Founder of 1% Better™ | Former accountant, future author | Follow me for the best self-development content on LinkedIn

Former accountant.
Future author.

I share actionable, educational, and entertaining self-development content to help my readers live their best lives.

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Colby Kultgen

I dealt with negative self-talk for years.

And believe me when I say, It's no fun going through life as your own worst enemy.

That's why I love simple reframes like this.

They’re the tiny course corrections that, over months and years, can completely transform the way you speak to yourself.

Source: Coral Santoro on Instagram

The only way to become the kind of person who can do the thing…is to start doing the thing before you feel like that kind of person.

Read that twice.

Most people get this backwards.

They wait until they feel like a "real" writer to publish.
They wait until they feel like a leader to speak up.

But here’s the thing: 
Identity doesn’t come first, action does.

The evidence you're searching for only shows up after you start.

So if you're feeling stuck right now.

Overthinking. 
Overpreparing. 
Overconsuming.

Ask yourself:
1. What would the “qualified” version of me do today?
2. What small move could I make in that direction?

Then do that.

Act like the person you want to become.
Eventually, you won’t be acting anymore.

End-of-year reminder:

You’re allowed to be proud of things that have nothing to do with income or promotions.

The friendships you strengthened.
The habits you kept.
The boundaries you honoured.
The health you protected.
The person you’re becoming.

Success is a much bigger pie than job titles and salaries.

If you grew, healed, learned, showed up for people, or protected your energy this year—that counts.

Celebrate the parts of your life that don’t get LinkedIn announcements.

Image credit: 6secondseq on IG

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a study everyone should know about:

Your brain is lying to you about the past.

Research shows we overestimate how predictable past events were by 30-50% (hindsight bias).

Translation: 
You think you "should have known better" way more often than you actually could have.

When you catch yourself spiraling about a past decision, run it through this filter:

1. Information gap - What did I not know then that I know now?
2. Resource gap - What didn't I have access to? (time, money, support, tools)
3. Awareness gap - What emotional patterns or blind spots hadn't I recognized yet?
4. Growth gap - What skills or wisdom hadn't I developed?

Your brain rewrites history to make past outcomes seem obvious. 

The reality is:
You did the best you could with what you knew. Now you know more. 

That's not failure, that's the whole point.

Remember:

It's better to admit you walked through the wrong door than spend your life in the wrong room.

I see this everywhere. 

The soul-crushing job we keep because it sounds impressive on paper.
The toxic relationship we cling to because leaving feels like giving up.
The outdated belief we defend because we've already invested so much of ourselves into it.

The hard part isn't recognizing this, it’s admitting it.

Because admitting you're in the wrong room means admitting you made a mistake. It means backing out. Confronting the sunk cost. Disappointing people. Starting over.

But here's what nobody tells you: staying costs more.

Every day in the wrong room is a day not spent in the right one.
It's not just wasted time, it's the compounding loss of what could have been.

The opportunities you'll never see. 
The version of yourself you'll never become.

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do in life is simply say: "This isn't right for me anymore.”

And then move on.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

Developing a bias for action is one of the most valuable things you can do in life.

This advice isn't anything new, Rumi was preaching the same thing almost 1,000 years ago: "As you start to walk on the way, the way appears."

As far as making this part of your every day working process goes, here are a few ideas:

1. Start every morning with one “move it forward” task. Pick the single smallest action that will advance your most important project, and do it before checking anything reactive.

2. Shrink every task to the next physical step. Not “write the article” but “outline the first three points.” Not “launch the product” but “draft the landing page headline.”

3. End the day by setting tomorrow’s first action. Before you close your laptop, write down the exact task you’ll start with in the morning.

♻️ Repost if this resonates.

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An idea that genuinely changed my life…

The Average Tuesday Rule:

The quality of your ordinary Tuesday is the best measure of your life satisfaction.

Think about it.

We spend 80% of our lives on these “nothing special” days, yet we obsess over optimizing the other 20%—weekends, vacations, milestones.

We tolerate miserable Tuesdays while dreaming about spectacular Saturdays.

But when your average Tuesday is an 8/10, everything changes:
↳ You stop counting down to Friday.
↳ Small moments start mattering more than big events.
↳ You start enjoying the entire ride, not just the peaks.

Most self-improvement advice focuses on reaching the ceiling.

The Average Tuesday Rule flips this approach: focus on raising your floor.

Here’s where to start:

➊ Design your ideal ordinary day:
 From wake-up to bedtime, craft a realistic blueprint for an 8/10 Tuesday.

➋ Take small steps to close the gap: 
- Identify one daily friction point and solve it permanently. 
- Add one small joy to your routine and protect it fiercely.
- Subtract one energy leak that consistently drains you. 

❸ Keep doing this until your reality matches your ideal.

Because life isn’t made up of mountaintop moments.

