Day 674 - Start or finish? - https://golifelog.com/posts/start-or-finish-1667612242626
Gold nugget from James Clear’s recent newsletter:
“In some areas of life, value is unlocked by starting. Even a five-minute workout or a short walk can reset your mood and benefit your body. In other areas, value is unlocked by finishing. It does you no good to build a bridge halfway across the river. You need to complete the project to realize the value. Do you need to start or finish? Are you building a body or building a bridge?”
He’s probably talking about writing and creative projects, but I see so much overlap with indie hacking, making products, starting small bets.
When you’re still a noob and not launched anything substantial yet, it makes sense that starting has more value than finishing. Because beginners worry too much about the finished product too much. What if it’s not perfect? What if people laugh at my mistakes and bugs? Value is unlocked when you start. When you ship. When you launch.
The same thing for earning your first $1 from the internet. You can launch products all year but if your goal is freedom from 9-5, then you got to launch a paid product. Starting with that first $1 has immense value in opening up your mind and expanding the horizon on what’s possible.
Once you launch enough and are making some small revenue from your small bets, finishing starts to have more value. Launching is easy. Sustaining for the long game is finishing. Finishing as in truly finishing and hitting your goal. Usually that involves doing the tasks that you hate in order to get to a goal of say, ramen profitability. Learning marketing even though you’d rather code more features. Rethinking ads even though you don’t have a good impression of ads. It does me no good to keep building new things but not seeing them through to full potential. You realize the true value (of financial freedom) only when you finish.
And it’s not homogenous at each stage of progress, as a noob or a veteran. Even as a veteran, there will be tasks or sub-goals—like new work areas/opportunities—where you’ll benefit from starting than finishing. It’s more of what’s more predominant in your overall trajectory.
The trick is to not hold on to either stance too strongly, and be objective.
So do you need to start, or finish?
“In some areas of life, value is unlocked by starting. Even a five-minute workout or a short walk can reset your mood and benefit your body. In other areas, value is unlocked by finishing. It does you no good to build a bridge halfway across the river. You need to complete the project to realize the value. Do you need to start or finish? Are you building a body or building a bridge?”
He’s probably talking about writing and creative projects, but I see so much overlap with indie hacking, making products, starting small bets.
When you’re still a noob and not launched anything substantial yet, it makes sense that starting has more value than finishing. Because beginners worry too much about the finished product too much. What if it’s not perfect? What if people laugh at my mistakes and bugs? Value is unlocked when you start. When you ship. When you launch.
The same thing for earning your first $1 from the internet. You can launch products all year but if your goal is freedom from 9-5, then you got to launch a paid product. Starting with that first $1 has immense value in opening up your mind and expanding the horizon on what’s possible.
Once you launch enough and are making some small revenue from your small bets, finishing starts to have more value. Launching is easy. Sustaining for the long game is finishing. Finishing as in truly finishing and hitting your goal. Usually that involves doing the tasks that you hate in order to get to a goal of say, ramen profitability. Learning marketing even though you’d rather code more features. Rethinking ads even though you don’t have a good impression of ads. It does me no good to keep building new things but not seeing them through to full potential. You realize the true value (of financial freedom) only when you finish.
And it’s not homogenous at each stage of progress, as a noob or a veteran. Even as a veteran, there will be tasks or sub-goals—like new work areas/opportunities—where you’ll benefit from starting than finishing. It’s more of what’s more predominant in your overall trajectory.
The trick is to not hold on to either stance too strongly, and be objective.
So do you need to start, or finish?
Day 673 - Plugins For Carrd overtook Lifelog & all my products in revenue - https://golifelog.com/posts/plugins-for-carrd-overtook-lifelog-and-all-my-products-in-revenue-1667524291328
Plugins For Carrd(https://plugins.carrd.co) launched in Dec 2020 as a side project. It started for fun. I was learning to code, learning Vue.js, and made tiny standalone apps that I realised could be embedded in Carrd as a feature.
So I went and created templates for it even before the Seller Program existed. I only had free templates at the start, but seeing the reception to the free ones, I then launched my first paid plugin in March 2021. The revenue is one-off, but modest in the first year (2021):
Dec $135
Nov $334
Oct $60
Sep $105
Aug $150
Jul $120
Jun $30
May $30
Apr $105
Mar $30
Feb $0
Jan $0
———————
TOTAL = $1099
Monthly average = $91.60
What's surprising about the revenue was how little I did to market it. I shared bits and pieces on social media, answered some questions, that's about it. It just kept growing *all on its own*. And now, in the 2nd year, revenue DOUBLED:
2022 revenue (as of today):
Oct $250
Sep $200
Aug $230
Jul $265
Jun $285
May $345
Apr $125
Mar $250
Feb $90
Jan $210
———————
TOTAL = $2250
Monthly average = $187.5
And that's just the numbers for plugin sales. It's not including the $1514 in cumulative revenue I earned so far in affiliate revenue (from the Referral Program) and templates 'donations' (from the Seller Program) in – just last month in October alone, the affiliate + template revenue was already $259. If this keeps up, it could potentially mean another doubled revenue stream!
All the while my other products either stagnated (Lifelog, Outsprint) or faded to zero (Keto List Singapore, Sweet Jam Sites). Outsprint only recently reviving again due to better pandemic conditions.
Except February, every month out-earned Lifelog. This is why I'm pushing Lifelog to side project status and Plugins to main project. This is even more poignant when I compare just how much marketing I did for Lifelog compared to Plugins. Not bad for what was once a side project huh...
It's crazy how long I've sat on this opportunity and didn't double down on it as much as the potential shows. Yet the Universe had been truly patient. So lately I've been trying to do more of what seems to be working:
- answering questions from new customers within a day or less
- helping people with their Carrd problems, answering questions without expecting returns
- creating more free templates and plugins and sharing
- promote without coming across as self-promoting, by adding "~ plugins.carrd.co" to my username, and signing off as "Jason ~ plugins.carrd.co" in comments
Just old school good service. Just being giving to a fault.
No growth hacks. No fancy tricks.
I'm not even talking about it that much on Twitter. Maybe that's the key......
So I went and created templates for it even before the Seller Program existed. I only had free templates at the start, but seeing the reception to the free ones, I then launched my first paid plugin in March 2021. The revenue is one-off, but modest in the first year (2021):
Dec $135
Nov $334
Oct $60
Sep $105
Aug $150
Jul $120
Jun $30
May $30
Apr $105
Mar $30
Feb $0
Jan $0
———————
TOTAL = $1099
Monthly average = $91.60
What's surprising about the revenue was how little I did to market it. I shared bits and pieces on social media, answered some questions, that's about it. It just kept growing *all on its own*. And now, in the 2nd year, revenue DOUBLED:
2022 revenue (as of today):
Oct $250
Sep $200
Aug $230
Jul $265
Jun $285
May $345
Apr $125
Mar $250
Feb $90
Jan $210
———————
TOTAL = $2250
Monthly average = $187.5
And that's just the numbers for plugin sales. It's not including the $1514 in cumulative revenue I earned so far in affiliate revenue (from the Referral Program) and templates 'donations' (from the Seller Program) in – just last month in October alone, the affiliate + template revenue was already $259. If this keeps up, it could potentially mean another doubled revenue stream!
All the while my other products either stagnated (Lifelog, Outsprint) or faded to zero (Keto List Singapore, Sweet Jam Sites). Outsprint only recently reviving again due to better pandemic conditions.
Except February, every month out-earned Lifelog. This is why I'm pushing Lifelog to side project status and Plugins to main project. This is even more poignant when I compare just how much marketing I did for Lifelog compared to Plugins. Not bad for what was once a side project huh...
It's crazy how long I've sat on this opportunity and didn't double down on it as much as the potential shows. Yet the Universe had been truly patient. So lately I've been trying to do more of what seems to be working:
- answering questions from new customers within a day or less
- helping people with their Carrd problems, answering questions without expecting returns
- creating more free templates and plugins and sharing
- promote without coming across as self-promoting, by adding "~ plugins.carrd.co" to my username, and signing off as "Jason ~ plugins.carrd.co" in comments
Just old school good service. Just being giving to a fault.
No growth hacks. No fancy tricks.
I'm not even talking about it that much on Twitter. Maybe that's the key......
Day 672 - Success in NOT being something vs being something - https://golifelog.com/posts/success-in-not-being-something-vs-being-something-1667430399298
Saw this on my Twitter feed:
“The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely unemployed.” — Emil Cioran via @viziandrei
I love how his success is defined by NOT being something instead of being something.
I mean, most of us set goals the latter way, isn’t it?
I want to be rich.
I want to be healthy.
I want to be happy.
Always phrase it in a positive way, they say, because by telling your brain to not think of a pink elephant you end up thinking of it. And you don’t want the negative outcome by framing your goal in a negative way. But somehow that always felt like an overly simplistic take of the brain to me. Surely there’s a difference between mere mental visualisation versus planning, thinking and acting on something more complex like goals. Surely we can tell the difference, and act accordingly.
And to be honest, I don’t need the positive framing of the goals either.
I don’t need to be rich. I just want to stay out of having a job.
