Day 752 - My teacher - https://golifelog.com/posts/my-teacher-1674344314111
It's been [one year](https://youtu.be/mkJLqq6j0Ic) since my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh passed. Has it been a year already?
That gaping hole in the world when he left is no smaller.
Yet it holds us all—his students—in mindful embrace.
I first knew about my teacher through his books. I was living in London back then, on a working holidaymaker visa, working and living a new life in a different world. I was in my mid 20s. On weekends I would spend hours in Borders, and I think that's where I first chanced on his book. And I was riveted. His words are simple, basic, sometimes even child-like, but his storytelling and insight were mindblowing. And at the end of his books, I'll read that he lives in a monastery in Bordeaux, France called Plum Village.
I was intrigued.
A few more books, and with my time in London reaching an end, I decided to head to France to travel for a few months, and end that trip with a meditation retreat at his monastery before I headed home. I felt that was a good way to round up my time overseas, to reflect and regroup.
Except that destiny had other plans.
My stay at Plum Village turned out to be one of the best transformative experiences I ever had in my entire life. Learning about mindfulness and mindful living, practising with the monks and nuns for 3 months through the cold winter in the French countryside, was just the reset I needed to start a new season of life back home. It gave me the right tools and mindsets to better deal with the modern world. I gave me higher values and aspirations I looked up to, that I could work towards. I've never lived in a community where I felt so embraced and safe in everyone's loving kindness. I never saw someone walk so mindfully, with so much presense – can you imagine being transfixed by how someone walks? It's crazy. I never knew that walking can be a superpower. In the end, I felt saner, clearer, happier after Plum Village. I felt ready for the world, for a different life.
Everything changed.
He changed my life. For the better.
He had since gone, but like how he likes to tell us, he's never really gone *gone*. He continues in us all when we walk, eat, sit and rest in mindfulness as he had taught. He continues. We're his continuation.
With every mindful step and breath, we have arrived, we are home.
That gaping hole in the world when he left is no smaller.
Yet it holds us all—his students—in mindful embrace.
I first knew about my teacher through his books. I was living in London back then, on a working holidaymaker visa, working and living a new life in a different world. I was in my mid 20s. On weekends I would spend hours in Borders, and I think that's where I first chanced on his book. And I was riveted. His words are simple, basic, sometimes even child-like, but his storytelling and insight were mindblowing. And at the end of his books, I'll read that he lives in a monastery in Bordeaux, France called Plum Village.
I was intrigued.
A few more books, and with my time in London reaching an end, I decided to head to France to travel for a few months, and end that trip with a meditation retreat at his monastery before I headed home. I felt that was a good way to round up my time overseas, to reflect and regroup.
Except that destiny had other plans.
My stay at Plum Village turned out to be one of the best transformative experiences I ever had in my entire life. Learning about mindfulness and mindful living, practising with the monks and nuns for 3 months through the cold winter in the French countryside, was just the reset I needed to start a new season of life back home. It gave me the right tools and mindsets to better deal with the modern world. I gave me higher values and aspirations I looked up to, that I could work towards. I've never lived in a community where I felt so embraced and safe in everyone's loving kindness. I never saw someone walk so mindfully, with so much presense – can you imagine being transfixed by how someone walks? It's crazy. I never knew that walking can be a superpower. In the end, I felt saner, clearer, happier after Plum Village. I felt ready for the world, for a different life.
Everything changed.
He changed my life. For the better.
He had since gone, but like how he likes to tell us, he's never really gone *gone*. He continues in us all when we walk, eat, sit and rest in mindfulness as he had taught. He continues. We're his continuation.
With every mindful step and breath, we have arrived, we are home.
1 recent trial user just cancelled trial
Day 751 - Strategic procrastination - https://golifelog.com/posts/strategic-procrastination-1674258178232
I like being strategically incompetent in some things. Like getting to inbox zero, or inbox organisation (categorizing emails into folders). Like keeping my desk neat and tidy.
These are the kind of work and tasks that are [motion, not action](https://golifelog.com/posts/action-not-motion-1674004783697). They keep you busy but doesn't move the needle much, if at all.
Then a [friend on Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ritu_Jhajharia/status/1616337273607589888) introduced me to strategic procrastination, a sister of strategic incompetence.
With strategic incompetence, you say NO to doing something or developing skill in it.
With strategic procrastination, you're NOT SURE about something, and put it off till it resolves itself, or it keeps coming back that you realise you got to do it.
I love that. It's like my toolkit for ignoring motion and prioritising action had just doubled.
Essentially, any decision that's reversible, or has low impact/consequences, costs little or nothing to get started or to maintain, doesn't piss important stakeholders (e.g. customers, family) off, are good game for strategic procrastination.
Tasks and decisions that could be intentionally procrastinated on, like:
- deciding what's the best name or domain for a new product
- having a logo for a new product
- replying to an enquiry which you're unsure if it's a warm lead
- replying to DMs and messages from folks asking to collaborate
- sorting and organising your note-taking system (notes that you don't use much of)
- replying to Twitter trolls/haters
- engaging in divisive topics like politics
- reading books to prepare to be an entrepreneur
*What else should I strategically procrastinate on?*
These are the kind of work and tasks that are [motion, not action](https://golifelog.com/posts/action-not-motion-1674004783697). They keep you busy but doesn't move the needle much, if at all.
Then a [friend on Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ritu_Jhajharia/status/1616337273607589888) introduced me to strategic procrastination, a sister of strategic incompetence.
With strategic incompetence, you say NO to doing something or developing skill in it.
With strategic procrastination, you're NOT SURE about something, and put it off till it resolves itself, or it keeps coming back that you realise you got to do it.
I love that. It's like my toolkit for ignoring motion and prioritising action had just doubled.
Essentially, any decision that's reversible, or has low impact/consequences, costs little or nothing to get started or to maintain, doesn't piss important stakeholders (e.g. customers, family) off, are good game for strategic procrastination.
Tasks and decisions that could be intentionally procrastinated on, like:
- deciding what's the best name or domain for a new product
- having a logo for a new product
- replying to an enquiry which you're unsure if it's a warm lead
- replying to DMs and messages from folks asking to collaborate
- sorting and organising your note-taking system (notes that you don't use much of)
- replying to Twitter trolls/haters
- engaging in divisive topics like politics
- reading books to prepare to be an entrepreneur
*What else should I strategically procrastinate on?*
Day 750 - Indie solopreneurship is unhealthy for me - https://golifelog.com/posts/indie-solopreneurship-is-unhealthy-for-me-1674176909773
Indie solopreneurship is unhealthy for me. There I said it.
As much as I love the work, the lifestyle is just waaay too sedantary.
I just realised how unfit I am just working from home, after being absolutely knocked out from running a workshop for my client for half a day. My back starting aching just 1h in, and by the end of the workshop my body was screaming to lie down.
Not good. Not good at all.
I think my unfitness started trending downwards since the pandemic + fatherhood, and I never quite got back. In fact, I'm not even keeping my head above water, I'm just sinking slowly without realising I'm going to drown. Like the proverbial frog in boiling water. It's so easy to cruise along with my sedantary lifestyle every day, because I don't feel worse off day to day.
