Moataz Ahmed on Freedom, Creativity & His Journey To Overcome Laziness

[01:35] Paul: Today I'm talking with Mohtez Ahmed, otherwise known as Mohtizzy, who's a graphic designer, consultant, and hand lettering artist. Today we're talking about a part of a book he's put out titled The Lazy Person's Guide to Freedom. Welcome to the podcast.

[01:56] Moataz Ahmed: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.

[01:58] Paul: I'd love to hear when you first started thinking about the word freedom. Your book starts with this concept and has a really interesting framing of it, but I'd love to hear when you first started to think about the concept in your own life.

[02:13] Moataz Ahmed: Uh, yeah, um, so obviously, um, everyone wants to be free. Everyone wants to, um, you know, not be tied down by things they don't want to be restrained by. I personally started feeling that I didn't really express that when I was, you know, told I had to be in a specific field, a specific career path, and I really wasn't enjoying it. And it's kind of like a cultural thing. Like, a lot of people from my background, they, they're like forced— and not really forced, but like, it's, it's basically the only option they have. You know, in terms of like the stigmas and, you know, things that society dictates, it's just that, okay, you have to be either like a doctor or an engineer, right?

Because they don't really think about, you know, the possibility of other things. And I had the luxury of emigrating to the US at a young age, and I experienced this huge jolt of freedom, right, compared to what I was experiencing in my home country. And it definitely, you know, made me just have that urge to just keep going with it, you know, compared to my peers, compared to my classmates. I was enjoying a lot more things that, you know, they didn't. And I really wanted to just bring that home. I really wanted to share that with as many people as possible.

And, you know, even people amongst my own community that are here in the US, we even within that much freedom, we still like constrict ourselves with these added, you know, restraints that are just completely baseless.

[03:54] Paul: Yes. So many people have made this observation of Western culture with so much freedom. People seem to put constraints on themselves or find it in conformity. From your perspective, how have you kind of made sense of that trade-off and why people might do these kind of things?

[04:16] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, I mean, it's obviously for, for, uh, like their self-interest. They believe strongly that, you know, they, um, they need the stability, quote unquote, right? So they came to this country, they worked really, really hard to get here, and, um, they believe that, okay, now that we've made it, we're not gonna just, you know, squander all our efforts. We're really going to hold on to it. It's a scarcity mindset, right? So they're just holding on to that precious thing that they worked so hard for.

And then unfortunately, it's actually very limiting in doing that, but it comes from a good place.

[04:51] Paul: And what were some of the other ways you saw that play out when you were younger in terms of freedom and how you were experiencing it? It seems like even from a young age, which I don't think a lot of people have this appreciation, you were just really in the moment of saying, wow, I really do have so much freedom.

[05:11] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, for sure. Um, so I'm originally from Egypt, and, uh, it's like now it's, it's almost like a police state, right? So you can't really express your opinions, you can't, um, you know, talk about things unless, you know, a lot of people just disappear, right? Um, so now with like the revolution and everything, uh, people are, are have been speaking out more, but, uh, dealing with a lot more consequence, a lot bigger consequences, right? People are getting, you know, uh, shot in the streets, all sorts of stuff. So, um, I was kind of exposed to this, like, idea of, of, um, of, like, there's this oppressive thing, um, and then we shouldn't, like, talk about specific things, we shouldn't do specific things outdoors at a very young age.

So I was kind of, like, already more attuned to it, more so than like many American audiences or many American, you know, like citizens or whatever, because they just haven't had that to that extent, you know, at all. So of course, when I moved somewhere that you could just say whatever you want and, you know, become whatever you want, it really, really, really influenced me and just changed me, gave me that perspective, you know, ever since I came here when I was like 11.

[06:26] Paul: So when you were thinking about work and going through college and thinking about entering the quote-unquote real world, did you have these questions at the top of your mind? I think for a lot of people, work is how they first kind of grapple with what they define freedom as in their lives.

[06:46] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, and even a little bit before then, like when I was in school, I was, I was like undecided. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew I was creative. I know I like to paint and draw. But I didn't think of it as a career choice at all. It was just ingrained into me like the only way to succeed is to have these safe jobs.

And I basically, it came out of just failure basically. So, I tried to get into them and tried really hard, but it really wasn't for me. And after a few attempts, then I realized, okay, well, I really have to just do something. Let me just do what I'm good at. And from there, you know, started freelancing, started, you know, getting gigs, and then, you know, got a few jobs to supplement, you know, the freelancing. And then, you know, that really, really gave me the freedom that I really craved.

