Archive of posts from October 2021

Marketing changed.

What used to work:

• Putting your logo on everything for awareness
• Paid adverts delivered to a broad demographic
• Clever, sensational product headlines

What works now:

• Letting others embody your brand values
• Real voices talking to their narrow demographics
• Knowing the language of your chosen few

Are you ready?

In 2008, I met my wife, in the metaverse.

In 2009, metaverse was how we paid our bills.

Then we didn’t hear about metaverse for a while. Our focus on serving people where they are took us away from the metaverse for a while.

But people are going to go back to the metaverse again, very soon.

Facebook is called Meta now. Their work on Horizon Worlds and new ways to interact with others will make the metaverse normal.

The...

What’s the point?

In what you make, I mean.

There’s comfort in there being a point… a larger vision that we’re contributing to, that makes all of our work worthwhile.

And when we see the point as being attributable to something grand — somehow advancing humanity — it makes us feel even better.

But what if there’s no point?

What if making that software is just to solve a simple problem that makes someone’s day slightly less arduous, or a little more...

How much do you “show up” every day?

A tweet lasts for a few seconds. Five tweets per day is ten seconds of “showing up” out of 24 hours.

A tweet that gets shared lasts a few more. Now those five tweets “show up” for a few minutes. That’s an improvement.

A comment lasts a few seconds. We scroll past them every day. A few seconds added to your “show up” time.

A thoughtful comment lasts a few more. We...

All online content and media fits into one of these three categories.

Which is yours in?

#1 Making for growth This is the category most online courses and business-y content strives to fit in.

It prizes success and accomplishment, often hustle and prestige. Fun isn’t the goal. Growth is the goal.

#2 Making for fun This is the category where perusing YouTube or chatting aimlessly with friends belongs.

We used to call this “surfing” the web. It’s leisurely and doesn’t...

Almost every day, I’m send links to causes to support, rallies to rally, missions to back.

The overwhelming majority don’t make the cut for me.

Why?

#1: Synthetic mission: You can feel when a project doesn’t have an authentic mission. And if you can’t, you find out soon enough after spending just enough time with the founder(s) for them to let their guard down.

If they aren’t who they say they are, or their work isn’t for what they say...

Sometimes, people take advantage. Or wind you up. Or disappoint you.

And in those times, you might consider making a trade.

Those times are the worst times to make a trade:

We choose generosity because of who we are, not others. It’s easy to think being selfish is easier, since most other people are. But changing who you are into something ugly is a lousy trade.

We choose simplicity because of who we are, not others. It’s easy to complicate...

Are you ready?

If you hope your project will succeed right away, you might not be ready. But if you’re committed to seeing it succeed because you’ll give it the time and care it needs to thrive, you won’t need to rely on hope anymore.

If you hope your ads to be profitable right away, you might not be ready. But if you’ve done the important work of knowing your audience before engaging with a platform to build leverage around...

“What brings no benefit to the hive brings no benefit to the bee.” – Meditations 6.54

What can beehives teach entrepreneurs about being better entrepreneurs?

Let’s take a look:

An entrepreneur can choose to focus only on the bee… producing shrewd deals that undermine partners and maximise personal gain… to the detriment of the hive. This leads to having few friends, and desires that can’t be met despite increasing assets.

An entrepreneur can choose to focus on the hive… producing an environment...

After another round of bad news from the hospital, my wife was feeling really down.

I wasn’t doing too much better.

But when I showed her a picture of a silly jpeg online (an ‘NFT’), it made her smile. Then she enjoyed looking at all the different NFT projects, and their silly little outfits.

Anything that makes her smile, earns my attention.

Perhaps it’s because we met in 2008 in a metaverse… and the ridiculous world of NFTs felt familiar...

A few recipes to think about in your work today:

Needing a quick sellout is a recipe for anxiety. Committing to long-term value creation is a recipe for peace.