But it's like 1% daily compounding, except that it's negative. Hypothetically speaking, if I compound at 1% worse every day, I'll end up 30x less fit than a year ago. It's scary when I extrapolate the unfitness now to 10-20 years later when I hit my 50s-60s. By then it wouldn't be called lack of fitness, it'll be atrophy. Then quickly it'll be degeneration.
Not a future life I want. Where I live long years of life but there's no life in the years.
What can I do then?
I already exercise every morning:
- 15min brisk walk or slow jog
- body weight exercises like push-ups, squats, heel raises
- climbing up 7 floors of stairs
But I think I need to up the ante. Maybe multiply that workout by 2-3x, per day. Go for longer walks every week or two. Carry extra weight while doing that.
Nothing like a mini crisis situation to trigger a positive change.
As much as I love the work, the lifestyle is just waaay too sedantary.
I just realised how unfit I am just working from home, after being absolutely knocked out from running a workshop for my client for half a day. My back starting aching just 1h in, and by the end of the workshop my body was screaming to lie down.
Not good. Not good at all.
I think my unfitness started trending downwards since the pandemic + fatherhood, and I never quite got back. In fact, I'm not even keeping my head above water, I'm just sinking slowly without realising I'm going to drown. Like the proverbial frog in boiling water. It's so easy to cruise along with my sedantary lifestyle every day, because I don't feel worse off day to day.
But it's like 1% daily compounding, except that it's negative. Hypothetically speaking, if I compound at 1% worse every day, I'll end up 30x less fit than a year ago. It's scary when I extrapolate the unfitness now to 10-20 years later when I hit my 50s-60s. By then it wouldn't be called lack of fitness, it'll be atrophy. Then quickly it'll be degeneration.
Not a future life I want. Where I live long years of life but there's no life in the years.
What can I do then?
I already exercise every morning:
- 15min brisk walk or slow jog
- body weight exercises like push-ups, squats, heel raises
- climbing up 7 floors of stairs
But I think I need to up the ante. Maybe multiply that workout by 2-3x, per day. Go for longer walks every week or two. Carry extra weight while doing that.
Nothing like a mini crisis situation to trigger a positive change.
Jason Leow
Author
Yeah it's probably not indie solopreneurship per se. More due to my current way of doing indie. Too sedantary. Gotta mix it up with more movement.
Day 749 - AI makes us more human - https://golifelog.com/posts/ai-makes-us-more-human-1674079659693
With AI like ChatGPT, never has the need to be more utterly and beautifully human been more pressing.
All the more reason to build imperfectly in public, show some vulnerability, make friends, build relationships, be authentic and human.
Because nobody's going to like a flawed piece of software, but humans are the only ones with the privilege to own our flaws and other humans will actually find that cool.
Because "AI-powerred" plattitudes will be so easy to tweet now, that you got to show more unique personality, even weirdness! I actually love following weirdos who embrace their weirdness, as I want to do the same too.
Because AI will bring about a prosiac sameness to content and media, while people will come to appreciate other people who don't use it or use it to assist not replace.
Because vulnerability is bad for software but good for humans. We lose trust in software with vulnerability but we actually trust someone more when they show vulnerability.
Because ultimately, people like interacting with other people, buying from other people, connecting with other people, not robots.
And ironically, AI will mirror back to us what's truly valuable, what truly matters to us humans.
Funny that it had to take a robot to show us what being human means.
—
Inspired by the conversations prompted by this [tweet](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1615348895005184001).
All the more reason to build imperfectly in public, show some vulnerability, make friends, build relationships, be authentic and human.
Because nobody's going to like a flawed piece of software, but humans are the only ones with the privilege to own our flaws and other humans will actually find that cool.
Because "AI-powerred" plattitudes will be so easy to tweet now, that you got to show more unique personality, even weirdness! I actually love following weirdos who embrace their weirdness, as I want to do the same too.
Because AI will bring about a prosiac sameness to content and media, while people will come to appreciate other people who don't use it or use it to assist not replace.
Because vulnerability is bad for software but good for humans. We lose trust in software with vulnerability but we actually trust someone more when they show vulnerability.
Because ultimately, people like interacting with other people, buying from other people, connecting with other people, not robots.
And ironically, AI will mirror back to us what's truly valuable, what truly matters to us humans.
Funny that it had to take a robot to show us what being human means.
—
Inspired by the conversations prompted by this [tweet](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1615348895005184001).
🚧 Work-in-progress for the rich text editor - got italics, strikethrough, Header 3, block quote, insert link buttons working
Day 748 - Action, not motion - https://golifelog.com/posts/action-not-motion-1674004783697
"Never mistake motion for action." - Ernest Hemmingway
That's the difference between true progress versus false progress.
Motion is self-gratifying. Action is constructive.
Motion pushes back at you. Action pulls you forward.
Motion is mindless practice. Action is deliberate practice.
Motion is impressions and likes. Action is profit in the bank.
Motion is busy, low value work. Action is purposeful, high ROI work.
Motion is a lot of work. Action is prioritising, doing less to achieve more.
Motion is building an audience. Action is building buy intent in an audience.
Motion is doing something just because your hero does it. Action is doing something because your customers are paying for it.
It's so easy to get caught up in motion. Especially when you see your peers doing it. You assume that's the game and that's how it's played. You do and do, assuming that you need patience, that results will eventually come, that "good things come to those who wait". But that wise saying has so many caveats you've never heard. It only applies if you were working in the right thing. If it's the wrong thing, no product-market fit, the unit economics are off, then no amount of time and patience will come in to save you.
No amount of motion is going to deliver the outcome you want.
Always ask: Is this task/goal/objective a motion, or action?
Be real. Be realistic. Be skeptical of our own innate tendencies and biases to favour motion.
Then act accordingly.
True progress will come.
That's the difference between true progress versus false progress.
Motion is self-gratifying. Action is constructive.
Motion pushes back at you. Action pulls you forward.
Motion is mindless practice. Action is deliberate practice.
Motion is impressions and likes. Action is profit in the bank.
Motion is busy, low value work. Action is purposeful, high ROI work.
Motion is a lot of work. Action is prioritising, doing less to achieve more.
Motion is building an audience. Action is building buy intent in an audience.
Motion is doing something just because your hero does it. Action is doing something because your customers are paying for it.
It's so easy to get caught up in motion. Especially when you see your peers doing it. You assume that's the game and that's how it's played. You do and do, assuming that you need patience, that results will eventually come, that "good things come to those who wait". But that wise saying has so many caveats you've never heard. It only applies if you were working in the right thing. If it's the wrong thing, no product-market fit, the unit economics are off, then no amount of time and patience will come in to save you.
No amount of motion is going to deliver the outcome you want.
Always ask: Is this task/goal/objective a motion, or action?
Be real. Be realistic. Be skeptical of our own innate tendencies and biases to favour motion.
Then act accordingly.
True progress will come.
Day 747 - First reinvestment experiment - sponsored ads - https://golifelog.com/posts/first-reinvestment-experiment-sponsored-ads-1673907202760
I wanted 2023 to be the year where I start reinvesting profits back to product. I wrote about my [intentions to do so](https://golifelog.com/posts/reinvesting-revenue-1671495174677), and then [brainstormed some ideas](https://golifelog.com/posts/ideas-for-reinvesting-revenue-1673504024637). And now my first experiment! Sponsoring ads in newsletters/sites by other indies makers and creators to get more distribution for my Plugins For Carrd project.
