Ever notice how much content is actually content-free-content?

Thanks for stopping by.  I’m a friend to the different and am  best known for Play Bigger, Category Pirates and being a Godfather of Category Design.
🏴‍☠️

I help startup founders, CEOs, marketers, creators, and ambitious professionals category design legendary markets and careers in a post-AI world.

**Why Category Design & Creator Capitalism?**

Category designers create markets, not competition, capturing **76% of the value** in the spaces they pioneer. 

Creator Capitalists unlock their different **superpower**—that unique edge only they bring—to build wealth and impact in an AI-driven economy. 

Whether you’re launching a company or redefining your career, I’ll show you how to own your niche and thrive.

**What I Do:**

With my partners at Category Pirates 🏴‍☠️ I empower you to:

*Design & dominate new markets through writing, courses, and community.

*Discover your superpower to become a Creator Capitalist, mastering your career in the AI era.

*Build legendary businesses & careers with strategies from our #1 Amazon-charting books.

Join us at **www.categorypirates.com** to start pirating.

**My Track Record:**

*Author: Co-authored 14 #1 bestsellers, including *Play Bigger* (the first book on category design), *Niche Down*, and *Snow Leopard*.

*Podcaster: Host of Follow Your Different* (“Best Business Podcast” – Podcast Magazine) and Lochhead on Marketing (#1 charting).

*Newsletter: Run Category Pirates 🏴‍☠️ Substack (top 0.5% paid business newsletter).

*Career: Former 3X Silicon Valley public company CMO, advisor, and VC limited partner.

**What People Say:**

*Play Bigger is required reading for entrepreneurs altering the landscape.” *Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce
*“A quasar of energy and ideas.” – Bill Walton, NBA Legend
*“Off-putting to some, but undeniably brilliant.” – The Economist

*The Future Needs You

If you’re ready to category design a market or unleash your superpower? 

Connect with me or visit **www.categorypirates.com**. 

Let’s build something legendary—together. 
🏴‍☠️

Christopher Lochhead🏴‍☠️

LinkedIn is drowning in content-free content.

Symptoms include:
• Sh!t you’ve heard 100 times
• Lists with no consequences
• Long posts that say nothing
• Frameworks that explain zero things
• Obvious "insights” your mom already knows

If your content can’t:
• piss someone off
• change a decision
• force a tradeoff

…it’s not content.
It’s LinkedIn oatmeal.

Say something dangerous.
Or stop posting.
🏴‍☠️

Christopher Lochhead 🇺🇸🇮🇱🏴‍☠️

“A quasar, a godfather of category design” Bill Walton | “Off-putting to some” The Economist | 15X #1 author Play Bigger & Category Pirates 🏴‍☠️| #1 Charting Apple Business Podcast

I’m really glad I didn’t listen to them nine years ago. And neither should you. Nine years ago this month, I started podcasting.  

For three reasons:
1) I believe different is a superpower
2) Authentic dialogue is a force for good
3) The business world was already drowning in content-free content

So I decided to do something about it.
They told me it was too late.

They said:
•“You missed it.”
•“Podcasting is played out.”
•“You should’ve started five years ago.”
 (Which—ironically—was 14 years ago.)

They were wrong.
Very wrong.

What actually happened.

In nine years, the podcast has:
•Helped sell 500,000 books
•Reached the top 0.5% of podcasts worldwide
•Been downloaded millions and millions of times
•Won Best Business Podcast from Podcast Magazine
•Helped create Category Pirates, now a top business newsletter
•Helped launch the first Category Design Academy in the world
•Helped power the category design movement across 190 countries

And here’s the part most people miss:
The podcast didn’t just build an audience.
It helped create a movement.

Of category designers building different futures.
Of people who refuse to accept the status quo as inevitable.

Everything is the way it is because someone changed the way it was.
We serve the people who do that:
•The pirates
•The dreamers
•The innovators
•The legends, and the losers (who get knocked down and get back up)

The goal was simple:
1) Empower the different
2) Flip the bird to the status quo
3) Make the world actually different

The lesson.
If you’re waiting for permission, consensus, or perfect timing.
Don’t.

You are not too late.
You are not too late.
You are not too late.

The people who say “it’s too late” are (almost) never the ones building anything legendary.

So if you’re thinking about starting:
•a book
•a podcast
•a category
•a business
•a movement

Ignore "them".
Go for it.
 
Hit record.
Make the thing.
Follow your different.

Let time do the rest.

Nine years in.
Just getting started. 
💪🏻🏴‍☠️

Ps. Massive thank you to: Jason DeFillippo & Jaime Jay 💥 for making it all happen. Love you boys. 🙏 🏴‍☠️

MLK said: “Judge not by the color of skin but by the content of character.”

That not a kindness quote. It’s a challenge.

•Skin color is a shortcut
•So is political party •So is ideology •So is title •So is tribe
•So is sex

It is time to end proxy judgment.

I don’t care what group you’re part of. 

I do care (a lot) about what quality of person you are. 

Character can’t be assumed. It must be observed. 
Over time. Under pressure.

Character is about actions. 
(Not words.)

We don’t want less judgment.
We want different judgment.

Based on 100% on character.

No alternative text description for this image

Yesterday, evil showed up in San Jose. A violent, armed madman turned a city into a crime scene. A carjacking. A chase. Gunfire. Chaos. Fear. And when that moment came..... 👇🏻🚔

Yesterday, evil showed up in San Jose. A violent, armed madman turned a city into a crime scene. A carjacking. A chase. Gunfire. Chaos. Fear. And when

Open article: Yesterday In San Jose. by Christopher Lochhead 🇺🇸🇮🇱🏴‍☠️ • 2 min read

Different is the only advantage that still matters. 

