Focus on what you have

Inside this Sunday:

• I’m reading about tools for quietening the mind.
• I’m working on conversations with Stephanies.
• I’m thinking about what you focus on determining what you have.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all my American readers. Tomorrow we honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

However you may feel about war, the human element binds us all.

Family members and friends with a spirit of service enlisted to fight or defend an idea or an ideal. Family members and friends died in that service. The sacrifice people made is something I will always marvel at, sitting here comfortably safe.

Next week is the last week of ODCC.

It has been both a marathon and a sprint. I will be spending the week reflecting on the experience and will have more to share with you in two weeks.

Until then my friend, please enjoy some food for your mind.

Andrew

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MOST CLICKS

Seems like most of you wanted to know more about Curious Lion’s new COO-L! My wife, Jill, got the most clicks 😄

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I’M READING

Quietening the Mind

I was reading over my notes from the excellent conversation Tim Ferriss had with Greg McKeown.

Two useful tools jumped out at me that I want to share with you. The first helps combat being reactive and jumping to conclusions. The second helps turn negative emotions around quickly (I tried it this week and it was awesome).

1. Jumping to Conclusions (h/t Byron Katie)
   • Next time you jump to a conclusion about something or someone, as yourself 4 questions.
   • is it true?
   • how can I absolutely for sure know this to be true?
   • who am I and how do I feel when I believe this to be true?
   • who would I be and how would I feel if I did not take this to be true or if the opposite was true?
2. Gratitude Practice
   • Create a habit: after I complain I will say what I’m thankful for
   • First you realize how much you complain, small things despite all the good things happening to you
   • Next you realize how quickly your mood changes
   • You begin to create upward momentum as an opposing force to the downward spiral

Try it. It really works.

Full podcast episode

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I’M WORKING ON

How Did You Learn That?

In ep 28 I had a fun conversation with Stephanie Dua, the co-founder and president of HOMER. We explore the chronic underinvestment in early education, and how COVID has turned that achievement gap into a chasm. We talk about how work-life balance is a misnomer how it’s actually about integrating them. For the parents, we unpack what you don’t have to worry about and what you should really be focusing on as the guide or narrator for your children.

Listen to episode 28

In ep 29 I geeked out on content with Steph Smith, growth marketer, writer, and indie maker, currently heading product for the Trends newsletter. I uncover lessons on growth, marketing, writing, content creation, content distribution, building an audience, monetization, and everything in between.

Listen to episode 29

The Weekly Teach (YouTube Series)

Launching an online course is one of the hardest parts of the process for most of my students in ODCC. You have to start by building an audience, and this involves showing up consistently, providing insane value and being patient. Sahil Bloom modeled this in growing his Twitter audience to over 200K followers and is now launching an online course in June. This video breaks down his approach.

How to build an audience on Twitter

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I’M THINKING ABOUT

“If you focus on what you have, you gain what you lack and if you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have.”

– Greg McKeown