[07:41] Paul: Yeah, so you were doing that while you were still in college?

[07:44] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, I was still like, you know, doing things for people in my community, just like designing a logo here, uh, you know, uh, ads, you know, making brochures and billboards and stuff for people while I was in school. Um, just because I was the only one who did it. Like, there are not many people— we're not very like, uh, Arabs who do graphic design, for example. Right. Um, so like, anyone who would, you know, see me be like, oh hey, you're a graphic designer, like, I've never heard that before, let me do my thing, and you do this, blah blah blah. And, um, yeah, it's, it's always been like that ever since I went to school.

[08:17] Paul: Yeah. So when you were graduating, how did you think about managing that transition?

[08:22] Moataz Ahmed: Basically just kind of jumped in head, uh, you know, headfirst. I, um, I went straight into, uh, freelancing. Um, and I did apply to a few places. I, you know, but I, I was, I only had that like one, you know, get, just get a job mindset, right? Just get something safe. Make everyone happy and just go with it, right?

I didn't really think of it as like a, something that's actually gonna make a difference somewhere or just something that's gonna be freeing me. I just wanted it cuz it had to be done, right?

[08:58] Paul: I'd love to shift to the book you wrote. Maybe you can talk a bit about where the idea for that came out. Right now you've released part 1 of 3 parts.

[09:10] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah.

[09:10] Paul: So maybe just where, where did the first kind of drop of that idea emerge and how have you thought about putting it out there in the world?

[09:20] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, I really wanted to just write a book for my previous self, like my younger self, because I was really, really lost. I, you know, had so much that I wanted to do, so much that I could have done, but I wasted so much time just, you know, following these dreams that are not mine at all. And I know a lot of people who are in my shoes. I know a lot of people who are, you know, going through the same struggles. So this is basically a book for them that describes kind of how I went through it. So all the things that I've been learning, all the things I've learned from conferences, from mentors, from books, from podcasts, all those things, you know, over the maybe the last 5 years or so.

I decided I really want to share with people and just to get it in as many people's hands as possible. I don't care about profits or whatever. It's just something that really needs to be said to help as many people as possible.

[10:19] Paul: Yeah, it seemed like from the tone of the book, the thing that jumped out at me was you have all these things that might be called productivity hacks, right? And you don't really present it in that direction. I think a lot of productivity is presented as an opposite to laziness in terms of like complete productivity, like work all the time. And yours was almost in an opposite direction, almost saying like the opposite of laziness is not exhaustion, but actually just being energized. Does that resonate with what you were trying to, uh, get at?

[10:56] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, exactly. So I am a super, super, super lazy person, and this is basically to tell me that it's like, this is what— this is what the steps that I needed to take, you know. And then this is the steps for anyone else who this might resonate with. Just do those things to get yourself, you know, out of— out of that funk that you're in. Just like, realize that it's— it's really not like your fault. Laziness is not an actual, like, innate thing, it could be easily over, you know, overcome if you just do those very, very simple things, you know, simple like, like mind tricks that you can play on yourself, just simple habits that you can do with very, very small, very easy to do actions.

And it's, it's coming from that perspective. It's not like, it's not a productivity book, but it's a book about like how to achieve your freedom if you are a lazy person, or if you call yourself lazy, and, and what actually is laziness, and, you know, where do you fit in on the spectrum and all that. And in later chapters, I'll talk about like different personality types, like how does, um, how might this work for you better than that, um, how can you like use, uh, specific things to, to make people like, to have influence over people basically. And then just to really boost yourself from wherever you are to somewhere that you could enjoy your freedom much more.

[12:25] Paul: It seems like so many of our ideas of success, work, and productivity come from— and you mentioned this in your book— there's almost a few people who have this natural ability. You propose it might be genetic for just intense work, right? Yeah. And that leads so many people to just feel terrible all the time. Because they're not quote-unquote productive. So should we think of this book as a guide for kind of the rest of us who don't have those super genes?

[12:57] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, and it's not just genes, like a lot of it is nurture too. So like, you know, some people are— they have like really productive family members, really productive friends, their environment where they live is just really productive. But I feel like I'm not ripping on anyone from like the these areas, but I'm from— I've lived in the Midwest most of my life where people aren't as productive as, let's say, people who live in Silicon Valley or a lot of people who have to hustle a lot in New York or wherever. I was born and raised in Egypt, so Egypt definitely is way less on that spectrum, right? So if you're in that situation and you just weren't taught, weren't given any guidance, you just lived as everyone else around you lived, It's definitely going to affect you.

