π΅ Sold yet another single license mega navbar Carrd plugin (US$30)...thanks Alex!
Day 732 - 2023 in 8 forms of capital - https://golifelog.com/posts/2023-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672630377703
I learned a lot about how to set better intentions from [last year's review in 8 forms of capital](https://golifelog.com/posts/2022-review-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672267133935). So how will 2023 looks like?
What capital do I want to grow in this year? And how?
### I want to see if I can...
**π΅ Financial:**
**Hit $5k/m, any which way.**
- Continue with my goal of hitting at least $5k/m from my portfolio of products and services. I was about 60-70% there last year... close.
- No more main project or MRR obsession. The aim is to hit $5k any which way, from whatever project or work, product or service. To thrive I have to first survive. I can think about thriving after hitting $5k/m.
**βοΈ Material:**
**Invest high ROI assets for health and productivity.**
- Anytime I invested in sleep biohacking gear, my sleep gets better (even if incrementally). The ROI is usually high, so more in that area.
- Update on tech hardware as most are dated β I got an iPhone SE 2020, iPad mini 2 2013, Macbook Pro 2015. Some apps are no longer working on my devices β FCP, iMovie on MBP, iPad apps like Google Drive.
- More domaining for my products, e.g. getting domains where people are likely to type typos. (Side question: Are digital assets considered material capital? π€)
**π‘ Living:**
**Sleep well, stress less, move more.**
- My living capital aka health goals summed up in 3 words β sleep, stress, fitness.
- I've been working on my sleep for 2 years now. There's ups and downs, but I really wish to nail it and get consistent 80-90% sleep scores this year. That involves nailing my sleep fundamentals and habit systems, even on busy project days.
- The biggest health-related epiphany las year was realising that [stress is the root cause](https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-is-the-root-16690751831180) of many of my chronic ailments. That's why I set a [new goal in Oct](https://golifelog.com/goals/304) last year to biohack my stress. More work to be done in this area!
- I'm not letting myself off for failing to get more exercise last year. [Fit AF](https://golifelog.com/goals/213) continues, but the big question is: How can I do this even on my worst days? How do I set up habit systems where I can't fail?
**π‘ Intellectual:**
**Power up on marketing.**
- I've learned a lot about how to do active marketing on social media over the past 2 years. It's hard work to keep the flywheel spinning, but I've done it. But how about other, more 'passive' ways of marketing? I got to learn to do this if I want my indie products to succeed.
- Learn how to do the more 'passive' types of marketing. Ads? SEO? Affiliates?
- Launch a new type of product that I've never launched before. Ebook? Course?
**πͺ Experiential:**
**Acting fast on opportunity.**
- Being able to sense and act fast on opportunity is a skill that one can get better at through practice and experience. Continue to practice and learn how to act fast on opportunity.
- Also to learn [being real](https://golifelog.com/posts/my-word-for-2023-real-1672530920033)
- Gain more [practice](https://golifelog.com/posts/the-practice-of-business-1670453446485) as a founder by launching new products through the year. Every new thing teaches me something that I can use for my existing or future products.
**π₯ Social:**
**More LinkedIn conversations.**
- I only started being serious on LinkedIn on April this year, yet the ROI from LinkedIn had been surprising. I got a few opportunities which made all the difference to my financial survival. So I'm doubling down on connecting more on LinkedIn.
- Also to connect with more local designers.
- Making friends and building relationships on Twitter continues.
**π¨ Cultural:**
**Travel with a toddler.**
- A new challenge of traveling to new countries and cultures with a toddler. Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia are possibilities.
- Stretch goal is to go live in Bali for 2-4 weeks with toddler, and have grandparents join us part-way too.
**β©οΈ Spiritual:**
**Stress biohacking through mindfulness.**
- I only had a handful of rare moments last year where I felt present and mindful, when I worked with intention, clarity and a calmness that felt really enjoyable. The rest of the time I felt distracted, stressed, and scattered, running around like a headless chicken. I want more of the former in 2023 than the latter.
*Onwards to 2023!*
What capital do I want to grow in this year? And how?
### I want to see if I can...
**π΅ Financial:**
**Hit $5k/m, any which way.**
- Continue with my goal of hitting at least $5k/m from my portfolio of products and services. I was about 60-70% there last year... close.
- No more main project or MRR obsession. The aim is to hit $5k any which way, from whatever project or work, product or service. To thrive I have to first survive. I can think about thriving after hitting $5k/m.
**βοΈ Material:**
**Invest high ROI assets for health and productivity.**
- Anytime I invested in sleep biohacking gear, my sleep gets better (even if incrementally). The ROI is usually high, so more in that area.
- Update on tech hardware as most are dated β I got an iPhone SE 2020, iPad mini 2 2013, Macbook Pro 2015. Some apps are no longer working on my devices β FCP, iMovie on MBP, iPad apps like Google Drive.
- More domaining for my products, e.g. getting domains where people are likely to type typos. (Side question: Are digital assets considered material capital? π€)
**π‘ Living:**
**Sleep well, stress less, move more.**
- My living capital aka health goals summed up in 3 words β sleep, stress, fitness.
- I've been working on my sleep for 2 years now. There's ups and downs, but I really wish to nail it and get consistent 80-90% sleep scores this year. That involves nailing my sleep fundamentals and habit systems, even on busy project days.
- The biggest health-related epiphany las year was realising that [stress is the root cause](https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-is-the-root-16690751831180) of many of my chronic ailments. That's why I set a [new goal in Oct](https://golifelog.com/goals/304) last year to biohack my stress. More work to be done in this area!
- I'm not letting myself off for failing to get more exercise last year. [Fit AF](https://golifelog.com/goals/213) continues, but the big question is: How can I do this even on my worst days? How do I set up habit systems where I can't fail?
