Last month, I talked about my favorite Swedish word (lagom). This month, I have another word, and it’s coming to you from one of my favorite places in the world: Brazil.

The word is saudade.

Like lagom, it doesn’t translate cleanly into English, which is part of why it’s stayed with me. The closest approximation is something like a longing for someone or something you love, whether or not it’s coming back, and sometimes whether or not it ever really existed the way you remember it.

It’s not quite sadness, and it’s not quite nostalgia. It’s the feeling of missing something so completely that the missing becomes its own kind of company.

Saudade doesn’t need a reason. It can show up on a perfect afternoon in Rio, in the middle of a song, or when a smell pulls you back twenty years without warning.

It’s also a word I’ve been living inside of more than I’d like to admit.

This summer, in the post-World Cup haze, I’m thinking a lot about what saudade has to say about the things and the people we carry with us even after they’re gone.

So, before we get too far into Saudade, here’s what’s on my mind this month (and since it’s August, I’m keeping this short and sweet):

1. Feeling the Brazil Saudade

2. The Official FOMO Sapiens Summer Reading List

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

As always, thank you for your support, ideas, and attention.

1. Feeling the Brazil Saudade

Thinking about last week in Rio and all the saudade it’s generating.

I was there for Rio Innovation Week 2026, the sixth edition of a summit that pulled in a genuinely staggering mix of scientists, technologists, and global leaders across dozens of stages over four days.

On Thursday, August 6, I gave two talks. First, did a solo keynote in Portuguese (which is a terrifically fun language to speak) and talked about FOMO, FOBO, and decision-making.

Then, I delivered a very interactive and, dare I say, innovative joint keynote called “Fear, Focus, and the Courage to Decide,” in partnership with Simone Kliass and Julian Pistone, to talk about how AI and information overload are reshaping the way leaders make decisions.

I walked the audience through the arc I first saw take shape back in my Harvard Business School days, watching classmates freeze up in the face of too many good options, and how that instinct has since split into three distinct strains: organic FOMO, the kind that has always existed, manufactured FOMO, supercharged by social media, and now synthetic FOMO, the new anxiety AI itself is starting to generate.

The takeaway, even in a room full of techno-optimism, was refreshingly simple. No algorithm can make your choices for you. That responsibility is still yours.

Oh, and at the end, I played keyboard while the audience sang the classic bossa nova tune Chega de Saudade.

And of course, Rio being Rio, I couldn’t stop thinking about saudade while I was there.

My first trip to Brazil was around 30 years ago, and I started going regularly for work about 25 years ago. I’ve come to love the culture, the music, the food, the people, all of it. It’s strange to feel homesick for a place while you’re standing in it, but that’s exactly what saudade does. It doesn’t wait for you to leave before it starts missing something. But that’s Brazil for me.

2. The Official FOMO Sapiens Summer Reading List

When I take vacation, my favorite thing to do is read. I don’t get to read much throughout the year, but when I travel, I am known to finish a book every other day. I love reading, and I also love reading in foreign languages as a way to practice. This summer’s list is a mix of books I love and keep returning to, and books that have been sitting on my shelf all year, waiting for me to finally open them. And because this is FOMO Sapiens, I’ll explain how each book relates to FOMO or FOBO.

• North Woods by Daniel Mason

  I just read this one and loved it because it explains how a place never really belongs to us. We think our dramas and dreams are permanent, but we are always just passing through, and someone else eventually inherits what we thought was ours. That is a FOMO lesson in disguise. The fear of missing out assumes there is a fixed prize to grab and hold, but this book is a reminder that nothing stays fixed, so the real skill is being fully present in your chapter before you hand the house to the next owner.
  

• Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright
  This is one for anyone who wants to understand the machinery underneath FOMO itself. Wright makes the case that our minds evolved to crave, compare, and chase, which is exactly the wiring that modern feeds and algorithms exploit for engagement. Reading it is a way of seeing the trap from the inside instead of just reacting to it. It is the closest thing I have found to a user manual for the same impulses I have spent twenty years writing about.
  

• Kim by Rudyard Kipling
  This is my adventure book for the summer. I love that part of the world, I love the world of The Great Game, and this is one I have been meaning to read for years and finally made time for. There is something pointed about choosing a book built entirely around espionage, disguise, and the anxiety of not knowing what the other side is up to, since that same anxiety is the raw material of FOMO. Kim spends the whole novel straddling two identities and two worlds, which feels like a pretty good metaphor for anyone trying to keep up with everything at once.

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
  I am rereading this one for all the obvious reasons. Frankl’s core idea, that we cannot always control our circumstances but we can always choose our response to them, is the real antidote to FOMO. FOMO thrives on the feeling that life is happening somewhere else and you are missing it, and Frankl’s whole argument is that meaning is built from where you actually stand, not from where you imagine you should be. Every few years I need the reminder, and this summer is one of those years.

• Big Time Off by DJ DiDonna
  DJ was recently on the show talking about sabbaticals, and I think the fact that so few people ever take one is a genuinely missed opportunity. His book makes the case that real time away, not a long weekend but true extended leave, changes how you see your identity, your relationships, and your work. That is FOBO’s mirror image, since the fear of a better option keeps people glued to their current path out of anxiety about walking away from it. Big Time Off argues that intentionally stepping off the path is often the better option, and I wanted it on this list to make that case even louder.

3. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

As always, thank you for listening and watching,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

I have a confession: I am completely addicted to the World Cup.

Not just the marquee matches, all of them, including the ones that shouldn’t matter to anyone outside the two countries playing. And this summer, that addiction has thrown me back to 2010, the summer I left my Wall Street job and took a sabbatical.

While I’m not in reset mode this summer (just the usual mix of smallish changes), here’s what’s on my mind this July:

1. World Cup FOMO: Home Games in New York and Flashbacks to 2010

2. FOMO Sapiens Recent Hits and Upcoming Guests

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Who Are You Really Meditating For?

4. Summer Travels: Asia, Rio, and Tomato FOMO in Spain

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

As always, thank you for your support, ideas, and attention.

1. World Cup Fever: Home Games in New York and Flashbacks to 2010

New York in the summer of a World Cup is its own kind of magic. Every match is a home game here. You can find people from just about every country on earth to watch with, and everyone, for a few hours, has exactly the same thing on their mind.

I am, of course, an Argentina fan for life, and I’ve been loving every minute of this run.

But watching this closely also has me thinking back to 2010, the summer I walked away from my Wall Street career and took a sabbatical.

That was the first World Cup I watched almost in full, down to the matches nobody else was paying attention to (sup, Paraguay v China). I look back on it as one of the best summers of my life, and I think the tournament played a real role in that. It gave me permission to slow down and very much carpe the diem.

That’s really the point.

The World Cup is a totally unproductive enterprise. It’s a chance to remember that it’s summer, that fun matters, and that some of the best bonding with friends happens over something as simple as a shared match and a few beers. I also have to hand it to the US.

We have welcomed the world with so much confidence, and we have welcomed the world.

That’s the America I know and love.

2. FOMO Sapiens Recent Hits and Upcoming Guests

Since the last newsletter, the show has covered a lot of ground.

• Geoff Cook, CEO of Noom, came back on to talk about the company’s new GLP product and where the GLP conversation goes from here. Beyond the stereotypes, the real question is what the future looks like: will microdosing become the norm, and how do these drugs actually fit into a life, not just a diet?
  

• Marcus Buckingham returned to the show, and as always, he brought a genuinely fresh idea: that you can bake love into a product. His argument is simple but sticks with you: if you can get people to truly love something, it will succeed. Worth a listen if you build anything, a company, a team, a career.
  

• Emily Tisch, co-owner of Gotham FC, joined at the perfect moment. Gotham has had an electric summer, playing in front of a record crowd at Citi Field, with a permanent move to Queens on the horizon. Emily believes Gotham is on track to become the first truly global women’s sports brand, and the conversation landed; it’s one of the episodes that generated the most feedback from listeners.

Catch every episode wherever you listen, or watch on YouTube.

Season 14

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Who Are You Really Meditating For?

I was in a yoga class recently, and the teacher said something that’s stuck with me since.

In Western culture, we tend to think of meditation as something we do for ourselves: a tool for self-regulation, better health, better productivity. The teacher pointed to a different framing, one attributed to the Dalai Lama, that meditation isn’t really for you at all. It’s for everyone you interact with afterward.

I couldn’t verify that as an exact quote from him, but it’s very much in line with his broader teaching that cultivating compassion and concern for others is the real point of mind training, and that your own wellbeing follows from that, not the other way around.

I find that idea holds up in practice.

When you actually meditate, you move through the world differently, and people respond to that difference. What you get back from others changes because of what you’re putting out. It’s a good reason to reframe why you sit down to meditate in the first place: not just for what it does for you, but for what it does for everyone you meet after you get up.

4. Summer Travels: Asia, Rio, and Tomato FOMO in Spain

I’m gearing up for a summer of movement. First, a stretch of travel through Asia, then Rio Innovation Week in early August, where I’ll be speaking, followed by a little holiday in Barcelona.

If you’re in any of these places, you know where to find me, especially in Rio.

Come say hello.

And in Spain, my motivation is simple: massive tomato FOMO. Pan amb tomàquet and gazpacho, all day, every day. I know that you’re not supposed to go all-in on the nightshades, but I don’t care.

In August 2026, I will be deep into the tomato, and no one can stop me!

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

As always, thank you for listening and watching,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

I want to tell you about a Swedish word I learned years ago at Brilliant Minds in Stockholm, and have been thinking about ever since.

The word is lagom. It doesn’t translate cleanly into English, which is part of why it’s stayed with me. The closest approximation is something like “just the right amount”: not too much, not too little, exactly enough. It’s not moderation in the puritanical sense. It’s the idea that enough is actually enough, and that more isn’t always better.

It’s also a word that I really should embrace as much as I can :)

Meanwhile, I am also in the middle of a full-blown World Cup obsession (more on that below), gearing up for a summer of deliberate movement (Aspen, Spain, and Rio de Janeiro) and thinking a lot about what lagom has to say about the way most of us actually live.

Because I think it might be the antidote to everything.

Here’s what’s on my mind this June:

1. Stockholm Was Brilliant

2. FOMO Sapiens Recent Hits and Upcoming Guests

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Lagom and the Art of Enough

4. The World Cup, the Knicks, and the Beautiful Chaos of NYC Right Now

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

As always, thank you for your support, ideas, and attention.

1. Stockholm Was Extraordinary

Five trips to Stockholm in five years, and I’m not complaining.

I was back in June for my fifth Brilliant Minds, the remarkable annual gathering led by my dear friend Annastasia Seebohm Giacomini that brings together an extraordinary mix of scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, activists, and leaders in a setting designed, intentionally, to feel different from every other conference on earth. No name tags, just ideas, and the people who care most about them.

This year’s speakers included Emma Watson, Gisèle Pelicot, Lupita Nyong’o, Sara Blakely, and Scott Galloway, among others.

The evenings brought private concerts from James Blunt and the Black Eyed Peas. So much learning, so much inspiration, and so many friends.

I also attended Super Human, Stockholm’s longevity conference, which introduced me to a world of research that was not on my radar.

The session that stopped me in my tracks was about dental health and its relationship to overall health. It turns out that what happens in your mouth doesn’t stay in your mouth. Thank goodness they gave me an amazing Lucent toothbrush at Brilliant Minds last year. I have found that it’s really made a difference since I started using it.

