yann girard - rethinking the now

I never wanted to be a writer...

I never knew what I wanted to be when I'm grown up.

I mostly just did what I was told to do.

I graduated from high school.

Then I went to university.

I worked a lot of jobs on the side because I was told that this was important if I wanted to get a good job.

Then I started a company on the side.

Then I graduated from university.

And then I got a job where I stayed for almost two years.

I did what I was told to do.

My whole life.

And I never ever in my entire life thought I would one day be writing things like this.

Heck, I didn't even read a book without being forced to read it until the age of 28.

I almost failed high school because my essays were so bad.

I would love to tell you that I always wanted to be a writer.

That I knew it right from the very start that I wanted to be a writer.

That I was talented. And gifted. And all of this stuff.

That writing this right here and you reading this right here is a dream come true for me.

But it's not.

I couldn't have cared less about writing and people reading my stuff just a few short years ago.

I was never interested in writing. Or reading.

And that's why I think we live in such a fascinating time.

A time where no matter where you're from, you can create something out of nothing.

A time where you can try out and do so many different things.

Things that we were told from a very young age that we can't do.

Because we're not good at it.

Because we're not talented.

So we started to believe.

We started to believe the lie.

The lie that we can't.

But today we live in a time where everybody can build something out of nothing.

A time where you can be somebody by being a nobody.

A time where you can do things you never thought possible just a few short years ago.

It truly is a great time to be alive.

Maybe the greatest of all times.

If you're willing to put in the work.

If you're willing to show up longer than anybody else.

If you're willing to accept the fact that the only thing holding you back are your excuses.

Excuses for not trying.

Excuses for not putting in the work.

Excuses for being lazy.

Excuses for only doing the things you were told to do.

Look. I never wanted to be a writer.

I never thought I could be a writer.

And now I wrote this and you read this.

It truly is a great time to be alive.

Maybe the greatest of all times...

Doing the right thing...

I just turned 33 a few days ago. And I still don't really know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I still don't know if the thing I'm doing right now is the right thing to do.

I enjoy writing. But I enjoy many different things. And I do many different things. And I've done many different things in the past. And maybe tomorrow I'll do something else entirely. Who knows? Life is short...

So how do you know if something is the right thing for you?

If something you want to do is the right thing to do?

I don't know.

I really don't know.

But here's what I do know...

You probably know exactly when the thing you're doing feels like the wrong thing to do. When you're doing something you shouldn't be doing. But you just keep doing it. For many years. Or maybe even decades. Or maybe even your entire life. So you get stuck. And unhappy.

Not everybody. Just somebody...  

But the moment you realize that what you're doing is not the right thing, you've gotta start doing something else. You've gotta keep searching. And doing. Or else you'll get stuck. And unhappy.

I know. It sounds simple. But it's not easy. 

And that's exactly what most people never do. Most people stop searching. They just give up and keep doing the things they don't enjoy doing. They keep doing the wrong things. Even though they know that they're doing the wrong things.

Mostly because we still live in a time where it seems like the only way to advance in life is to do the same things for many, many years. Or maybe even decades. To have some sort of linear career. Even when you don't really enjoy it that much. Even when you feel like it's not the right thing to do. Even when it doesn't feel like your thing. Whatever your thing might be.

And I get it. We all have bills to pay. And mouths to feed. Or mortgages to pay. So whatever you do, you shouldn't quit your job. At least not right away. And instead, keep searching. Keep doing things on the side that you think might be the right thing.

Here's the thing...

The only way to figure out whether something is the right thing or the wrong thing is to do it. There really is no other way. So stop thinking about it. Stop the excuses. And instead start doing. That's the only way to figure out if that thing is the right thing.

So maybe you think playing guitar is the right thing. Then start playing guitar on the side. Become good at it. Become one of the best at it. Put in the work. On the weekends. In your free time. Whenever you can. For at least a year. Or two. Or maybe even three.

Or maybe you want to become a writer. Or start a business. Or become a diving instructor. Or whatever. It's always the same thing. Do stuff, put in the work, become good at it and see what happens. See if it's the right thing. Or the wrong thing.

If you don't do it, you'll never know it. 

Keep your day job and do things on the side. And once you've done it long enough and you realize it's the right thing to do and you get really good at it, keep doing it. And maybe one day you might be able to quit your job. Maybe. Maybe not.

But that's the price you've gotta be willing to pay. That's the risk you've gotta be willing to take. But most people never do that. Most people are not willing to pay a price. To take a risk. So most people just keep doing the wrong things. And wonder why they get stuck.

Again, when I say you I'm basically talking about myself and what has worked for me...

I've now been writing online for more than four years. I've worked small jobs in customer service before. At telco companies. At my university. And many other places.

I've started a clothing business. Dozens of websites. I sold stuff on Ebay sort of professionally. I've created and sold online courses. I've written a bunch of books. I've done a roadtrip through 10 countries or so and gave talks. I've helped early stage companies. And a few more things.

Some of the things I still do. Some of them I don't do anymore. Some of the things I enjoyed doing. Some of them I didn't enjoy that much. 

But the only thing that helped me to figure out whether one of these things was the right thing for me was to do it. There really is no other way...

The Only Person You Should Try To Please Is Your 80 Year Old Self…

I'm constantly in doubt about pretty much everything.

I'm even in doubt whether I should right this right here.

Whether I should even have started writing this book right here.

It took me 10 minutes to fight my doubts until I finally started writing this piece right here.

Doubt is constantly following me wherever I go.

Doubt paralyses. Doubt kills. And it eats you alive.

Doubt and fear are best friends.

And together they've ruined many great parties.

Many great people.

Many great lives.

And many great ideas.

We all have doubts.

And fears.

We're all are afraid of things.

Sometimes more. Sometimes less.

And it's pretty much impossible to fight it.

You'll never be able to win.

The only thing you can do is to live with it.

Or dance with it.

But I'm not going to leave you with these empty shells of advice.

Because it's useless.

If overcoming doubt and fear was so easy then we would all already be building spaceships and living our dreams.

The truth is that there are just a few things that are harder to overcome than doubt and fear.

And what's also true is that I can't really tell you what's going to help you to fight your fears and doubts.

Because I'm not you and you're not me.

But what I can do is to share what I do.

What works for me.

The things I do whenever fear and doubt start punching me in the face.

Whether that doubt and fear is intrinsic or extrinsic...

# DEATH

I know I'll be dead at one point. Maybe sooner. Maybe later. No one knows.

And this scares the shit out of me.

No matter how scared, afraid or in doubt I am about something, the fear of being dead and not being able to change anything about it will always be bigger.

And this somehow pushes me in a very weird way.

Knowing and really understanding that I'll be gone sooner or later helps me to put things into perspective.

That no matter what I do, that no matter how much I embarrass myself in front of others, that no matter how scared I am about something, the worst case scenario is going to punch me in the face. No matter what...

So I constantly feel like I have nothing to lose. Because I've basically already lost. We all have already lost. It's just that most people haven't really realized it yet. 

And they live their lives as if they'll live forever. Postponing all the things they want to do. All the things they want to see. And all the things they want to say.

Until they realize that it's too late for all those things to do. For all those things to see. And all those things to say...

And this helps me to overcome all of my fears and all of my doubts in a weird kind of way.

Here's something someone a lot smarter than me once said...

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

# GIVING A SHIT

It's hard to do stuff. To create things. To put yourself out there. And to do the things that everybody else is afraid of doing. Even just to say things that everybody else is afraid of saying takes a hell lot of courage.

And you're going to get heat for that. A lot of heat. And people will turn their backs on you. No one will take your serious. People will laugh at you. No matter what it is you're doing or trying to do.

Because people are afraid. People are afraid just like you are afraid. Everybody is constantly living in doubt. And in fear. Everybody is constantly in doubt about their life choices. Whether or not they've done the right thing. Whether or not it was the right choice.

So everybody is busy fighting their own fears. Fighting their own doubts. So people will consciously or unconsciously try to keep you down. They will try to keep you down so that they can stop doubting their own paths. Even if it's just for a few seconds...

And you know what?

You should focus on your own fears and doubts. And not on everybody else's. Don't let other people's insecurities interfere with your insecurities. Don't let their insecurities about their own choices influence your own choices.

I stopped giving a shit a long time ago about what people think about me, the things I do, the things I want to do and what I want to stand for.

And instead I started focusing on the people who focus on the same things. It's been one of the best decisions in my entire life...

# REGRET

Whenever I'm in doubt about doing something I imagine my 80 year old self sitting on a veranda and reflecting about my life. The things I did and the things I didn't do.

And whenever I imagine my 80 year old self asking himself what would life have been like if I did this or that, I just do it. And I try everything I can to make it work. No matter the consequences. No matter if I fail at it or succeed at it.

So when it comes to the important things and decisions in life I sort of live life backwards. And I consult my 80 year old self. Because my 80 year old self is the only person who's going to judge me when my time has come.

My 80 year old self is the only person I want to make happy. Because that's the only person that will ever be able to help me to make other people happy. That's the only person I don't want to disappoint. Ever...

# WORST CASE SCENARIO

What's your realistic worst case scenario?

Other than you're going to die. Which you will eventually anyway...

What's the worst thing that could happen to you if you do this or do that?

Do you have friends or family?

Turns out that most of us have either one of them or both.

And that's really all you need to get back up again.

In case you ever get knocked out, which is very rarely the case by the way.

Our worst case scenarios are never really as bad as we imagine them to be.

Sure,maybe to some extent.

Either way.

Whatever your worst case scenario is, we all have either one or both of these people in our lives to help us get back up again once we've been knocked out.

Ask for help. Accept their help. No one can do this alone...

Yann Girard: "It's never too late to be who you say you are!" 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. 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)...

 

# FAILURE

It's hard to fail. Making mistakes is hard.

But it's the only way to learn.

You don't learn anything new when everything goes right.

When everything goes according to plan.

The only thing you learn is that you were right.

Even though you might maybe just have been lucky.

So the only thing you learn when everything goes right and according to plan is that you were right.

And that's already about it.

And that's not a whole lot of new things to learn.

Sure, you should try everything you can to not fail.

You should try everything you can to succeed.

Because failure is painful. And horrible. And one of the worst things out there.

That's why many people don't get back up again.

They don't see the lessons.

They don't see that it will make them stronger after it made them weak for a very long time.

It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you keep your eyes closed the whole time...

# EVERYTHING IMPORTANT TAKES TIME

Whatever it is that you want to build, create or do, it will probably take a lot of time until it works out. Maybe it will never work out...

That relationship. That business. Creating your art. Everything will take time. A hell lot of time.

Everything will take a lot longer than you'd initially thought it would. Sometimes I wonder if I had started all of this if I knew how long it would take me. How much energy and time I'd have to put in.

Thinking about it, if I knew how much work every business, every relationship, every book, every blog post and pretty much everything else would take me, then I would probably never have started anything...

# DECISIONS ARE TEMPORARY

Every decision leads to another decision. And nothing really lasts forever.

Whenever you decide to do something and then do it, you'll automatically get exposed to countless of other opportunities and new decisions you'd have to make.

And these opportunities and things are usually things you would never have thought possible when you took that first decision..

# PERFECTIONISM

Perfectionism will only hold you back from doing new things. From creating new things. From experimenting. From finding out who you really are. Perfectionism is the number one source of doubt. And fear. Ok, I totally made that up. But it could be true...

# THE RIGHT THING

You'll never know what's the right thing to do. You'll never know whether this one thing is better than the other thing unless you do it. That's why the only way to overcome your doubts and your fears is to do it....

From Consumer To Creator: What You Really Need To Know

Five years ago I was screen printing and ironing t-shirts in the living room of my 5 people flat share in Shanghai.

While the entire world is producing stuff in China, there I was having my own little sweatshop.

My partner and I didn't have enough cash to pay for large quantities. We were just getting started and didn't want 1000 shirts with the exact same print on it in the exact same color.

No one wanted to produce anything for us. So I asked a friend of mine how I could do all of this stuff myself. So we went ahead, bought all the material and I started producing all our stuff in our living room. Needless to say that all of my roommates were complaining about the toxic smell in the living room.