1) Not better. 
Better is table stakes. 

2) Not faster. 
AI is already faster than you.

3) Not cheaper.
That’s a race to the bottom with AI agents who don’t get tired.

Different is the only thing AI can’t from humans.

Different is:
• What you frame, name and claim. 
• What you notice that others don’t.
• What you reject while others chase.
• What you believe that others won’t say.
• What problems you believe must be solved.

AI can generate answers.
It cannot decide which questions are worth asking.

AI can optimize inside a frame.
It cannot choose which frame should exist.

That’s a human job.
And not a comfortable one.

Here’s the shift nobody is prepared for:
•In the old world, value came from knowing more.
•In the new world, value comes from seeing differently.

Taste beats tools.
Point of view beats process.
Judgment beats intelligence.

Today, the market doesn’t reward effort.
It rewards clarity.

This is why most AI-generated content feels like LinkedIn oatmeal.
Technically correct.
Emotionally dead.

Designed to offend no one, and (therefore) matter to no one.

If your thinking sounds like everyone else’s.
AI won't replace you. You will let yourself be replaced.

The future doesn’t belong to the best executors.
Execution is becoming free.
It belongs to the people who:
• see earlier
• decide faster
• commit harder
• and create radical new value

Because in a world where everyone can execute at the speed of AI.

People who are different.
Make the biggest difference.
🏴‍☠️

Few people tell the CFO how to do accounting. Or R&D how to do build. But everyone tells the CMO how to do marketing. So marketing gets a lot of “help.”

Sales: “Make it sexier.”
Finance: “Where’s the ROI?”
Product: “Just talk about the features.”

And marketing lets it happen.
It bought the lie that marketing can’t be tied to revenue.

That it’s “too hard to measure.”
That it’s "more art than economics."

That’s how marketing ended up at the kids table.  
Time to flip the damn table.

Not with decks or dashboards.
With revenue that shows up uninvited.

Because the only way to reject the premise.
Is to show them the money.

Marketing isn’t a cost center.
It’s a profit engine: if you design it that way.

Companies like Tesla don’t pay for attention.
They get paid for experience.
That’s the shift.

At the bottom, marketing shouts.
At the top, customers do.

Once you see it, there’s no neutral position left.

You’re either fighting gravity.
Or deliberately climbing.

So ask yourself.
"How can our marketing generate revenue?"

“In business you need to be professional, not emotional.” That one sentence has killed more companies than bad strategy ever will.

Let’s call it what it is.
That advice isn’t wisdom.
It’s fear disguised as maturity.

Humans don’t buy, build, follow, or believe because of spreadsheets.
They do it because of emotion.

•Love.
•Hope.
•Identity.
•Ambition.
•Belonging.
•Fear of being left behind.
•Desire to make a difference.

Emotion is not the enemy of business.
Emotion is THE engine.

Every legendary company was started by someone who gave a sh!t.
Loudly.

Apple wasn’t born from “professional restraint.”
It was born from obsession.

Tesla wasn’t built by calm consensus.
It was built by conviction.

Nike didn’t say “Just Be Reasonable.”
They said Just Do It.

Here’s the dirty secret the donkeys won’t tell you. 
“Don’t be emotional” usually means:

• Don’t care too much
• Don’t risk being wrong
• Don’t challenge the status quo
• Don’t make others uncomfortable
That’s not professionalism.
That’s corporate anesthesia.

Emotion is how humans signal commitment.
Emotion is how leaders create belief.
Emotion is how movements are born.

Want a room full of emotionless executives?
Passion isn’t sloppy.
Apathy is.

Caring isn’t weakness.
Indifference is.

Vision is emotional.
Purpose is emotional.
Category design is emotional.

If you’re not emotional about what you’re building, why should anyone care?
So here’s the non-obvious advice:

•Be clear, not cold.
•Be convicted, not cautious.
•Be emotional with intent, not emotional by accident.

Wear your passion on your sleeve.
Wear your beliefs on your chest.
Wear your dreams like a badge.

Because the leaders who create different futures don’t hide what they feel.
They leverage it.

And the people telling you to “be professional, not emotional”?
They’re not leaders.
They’re spectators.

Build with emotion.
Lead with conviction.
And let the donkeys bray from the sidelines. 
🏴‍☠️

Most people are taught WHAT to think. Almost nobody is taught HOW to think. That’s why so many people are great at consuming ideas. And terrible at creating them.

Thinker’s High is the dopamine hit you only get when you actually think.
•Not scrolling. 
•Not summarizing. 
•Not asking for the hack.

Real thinking.
The moment you stop absorbing ideas and start generating them then turning them into something that changes lives, careers, or companies.

We’ve built a world optimized for instant relief:

• “Just tell me.”
• “Summarize it.”
• “Give me the shortcut.”
• “DoorDash everything.”

Thinking became optional.
And uncomfortable.

Until you ask the dangerous question:
“Why do I think what I think?”

That question breaks the spell.
And once it does, you realize something powerful:
You can take a raw idea in your head and build something that didn’t exist yesterday.

That feeling? That surge of clarity, courage, and momentum?
That’s Thinker’s High.
It’s unlimited.
Unstealable.

And the fuel you need to design your future instead of reacting to it.
Which is why we released our newest book, Thinker’s High and didn’t put it on Amazon.

We wanted a book that felt legendary.
One you return to.
Not speed-read and forget.

Inside: 50+ Category Pirates proverbs. 
Designed for repetition.
Read one quote a week.
Sit with it.

Jam with the AI prompts.
Let the thinking compound.
This isn’t a business book.