Just bought my very first sponsorship ad – a $20/month ad in @JannisBetschki's [Tools For Creators](https://toolsforcreators.co/) website. Since July 2022, Tools for Creators averages around 1,500 pageviews and 350 unique visitors per month, so I'm hoping that would translate to some click-throughs! 🤞
Some criteria I considered when buying this ad:
- a newsletter/tool by a fellow indie maker or creator
- he builds for Carrd or uses it often
- his audience is directly related to Carrd, or strongly adjacent (e.g. nocode)
- motivated and marketing the site a lot
- semi decent monthly traffic (TBH I have no idea what a baseline looks like...)
To better track the click-throughs, I added a ref URL parameter to the plugins.carrd.co/?ref=toolsforcreators so that it'll show up as a separate source on my Google Analytics dashboard. But one thing I would love to track is conversion. How many click-throughs from the site actually resulted in paid customers? That's the ultimate metric, but unsure yet how to measure it (or if it's even possible)...
Next ad I'm eyeing: the $19/month sponsorhsip ad on Mark Bowley's [Deck Of Carrd website](https://deckof.carrd.co/) which averages 400+ visits per month and average time on site ~5min.
*What else should I look out for or measure when it comes to getting the most out of an sponsorship ad?*
Just bought my very first sponsorship ad – a $20/month ad in @JannisBetschki's [Tools For Creators](https://toolsforcreators.co/) website. Since July 2022, Tools for Creators averages around 1,500 pageviews and 350 unique visitors per month, so I'm hoping that would translate to some click-throughs! 🤞
Some criteria I considered when buying this ad:
- a newsletter/tool by a fellow indie maker or creator
- he builds for Carrd or uses it often
- his audience is directly related to Carrd, or strongly adjacent (e.g. nocode)
- motivated and marketing the site a lot
- semi decent monthly traffic (TBH I have no idea what a baseline looks like...)
To better track the click-throughs, I added a ref URL parameter to the plugins.carrd.co/?ref=toolsforcreators so that it'll show up as a separate source on my Google Analytics dashboard. But one thing I would love to track is conversion. How many click-throughs from the site actually resulted in paid customers? That's the ultimate metric, but unsure yet how to measure it (or if it's even possible)...
Next ad I'm eyeing: the $19/month sponsorhsip ad on Mark Bowley's [Deck Of Carrd website](https://deckof.carrd.co/) which averages 400+ visits per month and average time on site ~5min.
*What else should I look out for or measure when it comes to getting the most out of an sponsorship ad?*
Day 746 - Indie solopreneurship is a privilege - https://golifelog.com/posts/indie-solopreneurship-is-a-privilege-1673845034716
This [tweet](https://twitter.com/Chelsea_Fagan/status/1208944952576790528) reminded me that oftentimes what I mistake as a firm commitment or a bold move is actually just money or privilege speaking:
> A lot of things that we think take a lot of courage actually just take a lot of money.
>
> Quitting your job with no backup? Money! Calling off a wedding? Money! Starting over in a new city? Money! It’s very easy to have the courage of your convictions when you have a safety net, and very difficult to do anything on principle when you don’t.
Cue the typical leaps of faith that indie makers are often told to make:
- Quit your job and go all in on your startup
- Focus on just one idea
- The biggest risk is not taking any risk
- Growth at all costs
Everything listed is way easier if you already got a safety net of a job to go back to, or have enough cash runway or savings to depend on, no family to feed, no mortgage to pay, no cars on installments, no second or third jobs you have to take on to survive.
This is especially poignant for me as the past three years had been tough business-wise. I'm just trying to survive and not have the indie lifestyle get taken away from me. It's easy to talk about failing and trying from going all in on one startup when you have safety nets to try and try again. It's presumptious to think everyone's risk appetite is the same when talking about the biggest risk is not taking any risk. And when you're struggling to just survive, growth is hard to even imagine, lest say growth at all costs.
Even though business getting better right now, I'm still not in the clear yet. I could still lose the privilege of indie solopreneurship tomorrow.
And that's only made me all the more grateful for the chance to stay in the game.
It truly is a privilege.
> A lot of things that we think take a lot of courage actually just take a lot of money.
>
> Quitting your job with no backup? Money! Calling off a wedding? Money! Starting over in a new city? Money! It’s very easy to have the courage of your convictions when you have a safety net, and very difficult to do anything on principle when you don’t.
Cue the typical leaps of faith that indie makers are often told to make:
- Quit your job and go all in on your startup
- Focus on just one idea
- The biggest risk is not taking any risk
- Growth at all costs
Everything listed is way easier if you already got a safety net of a job to go back to, or have enough cash runway or savings to depend on, no family to feed, no mortgage to pay, no cars on installments, no second or third jobs you have to take on to survive.
This is especially poignant for me as the past three years had been tough business-wise. I'm just trying to survive and not have the indie lifestyle get taken away from me. It's easy to talk about failing and trying from going all in on one startup when you have safety nets to try and try again. It's presumptious to think everyone's risk appetite is the same when talking about the biggest risk is not taking any risk. And when you're struggling to just survive, growth is hard to even imagine, lest say growth at all costs.
Even though business getting better right now, I'm still not in the clear yet. I could still lose the privilege of indie solopreneurship tomorrow.
And that's only made me all the more grateful for the chance to stay in the game.
It truly is a privilege.
Day 745 - Roaches eat better - https://golifelog.com/posts/roaches-eat-better-1673743255576
I [tweeted this out](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1614261118104670212) yesterday:
> In my 30s: "I'm gonna build a unicorn startup!" 🦄
>
> Now in my 40s: "I'm happy to be a stubborn cockroach." 🪳
>
> Is it an age thing, or life stage of being a parent, or have I just lost my ambitions?
It's a new mindset that I'm just starting to get used to. I feel I'm clearer about my priorities, and it's not about being ambitious in that unicorn startup way but surviving, feeding my family, and not having this indie lifestyle taken away from me come what may – pandemic, economic recession, whatever the world can throw at me.
In any case, I'm realising that those unicorn dreams were borrowed dreams. Goals that were on loan from others and society at a time in my life when i was younger, more naive, and didn't know myself that well. Not that I know myself deeply now, but still better compared to my 20s/30s. Comes down to it, it's about evolving taste, life priorities, maturity, what I value now, what truly matters.
Some suggested calling myself a camel, horse, turtle instead. Love those. Noble creatures. But there's some thing I love about the metaphor of a cockroach. It's tiny, but tough. It's humbling to be reminded that I'm but a tiny actor in the bigger scheme of things. That I can't change *the* world, I only can try to improve my tiny bubble of the world—*my* world—by a tiny bit. But at least I get to keep going doing that, and remain resilient or even antifragile in face of external forces beyond my control.
[@LBacaj said it best](https://twitter.com/LBacaj/status/1614320005851619332):
> I tell you what, roaches eat well.
>
> It doesn’t take very much to be full and you’ve got your options of crumbs laying around no one seems to want.
That's the best thing I've heard about being a roach so far! Sooo true.
Unicorns can only be happy eating rainbows and gold.
I feel full doing what I'm doing right now.
And I'm grateful, thankful.
