In June of 2024, I returned to Lifeboost Coffee after spending a year focused on Amazing.com. After five years of rapid growth, Lifeboost showed cracks in the great foundation we’d built.
New customer growth declined, Shopify subscriptions plateaued, and traffic stagnated.
Our first step was to get more out of our current traffic.
The problem was that we were sending traffic to dozens of pages.
No wonder we were stuck. It’s hard to optimize one page really well, much less more than twenty.
We redirected all pages to just a handful of pages. Sales, ad performance, and new customer acquisition improved immediately.
Less effort. Faster growth.
It’s like getting a plane off the ground. With too much weight, flight is slow, inefficient, and, eventually, impossible.
The first step: reduce weight.
We also accumulate excess weight in our personal lives. As entrepreneurs, our individual lives are intertwined with our business lives.
Reduce everything that doesn’t matter to make room for what does.
What follows are the 10 things I removed in 2025 that most improved my life. Use this list as inspiration to identify what you can remove to shed excess weight, so you can fly faster and further in 2026.
Personal
1. Wardrobe colors
With the help of ChatGPT, I reduced my wardrobe to four colors: black, charcoal, olive, and camel.
Buying clothes is simpler—if it doesn’t come in one of those four colors, I don’t buy it.
Choosing what to wear is simpler—all those colors work well together.
2. Hobbies
I went from juggling seven hobbies to just two: skiing in the winter and wakesurfing the rest of the year.
One big decision I made was to quit jiu-jitsu. Between driving to and from classes, training, private lessons, watching instructional videos, rehabbing injuries, and cooling down after grueling hour-and-a-half classes, I used to spend fifteen or more hours per week on that one hobby.
While I sometimes miss jiu-jitsu, I intentionally chose hobbies that don’t require me to put in so much time just to stay even. (Competition in wakesurfing is much lower because the barrier to entry is buying a $100,000+ boat. I think that’s why old rich guys race cars and sailboats—young whipper snappers can’t afford to compete.)
3. Excess caffeine
I used to drink two large “cups” of coffee (really 3+ 8 oz cups) in the morning and a quad-shot latte in the afternoon. That’s 500 mg of caffeine per day.
Each day, I’d experience a roller coaster of energy, affecting my ability to think clearly and make level-headed decisions.
I switched to mostly half-caff (sometimes full decaf) to cut my caffeine intake by 60%.
My energy increased.
4. Water after 7 pm
I stopped drinking all liquids by 7 pm. I almost never have to pee in the middle of the night, which means I get better sleep.
(I drink more water throughout the day to stay hydrated.)
5. Supplements
I used to take 15 or more supplements per day—nothing compared to biohackers like Dave Asprey and Bryan Johnson, who take over 100 pills a day.
I reduced my supplement count to zero, then added back just a few (like Viviscal for my hair, so I can have flowing locks like Fabio).
Business
6. Phone after 6 pm
I turn off my phone and put it away in a kitchen drawer by 6 or 7 pm every night.
Within a couple of weeks of doing this, I felt 10-20% smarter. Better ideas. Clearer thinking.
It’s the most potent brain enhancer I’ve tried.
7. Recurring meetings
I have only two recurring meetings each week: a Lifeboost Coffee data review and a retail rollout review. Both are back-to-back on Thursdays.
The rest of the week, I’m free to schedule my time as I see fit, based on what I feel is most essential and most interesting.
It’s glorious.
8. Facebook and Instagram
I check Facebook once a month and Instagram every three to four months.
I don’t feel better after using those platforms, so I don’t use them.
9. Short-term investments
I studied Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, and value investing for four years.
I invested in a handful of undervalued small-cap stocks. Because those companies are small, small news announcements can cause massive swings in their stock prices. So, I checked prices daily—often five to ten times.
Monitoring those companies distracted me from what mattered more: building my companies and sharing what I learned to help others.
I cut all shorter-term investments. I only invest in stocks that I’m OK with not checking for a year.
(My investment results actually improved.)
10. Being CEO
In 2025, I fired myself as CEO of Amazing.com.
I’m also not the CEO of my largest company, Lifeboost Coffee.
And I’m not the CEO of our new AI video platform, Kreator.ai.
I didn’t become an entrepreneur to manage employees or conduct meetings.
I became an entrepreneur because I wanted to make a lot of money, do what I love, and make an impact.
As an owner but not the CEO, I do what I want inside and outside our businesses while building wealth.
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Have a great weekend,
Matt