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"They’re stuck at the starting line. They’re overthinking, procrastinating, and waiting for the right time or the mythical 'someday, mate.'"

Once you see these people, you realize they're everywhere. They giving themselves away by using phrases like, "I'm thinking about XXX" or "I'm looking into YYY"

They're not. 99% of them will never leave the starting line. Anyone who simply starts already has a huge lead on this crowd.

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It's sad Kevin. I wish I could do more to convince these people to just start.

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I've done about 100 iterations since I decided to ramp up my editing business during COVID-19. These have included taking an editing skills upgrade course and a super-detailed proofreading course, with 4 units to go of 13. Just these two improvements have brought me about 5X the business I had three years ago. I'm going to get to 10X in the next two years, so I can have the income I want to go visit my friends in Europe and the UK (from Canada). I also want to spend a few months each in France and Australia, so that will mean I better push forward with at least 1,000 iterations in the next two years. If I can get to the income level I want, I will be joining them in Europe as a resident in the next 5 years. Thanks for the tough facts, Tim.

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Love this story Carol. Can you link to your editing business? Also, do you plan to hire freelance editors so you can scale?

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Hi, Tim, I am still a one-person business, I am just starting to scale up. I don't have enough work for more editors than myself right now, but thanks for asking.

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Best of luck Carol and hope you hit your goals.

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This is a mindset shift that can save 10,000 hours of suffering. Dare to be open minded.

As an entrepreneur and online writer, I’ve learned to take action and figure some things out along the way. Perfectionism and ego can paralyze us. Loved this one, Tim. Made me think with this post

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That's my goal Anthony. Once I make people think they solve so many of their own problems.

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Inertia comes from the mind. Adaptability comes from the brain. We opt for inertia when we let our mind override our brain's brilliant abilities.

It's like having a friend that only brings up the worst parts of your greatest ideas.

Change is natural, so resisting it burns energy. Pretty soon you're too tired to change.

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I agree. Resisting change takes more effort than embracing it Reginald.

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I would say, "you're too tired to resist change any more and you make it happen."

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That's the best case scenario!!

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Sep 28, 2023Liked by Tim Denning

Another great article by Tim D! Love his insights and humor. Truly his work is enjoyable to read. It hits home I’m a loyal follower. His ideas are spot on! Escape the BS we were sold from society !

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Sep 29, 2023Liked by Tim Denning

Tim- it is inspiring to see how you escaped the matrix and lies we are told in life. Again, your content is spot on and its truly humorous to read. Your inspiring others to find true meaning and purpose in life and question the norms and beliefs handed to us. 💥💥💥

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@Rich that means a lot. Thank you.

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Cheer Rich. I don't think I'm that funny though lol

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Absolutely. Perform. Analyze feedback. Make minor adjustments. Massive advancement over time.

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Spot on James.

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Love it. Although I disagree with your Dave Ramsey criticism 😉.

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I'll cop that David. I just think his whole save money and don't enjoy $5 lattes is silly. The goal is to make more money, not save every penny.

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I get your point. That's not how I interpret what he says. Even he will agree that people need to make more money. He's not against people getting a $5 latte, just as long as it's within budget and they're not $100k in debt.

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You can budget ... but you can also make more money so that budgets don't need to be there to restrict you.

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Yes! There is so much gold in this article. "To change your identity, adopt new beliefs. The more wild the better." This could be applied to anything in life & opens us up to true freedom when we can stay open-minded and unattached to one idea, outcome, or known action.

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Attachment can become a real problem Jena. Then we can't let go of the things that hold us back.

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I keep saying: HARD WORK is OVERRATED and is mostly for those who Have NO TALENT for The GAME. More needs 2 B understood about working SMART instead of HARD is the foundation of all of this.

At any rate, always appreciate your willingness to GO THERE, Brotha Tim. Also, Tim, do me a solid and start using NOTES, man. We need U on there. Thanks in Advance.

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Hey DuVay, I am using Notes two times a day. Can you see them?

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Nah, not seeing em.

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That's weird DuVay.

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Its good now.

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Thanks for the follow up. I was going to contact Substack support.

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Oct 2, 2023Liked by Tim Denning

Thanks Tim. In between my joy of discovery with insights, resinating, rattling my unlearning into actions one iteration into another possibly for my emergence of writing into a vision of success! More power to you!

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Great attitude Pete. What's next on your writing journey?

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Oct 2, 2023Liked by Tim Denning

I’m on a trajectory of fast learning, integrating my transferable skills into a memoir of 1988.

But first I’m evolving and developing my writing skills with Medium and all the delicious content everyone so generous shares. It’s a whole new (to me) non-toxic digital digestion !

https://medium.com/@peterjjohn/nineteen-ninety-eight-db5e43a893a3

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Awesome. How are you finding Medium Pete? Pros and cons?

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Thanks Tim, for your continuing interest. This platform is a dream. Easy to navigate, engage with inspiring like-minded people. They are open with a genuine willingness in sharing.

It was a little overwhelming at first - with my subjective unconscious bias (X FB).

Now I’m discovering psychology is my new favourite subject!

The collective creative writings, provide an expansive reading list, I keep adding to. ‘It’s bloody marvellous!’

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I am currently working on publishing a short story on KDP. The formatting requirements seem overwhelming. As I was trying to decide if I might as well publish a novel, that I am editing, if it's going to be so much effort, this article validates the path I am on. Publishing one or two short stories will provide valuable knowledge that might smooth the publication of the novel. Thanks for this insight and help resolving my quandary.

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Always start with short before going long form. You need data on what will and won't sell.

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Reminiscent of how Google does its hiring. They don’t look for the hardest worker. They look for the smartest.

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No wonder google has become so successful. I didn't know that.

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Appreciate the reminder about the 10x rule.

Question about taking small bets: You've talked/written before about falling flat on one's face to become successful - how would you recommend balancing between small bets and hail marys?

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I try to focus on small bets. My philosophy is to have a portfolio of them: businesses, side hustle, investments, writing platforms, etc.

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Is it literal? Like 10000 iterations, do we count? Like we note down each meaningful action we take? It is interesting for me, this is the first time i have come across this concept, shows how much of a newbie i am in this digital world...

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Nah it's more like a metaphor Madiha. It means changing is more than doing the same thing for lots of hours.

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Thanks Tim. Makes sense.

Doing same thing is monotonous, suits in factories not in creative industries, where diversification and change is needed to keep moving...

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Spot on Madiha.

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With 10,000 hours, I don't think people log or analyze each hour. They probably just calculate backwards to see how many hours they have worked in a particular field at the rate of say, 8 hours a day. Similarly, I think here also it could be a rough count. I think the point Tim is trying to make is that learning opportunities count more than the hours worked.

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Thanks for your reply. I read more about it after and gained a little more understanding about it.

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Like people think it takes years to write and publish a referenced 75,000+ word book. They may take years, but the truth is it does not have to take that long.

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Starting with books is stupid. The TikTok generation doesn't even have time for 20+ hour books. Start with short form writing instead.

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It depends whether the TikTok generation is your market! Thanks for your response.

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They are the majority of the market Sabrina. Because we now all use social media and are drowning in content. AI made the problem worse. So unless we trust you or know you, we're not going to randomly buy your book. It's harsh but it's true.

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Thank you for sharing, no doubt this will be very helpful for new entrepreneurs, writers, etc etc.

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