And it's just these— all you got to do is just, you know, tap into these few things and everything's gonna, you know, go really, really smoothly. So the book is definitely for everyone who not only doesn't have like the nature behind it, uh, but like, you know, just their environment really doesn't support that. So I talk about like just, um, you know, not necessarily up and leaving where you live, but like going online and finding those people who are who have your ambitions, who are productive, and making those like your circle of friends and connecting with them, right? Because then they're going to rub off on you. So just trying to get the people who aren't, you know, weren't dealt like the same cards as those super genius, you know, amazingly nurtured people to be at their level.

[14:41] Paul: Yeah, and there's almost a flip side of this. You start talking about it in the book where you start off the chapter with culture is— or custom is king, right? And you go through deep history of where some beliefs come from, but we often don't think about where these beliefs come from. They're just kind of things we grow up with, and your takeaway is really figure out what the original intent of these was and then figure out which of those beliefs actually still serve you and help you. And I think I see this with so many people with work. It's all these work beliefs from hundreds or even thousands of years ago and nobody really knows what they're based on.

[15:29] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah. Uh, not only that, like it, people just get like this gut reaction, just like this visceral reaction. Right? Like, some people think, like, specific animals are, like, really cute and, like, you know, um, um, and they just, like, really love those animals. Other people, like, they'll see the animal and, like, the, you know, they might eat it or they might, you know, whatever. Um, like, it's— they get— people have a completely different visceral, like, actual disgust.

Like, people feel disgust, you know, at specific things that someone else might completely think it's, like, completely normal. And it's not saying— I'm not saying that like, um, one person deserves to feel disgust and one person deserves to not feel disgust. It's just like the culture just completely, um, is different. And we shouldn't like base ultimate moral values or whatever like on things that make you like feel like this visceral reaction. Uh, you really should be kind of like, um, you really should study everyone else and see where they're coming from, right? Um, and like, if something resonates with you, then you should, you know, tell more people about it, try to influence other people's opinions and whatnot.

But always have the understanding of, okay, well, like, why do I have this weird reaction, you know? Um, like, if someone's doing something and I think it's, it's, uh, it's like objectionably wrong, right? Is it really like an objective thing, or do you just kind of impose your own opinion, your own beliefs, things that have just been like into your culture, like ingrained into you for generations and you just haven't noticed, right? So just kind of like have an open mind really. But more importantly, just like don't let stuff, you know, things that are limiting constrict your worldview. Just always Like, people just think of things— like, for example, a lot of people see me and then they, you know, they see my beard and stuff, they automatically have their own judgments, right?

Um, but like, um, you know, and I try to be like extra super nice to kind of like compensate. Um, and, uh, and people, um, and I completely understand like where they're coming from. It's just that we don't really trust what we don't understand. So just if everyone just kind of like is became more, you know, more well-read, more willing to just experience things and look at and research like the reason why people do specific things, then yeah, of course everyone's going to, you know, everyone's going to benefit from one another and you're going to benefit yourself. It's really going to help you way more than it helps other people if you do that.

[18:15] Paul: Yeah, I think Jonathan Haidt's book The Righteous Mind kind of blew my brain open on this topic. Is that something that's influenced you as well?

[18:24] Moataz Ahmed: Uh, no, actually I haven't, uh, you know, personally, but I will have to check them out.

[18:28] Paul: Yeah, yeah. He basically talks about how a lot of these moral reactions, or what we think are moral, are kind of just natural or cultural, right? And you see wide variances based on where you were born or just genetic makeup. And it really just made me a lot more compassionate to different views of seeing things. Yeah. You, you also talk a bit about influence and you were just talking about it a little in terms of sharing ideas.

How do you think about positive influence and sharing ideas in a positive way?

[19:12] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, you really have to be tactful, and not everyone takes information the same way. You know, I know some people who, like, like, I notice them doing something that's really harmful to themselves, and I first go through this filter of like, okay, is this like, is this me just, you know, imposing my beliefs or whatever on them? And if it's like people I care about deeply, then I really kind of feel like I really have to at least, you know, try to find a tactful way to talk to them. And some people, like, things just will not resonate, like, no matter how much you try. It's just really, really difficult for someone if they don't want help or they don't want to hear anything from you. So I'll just do, like, so some people are very receptive, and that's kind of my audience, right?

