Last month, I quit social media entirely.

The algorithmic pull of X, Instagram, and LinkedIn was taking over my mind.

I felt like a mindless man on a digital hamster wheel. Chasing likes, followers, and invisible digital dollars that don’t seem to be coming in passively.

If you don’t already know, I’m talking about the Creator Economy – a place where purpose-driven thought leaders go to die.

Let me explain.

We’ve been sold a digital dream

The Creator economy (also known as Money Twitter in some spaces) is a thriving community of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and side hustler.

The goal is financial freedom.

This may look like a full-business, personal brand, or solopreneurship.

Many of these creators have a 9-5 (job) that they’re looking to escape. In my case, I’m looking to supplement my income by doing something I’m interested in (i.e. writing about self-improvement and productivity online).

This often appears ideal to people like us who want to follow our curiosity and are sick of the traditional path of:

1. Getting a well-paying job

2. Buying a nice house

3. Raising a few kids

4. 40+ years of work

5. Retiring

Nothing wrong with this path but some of us want more or rather a purpose-driven life that allows us to realize our full potential.

Some of us start on the creator journey as a result of good marketing (the thing that got you here in the first place).

Large creators like Dan Koe, Justin Welsh, and Alex Hormozi are inspiring dudes who are painting a picture of living the life we all want to live:

Work for ourselves (freedom), do what we want (purpose), and when we want (autonomy).

If you’ve bought any of their products you probably felt a surge of excitement leading up to the launch.

You may have been a bit hesitant at first when pulling out your credit card.

But you ended up pulling the trigger because the baked-in urgency and scarcity made you feel like you didn’t want to miss out.

“This could be the key to solving my problems.” – your subconscious mind.

They sold you a dream and now you’re here still looking for answers.

I don’t blame you.

There’s no one to blame actually. This is just a cycle of human nature and we’re wired to seek novelty, meaning, status, and connection.

We’re starved for clarity and these courses, gurus, and content pieces aren’t cutting it.

So what’s the solution?

Quit.

Drop it all.

But wait, before you click away and go back to engaging endlessly on X or clicking the thumbnail for how to make $10K per month without arms or legs, hear me out.

You only need 30 days.

That’s all it took me to gain a better understanding of what the hell I want, where the hell I’m going, and what the hell am I going to do about it.

You might be skeptical.

You should be.

I’m no life path expert but I can tell you what I am with certainty. I’m a human just like you who’s figuring shit out with a bunch of obligations that I need to fill in the meantime.

Last month in December 2023, I took a Digital Declutter. This process was popularized from Cal Newport’s best-selling book, Digital Minimalism (aff. link).

I’ve read this book 3 times and I have it on every platform: eBook, physical copy, and audiobook.

I recommend you read it at least once, but here’s a summary made by robots (AI).

The idea is to take a break from optional technologies and swap them for higher-quality leisure activities like:

• Reading books

• Doing outdoor stuff

• Creating art or music

• Writing in your journal

• Spending time with friends and family

There are levels to this so you can choose which suits your unique situation.

I got rid of all my social media accounts from my phone, signed out, and added friction to logging back on (one sec app, not sponsored).

During this time, I was able to get away from all the noise of other people’s opinions, and creators’ marketing telling me how to live my life and what goals I needed to chase instead.

Instead of:

• Scrolling the timeline → I skimmed through my old journals.

• Watching 8-minute YouTube videos → I went back through courses and took extensive notes.

• Writing social media posts → I wrote to myself with journaling prompts to better understand what I want to do with my creative life.

• Jumping on calls to understand other people’s problems (that I didn’t even know if I WANTED to solve) → I spent time in solitude thinking and allowing my subconscious mind to process my dormant problems).

In short, I spent time reflecting and gained a lot of insight from within instead of looking outside of myself for answers.

Now I haven’t had a spiritual awakening (yet) but the clarity from this month off was worth the dozen followers I lost or the invisible money left on the table.

This is the ultimate form of delayed gratification.

Going monk mode works if you’re ready for it.

The 5 systems that created clarity

Now that was a big load I dropped on you but I don’t want to overwhelm you with every system I’ve used.

So I’m going to ask, which of these do you need the most help with?

• 30-day Digital Declutter (how to gain clarity without technology overwhelm)

• Radical Reflection Routine (how to find your values, purpose, and outline your 10-year vision)

• The SPEED System (how to find your niche or career path)

• Reverse Dream Setting (how to set goals for people who can’t stick to them)

• Efficient Solopreneur System (how I get all my creative work done in 10 hours per week)

Please use this poll to vote and I’ll outline a full guide on how I used and improved it.

I’ve kept this short to respect your time.

I know how valuable that is.

Resources are linked above so you can check them out yourself.

If you want to see modifications from my real user experience you won’t want to miss the upcoming letter.

See you next week!