Lets Be Real
Hey 👋
Welcome 🙏 to the 2nd edition of this newsletter!
The 1st edition saw a pretty good response, with a 54% open rate (the industry avg is ~20%). That tells me I must work harder to provide value for your trust and time.
So this week, I am going to be REAL with you.
I started this newsletter because I was stuck in a rut.
I became a solopreneur with high hopes🤞. There were so many things I wanted to experiment with outside the boundaries of a job, following my curiosities in mentoring, advising, trading, real estate, SaaS, and 10 other ideas I wanted to test.
But it did not go as per plan. Too many options lead to as much indecision and spinning 😵💫. I dabbed in a bunch of things without committing to a select few, until I felt completely lost 😞.
The reason I'm saying this out loud to all of you, is because I want THIS to be real.
It's hard. It takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable to people. We are habituated to always put up a facade and appear to be someone who has it all figured out and is killing it at all times.
We shy away from being our honest, true selves out of fear of being judged and invalidated.
And that creates a problem. We keep suppressing our insecurities and fears within ourselves. We have “connections” in theory, but in reality, all of us are living on an island 🏝 in our own heads.
I want to break this cycle. True connection and trust happen through openness and vulnerability. I have interacted with most of you in some meaningful ways in the past, and by opening up about my vulnerabilities, my struggles, my hopes, and my progress, I hope to humanize this whole experience.
All of us are in this together.
All of us are struggling, and all of us are trying to make sense of life.
I would rather do it the real way, instead of trying to fake that I have figured it all out. Because trust me, no one has figured out life, and that's just how it is.
With that said, this newsletter is truly helping me find direction and commit to one thing - I will publish every Friday, no matter what. So I thank all of you for not unsubscribing (yet 😂).
And this focus has started trickling down into other aspects as well. I have started publishing a post on Linkedin every day. I am focusing more on mentoring PMs and finding startups to help - things that have always given me true joy and meaning.
I now invite you to take the courage and share your struggles. What is it that you fear, that is keeping you awake at night, that makes you feel a lump in your throat every time you think about it? - Just hit reply and get it off your chest.
You will feel light after unburdening yourself, just as I feel now.
Let’s be real with each other.
Also, share this with your friends and family if you are starting to see some value💰.
Now, onto some interesting reads!
Things to Read, Listen, and See
The only way you start is by starting
What is it that you always wanted to start but have been waiting for the right moment, or perfection, or just avoiding it so as not to deal with the stress?
Here’s what pushed me to take the 1st step and publish the newsletter without waiting for perfection or clarity. When you are down and struggling, this is the perfect pick-me-up. Hoping it helps you too 😇
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/melrobbins_if-you-just-cant-seem-to-get-started-no-activity-6780856291339448320-aXrf?
Embrace Discomfort
Most of us believe the lie that we have to enjoy everything we do, and if something doesn’t align with our energies, it’s just not meant for us. I believed this for many months as I started my solopreneur journey.
But the reality is that there are things we have to do to move the needle that are not fun. In fact, the more discomfort we feel towards something - the chances are that it is exactly what we need to unlock the next step function in our growth.
So, the best approach is to have a strong ‘why’ - your reason to swim through this discomfort - else you will give up mid-way and drown. With a strong why behind you, acknowledge that this is difficult, seek help from people/sources who have done this (if required), and embrace the discomfort.
Every new thing is difficult until it gets easy. And as it gets easy, it gets more fun too.
(The original post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joshvalles_this-activity-7004059031849889792-HoP7?)
Meme of the week
Time's Up⌚
That's my (slightly more than) 5 minutes with you this week.
If you have a minute, I would love a response. Just hit reply. 🤗
See you next week. 👋
Thanks again 🙏, and please tell a few friends if you like it.
Cheers,
Punit