So that's who I really want to talk to, is people who are in a place that, um, you know, want the help and they're accepting to get it. So influence, kind of, it's, um, like you can increase your influence and you can do a lot of things to help, but it won't be like 100% effective to every single person out there. You could definitely, um, try to increase your charisma, try to increase, um, you know, um, your influence over people by you know, being a better listener, being a better communicator, you know, having like the, the different types of charisma that are necessary to, to be influential, you know, if you're like authoritative, if you're the focus type, all those different things are in the book The Charisma Myth. You could highly, highly, highly increase your influence if you have something of massive value, you that you're giving to people and they're benefiting from it.

At the same time, you have an authority by just having that either knowledge or status, right? So just try to make yourself really powerful, not like in a bad way, and then share a ton of value to everyone with no strings attached. And that's how you can maximize your influence. To the most amount of people no matter what their personality is.

[21:34] Paul: So I met you I think a year and a half ago at a conference and I remember you mentioning this guide or this book you were writing that we're talking about now and I think I signed up for the newsletter around then and this basically just showed up in my inbox about a month ago. And it was kind of a surprise one because it just kind of showed up and you were really offering it generously and as a gift. So, it was exciting to receive that. And one of the things you write about is to be free is to be free from greed. So, maybe talk to me a bit about how you think about kind of reciprocity, gifting, and just putting value out there because I do think you are putting some of the value out there like you were just talking about.

[22:23] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, for sure. People are naturally generous. If you give for free without any strings attached, people will just feel the need to give you back, right? Many people, their automatic response to you doing something nice to them is always, oh, thank you. It's almost always the case. It's very rare when someone drops something and you pick it up and give it to them that they're just going to walk away, right?

Uh, like, people always feel the need to, uh, to want to not only give you back but give you back more, right? Especially if they are generous themselves. Um, so like, a generous person, uh, you basically, um, like, you have them in your pocket forever if you do something really, really nice for them, right? And that's why, like, so many people invest in things like giving out, you know, free books, uh, free advice, free podcasts. Um, you know, people give out, um, like gifts to influencers. All those things, you know, they are, um, they do take a lot of effort.

They, and they, you know, they do have a lot of value. But if everyone just held on to their stuff and they didn't really share it with the world, no one's gonna benefit. Like, they wouldn't get business. Right? It's that first introductory giving that sparks this like spiral of, like, this like snowball of just, you know, benefits, right? So I give you something for free, you're gonna feel so obliged to return the favor that you're going to, you know, return it.

Of course, like, if it doesn't automatically happen that way, like, if someone's, you know, giving out, let's say, content, they're constantly producing content over and over and over. Everyone else just kind of takes it for granted and they assume it's free. To them, it might be like an annoyance, right? It might be like, oh, I like, like, I didn't really like want this specific thing to show up, right? It's like, think of it as advertisement, right? No one really wants to watch the ads, but they kind of are the reason for everything, right?

Like, if you think about the original, like, the soap operas, right? They're called soap operas because they were selling soap. There were these radio spots that were like these elaborate stories that were just, you know, to sell Procter Gamble's soap, right? And so, and eventually it just paid for everything else, and then that they use that as like a business model. So you have to really give people things for free, but then eventually not everyone's going to like appreciate that as a gift, so they might not reciprocate. So if you're seeing that people aren't, you know, automatically like giving you back right away, it's not because the concept of reciprocity doesn't work or that people are freeloaders.

It's that you didn't present it in a way that showed them the true value of it, right? So if you show them— if you, you know, send someone something and they really appreciate it, they definitely will reciprocate. Um, there are very few people in the world who are just like completely, you know, horrible people who just wouldn't, uh, reciprocate and like take advantage of others, right? So it's— and even they, like, they have really good redeeming qualities, right? So like even the worst dictator, um, you know, there have been reports of them like being really loving to their family and stuff. So I really don't think that, um, people are just, uh, not going to reciprocate no matter who they are, even if they're the worst person ever.