It’s a coffee-table dojo for people who want to think clearly, act boldly, and build what doesn’t exist yet.
•52 weeks.
•52 quotes.

One year of training your brain to think like a Category Designer.

That’s not a book.
That’s a transformation system. 
(L!nk in c0mments)
🏴‍☠️

You're (probably ) a creator capitalist. And don't know it.  A Creator Capitalist doesn’t apply knowledge. They create net new value. That’s the line.

Legacy knowledge workers get paid to execute inside existing systems.
Creator Capitalists get paid to invent what didn’t exist before.

One maintains the machine.
The other builds the next one.

Legacy knowledge workers get paid to apply what’s already known:

•Software engineers developing software they didn't design
•Marketers optimizing campaigns they didn’t design
•Product managers shipping roadmap items
•Analysts producing decks and dashboards
•Consultants implementing best practices
•Lawyers interpreting precedent
•Accountants closing the books
•Operators “driving efficiency”

Now. Are executives managing someone else’s strategy Useful? Yes. And replaceable? Also yes.

Creator Capitalists get paid to create net new things of value:

•New points of view
•New frameworks
•New categories
•New language
•New products
•New revenue
•New demand
•New assets

They don’t ask, “How do I do this better?”

They ask, “What shouldn’t exist anymore, and what replaces it?”

Legacy workers sell execution.
Creator Capitalists build equity in ideas.

They don’t climb ladders.
They build new buildings. 

They don’t wait for permission.
They design the game, and charge admission.

In an AI world, applying existing knowledge is collapsing to zero.
Creating net new meaning, direction, and value?

That’s where the money is 💰.
That’s a Creator Capitalist.

Let’s be candid. If your 2026 career plan still depends on:
 • a boss saying yes
 • an algorithm behaving
 • a company “seeing your value”

That’s not a dream career.
That’s a lease. With a termination clause.

Creator Capitalists don’t chase roles.
They build (net new) value.

Here’s the shift:
•Employees think in ladders.
•Creator Capitalists think in assets.

Not just money. Four kinds:
 1) Intellectual → how you see the world
 2) Audience → people who trust your POV
 3) Product → things you build once, sell many times
 4) Financial → cash flow + optionality

Posts don’t compound.
Assets do.

Using AI to “create more content” is table stakes.
Using AI to turn experience into owned assets is the game.

•Apps
•Agents. 
•Courses. 
•Mini-books. 
•Frameworks. 
•Communities.
 
Build once. Sell forever. Update occasionally.
And one rule that decides everything:
If you don’t own the relationship, you don’t own the career.

The flex in 2026 isn’t virality or titles.
It’s the ability to walk away.

Stop asking:
“Who will hire me?”

Start asking:
“What do I own?”

That question is how dream careers are built. 
🏴‍☠️

The most important promotion is realizing the ladder you’re on goes nowhere.

Just recorded and dropped an explosive podcast with Sharren Haskel, Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. We sat down on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. As the world watches Iran descend into chaos.

For over a month, brave Iranians have flooded the streets in massive protests demanding an end to the oppressive regime. In response, the IRGC has unleashed deadly violence.

Killing and capturing their own people, with reports of hundreds to thousands dead in the crackdown. 

They've imposed a near-total internet blackout to hide the atrocities and silence the uprising.

US President Donald Trump declared to the Iranian people: “Help is on the way”. And he's clearly signaling potential use of force if the slaughter continues.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel stands with the Iranian people's struggle for freedom, liberty, and justice.

And that this could be the moment when Iranians finally “take their fate into their own hands.”

In this raw, unfiltered conversation with Deputy Minister Haskel, we dive deep:

•The escalating crisis in Iran 
•The shifting balance of power in the Middle East
•Her direct message to the Iranian people amid the bloodshed
•Her vision for a freer, more stable future in the region
•The lasting scars and transformations from October 7, 2023
•The current reality on the ground in Gaza
•How dramatically the Middle East (and the entire world) is changing right now, in real time

This isn't just talk.

It's frontline insight from one of Israel's most outspoken leaders on the regime change possibilities, the threats from Tehran, and what comes next for global security.

If you're tracking the biggest geopolitical shifts of our era, this episode is must-listen. 

Drop a comment: What do you think happens in Iran next?
L!nk in comments to listen now.

#IranProtests #MiddleEast #Israel #Geopolitics #RegimeChange #Freedom

Can We Have A Thoughtful Conversation About Immigration On LinkedIn? 🤔

I’d love your thoughts on this. I’m attempting a thoughtful conversation about immigration in the digital world. Let’s see if that’s possible in 2026 

Open article: Can We Have A Thoughtful Conversation About Immigration In The Digital World? by Christopher Lochhead 🇺🇸🇮🇱🏴‍☠️ • 2 min read

Can We Have A Thoughtful Conversation About Immigration In The Digital World?

Most people are taught what to think. Not how to think. That one sentence explains why so much modern work feels hollow.

We train people to repeat answers.
•To memorize frameworks.
•To sound smart instead of see clearly.

Then we act surprised when:
•Creativity dries up
•Strategy turns into slide theater
•Everyone has opinions, no insight
•AI just scales average thinking faster

Thinker’s High exists because thinking is a skill.
(and most people stopped practicing it.)

This isn’t about being smarter.
Plenty of smart people are stuck.

It’s about permission.
Permission to:
•Follow curiosity over consensus
•Trust your own pattern recognition
•Sit in confusion without rushing to resolution
•Question the premise instead of optimizing inside it

A Thinker’s High moment is quiet.
•The noise drops.
•The obvious answer collapses.
•A different question appears.

That’s the drug.
Once you feel it, you can’t unsee how rare real thinking is.

