The economy is in the toilet, tech stocks are down 46%, and Elon Musk bought Twitter to piss off blue-haired liberals.

As someone who owns way too much stock in Amazon and Google, it's hard to remain positive.

But in reality, none of it matters. We're just in a cycle, and things will rebound. How long will it take? Hell, if I know.

Things will bounce back, and we will experience another economic surge. Hopefully, it won't take another pandemic.

As someone who lived through 2008, I know what it takes to get through a recession. The thing to do is focus on what you control. That is, on sharpening your craft.

What was true in 2008, is true today: There are two skills that matter, thinking and writing.

Those two skills will differentiate you from everyone else.

The Antinet helps with the thinking part. It acts as a processing engine for your thoughts, forcing you to do things the old way, the hard way, the best way. Unplug from the computer, sit down with a book, and develop your thoughts. Pen, paper, and… your brain.

When it comes time to write, you'll have an infinite amount of material to pull from. No more staring at a blank page with a blinking cursor.

So yes, two skills: thinking and writing.

As for the writing part, well, the age-old saying is, to become a better writer, write more!

But that advice is horseshit.

Furthermore, it's unhelpful.

True, writing does help you become a better writer than say, not writing at all. But the act of writing isn't everything.

The whole write for thirty days straight isn't a good strategy.

There are other practices for becoming a better writer.

One practice is neuroimprinting (which I've written about before). This is just a fancy term for copying down—by hand—a great piece of writing.

Another practice is reading your writing aloud.

You see, in preparation for the launch of my Antinet book, I've been working on the script for a video.

The video is to be 90 seconds in length.

I've forced myself to read the script aloud. I've done this at least twenty times. Each time I do this, I've found more things I can cut out. Like the word "that," which I cut from the previous sentence.

Nobody is above reading their writing aloud. F. Scott Fitzgerald's secretary read his work aloud to him every day.[1] Heck, even the Copy Chief of Random House swears by it.[2]

Reading your writing aloud helps you spot strengths and weaknesses. Your writing will be concise and your ideas will spread more effectively.

That's really all I have to say about it.

The process is this:

1. Use your Antinet to read and develop knowledge (by hand).

2. Write (weekly, not every day).

3. Read your writing aloud, edit, and publish.

That's what I did with this piece, and that's what I recommend you try, too.

Stay strong, stay crispy, and keep sharpening the mind.

Your friend and analog knowledge revolutionary,

Scott P. Scheper

A Man Who Feels Bad For Bringing Up The Economy