On Obsession.

Welcome to the 42nd episode of the Ark Digest™️.

Every week, I share the unfiltered reality of building Noah's Ark, the wins, the struggles, and the insights that emerge when building a profitable and purposeful creator business.

Inside each Digest, you'll see:

↱ Real progress updates on my current projects

↱ Raw thoughts and breakthrough moments

↱ Weekly inspiration fueling my journey

↱ Lessons you can steal for your own path

↱ Data from tracking my habits and productivity

Think of this as a direct line into my mind as I build my dream creator business, so you get inspired and motivated to progress on your own journey.

Let's begin:

This is already the 42nd Digest.
Aside from being my favorite number...
It also shows how much time flies.

So for today's digest...
I decided to do a special edition.
You see, these past 3 weeks, since I went back from vacation, I've been on a quest to rebuild my Obsession.
You're probably wondering what the hell I mean by "rebuilding my Obsession"
And I think a little story is appropriate to illustrate what I mean.
So let's take our time machine and go back a little bit in time.

February 2021. We had yet another lockdown in France that lasted around a month.
Because it was lockdown, I decided to make a "funny" experiment:
Everything started from this simple question I had:

What would happen if I removed ALL dopamine sources in my life, except from work?
What if I pushed the concept of Dopamine Detox to its extremes?
What effect would it have on me and my brain?

So I did the experiment.
And I cut EVERYTHING.
So of course, no video games, no social media and no YouTube videos...
But I even went farther than that, and stopped listening to music at all.
(except for brain.fm while working for increased focus)
At this point, there were only 2 things I was allowed to do in my life:
Work and read.

So that's what I did.
I also implemented one of the most extreme and crazy routines I've ever tried:
Waking up at 5 am.
Coffee + reading 15mn.
Mobility training + 5 sets of max push-ups.
Cold shower.
20mn meditation.

Then after that I entered deep work mode:
50mn work. 10mn rest.
During rest time I was doing 5mn of cardiac coherence breathing (5s inhale, 5s exhale)
Until it was time to eat.
So I ate, read for 15mn, sometimes took a power nap with some hypnosis audio, then went back to my deep work cycle.
50mn work. 10mn rest.
Until 8 pm.

To give you a bit of context, at that time, I was 19, and I was building a Facebook Ads agency while documenting my journey on YouTube.
I had a lot of ups & downs, but at this point, after more than a year and a half of painful struggle to sign clients, overcome my fears of selling and get skilled…
I was making around 5k per month with my agency.

And while I was documenting my journey on YouTube...
My audience gradually grew to the point where I had around 600 email subscribers on my list.
And so at this point, I thought it was time to build my first real course to sell to my audience.
So during that lockdown period with that crazy-a** routine, I was building my first course on Facebook Ads, while managing my existing clients' ads.

But the reason I'm telling you all of this...
Is because that experiment worked.
It actually more than worked:
It made me completely crazy about work.
I was waking at 5am, but I actually couldn't wake up later.
I was so excited to work to grow my business, that often times I was waking up at 3 or 4am and went on my day like this.

I was in a complete frenzy.
Every night I was dreaming of success and progress.
And even though I was critically lacking sleep, my mental drive was so high that I didn't care at all.
Everyday I was clocking-in 8 to 12 hours of deep work a day.
Most people don't realize how INSANE that was.
I'm not talking about shallow work where you're 8 to 12h a day pretending you're working in front of your computer with 12 tabs open at the same time.

No, I'm talking about DEEP WORK, where I had no notifications, no distractions and nothing stopping me.
I was in a real flow state all day long.
I was chopping down an insane amount of work with relentless intensity and drive.
I've never experienced this amount of drive in my life again in my life.
And it lasted for exactly 30 days.
After that? I broke the cycle.