My gums are so happy now.

2. FOMO Sapiens Hits and Upcoming Guests

Since the May newsletter, the show has been firing on all cylinders. I hope you’ve been listening.

• Eric Ries, the man who wrote The Lean Startup and changed how a generation thinks about building companies, joined us to discuss his new book Incorruptible, a searing look at how corporate corruption is structural, not moral, and what it would actually take to fix it. The FOMO angle: the financial gravity that pulls companies away from their missions, and the rare outliers who resist it.

• Max Marchione, co-founder of Superpower, made the case that the kind of concierge preventative healthcare available to billionaires can and should be available to everyone for $199 a year. AI, biomarkers, digital twins, and a first-time founder who’s figured out that clarity comes from action, not thinking.

• Brandon Webb, former Navy SEAL and sniper instructor, came on to talk about his new book, Puddle Jumpers, and the uncomfortable argument at its center: that overprotective parenting is quietly robbing a generation of the resilience it needs. His framework, preparation over protection, will make you think twice.

• Geoff Cook, CEO of Noom, broke down why GLP-1s alone won’t keep the weight off, what the research actually shows about weight regain, and why combining medication with behavior change is the only path to lasting results. His personal microdosing journey is fascinating.

Catch every episode wherever you listen, or watch on YouTube.

Season 14

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Lagom and the Art of Enough

Let me go back to where I started, because I think this deserves a fuller treatment.

The more I consider it, the more I think the real solution to FOMO isn’t more. It’s lagom. FOMO, at its core, is the belief that somewhere else, something better is happening without you. Lagom says: What if you already have enough?

Not in a passive, give-up-your-ambitions way. Lagom isn’t resignation.

Case in point: Sweden. The Swedes are an enormously accomplished people: Spotify, IKEA, Volvo, H&M. Lagom cultures produce extraordinary things.

But they produce them without the chronic overdrive that characterizes so much of modern ambitious life. The goal is sustainable excellence, not burnout masquerading as hustle.

I have been thinking about this a lot as I plan a summer of what I’d call deliberate nomadism: Aspen to hike and think, Spain for exploration and joy, Rio de Janeiro in August to speak at Rio Innovation Week. None of it is frantic. I’m choosing it. And so, I am excited to do it all. But I don’t need more.

I’m not saying I’ve mastered this. I have FOMO in my DNA. But I’m working on it. And Stockholm, every time, reminds me it’s possible.

4. The World Cup, the Knicks, and the Beautiful Chaos of New York Right Now

New York City is unhinged right now, and I mean that in the best possible way.

The Knicks have had a run for the ages, and the energy in this city has been something else. There is nothing quite like a New York sports moment to remind you that eight million people can, briefly, want the same thing.

And then there is the World Cup. I watch every match I can.

My team is Argentina (always, forever, non-negotiably), but I love Uruguay, France, and of course the USA, and I genuinely love the whole spectacle of it.

The World Cup is one of the last truly shared global experiences.

For a few weeks, the entire planet is watching the same thing, caring about the same game, connected by the most universal sport on earth. The streets of New York right now are alive with flags and jerseys and the beautiful noise of a city that contains the whole world.

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

I’ve been spending a lot of time in airports lately, which means I’ve been spending a lot of time doom-scrolling (masked as productivity?).

And I have to tell you, my feeds are absolutely overrun right now with a very specific kind of content: people breathlessly informing me that there are 10 secret Claude prompts that will completely change my life. Or 7 ChatGPT tricks that will make me 10x more productive. Or one weird AI hack that top executives don’t want me to know about.

It’s exhausting. It’s also a pretty lazy attempt at FOMO-driven marketing. We all know that there is one truth about all of this stuff: nothing changes your life that fast, sillies.

Look, I love AI as much as the next person (I really, really, do). But the content machine has long known that FOMO is the most powerful force on the internet, and right now, nothing triggers FOMO faster than the suggestion that everyone else has cracked some secret code to AI productivity while you’re still out here typing like it’s 2019.

This is FOMOAI in its purest, most pernicious form: the fear that you’re missing some magical shortcut that would make you smarter, faster, richer, and more enlightened than everyone in your LinkedIn network.

More on that below, because I’ve been thinking about this a lot since I am Patient 0 in this new pandemic (well, other than hantavirus - too soon?).

In the meantime, here’s what’s on my mind this May:

1. We Went to Chile! 🇨🇱

2. FOMO Sapiens Recent Hits and Upcoming Guests

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: The Latest in FOMOAI

4. The Allergy Hack That Should Be Common Knowledge by Now

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

As always, thank you for your support, ideas, and attention.

1. We Went to Chile! 🇨🇱

Two times to Chile in just a year! After my trip in November, I headed back to Santiago in early May to deliver a keynote (en español) at Compass Vinci’s annual Lexington Day, their flagship gathering for investors focused on VC and PE products. My talk was on how FOMO shapes our decisions, with a particular focus on what it does to investors.

The audience was exactly the kind of room you want for this conversation: sophisticated investors, family offices, and executives who are genuinely grappling with how to make good decisions in a world that rewards speed over wisdom. and punishes patience. The response was tremendous. There is nothing quite like Latin American audiences for their warmth and engagement.

The highlight, though, might have been the interactive exhibit Compass Vinci put together around my book. They turned it into a game where attendees had a chance to win a signed copy, with a real countdown and limited supply. I watched people who had just heard an entire presentation about the psychology of FOMO turn around and fall completely for it in real time. It was the best possible demonstration of my entire thesis, and I was absolutely delighted. FOMO is powerful, people. Even when you know it’s happening.

For those of you who do speak Spanish, I did a round of media while I was there, including an interview on Radio Bio Bio, one of Chile’s top radio networks.

I also got to stop in Buenos Aires on the way down, which was an unexpected gift. Given the chaos in the airline industry right now, I actually found a better deal by routing through Argentina. It was a happy accident that turned into a wonderful few days in my favorite city in the world.

It’s my other home. Mi lugar en el mundo. 🇦🇷

2. FOMO Sapiens Hits and Upcoming Guests

Since the April newsletter, the show has been on a hot streak, and I hope you’ve been listening.

• Rob Snyder joined us to talk about startup growth and the principles behind his book The Power of Pull, a conversation packed with practical wisdom for anyone trying to build something.

• Jon McNeill, former President of Tesla, brought the heat about how he made that company into an icon and what it was like to work with Elon.

• Charlie O’Donnell of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures followed with a VC perspective that was refreshingly honest about how investing actually works.

• Claude Silver of VaynerMedia shared her secret to how you can be yourself at work.

Coming up:

• Laura Rubin of AllSwell Creative joins us next week to talk about journaling, creativity, and why putting pen to paper might be the most underrated productivity tool you’re not using.

• Eric Ries (yes, that Eric Ries, the man who wrote The Lean Startup and changed how a generation thinks about building companies)

• Max Marchione of Superpower on the future of personal health, and

• Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb on what elite performance actually looks like from the inside.

I can’t wait for you to hear them. Check out the episodes wherever you listen, or watch on YouTube.

Season 14

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: The Latest in FOMOAI

Let me go back to where I started, because I think it deserves a fuller treatment.

Every single day, my Instagram and LinkedIn feeds serve me some variation of the same post: “10 Claude prompts that will change your life.” “The AI workflow that’s making people millionaires.” “Stop using AI like everyone else.” It is relentless, and it is, I want to be clear, almost entirely nonsense.

The irony, of course, is that FOMOAI-driven content about AI shortcuts is itself a distraction from actually learning to use AI well. The people I know who are genuinely getting transformative value out of these tools didn’t find a secret prompt on Instagram. They sat with the technology, experimented, made mistakes, and built a practice.

That takes time. It takes patience. It takes exactly the qualities that FOMO tends to destroy.

My advice: the next time a post promises to change your life in 10 prompts, keep scrolling. Then open up Claude or ChatGPT or whatever you use, and just try something. That’s the actual secret. You’re welcome.

4. The Allergy Hack That Should Be Common Knowledge by Now

Let’s end on something personal, because this genuinely baffles me every year.

I have been eating local honey to manage my seasonal allergies for years now, and it has completely changed my life. I am not exaggerating. I used to be a dedicated antihistamine consumer every spring. Now I’m not. That’s it. That’s the whole story.

For those who haven’t heard of this: the idea behind local honey is that bees in your area collect pollen from local plants, and that pollen ends up in the honey in trace amounts. Consuming it regularly, ideally starting a few months before allergy season, is thought to work like a low-dose exposure therapy for your immune system. Your body gradually becomes less reactive to the very pollens that would otherwise have you sneezing through April and May.

Does the research fully back it up? It’s mixed, honestly.

But I can tell you what my personal experience has been, and it has been remarkable. Each St. Patrick’s Day, I celebrate myself by going to the Union Square Farmer's Market and buying TriBeCa Rooftop honey from Andrew’s Honey.

Then, I take a spoonful of local honey every morning, and I wait. And I wait. And I keep waiting, but nothing happens because I no longer get seasonal allergies.

Pro Tip: It has to be local honey made by bees within roughly 50 miles of where you live.

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

The state of the world right now feels equal parts fascinating and frighteningly uncertain. Everyone is just trying to do their best to keep going without crashing out. You know what I mean if you heard that Allbirds, yes, the sustainable sneaker company, announced a baffling pivot to become “NewBird AI,” an AI compute infrastructure business.

WTF? No, I mean it, WTAF?

The stock surged by more than 700% in a single day. Then the rally came to a screeching halt, with shares tumbling 35% the next day as Wall Street sobered up and realized a struggling shoe company might not be the one to solve the AI chip shortage. Meanwhile, markets more broadly are caught between a fear of missing out on the AI rally and a growing suspicion that the whole thing might be one giant bubble waiting to pop.

As you might know, I have a name for this: FOMOAI.

A shoe brand slaps “AI” on its name and its market cap jumps by hundreds of millions of dollars overnight. Investors chase anything AI adjacent, even when there’s no there there.

Some call it a melt-up. I call it the clearest proof yet that FOMO, not fundamentals, is the dominant force in markets right now. We’re deep in it, and nobody really knows where it ends.

So, in the spirit of trying to make sense of this moment together, here’s what’s on my mind this April:

1. We’re going to Chile!

2. FOMO Sapiens Recent Hits and Upcoming Guests

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: The Latest in FOMOAI

4. The Binaural Beats That Changed My Meditation Practice

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

1. We’re going to Chile!

In early May, I’m heading to Chile to deliver a keynote at Compass Group’s Lexington Chile Day. My talk is on leadership and decision-making in the age of FOMO, with a particular focus on what FOMO is doing to investing and markets. Given everything happening right now, from AI valuations to memecoins to the broader sense that everyone’s chasing every trend, it feels like the right conversation to be having with this audience.

Compass Group is one of the leading players in Latin American capital markets, so I’m especially excited to hear how these themes are landing with investors and executives who are thinking hard about how to make good long-term decisions in a short-term world.

More to come after the event.

Given the craziness with airfares right now, I actually got a better deal by stopping in Argentina first (yay!), so I will be making a quick swing through Buenos Aires as well.

Hope to see some of you in either Argentina or Chile.

