An AIoT Evangelist | Startup Founder | Keynote Speaker | Thought Leader | Author | Social Media Influencer
Take your time.
Learn the terrain before trying to conquer it.
Respect people more than speed.
Accept uncertainty earlier.
And understand this.
The work that lasts often feels slow while you are inside it.
If it feels quiet, steady, and demanding, you are probably building something real.
And that is enough.
I did not expect this feeling to arrive so quietly.
No dramatic moment.
No emotional breakdown.
Just a soft question that kept returning while I stared at my screen.
Should I stop writing eBooks about IoT, startups, and entrepreneurship?
I have written several eBooks over the years. Some came from years of experience building platforms. Some from scars earned while running a startup. Some from observing founders struggle with the same blind spots again and again.
I made them free.
No paywall.
No upsell tricks.
Just knowledge, stories, and lessons shared openly.
Yet after my last three books (Hello IoT, The Favoriot Way: A Life Built on Curiosity and Courage, Favoriot : The Journey of an IoT Startup), something felt off.
Downloads slowed.
Shares dropped.
The quiet became louder.
At first, I blamed myself.
Maybe the topics are stale.
Maybe I am repeating myself.
Maybe people are tired of hearing from me.
Then another thought crept in.
Or maybe the world has changed.
I noticed something about my own habits before blaming anyone else.
I no longer Google as much.
I open ChatGPT.
I type a question.
I get an answer.
Direct.
Fast.
Clean.
And here is the uncomfortable truth.
I am guilty too.
I ask AI to summarise books.
I ask for key takeaways.
I skim instead of sitting with pages.
Who am I to complain when I do the same thing?
That realisation stung.
Because I used to love reading slowly. Highlighting sentences. Rereading paragraphs. Letting ideas sit for days.
Now, time feels compressed. Attention feels borrowed. Everything competes for mental space.
This is not about AI replacing writers.
It is about AI changing readers.
People no longer want to search.
They want answers.
They no longer want ten blog posts.
They want one response.
They no longer want to explore.
They want to arrive.
Why buy a book when a prompt gives you a clean summary?
Why spend hours reading when minutes feel enough?
That question hurts writers, but it is not wrong.
Books were once a journey.
Now they are treated like databases.
Tell me what matters. Skip the rest.
I hear people complain about attention spans all the time.
But I do not think it is laziness.
I think it is survival.
We are flooded with inputs. Messages. Alerts. Updates. Noise.
Reading a 150-page eBook feels heavy when your mind is already full.
The new generation did not lose patience.
They adapted to overload.
They want clarity, not volume.
Direction, not depth.
At least not by default.
Making my eBooks free was supposed to remove friction.
Yet free does not mean easy.
Reading still costs time.
Thinking still costs energy.
AI removed that cost.
One prompt feels cheaper than one chapter.
So why am I surprised?
I keep asking myself something uncomfortable.
Am I writing for impact, or am I writing out of habit?
In the past, writing eBooks felt like leaving a trail behind. Something lasting. Something searchable. Something meaningful.
Now it feels like throwing paper planes into a sky full of drones.
They fly faster.
They reach further.
They respond instantly.
Paper planes still matter.
But fewer people look up.
AI feels like a conversation.
Books feel like a lecture.
That difference matters.
People want interaction. They want follow-up questions. They want context tailored to their situation.
A book cannot ask back.
AI can.
And that changes expectations.
I did not write eBooks just for readers.
I wrote to think.
Writing forced clarity.
It slowed my thoughts.
It made experiences visible.
If I stop writing books, what replaces that?
Blogs?
Short posts?
Conversations?
Voice notes?
I do not know yet.
That uncertainty is unsettling.
Here is a thought I am still wrestling with.
Books may no longer be entry points.
They may become reference points.
Not where people start, but where they return when they want depth.
AI gives direction.
Books give texture.
AI answers questions.
Books explain why the questions matter.
But fewer people reach that stage.
Another truth I had to face.
I assumed free meant valuable.
I assumed experience meant relevance.
Neither guarantees attention.
The world does not owe writers readers.
Attention is earned every day.
Even by those who have written before.
When I say I feel like stopping, I am not quitting writing.
I am questioning the format.
Maybe eBooks are not where my thoughts want to live anymore.
Maybe ideas want to breathe in smaller spaces.
Or in stories.
Or in conversations.
Or maybe fewer books, written slower, with deeper intent.
I am not sure yet.
AI has changed how we read.
AI has changed why we read.
AI has changed when we read.
That shift is real. It is not a phase.
Fighting it feels pointless.