I don’t need to be healthy. I just want to be free from chronic ailments.
I don’t need to be happy. I just don’t want to be bored with life.
So perhaps I can define my own success as NOT being something instead of being something.
Who cares if everyone does it differently…
Here’s the longer version of the Emil Cioran quote for those who are curious:
“I lived exactly the life that I wanted… free, without the constraints of a profession
without petty worries. A dream life, a life brimming with leisure, something unheard of in our times.
I read a lot; I read voraciously, but only what I liked, and when I attempted to write a few books, my work got rewarded because I never ignored my genuine interests and tastes.
The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely
unemployed.
I designed my life quite well. I pretended that it was a failure; but it wasn’t.”
“The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely unemployed.” — Emil Cioran via @viziandrei
I love how his success is defined by NOT being something instead of being something.
I mean, most of us set goals the latter way, isn’t it?
I want to be rich.
I want to be healthy.
I want to be happy.
Always phrase it in a positive way, they say, because by telling your brain to not think of a pink elephant you end up thinking of it. And you don’t want the negative outcome by framing your goal in a negative way. But somehow that always felt like an overly simplistic take of the brain to me. Surely there’s a difference between mere mental visualisation versus planning, thinking and acting on something more complex like goals. Surely we can tell the difference, and act accordingly.
And to be honest, I don’t need the positive framing of the goals either.
I don’t need to be rich. I just want to stay out of having a job.
I don’t need to be healthy. I just want to be free from chronic ailments.
I don’t need to be happy. I just don’t want to be bored with life.
So perhaps I can define my own success as NOT being something instead of being something.
Who cares if everyone does it differently…
Here’s the longer version of the Emil Cioran quote for those who are curious:
“I lived exactly the life that I wanted… free, without the constraints of a profession
without petty worries. A dream life, a life brimming with leisure, something unheard of in our times.
I read a lot; I read voraciously, but only what I liked, and when I attempted to write a few books, my work got rewarded because I never ignored my genuine interests and tastes.
The biggest success of my entire life was the fact that I managed to stay entirely
unemployed.
I designed my life quite well. I pretended that it was a failure; but it wasn’t.”
Day 671 - Hot or not - https://golifelog.com/posts/hot-or-not-1667342272443
So I decided to [start afresh from zero](https://golifelog.com/posts/november-goals-1667257253907) for my products.
So let's do a honest "Hot Or Not" review of my products:
Outsprint Design - 🔥 Hot
- I mistakenly looked down on it in the past, because I wanted to transit out of consulting to fulltime indie. But had since come round to it, and owning it now.
- It's totally running on its own momentum now, and I'm getting new opportunities every other week (sometimes from completely cold, unexpected sources).
- It's the only thing keeping my family alive - just finished a $30k project, got another $7.6k one coming.
Plugins For Carrd - 🔥 Hot
- A project that started as a side project but really should be the main one.
- Right from get-go, it kind of marketed itself (still don't know how that worked!).
- From making a few fun dollars from digital downloads to it's now making more money per month than my SaaS products. Suffice to say, I'm doubling down on this next.
Lifelog - 🌶 Spicy
- This was my main project but sadly product-market fit wasn't forthcoming.
- I realised this should really be my hobby project, because it continues to have a special place in my heart in the same way a hobby does. I love to write and continue to write daily, and I enjoy hanging out with the community here.
- So while it's seemingly 'downgraded' to side project status, I still want to keep working on it.
5am creators - 🌶 Spicy
- A non revenue-generating project, done just for fun and learning.
- Sleep continues to be of major interest and relevance in my life, so I'm still into it.
- But I no longer market it as I prefer a tighter knit, self elected group.
- It does have some potential though to become a paid thing, even though I have no idea what it might look like.
- Some future ideas - ebook/email course on sleep biohacking, paid membership, Telegram bot to track sleep streaks
Sheet2Bio - ❄️ Not
- Started with a bang, getting lots of likes and support on Twitter, but it was totally a nice-to-have vitamin, not a painkiller.
- Sales was just 1 LTD. No product-market fit.
- Still want to make it a more proper SaaS, build out the home page and onboarding etc, but no grand ambitions for it.
- Might have to try freemium model.
Keto List Singapore - ❄️ Not
- This started with solving a specific need for my diet, but soon lapsed into lack of updates.
- It's still a unique product within the keto scene in Singapore, but my motivation to continue building it is low, as my diet had evolved.
Sweet Jam Sites - ❄️ Not
- Did a few web design projects. Earned maybe $1k cumulatively.
- But the Stackbit platform that I enjoyed building on changed drastically, and it's less fun to build on now.
- Lost interest after a while.
It's obviously which products I should be doubling down on, which ones are hobbies, and which ones are on the decline.
*Act accordingly.*
So let's do a honest "Hot Or Not" review of my products:
Outsprint Design - 🔥 Hot
- I mistakenly looked down on it in the past, because I wanted to transit out of consulting to fulltime indie. But had since come round to it, and owning it now.
- It's totally running on its own momentum now, and I'm getting new opportunities every other week (sometimes from completely cold, unexpected sources).
- It's the only thing keeping my family alive - just finished a $30k project, got another $7.6k one coming.
Plugins For Carrd - 🔥 Hot
- A project that started as a side project but really should be the main one.
- Right from get-go, it kind of marketed itself (still don't know how that worked!).
- From making a few fun dollars from digital downloads to it's now making more money per month than my SaaS products. Suffice to say, I'm doubling down on this next.
Lifelog - 🌶 Spicy
- This was my main project but sadly product-market fit wasn't forthcoming.
- I realised this should really be my hobby project, because it continues to have a special place in my heart in the same way a hobby does. I love to write and continue to write daily, and I enjoy hanging out with the community here.
- So while it's seemingly 'downgraded' to side project status, I still want to keep working on it.
5am creators - 🌶 Spicy
- A non revenue-generating project, done just for fun and learning.
- Sleep continues to be of major interest and relevance in my life, so I'm still into it.
- But I no longer market it as I prefer a tighter knit, self elected group.
- It does have some potential though to become a paid thing, even though I have no idea what it might look like.
- Some future ideas - ebook/email course on sleep biohacking, paid membership, Telegram bot to track sleep streaks
Sheet2Bio - ❄️ Not
- Started with a bang, getting lots of likes and support on Twitter, but it was totally a nice-to-have vitamin, not a painkiller.
- Sales was just 1 LTD. No product-market fit.
- Still want to make it a more proper SaaS, build out the home page and onboarding etc, but no grand ambitions for it.
- Might have to try freemium model.
Keto List Singapore - ❄️ Not
- This started with solving a specific need for my diet, but soon lapsed into lack of updates.
- It's still a unique product within the keto scene in Singapore, but my motivation to continue building it is low, as my diet had evolved.
Sweet Jam Sites - ❄️ Not
- Did a few web design projects. Earned maybe $1k cumulatively.
- But the Stackbit platform that I enjoyed building on changed drastically, and it's less fun to build on now.
- Lost interest after a while.
It's obviously which products I should be doubling down on, which ones are hobbies, and which ones are on the decline.
*Act accordingly.*
Day 670 - November goals - https://golifelog.com/posts/november-goals-1667257253907
My intentions for November is simple:
- Finish well for my consulting gigs
- Start from zero for my products
I'm super grateful for the extended runway from my consulting, so it's a matter of continuing that practice of gratitude in action, as I had been doing the past 2 months already. One gig ends this week while another smallish one starts next week. I should be all done before November ends. I really want to do a good job and end well.
The great thing about doing a portfolio of products and services is that it allows me to walk away (briefly) from one or a few projects while I focus on another. The past 2 months of consulting had been a break from my indie products, so to speak. It gave me fresh perspective. That's where starting from zero comes into play...
Starting from zero for my products sounds simple, but probably harder than it seems. I don't know what that truly means in practice, but in theory, I find myself wanting to start on a clean slate. Without any preconceived or blindly inherited notions of right or wrong, should or must. Not following ideas and ideals of success or failure, but just really seeing my projects for what they are, as objectively as possible. To not hold on to it out of false gods, or as Daniel Vassallo likes to say:
> Treat your projects like cattle not pets.
Easier said than done, but I would like to try.
That's not to say I will shut down projects that aren't doing well or earning revenue. I'll likely just keep them around, just not commit any effort or bandwidth to them. And focus on the bets that have shown potential through real data.
Onwards!
- Finish well for my consulting gigs
- Start from zero for my products
I'm super grateful for the extended runway from my consulting, so it's a matter of continuing that practice of gratitude in action, as I had been doing the past 2 months already. One gig ends this week while another smallish one starts next week. I should be all done before November ends. I really want to do a good job and end well.
The great thing about doing a portfolio of products and services is that it allows me to walk away (briefly) from one or a few projects while I focus on another. The past 2 months of consulting had been a break from my indie products, so to speak. It gave me fresh perspective. That's where starting from zero comes into play...
Starting from zero for my products sounds simple, but probably harder than it seems. I don't know what that truly means in practice, but in theory, I find myself wanting to start on a clean slate. Without any preconceived or blindly inherited notions of right or wrong, should or must. Not following ideas and ideals of success or failure, but just really seeing my projects for what they are, as objectively as possible. To not hold on to it out of false gods, or as Daniel Vassallo likes to say:
> Treat your projects like cattle not pets.