[25:59] Paul: Yeah, so I've experimented with the gift economy a lot in the past couple of years, and I found a lot of the things like you said, it's incredibly rewarding. I think one of the things that helped me really embrace it was Charles Eisenstein was writing about just detaching from expectation, right? Expectation that you should get a payback from the person you gift to or within a certain time period. And I've just been really surprised at kind of how generosity flows in different directions. And it's really about another thing you talk about, just being free from being attached to certain outcomes or the way things should be.

[26:42] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, 100%. And if you don't have an expectation towards something, theoretically, like, you won't ever feel bad. Like you'll always be happy because you're just doing things because you want to do them, right? And you're not expecting anything in return. And I don't know, like, what the rule of nature is, but every time, like, I give people things for free, you know, just do things like, like if someone asked me to, like, do their logo or something and I do it for free, or like there's this cause that I really believe in and I do something, you know, for— I volunteer some of my time, or I donate some of the money. Like, things that— it's not even them who are like returning the favor, it's just the favor gets returned, you know?

Like, like sometimes it's like the person I did the logo for, like, they tell other people and then they like, you know, talk to me about, um, you know, doing a logo. And it's like much better clients than I would have expected. It's multiple clients. So like word of mouth goes really far. So like, I feel that It's not like a 1-to-1 thing. It's like a 1 to like 10.

Like, you, you give something out for free, or you do something, you know, with no strings attached, and so many new things pop up from all sorts of different directions you were not expecting. And that's just super amazing. Like, I, you know, everyone should, should think that way. Everyone should just give people value for without expecting anything in return.

[28:09] Paul: How do you think about trying to find the clients you want to work with? On your website, you have pretty clear I maybe call it branding, trying to target a very— somebody who's serious, both serious about design, but probably a little more playful and laid back. How do you— how did you stumble upon framing things in that way, and how has that resonated?

[28:34] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, I definitely— so I get a lot of people asking me to do work, but Like I refuse 99.9% of it just because they're not like, they're not ideal clients. You know, they're clients that don't understand scope. They don't understand the value that I'm offering. They think it's just really, um, like the stuff that I do is like cheap. Um, just because it's not because of like, um, you know, anything that I'm doing, it's really because they don't know what design is. They just don't appreciate what goes into it, um, like the creative thought process behind it, the, you know, these just because they're in that like stigma of, okay, uh, like I am a business owner or a doctor, engineer, um, I know all those things that have to do with XYZ, uh, you are just in a lower tier category, right?

So this whole tier system of, um, of stuff kind of like is what allowed me is what forced me into being very selective. So, I only accept, for example, clients as clients. Like, I do a lot of free work. I do a ton of it. It's because of like, if it's for a cause that I believe in or if it's for a friend or if it's, you know, for something I just want to see succeed, you know, right? So, that's what I do.

I have like a pro bono budget per se, right? So I have a few clients that I have like a few spots open where I do things for free, and it does return way more than the time I give it. But the clients that I do accept, they're like, they have to be ones that allow me the freedom of doing those free projects that I really care about. So they're not just going to be any, any old client that makes me miserable. They really have to be someone who's really fun, who's really, you know, someone I vibe with, someone who's like my type of person, and they, they can actually afford the services and appreciate it. Like, a lot of people, they, they just really, really, really don't understand what goes into it.

And that's because, like, graphic designers, you know, as a whole, collectively, we've just been throwing our work out there for really, really cheap. Instead of doing that and who really helped me kind of value my work, is one of my mentors called Sean McCabe. He has, you know, his podcast called Sean West about, you know, how to get creative people into doing this field. And I kind of joined his community as part of like, after listening to his podcast and after all his free value that he was giving. And I started by buying his lettering courses and from there, you know, went into this like giant spiral of like business, like how to freelance, all that stuff I learned from him. And then from there I decided, okay, I'm gonna give out things for free and then I'm gonna charge full price for my actual service, which I make it well worth it for these people.

So everyone's happy, right? I'm happy I get, you know, my worth. They're happy they get something that is an investment. For their brand. And I only select people who will not make my life miserable. Right.

[31:58] Paul: You can definitely tell. I mean, I kind of just laughed a little to myself just seeing your framing around the— I forget what you said you prefer people to email you, but it was like somebody to say like, later playa or something like that. And very casual spelling of that and it was like, this is like somebody I'd want to work with. It would be really fun to engage in. I think that's so key for freelancers is finding work you don't resent because that's when people just get in this death spiral of just frustration, resenting not having some of the perks of full-time employment and all that. So, kudos to you for kind of figuring out that virtuous loop.

