yann girard - rethinking the now

It's easy to beat yourself up

When almost no one watched your video.

Or read your blog post.

Or bought your book.

Or signed up to your event.

Or subscribed to your service.

What's a lot harder is to celebrate the ones who did.

It's a lot harder to celebrate your achievements.

The things you did.

No mater how big or small.

And it's especially hard to when your achievements seem so tiny.

And comparing your achievements with the achievements of the best of the best out there will always make your achievements seem so tiny.

No matter how big or small they really are.

No one goes viral with that first blog post.

Or that first book.

Or that first podcast episode.

No one has a million dollar audience right from the very start.

No one has 1000 true fans the moment they start putting stuff out there.

It's a year long process.

And the first step in that process is to celebrate each and everyone who's showing up.

Even if it's almost no one.

Because almost no one is still a hell lot more than no one.

And when you keep doing it, when you keep doing your thing, then over time all of these “almost no ones” will add up to almost everybody.

It's easy to beat yourself up.

And a lot harder to celebrate your achievements.

So do yourself and the entire world a favor and celebrate your achievements.

No matter how big or small.

Because that's the only way you'll ever be able to keep showing up...

The 10 people who are holding you back and want you to fail

No one wants you to succeed.

Basically everybody out there wants you to fail.

Even the ones who want you to succeed.

They just don't know it yet...

# FRIENDS

Most of your friends want you to fail. I know what you might be saying now. Stuff like, “No this is not true. You don't have real friends. You need to find new friends and all of this stuff.”

But here's the truth...

When you break free, when you do something that no one else is doing, when you get off the beaten path you'll automatically question what everybody else is doing.

You'll question what your friends are doing. You'll question their lifestyles. You'll basically question their entire lives. Their 9 to 5 jobs. Their mortgages. Their down payments. EVERYTHING...

And when you succeed in breaking free, when you succeed in doing what most people never dare to do, when you do what everybody else out there secretly wants to do, you're basically showing them that it's all possible.

That they've been lazy.

That everybody can do it. 

That they've bought into the lie that you have to get a stable job, spend forty to fifty years in a cubicle to be able to retire when you're almost dead, to buy a house, start a family and be chained to one place for the rest of your life.

Friends want you to stay the same. So they can stay the same.

So they can feel comfortable with their own choices.

With their own lives. 

So they can feel good about themselves. 

So they don't have to challenge themselves...

# PARENTS

Your parents want you to succeed. But only the way they succeeded. On their terms. And not your terms. Not on the terms of the 21^st century.

But times have changed. What worked a few decades ago doesn't work anymore today.

Getting a college degree, scoring a safe job, building a house and staying at the same job for the rest of your life just doesn't work anymore.

The world has changed. And it's still changing every single day.

In most of the cases following your parents's advice and doing the things they'll tell you to do is like operating on a 20-30 year old manual.

It's like going online with a 56k modem while everybody else is online with a 100mbit connection. 

Now don't get me wrong here...

Parents want the best for their kids.

But the problem is that the best from a few decades ago might not necessarily be the best anymore today... 

# GATEKEEPERS

There are millions of gatekeepers out there.

Especially at your job.

Everybody at your job wants you to stay small.

After all, you're paid for doing something you've been trained to do. At the highest degree of efficiency possible. With as little slack as possible.

Learning anything new will decrease your efficiency.

And will cost the company hard cash.

On the other hand, any new skill might qualify you to get a better job.

Any new skill might enable you to ask for a raise.

But you've been hired for doing the same things over and over again.

So no one wants you to diversify your skills.

Because if you do so, you might become attractive for other companies. 

They want you to be as efficient as possible.

At that one thing they need you for. 

That's what you're paid for. 

That's why everybody tells you that you have to become an expert.

And master your field.

So they can squeeze as much out of you as possible.

Until there's no efficiency left anymore and they drop you for an algorithm, an A.I. or someone else who does your job for a tenth of your salary.

Your current employer is basically an entire gatekeeper in itself...

Exclusive Content: "I stopped giving a shit a long time ago!" I've lived out of a backpack for more than 7 years... I worked, lived and traveled all over the world with a carry-on backpack with just 3 outfits in it. I stopped worrying about what other people think of me. It was one of the best decision I've ever made...  At one point I decided to I write a book about what I've learned about myself and the world around me. And today you can get a free copy of that book. Click here to claim your copy now (it's free, for now)...

 

# TEACHERS

Teachers, in most of the cases are the premium example of following the rules.

It's just really, really hard to become a teacher or professor by not going through the standard procedure.

And what the standard procedure does is that it creates standard people.

I'm not saying that this is the case for everybody out there. But for many.

After all, a teacher's job is to create employees. And employees need to be able to follow orders. They need to do the things they're told to do. Otherwise it just doesn't work.

It's not the teacher's fault. It's the system's fault. And whenever you rely on someone who relies on the system, when you rely on someone who is the best product of that system, then it's just really, really hard to break free. Not impossible. Just hard.

Teachers, just like your parents operate under a guidebook that was created a few decades ago. A guidebook that doesn't work as well anymore today as it did just a few decades ago. Sure, it still works. Sometimes. For the top 0.1% or so. Maybe...

# SOCIETY

Society is holding you back. Whether you realize it or not doesn't really matter.

No matter where you live there are certain expectations. Certain lifestyles. Certain ways of doing things. Certain unwritten rules.

And no matter how strong your willpower is, it will always influence you in one way or another.

And it makes sense.

Society only works if everybody does what everybody else does.

Otherwise the entire system wouldn't work anymore.

The whole system would crash and burn.

Everything has its good and bad sides.

The bad side being that you've gotta fit in.

And if you don't fit in you'll get punished by the system...

# EXPERTS & GURUS

This is something not a lot of people talk about.

Still, I believe that so called gurus or experts are holding you back. Simply because they want you to use their techniques and what has worked for them. But the truth is that what has worked for them isn't necessarily going to work for you.

Reading all of these blogs, all of these books (including my stuff) won't really help you to build the life you want to live. As a matter of fact it'll only hold you back. It'll hold you back from actually doing things. And doing is the only way you'll ever achieve what you want to achieve in life...

# ME

See the last point. And pretty much every other point on this list...

# YOU

But at the end of the day all of these people don't really matter if you don't master yourself. 

You are your biggest thread.

You'll ultimately be the only one holding yourself back.

You'll be the one who will ultimately be responsible for creating the life you want to live.

And no one else.

Blaming anybody else is just an excuse.

It's an excuse for not trying hard enough. 

It's an excuse for not putting in the work.

For being lazy. 

For not even trying.

And yes, we only have 8 people so far and not 10.

And most of them aren’t even people.

But that last one is so important that it counts for three...

Create or die

Not everyone has to be a creator.

Not everyone has to build stuff.

Or be an entrepreneur.

Or a writer.

Or a what not.

As a matter of fact, 99.9% of the creators are basically creating stuff that no one really needs.

Including myself.

It's not everybody's calling to change the world.

As a mater of fact, most people who put stuff out there will never change a damn thing.

Including myself.

Whereas a great dad will always change the world. Forever.

His positive impact will last for at least two generations.

And probably even more than that.

Just like an awesome mom will change the world. Forever.

If 99.9% of the people who are creating stuff would disappear tomorrow, no one would even notice.

No one would even care.

I know, it's depressing.

But it is what it is.

Just like no one would even notice if I disappeared. 

No one would even care.

Funny story. Well, actually not so funny for me, but probably for you...

I did an experiment about two years ago.

I didn't put out anything for 30 days.

And no one even noticed.

No one even cared. 

On the other hand, if garbage men would disappear over night, the world would end up in a total chaos.

People would definitely notice.