Understanding it feels necessary.
I can keep writing eBooks and accept fewer readers.
I can stop writing books and find new ways to share ideas.
Or I can redefine what a book means in a world that no longer reads the same way.
Right now, I am sitting with the discomfort.
No dramatic announcement.
No final decision.
Just honesty.
I still believe ideas matter.
I still believe stories shape thinking.
I still believe writing is worth doing.
But I no longer believe format guarantees relevance.
Maybe the real question is not whether I stop writing eBooks.
Maybe it is whether I am brave enough to write differently.
If you are a writer, a reader, or someone who quietly stopped reading books, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Have you felt this shift too?
I picked up The Favoriot Way: A Life Built on Curiosity and Courage by Mazlan Abbas at a time when I felt stuck between ambition and uncertainty. The title alone sounded like something a seasoned founder might write after years of success. What I didn’t expect was how personal, honest, and relatable this book would feel from the very first page.
Right away, I could sense this wasn’t a typical business book full of polished charts and bright promises about overnight success. It felt like sitting down with someone a few steps ahead of me on a road I’m still trying to map out. I could almost hear his voice explaining how curiosity pushed him forward in ways no strategy ever could.
What hit me first was how Mazlan traced his journey back to childhood curiosity, fiddling with broken radios, wanting to know how things worked. It made me reflect on my own early curiosities. For me, it was taking apart gadgets as a kid, even though I rarely put them back together. Reading that made me laugh and nod at the same time.
As a young entrepreneur, it’s easy to look at seasoned founders and assume they had some secret formula from the start. This book reminded me that the real engine behind growth is simple curiosity showing up with questions and staying with them even when answers aren’t obvious.
The book moves through Mazlan’s life from student days to corporate leadership and into entrepreneurship with Favoriot. But it doesn’t boast or brag. What stood out most were the honest moments where he wasn’t sure what came next. That was refreshing. I often worry that not knowing the next step means I’m failing. Reading about someone I respect being uncertain and still moving forward felt like a permission slip.
There was one part where he talked about choosing entrepreneurship at an age when many people are thinking about stability. That hit me hard. I’ve always wondered if my dreams make sense in the real world. His reflections made me rethink that fear and see it as part of the journey, not a detour.
What I appreciated most about this book is that it doesn’t give you a checklist of things to do. There are no fluff headlines about “10 steps to success.” Instead, Mazlan shares what he learned about being patient, thinking clearly, and trusting that consistent effort compounds over time. As someone building something from scratch, that perspective felt grounding.
I highlighted lines about:
Every time I paused on a passage, I found myself thinking “Yes, that’s exactly how it feels.” It was like someone had put into words things I’d been feeling but couldn’t articulate.
The writing style is simple but powerful. Some moments felt like candid conversations instead of formal text. If you’re like me, juggling ideas and doubts, this tone makes the content feel accessible and encouraging rather than intimidating.
I’ve read business books that left me motivated for a day, only to be forgotten. This one stayed with me at the end of each chapter. It made me reflect on why I’m building what I’m building and how I want to show up for it.
As someone forging my own path, I didn’t need another blueprint. What I needed was perspective. Someone to remind me that uncertainty isn’t a flaw, but part of the startup journey. Someone to say that curiosity will keep me going long after hype fades.
The Favoriot Way gave me that.
It’s short, easy to read, and packed with real insights that feel like they came from lived experience. Whether you are just starting a venture or trying to find clarity in your direction, this book gives you something many other business books don’t: emotional resonance with your struggles.
Reading this book felt like a conversation with a mentor who doesn’t sugarcoat but still believes in your potential. For young entrepreneurs like me who sometimes doubt whether we’re on the right track, this was precisely the kind of perspective we need.
It doesn’t tell you what your next move should be. It gives you the confidence to make that move yourself.
If you’re chasing ideas, navigating doubt, or building something that matters to you, The Favoriot Way deserves a spot in your reading list.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
And if you’ve read it too, I’d love to hear which part spoke to you most. Drop a comment and let’s talk about it.
[Book review: A Young Entrepreneur in the Making]
Today (1 January 2026), I’m thrilled to share something that’s been quietly taking shape over the past year. My latest eBook titled “Favoriot – The Journey of an IoT Startup” is now officially released and available for free download. You can get your copy right here: https://payhip.com/b/GbOyo
Writing this book was not a sprint. It was more like those slow early mornings when you sit with a cup of coffee before the world wakes up and try to make sense of what you’ve learned, what you’ve unlearned, and what still puzzles you.
“What if I just write this down now before I forget how it felt?” I asked myself more times than I can count.