Easier said than done, but I would like to try.
That's not to say I will shut down projects that aren't doing well or earning revenue. I'll likely just keep them around, just not commit any effort or bandwidth to them. And focus on the bets that have shown potential through real data.
Onwards!
Day 669 - October wrap-up - https://golifelog.com/posts/october-wrap-up-1667182585464
📈 Current MRR (all from Lifelog): $119 (→$0)
📊 One-off revenue: $261 (↓$90)
💰 Total revenue: $380 (↓$90)
🏦 Total profit: $323.6 (↓$106.40) (excl. salary and consulting costs)
👀 Tweet impressions: 232k vs 240k
💙 Likes: 2.6k vs 2.1k
💬 Engagement rate: 3.9% vs 3.9%
🏡 Profile visits: 32.7k vs 36.6k
📣 Mentions: 1088 vs 996
👣 New followers: 280 vs 211
📧 Email subscribers: 40 (↑4)
Looking back at my intentions for October:
Practising gratitude by doing well for my consulting gig
Aligning to my values and own authentic self
Doing some groundwork for building in Nov/Dec
I think I managed to practice all three. The gig is completing, and I expect to wind down for the year by mid Nov. Yet because I’ve stopped building for two months, I’m eager to jump back to coding my products then. Hope to have some active rest, and just work at my own place then.
Alignment continues to feel good. Every time I make a tiny tweak to my profile on Twitter, Makerlog or some other social platform, I feel better about it. I’m incrementally piecing the puzzle that’s my authentic online self.
My early thoughts for the building phase to come: It’ll be about doing my own thing, following my own instincts. And dropping a lot more of the current indie hacker practices I’m doing but no longer interests or serve me. Considering dropping revenue progress charts and updates, for example. It’s already shifting that way since this month.
Overall, October felt like the start of a 180º shift in my indie solopreneur approach… in time for the new year to come.
📊 One-off revenue: $261 (↓$90)
💰 Total revenue: $380 (↓$90)
🏦 Total profit: $323.6 (↓$106.40) (excl. salary and consulting costs)
👀 Tweet impressions: 232k vs 240k
💙 Likes: 2.6k vs 2.1k
💬 Engagement rate: 3.9% vs 3.9%
🏡 Profile visits: 32.7k vs 36.6k
📣 Mentions: 1088 vs 996
👣 New followers: 280 vs 211
📧 Email subscribers: 40 (↑4)
Looking back at my intentions for October:
Practising gratitude by doing well for my consulting gig
Aligning to my values and own authentic self
Doing some groundwork for building in Nov/Dec
I think I managed to practice all three. The gig is completing, and I expect to wind down for the year by mid Nov. Yet because I’ve stopped building for two months, I’m eager to jump back to coding my products then. Hope to have some active rest, and just work at my own place then.
Alignment continues to feel good. Every time I make a tiny tweak to my profile on Twitter, Makerlog or some other social platform, I feel better about it. I’m incrementally piecing the puzzle that’s my authentic online self.
My early thoughts for the building phase to come: It’ll be about doing my own thing, following my own instincts. And dropping a lot more of the current indie hacker practices I’m doing but no longer interests or serve me. Considering dropping revenue progress charts and updates, for example. It’s already shifting that way since this month.
Overall, October felt like the start of a 180º shift in my indie solopreneur approach… in time for the new year to come.
Day 668 - Not stressing over stress - https://golifelog.com/posts/not-stressing-over-stress-1667099068857
Got to admit: This is an easy trap to fall into.
Stressing over stress is the best (and stupidest) way to amplify stress, not reduce it.
Because when it comes to biohacking and improvement of any kind, it’s so easy to stay in a deficit mindset. To keep finding things to fix about yourself. To keep telling myself I need fixing.
That’s just another way to flagellate myself on a daily basis, that I’m broken.
More self-beating.
More anxiety.
More frustration.
More stress.
That can’t be a good thing.
Inferring from that, I’m struck by a new thought:
I’ve always done worked hard at biohacking and improving myself from a place of lack. I’ve never once experienced self improvement from a place of abundance and sufficiency. From self love and acceptance.
It feels almost logically impossible, doesn’t it?
Can one accept oneself yet still feel there are area where one can grow in? Wouldn’t self acceptance also accept all the flaws and gaps, and lead to a kind of laziness around self growth?
I’m not sure. I certainly wish it’s possible, but I’ve never seen it, felt it, touched it before.
How do I destress without stressing?
How do I grow from a place of abundance and acceptance?
Answers welcomed.
Stressing over stress is the best (and stupidest) way to amplify stress, not reduce it.
Because when it comes to biohacking and improvement of any kind, it’s so easy to stay in a deficit mindset. To keep finding things to fix about yourself. To keep telling myself I need fixing.
That’s just another way to flagellate myself on a daily basis, that I’m broken.
More self-beating.
More anxiety.
More frustration.
More stress.
That can’t be a good thing.
Inferring from that, I’m struck by a new thought:
I’ve always done worked hard at biohacking and improving myself from a place of lack. I’ve never once experienced self improvement from a place of abundance and sufficiency. From self love and acceptance.
It feels almost logically impossible, doesn’t it?
Can one accept oneself yet still feel there are area where one can grow in? Wouldn’t self acceptance also accept all the flaws and gaps, and lead to a kind of laziness around self growth?
I’m not sure. I certainly wish it’s possible, but I’ve never seen it, felt it, touched it before.
How do I destress without stressing?
How do I grow from a place of abundance and acceptance?
Answers welcomed.
Jason Leow
Author
Yeah tactically exercise helps me too. For me, I was more coming from a mindset angle, like abundance mindset vs scarcity mindset
For me it comes down to how do I stop the thought. Every spare thought that I have is used to plan out the next step of my business or feature in an app I’m working on. So the two things that I can say that help me are exercise and music. Exercise is great but being able to be in the moment of the exercise is hard. I have to focus on my body and not my mind in the moment. Running is hard when I want to do this. Weights are better for me. Listening to nothing or music as opposed to podcasts is another way to get my brain to stop. Podcasts are too much they get my brain ramping up again. Idk if this is what you are looking for but I always feel that cutting off all thoughts of business before it gets to the guilt works for me.
Day 667 - Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see. - https://golifelog.com/posts/maybe-so-maybe-not-well-see-1666999875629
When doors to opportunities close in your face, it sucks. It’s weird but sometimes the Universe was actually trying to protect you with the closed door.
Like how a few months back I had a meeting with a potential client, and the chat ended off well. It felt optimistic. I liked the problem they were trying to solve. A consultancy gig was in the books. Or so it seemed. Weeks on, the lead went cold. No news. What a shame, I thought.
But recently I had the chance to learn more about the client and their project. There were so many red flags! Now I know why that door was closed.
I was being protected. Somehow.
It reminded me of this parable of a Chinese farmer:
A farmer and his son had a beloved horse who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbours exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild horses back to the farm as well. The neighbours shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the horses and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The neighbours cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, because he had a broken leg. The neighbours shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.
It’s crazy how our notions of good or bad events happening to us are so tunnel-visioned on our immediate context. The moment the context switches, what’s good or bad switches too.
Truly, it’s impossible to know the good or bad, objectively.
An open door is good fortune, but can turn into misfortune. A close door counts as bad luck, but ended up as good luck. If the Universe didn’t offer a peek behind the curtains for this one occasion, I would have never known the bad had flipped to the good.
Makes me think a lot about my recent bad luck and misfortunes.
Made me think even more about some of the recent good opportunities that came along.
Maybe it’s bad.
Maybe it’s good.
Maybe not. We’ll see.
Like how a few months back I had a meeting with a potential client, and the chat ended off well. It felt optimistic. I liked the problem they were trying to solve. A consultancy gig was in the books. Or so it seemed. Weeks on, the lead went cold. No news. What a shame, I thought.
But recently I had the chance to learn more about the client and their project. There were so many red flags! Now I know why that door was closed.
I was being protected. Somehow.
It reminded me of this parable of a Chinese farmer:
A farmer and his son had a beloved horse who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbours exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild horses back to the farm as well. The neighbours shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the horses and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The neighbours cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, because he had a broken leg. The neighbours shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.
It’s crazy how our notions of good or bad events happening to us are so tunnel-visioned on our immediate context. The moment the context switches, what’s good or bad switches too.
Truly, it’s impossible to know the good or bad, objectively.
An open door is good fortune, but can turn into misfortune. A close door counts as bad luck, but ended up as good luck. If the Universe didn’t offer a peek behind the curtains for this one occasion, I would have never known the bad had flipped to the good.
Makes me think a lot about my recent bad luck and misfortunes.
Made me think even more about some of the recent good opportunities that came along.
Maybe it’s bad.
Maybe it’s good.
Maybe not. We’ll see.
