yann girard - rethinking the now

I might be the laziest person alive

But luckily there are so many things out there that I want to do that at one point the list gets so big and the weight on my shoulders for doing none of it gets so heavy that I just gotta do something.

As a matter of fact, I want to do so many different things that I even started a subscription a while ago where I build all sorts of different projects totally from scratch for a few months and people can follow along and even replicate the stuff I do.

That way I'm not only forced to get over my laziness but I also gotta focus on one thing for a few months.

Something I've been struggling with over and over again in the past.

Another cool thing is that I'm also accountable to the subscribers.

I gotta show results.

Sooner or later.

Better sooner rather than later.

Even though I still struggle quite a bit with the sooner part.

But I'm getting there.

Sooner or later....

Here's the thing...

Deep down we're all lazy.

And I guess at the end of the day it's all about finding clever ways to fight your lazy alter ego that constantly tries to suck all the energy out of you.

So how do you fight your lazy alter ego?

I don't know.

But I just showed you how I do it.

How I managed to write 8 books.

More than 800 blog posts.

Gave more than 30 or so talks at all sorts of events and conferences.

How I built (and shutdown) multiple side businesses.

Lived and traveled to I don't know how many countries.

And a few other things.

I know that my clock is ticking.

And so is yours...

Will this work for you?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But probably not.

It's worth a try though.

Make that list.

Write down all of the things you want to do.

The things you want to build.

The things you want to create.

And then put that thing in your pocket.

And carry it around with you wherever you go.

And see what happens.

So what could happen?

Everything.

And nothing...

Three types of clients

There are three types of clients out there.

Not more.

Not less.

Just three.

Ok, I just made that up.

Maybe there are more.

Maybe less.

Either way.

So the first group of clients consists of people who know your value, what your work is all about and are willing to pay what you're worth.

Unfortunately, these are the kinds of clients you're rarely going to meet.

Unless you're already famous in your field, a rock star and have a pretty strong brand.

And then you have a second group of clients who know your worth, what your work is all about but are not willing to pay what you're worth.

It's almost never a good idea to start arguing with those clients.

Or to start working with them.

They're almost never worth the hassle.

They have millions of special requests.

And if you agree to work with them on their terms (because you'll never be able to convince them to work on your terms) all of these special requests will annoy you even more because you already feel like you got a bad deal.

And then you have the third type of clients.

This is the type of clients you'll probably encounter the most.

Especially when you're just starting out and don't have a strong network yet.

The third group of clients consists of people who have no clue about what you're worth, what your work is all about and why your price seems too high.

Those will be most of your clients.

And he only thing these people know about the project is the end result they want.

And that's already about it.

They don't know a lot about all the steps involved.

They basically don't know anything about it.

As these will probably be most of your clients it's important to understand that you'd have to educate them about the work you'd have to put in.

The different steps involved.

The time involved.

Pretty much everything.

Also why the price for your work might seem so much higher than everything else they saw online.

For example for most people a book cover from Fiverr is the same thing like a book cover from a professional designer.

I'm not talking about the artistic value.

I'm just talking about the end result.

So why pay $500 for a cover instead of $5?

What's the difference?

Well, a book cover for $5 is usually made out of a simple template.

Or a simple copy of an already existing cover.

The work will maybe take half an hour.

Or maybe one hour max.

That's why it's only $5.

But if you tell a professional designer to create your book cover she will probably read your book.

Or ask you millions of questions about it.

To come up with a completely unique and new design.

And in most cases not just one.

But probably many different ones.

Totally different ones.

Which will then be narrowed down and fine tuned together with the client.

The work will probably take an entire week.

Or maybe even two.

And you know what?

Most people have no clue about these things before hiring you.

They just see the end result.

A book cover.

And the $5.

Or the $500.

So it's up to you to educate them about it.

About the different work that goes into creating a $500 cover and a $5 cover.

And what they're going to get for each price.

And if they want a $5 cover that's good also.

Tell them where they can get it.

Recommend them people who can do it for them. 

This will do two things...

They won't remember you as the guy who to tried to rip them off with a seemingly overpriced prices.

And instead they will remember you as the guy who educated them.

Who helped them to understand things better.

Who then pointed them to the right offer.

Even if it wasn't your offer.

And guess who they're going to recommend next time anyone in their network is looking for a professional designer?

Guess who they're going to call when they need a professional book cover for their next book, or design, or app, or website or whatnot? 

Right.

They're going to recommend you.

They're going to call you.

Because you helped them.

Educated them.

And pointed them to the right offer.

And that's how you build your brand.

Your reputation.

And your network.

That's how you go from type 2 and type 3 customers to type 1 customers.

To customers who know your worth and are willing to pay what you're worth...

You become...

You become a good boyfriend by being a bad boyfriend first.

You become a good writer by being a bad writer first.

You become a good driver by being a bad driver first.

You become good by being bad first.

It's hard to be good at anything in life right away.

Not to say impossible.

It all takes practice.

And patience.

Patience with yourself.

If you think you're not talented enough, that you're not good enough, remember that no one ever was.

Remember that we all started from a position of "I'm not good enough."

Be patient.

With yourself.

Keep practicing.

And keep putting in the work...

Starting small

Don't try to build that super complicated solution when you have no clue about the mechanics, tools and processes you need to be able to sell that thing.

Start small instead.

A lot of people (including myself) sometimes get jealous of the people who make millions with the simplest solutions.

Like some kind of widget or something.

But what I didn't understand back then is that selling a product follows the same mechanics, tools and processes.

Over and over again.

No matter how big or small your idea.

It's always the same stuff.

Sure, they're slightly different.

But overall it's very similar.

And you gotta get those right.

You gotta get those basic mechanics, tools and processes right.

Or you'll never get anything right.

And those people selling those widgets got those mechanics right.

So the problem here is that we (including myself) want to build something big.

Something world changing.

Something super complex.

We're too good, too smart or what not to build or create something simple.

But the only way to build something big is to build something small first.

To start small.

Really small.

And simple.

Jeff Bezos started selling books online.

Super simple.

Super small.

And not complicated at all.

And now he's the richest man on the planet.

Or was. For a few hours at least.

Here's the thing...

If you don't know a damn thing about the mechanics, tools or processes to sell your stuff, then it just won't work out.

And when you have no clue about the mechanics and you spend 16 hours a day building your super complex and world changing product, service or what not, you just don't have the time, patience or energy to learn and figure out these basic mechanics.

It just doesn't work.

And you don't learn these things in a text book.

Or in a class room.

You only learn them by doing.

Just like pretty much everything else in life.

So instead of building that super big new thing, build that super small and simple thing first.

Put it out there on the market.

And see what happens.

Build a simple Shopify store.

And dropship products from Aliexpress for example.

And then try everything you can to sell  those products.

Try to figure out how to send traffic to those products without losing money.

Trust me, it's harder than you might think.

But the mechanics are the same.

The mechanics are always the same.

Use that small project to learn the basics, the tools and the mechanics of how to sell stuff.

The micro and the macro.

And then once you got that right you can go ahead and level up.

Richard Branson started selling Christmas trees.

And now he's sending people to the moon.

Elon Musk built two companies totally from scratch and sold both of them before he started 4 world changing companies at the same time.

Or 5.

I don't even know.

They both learned the micro and the macro first.

The mechanics.

By doing. 

And not by building super complex solutions first.

Start small.

Because the only way to build something big is to build something small first.

Don't be a tree...

Roots.

When they're too strong they take away your flexibility.

And not just your geographical or physical flexibility.

They also take away your mental and emotional flexibility.

And your ability to react to an ever changing environment.

Just like that tree can't go anywhere, you can't go anywhere.

Mentally, physically and emotionally.

You lose your flexibility.

Your agility.

And the ability to adapt to an ever changing environment.

So whatever you do, try to keep your flexibility alive.

That's how you survive in the 21^st century

Don't be a tree...

Reading my stuff is a waste of your time...

Instead of reading this you could have kissed your wife.

Or your husband.

Or your boyfriend.

Or your girlfriend.

Or you could have spent a few more minutes with the kids.

You could have written your own small blog post.

Or maybe even started writing that book.

Or recording that song.

Or learning that instrument.

Or that language.

No matter what I'm going to tell you in this post right here, it won't make you feel as good as any of the above.

It won't make you as happy as any of the above.

I guarantee.

Here's the thing...

Reading this or as a matter of fact anything online will probably never make you happy.

Or a better person.

Or a better what not.

Only action does.

Just think about all of the stuff you consumed this year.

And the time you spent consuming it.

Instead of spending your time consuming you could probably already have written a best seller.

Or started writing stuff online.

Or what not.

Heck, if you didn't consume so much and instead produced more, I could have been the one reading this.

And you could have been the one writing this right here...

Milking the cow...

The average cow can produce up to 30 liters a day.

If you're a farmer with 100 cows that means you'll be able to produce 3000 liters a day.

Or more than a million liters a year.

With the ability of giving milk for about 5-6 years and about 8 births a cow, this looks like a healthy business for the next few decades or so.

Unless things change.

And they always do...

New competitors enter the market.

Prices drop.

Substitutes are found.

Demand drops.

Regulations change.

And on and on and on.

And when any of this happens the farmer is getting one step closer to going out of business.

It doesn't happen over night.

It takes many years.

Or maybe even decades.

The process is so slow that it's almost impossible to even notice.

And the longer the farmer waits to figure out what to do next, the harder it'll get to be able to keep doing what she's doing.

When people don't want to drink cow milk anymore it doesn't matter whether your milk is the best milk on the planet or the worst on the planet.

If you wait to change things until people don't drink cow milk anymore and instead started drinking goat milk then it's usually already too late.

Even if you're trying to water down your milk so it tastes like goat milk, people will sooner or later find out and then you're totally screwed.

This isn't a story about farmers.

Or cows.

Or goats.

Or milk.

Or cars.

