I spent years writing emails for companies doing millions in revenue.

Full email ecosystems that turned cold leads into repeat buyers. Systems that brought in money all the time, not just during promo week.

And the whole time, I watched the same pattern destroy email lists that should have been printing money.

The advice most solopreneurs follow is backwards. Get the opt-in, push for the sale and move fast. It works for about a week.

Then open rates drop, clicks disappear, the list goes cold and suddenly, email becomes something way harder than it needs to be.

The problem isn't your list. It's the strategy.

Most email advice optimizes for speed.

Fast sales.
Fast calls.
Fast conversions.

But most of the people who signed up for your list aren't ready to buy on day one.

So you train them to tune out. And they do.

I teach a different approach. Build an email system that designed for short-term profit AND long-term profit.

Write emails people actually want to open and treat subscribers like customers before they give you a single penny.

The result: a list that makes money every month, not just at launch.

That's what my Emailtopia program is.

A live coaching program where I walk you through building the whole ecosystem for yourself.

By the end of it, you'll have every single element of your email marketing ecosystem created and perfected so it'll serve you for years.

You also get access to the community where you can ask questions, get feedback, and stay accountable.

DM me "Emailtopia" and I'll send you the full details.

Paul Murphy

I’ve been posting on LinkedIn consistently.

And hating every second of it.

And btw… I LOVE writing.

But LinkedIn turned it into optimization homework. Every post started with:

What hook will work?
What framework fits?
What does the algorithm want?

I’d write something, hit publish and feel noooothing. Literally like filling out a form.

A few days ago, I was venting about this to Collin Strachan. He said something stupid simple:

‘Write first. Optimize second’

I’d been trying to write LinkedIn posts. He told me to write MY posts first, then make them work for LinkedIn.

So this morning… I tested it with THIS post. No frameworks or anything. I just wrote what I actually wanted to say… and then optimized it.

First time in weeks it didn’t feel like homework.

Turns out you can follow the frameworks AND have fun 😁

Emails should be making you more money. If yours aren’t, I know why | Click ‘View My Newsletter’ to learn more :)

No alternative text description for this image

Worked at McDonald's. No degree. Struggled for 7 years.
Started a business while living at home with my mum.
Lost her suddenly. Every bill landed on me overnight.

vs

Built a business that replaced my £8/hour wage.
No boss. No teenage managers telling me what to do.
Go rock climbing at 2pm on a Wednesday because I want to.

90% of your story is what you make of it.

I'm sooooo glad I chose my story instead of believing theirs.

I turn 29 today! 🎉

Here are 29 actual good life & business lessons that will change how you think:

.

JUST JOKING, I DONT’T HAVE TIME FOR LINKEDIN TODAY BECAUSE I’M GOING ROCK CLIMBING 🙌🙌🎉🎉

I wasted 7 loooong years trying to figure it out on my own.

Affiliate marketing. Copywriting. YouTube tutorials. Free courses.

I was 100% convinced I could crack the code myself.

Spoiler Alert: I couldn't.

Then my mum died. And suddenly, I had no choice but to make something work.

I got a little bit of money from her passing. Not much.

But enough to make a decision.

I could keep grinding alone like I had been for 7 years, or I could invest in someone who already had what I wanted.

I chose to invest in a mentor, and within a couple of months, I quit McDonald's.

7 years of constant failure vs 2 months with the right support.

The biggest shift wasn't even the strategy (although that helped massively).

It was the mindset.

I used to go into sales calls desperate and hoping they'd say yes. My mentor taught me to focus on something else:

"I want this client, but I don't need this client."

I know it's simple, but that one sentence changed everything.

When you stop chasing, people start paying attention.

So, if you're grinding alone right now, convinced you'll figure it out eventually... that was me for 7 years.

Still broke. Still stuck. Still making Cheeseburgers.

You don't get a medal for doing it the hard way.

Find someone who's already where you want to be. Model them, learn from them and invest in them if you can.

It's the shortcut I wish I'd taken much sooner.

ADHD Career Coach | Founder of Momentum — the 8-week coaching program built to get ADHD brains off the overthinking line and into a rhythm of task execution (even on low-energy days)

If you're like most senior leaders I work with, you're not stuck because you lack experience, but because locking into your next move feels impossibly heavy.

I know that feeling well.

For years, I could lead teams, close deals, and make high-stakes decisions without blinking.

But when it came to my own next step?

– Everything blurred.
– The options multiplied.
– The second-guessing crept in.

And the longer I sat with it, the harder it got to move at all.

You can probably relate:

– You can see multiple lanes.
– You can imagine yourself in all of them.
– You can talk yourself into each one if you're not careful.

But eventually, the weight of all those possibilities starts to work against you.

➝ Your story doesn't point anywhere.
➝ Your positioning feels scattered.
➝ Your confidence nosedives.

And you start asking the real question:

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄?"