😈👹🤡👻💀👽🤖🎃 Evil 666 streak just in time for Halloween
Day 666 - Small bets playbook - https://golifelog.com/posts/small-bets-playbook-1666913254452
If there's ever a playbook for the portfolio of small bets approach, this is probably it:
> What to unlearn/relearn
>
> \- Hard work → Trial & error
> \- Focus → Many things at once
> \- Optimization → 80/20 rule
> \- Consistency → Intensity
> \- Avoid distractions → Embrace randomness
> \- Practice 10,000 hrs → 100 bets
> \- Goals → Stay in the game
> \- Efficiency → Slack in the system
>
> – [@dvassallo](https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1585320516378058752)
I'm a fan of Daniel's ideas around small bets. It resonated with me, and articulated something I had always intuited and had been doing even before it came along. But what's interesting about this list of things to unlearn/relearn is how spot on it is on all the things I'm struggling with on my indie solopreneur journey.
For the longest time, especially in school and when employed, I'm totally about the qualities on the left side of the list: hard work, focus, optimization, consistency, avoid distractions, 10k hours, setting goals, efficiency. Maybe I wasn't like that when I'm a kid, but it had certainly been beaten into me over the decades. Our society in general incentivizes these qualities. You're a good boy or girl if you do all of that.
That's why it's been a steep uphill climb unlearning all that early conditioning. Maybe that's why I feel stuck.
If I were to give myself kindergarten grades for how well I'm doing transiting over:
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hard work → Trial & error
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Focus → Many things at once
- ⭐️⭐️ Optimization → 80/20 rule
- ⭐️ Consistency → Intensity
- ⭐️⭐️ Avoid distractions → Embrace randomness
- ⭐️⭐️ Practice 10,000 hrs → 100 bets
- ⭐️ Goals → Stay in the game
- ⭐️ Efficiency → Slack in the system
I'm still pretty much a consistency person. I get that I can still keep my daily habits and still practice intensity for my products, but it's been hard separating what is a hardwired personality trait.
I loved goal setting. It used to work very well for everything I do in the past. So practising to let go of it had been hard. I used to do monthly goals but now it's more monthly intentions, which work for me.
Giving myself slack in the system was the hardest. I would optimize and utilize every waking minute to work or do something. Taking a break intentionally was counter-reflex. That's also why I burned out multiple times over the past decade.
I reminded myself that I should bring a [skeptic's lens](https://golifelog.com/posts/a-skeptics-lens-1666737100854) to this, that I need to make this mine instead of blindly following someone else's playbook. So still lots to experiment and discern. I suspect as I go, it's not a total transition from left to right on the list, but more of a nuanced intuition on when and where I stand depending on the context.
After all, I've been doing this even before the playbook came along. I want to circle back to that beginner's mind, even as I learn more.
Onwards!
> What to unlearn/relearn
>
> \- Hard work → Trial & error
> \- Focus → Many things at once
> \- Optimization → 80/20 rule
> \- Consistency → Intensity
> \- Avoid distractions → Embrace randomness
> \- Practice 10,000 hrs → 100 bets
> \- Goals → Stay in the game
> \- Efficiency → Slack in the system
>
> – [@dvassallo](https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1585320516378058752)
I'm a fan of Daniel's ideas around small bets. It resonated with me, and articulated something I had always intuited and had been doing even before it came along. But what's interesting about this list of things to unlearn/relearn is how spot on it is on all the things I'm struggling with on my indie solopreneur journey.
For the longest time, especially in school and when employed, I'm totally about the qualities on the left side of the list: hard work, focus, optimization, consistency, avoid distractions, 10k hours, setting goals, efficiency. Maybe I wasn't like that when I'm a kid, but it had certainly been beaten into me over the decades. Our society in general incentivizes these qualities. You're a good boy or girl if you do all of that.
That's why it's been a steep uphill climb unlearning all that early conditioning. Maybe that's why I feel stuck.
If I were to give myself kindergarten grades for how well I'm doing transiting over:
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hard work → Trial & error
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Focus → Many things at once
- ⭐️⭐️ Optimization → 80/20 rule
- ⭐️ Consistency → Intensity
- ⭐️⭐️ Avoid distractions → Embrace randomness
- ⭐️⭐️ Practice 10,000 hrs → 100 bets
- ⭐️ Goals → Stay in the game
- ⭐️ Efficiency → Slack in the system
I'm still pretty much a consistency person. I get that I can still keep my daily habits and still practice intensity for my products, but it's been hard separating what is a hardwired personality trait.
I loved goal setting. It used to work very well for everything I do in the past. So practising to let go of it had been hard. I used to do monthly goals but now it's more monthly intentions, which work for me.
Giving myself slack in the system was the hardest. I would optimize and utilize every waking minute to work or do something. Taking a break intentionally was counter-reflex. That's also why I burned out multiple times over the past decade.
I reminded myself that I should bring a [skeptic's lens](https://golifelog.com/posts/a-skeptics-lens-1666737100854) to this, that I need to make this mine instead of blindly following someone else's playbook. So still lots to experiment and discern. I suspect as I go, it's not a total transition from left to right on the list, but more of a nuanced intuition on when and where I stand depending on the context.
After all, I've been doing this even before the playbook came along. I want to circle back to that beginner's mind, even as I learn more.
Onwards!
Minor tweaks to Lifelog Twitter profile
Notably, added "We write for the long game."
"A community for creators to develop a daily writing habit. Just 100 words a day. We write for the long game. Made by @jasonleowsg"
"A community for creators to develop a daily writing habit. Just 100 words a day. We write for the long game. Made by @jasonleowsg"
Day 665 - Happy accidents - https://golifelog.com/posts/happy-accidents-1666826393222
More and more I'm seeing this recurring pattern, not just for myself but for others:
The products that I least expect to succeed are the ones that actually do. Often they are happy accidents.
Big lessons in there:
- By definition, you can't plan for happy accidents. Once you expect an accident it ceases to be one. Only thing I can do is to experiment a lot and launch small bets, all the while having low to zero expectations.
- Expectations more often than not, get in my way. Setting goals may be common wisdom. But with goals you get expectations. With expectations comes the associated stress, anxieties, frustrations when thing don't turn out your way. With goals and the expectations of hitting it, you start to narrow down your world into things that you *assume* are helpful for your goals and things that are not, thereby missing out on real opportunities that emerge from you putting stuff out into the world. These opportunities can get you to financial freedom but just because it seems unrelated to your goals, you are blind to them.
- There are so many great inventions that came about because of chance accidents. Penicillin, for example. A more recent and relatable one – Post-It notes. And often the inventors weren't even looking to invent that. They were often by-products of the main thing they were trying to invent. The sawdust from the woodwork ended up being more valuable than the woodwork itself. Selling your sawdust is underrated. I often look to the final output and outcome of any creative process as the product, but perhaps I should look more at the through-puts, process outputs and by-products as the product!
- Have fun staying curious. Happy accidents won't happen if I'm not curious and having fun doing that. I remember I had so much fun creating mini apps as a way to learn coding, and that ended up being plugins for Carrd.
Tl;dr - more happy accidents, less serious plans.
The products that I least expect to succeed are the ones that actually do. Often they are happy accidents.
Big lessons in there:
- By definition, you can't plan for happy accidents. Once you expect an accident it ceases to be one. Only thing I can do is to experiment a lot and launch small bets, all the while having low to zero expectations.
- Expectations more often than not, get in my way. Setting goals may be common wisdom. But with goals you get expectations. With expectations comes the associated stress, anxieties, frustrations when thing don't turn out your way. With goals and the expectations of hitting it, you start to narrow down your world into things that you *assume* are helpful for your goals and things that are not, thereby missing out on real opportunities that emerge from you putting stuff out into the world. These opportunities can get you to financial freedom but just because it seems unrelated to your goals, you are blind to them.
- There are so many great inventions that came about because of chance accidents. Penicillin, for example. A more recent and relatable one – Post-It notes. And often the inventors weren't even looking to invent that. They were often by-products of the main thing they were trying to invent. The sawdust from the woodwork ended up being more valuable than the woodwork itself. Selling your sawdust is underrated. I often look to the final output and outcome of any creative process as the product, but perhaps I should look more at the through-puts, process outputs and by-products as the product!
- Have fun staying curious. Happy accidents won't happen if I'm not curious and having fun doing that. I remember I had so much fun creating mini apps as a way to learn coding, and that ended up being plugins for Carrd.
Tl;dr - more happy accidents, less serious plans.
Day 664 - A skeptic's lens - https://golifelog.com/posts/a-skeptics-lens-1666737100854
Learned this the hard way recently:
"When you choose who to follow on Twitter, you are choosing your future thoughts." [– @JamesClear](https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1312386219599433729)
For me it's more about who I engage with daily on twitter. I follow to make friends, but I don't use the home feed so I often don't see the tweets of those I follow. I only see those whom I switched on notifications for, and those on my daily-weekly engagement list.
And indeed, reading their tweets daily have an influence on how I feel and think too. As much as I like to say I'm sovereign and a discerning individual, I'm a lot less than I like to think I am. We're the effect of the 5 closest friends we spend time with. That's the 5 chimps theory. And it's not far from truth.
Granted, I've been curating my engagement feed with inspiring, hard-working, humble and awesome folks. People who I can learn a lot from. Folks I love to learn from.