At the end of the day it's all just a matter of perspective

Not everyone has to be a creator. 

Not everyone has to put stuff out there. 

But everybody has to follow their calling.

Whatever that calling might look like. 

Maybe your calling is to be the world's greatest dad.

Or the world's greatest mom.

Or the world's greatest writer.

Or the world's best pizza baker.

Or the wold's best garbage man.

Or grandma.

Or burger flipper.

Or entrepreneur.

Or whatever

It doesn't matter.

What matters is that you do your thing.

And don't do someone else's thing.

That really is the most important thing...

Something worth considering...

Yes, everything in life is an experiment.

Yes, it doesn't really matter whether or not the things you try work out right away.

Yes, the longer you're around the more people will start to notice.

Yes, you will always learn something from failure.

BUT and that's a really big but...

Are you able to make it through the lows?

Will you be able to really see things like they are?

Will you really see life like an experiment?

Or will the voice living inside your head try to convince you otherwise?

Can you resist that voice or will you give in to that voice?

And that's something worth considering...

I'm a paranoid optimist...

I'm writing this from the airport in Cologne.

I'm about to catch a plane to Bangkok.

And there's something I never really understood when I had a job that I just had to think about while drinking my free Mc Donald's coffee they're handing out to everyone here...

Back then everybody was taking cabs for everything.

It was such a waste of money.

Sure, it's the company's money.

Sure, you're wasting your life there, so you might as well take a cab EVERYWHERE.

So the company has to pay more for your time.

Even if you don't get to see that money. Ever.

Here's the truth...

I recently read it in Tim Ferriss's book "Tools of Titans"...

"How you do anything is how you do everything."

And to me that's what being an entrepreneur is all about.

No, that's actually what living in the 21st century is all about.

A few days ago I talked to my dad about it.

You've gotta be a paranoid optimist to survive in the 21st century...

Because every single day things change.

And the stuff that worked yesterday might not work anymore tomorrow.

And when I say you've gotta be a paranoid optimist I'm really talking about myself here.

That's why I work on so many different things at the same time.

I want to spread my risk.

Across multiple projects.

And multiple streams of income.

And I don't get it.

So many people ignore the fact that things are changing. 

That the world is changing.

And they keep doing what they've always done.

They don't get ready for that storm.

Maybe that storm will never come.

Maybe it will. 

Who knows?

All I know is that I want to be "ready" when the storm hits the shore.

Because who can predict the future?

Who knows what tomorrow brings?

No one...

Especially not the people who are paid for predicting the future.

And predicting trends.

Those people, those specialists only operate under the assumption of incremental innovation. Of incremental change.

If you operate under the assumptions of what's technically possible today or in a few days you'll always just be analyzing incremental innovation.

But what the nature of disruptive innovation is all about is the exact opposite.

Disruptive innovation is totally and completely unpredictable.

And it doesn't care about what you feel or think is possible today. Or tomorrow...

Which makes it so amazing, but also dangerous...

Just like these so called experts predicted that the entire world will be covered by horse poop in a couple of decades if the usage of horse carriages continued at the same pace.

They didn't see cars coming... until they were here... and now we don't have horse poop problems anymore.

And instead we have much bigger problems than just horse poop...

Either way.

All of this to say that I paid €169 for a flight from Cologne to Bangkok.

And I never take cabs.

Because I know that tomorrow it might be all over.

And all of my money could be gone.

Everything could stop working.

No one might be reading my stuff anymore.

I'm a paranoid optimist.

I expect the worst, but get ready for the best...

How to be remarkable?

By understanding that all you need to get started is to be remarkably unremarkable at first.

It's a myth that we'll be able to start from the top.

And take over the world by storm.

It's a myth that being one of the best of the best is a prerequisite to getting started.

As a matter of fact, the only way to become one of the best of the best is to get started.

And accepting that all you need is to get started.

And then you've gotta put in the work.

Quantity leads to quality.

Always!

No one starts from the top.

We all start from the bottom.

And have to work our way to the top.

No matter if you want to be a writer, a blogger, an entrepreneur, a great employee, a great mom, a great son or what not.

The way to mastery is to realize that you don't have to be great to get started.

The way to being remarkable is to realize that you don't have to be remarkable...

 

The blank page is your castle

Use it!

There are two kinds of people...

The ones who will always find something to criticize about you, your work, the way you look or the way you do things.

No matter how hard you try.

 

And then there are the ones who will always support you, your work, the way you look and the way you do things.

No matter your flaws.

Make sure you ignore the first group of people as much as you can.

Don't focus on the people who will (consciously or unconsciously) try to bring you down.

But what about growth, constructive feedback, becoming better and all of this stuff?

Here's the truth...

You just can't please "un-pleasable" people.

You can't convince "un-convincable" people.

So don't waste your time and energy.

And instead focus on the people who lift you up.

Focus on the people who give you energy.

These are the kind of people...

Are you teaching it or living it?

In academics you listen to your teacher or your professor because you have to.

Not necessarily because you want to.

Or because you think that they know what they're talking about.

As a matter of fact, the theory you learn and what the world really looks like are often quite the opposite. 

But the Internet completely changed that game.

We can now choose our teachers.

Everybody has access to millions of teachers. 

Millions of people are teaching millions of other people how to do stuff.

Real world skills.

From real practitioners who know what they're talking about. 

From people who are applying or who already have successfully applied all of the things they teach.

The game has changed. 

And it favors people with real world skills. 

Real practitioners...

It favors people who are not only teaching it but also living it.

What about you?

Are you just teaching it or also living it?

Showing up when you can't show up

We can't show up.

Most of the time.

Because of the kids.

Because of friends.

Because of the wife/husband.

Because of work.

Because of the weather. 

Because of the mood.

Because of the news.

Because of the lack of time.

Or because of the stock market.

We all can't show up.

For various reasons. 

But then again, there are a few people who show up.

Nonetheless.

Over and over again.

No matter what.

There are a few people out there who show up when they can't show up.

So how do they do it?

They just show up.

Especially, when they know they can't show up.

So what's their secret sauce?

They show up...

But what if no one cares?

Putting yourself, your thoughts, your ideas and your work out there into the world can be very frustrating.

No matter what all the gurus out there tell you.

It's easy to say that you've gotta put your work out there when you've already done the heavy lifting and worked on building your audience.

Most people spent years building their audience. 

And that's what you rarely hear people talking about. 

So when you're starting from scratch, with nothing, then the advice of just putting your stuff out there doesn't really help a lot.

One of the main reasons why a lot of people never really get started is because they're scared that no one will even care about them. That no one will even notice.

And no doubt about it. 

It's hard to stand out in a world full of millions of signals and so much noise. 

And the fact that no one seems to care is also one of the main reasons why most people give up after just a few months.

Because when it feels like no one cares, why should you even care?

And it's true.

No one probably cares about you.

Just like no one cared about me when I started a few years ago.

Totally from scratch. With no audience. No nothing.   

But you can also use it to your own advantage.

You can use the fact that no one probably cares about you to your advantage. 

So here's a little secret...

Whenever I write something I say to myself that no one will care.

That no one will even notice.

That no one will even read it. 

Or listen to it.

Or watch it. 

Or what not.

I still do it today.

And you know what?

This is probably the only way that anyone will ever notice. That anyone will ever care.

Simply because when you write and think like no one will read it, watch it or listen to it, then you will write and talk in your true voice.

You'll say what you really think.

Without holding anything back.

Then you will say what most people are too afraid to say.

And that's how you stand out.

That's how people will notice. 

That's how people will start to care. 

This is what made me fearless.

This helped me to find, write and talk in my own voice.

This is what helps me to write down my thoughts and put them out there.