It's a story about life.

And business.

And pretty much everything else out there...

Come and go

Leaving is one of the hardest and most beautiful things at the same time.

 

Because only when you leave will you be able to come back.

 

Will you be able to experience the beauty of coming back again.

 

And because leaving is so scary and we’re so afraid of the thought of maybe never ever coming back again, we miss out on the beauty of coming back.

 

Of exploring.

 

Of experiencing new things.

 

And this fear of maybe never coming back is so strong that we tend to never ever leave again.

 

Even if we might not be happy where we're at right not.

 

Even if we're not happy with the things we’re doing.

 

With how the things are going.

 

Sometimes you just gotta leave to be able to arrive...

You're not the market

Just because you don't like it doesn't necessarily mean that other people won't like it.

Or wouldn't be interested in it.

Or wouldn't read it.

Or watch it.

Or buy it.

This has probably been one of the most interesting discoveries for me over the past couple of years.

Just because I wouldn't read it, buy it, watch it or whatever doesn't necessarily mean that others won't.

And this is quite good for me.

Because I wouldn't read any of my stuff.

Or watch any of my stuff.

Or buy any of my stuff.

Because I'm not the market.

But I'm glad there are people out there who do it.

Who appreciate what I do.

So whatever you do, never ever underestimate the market.

Never underestimate your impact.

And whenever you feel like people would probably not be interested in what you do, just because you wouldn't be interested in buying, reading or watching it, remember that you might not necessarily be the market.

As a matter of fact in many cases you're not the market.

Because the market consists of consumers.

And not producers.

But when you produce stuff you're automatically a producer.

And not necessarily a consumer anymore.

Consumers are going to read, buy or watch your stuff.

And not the producers.

And at the same time don't overestimate yourself.

Just because you'd want to read it, watch it or buy it doesn't necessarily mean that others will...

Self awareness is about being selfish

I don't know anything about self awareness.

And I've never read anything about self awareness.

So of course I'm perfectly suited to write about self awareness...

I don't know a damn thing about self awareness.

But there's one thing I know about self awareness.

I know that we live in a time and society where it's gotten almost impossible to be self aware.

Simply because everything we do, every decision we make is basically controlled by other people.

Which makes it almost impossible to become self aware.

To understand yourself.

And ultimately the world around you.

We live in a time where everything is working against self awareness.

We're almost exclusively driven extrinsically.

We do what we're told to do.

We do what our bosses tell us.

What our parents tell us.

What society tells us.

And then we naturally seek external validation.

Instead of internal validation.

We use external validation as yard sticks.

Like money for example.

Or other people's opinions.

And on and on and on.

But the problem is that when you constantly do the things you're told to do, when you use other people opinion's or external things like money as your yard stick, then you'll ultimately lose touch with yourself.

You'll lose touch with your true self.

And when you lose touch with your true self it's just really, really hard to become self aware.

Not impossible.

Just really, really hard.

So how do you become self aware?

I don't know.

I'm not an expert.

Or have a degree in that field.

But I can tell you what I did.

I became selfish.

Very selfish.

I stopped doing what other people told me to do.

And I stopped relying on anybody else except me.

I also started doing more and more of things I really wanted to do.

And this lead to a few things...

As I could only rely on myself I also couldn't blame anybody else when things went wrong.

I couldn't outsource responsibility to anybody else anymore.

I couldn't hide under the blanket of anonymity anymore.

If there was someone to blame, it was me.

100%.

And this is quite powerful.

Because everything I do, I immediately see the outcome.

And I'm the only one responsible for it.

So if I do something wrong, if something didn't work out, I have to figure out what I did wrong, where things went wrong, take responsibility and try to adjust.

I have to figure out why my assumptions about the world were wrong.

Why people reacted differently from what I expected.

This is almost impossible in the current work environment.

Or any environment as a matter of fact.

In the current environment we can outsource responsibility to dozens of layers above us.

The layers that told us what to do.

So if something goes wrong we're never the ones to blame.

It's always the layers above us.

Or below us.

Or in between.

Dozens of layers to blame.

Another thing that makes it so hard to become more self aware is the fact that in our current work and life environment we're constantly awarded for following the rules.

For following orders.

And we get rewarded with things like money.

And when money is your yard stick, well then that's your yard stick.

Then you'll always try to understand how money works.

Or how to get more of it.

Instead of understanding yourself.

And the people around you.

And then it's just really, really hard to develop self awareness.

And by the way I'm not saying one is better than the other.

I'm just saying that it's just really, really hard to develop self awareness in our current system.

Another thing that helped me to understand myself and the world around me a lot better was to do more and more of the things I wanted to do.

And less of the things I was told to do.

But probably not because of the reasons you might think.

Here's the thing...

When you do more and more of the things you want to do, you're automatically forced to also do a lot of the things you don't want to do.

Things you might not necessarily be good at, yet.

Especially when you try to only rely on yourself.

And when you're forced to do a hell lot of things you don't want to do, things you might not be really good at yet, then you'll automatically learn about all of your weaknesses, shortcomings and how you really operate.

