#126 You don't need to quit your job to make, Saturday School Classes, and more!
This week I started making good progress on my personal website which you can see here.
My first step was spending 25 mins looking at inspoš”for ideas. I then shortlisted the ones that had a great mobile experience, without sacrificing the content on the desktop. I then further cut out the ones without a clear value proposition. or CTA and ended up with 3 that I liked best.
Design
Always love putting pen to paper, in a world full of distractions itās the only time when I really feel clarity. No Insta, Snap, Twitter or Emails.
Macbook on āno notificationsā
This allowed me to start off with this basic sketch
Sketching
Which later turned into this
Which later turned into this š
Insights
You Don't Need to Quit Your Job to Make
Love this personal piece from someone sharing her truth, she was able to have a full time job, stay hungry and eventually build something meaningful.
She starts off talking about how we donāt need to be put into a box, we donāt need to be defined by our job titles, we are all much more than that.
Myth busting
I donāt have enough time
Benefits of sticking in a job. The people who do both well know how to prioritise (which is really about making tradeoffs)
Improving our thinking to dream bigger
She starts off by saying if we stopped viewing āme timeā as just relaxation time we can invest more in our dreams and then goes on to talk about building simple habits
My favourite part was when:
2017: Work, Travel, Relationship
2018: Work, Learning to Code, Building Side Projects
2019: Work, Scaling Side Projects, Sharing Ideas (Writing, Speaking)
Having a sense of security in one realm gives us the freedom to be original in another. By covering our bases financially, we escape the pressure to publish half-baked books, sell shoddy art, or launch untested businesses
Benefits of working
1. Getting paid to learn
2. It can be fun (making is not your only lifeline) so treat each journey as an exploration
Tied to the above, I can ditch a project or think rationally when I realize that a project doesnāt offer any value, nor do I need to take VC money or tend to investors that I donāt believe in.
Stop putting yourself in boxes
Measure how much time you spend on each thing you are working on and double down on whatās working
Automate Meta work
> I also think itās important to understand the concept of ā*meta*workā. My definition of meta work is the following: āIf you did that activity continuously for a year, would your life be any different?ā
Double down on Absolute tasks
If done consistently, you would likely see your skillset or life change in a material way. For example: if you read every day for a year, your knowledge set, creativity, and reading speed would all likely improve. If you exercised every day, your health would undoubtedly improve. Similarly, if you dedicated 1 hour every day to learn to code, you would have an [entirely new skillset by the end of the year](https://twitter.com/stephsmithio/status/1070685923229208576) .
When to post on Product Hunt?
Quick tip on when to post on Product Hunt.
People say 12am PST which is 7am UK time
Find out who's who and what's what.
Dope tool. Reminds me of Buzzsumo, but this one allows you to Find out whoās who so you can engage with them
Saturday School
Dope
Saturday School makes tickets āfreeā by using the ticket prices as a deposit and refunding it back to you after you attend the class.
Makers
Any feedback on my personal site (please hit replyš)?
Culture Chat
Early Breakfast Club
Do not despise small beginnings
āThe worldās most dangerous morning crewā got its official start in 2010, but its come a loooong way since then. This 2010 interview with Jamie Foxx looks like it was recorded on a Motorola flip phone. But the content and potential were there.
āA retro revival with real punch : App Store Story
Checkout out this game built by a London Black iOS engineer and designer living in London.
Growth with Gucci: A Conversation with Gucci Mane and Charlamagne Tha God
Great discussion about growth
Key takeaways
Self awareness
Pay it forward and build relationships
Favour is more important than money