2. FOMO Sapiens Recent Hits and Upcoming Guests

We’ve had an incredible stretch of episodes over the last several weeks.

If you’ve missed any, I’d start with Dan Coyle on culture and what makes teams actually work, Nir Eyal (now a 3x guest!) on focus and building indistractable habits, Chris Wharton on longevity and cutting through the wellness noise, and Matt Beall on crypto, memecoin culture, and why FOMO is the most powerful force in speculative markets.

We also had a trio of conversations on wellness, ambition, and reinvention with Florence Shaffer, Tracy Anderson, and Liz Tran.

Coming up, we have an equally great lineup:

• B2B sales guru Rob Snyder,

• Entrepreneur and operator Jon McNeill,

• VC Charlie O’Donnell,

• VaynerMedia’s Claude Silver,

• And former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb.

I can’t wait for you to hear them. Check out the episodes wherever you listen, or watch on YouTube.

Season 14

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: The Latest in FOMOAI

Every era has its FOMO trigger. In the late 90s, it was the first dotcom wave. In 2021, it was SPACs and crypto. Right now, it’s AI, and the way it’s reshaping markets is honestly one of the most interesting things I’ve ever watched.

As I mentioned in the opening, there is the crazy case of Allbirds. The once beloved sustainable sneaker company, which had a $4 billion market cap five years ago and sold off its intellectual property for $39 million just weeks ago, announced out of nowhere that it was rebranding as “NewBird AI,” an AI compute infrastructure business.

The reaction from investors was to send the stock up by over 700% in a single day.

The reaction from everyone else was a mix of incredulity and ridicule.

By the next morning, Wall Street seemed to have second thoughts, and the stock gave back 35%.

This reminds me so much of the Long Island Iced Tea debacle of 2017, in which a Nasdaq-listed iced tea company pivoted to crypto and rebranded as Long Island Blockchain. Let’s just say that it didn’t go quite to plan. The stock was delisted, and multiple people were charged with insider trading.

This isn’t an isolated story. It’s a clean example of what I’ve taken to calling FOMOAI.

Palantir’s P/S ratio is over 80. The Shiller PE is near its highest level since 1871. Even cautious investors are getting dragged into what some are calling the “melt-up” phase, where everyone capitulates to FOMO and piles in before the music stops.

Because it will stop. It will. It always does, my friends.

What’s fascinating is that this isn’t really about AI at all. It’s about the psychology of participation, or what I call Herd FOMO. People don’t want to miss the next big thing, so they race to be part of it, even when the fundamentals don’t support the price. A shoe company with no AI expertise, no AI customers, and no AI infrastructure gets a 700% pop simply because it stapled “AI” to its name.

That’s FOMO, and it’s also FOMOAI, and it’s also scary and kinda stupid.

My read? It’s time to take a deep breath.

We’re in the part of the cycle where it’s more important than ever to slow down, ask good questions, and resist the urge to follow the herd. FOMO is a powerful source of motivation, but it’s a terrible investor.

4. The Binaural Beats That Changed My Meditation Practice

Let’s shift gears. On the recommendation of my friend Laura, I’ve gotten deeply into binaural beats over the past few months, and they’ve genuinely changed my meditation practice.

Haven’t heard of them? Binaural beats are a kind of audio illusion. When you play two slightly different frequencies in each ear, your brain perceives a third frequency, the difference between the two. Researchers have found that this “beat” can guide your brainwaves into states associated with focus, relaxation, or deep meditation, depending on the frequency range. Think of it as a soundtrack for your nervous system.

For me, binaural beats turn a five-minute meditation into something that feels more like twenty. My mind settles faster. I come out of it more centered than I do with silence alone.

If you want to try it, Spotify has great playlists. Just search “binaural beats” and pick one that matches what you’re after, whether that’s focus, sleep, or deep meditation.

Give it a few sessions before you judge, and let me know what you think. The key thing is that you need to wear headsets or AirPods. Just putting them on in the background doesn’t give you the full effect, according to one of the meditation teachers I frequent at the Equinox.

Give it a try and let me know.

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

Does it Feel Like March 2020 to you?

Right now, I sort of feel like I did in the early days of COVID. The world is changing very quickly, and we know that these changes will have implications, yet we don’t quite know what all of it means.

Unlike COVID, however, I have accepted that upcoming plans are going to change.

And that’s OK.

Unlike early 2020 when my mindset was “Keep Calm and Carry On,” my current read on the situation is more like “yeah, that’s probably going to get cancelled.”

While that might look like pessimism on the surface, I think it’s more about realizing, thanks to the pandemic, that even if the micro plan changes, the macro plan can stay intact. Plus, a little less stuff on the calendar opens up tons of space on the calendar to work on new projects.

I’m thinking it’s time to learn how to vibe code, for example…

We’ll see what happens, but in the meantime, let’s talk about what you need to know right now:

1. I Spoke at the World Government Summit (And Have the Receipts)

2. Talking Decision-Making in My Favorite Magazine

3. FOMO Sapiens: Season 14 Continues

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Memecoin Madness

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

1. I Spoke at the World Government Summit (And Have the Receipts)

February started hot over at the World Government Summit in Dubai. I was there to give a keynote titled: Does FOMO Drive Public Policy? It was an incredible event. I was so excited to be there that I even wore a suit.

In the speech, I examined whether governments are leading with long-term strategy or reacting out of FOMO and FOBO in a rapidly changing world. As technology accelerates, competition between nations intensifies, and information moves ever more rapidly across borders, policymakers can fall victim to the temptation to copy and paste from other parts of the world (in particular with AI). I argued that the challenge for leaders is managing the trade-off between speed and legitimacy, between action and wisdom.

Want to learn more - you can check it out here:

2. Talking Decision-Making in My Favorite Magazine

I’ve long been a fan of Monocle. I listen to their pods, read the magazine, and carry the tote bag.

So, it was a real pleasure to meet editor-in-chief Andrew Tuck and the Monocle team at the World Government Summit. I was thrilled (and I mean that very genuinely) to sit down with them for a radio conversation about how leaders make decisions in uncertain times.

Monocle has a unique way of bringing together global business, culture, and policy, so it was especially fun to explore how the psychology behind FOMO can shape better decision-making for governments and organizations alike.

You can read a transcript of the interview here.

READ THE INTERVIEW

3. FOMO Sapiens: Season 14 Continues

Part Two of Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens launched in February with two big double episodes: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and author and creator Sahil Bloom.

Check the full interviews out on YouTube.

Next up, we have author Dan Coyle, 3x guest author Nir Eyal, longevity expert Chris Wharton, and B2B sales guru Rob Snyder.

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Season 14

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Memecoin Madness

A few weeks ago, someone in the memecoin world approached me with something unexpected: they had launched a token called $FOMO, and they wanted to assign me all creators’ fees (they also put my face on it, which is something I didn’t see coming). While I was cautious, I consulted with people who know the space and decided to engage. What struck me right away was how quickly a community formed around it. Within hours, people from all over the world were showing up in chats, sharing memes, trading the coin, and talking about the idea behind it. In real time, I was watching a living laboratory of the very phenomenon I’ve spent years studying.

What I’ve learned so far is that memecoins are less about technology and more about psychology. They are essentially engines for collective emotion, powered by community, humor, and the feeling that something exciting might be happening right now. What’s fascinating is how memecoins turn FOMO itself into the product, creating a fast-moving experiment in how digital communities form, coordinate, and amplify excitement at breakneck speed.

I’ve also learned that if you have a memecoin, people make crazy memes about you. I am touched, but it’s a lot:

I have no idea where this one’s going to go, but if you want to learn more, check me out on Twitter: @pjmcginnis

I had quit the app, but I’m back there because that’s where the whole memecoin conversation happens. I will say that I don’t relish being back on Twitter, but I’m learning so much that it’s worth the pain.

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

After staying close to home in January, I have been on a bit of a tear. January was all about hibernating, as if I were a bear. I stayed in, did a ProLon fast, read a few books, binged various series, and made multiple batches of congee. I also wrote a few articles, worked on some keynotes, and buckled down on the rest of my work (i.e., boards and coaching).

Then, BOOM.

February hit, and hibernation ended. More on that below.

This month, I’ve got a few things you need to know:

1. I Hit Dubai to Speak at the World Government Summit (and Horde Dubai Chocolate)

2. FOMO and Financial Bubbles

3. FOMO Sapiens: Part Two of Season 14 is On

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: FOMOAI

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

And of course, I am so thankful to each of you for your support, ideas, inspiration, and attention.

1. I Hit Dubai to Speak at the World Government Summit (and Horde Dubai Chocolate)

I started February by travelling to Dubai to speak at the World Government Summit.

There was a time when I was pretty meh on the UAE. I started going to Dubai in 2006 or so, when I was working in private equity. I was looking at investing in a bank, and at that time, Dubai had relatively few things to offer (and I’m not a big fan of indoor skiing!). Moreover, many of the folks I met were former bankers who had flamed out in NYC or London and were reinventing themselves in a new city. I didn’t meet any Emirati at all somehow.

How things have changed. These days, there are many smart and successful people in the UAE, and Dubai offers plenty of fun things to see and do. Plus, the Emirati are warm, welcoming, and cosmopolitan. Dubai sees a special place for itself on the world stage and it seems like everyone is aligned to make that happen.

Case and point: the World Government Summit, an event that speaks to the city’s role as a convener of discussions in a multi-polar world.

My talk - Do Governments Make Policy Because of FOMO? - focused on how FOMO is shaping how governments seek to create both soft and hard power in the modern age. I was so excited to share my thoughts that I even put on a suit!)

You can see the entire keynote in the video below.

I was so thankful to attend the WGS. There were dozens of heads of state and tons of people from all over the globe. Plus, I saw friends, got some beach and pool time, and met more Emiratis in two days than I had in my entire life (thanks, to all of you!).

I have a feeling I’ll be back in the UAE soon - it feels like it’s becoming an essential stop for any global traveller.

2. FOMO and Financial Bubbles

As someone whose life was totally upended by the 2008 financial crisis (remember, I worked for AIG at the time and ended up on a heart monitor!), I have a nose for bubbles. If you spend enough time in markets, you realize bubbles are rarely about pure greed. They are about FOMO.

In his brilliant recent piece “Is it a Bubble,” legendary investor Howard Marks described the two types of speculative bubbles: inflection bubbles and mean reversion bubbles.

Inflection bubbles happen when investors correctly sense the world is changing, but wildly overestimate the speed and scale of that change. The story is right, but the price is not.

So, in this case, FOMO shows up as capital racing to avoid missing out on the chance to make some mad cash. When the bubble bursts, there is still value to be found, even if some folks lost big. The 1873 railroad crash and the 2001 tech bubble are great examples. Mean reversion bubbles are different. They are based on arbitrage and create no value.

When the bubble bursts, there is nothing good left. Think of the 2008 mortgage crisis.

3. FOMO Sapiens: Season 14 Continues

Part Two of Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens launched in February, and the theme is simple: I’m talking about how exceptional people make the choices that allow them to build unique lives in a world full of FOMO. These are conversations about focus, tradeoffs, and intentionality in environments designed to pull us in every direction at once.

We’ve already had Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia), and next up is Sahil Bloom (author, influencer, and all-around man of the moment).

Each brings a different lens, but the common thread is that you can build something that matters and that reflects your own specific mix of talents and passions.

