Commandment 7 – “I will make people feel emotion”:
Was reading "Everything Is F*cked" by Mark Manson today. He asks at one point what makes a page-turned, a page-turner. It's a book that speaks to your Feeling Brain. In the end, it's not your Thinking Brain that decides what you do, it's your Feeling Brain that decides to turn pages :)
Yes, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is amazing too. You can quickly tell when a book was written by a star blogger. His books are f*cking page-turners :)
Telling our story, creating social proof, and showcasing success all lead to more engagement—the old adage, Success Breeds Success is a formula that clearly works. To answer your question @tim, I'm the Founder and CEO of Belmar Consulting, a Salesforce implementation agency. Demonstrating rather than telling is the social proof our market uses to make a buying decision.
I just wanted to touch on something you said in Commandment 9:
"We’re now in the ideas economy, because any job or skill you can be trained on, AI can be trained on too"
So, my question is, since AI can be trained on any skill that we have to learn to market and sell things, then what's the point of learning any skill at this point?
Seems too late now for anyone new starting something. Then again, I could just be looking at it wrong.
What began as a way to give deeper meaning to my company’s purpose—creating space for growth within my team—quickly became something I couldn’t stop doing.
First came the challenge of writing in public.
Then, consistency.
And finally… self-promotion.
That one hit the hardest. Not because I don’t believe in my work, but because putting myself out there has been one of the deepest inner challenges I’ve faced. It's a deep psychological issue. Sharing is one thing. Promoting is another—it exposed a lot more than I expected.
But your post reframed it for me. And I’m grateful.
Momentos de Tranquilidad, my Spanish newsletter, has grown to 3,500 readers purely through word of mouth. No hacks. No ads. Just stories from the heart.
I recently launched the English version, Moments of Stillness, and made a commitment to Sahil Bloom to share it with the world. Haven’t done much about it… until now.
So thank you. Your words gave me the nudge I needed.
it’s crazy how you can be the best at what you do and still suffer an enormously average life life because no one knows it — you really just have to break out of the trap of self obscurity and put yourself out there or nothing changes. note to self.
Commandment 11 and building a brand seems legit, but why no selfies, damn it? Just kidding, sort of. I did find this read rather helpful since it is reinforcing what I have been suspecting for some time. As usual, you have made it super easy to read and learn with your flow and humor. Have a lovely day, Sir.
"Those who don’t do any sales and marketing can never own a business or do solopreneurship. So they’re forced to work jobs they likely hate and outsource the sales and marketing to an employer."
The self promotion model sort of makes a hard stop when it comes to Music in particular, though. Lots of failed and frustrated artists who self promoted themselves head first into a raging depression.
Commandment 7 – “I will make people feel emotion”:
Was reading "Everything Is F*cked" by Mark Manson today. He asks at one point what makes a page-turned, a page-turner. It's a book that speaks to your Feeling Brain. In the end, it's not your Thinking Brain that decides what you do, it's your Feeling Brain that decides to turn pages :)
Super cool insight. Have you red Mark's other books?
Yes, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is amazing too. You can quickly tell when a book was written by a star blogger. His books are f*cking page-turners :)
Blogging does that for sure. I hope I can do that at some point with a book.
Tim you’re a great writer! Awesome article on self promotion! My fav from this article is Commandment 8 – “I will demonstrate instead of brag”.
Awesome Scott. How will you use it?
Telling our story, creating social proof, and showcasing success all lead to more engagement—the old adage, Success Breeds Success is a formula that clearly works. To answer your question @tim, I'm the Founder and CEO of Belmar Consulting, a Salesforce implementation agency. Demonstrating rather than telling is the social proof our market uses to make a buying decision.
I just wanted to touch on something you said in Commandment 9:
"We’re now in the ideas economy, because any job or skill you can be trained on, AI can be trained on too"
So, my question is, since AI can be trained on any skill that we have to learn to market and sell things, then what's the point of learning any skill at this point?
Seems too late now for anyone new starting something. Then again, I could just be looking at it wrong.
Ai is going to kill every skill. It's going to make lazy work have no value.
The difference will now be whether you have distribution.
Commandment 1 and 10 helped a lot thanks. And best of luck other writers.
I’ve been writing on Substack for 2 years.
What began as a way to give deeper meaning to my company’s purpose—creating space for growth within my team—quickly became something I couldn’t stop doing.
First came the challenge of writing in public.
Then, consistency.
And finally… self-promotion.
That one hit the hardest. Not because I don’t believe in my work, but because putting myself out there has been one of the deepest inner challenges I’ve faced. It's a deep psychological issue. Sharing is one thing. Promoting is another—it exposed a lot more than I expected.
But your post reframed it for me. And I’m grateful.
Momentos de Tranquilidad, my Spanish newsletter, has grown to 3,500 readers purely through word of mouth. No hacks. No ads. Just stories from the heart.
I recently launched the English version, Moments of Stillness, and made a commitment to Sahil Bloom to share it with the world. Haven’t done much about it… until now.
So thank you. Your words gave me the nudge I needed.
Here’s my latest, if it resonates: https://momentsofstillness.substack.com/p/the-monk-in-the-ferrari
This is the paradigm shift in my thinking.
I was absent for years. Hated the idea of blowing my own trumpet.
But I know now that I can at least be out there. Because not doing so is a loss.
I cannot ignore the passion I feel for this post. Thank you. I am embracing every bit of it.
Tim you’re killing it man- thank you for this
it’s crazy how you can be the best at what you do and still suffer an enormously average life life because no one knows it — you really just have to break out of the trap of self obscurity and put yourself out there or nothing changes. note to self.
Summer.
Commandment 11 and building a brand seems legit, but why no selfies, damn it? Just kidding, sort of. I did find this read rather helpful since it is reinforcing what I have been suspecting for some time. As usual, you have made it super easy to read and learn with your flow and humor. Have a lovely day, Sir.
That was so helpful for me now! I still don't know how and am struggling with that, but this point of view really helps.
Yes! I want to learn more about this!
"Those who don’t do any sales and marketing can never own a business or do solopreneurship. So they’re forced to work jobs they likely hate and outsource the sales and marketing to an employer."
'Nuf said.
The self promotion model sort of makes a hard stop when it comes to Music in particular, though. Lots of failed and frustrated artists who self promoted themselves head first into a raging depression.
"summer"