No matter how big or small the audience. 

And still to this day, whenever I feel uncomfortable about hitting the publish button I tell myself that no one is going to end up reading it anyway.

This is the exact same thing I think about this post right here.

I just write down whatever I want to.

Because no one is going to read it anyway.

What if no one cares?

I don't care...

11 questions that changed my life

It's easy to credit hard work for everything.

It's important but it's definitely not everything.

Working hard without answering a few key questions will probably never get you anywhere.

Well, I actually don't know about you.

But just showing up over and over again and putting in the work wouldn't have gotten me where I am today.

Wherever that might be...

# WOULD I REGRET IT?

Whenever I'm not sure whether or not I should do something I do the grandpa test. It's essentially about imagining your 80 year old self sitting on a veranda, thinking about your life and the things you did do and the things you didn't do.

And if the thing I'm thinking about doing right now is something my 80 year old self would probably regret if I hadn't done it, then I just do it. No matter the consequences. If I believe that my future self would wonder how my life would have looked like if I did it, I know that I just have to do it. No matter what.

Sure, some of the things don't turn out the way I thought they would. But I always learned something either about myself, about life or other people. And I would never want to miss that. Not to mention the fact that all of my decisions are what got me right here...

# WHAT'S THE WORST CASE SCENARIO?

I always try to picture my worst case scenario. And whenever I do that I realize that my worst case scenario isn't really that bad.

Look. I get it. It's terrifying. And when we imagine our worst case scenarios we usually think about ending up broke on the streets. Being homeless and what not.

But if you think about it and are honest with yourself, most of our worst case scenarios aren't really that bad. Most of them never even happen anyway.

I don't know about you. But for myself, my worst case scenario means that I'd have to move back in with my mom. Or with friends. Or move to a cheaper country. Spend less. Or what not. As I said, it's never really that bad. For most of us. And when you read this, when you spend time reading stuff online, then your worst case scenario is likely in a similar category like mine...

# WHAT IF I'LL NEVER LEARN IT?

When I quit my job back in 2013 I mostly quit that job because I didn't learn any real world skills. I only learned highly strategic stuff. Nothing about tangible real world skills one needs in the 21^st century to be able to build something out of nothing.

So when I quit that job, I got another job where I thought I'd learn tangible and operational skills. Skills like how to do Facebook ads, how to do Twitter, how to do email marketing, copywriting and all of these things that are so essential to be able to build something out of nothing.

After a month at that other job I didn't learn any of these skills. So I wondered what would happen if I never learned any of these skills and instead I'd just be doing strategic work over and over again...

And the answer was very clear.

I would be doing this kind of stuff for the rest of my life and would never learn any of the skills I would need to be able to break free. I would do more and more management work and less and less operational work. To put it short...

I would be an employee and would have to work for someone else for the rest of my life. Which isn't that bad. It just isn't for me...

# HOW MUCH DO I REALLY NEED?

This is a very powerful exercise. Trying to figure out how much you really need in life to survive, to pay the bills and on and on and on.

Turns out, all you need is $500-$600 a month to live in some places. Maybe even less. And when I say you I'm talking about myself. 

I've spent almost the entire year of 2016 in cheap countries and I rarely spent more than $800. Sometimes even as little as $400. And all I had was a carry-on backpack with less than 10kg of stuff with me.

That's all I really need.

Sure, no one has to live like that. It's just what I need. 

And knowing this is a very liberating feeling. Once you know much much or how little you really need the game changes completely.

Because once you know that it's possible to live on such a small budget without having to starve to death, basically everything is possible. Because everyone can work a few jobs here and there, save most of it and then go to a place where it's a hell lot cheaper to build your next big (or small) thing...

[Related: I've lived out of a backpack for more than 7 years. Here's what I've learned]

# WHAT ARE YOUR THREE THINGS?

You only need three things in life to be happy. For me those things are freedom to work on whatever I want to, wherever I want to. I want to eliminate everything that causes unhappiness. And I want my life to be as smooth as possible.

Sure, some people will say that this is not what life is all about. And I agree. But the truth is that you can work toward your three things. You can work toward building the life you want. As long as you're putting in the work. And don't expect it to happen over night.

Following your three (or more) things is the only way you'll ever be able to be the best version of yourself, to help other people, to have an impact or whatever it is that you want to do. You've gotta have as much energy and strength as you possibly can.

You can't achieve anything if you're unhappy, sad, disappointed, stressed out or whatever. The only way you'll ever be able to achieve what you want to achieve is when you are the best version of yourself. Period.

And the only way you'll ever be able to get there is to focus on your three things. Four things. Five thing. Or whatever your number is. But I guess three things are enough...

# WHAT IF NO ONE CARED?

This can be very frustrating. And a reason why a lot of people never really get started. Or give up. Because they fear that no one will care about what they have to say. Which is probably true. 

But you can also use this to your own advantage.

Whenever I write something I say to myself that no one will care. That no one will even notice.

And you know what?

This is probably the only way that anyone will ever notice. Simply because when you write and think that no one will read it, then you will write in your true voice. And say what you really think. Then you will say what most people are too afraid to say.

This is what made me fearless. What helps me to write down my thoughts and put them out there. And still to this day, whenever I feel uncomfortable about hitting the publish button I tell myself that no one is going to end up reading it anyway.

This is the exact same thing I think about this post right here.

I just write down whatever I want to. Because no one is going to read it anyway...

# WHAT IF I HAD NOTHING TO LOSE?

Here's the truth... You don't have anything to lose. At the end of it all you'll be dead. We'll all be dead. No matter what...

Yann Girard: "It's never too late to be who you say you are" I went from entrepreneur to employee. Then to author and blogger. And then back to being an entrepreneur and public speaker. And now I do all of the above at the same time. All while living out of a carry-on backpack with just three outfits in it. And at one point I've decided to I write a book about what I've learned. And today you can get a free copy of it. Click here to claim your copy now (it's free, for now)...

 

# WHAT WILL I LEARN FROM IT?

Whenever I do something I want to learn something. No matter how big or small. Even better, I learn something that I can then apply over and over and over again. The more it pays off in the future, the more I know I have to do it. Even if it takes a hell lot of time, struggle and persistence to learn it. Like writing for example...

# HOW DO OTHERS DO IT?

A lot of people look at big icons for inspiration. To become the way they are. Which is a good starting point. But what we usually see and what the reality really looks like is very distorted.

We only hear about the successes. But not about the dozens of losses people had to go through to get to where they are right now. We get impatient. Want everything right now. Right away. And if we don't get it right away we just give up...

So what I try to do instead of admiring icons is that I look at people who live a life that I don't want to live. And then I try to do the exact opposite of what they've done. Or at least learn from what they've done that got them where they are right now.

It's hard to follow the path of uber successful people. 

And it's a lot easier to not do the things that people did who now live a life you don't want to live...

# WHAT'S THE REAL REASON?

It's easy to blame someone or something for something that didn't work out. But the truth is that it's almost always our own fault. Even if it's not entirely your fault. Even if someone or something you can't control is responsible for the screw up, it's still your fault. After all, you got involved in something that you can not control with someone who you can not control. There's always a lesson. You just gotta be willing to find it...

# WHAT IS IT THAT I REALLY ENJOY DOING?

When I had a job I usually never worked longer than 10 hours a day. Most of the time I worked even less. Still, every time I came home I felt so tired. I wasn't able to do anything. All I was able to do was to watch TV.

And that's when I learned a very important lesson...

Whenever you spend most of your time doing things you don't really want to do it costs you a hell lot of willpower to get it done. A hell lot of energy. It's just super exhausting. It sucks all the energy out of you.

That's why it's so important to do more of the things you enjoy doing. Because those are the things that will give you energy.

