Formula for Making a Living Doing What You Love
Hey! How are you doing today?
I’ve been listening to every interview of Sahil Lavingia recently. He’s the founder of Gumroad - a platform that lets creators sell their skills and knowledge in the forms of book, online course, note, audio etc.
One of my favourite podcast interviews of Sahil is “How to Monetise Creativity and Solo-preneurship” in the Below the Line podcast.
I introduced this podcast episode on my Twitter, but I really liked his “formula for creative success” for those who want to create a full-time but don’t know how.
1. Get Specific
Rather than having a vague goal (e.g. ‘I want to make music full-time’), set a specific goal.
“The more you can visualise what it looks like, the better you can aim towards it. If you’re open to everything, you might do nothing”
2. Get Committed
Great things do not happen overnight. You have to be consistent and give it a try many times before you succeed.
3. Get Realistic
Most people think they’re either above average or below average. If you think you’re above average, you won’t be willing to learn from others. If you think you’re below average, you may think you’re not worthy of sharing your work.
Sahil says both are wrong:
“You’re probably more average than you think.”
4. Get Public
Share your work as early and often as possible. By doing this, you get to receive feedback from others, which you can use to improve your work. At the same time, you get to build your audience.
5. Get Started
Your work doesn’t have to be great at first. You should start creating and sharing right now so you can build a content library. And when people notice you, they will have stuff to dive into.
Achieving a creative success is a long journey. You will learn a lot along the way. So, the earlier you start, the quicker you get to learn.
If you’re interested to know more about Sahil Lavingia, you should definitely follow him on Twitter. The advice he shares on Twitter is very helpful.
My Favourites of the Week
1. Article:
How to start an email newsletter: tips on platforms, writing style, and design by Khe Hy
If you’re inspired by Sahil’s advice and want to start building your audience, building an email newsletter is a must.
You should start an email newsletter. This week. And if you make it past week 25, your life will be transformed. Yes, 25 is the magic number. We’re talking half a year. (That’s a long time.)
But once you cross the threshold, the doors of serendipity will open: event invitations, access to some of your personal heroes, stealthy job postings, and offers to trade your time for money (via consulting, speaking or coaching). But you gotta make it past week 25
2. Podcast:
Achieving Happiness | Naval Ravikant in Save Planet, Get Rich with Samantha Ryan
Naval hasn’t been on any podcast for awhile. But in a recent episode of the Save Planet, Get Rich podcast, he talks about various things like happiness, finding your passion, the environment etc.
I love his take on the ideal life:
“The ideal life would be one where you had a hobby that as a byproduct made you money, you had a hobby that as a byproduct kept you healthy, you had a hobby that as a byproduct made you smarter and more creative”
3. Article:
The One-Touch Guide to Doing a Weekly Review: How I Go From Chaos to Clarity in 30 Minutes by Tiago Forte
Weekly Review has been something I always forget to do because I don’t really know how to exactly do it efficiently. In this article, Tiago reveals how he does a weekly review to get the most out of every week.
“Specifically, your Weekly Review should accomplish three things:
Clear your digital workspaces: tidy up the virtual environment where you get things done
Update your available tasks: update your to do’s based on new information that’s come in
Decide on your priorities for the week: select a subset of to do’s that you are actively committing to for this week
Have a fantastic week!!
Shu
Note of the Week
Only you have the access to your mind
Personal Update
I got a puppy a few weeks ago. He’s only 4 months old, and I’m in love with him.