[32:46] Moataz Ahmed: And you really, like, I feel like in order to get to that point, because a lot of people ask me like, hey, I'm starting out, you know, like I can't just pick and choose my clients. Yeah, that's, that might be true, but that's where you can do something else that's not your passion so it doesn't kill it. And then just have that like pay the bills, do all that stuff. And then for your passion, grow your brand, like put out content regularly. And then eventually you're going to be able to pick and choose anyone you want.

[33:16] Paul: Yeah, I've taken a similar approach, which is pretty much the assumption that I'm not going to be able to figure out who I want to work with, but I know who I don't want to work with.

[33:25] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah.

[33:26] Paul: So keep careful track of those people, figure out how to better say no as I evolve, and then try to do free work for people that are fun to work with or just have a generosity mindset. And keep doing that. It's really a matter of faith rather than any sort of strategy or grand plan, but it does seem to be at least heading me in the right direction.

[33:51] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, I agree 100%.

[33:53] Paul: I'd love to hear more about the hand lettering and languages. I don't know how many languages you're up to either learning or mastering now, but talk to me about how those things are adding to some of the other things you're, some of the work you're doing, your creative process, and how you're just driven to learn some of those things.

[34:22] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, so I love traveling and I love experiencing new things and I love new cultures, and I really, really, really strongly feel that like just learning about new cultures and experiencing them, experiencing them, um, will really make you a much richer person. Um, it will make you a lot more, um, you make you a lot happier. It'll make you, um, understand where these different things are coming from. There's so many philosophies and so many influences that are really beneficial, um, that like only a person who's, you know, uh, multifaceted in those like cultures can really appreciate, and it makes you a much wiser person. Like, you could tackle a problem from something that you've experienced from somewhere or something that you've read about, about a different culture that's really unique to that culture but not to yours. So you could look at a problem.

And so let's say, for example, like in the world of design, right? So the person who invented the trains, when they would pass through, right, little tunnels, they would make like this ginormous sonic boom and it would be like really terrible for everyone living nearby. And someone who studies, like, you know, he likes to watch birds and studies birds, who also is like an engineer and a designer, he thought, well, wait a second, why don't I make it look like the beak of the bird, right? That will allow air to go through and it's going to, you know, not make the sound be that way. And it does work and it works. So, so something like that wouldn't have happened.

People would have had to like resort to either slower trains or just had to deal with the noise. But this multifaceted person, right, was able to solve that problem from these different fields of knowledge. Right. So the same way, like, You know, when I work for clients, I work for international clients. So if I hadn't experienced the culture, I would not have been able to get these clients. And if I didn't have exposure to some of the languages, then I wouldn't be able to understand anything about the significance of it, the, you know, which colors to use, what symbols are taboo, like all sorts of stuff like that.

So as a designer, it really does help if you're, you know, very well cultured. I'm guaranteeing you 100%, any field, it will only help. It will not hurt to learn from many other diverse fields because you could definitely bring those fields into your, you know, your, your own specialty. And it's not— some people, their personality type is like, I'm going to focus on one thing, just run with it and be successful with it. Other people like me, we just like to do everything right. So, um, so that's fine if you're not that type of person, don't feel bad.

But I highly encourage people to just learn as much as possible about other languages and cultures. I really enjoy languages because of the cultural immersion that I like to put myself into. I only speak Arabic and English fluently, but I'm pretty decent in Japanese, like I'm conversational. And my French is like okay, conversational as well. My Spanish is a bit rusty, and then I'm super rusty, like I think I really, I need to like restudy the, the other ones, which were Italian, Korean, and like a tiny bit of Mandarin. But, but yeah, definitely like just get yourself into as many fields as possible, as many languages as possible to access those fields.

And just be a more cultured person. It will definitely help you.

[38:18] Paul: Throughout your book, you talk about a number of different categories. Most of them are related to freedom and giving yourself the autonomy and space and energy to work on the things that matter to you.

[38:31] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah.

[38:32] Paul: Are there things that were just painful to learn that you wish somebody had just taken you aside and said, follow this or do this, or like, what, what are one of the two, one or two things you might, um, suggest people to start with?

[38:51] Moataz Ahmed: Um, so for me, the biggest issue is probably just self-discipline in general. Uh, so like if someone just told me, you know, early on, like, hey, you really need to strengthen that willpower muscle. Um, like, I was, I was even like looking into things about like, okay, how do I get myself on track, right? How do I just not be lazy? Like, I, I am not motivated to do anything. Like, what is wrong with me?