When you do things you really enjoy doing time usually flies by and all of a sudden it's 1 am in the morning and you're still not tired.

Sure, it won't happen over night. You won't be able to only do things you enjoy doing right away. 

It's a process. 

And it takes a lot of time.

As a matter of fact, to be able to do the things you really enjoy doing you've gotta do a lot of things you don't really enjoy that much. For quite some time.

Even if it's just to find out what it is that you really enjoy doing...

[Related: I've lived out of a backpack for more than 7 years. Here's what I've learned]

It doesn't matter how you get there...

As long as you never stand still.

At the end of the day no one really cares about how you get there.

Whether you work at a fast food joint to make ends meet for a while.

To help you get things off the ground.

Or clean toilets.

Or deliver pizza. 

Or what not.

It doesn't really matter.

And if it matters to you and you don’t want to do any of those things when the shit hits the fan, then you might maybe not want it badly enough and should do something else entirely…

What I learned self publishing 9 books (is self publishing dead?)

I've self published 9 books over the past four years.

I know.

Self publishing isn't anything special anymore.

Still, I wanted to talk a little bit about my experience.

Simply because you only hear about the people who have a hell lot of success self publishing books.

You never hear about the people who don't have success self publishing books.

And I'm one of them.

I never had any success self publishing any of my books...

# MONEY

The average ebook generates around $300. In total. And this is the average. Not the median. That means that it's probably a lot less. Because the $300 average also includes the bestsellers. So the average is probably around $100. If not less. So when you hire an editor and someone to design your cover you'll basically be losing money. Personally, I make less than $100 with all my self published books a month combined.

# AMAZON

You don't get any organic book sales from Amazon. Simply because there are millions of books on Amazon already. On pretty much every topic out there. That means that no one will magically find out about you or your book on Amazon. Ever. The only sales you'll ever be able to make come from people who already know about you...

# YOU NEED A HUGE AUDIENCE

The only way people will ever end up buying your self published books is when they already know you. When you already have a huge audience. And when I say huge audience I'm not talking about a few thousand or tens of thousands of people. I'm talking about hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. And only when you have that huge of an audience will your initial audience help you to get more exposure on Amazon that might lead to sales from people who don't know you already. If you don't have an audience and don't get a few hundred or thousand sales under your belt through your followers, posting your book on Amazon won't lead to any additional sales.

# BESTSELLER STATUS

Almost all of my books had bestseller status at one point in time. So how come I barely make any money with them? Here's the truth... Everyone gets bestseller status on Amazon. You just need a to sell a few copies. Why? Because Amazon isn't dumb. They know that people will post the tag “Bestseller” status on their Facebook profile or wherever and more people might buy some copies. But at the end of the day bestseller status doesn't mean a damn thing. All you need is a maybe 50-60 sales of a 99 cent ebook and you'll get bestseller status (depending on your category). By the way, most of the time when people post something on Facebook where they say they've reached #1 on Amazon, they've reached #1 in the free category. And not in the paid category...

# 99 CENT EBOOKS

When you sell an ebook for 99 cents on Amazon you only get 35% (above $2.99 you get 70%). That means you'll get something like 35 cents whenever you sell a 99 cents ebook. Which is less than 30 cents after tax. So to be able to make $3000 you'd have to sell 30,000 copies a month. Or something like that. I'm not good at math. Not even the most popular books on Amazon sell that many copies a month. If you can sell 5-10 copies a day you'll already be in the top 50 in most categories. By the way, I'm talking about non fiction books here. I don't know how it looks like for love stories... :)

# LAUNCH

After a launch your sales go completely flat. If you don't promote it consistently, if you don't show up on podcasts with tens of thousands of listeners, if you don't write for huge publications your book sales will basically die. Unless of course you have such a huge audience that grows every single month by a few thousand followers a day. Then it's a whole different story...

# PRICES RACE TO THE BOTTOM

Because there are so many ebooks on Amazon people drop their prices. What happens when people realize they're not able to sell any copies is  that they panic and drop their prices. Or they even offer them for free. That's why almost everybody sells their ebooks for 99 cents. And what happens is that pretty much no one reads those books anymore. Whenever you try to sell a book for more than that, it basically stops working. Well, actually not even selling an ebook for 99 cents really work. Because everybody does it. Unless of course you have an existing audience and people who trust you and know that your stuff is good. Then it's a whole different story.

# EDITOR & COVER

Most people will tell you that you need an editor and a professional cover. I don't believe in that. I never used an editor or someone to design a cover. Maybe that's the reason why most of my books aren't successful. Maybe not. Probably not. But if you want to give it a try, feel free to pay an editor hundreds or thousands of dollars to edit a book that no one is going to read. Again, the most important thing is to have an audience. If you don't have an audience your cover or an editor won't make a difference (of course an editor or a designer will tell you the opposite). And when you have an audience, when people know that your stuff is good, when they know you already they will buy your book. No matter what your cover looks like... or whether or not you've used an editor...

Yann Girard: "This is why no one reads your stuff!" I've put together a book with some of my best advice on writing. Over the past 5 years I've written more than 1000 blog posts, published 10 books and more than 3 million people from all over the world read my stuff. This book contains everything I've ever learned about writing (and self publishing). You can get your free copy here.  If you want to improve your writing skills or want to get started writing online, this is for you. Click here to claim your copy now (it's free, for now)...

 

# BOOK PROMOTION

It's so crazy that there are even websites out there that charge you to promote your 99 cents ebook to other people so that you might maybe finally be able to sell a few of your 99 cent ebooks. Book discovery through Amazon is dead. Just like book discovery through 99 cents ebook promotion platforms is pretty much dead...

# THE TOP 0.1%

So how come some people are able to sell thousands if not tens of thousands of ebooks for $10 or more? Well, it's very simple. Those are the folks who already have a huge audience. And they have an audience of people who trust them and know that their stuff is good. So they're willing to pay the price. On the other hand if no one really knows who you are, it's just really, really hard to write an ebook and position yourself just with that ebook in the top 0.1%. Sure, every once in a while one out of a million pulls it off. But for most of us it's just not going to happen.

# BUILDING YOUR BRAND

A lot of people tell you that you should write a book to build your brand. I think this is complete B.S. Simply because an ebook will only help your brand when you already have a brand. When you already have a huge audience. When you're already giving talks on stage. When you have fans. And a proper business. But leveraging a 99 cents self published ebook if that's your biggest achievement so far just doesn't work anymore (if it ever really worked). Because everybody out there does is...

Alright. So that's it for today.

Again, this is just my own personal experience and opinion.

I'm sure there are dozens of other people who will tell you the exact opposite.

Which is cool. 

Just make sure you know their agenda. 

I also don't want to discourage anyone.

If you feel like writing a book, write a book.

If you feel like you have a book deep down inside of you, get it out there.

You have to get it out there. 

But don't expect too much. 

Especially not financially...

So is self publishing dead?

I don't know.

Probably not. 

But it's always good to know the game, its rules and its players before you start playing the game...

So why did I even write 9 books if it doesn't work for me and I don't make any money with it?

I don't know.

Maybe because I just like to write.

Or maybe so that one day I could write this post right here and you could hear from someone who isn't crushing it with self published ebooks...

How to Live an Amazing Life in the 21st Century

I don't know how to live an amazing life in the 21^st century.

I only know how I live my life in the 21^st century.

So you can do whatever you want to.

But over the years I've developed a few principles I try to live by.

And to have them all in one place I decided to write them down.

Will they help you?

Maybe they will.

Maybe they won't.

Who knows?

It's the stuff that helps me every single day. Ok, maybe every second day..

