Howdy, happy Monday, friend. Here’s a question that’s more loaded than your inbox after vacation. When Warren Buffett and Bill Gates were each asked to sum up his success in one word, they gave the exact same answer.

✨ These two billionaires with very different styles both pointed to the same superpower. (No, it’s not “dropshipping.”) So what was the magic word? A) Manifestation, B) Focus, C) Luck or D) Brunch? Take a guess. The answer’s at the end, and it might just change how you work this week.

Keep this free newsletter free. Check out our sponsor, RYSE. They’re bringing smart shades to the masses. More info about them below! 

🤓 Know someone who still confuses Warren Buffett with Jimmy Buffet? Forward this to them. Let’s set the record (and the investor) straight.

Your brain is meat. Beautiful, magical meat. 

But it loses things. Important things like “brilliant 4 a.m. business idea” slip into the gray matter of the most sophisticated organ on the planet. 

That’s why the smartest people I know (including me!) have a “second brain.” A digital vault that catches ideas, plans, reminders and projects before they vanish into the void.

If you’re still trying to keep it all in your head, it’s time for an upgrade. Here’s how second-brain apps like Notion, Evernote and Apple Notes can help you work smarter, not harder.

🧠 Step 1: Pick your tool

• Apple Notes (free and probably already on your iPhone/Mac): Fast, simple, searchable. It’s the one I use.
• Evernote: Great for organizing notes, web clippings, PDFs and images.
• Notion: For power users who want to build an entire “command center” for their brain. I’m talking about tasks, notes, databases, even project dashboards.

👉 Only rule: Pick one you’ll actually open and use daily. Don’t overcomplicate it.

🖊️ Step 2: Dump everything 

Scribble half-formed shower thoughts. Save quotes, links, screenshots of tweets you laughed at too hard. Whatever needs saving, get it in there before you forget it. 

Save quotes, book ideas, article links or random tech tips you want to try later. Snap a picture of handwritten notes, and drop them into your app. Dictate quick thoughts using voice-to-text if you’re driving or walking. You get the gist. 

👉 Tip: Don’t overorganize. The goal is to catch ideas, not perfect them.

✅ Step 3: Build simple systems

Here’s where this becomes magic. You’ve made a safe zone for your thoughts. Now it’s time to do something with it.

• Work projects: Track ideas for meetings, client notes, deadlines.
• Personal life: Grocery lists, vacation ideas, home projects, things to ask your doctor.
• Dream goals: Business ideas, fitness plans, book outlines, bucket lists.
• Quick wins: Save recipes, gift ideas, funny things your kids say, quotes you love.

👉 Pro move: Create a “Quick Capture” note for the day. Every random thought goes there, no stress. Throw stuff in like it’s hot. Sort when you feel emotionally stable.

Your brain was designed to solve problems, not remember the Wi-Fi password to your in-laws’ house from 2013. Your brain’s real job is to think, be creative and solve larger problems. Let a second-brain app handle the clutter, so your real brain can stay brilliant where it matters.

You might spend 40 hours a week glued to your phone, but you spend nearly three times that inside your home. That one stat has a certain tech monopoly (🍎) scrambling back into the booming Smart Home space.

One company saw this wave coming long before Big Tech did… RYSE. They quietly locked in 10 powerful patents in one of the most overlooked corners of your home… Smart shades. Backed by a major Best Buy partnership and with 159 million potential customers, RYSE is the talk of the town when it comes to the smart home space.

Right now, shares are just $1.90. Once Big Tech makes its grand re-entry, this window could slam shut. That’s why savvy investors are jumping in while the price is still low. Act now and receive up to 25% bonus shares.

🚔 Crypto CEO sentenced: Alex Mashinsky, former Celsius Network CEO, just got slapped with 12 years for securities and commodities fraud (paywall link). Prosecutors wanted 20, but he got off slightly easier. Celsius collapsed in 2022, leaving a $1.19 billion crater. Turns out its slogan, “Unbank Yourself,” actually meant “Unpack Your Belongings in Cellblock D.”

📵 Virginia limits kids’ screen time: A new law will ban anyone under 16 from using social media for more than one hour a day. Apps will verify age, and parents can adjust if their kids get more time. Once they hit the limit, the app is supposed to block access ... though it’s unclear how that’ll work. 

📝 Sneaky students: College kids are turning in papers with typos … on purpose. This helps fool AI detectors after using chatbots to write essays. Some even tell bots to write like a “dumb” freshman or run their work through multiple tools to hide the AI fingerprints. Clever? Yep. Smart? Not so much.