Yet not everything I learn from them is applicable to me. In fact, just applying it wholesale to my context can hurt more than help.
There's something missing in all this.
A filter.
I don't feel like I'm filtering enough. I'm not sufficiently discerning. I definitely should think through more, experiment more and test new ideas I get from everyone more, before allowing it to live rent-free in my head.
Now *that* feels like it's hard to do.
It feels like it requires a lot more mindful consumption, a lot more effort expended at the point of reading. But does it?
Lately out of frustration I've been feeling a bit jaded and brought a skeptical lens to everything I'm reading. Granted, it's not the most wholesome feeling to have. But that experience got me thinking – perhaps that's all it takes. Just add a skeptic's lens to the reading.
A lens where everything is guilty of being wrong ***for me*** until proven right, through direct experience or rigorous research.
The "for me" part is critical, for it allows me to accept that something can be true for someone but not for me. Prevents unreasonable skepticism and negativity from creeping in.
OK so this is it.
Let's try this skeptic's lens for a few weeks and see what happens...
"When you choose who to follow on Twitter, you are choosing your future thoughts." [– @JamesClear](https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1312386219599433729)
For me it's more about who I engage with daily on twitter. I follow to make friends, but I don't use the home feed so I often don't see the tweets of those I follow. I only see those whom I switched on notifications for, and those on my daily-weekly engagement list.
And indeed, reading their tweets daily have an influence on how I feel and think too. As much as I like to say I'm sovereign and a discerning individual, I'm a lot less than I like to think I am. We're the effect of the 5 closest friends we spend time with. That's the 5 chimps theory. And it's not far from truth.
Granted, I've been curating my engagement feed with inspiring, hard-working, humble and awesome folks. People who I can learn a lot from. Folks I love to learn from.
Yet not everything I learn from them is applicable to me. In fact, just applying it wholesale to my context can hurt more than help.
There's something missing in all this.
A filter.
I don't feel like I'm filtering enough. I'm not sufficiently discerning. I definitely should think through more, experiment more and test new ideas I get from everyone more, before allowing it to live rent-free in my head.
Now *that* feels like it's hard to do.
It feels like it requires a lot more mindful consumption, a lot more effort expended at the point of reading. But does it?
Lately out of frustration I've been feeling a bit jaded and brought a skeptical lens to everything I'm reading. Granted, it's not the most wholesome feeling to have. But that experience got me thinking – perhaps that's all it takes. Just add a skeptic's lens to the reading.
A lens where everything is guilty of being wrong ***for me*** until proven right, through direct experience or rigorous research.
The "for me" part is critical, for it allows me to accept that something can be true for someone but not for me. Prevents unreasonable skepticism and negativity from creeping in.
OK so this is it.
Let's try this skeptic's lens for a few weeks and see what happens...
Day 664 - A skeptic's lens - https://golifelog.com/posts/a-skeptics-lens-1666737100854
Learned this the hard way recently:
"When you choose who to follow on Twitter, you are choosing your future thoughts." [– @JamesClear](https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1312386219599433729)
For me it's more about who I engage with daily on twitter. I follow to make friends, but I don't use the home feed so I often don't see the tweets of those I follow. I only see those whom I switched on notifications for, and those on my daily-weekly engagement list.
And indeed, reading their tweets daily have an influence on how I feel and think too. As much as I like to say I'm sovereign and a discerning individual, I'm a lot less than I like to think I am. We're the effect of the 5 closest friends we spend time with. That's the 5 chimps theory. And it's not far from truth.
Granted, I've been curating my engagement feed with inspiring, hard-working, humble and awesome folks. People who I can learn a lot from. Folks I love to learn from.
Yet not everything I learn from them is applicable to me. In fact, just applying it wholesale to my context can hurt more than help.
There's something missing in all this.
A filter.
I don't feel like I'm filtering enough. I'm not sufficiently discerning. I definitely should think through more, experiment more and test new ideas I get from everyone more, before allowing it to live rent-free in my head.
Now *that* feels like it's hard to do.
It feels like it requires a lot more mindful consumption, a lot more effort expended at the point of reading. But does it?
Lately out of frustration I've been feeling a bit jaded and brought a skeptical lens to everything I'm reading. Granted, it's not the most wholesome feeling to have. But that experience got me thinking – perhaps that's all it takes. Just add a skeptic's lens to the reading.
A lens where everything is guilty of being wrong ***for me*** until proven right, through direct experience or rigorous research.
The "for me" part is critical, for it allows me to accept that something can be true for someone but not for me. Prevents unreasonable skepticism and negativity from creeping in.
OK so this is it.
Let's try this skeptic's lens for a few weeks and see what happens...
"When you choose who to follow on Twitter, you are choosing your future thoughts." [– @JamesClear](https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1312386219599433729)
For me it's more about who I engage with daily on twitter. I follow to make friends, but I don't use the home feed so I often don't see the tweets of those I follow. I only see those whom I switched on notifications for, and those on my daily-weekly engagement list.
And indeed, reading their tweets daily have an influence on how I feel and think too. As much as I like to say I'm sovereign and a discerning individual, I'm a lot less than I like to think I am. We're the effect of the 5 closest friends we spend time with. That's the 5 chimps theory. And it's not far from truth.
Granted, I've been curating my engagement feed with inspiring, hard-working, humble and awesome folks. People who I can learn a lot from. Folks I love to learn from.
Yet not everything I learn from them is applicable to me. In fact, just applying it wholesale to my context can hurt more than help.
There's something missing in all this.
A filter.
I don't feel like I'm filtering enough. I'm not sufficiently discerning. I definitely should think through more, experiment more and test new ideas I get from everyone more, before allowing it to live rent-free in my head.
Now *that* feels like it's hard to do.
It feels like it requires a lot more mindful consumption, a lot more effort expended at the point of reading. But does it?
Lately out of frustration I've been feeling a bit jaded and brought a skeptical lens to everything I'm reading. Granted, it's not the most wholesome feeling to have. But that experience got me thinking – perhaps that's all it takes. Just add a skeptic's lens to the reading.
A lens where everything is guilty of being wrong ***for me*** until proven right, through direct experience or rigorous research.
The "for me" part is critical, for it allows me to accept that something can be true for someone but not for me. Prevents unreasonable skepticism and negativity from creeping in.
OK so this is it.
Let's try this skeptic's lens for a few weeks and see what happens...
Day 663 - Creative thirst - https://golifelog.com/posts/creative-thirst-1666682122358
When I go too long without creating something—anything—I feel like I’m shrivelling up like a fish out of water. The metaphor is spot on, because being creative to me often feels like a fish swimming in the life-giving sea. Only in the water can the fish breathe, survive and be in its true element. Out of the water for too long, it jumps around seeking water, till it eventually dies.
And that’s how I feel after a few months of consulting and not much creating and building.
I mean, I’m grateful for the consulting. I truly am. It’s the only thing that’s putting food on the table – something I’m painfully aware of. I wrote about the gratitude I feel to be able to still do it. I went all out to do a good job, and I achieved that. But after months of not building my indie products, I’m feeling like that metaphorical fish.
Every year it’s the same seasons and same emotional journeys. I recall feeling the same way last year. Over the years I start to recognise it, and become comfortable with the changes.
It’s just the natural seasons of the soul. Nothing wrong, nothing to fix.
But it does mean I’m feeling ready to get back to creating and building again. That thirst is back.
Creative thirst.
And in a way it’s good to cultivate this creative thirst every now and then by switching over to something else. Because sometimes working on my indie projects can feel like an old tired relationship. Like an unhappy marriage that went on too long without love and spark. You need that occasional distance to get some perspective, and “make the heart fonder”.
And the heart sure is fonder now. I can’t wait to finally get back to working on Lifelog, on my Carrd plugins, on all the other ideas I have.
Soon. November.
And that’s how I feel after a few months of consulting and not much creating and building.
I mean, I’m grateful for the consulting. I truly am. It’s the only thing that’s putting food on the table – something I’m painfully aware of. I wrote about the gratitude I feel to be able to still do it. I went all out to do a good job, and I achieved that. But after months of not building my indie products, I’m feeling like that metaphorical fish.
Every year it’s the same seasons and same emotional journeys. I recall feeling the same way last year. Over the years I start to recognise it, and become comfortable with the changes.
It’s just the natural seasons of the soul. Nothing wrong, nothing to fix.
But it does mean I’m feeling ready to get back to creating and building again. That thirst is back.
Creative thirst.
And in a way it’s good to cultivate this creative thirst every now and then by switching over to something else. Because sometimes working on my indie projects can feel like an old tired relationship. Like an unhappy marriage that went on too long without love and spark. You need that occasional distance to get some perspective, and “make the heart fonder”.
And the heart sure is fonder now. I can’t wait to finally get back to working on Lifelog, on my Carrd plugins, on all the other ideas I have.
Soon. November.
Day 662 - Rest, the best biohack for stress - https://golifelog.com/posts/rest-the-best-biohack-for-stress-1666570089290
I've been thinking about my [new goal for biohacking stress](https://golifelog.com/posts/new-goal-biohacking-stress-1666479705423).
