Last 89 Days of 2021, What Are Your Plans?
Let me help you.
Hello people,
I hope you’re having a lovely weekend. :) I’m typing from my table after exactly 3 weeks. The doctor cleared me to sit and work from my table and I was so kicked to get a few hours out of bed!
Here’s what we’ll talk about today:
A kickass book I read
I think this is why I ‘do well’ online
What I plan to do in the next 89 days
How can you kick some ass in the rest of 2021
The voracious readers’ corner
I’m writing this as I think, to see where the flow takes me. This newsletter isn’t preplanned one bit.
The above picture popped in my phone, thought I’d share it.
📚A kickass book I read
You have to add this to your reading list. It’s called The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday.
I’ve known about this book for a while but I guess the universe had its plans to make me read this at my lowest point, which has been this period. I don’t think any low has felt lower than how I feel post my surgery. It’s the feeling of the entire world moving around you while your life is still.
“Remember that this moment is not your life, it’s just a moment in your life. Focus on what is in front of you, right now. Ignore what it “represents” or it “means” or “why it happened to you.”― Ryan Holiday
I’m also surprised at handling it better than I thought I would. I’ve accepted the impermanence of this period and the betterment it’ll lead to. But of course, I have my own challenges.
This book talks about how to use obstacles to your advantage and models lessons from history from Einstein to Abraham Lincoln to Obama to Gandhi (HBD to him btw) - how these people battled when the odds were stacked against them.
Our problems are nothing compared to our ancestors who had to go through wars and worked hard for their future generations to lead a better life. Also with the kind of life we live, our so-called problems are more like minor inconveniences.
“You will come across obstacles in life—fair and unfair. And you will discover, time and time again, that what matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure.”― Ryan Holiday
I highly recommend his book, it’ll motivate you in a weirdly calm way.
👀I think this is why I do well online
I’m lately getting a lot of questions around this in my emails and DMs. Most of it is around how I’m doing well on Medium or Twitter (where I’m new). I don’t think I fit my definition of doing well, but if that’s what you think, here’s the secret sauce.
Jk, there’s no secret sauce. But here’s what I recommend:
Don’t care about followers
Don’t think too hard
Create and publish
Don’t be egoistic about stats
Pure intentions help (for me, it’s adding value to improve readers)
I’ve had ‘followers’ across social media, and don’t even use the platforms where I have the highest number of followers.
I’ve deleted my Instagram with 11k followers and am inactive on Quora that has I think 58k+ followers.
I had 500 followers on Twitter 2 months ago and over 900 now. On LinkedIn, I hit 8000 followers this week. I’m really enjoying creating in these two places and I feel (and have been told) I’m adding value and not publishing crap.
But the day I stop enjoying it, this will all go.
I think your intention makes a difference. If there’s no purpose there, then perhaps Youtube videos on hacking the algorithm or something will help. For me, the day I let go of my Instagram where I was active for 5 years, my need for social media validation died.
Don’t aim for stats but aim on creating, and learning along the way. That’ll take you a long way even in life outside the internet.
Hope that helps?
🙋🏻♀️What I plan to do in the next 89 days
Ok , this newsletter is getting quite long, so I hope you’re still here. Here are my plans (for now).
Work
Digital product (maybe around writing, because it’s a frequent question I get and can solve for - what do you think?)
Some really cool new clients are on board for Q4 so yay
Consulting on digital strategy (I was mindblown when I got approached for this. Tbh never though I’ve reached a level where my one hour of opinions costs $$$).
And of course, get back to writing on Medium if that wasn’t obvious. :D
Personal
Wedding in December
Holiday once I’m feeling better
Read the books resting on my bookshelf
Do this online course I bought ages ago
This is it, for now, life may have different plans - who knows!
🚀How can you kick some ass in 2021?
Going to take this opportunity to shamelessly market my ebook first. Want to build a side hustle and make money online? Here’s something that can help you, for free.
Readers also automatically get subscribed to a fortnightly newsletter all around this genre.
Okay now, here are some ideas to improve your year ahead:
Yoga With Adriene on Youtube; Headspace for meditation; goal-setting exercise; writing down your ideas; write a normal day in your ideal life, see what’s holding you back from getting there; watch a fun series; read The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim; take a notebook and paper and shamelessly write your needs (material, spiritual, relationships) and get closer to self-awareness; identify envy, visualise letting it go as your breathe out; do something you’re scared out - it could be writing your first essay, recording a video, or approaching a CHRO for a job with a video telling them why you’re awesome.
Let me know what you try and how it goes. All that I’ve mentioned are things I’ve done, things that improved my life.
🔖The voracious readers’ corner
I only started writing a week ago, and my writing time has doubled. I also feel more distracted than usual, but I guess this is all a part of breaking away and coming back.
Here are my three recent articles that got published:
I hope you enjoy it! Hit reply and let me know your views.
See you next week :)