Founder of 1% Better™ | Former accountant, future author | Follow me for the best self-development content on LinkedIn

Former accountant.
Future author.

I share actionable, educational, and entertaining self-development content to help my readers live their best lives.

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Colby Kultgen

A few weeks ago, I caught myself thinking "wow, that was a really good presentation" about someone I work with.

And then I just...didn't say anything.

I've been noticing that this happens pretty often. 

I'll think something genuinely kind about someone, yet I just keep it to myself. 

Why is that?

I think it's because saying something nice to someone feels a bit exposed. There's this tiny moment of vulnerability between the compliment leaving your mouth and their reaction. 

What if it comes off wrong? 
What if they don't take it the way I meant it? 

So we say nothing. 

We let a 0.001% chance of awkwardness win over a near-certainty of making someone's day.

To be honest, I think most of us are walking around with a backlog of unspoken kind words. Compliments we thought but didn't give. Gratitude we felt but didn't express.

So I don't know about you, but I'm embracing the Tell Them Theory.

No more keeping the good stuff to myself.

A reframe that changed my life:

Failure = Data.

Every time you try something (win or lose), you get valuable feedback.
A real-time report on what works—and what doesn’t.

Personally, I let the fear of failure hold me back for wayyy too long.

I would overthink. Overplan. Overperfect. Then never actually do anything.

But then one day I realized something:
The information I needed was in the reps I was avoiding.

The lessons weren't in the planning. They were in the doing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not out here actively seeking failure. But I understand now that it's an unavoidable part of the process. And if it's going to happen anyway, I might as well squeeze every lesson out of it.

So now, after every failure, I ask myself 3 questions:

1. What went wrong? (Be specific.)
2. What decision or action led to that outcome?
3. What can I do differently next time?

That's it. No spiral. No shame. Just data.

Fail forward.

———
image credit: valuethemind on IG

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

Rejection can be terrifying.

So why, when someone frames it like this, does it suddenly not seem so scary anymore?

Here's what I've realized: 

We're not scared of the rejection itself. We're scared of the uncertainty.

It's not the volume of "nos" we can't handle—it's not knowing if the next one will be the "yes".

That's why I find this so interesting.

If you KNEW you were guaranteed success after 100 rejections, you'd be hunting them down. 

You'd be applying to everything, pitching everyone, practically begging people to say no because each one gets you closer.

And the funny part is that in reality, it usually takes WAY less than 100.

Most breakthroughs happen at like rejection #8 or #15. But people quit at #3 because they can't bear the uncertainty. 

So here's the trick: Just pretend you know it's coming. 

Treat every rejection like you're counting down to something guaranteed. Because honestly? If you keep going, you kind of are. 

It's basically tricking yourself into success by removing the thing that was going to stop you anyway—the fear that it might not work.

Hot take:

"Be grateful" is terrible advice.

Not because gratitude isn't powerful (it is).

But because this "advice" almost never comes with practical ways of actually doing it.

We've all heard the “write 3 things down in a journal” advice, but for me it's always felt a bit forced.

And besides, why would we expect one method to work for everyone?

That’s why I gave myself a mission:

Come up with a handful of gratitude practices that don’t involve writing in a journal (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Here's what I came up with:

1. Look for glimmers
Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. They're those tiny moments in your day that make you feel joy, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to spot them, they start appearing everywhere.

2. Snap a joy photo
Take one picture per day of something that brought you joy. A cup of coffee, a funny street sign, the way the sunlight hits your desk. Not for social media, just for you.

3. The "Tell Them" Theory (h/t Vex King)
When someone does something you appreciate, actually tell them. Doesn't have to be profound. Just: "I'm glad you're in my life" or "Thanks for always making me laugh."

4. Practice future nostalgia
Throughout your day, pause and ask: "Will I miss this moment someday?" Your current morning routine, the commute you complain about, even your kid's phase of asking "why?" fifty times a day.

Which of these resonates with you?

Let me know your favorite ways to practice gratitude.

The 8 most dangerous words in the English language:

“I’ll do it when work gets less busy.”

I’ve caught myself saying this more times than I can count.

Trying to convince myself that one day everything will settle down. That I’ll finally have time for the trip, the hobby, the experiences I keep putting off.

But that’s just not how life works.

The reality is, you have to make time for those things. Otherwise, work will quietly take over your entire schedule.

It’s Parkinson’s Law in action:
​“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”

I’ve noticed this in my own life.

When I schedule work first, it expands to consume everything.

But when I schedule something meaningful first, the opposite happens. Work compresses to fit around it.

We’ve even seen this play out at scale with the four-day workweek experiments. Companies reduced working hours, yet productivity stayed the same or even improved.

That’s why I’ve started being more intentional about putting meaningful things on the calendar first.

One framework I love comes from my friend Ben Meer, originally popularized by Jesse Itzler:

The 1-6-4 Method.
​
1. Plan 1 big “year-making” event​
Something that defines your year. A marathon. A major trip. A personal challenge. Something that forces you to grow.
​
2. Schedule 6 mini-adventures throughout the year​
Lock in one small, exciting experience every other month.
A camping trip. A concert. A weekend away. Hosting a dinner party. Exploring a new part of your city.
​
3. Implement 4 positive habits, one each quarter​
Add one small habit every three months that improves your life.
Reading daily. Walking more. Waking up earlier. Being more intentional with your time.

♻️ repost this if you found it helpful.

I dealt with negative self-talk for years.

And trust me, it's no fun going through life as your own worst critic.

That’s why I love this GPS reframe.

You don’t need to turn a mistake into a story about yourself.
Just treat it like a missed turn.