**π‘ Intellectual:**
**Power up on marketing.**
- I've learned a lot about how to do active marketing on social media over the past 2 years. It's hard work to keep the flywheel spinning, but I've done it. But how about other, more 'passive' ways of marketing? I got to learn to do this if I want my indie products to succeed.
- Learn how to do the more 'passive' types of marketing. Ads? SEO? Affiliates?
- Launch a new type of product that I've never launched before. Ebook? Course?
**πͺ Experiential:**
**Acting fast on opportunity.**
- Being able to sense and act fast on opportunity is a skill that one can get better at through practice and experience. Continue to practice and learn how to act fast on opportunity.
- Also to learn [being real](https://golifelog.com/posts/my-word-for-2023-real-1672530920033)
- Gain more [practice](https://golifelog.com/posts/the-practice-of-business-1670453446485) as a founder by launching new products through the year. Every new thing teaches me something that I can use for my existing or future products.
**π₯ Social:**
**More LinkedIn conversations.**
- I only started being serious on LinkedIn on April this year, yet the ROI from LinkedIn had been surprising. I got a few opportunities which made all the difference to my financial survival. So I'm doubling down on connecting more on LinkedIn.
- Also to connect with more local designers.
- Making friends and building relationships on Twitter continues.
**π¨ Cultural:**
**Travel with a toddler.**
- A new challenge of traveling to new countries and cultures with a toddler. Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia are possibilities.
- Stretch goal is to go live in Bali for 2-4 weeks with toddler, and have grandparents join us part-way too.
**β©οΈ Spiritual:**
**Stress biohacking through mindfulness.**
- I only had a handful of rare moments last year where I felt present and mindful, when I worked with intention, clarity and a calmness that felt really enjoyable. The rest of the time I felt distracted, stressed, and scattered, running around like a headless chicken. I want more of the former in 2023 than the latter.
*Onwards to 2023!*
Day 731 - My word for 2023: Real - https://golifelog.com/posts/my-word-for-2023-real-1672530920033
One of my all-time favourite stories ever is *Old Path, White Clouds* by my teacher Thich Naht Hanh. It's basically the life story of Buddha, written in a prose that simple yet profound to read. I can't do justice to all the insight and wisdom in that book and in Buddha's life story in one post, but one thing that always stayed with me was the impression of how real the Buddha was as a person, as a human being. He's the realest of the real.
No fluff. No bs. No fancy head in the cloud ideas. No big theory of the universe and everything in it. Yet despite being firmly planted in reality, he wasn't cold and indifferent. He definitely was compassionate and feeling towards others. He's expressive and creative in how he engaged with people who were unfamiliar with his teachings. He shows emotions without being swayed by them. People liked him and flocked to him.
Real, genuine, authentic, honest, true to the core, yet still very human. So human that most humans can't even live up to that.
That's the image I have in my mind when I thought about my one-word aspiration for 2023. I won't pretend I can ever be as real as the Buddha is, but I can aspire, at least in that direction.
Yes, that's my one-word aspiration for 2023:
Real.
I chose this because that's one of the biggest hard truths I realised last year. I tend to be a dreamer. I have too many ideas and narratives of how things *should* be. I think these ideals had hindered more than help, especially when it came to progress on my indie products. I've leaned too much to the idealism end. A healthy, hearty dose of reality is in order. A better balance between reality and ideals. I wrote about how having a [small bet mindset is about being a healthy, realist skeptic](https://golifelog.com/posts/small-bet-mindset-1672014522772). Perhaps this attitude can be extended beyond my indie solopreneur career but also to life itself.
I want to be honest and true to what reality proves.
I aspire to be even more genuine and authentic to how things really are.
I crave to be original and pure not compared others but to my heart.
I desire to make accurate decisions based on validation via reality. Ideals have a placeβfor intrinsic motivation and for driving actionβafter the separate decision is made based on reality. It's not about waiting for 100% certainty in outcome before action, but 100% certainty that I'm acting based on reality than biases, even if what reality showed me is at best hints.
Real.
Be real.
Being real.
That's 2023 for me, in one word.
No fluff. No bs. No fancy head in the cloud ideas. No big theory of the universe and everything in it. Yet despite being firmly planted in reality, he wasn't cold and indifferent. He definitely was compassionate and feeling towards others. He's expressive and creative in how he engaged with people who were unfamiliar with his teachings. He shows emotions without being swayed by them. People liked him and flocked to him.
Real, genuine, authentic, honest, true to the core, yet still very human. So human that most humans can't even live up to that.
That's the image I have in my mind when I thought about my one-word aspiration for 2023. I won't pretend I can ever be as real as the Buddha is, but I can aspire, at least in that direction.
Yes, that's my one-word aspiration for 2023:
Real.
I chose this because that's one of the biggest hard truths I realised last year. I tend to be a dreamer. I have too many ideas and narratives of how things *should* be. I think these ideals had hindered more than help, especially when it came to progress on my indie products. I've leaned too much to the idealism end. A healthy, hearty dose of reality is in order. A better balance between reality and ideals. I wrote about how having a [small bet mindset is about being a healthy, realist skeptic](https://golifelog.com/posts/small-bet-mindset-1672014522772). Perhaps this attitude can be extended beyond my indie solopreneur career but also to life itself.
I want to be honest and true to what reality proves.
I aspire to be even more genuine and authentic to how things really are.
I crave to be original and pure not compared others but to my heart.
I desire to make accurate decisions based on validation via reality. Ideals have a placeβfor intrinsic motivation and for driving actionβafter the separate decision is made based on reality. It's not about waiting for 100% certainty in outcome before action, but 100% certainty that I'm acting based on reality than biases, even if what reality showed me is at best hints.
Real.
Be real.
Being real.
That's 2023 for me, in one word.