And that was the first time in my entire life that I created something myself. I never created anything before that. I was 26 years old. And I was your typical university (business) graduate who had no clue about anything. The only thing I learned during those years was to learn stuff by heart and forget it the second I left the exam room.

I didn't learn anything about how to build a business from scratch, with zero cash in the bank. The only thing I learned was how to manage things. I learned how to be an employee and follow orders. I didn't learn how to create things. How to build something out of nothing.

Long story short, that business failed miserably...

And the next thing I did was that I started writing. Simply because that was the only thing I was able to do. I wasn't able to create anything else. I didn't know how to code or how to produce or manufacture or create anything else. And until today I never wrote a single line of code in my life.

But luckily over the years it got so easy to start and to create things that I was able to create so many different things without having to write a single line of code. Without knowing anything really. 

So over the years I started dozens of websites even though I didn't know anything about web design or programming. I launched a few online shops even though I never touched a single product I was selling. I published books and created online courses. Again, without writing a single line of code or knowing anything about anything.

Of course most of these things failed miserably. And most of these things don't exist anymore. But I got better over time. So some things started working out. Some small things. And some things that were a little bigger.

So to me the 21^st century really is a great time to be alive. No matter what you want to create. No matter how talented you think you are. No matter how many or how few skills you think have. Because the only skill you need is curiosity and the willingness to learn new things. And to be open minded.

That really is the only thing you need. That's the only thing that helped me to move forward. To move from one failure to the next. Until one day I was able to build a life around it.

Here's the thing...

I don't have good taste. I don't know anything about trends. I'm not a designer. Or a programmer. But still, I was able to do and create all of these things.

So how was I able to create all of these things?

I put in the work to understand how things worked. And most of the above things can be created for just a few bucks a month. And it doesn't really matter how smart you are. Or where you live. Or how much or how little money you have. Or where you went to school. All you need is the willingness to learn a few basics and to put in the work.

You don't need a college degree for any of the above things. Or rich parents. Or a huge network of people. All you need is the willingness to learn new things, to understand how they work and to learn how to leverage them.

And again, you don't need to know how to code. Or how to design. Or anything like that. Remember, I also don't know how to do any of these things. There are dozens of tools, platforms and services out there that will help you to do all of this for you.

So if the only thing you need is the willingness to learn, to adapt and to be open minded, what are the 20 rules for?

Well, these rules are some of the things I've learned over the last 4 years. There were a lot more, but I just can't remember all of them. Or write them all down. That would already be an entire book in itself. So I just wrote down a few things from the top of my head.

And I'm sure you'd learn all of these things yourself if you'd do all of the above. So I'm just summarizing them for you. And also for myself. So you might be able to save some time and energy by investing your time and energy into the right things...

# CREATE EVERY DAY

No matter what it is that you want to create. You have to do it every single day. Or every second day. But whatever you do, try to do it as often as you can.

That's the only growth hack there is. That's the only way to hack the learning curve. By doing it as often as you can. That's the only shortcut there is. That's the secret sauce. Just like I said it many times in this book already.

Skills don't matter. Because the only thing that leads to quality is quantity. No one starts as an expert. We all start from the bottom. And have to work our way to the top. That really is the only way to mastery. Create every day...

# CREATE AN AUDIENCE

One of the coolest things about creating every day is that you're going to build an audience and demand for you, your art, your product or your service at the same time. But not by trying to sell stuff. But by adding value.

So how can you add value?

By writing stuff like this right here for example. And maybe one day I'll try to sell you something. And because I tried to provide value before trying to sell you anything you might be more inclined to buy from me.

So building an audience and demand BEFORE you even try to sell your product, service, art or whatever is probably the most important thing out there.

If no one knows who you are, if no one knows what you do, what you stand for or what your product is going to be all about, no one is going to end up buying from you. No one is going to read your stuff. Or listen to your song. It all boils down to trust...

# TRUST & SHOWING UP

The more often you show up, the more people will notice and the more people will start to trust you. Of course, only if you provide value and don't try to self promote or sell stuff.

Trust is at the core of every relationship out there. Where there's no trust, there's no relationship, no marriage, no business partnership and no customer relationship.

Trust is at the core of everything. So your main goal should always be to position yourself as a trustworthy person, entity, artist, business or whatnot. That's why you should create stuff in the first place. And that's what most people get wrong...

Most people think creating stuff is to sell stuff. But it's not. You create stuff to build up trust...

# YOU WON'T GO VIRAL

Whatever you do or create, you won't go viral. Simply because you probably don't have an audience. And if you don't have an audience, then no one is going to magically find out about you, your stuff, your art, your product or your service. And then you will never go viral. don't focus on going viral. Focus on building an audience by adding value...

# LEARN ABOUT SALES, COPYWRITING, MARKETING

Sell simple things to learn about sales, marketing and copywriting. Sell orange juice. Or Christmas trees. Or whatever. But don't invest hundreds or thousands of dollars or months or maybe even years into creating something if you have no idea about marketing and sales.

Learn the basics before you create your big thing. Don't learn all of this stuff when you have your own brand, company, business or product already. Don't try to learn this stuff once you're already recorded that big album. Or created your art. Or wrote your novel.

And instead dropship products from China for example. Put together a few of your blog posts and make a book out of it. Record a few videos and try selling those as an online course. Or even easier, go to the flee market, buy stuff there and the try to sell it with a profit on Ebay.

Learn about how marketing, sales and copywriting works in a low stake environment before you move on to a high stake environment. The mechanics are always the same. If you get it right once, you'll be able to get it right over and over again.

# THE RULE OF 97%

97% of the people don't care about what you do. 97% of the people won't like you. 97% of the people won't read your stuff. Or listen to your song. Or watch your videos. 97% of the people won't buy your product. 97% of the people won't call you back. Or write back. Try to take that into account when you create your stuff...

# AVOID DEBT

Whatever you do, try to avoid getting into debt. And by the way, venture capital is also considered debt. At least in my book. Try to keep control of your life and the things you create for as long as you can...

# VALIDATE AND SELL FIRST

So how do you avoid debt then?

By selling your stuff before you have it.

By pre selling the things you want to create.

So how can you pre sell stuff?

By focusing on building an audience, a community and demand first. By building an audience before you're trying to sell your stuff. Whatever your stuff is. And you can pre sell pretty much everything. A painting. A song. A book. A product. A service. Everything...

The secret sauce is to build up trust and to show people what you're capable of doing BEFORE you ask them for a commitment. By showing them what you're capable of doing. And what problems you might be able to solve.

# OWN THE RELATIONSHIP

Whatever you do, try to get people to follow you, your work and everything you do on as many different platforms as possible and try to own the customer relationship at the same time

Now what does that even mean?

For example get them to sign up to your email list. Email is the only platform that's not controlled by a business. Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Ebay, Pinterest, Etsy and all of these platforms constantly change their algorithm. Because these businesses own the customer relationship. So they can do whatever the hell they want.

So from one day to the next you might not be able to reach your followers anymore. And you might have to go out of business. Because no reach means no revenue. That's why you have to do everything you can to own the customer relationship. And as of writing this, email is still the best way to do so...

# BE EVERYWHERE

Whatever you do, you've gotta be everywhere. On every platform. No matter what it is you're creating. Be it content, physical products, digital products or whatnot.

If you're selling physical items, sell them on Ebay, Amazon, your own shop, heck try to even sell it on Taobao (the Chinese Ebay), Lazada and any other platform out there if you can.

If you sell digital products, sell them everywhere. Be everywhere. The same holds true when you're creating content. Be everywhere. And create all sorts of different types of content...

# PEOPLE BUY WHEN THEY WANT TO

And not when you want them to. So whatever you're creating make sure you're aware of it. Most people buy when they want to buy. And it's almost never when you want them to.

So if you spend months and months building and creating your thing, remember that most people won't be interested in your stuff. So it'll probably take a few more months until they're ready. Until they trust you enough. So try to make sure you build up that trust while you create your thing...

# YOU'LL SUCK

No matter what. When you're just starting out you'll suck at it. And just like I said before, the only way to get better at it, the only way to mastery is to do it over and over again.

# HABITS

It's a myth. There is no such thing as a daily creation habit. Creation is a painful process. And it will never get any easier. If anything it'll get harder and harder the longer you do it. I've now been publishing one post every day for almost two years. And it never got any easier...

Don't believe me?

You don't have to. It's almost midnight right now and I'm super tired and my eyes feel like they're about to start bleeding. I can barely read anymore what I'm writing. That's also why I'm going to stop right now.

And that's what you need to know to be able to go from consumer to creator...

Create or die

The world is ruled by people, institutions and companies that create things. It's always been like that and it will always be like that. No matter whether you think it's a good thing or a bad thing.

And for decades it wasn't really a big problem. Because everybody was benefiting from it. Institutions, governments, people and companies. Everybody's lives were getting better and better.

The people, institutions and companies that created things had to employ people to help them to create things. To manage things. And to make sure things were going smoothly.

But the problem is that today and just like not too far away in the future most of these people who help to create things, to manage things and to make sure that things go smoothly won't be needed anymore.

They will be replaced by all sorts of things we don't have any clue about yet. And when I say we, I mean me. They'll be replaced by algorithms, by artificial intelligence and maybe even by flying pigs.

Who knows?

No one really knows.

And everybody who says they know, doesn't really know.

So here's the truth...

I have no clue about all of these things. And I don't really care about all of these things. Well, I actually do care about them. But only in a way that I want to know what might or might not happen. So that I'm ready for it. So that I'm prepared for it. And maybe even leverage all of these things. Whatever that might be.

So here's what could happen...

In just a few short years or a decade or so most of us won't be doing what we're doing right now. It will probably be very, very different. Simply because most of the things we're doing right now will be done by algorithms and all sorts of things with a huge database. And intelligence.

A database filled with gazillions of projects. With gazillions of designs. With gazillions of data points. Just like self driving cars that will store all the decisions and all of the things a driver ever did. Or maybe they don't even store it. Maybe they just learn from it right away. Either way, they'll have access to this kind of stuff. So it's like that self driving car has the experience of trillions of hours on the road.

And it will always come up with the best possible reaction and solution. No matter what. Sure, I'm totally making this up. I have no clue about the technology behind it. If that's already feasible or not. And it doesn't really matter. What matters is the concept.

The same holds true for project management. Or design. Or any other job that you think is irreplaceable. An artificial intelligence that has access to trillions of data points from past projects will be able to take over most of the work.

So instead of having hundreds of designers, project managers, account managers, accountants or whatever you'll maybe just need one or two people to manage that artificial intelligence per company.

So what will the rest of us do?

Some people think that there will be new jobs.

And it's probably true.

But at the end of the day no one really knows.

I think that for a decade or so people will suffer if they're not willing to adapt.

Like a lost generation or something.

They will suffer until the technology, regulations and all of these things are put in place so that there will be universal basic income for everyone.

Now how is that universal basic income thing even going to work?

I don't know. No one knows. But it will work. Somehow...

Maybe governments will tax big companies heavily because they only have to employ something like 10% of the people they employed before. And then they'll distribute all that cash.

So why would politicians and CEOs even do that?

Because if they don't, there will be wars.

And riots. Or whatnot.

And then politicians will lose their power.

Just like those corporations and their CEOs

And because politicians just like CEOs and pretty much every human being on this planet wants to protect what they already have, they will find a solution.

Because if they don't, they will lose what they already have.

You can always count on people to do stuff when they're afraid of losing things.

Fear of loss is the number one thing that drives people.

It's an even bigger driver than the anticipation of getting more.

I deeply believe in the fear of loss to solve our biggest problems.

But then again, I'm totally making this stuff up just to make my point.

So what can we do until there will be universal basic income for everyone if it takes another 5, 10 or 20 years until the technology, governments and regulations are in place?

Well, the only thing we can do is to start creating things.

To learn how to create something out of nothing.

To go from consuming to producing.

To be innovative. To be creative. And to produce stuff. Whatever stuff that might be. Maybe content. Maybe physical products. Maybe digital products. Who knows? No one really knows...

Sure, not everybody has to become a producer.

A very small group of people will still be needed to manage things. To make sure everything runs smoothly. To manage all the algorithms, artificial intelligence or whatnot.

