For the last generation, fortunes were made by capital. The Warren Buffets of the world. But the new generation’s fortunes are all made through code or media.
''Code and media are permissionless leverage. They’re the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep.''
- Naval RavikantJoe Rogan earns $60M-$100M a year from his podcast. Mr. Beast generates $500M-$700M annually through YouTube. Dan Koe and Justin Welsh make 7 figures per year writing online. Their wealth is built through media-based leverage.
Then there are Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, who built their wealth through code-based leverage. Markus ‘Notch’ Persson coded Minecraft, which he later sold to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in September 2014.
If you want to thrive in a future full of uncertainty and robots replacing people here and there, master code or media. Or build a team to take advantage of both.
''If you can’t code, write books and blogs, record videos and podcasts.''
- Naval RavikantCoding was too complex for me to learn, and I didn’t have the capital to invest in building a software company.
Media looked more accessible. It’s about building a brand (anonymous or eponymous) and productizing yourself. But I couldn’t afford to hire a team to grow my media presence.
I had to learn media myself.
Why Writing?
The deeper I got into media, the clearer something became:
The foundation of media is writing.
Most people think you need to create video content to succeed in media.
You don’t.
I made my first $10,000 online running a video-based agency without:
- Recording videos.
- Showing my face on camera.
All I had was:
- An Instagram account to share text-based content.
- A landing page to showcase my work and persuade business owners that short-form content is critical for growing their business revenue (no VSL, only writing).
- An outreach strategy. I was sending 20-30 Instagram DMs a day to random business owners, podcasts, and brands. I offered to edit free videos for them and asked them to explore my work on my website if they were interested.
I signed my first client for $700 in 30 days. No video content. Just persuasive writing through DMs, content, and a landing page.
Even though video dominates the internet, you don’t need it to start. You don’t need it to build a profitable online business, quit your 9-5, and take control of your life.
What you do need is clarity, persuasion, and persistence. Writing gave me all three. And as your writing improves, creating video content later becomes easier.
For example, I can turn my newsletters into YouTube scripts in minutes because they’re already structured to perform well.
If you’re hesitating to start because you think you need to be on camera, don’t. Learn to write first, then learn to apply that writing to your videos for ultimate leverage.
Again, Why Writing?
Writing equipped me with the necessary skills and knowledge to do anything.
If I want to start a new business, I can scale it quickly. I know how to reach out to people and persuade them to work with me. I know how to write persuasive content for ads. I know how to create landing pages that convert. I know how to write emails that engage.
Writing gave me a life where I control all my 5 W’s:
- What I do.
- When I do it.
- Where I do it.
- Who I do it with.
- Without having to report to anyone.
You can achieve the same results if you learn to write.
Here’s everything you need to become a better writer, so you can leverage your writing for anything – landing pages, content, outreach, sales presentations, public speaking, conversations, and more:
How to Become a Better Writer
If you want to become a better writer, you need to:
- Read more
- Write more
That’s it.
You can stop reading this letter now and come back next week.
Nah, I’m joking. Let’s dive in…
1. Read More
''If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.''
- Stephen KingThe best way to learn is by consuming long-form content. Watching podcasts or reading articles is great, but books truly test your attention span.
If you can’t read 10–20 pages a day, it’s a sign your focus needs work.
If you can’t read this newsletter, it’s a sign your focus needs work.
(or my writing needs work lol)
Anyway.
If you want to become a better writer, you need to read (a lot).
1) Stop Skimming, Start Consuming
Our shrinking attention spans cause us to consume a lot of one-page content instead of diving into a few hundred pages. We prefer watching 10–20 second TikToks instead of investing time in 1–2 hour audiobooks or podcasts.
Think of it like digging for underground water. What do you get after digging 1 cm? Nothing. Even at 1 foot, you still won’t find water. But once you dig 10 feet or more in the right spot, you might strike gold.
Books work the same way. Reading 1–2 pages won’t reveal high signal ideas. But immersing yourself in a good book can uncover an endless spring of valuable knowledge and ideas.
2) Read Like You Get Paid to Do It
The more you read, the more likely you are to be successful.
- Warren Buffet reads 500 pages every day.
- Bill Gates reads 50 books a year.
Stop binging Netflix.
If you want to become a better writer, you need to read as much as you can.
If you want to become a better entrepreneur, you need to read as much as you can.
Reading trains your brain to think like a writer and helps you recognize what makes writing effective. Study the material. Break down why you like it. Analyze why certain techniques or concepts work so well.
And don’t limit yourself to one genre. I love business books, but I also read about philosophy and cosmology. Exploring different genres teaches you new writing styles and fills your mind with fresh perspectives and ideas you can apply to your own work.
''Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read!''
