👀 It’s Time to Find Your Obsession

Hi friend,

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I owe you one or two newsletters, so stay tuned for some Wednesday uploads as we experiment with different formats!

Today’s newsletter is about sustainability. More specifically, sticking with a project, and even before that, picking the right project.

It’s a little more chatty, but this is because my grand plan to create the perfect newsletter every week is leading to perfectionism. Guilty, your honour.

Let’s get into it.

💭 Thought of the week

What could you do every day for 2 years?

Visual credit: @visualizevalue

It really struck a chord with me when I heard YouTube sensation Lana Blakely on a podcast. She was obsessed with YouTube. Like literally obsessed.

“I just couldn’t stop thinking about being a YouTuber.”

If you’ve ever seen an interview of MrBeast, you’ll have heard that he’d get together with friends to study viral videos. These ‘Daily Masterminds’ could last the whole day micro-analyzing titles, thumbnails and high-performing video topics.

When were you last THAT obsessed about something?

  • Could it be that what you’re chasing isn’t actually for you?
  • Could it be that you’ve borrowed somebody else’s goal?
  • Maybe you feel like you “should” be doing something, but it feels exhausting and you’re constantly having to motivate yourself to do it.

I’m deliberately poking here to encourage some reflection.

To quote Naval: “All returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.”

To enjoy the serendipity of opportunities coming your way, and to enjoy the fruits of your hard labour, you’ll need to show up again and again until your efforts compound.

When you reach that moment, suddenly everything makes sense. To everyone else you’re an “overnight success” and the outsiders think you're lucky.

They didn’t see the days of your life that you spent working towards a vision that only you could see.

Now, what if it didn't have to be so hard?

Sure, everything worth having takes hard work, but does it really need to be at the sacrifice of other things in your life? Probably not.

That’s where obsession comes in, but the healthy kind, an infatuation with doing something because you have a love for it.

So what’s the thing you could do, every day, for 2 years?

Is it a newsletter?

Is it a podcast?

Is it a YouTube channel?

Based on whether you like writing, enjoy being on video, or prefer talking to others, you can pick a path that feels energising to you.

If you’re already a serious creator, think about what only YOU can do and begin to delegate the rest.

Make it easier for yourself, and pick what’s most enjoyable. A true win-win.

💡 A perspective to consider

When you work on the right thing, it doesn’t look like work.

"What feels like play to you, but looks like work to others?”

Naval Ravikant

❤️ Content I LOVED

📚 Book - The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgensen

- This week’s newsletter features a few Naval quotes, so if you enjoyed them, grab a free download of the book that distils his best tweets and greatest wisdom.

📖 Article - The Purpose Of Life Is Not Happiness: It’s Usefulness

- An interesting take, this article has 180,000 claps on Medium.

📖 Article - How to Create Your Best Year by Valentin Perez

- I’m blown away by the people in this world who play the piano, dance, build businesses and prioritise their families. Those are made-up examples, but some people live life to the fullest and Valentin is one of those people.

📸 Image of the week

I’ve just come back from a 3-day weekend in Norfolk. On Friday, I told myself that it was Saturday and on Saturday I told myself that it was Sunday. It’s silly, but this actually worked and artificially expanded the feeling of the trip.

Parkinson’s Law, ladies and gentlemen.

Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!

Joe

P.S. Three-day weekends are underrated. Sprinkle that time off.

P.S.S. Help me spread the word about Creator’s Compass by sharing the link below with a friend! Muchas gracias 😁

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Creator’s Compass
Helping you to become a better creator, every Sunday.