No One Said It Would Be Easy

Wake up call. This shit is not easy.

7 Weeks in. Did I really think it was going to be sunshine and roses?

Week 8 has been full of doubt, confidence, and an opportunity to go back to SoCal. A lot to think about…

I got back from a ski trip in Denver exhausted from three straight days of powder.

Aww… what a cute first world problem.

The alttitude takes it out of you. You get a little exhausted from that and then all of the sudden you come back to your W2 job where there is demand to execute and perform.

It’s easy to make excuses to skip going to the gym in the morning because I’m tired from the trip, I’ve got a lot on my plate because of work, I’ve already overbooked myself for social commitments. The super bowl was Sunday and now I’m tired…

It can go on and on. It’s easy to find a reason why not to do something. When I am approached with any reason to divert my attention away from an activity that I know will help me in the long term, I make sure to recall back to my why.

The Why can be different for anything at any time. But once you have it you have to remember it and stick with it.

Here’s Some of my Why’s for certain categories:

• Fitness: Working out helps be focus for the rest of the day. I do it to be my best self and perform for whatever I am doing that day. The upside of working out (or moving) first thing in the morning drastically outweighs the downside of being tired and getting an extra hour of sleep.

• Financial: I moved to San Francisco from San Diego to learn from other people that are doing the same thing I am here to do. Learn how they are building companies, products, and a new level of relationships. I wanted speed, I wanted a challenge, I wanted growth.

• Personal: I was feeling comfortable in San Diego, I needed discomfort. Growth happens when you’re uncomfortable. I wanted to force myself to be resourceful, put myself in scenarios that I have never been in before. Meet people I didn’t think I would ever cross paths with.

I’m going to talk about how things are going personally right now, because that’s where the biggest challenge has been since I’ve gotten here.

Next I’m going to lay out how I plan to overcome each personal challenge and link it back to my why

I wanted discomfort… well good news I got it.

Working from home in a new city sucks. I’m home alone, staring at a screen for 8 hours a day. It’s just me. I’m lacking inspiration and motivation. I am going to change this by finding spaces where I am around other’s that are doing the same as me.

• Find people working in a similar or adjacent industry. Ask where they work in the city during the day. Go work there, offer to co-work with them

Find your tribe: There’s millions of people in the bay area doing something. It’s something they’re interested in. That does not mean I have to go to THAT. I can learn more about what they’re doing but it doesn’t mean I have to become a ML engineer, venture capitalist, or software engineer.

• Join running clubs, go to cold plunge events, meet people that love to ski. Don’t only focus on ~work~ do things that make you happy. Connecting with people on a personal level will foster stronger relationships than going to another meet-up for AI. Personal connections will push you further than professional

GET THE F*CK OUT OF THE HOUSE: to this day it is still the hardest thing to do. With WFH and being fully remote it is way to easy to be complacent staying home for the entirety of the day. That’s when things start to get bad… fast

• Feeling lonely – go to the coffee shop down the street and take a coffee break. Become a regular.

• Maybe strike up a conversation with someone you see doing something interesting or even cute. It’s easy to fear rejection… embrace the discomfort and overthink things.

2 Things to Remember

There are two main frameworks of thought I keep telling myself this week. Some people call this a mantra.

Call it whatever you want… it works

This is what’s helping me move through my days right now and recall the big goal I have…

• The unlimited upside of asking – taken from Noah Kagan’s Million Dollar weekend book (I highly recommend)

  • Always be asking:

    • The they of person that asks for what they want

    • If you want a new job at a new company, you have to reach out to ASK for it

    • If you want more money from your boss, you have to ask for a raise

    • If you are selling something, you have to ASK the customer to buy it

    • Even at home, if you want your spouse, kids, roommates to treat you better. You need to ask them

  • Be persistent – people who are persistent show interest, energy, and excitement. People are attracted to that energy.

• Momentum is created by action

  • Now not how – have a great idea? Cool so does everyone. How can you validate it right now?

    • Text someone, ask them if they’re interested in going on a trip to Asia with you

    • Do you think someone will pay for you to DJ their workout class? Ask them

    • Do you see someone you’d love to meet – get up and go introduce yourself. Go talk to them. Shoot them a message that will make them want to talk to you

    • Don’t want, DO

  • Momentum is created by doing something

This is where my head at has been recently, personal growth.

What have you been working on recently that you want to take the leap on? Someone new you want to reach out to?

This shit is hard, that can be true, don’t overthink things too much. You get in your head.

Talk to people, develop your community, your core group.

Seek to be known well, not well know.

Now get up and get out of the house!