But that's going to be a very small group of people. And this group of people will consist of the best of the best in their respective fields.

Most of us, we will have to find other ways to make a living until there will be universal basic income. And even once we have it, the only way to thrive will be the skill of creating something out of nothing.

Because if everybody gets $1000 a month or the equivalent adjusted to the cost of living in countries around the world, then we'll all have the same. And some people will always want to have more than others. And then those people will try to find new ways of having and making more than everybody else.

So and what can those people do?

Again, the only thing they can do is to create things. To be creative and innovative.

Some people will do things and create things to be able to have more than others. While others will create things just because they love creating things.

Things like art. Or music. Or poetry. Or technology. Or research. Or whatever.

You know, all of these great things humans do when they don't have to work a job they don't really like to be able to buy things they don't really want, to then be able to keep up with people they hate.

So long story short...

No matter what the future is going to look like, it looks being able to create something out of nothing will be the only way to thrive in the 21^st century. No matter what's to come next.

So you you might as well start today...

20 Things I Learned After I Quit My Job (and wish I knew before)

I wasted a lot of time and money during the first couple of years after I quit my job.

I didn’t have a clue about anything. And I could easily have done and learned most of these things while I still had a job. While I was still getting a paycheck at the end of each month.

But the truth is I didn't. Because no one told me that those things would be the most important things to know, to understand, to learn and to be able to do.

So I decided to write them all down. Not just for you. But most importantly for myself. To remind myself of how stupid I was. But then again, if I wasn't that stupid you wouldn't be able to right this right here.

All of these things would have saved me many sleepless nights, sorrow, loads of frustration and thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. This is an extended list of the things I wrote down a few years ago. I updated it and added a few more things I learned over the years...

# I HAD NO CLUE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE MONEY

Making money on your own is hard. Especially when you were trained to get a paycheck at the end of each month in exchange for the time you spent sitting in a cubicle. And it takes a hell lot of time to unlearn this.

It takes a hell lot of time to re-learn how to take care of yourself. How to make money on your own. Without anyone handing you a paycheck at the end of the month. That’s probably the hardest thing I had to learn.

Looking back I have to admit that I could easily have started learning all of this while I still had a job. Trying to figure out how to make money on your own when you don't have any cash coming in each and every month is one of the hardest things out there. 

And it's a lot easier and stress free when you still have a job, when you still have cash coming into your system at the end of each month.

Do you know how to make money on your own?

Just ask yourself this simple question.

And don't lie to yourself...

How would you make money if you were fired tomorrow?

And applying for a new job wasn't possible..

I know. This doesn't sound very likely.

At least not right now.

It never sounds likely until it's very likely.

# START SMALL TO BE BIG

If you want to write a book, start a blog instead.

If you want to start a blog, post your thoughts on Facebook instead.

If you want to start a company, start selling stuff instead.

If you want to run a marathon, go for 20 minute walks instead.

If you start with the end goal in mind you'll never get there.

Start with something a lot smaller first.

Get rid of all the roadblocks first.

And then get good at that thing.

Without all the roadblocks.

Make it as simple as possible.

And then once you're good enough, once you've started building momentum level up...

# SPREAD YOUR RISK

Whatever you do, don't ever put yourself into a situation where you depend on the mercy of a single person, entity, company, government or whatnot. Don't ever put yourself into a situation where a single person can make or break you.

Spread your risk across multiple projects, streams of income, partners, investments and so on. Don't be stupid and put your own future and your family's future into someone's hands who could crush you tomorrow...

# I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED FAILURE

Before I quit my job I never really failed at anything major. And when you don’t know how to deal with failure or how to handle potential failure, you might run into trouble if you try to figure it all out once you’ve quit your job. Once you don't have a safety net anymore.

That's why its probably a good idea to get used to failure while you still have that safety net. Start something on the side. Experiment, tweak and do stuff. Be that gal who does everything everybody else is afraid of.

Failure isn't easy. No matter what all the failure porn out there says. It takes a hell lot of time to get used to failure. And trying to get used to failure while you’re already close to the abyss is never a great idea. When you quit your job and fail, you’ll fall into that abyss.

And for many people that’s the end. They will never ever get out of the abyss ever again. They will either stay down there forever or go back to their 9 to 5 gig.

If you’ve never experienced real failure before, try to fail at your day job while you’re still far away from the abyss. While you still have that safety net. Go over to 100 girls/guys at a bar and start talking to them. Start selling stuff online on Ebay. It doesn't matter. Do whatever it takes.

Try to get used to dealing with failure in a low stake environment instead of a high stake environment. Put yourself into as many low stake environment before you put yourself into a high stake environment. Or else it might crush you...

# A PAYCHECK IS THE BEST THING OUT THERE

A paycheck means freedom. It means that for a while you don’t have to worry about where the next paycheck will come from. You don’t have to hunt down clients. You don’t have to release a new product. Or a new service. You don't have to borrow money from people or institutions you don't really like.

Being out there on your own is everything else except freedom. If no one needs you, you're not free. You're just out there on your own. It's always good when someone needs you. When someone depends on you. When you're so good at what you do that you can't possibly be let go. That's real freedom.

Freedom from worries. Freedom from worrying about not being able to pay next month's rent. Freedom from worrying about how you're going to pay the IRS. Freedom from being worried about your future and how you're going to survive for the next few months.

I know. Entrepreneurship, being a freelancer and being out there on your own is currently being sold as the dream. It's everything but a dream. It's more like eating glass and trying to wash it down with poison. At least for the first couple of years.

Everything is so much easier when you get a paycheck at the end of each month..

# THE BIGGER THE RISK

The bigger the risk you're willing to take, the bigger the potential upside. The earlier you join something, the more you can win. But the risk of losing is also a lot higher. And that's what makes it so tricky.

If you join when everybody else jonis, then its usually already too late and everybody already cashed out, was successful, built their audience or whatnot. When you join when everybody else joins, you'll be competing with everybody else who's competing with everybody else.

But don't be stupid. Only take risks when you can afford to take risks. Don't quit your job with zero savings. Don't quit your job if all you have is an idea. Spread your risk. And diversify as much as you can. In all areas of life...

Yann Girard: "The only way to strive in the 21st century is to create multiple streams of income... " I haven't had a real job in 5 years. I've built dozens of websites, online shops, wrote more than 10 books, created dozens of online courses and invested in tons of different things. Most things didn't work out. But some did. And I've now put together a report with some of THE most important ways of making money online in the 21st century (without having to quit your day job). And you can get it for free today! All you'd have to do is to CLICK HERE to download the report now, (it's free, for now)

 

# NETWORK

When I quit my job I had no clue about networking. I didn't even know what the word networking really meant. Simply because when you have a job you don’t have to network. All you have to do is to go for lunch with some of your colleagues day in and day out and you're good.

So when I quit my job I didn’t have a network. And I still don't really have a network. I'm just a lazy guy. I prefer to stay at home. But the truth is that it's just really hard to build a network once you're basically unemployed.

Because that's what you are when you're working on your own things. No matter how glorious or how life changing you think the stuff you're working on is. For most people you're just unemployed.

And it's a lot easier to network and to open doors if you work for a big and prestigious company. Try to leverage that before you go all in on being unemployed...

# EXPOSURE IS EVERYTHING

A lot of people say that ideas are the currency of the 21^st century. For me, exposure is the currency of the 21^st century.

If you have an audience and can expose people to that audience, you’ll be able to get in touch with almost anyone. On the other hand if you're a nobody and don’t have an audience, if you can’t offer exposure then it's whole different story.

Exposure is powerful. Because everybody is looking for exposure. Be it on an email list. A podcast. A blog. A video chat or whatever. That's what people are looking for. Because it helps them to get their ideas, products or services in front of a new audience for free. Instead of having to pay for it...

# NO ONE WILL MAGICALLY FIND OUT ABOUT YOU

Getting discovered is never ever going to happen. No matter how good you are. No matter how amazing your work is. SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE's just way to much noise out there. And the competition is brutal.

Even some of the best artists out there had to send their demo tapes to hundreds of record labels. Or upload hundreds of videos to YouTube before they were discovered.

It’s all about showing up over and over again, showing your work and building that audience. Ideas don’t spread. You need to make them spread. And you don’t need to quit your job for that...

# CONSISTENCY

Whatever you do, the more often you do it, the better you’ll get at it. And the more people will start to notice. This is an absolute no brainer. But it took me more than two years to figure it out.

Ever since I started writing and publishing one piece of content every single day I lose a lot less time trying to figure out things like when to write, what to write about and a lot of other useless things. I just have to write. Every single day. No matter what.

And not only this. Doing something every day will also help you to improve your skills. Because quantity leads to quality. The more often you do something, the better you'll get.

# VISION

I always though that this was some business guru BS stuff. And it's true. The way most people, books or blog posts talk about vision is pretty much useless for people like you and me. And what I really mean when I say that is that it was useless for me.

If you don't know what your mission is or what your vision is, then all of this advice is pretty much useless. Because the only thing we really need to know is how to find that vision. That purpose. That mission.

t took me quite a while to figure out how it really works. And no one ever really talks about it...

The only way to figure out what you want in life what your mission or your vision is, is to do many different things. To try many different things. To do things long enough until you become good at them. And then over time the pieces of your puzzle will form a beautiful picture.

But that picture is only visible looking back. You can't see it while you're collecting pieces. You can't see it when you're trying to predict the future.

And because doing many different things, having a non linear career or life is completely against what we're told to do in life, it's so hard for us to find our purpose, vision and mission in life...

# PERSISTENCE ISN'T THE SECRET SAUCE

A lack of other options is the real secret sauce. Because if you don’t have any other options, if you have to make it work, you’ll have to do everything you can to make it work. You’ll have to hustle. And do things you’d otherwise never do. You have to succeed. No matter what it takes. Because there is no other choice. I really wish I’d understood this earlier. Because then I would have burned a lot more bridges and would have closed a lot more doors a lot earlier.

# OVERNIGHT SUCCESS

There’s a good story and a real story behind every overnight success. The good story is the one you read online. The one that sounds like a dream come true. And then there’s the real story.

Like that story of AirBnB.

The founders traveled around the US visiting each and every apartment owner individually to convince them to offer their homes to complete strangers. And then they had to do the same thing with the people they wanted to book nights at some complete stranger’s home.

# ONLINE TRIBE

Everybody says that you’re the average of the five people you surround yourself with.

I always thought that this advice was useless. Because if you’re the average of the five people you surround yourself with, why would those smart people even want to hang out with you?

And if they did, they'd probably not be so smart and lose their smarts because, well... after all I'd also be part of that group.

And it took me quite a while to really understand this and what it really meant. At least for me...

Here's what I did: I stopped consuming almost all content, be it blog posts, podcasts, books or any other type of content and started focusing on three to four key people whose stuff I really liked.

That was my group of 5. Well, four. But you get the idea. This helped me to eliminate a lot of conflicting advice that only held me back and I started to understand everything a lot better. I really wish I’d found my online tribe a few years earlier.

# YOUR RULES

It will never end. There will always be things to think about. Things to do. Things to write about. But at one point you just gotta call it a day. No matter how much you've already written, said or done. And that's exactly what I'm going to do now. It's already past 10pm and I'm getting sleepy. There are no rules. You make your own rules...

I made less than a cleaning lady for almost three years

After I quit my job I made less than a cleaning lady for almost three years.

I went from a safe and stable job with more money than I could ever spend to just a few hundred dollars a month.

Some months I made even less than that.

And other months I made $0.

And lot of people told me that I was stupid.

A lot of people still think that I'm stupid.

And maybe they're right.

Who knows...

But I was willing to cut back on pretty much everything.

I was willing to cut back to figure myself out.

I was willing to cut back to be able to invest in myself.

To invest in learning new skills.

And doing new things.

And becoming good at something I wanted to become good at.

I was willing to cut back and work my face off for zero immediate return.

I was willing to play the long game.

And I'm still playing the long game.

I was willing to pay the price.

I was willing to pay the price of never getting where I wanted to be.

I was willing to sacrifice pretty much everything.

And I still am.

I was ready to eat dirt.

