Introducing Clues Dot Life

Hey everyone!

It’s been a month since I last posted. There’s a good reason for that. I’ve been busy building a new web app that I’ll be using to produce lots of mental health content moving forward. I call it Clues Dot Life. The MVP is live at https://clues.life

I’m building it for 27-year-old Andy. It’s the thing I wish I had when I first sought help for my mental health. But now I’m 40, much older, much wiser, less bendy, more squishy, and magically equipped to solve this problem due to the work skills I gained over the prior 17 years. Unexpectedly, the dots have connected. Badass.

Here, watch this brief video if you want to hear more about why I’m building Clues Dot Life.

To begin with, the product is minimally featured relative to the vision I have in mind for it. But it’s a sizable enough start and I’m happy with it. It’s clean, and it will scale.

Topics: I’ll publish informative pages on important topics such as “Cognitive Distortions”, “EMDR”, and “Electroconvulsive Therapy”

Book Reviews: I read a bunch. So, I decided to draft notes for each book I read, weave their insights into Topics and other pages on the app, and give you the essence of the book in 15 minutes or less. Like this one about The Four Agreements — one of my top 3 books in the realm of mindfulness.

Courses: Small yet informative self-guided courses on a wide range of topics, for those that want to go deeper. These, of course, will reference (link) to other Topics, Book Reviews, and other pages within Clues Dot Life. The first one I’m producing is still in production (i.e. it’s pretty whack at the moment) but I still think you should take a peek at this Models of the Mind Course. Only half of the content is up, and the UX needs some work (click on the “Lessons” links to get started). Just wanted to set expectations and a reminder that this is truly in MVP mode :)

People & Stories: With this section, I want to highlight the industry trailblazers (like Francine Shapiro), great thinkers (such as Carl Jung), lesser-known and underrated figures like Lev Vygotsky, and everyday people that find a way to heal and transform. Something to inform you, yet also inspire you. I have much more work to do here.

My Essays: Sometimes, I have something specific I want to say. I obey the urge and write it. The sort of thing where you can get a 90% ready draft nailed on the first shot through it.

Big Ideas: I want to dabble in more visual and artistic storytelling, utilizing a bit of motion and animation, to help wrap your mind around a complex subject made simple. My personal framework of personal transformation is the first example of this. I want to go big on this portion of the site someday. It’ll be costly, so I’ll have to inch my way toward it.

Speaking of which, I’ll say a quick word about my goal for the site. I want to help others. Committing to a life of service is what has pulled me out of what I call an “overworked and soulless executive malaise” and given me a new approach to life.

There’s so much that I want to accomplish artistically on this site, but I’m starting small and nimble. It’s self-funded and I’m the only employee. Other than that, I have 2 contract designers. They’re brothers, actually. I met them because they’re readers of my substack. They’re fantastic. See for yourself. (thanks guys!)

In principle, I want as much of the content as possible to be free. However, I must generate some revenue so that I can afford to keep things up and running and grow the product & content library. I also need more support, so I must hire an agency and a few other creative folks to help me push further into audio, video, and other long and short-form creative efforts.

That said, I am beginning at the lowest barrier to entry, which is no barrier to entry at all. All of the content is currently free. However, if you’d like to subscribe as a monthly donor, you can do so here:

I’ll start here and figure it out as I go. Once I get to $600/month of recurring donations, I’m first going to hire a podcast editing agency to take my video production to a higher level. That’s the next thing on my roadmap that will be unlocked once more subscriptions come in.

Quick change of pace. I wanted to share something that’s got me fired up (in a good way.) I did a podcast interview with Dr. Christopher Palmer. He recently published a book called Brain Energy, exploring the relationship between our metabolism (especially what we eat) and mental illness. It’s fascinating stuff. And the way he communicates his research is inspiring. It’s one of hope and optimism on a subject that is usually shrouded in sadness and discomfort.

On the inside reads the book’s tribute:

It’s unnecessary for me to say more. It’s a gem of a book.

Stay tuned as I’ll publish my podcast interview with Dr. Palmer in a few weeks.

Anyhow, that’s it for now! It’s been 5 months in the making and I’m excited for people to check out Clues Dot Life. Let me know what you think!