You’re right on the money (as usual). The more I read your articles the more I’m glad I pay the $10/mo. Everything you’ve written about is true as I’ve seen it in my own life as well, especially the portion about finding something you’re good at and not caring if you enjoy it.
People need to ignore the nonsense most NPC’s tell them about “do what you love”, and instead find what they’re good at and monetize it.
I’m in my early- mid twenties, a former SWE at FAANG and was laid off in January, been subscribed since then and have been working on creating “wifi money” by following your guide. Already got my first customers and am looking forward to the future.
Thanks Bull, I should take more advice from homeless cartoon anons !
& if really passionate about something, make it *first*, then use the money to fund your passion [deep pockets make it much more enjoyable, especially if you're not a top performer].
"For the sports fans out there you want to be coached by someone like Steve Kerr not Lebron James."
I competed in and now coach in a very technical combat sport & I say this all the time. Some guys just have natural talent or biomechanical aptitude they can't articulate. It's just naturally intuitive for those rare few.
The people that have to earn every inch and learn by trial & error have felt so much more pain and learned so many more lessons they're:
1. Going to know how to articulate it to you exactly what to do b/c they've struggled with it
2. Remember every painful detail of the dos and don'ts
3. Have the compassion for someone coming up to try to help them get the shortcuts.
Broke a lot of these rules. I'm naturally extroverted - and ended up being a quant - one of the most solitary jobs. I was constantly told I sucked at math growing up, and then went on to beat hardcore turbo-autists in competitions. I never cared for my talents, I simply cared about what I thought was cool and exciting. If I was excited about something I would obsess over it until it felt effortless.
I think there's some wisdom to doing something you can obsess over. If you're bored to death by it, hard to get really good at it. Attrition will wear you down.
"Once again, being good at it is always more important than liking it."
love this. i've been a swe for years but never got truly good at it, because although i liked it enough to learn it(self-taught) i hit that point where like wasn't enough, and now i'm just a code monkey looking to exit to something else. but people tell me i'm good. so maybe i need to focus more and get better though some discipline, then i'll open up way more doors.
What skills would you recommend trying? I'm guessing writing/copywriting, sales and public speaking/presenting would be a decent starting point. Another positive is the skills will stack - discussed in detail by Cerno/Scott Adams
hey there. recent subscriber so apologies if this is something an endemic would know. i own a niche tech (VR/AR) blog that gets a couple hundred thousand visitors / month. we monetize through adsense and sponsorships but i know we're leaving $ on the table with things like affiliate revenue. curious if you guys do auditing / consulting in that realm and what that could look like.
I’m not in the exact situation but I’m an introvert in tech sales. Pretty mediocre in both the technical and social side but I made it work by choosing a highly technical sale selling to developers.
Socializing and selling feels like a game to be played for me. I can shine when I get all the pieces lined up but a natural probably has an easier time. The main difference is I know why something works at a deeper level even if I occasionally get outplayed. You might also consider a sales engineering role to test the waters.
You’re right on the money (as usual). The more I read your articles the more I’m glad I pay the $10/mo. Everything you’ve written about is true as I’ve seen it in my own life as well, especially the portion about finding something you’re good at and not caring if you enjoy it.
People need to ignore the nonsense most NPC’s tell them about “do what you love”, and instead find what they’re good at and monetize it.
I’m in my early- mid twenties, a former SWE at FAANG and was laid off in January, been subscribed since then and have been working on creating “wifi money” by following your guide. Already got my first customers and am looking forward to the future.
Thanks Bull, I should take more advice from homeless cartoon anons !
Great post.
& if really passionate about something, make it *first*, then use the money to fund your passion [deep pockets make it much more enjoyable, especially if you're not a top performer].
Yep.
Said once again, but people will still look for coaching/advice from the genetic freaks like lebron or mahomes
Yeah another good example, complete free athlete but people think they can be like him hahaha. Total insanity and delusion
"For the sports fans out there you want to be coached by someone like Steve Kerr not Lebron James."
I competed in and now coach in a very technical combat sport & I say this all the time. Some guys just have natural talent or biomechanical aptitude they can't articulate. It's just naturally intuitive for those rare few.
The people that have to earn every inch and learn by trial & error have felt so much more pain and learned so many more lessons they're:
1. Going to know how to articulate it to you exactly what to do b/c they've struggled with it
2. Remember every painful detail of the dos and don'ts
3. Have the compassion for someone coming up to try to help them get the shortcuts.
Broke a lot of these rules. I'm naturally extroverted - and ended up being a quant - one of the most solitary jobs. I was constantly told I sucked at math growing up, and then went on to beat hardcore turbo-autists in competitions. I never cared for my talents, I simply cared about what I thought was cool and exciting. If I was excited about something I would obsess over it until it felt effortless.
I think there's some wisdom to doing something you can obsess over. If you're bored to death by it, hard to get really good at it. Attrition will wear you down.
"They are too busy chasing things they enjoy doing vs. things they dominate."
Young people need to stop trying to do what they love, and start doing what they are good at.
every dude loves sports (massive competition = low pay) and every girl loves fashion (massive competition = low pay)
"Once again, being good at it is always more important than liking it."
love this. i've been a swe for years but never got truly good at it, because although i liked it enough to learn it(self-taught) i hit that point where like wasn't enough, and now i'm just a code monkey looking to exit to something else. but people tell me i'm good. so maybe i need to focus more and get better though some discipline, then i'll open up way more doors.
love this substack. great advice as always.
What skills would you recommend trying? I'm guessing writing/copywriting, sales and public speaking/presenting would be a decent starting point. Another positive is the skills will stack - discussed in detail by Cerno/Scott Adams
It's the same thing the only skill you should start with is sales. Copywriting is sales.
The end start there. If you can't sell you will have a tough time ever getting rich.
Great article as always!
funnel screenshot includes right-click menu
brave browser #1
Brilliant as always.
Additional bonus if the whole procedure of iteration/trying gives you pleasure — and not just the end goal.
Being able to have fun *while* enduring the pain can be a serious advantage.
(Having fun *from* the pain is another story altogether).
hey there. recent subscriber so apologies if this is something an endemic would know. i own a niche tech (VR/AR) blog that gets a couple hundred thousand visitors / month. we monetize through adsense and sponsorships but i know we're leaving $ on the table with things like affiliate revenue. curious if you guys do auditing / consulting in that realm and what that could look like.
"They are too busy chasing things they enjoy doing vs. things they dominate."
Young people need to stop trying to do what they love, and start doing what they are good at.
every dude loves sports (massive competition = low pay) and every girl loves fashion (massive competition = low pay)
Did you even read it? You should care about winning not enjoying something.
I’m not in the exact situation but I’m an introvert in tech sales. Pretty mediocre in both the technical and social side but I made it work by choosing a highly technical sale selling to developers.
Socializing and selling feels like a game to be played for me. I can shine when I get all the pieces lined up but a natural probably has an easier time. The main difference is I know why something works at a deeper level even if I occasionally get outplayed. You might also consider a sales engineering role to test the waters.