Exploit The Secret “1-Hour Rule” to Build Your One-Person Business.

Even if you have a 9–5 job, kids, and a mortgage.

I was sold a lie. And so were you.

When I worked a 9–5 job, I felt that I was too busy. I wore it like a badge. I didn’t have the time to learn, explore, and master my weird interests. I read about the 10,000-hour rule of mastery and got even more disappointed.

If I can’t dedicate 10,000 hours, why bother?

I felt crushed under the weight of this high bar. Every effort felt wasteful. I always wanted to write online and start a side business. But what was the point? So, I gave it all up and focused on my 9–5.

But I realized the journey towards 10,000 hours starts with 1 hour per day.

You have to start somewhere. It wasn’t until the pain of a relationship breakup spurred me to take action. I started writing for 15 minutes. I started reading for 30 minutes. I started building a business for 15 minutes.

I dedicated 1 hour to building my future. Everyday. Without fail.

The results? 4 years later, I’ve now got a $20k+ per month one-person business, a 100k+ audience, and live as a full-time digital nomad across Southeast Asia.

Here’s how I exploited the 1-hour rule to create my dream life.

Everyone is a distracted, cheap dopamine addict.

In the US, the average phone time per day is:

4 hours and 37 minutes.

Yes, you read that right.

Once you consider sleeping and eating, 4 hours of screen time per day is roughly 40–50% of your waking hours. Most people are dopamine addicts scrolling through their cocaine smartphones.

Okay, Michael. That’s unfair. Fair enough.

Let’s assume people use their phones to be productive for 2 hours of the 4-hour screen time per day. That still leaves 2 hours of distracted doom-scrolling.

As Dan Koe says:

“The 2 hours you spend scrolling each day on your phone (or 730 hours each year) could have produced a book, a business, or a body you don’t currently have.”

If you’ve got everything you want from life, great.

Feel free to distract yourself.

But if you feel stuck, lost, or anxious, what are you doing?

You could repurpose 1 hour to learning and building. 30 minutes of reading and then 30 minutes of building will set you ahead of most people. And you still have another hour in the day to doom scroll (if you want).

You don’t lack time. You lack purpose.

We live in an incredible time. It’s never been easier to learn a high-value skill, build a business, and live your dream life. But it’s also never been easier to be distracted 24/7 and do nothing.

This is how most people end up with a life they hate.

For decades, they sleepwalk through life and ‘wake up’ at 40 in a dead-end job, overweight and on the verge of being divorced. They delayed making any progress on their dreams.

This reality should scare the sh*t out of you.

If it does, here’s what you need to do next.

Find the best hour of your day (and protect it like a madman)

No, no, and no.

That’s my answer if anyone asks:

“Do you want to do something between Sunday and Thursday?”

I’m unapologetic.

• If you don’t set your own goals, you’ll be assigned one.
• If you don’t fight for your routine, you’ll be assigned one.
• If you don’t work towards your dream life, you’ll be assigned one.

Society has been assigning you a default life since birth.

When I was working my 9–5 job, I protected my 5am — 9am.

This was when I could work undistracted and build my dream life. For some people, this might be 5pm to 9pm. Whichever segment of the day it is, protect it. Like your life depends on it, because it does.

This won’t make you popular.

I won’t lie. I’ve lost many friends.

That’s the sacrifice I’ve had to make. When I started to change, my ‘friends’ didn’t like it. They didn’t even try to understand me. But most of them are stuck in a 9–5 doing something they can only tolerate.

If they don’t have what you want, don’t listen to what they want.

I’d rather stand alone than have fake friends who don’t support me.

I’ve made more room for people in my life who have similar goals. Who have goals that they want to achieve. And understand why I do what I do. If a friend says ‘you’ve changed’ you can say ‘yes, and you haven’t.’

This 1 hour every morning becomes untouchable in my routine.

Even during holidays, birthdays, and weekends.

I always carve out 1 hour to work on myself. I’ll wake up earlier or go to bed later. It’s non-negotiable. It’s not always perfect. Or 100% productive. But the act of showing up for myself is powerful.

Use your 9–5 you work to fuel your today.

Use 5–9 you work to fuel your tomorrow.

Use your weekends to fuel your future.

This all starts with 1 hour every day.

Become a 60-minute student.

This Brian Tracy quote lives rent-free in my head:

“If you read one hour per day in your field, that will translate into about one book per week. One book per week translates into about 50 books per year. 50 books per year will translate into about 500 books over the next ten years.”

And if you read 50 books in a given year, you’re ahead of 99% of American adults.

Here’s proof:

I’ve read 50+ books every year since 2018.

Why? My girlfriend of 5 years broke up with me.

I used that post-break-up energy to start reading books. I never stopped.

Reading is now the foundational habit that’s built everything in my life. Every success, breakthrough, or achievement is traceable to something I’ve read in a book.

For the cost of a dinner, you can solve any problem in your life.

What an investment. For a few dollars and 1 hour a day, I’ve taught myself sales, marketing, content creation, meditation, copywriting, and so many more skills.

I understand it’s not always the quantity of books you read.

But most people don’t read at all. So, a person who reads more will win.

Remember:

A person who can read but doesn’t read has no real advantage over a person who wants to read but can’t read.

If you don’t read, you’ve got a self-imposed learning disability. Congrats.

I love that most people don’t read. It’s such an easy competitive advantage. From experience, if you read 4–5 of the best books on one topic (and apply it), you can get into the top 25% of the world in that topic.

I’ve done myself with sales, writing, and marketing. Completely self-taught.

But you have to stop the mental masturbation.

We’ve got a p*rn addiction.

But not what you think. Most people are addicted to information-p*rn. They can’t help buying the latest course or watching YouTube videos. It’s the endless consumption of available knowledge that becomes a trap.

Yes, this sounds contradictory.

I read a lot of books. But I immediately apply what I learn.

This is called the teacher effect. When you force yourself to teach something, you absorb the lessons in a much deeper way.

Some learning is good. But endless learning is procrastination.

The best way to apply what you learn? Pick a project. The best project could be building a personal brand. It almost doesn’t matter what it is. So long you can apply what you learn.

Start building every day for 60 minutes.

In 2025, I’ve challenged myself to build and release a digital product every month. It can be free or paid.

In February, I launched my Skool community.

In March, I’ll launch my writing email course.

I’ve got a product planned for every month.

I spend 1 hour every morning building my monthly digital product.

Now, whenever I consume any new information in a book, podcast, online course, or YouTube, I’ve got a filter for how I can reuse, repackage, repurpose this knowledge into my product. This means I reinforce my learning, build something valuable and establish my authority in that field.

That’s a win-win, baby.

Imagine what your life would look like if you built a digital product every month. The application of your skills would mean you’d get better. It would be impossible not to improve.

The ‘learn-teach-build’ method will change your life.

1 hour a day will change your life.

But if you don’t have an hour.

Start smaller.

5 minutes. 10. Or even 15 minutes.

Start with whatever you have. If you’ve got a partner, kids, or a mortgage, I get it. It’s tough. There are lots of demands on your time. But it’s the intention behind this dedicated time that makes the difference.

1 hour over the course of year spent…

• Self-educating.
• Building.

It will change your life. Guaranteed.

👉 Learn how to WEAPONIZE your writing to make more money, magnetic personal brand, and grow an online audience that loves your every word . I’ve created a FREE email course to help you turn your words into dollars: