What is it you do?
Happy Sunday, friends.
As always, this week’s R&R is short, but if you don’t have time to read the entire article, here’s the tldr version:
Weekly reflection: What is it you do? Reflecting on how we define ourselves.
Rec: Product, Tool, or Framework: How Much to Make (calculator)
Rec: Read: Sell Out (With Me, Oh Yeah)
Rec: Watch: How Pieter Levels Makes $2.7M/Year With 0 Employees
Rec: Listen: Prof G Markets: How Scott Manages His Money
Reminder, this is a way for me to clear the cognitive cobwebs and share the reflections and recommendations that I’ve pulled together for the last two weeks. No affiliate links or sponsorships here, just simple links to things I genuinely love and recommend.
Alrighty, without wasting any more time, here are a few amazing things that will totally up your thinking, working, and living game.
Have an awesome week ahead!
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“Never work for other people at what you do. Always remember that the reason that you initially started working was that there was something inside yourself that you felt that if you could manifest it in some way, you would understand more about yourself or how you coexist with the rest of society. I think it's terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people's expectations.”
David Bowie
Reflections
▶︎ What is it you do?"What do you do?" This is such a tricky question to answer. At cocktail parties, dinner conversations, the dreaded networking events; they're all painful ways to conjure the existential question of 'what do you do?' Over the years, I've learned to reframe this question, but I still don't feel I've fully resolved the details in my head. For now, I've settled on using this combination of {impact} + {title or role I like} + {persona}. For example, I'm a productivity architect for creative leaders. It's not perfect, but it helps me think about how I can frame—or reframe—how I fit into my work. It also acts as a reminder that the work you do is singular to you. While you may have the same title as someone else, there are always ways to find your niche within a generalized space.
Rec: Product, Tool, or Framework
▶︎ How Much to Make (calculator)I love a good calculator. And as an entrepreneur, I find it easy to get wrapped around the calculations of pricing and positioning without ever nailing down what you’re trying to accomplish. This calculator does the simple calculations, telling you exactly how much traffic you need to generate for your digital product based on how much you want to make. While we can all do these calculations, we rarely do. Before you launch or price your product, use this little tool to help you ensure you’re on the right path to hit your financial targets.
Rec: Reading
▶︎ Sell Out (With Me, Oh Yeah)A lot of people hate marketing. Or at least they think they do. What they really hate is self-promotion, which is easily confused with marketing. As a creative person, it’s taken years for me to reframe my thinking about self-promotion. And, like anything else in life, it’s come down to how I frame it in my own mind. What drove this home for me this week was a post by
where she dissects the age-old debate of selling out, reminding us that “Done well, marketing gets baked into the product being marketed.” It’s a beautiful reminder that when we think about our work, we can’t separate the creation or craft from the promotion. Promotion isn’t the enemy, just like marketing isn’t the enemy. If we want to reach the right people at the right time with the right offering, we have to think of marketing and, to some extent, self-promotion. Marketing, when done well, is genuine, functional, and beneficial. Please don’t shy away from it; embrace it.Rec: Watching
▶︎ How Pieter Levels Makes $2.7M/Year With 0 EmployeesIf there’s one person on the internet who does a great job mixing craft and marketing, it’s Pieter Levels. Pieter is an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. He single-handedly created some of the most profitable, scalable products known to digital creators. Not only does he run multiple incredibly profitable businesses, but he boldly shares all the gory details of running these businesses. Whether we’re talking about revenue, technical challenges, complaints, strategies, or growth hacks — Pieter shares it all. By sharing this, it builds community around him and helps him grow his products and businesses faster than he could. Pieter knows what his work is, and doesn’t waste time thinking; he takes action. He ‘sells out’ but in the best way.
Rec: Listening
▶︎ Prof G Markets: How Scott Manages His MoneyEveryone has some form of financial frustration. Whether it’s not having enough to cover the bills, having enough to cover the bills but not saving, having a little extra but not knowing what to do with it, or something completely different, the struggle with money can be very real. Professor Galloway, a famed podcaster, educator, and sage mentor for the ambitious, has made a lot of money. And yet, he still has financial fears and frustrations. In this deep dive, he provides a backstage view of the finances of a multi-millionaire. Some of his advice may seem obvious, but some are incredibly unique. No matter your financial situation, his advice might open up a new way of living and looking at your finances, so listen.
And, just in case you missed it…
Here are some things that I’ve written and shared that people enjoyed.
Until Next Time!
That’s it for this week. As always, if you like the content, please do me a favor and share it with your friends — this newsletter runs on overpriced whiskey and reader engagement.
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Thanks for reading, and see you soon,