And I still am.

For how long?

As long as it takes.

So why am I even telling you this?

I don't know.

Maybe because I feel that this is what it takes.

Maybe I feel that at one point in life you've gotta close a few doors.

And say no to many opportunities. 

Opportunities that aren't your opportunities.

Maybe I feel that at one point you've gotta close the doors that aren't your doors.

The doors that are someone else's doors.

Maybe they're your parent's doors.

Maybe your teacher's doors.

Maybe your bosse's doors.

Or maybe society's doors.

Here's the thing...

Closing doors is the only way to get a new set of doors.

Closing doors is the only way to see those other doors that weren't in sight.

The doors that might or might not be your doors.

But there's no guarantee that you'll ever find your doors.

It's difficult.

It's difficult to close doors.

And it's even more difficult to find your doors.

Especially when those doors that aren't yours seem pretty lucrative.

When they seem to be the path to freedom. And success.

When they seem to help you climb a ladder.

But what if one day you arrive at the end of that ladder only to realize that you climbed someone else's ladder?

I know. It's difficult to close doors when you don't even know where you want to go.

When you don't even know what you want in life.

And that's what makes it so tricky.

Because the only way to figure out all of these things is to do stuff.

To experiment.

To try many different things.

To invest in yourself.

To learn new skills.

To create things.

To master a skill.

And to not only do what you're told to do.

You have to close doors to be able to open new doors.

New doors that might lead you somewhere closer to where you want to be.

Here's the thing...

You've gotta close doors that will get you nowhere in order to be able to open doors that will get you somewhere.

What are you willing to sacrifice?

What you really need to be able to do “your thing”

"Money is not for buying things. Things don’t make us happy. Money is for buying ourselves some freedom to do the things that make us happy."

Money.

Money really is the only thing you need to be able to do “your thing.”

To follow your passion.

And live your dreams.

No matter what everybody else out there says.

No matter what all the gurus say.

Or all the self help books.

Or all those life coaches.

Well, there actually is another thing you're going to need.

You're going to need a lot of time.

And patience.

Time and patience to get better at your thing.

So here's the thing...

If you don't have enough money, if you don't have your basics covered and if you don't have any financial stability, then it's just really, really hard to make anything work.

No matter how much work you're willing to put in.

No matter how much you're willing to hustle.

If you're constantly worried about not being able to pay next month's rent, then you'll never be able to see.

You'll always be blind.

You'll always make short term decisions.

And short term decisions will always lead to long term pain.

So whenever someone tells you that you should just go out here, that you should just do your thing, follow your passion, live your dream and do what you love, try to remember this...

Work on your financial stability first.

It's the most important thing.

And it doesn't really matter how you cover your basics.

Or how much or how little you need to cover your basics.

The only thing that really matters is that you're financially stable.

That you're able to cover your expenses.

No matter what.

So you have some time and freedom to experiment.

To learn new things.

And to invest in yourself.

If you don't have that freedom, that freedom to invest in yourself, to be patient and to put in the work without having to worry about anything, then following your passion, doing your thing and doing what you love is a petty bad idea.

And whenever someone tells you to follow your passion, to do your thing and to live your dreams, study their past.

Figure out how they got started.

Figure out whether they were actually following their own advice when they got started.

Figure out whether they covered their basics first or if they went ahead with nothing.

It's very likely they covered their basics first.

Maybe they had some sort of safety net.

A family that's doing relatively ok.

A job to pay the bills.

A side gig.

Or whatever.

When I started I had two years of expenses in the bank.

I live a very simple lifestyle, so it didn't take too long to get there.

I worked a job for 18 months and saved almost everything I made.

So I was able to build up my freedom fund relatively quickly.

Maybe it'll take you longer to build up that freedom fund.

Maybe you're going to do many different things on the side while you still have your job.

Maybe you're going to start a side business.

Or get a second job.

Or do consulting.

Or freelancing.

Or whatever.

So why do you need that money?

Why do you need that freedom fund?

Because it'll take a lot of time until you get to a place where you're going to be able to make a living doing the things you love.

Maybe you're never going to get there.

Maybe you're not patient enough.

Maybe you're running out of money.

Who knows?

The only thing I know is this...

Doing your thing and following your passion is expensive.

Very expensive.

Because you've gotta get good at it first.

Very good.

And that's going to take a lot of time.

But not only is it going to be expensive because life is expensive but because you're going to have to leave a lot of money on the table to get started.

I barely made any money during my first 3 years.

Those 3 years were equal to almost $200,000 in salary I would have gotten if I stayed at my job.

Sure, you can become a yoga teacher in just a few weeks.

But there are millions of yoga teachers out there.

And to be able to make a living you've gotta be one of the best yoga teachers out there.

Or you'll barely be able to get by.

And that takes time.

Becoming really, really good at anything in life takes a hell lot of time.

You can become a writer or a blogger even faster than that.

You don't even have to go to Bali and go through a two weeks long course.

You can get started right away.

All you have to do is to open up Word or your phone or your tablet and you're already a writer. Or a blogger.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be successful. Or any good...

Just because you can get started right away doesn't mean you're going to be successful.

The easier it is to get started, the harder it'll usually be to become one of the best out there and be able to make a living.

Simply because you'll be competing with everybody else who's competing with everybody else.

So the only way you'll ever be successful, the only way you'll ever be able to make a living blogging, writing, singing, painting or whatever is to become one of the best of the best out there.

Sure, you can combine things you love and do things at the intersection of it, but you'd still have to become really good at it.

And during that time you've somehow gotta be able to take care of yourself.

To pay for food, rent and everything else.

If you think it's going to take one year, it's probably going to take 10 years.

If you think it's going to take two years it's probably going to take 5 years.

If you think it's going to take 3 years it might maybe take just 4 years.

You get the idea, right...

So whatever it is you're trying to do, make sure you achieve some sort of financial stability first.

And it doesn't really matter whether you work as a security guard, at Mc Donalds a warehouse or whatever.

The only thing that matters is that you've got your basics covered and then use your free-time to work on getting better at “your thing.”

Whatever your thing is.

I know it doesn't really sound as sexy as “follow your passion” or “do what you love.”

Sex sells.

But the reality is never as good as the commercials...

The Fine Art of Giving up

How to know when to quit and when to keep going.

I've given up so many times I don't even remember anymore.

And every single time I've missed that point when I should have given up.

Relationships.

Businesses.

Friendships.

Writing.

Everything.

I should have given up and packed my things a lot earlier.

Every single time.

But the truth is giving up is hard.

Knowing when to give up and when to keep pushing is probably the hardest thing out there.

So I don't really know anything about the fine art of giving up.

I suck at giving up.

Which perfectly qualifies me to write about it.

So here are a few things I've used in the past to decide whether to give up or to keep pushing...

# DOING THE WRONG THING

When you're doing the wrong thing you should give up and move on to something else.

But not in a quit-your-job-immediately kind of way.

But more in a get-as-much-money-out-of-it-as-possible and start-a freedom-fund-first kind of way.

Get ready for it.

Prepare your big escape.

Don't rush it.

Be smart about it.

Don't be like me...

So how do you know if you're doing the wrong thing?

You'll feel it when you're doing the wrong thing.

You'll just know it.

And if you're now reading this right here and you feel like you don't know it, then deep down you probably already know it.

If you're not absolutely and 1000% sure about it, that probably means that you're doing the wrong thing.

And not the right thing.

Not the thing you should be doing.

Not your thing...

# GETTING SICK

When you’re constantly sick or getting sick then your body wants to send you a message.

It’s probably your body telling you that it’s time to stop.

That it’s not worth it.

That you should be doing something else.

That you should move on.

Health is more important than anything else.

# EATING JUNK FOOD

When you’re constantly eating junk food and drinking unhealthy stuff it’s your body trying to send you another signal.

Your body wants to tell you that something is wrong.

That something is missing.

And whatever is missing, your body wants that feeling to go away.

And because your body doesn’t want to be in pain (just like a drug addict) it's going to try to fill that void with garbage and tells you to stuff as much garbage into your body as possible so you can feel a little bit better for a while

But after that quick high it will be even worse than before.

It’s a vicious circle.

A circle you need to break out of as fast as you can. The sooner the better…

# DRINKING ALCOHOL

Here’s why most people go out and party like crazy and get drunk on the weekends. And when I say most people I'm really talking about myself.

It's the same reason why people buy all sorts of crap they don’t really need.

People do it because they tell themselves that they deserve it. That all week long they’ve been doing things they didn’t enjoy doing. Things that didn’t make them happy.

“Screw this. Now is “me time”. Now is the time to be happy and pack all the fun that was missing during the week into a few short hours. Let’s get all the fun and happiness from that week back.”

What people don’t realize is that every time you get drunk, you’re pretty much stealing happiness from the next day. Or the following day. Or just like in my case sometimes from an entire week. Alcohol is a very powerful depressant...

# EVERYTHING

If you've done everything you can and it still doesn't work out it's probably a good time to move on.

And what I mean by that is that you really tried everything.

And not just the things you can do.

But also the things you can't do.

If you can't find someone to do something for you that you don't know how to do, then try to figure out how to do it yourself.

And if you then still can't make it work, move on...

"It's never too late to be who you say you are!" I went from being an entrepreneur to being an employee. Then I went to being an 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)...

 

# FUN

When it’s just not fun anymore at all, then just quit. Life is too short to be doing things that aren’t fun anymore. But try to remember the last point. And all the other points I already mentioned. And the ones I'm about to mention...

# LEARNING

When you feel like you don’t or can’t learn anything anymore because you’ve already learned everything you possibly could and don’t see how you could progress any further, then just quit and move on to the next thing.

Too many people get stuck in dead end jobs, projects, relationships or whatever because at one point they stopped progressing. Because they stopped learning.

When you’re standing still, when you're not learning new things anymore for just a few short days, weeks, months or even a few years, then you’ll almost never be able to get unstuck again.

That’s why so many talented and smart people get stuck in life and end up in dead end jobs, projects or relationships.

They’ve missed the point of moving on to the next thing...

# SLEEP

If you don’t sleep enough your mind will always be weak.

And your willpower will be at zero.

And when I say you I'm talking about myself again.

And when your mind is weak you’ll constantly be eating junk food or drinking things that are bad for your health.

And then the whole thing kicks back in again.

Bad sleep. Bad decisions. Bad food choice. Bad sleep. It's a vicious circle.

But even more importantly and this might be the most important thing, when you start to realize that the things you’re doing don’t really have an impact, that no one really needs what you’re doing, that someone else could easily be doing the exact same thing you’re doing, when you realize that you’re easily replaceable, then just pack your things and leave.

Because what that means is that you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

That you’re not doing that one thing you were sent here to be doing.

That one thing only you can do.

It means that you're not doing your thing.

And you need to do everything you can to be able to do the thing you were sent here to do.

You owe it to yourself.

And the people around you.

You owe it to the entire world.

So how do you find "your thing?"

By going from one thing to the next and following the fine art of giving up.

By following the fine art of giving up until you found it.

And once you found it, you'll know it.

You'll feel it.

So if you don't feel it, you probably haven't found it yet.

It's that simple.

But not easy...

The Art Of The Start (Or What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do)

Everything I've ever started in my life started with a total disaster.

Every website.

Every book.

Even this book right here.

Every online shop.

Every blog post.

Every talk.

I never felt ready for anything.

I never felt competent.

Or confident.

I always said to myself “it's not the right time.”

I need to know more about it.

I need a better structure.

I need more money.

I need more time.

I need a better plan.

I need more ideas

I need more contacts.

More, more, more...

But the real magic doesn't actually happen with more.

It happens with less.

When you make things happen with less.

But then again it might be true.

I might have needed all of the above things.

And maybe if I had all of the above things I would be a huge success.

Maybe...

Or, and I think that's a lot more realistic, I would still be sitting in my cubicle planning my big escape.

I would probably still be strategizing about how to convince people to invest in my ideas.

I would probably still be planning strategies on how to find customers.

Strategies on how to do my first book launch.

Strategies on how to launch my blog.

On how to write my first blog post.

And finally, I would probably still be busy strategizing about strategizing.

And I would probably never have done anything in my life I would be proud of.

