[SERIES] 2/7 Unpopular Belief: Be Good At One Thing
In his list of directives, Derek Sivers refers to this idea as pursuing market value instead of personal value.
Part 2 of the 7 Unpopular Beliefs Series
Don't be a starving artist!
When I was I college, I spent a lot of time studying and training for what I wanted to do: brain research.I was studying the neuroscience of the developing brain. I wasn't thinking about how much money I'd have later, or the value I was worth as a researcher. I was just thinking "hey, brains are really important and really interesting. I bet I could help a lot of people if I understood how they develop and how they work."I was sort of right.It turns out, researchers can bring a lot of money for their institutions. At Penn State, a top research institution, people are often surprised to find out that the amount of money researchers bring in far exceeds that of the football program. It's not even close.Anyway, the point is that what I wanted to do and what was valuable had a great overlap. This is called "an opportunity."If you're in love with the idea of being a starving artist, don't be mad when you are starving and can't help anyone else because you need to take care of yourself.
Go where the opportunities and money are.
If you are trying to help people, this can only lead to good outcomes. Your hard work in combination with opportunity will yield.Here's an equation for success that I pulled from a book Michael Johnson (the Olympic gold medal sprinter) wrote:
Success = Hard Work (Talent + Opportunity)
The notable part of this equation is realizing that if Opportunity is 0, the whole thing nulls out.Also notable, is the understanding that Hard Work is the multiplier. This means if your effort is distributed across many projects you're less able to drive up the success of any one of them.
Focused, deliberate effort applied in a single direction can lead to a hefty multiplicative factor.
The tricky part is that I truly believe that if you want to develop personal value, you need to be good at lots of things.Here's the conundrum:If you want to make a difference to the world, you're going to have to build something the world values--not just something that you personally value.It's up to you to pick and adjust. It's not that you can only do one thing for the rest of your life. It's just that if you choose too many, you will have a hard time getting the flywheel moving.
In fact, it's not always a good thing to make a career out of the things you really like.
Examples might include and are not limited to: sex, drugs, rock/roll, etc.
2 Minute Action
Make a list of the things you love to do.Make a list of the types of impact you're making.If you had to choose only 3 in each category, which would they be?Great. Now pick one in each category.Remember, each of these is fighting for its life for your attention and hard work.You don't have to decide your entire future in 2 minutes. But you do have to start with a change.
[SERIES] 1/7 Unpopular Belief: You Should Get Rich
I light of the new year, let's do something new.
This week, let's do a 7 part series of posts.
This series will be on 7 Unpopular But Powerful Beliefs.Some of these I've stolen from others. Some of these I've developed myself.This post is about getting rich.
You should get rich!
And use those resources to help people.The truth is that you can't help anyone if you're broke.Just to be clear, being rich means that you have abundant resources. Specifically, I'm talking about money or a money-generating asset.
Getting rich means owning as little "stuff" as possible.
I think you know what I mean by "stuff." I mean depreciating assets. Things that take up space and get less valuable over time.Owning rental properties or stocks that yield dividends are good examples of things that put money in your pocket, making them worthwhile to maintain or invest in.
Getting rich means being expensive.
Money is a great, non-biased way to measure value. If you're expensive, you're doing something that the market is deeming as valuable! We'll talk more about this one in the next post.
Getting rich means you can be generous.
When it comes down to it, money is a lot like oxygen. Without it, it's difficult to survive--as a person or a business. I'm not talking about what's right or wrong or what should or shouldn't be. I'm just talking about the way it is.If you can provide oxygen to people who need it, you can change lives and improve the planet.
2 Minute Action
Take 2 minutes to do one of the following:
- Lookup a high-dividend index fund and make your first deposit.
- Call a friend in real estate and ask them what it would take to get into the rental market
- Look around 1 room in your house and pick 3 things that are taking up space without adding any value to your life. Donate them.
- Raise your consulting fee, rent, subscription rate, or whatever it is you do for money.
The Unpopular Beliefs That Make People Tick
"You're anxious, stop telling me to worry so much.""You don't know what other people want, so don't tell me what to do.""Your writing is too basic, why are you dumbing it down?"
I've gotten criticism for a few unpopular beliefs, like my death bed timer, the idea that you absolutely should get rich, and the fact that I write at a 7th-grade reading level.That's fine.Let me explain why I hold firm in these beliefs.
My Writing Style
I've written and edited academic publications in Developmental Neuroscience and the Decision-Theory literature.I don't use that kind of language here for good reason--only a few people can read it.The average reading level in the USA is a 7th-grade reading level, and I want to reach more people.Not everyone, just more than the people who already know the value of what I'm sharing.The point is to get to the point. We've all got things to do and places to be.Few people want to read some huge wall of text.Most people just want a useful, digestible, actionable nugget every day.
On Getting Rich
I think you should get rich and then spend that money helping people live healthier, happier, more productive lives.In the amount of time people try to make everything perfect and in the perfect way, they could have had a profitable product by now.Apple didn't start by making computers that were deconstructable and recyclable. Patagonia didn't start by making pullovers from only organic trees. There are many examples of this in the world.You start by making a minimally viable product, getting the cash you need to survive and THEN you figure out how to make things even better.Speed to market and profitability will decide how you survive.If your idea/project/business dies or dries up, you can't help anyone.
The Death Bed Timer
I have estimated how much time I have left to live.Of course, it's not accurate because no one can ever know this exact number--but that's not the point.The point is to have an estimate.The point is to look at a number that decreases and understand the reality of my shrinking mortality.Two of the most common regrets of dying people are:
- Not having lived the life they wanted
- Having worked too much
If you're serious about avoiding regret and living a life of purpose and deliberation, you'll do what it takes.Watching my Death Bed Timer countdown is my way of reminding myself to stay the course, make every second count, and keep improving.
2 Minute Action
I want you to take 2 minutes to question yourself right now.Unpopular beliefs are a good way to challenge others and get to the bottom of the truth.They're also helpful because challenging others can help them solidify their point of view.What are some unpopular beliefs you have?I'd love to hear what yours are, so comment or reply and let me know.Just identifying them, or saying them out loud can help you think about how to build a lifestyle or habit around them.