Needing a prospect to say ‘yes’ is a recipe for desperation. Committing to being the kind of operation prospects say ‘yes’ to is a recipe for peace.

Needing to have skills or services that you don’t have is a recipe for dissatisfaction. Committing to mastering what you know as you explore...

“Shape clay into a vessel; It is the space within that makes it useful.” — Tao Te Ching

Most ‘productivity hacks’ turn us into more efficient computers. But not into more effective creators.

Apart from one productivity hack: Do less things.

Doing less things means you will be a less efficient computer. But the seed of creativity gets to show up more often.

Doing less things means we have space. Not to deem ‘wasted’, but to deem ‘opportunity’.

There’s room for your project:

There could be a thousand others launching today (there probably are). And yet none of them are more (or less) deserving than yours. Launch.

There could be 600 million blogs already out there (there are). And yet there is still space for your blog to create great content and readership. Publish.

There could be 37 million YouTube channels already out there (there are). And yet we still want to see your face, hear your voice,...

You might have an idea already about what your “Regardless Project” would be.

It’s the project that will change your life, but are too afraid to pursue.

It’s the project that you’d enjoy more than anything else, but you don’t know where to start.

It’s the project that, if your finances taken care of, you’d pursue regardless of what anyone else says or thinks about it.

It’s your “Regardless Project”.

It’s the project that nobody else could do but you....

Here’s a shortlist of things that will burn you out, eventually.

And what to do about that.

#1 Things you hate

I suspect this one goes without saying.

Most of us have done it. It’s not inherently bad, it’s just totally unsustainable.

Do this only for as long as you absolutely have to. Then stop it, even if you sort-of-like the rewards it brings.

#2 Things you don’t like

This one is a little tougher to stop doing.

Our ability to create online has changed a lot over the last couple of decades.

Gatekeepers and algorithms spoiled the fun.

We’re getting the fun back again.

Here’s how, in a timeline:

#1 Flat The beginning.

Creating online meant publishing nice things that people can look at. A pretty picture, or a nice brochure-site.

At best, you might get a congratulatory email from someone who ‘surfed’ over to it from a directory.

#2 Centralised We went from artists to publishers.

“Doing what works” works for some things…

Here’s where you should do the opposite:

#1 Boring content Safe content ideas are boring. Risky content ideas are interesting.

We’ve all read the article you’re thinking of writing already. We’re all desperate to read the one you’re scared to write.

#2 Boring mission Ambiguous goals are boring. Ambitious goals are interesting.

Most corporations have CSR now. What makes your mission something we can get emotionally involved in?

#3 Boring connection Pleasing everyone...

What if you could have the foremost minds in your industry on speed-dial?

You can.

Let’s take a look at how:

#1 Know who they are Who are the best minds in your industry?

You can’t harness their insights if you don’t know!

Find out who they are. Write their names down. It starts here.

#2 Locate their brains Where are these great minds?

Most don’t exist only at the source (in their heads).

Some might be in books. Others...

Hercules is Hercules because of his story.

He’s the guy that kills the hydra.

Without challenges, the story would be of a luxury layabout with no problems.

Sometimes we wish for no challenges… and it’s like writing ourselves out of our own story.

Your next project may fail. Or it may not get the results you wanted. Or maybe things aren’t working out right now.

Don’t resent your version of the Hydra. It made Hercules, Hercules.

Do you obey all the rules?

You know you don’t have to, right?

#1 Your industry has rules.

Such as how you conduct yourself. Or how to present your offers. Or how to package your services.

Laws you must follow. But Rules you can change. It’s where lots of innovation comes from.

#2 Your culture has rules.

Such as how you treat each other. Or the entertainment you deem appropriate. Or the way you dress.

Laws you must...

Did you know that you pay a tax for everyone you work with?

(Even yourself?)

Imagine you have a huge rock that must be moved to the other side of a field. How do we move that rock?

By paying taxes:

#1 The people tax code for Employees, Business partners, and Contractors

These are people who, together, can help move that rock.