Scheduled 2022 review newsletter to be sent out later
Happy new year, everyone! ππΎπππβ¨
Day 730 - December wrap-up - https://golifelog.com/posts/december-wrap-up-1672468676102
π Current MRR (all from Lifelog): $109 (β’$0)
π One-off revenue: $744 (β$174)
π° Total revenue: $853 (β$174)
π¦ Total profit: $777 (β$188) (excl. salary, consulting revenue)
βοΈ Profit margin: 91%
π Tweet impressions: 347k vs 260k
π Likes: 3.0 k vs 3.1k
π¬ Engagement rate: 3.2% vs 4.0%
π‘ Profile visits: 48.3k vs 40.5k
π£ Mentions: 1780 vs 1517
π£ New followers: 340 vs 402
π§ Email subscribers: 79 (β28) subscribers
Setting intentions for December had always been easy. Every year, itβs always to rest and reflect.
But if you know anything about me, it's that I always struggled with resting. So it's no surprise that I would do a bad job at it in Dec. Ok, I did rest... just not as much as I would love to. In the past, I found it easier to break my habitual energies by transplanting myself to Bali. But no travel this year, so I definitely found it harder to truly rest and rejuvenate.
I did find time to reflect, thankfully. I reviewed my [one word for 2022](https://golifelog.com/posts/alacrity-reviewed-1672098577973), mused and amused myself over my [best and worst of the year](https://golifelog.com/posts/best-and-worst-of-2022-1672195534790), [closed out my open questions for the year](https://golifelog.com/posts/closing-my-open-questions-of-2022-1672357841981) and didn't forget my annual tradition of reviewing the year using [8 forms of capital](https://golifelog.com/posts/2022-review-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672267133935).
Overall, a busier-than-usual December, but a fruitful one. Onwards to 2023!
π One-off revenue: $744 (β$174)
π° Total revenue: $853 (β$174)
π¦ Total profit: $777 (β$188) (excl. salary, consulting revenue)
βοΈ Profit margin: 91%
π Tweet impressions: 347k vs 260k
π Likes: 3.0 k vs 3.1k
π¬ Engagement rate: 3.2% vs 4.0%
π‘ Profile visits: 48.3k vs 40.5k
π£ Mentions: 1780 vs 1517
π£ New followers: 340 vs 402
π§ Email subscribers: 79 (β28) subscribers
Setting intentions for December had always been easy. Every year, itβs always to rest and reflect.
But if you know anything about me, it's that I always struggled with resting. So it's no surprise that I would do a bad job at it in Dec. Ok, I did rest... just not as much as I would love to. In the past, I found it easier to break my habitual energies by transplanting myself to Bali. But no travel this year, so I definitely found it harder to truly rest and rejuvenate.
I did find time to reflect, thankfully. I reviewed my [one word for 2022](https://golifelog.com/posts/alacrity-reviewed-1672098577973), mused and amused myself over my [best and worst of the year](https://golifelog.com/posts/best-and-worst-of-2022-1672195534790), [closed out my open questions for the year](https://golifelog.com/posts/closing-my-open-questions-of-2022-1672357841981) and didn't forget my annual tradition of reviewing the year using [8 forms of capital](https://golifelog.com/posts/2022-review-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672267133935).
Overall, a busier-than-usual December, but a fruitful one. Onwards to 2023!
Got my FIRST pledge for paid subscription to my indie solopreneur newsletter! Wow too flattered, @Via_Benjamin! Not sure if I should though... π€
Got featured in Indie insiders newsletter! https://indieinsiders.substack.com/p/jason
π΅ Sold yet another single license testimonial slider Carrd plugin (US$15)...thanks Jessica!
π΅ Sold yet another single license listings with filters & search Carrd plugin (US$30)...thanks Jessica!
π΅ Sold yet another single license mega navbar Carrd plugin (US$30)...thanks Klarissa!
π΅ Sold yet another single license mobile navbar Carrd plugin (US$15)...thanks K C Roberts!
π€ Sent timesheet for last month's freelance work!
Day 729 - Closing my open questions of 2022 - https://golifelog.com/posts/closing-my-open-questions-of-2022-1672357841981
In Jan I wrote out [open questions and uncertainties I had going into 2022](https://golifelog.com/posts/open-questions-for-the-year-ahead-1641344137895). These were questions I had no answers to back then, but were sufficiently important that I knew they were weighing on my mind.
All my fears, concerns, aspirations and wishes in the form of open questions for the year, and my best answers to them now, one year on:
β’ Will I live up to the year with *alacrity*?
[I did](https://golifelog.com/posts/alacrity-reviewed-1672098577973). At least it showed that I can start.
β’ How long will I take to hit $200 MRR?
A year wasn't enough. But this is no longer an important question, because it's more about getting revenue from anything anywhere, to keep this indie lifestyle.
β’ Will I ever hit $5k revenue in my life?
I've achieved it before during pre-pandemic times, I'll achieve it again... eventually. World reopening. Biz is picking back up again. Some back of envelope calculation shows I'm around 70% of that target this year. So I'm hopeful.
β’ Will I ever make enough money off my products to support my lifestyle and family?
Still an open question, even though there's a glimmer of optimism. One project had doubled in revenue, but it's still long ways off my family breakeven point. I can't bank on that. I need more income streams.
β’ What other products can I make?
I made Sheet2bio and many Carrd plugins (about 20!) this year. Sheet2Bio was a big and public failure, but I own my losses. I learned a lot from it. I love my maker trajectory for plugins. It's done for the right reasons, at the right pace.
β’ What other products do I want to make?
Great question that's still open. I'm 100% certain I still want to make other and more products. But I don't know what. Building an AI-based product had been super tempting throughout the year, but I'm thankful I didn't jump on the bandwagon. They were fads ultimately.
β’ What's my next big thing?
No longer an important question. The epiphany this year is: No more one big thing. No more main projects. All projects will be side projects and small bets, even if they get big.