You start noticing how many people are:
•Mistaking speed for depth
•Performing intelligence instead of practicing it
•Borrowing language instead of forming thoughts

This is why Thinker’s High isn’t for everyone.

It’s for founders, builders, and creators who feel the friction.
People who don’t want to win by copying.
People who want to see first.

Because the future doesn’t belong to better executors.
(AI took that job.)

It belongs to people who can:
•Frame the right problems
•Think independently under pressure
•Create non-obvious solutions

That isn’t taught.
It’s trained.

Thinker’s High is the reminder.
The practice.
The reset.

A love letter to thinking as an act of courage.
And now the line in the sand:
If this resonated, stop scrolling.

📘 Thinker’s High isn’t a book you consume.
It’s a book you work with.
It won’t give you answers.
It will take away the wrong ones.

Buy the book.
Train your thinking.
And stop letting the world decide your thoughts for you.

Once you experience a real Thinker’s High,
there’s no going back.

Welcome to the crew. 
L!nk in comments
👇🏻🏴‍☠️

If your income depends on:
• one boss
• one platform
• one company
• one algorithm

You don’t have a career.
You have a dependency.

And dependencies break fastest when the world changes.
Which is exactly what’s happening now.

Trust in institutions collapses.
Platforms change the rules.
Jobs get automated.
Org charts flatten.

Most people panic.
They cling to titles.
They wait for clarity.
They hope stability returns.

Creator Capitalists do something else.
They harvest the chaos.

Here’s the non-obvious shift:
•Entrepreneurs optimize for risk.
•Employees optimize for stability.
•Creator Capitalists are optimized for change itself.

They don’t “create content.”
They don’t “grow a following.”
They don’t “monetize attention.”

(That's what hustle porn-donkeys do.)

Creator Capitalists turn thinking, framing, taste, and judgment into digital economic engines.

A Creator Capitalist doesn’t ask:
“What should I post?”

They ask:
“What confusion is getting expensive right now?”

Then they:
 • name it
 • frame it
 • package it
 • productize it
 • compound it

Confusion → Clarity → Cash → Digital Asset → Leverage.

This is the line that matters:
Creator Capitalists don’t build audiences.
They build clarity people will pay to reuse.

That’s why:
 • IC beats influence
 • podcasts beat interviews
 • newsletters beat résumés
 • books beat business blogs

Old career advice belongs to a slower era:
Climb. 
Specialize. 
Wait.

Creator Capitalists live in a faster one:
Move early.
Sell before consensus.
Publish before permission.

They don’t wait for demand signals.
They create them.

Creator Capitalism is how you turn what you notice.
Into what you own.
🏴‍☠️

The Agentic CEO:  Execution used to be expensive.

•Process. 
•Headcount.
•Meetings about meetings.

That era is ending.

Every day, AI agents are making the ability to execute closer to free.mAnd here’s the shift most leaders haven’t internalized yet:

📈Soon, companies will have 10× more agents than people.

Creating, deploying, and managing agents is becoming a core company capability. Right next to finance, product, marketing and sales.

Not an innovation lab.
Not an AI project.
A foundation.

When execution is abundant, the constraint changes.
The scarce resource is no longer labor or tools.
It’s clarity.

•What matters?
•What outcome do we want?
•What problems are worth solving?

The Agentic CEO doesn’t manage people to do tasks.
They design systems of agents to produce outcomes.

The winners won’t have better prompts.
They’ll have different agent architecture.
2026 won’t be the year of AI.

It’ll be the year execution stopped being the excuse.
Choose accordingly.
🏴‍☠️

There is another consequence to the California asset seizure tax. That few are discussing.

Every billionaire that leaves.
Takes jobs and tax payers with them.
(I’ve heard rumors 50% of billionaire wealth has already left)

It stands to reason. That when a billionaire leaves California, they will (likely) stop building new products, companies and categories in California.

Historically California got 50% of all startup investment in the US.

Expect that number to much lower going forward.
Expect job creation in California to fall off a cliff.

Most people don’t lose their careers. They slowly abandon them.

It's fascinating how many people do not know the basics of our laws. Let’s break it down. It is illegal to try to stop any LE (law enforcement) action of any kind. 

If you don't like what LE is doing, you can do a lot of things. 

(Like vote, call your mayor, congressperson, organize a lawful protest, etc) 

But you cannot. 
Legally. 
Interfere with LE. 
Period.

If you do. 
You'll be arrested. 
Or worse.

The male nurse in MN who got shot, was standing in the middle of the street. Blowing a whistle. Interfering with LE. 

The female in the car who got shot, was doing similar things. 
Then she resisted arrest. 

ALL of that is illegal. 
That’s not a political statement.
It’s long-standing US law.

If you’re convicted of crimes/ misdemeanors of LE interference you’ll face fines and the potential of prison time.

Lethal force is lawful only if ALL of the following are true. The officer reasonably believes the person (law-breaker) right now poses a threat of:

* Death, or
* Serious bodily injury to the officer, or
* Another person

This is also true for citizens when using self defense.

You can debate IF the conditions for lethal force were present in the two MN cases. (And we should)

But there is zero debate about the law. 
Or the fact that both people who got shot were breaking laws.

As a matter of fact, stopping ICE was exactly what they were doing, when they lost their lives.

These are objective facts.

The only debate.
Were the conditions for self-defense / lethal force present in these two MN shootings. 

The reality is. 
NONE of us know all the facts about these two shootings. 

There needs to be investigations / evidence before these killings are ruled legal, or not.

I spent about 13 weeks last yr, in three murder trials, (three out of the four killers of a man I love. )

In EVERY trial (same killing) different evidence, facts and arguments were presented and made.