But they don’t care about moving it like you do. And they’ll push it without a plan,...

Ambitious? Energetic? Talented?

Here are a few thoughts on how to harness those things…

…by learning how to chill:

#1 Ambition goes long

Good things happen fast. Great things take time.

Ambition benefits from chill so that you can plan your work, work your plan, and make your way toward goals others didn’t have the stamina for.

#2 Energy goes long

There’s a reason why professional poker players don’t play 100 games per day. The energy and focus...

Facebook’s had a bit of a week.

They’ll make a good example for a business lesson in today’s post.

So, following the whistleblower’s account of inaction against the toxic effects Facebook has on teen girls, Zuck responded:

“I don’t know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed.”

Responding to a truth with an unrelated truth doesn’t mitigate the original truth.

People remember what you say: Deflection doesn’t nurture trust. Especially...

What’s the best way to not be left behind in a fast-moving market?

Here are 4 ways (can you spot the pattern among them?)

#1 Courage:

Courage enables you to take action when you’re unsure.

You’ll be unsure a lot. So this will increase your resilience, while helping you embrace the impermanence of each result that comes your way.

#2 Wisdom

When things are moving quickly, you need to pay attention, filtering and focusing on what matters.

Experience...

When someone asks, ‘How do I put the customer first?’ the first mistake has already been made:

Assuming there is only one right way to do it.

There is no one right way to put the customer first:

#1 Customer complaints?

Some businesses choose to apologise and chase a resolution to ensure happy customers.

Other businesses choose to shun complaints to not slow down the pursuit of great service.

Both are examples of putting the customer first, in different...

What’s your end-game?

Not knowing gives room for jealousy, envy, desperation, and freneticism.

Knowing breeds confidence, peace, and freedom.

For example…

I’ve experienced “lots of assets and no family time”. I’ve experienced “no assets and lots of family time.”

I liked the latter so much better there’s absolutely no contest. And so I’ll happily trade assets for time with family.

Time spent with family while making creative things is, for us, living the dream. And the funny thing about living...

James Bond kills people.

It’s okay, he has a license for that.

What licenses do you have?

#1 License to Create

The journey between idea and execution has become too complicated for most of us.

It doesn’t need to be.

• Ideate
• Decide
• Act

It’s okay: you have a license for that.

#2 License to Quit

Many of us do things we don’t want to do because we feel we have to.

Because what we earn and...

FUD = “Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt”.

It’s the feeling that comes with new things. It’s what prevents us from doing those things.

Here’s how to embrace the FUD, instead of FUD embracing us:

#1 Not having a map is the point

Uncharted destinations have no map.

Having no map means getting lost before you find your destination.

If getting to your destination is the goal, having no map is the point.

#2 The opportunity isn’t unique to you

Everyone...

You have choice overload!

And so does your business.

Perhaps it’s time to make some decisions:

You could focus on one thing and do it well, or spread yourself thin and not be great at anything…

You could serve one niche really well, or FOMO into to trying to serve many niches at once…

You could full-heartedly pursue that product idea, or half-heartedly explore many at once…

You could do lots of things (including the ones you hate), or you...

Is finding product-market fit difficult?

Only when you miss these core ingredients:

#1 Knowing your audience

Making anything without knowing who you’re making for is like throwing a dart at a dart board with a blindfold on.

You could get a triple-twenty and everyone would hear about it.

But it’s unlikely.

#2 Knowing their narrative

Knowing your audience then trying to distract them from their journey is like trying to convince cab-riders they should go somewhere different to...

What’s your relationship with risk? 
As in, Right Now?

Here are 3 types of risk relationship. Which one best describes yours?

#1 Obsessed with risk

These people win big, having fixated themselves on the potential win. They also often lose big, having not considered the potential losses.

The former makes people bold. The latter moves people into the second bucket, below.

#2 Afraid of risk

These people either lost something, or can’t stand the idea of losing something....