# WHAT'S THE REAL STORY?

Sometimes it's really hard to see underneath all the layers and masks that people wear. To protect themselves. And their values and experiences. It's really hard to understand why people do the things they do. Why they behave the way they behave.

And most of the time there's an easy answer to that question which usually boils down to this...

they're crazy, ignorant, racists, dumb, stupid or what not.

But then there's another answer.

An answer that's a lot more complex.

An answer that involves people's pasts. People's futures. People's experiences. People's feelings. Struggles. Hardship. And emotions.

And when you try to take all of the shit into account that almost all of us had to go through at one point in our lives, then a lot of the things that don't really make a lot of sense start to somehow make sense...

# FREEDOM

Everything I do, I try to make sure that it helps me to move the needle one step closer to freedom. Freedom to do what I want to. Freedom to live wherever I want to live. Financial freedom. And most importantly freedom in my head... 

# INVESTMENTS

First and foremost I try to invest in myself. I give myself some time to experiment. To figure out what works and what doesn't. And to learn new skills. All of this takes a hell lot of time. And I see it as an investment in myself. Because at the end of the day, you are your most valuable asset. As a matter of fact you're probably the only asset you have. So treat it like gold. Treat yourself like gold...

# DONE IS BEST

It doesn't really matter to be the best of the best. What matters is that you put yourself out there. No matter if it's perfect or not. As a matter of fact, perfectionism will only hold you back and get you nowhere.

# YOU FIRST

The only way to help people is to help yourself first. Just like the only way to really love someone is to be able to love yourself first. Because only when you're the strongest, the most confident and best version of yourself will you be ale to help others to develop the same inner strength. If you're feeling sick and broke inside and outside you won't be able to help anyone. Help yourself first...

# EVERYBODY IS STRUGGLING

Most people are struggling just like you do. As a matter of fact, most people are probably struggling a lot more than you do. Keep that in mind. Always. Whenever you meet someone new. Whenever you meet anyone as a matter of fact...

# "I CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS"

I challenge you to prove it. It's easy to say that you can do better than this. That you can do more than your job. That you're special. That you have more potential than this. That you're able to leave a dent in the universe. And change the world. If you think you can do better than what you have or do right now, I challenge you to prove it. And if you can't prove it, if you don't go out there and do shit, well then you might not be so special after all... 

# QUANTITY LEADS TO QUALITY

It's easy to say you're not good enough. That you're not an expert. That you're not experienced enough. And you know what that is? It's an excuse for not trying. For not putting in the work. The only way you'll ever become better, an expert or what not is to do it over and over again. That's the only way. Everything else is just an excuse. Everybody starts from the bottom. And we all have to work our way to the top...

# CUTTING CORNERS

I've tried to cut corners so many times. And it never worked. And the truth is that you can't cut corners if you don't even have a piece of paper yet. You've gotta spend time creating that piece of paper first. You've gotta build your foundation first. You've gotta build an audience first. You've gotta build trust first. And you've gotta put in the work. No matter what...

# MY THREE WHYs

Everything I do, every decision I make, I'm checking whether or not it's aligned with my three whys. If it's not aligned with my three whys or don't get me closer to one of the three whys, then I just don't do it. No matter how much or how little money is involved...

# WE'RE TALKING ABOUT YEARS

You've gotta show up longer and more often than most people feel comfortable with. That's the only way people will realize that you even exist. Everybody can create and post one piece of content every week. But that's not how you stand out. The way you stand out is to put out more stuff than everybody else. And not just for a few days, weeks or months. We're talking about years here...

# I DESERVE MORE

If you feel that you deserve better that this, that you deserve a better job, a better life or what not, you've gotta get out there and make it better. You've gotta start working towards it. No one will hand you a pot of magic beans that will save you. Ever. That's just not the way it works. You're the only one able to save you. You are your magic beans...

#SAY "NO"

Say no to the things you don't want to do. I know. This doesn't work over night. You can't say “no” to each and everyone starting tomorrow. It's a process. It's a process of building your life in a way that you're able to say “no” more often.

# SAY "YES"

At the same time I try to say “yes” more often to the things I really want to do. Sometimes it's hard. Because of many other obligations. Maybe you have a family, a mortgage, a job or what not. It's the same like saying “no”. It doesn't work over night. It's a process that takes time. And it starts today. It starts with you working towards being able to say “yes” more often to the things you really want to do. The things you enjoy doing...

Exclusive Content: Where can I send your free book? I lived out of a backpack for more than 7 years... I worked, lived and traveled all over the world with a carry-on backpack with just 3 outfits in it. The most valuable thing I own is a $300 laptop. I never had a place of my own. I never bought any furniture in my life. And at one point I decided to I write a book about what I've learned. And today you can get a free copy of it. Click here to claim your copy now (it's free, for now)...

 

# ONE IS BETTER THAN NONE

It doesn't really matter how many people watch or read your stuff. Or how many people listen to the things you say. As long as there's one person who cares about what you do, you shouldn't stop. Even if that person is you. Because when you care about the things you do, others will follow. Sooner or later. In most cases rather later than sooner. And most people give up before anyone even notices...

# DAILY FAILURE

I try to fail every day. Or at least to expose myself to failure. And I try it to be something I really care about. For example my blog posts. Putting out short content every single day feels like a failure. Simply because I want to put out longer content. But sometimes I just don't have the time. Or don't feel like it. And sometimes I even put out stuff that I feel could be a lot better. But I ship it nonetheless. It feels like failure. Every single day...

# DIVERSIFICATION

I try to diversify as much as I can. To spread my risk. Being an entrepreneur isn't about taking a lot of risk. It's about spreading your risk across multiple projects and across multiple streams of income. So in case one thing stops working you have a few others to quickly replace it. Focusing on just one thing these days is what's really risky. After all, the world changes so fast that the thing that work today might not work anymore tomorrow. The job you do today might not exist anymore tomorrow. I'm not saying that you should quit your job. But you've gotta work on multiple things at the same time. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your family...

#SACRIFICE

The more you're willing to sacrifice, the more you're able to win. The less time you spend drinking with your friends, going out for fancy dinners, watching Netflix or what not, the more time you have to work on the things you really care about. The more time you have to build the life you want to live...

Alright. I guess that's it for today.

But I guess one of the most important things to understand is this...

Advice is abundant.

Blogs are abundant.

Information is abundant.

Books are abundant.

Opportunities are abundant.

Everything is abundant.

It’s the willingness to put it into action and to put in the work that’s scarce…

This is what's scarce...

Advice is abundant.

Blogs are abundant.

Information is abundant.

Books are abundant.

Online courses are abundant.

Opportunities are abundant.

Everything is abundant.

It's the willingness to put it into action and to put in the work that's scarce...

A better question

You can basically ask every question in two ways.

You can either ask yourself "will this work for me?" or you can ask yourself "how can I make this work for me?"

They both sound very similar.

But they're the complete opposite.

The first one lets you off the hook.

You don't have to think.

Or put in the work.

You'll just wait for things to happen.

You'll wait for people to convince you that it'll work for you.

So nothing is ever going to happen.

Nothing is ever going to change.

On the other hand, the second question puts the whole weight on you.

You've gotta think.

And you've gotta put in the work.

And you'll be the one who has to make things happen.

Choose your question...

So how do you..?

So how do you become a thought leader?

Well, by putting your thoughts out there.

So how do you become a prolific writer?

Well, by writing as much and as often as you can.

So how do you become a nice person?

Well, by being nice to other people. 

So how do you [replace with whatever you want to do]?

Well, probably by actually doing it.

I know. 

It sounds so simple.

But the truth is that we rarely do it.

And instead we just think about it, dream about it and never do any of the things we really want to do.

