In this issue, you’ll find:

• The (not so) funny thing about self-help

• News creators should know

• What’s your primary goal for 2025?

The (not so) funny thing about self-help

You probably know Maslow, and you’ll definitely know about his pyramid.

For most people, their physiological needs are met, including food, shelter, and safety and security.

You'll probably be more hesitant when you think about love and belonging.

For example, my dad didn’t show me much love (if any). And I’m definitely not alone. Every house has its share of troubles.

In the Pyramid, above love and belonging, there is the self—achievement and pursuit of respect and status.

You work hard to get status and respect, and I do what most people do:

I’ve read dozens of self-help books and tried dozens of productivity techniques. I listen to podcasts at 1.5x - 2.0x speed. I try to optimize everything about my life, and I’m sure you do, too—with the emphasis on try.

Does it really give me status and respect? Maybe.

Does it really make me more productive? Nope.

Does it make me happier? Definitely: No.

There’s this famous experiment where someone needs to put sand and stones in a glass container. When they start with the sand, the stones don’t fit anymore.

The stones stand for the essential things in your life.

Your family. Your friends. Your passion project.

The sand stands for the emails, the distractions, and the podcast at 1.5x speed.

Twenty years ago, if you started with the stones, everything would fit in your container.

These days, no matter how little sand you put in the container, you can’t fit all the stones. They’re too abundant.

So, to get ahead in life, you need to do two things.

Choose what stones you’re going to fit in the glass container. And above all, realize that genuine self-help is not about helping yourself become more productive or live a better life.

Some of those stones should be about helping others.

Once you do that, you transcend yourself. You’ll reach a flow state more often. And you’ll live a happier life regardless of how many followers or likes you get.

That’s the true pinnacle of Maslow's Pyramid of Needs.

Helping someone else is paradoxically helping yourself.

Think about that over the Holidays, and make sure that in 2025, some of those stones don’t bear your name but someone else’s.

What will TikTok’s future be in the US?

Last week, the US Court of Appeals rejected TikTok's bid to block the sell-off bill. The parent company, Bytedance, has until January 19 to sell the app to a US company or withdraw it from the US.

TikTok has filed for an injunction to delay the deadline, noting it could give the incoming Trump administration time to stop the so-called "TikTok ban." During his campaign, Trump promised to save TikTok.

Hypefury now supports TikTok! All Hypefury users on the Starter plan or higher can schedule their posts and keep their accounts active at all times.

Instagram launches Trial Reels

Instagram’s testing a new trick to help Reels creators boost their content—sampling it with a small audience first to see if it’s got what it takes to go viral.

This is how Instagram introduces this new feature:

“We often hear from creators that they feel nervous about posting too much to their audience or trying out new content that’s outside of their niche on Instagram, for fear of it not resonating with their followers. Trial reels will be shown to non-followers first. Now, if you want to try out a new genre, storytelling format or topic, you can easily get a gut check on how your content might perform.”

The 𝕏 Creator Subscription Program is changing

𝕏 shared some news about its Creator Subscription Program:

1. To apply, you’ll now need 2,000 verified followers and 5 million impressions in a 3-month period

2. Creators can now submit requests to adjust their subscription prices

Also, all past applications have now been reviewed, and going forward, the new ones will be reviewed faster.

We added one reward to our referral program

A few weeks ago, we started using Beehiiv to send out Growth Notes.

This allow us to setup a new referral program. Share this newsletter with your friend and you can have access to some of our best products for free.

This week, we added one more reward. Refer to us 9 new subscriber and you’ll get lifetime access to Creator Courses.

Last week's poll: Will Bluesky Raise Enough Funding To Compete Against 𝕏 and Threads?

 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 ⚪️ → 👍 Yes [46.7%]

 🟡 🟡 🟡 ⚪️ ⚪️ → 👎 No [26.7%]

🟡 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ → 🚀 Musk will acquire Bluesky [13.3%]

🟡 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ → 🥋 Zuck will acquire Bluesky [13.3%]

That’s it for now, everyone! We’ll meet again next week to discuss some more of this!

Don't forget to sign up to Hypefury if you haven't yet.

Feel free to reply to this email. It goes directly to me.

Cheers,

Yannick Veys
Co-founder and CMO of Hypefury