(upbeat music)
(bag thudding) (keys jangling)
- It's Britney, bitch.
And I am back.
(upbeat rock music)
So a lot has changed since you last saw me.
Where to begin?
Well, I took an entire month off of work.
I officially got married. I traveled all over Europe.
What else? What else?
Oh, yeah, I got a new shirt.
Before we get into my new style,
let's talk about my not so minimalist wedding.
For the past eight years of Nat and I's relationship,
there's been a massive chasm.
(tape rewinding) Chasm is a weird word.
How about a massive canyon, a huge hole, a giant gap?
There's just been something missing in our life.
Half of our family and friends live in Australia,
and the other half live in the United States.
Most of them have never met before,
so we planned to bring them all together in Italy
to celebrate our wedding.
We were finally able to make it happen,
and it was everything we hoped it would be.
I can't tell you how happy it made us
to be around almost all of our loved ones
in one place for the very first time.
It's probably the only time that this will ever happen,
so it was really special for us.
But this wasn't really about us.
Nat and I really don't like being the center of attention.
Okay, yeah, we had a choreographed first dance,
and Nat rapped her vows to me.
♪ Don't even get me started on ♪
♪ The way you go on and on about your biceps ♪
♪ You be flexing in the mirror ♪
- [Matt] But this was really about everyone else
in our lives, and it was an experience
that we will never forget.
And of course, it was just so much fun to travel
around Europe for our extended honeymoon.
It's the Eiffel Tower.
Every day was different.
Nat and I explored new restaurants, ate out for every meal,
didn't hold back on pastries in France, or pizza in Italy.
This was really a rebranding moment for me.
I thought about getting a tattoo,
maybe experimenting with drugs.
I was really close to legally changing my first name
to Butch, but then I thought,
maybe I'll just get an interesting shirt instead.
In all honesty, the past month has been
a complete anomaly for me,
and it's really given me an opportunity
to think about the life that I've built for myself.
One that is almost the exact opposite
of what the past month has looked like.
One that's intentionally simple, mostly uncomplicated,
apart from some immigration and tax related headaches,
and a life that's, well, kind of boring.
Instead of wearing cool pattern shirts,
I wear the same thing every day.
Instead of trying new foods and eating out all the time,
I eat the same home-cooked meals on repeat.
Instead of sleeping on a boat,
I do the same workouts week to week.
Instead of trying to learn a foreign language,
I try to string sentences together in English.
How do you say, "I am an idiot"?
- [Virtual Assistant] You are an idiot.
- That makes sense.
I've talked a lot about the why
behind these decisions before.
It's really boring by design.
Wearing the same thing every day helps me
to reduce decision fatigue.
And eating the same thing every day helps me
to reach my nutrition and fitness goals.
And by doing the same workouts, following the same routine,
and keeping a regular work schedule,
this all helps me to maintain consistency in my life.
It helps me to take the small steps each day
that eventually add up to big changes.
I don't need to jump out of airplanes,
travel to exotic locations, or participate
in extreme sports to be happy.
I don't even need to have the kind of variety
and spontaneity of the past month.
While this trip was amazing
and we got to make memories that we'll have forever,
there's a reason that I choose to live the life that I do.
One of my favorite quotes of all time
comes from the author Seth Godin.
He says, "Instead of wondering when your next vacation is,
maybe you should set up a life
you don't need to escape from."
I remember stumbling across this quote early
into my filmmaking career and having an aha moment.
It gave me something to work towards in my life.
So many people that I knew at the time and still know today
live for the weekends.
They live for vacations and summer breaks.
But what if I could build a life that I loved
every single day?
When my alarm rings in the morning,
what if I actually felt excited instead of dread?
I remember before I started my YouTube channel back in 2016,
I asked myself one of the most important questions
that led me to where I am today.
If I could do anything regardless of money,
what would it be?
When I asked myself this question,
and really let my imagination run wild,
I was surprised by my answer.
It turns out I didn't wanna sip on cocktails
on a beach all day long.
I wanted to create. I wanted to connect with others.
I wanted to work on fun projects that fulfilled me.
I wanted to have work that really challenged me.