🔞 Sick social media trend: Awful accounts are using AI filters to make the women in overly sexual TikTok and IG gym videos look as if they have Down syndrome. They’re adding captions like “Syndrome is down but your d*** is up.” Why? It goes viral, and they try to redirect people to adult sites. And yes, the original clips are stolen.

😑 Feeling left behind? Download NetSuite’s free knowledge drop, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.”* No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It’s not going anywhere.

🤖 CRM sentience: Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot just dropped for public beta, and it’s like Clippy got a PhD and an Adderall prescription. It reads your company data, automates tasks and generates content, all without leaking your Q1 projections to Skynet. Also, it’s now called Agentforce, which sounds less friendly and more ... ready for war?  

Romance scams continue: A retired Texas man fell for an online “romance,” and then “she” convinced him to dump his 401(k) into crypto. Spoiler: It was all fake, complete with a site showing his money “grow.” Now, he’s out $500K, his house is up for sale, and he’s job hunting. Love hurts, but that’s next level. 

🌳 Last chance to save on beautiful trees without the wait or the hassle: At Fast Growing Trees*, use promo code KIM to save an extra 15% on fast, easy and expert-approved planting. They have the perfect trees and plants for your location, shipped right to your door. No messy trips to the garden center. I love my avocado tree!

⚡ Here’s gear that puts everything at your fingertips (literally).

• Control these LED lights (10% off) from your phone or just ask Alexa.
• Schedule automatic on/off times with a four-pack of smart switches ($66).
• Need a group photo? This bendy phone tripod (20% off) has your back.
• Type anywhere with a foldable keyboard ($50) that fits in your bag.
• Use an ergonomic mouse (43% off) to scroll and click with less strain.

🧠 More smart stuff: I count on these gadgets to simplify my life. They’ll make things easier for you, too.

🛒 Visit my Amazon store for more of my recommendations.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Want to silence a call in a nanosecond? Just press the power button on your phone once. Poof, off to voicemail the person goes.

🔊 Master volume control: Is the volume too loud or too quiet but never just right? You can change it in smaller increments. 

• On Mac: Just hold down Option + Shift and press F12 (volume up) or F11 (volume down) to adjust it in quarter increments. 
• On Windows: Click the speaker icon in your task bar, then use your mouse scroll wheel while hovering over the volume bar for smaller, smoother adjustments. Or install a tool like EarTrumpet for even more precise volume control, per app.

What’s that song’s name? The YouTube Music app can help you track it down. Just hum, sing or whistle the tune. Open the app, tap search and hit the audio wave icon (top right) and give it a try. Heads up, it works best with popular or catchy tunes, not indie ones.

💵 A dollar here, a dollar there: It seems like every subscription is more expensive than when I signed up. Use the Rocket Money* app to see what you’re paying for. I do! They’ll even cancel a subscription for you if it’s not worth the money anymore.

💻 Speed up startup: Is your PC booting up slowly? Too many apps may be launching when you turn it on. 

• On Windows: Go to Settings > Apps > Startup to see everything that starts automatically. The higher the “impact,” the more it slows things down. Toggle off the apps you don’t need. It can make a big difference.
• On Mac: Click the Apple menu > System Settings > General > Login Items and Extensions. You’ll see a list of apps that open at startup. Select what you don’t want and click the minus (–) button to remove it. You can also check the Background Items section, that’s where sneaky slowdowns hide.

Buckle up, the AirCar is real, it’s certified, and it’s taking off in early 2026 for the low-low price of about $800,000. This is the first mass-produced eVTOL (short for electric vertical takeoff and landing) with 500+ successful rides.

Klein Vision, a Slovakian company whose hobby appears to be arm-wrestling physics, has actually built a winged wonder. It drives like a sports car and then sprouts appendages like a Transformer going through puberty.  

Cruises at 10,000 feet if you’re brave, filled with dreams and signed off on a solid estate plan. Chances are this turns cities like Miami into an aerial war zone.

🧠 The answer: B) Focus. When Warren Buffett and Bill Gates were asked to distill their success into one word, they both answered without hesitation: Focus. The kind of tunnel vision that makes your task list quake in fear, although part of me wishes they said brunch. 

Buffett famously spends 80% of his day reading and thinking — no notifications, no multitasking, just pure, uncut concentration. Gates? He schedules his life in small chunks, as small as five-minute increments (how is this even possible?), squeezing every ounce of productivity out of his calendar. 

Checking out our sponsors helps us pay the bills. Click this link to take a look at RYSE. See you back here tomorrow with another issue of the best free tech newsletter in the USA! Until then, stay charging, stay charming. 🔋😉— Kim

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