I've been doing this sort of thing for almost 2 years now (gone from being average corporate wage slave to creator of things). I have to say, I'm unrecognizable to my self in many ways. I never knew I could enter 4 different domains of creation (podcasting, art, blogging and music) and thrive in those domains - extreme challenges and all. I must say, oddly I stumbled upon a very apropos book a couple days ago that speaks to this very phenomenon (highly recommend it) it's called 'Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned - The Myth of the Objective '.
After a while I came to realize that I wasn't being commensurately rewarded for the initiatives I took, the results I produced. I was always being forced to color inside the lines and my workplace started turning into a sweatshop where talent wasn't being nurtured. Also, I had a moment where my mortality stared at me in the eye, and that was the moment I realized the impermanence of it all, how I had falsely convinced myself that the corporate gig was my high watermark, and so I stepped out to do things on my own. I haven't yet made a penny yet from my endeavors to be honest, but I know I'm maxing out on growing my creative abilities every day. This is an extremely useful period in my life regardless of my long term career arc.
hey man, your story is inspiring. recognizing your worth and stepping out of a restrictive environment takes courage.
it's clear that valuing your creative growth over immediate financial gain is important to you. sometimes, the journey and personal development are more valuable than the paycheck.
Thank you for your kind words! I strongly believe that in this era of democratized technology, more individuals should seize opportunities to pursue their creative passions, especially if they have the means.
I applaud your boldness. I am not in a position to do what you did (wife and baby boy to support), but I wish I could. So good on you! I still find a way to be happy though. Thank God for places like Substack where I can be myself: a writer.
This is good that you have gone into different domains and brought your self to them. People are glad when you bring who you are to what they are able to see and experience.
Your experience is a huge motivator for me. Did you leave your job to pursue creation, or did you pursue it on the side until it became sustainable? Thanks for sharing this.
I left my job because of life circumstances - a couple of tragic deaths of close people in my life gave me pause and made me want to soul-search what was truly important to me. The art, tech startup, music, podcasting, writing came after the fact that I had left the 9-5 grind. It happened mostly because I had the space to think, experiment and do exactly what made me happy and satisfied with life.
I wouldn't frame my pursuits as ‘sustainable’ by today's standards. But that's not what I'm after - I deliberately led a life within my means during corporate years to be able to afford a lifestyle like what I'm leading today - the ability to wake up and work on precisely what excictes me and lights me up. Now that I have my bearings on what makes me happy everyday, I'm repping hard everyday to make a living off of it.
I work part-time in a startup accelerator making a small stipend, I have a few followers for my art, podcasts, music and writing and a couple of my products are in beta testing. This is the building out phase of my portfolio.
Thanks for sharing and responding. Sorry to hear about the circumstances that kick started this but glad that you found what you were looking for and set yourself up to work on the things that truly matter to you. At the end of the day, I think most people want to work, they just want to work on things that is aligned with themselves. All the best to you!
"A lack of will is often covered up with perfectionism, complexity, overthinking, seeking out endless free mentors, or even believing you need more resources (money)."
Well said!! I came to this realization when I finally began posting on a weekly basis here on Substack. It had to be perfect I thought. There had to be so and so, and it had to be so and so. It was so stressful that I pushed it back as far as I could. But then, when I uploaded my first post, that all changed.
I came to realize that I could "perfect" my platform with me as I write, rather than perfect my platform and then begin to write. Perfectionism is a hell of a disease, one I'm glad I overcame :)
Those (perfectionism, complexity, overthinking, seeking out endless free mentors, or even believing you need more resources (money) are all distractions of comforts we use to excuse ourselves from the hard work of the will
“A lack of will is often covered up with perfectionism, complexity, overthinking…”
I love this, and it’s so true. I’ve seen, too, that in addition to a lack of will, it can also just be fear. Those projects where I’ve been most nervous to proceed are the ones where I’ve been obsessed with perfectionism, complexity, etc.
Whatever it is, realizing that you’re holding yourself back is the first step breaking through.