Season 14

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: FOMOAI

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what I call FOMOAI (Fear of Missing Out on AI)

Every cycle gets the technology it deserves. Ours happens to be artificial intelligence. The shift is real, but what fascinates me most is not the tech, it’s the psychology. AI has become the ultimate perceived opportunity, amplified by comparison, unfolding under massive uncertainty.

That is a perfect recipe for FOMO. Here’s a little taste of how I’m talking about it.

You see it in boardrooms where directors worry less about whether an AI strategy is coherent and more about whether they have one at all. You see it in founders who feel pressure to sprinkle “AI” into a pitch deck, whether or not it meaningfully changes the business model. You see it in governments racing to announce national AI plans because no one wants to look like they missed the next industrial revolution. It’s lazy, but it’s everywhere.

Seriously, it’s like the Matrix… Once you see it, you cannot unsee it.

FOMOAI does not mean AI is a bubble or a fad. Quite the opposite. Some of the most important technologies in history were born in periods of manic enthusiasm (those are the Inflection Bubbles).

But when FOMO drives decision-making, speed can outrun strategy and rigor.

So, keep your eyes out for FOMOAI and use the term in good health. I promise, now that you know the term, you’ll be using it a lot.

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

While most people start January with a bang and then settle into a whimper and a well-earned recovery, early Jan is always a double bang followed by a hard reset for me.

That’s because my birthday is January 3. So, I power through New Year’s, stumble through my birthday, and then hit the reset button.

The last few years, that’s taken the form of a Prolon fast (see more on that below) paired with lots of reading, writing, and less socializing and running around.

So, now that I have hung up my passport and cleared my calendar for a few hot weeks, it’s time to focus on what January has in store.

This month, I’ve got a few things you need to know:

1. Hitting the Hard Reset in January

2. Know Someone Who is Looking for a Coach?

3. FOMO Sapiens: Part Two of Season 14 Launches in Feb with Jimmy Wales and Sahil Bloom

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: What’s in store for 2026

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

And, of course, I am deeply grateful to each of you for your support, ideas, inspiration, and attention.

1. Hitting the Hard Reset in January

As mentioned, I did ProLon for the 3rd time in early January.

For me, the hard reset isn’t symbolic. It’s physiological and mental. I find that ProLon is a good way to achieve this result because it forces a pause in the system. For someone who has a lot of FOMO, there is no escape. You have to stop.

Here’s why: energy drops before it rebounds, and in that space, there is a lot of quiet. By design, the program removes choice, and that’s the point. When decision fatigue disappears, there is more room to focus (unless you’re sleeping because you’re so worn out!)

What I’ve come to appreciate most is what the constraint creates afterward. I am more mindful, at least for a few months, when it comes to food, social activities, priorities, and my health.

I am reminded that you don’t rebuild by piling more on. You rebuild by clearing space, deciding what actually deserves energy, and then adding back deliberately.

Constraint isn’t a limitation… It’s kind of like a filter. And it’s easier to opt for the filter in January than any other time of year.

2. Know Someone Who Is Looking for a Coach?

January is when a lot of talented and busy people quietly realize they want help. As people set goals for the year, they are also forced to reckon with how they are going to achieve those goals.

That’s why at The xQuotient, I’m getting a significant amount of inbound right now from founders, executives, and operators navigating inflection points. I’m hearing from folks in the USA, Latin America, and Spain (because, naturally, I also do my work in Spanish).

So, what kind of person is a great fit to work with me?

I focus on growth-minded leaders in entrepreneurial, venture capital, private equity, legal, and corporate settings who seek intellectual curiosity, accountability, self-inquiry, and decisiveness in the pursuit of sustained performance.

If someone comes to mind who fits that profile, feel free to send them my way. At The xQuotient, we also offer a referral fee for introductions that turn into engagements. You know the kinds of people who tend to be a great fit for this work. Curious, ambitious, self-aware, and ready to invest in doing things better rather than just doing more.

3. FOMO Sapiens: Part Two of Season 14 Launches in February

Part Two of Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens launches in February, and the theme is simple. It’s our classic FOMO Sapiens vibe: How exceptional people make the choices that allow them to build unique lives in a world full of FOMO. These are conversations about focus, tradeoffs, and intentionality in environments designed to pull us in every direction at once.

Upcoming guests include Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) and Sahil Bloom (author, influencer, and all-around man of the moment), among others. Each brings a different lens, but the common thread is clear: focus is not accidental. It is built, defended, and refined over time.

This next chapter of the season goes deep on how people who have real options decide which ones to pursue and which ones to ignore.

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: What’s in Store for 2026

This year is about scale. Last year was about building infrastructure.

Now it’s time to build on top of that.

I’ll be speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai on public policy and FOMO, exploring how uncertainty, comparison, and perceived opportunity influence decision-making at a societal level.

Behind the scenes, I’m also scaling The xQuotient and heading to Colombia to work on a new project that I’m not quite ready to share yet. Let’s just say it sits at the intersection of ideas, culture, and decision-making. More on that soon.

For now, January is about focus, February is about momentum, and the year ahead is about putting real weight behind everything that’s been built.

5. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

In the words of the great Barry Manilow…

It, being to the end of the year. A year of much technological, cultural, and global evolution. 2025 was a real one.

It felt like the first year that things were completely “back” after the p*ndemic (we don’t say that word anymore). For me, the year started with a deep dive into work and zero travel, except for a well-timed speaking gig in the DR in February.

Then, in June, I dusted off my passport for my annual trip to Brilliant Minds in Stockholm. From that point on, I’ve been pretty peripatetic with travel to Lithuania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Spain, Andorra, Malta, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Bermuda, and Chile!

I did not see that coming, if I’m honest.

So, now that I have hung up my passport for the time being, it’s time to reflect on the year that was.

This month, I’ve got a few things you need to know:

1. FOMO Sapiens: Part One of Season 14 Wraps in December

2. My Recent Speaking Gigs are all about the C’s: Chicago, Chile, and Connecticut!

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnisTM: A Sneak Peek at What’s Coming Next.

4. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

And of course, I am so thankful to each of you for your support, ideas, inspiration, and attention.

1. FOMO Sapiens: Part One of Season 14 Wraps in December

We’re halfway through Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens, and this one’s all about learning how people turn uncertainty into opportunity and focus. This season, I have been looking for big thinkers who can offer wisdom and perspective on how to face challenges, spot opportunities, and build into the next trends shaping our world. These are people who remind us that even when things feel out of control, we can still choose focus over fear.

Here is who joined me this month:

• Byron Loflin, the Global Head of Board Engagement at Nasdaq, is redefining what modern corporate governance looks like as companies face pressure to innovate responsibly and lead with transparency.

• Mo Edjalali, the founder of Real Good Ventures, is helping entrepreneurs think differently about building enduring companies by combining disciplined decision-making, mental fitness, and the power of momentum.

• Ranjay Gulati, the Harvard Business School professor and best-selling author, delves into how great leaders build trust, purpose, and high-performance cultures that can withstand turbulence and uncertainty.

Now, to wrap this first part of Season 14, we are ending with:

• Goldie Chan: The pioneering creator known as the Green Haired Oprah is shaping the future of digital storytelling through authenticity, community building, and the ability to navigate the ever-changing creator landscape.

• Anthony Passalacqua: The former teacher turned basketball coach and entrepreneur built his business based on the principles of The 10% Entrepreneur. Hear how he did it! It’s a great story of building something that really reflects your talents.

If you want to catch up on any episodes, they are all waiting for you. Season 14 continues in February with even more conversations designed to turn your FOMO into focus.

2. My Recent Speaking Gigs Are All About the C’s: Chicago, Chile, and Connecticut

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of stages and conversations.

Three places, three very different audiences, and a whole lot of insight about how people are thinking about change, pressure, opportunity, and, of course, FOMO.

Chicago

I premiered my new keynote, “Your Industry on FOMO,” at the Winning Ways conference hosted by Winding River Consulting.

The accounting industry is experiencing massive consolidation driven by more than two hundred billion dollars of VC and PE investment, and the fingerprints of FOMO are everywhere. I broke down the psychology behind the trend, offered a framework for understanding what is driving it, and had an energizing Q&A with a sharp, highly engaged crowd.

I cannot say we cured the industry’s FOMO, but I do think people left with a clearer sense of the forces shaping their future.

Chile

Way back in 2010, I spoke at an event in NYC called Chile Day, and the theme of the panel was why there were not more entrepreneurs in Chile.

Today, the story could not be more different.

I ventured to Santiago as a headline speaker for ETMday, the largest entrepreneurship gathering in Latin America. Parque Bicentenario becomes a living hub of innovation, making it the perfect stage to talk about the psychology and physiology of FOMO and how founders can use my FOMO Persuasion Framework ethically and effectively. I also sat down with Leena Khalil for a fireside chat about lessons from building and investing across regions.

Chile’s growth and momentum were incredible to witness.

Connecticut

My final stop was Avon Old Farms School, where I was invited to partake in the visiting authors program. In fact, all 400 or so students read my book!

On this beautiful campus in the Farmington Valley, the students are navigating the pressures of college admissions and social media. FOMO and FOBO are already shaping their choices. I spent the day giving a keynote, visiting classes for informal Q&A sessions, having lunch with students, and wrapping up with a book signing.

The conversations were thoughtful and honest, and it felt meaningful to give students tools to approach decisions with clarity rather than comparison.

Three places. Three very different worlds. One theme that keeps appearing everywhere…FOMO may be universal, but so is our ability to understand it and use it for good.

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: A Sneak Peek at What’s Coming Next.

I still have a few ideas about what 2026 holds, but what I can tell you is that I will be speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai in February.

Also, we will be kicking off the 2nd half of Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens with two epic guests: The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, and author and thinker Sahil Bloom.

So, get ready for that!

4. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Mostly because it’s a great time to step back and spend time with loved ones and friends without the consumerism and pressure of Christmas.

Plus, I love squash pie. That’s what we eat in Maine rather than pumpkin pie (similar flavor but a little less sweet).

This month, I’ve got a few things you need to know:

1. FOMO Sapiens: Season 14 is a Cornucopia of Big Ideas

2. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: Quantum Entanglement.

3. Catch Me if You Can: Peripatetic Peregrinations.

4. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation.

1. FOMO Sapiens: Season 14 is a Cornucopia of Big Ideas

We’re halfway through Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens, and this one’s all about learning how people turn uncertainty into opportunity and focus.

Because if you haven’t noticed (jk, jk), we’re all navigating change all the time. Sure, right now feels especially chaotic given the technological, economic, political, and cultural shifts happening around us, but if you went back 100 years and asked people if the world felt crazy, they’d probably say yes, too. It was the Roaring 20’s, and they’d just lived through a pandemic and a World War. Of course, everything went wayyyy downhill from there 🙄. Still, it’s all a matter of perspective. Or at least that’s what I tell myself to keep my head from going to dark places.

That’s why this season I’ve been looking for big thinkers who can offer wisdom and perspective on how to face challenges, spot opportunities, and build into the next trends shaping our world. These are people who remind us that even when things feel out of control, we can still choose focus over fear. Here’s who joined me over the past few weeks:

• Isabelle Boemeke, formerly a Brazilian supermodel and now the world’s first nuclear influencer, is utilizing digital storytelling and creativity to transform our perspective on clean energy.