Most people assume it's a motivation problem.

It's not.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

Because when you're keeping too many options open, nothing really lands.

Once you stop hedging and lock into one clear lane, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀:

➝ Your direction locks in. 
➝ Your positioning becomes clear. 
➝ Your visibility grows in the right spaces. 
➝ Your authority increases with the people who matter.

Small wins start stacking again.

Movement feels normal.

Confidence comes back online.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜 𝗱𝗼.

Through 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 — my 8-week 1:1 career accelerator — I help leaders in transition stop hedging, lock into one clear path, and build visibility and authority where it actually matters.

Here's what you get:

– A structure for clarity, positioning, visibility, and authority
– The accountability and scaffolding that keep you steady
– 1:1 support to reduce friction instead of adding pressure
– A 2nd brain to guide the work between calls (Persona™)

By the time the conversations start, people already understand who you are, what you bring, and where you fit.

And once you lock in?

Momentum becomes the norm.

📩 𝗗𝗠 𝗺𝗲 "𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺" 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱.

David Hannan

I keep coming back to this photo.

I almost didn't take it.

— Last summer
— Olivia's first day of kindergarten
— I was just focused on getting her through the door

I was 48 when I became a dad.

— Older than expected
— Less apologetic than I imagined
— Already more at peace with it than I realized

People didn't say it outright.

They rarely do, but the message was there:

— It's selfish
— You won't keep up
— She'll graduate before you retire

I didn't debate it.
I just carried on.

Last year, at 53, I walked my daughter Olivia into her first day of kindergarten.

— Her hand in mine
— Purple backpack bouncing
— That half-skip kids do when they're excited

That's when it landed: if I'd listened to them, this moment wouldn't exist.

And while that decision was playing out at home, I was watching the same pattern play out at work.

I've spent years watching people edged out after 50.

— Resumes stop getting traction
— "Too experienced" turns into a liability
— "Not a fit" says everything without saying anything

Translation: ageism in disguise.

Here's the part that's stayed with me since.

That same stretch of life is often when things click.

That was true for me.

In my early 50s, I was diagnosed with ADHD.

— A clearer view of my patterns
— A new way of working with my brain
— A reframing of everything that came before

It forced me to strip away the noise.

— Better systems
— Cleaner decision-making
— Fewer obligations I never agreed to

I grew more in my early 50s than I had in decades before.

We're sold a neat timeline:

— Career first
— Family on schedule
— Progress in orderly stages

Real life doesn't follow that script.

Some of the most important things arrive once you stop racing the clock.

I turn 54 next month.

I don't feel late.
I feel settled.

And when someone quietly decides I've missed my window, I don't feel the need to correct them.

I know what opened once I stopped believing in that clock.

P.S. A lot of people already have a "late" moment behind them.
They just haven't given it credit yet.

Helping high-performing leaders get clear on their next move and show up with confidence | Founder of Momentum | Former $4M full-desk recruiter

My client, a Head of Marketing in EdTech, recently received a $265K offer because of this:

We'd been working 1:1 to get clear on her next step after feeling stuck for months—riddled with overwhelm and imposter syndrome.

Before then, she had no clarity on what role she wanted next.

Her resume and LinkedIn profile told two different stories.

Every rejection felt personal, feeding her imposter syndrome and making it hard to keep going.

Networking felt overwhelming and random (which is fine, but not effective).

So what changed?

4 things:

1. Clearer, more specific career direction
2. Cohesive resume and LinkedIn branding
3. Targeted engagement/networking strategy

But #4 has been the wildest unlock of them all ↓

4. Consistently posting authority-building content

Once her approach changed, she not only landed conversations with key decision-makers…

But she built real momentum and started drawing the right roles without overthinking every step.

Before, her job search efforts looked like this:

— Applying to roles without tailoring outreach
— Sending connection requests with no purpose
— Hesitating to engage out of fear of being judged
— Never sharing her insights or perspective publicly

Now, her strategy looks like this:

— Clear direction on the role she wanted
— Cohesive resume and LinkedIn throughline
— An engagement strategy that built real visibility
— Posting original content weekly to build authority

See the difference?

❌ Less guesswork
✅ More intentionality

But that's not all.

We got crazy specific about her LinkedIn content:

— The exact topics she wanted to align with
— The companies that should be paying attention
— The decision-makers she wanted reading her posts
— The exact message she wanted to communicate
— The clear value her expertise demonstrated

This works because your content shapes who pays attention and what happens next.

It's like a magnet.

Attract the right people and the right conversations, and it's just a matter of time before you get that offer.

Get it wrong though?

You're left wheel-spinning.

P.S. If you're feeling stuck and:

➝ struggle with focus challenges or overthinking
➝ have zero clarity on what you want to do next
➝ have a confusing resume and LinkedIn profile
➝ want a strategy that plays to your strengths

I'm opening up 4 more spots to work 1:1 with US-based senior leaders to help them do just that.

DM "Momentum" if you want to see how this works.

2025 David: What I got wrong (and what actually worked):

1. Every tough year means something is broken.
↳ Last year stretched me.
- It also sharpened the business.
- Some things worked. Others needed rebuilding.
- Both were true at the same time.

2. Growth required grinding harder each year.
↳ That belief aged poorly.
- Revenue stabilized when systems replaced urgency.
- Fewer calls, better containers, clearer expectations.
- Momentum came from consistency, not exhaustion.

3. More availability meant better service.
↳ Wrong math.
- Being always on blurred boundaries fast.
- The work improved when I protected my time.
- Clients got a calmer version of me. Family did too.

4. Recruiting expertise alone would be enough.
↳ Half true. Half naïve.
- I knew hiring systems inside out. 
- I underestimated the impact of identity loss.
- Execution followed once people felt steady again.

5. Transparency would land the same for everyone.
↳ That was projection.
- My ADHD diagnosis reshaped how I work and talk.
- I assumed everyone shared the same openness.
- Meeting people where they are built trust.

6. One unified workspace would solve everything.
↳ Spoiler: it didn’t.
- Persona worked for strategy and layered thinking.
- Content suffered when context got too crowded.
- Custom GPTs restored clients' voices fast.

7. More structure always equals more progress.
↳ I learned this one the uncomfortable way.
- Granular milestones worked for me.
- Clients experienced the same system as overload.
- Fewer steps created more follow-through.

Here’s what I know for sure:

☑ Clarity compounds faster than effort.
☑ Systems fail quietly before people do.
☑ Protecting your energy is part of the work.

Grateful for the clients who trusted me through the experiments and the resets.

2026 gets a cleaner version of everything.

P.S. What’s one shift from last year that stuck?

——
Hi, I’m David. I help high-performing leaders get clear on their next move and show up with confidence.

If time off didn’t shift the direction question, it probably wasn’t ever about energy.

I keep noticing this in the first week back. 

People get a bit of distance over the holidays. 

Quieter mornings. Fewer meetings. 

Just enough space to breathe and think that once the noise drops, things will probably feel clearer.

And then you make it to Friday.

You’ve been back in it long enough to tell what actually changed and what didn’t. 

The same career question’s still there. 
The same next role that isn’t quite defined. 
The same sense that the story still isn’t clear.

Even though you really hoped it might be by now.

Nothing really shifted. 

It’s not heavier, but it’s not lighter either.

From the hiring side, this is usually the part people don’t clock straight away.

It’s rarely about motivation, or effort, or a reset.

What lingers tends to be quieter than that. 

It’s the part where what’s next still feels fuzzy, where every option can still be justified. 

Where the story sounds fine in your head but wouldn’t quite land in a real conversation yet.

That’s the stuff a few days off doesn’t touch.

I don’t think that moment gets talked about much. 

That realization in the first week, when the calendar’s filling back up but the direction still hasn’t locked.

You’re left sitting with the same unanswered question you parked a couple of weeks ago.

It tends to just sit there for a bit, whether you’re ready to deal with it or not.

Some questions just take longer than a break.

The hardest roles to leave are the ones you're stuck explaining why you stayed.

I was sixteen years into a recruiting career. 

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't right anymore.

I remember this one Friday night, dinner done, sitting on the sofa half-watching Dexter, phone in my hand.

And there it was again, that question, the one I'd been carrying around for months but kept putting off because there was never a good time to deal with it.

I wasn't stressed or spinning, and to be honest, my week had been fine, which was the weird part.

When things are bad, you have a reason to move.

But when deals are closing, and big commission checks are rolling in, you start wondering why you're still thinking about leaving at all.

I sat there for a bit, finished my tea, and went to bed.

Woke up the next morning, same commute, same desk, same pipeline to work, and that question was right there with me like it had been the whole time.

I didn't do anything about it that week. 

Or the week after.

But it didn't go anywhere either.

P.S. Ever had one of those moments?

——
Hi, I'm David. I help high-performing leaders get clear on their next move and show up with confidence.

You don't need a perfect story to start a job search.

But most senior leaders act like they do.

That usually means:

- Waiting until the story feels "tight"
- Believing every chat has to go somewhere
- Pressure to sound confident before you feel clear

At senior levels, you're carrying identity, reputation, and expectations into every single conversation. 

That's a lot of weight. 

No wonder it feels exhausting.

Here's the reframe most leaders need:

A search is a private, low-pressure exploration phase.

The goal is just to gather information:

- What energizes you now
- What you don't want anymore
- What trade-offs you're willing to make

Clarity doesn't come 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 you start.

It comes 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 you start.

taplio

The Battle

Paul Murphy

David Hannan

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The Battle

Paul Murphy

David Hannan

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Paul Murphy's LinkedIn Performance

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