Karina, do you have a Substack or Instagram I could check out? I believe our culture pushes ‘extroversion’ as the preferred personality trait but I think there are positives to both traits. The ability to quietly listen and observe can be a superpower!
Yes, Jean Louise I agree with you! As a child I thought I'm not good enough to succeed because everyone told I need to be louder and speak more. It took a long time to accept myself and to find the positive sides. And now, I'm happy being an introvert, and I want to change the negative connotation of introversion
Tim, I think I got the point about network - it reminded me of Keith Ferrazzi's book 'Never Eat Alone'. The book's main idea is "co-elevation" (Ferrazzi's term), meaning you help your network and it helps you. Two people working for the same goal can do better than simply double the result.
This topic seems to be a popular one lately. It seems everyone has a “ go away for six months and yada yada” solution. While I did enjoy listening to this, it just feels a little too familiar as I swear I’ve heard about a dozen “gurus” on the internet saying the same sort of thing. Who in the real world can ACTUALLY do these things? Just a small percentage.
Mindset is everything. There's nothing hard about any of these things. I've been talking about this topic for 10 years. Many of these gurus likely copied the framework. I don't care because I'm not Einstein.
I think it's absolutely possible to do these things. Eat well, sleep, walk, help people, read autobiographies, hang out with family, journal 5 min a day including gratitude, quit p*rn and other addictive wastes of time and mental energy - these are just ways people keep themselves healthy. Lots of people are doing those things already, so they're a good place to start.
Adopt one of the above each month and in a year you'll be doing all those things as a matter of habit. Give yourself grace to not be perfect about all of them all the time. Gamify it, track the habits at the end of the day and reward yourself with gold stars or whatever.
Even one of these changes will teach you that you can do the harder things. It builds your good habit muscles. When you feel comfortable, go for some of the stretch goals. If you are hesitant to talk to a stranger, that's a small fear. Examine that: What is the worst that could happen? If you can't do that yet, try asking a friend for an opinion on something you don't usually talk about together. Do that once a week with different people. Then progress to talking to a stranger once a week in a line somewhere.
What other small risks could you take? Baby steps.
Write online in some little corner of the world like your own Medium or Substack account, or a nowhere blog. Talk about the things you are passionate about - you don't have to be brilliant, just interested. Pretend no one will see it. Not many will at first. By the time they do, you'll be almost comfortable with it. That's flying your freak flag just enough, and building those stretchy muscles a little more.
Six months to a year in, you will be amazed how much bolder and self-confident you are. You'll be ready to take on just a little more.
Telling yourself these things can't be done is letting fear hold you back from living your life.
The only thing I have a problem with is the mention of bitcoin as a great example of "breaking the rules". Well, certain things NEED serious regulation - and one of those is cryptocurrency. To "mine" this dystopian "money" requires wreaking environmental havoc, with energy use to run the complex calculations burning through what an entire town would need to keep their lights on. It's not a success to smile at. It's INSANE. And it is not sustainable. You might want to REthink outside the box on that one.
Sheila this myth has already been debunked. Bitcoin mining doesn't harm the environment. It actually takes energy that would have otherwise been wasted and harnesses it for mining. If it did harm the environment then all the US banks wouldn't be selling it.
I'm not rethinking anything here. Bitcoin has created generational wealth for me. Unless you do deep research you just get stuck on some mainstream narrative.
Agree on this one. The bitcoin and cryptocurrency…while is making people wealthy (some) when converted back to USD or whatever currency is high in environment impact cost for sure. It feels like a grift…but why fight it…make some money :)
Thanks. I can't bring myself to make money off something that will hurt others and cause serious damage to our planet. I'm not the only person in the world.
US dollars are used for human trafficking and drugs every day. Don't blame the technology as it has nothing to do with it. Criminals will always use financial assets to do harm.
I liked this article, Tim. You've cut through the BS to what counts.
One thing I would like to add is to read history, not so much the major events, but the everyday lives of common people.
I have an old globe that sits on my desk and it's marked with sailing ships and explorers' routes. There isn't a city on it with a population of over 500,000 and the names of countries in Europe and Africa are ones I recognize from my childhood. (Obviously, I just let the cat out of the bag that I'm not a spring chicken anymore.) Looking at that globe and tracing some of those routes has led me to research and explore places and people I had no idea existed.