I also thought about the things that I didn't want.
I didn't want to be a millionaire,
but I also didn't wanna live paycheck to paycheck.
I didn't want stress.
I didn't want anxiety or overwhelm.
From asking myself just one question, I began to get clear
on the life that I wanted to build for myself.
And then I started to take intentional steps
in that direction.
Maybe it's time for you to ask that question of yourself.
If you could do anything regardless of money,
what would it be?
You can ask yourself that question right now. I'll wait.
(gentle music)
You know what? This is getting a little bit awkward.
While I'm waiting, why don't I tell you about my sponsor
for this week's video, Squarespace?
I've used Squarespace for my own website
for the past eight years, and I just recently
went about the process of giving it a facelift.
I wanted it to be my internet home,
a way for people to learn about my work, and find out
about all the things that I'm currently working on.
What I love most about Squarespace is how easy they make it
to get started.
You can begin with one of hundreds of beautiful templates,
or if you want more control,
you can build your own design from scratch.
Changes are quick and intuitive.
You can drag and drop photos, embed videos,
customize it to fit your brand colors,
and insert your logo with ease.
If you're looking to build a website for yourself,
one tip I'd give you is to really think
about the call to action.
So what is it exactly that you want people to do
once they go to your website?
For me, I really want people to sign up
for my weekly newsletter.
So with Squarespace, I used a couple
of their email sign up forms,
and just like that I started to get subscribers.
And hey, maybe you'll be my next subscriber.
I honestly think everyone should have a website.
It can help you land a better job, build an audience,
and share your story with your corner of the world.
So if you wanna get started,
you can visit squarespace.com today for a free trial.
And when you're ready to launch,
go to squarespace.com/mattdavella to save 10%
off your first purchase of a website or domain.
I'm gonna assume that you don't have an answer
to the question I asked before I started the Squarespace ad,
probably because it's hard to think while watching a video,
but also because it's such a difficult question to answer.
But one piece of advice that I'll give you
if you're looking to explore this a little bit deeper,
is try to live in a world of possibility.
People often tell you all the reasons
why you can't do something.
They'll tell you all the reasons why it's unrealistic.
Why you should just stick with your day job.
Why you should be lucky to have a paycheck.
But it's this kind of thinking that makes you miserable
and unsatisfied and unfulfilled in the long run.
So I urge you to entertain what's possible.
And what I bet you'll find is that
if you're bored with your life,
it's not because you're doing the same thing every day,
it's because you're doing the wrong thing every day.
(gentle blues music)
That's better.
So if I were to sum up the point of this video,
and there is a point, it's about trying to encourage you
to get more intentional with the life that you want to live.
For me personally, when I think about my future,
I truly think less about the amazing pastries I'm gonna eat
in foreign countries, and I think more about the things
I'm going to create.
I think less about wild adventures around the world
and more about tweaking my daily recipe
to get me a little bit closer to my goals.
I think about how I can take those small steps each day
to build up to something more meaningful.
And that's not to say that I won't take extended breaks
in the future, I definitely will.
And trust me, I will pull that Hawaiian shirt
out of my closet and wear it over and over again.
I love that shirt, but for now, it's time for me
to get back to basics, to get back to boring.
By the way, this is totally unrelated.
I just wanted to let you know that my YouTube course
is now open for enrollment starting today.
It's only open for the next couple of weeks.
So if you wanna kickstart your YouTube journey
and learn everything that I know about making
internet videos, go to slowgrowth.com/master-youtube
to learn more.
I'll share a link in the pinned comment below.
Thanks for watching.
(beeping) (keys jangling)
I'm back. (chuckles)
(keys jangling repeatedly)
I'm back, bitches.
Now, I'm no thrill-seeker, unless you consider
trying a new cock.
Cock? (laughs) Oh, my God.
Now, I'm not a thrill-seeker, unless you consider
trying a new crock pot recipe as thrill-seeking behavior,
because if you do, I've got some recipes
that'll make your panties drop.
Can't say that.
I'm gonna have to fend you off with my penis.
Actually, I was thinking maybe something
a little bit more serious for this edit,
(whispering) but not really.