• Gregg Renfrew, the founder of Beautycounter, built one of the most influential clean beauty brands and is redefining what conscious leadership looks like with her new brand Counter.

• Morgan Housel, best-selling author of The Psychology of Money, explains why our relationship with money reveals more about human behavior than finance.

• Caroline Hirsch, the legendary founder of Caroline’s Comedy Club, shares lessons from launching the careers of comedy’s biggest names and what it takes to stay relevant for decades.

• Mark Barrocas: As CEO of SharkNinja, Mark has scaled one of America’s most innovative consumer brands and knows how to turn creativity and execution into lasting success.

This is a HOT set of interviews if I say so myself. I actually loved all five of these and that doesn’t always happen. So check them out.

Season 14 is a reminder that uncertainty isn’t something to fear; it’s the raw material for focus, innovation, and growth.

2. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: Quantum entanglement.

Lately, I’ve been fascinated by a concept from physics called quantum entanglement. I came upon it after I was telling someone I’d only recently met about how I’ve been bumping into a few people - people who I feel like I should be talking to and collaborating with more - in unexpected places.

It felt to me like someone was trying to tell me to pay attention and act upon these supposed coincidences.

She suggested it could have to do with quantum entanglement. That’s the idea that two particles can become linked so that even when separated by great distances, their states remain connected.

What happens to one affects the other, instantly, across space and time.

Now, I’m not a physicist (at least not yet 😄), but this concept got me thinking about the human version of entanglement and the way certain people seem to weave in and out of our lives, often at just the right moment.

You know what I mean. You meet someone, and then somehow you end up bumping into each other here and there until the reason becomes clear.

So, if you think about quantum entanglement, then this isn’t a coincidence. Rather, there’s a kind of connection that keeps drawing certain people back into our orbit because we’re meant to collaborate, learn from each other, or push one another forward. These “quantum relationships” remind us that while we may feel like we’re moving through separate paths, our trajectories are more intertwined than we think.

So the next time you reconnect with someone out of the blue, instead of chalking it up to chance, consider that it might be entanglement at work.

3. Catch Me if You Can: Peripatetic Peregrinations

After a truly great week in Mexico for the Milken Institute Mexico Conference, Mexico Tech Week, and Formula 1’s Grand Prix de Mexico…

I am back in New York and preparing for a little travel dash before Thanksgiving. That will include speaking engagements in Chicago and Santiago, Chile, with a board meeting in Bermuda in between.

I ask myself this question: how many people visit Chicago, Bermuda, and Santiago all in a week, and I have to think it’s not many. Then, I’ll be off to Maine for some downtime.

If you’re in any of those places, hit me up!

4. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month, but until then, enjoy the frozen blueberries.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

If you know me well, you know that I love a pumpkin. Seriously. Pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread… All of it.

Except for the Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte, which I have learned contains two days’ worth of the recommended sugar consumption for an average adult. That’s probably the scariest thing I have learned this Halloween season!

So, while I’ll be skipping the latte, I have massive pumpkin FOMO (if that’s a thing…) this year.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, it’s time to talk about what you need to know now.

1. FOMO Sapiens is Back: We Just Launched Lucky Season 14.

2. Next up on FOMO Sapiens: Models, Billion-Dollar Deals, and Best Selling Authors.

3. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation.

1. FOMO Sapiens is Back: We Just Launched Lucky Season 14

Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens is here, and this one’s all about learning how people turn uncertainty into opportunity and focus. Because if you haven’t noticed (just kidding), we are all navigating change at all times. Sure, right now feels especially fractious given the technological, economic, political, and cultural changes we are all seeing, but I’m sure if you went back 100 years and asked a bunch of people if they felt the world was insane at that moment, they would tell you they did. It seems to me that it’s a matter of perspective.

So, that’s why I have been on the lookout for big thinkers who can offer some wisdom and perspective on how to face down challenges, spot opportunities, and build into the next trends that are going to drive our society.

So far, our guests, which you can listen to right now, have been:

• Dr. David Fajgenbaum, a physician-scientist and bestselling author who turned his own near-death experience into a movement to accelerate rare-disease research, taught us how hope and data can rewrite the odds.

• Nancy Twine, the founder of Briogeo Hair Care, shared her journey from Wall Street to Sephora shelves and unpacked how purpose-driven creativity built one of the fastest-growing clean-beauty brands in the world.

• Katina Mountanos, the entrepreneur and writer behind On Adulting, reminded us why slowing down and living intentionally might be the ultimate competitive advantage.

• Jon Levy, behavioral scientist and author of You’re Invited, explained the science of trust and belonging—and how connection itself can be a powerful form of influence.

Btw, both David and Jon are repeat guests, so if you liked them the first time around, you’re going to love them now. Both have new ideas, big updates, and fresh perspectives to bring to the FOMO Sapiens audience.

2. Next up on FOMO Sapiens: Models, Billion-Dollar Deals, and Best-Selling Authors.

The next few FOMO Sapiens continue with this season’s theme of turning uncertainty into opportunity because each has learned to navigate ambiguity and use it as fuel.

• Isabelle Boemeke, known online as Isodope, is a Brazilian-born model and digital creator who’s redefining climate communication. By blending fashion, science, and social media, she’s making nuclear energy part of the mainstream conversation and showing how to use creativity to move the conversation.

• Gregg Renfrew, founder of Beautycounter, built a billion-dollar company by betting on transparency long before it was trendy. But after Beautycounter crashed, she is back with a new business, Counter, and she’s opening up about what it means to lose control of what you built and what to do next.

• Morgan Housel, the bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever, returns to explore the ideas behind his new book, The Art of Spending Money. He explains why the smartest financial decisions aren’t about markets, they’re about mindset, patience, and knowing what “enough” really means.

3. Listen, Watch, and Join the Conversation

You can catch every episode of FOMO Sapiens wherever you get your podcasts—on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now on YouTube. For behind-the-scenes moments, highlights, and bite-sized insights, follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

If you’re enjoying the show, please share it with a friend, leave a rating or review, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. It’s the best way to help others discover the ideas and stories that make FOMO Sapiens what it is.

Share

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month, but until then, enjoy the frozen blueberries.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

September is here, and with it comes a new season of opportunity.

While the fall usually means a return to routines, for me it’s also the kickoff of my busiest season as a keynote speaker. I love speaking and if I could, I would do it all day every day (but that would probably kill me, so I won’t even try).

I just rolled out a rather slick refresh of my website and as I did so, I was reminded of the essential thing I have learned over the past few years: the most powerful sources of opportunities for speakers is referrals from people who know their work, and know that they will bring something unique to an event. That’s why I want to tell you more about what I do as a speaker. Perhaps tomorrow, next month, or next year, you will hear about (or organize) an event where I could bring something relevant to the stage. In that case, I would love to be top of mind.

Every time I step up to speak, I’m reminded why I love it.

It offers me a chance to translate big ideas into practical strategies, whether for marketers, investors, entrepreneurs, or leaders.

This month, I want to share a little bit about what I do on stage and the frameworks I’ve created with hope that you, your organization, or organizations you know or work with, keep me in mind for future opportunities:

1. The Big Ideas: The FOMO Persuasion Model™ & The 10% EntrepreneurⓇ

2. Signature Keynotes: From Boardrooms to Big Stages

3. Video or It Didn’t Happen

4. Past Stages, Future Stages

1. The Big Ideas: The FOMO Persuasion Model™ & The 10% EntrepreneurⓇ

Unsurprisingly, a lot of my speaking is centered around the concepts I wrote about in my books: Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and The 10% Entrepreneur. As a reminder, I wanted to share those key concepts before I show you how I have turned them into keynotes and workshops.

• FOMO: I’ve spent years researching how FOMO influences decision-making, and I developed a strategic framework, the FOMO Persuasion Model™, to decode exactly how it works. By mapping the two types of FOMO (Aspirational and Normative) to their underlying motivations, I show leaders and companies how to craft messages, strategies, and products that actually move people to act.

• The 10% Entrepreneur: I’ve also spent years studying how people can unlock entrepreneurship without putting everything on the line (and doing it myself). Now, in the age of AI, this type of entrepreneurship is even more accessible than before.

  

2. Signature Keynotes & Workshops: From Boardrooms to Big Stages

I customize every talk, but my most requested keynotes & workshops include:

• Mastering Persuasion in the Age of FOMO

• This Is [Your Industry] on FOMO

• Fear, Greed, FOMO, and Financial Markets

• FOMAI: Fear of Missing Out on Artificial Intelligence & What to Do About It

• The Paradox of Plenty: Decision-Making & the Fear of a Better Option

I deliver these messages in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and no matter the audience, the through line is clear: don’t accept the status quo, think differently, and you can achieve something distinctive.

For an overview of all of my keynotes, download my speaking kit here

3. Video or It Didn’t Happen

If you want to see me in action, check out my Speaking Reel.

You’ll get a sense of the energy I bring to every audience and how I use humor, research, and real stories to leave people both inspired and equipped to act.

4. Past Stages, Future Stages

One of the fun things about this work is that I can do it at home (i.e., NYC), but it also takes me to places far and near.

Recent and future keynotes will have taken me to conferences in Chicago and the Dominican Republic, the World Cup Grand Prix in Mexico, the Cannes Lions, Brazil, a private school in Connecticut, and Chile.

So, if your company or conference is planning events for the rest of 2025 or 2026, now is the time to book speakers.

Don’t miss out—get in touch here or just reply to this email, and let’s talk.

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month, but until then, enjoy the frozen blueberries.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

August is in full swing, and I hope that yours has been memorable.

I’m writing from Barcelona, where I have installed myself for a few weeks (thanks to an apartment swap) before kicking off a bit of peripatetic travel in Western Europe and, wait for it, Bermuda, before heading back home to kick off the fall.

I’ve been focusing on disconnecting from current events and making room for new and big ideas this month, but staying away from the news is always a challenge.

Speaking of news, it’s time to tell you the things you need to know right now:

1. The Power of the House Swap for Traveling Across the Globe

2. PatGPT: Can You Detox From the News?

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: The Month of Stoicism

4. Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens Kicks off in September

1. The Power of the House Swap for Traveling Across the Globe

I love to travel, but honestly, I hate dropping a large amount of coin on a nice hotel, and I really hate dropping any coin on something that sucks. So, when the stars align, I much prefer doing apartment swaps.

To me, they are the ultimate travel hack. You get a real home, in a real neighborhood, and it costs you nothing but your own place in return. It’s comfy, you have all the essentials (like a washer/dryer and an iron), it’s local, and it makes you feel like you actually live somewhere new instead of just passing through.

I first discovered this concept thanks to my friends Florencia and Xavier, who made it sound totally normal and kind of genius, and who have done a ton of crazy swaps over the years.

My first swap was way back in 2010 with friends in Barcelona who stayed at my place in NYC.

Fast forward fifteen years, and they just called me up to do it again.

Obviously, I said yes.

For a FOMO Sapiens like me, it’s the dream. You get to travel in style while saving cash for such essentials as jamón and vermut. I also discovered that I am staying 2 blocks from one of my college roommates from my time in Argentina.

While I always swap with friends or friends of friends, if you want to go pro, there are platforms like HomeExchange, Kindred, and ThirdHome that make it super easy to set something up with a bit more structure.

