

Resilience & grit 6

• Seneca's challenge: stop repeating others' wisdom, form your own.
• Stoicism demands contribution — disagreement, addition, original thought.
• Your actions and who you become matter more than any words.

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Origin stories

Podcast

How Exploding Kittens grew from a $10k Kickstarter to a global games company

How I Built This with Guy Raz December 22, 2025

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Origin stories 10

Branding 7

Business models 6

• A $10k Kickstarter raised $8.7m by gamifying the crowd, not the money.
• Two flops before a second hit — and why product quality alone isn't enough.
• From Xbox and Halo to card games: why face-to-face beats the screen.

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AI strategy & adoption

YouTube

The AI economy in 2025: stability, model shifts, and the startup opportunity

Y Combinator December 22, 2025

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AI strategy & adoption 10

Business models 7

Fundraising & VC 6

• Anthropic overtook OpenAI as the top API among YC founders in 2025.
• AI infrastructure overbuilds benefit startups — founders are YouTube, not Comcast.
• Post-Series A hiring looks the same; rising expectations offset AI productivity gains.

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