> In my 30s: "I'm gonna build a unicorn startup!" 🦄
>
> Now in my 40s: "I'm happy to be a stubborn cockroach." 🪳
>
> Is it an age thing, or life stage of being a parent, or have I just lost my ambitions?
It's a new mindset that I'm just starting to get used to. I feel I'm clearer about my priorities, and it's not about being ambitious in that unicorn startup way but surviving, feeding my family, and not having this indie lifestyle taken away from me come what may – pandemic, economic recession, whatever the world can throw at me.
In any case, I'm realising that those unicorn dreams were borrowed dreams. Goals that were on loan from others and society at a time in my life when i was younger, more naive, and didn't know myself that well. Not that I know myself deeply now, but still better compared to my 20s/30s. Comes down to it, it's about evolving taste, life priorities, maturity, what I value now, what truly matters.
Some suggested calling myself a camel, horse, turtle instead. Love those. Noble creatures. But there's some thing I love about the metaphor of a cockroach. It's tiny, but tough. It's humbling to be reminded that I'm but a tiny actor in the bigger scheme of things. That I can't change *the* world, I only can try to improve my tiny bubble of the world—*my* world—by a tiny bit. But at least I get to keep going doing that, and remain resilient or even antifragile in face of external forces beyond my control.
[@LBacaj said it best](https://twitter.com/LBacaj/status/1614320005851619332):
> I tell you what, roaches eat well.
>
> It doesn’t take very much to be full and you’ve got your options of crumbs laying around no one seems to want.
That's the best thing I've heard about being a roach so far! Sooo true.
Unicorns can only be happy eating rainbows and gold.
I feel full doing what I'm doing right now.
And I'm grateful, thankful.
Day 744 - Opportunity seeks the unprepared - https://golifelog.com/posts/opportunity-seeks-the-unprepared-1673664451367
Opportunity always seems to come before you're 100% ready.
That seems to be a universal pattern, isn't it? It's like some benign version of Murphy's Law, where whatever bad that can happen will happen, except that in the case of opportunity it is whatever good that can happen will happen, but at the least convenient moment.
In fact, I'd argue, if you feel 100% emotionally and mentally ready when an opportunity appears, if there's not even the slightest drop of fear or anxiety, then it's a sign you've waited too long, thought too hard. It's the universe literally being kind and generous to you, saying "TAKE IT ALREADY." Because most of the time, the opportunity never returns again for you to even have that experience of taking an opportunity when 100% ready.
Why do you think they said fortune favours the bold? You won't need boldness if you're 100% prepared. The yin-yang flip side of that saying is opportunity seeks the unprepared.
The problem is, you think you have time.
Don't feel ready to ask that girl out on a date? Do it anyway.
Don't feel ready to launch your product? Do it anyway.
Don't feel ready to switch jobs? Do it anyway.
Don't feel ready to leap? Do it anyway.
Act today, because there will come a day when you no longer can.
I started 2023 with intentions to [act fast on opportunity](https://golifelog.com/posts/2023-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672630377703).
Here's to feeling unprepared but saying "F**k it I'm doing it" anyway.
That seems to be a universal pattern, isn't it? It's like some benign version of Murphy's Law, where whatever bad that can happen will happen, except that in the case of opportunity it is whatever good that can happen will happen, but at the least convenient moment.
In fact, I'd argue, if you feel 100% emotionally and mentally ready when an opportunity appears, if there's not even the slightest drop of fear or anxiety, then it's a sign you've waited too long, thought too hard. It's the universe literally being kind and generous to you, saying "TAKE IT ALREADY." Because most of the time, the opportunity never returns again for you to even have that experience of taking an opportunity when 100% ready.
Why do you think they said fortune favours the bold? You won't need boldness if you're 100% prepared. The yin-yang flip side of that saying is opportunity seeks the unprepared.
The problem is, you think you have time.
Don't feel ready to ask that girl out on a date? Do it anyway.
Don't feel ready to launch your product? Do it anyway.
Don't feel ready to switch jobs? Do it anyway.
Don't feel ready to leap? Do it anyway.
Act today, because there will come a day when you no longer can.
I started 2023 with intentions to [act fast on opportunity](https://golifelog.com/posts/2023-in-8-forms-of-capital-1672630377703).
Here's to feeling unprepared but saying "F**k it I'm doing it" anyway.
Day 743 - Channel-offer fit - https://golifelog.com/posts/channel-offer-fit-1673576017319
Channel-offer fit is a term I made up to describe the adhoc conversations I've been having with some folks on Twitter about how followers doesn't always translate to revenue.
***Followers ≠ revenue**
I have about 1k followers on LinkedIn compared to 5k on Twitter, but 90% or more of my revenue comes from LinkedIn audience. The gap is mind-boggling, and definitely runs against the grain of what Twitter gurus like to say about building an audience.
That's where channel-offer fit comes in.
There's simply a better fit between the offer I'm offering on LinkedIn to the audience I have there, compared to the not-so-good fit between the offerings on Twitter to my Twitter audience.
A better fit means:
- Tighter audience and content niche match. I follow and interact with mostly designers, UX designers on LinkedIn, and my content is all design-related and targeted at them
- There's also other folks who work in the public sector/non-profit space who are interested in design and are in my LinkedIn network, so the content strategy works for them too
- Buy intent is higher. My Twitter audience are mostly other indie makers. They can make things themselves. Whereas in LinkedIn, people are there for professional growth and networking. There's also more money flowing through in corporate training and outsourcing projects.
- There's less content creators in my LinkedIn network compared to Twitter, so it's easier to stand out on LinkedIn. Building in public had taken off on Twitter, and it's getting saturated, so harder to stand out from the noise.
So the lesson here?
Don't listen to the BS that gurus say about growing a huge audience in order to monetize.
Buy intent is more important than attention and impressions.
Followers ain't revenue.
***Followers ≠ revenue**
I have about 1k followers on LinkedIn compared to 5k on Twitter, but 90% or more of my revenue comes from LinkedIn audience. The gap is mind-boggling, and definitely runs against the grain of what Twitter gurus like to say about building an audience.
That's where channel-offer fit comes in.
There's simply a better fit between the offer I'm offering on LinkedIn to the audience I have there, compared to the not-so-good fit between the offerings on Twitter to my Twitter audience.
A better fit means:
- Tighter audience and content niche match. I follow and interact with mostly designers, UX designers on LinkedIn, and my content is all design-related and targeted at them
- There's also other folks who work in the public sector/non-profit space who are interested in design and are in my LinkedIn network, so the content strategy works for them too
- Buy intent is higher. My Twitter audience are mostly other indie makers. They can make things themselves. Whereas in LinkedIn, people are there for professional growth and networking. There's also more money flowing through in corporate training and outsourcing projects.
- There's less content creators in my LinkedIn network compared to Twitter, so it's easier to stand out on LinkedIn. Building in public had taken off on Twitter, and it's getting saturated, so harder to stand out from the noise.
So the lesson here?
Don't listen to the BS that gurus say about growing a huge audience in order to monetize.
Buy intent is more important than attention and impressions.
Followers ain't revenue.
Day 742 - Ideas for reinvesting revenue - https://golifelog.com/posts/ideas-for-reinvesting-revenue-1673504024637
I'm serious about my intention to [reinvest every dollar](https://golifelog.com/posts/reinvesting-revenue-1671495174677) earned back into my products in 2023, and I want to be more methodical about it.
