KAIZEN CH.80 - Operate from a Place of Love not Fear
Thoughts on love, fear, productivity, procrastination and content marketing
Hey friend 👋,
Welcome to the 80th edition of the Kaizen Newsletter ⛩, a weekly newsletter where I share my thoughts, new ideas I learn and make weird connections between self-improvement, productivity, product, tech, sports, anime.
On October 1st, I started doing a 100 days copywriting challenge, which I was finally able to complete this past weekend! There were lots of days where I just didn't want to do anything regarding copywriting, but I persevered into the end. I'll be working on a post that will summarize my learnings from doing this challenge.
I've also been releasing one atomic essay every day since January 4th. I'll be posting my favourite one every week here, but if you want to follow along my journey, you can find it here.
(if you got referred to this page by a friend or are simply visiting you can subscribe here👇)
Now, on to the newsletter.
I realized recently that most of my biggest life decisions were made from a place of fear.
The reason why I chose engineering as my major is that I was afraid of not getting a job when graduating. So I chose a program that was abundant in jobs.
The reason why I went into consulting after graduating is that I was afraid of getting stuck in one industry forever. So I chose a job that would offer me a lot of optionality.
The reason why I recently switched jobs was that I hated my previous job and wasn't learning enough.
But every time I've operated from fear, I eventually get stuck.
I realize that I'm not enjoying what I'm doing or beat myself up because I regret making the choice.
And the reason why you regret these decisions is because you're not making these choices for yourself.
All of these decisions are made for someone or something else.
Maybe it's for your parents, or your friends, or from society, but it's definitely not for you.
That's why you have to learn how to operate from a place of love instead.
The more you're able to go for the things you truly want, the happier and more fulfilled you will become.
And suddenly, everything will be more fun and easier because you end up doing the things that you truly want to do.
So the next time you have a decision to make, think of why you're doing it.
Is it because you truly want to do it? Or is this from an external voice?
Only do it when you are operating from a place of love.
🤔 Thoughts
🧠 Thoughts on Procrastination
I consider myself lucky to have talented writing friends like Salman. Whenever I feel that my writing is improving, I just need to read one of his essays to bring me back to reality.
The command he has on his words to create an entire new world amazes me every time I read one of his pieces.
Just read a part of his essay and try to tell me this is not good.
I realize that a part of me enjoys the drama of procrastination. I revel in the thrill of pulling it off at the last minute. The longer the delay, the greater the reward.
I am the villain, the hero, and the audience in my own Last Minute Circus.
The next evening, I’m in the ring again.
New day, same old play. I’m booked for life.
I hear the bells for curtain call. Like clockwork, he appears beside me. My longtime friend, my lifetime foe: Me.
And the show goes on.
Not only is his writing good though, but the piece also aims to remind us that everyone suffers from procrastination and even if we know we shouldn't procrastinate, we still continue doing it over and over again.
🤖 Thoughts on Productivity
Also loved this piece from my friend Shelby.
Not only does she have beautiful descriptions, the piece also serves as a reminder about how addicted we are to productivity.
That even simple moments such as observing the beauty around us can be seen as a distraction and being non-productive.
In this moment, she is stealing her attention from herself. When she pries the productive part of her brain away from work, conceding feels like the only way to achieve veritable presence. But she doesn’t admit that.
“Come on,” she whispers to herself. “Be here, now.”
Secretly pleased to be influenced, she submits to the temptation. “Ok, but just for a moment, because I have a lot of work to get to…”
And with her hands on her device, here she is.
✍️ Thoughts on Content Marketing
Stumbled upon this talk from Neville Medhora while I was searching how to do better content-marketing.
Loved how he framed the SEO piece as a product that solves specific questions for your readers/audience.
This means instead of thinking of your essay as a whole piece, you want to think of your content as modules instead.
You want to ask yourself what exactly does your audience need to know.
From there, you can derive a list of questions and then find the best solution to their questions.
And those solutions don't need to be purely text-based. In the video, he uses tables, images and even a budget calculator.
🐦 Tweets
Super well said. Once you have people paying you for your product, you don't need motivation anymore.
Love this word, which represents exactly who I am: a lover of learning.
The guy she told you not to worry about vs you.
🙏 Shoutout
Had an amazing talk with Khadija from the Ship30for30 community! It's honestly one of the coolest communities I've been in and the energy emanating from it is special.
👋 End Note
If you want to know what I'm up to now, you can check it on my website here.
If you enjoyed the Kaizen Newsletter, then it'd be cool if you can share it with your friends.
See ya next Tuesday,
Alexander ✌️