It's Book Launch Week
Well, it’s finally here. The updated version of Content Inc. – the business model for content creators – launches next week.
So, if you’d like to buy one for yourself or a friend/colleague, now would be a wonderful time. Know a YouTuber or Twitch streamer or writer or Instagram star? They'll love this book and can make a business out of it. Here’s a link to the landing page. If you buy on Amazon, please consider using your Amazon smile account and select the charity as Orange Effect Foundation (speech therapy for kids). I thank you!
We also wrap up the Content Inc. book tour next week as well. Here are next week’s events.
How Teach Better Became THE Online EDU Site
May 25, 8 PM (EDT) | 5 PM (PDT)
How Copyblogger Went from Zero to Millions w/Blogging
May 26, 2 PM (EDT) | 11 AM (PDT)
How Fold Factory Uses Video/YouTube to Drive Revenue
May 27, 2 PM (EDT) | 11 AM (PDT)
How EOF Launched and Grew a Massive Podcast
May 28, 2 PM (EDT) | 11 AM (PDT)
$TILT update
Big thanks to everyone for their $TILT coin feedback since the previous issue of The Random. It was fun giving out all that free $TILT. Things are starting to come together with your ideas. If you have any additional thoughts, you can still email me by replying to this newsletter (and I’ll send you some $TILT coin for taking the time).
NOTE: Rally.io is down today for maintenance, just in case you wanted to buy more $TILT today. Try again tomorrow.
A Crazy Week in Crypto
Cryptocurrency is not for the weak of heart.
Less than a month ago I said that Ethereum would double in the next year. Well, it doubled in a week. And then dropped more than half since then.
If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you know I’m a long-term believer in Bitcoin. As I’m typing this Bitcoin dropped to $30,000.Two weeks ago it was over $60,000. For those who wanted to buy the dip, here you go.
And it seems the entire crypto universe is fighting with Tesla founder Elon Musk.
Please don’t take financial advice from me, so here is some advice to myself: Don’t trade in stocks or crypto: invest, over a long period of time. If you get to a point where you are checking the market everyday or multiple times a day, it’s simply not worth it. Go take a walk instead.
And finally, quite a few people are reaching out to me regarding Bitcoin advice. As always, I try to send people to information that is simple to understand and does not come from me 😉.
So…here’s a great intro video on Bitcoin and here’s a podcast that does a good job explaining what the heck cryptocurrency is.
Game-Changing Life Hacks
I’m writing this on Wednesday morning, the 19th of May. In three hours, I have a virtual presentation with a local chamber of commerce about my entrepreneurial journey.
I don’t give presentations like this often. Almost all my speeches are about content marketing or Content Inc. But it’s a good change of pace.
The presentation has over 100 slides (I like to keep things moving), but here are three life hacks I pulled out that I either think you’d appreciate or that you may find helpful.
Record – Review – Remove
Probably the best habit I’ve taken on over the years.
In 2008 I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. From that, I created a goal-setting system that worked really well for me.
The first is record. Basically this means writing down my goals, but doing so in the present or past tense like I’m accomplishing them or already completed the goal.
The second is review. I wake up in the morning and review the goal, and then review it again before I go to sleep for the night.
The third is remove. I constantly look at where I’m inefficient with (or wasting) time and try to get rid of those habits so I can spend more time on goals I want to achieve.
Just after launching the business, I wrote down this little goal: I sold the business in 2015 for $15 million dollars. Unfortunately I didn’t accomplish that goal in 2015. Fortunately, it happened in 2016.
This stuff works.
Here’s a 30 minute presentation of this process that I delivered at Content Marketing World. If you’d like to see the international version, here’s the presentation I gave in Germany at the OMR conference.
Six Category Goals
When I began to become obsessed with goal setting, I found that the majority of my goals focused on the business. Uh, this is not good when you have a family and want to be a well rounded person (sorry Pam).
So, I focused on one or two goals each year in six different categories.
- Financial goals
- Family goals
- Spiritual goals
- Mental goals
- Physical goals
- Philanthropic goals
Using mental goals as an example, this year’s goal looks like this:
I read two non-business books per month in 2021.
Remember, use the past tense if you can. Makes a world of difference.
By using this goal-setting process, hopefully I’m a more well-rounded individual…but you’ll have to ask my family if this is the case or not.
The Best in the World
Okay, ego aside for a minute, this is a real thing.
Before my wife and I launched what ultimately became Content Marketing Institute in 2007, I actually asked myself the question, “what can I be the best (or one of the best) in the world at?”
I know, a very difficult question.
But if you go through the process, you keep narrowing the niche until it’s possible. For example, my brother is an amazing guitar player. Could he be the best guitar player in the world? That seems a stretch. Could he be the best jazz guitar player? Getting closer. Could he be the best jazz funk guitar player? Possibly.
You see the process. Keep working yourself down the rabbit hole until you find something you could be the best in the world at.
Could I be the best publisher in the world? Nope. Could I be the best marketer? Not a chance. Could I be the leading content marketing expert? Maybe…well…that was the goal.
Did I get there? I don’t think so, but I’m in the conversation.
So, find your niche that you can dominate. That becomes your north star. Good luck!
I just noticed that this issue is over a thousand words, so there will be no Random Idea this issue. I'll bring it back in the next issue of The Random. Thanks for being you!
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