Sure there's lots of hacks I can use and do, but as I learn from my sleep and diet biohacking, often the simplest and most basic ones are the most effective.
For sleep, it's simply sleeping more.
For diet, it's eating whole single ingredient foods.
How about stress? I think it's REST.
So simple and basic, but so hard for the workaholic me. It's like my Achilles heel. I like working and enjoy my work. Plus the stress of survival and feeding the family, it's a sure formula for cyclical burnout and chronic stress. Which was what really happened.
I struggle to rest, that's why I'm so stressed.
So just setting boundaries, putting time aside to rest, might already help a lot.
Ok blocking weekends, off days and alone time is important. I do that now. I don't work or check social media on weekends. I intentionally took a week off after my consultancy project to rest.
It's also about the different types of rest. The [7 types of rest](https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/):
- Physical rest - passive rest like sleeping, napping, active rest like yoga, stretching
- Mental rest - short breaks, long breaks, vacations
- Sensory rest - bright lights, screens, conversations
- Creative rest - walks in nature, being in the forest or sea, enjoying the arts,
- Emotional rest - express feelings, say no
- Social rest - toxic relationships or interactions
- Spiritual rest - connecting to something bigger than oneself, through prayer, meditation
Lots to do and experiment with.
Onwards!
Sure there's lots of hacks I can use and do, but as I learn from my sleep and diet biohacking, often the simplest and most basic ones are the most effective.
For sleep, it's simply sleeping more.
For diet, it's eating whole single ingredient foods.
How about stress? I think it's REST.
So simple and basic, but so hard for the workaholic me. It's like my Achilles heel. I like working and enjoy my work. Plus the stress of survival and feeding the family, it's a sure formula for cyclical burnout and chronic stress. Which was what really happened.
I struggle to rest, that's why I'm so stressed.
So just setting boundaries, putting time aside to rest, might already help a lot.
Ok blocking weekends, off days and alone time is important. I do that now. I don't work or check social media on weekends. I intentionally took a week off after my consultancy project to rest.
It's also about the different types of rest. The [7 types of rest](https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/):
- Physical rest - passive rest like sleeping, napping, active rest like yoga, stretching
- Mental rest - short breaks, long breaks, vacations
- Sensory rest - bright lights, screens, conversations
- Creative rest - walks in nature, being in the forest or sea, enjoying the arts,
- Emotional rest - express feelings, say no
- Social rest - toxic relationships or interactions
- Spiritual rest - connecting to something bigger than oneself, through prayer, meditation
Lots to do and experiment with.
Onwards!
Jason Leow
Author
Same. And realised that that's no longer serving me… a long road to rehab I feel
I love the idea of different types of rest. I struggle with not working as well. At this point if I’m not asleep I’m working or thinking about working.
Day 661 - New goal - biohacking stress - https://golifelog.com/posts/new-goal-biohacking-stress-1666479705423
I've just set a new goal: Biohacking stress.
Not sure why it took me this long to realise, but through a series of serendipitous content I chanced upon, [like sleep and insulin resistance](https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-and-insulin-resistance-1666395617976) and [sleep and stress](https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-and-sleep-1666304617982), I connected the dots to my latest hypothesis about my health:
My stress levels are chronic and is the root cause of most of my minor to major ailments in the past decade.
A quick run-down of all the ailments caused by stress in the past 10 years (since 2011):
- Bad diet habits like junk fast food
- Bloatedness, intestinal discomfort, poor digestion, bad gut microbiome
- Overall weight gain
- Visceral fat build up (the 'hidden' fat that's stored deep inside the belly, wrapped around the organs like the liver and intestines)
- Insulin resistance, likely near pre-diabetes level (own diagnosis)
- Immunity issues that led to surgery on my leg in 2012
- Gut issues that led to surgery in 2017
- Recent muscle/joint pains and injuries - back, shoulder, neck, Achilles tendon
- Multiple rounds of burnout every year or alternate years
- Overall increased chronic fatigue (not sure if linked to adrenal fatigue)
- Poorer mental health - anxiety, low moods
The horror is realising that all that I've been doing with my sleep and diet biohacking is just treating the surface symptoms. No wonder I've been doing it so long but still feel like something's missing. Like how I'm really happy with how far I've come for my diet, but can't shake off the feeling that despite it, I'm still not feeling that sense of wellbeing I crave for. Same thing with sleep. The habits are settled but the fluctuations in sleep quality seemingly outside of my control had been frustrating. I say "seemingly", because I didn't know that stress could be the underlying factor.
Now I do.
So I can't keep doing sleep and diet biohacking in good faith without also addressing the huge elephant in the room: my stress.
So I've set a goal to work on it:
> Reduce and remove stress to healthy levels as it's been the root cause of my sleep, diet and health problems for the past decade since starting my first business in 2011.
Still got much to learn and work on. This problem runs deeeeep.
But at least I recognise it and am now aware of its impact.
Baby steps onwards!
Not sure why it took me this long to realise, but through a series of serendipitous content I chanced upon, [like sleep and insulin resistance](https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-and-insulin-resistance-1666395617976) and [sleep and stress](https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-and-sleep-1666304617982), I connected the dots to my latest hypothesis about my health:
My stress levels are chronic and is the root cause of most of my minor to major ailments in the past decade.
A quick run-down of all the ailments caused by stress in the past 10 years (since 2011):
- Bad diet habits like junk fast food
- Bloatedness, intestinal discomfort, poor digestion, bad gut microbiome
- Overall weight gain
- Visceral fat build up (the 'hidden' fat that's stored deep inside the belly, wrapped around the organs like the liver and intestines)
- Insulin resistance, likely near pre-diabetes level (own diagnosis)
- Immunity issues that led to surgery on my leg in 2012
- Gut issues that led to surgery in 2017
- Recent muscle/joint pains and injuries - back, shoulder, neck, Achilles tendon
- Multiple rounds of burnout every year or alternate years
- Overall increased chronic fatigue (not sure if linked to adrenal fatigue)
- Poorer mental health - anxiety, low moods
The horror is realising that all that I've been doing with my sleep and diet biohacking is just treating the surface symptoms. No wonder I've been doing it so long but still feel like something's missing. Like how I'm really happy with how far I've come for my diet, but can't shake off the feeling that despite it, I'm still not feeling that sense of wellbeing I crave for. Same thing with sleep. The habits are settled but the fluctuations in sleep quality seemingly outside of my control had been frustrating. I say "seemingly", because I didn't know that stress could be the underlying factor.
Now I do.
So I can't keep doing sleep and diet biohacking in good faith without also addressing the huge elephant in the room: my stress.
So I've set a goal to work on it:
> Reduce and remove stress to healthy levels as it's been the root cause of my sleep, diet and health problems for the past decade since starting my first business in 2011.
Still got much to learn and work on. This problem runs deeeeep.
But at least I recognise it and am now aware of its impact.
Baby steps onwards!
Day 660 - Stress and insulin resistance - https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-and-insulin-resistance-1666395617976
For those who are on keto or low carb to work on your insulin resistance but finding it hard, this finding that [Dr Bikman](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj8FSoiDpxh/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=) just shared looks super interesting – stress as a hidden factor to insulin resistance.
How it works: Cortisol and adrenaline are increased during stress/anxiety and works to increase glucose. So insulin must work harder to lower glucose, making the body increasingly resistant to insulin over time. Stress is one of the 3 primary causes of insulin resistance, potentially leading to Type 2 diabetes.
It's crazy that I'm only knowing this now, yet it's such a great a-ha but face palm moment. Because that's exactly what happened to me.
I've always thought I gained weight and got all the associated chronic conditions due to my poor diet and the carbs I love eating - desserts, pastries, ice cream. The story I made up was how I sought out comfort foods due to associations with food from my growing up years. When in fact at the root it could very well just be ***stress-related***.
Stress also makes the body want to increase glucose, which I'll naturally feel pulled to do by simply eating more sweet treats. Cause and effect. No need to pull in complicated concepts like emotional eating or personal relationship with food and all that therapy sh\*t.
Perhaps this explained why I gained so much weight during that first year I started my own business. I was super stressed. I worked late all the time. That led me to eating fast food and junk, no exercise. No wonder.
Maybe that also explains why it's so easy for me to gain back weight/dad bod, and a nagging suspicion of stubborn insulin resistance.
All because I've been chronically stressed since my first business in 2011. That's a damned decade there. The stress is uneven, with peaks and valleys throughout the ten years, but I definitely had more metabolic and physical ailments during the peaks, and overall health had declined significantly over the past 10 years. I would shrug it off to age, but the decline felt pretty steep and drastic, more so than simply ageing.
I've been sleep biohacking and diet hacking for years, but I now realise those are just working on the surface symptoms, not the root cause.
STRESS IS THE ROOT CAUSE.
Fix stress, and I fix my sleep, my diet, my health, my sense of wellbeing.
Oh gosh why am I only learning this after 10 years...... 😫
How it works: Cortisol and adrenaline are increased during stress/anxiety and works to increase glucose. So insulin must work harder to lower glucose, making the body increasingly resistant to insulin over time. Stress is one of the 3 primary causes of insulin resistance, potentially leading to Type 2 diabetes.
