Why You Keep Going

In Thailand, I read a book called 10X is easier than 2X. Before that, I read a book called Essentialism. I wrote about these books and I wrote about how it seems the like the universe is telling me to do less.

Believe it or not, I have listened to the message of these books. I am actively finding places where I can remove work from my life. Or, I am questioning all the actions I am taking in my day and evaluating if each action is worth doing or not.

I want to slow down, I really do.

One of the aspects of my work that I keep questioning is my weekly newsletter. I have been writing my newsletter for years. I haven’t missed a week. These issues are long and they require a lot of work. To make it even more difficult, I have to (chose to?) wake up at 4 am on Tuesday morning so I can write it and publish it before the kiddos wake up.

Every Tuesday, I am up at 4 to write my newsletter. I publish at 7. Every week, no matter what.

I enjoy doing it and I’ve gotten a lot of value from it. But I’m questioning whether it’s worth it to continue doing it. In total, I’ve made about $10,000 in sponsorships over the last 3 years.

Now don’t get me wrong, $10,000 is a lot of money. I’m grateful for it and I am blessed. But believe or not, sometimes I like to sleep past 4:30 in the morning.

Is my newsletter essential? Is it a 10X action or a 2X action?

Something in my heart doesn’t allow me to stop writing. I have to do it. It’s a calling and logically I know that writing is an action that compounds. It’s not linear growth.

This morning I felt sleepy. I struggled to get my article written and published, but by the end of it, I felt proud about what I had created and put into the world. You can read this week’s issue by clicking this link.

But right when I least expected it, a blessing came to my life.

I was contacted by a woman who has been reading my work. She has interest in building a directory for a very specific niche she works in. Since I have so much experience with directories, she knew I was the guy to call.

It’s been months since my newsletter has generated any meaningful income. Then suddenly, I get presented with an opportunity that will likely generate an order of magnitude more revenue than all my sponsorships combined. Suddenly, I went 10X.

You keep going because you never know when something good will happen.

Today, I was reminded that writing is 10X. Writing is essential.