Many entrepreneurs throw a narrative bias about their success. They write about how much success they have had, but little about the breadcrumbs that led to it.
I resonate with what Louis Nicholls tweeted.
If you visit @IndieHackers, you'll notice it's full of posts about landing pages, growth, epic launches and sobering failures... Nobody is posting about how they had to stay up till 2am on a Monday evening to add a California Addendum to their Data Processing Agreement. In a way, that's a shame. Because a 'newbie' can easily get the impression that being a founder is just one constant rollercoaster of highs and lows... a journey. In reality, it involves doing quite a bit of boring, repetitive work - that you won't even be paid (much) for. This is one of those areas that I hope initiatives like @earnestcapital, @tinyseedfund and @Stripe Atlas are going to improve for founders. Getting the boring stuff out of the way so that founders can focus.
Looking back retrospectively, I wrote about my successes. I also wrote about my struggles, but little of the failures. Or in Louis' terms, “the lows” of the rollercoaster ride. I'm going to do more of that.
I will do it in my tweets and in my daily journal.
I launched a special issue for Young Makers today and got 2 unsubs. It hurt a little but I was told by experienced newsletter operators this was alright. It was to be expected. We can't cater to everyone. It's better off that unsubscribers left so I could focus on those that matter – the ones that want my content.
It's hard to absorb this at first. In large part, I just felt that I had to know why they left. It unsettles me I don't have an explanation. If I had one, I would at least know where to improve. But no, not everything is going to have an answer.
Do you want to rule the world and control it? I don't think it can ever be done. The world is a sacred vessel and it can not be controlled. You will only make it worse if you try. It may slip through your fingers and disappear. – Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, 29
I'm no Taoist but there is a lot of wisdom in its texts. This quote helped me understand better that I shouldn't force things to go my way. There's no way I can force everyone to subscribe to my newsletter. The world works the way it is because it's the natural state of things. Everything is constantly in flux. The only way we can live in harmony with it is to move with the flow.
To be like water that adapts to the changes in its environment.
Had a conversation with Andrew, my Newsletter Dark Lord mentor earlier today. He advised me to double down on existing models I already have. This came in time because I was getting a little overwhelmed running many experiments at once. Instead of going wide, I should have gone deeper.
Many changes coming soon but for the better good of every reader.
We'll see how it goes.
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