One of the reasons I wasn't able to hold that intensity is that I ended up too tired.
During those 30 days, I took no day off at all.
It was 30 days straight of 10/12h of deep work and 6h of sleep.
So I ended up tired af, and because I was too young, I made the mistake of re-integrating cheap dopamine in my life.
So I went back to playing some video games, did parties with my friends where I drank and smoked cuz lockdown was finished and ended up destroying the level of focus and drive I had.
Btw, this first launch with the course made around 2 to 3k and it was pretty good considering I had only around 600 email subscribers.

But anyway, the reason I told you all of that, is because that time period made me experience the most insane mind-state ever:
Obsession.
That's the word that describes that mindset the best.
I was obsessed, with my goals, about the current project I was working on, about progress...
I was intense and relentless and giving it my best every day.

But more importantly...
I was happy. Fulfilled. I felt like a f*cking war machine.
I was also feeling proud of myself and the intensity I was putting in.
I was proving to myself that I was able to be deeply focused and work hard, and enjoy the process at the same time.

Because let's be honest:
It's impossible to keep that rhythm in the long run if you're not loving it.
If you're forcing yourself, you'll just give up. Willpower can only maintain you for so long before it expires.
But the only way to get in the mindset where you love that kind of rhythm is to cut down everything that is distracting you from your goals.
Social media, video games, partying, doomscrolling.
Anything in life that gives you a quick dopamine boost for no effort will prevent you from reaching that state.

But as long as you manage to build an environment that makes it so work, sport and reading are your only main dopamine sources in life...
You'll become unstoppable.

Now I know what you're thinking: (and I thought that too)
It's too extreme. It's not sustainable in the long run. I can't do it. It's not realistic.
And in a way, you're right.
At least, the way I did it in the story I told you above was definitely a bit too hardcore.
I wasn't sleeping enough, so even though the mental drive had kept me awake for a while, it became too much, and I lost that mental motivation and then ended up rebounding hard in the opposite side.
(I also think that one of the reasons I lost the motivation was because I finished the course, which was the big project that was keeping me stimulated and I had to find another one. There is a lesson in that as well)

But now, 5 years later, I can say with confidence, after trying a lot of ways to live my life and ways to manage the balance between dopamine and work, that there is no balance possible.
You're either Obsessed or you're not.
You're either distracted or you're fully focused on your mission.
There is no in-between.

And when you experience that state of Obsession once in your life, you can't go back to living a normal life.
I mean, you can, but it will always feel dull compared to that feeling of obsession.
You'll feel satisfied with the dopamine, but deep down, you'll know inside that something is missing.
Obsession is the most beautiful feeling you can experience and I wish you to experience it in your life if you haven't.


That doesn't mean you need to work 12 hours a day and sacrifice everything.
You can be obsessed and work 4 hours a day and spend the rest of the day working out, walking, reading, and enjoying time with your family.
(no quick dopamine allowed though)
But it means that your entire being and thoughts are channeled into one clear goal and project where you're giving it your all.

And the cool thing is that Obsession can be reverse engineered.
You just need to:

1. Have some goals or project that will keep you mentally stimulated (like growing your business / progressing in sports)

2. Delete everything that is distracting you from pursuing these goals/projects with all your might and intensity (Social media, video games, doomscrolling, youtube and consumption in general, except for books)

As long as you have both criteria completed, you'll reach that state.
And then the longer you're able to maintain it, the more your drive will compound, because you'll experience the bliss of going to sleep every night fulfilled and proud of yourself and all the progress you're making.
It's also during that state that you'll make the most insane breakthrough of your life.
Whatever plateau you're facing right now, I can guarantee with my life that being obsessed is the surest way to absolutely shatter it.

Which is why, these past 3 weeks, I've been rebuilding myself to that state:

• I stopped any nicotine intake

• I stopped playing video games

• I stopped watching gaming youtube videos and unfollowed any channels related to that

And at the same time:

• I've been working out everyday

• Built a new complete functional training plan

• Doing a mobility routine everyday

• Breathwork everyday

• Reading every day

• Ran for 45 min for the first time on a whim, even with my negative cardio

• Managed to get a 15sec handstand hold for the first time

• Passed my theory exam for my driving license in 5 days

In less than 3 weeks, the difference in drive, focus, energy, and fulfilment has been night and day.
My girlfriend has been noticing the difference as well, even though we're apart at the moment, but just from my voice notes I've been sending her, I've inspired her to aim higher as well, and she deleted Instagram from her phone.

