Five questions that turn a to-do list into an achieve list, so you finish the thing that matters most and know exactly what comes next.
Neil Martin · Beats, Business & Life
Done Beats Perfect
The Next Small Thing: Marcus Aurelius on How to Stop Carrying the Whole Year in Your Head
A simple question from Marcus Aurelius that shrinks a year of worry down to the thing in front of you, and the small next step that gets you moving again.
The Mistakes Worth Making: Why Playing Safe Stops You Learning
Why playing safe keeps you stuck, the famous story of a very expensive mistake, and a cheap one of my own that taught me a lesson I still use.
Act Where You Are: Wattles and the Two Steps to the Business You Want
A simple way to stop waiting for better conditions: two steps for making decisions as the leader of the business you want, from inside the one you’ve got.
Small Nudges, Big Wins, and How I Celebrate Them
A friend told me I’d lost weight on the very weekend I took off from my new routine. Two wins from my week, the small nudges behind them, and the simple ways I mark a win.
Whose Opinion of You Gets the Final Say?
One review of my book still rings louder than every DM. Why Marcus Aurelius says that happens, and a simple way to give your own opinion the final say.
Done Beats Perfect, So Start Scared
Fear and self-doubt never really leave. The people I interviewed who got results shipped the first version anyway and fixed it as they went.
The AI conference website went down. I built an app anyway.
The AI conference website went down and bits of the demos wobbled. I vibe coded a prototype app in the room anyway. Done beats perfect.
Line up your dominoes
A domino the size of a fingernail can knock over one taller than a man. How I break big goals into small dominoes, and why they go in the diary.
The Day I Jumped Out of a Plane
Saying yes to a charity skydive was the easy bit. What the jump itself taught me about change, and why the scary middle bit has the best view.
Why I still rate Paul Weller: Dancing Through the Fire
How a fan podcast became Paul Weller’s authorised oral history, and what his demos teach you about raw over polished.
I muted my mic and posted it anyway
I recorded a whole video with my mic on mute. No second take. I posted it anyway, because the message mattered more than the audio.
Every week
Get The Mix
One short email a week. One track, one idea, one thing worth your time.
Two minutes to read. Unsubscribe in one click.
Free stuff
Free downloads
Planners and one-page guides to print and scribble on. No email needed.
About
Hi, I’m Neil
DJing since 1987, three decades in business, and the author of Done Beats Perfect. This is where I write it all down.