There's 7 projects in my portfolio that earn consistent revenue, or bring in adhoc revenue.
What can I reinvest the revenue in for each? Brainstorming ideas here:
[**Outsprint**](https://outsprint.io)
- LinkedIn scheduler and analytics tools
- Social media content - research by VA
- Buying services to create Slideshare content, LinkedIn carousels
[**Plugins For Carrd**](https://plugins.carrd.co)
- Ads in maker newsletters, e.g. Jannis, Mark Bowley
- Domaining traffic-generating domains
- Starting affillate programmes in Gumroad, Flurly or Rewardful
- SaaS subscriptions for conversion funnels like Thrivecart, Converkit
- SaaS subscriptions for SEO blog content like feather.so, blogtstatic
- SaaS subscription for documentation site like Helpkit
[**Lifelog**](https://golifelog.com/)
- Writing services for SEO content
- Twitter ads
- Roadmap software like Canny.io
[**Social impact patronage**](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jasonleowsg)
- Buy Facebook ads for Grant Hunt bot
- Renew the expensive .sg domains
[**Sheet2Bio**](https://sheet2bio.com)
- Ads on nocode newsletters
[**Keto List Singapore**](https://ketolistsingapore.com)
- Social media content - research by VA
- Facebook ads targeting local/regional Facebook groups
[**Career Conversation Cards**](https://getmakerlog.com/products/career-conversation-cards)
- Ads on Google, Facebook or Reddit
*What else can I reinvest in? What reinvestments can I get the best bang for the buck?*
There's 7 projects in my portfolio that earn consistent revenue, or bring in adhoc revenue.
What can I reinvest the revenue in for each? Brainstorming ideas here:
[**Outsprint**](https://outsprint.io)
- LinkedIn scheduler and analytics tools
- Social media content - research by VA
- Buying services to create Slideshare content, LinkedIn carousels
[**Plugins For Carrd**](https://plugins.carrd.co)
- Ads in maker newsletters, e.g. Jannis, Mark Bowley
- Domaining traffic-generating domains
- Starting affillate programmes in Gumroad, Flurly or Rewardful
- SaaS subscriptions for conversion funnels like Thrivecart, Converkit
- SaaS subscriptions for SEO blog content like feather.so, blogtstatic
- SaaS subscription for documentation site like Helpkit
[**Lifelog**](https://golifelog.com/)
- Writing services for SEO content
- Twitter ads
- Roadmap software like Canny.io
[**Social impact patronage**](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jasonleowsg)
- Buy Facebook ads for Grant Hunt bot
- Renew the expensive .sg domains
[**Sheet2Bio**](https://sheet2bio.com)
- Ads on nocode newsletters
[**Keto List Singapore**](https://ketolistsingapore.com)
- Social media content - research by VA
- Facebook ads targeting local/regional Facebook groups
[**Career Conversation Cards**](https://getmakerlog.com/products/career-conversation-cards)
- Ads on Google, Facebook or Reddit
*What else can I reinvest in? What reinvestments can I get the best bang for the buck?*
Got 1 new trial sign-up... thanks AJ!
ChatGPT experiment at summarizing long form posts into Twitter threads, inspired by @swizec
It works somewhat! Just prompting it to summarize gave very formal prose.
Got stopped when I added "in the voice of".
Had to add "in the voice that's informal, conversational and punchy" to make it better, after 3 tries.
Maybe good as a first draft for me to work on? 🤔
Got stopped when I added "in the voice of
Had to add "in the voice that's informal, conversational and punchy" to make it better, after 3 tries.
Maybe good as a first draft for me to work on? 🤔
Day 741 - Waking to the number of sleep cycles - https://golifelog.com/posts/waking-to-the-number-of-sleep-cycles-1673397710789
Recently I've been using the [sleep cycle calculator](https://sleepopolis.com/calculators/sleep/) at bedtime to calculate what time I should be waking up. And it's been a gamer-changer for my sleep scores, and ultimately, how rested I feel.
All along for the past few years since I joined the 5am club, I've set my wake time at 4:40AM, no matter what time I went to bed. Sometimes I slept earlier, sometimes later. That results in varying amounts of sleep, and oftentimes I would wake in the middle of a sleep cycle, which made it harder to wake. Based on the sleep cycle calculater, if I want to wake at 4:40AM, I should ideally be sleeping by 9:10PM. I usually never do. And I wake up grumpy, and later on, feeling sleepy. That all makes sense now.
So now I key in the time of my bedtime, in order to figure out my daylight alarm the next morning. I get this from the app:
> I plan to fall asleep at 9:30PM
>
> Recommendation: You should try to wake up at one of the following times:
>
> 1. Wake at 2:00AM for 3 Cycles - 4.5h of sleep
> 2. Wake at 3:30AM for 4 Cycles - 6h of sleep
> 3. Wake at 5:00AM for 5 Cycles - 7.5h of sleep
> 4. Wake at 6:30AM for 6 Cycles - 9h of sleep
>
> Please keep in mind that you should be waking up at these times. The average human takes fourteen minutes to wake up, so plan accordingly!
I love that they provide a few options to choose from, in case I ever needed to cut sleep short for an early event, or if it's like the weekend and I want to sleep in and pay back on sleep debt. I usually go for the 3rd option of 7.5h of sleep.
And since doing this consistently, my wake times have varied pretty widely, around ±1h. Sometimes I wake during the earlier part of 5:00AM, sometimes close to 6:00AM. Whereas in the past it was my sleep time that varied and my wake time was fixed.
But here's the interesting, counterintuitive bit: despite varying wake times, my sleep scores had been consistent in the 80% range (compared to 70% range in the previous routine). Something I could never achieve in the past.
The trade-off? I sacrifice around 1h of my early morning deep work time. Hopefully, a worthwhile trade.
So, my tiny epiphany from this:
They say sleep and wake at same time every day.
I say, sleep enough complete sleep cycles every day.
At least for me.
All along for the past few years since I joined the 5am club, I've set my wake time at 4:40AM, no matter what time I went to bed. Sometimes I slept earlier, sometimes later. That results in varying amounts of sleep, and oftentimes I would wake in the middle of a sleep cycle, which made it harder to wake. Based on the sleep cycle calculater, if I want to wake at 4:40AM, I should ideally be sleeping by 9:10PM. I usually never do. And I wake up grumpy, and later on, feeling sleepy. That all makes sense now.
So now I key in the time of my bedtime, in order to figure out my daylight alarm the next morning. I get this from the app:
> I plan to fall asleep at 9:30PM
>
> Recommendation: You should try to wake up at one of the following times:
>
> 1. Wake at 2:00AM for 3 Cycles - 4.5h of sleep
> 2. Wake at 3:30AM for 4 Cycles - 6h of sleep
> 3. Wake at 5:00AM for 5 Cycles - 7.5h of sleep
> 4. Wake at 6:30AM for 6 Cycles - 9h of sleep
>
> Please keep in mind that you should be waking up at these times. The average human takes fourteen minutes to wake up, so plan accordingly!
