Today I’m going to talk about a “rebrand” of sorts, a direction I’m taking the content in here that I’m sure will come across as both interesting and wholly unsurprising all at once.
As I take this in a new direction, I’d love to hear back from you guys on TikTok and Instagram 💪🏻
We gotta pivot in here.
The new layout? This cool font I found in the editing dashboard?
None of this is by mistake, my friend.
I’ve been thinking of “niche-ing down” for some time now, but I didn’t want it to feel forced or like I was putting restrictions on myself.
As someone who abhors rules, this means the Substack wouldn’t have lasted very long afterwards should I have chosen that path.
That being said, pinging around from writing about business and crypto to cultural observations and then to something more health related felt…convoluted.
It was tough to really feel as if this was gaining any sort of traction, growing subscriber count notwithstanding (love you all).
Some soul-searching, YouTubing, etc. led me to ask the all important question:
What do people ask you for?!
I think this might’ve come from Gary V, but I’d have to pore through weeks and weeks of Lock-In related search history, and that’s a needle in a haystack type scenario.
Anyhow, it’s an incredibly simple and effective framework for realizing your own utility in this world.
So let’s dive into the question at hand:
On the Topic of “Focal Pointing”
It’s been over two plus years now that I wake up to an ungodly amount of text messages on the weekend.
Sure, some of it is the usual expectations: memes, drunken rants or shit talk sent to me while I was sleeping, group chats popping of, NSFW, etc.
It was a typical Florida Saturday morning about 4 months ago when I was sipping a Vanilla Diet Coke the size of my head and using the ensuing caffeine rush to sift through my gargantuan inbox when I shared a screenshot of my messages app with some obscene number in the red bubble with someone very close to me.
The response I got?
“You’ve become a focal point. Now what are you going to do with it?”
Alas, Focal Pointing was born.
So…what were they asking for?
Funnily enough, nobody was asking me to pump out an Excel spreadsheet or asked for tips on organizing their WFH desk.
Probably because I absolutely suck at those things.
What was there actually?
John, what do I…..
-Eat.
-Wear
-Say to my bf/gf/wife/husband
-get through this panic attack
-get through this stressful period at work
-attack this problem I’m having
-give this public speech
-not feel bogged down by a recurring issue
and of course, the once every 6 weeks or so I’m literally going to lose it and commit myself to an institution and you need to talk me off the ledge NOW.
^ Those are kinda scary but also very fulfilling to work through.
The vision became a lot clearer when I scrolled through my text history.
Where we’re headed
This whole Substack because I had a difficult time during Covid both with people around me and how the general world was reacting.
Having a safe haven to create and air out my voice was cathartic and interesting.
Writing on politics, society, and the general public came the most naturally, it’s what fascinated me (and I’ll still do this on Sunday Essays), but what seemed to resonate with people actually reading this was writing about mindset, energy, glow-ups, and telling stories about life.
So that’s the lane we’ll take.
Give the people what they want.
It just so happens those are the articles and topics I’m most passionate about writing, too.
Funny how that works…almost as funny as having the answer underneath your nose the entire time.
Chat again soon.
Love,
John Abbate
17.11.2025
Whatever you do, just keep writing. And thanks for answering my texts 💙
Couldn't help but smile as I read (finally!) the phrase 'focal pointing' appear on your Substack, John. Proud of you and excited to see where this leads. It will be somewhere good!