In the normal work environment we're getting paid for doing the things were really good at.

We're paid to avoid the things we're not good at.

We're paid for efficiency.

And not trial and error.

Which makes a lot of sense.

Why should you get paid for doing something you're not really, really good at?

But what that also does is that you'll never really have to deal with your shortcomings.

With the things you're not that good at, yet.

And instead you'll mostly do and work on things you're already good at.

It emphasizes your strengths while it ignores your weaknesses.

But at the end of the day 50% of self awareness is to know, understand and be able to deal with your weaknesses.

If not more.

So you can basically spend your whole life doing the things you're already good at.

Without ever really having to deal with your shortcomings.

Or really understanding yourself.

Nothing wrong about that by the way.

Again, it's just really, really hard to become self aware, to understand yourself and to figure out what your weaknesses are when you're constantly doing things you're already really good at.

Personally, I've learned the most about myself and ultimately the people around my through struggle.

By doing things I don't like that much to be able to keep doing the things I love.

Like writing for example.

I hate self promotion.

And marketing.

And sales.

And all of this kind of stuff.

But the only way I'll ever be able to keep doing what I love, to be able to keep writing is to figure out how to become better at all of these things I don't really like.

So at the end of the day I guess self awareness comes through struggle.

The struggle of having to rely on yourself.

To take 100%  responsibility.

And to do a lot of things you don't enjoy that much.

For me that's what helped me to understand myself and the world around me a lot better.

That's what helped me to become more self aware.

And by understanding yourself, by being self aware, will you understand everybody else a lot better.

We're all the same.

And we all want the same things.

And struggle with the same things.

Some people more.

Some people less.

But at the core of it all, we're basically all the same.

So to be able to become more self aware you've gotta put yourself first.

You've gotta be selfish first.

That's the only way to understand yourself.

And ultimately everybody else..

Whenever...

Whenever you think you don't have enough, you probably already have more than enough.

Because if you didn't have enough, you'd definitely know it.

And feel it.

Enough of what?

Enough of everything.

So whenever you're not sure whether or not you have enough, you probably already have more than enough.

Enough friends.

Enough stuff.

Enough clothes.

Enough money.

Enough of everything.

Enough to stop consuming.

Enough to start giving back.

And enough to start doing the things you really want to do...

Meaningful money...

It seems like a lot of folks these days want to make money in meaningful ways.

By doing things that change the world.

By doing things that leave a dent in the universe.

And I get it.

I think it's a wonderful idea.

To make a living and change the world at the same time.

But the truth is that it's just really, really, really hard to make money and have an impact at the same time.

Not impossible.

Just really, really hard.

It's hard to make money in a meaningful way.

Whatever meaningful is to you.

Simply because it's just hard to charge people for helping other people. 

On so many different levels.

The world doesn't need more change makers who want to get paid for changing the world.

I get it.

We all want to change the world.

Me too.

Because we all see and experience that the world is somehow upside down.

Sometimes more.

Sometimes less.

I guess at the end of the day it doesn't really matter how meaningful your work is.

Or your money.

And where it comes from.

None of this really matters.

What matters is what you do with that money.

What you do once you have enough.

The trick is to know and realize when you have enough though.

That's the hardest part.

And if you think you don't have enough, you probably already have enough.

And then, whether you buy yourself some time and freedom to do things that matter, like teaching other people how you built that business or start investing that money to make a difference doesn't really matter.

What matters in the 21st century is to help people leverage the opportunities we all have.

How people can build something out of nothing.

And that's why I believe that one of the most important skills we all need if we want to have an impact, if we want to change the world is to be able to teach and show people how they can build their own future.

And the best way to do so is to build your own future first.

By building something out of nothing.

And then showing people how they can do it themselves...

I'm not...

I'm not smart. 

I've just done many stupid things that didn't work out...

Don't plant your seeds when you need them.

Plant them before you need them.

Don't build an audience when you need it.

Build it before you need it.

Market your product before you have it.

And not when you have it.

Look for a new job before you need it.

And not when you need it.

Don't start writing when you have a book idea.

Start writing before you even know what you're going to write about.

Things take time.

A lot of time.

Things take time to go from a seed into a beautiful flower.

Or a strong enough tree.

Don't plant your seeds when you need them.

Plant them before you need them...

1 out of 1000

1 out of 1000 people will end up buying your product.

 

1 out of 1000 fans will become your true fans.

 

1 out of 1000 people who download your free book will end up finishing that book.

 

1 out of 1000 views will turn into a subscriber.

 

A couple of years ago it was probably 1 out of 100.

 

But things have changed.

 

It got a lot more crowded.

 

Pretty much everywhere.

 

1000 true fans doesn't sound like a lot.

 

But what no one usually talks about is that when you're starting from scratch, from nothing, then you probably need a million people to know about you to get those 1000 true fans.

 

And that's a whole different story.

Not impossible.

Just a whole different story...

Why are people who write about millionaire habits not millionaires?