But thinking, planning, dreaming is rarely the way.

Doing is the way.

The only way...

You've gotta get your short game right

And the only way to get your short game right is to understand your long game.

The long game is that you'll never make it out alive.

That one day you'll be gone.

No matter what.

And that pretty much puts everything into perspective.

It'll help you to prioritize your short game.

When you know and really understand that and not just with your head but also with your heart that you're going to die one day, you'll realize what matters and what doesn't.

You'll be able to prioritize your short game.

But that's also the part where it gets tricky.

Because if you're aware and really internalize that you'll be dead one day you're risking to rush through things just to tick boxes.

But the truth is that everything worth doing takes patience.

A hell lot of patience.

And time.

And energy.

Which in itself makes it even harder to prioritize and get your short game right.

Because sometimes to get the long game right you've gotta put in the work and maybe work 16 hours a day for a few years like no one else ever would, so you can live the rest of your life like no one else ever could.

And sometimes it's about having to eat dirt for a while to get your long game right. To get to where you want to be. Where you have to be.

Or you've gotta make space and time for your parents who won't be here forever at the expense of something that in the short game seems more important.

Or you've gotta reject that super lucrative job offer because it would distract you from your long game and would only take away your focus from what's really important to you.

When you look at the long game, most things don't really matter.

In the long game only a very small number of things matter.

So the only way to get your long game right, whatever your long game is, is to play your short game in a way that every single decision you make will get you closer to achieving your long game.

And ironically that might mean that you have to sacrifice a lot in your short game.

Like not going out for fancy dinners with your friends.

Or going to the club.

Or the bar.

Or buying expensive stuff you don't need.

Or traveling.

Or what not.

Even though you might be dead tomorrow.

So what happens if one day it's really over?

I don't know.

But I feel like working toward your long game, working toward the things that are really important to you and at least having been on the right path without doing a lot of short game nonsense is what will ultimately give you the feeling of having done the right stuff.

Whatever the right stuff is for you. 

And when I say “you” what I really mean is “I”...

The only way

The only way to figure out whether people will read your stuff is to put it out there so people can read it.

The only way to figure out whether people will buy your product is to put it out there and see if people buy it.

The only way to figure out whether you're a good designer is to design stuff and put it out there for people to see.

The same holds true for making music, creating art, playing an instrument and pretty much everything else.

The only way to figure out whether something is worth pursuing is to do it and to put it out there into the world.

Let the people decide.

And not the voices inside your head...

Be the source

The source can outside its main risk.

Like that teacher who outsources her risk to the students.

She doesn't have to make a living applying the things she teaches.

Her students have to.

She's the source...

Or like that gal who manufactures tuk tuks.

She outsources her risk to the tuk tuk drivers.

She doesn't have to make a living driving people around in tuk tuks.

The tuk tuk drivers have to.

She's the source...

Here's what's even better than just being the source...

Be the source that enables people to have a better life.

That enables people to make a living.

Then you'll basically never run out of customers.

Without ever really having to be out there hustling on the streets.

So whenever you get the chance to be the source, try be the source...

You know what Amazon, Udemy, Skillshare, Fiverr, Uber, Alibaba, AirBnB, Ebay, Instagram and on and on and on all have in common?

They are all the source.

They enable(d) people to make a living.

Try to become the source...

Staying ahead of the curve

The first thing to do when you want to stay ahead of the curve is that you have to understand that there never really has been a curve in the first place.

The curve is for people and organizations comparing themselves to other people and organizations.

And when you do that, when you focus on what everybody else is doing, then you'll always end up doing what everybody else is doing.

And when you do what everybody else is doing you'll never be able to stay ahead of the curve.

The only way to stay ahead of the curve is to create your own curve...

Here's the truth...

When I published my first blog post in 2013 I was a complete nobody.

No one had ever heard my name before.

And before I hit that publish button for the first time, all I really was, was someone who constantly got Ds, Es and the occasional Fs on his essays in high school.

I was far away from being an expert.

Or a good writer. 

I didn't have any qualifications whatsoever. 

And the only people who saw my first dozens or so blog posts were my friends on Facebook.

I posted all of my updates inside of Facebook.

Back then I didn't even know how to create my own blog.

Now fast forward 700+ blog posts, millions of people have read some of my stuff online.

Look. I get it.

It's easy to think that everybody you're following or admiring started the way they are today.

It's easy to forget that everybody who's now on top also started from the bottom.

We all have to work our way to the top.

We all start from the bottom.

There's no other way.

Here's the truth...

We all suck when we start.

It's all a process.

It's a process that requires constant work.

And if you're not willing to put in the work, nothing is ever going to change.

And I know what I'm talking about.

I've seen some of my essays I wrote in high school just a few years ago.

And they were just horrible.

Horrible...

I deserved every single D, E or F I ever got.

Let me tell you this...

The only way to quality is quantity.

No matter what it is that you're trying to do.

Or trying to achieve.

If you're saying you're not good enough, that's an excuse.

If you're saying you're not talented, that's an excuse.

It's all just excuses for not trying hard enough.

If you're saying to yourself that you won't make it, you won't make it.

Because you won't be putting in the work.

Again, the more you put out there, the more often you do your thing, the better you'll get.

It's that simple.

But it takes time.

A lot of time

And patience.

So you might as well get started today.

And get better at it while no one watches...

 

The long game vs. the short game

The short game is when you write a book, put it on Amazon and expect people who've never heard of you to buy it.

Or when you make an online course and put it on Udemy.

Or Skillshare.

But the problem is that millions of other people do the exact same thing.

Millions of other people put their stuff on Amazon, Udemy or Skillshare [replace with any other platform out there, like Elance, Fiverr, etc].

And when you put your stuff on some of these platforms you'll be competing with everybody else who's competing with everybody else. 

You'll be competing with everybody else who's playing the short game.

So what happens when you're in such a tough competition?

You'll end up losing.

In 99.99% of the cases.

And that's exactly what's happening on all of these platforms where everybody else is competing with everybody else.

Prices go down.

They go so low that you'll end up making $3-4 on each sale of an online course you put on Udemy.

Or even less on a platform like Skillshare that's based on streaming and a winner takes it all model.

Or 30cents when you sell your ebook on Amazon for 99cents.

That's the short game.

The short game is about skipping all of the hard stuff.

It's about putting your stuff out there and hoping that some people will find out about you.

But they never will.

The short game is for lazy people.

For people who don't want to do the hard stuff.

Like building an audience.

Or learning the tools out there.

Or marketing.

Or sales.

Or building up trust.

Or showing up over and over again

Or engaging with people.

And on and on and on.

It's for people with excuses.

The short game is a game you can't possibly win.

You can play it but it's very unlikely you're going to win.

Because you're competing with millions of other people where only the top 0.01% will make it.

So how do I know?

I've played the short game more often that I'd like to admit...

And it never worked out.

Just like it never worked out for millions of other people out there.

On the other hand there's also the long game.

The long game is where you're doing what most people will never do.

Things like building an audience.

Or learning the tools out there.

Or marketing.

Or sales.

Or building up trust.

Or showing up over and over again.

You know.

All of that stuff that's super annoying.

And exhausting.

The stuff that takes a hell lot of time.

And that's the difference between being able to sell thousands of ebooks for $15 and being able to sell just a few copies for 99 cents.

That's the difference between being able to sell hundreds of online courses for thousands of dollars and being able to sell just a few courses for just a few bucks.

That's the difference between getting clients who pay you more than enough and getting clients who pay you just about enough to survive.

That's the difference between Seth Godin, Gary Vee, Tim Ferriss, James Altucher et. al. and everybody else...

That's the difference between playing the short game vs. the long game.

Which game are you playing?

