I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Danny Flood about his brand-new book, Unlimit. Danny Flood is a multiple best-selling author, editor, founder @ the School of Growth Hacking, and owner of OpenWorld Magazine. He’s also a world traveler and nomad and an inspiring person.
Below are a few highlights from our conversation:
About Danny and His Book Unlimit
What inspired you to write Unlimit, and how does it tie into your personal or professional journey?
When I was about 20 years old, I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t have any life experience to speak of to have anything worth writing about.
And so one day I was sitting in a café in my hometown and I made a decision that I would live my life going out into the world and collecting as much firsthand experience as I could. And I had a simple rule: whenever I encountered a fork in the road, always take it. Always say “yes” to new opportunities and adventures, and enjoy the ride!
And the amazing thing about living your life this way, with no structure or template to follow, is that there are no rules. You make up your rules and decide what works for you along the way. And you become an expert at making decisions because there are so many decisions to make all the time.
At first, it really felt like me against the world, and so I really dedicated myself to self-improvement and learning life hacks, anything I could find to have more fun in my life, create more freedom and more passion, and make all of my dreams come true.
I’ve traveled to dozens of different countries worldwide, and a blog and a podcast called “OpenWorld” for many years, where I interviewed lifestyle designers, successful online entrepreneurs, and extreme adventurers to see how they could achieve what they did. And through this learning and experimentation, I picked up so much along the way.
Having lived in over 45 countries and continuously challenged myself to adapt and grow, I realized the importance of leveraging adaptability, mindset, and tools like AI to unlock one’s potential. The book culminates the strategies, habits, and systems I’ve honed over the years to surpass my limitations and share with others.
Can you share a moment during the writing process that significantly influenced the book’s direction?
That’s a good question! Well, I set aside two months to do nothing but work on the book. I booked a flight to Thailand – a country where I feel very at home – and set myself to the task of doing nothing but creating the book content.
I was hugely successful in this effort and completed the manuscript with more than 104,000 words (about 90% done) in just six weeks. One of the reasons I was able to enter effortless states is that I wrote almost all of it while working out and transcribing my writing onto my phone.
I always tell writers that they don’t think too much when they write. Just shut off the inner critic and let all of the words flow out. The fact that I was able to write my book in such a short time was a confirmation that the techniques and strategies I share in the book are effective.
Danny’s Lessons For Content Creators
What are the top three actionable strategies from Unlimit, that content creators can apply immediately?
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- The level of success you experience in life is in proportion to the size of the challenges that you take on. When you can replace your problems with “bigger, better problems,” it acts as a catalyst for massive transformation and growth – we adapt and evolve to rise to the occasion. Take time to look at the problems that you are facing for the day and see how you can replace them with a bigger and better one.
- Our brains and bodies respond positively to stressors (called hormesis), so it’s very important to do something every day that feels challenging or uncomfortable. Exercise until you run out of breath. Take a swim in ice-cold water. Fast until your stomach starts to growl. All of these things will improve your health and vitality because they activate biological systems that force us to perform at our best. This, in turn, will make you more productive and effective at everything you do.
- Understand the power of full engagement. The peak state of productivity is when we are at a somewhat stimulated state of mental arousal – not too much, not too little. In other words, a little stress and pressure is good, but too much can cause us to perform poorly. This is known as the “Yerkes-Dodson” law, which asserts that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point.
How does your book help readers overcome common challenges like writer’s block or lack of engagement?
One thing I learned from Richard Bandler (co-founder of neurolinguistic programming) is that “brains are not designed to get results; they go in directions.” Unfortunately, today, our minds are pulled in a thousand different directions at once, which makes it difficult to do deep work or focus long enough to really complete anything.
For the last several years, I’ve used a simple framework as an entrepreneur called “The Maker’s Schedule and Manager’s Schedule” to make my work much easier to focus on and complete.
🕒 Maker’s Schedule: Reserved for deep, focused work where you create, solve problems and build momentum.