Every time I see these posts about analyzing successful people's habits, about what makes millionaires millionaires I just can't help but wonder why the authors of these posts aren't millionaires themselves.

Or as successful as the people they write about.

After all, they introduce us to the habits we need.

The steps we need to take.

The map we need to follow.

So if they decoded other people's successes how come they aren't as successful themselves?

Why aren't they millionaires?

After all, if all it takes to become successful, to become rich or what not are just a few habits, then everybody should be able to become rich, successful or what not, right?

But that's just not the case.

It's never the case.

Becoming successful, rich or what not is sloppy.

I guess.

But I don't really know.

Because I'm not successful or a millionaire.

And looking back you can always find millions of reasons as to why someone was successful.

As to why they made it work.

At the end of the day it's such a complex thing that can't possibly be broken down into anything.

That why to me all of this stuff is pretty much useless.

It won't help nobody.

Except maybe the author.

After all, no one who ever was successful wrote a book about how exactly they got successful.

About their habits.

Because they probably know that it's been such a sloppy and messy process that it can't possibly ever be replicated by anyone following any of their advice.

Probably also because it wouldn't be such a sexy story.

It would probably be a very depressing story.

A story that would probably not get a lot of clicks.

A story that would probably sound like way too much work for most of us.

And too much uncertainty.

So we just keep reading this kind of stuff.

Why are people who write about millionaire habits not millionaires?

Doing new things kills your creativity

At least in the short term.

Simply because whenever you do something new, something you've never done before then you're going to encounter roadblocks.

A lot of roadblocks...

No matter what.

No matter how much research you do.

No matter how much you think you know.

There will always be dozens of things popping up you didn't think of before.

Things you didn't even know existed.

And what usually happens when you realize that it's going to take you ten days instead of just two days is that you're going to get upset.

Or maybe even depressed.

Or what not.

Maybe you're even thinking about giving up.

That it was maybe too much.

That you can't handle it anymore.

And then your moral goes down.

And with it your creativity.

And pretty much everything else.

And when I say you, I'm basically talking about myself.

And that's the problem with most people.

I think.

They listen to all of these gurus out there who talk about getting out of your comfort zone, about doing new things and all of this stuff.

But they never really talk about how hard it is to do new things.

To get out of your comfort zone.

No one ever talks about the roadblocks.

And it's just hard to do new things, to get out of your comfort zone and at the same time get over all of these roadblocks when you have a gazillon other more important things to do.

Like feeding a family.

Or paying the mortgage.

Or what not.

Most people are not ready for the roadblocks.

Simply because no one told them about the road blocks.

And even if people do, experiencing them yourself is a whole different story.

So peopple just give up when they encounter too many roadblocks.

When they feel like they can't handle all of the roadblocks anymore.

The things they feel like they didn't sign up or.

When the truth is that you signed up for a bunch of things you didn't even know about.

That's what doing new things, what getting out of your comfort zone is all about.

That's what makes it so hard.

So most people give up at the first, second or maybe even third roadblock.

And they will never finish anything.

And when you never finish anything, then you'll never learn anything.

And instead of becoming more creative you just become more and more upset with yourself.

So what can you do?

I don't know.

But here's what I do...

I expect the best and prepare for the worst...

Is it you or is it them?

It's almost always them.

But as they're the ones who decide, it doesn't make any sense to complain about them.

It's a waste of your time.

And instead it makes sense to figure out what they really want.

Instead of forcing them to want what you have to offer.

This never works.

So instead of forcing people to buy, read, listen or watch what you want them to, try to figure out what they want to buy, read, listen to or watch.

At the end of the day the market decides.

No matter what.

And if you blame the market for not wanting your stuff, well then maybe you should think about giving the market what it really wants.

What it really needs.

I know it's tough.

It's tough to figure out what the market really wants and when.

Especially because in most cases the market doesn't even know what it wants.

And that's what makes it so tricky.

On the other hand it's so much easier to just offer the market what you want the market to want.

And then just hope that you're right.

But hope is never a good strategy.

Just like complaining never is.

So how do you figure out what the market really wants?

What it really needs?

I don't know.

But I think that realizing that you don't know, that no one really knows is the first step...

Doing stuff for free

This is the only way to learn anything new.

No one is going to pay you to learn something new.

Something you're not really, really good at.

You're only going to get paid for things you already know.

Things you're really, really good at.

That's why people pay you in the first place.

Because you know what you're doing.

But that also means that if you insist on getting paid for each and everything you do, you'll never learn anything new.

Sure, you shouldn't work for free when it comes to the thing you're already really good at.

The thing you use to make a living and already have a proven track record.

So the only way to learn anything new is to do it for free.

To get rid of the mindset that everything you do, you need to get paid for.

If you think like that you'll stop learning the moment you leave school.

Or university.

Or what not.

So here's the thing...

You'll never end up writing that book if you wait for a publisher to find out about you.

Write a blog instead.

Self publish stuff online.

For free.

The same applies to music, art and pretty much everything else out there.

