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1% Better: A Speech That (Seriously) Changed My Life, My Favorite AI Tool of 2025, and Must-Know Life Hacks

Published 18 days ago • 5 min read

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By Colby Kultgen

A Speech That (Seriously) Changed My Life, My Favorite AI Tool of 2025, and Must-Know Life Hacks

Read online / Read time: 4 minutes

Today at a Glance:

• An article worth reading twice
• A journal prompt to finish the year strong
• My favorite AI tool of 2025
• A poem to inspire in tough times
• A thread of must-know life hacks

An article I'll read every year for the rest of my life - The Multidisciplinary Approach to Thinking​

Every so often, you come across a piece of writing so good that it recalibrates you.

That shifts the way you think, act, and move through the world.

For me, this was one of those pieces.

Technically, it’s a transcript of a speech by Peter Kaufman—CEO of Glenair and editor of Poor Charlie’s Almanack.

But don’t let that fool you.

It’s one of the most profound things I’ve read in years.

Here are three ideas I haven’t been able to stop thinking about:

(A) Everything in the Universe works according to mirrored reciprocation. Everything.
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From Newton’s third law to how a cat reacts when you scratch its belly, Kaufman explains how the same principle holds across physics, biology, and human behavior: What you put out into the world is what you get back.

"This is why these bars are full of people at 2:00 a.m. drowning their sorrows. Knocking down these drinks. “When’s the world going to give me something, man? When am I going to get mine?” Well, what did you ever do? Did you ever get up in the morning and smile at the world? No. You either did nothing or you scowled and hissed at the world. You’re getting back exactly what you would expect to get back if you understood how the world really works."

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(B) The most powerful force in life is “dogged incremental constant progress over a long time frame.”
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“You want to win a gold medal in the Olympics. You want to learn a musical instrument. You want to build Berkshire Hathaway. What’s the formula? Dogged incremental constant progress over a very long time frame.”

The problem? Most of us don’t like being constant. We’re all Sisyphus, pushing the boulder halfway up the mountain then quitting.

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(C) Make “Go Positive, Go First” your life motto.
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This is the through line of the entire talk. The golden rule of human interaction. And according to Kaufman, the greatest life hack nobody uses.

“If you want everything in life from everybody else, first pay attention; listen to them; show them respect; give them meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment. Convey to them that they matter to you. And show you love them. But you have to go first. And what are you going to get back? Mirrored reciprocation.”

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There’s so much more, but I'll leave it there for now.

If you read anything this week, please make it this.

A journal prompt to make the most of the last 6 months of the year

Okay, you might want to sit down for this...

2025 is officially half over.

Wild, right?

The bad news: time is flying.
The good news: there's still plenty left to make this your best year ever.

And this post from my friend Jade Bonacolta can help.

It's a simple prompt to help you spot what’s working in your life, and what’s quietly draining you.

Here's the step-by-step:

STEP 1: Look back on your past 6 months

From January-June, what were:
→ Your 5 most wonderful moments
→ Your 5 most stressful moments
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(Scroll through your calendar and your camera roll to jog your memory.)

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​STEP 2: Look for patterns between each of those 5:

→ Did my 5 BEST moments have anything in common?
(Traveling somewhere new? Working on a side project? Being with a particular person?)
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→ Did my 5 WORST moments have anything in common?
(Not setting boundaries? Saying ‘yes’ to things your gut said no to? Burning yourself out at work?)

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STEP 3: Design your next 6 months

→ 1) Block off time for more of those joyful moments in the next 6 months.
Seriously, do it now—months in advance.
(Set dates for the next vacation, plan a monthly dinner with that one friend, etc.)
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→ 2) Write a “Never Again” list for the stress-makers.
Keep that list somewhere visible.
(I printed mine out and put it on my desk as a friendly reminder to my future self.)

My favorite AI tool of 2025
​Sponsored

One of my favorite feelings:

Getting messages from readers telling me how much they’ve loved a tool I shared.

Over the past month, I’ve had a ton of people reach out saying Wispr Flow is saving them hours every week.

If this is your first time hearing about it:

Flow is a voice-powered AI keyboard that turns whatever you say into clean, well-punctuated text. It works in Slack, Gmail, Notes, and anywhere else you write.

And the best part: It's now available on iPhone.

​Try it out for free here.​

A poem to inspire in difficult times

This poem came up during the 100 Day Reading Challenge I started a few weeks ago, and I knew instantly I had to share it.

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou feels especially powerful right now.

In the middle of everything happening, its message of resilience and defiance couldn’t be more relevant.

Enjoy.

STILL I RISE
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You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
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Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
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Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
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Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
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Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
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You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
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Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
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Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
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Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

A thread of life hacks everyone should know

I have a weird obsession with life hacks.

Which means I often find myself scrolling through long Reddit threads like this one digging for gold.

This issue's already getting long, so instead of sharing my favorites, I'm going to leave it to you to explore this for yourself (it's full of gems).

​You can read the full thing here.​

😂

Bonus points if you reply telling me your favorite part!

(I read and respond to them all)

If someone forwarded this to you, Subscribe here.

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Hi! I'm Colby!

I'm obsessed with living a better life each and every day. I want to share what I learn and discover with you.

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