Articles

Happy Life Guide

After reading “The Courage to Be Disliked” I felt like I’d discovered a personal guide on how to be happy… no matter what I’ve gone through before. It’s as if I’ve been handed the secret to not sweating over whether people like me or not…

Because, in the end, I realized happiness is something I can choose for myself.

Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga are the authors. They’re big on Adlerian psychology. It basically teaches that the fear of rejection doesn’t have to hold me back. That my happiness isn’t tied to my past experiences. That happiness is something I can shape with a growth mindset. Well that, and by taking responsibility for my actions.

The book encouraged me to live in the now, to not let past hurts control my present. It made me see the importance of focusing on what’s happening at this moment. And to release the old wounds that hold me back.

We have the power to change our lives for the better. It’s not about dwelling on what went wrong or what could have been. Instead, it’s about seeing ourselves as capable of change.
I wanted to take the reins of my life instead of falling into the trap of playing victim. Our circumstances or upbringing don’t define us. We define ourselves through our responses to them.

By recognizing my limiting beliefs and negative behaviorst I can overcome them by acknowledging my ability to change. The focus shifts from what happened, to what can having moving forward. I set goals, mak gradual progress towards them, and celebrate every little victory. This creates the life I dream of.

We can be ourselves without being antagonist to others. It’s a balance between maintaining individuality and living in harmony with the world around me. Owning my uniqueness with ADHD and expressing myself regardless of outcome has built my confidence.

I’ve boosted my self-esteem and increased my sense of purpose. Now I turn to face life’s challenges with a positive focused resilience.

“The Courage to Be Disliked” has been a fire starter for taking control of my life. I was a people pleaser. And it hurt me. Now I’m staying optimistic, and finding more ease with others. Adlerian psychology is a new lens for viewing human behavior. It showed me how to let go of the fear of being disliked and to choose my happiness first.

This book can change your life if you can deal with the style of dialogue. It’ll show you that you have far more control over your happiness than you thought. Especially once you stop letting past experiences dictate present happiness.

Give it a read and start working towards what matters, being happy with who you are.

The Myth of More Posts, More Success

There’s a better way to do online business than stressing over social media.

I’ve been reading a little too fast and engaging a little too much for the lifestyle and headspace I like.
I’ve been chasing the claps and reads for the last month. This is not normal for me.
And it reminded me of a couple of months ago when someone came to me with the exact same issue.
She had been engaging, posting, and creating like a mad woman and was burning out. So we scheduled a call.
The first question I ask her?
Do you want a freedom business or social media employment?
See, her worst mistake was hiring a marketing agency.
And their bullshit makes me mad.
She said that she was getting stressed out by social media.
Make no wonder.
You should see what they had her doing.
“Jenny” has a couple kids, a husband and a full on e-commerce store.
This marketing company doesn’t do any of the work for her.
But they told her to:
Post several reels a day.
AND told her to post a full youtube video a day.
Plus several shorts.
AND- to keep pumping out content on Tik Tok.

The crazy thing is, she was mostly getting it done.
But it was wrecking her.
And the results?
None.
And all the while she was doing this social media she was ignoring her active buyer email list from her e-commerce store.
Did her marketing company tell her how to tweak that?
No.
Did they tell here to figure out where most of her target audience hangs out (on socials), prioritize that, and then funnel to email?
No.
They just gave her vague and general ChatGPT advice about smashing away at social.
This bullshit makes me mad.
It made me think about building community and not making the mistake of becoming an employee of social media.
An email list > Social Media.
If you don’t control the ability to scale your business then you don’t control your business.
Family > Social Media.
You only have a certain amount of time with family. Social media algos change. Accounts get wiped out. Your family is a real thing. Social platforms don’t give a rat’s ass about you. Just like your employer. 
Own a solid customer funnel that feeds in new customers and makes sales hands-free.
And enjoy time with your family.
Do this and you’ll have a list of buyers that you can regularly contact to help with transformational advice and products that solve their problems.
And they’ll love you for it.
And once you have that list you can test and tweak it to serve at the highest level - which also means more customer loyalty, appreciation, and sales.
What did I tell her to do?
Just the basics.
She ‘IS’ her audience so she needs to talk directly with them.
Be less corporation and more the person who can help her customers solve their problems. Because she has solved the same problems for herself.
Do fewer ‘Buy This’ emails and more ‘This is the one thing I’m using this week that has really helped me with (XYZ) and it’s 15% off for this week. I’ll send it to you in under 24 hours and throw in a surprise that I know you’ll love as well.”
Listen - You are really good at doing the thing you love.
And fixing this stress you’re under could be as simple as less wasted life on social trying to get free traffic and pennies on the hour - and a little tweak to your emails and ads to increase your click-throughs to your products.
Make dollar sales not penny reads.
Ask yourself:
Did I get into this online business thing to be stressed out -OR- to build a business I love that takes care of me financially and gives me more freedom?