Like, why are other people being motivated? Um, and like, the, the most painful lesson was just seeing time pass and just like not really doing what I always wanted to do. And, um, if I if I really had to go back to myself, my old self, I'll be like, okay, strengthen your willpower muscle, right? You're gonna have to plow through stuff, um, you're gonna have to go through things, you know, uh, just do things that are uncomfortable. Like, I love learning new things, but I hate continuing that learning. Like, it gets to a point where it's just not fun anymore, and then I just drop it and learn something new, right?

So if I can, like, uh, like, you know, like the expression, like, you know, master of none, right? Jack of all trades, master of none. Um, that accurately describes me, but I, I, I do still believe that if you have all these, you know, multifaceted influences, you're definitely going to be a much better person. But you need to master at least something, right? And that is just really difficult for some people. Um, and to do that properly is to, um, you know, just put in the time and effort sometimes.

And to do that, you just have to make yourself practice exerting that willpower muscle, right? Muscles, to make them grow, you need to stress them and then relax them, give them proper energy, proper relaxation, and then proper stress, right? If you stress them too much, they're going to tear. If you don't exercise them, they're not going to grow. So you really need to push yourself a little bit, you know, just do things that are uncomfortable, even if they're completely unrelated. Like, Some people tell me to like, they take cold showers or something, right?

That really helps their willpower. They're more prone to doing harder things, to be, you know, action-oriented, right? So like me, as someone who's not, you know, ready to just be in that action state all the time, that's where I need to be, right? And to do that, not only do I need to make the systems work for me, like say, you know, attach these keystone habits, you know, these habits that I want to improve on to the keystone habits that I already do, make all these systems happen, you're going to be presented with like things that are just going to throw away, you know, throw off all your schedule, put those systems like, you know, just going to disrupt everything. So in those moments, you're really going to have to rely on willpower, right?

So that's the one thing that I tell myself first and then everyone else is just you know, that tough love lesson of just, you gotta, you really gotta push through. Um, you can't blame things on other people. You can't use that victim mentality. You just really gotta focus on yourself, improve, um, yourself, and just work a little bit harder than, uh, than you have.

[42:07] Paul: I like one of the techniques you use too. You, to complete this book, you basically bet your friends Or set up a tax if you didn't finish by certain dates. Yeah. Uh, maybe talk a little bit about that and how people might use that.

[42:24] Moataz Ahmed: So the carrot and stick method really works for me. You know, uh, you just, you like, you dangle a carrot in front of me and I will not care. Like I'll be like, okay, cool. Yeah, it's great. But once you like have that stick and say, okay, if you don't go after that carrot, I'm gonna like beat you with it, then it'll really work. And it's most people.

Um, they, they do things to avoid punishment rather than towards rewards. Everyone knows the reward of success, but everyone really feels like they really have to start working, um, if they're, if they're fearing the consequence. So find that healthy balance. Some people are more prone to working towards rewards. Some people are just motivated by rewards. Others are motivated by punishment.

The majority of us are definitely going to try to avoid punishment So for me, I said, okay, to keep myself accountable, obviously, like, you know, the reward of doing the work on time and all that is not working for me. So I need, I need some punishment. I need something to, to really put that fire under my butt and just get me to start working. So I told, you know, people in my mastermind groups, I told them, okay, if I don't give you a chapter a week, I will pay each and every person, one of you, $100, right? Um, so, so I was like, I'm not gonna, you know, I'm gonna be broke, like, if I, if I just keep giving everyone like $100. So I really had no choice.

So I started just like any second I would get, I would just put that into writing the book and editing and, um, you know, uh, doing all that. And then when the time came, I just had to do it. I just had to sent them the, send them the book. And that's the only way it got done, um, on time. Otherwise I would have had to delay it because I kept like adding things to it. I would keep, uh, hearing about this new thing because like we're constantly learning about new things, like we're constantly listening to new information, learning about things.

I'm like, oh wait, that would be really great for that chapter. And I'll just start typing more and more and more when I really needed to just edit, ship it out, and then, um you know, improve it as I, as I went, um, because otherwise it, it just wouldn't be complete. Uh, so just ship out something that's incomplete, get it over with, um, and you're fine. So push yourself. If you're the type of person who like procrastinates, you know, until a deadline, just this technique will work for you. Just like get some people to hold you accountable and force yourself to do it, right?