So here's the thing...

The only thing you need to get started is to get started.

That's all you really need.

That's all you need to know about the art of the start...

And just in case you want to read more about how to get started, feel free to keep reading...

# IT'S NEVER THE RIGHT TIME

You'll always be busy.

Busy with the kids.

The mortgage.

Taxes.

Your Job.

The family.

Your friends.

Vacation.

There will always be millions of things to take care of.

Millions of things that need your attention.

Millions of things to plan.

To prepare and to anticipate.

It's never the right time.

That's why every day is the right time.

The day you start is the right time.

Today is the right time.

Just like yesterday was the right time.

Just like tomorrow will be the right time.

Every day is the right time to get started...

# YOU'LL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH MONEY

You'll never have enough money to get started.

Because the only way to have enough money is to get started.

To get started doing things that help you to make enough money.

Whatever that might be in your case.

It's that simple...

# YOU'LL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH TIME

We all have 24 hours a day.

Or 1440 minutes.

Or 86400 seconds.

And even though we all have the exact same 24 hours each and every day some people seem to have more time than others.

How do they do it?

I don't know.

The only thing I know is this...

You'll never have enough time.

And you'll always have enough time...

Yann Girard: "The only way to strive in the 21st century is to create multiple streams of income..." I haven't had a real job in 5 years. I've built dozens of websites, online shops, wrote more than 10 books, created dozens of online courses and invested in tons of different things. Most things didn't work out. But some did. And I've now put together a report with some of THE most important ways of making money online in the 21st century (without having to quit your day job). And you can get it for free today! All you'd have to do is to CLICK HERE to download the report now, (it's free, for now)

 

# YOU'LL NEVER BE GOOD AT IT

If you don't do it.

The only way to become good at anything is to do it.

Over and over again.

I know I've said this many times already.

Because it's true.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Who knows?

The only way to know it is to do it...

# YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING

The only way to really know things is to do them.

You'll never know whether people will buy your product until you start selling it and people actually start buying it.

You'll never know whether she's going to kiss you until you go over and start talking to her and she kisses you.

You'll never know whether you're a good writer until you start writing.

It's impossible to know anything.

The only way to know it is to do it.

# DREAM BIG. THINK SMALL

It's ok to think big.

But while thinking big, don't forget all the small things.

Don't forget about getting your hands dirty.

Don't skip the hard work.

Don't skip the things that don't seem to matter.

Because the things that don't seem to matter are actually the only things that matter...

# PLANS ARE BASED ON ASSUMPTIONS

And not the reality.

That's why it's pretty much useless to spend too much time planning.

Simply because you only know what to do, what to plan and what to take care of AFTER you've done it.

Once you know all the unexpected things.

And you can never know what unexpected things are going to happen.

That's the nature of it.

So it's impossible to know about all of the roadblocks ahead of time.

You'll only see the unexpected roadblocks once you're on the road.

Sure, you can plan ahead and avoid the roadblocks that you know about already.

But that's only a fraction of the roadblocks you're actually really going to encounter.

It's almost always the unexpected things that'll kill you.

It's never the things you expected that'll kill you.

And that's what you need to do when you don't know what to do.

And when I say “you”, I’m actually talking to myself.

That's the art of the start...

The Underdogs Cheat Sheet to Overcoming Disadvantages, Adversity and Insecurity

I wake up many mornings asking myself what am I even doing here.

Why am I even doing all of this.

Who do I think I am?

And then all sorts of insecurities start to crawl in.

I start feeling like everybody else is better than me.

Smarter than me.

More successful than me.

Sometimes that also happens when I sit down and try to write.

And then these exact same thoughts popup again.

Over and over again.

And when that happens I try to remind myself of a few things...

# DISADVANTAGES

We all have disadvantages.

Some people have more.

Some people have less.

But we all have a choice.

We can either complain about our disadvantages or we can accept them as a part of who we are.

And then use them as our rocket fuel.

If you know that you have to work harder than anybody else to achieve the exact same thing, you can either complain about it and tell yourself how unfair the world is or you can start putting in the work.

Complaining won't get you anywhere.

And it won't change a thing.

Only doing will.

It's your choice...

# INSECURITIES

It might seem like everybody else is high on confidence while you're the only one feeling insecure.

And when I say you I'm really talking about myself.

But the truth is that most people are even more insecure than you are.

They're just pretty good at hiding it.

At faking it...

# NEVER UNDERESTIMATE OTHER PEOPLE'S WEAKNESSES

When I went to university I was constantly worried about failing.

Until I realized something that has stuck with me ever since.

Never ever underestimate other people's weaknesses.

Maybe you think that you really suck.

That you're really bad at what you do.

And maybe you really suck.

Maybe you're really bad at what you do.

But so is everybody else.

That's the only thing that got me through university.

That's the only thing that got me through life.

That's what got me started doing all of the things I now do.

Blogging.

Writing books.

Giving talks.

And on and on and on.

I stopped underestimating other peoples weaknesses...

# NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU

It's true. No one cares about you when you're just getting started.

Just like no one really cared about all those people that are now on top when they were just getting started.

Here's the thing...

We all have to start from the bottom and work our way to the top.

Sure, some people start a little closer to the bottom than others.

But at the end of the day we all have to work our way to the top.

And if you're ready to put in the work to get better at it, then it doesn't really matter if you're starting a few inches closer to the bottom than everybody else.

# QUANTITY LEADS TO QUALITY

Talent doesn't really matter.

No one is good at anything right away.

We all suck when we start something new.

Sure, some people might suck less than others.

But the only way to get better at anything is to do it.

Over and over again.

The only way to quality is quantity.

The more often you do something, the better you'll get.

It's that simple.

And this applies to pretty much everything in life.

Being a good boyfriend.

Being a good girlfriend.

Being a good entrepreneur.

A good writer.

A good public speaker.

A good designer.

A good freelancer.

A good boss.

A good employee.

You get the idea.

You become good at it by being bad at it first...

Yann Girard:  "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. 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)...

 

# YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Maybe you think you're not good enough.

And it's probably true.

You'll probably not be good enough.

But just like I said.

You've gotta put in the work.

That's the only way to get better.

That's the only way to get good enough.

At anything...

# YOU'RE TOO OLD

I don't know if you can be too old for something.

Maybe you can.

Maybe you can't.

The only thing I know is that until the age of 28 I had read less than 10 books in my life.

And I only read those because I was forced to read them in school.

Another thing I know is that I almost failed high school because I didn't know how to write.

And now you're reading this right here...

# YOU'RE NOT AN EXPERT

Probably true.

No one starts as an expert.

You become an expert by doing.

Everybody that you know consider an expert wasn't an expert at first.

So what did they do to become experts?

They put in the work.

They showed up.

Over and over again.

That really is the only way.

No one magically becomes an expert.

There's no such thing as an overnight expert.

Everybody you now call an expert did the exact same thing.

And you can do the same.

Everybody can be an expert..

By putting in the work...

# YOU'RE NOT SMART

Maybe you're not smart.

Maybe you really are.

I don't know.

But what I do know is that experience trumps everything.

A lot of people think that I'm smart.

Here's what I usually tell them...

I'm not smart. I just did a lot of stupid things that didn't work...

# YOU CAN'T

A lot of people will tell you that you can't do this.

That you can't do that.

They will tell you that you can't write a book that's only 30 pages long.

That you can't send a rocket to the moon.

That you can't be an actor.

That you can't be a writer.

That you can't be this.

That you can't be that.

But that's exactly what some people pulled off.

Against all odds.

And yes, all of these things might not be possible in their world.

All of these things might not be possible if you do it their way.

But if you find your way and then do it your way, then pretty much everything is possible...

How to thrive in a world where there's nowhere to thrive

We live in one of the greatest eras that mankind has ever seen.

For the first time in history it doesn't really matter anymore where you were born, where you live, which school you attended or how much money your parents have.

If you're willing to put in the work, if you're willing to learn, to understand and leverage all the available tools and platforms out there, then you'll be able to win.

Today you can open an online shop for 30 bucks a month and sell stuff worldwide.

You can have your own website up and running for just a few dollars a month.

You can reach millions of people for free through all sorts of content.

And you can reach pretty much every human being on this planet with paid ads.

Right now might be the best time ever to be alive.

If and that's a pretty big if...

If you are willing to adapt, to learn new things, step outside your comfort zone and do things you've never done before.

Things you never thought you had to do.

Things you never thought you'd do.

The world is changing.

And so is employment.

There will be less and less jobs for more and more people.

And it's only going to get worse.

Sure, the best of the best will thrive.

The top 0.1% in any field will always thrive.

But what about the rest of us?

What should we do?

We have to find other ways to break free.

Other ways to freedom.

Other ways to thrive.

So how can you thrive when there's nowhere to thrive?

I don't know.

Because I don't know you.

But I can tell you what I did...

# DON'T QUIT YOUR JOB

Whatever you do, don't quit your job. Keep it for as long as you can. And build a freedom fund. Build things on the side. Spread your risk. And start building multiple streams of income. Again, if you still have a job, don't quit that job. At least not this year. Or the next year...

Simply because a job is the easiest, safest and quickest way to make some cash.

Building something totally from scratch, no matter what it is will take years. If not decades. And life is expensive. And we all have bills to pay. And mouths to feed.

So whatever you do, try to keep your job for as long as you can.

Keep your job until you're replaced by an algorithm, artificial intelligence or someone who's going to do your job for 1/3 of your salary.

Use your job and the money you make to work on your freedom.

But what if you don't have a job?

Then try to get a job as fast as possible. No matter what job.

If you can't find the job you're looking for, then go and work at Mc Donald's. Or Burger King. Heck, work at both at the same time. Do whatever it takes. Try to make as much money as possible while you still have the chance.

Money equals freedom. No money equals prison...

If you're constantly struggling with the basics, if you're constantly worried about this and about that, then you wont be able to focus on the big picture. And instead you'll always make short term decisions. And short term decisions always lead to long term pain.

So make sure you have your basics covered. But I'm probably not the right guy to talk about this kind of stuff. Maslow knows a lot more about having your basics covered. SO you'd better ask him...

At the end of the day no one is going to ask you about how you made that money that saved your ass. No one is going to ask you about how you financed your first, second or third year when everything seemed to go wrong.

And even if they do, then that Mc Donald's and Burger King story makes a hell of a story. At least in my book...

So what should you do with all of that money?

Why should you not quit your job?

Good question!

Because you've gotta start a freedom fund.

And when I say you, what I really mean is that that's what I did...

# CREATE A FREEDOM FUND

When I quit my job about four years ago I had two years worth of expenses in the bank. Maybe even three if I was willing to live somewhere cheaper. Which I ended up doing by the way. So the only thing that got me started was my freedom fund.

I worked a job that I didn't really like that much to be able to save as much as I possibly could. And I took the highest paying job I could possibly get so I could save enough money as fast as possible.

Here's a little trick...

If you struggle getting up in the morning and ask yourself why you're even doing all of this, remind yourself of your freedom fund. Remind yourself that you're doing this to buy yourself some freedom some time in the future.

That's what I did. And it worked every single time...

So after those 18 months were over I had saved almost 70% of my income. That's really the only thing that helped me to get to where I am right now. Wherever that might be.

Sure, some of you might say that saving doesn't get you anywhere.

That you cant save our way to freedom. Which is true.

But buying yourself some time and freedom to work on bigger things does.

So here's the problem...

No matter what you do or want to do, it will always take a few years until you'll be able to make a living with it. Unless you're one of the best of the best in that field already. If you're not, then it'll take you many, many years.

And that's what the freedom fund is for. To buy yourself freedom. Some time and freedom to get better at it. To turn your thing into something that will help you to thrive. Whatever your thing might be.

So even though you can't save your way to freedom, you can save your way to enough money to buy yourself some time and freedom and invest in yourself and your skills...

# INVEST IN YOURSELF

Invest in yourself and learn all of the things you'd otherwise have to pay someone to do it for you.

Because if you don't learn these things, you'd have to pay someone to do these things for you over and over again.

And paying people to do something for you before you even made a single cent is always a bad investment.

Do the things you want to do.

Create art.

Draw paintings.