Things to think about if social media is stressing you out.
#1- Step Back. Take a look at what your social media efforts are giving back. How does it compare to other engagement strategies like email marketing? Concentrate on activities that align with both your business goals and personal values.
#2- Simplify Your Strategy. Focus on one or two platforms where your audience is most active. Trying to be everywhere will burn you out. Do one or two things well.
#3- Go for the real relationships. Spend time building your email list. Create meaningful, personal connections with your readers. Give them value beyond the sale with infotainment and personal insights.

My name is Ray Burton and I teach people how to make predictable passive income with their writing both on and off Medium. You can get the free 5-day course here: https://raymondburton.com/Secret-Sauce

How To Make FOMO-Inducing Headlines For Your Blog Articles

My blog articles are exploding because of this. And I’m going to let you steal it for free.

Making FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)-inducing titles is an art form that I’ve mastered. And it’s significantly increasing engagement and views on my blog articles.

Would you like to learn it too?

Great! Here’s my step-by-step blueprint to creating titles that make readers click and read your content because of…

Fearing they might miss out on something great.

The first thing I like to do is think about who I’m talking to. I often don’t directly call out that person, but I steer the headline towards them.

But you can also directly address your reader in the headline. And it works great, especially on sales pages. In the case of this article’s headline, I addressed you, a blog reader.

Stop poking me where it hurts.

Next, I dig into the hell my reader is in. I talk about that more in this article:

How To Influence Your Friends in 7 Easy Steps
Unlock the secrets to winning friends and boosting your income

The number 1 thing you can do is understand the pain points and problems your audience faces that your article can solve.

And if you don’t want to go negative with pain, then you need to know what your audience hopes and dreams about.

Everything we do is either towards pleasure or away from pain…

Your title must tell the reader what pleasure or pain you have for them.

And then you have to let them know why they must get it from you.

I made this article stand out from all the other headline and title articles out there by adding the fact that my whole blog exploded when I learned about writing headlines this way.

This means that I know something that everyone else does not. It gives the feeling that if you don’t want to miss out on how to write a great title then you should read this article.

And my whole account did explode when I wrote my best story title ever, right here:

From Zero to Hero: My Real-Life Blueprint for Earning $5k Monthly on Medium
Unveiling the Struggles, Strategies, and Insider Secrets Behind My Success Story on Medium

And use those power words and emotional triggers!

Of course, there are the classic power words like:

  • Secret
  • Instant
  • Exclusive
  • Discover
  • Unveil
  • Unlock

I ticked a couple more boxes on the FOMO story checklist with that above article… and it got me in some hot water.

Because when you create an emotional connection it can make people angry or eager to read. Don’t concern yourself with which one.

Your job is simply to get them to open the article.

The force of FOMO is strong with this one.

State the benefit in a present tense, active voice.

We talked about the heaven and hell thing above but I also want you to make your story title in an active voice.

I told you above that my subtitle was, “My whole Medium account exploded when I learned this.”

But after I remembered my advice I changed it to this:

My Medium account is exploding because of this.

It’s a little more powerful, no?

And of course, a FOMO title has to have urgency.
A lot of my title ideas are implied. I don’t directly say, “Don’t Miss,” “Last Chance,” or “Hurry” in this article. But you still feel the FOMO because you feel that my account explosion is happening right now.

Present tense and urgency are superchargers on a title.

Those two things imply an immediate benefit.

And an immediate benefit is a huge thing to a reader.

Caution: If you don’t deliver on your promise, you’ll get one read. If you deliver on your promise, you’ll get a fan.

The obvious bits of title-making.

You can and should test your articles if you’re into that. I don’t tweak a blog title unless it gets low views.

If I get low reads, I make the article better. It means my title did it’s job but my article content didn’t. It means I disappointed the reader and they bailed.

And of course, titles with numbers work amazing, but I don’t use them much. Numbers make me feel like I have to write in blocks of 3,5,7 and so on.

It forces my writing style. And I’m a freedom junkie. Aren’t you too?

So although effective, I seldom use numbers because of preference.

Keep it simple but keep practicing.
You’ll never go wrong with a simple “How to” article like this:

Before: “How to Improve Your Writing Skills”
After more practice: “Unlock the Secret: 5 Proven Writing Techniques You Can’t Afford to Miss”
You can see the changes and feel the different energy between those two titles.

The 70/30 science and art of magnetic headlines.
It’s about creating a promise, sparking curiosity, and tapping into the reader’s deepest interests and emotions.

It took me many years to realize that good titles were the gatekeepers to earning more with my writing.

I spent countless nights tweaking words and measuring their impact until I decided to get serious.

I bought courses and books from the best copywriters in the world and spent 20 hours studying nothing but headlines and titles.

And I finally discovered my formula that consistently works.

So I’ve been there, staring at a blank screen, wondering why my content wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. The turning was seeing where my writing was suffering and turning my weak titles into my secret weapon.

My framework for viral article success with banger titles.

  • Make them curious and make them wonder.
  • Promise value and show what’s in it for them.
  • Make an emotional connection and tap into their feelings.
  • But when all else fails, clarity is the master ingredient above all else. Make sure the headline matches the content.

Try these tips and skyrocket your results like I did.
Once I figured out headlines and titles, I watched my Medium income take off.