I love that they provide a few options to choose from, in case I ever needed to cut sleep short for an early event, or if it's like the weekend and I want to sleep in and pay back on sleep debt. I usually go for the 3rd option of 7.5h of sleep.
And since doing this consistently, my wake times have varied pretty widely, around ±1h. Sometimes I wake during the earlier part of 5:00AM, sometimes close to 6:00AM. Whereas in the past it was my sleep time that varied and my wake time was fixed.
But here's the interesting, counterintuitive bit: despite varying wake times, my sleep scores had been consistent in the 80% range (compared to 70% range in the previous routine). Something I could never achieve in the past.
The trade-off? I sacrifice around 1h of my early morning deep work time. Hopefully, a worthwhile trade.
So, my tiny epiphany from this:
They say sleep and wake at same time every day.
I say, sleep enough complete sleep cycles every day.
At least for me.
Day 740 - Spend money to save time - https://golifelog.com/posts/spend-money-to-save-time-1673309295771
I'm a big fan of @waitbutwhy, and this [tweet](https://twitter.com/waitbutwhy/status/1599776291385126912) resonated loads:
> People tend to get wealthier as they get older, which is like everything becoming cheaper as you age.
>
> But time just gets more and more expensive. We start out as time fat cats and end up in time poverty.
>
> So the older you get, the more it makes sense to spend money to save time.
I'm currently nowhere near any definition of "wealthy" for sure, but I am richer than when I was a time fat cat six-year-old (or 20-year-old for that matter). More disposable income, but more than half way through my life. I'm definitely moving into time poverty zone.
It's just make sense to consider spending more money to save time. What's some high ROI areas where spending even just a little money will bring back so much more time? Especially time on chores or tasks that I hate, that I do grudgingly, or just low value, monotonous, boring, doesn't help me progress on my goals?
Brainstorming a list here:
- **Cleaning**. Paying someone to come to my house to do a massive clean-up once a month had been a huge time saver. I think we can do this even more often for better quality of life and cleanliness!
- **Groceries**. There's some items in the grocery list that repeats itself every week or month. Supplements, fruits, snacks, detergents, toiletries. I should just create a recurring buy list on repeat for them! Hack inspired by [@dickiebush](https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1612071130436698116).
- **Cooking**. Ordering delivery on some days of the week for dinner helps save time cooking. Otherwise I mostly fast or eat light dinners. I also go for recipes that are easy to cook and clean up after, e.g. scrambled eggs and butter for breakfast.
- **Virtual Assistant**. I've always wanted to experiment with hiring a part-time freelance VA to do miscellaneous work tasks for all my different projects. Stuff like collating online research, posting on social media for some project accounts, doing low priority low value work which slices up mental bandwidth by a thousand cuts.
- **Commuting**. I don't drive or own a car. Travelling from point to point takes up lots of time, even for a public transport system as good as in Singapore. I think there's some journeys where spending more money to commute by cab is a good choice (when there's no traffic jams, when there's less transit changes).
- **Tools and tech**. Spending money on a Twitter scheduling tool like Zlappo was such a huge productivity boost. Before I got it, I was RT-ing manually. Crazy idea. Now Zlappo auto-RTs when I'm asleep. Frees up time and mental energy to track the RTs. I need more tools and tech like Zlappo. A few areas I can imagine - LinkedIn scheduling and analytics, Canva for designing social media assets.
*What other high ROI-low cost things can we spend money on to save time?*
> People tend to get wealthier as they get older, which is like everything becoming cheaper as you age.
>
> But time just gets more and more expensive. We start out as time fat cats and end up in time poverty.
>
> So the older you get, the more it makes sense to spend money to save time.
I'm currently nowhere near any definition of "wealthy" for sure, but I am richer than when I was a time fat cat six-year-old (or 20-year-old for that matter). More disposable income, but more than half way through my life. I'm definitely moving into time poverty zone.
It's just make sense to consider spending more money to save time. What's some high ROI areas where spending even just a little money will bring back so much more time? Especially time on chores or tasks that I hate, that I do grudgingly, or just low value, monotonous, boring, doesn't help me progress on my goals?
Brainstorming a list here:
- **Cleaning**. Paying someone to come to my house to do a massive clean-up once a month had been a huge time saver. I think we can do this even more often for better quality of life and cleanliness!
- **Groceries**. There's some items in the grocery list that repeats itself every week or month. Supplements, fruits, snacks, detergents, toiletries. I should just create a recurring buy list on repeat for them! Hack inspired by [@dickiebush](https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1612071130436698116).
- **Cooking**. Ordering delivery on some days of the week for dinner helps save time cooking. Otherwise I mostly fast or eat light dinners. I also go for recipes that are easy to cook and clean up after, e.g. scrambled eggs and butter for breakfast.
- **Virtual Assistant**. I've always wanted to experiment with hiring a part-time freelance VA to do miscellaneous work tasks for all my different projects. Stuff like collating online research, posting on social media for some project accounts, doing low priority low value work which slices up mental bandwidth by a thousand cuts.
- **Commuting**. I don't drive or own a car. Travelling from point to point takes up lots of time, even for a public transport system as good as in Singapore. I think there's some journeys where spending more money to commute by cab is a good choice (when there's no traffic jams, when there's less transit changes).
- **Tools and tech**. Spending money on a Twitter scheduling tool like Zlappo was such a huge productivity boost. Before I got it, I was RT-ing manually. Crazy idea. Now Zlappo auto-RTs when I'm asleep. Frees up time and mental energy to track the RTs. I need more tools and tech like Zlappo. A few areas I can imagine - LinkedIn scheduling and analytics, Canva for designing social media assets.
*What other high ROI-low cost things can we spend money on to save time?*
Day 739 - Being real = nothing left to remove - https://golifelog.com/posts/being-real-nothing-left-to-remove-1673225090238
I wrote about [wanting to be better at being real and realistic in 2023](https://golifelog.com/posts/my-word-for-2023-real-1672530920033). And so much of being real is about reducing or removing, rather than adding.
*Via negativa*, as Nassim Taleb says.
Dropping unhelpful lenses in which we view the world. Letting go of inner narratives that hinder more than help. Taking away of dead weight of ideas that subconsciously guide our actions.
There's this recent tweet by [@AlexHormozi](https://twitter.com/AlexHormozi/status/1611857755471503365) that mirrors this point:
> I began waking up without anxiety when I gave up my need for two things:
> 1) Meaning
> 2) Joy
> Said differently. I decided it was “okay” for me to accept my present rather than comparing it to a arbitrary ideal that I constantly fell short of.
> And my world got a lot quieter.
And reading through the replies, it's interesting how many folks misinterpreted that tweet. He didn't give up on meaning and joy. He gave up on the unhealthy attachment to constantly making himself miserable by comparing to fuzzy ideals related to joy and meaning. And ironically, by giving that up, he got closer to joy and meaning.
And to be the realest of a real human being, remove so much that there's nothing left to remove.
No more fascades.
No more masks.
No more lies.
Acts of omission > acts of commission
Elimination > addition
*Via negativa*, as Nassim Taleb says.
Dropping unhelpful lenses in which we view the world. Letting go of inner narratives that hinder more than help. Taking away of dead weight of ideas that subconsciously guide our actions.
