In s5
@_nightsweekends
, I'm building a habit of creating content and putting my story out there.
There is power in creating over consuming, and I'm finally getting on the right side of it.
@_buildspace
I’ve always had imposter syndrome, but jumping from comfortable career to entrepreneurship made it 10x worse.
My Book of Wins saved me:
While I was a PM at Amazon, I started writing down 3 wins per week in a notebook. Every month, I re-read them. Reading cold, hard data about
My husband and I are on a 2000-day streak of gratitude.
It's helped us fight less, appreciate each other more, and not take each other for granted.
Here's how we got started and why we'll (hopefully) never stop:
I've spent 10+ years in tech across product, marketing, and growth.
Over my career, I've gotten to lead a lot of cool things, including product for Amazon's used products sales in the EU and brand marketing for Alex across EMEA
Here are a few of the mistakes I made early
I eat a frog every morning 🐸
And my life is better for it.
Wait, are we really talking about frogs? No. Don't worry, your pet amphibians are safe around me.
I'm talking about about Brian Tracy's 'eat that frog' method.
Here's how my day used to go: If something was important
I've been devouring Creator Science by
@jayclouse
lately.
Last month, he interviewed
@chenellco
to discuss how she and others have grown their newsletter.
I expected to walk away with lots of practical tips but the episode changed the way I think about writing. Here's how 👇
The hardest part of being a solopreneur is motivating yourself to keep at it, every single day.
I read somewhere during any given week, your motivation will ebb and flow. What needs to stay consistent is your discipline.
Here's my secret:
@flowdotclub
🧵
I've helped multi-million dollar brands build trust with their customers.
The same playbook doesn't work for new brands.
@themidorico
is pre-launch for our new bedding line, so we can't yet rely on customer reviews as social proof. Here are the 3 things we're doing instead:
1/
The solution to keeping motivation up while working on something complex and long-term? A puzzle.
No, seriously.
Take on hobbies that you can give you small, solve-able wins: puzzles, crosswords, games, sports.
My puzzling has sky-rocketed while building
@themidorico
My entire day's productivity is dependent on whether or not I pick up my phone before 8:30 am.
If I pick up my phone, I'm reactive - notifications, emails, tweets, texts.
If I don't, I'm proactive.
Here are 3 things I try to do instead that make my day infinitely better:
I just hopped aboard the July Ship 30 for 30 cohort from
@dickiebush
and
@nicolascole77
!
Join me and 500+ others to learn the fundamentals of digital writing, form lifelong friendships, and publish every day for 30 days.
Check it out!👇🏼🚢
I don't love reading newsletters. I much prefer podcasts, especially at the gym (Huberman fans: don't @ me about dopamine stacking).
Here are the only 3 newsletters that keep me coming back week-after-week 👇
December was my last month at
@_buildspace
I couldn't be more grateful to the team and our community for an adventure of a lifetime. ❤️💙💛💚
buildspace in my opinion is the most innovative education product in the world.
I've never seen a program and community that measurably
Founders’ Villa was an epic month of innovation and community.
Solana founders from 25 countries assembled for technical workshops, fireside chats & VC demos. We traveled to the desert, saw cultural monuments and networked at tech conferences.
And we’re already preparing for
A few months after joining Amazon in 2017, I asked a Director from an adjacent team to be my mentor. I felt good.. like I had achieved something.
But it didn't really move the needle in my career.
In 2020, I asked someone to be my sponsor. And it made all the difference:
I've been suffering from long Covid since 2021.
Imagine walking through a city with a thick fog in the air and little-to-no visibility. It's hard to know where you are and where you need to go. That's what brain fog feels like.
Here are the 3 writing habits that help me focus:
When I converted my mentors to sponsors, there was a step change in my career (I'll talk through the exact steps I took in another thread). I began inbounding opportunities.
Don't collect mentors. Seek out sponsors and start getting in the right rooms.
I've set a goal for myself.
In August, I'm going to run 5 growth experiments for
@themidorico
. This is a wide, complex topic so I'm starting small and reporting along the way.
Here are the best resources that help me think about business growth 👇
📚 Influence by Robert B.
I was inspired by a study that showed writing down a few things your partner has done to 'invest in the relationship' helps you feel significantly more committed (and grateful) to your partner.
Looking to make 2024 your best year yet?
Check out The Yearly Review by
@dickiebush
and
@Nicolascole77
.
A FREE guide with everything you need to reflect over 2023—and maximize your personal growth in 2024.
1/ Growth in Reverse
My absolute favorite read every single week.
@chenellco
reverse engineers top creators' growth. Her content is always well-researched and expertly-written.
I have time blocked on my calendar every Sunday to savor her content, because it is so worth it.
