FinCon24 in Atlanta was a blast. I met a lot of cool people, learned a few things, and got to hang out with some friends.

Here are my personal takeaways👇

Everybody believes the state of blogging is getting worse/harder

Hat/Tip to Robert Farrington from The College Investor.

Blogging is in a weird spot right now, and it seems like everybody at FinCon is 'bearish' on blogging & SEO.

There's WAY less chatter about opportunities, success stories, etc.

Is blogging dead?!

Did AI kill it?! DID GOOGLE KILL IT?! (more likely)

My friend Robert, who I'd consider hyper-successful in the blogging world, was telling me about his AI research: Google AI Inaccurate In 43% Of Finance-Related Searches.

People are BUMMED about what AI has done to/for blogging.

MY TAKEAWAY: On one hand, the less interest in blogging, the more opportunity. On the other hand--the blogging roller coaster is NOT finished, so now is NOT the time to make long-term decisions or conclusions.

Your business should be stress-tested (occasionally)

Hat/tip to Tae Kim from Financial Tortoise.

Last month, I started another YouTube channel (my 4th).

Was this a good idea?

I honestly didn't pause much to think about that...I simply saw an opportunity and wanted to explore it.

At FinCon, I got to hang out with my buddy Tae, and I was reminded that his YouTube channel took years to explode (and explode it has!!).

This brought up questions...

• Do I really WANT this new YouTube channel?
• How much time is this going to take? (and take AWAY from my other projects!)
• What other "strategies" of mine need a quick stress test??

MY TAKEAWAY: Being around other people--in person--can often FORCE a birds-eye view (objectivity) of your business.

Act like you're a professional

Hat/tip to Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins.

In his chat about podcasting, Joe told a story about thinking that he was a badass podcasting pro...

...until he attended a podcasting conference and got to see what REAL pros are doing with their shows.

An eye-opening moment that led JOE to up his game.

ME WATCHING JOE HAD THE SAME EFFECT 🤦

I mean damn--look at him in that pic. I'm in a t-shirt, and he's sporting the jacket.

I used to take podcasting more seriously, but I feel like I have gotten lazier in recent years.

I can do better. I can be a pro again.

MY TAKEAWAY: Don't overestimate your current level of PRO, but don't underestimate how PRO you can become!

There's something I can offer that few others can

This tip goes out to everybody who attended my presentation (which was loosely on productivity, but really about "time freedom.").

Going in to my talk--I wasn't actually convinced that I was going to add a lot of value.

But while it felt like "no brainer" content to ME--I heard from several attendees that they learned something brand new.

I am VERY rich in time freedom, but not everybody is.

MY TAKEAWAY: Don't take your knowledge & skills for granted. You almost CERTAINLY have something you do better than 99% of other people.

Stop accepting meetings

Another unexpected takeaway from my talk...

It wasn't in my script or slides--but at some point I said the words "OH, and stop taking meetings."

Y'all.

People straight-up CHEERED.

I don't even remember the point I was trying to make--but it was clear that I found an unexpected pain point.

I followed that up with this advice: "When dealing with a meeting request for any reason--try responding with 'can we do this over email, instead?'"

Make no mistakes--sometimes meetings are needed. BETTER than emails.

But let's normalize saying "no" to meetings as well.

Everybody wants to feel safe

Hat/tip to Leisa Peterson!

• Literally safe
• Financially safe
• Emotionally safe

I did NOT always feel safe during this FinCon.

The conference was right in the thick of downtown Atlanta, where many of the city's homeless population hang out.

First off--my heart totally melts for these individuals (I used to serve breakfast at a shelter near midtown).

However, I saw crime this week. I saw fights. I got harassed a few times (shouted at several times, grabbed twice), and I'm a 6'4" 225lb dude.

Since I moved out of the city about 6 years ago--I had forgotten what this felt like.

UNRELATED (sorta): In a random discussion with my friend Leisa, she uttered the words "everybody just wants to feel safe."

I have zero clue what the context was--but that stayed with me.

Do more of what you want with less shame

ALTERNATE TITLE: 'Life is too short to spend $75 for a meal you're not stoked about.'

The last night of Fincon I went with a group of a dozen others to a dinner at a fancy steakhouse down the street.

It was fancy, and expensive, and upon looking at the menu, I saw NOTHING that excited me.

Sometimes I wouldn't care. I'd be there for friends, and I'd eat whatever.

This wasn't one of those times.

And funny enough, I notice a few others at the table also filled this way--but it was clear they weren't going to leave to go somewhere else (which was ok of course!).

But I did.

The menu wasn't what I wanted.

Friends weren't what I needed right then.

So I left--and went to Hooters for hot wings, beer, and college football.

AKA "what I wanted."

NOTE: This was my 1st time going to a Hooters, and it's exactly what I expected 🤷

10 years ago--I wouldn't have left the steakhouse.

I would've been afraid of judgement, and I would've convinced myself that "what I want doesn't matter."

FINAL NOTE: Conferences are good, and not just in the ways you expect.

Every time I attend a conference like FinCon, I get value.

Sometimes it's knowledge. Often it's connections.

Sometimes value comes in expected ways. Sometimes unexpected.

But NONE of that value happens when you stay at home. In my little comfort zone.

Get out there and meet people. Learn from them. Give them your time, energy, and knowledge.

HUGE thanks to Jessica, Libby, PT, Justin, and the rest of the FinCon team! Y'all did an incredible job, as usual.

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