The Press On Report - August 18, 2025

When Everyone's Chasing the Same Shiny Object, Double Down on What Actually Works

Monday Reality Check: While everyone's breathlessly analyzing Alex Hormozi's book launch numbers from Saturday, I'm thinking about something else entirely.

Not the claimed millions in sales. Not the affiliate marketing circus. Not the "donate 200 books" gimmick that had every wannabe guru copying the playbook by Sunday morning.

I'm thinking about what happened after the noise died down.

The Real Lesson Hidden in Plain Sight

Here's what actually matters from Hormozi's launch: He framed purchases as donations, stacked outsized bonuses, and layered in upsells - but that's not the part worth studying.

The part worth studying is that he spent four years building the thing before he sold it.

While everyone else was launching courses about launching courses, he was in the weeds. Building systems. Testing frameworks. Documenting what actually worked when the cameras weren't rolling.

The FIPO Moment

This morning, a FIPO Nation member told me: "I watched the whole Hormozi launch and felt like I was behind because I'm not doing million-dollar launches."

Here's what I told him and what I'm telling you:

Stop measuring your work against someone else's circus.

The entrepreneurs who survive the next decade won't be the ones who can create the biggest launch spectacle. They'll be the ones who built something so solid that when the market shifts, when the platforms change, when the trends die—their business keeps running.

Your Advantage Isn't Your Launch - It's Your Recovery

Every Gen X entrepreneur I know has been through at least one "everything I built just stopped working" moment. That's not your weakness. That's your competitive advantage.

You know how to rebuild. You know how to adapt. You know the difference between substance and spectacle because you've survived both.

This Week's Reality Check

Instead of analyzing someone else's launch numbers, ask yourself:

• What am I building that works regardless of the platform?

• What value am I creating that can't be automated or replicated overnight?

• If my best marketing channel disappeared tomorrow, would I still have a business?

The Unsexy Truth

The businesses that last aren't built on viral moments. They're built on consistent value delivery, one customer at a time, over years of showing up when nobody's watching.

That's not as exciting as a multi million-dollar weekend. But it's a hell of a lot more reliable.

Next Steps

• Stop chasing launches. Start building systems.

• Join the conversation: What's one thing you're building that doesn't depend on going viral? FIPO Nation on Facebook

• Pre-order the book: FIPO: The Weeks Way

Final Thought: While everyone's reverse-engineering Saturday's launch, the smartest operators were already back to work on Monday, building the thing that won't need a spectacle to succeed.

Fuck it. Press on.

— Ed

Next Issue: "Why Your 'Boring' Business Might Be Your Best Business"