β’ What's my next product for tech for good?
Still open. This had been on my mind all year. Since safedistancing.sg (which I started in 2021) winded down in April this year, I've been searching for my next tech for good project to do. I like to have at least 1 project a year. But nothing much to show for this year. I'm even considering cancelling all the monthly/annual subscriptions from my patrons on Buy Me A Coffee! Too ashamed to keep getting donations if i'm not doing much in that space.
β’ Do I still have what it takes to create something profitable and popular?
Yes. I had many big moments of doubt this year. Even more low moments than I can recall. But at least my plugins project was the signal amidst the noise, that I might still have what it takes.
β’ When will I embody a wealth mindset?
Maybe not so important anymore. It's still a weak area of mine. But I decided I will get there when and if I do get there. Till then, I'm not going to sweat over it. I'm going to just focus on leveraging on my strengths and assets, then tunnel-vision over my deficits.
β’ Do I have what it takes to get rich?
I do want to get to a financially comfortable position for me and my family. But that doesn't have to be rich rich. And besides, I think time is the true wealth, and being focused on using time to be present to my growing toddler son, is already richness.
β’ Will I be able to grow my savings back to what it was?
I burned through all my savings this year. It was terrifying and stressful. Thankfully some gigs saved me. I'm unsure if growing my savings back the the pre-pandemic days is even possible in 2023, even though there's some possible big projects on the horizon. If anything, my stance is survive before thrive. Survival first. Savings can come later.
All my fears, concerns, aspirations and wishes in the form of open questions for the year, and my best answers to them now, one year on:
β’ Will I live up to the year with *alacrity*?
[I did](https://golifelog.com/posts/alacrity-reviewed-1672098577973). At least it showed that I can start.
β’ How long will I take to hit $200 MRR?
A year wasn't enough. But this is no longer an important question, because it's more about getting revenue from anything anywhere, to keep this indie lifestyle.
β’ Will I ever hit $5k revenue in my life?
I've achieved it before during pre-pandemic times, I'll achieve it again... eventually. World reopening. Biz is picking back up again. Some back of envelope calculation shows I'm around 70% of that target this year. So I'm hopeful.
β’ Will I ever make enough money off my products to support my lifestyle and family?
Still an open question, even though there's a glimmer of optimism. One project had doubled in revenue, but it's still long ways off my family breakeven point. I can't bank on that. I need more income streams.
β’ What other products can I make?
I made Sheet2bio and many Carrd plugins (about 20!) this year. Sheet2Bio was a big and public failure, but I own my losses. I learned a lot from it. I love my maker trajectory for plugins. It's done for the right reasons, at the right pace.
β’ What other products do I want to make?
Great question that's still open. I'm 100% certain I still want to make other and more products. But I don't know what. Building an AI-based product had been super tempting throughout the year, but I'm thankful I didn't jump on the bandwagon. They were fads ultimately.
β’ What's my next big thing?
No longer an important question. The epiphany this year is: No more one big thing. No more main projects. All projects will be side projects and small bets, even if they get big.
β’ What's my next product for tech for good?
Still open. This had been on my mind all year. Since safedistancing.sg (which I started in 2021) winded down in April this year, I've been searching for my next tech for good project to do. I like to have at least 1 project a year. But nothing much to show for this year. I'm even considering cancelling all the monthly/annual subscriptions from my patrons on Buy Me A Coffee! Too ashamed to keep getting donations if i'm not doing much in that space.
β’ Do I still have what it takes to create something profitable and popular?
Yes. I had many big moments of doubt this year. Even more low moments than I can recall. But at least my plugins project was the signal amidst the noise, that I might still have what it takes.
β’ When will I embody a wealth mindset?
Maybe not so important anymore. It's still a weak area of mine. But I decided I will get there when and if I do get there. Till then, I'm not going to sweat over it. I'm going to just focus on leveraging on my strengths and assets, then tunnel-vision over my deficits.
β’ Do I have what it takes to get rich?
I do want to get to a financially comfortable position for me and my family. But that doesn't have to be rich rich. And besides, I think time is the true wealth, and being focused on using time to be present to my growing toddler son, is already richness.
β’ Will I be able to grow my savings back to what it was?
I burned through all my savings this year. It was terrifying and stressful. Thankfully some gigs saved me. I'm unsure if growing my savings back the the pre-pandemic days is even possible in 2023, even though there's some possible big projects on the horizon. If anything, my stance is survive before thrive. Survival first. Savings can come later.
π΅ Sold yet another single license mobile navbar Carrd plugin (US$15)...thanks Nathan!
π΅ Earned $108 donation from creating an audio waveform plugin for a customer... thanks Nathan!
π΅ Sold yet another single license mobile navbar Carrd plugin (US$15)...thanks Anthony!
Day 728 - 2022 review in 8 forms of capital - https://golifelog.com/posts/2022-review-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672267133935
Since 2016, I had been using the 8 forms of capital framework by [Ethan Roland & Gregory Landua](http://www.appleseedpermaculture.com/8-forms-of-capital/), to think ahead for what I would like to achieve for the year. For the uninitiated, this framework talks about capital isn't just financial capital but there's 8 forms of it:
π΅ Financial capital: money, financial instruments, investments
β Material capital: possessions, natural resources, tools, infrastructure
π² Living capital: nature, land, ecosystems, animals, health (my own addition)
π‘ Intellectual capital: ideas, knowledge, words, images, intellectual property
πͺ Experiential capital: action, embodied experienced, worldly wisdom
π₯ Social capital: connections, relationships, influence
π¨ Cultural capital: song, story, ritual, art, theatre, community customs
β© Spiritual capital: prayer, faith, beliefs, spiritual attainment
This annual review framework is uncommon but I love it. It's captures how I feel about how everything is interdependent and connected. I've never had a problem thinking about things in life that I treasure beyond mere money, but this truly forces me think wider and deeper about everything. Think of it as 8 different lenses to view reality and life. Each offers a different but useful viewpoint. Together it forms a good picture.
