^{Save The Date}

Instagram Live this Thursday!

This Thursday, I’m going live on Instagram to do another Q&A!

I did it for the first time earlier this month, and genuinely was a lot of fun.

If you’ve ever wanted to chat about startups, content, or personal finance in real time, pull up. It’s always unfiltered, unscripted, and usually a little too honest.

^{Top Content From Last Week}

UK Satire

It amazes me how willing we are to take advice from social media. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for personal finance hacks, healthy habits, career tips, and a wide array of evergreen advice that could apply to anyone.

But just to make fun of personal finance influencers, I took it a step further and cosplayed as an American who moved to London, and has no idea how to budget. And in a week it had over 1M views.

You can also watch it on TikTok.

jack_boudreau_

25K followers

View more on Instagram

^{Main Story:}

The World Feels Heavy Lately

Every part of my job involves meeting people. Families, individuals, financial advisors, startup execs, creators, investors…you name it. I talk to them constantly. Some days it’s over Zoom, other days it’s over coffee, and most of the time it’s me standing at my desk in the corner of my living room, laptop open, half-listening to a podcast while replying to messages. My world is basically one long conversation between meetings, Slack pings, and an endless scroll of content that never seems to stop.

When I’m not talking, I’m observing. I’ll listen to the All-In Podcast and then the complete opposite take on Pivot. I’ll scroll Threads, X, Instagram, TikTok, and whatever’s trending on Reddit. Each of these places feels like the same room now, just with different lighting and slightly louder voices.

And if there’s one universal truth cutting through all the noise, it’s this: everyone is stressed.

When I talk to young people, I see hunger mixed with exhaustion. Their resumes are stacked: three internships, side hustles, volunteer work, startups, brand deals, but they can’t find jobs. The ones who do feel like they’re underpaid, underappreciated, or one round of layoffs away from being back to square one. Meanwhile, older people are worried in a completely different way. They’re scared about retirement, the economy, and whether their grandkids will ever know the version of America they grew up in.

And then there’s everyone in between, the thirty-something crowd sprinting through life trying to stay relevant. They’re mastering AI, building side hustles, budgeting, meditating, posting, trying to “find balance,” and wondering if they should’ve just become electricians instead. It’s like everyone’s chasing security on a treadmill that never stops.

Everyone’s moving faster, but fewer people feel like they’re getting anywhere.

Social media doesn’t help. Behind the scenes, I created a separate Instagram account (exclusively) for close family and friends, and yet I can scroll for twenty minutes and not see a single familiar face. Feeds that used to be personal now feel AI-generated slop with a mix of personalized ads and algorithmic pushed content.

Even my own content has changed. When I started, I was filming TikToks from my bedroom, talking about building Habits and personal finance.

@jack_boudreau_

Replying to @SoccerSpartan consider this my private jet hardo manifesto #startups #jpmorgan #vc #sales #engineering #financetiktok

Now I’m leaning into satire and humor because it’s the only way to get people to pay attention. The truth is, nobody wants another “serious” video. People want to laugh, even when what they’re laughing at is painful.

Humor has quietly become our coping mechanism.

It’s a strange time to be alive. Everything looks more advanced (AI, automation, innovation, etc.) but everyone feels behind. We have more tools than ever, yet less direction. More access than ever, yet more loneliness. More opportunity than ever, yet more fear of missing it.

When people say “nobody wants to work anymore,” I think they’re missing the point. People do want to work; they just don’t know what’s worth working toward. The purpose got lost somewhere between performance reviews and push notifications.

We’re not lazy, we’re just tired of running in circles.

If you’ve been feeling drained lately, you’re not alone. If you’ve been laughing more than usual, maybe that’s your brain’s way of fighting back. The world is heavy. The news is relentless. And social media magnifies every ounce of it. But there’s still something powerful in laughing, connecting, and choosing to stay curious.

Because when you strip it all back, that’s what keeps us human.

The world’s a little less dark when we can still find humor in it.

Feedback for Jack

Enjoyed this newsletter? Forward it to a friend or use the referral link below!

Sharing Is Caring

Do me a favor, if you enjoy this, share it with a friend!