How Derek Sivers Ruined My Life
Things have been going just fine. In fact, I would say that things have been going great!
I've been living my happy little life in my happy little bubble of work and creativity. Not a problem in the world.
But then Derek Sivers crawled his way into my bubble.
Yesterday was Sunday. On Sundays, I cut the grass. When I cut the grass, I like to listen to podcasts. This week I found a Tim Ferris podcast with Derek Sivers.
"Isn't he the circus guy with the really plain website?" I thought to myself.
"I'll check him out."
About 20 minutes into the podcast, Tim and Derek start talking about this philosophy called "Hell Yes or No!"
Simply put, they both argued that most of us spend too much time doing too many things and chasing shiny objects that we often miss out on those "once in a lifetime opportunities."
"If you hear an idea and it's not a hell yes, then it should be a no!"
And then it hit me. I haven't been living in hell yeah.
Ideas That Matter for People Who Care - It's Time to Level Up!
My Dream For My Website
All I've ever really wanted to do with my blog was have a platform where I could make a living by sharing my ideas. I want to contribute to society and serve other people.
I know how to build a business out of my blog. I know, with 100% certainty, that I could continue growing my online presence and build a killer business by either building a client base or selling info products.
I've done it before. I know the formula.
I have an entire plan on how to do that. I've mapped the whole thing out. I've mapped out my content, my keywords, my projections... everything.
But thanks to Derek Sivers, I'm finally able to say out loud that I'm not really interested in building that business. It's not a hell yeah.
I was going to do it because I know I could do it and be successful at it. It was always "yeah, I guess I'll do that." But deep down, it's not what I truly want to do.
I've always wanted to do paid newsletters.
I know that it's random. I know newsletters are boring. I know that what a successful 33 year old tech and marketing nerd like me should do is create digital products or build a SaaS platform and get funding and blow it up.
I should post Instagram pictures with cool quotes and selfies about how fucking awesome my life is.
That's just not me.
What I have always loved, and what I have always wanted to do, is to have a paid subscription based weekly newsletter in which I could share new ideas with people who want things to be better.
I want to have additional content, such as courses or ebooks as an extra add on to being a subscriber to my series.
When I think of doing that, I say hell yeah!
Why Newsletters?
I'm a Seth Godin and Brian Clark protege.
Everything I know about online content I have learned from them. I suppose it's been drilled into my head that social media is a ratchet and that email is a direct relationship with your audience.
I've always thought having an popular newsletter was so cool. I've been envious of Brian Clark and Ramit Sethi and Katie Wells for having such awesome email lists.
Plus I think there is something romantic about them. There is something exciting to me about the idea of people getting something sent to them, as opposed to sent at them.
When people get an email, it's personalized and it's direct.
It's a message of "here is something for you" as opposed to the social media world of "HEY EVERYONE LOOK AT ME!"
It's what I want to do. Final answer.
Now All My Plans are Ruined
I have to reevaluate my entire life.
Things were going so well. I was really enjoying my state of ignorant bliss. But the truth has shown herself to me. Like always, the truth made it clear that the hardest thing to do is the thing that I need to do most.
Now, I am forced to do what it is that I really want to do.
So here goes. Here's to hell yeah!