🕒 Manager’s Schedule: Designed for meetings, emails, and routine tasks.
These are based on two different “modes” which our brains actively engage themselves in: Default Mode Network (free flowing, open to expression), and Task Positive Network (analytical, critical).
Switching back and forth between these two modes means we can never fully engage in one or the other. A professional athlete, for example, doesn’t spend their rest periods during a game checking and replying to emails and texts, which divides their focus.
That’s why the essence of effortless productivity involves “batching” similar tasks and dedicating yourself to a specific block of time: half a day, a full day, or even longer.
This practice is also important for another reason: the DMN is conducive to creative work, and if we interrupt it by criticizing and analyzing our own work, it is entirely counterproductive. When you write or create anything, just let all of the inspiration flow, and don’t worry about whether what you are working on is good or not – it’s much more likely to be amazing this way, and you can edit what you wrote later on.
Can you share an example of someone who successfully implemented ideas from your book?
The best example is myself! But if I were to take an example of someone who implemented many of the strategies to dramatically change his life, it would be a young polar explorer named Jacob “Valhalla” Myers who, at 25 years of age, set out to become the youngest person to ski alone and unaided from the edge of the Antarctic continent to the geographic South Pole.
In the book, I detail his endeavor, what he faced out there on the ice, and how the experience changed his life forever. As Jacob says: “I hope everyone who has followed this journey can find their own—for all intents and purposes — their own South Pole to ski in their life. It’s brought so much value to my life. I think it’ll bring infinite value to theirs.”
What advice would you give someone just starting with content creation based on the principles in Unlimit?
Leverage the principle of minimum effective dose. This helps you to tackle your internal resistance and manage the feeling of overwhelm by moving forward towards your goal – one step at a time.
One way you can do this is by committing just 15 minutes a day to whatever it is you want to do in your life. No more, no less. The hardest thing is just to get started.
By the same token, when I started blogging and podcasting, I committed myself to just writing one post and publishing one podcast a week – and this was an easy schedule to stick to for several years.
This type of habit helps you to quiet the internal resistance, which likes to make challenges seem more daunting than they really are, and through the process, your skill becomes better and better.
Messages From Unlimit
If readers take away only one key message from your book, what should it be?
The most adaptable individual to ever-changing circumstances and environments will become the master of his or her destiny. This quality of adaptability comes from confident thinking and self-belief. When I was a boy, my father always remarked to me that “cream always rises to the top,” which means that talented, hard-working people who believe in themselves will always stand out and succeed.
Always be willing to adapt, accept, and embrace change. The problem that prevents many of us from making positive and lasting changes is that we tend to stick with what is familiar. Rather than being stuck inside our comfort zones, we become stuck in “familiarity zones.” That which is familiar to us feels like a part of our own identity, and to shed part of our own identity to adopt the new, the unfamiliar, and the unknown seems like a risky proposition… even when this isn’t at all the case.
How do you stay motivated and consistent in your content creation journey?
I’ve written several chapters in the book about how to increase your level of motivation and willpower to the limit. But essentially, I filter everything in a way that makes me stronger or more motivated. For example, if someone writes a bad remark or review, I use that as motivation to work twice as hard. Then, I also listen to guided meditations and positive affirmations to step into the shoes of a more confident self.
Your digital storefront will have a neat and professional appearance if you start with a template (more on that below) and create neat and uniform product mockups.
How can your book help creators who feel overwhelmed by the ever-changing digital landscape?
Unlimit is your ultimate guide to adapting and thriving in a fast-changing digital world. You will learn how to hack time to multiply your productivity, achieve effortless flow, hack the complex world of AI, and much, much more. 
What’s the best way for readers to stay in touch with you and follow your work?
Readers can follow me on social media (@dandanflood) and visit the Kickstarter to pick up the new book, as well as get a bunch of special perks, bonuses and a consultation with me.
Conclusion
I’ve had a chance to dive into Unlimit and it’s fantastic…I highly recommend you check it out HERE.
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