kadavy.net
type: channel
description: Get to know David Kadavy
date: 2026-01-06T15:51:57Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
generator agent: https://wordpress.org/
items: Introducing Finish What Matters (Preview Edition)
items: Free 100 WORDS Wristband When You Buy 100 Word Writing Habit
items: Books for learning to be human
items: October 2025 Income Report
items: Kit’s 60% off Black Friday deal
items: September 2025 Income Report
items: August 2025 Income Report
items: Alert: Slow Productivity on sale
items: Mind Management: 50,000 copies sold!
items: New YouTube Video: 12 Life-Changing Books You Haven’t Read

Introducing Finish What Matters (Preview Edition)
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-01-06T15:51:57Z
subject: Books
description: Today, I’m making available for the first time the Preview Edition of my upcoming book, Finish What Matters. (You can start reading today.)Do you find that the more meaningful the project, the harder it is to follow through?If you start project after project, and never finish, it may not be a personality flaw or lack of discipline.
encoded: Today, I’m making available for the first time the Preview Edition of my upcoming book, Finish What Matters. (You can start reading today.) Do you find that the more meaningful the project, the harder it is to follow through? If you start project after project, and never finish, it may not be a personality flaw or lack of discipline. There are good reasons we don’t finish novels, abandon apps before shipping an alpha, or keep collecting gear without shooting a video. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10973" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FWM-ebook-shopify-store-mockup-350x263.jpg" alt="finish what matters preview mockup" width="350" height="263" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FWM-ebook-shopify-store-mockup-350x263.jpg 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FWM-ebook-shopify-store-mockup-750x563.jpg 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FWM-ebook-shopify-store-mockup-768x577.jpg 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FWM-ebook-shopify-store-mockup-1536x1154.jpg 1536w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/FWM-ebook-shopify-store-mockup.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> The nature of creative work and our willingness to take risks combine with the challenges of self-motivation to make following through on our biggest dreams much harder than it needs to be. Meanwhile, the world is set up to motivate us with clear rewards for completing clear tasks – yet our creative projects don’t work that way. Having myself completed several books and shipped hundreds of podcast episodes and newsletters, I thought going into this book that I already had the answers. But this has been my own biggest learning experience yet. It has forever changed the way I approach ideas, brace for criticism, and decide which projects are worth taking on. The special Preview Edition is your chance to be one of the first to read the book, as I my…

Free 100 WORDS Wristband When You Buy 100 Word Writing Habit
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-12-26T16:19:16Z
subject: Books
description: If you’d like to give your writing New Year’s resolution a boost, I’m offering the 100 WORDS wristband free with any order of the 100 Word Writing Habit paperback on my store. I personally wear the 100 WORDS wristband daily, and turn it right-side out once my writing is done. Oftentimes, I’ll see it still says
encoded: If you’d like to give your writing New Year’s resolution a boost, I’m offering the 100 WORDS wristband free with any order of the 100 Word Writing Habit paperback on my store. I personally wear the 100 WORDS wristband daily, and turn it right-side out once my writing is done. Oftentimes, I’ll see it still says 0 WORDS, and that reminds me to at least pick up a journal and write something. Grab the paperback and wristband in this special deal, until 2026. <img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10195" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/hwh-plus-wristband-350x263.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="263" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/hwh-plus-wristband-350x263.jpg 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/hwh-plus-wristband-750x564.jpg 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/hwh-plus-wristband-768x577.jpg 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/hwh-plus-wristband-1536x1155.jpg 1536w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/hwh-plus-wristband-2048x1540.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> Happy New Year!