I have recently decided to go to bed earlier, so that I can read for like 20 or so minutes. for some reason, I get a better nights rest by doing that.
This past week, I have finally got started on writing a fiction story/novel that I have always wanted to do, but just never sat down to actually write it. I'm only a couple thousand words in, my goal is to finish writing it, get it published and then move onto the next one.
Its crazy how much you can get done if you just put the work in.
Thought about writing about my progress on it over here, the only other place that I am active on is X. so will push that as much as I can. its a long stretch, I know. but for now its more about me getting the story done at this point to prove to myself that I can do it.
Will definitely do a lot of research to see how other people like me have done it before. there's a lot to learn.
1. I think when I became a parent, especially with my second one in a foreign country and with no support system, it kinda paralyzed me. I was always a risk taker on my own but couldn't do that when other humans depended on me.
2. Losing trust in myself by making wrong choices (in my personal life)
I hope I can regain that ability, risk-taking, it's been a while 😅
I sympathise, Lana! For me being a dad since almost 6 years has reduced my risk taking, because it was always based in disorganised solo adventures. Kids need stability.
I always advise aspiring parents to, before they have kids:
1. Know their skillset and main work project. You'll only have time for one for the first years, and browsing conferences is over.
2. Recruit anyone and anything to carry the daily responsibilities. The grandparents, surrogate grandparents, an au-pair, a paid home assistant, an engaged co-living community, other families (but they're busy too), babysitters. People love kids and want to help them, so get them involved.
What has helped you so far to get the family support system running?
I want society to uninstall individualism and the nuclear family, and find a healthy way to give our tribal social brains what they need, augmented by technology that helps us focus on each other rather than extracts our attention.
Brilliant article Tim - aligns with mine about being an acquired taste...is it a good thing or a bad thing? I truly enjoy your insight on the self-help topics.
Hi Tim - Being an acquired taste means that you have found your unique excellence. You know how to wield it in favor of those with whom you surround yourself.
I've been doing this sort of thing for almost 2 years now (gone from being average corporate wage slave to creator of things). I have to say, I'm unrecognizable to my self in many ways. I never knew I could enter 4 different domains of creation (podcasting, art, blogging and music) and thrive in those domains - extreme challenges and all. I must say, oddly I stumbled upon a very apropos book a couple days ago that speaks to this very phenomenon (highly recommend it) it's called 'Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned - The Myth of the Objective '.
Cheers.
I'm going to check this book out. Thanks.
What made you quite the corporate wage?
After a while I came to realize that I wasn't being commensurately rewarded for the initiatives I took, the results I produced. I was always being forced to color inside the lines and my workplace started turning into a sweatshop where talent wasn't being nurtured. Also, I had a moment where my mortality stared at me in the eye, and that was the moment I realized the impermanence of it all, how I had falsely convinced myself that the corporate gig was my high watermark, and so I stepped out to do things on my own. I haven't yet made a penny yet from my endeavors to be honest, but I know I'm maxing out on growing my creative abilities every day. This is an extremely useful period in my life regardless of my long term career arc.
Cheers.
I worked for a sweatshop like company. Most don't nurture talent because they think humans are disposable.
hey man, your story is inspiring. recognizing your worth and stepping out of a restrictive environment takes courage.
it's clear that valuing your creative growth over immediate financial gain is important to you. sometimes, the journey and personal development are more valuable than the paycheck.
Thank you for your kind words! I strongly believe that in this era of democratized technology, more individuals should seize opportunities to pursue their creative passions, especially if they have the means.
I applaud your boldness. I am not in a position to do what you did (wife and baby boy to support), but I wish I could. So good on you! I still find a way to be happy though. Thank God for places like Substack where I can be myself: a writer.
This is good that you have gone into different domains and brought your self to them. People are glad when you bring who you are to what they are able to see and experience.
Nice! Where are you located and what is it you do now?
Can't say where I'm located. But you can certainly check out my work on tisb.world.