Recalculate.
And keep going.

———

P.S. I share 5 ideas like this in my newsletter every Monday: 
percentbetter.com

We're all guilty of doing this (myself included).

Someone cuts us off in traffic, and we're fuming about it for hours.

A coworker sends a passive-aggressive email, and suddenly the whole afternoon feels ruined.

We allow five bad minutes to contaminate our mood for the rest of the day.

The best way I've found to combat this?

​Gretchen Rubin's Four Quarters Technique:

“Split your day into four quarters: morning, midday, afternoon, evening.
​
If you blow one quarter, you don't blow the whole day. You just reset for the next one.
​
Fail small, not big.”

Don't let a bad five minutes ruin a good 24 hours.

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

5 ways to build unshakeable confidence (in work and life):

➊ Do what you say you're going to do
It really is that simple. Set achievable goals for yourself and follow through on them daily. As Alex Hormozi puts it, “You don’t become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror, but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are.”

➋ Don’t play the comparison game
Comparison is the thief of joy and confidence. Define what success means to you, and tune out the noise. Be so busy watering your own grass that you don’t have time to notice if someone else’s is greener.

➌ Learn to say “no”
Saying “no” isn’t selfish, it’s self-respect. Do things because you genuinely want to, not because you feel obligated. The more aligned your choices are, the more confident you become.

➍ Build your body, build your mind
Taking care of your physical and mental health is one of the highest-leverage things you can do. Everything gets easier when you feel strong, capable, and energized.

➎ Surround yourself with people who lift you up
Confidence is contagious. The more you’re around people who believe in themselves, the more it reinforces your belief in yourself. They remind you what’s possible, even on days you forget.

Confidence doesn’t arrive all at once. It’s earned through small, consistent actions that build trust in yourself over time.

DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion.

P.S. I made a list of 25 books everyone should read before they die. 

👉 Link in the comments.

Productivity isn’t just about “getting more done”.

It’s about spending the short amount of time you have on this planet intentionally, rather than losing it to distraction.

♻️ Repost this if you found it helpful.

how to finish 8 hours of work in 4 hours

A few free things online I think everyone should take advantage of.

What did I miss?

free things online everyone should take advantage of

I saw this post and loved it.

Credit to peakperformancewithjulia on IG.

Make sure to save so you can revisit it later.

12 work habits that will transform your 2026

How to rewire your brain to enjoy doing hard things:

How to rewire your brain to enjoy doing hard things

A step-by-step guide to decluttering your mind.

👉 P.S. I spent 100+ hours building a habit tracker—link in the comments.

A step-by-step guide to decluttering your mind

7 skills we should have learned in school but never did

7 addictions you need to break in 2026 to become your best self.

I've been guilty of every one of these.

Awareness is the first step, then you can start to do something about it.

Save this post and send it to someone who needs it.

7 addictions to break in order to become your best self

which of these resonates with you?

Let’s face it...

The modern attention span is cooked.

10-second TikTok videos.
18 tabs open at a time.
7 apps checked before getting out of bed.

This post is designed to help you fight back.

How to build your focus like a muscle

I'm an overthinker.

In fact, right now I'm overthinking what I should write for this caption.

Luckily, over the years I've gotten much better at choosing my overthinking battles.

Which is why today I want to share 7 things that aren't worth your spending your precious mental energy on.

Repost if it resonates!

7 things you're probably overthinking

Hi, I’m Abdussalam 👋🏽
A Web Designer & Webflow Developer helping brands bring bold ideas to life through beautiful, functional websites.

I specialize in building high-converting websites for creative agencies, AI startups, SaaS companies, and entrepreneurs—combining clean design with seamless Webflow development.

With years of experience and a focus on visual storytelling, performance, and responsiveness, I help businesses stand out online and drive real results.

Here’s what you get when we work together:
✔ Custom Website Design tailored to your brand
✔ Full Webflow Development—from scratch or migration
✔ Advanced interactions (GSAP, Finsweet, custom code)
✔ Seamless Webflow CMS integration
✔ Pixel-perfect Figma to Webflow conversion

🔥 Whether you need a full site, landing page, or MVP—I’m here to bring your vision to life. Let’s build something great together.

🎨 Portfolio: www.abdussalampopoola.com
📬 Let’s connect: contact@abdussalampopoola.com

Abdussalam Popoola

My team won the People's Choice Award at the Vercel "Prompt to Production" London Hackathon.🏆

With Caleb & Ethan, we built Personalisable, a tool that lets users customise the look of any website through a chatbot.

The main use case? Accessibility on article pages. Sometimes the content is valuable but the reading experience just isn't great. We wanted to fix that.

We had 2 hours 30 minutes to go from idea to working MVP. Fast, intense, and a lot of fun.

It was really fun seeing what others built, one of my favorite demos was "MyEnglishNameIs" by Diana Deng - helping people from non-english background find meaningful English names. Brilliant concept.

Beyond the demos, the best part of hackathons is always the people. Great to have met and build alongside; Pornpawee Manyuen, Emmanuel Uwak, Renee Russo, Naomi Owolabi, Jess Toudic, Sofiia Matsiutsia and many more.

Huge thanks to Maya Avendaño, John Roche & Olivia Fossali for organising this at the Intercom office. Really grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this experience.

I am learning to treat every hackathon as a learning accelerator — 
new tools, 
new workflows, 
new collaborators. 

It's compressed reps on what it takes to ideate, execute, launch & pitch. The more you do it, the sharper you get.

I'm looking forward to the next Adventure.
See you in the next one!

Abdussalam Popoola

Forward Deployed Engineer, Thrad | CS @ UoC | Design Engineer

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