#122 Jumping Into June With Personal Growth Gems

Welcoming you back with sky-high vibes.

My bachelor party is coming up soon, and I am jacked up. Been thinking a lot about my wedding, obviously. About the future. Which, of course, gets me thinking about the past. About previous major moments in my life.

One being, the birth of OTF.

It began when I was living in LA, almost three years ago. I planned out content sections, came up with a basic layout, brainstormed concepts for a logo. Then I emailed Prof Mike, which led to 1-on-1 via Zoom, which led to the longest email I’ve ever received in my life (S/O Prof Mike for all that feedback!). We went back-and-forth a bunch over the next couple of months before OTF finally launched on January 24th, 2023.

We had 34 people join in the first week. 99% was family and friends. Mad love to the 34 OG’s!

Since then:

• I immediately began to revise / delete sections and add new sections, constantly reassessing the product to ensure continued improvement.

• I started posting on LinkedIn, got recommended by other newsletters, and we started to grow.

• By our 1-year anniversary, we had over 1,000 subscribers.

• In April of 2024, we rebranded. New colors, new logo, new email header, same commitment to quality.

• That May, I moved from CA back east, which was another major life decision for my fiancée and me. Despite the craziness, though, we’ve still never missed a post!

• Summer 2024 came, we reached 2,000 subscribers. Steady growth.

• At the end of that summer, we reorganized, deciding to give each of four monthly editions its own central focus: Growth, Productivity, Money, BONUS.

• End of 2024, the decision was made to accept sponsorships and place ads, partnering with MorningBrew, Nike, Superhuman, and many more.

• Most recently, Prof Mike decided to come out from behind-the-scenes to bring his persuasive / communicative wisdom front and center, and we launched our first ever interview for our Behind the Grind series.

• As of today, we’ve surpassed 3,750+ subscribers, written 122 editions, and continue to grow and improve in every way possible.

I wanted to share this timeline with you because it’s been a GRIND. Not gonna lie. However, it’s been amazing being able to work towards something every single week for as long as we’ve been going. It’s helped me grow more than words can describe.

Which brings me to the point, in the form of a question: What’s your OTF? What’s your project or passion that you can work towards every week? Something tangible. Something that helps you grow and improve. Something that you can look back on one day and say, “Damn, I’m glad I tried that.”

I guess that’s the point. Just go do the thing.

Let’s get after it.

KickStarting June With…

ELEVATING YOUR BRAND 📈 

• Content for Your Commute That’s Focused on Focus

• Say It Better: Do You Have a Minute to Analyze A Common Question?

• OTF Trivia: Classics That Still Bring It

FATTENING YOUR WALLET 💰️ 

• The Search Bar: Trending Topics, Active Investments, Rising Apps

BOOSTING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY 🚀 

• June’s 2-DO LIST: Planting the Seeds of Growth

THE SEARCH BAR 🔎

What’s Trending Heading into June 2025

• Exploding Topics (May 2025) - if you haven’t taken a self-guided tour of the sight yet,I highly recommend it. So much good info, including the Top Trending Topics of May 2025!

• Most Active Stocks (as of 6/1 at 11:15am) - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am not a financial professional, and this is not investment advice. That said, I’m obsessed with learning about this stuff and love sharing useful info, so I wanna start to incorporate trending investment data in this section. So here you go, the Top 15 most active stocks on the market as of writing this:

(You can also sort by top gainers and several other filters. Good stuff from Yahoo.)

• Top Trending PRODUCTIVITY Apps - When OTF switched to this new monthly layout, with separate Growth / Productivity / Money editions, I had second thoughts about using the Productivity label on an edition that was mostly about AI. But after seeing this, well...I guess most people equate productivity with AI these days:

For more app insights, click here.

CONTENT FOR YOUR COMMUTE 🚶🚆 ✈️ 

• ON FOOT: If the goal is to be more productive, why not go to “the world’s most followed productivity expert” for advice? Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal has over 180 episodes packed with gems, covering everything from true fulfillment to “How to Stay Focused and Beat Distractions.”

• TRAIN TIME: A key obstacle to productivity is putting things off. We all do it, and it’s terrible at times, right? Not so fast! Pass the time station to station with a classic essay that asserts the problem isn’t procrastination; it’s that you’re doing it wrong.