I set my [intentions for 2022 in January](https://golifelog.com/posts/2022-in-8-forms-of-capital-1641014096319), and here are the results:
π΅ Financial: Hit $200 MRR from all my products by 31 Dec 2022, through small doggedness.
- I was under the impression that by downsizing my MRR goal I could hit it. But that didn't work for me. It didn't work for the market and product I was in. In fact, what really helped me was reframing my entire relationship with MRR being the one true metric to strive for. *Why does it have to be monthly and recurring?* If my goal is freedom and lifestyle, it shouldn't matter how and where the money comes from. That was the biggest epiphany I took away this year. MRR is a simply a mental relic of my SaaS indie hacker beginnings.
- So I refocused my efforts from one main project to my whole portfolio, and put serious effort back into my consulting again. Now it's about survival, about staying in the game, about getting revenue from whatever wherever. It's less "indie hacker/bootstrapped SaaS founder", more "indie solopreneur".
- And the part about small doggedness, 1% compounding? I couldn't be more wrong. It only makes sense to be patient, dogged and consistent if you're working on the right product, if the product had shown product-market fit, or if it's post-revenue. Being dogged on the wrong thing won't bring results no matter how long you wait.
β Material: Meaningful materialism for health.
- The goal was to invest in tools that bring me health. But I didn't consume much this year. Everything went to family. My biggest purchases were limited to Black Friday where I bought some software subscriptions and sleep biohacking tools. That's about it. Nothing more than a few hundred dollars.
- Perhaps that's the most meaningful form of consumption. That I didn't consume just for its own sake. That I didn't consume because other areas of life needed more resources.
- And if anything, my health needed more attention and practice than consumption.
π² Living: Move more, feel fit.
- I failed this goal last year, and failed this again this year. Utter defeat. I can feel my health spiralling downwards. I think moving and exercising more is the solution, but I didn't do it. Work was *always* more pressing. Family matters took more attention.
- I think if I were to make a dent on my [Fit AF goal](https://golifelog.com/goals/213), I got to start thinking differently about this. How can I achieve this even on my worst days? How do I sustain this habit without a drop of willpower needed? π€
π‘ Intellectual: Follow my entrepreneur nose.
- I wanted to follow my intellectual curiosity more and learn to smell opportunity. That's something I feel I've accomplished to some degree this year. I've launched new products like Sheet2Bio and many Carrd plugins/tools (about 20!). I'm building new things based on ideas that my customers give me. The time gap from idea to launch is shorter. It's a start for sure!
- I want to do more, and deepen skill in this. It's true. Curiosity, opportunity-sensing β these need practice. They are skills that anyone can learn to get better at, even non-entrepreneurs.
πͺ Experiential: Learn about web3 and AI.
- I wanted to build indie projects in the web3, crypto and GPT-3 space, but didn't. And in the span of 1 year, the AI space blossomed and moved past those technologies. Dalle, Stable Diffusion, and now ChatGPT. Who's talking about NFTs and web3 now? Nobody. I realised many of these are fads, and framing my intentions in terms of fads ensures I lose interest pretty fast.
- A better way to frame what kind of experiential capital I'd like is probably in evergreen experiences/skills. Learn a new programming language. Launch a new type of product I've never launched before. Try new marketing hacks, like ads perhaps. Much better to frame this in the *how* than the *what*.
π₯ Social: Serial 1-on-1 Twitter conversations.
- I wanted to double down on building relationships on Twitter. I thought Zoom calls were the solution. That didn't happen haha. I guess as much as I love socialising on Twitter, even calls are too much. Though the format might not have went as intended, the spirit of connecting with more depth and more people did happen. The highlight was meeting some indie friends like Kevon, Greg in real life. So there's no in-betweens! Either over text replies, or IRL haha.
π¨ Cultural: Pivoting identity to wealth subculture.
- Learning about wealth and investing was always something I felt I *should* do more of. Money mindsets were an area I felt I needed to improve on. But I never felt heart aligned to it. It felt like a chore. So nothing much happened in this space. That's another tip about setting intentions. Sometimes you miss.
- If there's one epiphany here, it's the lesson about [doubling down on my strengths instead of weaknesses](https://golifelog.com/posts/strengths-based-approach-to-indie-hacking-1667862467896). From sports I knew working on weaknesses was the key to improvement, but maybe that doesn't have to be true in entrepreneurship. Iβm so past working on my deficits. Iβm just going to leverage on my strengths and assets, and go.
β© Spiritual: Mindful familyhood.
- I wanted to bring more mindfulness and presence to my family. Itβs not just about being social, but a spiritual pursuit: To bring a quality of attention, care and being present to these very dear people I love. I want to build fond memories with them, not raw regrets.
- I don't know about results, but this was front and centre in every action and decision I took this year. Family family family. Was I more mindful and present? I don't know how it's perceived by them, but I know I truly tried. Was there more fond memories than raw regrets? I'm not keeping tabs but I know I truly tried. In the end, with family, with any sort of spiritual practice, I think the salvation is in the attempt. And I did.
That's 2022 for me through these eight lenses.
*How was your 2022?*
π΅ Financial capital: money, financial instruments, investments
β Material capital: possessions, natural resources, tools, infrastructure
π² Living capital: nature, land, ecosystems, animals, health (my own addition)
π‘ Intellectual capital: ideas, knowledge, words, images, intellectual property
πͺ Experiential capital: action, embodied experienced, worldly wisdom
π₯ Social capital: connections, relationships, influence
π¨ Cultural capital: song, story, ritual, art, theatre, community customs
β© Spiritual capital: prayer, faith, beliefs, spiritual attainment
This annual review framework is uncommon but I love it. It's captures how I feel about how everything is interdependent and connected. I've never had a problem thinking about things in life that I treasure beyond mere money, but this truly forces me think wider and deeper about everything. Think of it as 8 different lenses to view reality and life. Each offers a different but useful viewpoint. Together it forms a good picture.