@jayclouse
@chenellco
3/ Don't ship alone. Join a supportive community of peers. If you can't find one, create one. For me, this is definitely
@ship30for30
.
Dickie Bush didn't find a community of peers that fit what he was trying to do, so he created one.
He shared Every. Single. Detail. On how he made $11m on TikTok with ZERO followers
My podcast with
@oliver__b1
may be the most valuable video on my channel
And I’m not exaggerating look at the comments..
He really loved the list and added his own section in the doc. Since then, we have been recording our gratitude for each other every single week. We're currently on week 286 (or day 2000).
@lennysan
3/ Why we Buy
@KateBour
is a branding genius. She thinks deeply about customers (she shares tips on buyer psychology).
Her onboarding flow was so well designed and provided such immediate value, her content is my desktop wallpaper.
hey
@bupaglobal
@Bupa
, capping physio therapy coverage at 2 sessions ONLY for pelvic floor therapy, but no cap on any other muscle in the human body (when my entire allowance for the year is 15 sessions) just means you don't take women's health seriously...
@jayclouse
@chenellco
2/ Are you thinking about who you're writing for before you write. Who do you want to attract? What are their problems? What can you help them solve?
Work backwards from the customer and what their pain points are. It's all about adding value and offering something unique.
I'm more of a small stuff every day kind of girl than one for the grand, romantic gestures. And he was doing a lot of the small stuff every day, more than anyone I'd ever been with. I wanted to show him how much I valued it.
In 2018, I shared a Google Doc with my husband (then, brand new boyfriend) where I had written down all the things he had done over the past week that I was grateful for.
@jayclouse
@chenellco
@ship30for30
4/ And the last one: it takes time. It can take somewhere between two and three years to really develop your writing.
I find myself impatient to get this going (and growing) but can't deny the joy that comes with taking tiny steps forward
This document is more than just a mechanism we have in place to keep our relationship strong. It's a constant reminder of how kind we are to each other, how much we value our partnership, and how far we've come.
It has recorded our travels, moving in together, getting engaged, having our civil marriage, postponing (and then ultimately cancelling) our Indian wedding because of COVID, moving roles, moving jobs, moving careers, AND moving countries
When you've been together with a partner for years, it gets easier and easier to take them for granted. This gratitude list is a small but powerful way to ensure that doesn't happen.
What's the difference?
Mentors listen well and give advice. Sponsors do that AND actively provide opportunities to move up. They can get you in the right rooms, float your name in conversations and recommend you for development opportunities.
@jayclouse
@chenellco
1/ When you put your writing out there, you're essentially shipping a product. Creators are entrepreneurs who ship every day... at least the good ones are.
If your writing is a product, then who is your customer and what is their need?
The list was simple; it had small things that he had done throughout our week together that I wanted him to know I appreciated.
"He dropped me off to the airport so I didn't have to take a taxi"
"He washed and put away the dishes after I made Sunday brunch"
Day 3 of Founders’ Trek is here 🇦🇪
We are meeting representatives:
🫡 VARA (Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority)
✈️ DET (Dubai Economy and Tourism)
💯 DFDF (Dubai Future District Fund)
Last up, we’ll be heading to RAK DAO World’s first web3-only free zone.
The hardest thing I did today was set up an
@HP
printer. Does that say more about my day or
@HP
product design?
PS. If anyone knows how to set up a Laserjet 107 printer, please help.
2/ Lenny's Newsletter
I hadn't heard of
@lennysan
until a friend sent me his podcast a few months ago.
Since then I've obsessively consumed Lenny's newsletter. His writing fires up different parts of my brain and inspires connections that weren't there before.
The most clarity I’ve gotten on the effects of alcohol on the body. Crazy how the narrative of “a few drinks a day can be good for you” is so pervasive
The idea that ingesting some alcohol is better than none is wrong. Past 2 drinks per week, the negative health effects start to surface. The “red wine as a source of key micronutrients” arguments flop. Do as you like but know what you’re doing. More here:
Early on in my career, I was told having a mentor is critical. I thought that once I find a good mentor, I could build a great career.
Well, I got a mentor... But it didn't feel like the critical piece of the puzzle everyone was talking about.
1/ Accountability: A typical flow session starts with sharing your goals with everyone on the call and then typically an hour or two of muted work (on camera). The group comes together in the last 5 minutes to share the progress they made over the session.
@dragjyoti
@themidorico
@_buildspace
@_nightsweekends
A bit of both. It will definitely cover different verticals: pricing, landing page design, fulfilment etc. The idea is everything you would need to know in your first 100 days as a founder
2/ Community: The people on the call are a special kind of awesome. Everyone's joining from different corners of the world, working on wildly interesting things. And everyone's in it together - getting stuff done.