The Salamone Blog Vol. 1

Welcome to the first issue of the Salamone Blog, where we'll be discussing a range of topics, from practical style advice to my ramblings on various subjects. 

In this blog entry, I will be reflecting on my journey with this eBook from day one, when I came up with the idea. This project began in the summer of 2024, driven by my goal to create value for the world by building my brand and providing meaningful contributions. The first step of the project was finding a topic to base my project around. I knew I wanted to write an eBook, but the topic of this eBook was something I had to come up with. This is when the idea of men's fashion and style came to me: since 2022, I have used my style as a tool to present myself professionally, and sharing this knowledge with others became my goal.

Driven by a great sense of motivation, I hopped onto my parents' laptop and dived straight into Canva to start my eBook. Why did I use Canva? I searched "free eBook maker" on Google, and it was the first result, so I rolled with it. The next challenge was adding visuals to the book; I experimented with apps such as Microsoft Paint, but again, searching for a free tool on Google gave me the best result, which was Pixlr. To effectively create the visuals, I went out and purchased the cheapest digital graphics tablet I could find, which set me back twenty pounds. In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing, but I understood that just working and experimenting with my chosen software would get me closer to achieving my goals.

With my two-tool setup, I worked and worked throughout the summer, with the average day consisting of at least six hours of work. At the start of the project, momentum was high with very few obstacles, but as the work progressed, I would find myself running into creative blocks here and there. My mentality at the time was to just write some notes for the section and complete it later; however, looking back, I can say this was not the best method of work, as it meant that I had sections I started in summer 2024, which I completed in summer 2025. 

Fast forward to December, and I landed myself a full-time job. Forty hours per week with peculiar shift patterns spelt the death of my productive streak. I would find myself coming home from work and feeling too tired to be productive, or it would be midnight after my shift when all I needed was my bed. The eBook remained at the back of my mind for many months without being opened, just a voice in my head saying, "Did you forget about me?"

The voice persisted, and yet I did not take action. I often used my job and being too busy as excuses not to work on my ambitions. Looking back, I realise that this project could have been finished much sooner if I hadn't been lazy from December to the end of April. The laziness was not just from the work, but it also seeped into my fitness: I was going to the gym far less between December and February, and between December and late April, I had practically quit running. Enough was enough. With the job money accumulated, I set out one day to buy myself a laptop, the laptop of choice: a £55 second-hand laptop that is somehow still working as I write my blog.

With the new investment that was the laptop, I was able to get my initial momentum back; however, time was still an issue or an excuse with all the things going on in my life. Everything changed at the end of May when I experienced my first heartbreak, which I will not go into detail about. It tore me apart at first. But in that space, I found time to work on myself, to reconnect with my purpose, and to rebuild my strength, allowing me to rebound faster than I imagined. This time saw the return of the 6-plus-hour laptop grinds and 100 km plus of running per month, which has provided me with great fulfilment, and I am now feeling better than ever.

The eBook came to a completion when I had a week booked off work: I set my deadline of completing the project before the end of the week and dedicated most of my time to sitting behind my laptop. One of my best memories of the week was when I worked inside Costa Coffee for six hours straight after a gym session and a run: it felt amazing, and it's still a routine I use today for productivity.

The journey of this eBook has certainly taught me many lessons which I shall share here for whoever it may help. The first lesson is to take action: if you want to do something in life or get somewhere, just start trying to get there. Taking action, no matter how big or small, will always get you closer to your goals than the version of yourself that waited for the perfect timing. Now is the perfect time.

The second lesson is that true happiness and fulfilment come from hard work and dedication. When I started taking the project seriously, along with my fitness, I felt better than I had ever felt in my life. This, I attribute to the physical and mental work I put into my personal development: true happiness comes from within.

Lesson three is about discipline. Motivation is what gets you started on a project; however, only those with discipline will bring their projects to completion. What is discipline? There is a quote that sums it up very well, which is "Do the hard work, especially when you don't feel like it." Discipline is about constantly dedicating your time to your goals and development, even when you don't want to. We all have days when we do not feel like working hard, and that makes us human; it's whether we decide to still put in the effort which sets us apart from everyone else.

That is the story of how The Art of Style came into existence. If you haven't already, I recommend you give it a read while it is on discount and follow me on Instagram and YouTube, where I shall teach you more about men's style.