There's this recent tweet by [@AlexHormozi](https://twitter.com/AlexHormozi/status/1611857755471503365) that mirrors this point:
> I began waking up without anxiety when I gave up my need for two things:
> 1) Meaning
> 2) Joy
> Said differently. I decided it was “okay” for me to accept my present rather than comparing it to a arbitrary ideal that I constantly fell short of.
> And my world got a lot quieter.
And reading through the replies, it's interesting how many folks misinterpreted that tweet. He didn't give up on meaning and joy. He gave up on the unhealthy attachment to constantly making himself miserable by comparing to fuzzy ideals related to joy and meaning. And ironically, by giving that up, he got closer to joy and meaning.
And to be the realest of a real human being, remove so much that there's nothing left to remove.
No more fascades.
No more masks.
No more lies.
Acts of omission > acts of commission
Elimination > addition
Day 738 - The doers are the major thinkers - https://golifelog.com/posts/the-doers-are-the-major-thinkers-1673136996548
This tweet by [@jakobgreenfeld](https://twitter.com/jakobgreenfeld/status/1609932779143192579) got me thinking about my Twitter feed and who and what kind of influence I'm letting into my head:
> Unfollow: content creators, coaches, thinkers, framework guys, writers.
> Follow: doers, founders, people actually building and doing interesting things.
So now my 2023 mood for Twitter:
Follow more doers who are the deep thinkers, who had not just done the concrete work but wrestled through the hard intellectual problems too.
Why? **Because the best doers are often the major thinkers.**
I didn't say that. [Steve Jobs](https://youtu.be/WkJpEG4KbN4) did:
> "The people that really create the things that change this industry are both the thinker-doer in one person. And if we really go back and we examine, you know did Leonardo [Da Vinci] have a guy off to the side that was thinking five years out in the future what he would paint or the technology he would use to paint it, of course not.
>
> Leonardo was the artist but he also mixed all his own paints. He also was a fairly good chemist. Knew about pigments. Knew about human anatomy. And combining all of those skills together, the art and the science, the thinking and the doing, was what resulted in the exceptional result.
>
> And there is no difference in our industry. The people that’ve really made the contributions have been the thinkers and the doers. And a lot of people of course, it's very easy to take credit for the thinking.
>
> The doing is more concrete. But somebody, it's very easy to say, oh I thought of this three years ago.
>
> But usually when you dig a little deeper, you find that the people that really did it were also the people that really worked through the hard intellectual problems as well."
That's why I've always enjoyed following folks who build in public *and* write about it.
Not just tweet about it, mind you, but write looong form.
Not just build, but build and launched products out into the wild.
Not just launched, but had wins and many more fails than wins.
Not just successful products but also helped others succeed with their products.
Not just helped others but also thought deeper and broader about the actionable, transferrable lessons from his experience and observations of other's people's experience, and translated that into frameworks, ideas and stories that others can benefit from.
The best doers think deeply. The best thinkers are the doers.
Theory and practice – the twin wings that makes true flight possible.
*Know anyone like this?*
> Unfollow: content creators, coaches, thinkers, framework guys, writers.
> Follow: doers, founders, people actually building and doing interesting things.
So now my 2023 mood for Twitter:
Follow more doers who are the deep thinkers, who had not just done the concrete work but wrestled through the hard intellectual problems too.
Why? **Because the best doers are often the major thinkers.**
I didn't say that. [Steve Jobs](https://youtu.be/WkJpEG4KbN4) did:
> "The people that really create the things that change this industry are both the thinker-doer in one person. And if we really go back and we examine, you know did Leonardo [Da Vinci] have a guy off to the side that was thinking five years out in the future what he would paint or the technology he would use to paint it, of course not.
>
> Leonardo was the artist but he also mixed all his own paints. He also was a fairly good chemist. Knew about pigments. Knew about human anatomy. And combining all of those skills together, the art and the science, the thinking and the doing, was what resulted in the exceptional result.
>
> And there is no difference in our industry. The people that’ve really made the contributions have been the thinkers and the doers. And a lot of people of course, it's very easy to take credit for the thinking.
>
> The doing is more concrete. But somebody, it's very easy to say, oh I thought of this three years ago.
>
> But usually when you dig a little deeper, you find that the people that really did it were also the people that really worked through the hard intellectual problems as well."
That's why I've always enjoyed following folks who build in public *and* write about it.
Not just tweet about it, mind you, but write looong form.
Not just build, but build and launched products out into the wild.
Not just launched, but had wins and many more fails than wins.
Not just successful products but also helped others succeed with their products.
Not just helped others but also thought deeper and broader about the actionable, transferrable lessons from his experience and observations of other's people's experience, and translated that into frameworks, ideas and stories that others can benefit from.
The best doers think deeply. The best thinkers are the doers.
Theory and practice – the twin wings that makes true flight possible.
*Know anyone like this?*
Day 737 - Chase real dopamine - https://golifelog.com/posts/chase-real-dopamine-1673047843001
There's lots of talk about dopamine fasts or detoxes, but I think they got it wrong. Dopamine is not the villain here. Not all dopamine are created equal. It's how and what triggers it. It's about the quality or source of where you're getting the dopamine from.
🤡 Fake dopamine:
- eating junk food
- doomscrolling Twitter
- mindlessly scrolling Tiktok
- sitting in front of the TV all evening
- window shopping aimlessly in a mall
- fighting with/cancelling someone online
- constantly checking your phone notifications
- gossiping on someone's Instagram post or IRL
- letting Netflix pull you into yet another episode
- buying random things you don't need from Amazon
💎 Real dopamine:
- eating well
- working out
- sleeping well
- going for a run
- getting some sun
- achieving your goals
- taking a walk in a park
- spending time with family
- working on your side project
- not missing a day in your habit streak
- cooking a great meal for your loves ones
... well you get the idea
It's ultimately about ***mindful consumption***, not just of eating and drinking but also media, conversations, sensual pleasure, or even unwholesome ideas, emotions, thoughts.
Real dopamine is definitely something I want to chase more of in 2023. And there's no need for guilt around it - the more the better!
🤡 Fake dopamine:
- eating junk food
- doomscrolling Twitter
- mindlessly scrolling Tiktok
- sitting in front of the TV all evening
- window shopping aimlessly in a mall
- fighting with/cancelling someone online
- constantly checking your phone notifications
- gossiping on someone's Instagram post or IRL
- letting Netflix pull you into yet another episode
- buying random things you don't need from Amazon
💎 Real dopamine:
- eating well
- working out
- sleeping well
- going for a run
- getting some sun
- achieving your goals
- taking a walk in a park
- spending time with family
- working on your side project
- not missing a day in your habit streak
- cooking a great meal for your loves ones
... well you get the idea
It's ultimately about ***mindful consumption***, not just of eating and drinking but also media, conversations, sensual pleasure, or even unwholesome ideas, emotions, thoughts.
Real dopamine is definitely something I want to chase more of in 2023. And there's no need for guilt around it - the more the better!
Tweaked markdown preview feature - extended bottom padding to hide textarea input when previewing markdown
Day 736 - Lifelog 2023 - https://golifelog.com/posts/lifelog-2023-1672966116867
I just deployed the markdown preview feature on Lifelog. Previously you could only see the text formatting after you publish. Now you can preview the formatting while writing on the `/write` page before publishing. Just hover your cursor outside of the text area and it'll display the text *with* formatting right there. On mobile, tap anywhere outside the text area to preview.
