A “lead magnet” is the bribe you give someone for handing over their email address.

It’s the $5 bonus DraftKings throws into your account so you’ll try a wager. It’s the free sample on a toothpick at Costco that convinces you to buy a four-pound bag of frozen potstickers. It’s the preview chapter at the back of a paperback that gets you to buy the sequel.

You get the idea: a small, immediate win in exchange for a little trust.

I’m building a lead magnet for Distracted Fortune.

The plan is to take 3-5 of the most essential articles on this site and bundle them into a clean, printable PDF starter guide - a field guide for getting out of your own way.

But before I package it up, I need your help deciding what actually belongs in it.

Below I’ll list a few of the contenders, along with a quick summary of each. If you would be so kind, please leave a comment below with the top 3 articles YOU would like to have gotten in an introductory PDF.

Here we go!

The List

  1. Why You Wait Until the Last Minute, and How to Get Back to Work

This article gives a clear heuristic that describes the difference between the normal human mind, versus that of someone with ADHD. In short, it takes more effort for an ADHD mind to get engaged in something than a normal mind. But it takes less to get hyperfocused. Finally, it gives some strategies to those attention-deficient among us to cope.

  1. Growth Mindset versus Influencer: Defeat the Beast to Succeed

This article explains a lesser known, but far more powerful, definition of “Growth Mindset.” In short, how unsuccessful people take failure and blame themselves, while successful people take the same failure and learn from it.

  1. Unlock Your Subconscious: The Power of Morning Pages

I think writing Morning Pages is one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of someone trying to be successful. It helps you hit the day with a prepared, clear mind, ready to take on anything.

  1. Beast, Rider, and Marshall: How to Get Control of Yourself

We are each three beings in one. The Beast is the autopilot, eating the second helping you didn’t need. The Rider has the reins of that beast, and tries to guide him in the right direction. The Marshall is the planner, who decides what direction is right.

  1. Slaughter the Friction before Friction kills the Action

Sometimes, you just can’t get to the DOING part of a task. In that case, you need to find the points of friction between now and the DOING, and see if they can’t just be removed.

  1. Why Planning Less May Be a Better Plan

“Fail Fast, Fail Often” is the title of a book, but also a strategy of success. When you fail, you learn more than if you sit and plan forever. Successful people try things and fail all the time.

  1. Burn the Ships: How to Force Yourself to Risk Success

Sometimes you need a nudge to get yourself to do the right thing. That nudge may be to remove retreat as an option. This article goes through how to identify when this is a good strategy for you.

  1. Beyond Logic: How to Listen to your Little Voice

We all have a “little voice”. It’s not the one that barks criticisms from inside your head all day. It’s the one most of us rarely listen to, but almost always gives good advice. This article helps you tune your listening in to that quiet, good one.

Time to Choose

What I think is foundational isn’t always what actually hits home for a reader.

So before I lock this layout in, I want your input: Which 3 to 5 articles above were the most useful to you?

Leave a quick comment with your numbers below. If there’s an article I missed that completely changed how you approach your workday, tell me that too.

I’ll compile the top picks into the starter guide and drop the finished PDF in your inbox as soon as it’s formatted.

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