Books for learning to be human
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-12-24T01:35:14Z
subject: Books
description: In a recent Love Mondays newsletter, I wrote about the humanities as the science of being human. One reader in particular pointed out this passage: what is a life well-lived, what trade-offs should a society make, and how do you navigate consciousness and this existence of fortune, desire, suffering, and elation? And asked if I had book
encoded: In a recent Love Mondays newsletter, I wrote about the humanities as the science of being human. One reader in particular pointed out this passage: what is a life well-lived, what trade-offs should a society make, and how do you navigate consciousness and this existence of fortune, desire, suffering, and elation? And asked if I had book recommendations. I figured I might share them for all. I’ll start off by saying I could explore these questions more deeply and intentionally than I have, which was part of the motivation for writing that newsletter – perhaps to inspire myself to dig deeper. But, these are the books that have been most impactful at teaching me how to be human (along with their Amazon affiliate links), along with my imperfect off-the-cuff recollections. A tour of it all A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell is an outstanding tour of, well Western philosophers – the people who have thought hard about these questions. It’s also the best “read heavy” book. Slowly reading and understanding this added more rigor to my thinking than any book I’ve ever read. Reading a book is trying on someone’s brain and nobody is a more comfortable, yet challenging, fit than Bertrand Russell. “Navigating consciousness” Buddhism, Plain and Simple: It’s been like twenty years so I remember very little. But this highlighted how attachment is a source of suffering, and first introduced me to meditation, which I credit for curing me of what I hadn’t realized was probably clinical anxiety. How to See Yourself As You Really Are, The Dalai Lama: Again, it’s been a long time. I remember it first presenting me with the idea that there is no self. Waking Up, Sam Harris: Again, a long time. The idea I most remember is that of Dzogchen meditation, specifically how trippy it is to try to “look at yourself” with your eyes closed. “What trade-offs should a society make?” The Prince, Machiavelli: Probably a surprising pick. I really appreciate Machiavelli’s ability to tell th…

October 2025 Income Report
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-12-12T01:49:26Z
subject: Income Reports
description: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » October’s revenue was $5,370, down from September’s $5,649. Profits were $3,595, down from September’s $4,106. Record-low income and profit Twelve-month income was a record low again this month. My income has been $58,524 over the past year. The previous low was last
encoded: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » October’s revenue was $5,370, down from September’s $5,649. Profits were $3,595, down from September’s $4,106. Record-low income and profit Twelve-month income was a record low again this month. My income has been $58,524 over the past year. The previous low was last month’s $61,970. Profit was an all-time low as well, at $27,020. The previous low was last month’s $28,278. This has been a pattern, so I won’t go too deep into it this time. Book profits low My profit on books was only $250, which isn’t a record low, but is definitely low. Five of ten months this year have been under $1,000 for book profits. I have to go back to 2020 to consistently see months under $1,000. Other than that, there has only been one month under that mark, May 2023. Of course, it’s been since 2020 since I released a major book, and I’m hoping to fix that soon. Mind Management record-low revenu Mind Management had the lowest-revenue month ever, with only $603. The other two lowest months were $709 in May and $767 in August. It did not pull the lowest profit, however. The $520 it profited after ads was about the middle of the pack for this year. It’s looking like my 80% confidence forecast that MMT’s KU term would bring in more revenue than the previous 90 days will very likely be in the incorrect direction. I ran my pricing promotion during Black Friday and didn’t really see a bump. Turn off ads (almost) After digging deep into Amazon Ads, finding ways the default settings were draining my pockets, and experimenting with vibe-coding some scripts to automate ad-management tasks, I’ve concluded Amazon Ads are just not working for me like they used to. I’ve shut off almost all of them, which won’t be reflected in my expenses until December’s report. Ad prices get crazy during the holidays anyway. So, my ads profit margin will probably be increasing. My ROI was 18% in October. Prices going up While revenue decreases, prices on ma…

Kit’s 60% off Black Friday deal
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-11-20T16:06:19Z
subject: Email Marketing
description: The time has come for me to move on from my email marketing platform, ActiveCampaign (after 10 years!), and the timing is good with Kit’s Black Friday deal. They’re offering 60% off for 3 months of their Creator Monthly Plan, so for up to 1,000 subscribers, you can get started for just $15.60 per month.
encoded: The time has come for me to move on from my email marketing platform, ActiveCampaign (after 10 years!), and the timing is good with Kit’s Black Friday deal. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10899" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kit-logo-soft-black-on-blue-350x184.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="184" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kit-logo-soft-black-on-blue-350x184.jpg 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kit-logo-soft-black-on-blue-750x394.jpg 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kit-logo-soft-black-on-blue-768x403.jpg 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kit-logo-soft-black-on-blue-1536x806.jpg 1536w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kit-logo-soft-black-on-blue-2048x1075.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> They’re offering 60% off for 3 months of their Creator Monthly Plan, so for up to 1,000 subscribers, you can get started for just $15.60 per month. All my lists together are currently above the limit for which this promotion applies, but since I’ll be slowly migrating over the next year, it works out for me – I hope it works out for you! I’ll share more details about why I’m making this switch when it’s further underway, but here are some things I really like about Kit: Robust automations Creator-focused (Founded by Nathan Barry, a pioneer in the creator space.) Bootstrap-funded (AC’s VC-funding has I think led to some issues for me) Growth/recommendation network (but monitor and warm-up those contacts!) Solid deliverability (at least as good, maybe better than AC – I’ve verified this with an independent test) Comparable affiliate program to AC’s (sign up with my link and you support my work, at no extra cost) I’ve long admired the features on Kit (formerly ConvertKit), so I’m excited to take advantage of this promotion and hope you are, too.