So FINALLY... after more one year (since 21 Nov 2021) without building new features!
A new start for my very first SaaS project for the new year.
Confession: To be honest, I’m not proud of the fact that I’ve not deployed new features for more than 1 year, all the while receiving monthly subscription dollars.
The past 2 years had been a tough journey figuring out marketing and growth for Lifelog. What was hardest to swallow was the slow dawning that it won’t live up to my expectations as my ONE true SaaS to bring my indie solopreneur career to ramen profitability.
But the good news is: Since letting those expectations go, I’ve in fact felt more relieved than ever. I feel like I don’t have to figure out how to grow it anymore. Instead I can now just build features! How ironic, right?!
In the end, I'm circling back to what this project at its core had always been for me:
A passion project.
I love writing.
I love building products.
I love living a reflective life.
I love the friends I've made here.
So cheers to more of doing what I love for Lifelog in 2023! 🍻
And to @everyone here, thanks for being patient with me. And for all the support by sticking around this long. I'm grateful.
So FINALLY... after more one year (since 21 Nov 2021) without building new features!
A new start for my very first SaaS project for the new year.
Confession: To be honest, I’m not proud of the fact that I’ve not deployed new features for more than 1 year, all the while receiving monthly subscription dollars.
The past 2 years had been a tough journey figuring out marketing and growth for Lifelog. What was hardest to swallow was the slow dawning that it won’t live up to my expectations as my ONE true SaaS to bring my indie solopreneur career to ramen profitability.
But the good news is: Since letting those expectations go, I’ve in fact felt more relieved than ever. I feel like I don’t have to figure out how to grow it anymore. Instead I can now just build features! How ironic, right?!
In the end, I'm circling back to what this project at its core had always been for me:
A passion project.
I love writing.
I love building products.
I love living a reflective life.
I love the friends I've made here.
So cheers to more of doing what I love for Lifelog in 2023! 🍻
And to @everyone here, thanks for being patient with me. And for all the support by sticking around this long. I'm grateful.
Wrote accountability confession to Lifeloggers
Confession: Tbh, I’m not proud I’ve not deployed new features for more than 1 year.
The past 2 years had been a tough journey figuring out marketing for Lifelog, and the slow dawning that it won’t live up to my expectations as my one true SaaS to bring me to ramen profitability.
Since letting those expectations go, I’ve in fact felt more relieved than ever, and feel like I don’t have to figure out how to grow it anymore. Instead I can now just build features! In the end, it’s me circling back to what this project at its core had always been for me: A passion project.
To more builds in 2023! 🍻
The past 2 years had been a tough journey figuring out marketing for Lifelog, and the slow dawning that it won’t live up to my expectations as my one true SaaS to bring me to ramen profitability.
Since letting those expectations go, I’ve in fact felt more relieved than ever, and feel like I don’t have to figure out how to grow it anymore. Instead I can now just build features! In the end, it’s me circling back to what this project at its core had always been for me: A passion project.
To more builds in 2023! 🍻
Deployed markdown preview feature! Finally... after more a year w/o new features (since 21 Nov 2021)!!
✅ NEW features on Lifelog
A new start for the new year.
🔮 Markdown preview is here. Previously you could only see the text formatting after you publish. Now you can preview the formatting while writing on the /write page before publishing. Just hover your cursor outside of the text area and it'll display the text *with* formatting right there. On mobile, tap anywhere outside the text area to preview.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes! 😊
A new start for the new year.
🔮 Markdown preview is here. Previously you could only see the text formatting after you publish. Now you can preview the formatting while writing on the /write page before publishing. Just hover your cursor outside of the text area and it'll display the text *with* formatting right there. On mobile, tap anywhere outside the text area to preview.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes! 😊
Day 735 - Questions to ask when building a lifestyle business - https://golifelog.com/posts/questions-to-ask-when-building-a-lifestyle-business-1672882306452
I've always been building lifestyle businesses, even before I'm aware of that term. I'm not chasing venture capital. I'm not aiming for billion-dollar valuations. I'm not about getting rich, even though it'll be nice to get there. I don't want—or need—to change the world, disrupt any market, or crush anything.
All I want is freedom of location and creativity, as much autonomy as I can afford, time for family and fun, and hopefully, eventually, financial freedom. Essentially, lifestyle. Because if your business doesn't improve your lifestyle, then what is it for? I don't want to be rich with a poor lifestyle, or a lifestyle that's dictated by others.
[Justin Welsh](https://twitter.com/thejustinwelsh/status/1610356620709568514) tweeted these questions that I found were good questions to ask for anyone—not just solopreneurs—who are after a lifestyle-first way entrepreneurship:
> Solopreneurship is about priorities. Every time you have an idea, ask yourself:
>
> - Does this fit into the life I'm building?
> - Do I really want this responsibility?
> - Will I be happy in 6 months?
>
> If the answer is no to any of these, 100% skip it.
I realised I ask some version of those questions myself when considering any existing or new project, just that I've never wrote them out loud. Here's my first attempt:
- Do I enjoy working on this? Am I sure it's not a fad (e.g. AI art)? Will I be happy working on it in the long run (like 2-3 years later)?
- Will I be able to walk away with minimal downsides if it no longer serves me? Will it lead to personal ruin?
- Do I even like my customers? Is the problem they have something I feel for?
- Do I call the shots or do I have to oblige, negotiate or share responsibilities?
- Does the project require high engagement over prolonged periods of time (e.g. running a cohort/community, or lots of tech support)?
- Will it require frequent sacrifice on my family time? Will it force me to work at ungodly hours, evenings and weekends, every week over months or years?
If I answer no to any of them, it's a red flag for me to re-consider.
All I want is freedom of location and creativity, as much autonomy as I can afford, time for family and fun, and hopefully, eventually, financial freedom. Essentially, lifestyle. Because if your business doesn't improve your lifestyle, then what is it for? I don't want to be rich with a poor lifestyle, or a lifestyle that's dictated by others.
[Justin Welsh](https://twitter.com/thejustinwelsh/status/1610356620709568514) tweeted these questions that I found were good questions to ask for anyone—not just solopreneurs—who are after a lifestyle-first way entrepreneurship:
> Solopreneurship is about priorities. Every time you have an idea, ask yourself:
>
> - Does this fit into the life I'm building?
> - Do I really want this responsibility?
> - Will I be happy in 6 months?
>
> If the answer is no to any of these, 100% skip it.
I realised I ask some version of those questions myself when considering any existing or new project, just that I've never wrote them out loud. Here's my first attempt:
- Do I enjoy working on this? Am I sure it's not a fad (e.g. AI art)? Will I be happy working on it in the long run (like 2-3 years later)?
- Will I be able to walk away with minimal downsides if it no longer serves me? Will it lead to personal ruin?
- Do I even like my customers? Is the problem they have something I feel for?
- Do I call the shots or do I have to oblige, negotiate or share responsibilities?
- Does the project require high engagement over prolonged periods of time (e.g. running a cohort/community, or lots of tech support)?
- Will it require frequent sacrifice on my family time? Will it force me to work at ungodly hours, evenings and weekends, every week over months or years?
If I answer no to any of them, it's a red flag for me to re-consider.