I set my [intentions for 2022 in January](https://golifelog.com/posts/2022-in-8-forms-of-capital-1641014096319), and here are the results:
π΅ Financial: Hit $200 MRR from all my products by 31 Dec 2022, through small doggedness.
- I was under the impression that by downsizing my MRR goal I could hit it. But that didn't work for me. It didn't work for the market and product I was in. In fact, what really helped me was reframing my entire relationship with MRR being the one true metric to strive for. *Why does it have to be monthly and recurring?* If my goal is freedom and lifestyle, it shouldn't matter how and where the money comes from. That was the biggest epiphany I took away this year. MRR is a simply a mental relic of my SaaS indie hacker beginnings.
- So I refocused my efforts from one main project to my whole portfolio, and put serious effort back into my consulting again. Now it's about survival, about staying in the game, about getting revenue from whatever wherever. It's less "indie hacker/bootstrapped SaaS founder", more "indie solopreneur".
- And the part about small doggedness, 1% compounding? I couldn't be more wrong. It only makes sense to be patient, dogged and consistent if you're working on the right product, if the product had shown product-market fit, or if it's post-revenue. Being dogged on the wrong thing won't bring results no matter how long you wait.
β Material: Meaningful materialism for health.
- The goal was to invest in tools that bring me health. But I didn't consume much this year. Everything went to family. My biggest purchases were limited to Black Friday where I bought some software subscriptions and sleep biohacking tools. That's about it. Nothing more than a few hundred dollars.
- Perhaps that's the most meaningful form of consumption. That I didn't consume just for its own sake. That I didn't consume because other areas of life needed more resources.
- And if anything, my health needed more attention and practice than consumption.
π² Living: Move more, feel fit.
- I failed this goal last year, and failed this again this year. Utter defeat. I can feel my health spiralling downwards. I think moving and exercising more is the solution, but I didn't do it. Work was *always* more pressing. Family matters took more attention.
- I think if I were to make a dent on my [Fit AF goal](https://golifelog.com/goals/213), I got to start thinking differently about this. How can I achieve this even on my worst days? How do I sustain this habit without a drop of willpower needed? π€
π‘ Intellectual: Follow my entrepreneur nose.
- I wanted to follow my intellectual curiosity more and learn to smell opportunity. That's something I feel I've accomplished to some degree this year. I've launched new products like Sheet2Bio and many Carrd plugins/tools (about 20!). I'm building new things based on ideas that my customers give me. The time gap from idea to launch is shorter. It's a start for sure!
- I want to do more, and deepen skill in this. It's true. Curiosity, opportunity-sensing β these need practice. They are skills that anyone can learn to get better at, even non-entrepreneurs.
πͺ Experiential: Learn about web3 and AI.
- I wanted to build indie projects in the web3, crypto and GPT-3 space, but didn't. And in the span of 1 year, the AI space blossomed and moved past those technologies. Dalle, Stable Diffusion, and now ChatGPT. Who's talking about NFTs and web3 now? Nobody. I realised many of these are fads, and framing my intentions in terms of fads ensures I lose interest pretty fast.
- A better way to frame what kind of experiential capital I'd like is probably in evergreen experiences/skills. Learn a new programming language. Launch a new type of product I've never launched before. Try new marketing hacks, like ads perhaps. Much better to frame this in the *how* than the *what*.
π₯ Social: Serial 1-on-1 Twitter conversations.
- I wanted to double down on building relationships on Twitter. I thought Zoom calls were the solution. That didn't happen haha. I guess as much as I love socialising on Twitter, even calls are too much. Though the format might not have went as intended, the spirit of connecting with more depth and more people did happen. The highlight was meeting some indie friends like Kevon, Greg in real life. So there's no in-betweens! Either over text replies, or IRL haha.
π¨ Cultural: Pivoting identity to wealth subculture.
- Learning about wealth and investing was always something I felt I *should* do more of. Money mindsets were an area I felt I needed to improve on. But I never felt heart aligned to it. It felt like a chore. So nothing much happened in this space. That's another tip about setting intentions. Sometimes you miss.
- If there's one epiphany here, it's the lesson about [doubling down on my strengths instead of weaknesses](https://golifelog.com/posts/strengths-based-approach-to-indie-hacking-1667862467896). From sports I knew working on weaknesses was the key to improvement, but maybe that doesn't have to be true in entrepreneurship. Iβm so past working on my deficits. Iβm just going to leverage on my strengths and assets, and go.
β© Spiritual: Mindful familyhood.
- I wanted to bring more mindfulness and presence to my family. Itβs not just about being social, but a spiritual pursuit: To bring a quality of attention, care and being present to these very dear people I love. I want to build fond memories with them, not raw regrets.
- I don't know about results, but this was front and centre in every action and decision I took this year. Family family family. Was I more mindful and present? I don't know how it's perceived by them, but I know I truly tried. Was there more fond memories than raw regrets? I'm not keeping tabs but I know I truly tried. In the end, with family, with any sort of spiritual practice, I think the salvation is in the attempt. And I did.
That's 2022 for me through these eight lenses.
*How was your 2022?*
Pre-workshop planning for upcoming co-creation workshop
π΅ Sold yet another single license testimonial slider Carrd plugin (US$15)...thanks Callum!
Day 727 - Best & worst of 2022 - https://golifelog.com/posts/best-and-worst-of-2022-1672195534790
Here's a fun way to review the year of 2022 β best and worst of a thing, event or category in your life this year.