2. PatGPT: Can You Detox From the News?

I try not to do it, but today I opened the NYTimes app and it felt like the world was ending again. War, inflation, layoffs, AI disruption, and political chaos. Every headline is built for panic, not perspective.

In moments like this, your brain does not want clarity. It wants certainty, even if it is false.

That is where things go off track.

Research shows that during times of uncertainty, like elections or economic shocks, our decision-making gets worse. We rush into choices, focus on losses, and react to the latest headline instead of thinking long-term. And this is exactly when FOMO shows up the strongest. Here is how I stay grounded when the noise gets loud:

A. Pause.
Doing nothing is often the smartest first step.

B. Zoom out.
Ask if this is a short-term drama or a long-term shift.

C. Ask yourself:
Would I still make this decision if no one else knew?

3. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: The Month of Stoicism

I am nothing if not a fan of themes in life. I like to declare it the “month of this” or the “year of that.”

Keeping with that tradition, I have decided to make August the “month of stoicism.”

Over the last few months, I let myself get pulled into the drama. News cycles, online noise, other people’s chaos, it all distracted me more than I’d like to admit. So I’m pressing pause and going back to the basics.

Now, I have to say that I hate how Stoicism has become a bit of a broey hack for all things. But at the same time, having read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, I guess I am going to join the crowd since it was exactly what I needed.

A few takeaways that I liked:

1. You cannot control what happens, only how you respond

2. Most of what we worry about never actually happens

3. Peace comes from doing the work, not chasing the reward

Perhaps most importantly, the concept of memento mori, or the idea that was are all going to die, so remember that and focus your energy on getting things done now.

For a FOMO Sapiens, this is the antidote.

When you are constantly looking outward, trying to keep up or keep score, you lose track of what really matters. Stoicism pulls you back to the center. It reminds you that your time, your choices, and your energy are yours to protect.

MEMENTO MORI FTW

4. FOMO Sapiens Will Return in September

Although I am hitting vacation hard, Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens will be here before we all realize it.

So, get ready for the kick-off on September 18.

The season is shaping up with guests including fitness guru and entrepreneur Tracy Anderson, the author of the Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel, entrepreneurs like Nancy Twine (Briogeo) and Katina Mountanos (Kosterina), return guest David Fajgenbaum, and a few other surprises.

It’s early yet, and I’m getting a lot of pitches that are hotter than Spain in August, so buckle up and I’ll see you in a month.

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month, but until then, enjoy the frozen blueberries.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

I’m back in NYC after a quick yet memorable trip to Aspen, Colorado, for lots of hiking and 4th of July festivities. Aspen is a pretty insane place. It manages to be over the top and yet also totally low-key all at the same time.

But as someone who loves mountains, I find that my time there in the company of great friends who are like family is always time well spent.

Now that I'm feeling clear from the mountain air, it’s time to tell you the things you need to know right now:

1. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Ends on a High Note

2. A Sneak Peek at Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens

3. PatGPT: My Guilt-Free Ice Cream Food Hack

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnisTM : Gen Z’s Attention Rebellion

1. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Ends on a High Note

Turns out that the number 13 was pretty lucky for FOMO Sapiens. With episode 26 of the season running this week, we are ending on a bang with 3x guest Cathy Heller.

We are nearly through with Season 13, and I’m ending things with a focus on the hard truths of the internet and the critical realities of entrepreneurship. Recently,

• I sat down with Hannah and Hugh, co-founders of Drumbeat Labs and the nonprofit Civic Attention, Hannah Koizumi and Hugh Jones,s who are calling out the excesses of the internet and working to dismantle it from the inside out.

• I interviewed Ankur Gopal to find out how he turned his startup, Interapt, an IT apprenticeship company, into one of the 100 Most Meaningful Businesses in the World.

• I chatted with Lori Rosenkopf, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at The Wharton School and author of Unstoppable Entrepreneurs, to bust the biggest myths holding new founders back.

• Next up is multi-hyphenate Cathy Heller, who returns to FOMO Sapiens to talk about her new book Abundant Every After.

We are saying goodbye to Season 13, so head over to YouTube, Spotify, or iTunes now and check out what you’ve been missing.

Season 13

2. A Sneak Peek at Season 14 of FOMO Sapiens

Now that Season 13 is over, I am going to take a little break from releasing new shows. I will drop some best of episodes before returning in September for Season 14.

The season is shaping up very, very nicely, with guests to come including fitness guru and entrepreneur Tracy Anderson, the author of the Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel, and entrepreneurs like Nancy Twine (Briogeo) and Katina Mountanos (Kosterina).

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

By the way, some of my favorite guests result from ideas from listeners of the show, so please do let me know if there is someone you’d like to see on the pod.

3. PatGPT: FOMOP: My Guilt-Free Ice Cream Food Hack

I walked past Van Leeuwen the other day, and I almost went in, because NYC is boiling, your clothes are sticking, and you want ice cream every day. It's nearly 100 degrees, and it feels like a human right. But unless you’re training for the NYC Marathon, that’s not going to work. So here’s a game-changing summer hack I swear by: I love something refreshing, but I also like fitting into my clothes. So I found a way to get the ice cream feeling without the calories.

Here’s the hack: Freeze blueberries. Eat them. That’s it.

They taste like tiny scoops of blueberry sorbet, packed with antioxidants, with a fraction of the calories of store-bought ice cream.

No weird ingredients, no added sugar, no guilt. Just a small upgrade that makes staying cool (and healthy) during summer easy.

Boom.

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnisTM: Gen Z’s Attention Rebellion

Recent FOMO Sapiens guests Hannah Koizumi and Hugh Jones publish an excellent newsletter called Civic Attention.

One of their recent posts, New Survey: Gen Z’s Attention Rebellion, highlights how young adults are pushing back against the “attention economy” that dominates modern life. Feeling bombarded by triggers for constant engagement, the likes, feeds, and streams have many in Gen Z intentionally stepping away from digital platforms to protect their mental space.

This “attention rebellion” manifests as limiting screen time, silencing notifications, and deliberately avoiding platforms that demand nonstop interaction. It’s a generation-level shift toward selective presence and reclaiming autonomy over where they place their attention.

Given my work, I am fascinated to see what’s going to happen. If you want to learn more, check out the post below and make sure to follow Hugh and Hannah’s work if it’s of interest!

Civic Attention

New Survey: Gen Z’s Attention Rebellion

In a must-listen January interview with Chris Hayes on the state of the contemporary attention environment, Ezra Klein predicted a “true backlash” born of sheer exhaustion with an information ecosystem that he warns is “corrod[ing] our souls…

Read more

a year ago · 3 likes · Hannah Koizumi and Hugh Jones

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas. I’ll be back with more for you next month, but until then, enjoy the frozen blueberries.

Yours,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

I’m coming at your rested and ready after a trip to Europe that was simultaneously a whirlwind but also surprisingly restful.

Although I hit Stockholm, Vilnius, Sarajevo, Kotor (Montenegro), and Dubrovnik in a span of just 14 days, somehow I was able to recharge thanks to a lot of naps and a general mental break from work and news.

But more on that later…

Here are the things you need to know right now:

1. Next Up on Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens: Entrepreneurship and AI to Round Out the Season

2. Brilliant Minds and European Adventures

3. PatGPT: The Grey Rock

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM : Fareed Zakaria on Trump’s FOMO Foreign Policy

1. Next Up on Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens: Entrepreneurship and AI to Round Out the Season

We are nearly through with Season 13, and I’m ending things in my safe space - AI and entrepreneurship.

Well, safe space feels a little insane as a description for those two topics, but they are the places where I feel most excited and engaged right now. We have a bunch of fascinating and notable guests, including:

• Kass and Mike Lazerow talking about their entrepreneurial and life partnership and what they learned in the process,

• Firat Isbecer, talking about how to build innovative companies in Turkey, and

• Dean Carignan, the AI Innovation Lead at Microsoft, unpacks the company’s playbook for innovation.

We have a few more episodes until we say goodbye to Season 13, so head over to YouTube, Spotify, or iTunes now and check out what you’ve been missing.

Season 13

2. Brilliant Minds and European Adventures

As I have over the last few years, I was grateful to head to Stockholm for Brilliant Minds, an annual gathering that brings together a focused and really amazing group of people who are using creativity to get things done.

The theme this year was HumanKIND, and the conversations focused on how we can be kinder in every sense of the word. The list of speakers was truly amazing - it’s nuts how BM pulls such a group together - and included folks like Arthur Brooks, Tom Brady, Gracie Abrams, Trevor Noah, and Hamdi Ulukaya.

We also had musical performances from John Legend, Charlie Puth, Gracie Abrams, and Bryan Adams, among others.

While there were a bunch of very memorable sessions, if I step back and think about what I learned, I think it’s that being kind is not a passive thing. It involved risk and potentially sacrifice. It can be about discomfort.

But if you are committed to living a life of positive impact, you must find ways to include kindness in how you navigate the world.

After Stockholm, I did a round of “visit countries I have not yet been to” and hit Lithuania, Bosnia, and Montenegro before flying home from Croatia.

I highly recommend all of those places, and if you need recommendations, just write me.

3. PatGPT: The Grey Rock

I just learned about this concept called The Grey Rock, and I’m a fan.

If you are someone who does not like dealing with difficult people, this method can be a very effective way to protect your mindset, regardless of the person who is irritating you.

The basic idea is to make yourself emotionally uninteresting when interacting with someone who thrives on drama, manipulation, or control. Instead of reacting, arguing, or feeding the conversation, you respond with short, flat answers and neutral body language.

You do not offer opinions, emotions, or details that invite more engagement.

The goal is to become as unappealing as possible so the other person loses interest and moves on. This is especially helpful in situations where you cannot completely avoid the person, such as at work or within a family.

Like anything, the Grey Rock approach has its limits. Using it for too long can feel draining because you are constantly holding back your natural responses. It can also feel isolating and emotionally flat if used with people you interact with often.

Importantly, it does not resolve conflict or change the other person’s behavior. It simply reduces the likelihood of getting pulled into unnecessary arguments or emotional traps.

So, while you deploy the Grey Rock, also consider other approaches like setting boundaries or seeking outside support if the situation does not improve.

Give it a try… just not with me!

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: Fareed Zakaria on Trump’s FOMO Foreign Policy

In the last few days, many of you have sent me a reel that is going viral.

Basically, it’s a clip from Fareed Zakaria’s CNN show GPS in which he uses FOMO as a framework for understanding American foreign policy right now.

Maybe you agree and maybe you don’t, but I still love the way that Fareed so innovatively applied FOMO to global affairs.

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

If last month’s newsletter was all about business, this one’s all about the things that keep us busy.

Since I’m having the author of the wildly successful Four Thousand Weeks on the pod shortly, I have been thinking about how we spend our time. You have a fixed pie of time. You can use it as you wish: to write a book or watch TV, run a marathon or learn how to garden, raise a kid, or raise a dog. You choose your own adventure.

The ultimate goal is to strive to align how that time is spent with what you actually want to do with your life.

So, let’s not waste any more time. Here are the things you need to know right now:

1. Next Up on Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens: 4,000 Weeks, Entrepreneurship, and AI

2. Check Out My New Speaking Reel

3. PatGPT: FOMOP: What is up with all this protein FOMO?

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM : So You Want to Write a Book?