September 2025 Income Report
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-10-31T02:11:08Z
subject: Income Reports
description: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » September’s revenue was $5,649, up from August’s $3,493. Profits were $4,106, up from August’s $942. A rebound…for now (but record low income and profits) A nice rebound in revenue, as I got an injection of cash for Chinese rights to Mind Management.
encoded: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » September’s revenue was $5,649, up from August’s $3,493. Profits were $4,106, up from August’s $942. A rebound…for now (but record low income and profits) A nice rebound in revenue, as I got an injection of cash for Chinese rights to Mind Management. Unfortunately, this is an anomaly and doesn’t mean revenue has rebounded sustainably. 12-month income was at a new record-low again this month. I broke a nearly seven-year-old record last month at $64,925, and this month broke it again with $61,968. 12-month profits are also at an all-time low. Last month I also broke a six-year-old record low with $29,916 profits. This month I broke it again, with $28,274. Low book income and profits My income from book sales were low, but the records broken are not as old. My 12-month revenue from books was $43,582. Last time it was that low was July of 2021, when I had made $43,066. 12-month profits from books were $21,479. Last time they were that low was also July 2021, when they were $20,383. Mind Management Simplified Chinese rights The highlight of the month was a Simplified Chinese translation deal for Mind Management. Simplified Chinese rights tend to go for quite a bit. This deal was “only” $3,000 – I could imagine having done better. Around $500 of that was taken out for tax withholding and agent fees, but I still just count the top-line revenue in these reports. Recently signed another smaller deal, and awaiting payment. Mind Management in Kindle Unlimited I started Mind Management’s first-ever Kindle Unlimited term on October 9th. So far, the results have been underwhelming. If you squint, maybe sales rank has increased since then. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-10868 size-large" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/mmt-sales-rank-2025-09-750x466.png" alt="" width="750" height="466" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/mmt-sales-rank-2025-09-750x…

August 2025 Income Report
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-10-03T21:44:30Z
subject: Income Reports
description: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » August’s revenue was $3,493, down from July’s $4,176. Profits were $942, down from July’s $2,405. All-time low yearly profit 12-month profits are at an all-time low in the nearly eight-year history of these reports. I’ve profited $29,917 in the past year. The
encoded: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » August’s revenue was $3,493, down from July’s $4,176. Profits were $942, down from July’s $2,405. All-time low yearly profit 12-month profits are at an all-time low in the nearly eight-year history of these reports. I’ve profited $29,917 in the past year. The previous low was in September 2020, of $32,213. That was just a couple months before launching Mind Management, Not Time Management, so it shouldn’t be surprising my profits are low again, as I continue to work on Finish What Matters. This, I tell myself, is life in Extremistan. Sub-$1,000 month This is the third month this year I’ve profited less than $1,000. In February I lost nearly $1,000. Before this year, the last time I profited less than $1,000 in a month was June 2020. My only other sub-$1,000 month, I lost $773 in December 2018. Ad spend not scaling The main culprit dragging down profits was increased ad spend. This was my first month spending more than $2,000 on ads since March this year. I spent only $588 in April, and have been scaling up as I’ve dug into how the Amazon Ads platform has changed, and made targeted changes to improve ROI. Thanks to a slingshot effect, April had a 340% ROI in book sales, May 71%, June 186%, July 107%, and this month I was back down to 8% – a profit of only $157 on books, after spending $2,034 on ads. Even after writing scripts to interface with the Amazon Ads API and streamline some ad-management tasks, the fact remains that most of my books can no longer turn a profit on Amazon Ads. 100-Word Writing Habit is currently easiest to sell through ads, but still it takes more spend than it makes. Mind Management crosses 50,000 sales! Amidst these dismal book-sale numbers, Mind Management, Not Time Management crossed a huge milestone: 50,000 copies sold! And so I updated the wheat-flanked words on the cover. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10830" src="http://kadavy.…

