Want to read more books?
Try this:
When you go to watch YouTube videos or scroll your social feed, pick up a book and read for 5 minutes first.
Connecting a thing you want to do more of to a thing you already do too much of is a great way to build a new (and improved) habit.
Most amazing creations go unnoticed by the masses.
That doesn’t make them any less amazing.
If your creation doesn’t catch on, it doesn’t mean it’s not great.
It just means it’s in the majority.
“The best coaches make you less dependent on them and more confident in your own problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.”
If anyone ever asks you what day 90s culture began, the answer is is not January 1, 1990.
The correct answer is September 24, 1991.
Nirvana’s Nevermind, A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik were all released that day.
I’ve been thinking about consistency a lot lately and I’m starting to think it’s incredibly misunderstood.
This is a good example of one of those misunderstandings.
Found it in Shaan Puri’s newsletter.
“There was no one else like them, except for everybody.” Chuck Klosterman wrote that line to describe author Elizabeth Wurtzel and Mark Leyner in his book The Nineties. I’m not really familiar with either, but I love the concept. Successful artists have a unique ability to express things many feel, but few can express.
Make a list of things you can buy for $50 or less that will make your life easier, simpler, or more enjoyable on an ongoing basis. Then buy them. A few examples: A nice glass to drink water out of instead of plastic bottles. A super comfortable piece of clothing (t-shirt, socks, pajamas, etc). A new towel to use after a shower. A hook to put on your wall so you have a specific place to hang a hat or something else that currently doesn’t have a set place.
A nice soundtrack for a Sunday morning stroll.
True freedom is listening to yourself.
It’s your home, do whatever the hell you want with it.
Turn your garage into a neighborhood pub or live in your art.
It always feels like a red flag to me when people talk about how to “win” at business.
Tough to “win” a game when everyone uses a different scorecard, plays by different rules, and the game has no end.
Self-imposed deadlines exist to pressure yourself into doing things you don’t want to do.
But maybe you shouldn’t be doing those things in the first place?
Listen to this album.
AI can only show you what you know you’re looking for.
It can only teach you what you know you want to learn.
It can only answer questions you know to ask.
The opportunity in an AI world is to give people what they don’t know to look for.
Harvey Firestone, the tire tycoon, once said this about rich men building big houses: “Why is it that a man, just as soon as he gets enough money, builds a house much bigger than he needs? I do not know why I do it - the houses are only a burden. But I have done it, and all my friends who have acquired wealth have big houses. But in most cases, and especially with men who have earned their own money, the house is just built, and when it’s done, no one quite knows why it was started.
You need effort. Creating something from nothing will never be easy. You need courage. Creation is a scary process with an unknown outcome so it takes guts to pursue. You need commitment. You will fail, struggle, and want to quit often, so the only way to bring something to life is to ride out the waves. None of these qualities are easy, but you have them in you.
“I only scribble the essentials, that’s why erasers have pencils.”
Brother Ali
“The worst thing in the world is to have to convince somebody of something - that’s a lack of freedom. It’s the worst.”
Jimmy Iovine
Side note: This is why I always say when it comes to selling my job isn’t to convince anyone of anything.
It’s to make them aware of what I have to offer.
I’ve been thinking about what it might look like to operate completely in the moment and how far that approach to my work could be pushed. Some ideas: Nothing scheduled more than a week in advance. Every email is only opened once - it’s replied to, deleted or archived in the moment. All social posts are written and published in the moment - no drafts, no scheduling in advance. No set schedule for podcast or videos - you make it when you make it and publish it when it’s done.
My newsletter is awesome.
Want proof?
Check out all 63 resources I shared in it last month, conveniently linked on one page.