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What to do with should

by | Dec 6, 2019 | Mindset, Productivity

Photo by Vek Labs on Unsplash

I should do a lot of things. So should you. 

But we do what we must. 

If I let the things that I must do go undone, the consequences eventually show up.

Should vs. Must

  • I should be more patient with my kids.
  • I must pay my mortgage.

  • I should exercise.
  • I must get out of bed every day.

  • I should write more often.
  • I must feed my kids.

  • I should have more in savings.
  • I must pay taxes.

What’s on your should and must list?

We all have our own list of should and musts. 

Should is a trap. Must is where change happens. 

Should is a guilt trip, and it’s optional. 

Make your shoulds, musts. 

  • I must be more patient with my kids.
  • I must exercise.
  • I must write more often.
  • I must have more in savings.

This is how I am changing my life, by turning shoulds into musts. 

When I do this I experience less regret, more traction, more clarity, and fewer negative consequences.


I should have done that a long time ago.

h/t to a friend who sent me a Tony Robbins audio that presented this idea. I don’t remember who the friend was, sorry.

63 Rejections

by | Dec 4, 2019 | Mindset

That image is from my email list. A little over 1.2% of my list quit yesterday.

63 rejections. I’ll get more tomorrow. So will you. People will say no to you every day. More than will say yes.

When people leave how will you react? Will you quit too, or will you keep doing the work?

Every day you have one choice, quit or make something else.

Their choice to quit is theirs and your choice to create is yours. They’re not connected.

Keep shipping.

What you can learn from a crooked toothed YouTuber named Jack who bought a Tesla

by | Dec 3, 2019 | Mindset

jack sucks at life tesla
Why do people like this guy? Because he’s like all of us.

He’s like us, and that’s why we like him. 

YouTube can be a horrible place. People can be cruel and harsh to creators.

That’s why I was struck today when I noticed a video I was watching had 7,500 likes and less than 60 👎. (Now it’s up to 10K likes with still less than 100 👎’s.)

JackSucksAtLife is an average guy living an average life, except he lives it in front of people, millions of people. 

If YouTube is such a harsh place it seems an unlikely place for a scrawny Englishman with crooked teeth and a cracking voice. For the record I too have crooked teeth and a cracking voice but without the cool English accent.

Jack has a 99.993% like to unlike percentage because he’s just like you and I, and maybe a little worse. He’s awkward at times. He’s never intimidating, and almost always self-effacing. 

So why do so many people support his new car purchase? 
Why are his comments overwhelmingly  positive?
How does he make a living being himself?

Jack has mastered something great creators all master. 

Jack is unique. 

He is himself. No one can duplicate Jack. No one will ever “out-Jack” Jack. 

There are tactics for growing your platform but beneath all of them is a fundamental truth. 

Being original, and we are all originals, is the best way to avoid competition. 

Jack’s competition isn’t someone else. Your competition isn’t someone else. 

Jack’s competition is his ability to be true to his own uniqueness. Your competition is your ability to be true to your uniqueness. 

What are you competing with? Who are you competing with? Maybe you’re fighting the wrong fight. The fight is with yourself.

And congrats on the new Tesla Jack. You deserve it. 

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The Most Important Thing When You’re Starting

by | Dec 3, 2019 | Mindset

Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash

Ship it. Imperfect, stuttering, poorly assembled, not on brand, full of fear, it’ll never be that bad again, version 1.0 at best and .01 at worst.

The most important part of starting is the moment when what’s been inside of you meets the world around you.

Everything else is a distraction.

The logo.
The website.
The team structure.
The URL.
The pricing.
Serving size.

There’s preparation and there’s execution. By all means, prepare.

By all means, execute.

Hit publish.
Unlock the doors for your “soft opening”.
List items for sale on whatever platform you’re selling on.

The most important thing when you’re starting is for your ideas to live outside of you. Do that, then do it again, and again, and again. Then you’ll stop admiring your heroes so much and become your own hero.