Put some sort of punishment, put stipulations on yourself. And that's really the only way to get yourself motivated if you're that type of person who I am.

[45:04] Paul: Any other topics from the book that are kind of top of mind or you hope people walk away with if they read it?

[45:15] Moataz Ahmed: Yeah, just like the understanding of like freedom is not just like you doing whatever you want. It's really you having the responsibility of, of living in a world that allows for freedom, right? So freedom— if, if, if you live somewhere and you're like, oh, my life is great, I'm free, I can, you know, I have all these luxuries, I have all these freedoms— you're not really free because the system that allows for the subjugation of others is going to eventually subjugate you if it's convenient for them. Right, if and when it's convenient for them. Because, um, like, like, as someone who, um, you know, has a lot of friends and, um, family members who were like oppressed, you know, by, uh, the regime and stuff, like, I've had friends who are, uh, you know, put in prison, uh, tortured, um, you know, shot at, like, all sorts of, um, of things like that.

And then, like, if I'm living the good life and just allowing that to continue it's about— it's just a matter of time before it happens to me, right? So just make sure to, um, to always like fight for other people's freedom as well. Like, if you hear about a cause, if you hear about people who are oppressed, get them out of their oppression, because that will make sure that oppression doesn't happen throughout the world, right? And it won't happen to you. Um, like, there are so many people out there who, who are just, um, in complete, like, um, and even, like, I call it slavery, right? So, like, they're, they're just, um, the, the three types of enslavement, right, that exist is, like, by other people, by yourself, um, or by, by, like, just complete circumstance, right?

By just things of, of nature, right? So the, the subjugation of others the enslavement, quote unquote, of others, it doesn't just take the shape of like owning people. It takes the shape of, you know, abuse in work, abuse in like marriage, abuse and all those things. But like at the same time, and if you're allowing that to happen, but because of whatever reason, just make sure to at least spread the word tell as many people as possible that this is like not correct. Um, and make sure that the reason why you're, you're, you're doing that is, is for the freedom of others and not because of something that, uh, you feel like imposing because of your own like superiority, right?

Um, yeah, so you know, many people like if they're writing about freedom or if they're telling you to, to become a more free person, they tell you, okay, allow yourself the opportunity to just have like all this influence and power so that you don't resort to, um, you know, being subjugated by yourself and others. Yes, that's, that's very true. But in addition, you really have to, um, help everyone else around you because the rising tide lifts all boats, right? And you're living in this, um, in this world. If everyone speaks out against something, right? I mean, we're seeing it now.

We're seeing a lot more people speak out against things that are just completely, like, obvious, but it's not obvious to many. And we're just now starting to, um, to address these issues. So the more people talk about them, the more of a free world you're going to live in in the future.

[48:54] Paul: Yeah, I think that's beautiful. And something I've become just more appreciative of growing up in a place like the US and being in different parts of the world now where people haven't had hundreds of years of certain rights being protected, and even not even in my own country. But yeah, I love how you frame that and add the element of fighting for other people's justice as an element of freedom as well. Where can people, uh, stay tuned for the future chapters, um, learn more about you, check out some of your, uh, pretty awesome design work? Uh, where do you want to point people?

[49:41] Moataz Ahmed: Thank you. Uh, yeah, so, um, if they can find the book and, uh, purchase it— so it's, it's a pay what you want model, so you can put $0 in there. and you're gonna still get the, the book in PDF form. Eventually, after the book is complete, then I'll, I'll sell it like the hard copy with like all the edits, all the, um, the illustrations and everything. And, um, I— you, you already posted the link. I have the link.

It's on Gumroad right now. Um, when my website is— I mean, website still exists, uh, myfirstandlastname.com. So it's matthiasahmad.com or motizi.com. M-O-T-I-Z-Z-Y. And, um, and my Instagram where I post my, uh, my hand lettering, um, that's where I post like the, those tidbits that kind of go into the book later, um, in like a calligraphy form or hand lettering form. So that's Motizzi Letters, that's the handle, Motizzi Letters.

Um, so yeah, just, uh, motizzi.com. Motizzi Letters is, is the Instagram. I'm Motizzi on anything else. And, uh, yeah, the book, if you, uh, purchase it, even if it's for $0, you're still going to get the, the rest of the book. And then, um, that's where I'm going to be sending you all the updates, um, about future releases as well.