And in all three cases. 
The killers were found guilty on all counts and got life w/o parole sentences. 
(The fourth trial starts soon)

Politically you might agree or disagree with what our governments do. 
But the laws in this domain are very clear.
You can not interfere with LE.

Ps. If you want to test these laws. 

Next time you see cops pull someone over for speeding. 
Get out of your car. And start screaming at the cops. 

Stand between the cops and the person they are ticketing. 
And see what happens to you.

This is Chicago police chief Larry B. Snelling.
He makes it very clear 👇🏻

Building a portfolio of writing businesses to $10M, and sharing my frameworks along the way.

My name is Nicolas Cole, and I am one of the most-read writers on the Internet.

Over the past decade, I have written over 5,000 articles online, and ghostwritten for 300+ Founders, C-level executives, NYT best-selling authors, Grammy-winning musicians, and more. I have also broken records on various digital writing platforms, like becoming the fastest-growing user on Quora in 2014, and becoming the most-read writer on the entire platform (out of 200 million users) in 2015. I have amassed hundreds of millions of views on my writing, and the topics I cover include hard life advice, category design, and digital writing principles.

I have also written over a dozen books, including the best-selling The Art & Business of Online Writing.

I am passionate about paying it forward and sharing what I have learned writing online for more than decade with other writers, creators, and industry leaders.

Here's a quick breakdown of my portfolio of companies, and how to get in touch.

WANT TO GET STARTED WRITING ONLINE?

→ GO HERE: www.ship30for30.com

Ship 30 for 30 is a cohort-based community specifically for people who want to start writing online. In this 4-week program, we help you build your daily writing habit, launch your Social Blog, clarify your niche, and master the fundamentals of digital writing. To date, we have helped more than 3,000 people get started writing online.

WANT TO BECOME A PREMIUM GHOSTWRITER?

→ GO HERE: https://premiumghostwritingacademy.com

Freelance writers charge per word or per hour. As a result, they're underpaid and burned out. Premium Ghostwriters charge per project, work directly with founders, CEOs, and business owners, and are more like "business consultants who happen to know how to write." As a result, they can charge a premium. In PGA, our Premium Ghostwriting Academy, we train writers on how to become Premium Ghostwriters, and learn how to package & price their services in lucrative ways.

WANT TO STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF WRITING WITH AI?

→ GO HERE: https://writewithai.substack.com

Write With AI is a bi-weekly paid newsletters for writers, giving you strategies and prompts to help you turn ChatGPT into your own personal Digital Writing Assistant. 

WANT TO GET IN TOUCH?

→ GO HERE: www.nicolascole.com

In addition to writing and building my own businesses, I am also an investor & advisor to a handful of media & digital publishing companies. If you'd like to get in touch, please feel free to shoot me an email.

Email: cole@nicolascole.com
Twitter: @Nicolascole77

Nicolas Cole 🚢👻

I did this. 

And I regret it:

Between 23-26, I was broke AF.

Single.

Shredded with 8% body fat.

Had like 2 friends who I only saw at the gym.

Lived in a dumpster box studio apartment that cost $800/mo in Chicago.

Barely dated, and whenever I’d start to build a relationship I’d break it off and say:

“I have to grind.”

Literally.

• Up at 6am to commute an hour to work
• Home at 7pm
• Gym until 9pm
• Worked on my writing (my dream) until midnight

Repeat 5 days per week.

And I also wrote every weekend for 5-8 hours Sat & Sun. 

I never celebrated a holiday.

I went to 1 Halloween party one year, and a music festival one summer for a day. 

And that was pretty much it. 

But then I met my now-wife when I was 26.

And it’s shocking (almost sad) how much more effective I am with her compared to when I was single. 

I became way more disciplined, yet somehow more balanced.

More well-rounded. 

I became more mature, more thoughtful.

Which allowed me to:

• Meet smarter mentors
• Connect with higher-quality people
• Become more successful a lot faster

I became more cultured.

More knowledgeable about the world:

• I traveled
• I tried new foods
• I prioritized new experiences

I became rich in so many more ways than just money (but also including money) by being with her. 

And the same is true for every mega-successful person I know.

They all love their partners because their partners make them better, more capable leaders. 

I don’t have many regrets in life.

But looking back, I do wish I had allowed myself to enjoy my 20s a bit more.

I don’t think 20% more “fun” would have changed my trajectory all that much.

Maybe my ghostwriting agency wouldn't have scaled from $0 to $3,000,000 in less than 18 months.

Maybe if I had more "fun" it would've taken longer.

But I’ll never be that age again.

And one day you won’t either. 

So yes, set big goals and work like an abandoned dog to achieve them. 

AND… soak up being a young adult. 

You’ll blink, and it’ll be over.

When I met my now-wife at 26, I was making $20,000/mo ghostwriting for a handful of clients.

And none of them cared if I only spent 20 hours working per week.

Plenty of money for "fun" and the time to enjoy it.

Which is why I recommend becoming a LinkedIn ghostwriter.

This platform has over 1 billion users who:

• Never post
• Know they should be
• Need help building their personal brand

Want a blueprint to help you start ghostwriting & land high-paying clients?

Get it here (for free): https://lnkd.in/dHePTC4J

I talk about digital writing, ghostwriting, and self-publishing | Co-Founder Ship 30, Typeshare, Write With AI, Premium Ghostwriting Academy | Author of 10 books | DM "👻" if you want to land high-paying writing clients

I want to help 1 million people make a living writing on the internet.

So here's what I'm doing:

For the next 48 hours, I'm giving away my 2 best-selling books for free:

• The Art & Business of Online Writing
• The Art & Business of Ghostwriting

Why?