1. Next Up on Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens: 4,000 Weeks, Entrepreneurship, and AI

If you’ve been listening to FOMO Sapiens, then you know that the last few weeks of episodes have been deeply ideas-driven. We had shows on:

The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift with HBR’s Kevin Evers, Changing Your Personality with The Atlantic's Olga Khazan, and Relational Intelligence with Isabelle Colin Hau.

Then, we shifted back into entrepreneurship mode with Brooklyn Mirage’s Josh Wyatt on how he’s reinventing one of America’s most beloved concert venues and Romain Kapadia, who shared how he’s bringing his skills as an entrepreneur to his fight against cancer.

Next up, we have a bunch of fascinating and notable guests, including:

• Casper co-founder Neil Parikh on his new mental health and AI venture,

• 4,000 Weeks author Oliver Burkeman on his powerful work on making life matter,

• Serial entrepreneurs Mike and Kass Lazerow on their hard-earned lessons building businesses,

• Turkish entrepreneur Firat Isbeçer on what it takes to build in his region, and

• Microsoft’s Dean Carignan on innovation and AI.

We have a few more episodes until we say goodbye to Season 13, so head over to YouTube, Spotify, or iTunes now and check out what you’ve been missing.

Season 13

2. Check Out My New Speaking Reel

Earlier this season, I interviewed Thomas Turcich, the guy who walked around the world, and when I did my research on him, I was blown away by his speaking reel. It was sharp, inspiring, and left a serious impression.

So I thought: I need one of those.

That’s when Tom introduced me to Tarver Lowe at Speaker Insight, and we got to work.

The result? A reel that captures what I do best: Helping audiences name their FOMO, FOBO, and FOMA—and then do something about it.

Big thanks to every client who’s trusted me on their stage and shared their energy (and footage!).

Check it out, and if you’re planning a conference, offsite, or leadership summit, let’s talk.

3. PatGPT: FOMOP: What is up with all this protein FOMO?

These days, everyone’s got a Fear of Missing Out on Protein.

Seriously, it’s all people talk about. And since I am the King of FOMO, I fell into it. I even bought pea protein to make shakes. SMDH. I got sucked into the idea that it’s the magic dust for abs, energy, and eternal youth. Protein bars, protein shakes, protein cereal—if it’s not packed with protein, is it even food?

But I just saw Dr. Valter Longo, the researcher behind my favorite fast-mimicking diet, Prolon, talk about this exact topic. And you know what he says? Well, this longevity expert who actually studies this stuff says that we must not give in to the hype.

He says eating less protein, especially in midlife, is linked to living longer, dodging chronic disease, and aging with a bit more grace. In fact, you should seek to have 0.31 to 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. That means if you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg), you’d aim for about 47 to 54 grams, which is not a heck of a lot (like two eggs!).

So while the world’s busy chasing chicken breasts, tofu bricks, and pea protein everything, I’m going to be chasing the veggies.

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis^TM: So You Want to Write a Book?

It must be the season, but I have been getting a lot of inbound from folks telling me they want to write a book. I love that idea. I love it. But I also want you to know what it takes. That’s why I recorded a whole podcast guide to help you get started and to demystify the process.

You can listen here, and of course, let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

Have you noticed that everything feels really busy right now?

Everyone I talk to says that are flat-out busier than they have been for a while. While I don’t have empirical certainty, I do have a theory as to why that is the case: people are avoiding the turbulent headlines by burying themselves in work.

This period is giving me early pandemic vibes in a sense, except that instead of making bread we are all making spreadsheets, presentations, and ChatGPT prompts. It’s kind of depressing if I’m honest, and just writing about my little theory has inspired me to try to get off my laptop, get outside, and take a break from the news and work.

But before you do, here are the things you need to know right now (and this month I’m keeping it light because I really do want you to go outside):

1. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Continues With Big Ideas

2. PatGPT: How to Stop Stressing About Your Schedule

1. 📺 Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Continues with Big Ideas

Season 13 has been super fun because I have had so many smart and interesting guests. We are ramping up for some great thinkers and entrepreneurs as we get toward the end of the season.

Recent episodes you might enjoy include:

• Thomas Turcich, the 11th person to walk around the world (seriously!), on what he learned in the process

• Futurist Frederik Pfert (say that three times fast) on why the future isn’t so scary (unless you look at your 401k!)

• Ann Freidman, the founder of the Planet Word Museum in Washington, DC, on what it takes to start a museum

• Topaz Adizes on how to have more meaningful conversations

• Nayeema Raza on her new podcast Smart Girl Dumb Questions and the business model of podcasting.

Next up, we have guests including an HBR editor on The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift and The Atlantic's Olga Khazan on Whether You Can Really Change Your Personality (or do you even want to…)

Head over to YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts now and check out what you’ve been missing.

Season 13

2. PatGPT: How to Stop Stressing About Your Schedule

Given my feelings about how busy we are right now, I am actively trying to destress that feeling that things are a bit too busy. If you are like me and your calendar feels like it’s running your life, not the other way around, you’re not alone.

According to author Chris Guillebeau, the antidote to “time anxiety” starts with something surprisingly simple: leave early. Giving yourself a buffer might sound basic, but it can reduce stress and eliminate that frantic, last-minute hustle. And here’s the kicker—most people won’t even end up waiting around, because we consistently underestimate how long things take.

Beyond that, psychologist Thomas Curran recommends ditching the myth that you’ll never finish your to-do list. Instead of obsessing over what didn’t get done, try ending each day by completing the sentence, “Today I made progress on…” It’s a small shift that can build confidence and help you focus on forward motion instead of perfection.

Other tips? Don’t let someone else’s “urgent” request hijack your schedule—pause and ask yourself if it’s truly urgent for you. And remember, not everything requires your A-game. Sometimes, your B-game is good enough—store-bought cookies will do, and Zoom can be a call during a walk.

Finally, redefine what counts as “valuable” time. Productivity doesn’t only happen on spreadsheets; it also happens on merry-go-rounds and in magical places like Unicorn Land with your kids. The moments you’ll treasure most probably aren’t on your to-do list—they’re the ones you make time for when you decide that presence matters more than pressure.

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

I’m writing you from the airport in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where I just spent a few days with the Latin America team at IPG Media Brands, talking about how FOMO and FOBO drive the world of advertising and marketing. it was both fun rewarding to share my thoughts with a group of people who totally get what I’m talking about and who taught me a bunch in the process.

It was also fun to do it all in Spanish and Portuguese. And, of course, it was amazing to be in warm weather. I have been heads-down on a bunch of stuff this winter and barely left New York (I know, unusual for me, right?), so getting on a plane and changing scenery felt exciting once again. I’ve been doing a ton of thinking about, speaking about, and writing about FOMO and marketing, so if your company would like to learn more or have me speak, check out my brand, spanking new overview of my speaking practice and topics.

So, now that I have thawed out for a few days, I am feeling newly inspired and ready to tell you the things you need to know right now:

1. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens is in Full Swing

2. Website Refreshes Are My Love Language

3. PatGPT: Here’s What I’m Reading Right Now

1. 📺 Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens is in Full Swing

Since we kicked off Season 13 back in January, I’ve been interviewing some of the globe’s freshest thinkers on all things entrepreneurship, decision-making, and entrepreneurial decision-making.

Recent episodes you might enjoy include:

• Author William Green, whose book Richer, Wiser, Happier, on the mindset of the billionaire, was praised as “one of the best investing books ever written” by legendary investor Charlie Munger,

• The founders of Caveday, who are back to talk about what’s been up since our interview way back during the deep pandemic,

• Maura Duggan, the founder of Fancypants bakery, on how she built a premium cookie business out of her kitchen,

• Andrew Brodsky, a University of Texas McCombs School of Business professor, talking about how to master virtual (i.e., Zoom) communication, and

• Ann Friedman, founder of the Planet World Museum in Washington, DC (a museum I love so much that I joined the board!).

Next up, we have guests including Thomas Turcich, the 10th person to walk around the world (seriously!), and futurist Frederik Pferdt (say that three times fast).

Head over to YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts now and check out what you’ve been missing.

Season 13

2. Website Refreshes Are My Love Language

Do you know what I realized in January of this year? My websites needed some refreshing. Yes, all three of them: patrickmcginnis.com, fomosapiens, and my newest digital home, The xQuotient, for my executive coaching company.

While my personal and FOMO Sapiens websites just needed some content updates (like the speaking section I mentioned above), The xQuotient needed a total refresh. That’s because I built it myself (I am apparently good at Wix) in the early phase of the business. My partners and I felt that it would not make sense to invest in a better site until we were certain about what we wanted to say and how we wanted to say it.

Well, that moment arrived, and we worked with Alexandra Ramirez, an amazing Madrid-based designer, to relaunch xquotient.io.

At the same time, I decided to learn how to work with WordPress so that I could update the other two sites myself, both today and in the future. Thanks to my trusty friend ChatGPT, I made a bunch of changes without any big drama.

Go check out patrickmcginnis.com and fomosapiens.com and let me know if there’s something there you’d like to see. I actually find working on my website to be an activity that gives me flow, so put me to work.

3. PatGPT: What I’m Reading Right Now

As I jetted down to Punta Cana, I packed up a book that was recommended to me by xQuotient co-founder Mitul Desai called Why Buddhism is True.

The book, written by Robert Wright, is a BANGER. It dives deep into the intersection of evolutionary psychology and Buddhist philosophy, arguing that many of our modern struggles—like anxiety, dissatisfaction, and, yes, FOMO—stem from cognitive biases wired into us by evolution.

Wright makes a compelling case that mindfulness and meditation aren’t just feel-good practices but powerful tools for seeing reality more clearly and breaking free from the mental traps that fuel our constant craving for more. In a world where we’re bombarded with endless choices and the fear of missing out lurks around every corner, his insights feel more relevant than ever.

It’s been the perfect companion for some beachside reflection on how to quiet the noise and focus on what truly matters. I am a big fan of those types of practices. They keep me mentally strong even when it’s rough.

So, if you like what you heard, check out the book.

Listen at Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! And while you’re there, please consider liking, subscribing, and leaving a review. Plus, get ready for more episodes coming your way that are devoted to bold thinkers and entrepreneurs.

As always, thank you for being a part of the FOMO Sapiens community. I'm excited to continue bringing you valuable content and insights that can help you escape the treadmill and forge a unique path to success in business and life.

Thanks as always for reading, and please drop me a line with thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Read me on LinkedIn.

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

Is it just me, or has 2025 already been A LOT? 😖 Markets are swinging, AI is rewriting the rules, and there’s a fresh celebrity scandal every 12 hours. Oh, right and there is all the political stuff.

Keeping up isn’t just exhausting—it’s impossible. And honestly? Sometimes the smartest move is to miss out on the noise and focus on what actually matters. We’ll be talking about how to miss out on while staying informed, but first, let’s talk about FOMO Sapiens and how FOMO and FOBO are having a little moment.

So, while I totally get it if you want to tune out or it all right now, give me five because it’s time to talk about the things you need to know now:

1. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Is Here

2. FOMO Is Having a Moment

3. FOBO Is Also Having a Moment

4. PatGPT: How to Be Informed While Missing Out on the News

1. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens is Here - And It’s All on Video 📺

Season 13 kicked off on January 23rd with full video episodes on Spotify and YouTube. This is the first time that we have gone 100% video and I am thrilled to be able to bring you the show in a whole new way.