And you can replicate this success on the writing pieces that don’t die on the cross of engagement… or lack thereof. In things like emails, sales pages, ads, etc…

Which I show you every week in my Secret Sauce Club. You can get all my money-magnet title ideas and more about predictable passive income for writers, right here: https://raymondburton.com/Secret-Sauce

P.S. I share all my insider strategies, personal anecdotes, and the secret ingredients to my success, including how I navigate the ups and downs of content creation both on Medium and off.

The Paradox of Pistol Squats

A Deep Dive into Knee Pain and Exercise Dosage

Pistol squats are a hallmark of advanced fitness regimes, revered for their ability to test strength, balance, and mobility. However, they can be a double-edged sword. Many, like myself when I started, find themselves grappling with knee pain when attempting these challenging exercises. The question arises: What turns a once beneficial workout into a source of discomfort?

The answer lies in understanding the fine line between beneficial stress and harmful overload. The human body thrives under the right amount of stress, much like a carefully administered antidote. However, when the balance tips, this same stress manifests as pain and injury.

Several factors might contribute to knee pain during pistol squats. It could be a change in your strength levels, an increase in body weight, or an abrupt start to the exercise without proper progression. Even subtle shifts in technique, such as a change in how you distribute your weight, can have significant impacts.
Continue reading “The Paradox of Pistol Squats”

The Best Science Backed Pistol Squat Progression That’s Working For Me

In the end I took the information from the 6 best websites and fitness gurus on the internet and looked at the commonalities that they all agreed on. I referred those opinions against my 24 years of experience being a personal trainer and came up with the best pistol squat progression with the highest odds of succeeding for the largest amount of people regardless of experience, fitness level or current injury status.

Progressing from an injury to a fully functioning pistol squat involves a series of exercises designed to increase strength, mobility, and stability. Here are some effective progressions supported by various sources:
Continue reading “The Best Science Backed Pistol Squat Progression That’s Working For Me”

Unlock the Power of Self-Discipline: How Mastering This One Skill Can Transform Your Life

In a world where distractions are just a click away, mastering the art of self-discipline stands as a beacon of hope, a skill that can radically transform every aspect of your life. This isn’t just motivational speak; it’s a fact backed by extensive research and data.

Why Self-Discipline Matters More Than You Think

Imagine Emily, a typical modern-day individual. Each morning, she faces a simple yet defining choice: to rise for her morning run or to hit the snooze button. This daily dilemma is a microcosm of a larger battle — the ongoing challenge of self-discipline that we all face.
Continue reading “Unlock the Power of Self-Discipline: How Mastering This One Skill Can Transform Your Life”

How To Deadlift More By Falling: It’s So Simple But Super Effective

I was on X yesterday reading my buddy Josh’s post @joshstrength and I read something that I thought you’d find useful if you still deadlift.

Deadlifting is great and if there is one barbell move I would keep in my training while doing bodyweight training, it would be the deadlift.

The only thing I caution against is not doing enough abdominal and spinal flexion (rounding forward) training while doing the deadlift.
Continue reading “How To Deadlift More By Falling: It’s So Simple But Super Effective”

Social media trying to crush Seinfeld now

“Let’s take something good and destroy it.”

Something good like Jerry Seinfeld.

Someone who made me laugh for almost 35 years.

That’s pretty much the story of social media news and the mind games you get toyed with every day.

I woke up to see this happening on Twitter/X with my king of comedy.

People are basing their opinions on the information they get.

But where do you get your information?

You know your health depends on the water you drink.

So you care about the QUALITY of the water you drink, WHO supplies it and WHAT their motivations are.

News sources and health info sources are no different.

Every study out there tells you to do something opposite what another study said last month.
Continue reading “Social media trying to crush Seinfeld now”

14 years of failure with passive stretching fixed

Stretching doesn’t work was the conclusion that I came to.

I mean, I had been sore, stiff and achy for years and I was stretching for 90 seconds daily.

Just like I was told.

Result? No change. And that’s where after 13 years of beating my head against the wall, I realized that adults and weightlifters and others…

Need to use different methods than normie kids and people who have never been injured by a hard life.

But guess what?

I’ve cracked the code to quick flexibility gains, and I’m stoked to share these gems with you.

Whether you’re dreaming of doing the splits or just want to bend without going “ouch,” I’ve got your back (and your hamstrings, too).
Continue reading “14 years of failure with passive stretching fixed”

Unlock Flexibility Fast: How To Flexible In 10 Minutes Per Week

Flexibility training often feels like navigating a maze without a map. Like many, I spent 10+ years in a trial-and-error loop with little guidance and no results. Just more pain and wasted time.

However, through trial and error, I’ve unlocked the secrets to rapid flexibility gains, and I’m excited to share these insights with you.

Whether you’re aiming for the splits or simply seeking to enhance your overall flexibility, this post is your roadmap to mastering flexibility, packed with practical advice, expert insights, and the latest research.
Continue reading “Unlock Flexibility Fast: How To Flexible In 10 Minutes Per Week”