• FIRST CLASS: The unintentional theme of this section this month turned out to be focus, so why not bring it all together with a “25 Best Productivity Books for 2025” list that I just happened to stumble upon. Here’s a very fitting Top 3:

🔥OTF-TRIVIA🔥 

The world today is all about content. There are countless creators out there making all sorts of incredible sh!t, and yet, how many of them will withstand the test of time? Because the four books below have done that and then some!

But who’s still hitting the hardest in 2025? Try your luck to find out:

Click your choice, and it will show the correct answer in a new tab!

SAY IT BETTER 💯 

_{*This section is designed to help you sharpen your communication skills to make a stronger impact in your personal or professional life. Because when you say it better, you sell it better.} 

The other day, I needed to check in with a coworker on something that had slipped through the cracks. I sent them a quick Teams message: “Hey, do you have a minute to discuss X,Y, and Z?”

They responded right away: “Sure — What’s up?”

Totally normal exchange, right? Polite. Efficient. Effective.

But for some reason, even after we wrapped up the convo, I kept thinking about that first message I sent. Not because anything went wrong, but because now I can’t help but ask myself: Could I have said that better?

I decided that, yes, I could have, but I wasn’t sure what a better alternative was. So instead of hitting up Prof Mike, I did what I sometimes do when I have a question and asked ChatGPT. Here’s what it gave me:

“Do You Have a Minute?”

• Common and polite, but it subtly assumes the other person’s availability.

• Puts the burden on them to say no, which some people won’t do (even when they’re swamped).

• Can create pressure, even unintentionally, especially if the person feels obligated to reply quickly.

“Is Now a Bad Time?”

• Slightly more thoughtful framing.

• Opens the door for the other person to set boundaries without guilt.

• Signals that you’re aware they might be busy — and that you respect their time.

What say you, Prof Mike?

Look, I understand the bot’s analysis, but it lacks context. What is your relationship with the colleague you’re interacting with? What is the tone of those interactions? And last but not least, what else is said in the message in question?

Looking back at your original message - “Hey, do you have a minute to discuss X,Y, and Z” - I see zero issue with what you wrote.

• The casual “hey” implies a close relationship and/or a peer-ship based on age, position, etc. It’s friendly and un-serious, which keeps the tone of the entire message light.

• It’s still a true question that your counterpart could say no to, whereas something like “when you get the chance, we really need to talk about…” is much more assertive and pressure-inducing.

Looking at the bot’s alternative…

• Why use a negative word like “bad” if we don’t have to?

• What does the rest of that message look like? “Hey, is now a bad time to discuss X, Y, and Z?” I guess that’s fine, but the tone isn’t as casual in my opinion.

Totally respect your willingness to analyze what you say in search of better phrasing, but in this particular case, colleague-to-colleague, both seem equally effective. (And I’m certain other variations would do just as well.) It all depends on your relationship with the person and the precedent you’ve established in previous interactions.

Now: if you were a salesman trying to persuade a potential customer, that’s a different story for a different edition…

2-DO LIST 💡 

JUNE 2025

1. Start a New Project - Both this edition and the month of June in general are all about Growth. So whether you’re growing a business, a resume, or yourself, start something new that will accelerate that push forward. If you’ve been trying to develop a new skill, put that skill to the test; if you’re looking for career advancement, volunteer for a new project and responsibility.
   

2. Add A Plant to the Household - Really driving home this idea of growth 🤣 - apparently 66% of American households have plants. Solid, but we think it should be more, especially when you consider the connections between household plants and mental health. 

Before You Go!

Thanks again for joining us! Next week, we’ll be back with June’s Productivity Issue, featuring Working With AI, Expert Advice, and much more!

If you happened to miss last week’s edition and want to check out our first-ever Behind the Grind interview, check it out here. It features a finance professional with three kids and covers topics like investment advice, pushing through burnout, defining a “rich life,” and much more.

Last Week’s Poll Results:

When learning from peers, what lessons are most valuable to you? (3,761 subscribers)

• How They Overcame Similar Obstacles

• Their Expertise in Areas I Don't Know Well

• Hacks / Habits / Routine Tips (33%)

• All Of It - Any Unique Perspective is Valuable (67%)

As always, see you next Tuesday 🤝 

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