Here's my best and worst project, marketing hack, habit, purchase, tweet:
### Best and worst project
π₯ **[Plugins For Carrd](https://plugins.carrd.co).** Last year it was the underdog that won best project. This year, it's still the champ. Revenue had doubled. I continue to enjoy working on it. I'm in more communities than ever. I keep finding new opportunities and ideas to work on. I'm grateful for this.
π© **[Sheet2Bio](https://sheet2bio.com).** It was a fun SaaS project to work on, but it failed terribly. I had a solution looking for a problem, and sadly that's always a bad sign for business. True enough, I launched to huge fanfare but the response was dismal. I learned loads from it though! It's still alive though I'm not putting much work into it for now, just biding my time to see what I can do with it.
### Best and worst marketing hack
π₯ **Diversifying distribution.** I started being serious on LinkedIn in April. Diversified myself into Reddit and Facebook and started being serious about helping people there, giving value to the community. Got to be a mod for the Carrd Facebook group in Oct. I started newsletters β for myself and for my Carrd plugins project to collect emails. Recently, went to Mastodon as a [Plan B for Twitter](https://golifelog.com/posts/twitter-plan-b-1671582153083). Platform risk is lower, and I like my current set up.
π© **Cross-posting between my Twitter accounts.** Such a bad idea. It's so common a practice I didn't much much about it. That's until I saw someone's brand account got banned with zero chance to appeal. The main reason seems to cross-posting (we don't know for sure). Indeed that's in the T&Cs - that no cross-posting between accounts allowed. I've since removed most links or relations the accounts have to each other, and to tweet on their own. No more RTs and QTs.
### Best and worst habit
π₯ **Sleep biohacking.** This was best habit last year, and I'd say it's again the best habit I have worked on this year. No other habit got me interested for this long. Of course, few other habits are as infinite a game as sleep. Even after 2 years (I started this in 2020), there's still new things to learn, new biohacking equipment to try, new challenges cropped up every month to manage. Yet when I do it well, no other habit gave as much benefit and impact on health, well-being, mental clarity, and overall joy in life. Sleep truly is the first mover amongst first movers.
π© **Stress.** The biggest realisation this year was how all my ill health links back to chronic stress, and my lack of habits/routines to destress. Even poor sleep is a side effect of runaway stress. It's the elephant in the room that I never realised till just weeks ago, but am so grateful now for that epiphany, because there's no cure without awareness. The promising upcoming habit to dive deeper into in the new year is stress biohacking.
### Best and worst purchase
π₯ **Carrd Pro Plus 100 subscription.** At $159 per year it might be my biggest SaaS subscription, but also my most worthwhile. The most important feature of this plan is I get 100 sites β that way, I can make more templates and plugins without worry! Like they always say, you got to spend money to make money. And at $159 for ONE YEAR, this pays for itself within 1 month of revenue.
Notable mentions:
- Keychron C1 mechanical keyboard β Bought this upgrade in March. No Bluetooth for less EMF exposure. Tenkeyless layout for faster and better functionality. The RGB backlight is always a delight to see and use. The tactile "thock" of each key is delicious to the ears. Keyboards are such underrated investments.
- Sleep tech β Anything that helps me sleep better is always a good investment. The quantum sleep card, anti-snoring device all helped in their incremental ways.
π© **jasonleow.eth** I bought it my name .eth domain on a whim to jump on the bandwagon, but I had no idea what practical value it can offer. And indeed, after months, it's just another white elephant. I'm not into web3. Neither am I investing much in crypto. Still unsure what problem this solves...
### Best and worst tweet
π₯ My [best tweet](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1562801975967641601) is also now my pinned tweet. It's best not because of performance or likes/impressions, but because it's something I'm super proud of having said it out loud β that my family is my most important reason and anchor, even while I hustle on Twitter. It's gives perspective. It reminds me of what my true priorities, my North Star.
π© A tweet I won't even link here. I made some comment in someone else's tweet thread about AI art, and got whirlpooled into the toxicity of insecure artists just want to project their fears on others. It's such a waste of time. I hoped for constructive dialogue but was only met with sarcasm and flaming. In the end, I had to mute and block accounts, key words and tweets. It's always amazing to me how much of a nice bubble I found in Twitter, away from the toxicity of politics, identity wars, lame internet fights. Peace.
*So whatβs your best and worse for 2022?*
Here's my best and worst project, marketing hack, habit, purchase, tweet:
### Best and worst project
π₯ **[Plugins For Carrd](https://plugins.carrd.co).** Last year it was the underdog that won best project. This year, it's still the champ. Revenue had doubled. I continue to enjoy working on it. I'm in more communities than ever. I keep finding new opportunities and ideas to work on. I'm grateful for this.
π© **[Sheet2Bio](https://sheet2bio.com).** It was a fun SaaS project to work on, but it failed terribly. I had a solution looking for a problem, and sadly that's always a bad sign for business. True enough, I launched to huge fanfare but the response was dismal. I learned loads from it though! It's still alive though I'm not putting much work into it for now, just biding my time to see what I can do with it.
### Best and worst marketing hack
π₯ **Diversifying distribution.** I started being serious on LinkedIn in April. Diversified myself into Reddit and Facebook and started being serious about helping people there, giving value to the community. Got to be a mod for the Carrd Facebook group in Oct. I started newsletters β for myself and for my Carrd plugins project to collect emails. Recently, went to Mastodon as a [Plan B for Twitter](https://golifelog.com/posts/twitter-plan-b-1671582153083). Platform risk is lower, and I like my current set up.
π© **Cross-posting between my Twitter accounts.** Such a bad idea. It's so common a practice I didn't much much about it. That's until I saw someone's brand account got banned with zero chance to appeal. The main reason seems to cross-posting (we don't know for sure). Indeed that's in the T&Cs - that no cross-posting between accounts allowed. I've since removed most links or relations the accounts have to each other, and to tweet on their own. No more RTs and QTs.