 

What's the difference?

Why are some people able to sell thousands of ebooks for $15 while others are struggling to sell just a few copies for 99 cents?

Why are some people selling online courses for hundreds of dollars while others are struggling to sell courses for just $10?

Why are some people able to write articles that are just a few sentences long that get thousands of views while other people are getting just a few views on their well researched articles?

At first these things don't seem to be related.

But they are.

In all of these cases it's about building your foundation first.

As a matter of fact that's what it's all about in everything.

If you don't build your foundation first, you'll never be able to build the rest of the house.

If you don't work on building your foundation, you'll never be able to sell $15 ebooks.

You'll never be able to sell hundred dollar online courses.

Or get thousands of views.

Or what not.

So what's the foundation?

All the hard stuff.

The stuff we tend to skip.

The uncomfortable stuff.

The stuff there's no shortcut for.

Like building an audience.

Or building up trust.

Or showing up over and over again.

Or engaging with your audience.

Or learning the tools.

That's what makes the difference.

And nothing else...

 

Don't wait...

Don't wait for the government to save you.

For that secret lover to save you.

For that promotion to save you.

For that big deal to save you.

For your friends to save you.

For the economy to save you.

For luck to save you.

For that new job to save you.

For the stock market to save you.

For retirement to save you.

Or anything else.

Because you'll end up waiting your life away.

So instead, just go out there, do stuff and start saving yourself...

How to get an MBA in 10 minutes

I don't have an MBA.

Nor do I know what an MBA curriculum really looks like.

Which, of course makes me perfectly qualified to write this post...

I also just used this title because I thought more people would click on it.

When I started writing this I called it “100 things I didn't learn in business school.”

But I got too lazy writing all of these things down.

Either way...

I studied business for five years.

Well, maybe even more.

I don't really remember.

Give or take a year or two.

I'm not saying this to brag about it.

I'm even a bit ashamed that it took me so long.

I was just really, really slow.

And because you don't have to pay tuition in Germany I wasn't really in a rush to graduate.

I was constantly working jobs on the side.

I never really went to any classes.

I just studied the material at home.

At one point I even had two jobs at the same time.

And then I tried to build and grow a business in China.

Which was a a huge failure.

But that's another story.

So what did I learn during those five years?

I don't know.

I really don't know.

But I still passed all the exams.

And the first time I went out there into the real world I realized that I didn't learn a hell lot of things that I probably should have learned.

Things you just don't learn in class.

Things you can probably only learn out there in the fields.

By the way I'm not bashing any business schools. Or universities in general.

I just felt like writing down all of the things that I haven't learned back then, that I had to learn the hard way, which are pretty damn important these days.

Also, I'm very grateful that I had the opportunity to go to university.

That I was born in a country where you can get a world class education basically for free.

Whatever it is that you do with it.

An opportunity that not a lot of people get these days.

Even though I don't really remember anything I've learned during those five years or use any of these things today.

I'm grateful nonetheless.

Because if I didn't go to university, I would never have ended up in China.

And if I never ended up in China, I would never have started a clothing company.

And if I never ended up in China, I would probably never have started writing.

And then you would probably not be reading this post right here or anything else I ever wrote.

Now whether or not that's a good thing is not up for me to judge.

That being said, nothing I do today has anything to do with the things I've learned during those five years...

# YOU GET A DEGREE TO GET A JOB

And not to build a business. When you study business you learn how to become an employee. And not how you build a business. Nothing wrong with that. But I'm not sure if a lot of people are really aware of that. I don't even think you really learn how to manage an already running business. So what do you learn? The theory. And nothing else....

# THEORY ISN'T THE REAL WORLD

When you're out there and you're trying to make business with Chinese factory owners or anyone else as a matter of fact or when you're trying to sell your stuff online none of the theories will hold true. When two human beings (or one human being and a company) interact with one another there are so many things you have to take into account. The other person's past, good and bad experiences, culture, emotions, available budget, time, what's going on in their families and on and on and on. Everything. Just like someone a lot smarter than me once said: “human beings aren't rational.” So why is that? Because of all of the above...

Yann Girard: "You need these 14 micro skills to survive the 21st century!" The world is changing. Faster than ever before. What worked yesterday might not work anymore tomorrow. But some things will always work. No matter how many robots are out there. Or how many algorithms are replacing our jobs. Learn these 14 micro skills and you'll never have to worry about your future ever again (of course it isn't that easy, but it's a great start.)  You can download a free report where I discuss these skills below. Click here to claim your copy now (it's free, for now)...

 

# CREATING SOMETHING

I didn't learn how to create something out of nothing. All I learned were some crazy abstract models for hypothetical businesses that only exist on paper. But was I able to create anything? No, not at all. And this is probably the most critical skill in the 21^st century. Creating something out of nothing. But not just how to create something. But how to create something the market wants and is willing to pay money for. The world doesn't need more managers. The world needs people who are able to build something out of nothing. With nothing...

# DVERSIFYING YOUR RISK

All I learned was to get a good education, then get a good job and then I should just keep looking for opportunities where I could work for someone else for the rest of my life and all will be good. But that's a pretty risky bet. If you put all of your eggs into one basket and that basket breaks, you're pretty much screwed. You'll be too inbred. Or too old. Or what not. What do you do then? Jobs are disappearing and the world is changing. Maybe jobs will come back. But it'll be totally different jobs. Very different jobs. And one of the riskiest thing you can do in life, especially when you have a family and kids and maybe even a mortgage is to bet on one single thing. Even worse, when it's something you can't really control. You don't decide about the future of your job or career. Your boss does. And his boss. And then her boss. And if you're very unlucky, the shareholders...

# DIY

Marketing? We'll pay someone to do it. Sales? We'll hire someone to do it. Strategy? We'll hire someone to do it. Designer? We'll hire someone to do that. Looks good on the paper. But what do you do when you don't have a budget? When you don't have investors? When sales don't come in and you can't pay anyone to do it? Well, here's what you'll have to do. You'll have to learn how to do all of these things yourself. And co founders who are willing to learn all of these things. Over the past couple of years I taught myself how to screenprint t-shirts. How to use a sewing machine. How to use illustrator. How do edit videos. How to do Wordpress websites. How to do email marketing. How to do copywriting. How to create sales funnels. And on and on and on. And nothing I do today has anything to do with the things I learned during those 5 years.

# RAISING MONEY IS DEBT

The only thing I learned is that when you have an idea that you think is good (whether or not that's really the case), you write a business plan, you raise money and that's it. You're good for life. Putting aside that this concept doesn't work anymore, raising money from other people is debt. That's all it really is. And it's never a good idea to borrow money from someone for a project that doesn't even have any real world market validation yet. Like people transferring money to your bank account. It's never a good idea to take money from someone who wants a 10x return on their investment. Or sometimes even 100x...

# CREATIVITY

I didn't learn anything about creativity. How to come up with ideas. And even more importantly how to put them out there into the world. How to make them spread. How to come up with even more ideas to execute the initial idea. How to go from zero to one. And then, how to go from 1 to 100. And then how to go from 100 to 1000. And on and on and on.

# AFFILIATE MARKETING

I've never heard of affiliate marketing during my studies. Still, that's how most websites out there are making money these days. They get a cut from everything you buy on their site. When you book a flight on that flight search website, that website gets a cut from the airline. When you book a hotel on that hotel booking website, that website gets a cut from every hotel booking you make. This is such an important concept in today's world. Still, I had never heard anything about this in business school...

# FAILURE

If you're among some of the lucky ones like me who failed a few exams you sort of get a feeling of how to deal with failure. But that's nothing compared to what's going to happen in the real world.  When your project totally fails. When you have to shutdown that business. Or when your life seems to be falling apart.

