Do you love the book Deep Work from Cal Newport?
Then you’ll love Cal's high school friend and writing business partner Michael Simmons.
Thought leader and award-winning entrepreneur Michael has built multiple seven-figure businesses. He learned to think clearly and strategically through mental models to boost his productivity.
Michael became famous for the “Five-Hour Rule.” This is when you spend five hours a week learning something new, as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah do. It helps you keep getting smarter.
Michael believes lifelong learning is important
When Michael was 16, he started a business with his friend Cal Newport, now famous for writing the book Deep Work. They didn’t know much about business back then, but Michael realized that you can learn what someone has spent years figuring out for just a few dollars. That’s why Michael loves reading. He read thousands of books across every topic you can think of.
He had his first published article when he was 20, then published a book at 21, and it sold about 10,000 copies.
Later his big ideas were featured in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Time Magazine.
Want to make good decisions and become a more strategic thinker and writer?
What is a mental model?
Mental models are descriptions of reality that apply to every area of our lives, do not become outdated, and deliver immediate results by helping us to make better decisions.
They are like little miniature mental maps that show how a particular area of life works.
And when you learn them, it changes everything.
How to apply a mental model to your life?
Here are two of the seven mental models Michael talks in this week’s interview:
The Explanation Effect: Michael says that when you explain something to someone else, you learn it better yourself. Writing about what you learn helps you understand it more deeply.
Paradigm Shifts: A paradigm is the way we see and understand the world. A paradigm shift happens when you change how you think about something. Michael believes that these big changes in thinking help you grow and see new possibilities.
Michael has his newsletter called
where he shares smart ideas with 133,000 subscribers. He teaches how to think clearly, work better, and make good decisions, all by using mental models.Take action!
Want to become a mental powerhouse?
Michael learned from personal experience that it takes years to develop true mastery of the mental models.
If you want to learn faster, think better, and be smarter, our interview is for you.
Michael says:
learning can change your life!
If you say: Let me listen to the interview!
You can listen to it as Substack podcast and/or watch our interview on YouTube:
⭐Table of Contents
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:50 Who is Michael Simmons
00:03:46 How Michael met Cal Newport
00:06:03 Internal and External Milestones Michael Set for his Career
00:09:11 Michael’s Story Becoming a Writer for Forbes
00:12:28 Does Michael Feel Famous?
00:14:16 How Michael Defines Quality
00:21:26 Does Michael Feel More Healthy Writing on SubStack?
00:23:39 The Time Michael was Broke
00:25:27 How Being a Famous Writer has Helped Michael
00:26:45 How Michael Approaches Learning and its Role in His Life
00:32:59 The Power of Integrative Complexity
00:37:38 How Michael Uses the Explanation Effect
00:42:36 Why Top Performers Work Together vs Alone
00:45:47 How Learning Challenges can Transform Your Life
00:47:19 Creating an Environment that Helps You Learn
00:49:18 Michael’s Opinion on Substack Notes
00:52:16 Pillars of Michael’s Business
00:53:33 Michael’s Opinion on Setting Goals
00:56:30 How Michael Built his Email List from Scratch
00:59:50 Michael’s 80/20 Rule for Writing and Life
01:05:07 Rapid Fire Questions
This month, inside Substack School…
…you can join us LIVE or catch the replays of 3 LIVE workshops, and 1 LIVE session Also, get the opportunity to register for the NOTES Kickstarter Bootcamp with
:
🤑You’ll also have the opportunity to meet Michael Simmons LIVE this fall!
🎉Become a Substack Rockstar and Join 250 Members!
Many don’t know that all premium subscribers get a bit deeper and have access to my “Online Writing School” membership with the Substack School.
Be a part of it and join a lovely and vibrant community of more than 250 writers.
Find an A to your Q, chat with me, watch exclusive tutorial videos with insider tips, grow and make money writing on Substack with clarity, fun, and by doing what you love, writing.
Inside Substack School, I’ll show you the EXACT (baby) steps to use Substack and go from zero to Substack hero.
I’ve grown my email list to over 8,200 subscribers within 21 months.
Became a Substack bestseller with hundreds of paid subscribers, earn $$$$$ with my newsletter - part-time with two kids in the house.
Have 60,000 monthly views and 5,000 podcast downloads.
🔥I’m handing my tactic over to you so you can start putting structure behind your 2024 list-building goals.
✨If I can make your newsletter transformation a little easier, I’m 100% here for it.
🏆As a member, I’ll recommend your Substack to my audience. You can connect with other tribe members (in your niche) and find collab partners. In addition, you can write a guest post in the “Hype Yourself Up Substack Summer” for my newsletter to be seen by more people.
Don’t take it from me, here’s what my paid members say:
❤️🔥Your feedback is just a spark but it’s enough to keep me, a part-time writer, going.❤️🔥
I hope this interview makes you smarter and more productive.
Watch mental models change your life!
P.S. Liked it? Please share, like, and let me know what you think about my new show 💗 Your feedback is important and can spark many ideas. Thanks sooooo much!
P.S.S. A few months ago, Michael Simmons sent me a DM and wanted to connect with me. I was like: Wait, what? Michael Simmons wants to connect with me? We met via Zoom. I became a panelist for his Notes Campfire and Michael became my interview partner. He’s a great guy, loves playing pickleball, mental models, and sharing what he’s learned. Make sure to subscribe to his newsletter.
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