This has been a whirlwind of a week, culminating with some massive news for a personal project I’ve been working on. This week has been a reminder about patience, plus a couple Seth Godin quote (he seems to have impeccable timing for what is happening in my life).
Patience is both under-appreciated and almost impossible to endure. Yet, without patience we make rash decisions that could undo all the previous work we’ve been struggling through for who knows how long. I don’t generally believe in destiny or karma, I do believe in the hard-work and patience it takes and appears to be destiny to others.
Which is why these two Godin quotes have stuck with me through a very exciting 48 hours:
The other, the growth mindset, is to realize that while you did your best, it’s not your best forever, it’s just what you’ve done so far. And that while you haven’t created what you set out to create, the key word, the one you have to remind yourself of daily, is yet.
What if we saw opportunities instead of tasks? Chances instead of risks?
No matter what happens next, I know I’m not done. There are opportunities everywhere, you haven’t seen my best… Yet. But, its coming and you can’t stop it.
Coming up this week:
– An awesome newsletter starter pack.
– Time to learn Screaming Frog and increase your SEO efforts.
– A grab bag of resources plus what to say to yourself 20 years ago that still fits today.
Deez ways to grow
If you’re looking for a way to get started with a newsletter (or anything content really), take a peek at this slide deck. Deez Links has been one of my favorite newsletters for the last year or so and the creator has put out a deck showing some very basic steps to having a successful endeavor.
This is written for a newsletter crowd, at a newsletter conference, for a newsletter platform, but I think this works for nearly all content. Take advantage of your circle of influence. Talk to friends, family, co-workers, former co-workers, anyone you have in your contact list and ask them if they want to collaborate.
This deck is also delightfully Delia, the person behind Deez Links. I love everything about it.
A Screaming Good Guide
LOTS of companies need help with even basic SEO, from basic crawling and link structure to keyword research. This is one of those guides that you should either A) bookmark and reference FREQUENTLY or B) study and practice and put on your resume for a job in digital marketing.
Screaming Frog Guide to Doing Almost Anything
Hot Links
A grab bag of other useful or insightful links.
- How to Write Usefully
- 4 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Got a Remote Job in SEO
- 1,000 True Fans? Try 100.
This is a great read from Li Jin at Andreessen Horowitz. This quote has me thinking A LOT about what a audience metrics and B2B ROI.
People are willing to pay more for exclusive, ROI-positive services that are constructive in their lives, whether it’s related to health, finances, education, or work. In the offline world, people are accustomed to hiring experts across verticals (think interior designers, organizational consultants, public speaking coaches, executive coaches, and SAT tutors) and are willing to pay premium prices for the promise of measurable improvement and results. Now that mindset is filtering into our digital lives, as well.
Advice to yourself 20 years ago | Get Better Friday
This week I saw a tweet that asked a simple question.
This got me thinking about another question,
“What would I say to myself 20 years ago?”
I’ve posed a similar question before, all based around a classic piece of advice where you imagine there are three versions of yourself. One from a year ago, one from today, and last is one of you one year in the future. What do they all say to each other?
The tweet got me thinking about the all three of these together, which whenever these come up I am not looking to actually give advice to a younger person, but instead advice to myself… Today. What would I say to myself 20 years ago, that I should really take strong consideration into taking that advice today.
In this conversation with myself, I came up with three pieces of advice I wish I could give myself back then and should take seriously today.
Talent doesn’t matter.
Talent does exist, but it pales in comparison to hard work. Something I’ve prided myself on for the last two decades has been my focus on hard-work. Every day I wake up and know that I’m going to put in more effort than 90% of people. And in reality, that makes me better than 90% of people, regardless of how talented they are.
People recognize hard work. They are drawn to it and it creates attention all on its own. If you show up on time, hustle, put in the extra effort and are dedicated to yourself, it will pay off in the end. Sometimes we get so focused on 10x performers, but hard work and dedication outperform talent every time.
It’s okay to ask for help.
I wish I would follow this advice more often. A while back my coach and mentor told me something I’ll never forget. He said that offering to give help is just as important as the willingness to receive it.
We all need help from time to time. Its okay to ask for help. Its okay to accept someone else’s help if they offer it. It doesn’t make us weak or incapable of doing the work. Asking for help is one of the first steps to getting better and not needing to ask for help later. But, we all have to start somewhere.
People are proud of you.
This one has been weighing on me a lot lately. Over the last 20 years I’ve only ever needed one thing to keep me motivated and this is it. Every so often if someone tells me they’re proud of me, that’s all I need to keep going.
Trouble is, a lot of times we don’t say it to each other. We think the other person knows. We think its implied. We think that one off comment that was kinda like saying “I’m proud of you” was good enough. Why do we do this? It can be awkward! Its uncomfortable!
Please. Please, please, please, reach out to someone you know today and tell them you’re proud of them. Tell them you recognize their hard-work and dedication. Tell them you’ve seen how they’ve grown and you’re proud of what they’ve accomplished. You will fundamentally change their life and they will hold onto that compliment forever.