I'm 25 now.
I've had enough of doing the bare minimum and chasing quick dopamine.
I've done it enough.
Yes, I know it will distract me and numb me enough during the day to feel "good".
But I know it will never truly fulfil me.
It will never truly make me feel proud of myself like those 30 days of intensity did.
And it will also never allow me to reach higher goals for myself and my family.

It's been 8 years since I'm in online entrepreneurship now.
I've had some ups & downs.
I made some 5-figure months.
But I've never scaled higher or been able to maintain high levels of revenue in the long term.

And the reason behind that is simple.
I wasn't intense enough. I wasn't obsessed enough. I didn't want it badly enough.
I was okay "making a living". Making a few k's a month and having enough to sustain my needs and then have plenty of free time to "enjoy my life".
("Enjoying my life" was basically just distracting myself like a monkey with an endless amount of dopamine from varying sources)

I was okay doing only "what's needed" to grow and make money.
AI, of course, helped a lot in that regard as I had attained a level of productivity and efficiency with my AI second brain and voice notes that was absolutely crazy.
But I don't want to live this lifestyle anymore.

I want to feel alive and driven by my goals.
I want to aim higher.
I want to feel obsessed.
I don't want to just "sustain my needs" as an individual anymore, but create endless abundance for me and my family.

That's why I believe that now, I'm okay with releasing my "old identity".
The identity of Noah who was growing at his pace, not pushing himself too hard, doing what was needed...
To fully embody the identity of Noah, as a man, doing it's absolute best in every area of life, and striving relentlessly to become a better man, a better son, a better entrepreneur, a better coach, a better writer, a better creator and a better husband (even though I'm not married but it's just that I don't want to be just a "boyfriend").

This email is a commitment to myself to strive with Obsession.
And I want to keep sharing that commitment on Noah's Ark, and write about Obsession to my readers, as a constant reminder for myself.

Because I know the hardest part isn't starting.
It's maintaining that drive and intensity over time.
It's's to keep saying "no" to cheap dopamine and all the things that sedate us as humans that the world is constantly pushing upon ourselves.

Because it's easy to fall back to your old state and identity.
One cigarette.
One announcement from a new game that looks cool.
One day where you feel like "oh it's okay if I scroll a bit today".
That's all it takes to destroy months of consistency and make you fall back to your old ways.
I know because I've lived this cycle a lot of times.

And I believe one of the reasons I was falling back to my old identity is because I wasn't yet ready to let go of the "boy" in me.
The part of me that wants comfort and security more than progress and drive.
And honestly, it was fair, because I was still young.

But now, at 25, after experimenting with different lifestyles and different "balances", my conclusion is clear:
Obsession is the only way of living my life that is worthwhile and will allow me to die without regrets and feeling like I've wasted my potential and creative energy.
That's my conclusion after playing with both extremes of the spectrum.
If, like me, you're ambitious, creative, and feel like there is "more to life" than what society sold you...
Then I beg you to try to reach this Obsessive state toward your higher purpose.
Because if you're like me, you'll probably come to the same conclusion that it's the f*cking best way to live your life.

Thanks for reading this 42nd episode of the Ark Digest™️.
As always, I wish you the best on your own journey…
And welcome back to the Ark,
Noah.

P.S: I wrote this email in one hour and a half of deep work, completely focused, just me and my Obsidian. 2337 words. Immersed in Flow state. And now I'm gonna go to the gym to destroy myself with my new chest workout, drinking monster white and listening to underground Memphis rap and phonk. Life feels amazing. And I feel fulfilled writing these lines.