It’s made up of average Tuesdays.

How to remember almost everything you learn (science-backed):

how to remember almost everything you learn

I’m 34. 

Here’s what I would tell my 24-year-old self:

I’m 34. Here’s what I would tell my 24-year-old self.

How to do a hard reset on your life before 2026:

How to do a hard reset on your life before 2026

How to unrot your brain (step-by-step)

Reminder:

You don’t have to wait until January 1 to change your life.

Here are 6 questions to close out 2025 strong and hit the ground running in 2026:

6 questions to answer during the last 6 weeks of 2025

30 short habits with a massive return on life:

What would you add to this list?

30 short habits with a massive return on life 

5 non-negotiable daily routines every person should have:

5 non-negotiable daily routines every person should have

A "razor" is a rule of thumb for simplifying complex decisions.

Here are 8 everyone should know:

8 decision-making razors everyone should know

How to get more done in less time (8 daily non-negotiables):

How to get more done in less time 

Well, it's that time of year again.

Before we rush into 2026 with a fresh set of goals and big plans, there's something important we should do first:

Reflect on the 12 months behind us.

Wins, losses, lessons. The stuff most people skip over in their rush to plan what's next.

I originally created this set of 7 questions for myself, but after seeing how impactful they were, I knew I had to share them with you.

2025 Personal Year-In-Review

How to do a digital declutter before 2026:

How to Do a Digital Declutter Before 2026

Elpha Marketing

Managing Partner, Chief Creative Officer

Josh Holladay Keynote Concerts

I create memorable keynote addresses packed with inspiring stories, original songs, and actionable instruction. My Keynote addresses are a power-packed way to elevate the mood of the room and get your attendees excited about the rest of the event.

JoshHolladay.com

I specialize in contemporary styles and sing with a classically trained tenor voice.

I write songs and speeches on a variety of topics including:

Top 4 Favorite Topics:
 
1. Leveling Up to the degree of lifestyle that you want to live. Decide on what level of lifestyle you want to live, then find out what kind of person it takes to live that lifestyle, in behavior, emotional intelligence, skills, value transfer, and income. 
2. Mental Illness - Coping Mindset
3. Finding and stepping into your purpose. Life's short and we don't know when the curtain will close. "Rock and Roll" now! 
4. ACTION. Action solves problems. The right action is the best solution solver.

Keynote Concert Speaker

Email List Growth Accelerator

Most companies don't have their email marketing buttoned up. We solve that problem in 3 ways:

- Lead Magnet: Create highly-converting, beautiful Educational Email Courses as a strategic marketing and revenue play.
- Nurture Sequences: Implement a 20 email dynamic nurture sequence.
- Newsletter: Create authority and spread your company's unique voice to your audience.

All for the purpose of converting tire kickers to paying customers, spreading goodness, and ultimately changing lives for the better.

Founder, CEO

Josh Holladay Consulting

• Craft over 1000+ digital assets, graphics, and web ui designs.
• Project manager over designer and developer team.
• Create brand, web and mobile graphics, logos, and UI for various clients and companies.
• Craft compelling sales funnel web pages to drive conversions and optimize user journeys.
• Create visually appealing cover and page designs and expertly crafted content for eBooks and lead magnet pages.
• Increase the reach of influencers and subject matter experts by launching their first online UI and branded web presence.
• Create brand and style guides.
• Conduct research with current and potential customers to 
• Work closely with stakeholders to ensure consistency between project objectives and design outputs.
• Build relationships and increase iteration over revenue generating assets.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to facilitate ideation and select and refine digital product concepts based on market and trend research.
• Develop strategic launch and marketing plans based on product and UI design to maximize product visibility and success.

Web Marketing Consultant

Software Technology Group

- Employed JavaScript frameworks such as React, Vue, and Angular to achieve secure functionality and seamless user experience. 
- Collaborated with stakeholders, designers, developers, and marketing professionals to update current web pages and create new pages based on designs and business objectives.
- Operated under the Agile methodology with stand-ups and weekly Sprints. Managed work within various project management systems.

Front-end Web Developer

Josh Holladay is the creative, marketing, and business development engine behind Elpha Event Marketing, a company focused on helping businesses maximize the impact of their event-led growth strategies. 

As part of a collaborative team at Elpha, Josh works alongside experts in sociology research, data science, and tech to develop tailored strategies for clients. While his colleagues provide deep insights into audience behavior and data-driven decision-making for current clients, Josh creates the systems to educate and inform event growth leaders in various industries. Their work ensures that events are not only memorable but also foster meaningful connections and enhance lead generation efforts.

With nearly a decade of experience in creative direction, web development, marketing funnels, UX/UI design, and entrepreneurial ventures, Josh brings a wealth of knowledge to every project.

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Colby Kultgen

Josh Holladay

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