Because I've spent 10+ years figuring out how to make money as a writer.

(After I was told in college, "Nobody makes a living as a writer!")

And since then, I have generated over $1,000,000 across:

• SaaS ($1m+)
• Agency ($5m+)
• Consulting ($2m+)
• Paid Newsletter ($2m+)
• Self-Published Books ($1m+)
• Cohort-Based Course ($3m+)
• Low-Ticket Digital Products ($2m+)
• High-Ticket Group Coaching ($10m+)

So, yeah...

You can earn a lucrative living as a writer IF you know how.

Which is why I'm giving away my 2 most popular books (so you can start making a living as a writer too!).

Inside these books, I explain:

• Why you shouldn’t start a blog, how to find your voice as a writer, and the exact steps to build a daily writing habit.

• The quickest way to monetize your writing (and get paid to network and learn from industry leaders in your niche).

• The secret to making more money as a writer (so you can escape the freelance writer hamster wheel).

And tons more!

Comment "books" below and I'll DM them to you for free.

If we're not connected, then send me a connection request with the word "books" and I'll send them over.

Everyone says the greatest writers to ever live are:

• Stephen King
• Virginia Woolf
• Henry David Thoreau

But this genius is head and shoulders above them all.

His name is Ernest Hemingway.

And here is the secret technique he used to become a legendary writer:

The Iceberg Theory.

At its core, this is a simple "Show, Don't Tell" technique:

1. Avoid excessive backstory

Hint at characters' pasts through brief flashbacks or dialogue.

2. Use sensory details sparingly

A few vivid descriptions can set the scene.

3. Trim the fat

Cut any:

• Word
• Scene
• Or sentence

That doesn't serve the story.

Simple, but super effective.

—
📌 And if Hemingway were alive today...

He'd (probably) write short stories on LinkedIn—and have a massive audience of readers.

So, I put together a FREE 13,000-word Ultimate Guide + email course with everything you need to:

• Build a daily writing habit
• Generate hundreds of ideas
• Attract followers on LinkedIn

Click here to download a FREE copy for yourself: https://lnkd.in/dgHFBptC

Ernest Hemingway's Secret Writing Technique

I'm 35.

Some advice I wish I'd known in my 20s:

Life moves in seasons.

Some seasons are about work.

Other seasons are about:

• Travel
• Or spirituality
• Or family and friends

And I've learned the worst thing you can do is be in 1 season of your life, but wish for/expect the benefits of a different season.

Don't.

It doesn't work that way. 

Whatever season of life you're in, radically accept it.

Lean into it.

Know it won't last forever, and soak up as much about that particular season as you can. 

Because once it's over, you will miss things about it.

Things you're taking for granted, or complaining about, right now.

For example:

Building my $180,000/month ghostwriting agency was one of the hardest seasons of my life.

(It literally put me in the hospital.)

But since then, I've generated over $1,000,000 across 7 different business models:

• SaaS ($1m+)
• Consulting ($2m+)
• Paid Newsletter ($2m+)
• Self-Published Books ($1m+)
• Cohort-Based Course ($3m+)
• Low-Ticket Digital Products ($2m+)
• High-Ticket Group Coaching ($10m+)

Which is how I know the easiest way to make 6+ figures per year as a writer is by ghostwriting.

And I recommend getting started on LinkedIn.

Want to start landing high-paying clients in 2026?

I wrote this free, 5-day email course to help you get started.

Click here to get instant access (for free!): https://lnkd.in/d5dCm2YP

Last week, this writer landed 3 clients:

1. LinkedIn Ghostwriting $4,800/month
2. LinkedIn Ghostwriting $1,800/month
3. LinkedIn + X Ghostwriting $3,000/month

In other words:

$9,600/month in brand-new revenue.

Now, Stefan didn't get lucky.

He's been putting in the work for a long time.

Which is how Stefan was able to quit his job—and go all-in on his ghostwriting business 5 months ago.

But it also helps that he had a proven technique to land new, high-paying clients every month.

And safe to say it works.

(It's how he landed $9,600/month worth of ghostwriting deals in just 1 week!)

Want to follow the same FREE blueprint Stefan used to get started?

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post to get instant access.

Making money as a ghostwriter is *about* to get even easier.

Why?

Because LinkedIn is the fastest-growing social media platform in 2026.

And thanks to this Wall Street Journal article, every:

• Founder
• Executive
• Industry leader

Is finally waking up to a harsh truth:

They need to build a personal brand on LinkedIn.

And the WSJ is read by some of the smartest (& wealthiest) people in the world.

But they don't have the time to write.

So, they need someone like you ghostwriting for them.

It doesn't matter what niche they're in.
LinkedIn has over 1 billion users.
Their niche is here.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is:

"Do you have the skills to capitalize on this trend before it's gone?"

Luckily, I put together a 5-day blueprint to teach you how to:

• Charge premium prices
• Create your irresistible offer
• Find your lucrative ghostwriting niche
• Land new, high-paying clients every month

In other words...

Everything you need to get started in the next 5 days!

Want to start landing high-paying clients as a ghostwriter?

Click here to get instant access to my proven blueprint (for FREE): https://lnkd.in/gsKZbtwK

My college writing professor told me I'd never make $1M as a writer.

And I believed him!

Until I learned about Neil Strauss.

He's a New York Times best-selling author who ghostwrote for:

• Kevin Hart
• Rick Rubin
• Mötley Crüe

And his net worth is over $4,000,000.

Here's his story (with 1 huge lesson for writers everywhere):

Neil started in journalism:

• He got his start at The Village Voice
• Then landed a column at The New York Times
• Then became a contributing editor at Rolling Stone

It was here he wrote a major cover on Marilyn Manson.

