I’ve devoured articles with similar titles. You’ve probably read a bunch, too. For good reasons, they are catchy and inspiring.
The problem is they seriously lack context. They are obviously marketing tactics to get attention. In most cases, I end up feeling unsatiated because I’m not learning much from their situation. I’m usually only learning the numbers they made and a few glossed-over strategies they did to get there.
I was fouled by a book with a similar premise that caused a lot of disappointment and disillusions. In my job as a producer in a UX agency, I started reading “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris. I started implementing his recommendations to quickly realize that a page or two of his book would take weeks to implement. Basically, he’s advocating making landing pages and advertising them with Ads. If people click on “Buy” you have a strong signal. If no one cares, you jump to the next idea.
I started watching and listening to his interviews about the book and quickly realized that he had an unfair advantage. He was hired by companies to do lead generation, was very good at checkout experiences and copywriting. A lot of skills I didn’t have. It was disheartening because I really wanted to make the few experiments I made work to get an exit door from my 9-to-5. A tiny bit of hope that I could, too, was all I wanted. But I realized I had to adjust my expectations because the task was harder than anticipated.
Nowadays, I glance over this type of content with disinterest knowing they won’t bring much substance.
But at first, the reaction can be stronger “Why am I having just a hard time? Why is it so slow for me? Why is it not working?” are the questions we ask ourselves when reading those posts for the first time.
But those are not the right questions. We need more points of comparison between their lives and ours. Now, I’m trying to understand their background to see what I could apply to my life and “translate” their outcomes or strategies to my life. To do that, we can use more appropriate questions, such as:
Do they have a full-time job? Is it a chill job? How much are they making?
Do they have a lot of savings? If they choose consulting, how much can they charge based on their experience? Do they have agency or consulting experience in their 9-to-5?
Do they have kids? Do they have parents that can help raise their kids? Are they single? Can they put 14 hours a day alone in front of their computer?
Do they have a mortgage? Do they own their property?
How long have they been doing what they are doing? Is it easy for them? Were they doing related skills in their full-time jobs for decades before? Or are they starting from scratch?
Are their partners in a steady full-time job, or are they also self-employed?
Where do they live, and what is their average cost of living?
Now we’re talking.
By gathering this context, I can extract what can apply to my life and if it’s realistic to even attempt it.
I still read the stories because they are inspiring. But now, I have all those questions in the back of my mind. I’ll follow people for a while to understand the underlying circumstances of their success.
Let’s not be fooled and set proper expectations for ourselves. We are here to take a shot and maximize our chances of success.
Good luck, and keep experimenting!
3 juicy links of the week
A random tweet by Michael Kove illustrating the point of this post
People tell you to write emails and make a thousand tomorrow, but they don’t tell you what skills they developed to arrive at this point.
Haaa. The first few sales or clients always make you longing for more. But sometimes, you’re too desperate to make the sale and push people because you want it to happen. I’ve done that, and it doesn’t make me feel good about myself. I barely get sales, and if you do, I often regret it. However, thinking about why people buy and when they do helped me focus my energy on the right opportunities. I love those reasons outlined in this tweet because they give perspective and lower the pressure. Phew! I don’t need to close everyone crossing my path.
Interview of Morgan Housel, the Savings Expert in the Dairy of a CEO
Fascinating interview with Morgan Housel, who wrote The Psychology of Money. He talks about reducing your expectations and being grateful for what you have. Being constantly bombarded by “How I made 1M in 3 months” makes it that much harder to enjoy your self-employment milestones. Heck, even having your old salary as a goalpost can ruin your wins. You get to $1000 per month, and it’s 5 times lower than your old salary? Take a moment to celebrate it nonetheless. It’s probably huge in your life. Recognize it for what it is. It’s okay to chase the next big thing. That’s part of life, but acknowledge your accomplishments along the way.
How do you feel about those clickbaity posts we discussed? Are they helpful? Necessary? Inspiring?
Great edition, Kenny but you had me on pins and needles! I was waiting for the formula. When I saw the headline, I said to myself, “this lucky dog Kenny did it” :)
This is so familiar to what I always say look at what they do and study their history before you believe the hype. Thanks for the great article