I'm experimenting again.
As with most of my experiments, I've rooted this one in an attempt to deliver value to an audience in a new way.
If you're interested in social media or curious to see how this experiment plays out, I invite you to follow the account.
(I'm also using the account to experiment with some new tactics on Twitter and learning a TON in the process - more to come on that down the road.)
Now, on to this week's ideas...
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"Don't let the scope of the war distract you from the battle at hand. Focus on what you can control and making progress to your goal, instead of getting overwhelmed by the odds of what you hope to accomplish. Nobody who doesn't believe they can succeed ever does."
Successful people share a common ability, but it's not what you think.
In this post I explain why the ability to ignore forces that can distract or derail you is a crucial component of success and break down seven things successful people ignore including other people's success, conventional wisdom, and the odds.
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"The amount of crap you can get done without interruption is staggering; I find that on 2-pomodoro-days, I confidently wrap up my work day an hour earlier than normal. And no one's offended that I waited 25 minutes to respond to them."
It's rare to come across a self-improvement post these days that isn't just the same recycled advice you've heard a million times before, but this one includes a bunch of ideas I (and probably you) haven't heard before.
Khe Hy suggests how to have an epic year in seven steps including to leverage Gmail contact groups to better serve your network, keep a running thank you list, and beautifully define your online presence.
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"Allow yourself to feel it. If you need a day, two, a week, fine. But then, remember this: you don't need their permission to do the work. You didn't need their permission to start. And: you don't need their permission to keep going."
Every agent and buyer in Hollywood rejected the original screenplay for the movie Rounders, before one finally said yes.
The film's writer Brian Koppelman (who also happens to be the creator of the fantastic Showtime series Billions) references that story in an inspiring tweet thread about how to handle rejection.
He points out that while it's impossible not to feel the sting, it's important to remind yourself that as long as you don't stop writing or working, the people who rejected you don't win.
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"If you're serious about finding 1000 true fans for your work, you need to stop confusing attention with accomplishment and make a shift from metrics to meaning."
A decade ago, Kevin Kelly wrote a now legendary blog post about the idea that all you need to have a successful creative career was 1,000 true fans.
It's good advice, but easier said than done.
So Srinivas Rao has come up with some suggestions of how to build an audience of 1,000 true fans including to shift your mindset from how you can reach people to how you can impact them, choose your medium, and be generous in your work.
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"Once you know how the habit loop works - cue, routine, reward - you can build, break and stack habits to your heart's content."
No matter what you want to change in your life, you'll find something here to help you do it.
The challenges touch on everything from distraction batching, to posture, to environment design.
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"All of the big names in the industry have a channel that made them famous. Whether deliberately or by accident, influential people discover a channel for their message that has insanely high engagement."
If you're interested in developing your personal brand, the best way to do it isn't by just posting a bunch of selfies and hustle quotes.
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"The conditions you think you want are rarely the ones that help you produce your best work."
There's no single blueprint for doing great work, but there are things you can do to give yourself a great shot at doing so.
The tips include to believe you are capable of doing great things, be willing to look like an idiot, and tolerate ambiguity.
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"You don't like your favorite writers because they're great at writing. You like them because of how their brains work."
It's tough to define what makes a quality blog post, but it's easier to define what it takes to write one.
He emphasizes the importance of quantity (the more you produce, the better you'll get) and goes on to suggest you focus more on improving your ideas than your writing ability, listen to those who read you, and be authentic to a fault.
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"The internet lets you buy anything you could buy in New York. But it doesn't let you shop the way you can shop in New York. And that's now starting to change."
This video won't change your life, but will change how you think about the current state of technology in the world.
In a 23-minute presentation, venture capitalist Benedict Evans offers a fascinating look at the state of technology in the world and where he believes we're headed in the next decade.
As he says, "The access story is finished, but the use story is just starting to begin."
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"The quickest way to become known within your industry is to shine a spotlight on others who are where you want to be."
Your big break won't come until those who can give it to you know you exist - that's where this post comes in.
It's a way to put yourself at the center of the community in which you want to work and invert the career process so that the people you're chasing for opportunities will start to chase you instead.
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WANT ME TO SEND YOU MY SOCIAL MEDIA SECRETS?
I've been sending "secret" daily emails featuring social media tips that aren't featured in this newsletter. If you'd like to start receiving them, reply to this email and let me know.
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WHERE I FOUND THIS STUFF
I got some of this week's ideas from Postanly and Khe Hy - they're awesome and worth checking out.
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