This created a new (and overlooked) opportunity for Strauss—ghostwriting books for world-famous celebrities.

Over the years, he co-wrote these bestsellers:

• "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell" for Manson
• "I Can’t Make This Up" for Kevin Hart
• "The Dirt" for Mötley Crüe

Meanwhile, the journalism industry collapsed.

But Neil used ghostwriting to master:

• Storytelling frameworks that hook readers
• New skills no journalism job could offer
• How to structure New York Times bestselling books

And more.

In 2005, Strauss used his skills to write his next book:

"The Game."

This book about pickup artists became a New York Times bestseller.

Today, Strauss ranks among the highest-paid ghostwriters in the world.

You've probably read his latest work: 

Rick Rubin's "The Creative Act." 

And top ghostwriters like Strauss earn between $250,000 and $2,000,000 per book.

So here's the big takeaway for writers:

Strauss used ghostwriting to master the skills he needed to create his own successful writing career.

And for writers today, ghostwriting makes more sense than ever:

• Most companies need content
• Most founders want personal brands
• Most experts have wisdom but no time to write

And it's how I went from minimum wage to $20,000/month in just 60 days.

It's how I generated my first $3M as a writer.

Ghostwriting is the fastest way to make money on LinkedIn.

I wrote a free, 5-day email course showing you how.

Get instant access here: https://lnkd.in/dj7GjXbu

I'm a pro writer.

Over the last 10 years, I have:

• Written 1 novel
• 10 non-fiction books
• 2,000+ thought-leadership articles

And more.

All this taught me 1 very important lesson:

Great writing doesn't come from "natural-born talent."

It comes from simple, repeatable techniques.

Use these 6 tiny (but powerful) tips to write great sentences:

1. Make the last word the most impactful

Here's an example:

"Do you know who the president is?"

This is a weak sentence because it ends with an insignificant word (is).

A more powerful sentence would be:

"Do you know the name of the president?"

2. Be economical with your words

Here's an example:

"Seven ways you can start to make more money your first year out of college by starting to write online."

This sentence has a lot of inefficiencies.

Multiple words are saying the same thing.

A more economical version would be:

"Seven ways to make money writing online as a new college graduate."

Same message, half the time.

3. Vary repeated words

You can repeat an idea without sounding repetitive by changing the word.

Here's an example:

"We pulled into the parking lot of the ice arena. I said it's been forever since I stepped foot in an ice arena."

You're saying "ice arena" twice.

Which sounds redundant.

A better version would be:

"We pulled into the parking lot of the ice arena. I said it's been forever since I stepped foot in a rink."

Just by changing the word, it immediately sounds stronger.

4. Only use one advanced word per sentence

Most people read at a 4th grade reading level.

So, when you're using a word most people don't know, it feels like a fun challenge.

But if every word is advanced, your writing becomes unreadable.

Here's an example:

"With all those weird clothes on, he looked crazy, like he'd lost his mind."

You can make this more interesting by swapping out one word:

"With all those weird clothes on, he looked preposterous."

Just like that, your writing is more fun & engaging.

(Without being inaccessible.)

5. Two comma max per sentence

Most sentences should only have a maximum of two commas.

The "valley of death" is when a sentence has three to six commas.

Anything above two means you're rambling.

And you (probably) don't know what you're actually trying to say.

6. Cut the adverbs

Hemingway always adverbs "lazy writing."

Now, using an adverb here or there is perfectly fine.

The problem?

Using too many.

Because the function of an adverb is usually saying the same thing you're already saying, just "more" or "a little bit better."

So, your writing would be much cleaner (and more succinct) without them.

—
📌 Want more actionable tactics to:

• Become a prolific writer?
• Build a LinkedIn audience?
• Unlock endless opportunities online?

I put together a FREE crash course with everything you need to start writing online.

Click here to get started: https://lnkd.in/dNP8EqHW

It's just hours. 

And I hate to tell you this:

But anything you want in life, unless constrained by biology, is a fixed number of hours away. 

The problem is:

1. The number is unknown

2. And it's usually much higher than you want it to be

But when you start tackling tasks to reach your goal, you face a new set of problems:

The tasks aren't hard, they're just tedious.

The tasks don't take "hours," they take minutes (if not seconds). 

The tasks aren't confusing, they just require you to think for 1 whole minute.

So, stop distracting yourself, focus, and get to work.

By the way, I got PAID to practice my writing for hours on end as a ghostwriter.

Ghostwriting is a lucrative writing career:

• Land high-paying clients
• Get paid to practice your craft
• Build your network with industry leaders

Get started with this free, 5-day email course: https://lnkd.in/drEfA42H

In 2025, my 100% remote company hit $8,000,000.

But in 2026, we have a bigger goal:

To hit $1,000,000 for 3 consecutive months.

And I'm always asked how to create a championship-winning culture.

Here are 7 ways:

1. Create custom emojis, each one tied to a different company core value.

We use these emojis in Slack to reinforce positive attributes people exemplify on the team. 

2. Full team all-hands 1x per month.

In these meetings we:

• Share high-level priorities
• Recap past month's performance across all departments
• Leave time for team members to give "shout outs" to other team members

These "shout outs" are for, again, embodying 1 of our core values as a company (public reinforcement).

3. Transparency around numbers.

On our all-hands, we share the total business revenue and revenue by vertical.

We also share overhead costs & ad spend.

This allows us to celebrate new department or company-wide revenue milestones together.

This fosters a culture of realizing "money doesn't grow on trees" and that each person needs to perform for the biz to be healthy.