Cheers.
International school?
nope.
lol why not
Sure, I'm located at the corner of 'No' Way and 'Not Happening' Boulevard
Slightly creepy to ask where people live. Perhaps be gentler with the networking Andreas :)
I'm sure you mean well by the way.
Your experience is a huge motivator for me. Did you leave your job to pursue creation, or did you pursue it on the side until it became sustainable? Thanks for sharing this.
I left my job because of life circumstances - a couple of tragic deaths of close people in my life gave me pause and made me want to soul-search what was truly important to me. The art, tech startup, music, podcasting, writing came after the fact that I had left the 9-5 grind. It happened mostly because I had the space to think, experiment and do exactly what made me happy and satisfied with life.
I wouldn't frame my pursuits as ‘sustainable’ by today's standards. But that's not what I'm after - I deliberately led a life within my means during corporate years to be able to afford a lifestyle like what I'm leading today - the ability to wake up and work on precisely what excictes me and lights me up. Now that I have my bearings on what makes me happy everyday, I'm repping hard everyday to make a living off of it.
I work part-time in a startup accelerator making a small stipend, I have a few followers for my art, podcasts, music and writing and a couple of my products are in beta testing. This is the building out phase of my portfolio.
Thanks for sharing and responding. Sorry to hear about the circumstances that kick started this but glad that you found what you were looking for and set yourself up to work on the things that truly matter to you. At the end of the day, I think most people want to work, they just want to work on things that is aligned with themselves. All the best to you!
"A lack of will is often covered up with perfectionism, complexity, overthinking, seeking out endless free mentors, or even believing you need more resources (money)."
Well said!! I came to this realization when I finally began posting on a weekly basis here on Substack. It had to be perfect I thought. There had to be so and so, and it had to be so and so. It was so stressful that I pushed it back as far as I could. But then, when I uploaded my first post, that all changed.
I came to realize that I could "perfect" my platform with me as I write, rather than perfect my platform and then begin to write. Perfectionism is a hell of a disease, one I'm glad I overcame :)
It's an amazing feeling when you overcome it. How's your Substack going? Are you finding it hard?
So far so good! As long as I write and enjoy doing so, I won't find any difficulty in maintaining a posting schedule.
Are you posting weekly or daily?
Weekly :)
Those (perfectionism, complexity, overthinking, seeking out endless free mentors, or even believing you need more resources (money) are all distractions of comforts we use to excuse ourselves from the hard work of the will
“A lack of will is often covered up with perfectionism, complexity, overthinking…”
I love this, and it’s so true. I’ve seen, too, that in addition to a lack of will, it can also just be fear. Those projects where I’ve been most nervous to proceed are the ones where I’ve been obsessed with perfectionism, complexity, etc.
Whatever it is, realizing that you’re holding yourself back is the first step breaking through.
Thanks for that one. A good reminder.
Ah, and another point ro escape from the average people: Stop looking for other's approval. It destroys who you truly are, your dreams and goals...
Approval is stupid. Do you think it comes from university Maximus?
No, it mostly comes from a lack of confidence at first. It had become a plague since the rising of social media!
What are you not confident about?
Nothing really. I try not to think and focus about anything I do not have any control over. In other words, my thoughts!
We are the whole movie in this movie
Great points!
I took the risk of going public on Instagram with my online writing
And I was really afraid of judgement: but nothing happened
I actually got a lot of positive feedback, and all the others just unsubscribed
I will use those tips in the next months for writing my Master's thesis and working on my online business next to it. No rules! Going faster!
At the start no one is listening. What's your online business Karina?
I'm writing about introversion, productivity and self-growth to help young women improve and become the best version of themselves
Karina, that's a great niche to be in, it's almost like writing to your younger-self, right?
Exactly!
Karina, do you have a Substack or Instagram I could check out? I believe our culture pushes ‘extroversion’ as the preferred personality trait but I think there are positives to both traits. The ability to quietly listen and observe can be a superpower!
