Matt’s back with a warning he’s aiming squarely at himself as much as anyone: creative atrophy. He uses AI tools constantly and says so plainly, but he’s noticing what happens when you outsource the thinking rather than the tasks — the posts all start to look the same, the output looks fine, and the muscle quietly wastes away. His half-joking name for the alternative is MattGPT. He has a brain. He intends to use it.

So he offers three things he does daily to keep the fire lit. Get quiet — turn off the podcasts, the music, the YouTube, everything — because silence is oxygen for a fire, and cut the oxygen and the fire goes out. Let your mind wander, not chasing shiny objects but stepping through a Narnia-style doorway into a place of wonder and memory. Then ask yourself questions, because as his mentor taught him, your brain will focus on whatever you point it at — you just have to leave the browser open long enough for the answer to come back. He also makes a case worth hearing on why storytelling isn’t actually a trend (it has never once not been relevant), why “brand” mostly just means reputation, and how much of the in-and-out chatter is driven by social media marketers doing their job. Plus a tease: a new partnership he’s excited about, coming in the next couple of weeks. The question to sit with: what will you do today to take your brain to the gym?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattstone.substack.com