Alert: Slow Productivity on sale
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-09-23T15:15:42Z
subject: Books
description: Happy Tuesday! As I write this, Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity is only $2.99 on Kindle. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve picked it up and am looking forward to checking it out. This part of the description has a nice punch, some of which will surely appeal to Mind Management fans: From the aggressive
encoded: Happy Tuesday! As I write this, Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity is only $2.99 on Kindle. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10835" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/slow-productivity-225x350.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="350" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/slow-productivity-225x350.jpg 225w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/slow-productivity-750x1166.jpg 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/slow-productivity-768x1194.jpg 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/slow-productivity.jpg 965w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /> I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve picked it up and am looking forward to checking it out. This part of the description has a nice punch, some of which will surely appeal to Mind Management fans: From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, Slow Productivity provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment. I have no control over the price of this book, and it may not even be discounted anymore by the time you get this. But if it is, move fast! When my readers buy books like these, it helps signal to Amazon that readers of those books will also like my books, especially if you buy them along with mine. Pick up Slow Productivity for $2.99. While you’re at it, to celebrate 50,000 copies, Mind Management is $5.00.

Mind Management: 50,000 copies sold!
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-09-19T01:47:16Z
subject: Books
description: I’ve once again updated the wheat-flanked words on Mind Management, Not Time Management, this time with a majorly-significant milestone: It’s now sold 50,000 copies (at least). To celebrate, I’ve temporarily marked the Kindle version down to $5.00, which is probably the weirdest price-point on the entire Kindle store right now. Sales broke through the 50k mark
encoded: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-10830 size-medium" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mind-management-50k-laurel-wreath-350x311.png" alt="" width="350" height="311" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mind-management-50k-laurel-wreath-350x311.png 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mind-management-50k-laurel-wreath.png 576w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> I’ve once again updated the wheat-flanked words on Mind Management, Not Time Management, this time with a majorly-significant milestone: It’s now sold 50,000 copies (at least). To celebrate, I’ve temporarily marked the Kindle version down to $5.00, which is probably the weirdest price-point on the entire Kindle store right now. Sales broke through the 50k mark after I got a report from one of my foreign rights deals. I’ve made several foreign rights deals for MMT, and this is the first sales report I’ve received, so the book has no doubt sold even more copies I don’t know about. How surprising is it to sell 50,000 copies? I know almost exactly. In my September 2020 income report, I said I was 50% sure I’d sell between 20,000–50,000 within the first three years. I pretty much split the middle on that prediction. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10831" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mmt-3-years--350x213.png" alt="" width="350" height="213" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mmt-3-years--350x213.png 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mmt-3-years--750x456.png 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mmt-3-years--768x467.png 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/mmt-3-years-.png 1509w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> But, I didn’t make a prediction for 5 years. That just seemed crazy. Anyway, it was about a coin-toss, which in retrospect feels luckier than 50/50 to win. Who can guarant…

New YouTube Video: 12 Life-Changing Books You Haven’t Read
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2025-09-11T02:26:53Z
subject: Books
description: I’ve been dabbling in some YouTube lately, and my latest addition is 12 life-changing books you haven’t read. I’ve seen quite a few “life-changing” book recommendation videos on YouTube from other authors, and quite frankly I find them disappointing. Some of the books they recommend are good, but I overall get the sense they’re just
encoded: I’ve been dabbling in some YouTube lately, and my latest addition is 12 life-changing books you haven’t read. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10826" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/12-life-changing-books-you-havent-read.png" alt="" width="546" height="436" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/12-life-changing-books-you-havent-read.png 546w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/12-life-changing-books-you-havent-read-350x279.png 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 546px) 100vw, 546px" /> I’ve seen quite a few “life-changing” book recommendation videos on YouTube from other authors, and quite frankly I find them disappointing. Some of the books they recommend are good, but I overall get the sense they’re just recommending books from their genre that are published within their cabals of publishers and/or agents, doing favors for friends, or they’re doing some clever Amazon algorithm training. Against this wiser business strategy, I tried to really think of books that have actually changed my life, and that I don’t see frequently recommended. Interestingly, I didn’t come up with very self-help-y self-help books, and some aren’t even self-help books. Nothing against self-help-y books, honestly, that’s just how it turned out. Subscribe to my YouTube Please do subscribe to my YouTube channel, as if I eventually get some momentum going over there, I probably won’t habitually notify of new videos through my blog. I could use some help training the algo because I’ve somehow amassed over 5k subscribers over the past couple decades, from creating video on a wide variety of topics. Many of those subscribers are probably disappointed each time I publish a new video and it’s not about, say, how to wash laundry in your sink. Enjoy the video.