It's crazy that I'm only knowing this now, yet it's such a great a-ha but face palm moment. Because that's exactly what happened to me.
I've always thought I gained weight and got all the associated chronic conditions due to my poor diet and the carbs I love eating - desserts, pastries, ice cream. The story I made up was how I sought out comfort foods due to associations with food from my growing up years. When in fact at the root it could very well just be ***stress-related***.
Stress also makes the body want to increase glucose, which I'll naturally feel pulled to do by simply eating more sweet treats. Cause and effect. No need to pull in complicated concepts like emotional eating or personal relationship with food and all that therapy sh\*t.
Perhaps this explained why I gained so much weight during that first year I started my own business. I was super stressed. I worked late all the time. That led me to eating fast food and junk, no exercise. No wonder.
Maybe that also explains why it's so easy for me to gain back weight/dad bod, and a nagging suspicion of stubborn insulin resistance.
All because I've been chronically stressed since my first business in 2011. That's a damned decade there. The stress is uneven, with peaks and valleys throughout the ten years, but I definitely had more metabolic and physical ailments during the peaks, and overall health had declined significantly over the past 10 years. I would shrug it off to age, but the decline felt pretty steep and drastic, more so than simply ageing.
I've been sleep biohacking and diet hacking for years, but I now realise those are just working on the surface symptoms, not the root cause.
STRESS IS THE ROOT CAUSE.
Fix stress, and I fix my sleep, my diet, my health, my sense of wellbeing.
Oh gosh why am I only learning this after 10 years...... 😫
Day 659 - Stress and sleep - https://golifelog.com/posts/stress-and-sleep-1666304617982
Stress and sleep is something that I've not looked into much for my sleep biohacking practice.
But recently my sleep quality had been noticeably poorer, and I suspect it's due to stress.
[Because](https://daveasprey.com/how-stress-ruins-your-sleep/) in order to relax and go into deep sleep, our brains have to switch off the sympathetic nervous system, the part of our that's in charge of "fight, flight or freeze". being chronically stressed means it's on even while asleep, and the cortisol hormones get in the way of relaxation and thus deep sleep.
Apparently, chronic stress is one of the best predictors of insomnia, other sleep issues, as well as overall poor sleep quality.
So if I want great sleep, I really need to get my stress in order.
I looked up some tips from [Dave Asprey](https://daveasprey.com/stress-management/) which I could use:
- Meditate: Already do this. But could spend more time on it at night especially, before bed.
- Cold thermogenesis: Tones vagus nerve, reduce stress. I stopped cool showers for some time. Time to bring it back!
- Diet: An unhealthy gut microbiome might stress you further. I stopped probiotics for a while, so might be worth being more intentional about consuming it. Sugar and emotional eating to deal with stress makes things worse, so must eat healthy and wholesome foods.
- Supplements: Apparently adaptogenic herbs help relieve stress, like kava, ashwagandha. L-tyrosine supplements might improve brain's resilience. I've not heard about all of these, so worth diving in to research more!
- Take breaks: I hardly take breaks during work. Got to finally heed my pomodoro timer, and take intentional 10min breaks!:
- Better, more sleep: Just being more disciplined and sleeping early at 8:30pm, and getting 8h of sleep, makes me less in survival mode and less stressed out. It's amazing what a night of sufficient sleep makes.
- Exercise: I exercise in the morning, but been skipping my evenings walks to work more. I do notice I'm less physically tired (even though I'm mentally spent). Time to bring it back!
- Embrace stress to make you more resilient: Inwardly, not wanting to be stressed makes me more stressed! So that's good advice - just let it be, and go with the flow.
I feel I'm so new to stress management, especially in relation to sleep. Much stuff to learn and experiment with!
Onwards.
But recently my sleep quality had been noticeably poorer, and I suspect it's due to stress.
[Because](https://daveasprey.com/how-stress-ruins-your-sleep/) in order to relax and go into deep sleep, our brains have to switch off the sympathetic nervous system, the part of our that's in charge of "fight, flight or freeze". being chronically stressed means it's on even while asleep, and the cortisol hormones get in the way of relaxation and thus deep sleep.
Apparently, chronic stress is one of the best predictors of insomnia, other sleep issues, as well as overall poor sleep quality.
So if I want great sleep, I really need to get my stress in order.
I looked up some tips from [Dave Asprey](https://daveasprey.com/stress-management/) which I could use:
- Meditate: Already do this. But could spend more time on it at night especially, before bed.
- Cold thermogenesis: Tones vagus nerve, reduce stress. I stopped cool showers for some time. Time to bring it back!
- Diet: An unhealthy gut microbiome might stress you further. I stopped probiotics for a while, so might be worth being more intentional about consuming it. Sugar and emotional eating to deal with stress makes things worse, so must eat healthy and wholesome foods.
- Supplements: Apparently adaptogenic herbs help relieve stress, like kava, ashwagandha. L-tyrosine supplements might improve brain's resilience. I've not heard about all of these, so worth diving in to research more!
- Take breaks: I hardly take breaks during work. Got to finally heed my pomodoro timer, and take intentional 10min breaks!:
- Better, more sleep: Just being more disciplined and sleeping early at 8:30pm, and getting 8h of sleep, makes me less in survival mode and less stressed out. It's amazing what a night of sufficient sleep makes.
- Exercise: I exercise in the morning, but been skipping my evenings walks to work more. I do notice I'm less physically tired (even though I'm mentally spent). Time to bring it back!
- Embrace stress to make you more resilient: Inwardly, not wanting to be stressed makes me more stressed! So that's good advice - just let it be, and go with the flow.
I feel I'm so new to stress management, especially in relation to sleep. Much stuff to learn and experiment with!
Onwards.
Day 658 - Squirrels & startups - https://golifelog.com/posts/squirrels-and-startups-1666228654658
Fun fact by a new Twitter account [@stats_feed](https://twitter.com/stats_feed/status/1577530930201239554) I just discovered and enjoying:
> Squirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts that they bury, unintentionally planting new trees in the process. 🐿
Nothing in Nature is ever wasted. Even mistakes.
The mistake of one creature ends up being beneficial to other plants or creatures, and overall great for the ecosystem.
It's interesting to see this from the perspective of entrepreneurship and the market.
Every mistake, loss or failure, is a mistake, loss or failure *to you*. But for the ecosystem—of other founders, businesses, customers—those mistakes, losses and failures might be planting seeds for other new ideas, products and businesses in the ecosystem, sometimes without us being aware it's doing that.
You try launching a SaaS to help people share their links using Google Sheets. You failed (sounds familiar?). But because you shared the story publicly, it might inspire or nudge someone to try something similar in his or her own way, or something totally different. He or she might end up succeeding where you failed. And all the interaction you had with this founder could be a Like, or maybe not even any interaction at all.
So the world is the better for it, even though it felt worse (to you) when you failed.
I like that sharing about my journey—wins or losses— are helping the ecosystem even if I don't directly benefit from it.
Perhaps if the world is better for it; perhaps if that uplifts the entrepreneurship ecosystem, we all rise together with it. Subtly. Invisibly.
I love how squirrels were the inspiration for today's post, for something as serious as startups and entrepreneurship.
Be like a squirrel.
> Squirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts that they bury, unintentionally planting new trees in the process. 🐿
Nothing in Nature is ever wasted. Even mistakes.
The mistake of one creature ends up being beneficial to other plants or creatures, and overall great for the ecosystem.
It's interesting to see this from the perspective of entrepreneurship and the market.
Every mistake, loss or failure, is a mistake, loss or failure *to you*. But for the ecosystem—of other founders, businesses, customers—those mistakes, losses and failures might be planting seeds for other new ideas, products and businesses in the ecosystem, sometimes without us being aware it's doing that.
You try launching a SaaS to help people share their links using Google Sheets. You failed (sounds familiar?). But because you shared the story publicly, it might inspire or nudge someone to try something similar in his or her own way, or something totally different. He or she might end up succeeding where you failed. And all the interaction you had with this founder could be a Like, or maybe not even any interaction at all.
So the world is the better for it, even though it felt worse (to you) when you failed.
I like that sharing about my journey—wins or losses— are helping the ecosystem even if I don't directly benefit from it.
Perhaps if the world is better for it; perhaps if that uplifts the entrepreneurship ecosystem, we all rise together with it. Subtly. Invisibly.
I love how squirrels were the inspiration for today's post, for something as serious as startups and entrepreneurship.
Be like a squirrel.
Posted a question to Strapi forum to at least get this major pain (of updating the heroku-18 stack) started
https://forum.strapi.io/t/how-does-updating-heroku-18-stack-impact-strapi/22957
Paid for 2 Heroku Hobby Dynos for Lifelog app - damage = US$7 × 2 = +US$14/month
Jason Leow
Author
Yep 28 Nov, but thought I should do it early in case there's any issues that come up when I switch to paid dynos.. (none so far)
we have till Nov 28th, right? but anyway that price seems reasonable enough, not too painful…
Day 657 - The basics of business are low bars now - https://golifelog.com/posts/the-basics-of-business-are-low-bars-now-1666162285466
If you're an indie solopreneur, just aiming to give a prompt response to your customers is already a killer competitive advantage.