Write songs.

Create music.

Write a book.

Start a business.

Sing.

Do whatever you want to do.

And then become the best at it.

And learn all of the things you hate doing.

Learn about marketing.

And sales.

And design.

And copywriting.

And public speaking.

And on and on and on.

Learn how to do all the things you'd otherwise have to pay someone to do it for you.

Learn real world skills that lead to real world results.

Don't just learn the theory.

The only way to learn and leverage all the technology and tools out there is by doing.

Open up an online shop, drop ship products from China, send traffic to that shop with Facebook ads and see how it goes.

Or record a song and do the same thing.

Or write a book and do the same thing.

Or draw paintings

Or whatever.

Go out there and start a blog.

And then turn that blog into a book and see how many copies you can sell.

Don't spend years and years writing that perfect book that no one is going to read.

Get out there, publish stuff and see what happens.

Do what you always wanted to do.

And then learn all the skills you need to make it a success.

Don't wait for anyone to discover you.

Because there are 7 billion other people waiting to be discovered.

That's a competition you can never win...

# PLANT SEEDS

Don't start planting your seeds when you need the tree.

Start planting your seeds before you need the tree. Because those seeds will take a long time to grow into a strong enough tree.

This is such a simple concept. But its so hard to follow...

Now what does that even mean?

It means that you should look for a new job before you have to look for a new job.

That you have to build an audience before you want to sell something.

That you have to build a network before you need a network.

Because if you only do all of these things once you need them, it's probably already too late...

# SPREAD YOUR RISK

No one knows what's going to happen in the next 1, 5, 10 or 15 years. No one. And when I say no one I'm especially talking about myself.

So the only thing we can do is to spread our risk. To have a portfolio of different things we're working on. A portfolio of different streams of income.

If all you have is one stream of income you'll be screwed. Sooner or later. Especially when that income stream depends on a boss who could fire you whenever he or she pleases. Especially when it's something you have zero control over.

The only way to thrive in the 21^st century is to spread your risk and diversify your income across multiple streams of income. And the way to build those streams of income is to invest in yourself and your skills. To learn, understand and leverage all the existing technology, tools and platforms out there. ..

# TRADE LESS TIME FOR MONEY

This is the ultimate goal. Trading less of your time for money. Because when you keep trading your time for money you'll never be free.

You'll always make just about enough to get by. You'll only be able to improve your lifestyle incrementally and each time you get a raise it will immediately be taken off your plate by your increase in lifestyle related spending.

Like going out to the restaurant more often. Or buying more expensive clothes. Or buying that new apartment. Or house. Or boat. Or whatnot. Don't ever forget your freedom fund.

It's a hamster wheel. The more you make, the more you spend. And the more you spend, the more you need to make. And the only way to make more is to trade more of your time for money. Which leads to even less freedom. And less leverage.

So how do you do that?

How do you stop trading time for money?

Go back and re-read everything you've read so far...

# SHOWING UP

The more and the longer you show up, the more people will start to notice.

Show up where?

Everywhere.

For how long?

For as long as you can...

# DIFFERENT COST STRUCTURE

Over the years I've lived in apartments all over the world. I've lived in an apartment in Manhatten that cost thousands of dollars (that I luckily didn't have to pay for). I've also lived in apartments in Bangkok that were just a hundred dollars a month

So instead of complaining about the cost of living being too high, work on being able to live and work wherever you want to. How do you do that?

Again, re-read everything you've read so far. Especially the part about the freedom fund and the invest in yourself part.

Today, we almost all have the opportunity to go to places that are dramatically cheaper and live there for a while and do our thing.

Maybe you want to get a side business off the ground that you can do online.

Maybe you want to do start a dropshipping business on Ebay or Amazon.

Maybe you want to start your own online store.

Or maybe you want to write a book.

Or shoot an online course.

I've done all of these things over the past few years.

And you don't have to live in a country where you spend thousands of dollars on rent to do any of these things.

You can easily do all of these things in countries that are a lot cheaper than back home.

So once you know what you want to do, once you have a big enough freedom fund or maybe even have some time for a sabbatical, it makes sense to move somewhere cheaper for a while to decrease your expenses. And it doesn't have to be forever.

But what about your family?

Well, you can easily take your family with you and work on your things. And maybe even think about homeschooling your kids. And at the same time teach them all of the things you're learning yourself.

And by the way who would say no to a few months in Thailand, Vietnam, South America and all of these other beautiful places?

# HAVE ENOUGH

Probably one of the most important things is to know and define when you have enough.

It's easy to get caught up in the rat race of trying to keep up with the Joneses.

It's a never ending race.

And you'll never win.

No matter what.

Because there will always be someone who's going to have more than you. A lot more.

And when you don't know what it is that you really need, when you don't know when you have enough, then you'll never have enough.

Then you'll keep spending every single cent that you earn more.

And then none of this makes any sense at all.

The only thing that makes sense is to invest every single cent in yourself.

So that one day you might be able to live on your own terms.

Without having to do what your boss is telling you to do. Or your clients. Or society.

Just ask yourself what you really need and want in life.

What's your enough?

# IGNORE EVERYBODY

Whatever people are going to tell you, ignore them.

This also includes me. Especially me. Don't ever listen to me.

Only listen to the people who've already successfully done what you want to do.

Whatever that might be.

Don't listen to your parents. Your boss. Your professors. Anybody.

Only listen to the people who've recently, successfully done what you want to do. And not 10, 15 or 20 years ago. Because that stuff doesn't work anymore today...

# REINVENTION

That's what this is all about.

Reinvention.

Because the world changes so fast we basically have to reinvent ourselves every few years. We've gotta learn new things every few years or we become obsolete.

But the good thing is that you have a choice. We all have a choice...

You can either wait until you become obsolete or you can start investing in yourself, learn the necessary skills and tools, plant your seeds and build something out of nothing.

So that once that big wave comes you can surf it...

# TALENT

There's no such thing as talent. There's only putting in the work.

Simply because the only way to quality is quantity. No one is good at anything right away. We all suck at everything when we're getting started. Some people suck less. And some people suck more.

But the truth is that the only way to get better at anything is to put in the work. Over and over. The only way to quality is quantity. The more you do something, the better you'll get.

Quantity leads to quality. Always!

Saying that you're not talented enough, that you're not good enough is an excuse.

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

Sure, its hard. And it needs a lot of time and effort to become good at anything.

But saying you're not good enough, that you're not talented enough is just an excuse...

# NO TIME

If you say you don't have time for all of this, then you're probably right.

And there will be a time where you'll have more time for this. A lot more time.

But then you'll probably already be naked and have a gun pointed at your head.

Which doesn't necessarily make any of this any easier.

And that's how to thrive in a world where there's nowhere to thrive...

Getting back up again when you've been punched in the face

“I've been punched in the face dozens of times over the last couple of years."

A few days ago I was having a chat with an old friend of mine that I haven't seen in a long time.

We were talking about many different things.

And one of them was about vision.

I don't even know how we ended talking about it.

I don't even like the word.

Because pretty much every leadership and self help book talks about it.

Everybody says that you've gotta have a vision in life.

That you've gotta have a mission.

And a purpose.

And some more blah blah blah.

But the problem is that no one ever tells you how to find that vision.

No one ever tells you how to find your life's vision.

So we're constantly trying to find a vision for our lives.

A mission.

And a purpose.

Because that's what all of these book are saying.

But here's the problem...

You'll never find it just by thinking about it.

You'll never find anything in life just by thinking about it.

It just doesn't work.

Just like you won't find your future husband or wife by thinking about how they have to look like.

You only find them by going out there.

By creating opportunities for you, her or him.

By creating opportunities for you to run into each other.

By creating opportunities for you to get to know each other.

By experimenting.

By figuring out what you like and what you don't like.

You won't find your future wife or husband by reading books.

Or reading blogs.

And the same holds true for finding your vision.

Your purpose.

And pretty much everything else in life.

You've gotta go out there.

And experiment.

And see what works.

And what doesn't.

What you like.

And what you don't like.

See what you're good at.

What you're passionate about.

And then just do it.

But not just for a few months.

But for a few years.

So we don't do it.

Because it's too much work.

And instead we just sit around and think about it...

Over the past four years I've gone from employee to writer, then to public speaker and blogger, then to entrepreneur and writer and now I do all of these things at the same time.

It took me more than 900 blog posts, 9 books, more than 20 websites and more than 30 talks or so to find my vision.

And my purpose.

And I still don't really know what it is.

And it constantly changes.

Today my purpose is to write this right here.

Tomorrow it will be something else.

But it's still part of my overall vision.

And I'm sure it's going to change again over the next few months, years or even decades while I do stuff, get better at what I do and refine what I could do next.

It's not a linear process.

As a matter of fact its a complete disaster.

And it only makes sense looking back.

So what can you do if you don't know how to get started?

I don't know.

Because I don't know you.

But I can tell you what I did.

My vision was to find my vision...

Again, no one ever found her vision, her mission or her purpose just by thinking about it.

By sitting, waiting and wishing.

But what has all of this to do with getting back up again when you've been knocked out?

Well, nothing and everything...

If you don't know why you're getting up every single morning, if you don't know why you're even doing all of this, then at one point you won't be able to get back up again anymore.

And money is usually just a short term answer.

Because at one point you won't really care about it anymore.

And then you'll get stuck.

And those punches in your face will get stronger and stronger over time. 

Especially when you don't know why you're even doing all of this.

For me, this is the only thing that helps me to get back up again every single morning.

That's the only thing that pushes me.

That's the only thing that helps me to get back up again after I've been punched in the face.

That's what has pushed me to write this right here.

And everything else I've ever put out there...

This was a part of my new book The Underdogs Guide To Winning When You’ve Failed At Almost Everything. It’s available for pre-order for pay-as-much-as-you-want. You can get it here: https://gum.co/XHyRD

The underdog will always win...

“We can only get ready for it. So when that big wave comes we won’t drown and instead we’ll surf that wave all the way to the shore…”

A while ago I watched a TV show here in Germany where people were asking political candidates all sorts of questions. It's election time right now.

And one question stuck with me for quite a bit...

A woman with her family and her kids was asking what the candidate was going to do about the fact that living in cities is getting more and more expensive in Germany and basically unaffordable for low to lower middle class families with one income only.

So of course the candidate was talking about all sorts of things he's going to do. All of the new programs he's going to introduce. That he's going to bring back this and bring back that. That he's going to do stuff for people that have been left behind.

But the truth is that he just can't. He can't do anything about it. He won't be able to do anything about it. Just like all the other people out there who are talking about bringing back jobs, about programs that will benefit people who have been left behind can't do anything about it.

It just doesn't work anymore. Technology and capitalism are eating away jobs. And will continue to do so. And there's nothing we can do about it.

Will they create new jobs?

No one knows. 

Maybe. 

Maybe not.

So the only thing we ca do about it is to start taking care of our own lives again.

To start taking responsibility for our own lives again.

Because no one else will.

The times where we could simply outsource responsibility for our lives to big corporations by trading our time for money is ending one day at a time.

The government won't be able to help you anymore. They're either busy getting into wars, fighting terrorism, making sure that some of the biggest companies in their countries won't go bankrupt while at the same time trying to figure out how they won't go bankrupt themselves.

Politicians won't be able to help you anymore. They're busy helping themselves and trying to figure out how they can best survive and keep their jobs for as long as they can.

Corporations won't be able to help you anymore. They're busy trying to increase revenues so stock holders are satisfied and don't pull the trigger on them, the entire company and the entire economy.

No one is left to take care of you. Your family. Your kids. Your retirement. Anything.

No one except you.

I know it might sound depressing.

But it's the truth.

And you have a choice.

You have the choice to either complain about it, about the fact that the top 5% or whatever are getting richer and richer and how the rest is getting poorer and poorer or you can start taking action.

You can start taking responsibility for your own life again.

And then once you've done that you can help others to do the same.  

Or you can just sit there and watch the show because you think it won't affect you.

Just like I think it won't affect me. Just like the people I studied with think it won't affect them. Just like your friends think it won't affect them. Or your boss. Or your bosse's boss.

It won't affect “us”.

It will only affect “them”.

