Analog Action by Matt Ragland

Hey Reader, it's time for my 2025 annual review! If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I do these every year. And if you’re here just to see how my year went in my own words, I really appreciate you. Thanks for being here. I’m sharing this because I believe there’s something in here that might resonate with you as you get to the end of the year. Maybe it’ll make you pause and reflect on what you’re doing—how you’re living as a person, entrepreneur, creator, parent, or spouse. If...

Hey Reader! This is one of my favorite emails to write each year because I get to share the books that made a difference in how I think and live. Before we start, a quick note: these aren’t all books released in 2025. These are books I discovered and read for the first time this year. Some came out recently, others have been around for a while. What matters is they all landed at the right time for me (and maybe you)! I’ve linked to all these books below, and where possible, I’m pointing you...

Hey Reader, I’m on a flight back from Austin thinking about a question I got asked: “How did you build such a diverse network? You’ve met and made friends with a musician, writer, branding expert, YouTuber, entrepreneur, doctor, researcher, and people who make jeans, bags, and boots.” Here’s the thing… I wouldn’t say it’s been intentional. I like finding cool people doing cool things that I want to meet up with. And those meetups become friendships that last a long time. We trade business...

I was on a call with a client last Tuesday who was frustrated. "Matt, I've been posting on Twitter every day for four months. My newsletter has 1,200 subscribers. What am I doing wrong?" I pulled up Sahil Bloom's account and showed her one specific tweet from October. The tweet itself got 40K impressions. Normal engagement. Nothing viral. But buried in the third comment—not even the tweet itself—was a single line: "I'll write more about this in next week's newsletter." That one tweet sent...

Last weekend was pretty perfect, Reader, I woke up early, read my Bible, did some journaling. Then went out and coached my boys’ flag football teams. We had lunch with the family, drove out to the beach for a hard workout with the GORUCK team, finished with a cold plunge, and capped it off with beer and barbecue. One of those days where I went to bed thinking, “Yeah. That’s it. That’s the life.” That's when I realized... I’ve described a day like that a hundred times. To friends. In my...

Hey Reader, ever notice how your best ideas show up at the worst times? You're in the shower. Driving. Halfway through a conversation. That's when your brain decides to hand you something brilliant. But here's where most people get stuck: they write it down, then immediately wonder "What do I do with this now?" Do I tag it? File it somewhere? Build a system around it? Connect it to other ideas? So instead of just capturing the thought, you start organizing. Adding friction. And pretty soon,...

Hey Reader, quick question… This fall I’ve been working with a group of newsletter writers to help them write more consistently, effectively, and turn more emails into sales. So if you have a newsletter and that sounds like something you would like—easier to write and more profitable—just click reply and let me know. 💡 One Big Idea The other day I took a selfie for social. It’s kinda surprising to me that these “natural” selfies still work, but even so they’re starting to feel played out....