You'll also never end up starting a company if you wait for that investor to show up and invest in your idea.

Bootstrap that business instead and work for free.

If you keep waiting for people to take the risk, if you keep outsourcing the risk to other people, then you'll never learn anything new.

Then you'll keep doing what you've always done.

And you'll stop learning.

And growing...

So instead, take the risk yourself, do stuff for free, learn new skills and invest in yourself.

Will it pay off?

Maybe it will.

Maybe it won't.

It worked for me.

I write for a living.

For free...

We live in a time...

We live in a time where pretty much everybody who has a phone and Internet access can do great things.

Whatever great things look like to you.

But the only way to get there is to do the uncomfortable.

The things most people are afraid of doing.

And it doesn't really matter anymore where you're from.

Or where you live.

Or what you've done in the past.

Or how much money you have.

It doesn't matter whether you live in Africa, Asia, Europe or what not.

If you're willing to do the uncomfortable, the things that everybody else is afraid of doing, then you can rise to the top.

Then you can have an impact.

In your community.

In your city.

In your country.

Everywhere...

It's never been easier.

Everybody can make it work.

No matter your background.

It's still very hard though.

And you've gotta be willing to put in the work.

A lot of work.

More work than anybody else.

When you set out to do the uncomfortable longer than anybody else then you can make it work.

But there's no guarantee.

For anything in life.

Most people want to do the comfortable things.

The safe stuff.

But that will only get you to a place where there are millions of other people competing for that one single chair to sit on.

No matter where you're from or where you live, you can always rise to the top of your community.

How do I know?

I don't know.

I'm just a regular guy from Germany writing every single day...

Why you'll never be a great leader.

Or a great entrepreneur.

Or a great what not.

Most people think they can learn about leadership by reading books.

Or by studying existing leadership styles or models.

But what do you do when an employee sits in front of you crying?

When someone feels offended by what you just said even though you have no clue what the hell just happened.

When you're about to run out of cash and don't know what to do next.

They don't tell you what to do when this kind of stuff happens.

And this kind of stuff happens.

All the time. 

Maybe they tell you what to do.

But this kind of stuff usually doesn't work in fight or flight mode.

So here's the thing...

Leadership is about people.

And we're all different.

With different backgrounds.

And different experiences.

And different ways of thinking.

There's no one size fits all model for leadership.

Each and every person has to be treated differently. 

And that's hat makes it so hard.

At the end of the day it's about empathy and understanding people.

And you don't learn that by reading books.

Or learning everything about leadership models. 

The people you're trying to lead all have different backgrounds.

And different ways of thinking.

And it's about seeing and feeling the differences.

And there's no blueprint for that.

Or a step-by-step process.

There's just doing.

And making mistakes.

And learning as you go.

And putting yourself in other people's shoes.

And it all starts with you.

Leadership is about leading yourself first.

If you don't know how to lead yourself, then you'll never be able to lead anyone else..

But why should you even listen to me?

You probably shouldn't.

I'm just trying to lead myself here...

Live life backwards...

Probably the hardest thing in life is to figure out what your end goal is.

What the legacy is that you want to leave behind.

What you want to be remembered for.

And because it's such a hard question, we tend to postpone it until the very last second.

But it's just very, very hard to start working on your legacy when you only have a few seconds left.

Not impossible.

Just very, very hard.

Sure, some people might say that this stuff isn't important.

That it doesn't matter.

And it probably doesn't.

Until it does...

So whatever you do, think about the things you want to leave behind.

The things you want to be remembered for.

And by the way.

A family is also a legacy...

And once you've answered that question for yourself, once you know what's the legacy you want to leave behind, then try to base every single decision you make on that end goal.

Base every decision on whether or not it'll bring you closer to that end goal.

Whatever it might be.

I know.

It sounds simple.

But it's not.

Because it requires a lot of sacrifice.

And a lot of pain.

And a lot of saying “no” to the things you'd like to say “yes” to.

It's not going to be easy that's for sure.

Will it be worth it?

I don't know.

There's no guarantee for anything in life.

But when it's all over you'll at least be able to tell yourself that you've tried everything you possibly could.

That you gave it all you got.

At the end of the day we ain't got nothing to lose.

We're all going to die anyway.

Some people sooner.

Some people later.

There's no escaping this...

And if you don't know what your end goal or your legacy might look like, if you don't know what will get you closer to your end goal, then try as many different things as you possibly can.

To figure out what works and what doesn't.

To figure out what gets you closer to your end goal and what doesn't.

Focus on your end goal but be flexible on how to get there.

Have some sort of theme.

Like helping people for example.

And then figure out how you can get there by trying as many different things as possible.

And then focus on the things that work and have the biggest impact.

Live life backwards.

That's how you ultimately move forward.

Do it like this...

Everything you do, everything you want to learn from scratch, everything you want to create, try to put yourself in the worst situation possible.

If you want to build a business, build it in the worst environment possible.

With as many restrictions as possible.

Real or artificial ones.

If you want to write a book, write it in the worst environment possible.