Until it does....

“The more you have to lose, the more you’ll try to ignore the truth.”

Or you can just sit there, do nothing and just wait for basic income to come.

Which will come some time in the future.

But it will probably take one more generation until it's here.

But don't get me wrong here.

I don't say this from a perspective of hate or desperation.

I say this from a perspective of hope.

After all, more people than ever hate their jobs.

More people than ever are unhappy with their current life, their careers and the way things are going.

Sure, there are probably hundreds of studies out there that will say the exact opposite.

Just like there are hundreds of studies out there that will say the exact same thing.

Either way.

Why worry about not being able to do the things anymore you don't really enjoy doing?

Why be upset about it?

We weren't made for sorting pieces of paper all day long.

Or going from one meeting to the next.

Or sitting in an office for 12 hours a day.

Or sitting in a factory for 14 hours straight.

Or working months and months on power point presentations that could easily have been done in just a few days.

That's not what got us where we are right not.

What got us here were the arts. Sciences. Poetry. Writing. Singing. Innovating. Collaborating. And creating all sorts of things.

Sure, this sounds romantic.

And doesn't pay the bills.

Or the mortgage.

Or anything else.

So what does pay the bills?

Taking responsibility for your own life again instead of outsourcing responsibility to any of the above groups.

Because they won't be able to help you anymore. They can't. Only you can.

I know it sounds tough.

And it is tough.

Especially when you've been raised in a system that taught you to outsource responsibility for your life to others.

To corporations. To the government. To politicians. To your friends. To society. To the economy...

It took me more than three years to unlearn all of this.

To reprogram my brain to be able to take care of myself again.

To take full responsibility for my life.

To be able to build something out of nothing.

This is the era of the underdog.

The underdog will always win.

Because the underdog doesn't outsource her responsibility to anyone.

The underdog doesn't expect anything from anyone.

The underdog knows that she has to put in more work than anybody else.

The underdog thrives in times of uncertainty while everybody else is drowning.

The underdog is paranoid.

The underdog doesn't have anything to lose.

The underdog can only win.

The underdog doesn't ignore the truth.

The underdog speaks the truth.

But then again this isn't a book about economics. 

Or being an entrepreneur.

Or being an employee.

Or the future.

This is a book about survival in the 21st century. 

This is a book about how to win when you've failed at almost everything.

But what do I know...

I don't know anything about the future.

Or the past.

Or the present.

Just like everybody else out there doesn't really know anything about the future.

The only thing we know is this...

We can only get ready for it.

We can only get ready for that big wave that might or might not come.

That wave that's already here. 

We can only get ready for it. So when that big wave comes we won't drown and instead we'll surf that wave all the way to the shore...

This was a part of my new book The Underdogs Guide To Winning When You’ve Failed At Almost Everything. It’s available for pre-order for pay-as-much-as-you-want today. You can pre-order it here: https://gum.co/XHyRD

The more you have to lose, the more you'll try to ignore the truth...

“When you've got nothing to lose, you can only win."

Employment as we know it is changing. Because the world is changing. Faster than ever before.

Skills that were needed just a few years ago aren't needed anymore today.

Some of them were already replaced by technology and some of them will be replaced by technology in the future.

And no one knows where it's going to end.

So it doesn't really make any sense anymore for businesses to hire people on a long term basis.

The minute someone signs an employment contract he or she might already be obsolete and not needed anymore.

That's why there are less and less “real” jobs out there.

And more and more freelance and temp work.

Jobs that disappeared in 2008 never came back.

And if they came back they were staffed with temp workers.

Life long and full time employment is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

And this isn't just a problem in the US. It's happening all over the world.

If I go to a super market in Germany there are temp staff workers everywhere and recently some of them also introduced self check out, which is a pretty big thing in an employee friendly country such as Germany.

Banks that not too long ago had 4-5 employees now have 1-2 employees. In case the bank still exists and wasn't replaced by a dollar store.

University graduates in China are working in factories because there are way too many graduates for way too little office jobs.

But it doesn't stop here. It seems like it won't stop anywhere...

Just the other day I was talking to a friend of mine who told me that over the next couple of years the company he's working for that produces their stuff all over the world will bring back their factories and start producing back home again.

Because salaries in countries such as China, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Myanmar and many other countries are just getting too high.

Sounds like good news for the local economy, right?

Not really. What they will do instead is that they will build fully automated factories that need just a few people to “supervise” the machines.

Again, it doesn't stop there.

He also told me about data scientists programming algorithms and big data applications that will replace hundreds of jobs.

And when I asked him “oh so you mean factory jobs?” he just pointed to his head to indicate that he was talking about people using their brain power.

People just like him.

So when I asked him if he was afraid of losing his job, guess what he said?

“No, not really...”

This was a part of my new book The Underdogs Guide To Winning When You've Failed At Almost Everything. It's available for pre-order for pay-as-much-as-you-want today. You can pre-order it here: https://gum.co/XHyRD

Maybe I should give up?

I've been eating rice and frozen dumplings for almost two years now.

And I was getting sick of it. I was getting sick of the whole thing. I couldn't stand living there anymore. I didn't like the city anymore. I was running out of money. And I wanted to go back home.

I've been moving from one cheap apartment to the next for the past two years. With nothing more than just a backpack. Sure, I'm exaggerating. Just like everybody else is. But then again am I really? I don't know. I don't really remember anymore. It's been more than six years ago.

I lived in China. I wanted to get a business off the ground there. What was it all about? It doesn't really matter anymore. It was about something I had no clue about. Which might have been the reason why it didn't work out...

What matters is that I was sick of it. Sick of the way things were going. Sick of nothing really working out. Sick of being alone in a country where I didn't really speak the language. Where everything was so different from back home.

I was sick of my business partner not coming back anymore. Sick of not being able to see my girlfriend more. Sick of having to deal with people I didn't want to deal with anymore. Sick of people trying to cheat at basically every single step of the business involved.

And I was getting sick all the time. The pollution. The weather. The food. I was sick of getting sick all the time...

So one day back in 2011 I was sitting in my tiny room in China and started adding numbers back and forth.

I was trying to figure out how I could make it all work out. How much money I had left in the bank. How much money I was making. How much I needed to survive. Only to realize that I could probably never make it.

So I decided to give up. I decided to pack my things and go. I had done everything I possibly could. It just didn't make any sense anymore. So I bought a one way ticket back to Germany. And never ever went back again. And somewhere in Shanghai a pimp is now walking around in my shoes and shaving his beard with my electric shaver. But that's for another time...

And I think this is probably THE most important skill we all have to learn in life...

When to give up. When to let go. And when to make space for something new.

So I went back home and got a job.

I was broken. And I needed to get fixed.

So I lived here and there and started to realize how beautiful it is to get a paycheck at the end of each month. How amazing it is to just show up every single day and get money at the end of each month. No matter what.

It's like you're outsourcing the responsibility for your entire life. It's like you move back in with your parents and they're taking care of you. With the only difference that now it's not your parents who take care of you, who give you an allowance at the end of each month and tell you what you should and shouldn't do, but now it's your boss, your bosse's boss, your clients or the company you work for that gives you an allowance at the end of each month and tells you what you should and shouldn't do.

After such a long period of working my face off and barely making any money this might have been the best feeling I've experienced in a long time. I needed to outsource every single ounce of responsibility that was left inside my body to someone or something else. I wasn't really able to take care of myself anymore. I needed someone to do it for me. At least for a while. Until I got back up again.

I think most people don't realize the luxury of getting a paycheck at the end of each month. People keep complaining about their coworkers. About people talking bad behind their backs. About their retirement funds. About the economy. About the cost of living. About the food in the canteen. Or the coffee in the canteen. And on and on and on.

It's just like they say...

If you've never experienced darkness you'll never appreciate the light.

And trust me, once you're out there on your own you won't be complaining about the food in the canteen anymore. Or the coffee. It's like you're eating glass and at the same time drinking poison that slowly but steadily makes your mind go crazy.

When you're out there on your own you'll constantly be worried about where to find your next client, how to pay next month's rent, the mortgage and millions of other things. Things you never even knew you could be worried about. And it never stops.

So I kept that job for 18 months or so. To recharge my batteries. And my bank account. Until I had enough money in the bank to get back up and out there again.

That was about four years ago. And I haven't had a real job since. No one gave me a paycheck at the end of each month anymore.

I'm not saying this to brag about it. Because there really isn't anything to brag about. I wasn't successful at all. For more than three years I made less than a cleaning lady makes. While at the same time all of my friends from university started buying apartments, houses and Porsches.

Maybe you might wonder why I got out there again. Why I quit that job. After all, getting a paycheck at the end of the month is such a fantastic thing, right?

First of all if I didn't, you wouldn't probably be reading this right here and instead I'd be diving around in a Porsche having some sort of midlife crisis. 

Also, times have changed. A lot. Especially over the last couple of years.

What has worked 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago doesn't work anymore today.

What has worked for my parents and my grand parents doesn't work anymore today.

And if it's something that still works, it'll probably stop working in the next 5, 10, 15 or 20 years...

This was a part of my new book The Underdogs Guide To Winning When You've Failed At Almost Everything. It's available for pre-order for pay-as-much-as-you-want today. You can pre-order it here: https://gum.co/XHyRD

It's 10:55pm.

And I already feel like giving up. On day two...

I feel like I can't do this anymore. That this is just too big for me. That I highly underestimated it. That the people who told me “you can't” were right. And maybe they were. Maybe they really were right...

It's somehow funny and scary at the same time that I have all of these thoughts about giving up while trying to write a book about winning. While trying to write a book about winning when you've failed at almost everything. I've failed at almost everything I've ever done. So I've decided to write a book about it. In 30 days. And now I'm stuck. On day two...

But if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that sometimes you just gotta accept defeat. That sometimes you've gotta pack your things and move on to the next thing. As long as you keep moving. As long as you don't give up for good. As long as you get back up again. Over and over again.

The problem is that most people just give up. Most people just give up for good after day 1. Or day 2. Or day 3. After that first try. Or that second try. Or that third try. 

So here's the truth...

I can't possibly win anymore today. So here's what I'm going to do now. I'm going to call it a day. I'm going to pack my things and leave. At least for today. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is a new chance to win.

And that's how you succeed even though you've failed at almost everything.

You never give up for good.

You get back up again.

Over and over again.

You adjust.

And you keep pushing.

It really is that simple.

But not easy at all...

P.S. You can now pre-order my new book The Underdogs Guide To Winning When You've Failed At Almost Everything, which I'm going to write and finish in just 30 days. Guaranteed ;-)

You suck...

I suck. I really do.

I've failed at almost everything I've ever done. I've been a horrible boyfriend more often than I'd like to admit. I've been a bad friend to almost all of my friends. I've never been a loyal employee either. Or a good entrepreneur.

None of the websites and businesses I've started over the past seven years succeeded. None of the books I wrote in the past four years ever made it on the bestseller list.

In case you ever wondered what happens to those folks who follow all of this new age-y self help, follow your passion and live your dreams BS and don't turn into a massive success, I'm your guy.

I'm the guy who has done it all and did not succeed. At least not in the traditional sense of the word success. Today I see myself as a human guinea pig for everything that's out there. To figure out what works and what doesn't.

I didn't build a multi million dollar company even though I launched and shutdown probably 20 or so small websites and small businesses. Some of them made some money. Some of them didn't.

I don't own a huge house or an apartment. As a matter of fact I never even bought any furniture in my entire life. I just move from place to place. I've pretty much lived out of a backpack for the past 7 years. I've lived in various places in Germany, the US, Thailand, China and all sorts of other places all over South East Asia. I'm usually on the road 8-10 months a year. With a simple carry on bag. The only valuable thing I have with me is my $300 laptop and my passport.

I'm not a successful writer either. Even though this book right here might already be my ninth or tenth book.None of them ever landed on any important best seller lists. I don't make any passive income with my books. A lot of people even hate my books. Here's what someone had to say about one of my last books: “Books like this are the reason why no one respects self publishing.”

I've also written and published 900 blog posts since I started my blog back in 2013. This is already #902. And none of these 902 blog posts went viral. I didn't lose hope yet. Maybe #902 will go viral. Who knows?

