⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ambition always costs something. But how do you decide what should never be part of that price? Tonight at Dumbo House in Brooklyn, I listened to James McMillian, Lorrie King and Felton Brown share three very different perspectives on sacrifice, self-preservation, people and time. Their ideas made me reconsider something as I continue building OmaxBooks and Book Strategist: success isn’t only about what you manage to build, but what remains intact while you build it. In this episode, I share three rules for protecting your ambition before the cost becomes greater than the achievement.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What happens when you deliberately choose a challenge you don’t feel completely ready for? Today in New York, I interviewed Rob Kenner, author of The Marathon Don’t Stop, the Nipsey Hussle biography we’re publishing in French through OmaxBooks, and a veteran journalist who helped launch Vibe with Quincy Jones. There was one additional challenge: this was my first real interview in English. From interviewing French rappers for my small fanzine at 16 to interviewing an accomplished hip-hop journalist in New York years later, today reminded me why growth sometimes requires deliberately raising the difficulty. This episode is about doing things before you feel completely ready and using discomfort as an opportunity to become better.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tonight in Bryant Park, New York, I watched hundreds of people gather to see City of God, a Brazilian film released 24 years ago. And one word kept coming to mind: classic. As a publisher, it made me think about the difference between creating something that gets attention today and creating something people will still care about decades later. You can manufacture a launch. You can create hype. But you cannot declare your work a classic. The audience, culture and time ultimately decide. In this episode, I explore what that means for the books we publish, the businesses we build and the legacy we hope to leave behind.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Having an idea and having something worth building are not the same thing. For years, I’ve wanted to create a real project in the United States, but I refused to launch something simply because I wanted to be here. Now, after weeks of experiences, conversations, travel, Invest Fest, books and daily experimentation with Book Strategist, I finally feel an idea becoming concrete. Before I start organizing it, I’m using three principles: wait for an idea you genuinely believe deserves to exist, collect real-life inputs before planning everything, and separate the excitement of an idea from the strategy required to execute it. If you’re thinking about starting something new, this episode is about making sure you’re building for the right reason.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What if bigger isn’t always better? Today in New York, I joined the Free Peace Awake NY Meditation Club, guided by Kenji Summers at Awake NY on Orchard Street. The meditation gave me space to think, but some of my biggest lessons came from everything happening around it. In this episode, I share three ideas I’m taking back into OmaxBooks and my own work: why smaller and more intentional experiences can create stronger communities, why knowing your mission helps you recognize unexpected opportunities, and why the strongest brands can sell products while still standing for something bigger. Sometimes growth isn’t about reaching more people. It’s about creating more meaning for the people already in the room.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What do you do when someone who knows more than you points out a weakness in something you’re building? Yesterday, I discovered podcast strategist Carla Wilmaris and one of her videos completely changed the way I think about Book Strategist Daily: people don’t care about your podcast simply because you have a story to tell. You have to give them something useful. I listened, thought about it and started changing my system in less than 24 hours. In this episode, I share the three rules I’m taking from that experience and why staying curious, learning from specialists and implementing good advice quickly can improve almost anything you’re building.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ People have told me many times that conferences are a waste of time and that entrepreneurs should stay focused on working. Tonight in New York, I’m doing the opposite. I’m attending a conversation with Dr. Sarah Khan about health, mindset, performance and sustainable success, a subject that has almost nothing to do with publishing. And that’s exactly why I’m going. Some of the ideas that have changed the way I build OmaxBooks have come from completely different industries, people and rooms. A great conference, like a great book, can compress years of someone else’s knowledge into a few hours. Sometimes leaving your desk is part of the work.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Today in New York, I changed something incredibly small: the route I usually take to work. Suddenly, I discovered streets I had never noticed, walked by the water and even passed the Roc Nation offices. Everything had been there the entire time. I was simply taking the same road every day. It made me think about OmaxBooks, business and life. We often repeat what works until we stop questioning it. But doing things differently doesn’t mean changing your destination. Sometimes, changing the route is exactly how you discover opportunities you couldn’t see before.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Today, I received the final proof of one of the most important books we’ve ever worked on at OmaxBooks: Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography, written by Staci Robinson. After months of translation, editing, corrections and preparation, everything has finally been checked and approved. Today, we gave the green light to print. Receiving the final proof here in New York also reminded me of what building an international company really means: creating systems that allow the work to keep moving wherever you are. Soon, thousands of physical books will leave the printer and enter our e-commerce and traditional distribution networks across the French-speaking world. Publishing involves months of work that nobody sees. Then one day, a contract, a PDF and a preorder page become something people can actually hold in their hands. Sometimes the biggest moments in business are simply when all the invisible work finally becomes visible.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I couldn’t leave Atlanta without talking about two places that represent what makes this city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem so special: The Gathering Spot and RICE, the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs. These aren’t simply places to work. They’re spaces built for entrepreneurs to meet, learn, exchange ideas, access opportunities and create relationships. I once pitched OmaxBooks at RICE during a competition connected to Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition. I didn’t win, but the connections I made reminded me of something important: sometimes the value isn’t winning. It’s putting yourself inside the right ecosystem. Books give you knowledge. Communities give that knowledge somewhere to go.

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