# BUILDING YOUR BRAND

This is probably one of the most important things. Just like every other thing on this list. And when I say building your brand I don't mean creating a CV with tons and tons of nice sounding names on it. No, what I'm talking about here is how do you get people to know you even BEFORE you send them your CV...

# DIVERSIFYING YOUR INCOME STREAMS

I didn't learn anything about the concept of multiple streams of income. I haven't even heard of it. But I think it's such a critical concept to make people understand as early as possible. It's a very simple concept. The more things you start working on early in your life, the more things will work out. And the more things that work out, the less dependent you'll be on one income stream only. Sure, it takes a lot of time. And it's a lot harder than simply applying for a few jobs. And getting a new job once that old one is gone. But it really is the only way to diversify and spread your risk.

# BLENDING IN

I've learned how to pass tests by putting in insane amounts of information into my brain that I haven't even used just once over the past 6 years since I graduated. Things that I forgot the second I left that exam room. But what I didn't learn is how to stand out. How to not compete with billions of other people out there who are putting the same exact same information into their brains.

# COPYWRITING

I didn't even know what this was when I graduated from university. But I realized that this can be the difference between selling a product for $100 instead of $10. It all comes to this. And nothing else...

[Related: The 14 Micro Skills You Need To Survive In The 21st Century]

# FREEDOM

Being an entrepreneur or starting your own business isn't about freedom. As a matter of fact it's the complete opposite. When you work a job you have a boss. And then your boss has a boss. And on and on and on. And no one really knows where that money comes from that pays your salary. And no one really cares about your salary. Because they're not paying you out of their own pockets. It's magic company money. It's just there. On the other hand, when you take money from an angel investor, from a VC or from your customer you usually take their own money. And they care a lot about their hard earned dollars. So instead of having a boss who doesn't give you his own money, you'll replace it with money from people who will give you their own hard earned dollars. And that's a totally different story...

# REAL WORLD MAKETING

I didn't learn anything about how to build something from scratch without having a budget for marketing. When you have to hustle. When there's no one who's funding your marketing. When all you can do is to put out your work. I never heard about the concept of content marketing before. The type of marketing that doesn't need a single cent, but it's probably the most effective way of creating something out of nothing. It's probably the most effective way of marketing anything these days...

# GETTING PEOPLE'S ATTENTION

You don't learn how to get people's attention. If I wrote 22 things I didn't learn at business school, you would probably have skipped it. So I just wrote down whatever I wanted to. To make it sound more appealing. And that's how you get people's attention. Which brings me to the next point...

# YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO

It doesn't really matter whether or not someone has ever done this before. Whether or not this is right or wrong. Whether or not that's not the way things are done here. As long as you do stuff that no one else is doing, as long as you try to create your own rules (without breaking the law), you can do whatever the f*ck you want.

# HOW TO TURN A "NO" INTO A "YES"

You'll get plenty of “Nos.” As a matter of fact, it'll probably be 99 “Nos” for a single “Yes.” And the only way to tun a no into a yes is to stop asking people for permission. And instead do it on your own. Don't ask for people to write on their blogs. Start your own instead. Don't ask people if you can work for them. Work for yourself instead. And one day people will come to you and ask you to work with them. True story. I've seen it myself over and over again...

# SALES

I didn't learn a damn thing about sales. How to sell a real human being something that I've created. Sure, when you're an employee you don't really need to do that. You just create a product that your marketing and sales guys will then try to sell to already existing customers. But how do you sell stuff if you're starting from scratch with no customer base and without a big brand name or any budget? That's the real challenge these days. Everybody can create stuff. But selling is a whole different story. No one ever told me that.

# FOCUS

You have to focus. Otherwise you'll never make it. That's what they say. But how the hell do you know what to focus on? How the hell do you know what works and what doesn't? Well, you have to unfocus first. You have to get out there on the market and figure out what works and what doesn't. Do as many different things as possible until you find that one thing. And once you know what really works, once you've found that one thing, then you can start focusing...

# BUILDING AN AUDIENCE

When you don't have an audience, when no one knows who the hell you are, when no one trusts you, when no one knows your brand, well then the truth is that no one is going to buy anything from you. The most critical thing these days is to know how to create and build demand in the real world. How to create an audience. A community. But it's probably also the toughest thing out there. You have to build a community before you build a solution. That's the only way you'll know what people are really struggling with. I didn't learn anything about that...

# PLANS ARE USELESS

All plans are based on assumptions. And nothing else. They don't have anything to do with the real world. The only thing that has anything to do with the real world is to get out there and see what the market does with your ideas, products, services or what not. Plans are fake progress. Doing is real progress...

# CASH IS KING

Sometimes I dream about the days where I had a paycheck coming in at the end of each month. This is real freedom. You never hear about the years and years of struggle. All you hear about is those folks who've built multi billion dollar companies. But you never hear about the ones who don't make it. You never hear about the dozens of times people failed before they got to where they are right now.

# EXECUTION

Strategies are a dime a dozen. But what really matters is the implementation. The execution. How you make things happen. And when all you've got is a strategy without being able to implement it and execute it, well then that strategy is pretty much useless.

# NOTHING IS PROVEN

Until the market says so...

Alright. I think I wrote more than enough.

And I can think of hundreds of more things that I didn't learn.

But I guess you get the deal...

The most important thing to realize though is that you don't learn how to build a business from scratch or how to build something out of nothing when you go to business school. Or any other program as a matter of fact.

You don't learn the skills.

And the only way you'll ever be able to learn all of  these things is to put yourself out there, to start doing, to experiment, to figure out what works and what doesn't.  

You can only learn these things by doing.

There really is no other way...

 [Related: The 14 Micro Skills You Need To Survive In The 21st Century]

It's easy to daydream.

About that life you want to live.

About that job you want to get.

About that business you want to build.

About that book you want to write.

What's a lot harder is to get out there and figure out what steps to take.

Step one. Step two. Step three. And on and on and on.

And you can only figure out your steps when you go out there.

When you do stuff.

Because everything else is just a plan.

But a plan that has never been put into action is just that.

It's a piece of paper full of assumptions.

And when you go out there and do things you'll realize that all of your steps were wrong.

Which is ok.

As long as you don't forget about...

… that life you want to live.

… that job you want to get.

… that business you want to build.

… or that book you want to write.

It's easy to get lost in the details.

And so much harder to remember why you're really doing what you're doing...

 

Likes = Sales ?

Maybe you know this…

I've tried everything..

But still no sales.

No followers.

No clients.

No likes

No comments.

No nothing.

So how long have you tried?

A month or so...

Change of perspective

So today I did a little experiment.

I wanted to see what happens to me and my body if I don't eat.

And it might have been one of the most interesting experiments I've done in a long time.

What astonished me the most was that I was constantly thinking about food. 

I wasn't really feeling hungry. 

My body was totally ok.

But my brain was constantly filled with thoughts about food.

It was so much that I couldn't focus on getting anything done.

It was like my brain was on autopilot. 

It seemed like my brain wanted to do anything it could to get some food into my system.

Even if I didn't really need it.

I wasn't able to focus on anything else. 

The only thing I was able to do today was to write this right here and a call.

I know. 

It's crazy.

It was less than 24 hours.

I can't even imagine how it would be like after a few days.

Or in real life.

Absolutely impossible.

Even though we might be aware of it consciously, experiencing it, even it’s just an experiment is a whole different level.

And it’s scary. 

And it showed me, again, even if it was just an experiment and I’m not struggling with anything, that if you can’t solve your food problems you will never be able to solve any other problems.

Which in itself makes it almost impossible to solve that problem…

What do you think?

P.S. Don't try this at home...