4. Default no meetings.

Departments can decide how often they want to meet, otherwise:

• First, clear culture of communicating with clearly written Slack text
• Second, Loom video communication
• Third, live calls (as needed)

5. Give team members access to different department's Slack channels.

So even if they're not involved, they can follow along and see what other people are working on.

6. In-person event once per year.

This was easier when the team was smaller (<10 people).

Harder now with 30+ people, but 1x per year we try to get everyone together in-person for a 2-3 day event.

We don't do any "digital happy hours" or have a "memes channel" in Slack.

Not that these things are bad or anything, I've just found these types of things don't actually make people fulfilled.

7. Flexible working

• We give people unlimited vacation/sick days (within reason)
• We're understanding if someone with kids needs to log off early for the day

The only metric we care about is that people get their work done, and do it at a world-class level.

📌 People just care about 3 things:

• Doing great work
• Acquiring new skills & self-improvement
• Having the freedom to live their own lives

And the easiest way to unlock these for yourself?

Start ghostwriting.

As a ghostwriter, I hit $20,000/mo while only working for a handful of clients. None of them cared if I only spent 20 hours working per week.

And right now, ghostwriting is the easiest way to make money on LinkedIn.

But only IF you have a proven blueprint to land high-paying clients.

I share this inside my free, 5-day email course on Premium Ghostwriting.

Click here to get instant access: https://lnkd.in/dDped8XA

I don't believe I was born a talented writer.

But that didn't stop me from writing:

• 11 non-fiction books
• My 1st fiction novel
• 3,000+ ghostwritten articles

Instead, my superpower is my work ethic.

I know how to practice.

More importantly, I know how to:

• Isolate a skill to improve
• Create constraints to ease output
• Stay consistent despite wanting to quit

Put simply, I’ve learned how to love monotony and trust the process.

And a skill I want to improve significantly in 2026 is writing fiction.

But that’s actually not "just" one skill.

It's a collection of different skills.

Some that come to mind are:

• Story Seed: The “elevator pitch” and premise of the story
• Outlining: The beat-by-beat arc of the story
• Worldbuilding: The world in which the story is set
• Character Development: The main characters of the story
• Pacing: The story’s rate of revelation
• Narrative Voice: The tone and style of the narrator
• Word Choice: The nuances of the story’s literary style

So, I built an exercise to help myself (and other aspiring fiction writers) practice writing story seeds.

Plus, I also built an AI Prompt to help myself learn this skill 10x faster.

Want access?

Join my paid newsletter Commercial Fiction Club.

It's where I'm documenting my entire journey from $0 to $1,000,000 as a fiction writer.

Join Commercial Fiction Club here: https://lnkd.in/dnC3Qdmj

I also walk through this exercise on my YouTube channel.

Just search for "How To Practice Writing Fiction (And Write Stories With AI)" on YouTube to check it out.

I'm a ghostwriter.

And I have written for:

• Crypto billionaires
• Silicon Valley founders
• New York Times best-selling authors

And 300+ other industry leaders.

There was 1 writing skill that allowed me to work with so many experts (and generate $3M+ in the process):

Client Voice-Matching.

So many of my clients were terrified I wouldn't be able to write (or sound) like them.

But I quickly discovered that nobody's voice is "special."

It's just a handful of variables.

And once you learn how to assemble a client's voice, you can ghostwrite anything for anyone:

• No endless revisions
• No awkward feedback calls
• No "this doesn't sound like me" red pen all over your drafts

Which means you can confidently write for high-paying clients, delight them, and then get referrals from their network.

This writing skill will help you make more money as a writer.

And I'm going to show you how on next Tuesday's free, live Masterclass:

How To Ghostwrite Anything For Anyone: 5 Client Voice Archetypes.

Register for free in the LinkedIn event:

Uta Bellin, Graham Chalfant and 5 other connections attending

View event: How To Ghostwrite Anything For Anyone: 5 Client Voice Archetypes

How To Ghostwrite Anything For Anyone: 5 Client Voice Archetypes

I feel better at 35 than I did at 25.

Here's what I changed:

• Prioritized sleep & health > money 
• Stopped chasing short-term revenue
• Only invested in compounding skills/vehicles
• Non-negotiable gym session 4 days per week

These ALSO made me more money too.

So, I'm going to conntinue to optimize for the long game.

Because I don't need to be the most successful creator/writer in any given week/month/year.

I can "win" simply by playing the game the longest.

And that's what I love so much about writing.

It's a game:

• I can play solo
• I can play until I'm dead
• That only requires a laptop
• That benefits from age/time
• That combines art & business

If you aren't already writing online, highly recommend getting started.

📌 And if you need some help, I put together a FREE crash course with everything you need to:

• Go viral with ease on LinkedIn
• Generate endless content ideas
• Build a massive audience on this platform

In JUST 5 days.

Click here to get started (for free!): https://lnkd.in/d7D56jj2

Only a few hours left to grab your ticket for tomorrow's Masterclass!

In this free live session, I'll cover:

🗣️ The 5 Archetypes of Client Voices

This is how you spot your client's voice profile before they even know it themselves—giving you the edge to deliver drafts that sound exactly like them.

✍️ Little-known writing tricks to nail the client's voice the first time

Don’t get bogged down with endless client edits (I'll show you the exact techniques I used at my $3m ghostwriting agency).

🎙️ How to work from recorded calls and transcripts to extract your client's best insights

Turn raw conversation into polished, high-quality content they can’t wait to share (I call this my “Transcript-To-Gold System”).

And tons more!

This is everything you need to write for ANY ghostwriting client—so you can land higher-paying clients and build a reputation that brings clients to you on autopilot.

Get your ticket (for free!) below:

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Christopher Lochhead🏴‍☠️'s LinkedIn Performance

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