With as many distractions as possible.

In the shortest amount of time possible.

If you want to learn a new skill, put yourself in the worst environment possible.

Where it's almost impossible to focus.

Where you have almost no time for it.

The same holds true for creating stuff.

Whatever stuff you're creating.

Here's the thing...

When you learn to do things in the worst environment possible, with as many restrictions as possible, then doing it in your regular environment will seem like a piece of cake.

And not only this.

You'll also get ready and used to the fact that in everything you do, you'd have to expect a punch in your face.

Many punches as a matter of fact.

And it's always a good idea to expect and anticipate those punches.

So you can avoid them.

Or at least not be too surprised and get knocked out right at the very first punch.

Because that's what life is going to serve you.

Over and over again.

Punches in your face.

Many of them.

Even, no especially in your regular environment.

Where you think you're safe.

Where everything is smooth sailing.

Where nothing is ever going to happen.

Until it does...

The hot plate

You can't convince a 5 year old to not touch the hot plate.

Whatever you do or say, the only way that 5 year old will stop trying to touch the hot plate is when she touched the hot plate.

And adults are no different.

No matter how many times we read something, hear someone say something or what not, we will only believe it and make it part of our lives once we've experienced it ourselves.

So the only way to truly learn anything in life is to touch the hot plate as much and as often and as early as you can.

Sometimes you will burn your fingers.

Sometimes you won't.

Sometimes you will feel pain.

And sometimes you will feel joy.

But avoiding the hot plate altogether, avoiding life altogether with all of its ups and downs is never a good idea.

Avoiding joy just because you might experience pain isn't what this is all about.

Living a life with all of its ups and downs is what this is all about.

A life where you might burn your fingers every once in a while.

Where you might experience darkness every once in a while.

So you'll be able to truly appreciate the light.

The joy.

The happiness.

The love.  

The laughter...

According to...

According to research, surveys and my mom there's a time when it's best to tweet.

When it's best to publish your blog post on Medium.

Or on Facebook.

Or how long a successful blog post should be.

Or how much time bloggers spend on average creating one blog post.

6.5 hours by the way.

I'm not kidding.

Someone just sent me a link.

There's also a ton of research out there on what kind of content should be added to a blog post.

Like pictures, videos and so on.

Or how long a video should be.

Or a podcast.

Or what not.

And you know what?

None of it matters.

None of it ever mattered.

Or will ever matter in the future.

People spending 6 hours on a blog post doesn't say anything about anything.

It doesn't mean that this is what will make you successful.

The only thing it means is that you'll probably go crazy if you do this.

Sooner or later.

Not to mention that those people have tons of employees working for them.

Also the time when you tweet or post stuff doesn't mean anything about anything.

When you have an audience and your audience knows when you tweet or when you send out a blog post or what not, they'll be there waiting for it.

No matter what time of the day.

All of these stats are useless.

These stats are for people who only talk about it.

But have never done any of it.

Or will ever do any of it.

You probably know those people.

They show up at every party and know everything about everything.

But they've never even done any of the things they're talking about.

Don't be one of them...

We tend to believe that...

We tend to believe that being a freelancer, an entrepreneur, an author, a blogger, an artist, a musician or what is all about freedom.

But it's not.

As a matter of fact it's quite the opposite.

A freelancer isn't really free.

A freelancer depends on clients.

Clients that are usually a lot harder to deal with than your boss.

An entrepreneur isn't really free.

An entrepreneur depends on customers, platforms such as the app store, Facebook ads, Twitter and sometimes also investors.

And all of these are pretty hard to deal with. And unpredictable.

An author isn't really free either.

An author depends on readers.

On her audience.

And on publishers and platforms such as Amazon.

Just like a blogger isn't really free.

And just like your job isn't a safe bet anymore and might be replaced by an algorithm some time in the near future, so are all the above.

A simple change in Google's algorithm can pretty much crush your entire business.

Just like it happened many times in the past.

Just like a drop in Facebook reach put thousands of companies out of business.

Just like an increase in Facebook ad prices will put thousands of more businesses out of business.

None of the things that we think are really about freedom are really about freedom.

In most cases they are the exact opposite.

You're just going from depending on your boss or your employer to depending on all sorts of other highly unpredictable things.

Things that can equally crush you just like your boss or your employer can.

So what's safe?

Real connections with real human beings.

And being kind, helpful, empathetic and nice to other people.

That's probably the one and only safe thing out there.

Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow...

Now or never

If you don't do it now you'll probably never do it.

Simply because with every single day passing by and you don't do it, it gets bigger and bigger in your head.

So big that you cant possibly get started anymore.

And the longer you wait, the more doubts start to kick in.

Until they eat you alive..

“Who are you to even think that you could pull off something like this?”

But whatever it is that you're thinking about doing, you gotta do it now.

Or never..

Even if it's just one tiny piece of work.

Even if you just sign up for a new Instagram account.

It doesn't matter.

As long as you get stared today.

And then keep adding something new each and every day.

That's the only way you'll figure out all the rest.