### Best and worst habit
π₯ **Sleep biohacking.** This was best habit last year, and I'd say it's again the best habit I have worked on this year. No other habit got me interested for this long. Of course, few other habits are as infinite a game as sleep. Even after 2 years (I started this in 2020), there's still new things to learn, new biohacking equipment to try, new challenges cropped up every month to manage. Yet when I do it well, no other habit gave as much benefit and impact on health, well-being, mental clarity, and overall joy in life. Sleep truly is the first mover amongst first movers.
π© **Stress.** The biggest realisation this year was how all my ill health links back to chronic stress, and my lack of habits/routines to destress. Even poor sleep is a side effect of runaway stress. It's the elephant in the room that I never realised till just weeks ago, but am so grateful now for that epiphany, because there's no cure without awareness. The promising upcoming habit to dive deeper into in the new year is stress biohacking.
### Best and worst purchase
π₯ **Carrd Pro Plus 100 subscription.** At $159 per year it might be my biggest SaaS subscription, but also my most worthwhile. The most important feature of this plan is I get 100 sites β that way, I can make more templates and plugins without worry! Like they always say, you got to spend money to make money. And at $159 for ONE YEAR, this pays for itself within 1 month of revenue.
Notable mentions:
- Keychron C1 mechanical keyboard β Bought this upgrade in March. No Bluetooth for less EMF exposure. Tenkeyless layout for faster and better functionality. The RGB backlight is always a delight to see and use. The tactile "thock" of each key is delicious to the ears. Keyboards are such underrated investments.
- Sleep tech β Anything that helps me sleep better is always a good investment. The quantum sleep card, anti-snoring device all helped in their incremental ways.
π© **jasonleow.eth** I bought it my name .eth domain on a whim to jump on the bandwagon, but I had no idea what practical value it can offer. And indeed, after months, it's just another white elephant. I'm not into web3. Neither am I investing much in crypto. Still unsure what problem this solves...
### Best and worst tweet
π₯ My [best tweet](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1562801975967641601) is also now my pinned tweet. It's best not because of performance or likes/impressions, but because it's something I'm super proud of having said it out loud β that my family is my most important reason and anchor, even while I hustle on Twitter. It's gives perspective. It reminds me of what my true priorities, my North Star.
π© A tweet I won't even link here. I made some comment in someone else's tweet thread about AI art, and got whirlpooled into the toxicity of insecure artists just want to project their fears on others. It's such a waste of time. I hoped for constructive dialogue but was only met with sarcasm and flaming. In the end, I had to mute and block accounts, key words and tweets. It's always amazing to me how much of a nice bubble I found in Twitter, away from the toxicity of politics, identity wars, lame internet fights. Peace.
*So whatβs your best and worse for 2022?*
Day 726 - Alacrity, reviewed - https://golifelog.com/posts/alacrity-reviewed-1672098577973
I had a [one-word aspiration for 2022](https://golifelog.com/posts/alacrity-1641079911090):
Alacrity.
> /ΙΛlΓ¦kΒ·rΙͺΒ·tΜ¬i/ brisk and cheerful readiness
> βI accepted the invitation to 2022 with alacrity.β
I remember clawing towards the finish line in 2021, at the end of two long pandemic years. I recalled I desperately wantedβNEEDEDβ some sense of hope for the future, in 2022. I thirsted to *feel* it.
Now, looking back at 2022, I think I accomplished it.
Sure, I didn't have that attitude of cheerful readiness every single day. Nobody does. But overall, there's been a net positive of cheerful readiness.
2022 didn't start off promising. But things really took a turn for the better in April when the social distancing restrictions got lifted. Suddenly, there was hope that life as it used to be was a possibility. We could all go out and have a normal family dinner together. We could see friends and family without fear. We could go to work. We could mingle. And now, I would say we're 80-90% back to pre-pandemic days. The crowds are back. The tourists are back. People are out.
Best of all, business is picking back up again. Revenue isn't back to pre-pandemic days, but there's signs all round that opportunities in quantity and quality are emerging. There's lots of reasons to be cheerful about.
2022 had been a year where the world reopened and I realised I *can* again start to be alacritous for the future.
It's most certainly not peaked yet. 2023 will be the year to truly look forward to with true, unbounded alacrity.
Okay, I'm now ready for a new word for 2023. What might it be......? π€
Alacrity.
> /ΙΛlΓ¦kΒ·rΙͺΒ·tΜ¬i/ brisk and cheerful readiness
> βI accepted the invitation to 2022 with alacrity.β
I remember clawing towards the finish line in 2021, at the end of two long pandemic years. I recalled I desperately wantedβNEEDEDβ some sense of hope for the future, in 2022. I thirsted to *feel* it.
Now, looking back at 2022, I think I accomplished it.
Sure, I didn't have that attitude of cheerful readiness every single day. Nobody does. But overall, there's been a net positive of cheerful readiness.
2022 didn't start off promising. But things really took a turn for the better in April when the social distancing restrictions got lifted. Suddenly, there was hope that life as it used to be was a possibility. We could all go out and have a normal family dinner together. We could see friends and family without fear. We could go to work. We could mingle. And now, I would say we're 80-90% back to pre-pandemic days. The crowds are back. The tourists are back. People are out.
Best of all, business is picking back up again. Revenue isn't back to pre-pandemic days, but there's signs all round that opportunities in quantity and quality are emerging. There's lots of reasons to be cheerful about.
2022 had been a year where the world reopened and I realised I *can* again start to be alacritous for the future.
It's most certainly not peaked yet. 2023 will be the year to truly look forward to with true, unbounded alacrity.
Okay, I'm now ready for a new word for 2023. What might it be......? π€