🌱 My favorite chart of the year

Hola friends.

I’m writing this sitting outside with other fellow writers at the monthly ATX Writing Club meetup. For any activity or outcome you want in life, it’s always easier to surround yourself with people with the same shared interests.

Now let’s dive in.

✍️ Content Update

I've been tracking my content channels this year to see where to double down. 

Here's the 80/20: 

Any of the channels can work. But not all of them…

At least not at the same time.

This chart illustrates the contrast. (stacked column chart FTW!)

X is the clear winner. 

So what changed?

I made a tradeoff. 

I started putting in 5x more effort...and in return am getting 10.5x more impressions. 

Now, deep-dive threads sometimes take 10+ hours to create, but here's the thing: I love researching and learning. 

Do I have it all figured out? Nope

Will I keep learning/experimenting/sharing what I find? You bet.  (Also here’s the twitter/x profile link.)

Takeaways:

1. Zoom out to track effort and desired outcomes

2. Consider where you can add 5x the effort to get 10x the outcome

🌮 Taco Bell Innovation 

Taco Bell is #8 on the "World's Most Innovative Companies" for 2024...

This struck my as surprising. #1 is Nvidia & #2 is Novo Nordisk (drugmaker Ozempic) which makes sense, but Taco Bell at #8?

So I got curious. I found their new CEO was the ex-CMO at Nike’s Jordan Brand and implemented a few key changes at the bell.

Meet Sean Tresvant, CEO of Taco Bell.

He says a successful company MUST have 3 things: strategy, team, and culture. 

Big part of their strategy is psychographics over demographics.

Demographics are WHO your customers are, while psychographics are WHY they buy.

• Demographics: gender, age, income

• Psychographics: beliefs, values, attitudes

Sean implemented the "cultural rebel" psychographic. This is a specific subset of Gen Z who are curious, unconventional, and spend time on TikTok. They desire to rebel not against something but for what they believe in.

This one decision now guides all of Taco Bell’s marketing.

Here’s my deeper dive on Sean’s huge impact on Taco Bell.

🔋 7 Types of Rest (to avoid burnout)

Research from Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith found 7 different types of rest to avoid burnout. (I thought there was just sleep!)

Most people neglect how to properly recharge via:

1 - Physical Rest

This is both active and passive:

• Passive (ex: sleep, nap)

• Active (ex: stretch, yoga)

2 - Mental Rest

Fight the urge of "always on" culture and glued to devices.

Implement short breaks, meditation, and separation from work.

3 - Emotional Rest

Physical shifts in the body (tightness in chest or gnawing in belly) are directly tied to emotions (fear, anger, anxiety). 

Create the space to tune into these feelings and express them.

Ex: Judgement-free conversation with a therapist

4 - Sensory Rest

Turn off the constant stimulation (notifications, social media, screens, meetings).

More energy draining today than ever before in history.

5 - Creative Rest

Change perspective.  Find nature (walks, mountains, water, sunset) or artistic outlets (museum, art, books).

This restoration sparks new ideas and insights.

6 - Social Rest

Recharge with people who give you energy, not drain it.

Connect to conversations that leave you excited, proud, or intrigued.

Or create dedicated solo time. Treat yo' self!

7 - Spiritual Rest

Connect to something bigger than you. Things like gratitude, community, aligned mission or purpose.

Consider volunteering, joining a board, events, retreats.

Okay, are you now more tired after reading about all the rest we should be getting? Same.

But rather than rest shaming, I’m all for rest STACKING.

Activities that stack several rest types together. 

My favorite stacks are sensory deprivation float tanks, massages, or outdoor exercise with friends.

When writing this earlier in the week I couldn’t help but book a float tank to rest up.

How will you recharge?

Salud,
Mitchell