Taylor Made Thoughts

I started a residential cleaning business hoping to build a scalable company with recurring revenue. A few months later, I shut it down. In this episode, I give an honest postmortem of why the business failed—and why the reasons were more complicated than simply not working hard enough or executing well enough. The biggest problem was a lack of meaningful differentiation. To most customers, one re...

The 4 C’s Formula: Commitment → Courage → Capability → Confidence In this episode, I explore Dan Sullivan’s 4 C’s Formula and why confidence doesn’t come before taking action—it comes after. When you commit to a goal that’s bigger than anything you’ve done before, you’re almost guaranteed to face uncertainty. Moving forward anyway requires courage. That courage forces you to develop new capabiliti...

I’m trying something new. It’s called Opaque — a snail mail subscription built around one idea: How do you make good decisions when you don’t know how things will turn out? Each issue puts you inside a real decision faced by an entrepreneur, leader, investor, or historical figure. You’ll get the information they had at the time — but not what happened next. Then you have to decide. What would you...

What if staying calm in an uncertain world came down to three simple rules? In this episode, I explore Dan Sullivan’s “Geometry” for staying cool and calm—a simple framework built around three ideas: Everything is made up. Nobody’s in charge. Life isn’t fair. At first, these might sound funny. But taken together, they can actually be incredibly freeing. If everything around us was ultimately inven...

What if the path to becoming a millionaire isn’t the same for everyone? In this episode of Taylor Made Thoughts , I explore Roger James Hamilton’s The Millionaire Master Plan and its central idea: building wealth isn’t just about working harder or following someone else’s formula—it’s about understanding where you are now and choosing the right strategy for your particular stage. I break down Hami...

In this episode, I discuss How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon—a book that takes the management theories Christensen taught at Harvard Business School and applies them to one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves: What makes for a fulfilling life? Rather than relying on inspirational advice, Christensen argues that the same princi...

We tend to think that more freedom, more options, and more resources naturally lead to better outcomes. In Inside the Box , bestselling author David Epstein (author of Range ) argues the opposite: the right constraints don't limit us—they unlock our best thinking. In this episode, we explore why boundaries, deadlines, limited resources, and self-imposed rules can produce greater creativity, be...

In this episode, I dive into Working Backwards: Inside Stories and Secrets from Amazon by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, focusing on two of Amazon's most influential management ideas. First, I explore the Working Backwards process—Amazon's practice of starting with a future press release and FAQ before building a product. Instead of asking, "What can we build?" the process forces tea...

We all know how hard it is to change our own behavior—and even harder to convince someone else to change theirs. In this episode, I explore two surprisingly effective ways to work around the ego, reduce resistance, and create real behavioral change. Along the way, I compare two competing models of personal development: the popular "be, do, have" philosophy that focuses on identity and br...

Episode Description I recently challenged myself to make 100 cold calls in 3 days—targeting dental offices, gyms, physical therapy clinics, and veterinary practices. In this episode, I share what actually happened, what surprised me, and what I learned. If you're starting a business, I make the case that every founder should do 100 cold calls before worrying about websites, logos, or marketing...

For this episode, I discuss The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts, a book that explores Daoism through ideas like the Dao, yin-yang polarity, and wu wei —or effortless action. The biggest theme that stood out to me is that the things we want most often seem to elude us, while the things we care less about arrive naturally. Looking back on my own life, I've repeatedly gone after one outcome—money,...

One of the biggest lessons I took from What the CEO Wants You To Know by Ram Charan is that business is much simpler than most people make it. Great CEOs focus on a handful of fundamentals: customers, cash flow, return on invested capital, and growth. Instead of getting lost in departments, metrics, and complexity, Charan argues that everyone should understand how the business actually makes money...

In this episode, we explore Tim Ferriss's powerful concept of Fear Setting —a practical exercise designed to help you overcome indecision, anxiety, and procrastination. Instead of focusing only on goals, Fear Setting encourages you to define your fears, examine the worst-case scenarios, and create plans to prevent or repair potential setbacks. Learn how this simple framework can help you make...

Welcome to *Taylor-Made Thoughts* — a series exploring mental models, psychological frameworks, and practical tools for improving thinking and increasing your chances of achieving meaningful goals. Each episode breaks down actionable ideas and mental tools you can apply immediately in your own life. In this episode, I reflect on *The Psychology of Hope* by C. R. Snyder and explore six mental tools...