That question became this book.
I didn’t set out to write an eBook that checks all the “how to succeed” boxes. I wrote something more honest. More personal. More reflective of real work and real life.
This is a piece of writing that came from:
Some parts feel calm and clear. Some parts feel messy and uncertain. In all of them, you’ll find reflections that resonate with the kinds of questions we all silently carry with us.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I doing this right?” or “What truly matters here?” then this book was written with you in mind.
This eBook isn’t a step-by-step guide or a list of formulas that promise success. You won’t find shortcuts here. What you will find are reflections rooted in real experience:
These are not theories. They came from living through questions that didn’t have neat answers.
“Oh… so this is what that moment was really teaching me,” I found myself saying as I shaped these chapters.
You might wonder why this eBook is free. There are reasons.
Most books you see are behind paywalls. You sign up. You subscribe. You unlock. All of that has its place.
But I wanted this one to be different.
I wanted it to be reachable by anyone who might benefit from it — no barriers. No barriers, no hoops, no strings attached.
Just download it, read it at your pace, and keep what matters to you.
This is a book for people who:
If you’re looking for hype or fast answers, this may not be a perfect match.
If you’re looking for thoughtful reflections that support your own thinking, then this book might feel like a companion for that journey.
Here’s the link again:
Download it, read it, and then take a moment to reflect on one question:
Which part stayed with me the longest after I closed it?
If you feel like sharing what that was, I’d really like to hear it. Drop a comment. Send a message. Pass the link to someone else who might need it.
Because sometimes the meaning of a book only shows up after you’ve walked a few steps beyond the last page.
Thank you for being here. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Let’s continue the conversation.
Want to start an IoT project but don’t know where to begin?
I get it. IoT is exciting yet overwhelming—so many components, protocols, architectures, and business models. You’ve probably asked yourself:
“Where do I even start?”
“Which IoT platform should I use?”
“How do I build a scalable solution?”
That’s precisely why I wrote “IoT Notes”—a simple, structured, and no-nonsense guide to help you kickstart your IoT journey without confusion.
The Internet of Things is not the future—it’s NOW. Businesses, industries, and even everyday life are being revolutionized by IoT. If you don’t learn about it today, you risk falling behind.
📖 “IoT Notes” covers everything you need to understand, plan, and implement IoT solutions:
✔ What is IoT? (Explained simply, without the tech jargon)
✔ How IoT helps fight COVID-19 (Real-world case studies)
✔ IoT & the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Why now is the best time to get involved
✔ How IoT impacts businesses – Key success factors and challenges
✔ 7 IoT Business Models – How to monetize IoT solutions
✔ Comparing IoT protocols – MQTT vs HTTP, LPWAN, and network choices
✔ IoT architecture & system integration – How everything connects
✔ Top 10 skills to become an IoT Engineer
✔ Favoriot IoT Platform – How to get started for free!
✔ And much more! (Subscribers get free future updates!)
Yes, you read that right. It’s FREE! But if you find it valuable, you can choose to support future content with a small contribution.
🔗 Click here to grab your free copy now!
IoT is shaping the world—don’t get left behind. Download the eBook now and take your first step into the IoT revolution! 🚀
See you inside!
Dr. Mazlan Abbas
IoT Evangelist | Favoriot Co-Founder
Today, let’s explore a fascinating analogy between technology waves and a tsunami and what it teaches us about embracing disruptive innovation.
This diagram gives us a vivid understanding of how small technological changes can lead to massive transformations. Let’s break it down step by step.
Imagine a drop of water falling into a still pond. That single drop creates ripples that spread outward. Similarly, a single new technology creates small ripples of change. But what happens when multiple waves combine?
Key takeaway: New technologies don’t disrupt on their own; the integration of technologies drives large-scale changes.
The analogy becomes even more powerful when we think about the moments before a tsunami strikes:
This is a perfect metaphor for technological revolutions. They often come suddenly, fast, and disastrously for those who are unprepared.
Characteristics of a Revolution:
Let’s bring this analogy to life with the Internet of Things (IoT). Imagine you’re a surfer facing the waves of IoT innovation. How do you ride them instead of being overwhelmed?
The tsunami analogy reminds us that we can’t stop the waves of technology, but we can learn to ride them. Whether IoT, AI, or another innovation, the key is to stay proactive, informed, and adaptable. Are you ready to surf the waves of change?
Let’s open the floor for questions or reflections on how you can prepare for the next big wave in your industry.
