Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Well, well, well, my friends. I bet you didn't expect to see me pop up in your feed. Let's get back to it.
It's Matt D'Avella here and welcome back to the Ground Up Show. I'm back to doing my podcast again for the first time in five years. Holy shit. So much has changed over that time. I started the Ground Up Show before I started my YouTube channel. It was one of the first pieces of original content I created when I made the leap from being a freelancer back in 2017
The Ground Up Show was really a pivotal chapter in my creative journey as it blended my passion for storytelling with a platform to connect with inspiring individuals. Through this podcast, I explored the lives and mindsets of creators, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are building something meaningful from the ground up. For me, it was more than just a podcast. It was really
really a story of personal growth. It gave me the opportunity to dive into topics like overcoming self-doubt, mastering habits, and pursuing a purposeful life. Each conversation left me with insights that helped to shape my approach to work and creativity while also helping me refine my skills as an interviewer and storyteller. Listeners of The Ground Up Show have often shared how these conversations resonated with them.
providing practical advice and a sense of camaraderie for anyone navigating the messy middle of their own journeys. It was a wild time, one that got me to interview people who helped to shape my own journey, from those who helped me understand personal finance like Ramit Sethi, or those who taught me how to be more intentional with how I spent my time like Greg McKeown.
These interviews often turned into genuine friendships as I created a network of like-minded people who continue to inspire and challenge me. But I stepped away from the podcast, kind of by accident. I didn't intend to take a break for so long or for the break to become essentially permanent. But as my dad would often say about his shady DIY home fixes,
Sometimes temporary things become permanent. I stepped away from the podcast because my YouTube channel was starting to blow up.
I just didn't have the time for the podcast and the YouTube channel and the social content and the newsletter without burning out. So I'm bringing back my podcast, but things are going to change, including the name. I know, I know. Just hear me out. Before I get to that, I want to talk about why I'm bringing the podcast back to begin with.
The first and main reason is entirely selfish. I miss connecting with people who inspire me. Don't get me wrong, my son is awesome and he inspires the hell out of me, but there's something about connecting with other creatives, entrepreneurs, and filmmakers that really
that really motivates me. Now that I live in Australia full time, it feels a lot like I'm starting over. I don't have a network of other creatives to tap into. So I'm just starting to reach out now and build that network from scratch. When I started the Ground Up Show, self-development podcasts
were really just in their infancy. Flash forward to today, holy shit, there are thousands of self-development podcasts, millions of creators, and video is a requirement when starting a podcast. So I thought long and hard about the kind of podcast I wanted to make, and that brought me to a new name and new format. First, I want to be clear that I'm going to be keeping this feed as well as all the archived Ground Up episodes. I've heard from so many of you over the past few weeks, and
And even looking at the data myself, I can see that so many of you still listen to old episodes for inspiration. So I didn't want to take that away from you or make it hard to listen to old episodes. But I will be rebranding this podcast into a new show, which is going to be called Three Rules.
Three Rules is going to be a short-form podcast where I ask guests who've inspired me to share three rules that help them find success or happiness. The episodes are intentionally short, each less than 15 minutes. Why so short? Because the world doesn't need another three-hour self-development podcast. I just want to give you some actionable advice you can listen to by the time you finish your Egg McMuffin. Sometimes self-development content is overly complicated and filled with fluff.
That's not this. This is wisdom without the waffle. That's my working tagline. We'll see if it sticks. I don't know. I like waffles, but not the kind when it's like talking and rambling on and on. You get the point. I've already filmed the first few interviews and the guests are pretty awesome. Just to name a few, we've got bestselling author Mark Manson and Ryan Holiday, as well as the Australian YouTuber Struthless.
So everyone loves a listicle. So I decided to come up with seven reasons why I decided to go with this concept over some others that I explored. First, I love rules. Over time, I've experienced firsthand the power of sticking to a few simple rules.
They create clear boundaries that make it easier to automate good behavior. Most of us struggle with motivation, but rules act as a framework to guide us, reducing decision fatigue and keeping us on track. Two, everyone's journey to success is unique, and the rules that work for one person won't necessarily work for another. This show isn't about blindly following every piece of advice. It's about experimenting and finding what resonates with you. Number three, we spend too much time consuming content and not enough actually applying it.
Podcasts are often far too long than they need to be and filled with unnecessary chat. But self-development doesn't need to be complex or time-consuming. This show is about cutting through the noise, offering actionable advice in less than 15 minutes. Why overcomplicate what can be delivered clearly and concisely? Self-development should be simple and accessible.
Number four, staying consistent is hard and we all need these reminders to stay the course. That's why these short, impactful episodes are designed to fit into your busy life. Whether you're a college student or like me, trying to figure out how the hell to balance being a creator while also being a great parent. The final three are quite selfish and have more to do with the actual production of the podcast itself.
So number five is I don't have to do much prep for these episodes, which is amazing. Guests come in prepared with three rules and I explore how and why it's helped them. Again, as a parent, I just don't have that much time anymore. And so for me, this short systematic type podcast is a perfect fit for my life. Number six, I wanted a consistent content stream I could create that I could keep up even if I decided to take a break from my YouTube videos.
So while I'm just getting back into making YouTube videos again after an eight month break, I will be taking breaks from YouTube in the future. Like if I work on a new course or a side project or a documentary, these are periods of my life where I just don't have the time to keep YouTube up because it often takes so long to make a YouTube video. And so I like the idea of having this consistent place where people can expect to hear from me, just like my newsletters.
And number seven, of course, the other reasons I shared before, really, it's about getting inspired by other creators and building my network here in Australia. I'm making this episode because I just want to prepare you. I want you to know that the name, the cover art, and the format are going to change. Something tells me not many of you will really care because it's been five years since I uploaded an episode here, but I just wanted to cover all my bases.
Okay, so where do we go from here? I've got three action items you can take if you want to help support this show. First, in addition to kicking off this podcast, I'm also creating a companion newsletter. So if you sign up for this newsletter, you'll get the three rules summarized every week into an email to help you better digest the information. Go to mattdavella.com slash three rules to get that.
that. I'm starting my Patreon account back up to help support the show. I closed down my Patreon account a couple years ago because integrity. I was growing a media company at the time and I didn't have the time to share all the content I promised. So while I could have continued to make a couple thousand dollars a month doing nothing, I decided to cancel all memberships. Well, now that I'm starting this podcast up again, and now that I'm a solo creator again, it's essential for me to find ways to make this show more
sustainable. So when you sign up to become a patron, you get access to the full length episodes and bonus questions I ask guests. Sometimes these are two to three times longer than the final episodes I share. I'm also going to be bringing back my popular AMA podcast for patrons. But most importantly, I just want you to contribute if my work has helped you, if you have a few extra bucks every month, and you want to give back to support my show and help me reinvest back into it.
So if you want to do that, you can go to patreon.com slash Matt D'Avella. Oh, and finally, I'm filming all of these episodes and sharing them on YouTube. Just go to youtube.com slash three rules podcast to subscribe and get them in your feed every week. Stay tuned. I'm starting things off in one week with my first guest, Ryan Holiday. So excited to share this new podcast with you. See you next time.