Would love to check out your writing. :)
Yes, Jean Louise I agree with you! As a child I thought I'm not good enough to succeed because everyone told I need to be louder and speak more. It took a long time to accept myself and to find the positive sides. And now, I'm happy being an introvert, and I want to change the negative connotation of introversion
Yes, I have a Substack and IG:
https://karinaahrer.substack.com/
https://www.instagram.com/karina_ahrer?igsh=bTZ6ajluZ3EzMHBq
Hey you are doing good in making public efforts in your material. You are going to be all the way. Writing brings all that clarity and expression.
Tim, I think I got the point about network - it reminded me of Keith Ferrazzi's book 'Never Eat Alone'. The book's main idea is "co-elevation" (Ferrazzi's term), meaning you help your network and it helps you. Two people working for the same goal can do better than simply double the result.
I haven't read this book Denis. I'll check it out. Any other good books on the topic?
Tim, I'm not aware of other books on the topic.
Okay all good.
This topic seems to be a popular one lately. It seems everyone has a “ go away for six months and yada yada” solution. While I did enjoy listening to this, it just feels a little too familiar as I swear I’ve heard about a dozen “gurus” on the internet saying the same sort of thing. Who in the real world can ACTUALLY do these things? Just a small percentage.
Mindset is everything. There's nothing hard about any of these things. I've been talking about this topic for 10 years. Many of these gurus likely copied the framework. I don't care because I'm not Einstein.
Which of these things do you struggle with?
Tim, you live on higher levels, when i think about this life I start feeling higher level of conciousness.
Thank you, I ll do this for sure
What a huge compliment Mehak. Thank you. That's what I'm going for.
What's stopping you from changing your life?
I think it's absolutely possible to do these things. Eat well, sleep, walk, help people, read autobiographies, hang out with family, journal 5 min a day including gratitude, quit p*rn and other addictive wastes of time and mental energy - these are just ways people keep themselves healthy. Lots of people are doing those things already, so they're a good place to start.
Adopt one of the above each month and in a year you'll be doing all those things as a matter of habit. Give yourself grace to not be perfect about all of them all the time. Gamify it, track the habits at the end of the day and reward yourself with gold stars or whatever.
Even one of these changes will teach you that you can do the harder things. It builds your good habit muscles. When you feel comfortable, go for some of the stretch goals. If you are hesitant to talk to a stranger, that's a small fear. Examine that: What is the worst that could happen? If you can't do that yet, try asking a friend for an opinion on something you don't usually talk about together. Do that once a week with different people. Then progress to talking to a stranger once a week in a line somewhere.
What other small risks could you take? Baby steps.
Write online in some little corner of the world like your own Medium or Substack account, or a nowhere blog. Talk about the things you are passionate about - you don't have to be brilliant, just interested. Pretend no one will see it. Not many will at first. By the time they do, you'll be almost comfortable with it. That's flying your freak flag just enough, and building those stretchy muscles a little more.
Six months to a year in, you will be amazed how much bolder and self-confident you are. You'll be ready to take on just a little more.
Telling yourself these things can't be done is letting fear hold you back from living your life.
Lots of good insight here Mary. Do you write on Medium?
Not yet. Working on an obscure blog. But I'm considering Medium and SubStack
The only thing I have a problem with is the mention of bitcoin as a great example of "breaking the rules". Well, certain things NEED serious regulation - and one of those is cryptocurrency. To "mine" this dystopian "money" requires wreaking environmental havoc, with energy use to run the complex calculations burning through what an entire town would need to keep their lights on. It's not a success to smile at. It's INSANE. And it is not sustainable. You might want to REthink outside the box on that one.
Sheila this myth has already been debunked. Bitcoin mining doesn't harm the environment. It actually takes energy that would have otherwise been wasted and harnesses it for mining. If it did harm the environment then all the US banks wouldn't be selling it.
I'm not rethinking anything here. Bitcoin has created generational wealth for me. Unless you do deep research you just get stuck on some mainstream narrative.
Because American financial institutions would never knowingly do anything bad. 🤣🤦♀️
Disingenuous to the max.
Tim, could you supply your source?
Bitcoin got regulation in the last 6 months too. It has the same AML and KYC identity requirements as anything else.