By starting.

And then never ever stopping again.

Today is the day.

Or never..

Just like today was the only day I could have written this right here.

Either now or never...

The freedom fund...

Or why you'll never be free...

You'll never be free because you use your money to buy yourself stuff you don't really need just to reward yourself for doing things you don't really enjoy that much, instead of using it to buy yourself some freedom.

Maybe you've worked on a really, really tough project with a really shitty client, made a few months worth of expenses and feel like you deserve something nice.

Like a new camera.

Or that new TV.

Maybe you've just been promoted and feel like you can now finally enjoy a nice vacation.

Or maybe you just got a new job that pays a lot more than your past job and you can finally move into that bigger apartment.

Those are all great things and valid options.

But what if instead of spending it you started a “freedom fund”?

A fund with the only purpose of buying yourself some freedom some time in the future.

A fund that once it's big enough you can buy yourself some time.

Some time to work a few months or maybe even years on that side business of yours.

Or that passion project.

Or learn that new skill that you need to become completely independent.

Like marketing. Or sales. Or copy writing. Or public speaking.

Or all of them.

And whenever you wonder why you're even doing all of this, why you're even getting up in the morning when you don't want to get up anymore, you have an answer.

You're doing it for your freedom fund.

For your freedom.

So you can buy yourself some freedom some time in the future.

So you can buy yourself some time.

Some time to do the things you always wanted to do.

That's what got me started four years ago.

A fund big enough to cover at least 1-2 years of expenses.

Maybe even more.

Or you just keep spending all that money and keep doing what you've already been doing for the past few years.

So you can keep doing it for the next couple of years.

Or maybe even decades...

Jim says it won't work...

Jim says you can't just go on stage and give a talk if you're not a professional speaker.

Jim says you can't just start writing a blog if you're not an expert on the topic.

Jim says you can't get a good job if you don't have a university degree.

Jim says you can't write a book if you don't have a publisher.

Jim says you can't just go over and talk to her.

Jim says you're not good enough.

Now who the hell is this Jim?

Jim lives inside your head.

Screw Jim...

How to become good at anything. Fast...

You have to do it every single day.

As much and as often as you can.

No matter what.

I know it sounds simple.

And it really is that simple.

But simple doesn't necessarily mean easy.

Sometimes it's the exact opposite.

But it works.

This is exactly what put me on the map.

Write one blog post every single day.

Publish one video every single day.

Write one song every single day.

Draw one painting every single day.

Design one T-shirt every single day.

Get on stage every single day.

If you do it every single day instead of maybe once or twice a week your learning curve will be so much steeper.

What you'd usually learn in one year, you'd learn it in just one month.

Now you might say "But I don't have the time".

There are actually two things at play here...

Number one is that if you only do it once or twice a week you'll end up wasting your time.

You'll never get better at it.

Simply because the gap between the things you create is just too big to really get any better.

Just to get back into the flow and fight your doubts will already cost you a couple of days.

Number two is that the more time you have, the more time you'll need.

And the less time you have, the faster you'll get things done.

Its as simple as that.

Don't believe me?

You don't have to.

I wrote and published an entire book on Medium and my blog in just 30 days.

It was read by more than 15,000 people on Medium (you can read it here).

The PDF was downloaded a few thousand times.

My most popular post ever on Medium took me 5 minutes to write.

It was called 5 minutes...

And that's how you become good at anything. Fast...

Evolution of platforms

Platforms are free until they aren't.

Until they have a big enough reach.

Until they are so big that people are willing to pay for that reach.

This isn't new.

It happened over and over again in the past.

And it will happen over and over again in the future.

Once a newspaper has a big enough reach they can charge for ads.

The bigger the reach, the more they can charge.

Just like TV channels charge for ads.

The bigger the reach, the more they can charge.

And the exact same thing happened with Facebook.

Or Twitter.

Or Pinterest.

And most recently also Medium.

Or any other platform out there.

Once a platform is big enough you have to pay for reach.

Once a platform is so big that there's just way too much stuff on it, algorithms change what people see and you have to pay to reach your readers, your viewers, your listeners or what not.

In one way or the other.

And if you can't pay, then the people who can pay will reach your readers, your listeners, your viewers or what not.

And this will happen to every platform.

There's no such thing as unlimited free reach.

After all, all platforms that provide reach are businesses.

That's how they were able to build up that reach in the first place.

By hiring some of the best people out there to make it one of the best platforms out there.

So at one point every platform will change their algorithm.

So that less people will see your stuff.

It's not a matter of whether or not.

It's just a matter of when.

So you can either complain about it or get ready for it.

By building your own platform as soon as you can.

So how do you build your own platform?

Some people say email.

I say great!

But I also say that Gmail now owns something like 90% of people's inboxes.

And Google is known for constantly changing their algorithms.

Just like they're now randomly putting newsletters that people signed up for in the promotional/spam folder.

So how will you then be able to build your own platform in the future?

I don't know.

But what about real interactions with real human beings?

That's always been a winner...