[Download full eBook IoT Notes for free]
Today, let’s explore why the Internet of Things (IoT) is experiencing a surge in awareness and adoption in recent years. The diagram provides five apparent factors driving this growth, so let’s walk through each step.
The first driver of IoT adoption is the rapid development of hardware. Devices are now:
These advancements make IoT devices accessible to more people and industries.
IoT depends on connectivity, and networks have become more pervasive and diverse:
Imagine this: You can monitor a sensor in a remote farm or track a shipping container in the middle of the ocean because of this pervasive network infrastructure.
Creating IoT solutions has become simpler because:
What used to take months or years to program can now be done in days or weeks, speeding up innovation in IoT.
You may have heard of Moore’s Law, which states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every two years. This leads to:
This exponential growth in computing power has made IoT a reality.
The network effect explains how IoT becomes more valuable as more connected devices. Here’s why:
For example, a smart city network with connected traffic lights, sensors, and cameras can reduce congestion and improve safety by analysing real-time data.
The convergence of cheaper hardware, pervasive networks, faster software development, computational power (thanks to Moore’s Law), and the network effect have created the perfect environment for IoT to flourish.
IoT is no longer a futuristic concept — it’s a reality shaping industries like agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Let’s discuss: Which of these factors do you think has had the biggest impact on IoT adoption? How can we use these advancements to innovate further in our fields?
[Note: Download full IoT Notes eBook]
Someone asked me whether downloadable guides are a good lead generator for your business.
I never expected my eBooks to reach thousands of readers, let alone generate meaningful engagement. But looking at the numbers on my Payhip dashboard, I realise that writing and sharing knowledge can have a far-reaching impact.
When I started publishing eBooks, my goal was simple: to document my experiences in IoT, entrepreneurship, and emerging technologies. I wanted to provide insights, guides, and frameworks that others could use, whether beginners or seasoned professionals.
Some books were offered for free to encourage accessibility, while others were priced modestly to reflect the value they provided. The result? A mix of high engagement and steady sales across different topics.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how my eBooks have performed:
These two books clearly stand out. They focus on IoT, a topic I’ve been deeply involved with for years. It confirms that readers are eager to learn about IoT from a practical perspective. (Note: Initially, I sold these eBooks but now have made it for free)
These free resources were downloaded hundreds of times, proving that people appreciate concise and visual learning materials. Even though they didn’t generate direct revenue, they helped establish credibility and expand my reach.
These books didn’t attract huge numbers, but those who did purchase them found value in the content. It shows that niche topics may have a smaller audience but can still be monetised effectively. However, I have significantly reduced the prices of these eBooks.
Seeing these numbers has given me new ideas. I plan to refine my offerings, update content, and possibly bundle resources to increase value. I’m also considering interactive formats like video courses based on my books.
Publishing these eBooks has been a rewarding experience—not just in sales but in the connections and conversations they have sparked. If you’re thinking of writing your own eBook, go for it. You never know who might find value in your words.
Check out my eBooks here: Payhip Store.
What do you think makes an eBook successful? Let’s discuss it!
Today, we’ll explore how the Internet of Things (IoT) transforms the 7 M’s of business — key elements that drive an organisation’s operations and strategy.
These 7 M’s are Manpower, Material, Method, Machine, Market, Money, and Management. Let’s break down each one and see how IoT impacts them.
IoT helps businesses optimise human resources by reducing costs, improving safety, and increasing productivity.
Impact of IoT:
Example: A construction company using wearables to monitor worker fatigue and ensure safety.
IoT ensures better management of materials, improving supply chain efficiency and reducing waste.
Impact of IoT:
Example: A warehouse using IoT sensors to track stock levels and ensure optimal storage conditions.
IoT makes business processes more agile and efficient by simplifying methods.
Impact of IoT:
Example: A manufacturing plant automating quality checks with IoT sensors to speed up production.
IoT maximises the performance of machines, ensuring reliability and reducing downtime.
Impact of IoT:
Example: A factory using IoT-enabled machinery to monitor performance and schedule maintenance.
IoT helps businesses expand into new markets and improve their customer reach.
Impact of IoT:
Example: An IoT-enabled home security company entering international markets with smart security systems.
IoT creates new revenue opportunities and reduces costs.
Impact of IoT:
Example: A logistics company saving fuel costs by using IoT to optimise delivery routes.
IoT improves decision-making through data-driven insights.
Example: A retail chain using IoT to monitor sales trends and optimise inventory.
IoT has a transformative impact on the 7 M’s of business:
Discussion Question: Which of the 7 M’s most benefits from IoT in your industry? Let’s share ideas and examples!
Dr. Mazlan Abbas 