Agree on this one. The bitcoin and cryptocurrency…while is making people wealthy (some) when converted back to USD or whatever currency is high in environment impact cost for sure. It feels like a grift…but why fight it…make some money :)
It's only a grift if you don't understand it. People said the internet was a grift when it came out. Now those people are quiet.
Thanks. I can't bring myself to make money off something that will hurt others and cause serious damage to our planet. I'm not the only person in the world.
US dollars are used for human trafficking and drugs every day. Don't blame the technology as it has nothing to do with it. Criminals will always use financial assets to do harm.
I liked this article, Tim. You've cut through the BS to what counts.
One thing I would like to add is to read history, not so much the major events, but the everyday lives of common people.
I have an old globe that sits on my desk and it's marked with sailing ships and explorers' routes. There isn't a city on it with a population of over 500,000 and the names of countries in Europe and Africa are ones I recognize from my childhood. (Obviously, I just let the cat out of the bag that I'm not a spring chicken anymore.) Looking at that globe and tracing some of those routes has led me to research and explore places and people I had no idea existed.
History has taught me a lot Karen.
How old is this globe? It's been 500 years since the world's largest city was not at least 500k per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_throughout_history
Hey Tim,
I have recently decided to go to bed earlier, so that I can read for like 20 or so minutes. for some reason, I get a better nights rest by doing that.
This past week, I have finally got started on writing a fiction story/novel that I have always wanted to do, but just never sat down to actually write it. I'm only a couple thousand words in, my goal is to finish writing it, get it published and then move onto the next one.
Its crazy how much you can get done if you just put the work in.
Sounds cool JP. How will you market the book?
Haven't got that far yet lol.
Thought about writing about my progress on it over here, the only other place that I am active on is X. so will push that as much as I can. its a long stretch, I know. but for now its more about me getting the story done at this point to prove to myself that I can do it.
Will definitely do a lot of research to see how other people like me have done it before. there's a lot to learn.
Big mistake JP. I don't get why people do this. If you have no audience then no one is buying your book. So the outcome of your book is already known.
Am I missing something?
Get what you are saying Tim.
If no one reads this first one, its fine by me. I just want to write it, get it done. sales/money isn't the goal on this one.
1. I think when I became a parent, especially with my second one in a foreign country and with no support system, it kinda paralyzed me. I was always a risk taker on my own but couldn't do that when other humans depended on me.
2. Losing trust in myself by making wrong choices (in my personal life)
I hope I can regain that ability, risk-taking, it's been a while 😅
I sympathise, Lana! For me being a dad since almost 6 years has reduced my risk taking, because it was always based in disorganised solo adventures. Kids need stability.
I always advise aspiring parents to, before they have kids:
1. Know their skillset and main work project. You'll only have time for one for the first years, and browsing conferences is over.
2. Recruit anyone and anything to carry the daily responsibilities. The grandparents, surrogate grandparents, an au-pair, a paid home assistant, an engaged co-living community, other families (but they're busy too), babysitters. People love kids and want to help them, so get them involved.
What has helped you so far to get the family support system running?
I want society to uninstall individualism and the nuclear family, and find a healthy way to give our tribal social brains what they need, augmented by technology that helps us focus on each other rather than extracts our attention.
Brilliant article Tim - aligns with mine about being an acquired taste...is it a good thing or a bad thing? I truly enjoy your insight on the self-help topics.
Donna, what does it mean to be an acquired taste?
Hi Tim - Being an acquired taste means that you have found your unique excellence. You know how to wield it in favor of those with whom you surround yourself.
Makes sense Donna.
Good day,Tim.
I'm always keen and excited to receive and read your emails.
They're always super real, filled with lots of knowledge.
Thanks so much!!
Can't wait to start practicing networking and living above average..
Means a lot. Thank you.
Amazing. I need to print that issue out five times and put them on the wall
What did you find my most helpful Martin.
There are no rules.
I just unlocked a big opportunity this week by not asking for permission.
Fantastic Read Mate! nice to meet you.. that's 1 for today! thanks bud!
Much love man