#004 | Read Online By Matt Doan · July 5, 2025 · 3 min read The Happiness Decision 7:30 AM. James sat in his home office, second cup of coffee in hand. His eyes glazed over. He stared blankly at the next slide deck on his screen—a presentation he had to critique and send back to his team. It wasn’t the task itself. It was the endless repetition. The constant urgency. The sinking feeling that none of it truly mattered. The relentless corporate carnival played on: a flood of pings and dings...
12 days ago • 3 min read
#003 | Read Online By Matt Doan · June 28, 2025 · 3 min read Let Fear Light the Way “You need to leave this marriage.” Those words landed like a thunderclap in my therapist’s office. I remember sitting there, stunned, a thousand thoughts crashing through my mind. Three kids—how could I possibly walk away and miss the majority of their childhood? The weight of that decision felt crushing. I never imagined I’d be the person contemplating this, yet here I was, grappling with a truth I couldn’t...
19 days ago • 4 min read
#002 | Read Online By Matt Doan · June 21, 2025 · 3 min read The Two Selves Gap 2,000 people. Spotlights, panels, applause. It was a massive cybersecurity conference in Dallas. I was dressed sharp. Confident. Mic’d up on stage, saying all the right things. To anyone watching, I was “on.” Articulate. Poised. Respected. But inside? I felt numb. I had delivered those lines a hundred times before. And in that moment, they felt dead—like I was cosplaying a version of myself that once made sense,...
26 days ago • 4 min read
#001 | Read Online By Matt Doan · June 14, 2025 · 3 min read The Forgotten Phase of Leaving Corporate Most people assume that leaving corporate is a moment. A decision. A resignation letter. A dramatic pivot. A number in their bank account. But the truth? It’s rarely a clean break. It’s a phase. A process. A slow unwinding of one identity… and a gradual construction of another. I call it the Gray Space. You’re not fully in, not fully out. You still show up to meetings. You still collect the...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Read this (+ previous posts) online Issue #190 Read time: 3 minutes We’ve been trained to believe freedom comes decades from now. But that’s only true if you keep playing by traditional rules. Here’s how to accelerate what actually matters — starting now. The Secret You want freedom. But not the kind they sell you on Instagram. You want to wake up energized — clear on what you’re building and why it matters. You want to be present with your family without guilt or distraction. You want work...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Read this (+ previous posts) online Issue #189 Read time: 3 minutes Most aren’t lazy — they’re living a life designed by default. This is a wake-up call to trade passive survival for active authorship. BTW, big announcement coming next week. Stand by! The Secret Most people don’t realize they’re living a passive life. They’re not lazy. They’re just trapped in a system that rewards unconscious participation. One that tells them: plug in, stay busy, wait for freedom. So they follow the script —...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Read this (+ previous posts) online Issue #188 Read time: 2 minutes The ground is shifting under all of us. Most cling harder. The wise seek higher ground. The Secret Flint, Michigan. 1983. The factory line was humming — but something felt off. It wasn’t just the rhythm of the machines. It was the silence of the workers. This was the new automotive manufacturing. Where for decades, skilled hands had built American muscle with pride. Now, metallic arms were rising beside them — assembling with...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Read this (+ previous posts) online Issue #187 Read time: 2 minutes So many people feel stuck right now — not because they lack options, but because they’re holding onto too much. This week's essay is about the one move that quietly changes everything: letting go. The Secret Everyone says they want change. A new chapter. More freedom. A better financial situation. Time back with family. Space to breathe, think, live. But here's what usually happens instead. They cling. To the paycheck. To the...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Read this (+ previous posts) online Issue #186 Read time: 3 minutes Everyone’s hunting for the right strategy. This week’s memo unpacks why it’s who you are — not how you build — that determines your freedom. The Secret You want to create something new beyond corporate life. Maybe you’re exploring a business — coaching, consulting, advisory work. Maybe you’ve looked into buying a franchise or dabbled in real estate. Maybe you’re just itching to build something of your own. And the truth is,...
2 months ago • 4 min read