Do the Opposite - $100 Startup, Don't Overlearn, How to Drop Habits of Mindlessness
Greetings friends,
Welcome to the newest issue of the Do the Opposite newsletter, sent every Monday! If you like it, please forward this email to your friends or share this link with them: tinyletter.com/dotheopposite - this helps the newsletter grow!
If you want to share any resources, articles, books or anything else with the community, please reply to this email with your recommendations!
_________
$100 Startup
I've recently started rereading the "$100 Startup", a book by Chris Guillebeau. I've purchased it years ago, read it maybe halfway through and stopped. I don't think I was ready for the message of the book then. I wanted to create some sort of business but had no specific ideas + the Resistance got the best of me. No stopping this time :) Here's what it looks like:
I'm really enjoying the practical advice Chris gives in the book. It covers not only the potential business and business format ideas (for more of those also check out Chris' book "Side Hustle"), but also how to price your product/service, how to determine if your idea has a market for it, how to promote it (hustle), and more. I highly recommend you give it a shot if you are interested in creating a side business (with potential to grow into your main activity so you can quit your job ;) or a stand-alone project.
P.S. The first book of Chris that I've read was "The Art of Non-Conformity" and that was when I was back home (I had to order an English version online :) and later on I saw Chris twice here in Toronto when he was doing book tours. He is very down-to-earth, practical, and funny. He also visited every country on Earth (193/193). Find out more about Chris and his projects here.
Articles:
1) "Why More Knowledge Won't Make You More Successful" by Aytekin Tank
It's important to not give in to the comforting thought: "I just need to learn more about this" before embarking on a journey such as starting a business, creating a video course, or travelling abroad and trying to speak a local language, etc. This is just another way in which we procrastinate. What is procrastination anyway? It's not like we are doing something bad or wrong when we procrastinate ― usually, we are doing good things, like washing the dishes, cleaning the apartment, filling in our notebooks and diaries, sorting out email. These are all good actions, but the base motivation to do them is coming from the wrong place: we are trying to avoid something that's more important but more uncomfortable.
It's the same with learning vs doing. We get into the loop of learning more and more about a subject. We've passed the minimum starting knowledge requirement a long time ago, and now just running in circles, adding "annual growth rings" to the trees of our lives, without actually "living it". Maybe it's time to close that book and start your project?
2) "Retraining Deeply Ingrained Habits of Mindlessness" by Leo Babauta
I am guilty of many mindless subconscious habits Leo lists in the article. These are my top 2: "Sitting too long and getting distracted online" and "Comparing myself to others or judging myself". It's incredible how much time we are wasting this way. It always seems like we're busy when we are repeating one of these subconscious habits, but we don't feel "fully alive" and engaged during that time ― that's the mental test I use to catch myself when I get distracted by one of these habits. Leo shares more techniques on how to "snap out of it" in this amazing article.
Video:
"8 Things I Don't Buy Or Own As A Minimalist" by Ronald L. Banks
I loved this video for its practicality. There are a lot of minimalist-inspiration videos out there, but at the end of watching them you find yourself excited and motivated with nowhere to go, with no clear guide to action. Here, Ronald shares 8 practical tips on specific things he stopped buying and buying into (the idea of that he needs them).
The one that resonated with me the most was about gaming. I constantly find myself having to push back on my desires to play games. I know that it's just my brain resisting the discomfort of doing real work, working on my projects. It tries to rationalize with me ― "maybe I should download Steam and play a hour a week to unwind". However I know that by that time I'm done playing all I'd feel would be emptiness. I know I've already written about this in the newsletter, but it seems to be a never-ending theme with me ― no matter what, I keep coming back to it in my mind.
Tech Corner:
Disclaimer: This section is related to tech and coding. If you are interested in learning to code, but not sure ― shoot me a direct message on Twitter (@ka11away) or just reply to this email, and I will do my best to help you out!
1) Explaining File Systems: NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, ext4 & More
"Explaining Computers" is a great channel ― I highly recommend it. I've watched many videos on it, and each of them was a revelation into how certain types of hardware and computer parts work.
Tweet that resonated with me
This time it's not just one tweet, it's the whole thread, starting with this tweet.
Bonus tweet for fun ;) Turns out you can get anywhere with this simple trick - carry a ladder with you everywhere. People just assume you have the authority to be there. A great tool for physical pentesting.
Ethos:
Quotes:
"People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy."
― Seneca, "On the Shortness of Life"
"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
― Henry David Thoreau
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
― Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"
_________
TELEGRAM CHANNEL: Do the Opposite has a public Telegram channel. The content there is a little different than in the newsletter: faster to consume, a bit more random - basically anything weird or interesting that catches my eye - articles, tweets, videos, images, etc. Hope to see you there as well! :) Here it is: t.me/dotheopposite
If you find this newsletter helpful, please consider forwarding this email to to your friends! Or just give them this link: tinyletter.com/dotheopposite
Keep doing the opposite,
Alexander Kallaway
Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away