I'm surprised when people are surprised and thank me for replying to their email within a day (usually hours). That also shows just how bad it is out there. Especially huge companies – funny how the better funded or resourced they are, the worse/slower their support gets. In a crazy world of holding the line for half an hour just to talk to customer support, only to get rerouted to a different department and having to tell your story all over again, it's delightful to get answers quickly.
The bar's really low for basics like these.
That got me thinking: What other basics are the big guys neglecting (where it's an advantage for us indies)? Some ideas from the customer's point of view:
- Having access to the founder/owner. Getting a DM or email from the founder him/herself always feels more special.
- Just being human and building a genuine relationship person to person. People always prefer to buy from people, not cold, faceless corporate entities.
- Giving a feature request and the founder making it within a day.
- Giving feedback/suggestions and someone contacting you immediately to find out more.
- Following someone's building in public journey and supporting his/her cause.
- The founder being helpful and giving to you (beyond the scope of the product) without trying to sell anything.
*What other basics of a great customer experience or running a business did I miss?*
I'm surprised when people are surprised and thank me for replying to their email within a day (usually hours). That also shows just how bad it is out there. Especially huge companies – funny how the better funded or resourced they are, the worse/slower their support gets. In a crazy world of holding the line for half an hour just to talk to customer support, only to get rerouted to a different department and having to tell your story all over again, it's delightful to get answers quickly.
The bar's really low for basics like these.
That got me thinking: What other basics are the big guys neglecting (where it's an advantage for us indies)? Some ideas from the customer's point of view:
- Having access to the founder/owner. Getting a DM or email from the founder him/herself always feels more special.
- Just being human and building a genuine relationship person to person. People always prefer to buy from people, not cold, faceless corporate entities.
- Giving a feature request and the founder making it within a day.
- Giving feedback/suggestions and someone contacting you immediately to find out more.
- Following someone's building in public journey and supporting his/her cause.
- The founder being helpful and giving to you (beyond the scope of the product) without trying to sell anything.
*What other basics of a great customer experience or running a business did I miss?*
Day 656 - My very first business - https://golifelog.com/posts/my-very-first-business-1666059380590
Thinking about doing things my way got me thinking all the way back to my very first business.
It was 2011.
I just left my last job in late 2010. It was a fulfilling and meaningful job in the social impact sector. I was doing well, on my first managerial position and on a high potential track. But I left anyway, because I wanted to explore the more creative and aesthetic side of my work. The job mined me for my meticulousness and organisational skills, but little on the creative side. I was hungry for more.
So I resigned, and started my very first business.
A presentation design productized service.
Why presentations? It all started with me wanting to get better at public speaking and presentations for work. I attended a Powerpoint design course, was enthralled by being able to design not just work slides but anything on it. It helped me in my job, but it also woke up the creative side of me. I had to do some sort of design work now.
So naturally, I started a service to design presentations. I was good at it, there wasn't many people or companies doing it, and seemed like there's a market gap for it.
Some relics of that business still exists on the internet:
Twitter: [@PopcornPrez ](https://twitter.com/popcornprez)
[Slideshare](https://www.slideshare.net/popcornprez)
[YouTube launch reel](https://youtu.be/qYNmt4jYUlM) and channel
[Vimeo channel](https://vimeo.com/popcornprez)
> Presentations to have popcorn with. Millions of presentations are given each day around the world. Every idea in every presentation, big or small, aims to change the world in its own way. We envision to help you do so, one slide at a time. PopcornPrez is a presentation design business which aims to be the 'Pixar of presentation design'. We believe that design should inform & delight. At PopcornPrez, we design presentation experiences that captures the entertainment and excitement of movie-going with popcorn in-hand. We do this with our services in: 1. Presentation design 2. Web design 3. Design thinking
This was before the time of indie hackers and the creator economy. Social media was just starting. So I started distribution on these channels. It all looked like a great plan, but the presentation design business never took off. I didn't know any companies that needed that service. Nobody knew me. I didn't know how to market, cold call or cold email, or find out where my potential customers were.
Revenue was zero for months.
But one day, a friend asked me if I knew how to set up a website. I did, because I had to learn how to create my very first website using Wordpress, for my presentation design business. So I helped her with it, got paid, and like they all say, the rest is history.
Suddenly I pivoted to a web design business.
To say "pivoted" is giving me too much credit. Because it's more like I was pulled along.
Friends started to know I did web design, and asked me to help them. They told their friends and their friends' friends. It was all through word of mouth. After a while, I managed to earn at least $1k per month or more from it. It worked out fine since I was still single and no kids.
And thinking back, I really did follow my own path.
My web design skills was a by-product of starting the presentation design business, but the by-product ended being the main product. The classic "sell your sawdust" approach. *The presentation design thing didn't work, but look now there's a web design opportunity, so let's just go with it!* I wasn't hung up about sticking to the original product or plan. I didn't have any baggage or preconceived notions of the right or wrong way to do business. No ideals and narratives of indie hacking, solopreneurship. There's not much influencer influences in my life yet.
Just whatever it took to survive, as long as it's still design work.
Marketing wasn't about growth hacks but simply about helping others succeed in their business, doing a darn good job for them, and building trust. So much trust and satisfaction that customers are willing to recommend me to others.
And right now, after a decade being an entrepreneur, I feel like I've come back full circle.
Back to that beginner's mind. Or rather, wanting to get back to that beginner's mind. That purity. That singular openness.
It's hard to be divorced from influences of social media and internet communities these days. But I really do want to go back to those early days where I was just operating off my innate instincts and reflexes.
It's possible. It just takes discernment and mindfulness to filter out the noise.
Back to that quiet fire within.
It was 2011.
I just left my last job in late 2010. It was a fulfilling and meaningful job in the social impact sector. I was doing well, on my first managerial position and on a high potential track. But I left anyway, because I wanted to explore the more creative and aesthetic side of my work. The job mined me for my meticulousness and organisational skills, but little on the creative side. I was hungry for more.
So I resigned, and started my very first business.
A presentation design productized service.
Why presentations? It all started with me wanting to get better at public speaking and presentations for work. I attended a Powerpoint design course, was enthralled by being able to design not just work slides but anything on it. It helped me in my job, but it also woke up the creative side of me. I had to do some sort of design work now.
So naturally, I started a service to design presentations. I was good at it, there wasn't many people or companies doing it, and seemed like there's a market gap for it.
Some relics of that business still exists on the internet:
Twitter: [@PopcornPrez ](https://twitter.com/popcornprez)
[Slideshare](https://www.slideshare.net/popcornprez)
[YouTube launch reel](https://youtu.be/qYNmt4jYUlM) and channel
[Vimeo channel](https://vimeo.com/popcornprez)
> Presentations to have popcorn with. Millions of presentations are given each day around the world. Every idea in every presentation, big or small, aims to change the world in its own way. We envision to help you do so, one slide at a time. PopcornPrez is a presentation design business which aims to be the 'Pixar of presentation design'. We believe that design should inform & delight. At PopcornPrez, we design presentation experiences that captures the entertainment and excitement of movie-going with popcorn in-hand. We do this with our services in: 1. Presentation design 2. Web design 3. Design thinking
This was before the time of indie hackers and the creator economy. Social media was just starting. So I started distribution on these channels. It all looked like a great plan, but the presentation design business never took off. I didn't know any companies that needed that service. Nobody knew me. I didn't know how to market, cold call or cold email, or find out where my potential customers were.
Revenue was zero for months.
But one day, a friend asked me if I knew how to set up a website. I did, because I had to learn how to create my very first website using Wordpress, for my presentation design business. So I helped her with it, got paid, and like they all say, the rest is history.
Suddenly I pivoted to a web design business.
To say "pivoted" is giving me too much credit. Because it's more like I was pulled along.
Friends started to know I did web design, and asked me to help them. They told their friends and their friends' friends. It was all through word of mouth. After a while, I managed to earn at least $1k per month or more from it. It worked out fine since I was still single and no kids.
And thinking back, I really did follow my own path.
My web design skills was a by-product of starting the presentation design business, but the by-product ended being the main product. The classic "sell your sawdust" approach. *The presentation design thing didn't work, but look now there's a web design opportunity, so let's just go with it!* I wasn't hung up about sticking to the original product or plan. I didn't have any baggage or preconceived notions of the right or wrong way to do business. No ideals and narratives of indie hacking, solopreneurship. There's not much influencer influences in my life yet.
Just whatever it took to survive, as long as it's still design work.
Marketing wasn't about growth hacks but simply about helping others succeed in their business, doing a darn good job for them, and building trust. So much trust and satisfaction that customers are willing to recommend me to others.
And right now, after a decade being an entrepreneur, I feel like I've come back full circle.
Back to that beginner's mind. Or rather, wanting to get back to that beginner's mind. That purity. That singular openness.
It's hard to be divorced from influences of social media and internet communities these days. But I really do want to go back to those early days where I was just operating off my innate instincts and reflexes.
It's possible. It just takes discernment and mindfulness to filter out the noise.
Back to that quiet fire within.