I'm the guy who followed his dreams. The guy who put in the work. The guy who hustled hard. The guy who gets up early in the morning to start the day early and stops working super late at night. And I've not done it for just for a few months. But for many years.

I'm the guy who has done all of the things that all of these self help books, all of these YouTube hustle videos and all of these life coaches tell you to do. The things most of these people haven't even done themselves.

I'm the guy who didn't just talk about all of this stuff. I'm the guy who actually did all of this stuff. The guy who also walked the talk. And not just talked the talk. Still, I didn't become a massive overnight success. But I learned a lot. About myself. The people around me. And the world we live in.

Even though I've failed at pretty much everything I ever did, I somehow managed to succeed.

And sometimes when I think about it, I'm even a bit surprised. And I don't really understand how I managed to pull it all off. Sometimes I don't really understand how I managed to succeed even though I've failed at almost everything. I don't understand how I managed to build the life that I'm now living. It's not your traditional life that's for sure. It's a very different life. An alternative life. A controversial life. A life with many ups and downs.

So I'm writing this book mostly for myself. To better understand what has happened in my life over the past few years. How I managed to get to where I am right now. Wherever that might be...

Through all of the things I've done and experimented with over the years, through all of the ups and downs and by going from one failure to the next I've somehow managed to build a life that I now have 100% control over. Now don't get me wrong. It wasn't easy. And probably never will be. 

I'm now free to live and work wherever I want to. All I need is internet access. I don't have a boss anymore. Or clients. I don't have to show up to meetings anymore that I don't want to go to. As a matter of fact I didn't even go to a single business meeting this year. Or last year.

But again, I'm not a millionaire.

Or a mega successful author.

Or your uber influencer.

I'm mostly just trying to be myself.

This is the story about all the things I've learned over the past few years while going from one failure to the next.

This is the story about how I failed at almost everything but somehow managed to succeed.

This is the story about how I succeeded through losing.

This is my story...

P.S. This was the first part of my new book that I'll release in 30 days. You can now pre-order it for "pay-as-much-as-you-want today! I'll be selling it for $10 on Amazon when it's done. So feel free to pay what you think is appropriate. You can pre-order the book here: https://gumroad.com/l/XHyRD

You can't do this...

You can't send a rocket to the moon.

You can't lose 100 pounds.

You can't ride at the front of the bus.

You can't run a triathlon.

And it's right.

You probably can't.

Until someone comes along who can.

Until someone comes along and turns that can't into can.

There are already enough people out there who believe in "can't".

Enough people who want others to believe in "can't".

Don't be one of them...

Plant your seeds before you need the tree

Build your network before you need a network.

Look for a new job before you need a new job.

Build an audience before you need an audience.

Start marketing your product before you have the product.

Everything in life takes time.

Time to build up that trust.

Time for those seeds to grow into a strong enough tree.

Plant your seeds before you need the tree...

Turns out that...

The person who benefits from your writing the most is you...

I need to find out what works first...

I just read that comment somewhere on Facebook.

I don't really remember what it was all about.

But it was someone who didn't start doing because he wanted to find out what worked first.

So what he was basically saying is that he'll just wait until someone will tell him what works.

Which is usually already too late.

Because once something starts to work for someone, that person already put in a ton of work.

And it's almost impossible to catch up.

And once that information gets public everybody will do it.

And when you're doing what everybody else is doing then you'll be competing with everybody else.

So it will basically stop working.

Or not as well as it did before.

So here's the thing...

We only want to do things once we know what works.

Once we know who's the winner.

Once we know which platform is here to stay.

Once we know which stock is here to stay.

Once we know which idea is going to take off.

Once there's no risk anymore.

Once we get that blueprint.

But the problem is that once there's no risk anymore, the upside is very limited.

Because once the risk is low everybody jumps on the opportunity.

And it stops working.

Most battles were already fought.

Most people already cashed out.

Most people already have found their new favorite authors.

Or blogs.

Or podcasts.

Or whatnot.

So if you're constantly waiting for people to tell you what works, then nothing is ever going to work...

The best advice is also the worst advice

Doing more of the things you really enjoy doing is probably one of the best pieces of advice out there.

But it's also one of the worst out there.

Because it neglects the fact that when you're out there doing your thing, you'll actually have to spend most of your time doing things you don't really enjoy doing that much.

When you love yoga you can't just be a yoga teacher.

When you want to become a writer you can't just be a writer.

When you want to be a singer you can't just be a singer.

When you want to be an artist you can't just be an artist.

It just doesn't work that way.

The way it actually works is that when you want to be able to do more of the things you really enjoy doing, you've gotta spend most of your time doing things you don't really enjoy doing that much.

Especially when you're starting out.

Things like marketing.

Or sales.

Or networking.

Or promoting yourself.

Yes, also finance.

And on and on and on.

When you want to be an author, a singer, a designer, an artist or whatnot you're not actually an author, a singer, a designer, an artist or whatnot.

First and foremost you'll have to be a marketer, a copywriter, a sales person and a networker.

Or no one will ever find out about you.

Only doing things you enjoy doing will get you nowhere.

Only focusing on your art won't get you anywhere.

But doing things you might not enjoy that much, things like marketing, sales, copywriting and networking will get you everywhere.

And always remember...

The best advice is also the worst advice.

Don't just tell a story.

Live a story...

Make a “this is not going to work" list

And write down all of the reasons why this is not going to work out.

And then make a list where you write down all of the reasons why this is going to work out.

And then choose which one of those lists you'll carry around with you each and every day.

Choose which one you want to focus on.

And then start putting in the work.

It's your choice.

And no one else's...

Get rid of the roadblocks first

Whatever you want to do, you've gotta get rid of the road blocks first.

Simply because roadblocks are potential excuses.

Excuses for not doing.

For not trying.

Like you don't have the right equipment, for example.

Or you don't know how to code.

Or how to properly format that thing.

Or which software to use.

Or what app to download.

All of these things are potential roadblocks.

And excuses for not doing.

So you gotta get rid of them.

As early as possible.

And instead you've gotta focus on the core task.

If you want to do YouTube videos take your phone and start recording.

You don't need any fancy equipment or editing skills.

You just turn on that thing, record your stuff and put it online.

If you want to start a blog you don't even need to register a domain, set up a blog or whatnot.

You just go ahead and post your article right inside of Facebook as an update.

Or you post it on Medium.

Or wherever you don't need to setup anything.

If you want to write a book, don't think about formatting and all of this stuff.

Just focus on the writing.

Focus on the singing.

Focus on creating your art.

Focus on mastering your craft.

And kill all of the hurdles and all of the potential roadblocks before you get started.

Focus on creating a habit.

Maybe even a daily habit.

The habit of showing up.

Of creating your art.

Of mastering your craft.

The habit of fighting the roadblocks living inside your head...

Entrepreneur or employee?

An employee is worried and stressed out about a few things and gets paid at the end of the month.

An entrepreneur is worried and stressed out about a million things and doesn't get paid at the end of the month.

Entrepreneur or employee?

Why no one believes in you

Because you don't believe in yourself.

Well, maybe you do.

Maybe you really do.

But that's usually not enough to make others believe in you.

So what makes others believe in you when you have zero credentials?

When you have nothing to show?

Doing.

Doing is the only thing that will ever convince anyone.

Sitting on your ass and doing stuff.

Over and over again.

Longer than anybody else.

And not just talking about it.

Or reading about it.

Or going to events about it.

What I'm talking about is the actual act of doing something.

Of creating something.

Of building something.

And putting your ideas into action.

Here's the thing...

Most people just talk about stuff.

About how they're going to do this.

Or about how they're going to do that.

But they never do.

And when you never do, then no one is going to believe in you.

Not your boss.

Not your parents.

Not your friends.

No one.

But just doing isn't enough.

It has to be more than that.

It has to be more than your average 9 to 5 thing.

You've gotta live it.

You've gotta breathe it.

Day in and day out.

And you've gotta believe in yourself.

Or else you'll get knocked out in round one....

Your future is bright.

But not today.

Or tomorrow.

Or the day after tomorrow. 

Maybe never.

And understanding this makes all the difference...

Urgent...

Finishing those slides is urgent.

Writing that memo of today's meeting is urgent.

Getting the sales promotion going is urgent.

Responding to those emails is urgent.

All of these things are urgent.

Most of the time they are very urgent.

And sometimes your job, your life or whatever depends on these things.

As a matter of fact they are so urgent that they don't leave us enough time to do the really urgent things.

The important things.

Because the important things really are the urgent things in disguise.

And the important things are all of the things that enable us to stop doing all of the above things.

The things we're told to do.

Like finishing that presentation.

Or that memo.

Or that sales promotion.

Things you're either being told to do by your boss, your colleagues, your friends, your family or society.

And it doesn't really matter what your important things might look like.

You probably know exactly how they look like for you.

Maybe you want to give back.

Or write a book.

Or start a business.

Or become a singer.

Or whatnot.

This is what's really urgent.

What's really important.

Sure, doing important work isn't going to be easy.

And it might take you many years to be able to do more and more important work instead of the urgent work you're told to do.

And maybe you might never get there.

It's not just possible.

As a matter of fact it's very likely that you might never ever get there.

But just because it might not work out doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't at least try.

Or does it?

I don't know.

Either way.

That's why most of us tend to do urgent work.

And not important work.

Whatever important work might look like to you.

Because we see the results right away.

And it's a lot easier to do the urgent work than the important work.

Here's the thing...

You can spend your whole life doing urgent things without ever doing work that's important to you.

Or, or you can try to build a life where you'll be able to do more and more of the work that's important to you.

One day at a time.

One good deed at a time.

One song at a time.

One video at a time.

Or maybe even one blog post at a time...

You need quick wins asap

If you don't make quick wins as soon as possible here's what's going to happen...

If it takes too long to develop, to build, to write or to create your thing you're going to lose your drive, your motivation and maybe even interest.

Simply because you want to see that thing out there on the market.

Right now.

No matter what it is.

No matter how passionate you're about it.

That's what's going to happen.

No matter what people say about purpose, passion and all of this stuff.

If we don't see results, we lose our mojo.

It's as simple as that.

We're hard wired to see the results of our actions, of our work right away.

And if we don't see those results we quickly lose interest.

Today maybe even more so than ever before.

And that's why its so important that you put your work out there as soon as you can.

To get those quick wins as soon as possible.

Not just to test your thing early on the market.

But to get those quick wins to keep that flame burning. 

Especially when you're starting from scratch.

And are bootstrapping that thing and don't have lots of other income streams going to support you.

You need quick wins asap.

If you're ordering stuff from China put that sample you just got and try to sell it on Ebay.

Don't wait for your website and shop to be ready.

Don't wait for that huge order to come in.

You need quick wins asap.

If you're starting a freelance business don't wait for your website to be done.

Or your business cards to arrive.

Or whatnot.

Put your profile and services out there.

Be everywhere.

Put it on Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr and all the other platforms out there.

If you're writing a book, don't wait until it's done.

Publish parts of it on your blog or on platforms like Medium.

And see what the market does with it.

You gotta get it out there as fast as you can.

And let people know about it.

Try to get them to sign up for your book launch.

Maybe even pre order it.

You need quick wins.

As soon as possible.

Quick wins are essential to build momentum.

Without momentum nothing is ever going to work.

If you think about building momentum only once your thing is done it's usually already too late.

Because building momentum takes time.

A lot of time.

And to turn that momentum into something bigger will take even more time.

So if you don't focus on building momentum and getting things out there right from the very start, then by the time you've built momentum you're probably already broke.

Or out of business.

Or what not...

And even if you fail at building momentum, at making quick wins, it's guaranteed that you'll learn a hell lot about it.

Most importantly you're going to learn that all your assumptions about the market, the public, your readers, viewers, listeners or possible clients have been wrong.

That nothing is the way you thought it would be.

And then you can either give up or dig deeper.

It's like an automatic filter.

If it's important enough for you, you'll keep pushing.

If not, then you'll just give up when you discover all of the stuff you never even thought possible.

But whatever happens, whatever you decide to do, you'd have saved yourself a ton of time, energy and money.

Go for quick wins asap...