- William Faulkner3) Document What You Learn
If there’s one thing more important than reading itself, it’s documenting what you learn. You could read a 400-page book in a week, but what stuck with you? What shifted your perspective? What made you rethink life?
You need to document. Here’s how I do it:
- I keep a pen next to me when reading (always).
- Whenever something captures my attention (a high-signal idea), I put brackets around it.
- When I finish reading I take pictures of those ideas.
- Then I upload it to Notion in my knowledge database.
When you document learnings, you create a personal repository of insights to revisit and apply.
2. Write More
Reading is powerful, but without application, it’s powerless.
Writing things down and sharing them publicly is critical to becoming a better writer.
Here’s what you do:
1) Understand Good Writing
To become a better writer, you need to know what good writing is.
Here’s 80% of what you need to know about good writing:
''I went from being a bad writer to a good writer after taking a one-day course in “business writing.” I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I’ll tell you the main tricks here so you don’t have to waste a day in class.
Business writing is about clarity and persuasion. The main technique is keeping things simple. Simple writing is persuasive. A good argument in five sentences will sway more people than a brilliant argument in a hundred sentences. Don’t fight it.
Simple means getting rid of extra words. Don’t write, “He was very happy” when you can write “He was happy.” You think the word “very” adds something. It doesn’t. Prune your sentences.
Humor writing is a lot like business writing. It needs to be simple. The main difference is in the choice of words. For humor, don’t say “drink” when you can say “swill.”
Your first sentence needs to grab the reader. Go back and read my first sentence to this post. I rewrote it a dozen times. It makes you curious. That’s the key.
Write short sentences. Avoid putting multiple thoughts in one sentence. Readers aren’t as smart as you’d think.
Learn how brains organize ideas. Readers comprehend “the boy hit the ball” quicker than “the ball was hit by the boy.” Both sentences mean the same, but it’s easier to imagine the object (the boy) before the action (the hitting). All brains work that way. (Notice I didn’t say, “That is the way all brains work”?)
That’s it. You just learned 80% of the rules of good writing. You’re welcome.''
- The Dilbert Blog by Scott AdamsI always reflect on that piece of wisdom when writing. It reminds me of what good writing is.
Just to be clear, I’m not a great writer. I see myself as someone who knows the fundamentals and applies them consistently. I read daily, write daily, journal daily, and post content daily.
That doesn’t make me a great writer, but it does make me a better one. Because I focus on progress, not perfection. And when you focus on progress, not perfection, magic happens.
2) Build Your Writing Muscle (In Private)
Practice your writing daily. It’s a muscle and skill you can build over time. There’s a reason why we were forced to write essays in school. Those are great exercises.
Set aside 30 minutes each day. Take any topic, or idea, and write 1-2 pages. Try to rewrite an article from your perspective. Try to summarize a book you have read. Try to write a case study form high-performing individual in your niche. Try to describe a phenomenon you found curious.
''The more you write, the easier it will become. Writing is not only a process of improving your skills as a professional writer, but also your skills as a creative person. When you look back a year later, you will be blown away by how much you have improved.''
- Kirsten TrammellThese pages of thoughts will serve as your content engine. It will provide ideas you can repurpose for short and long form content to grow your personal brand.
3) Test Your Writing Ability (In Public)
After building your writing muscle in private, it’s time to test it in public.
The best way? Start a personal brand. It doesn’t matter if you choose an anonymous or eponymous personal brand. Your goal is to start writing online and share your ideas with others.
This way your writing gains leverage. You connect with people who might love your work and provide valuable feedback. You can use that feedback to optimize your ideas and turn them into a product or service (so you can make money writing about what you love).
Pick one text-based platform (Threads, X, or LinkedIn) and start writing. Learn what makes posts go viral. Study hooks, structures, opening lines, and apply your ideas to those strategies.
If you can’t find your niche but want to start writing, check out this article. It has everything you need to get started.
3. Make both a habit
Write something every day. Read something every day. Journal every day. Post on social media every day. Think of it like going to the gym. Can you expect to grow muscles after one workout? Of course not. But after six months of consistent repetition? Hell yeah.
The more you do something, the less effort and discipline it takes. The first few days at the gym are tough. You need willpower to push through. But if you stick with it long enough, it becomes a habit. Over time, it stops feeling like work and starts to feel like play.
You might’ve heard it takes 21 days to form a habit. I thought the same thing, but I was wrong. Research from University College London found it takes 66 days to form a habit.
So, don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. Don’t call yourself a failure. Don’t think you’re not cut out for this.
You’ve got this.
Show up, and over time, what feels hard today will become effortless tomorrow. Trust the process, have the willpower, and remind yourself:
66 days.
66 days of effort to become a better writer.
Thank you for reading!
J