To celebrate, we kicked off with a returnee, the much prolific Keith Ferrazzi, author of the brand-new book Never Lead Alone. I got a lot of love for this episode because people love Keith. If you’ve ever read Never Eat Alone, you know that he’s an inspiring thinker.

Since then, we’ve had a nice mix of exceptional people who take their own path to success and who are here to share what they learned with you. This includes:

• Colleen Pelly, Founder of The Linchpin Co, on whether balance is even possible,

• HBS Prof. Allison Wood Brooks on how to up your communications game.

Next up in February, we have:

• Author William Green, whose book Richer, Wiser, Happier, on the mindset of the billionaire was praised as “one of the best investing books ever written” by legendary investor Charlie Munger,

• The founders of Caveday, who are back to talk about what’s been up since our interview way back during the deep pandemic, and…

• The founder of Fancypants bakery, Maura Duggan, on how she grew up premium cookie business out of her kitchen.

All Episodes

2. FOMO is Having a Moment 📰

The Atlantic recently ran a piece exploring the deeper meaning of FOMO, and I had the chance to be interviewed for it. The article, titled Your FOMO is Trying to Tell You Something, dives into how FOMO isn’t just about anxiety or distraction—it can also be a signal of potential, growth, and the desire for meaningful experiences. We talked about how I originally coined the term, how the world has changed since then, and why I believe not all FOMO is bad—especially when it pushes you toward something valuable. The piece also breaks down the difference between aspirational FOMO (seeking out opportunities that enrich your life) and herd FOMO (panicking about being left out), and why learning to distinguish between the two can be a game-changer.

It’s always exciting to see how the conversation around FOMO continues to evolve, and this article is a great reflection of that. Thanks to all of you from all over the place who reached out - I am always super honored when a fancy publication like The Atlantic writes about my favorite four-letter word.

Read the article

3. FOBO is Also Having a Moment 🤷🏽

As if on cue, the same week The Atlantic published its deep dive into FOMO, another piece I was interviewed for—this time about FOBO (Fear of a Better Option)—dropped in HuffPost. The article explores how FOBO is quietly making decision-making harder than ever, especially in an era where we have endless choices at our fingertips. It was wild timing, but also a reminder that these concepts—FOMO and FOBO—are more relevant than ever. The HuffPost piece struck a nerve, going semi-viral as people recognized their own paralysis-by-analysis habits and the constant struggle to make “perfect” choices. Seeing both of these ideas—one about chasing opportunities and the other about being trapped by indecision—getting so much attention in the same week was pretty surreal. Clearly, we’re all still figuring out how to navigate the noise and make smarter choices in 2025.

Read the article

4. PatGPT: How to Be Informed While Missing Out on the News 🙈

News FOMO is real. With breaking stories, social media hot takes, and endless analysis flooding our feeds, it’s easy to feel like you need to be online 24/7 just to keep up. But let’s be honest—most of it is noise. Consuming too much news can leave you anxious, distracted, and no better informed than before.

The key isn’t tuning out completely, but rather being intentional about what you consume and how. Here are three ways to stay informed without drowning in the news cycle:

1. Set Time Limits – Instead of constant checking, schedule when you’ll read/watch the news. Try one-two deep dive per day rather than refreshing every hour.

2. Curate Your Sources – Follow a few trusted outlets instead of doomscrolling through social media. Opt for quality over quantity. Take the apps you don’t need off your phone and unfollow the sources that give you anxiety.

3. Lean Into Summaries – Use news digests, podcasts, or weekly roundups to get the most important updates without the noise.

Managing news FOMO is about control—you decide what’s worth your attention, not the algorithm. And once you break the cycle of compulsive checking, you’ll realize you didn’t miss much after all.

Listen at Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! And while you’re there, please consider liking, subscribing, and leaving a review. Plus, get ready for more episodes coming your way that are devoted to bold thinkers and entrepreneurs.

As always, thank you for being a part of the FOMO Sapiens community. I'm excited to continue bringing you valuable content and insights that can help you escape the treadmill and forge a unique path to success in business and life.

That’s it for now, FOMO Sapiens. Stay sane. Stay mentally strong. Keep the faith.

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!

Happy New Year! How did you celebrate? Rather than go anywhere, I decided that the best way to ring in the new year would be to host a party at mine. No need to leave, no need to deal with crowds, and no need to get on an airplane. But, I did want to channel some of the warm weather vibes of years past. So, the theme of my party was NYE in Brazil. What does that mean? Well, it means lentils, pāo de queijo (cheese bread), eating grapes at midnight, and of course, capirinhas. It was the perfect way to ring out 2024 before buckling down for the year ahead.

So, now that the last caipirinha has been thrown back (take it from me, that’s a labor intensive drink to serve at your party), it’s time to dive into 2025 with clarity, purpose, and a lime-fresh perspective. I’ve got some thoughts, updates, and recos to share with you as we kick off the year. Here’s what you need to know now:

1. My Theme/Word of the Year: Calibrate

2. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Drops January 23rd

3. PatGPT Reads: Reading My Way Through January

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Calibrating with ProLon

1. My Theme/Word of the Year: Calibrate

You all know I hate New Year’s resolutions—they’re fleeting and feel like an unnecessary guilt trip. Instead, I always choose a theme or word of the year. Last year, the theme was “Taking Bigger Swings.” Did I do that? I think so. Did you? I hope so.

But after taking so many swings, it’s time to step back and assess what’s next, what worked, and what needs some change.

And so, for 2025, my word is calibrate.

Why? Well, after years of planting seeds and working on long-term goals, I feel like a lot of them are finally paying off. Which it makes it the ideal time to assess priorities, keep investing in what’s working, and reassess the things that aren’t going very well.

Calibrating isn’t just about making adjustments; it’s about starting with the present moment as the point of departure. That’s because the act of calibration requires you to focus on where you are right now, not on the past or the future. It’s about fine-tuning, making small tweaks, and staying flexible as you move forward. For me, this mindset is key to starting the year with purpose, and I hope it resonates with you too.

2. Season 13 of FOMO Sapiens Drops on January 23rd

Mark your calendars! Season 13 kicks off on January 23rd, and we’re starting with an incredible guest: Keith Ferrazzi, author of the brand-new book Never Lead Alone.

Keith is famous for his groundbreaking work in relationship-building, leadership, and team dynamics. If you’ve ever read Never Eat Alone, you know how much of a game-changer his insights can be. In Never Lead Alone, he dives into how leaders can thrive by creating authentic, collaborative relationships. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this conversation. I’ve known Keith for a long time - he provided a blurb for The 10% Entrepreneur - and as such we have a really rich conversation that taught me a ton.

Of course, that’s only the start. This season is packed with guests who’ll help you hone your entrepreneurial thinking. From the founders of exciting companies to experts in communication and decision-making (even a guy who walked around the world!), this lineup is all about giving you practical insights to crush it in 2025.

Also, RED ALERT: This season will be my first with all episodes being released in video as well as audio formats. So, if you prefer to watch your podcasts in video format, you can find them on Spotify or on the FOMO Sapiens YouTube Channel - make sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing.

FOMO Sapiens on Spotify

3. PatGPT Reads: Reading My Way Through January

I just finished a five-day ProLon fast (more on that in a second), which meant that I was laying super low. That also meant that I had lots of time for reading. While I usually read one book at a time, this January I have been a little more FOMO than usual. I am currently reading four books at once (yes, I have FOMO even when it comes to books), but January is a great month to tackle the unread books on your shelf. I did a big purge of all my unused stuff at the end of December and since I consider it a sin to throw away books, I either sold unwanted books at the Strand (for $100 bucks of store credit ch-ching), donated to my local library, or set them aside for my January reading list.

Here’s what I’m reading at the moment:

• Big Goals by Caroline Adams Miller – She was on the pod, and this book is a must-read if you’re setting ambitious goals. I did a quick read just before our interview in December, but I am giving it a much deeper and more intentional read now.

• Vanity of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac – As a fellow French-Canadian who grew up in New England, I am a huge fan of Jack and his writing. Bought this six months ago after reading two of Jack’s other works The Town and the City and On the Road.

• Be Here Now by Ram Dass – To balance the stoicism with some spirituality. This was a gift from my brother a year or two back and I finally got to it.

• Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson – A little trashy, a little fun—perfect fiction for winding down. Bought this 2-3 years ago and finally picked it up. But this one was kind of meh, so you can skip it.

It’s a total potpourri, I know, but that’s where my head was during the fast, as it made me a tad loopy if I’m honest. and I’m loving it.

If you’ve got book recommendations, hit me up—I’m always looking for my next great read.

Newest Episodes

4. FOMO by Patrick J. McGinnis™: Calibrating with ProLon

I just wrapped up my second ProLon fast-mimicking diet (I did my first one last May), and I’ve got to say—I am a fan. Such a fan that I want everyone to know about this spicy little body and health hack. For those who don’t know, ProLon is a fasting-mimicking diet that helps reset your system while giving your body the benefits of fasting without full-on starvation. While your body thinks it’s just consuming only water for five days, you are able to eat a set diet of about 800 calories per day (the company sends you a kit with all the stuff you can eat). While the mix of soups, olives, crackers, and nutrition bars isn’t decadent, it’s definitely doable, although it’s hard to get much done until the later days of the fast when you get a surge of energy and feel like you could climb the Empire State Building.

Why did I do it? These are the reasons:

1. I wanted to calibrate (of course) for clarity and focus – I wanted to start the year by clearing out mental and physical clutter. It’s amazing how a reset like this can sharpen your thinking and give you space to reassess your goals. The first couple days are not easy, but after that, once your body enters autophagy (consuming its own fat to find energy), you get high on your own supple.

2. Hitting the restart button on my health – The holiday season tends to be one of excess, so I like hitting the rest button. Five days of no caffeine, limited food, and no alcohol, it definitely a hard reset. And once you resume, you’re so thrilled to be anything other than the stuff they give you that even an apple feels like a feast. In this way, you can extend the benefits of the program by eating more thoughtfully going forward. At least for a period.

3. Vanity: Not going to lie, in a shocking five days, Prolon gives you an insane glow up. You lose that hard to target belly fat, your skin looks great, and you can wear the pants you haven’t fit into since November.

I have no dog in this hunt (i.e., I am not sponsored by ProLon, I just like this product), so if you’re looking for a way to jump-start the year with intention, I highly recommend giving it a try. You can find a lot about the science behind fast-mimicking diets online, so check it out and consider consulting with your doctor in advance.

Listen at Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts! And while you’re there, please consider liking, subscribing, and leaving a review. Plus, get ready for more episodes coming your way that are devoted to bold thinkers and entrepreneurs.

As always, thank you for being a part of the FOMO Sapiens community. I'm excited to continue bringing you valuable content and insights that can help you escape the treadmill and forge a unique path to success in business and life.

That’s it for now, FOMO Sapiens. Let’s start this year strong, stay calibrated, and make 2025 the year we crush it together.

Stay inspired,

Patrick

P.S. Got ideas for FOMO Sapiens guests or themes? Slide into my DMs or reply to this email—I’d love to hear them!

Let me know what you think!

To-do list:

• Find me on Instagram

• Check out! FOMO Sapiens is on TikTok

• Subscribe to the FOMO Sapiens YouTube channel

• Get your FOMO Merch Now!