Alright friends, y’all have spoken. Team iPhone it is.
This weekend’s mission is to get a new phone. I’ll report back if I accomplish this mission in next week’s update.
I’ve spent $76.87 on groceries, $49.55 on takeout/restaurants, and $112.33 on coffee and beer since last week.
This does not include dinner at Barley Swine last weekend. If you’re ever in Austin I HIGHLY recommend getting a reservation at either Barley Swine or it’s sister restaurant, Odd Duck.
My current Bitcoin holdings: are 0.07578491 BTC.
This week Bitcoin crossed the $60K threshold. This is a big big deal. It brings Bitcoin back to where it was during its peak in 2021 demonstrating a recovery of value. That, combined with increased institutional interest (think BlackRock), the upcoming election, and the next halving cycle could skyrocket Bitcoin even further.
In Audio Note #65 this week, I talk about identity as a choice.
Many of us embody an identity as if it was a fixed part of us. In reality, identity is designed to ebb and flow as we grow and change.
This week on Medium I published: I Made $3,446.50 on Medium Last Month — Here’s How
This is a recap of how much I made on Medium last month, my time breakdown, and the only way I think it’s possible to earn an income on the platform moving forward.
I got decimated by the Texas DMV this week. Ok not decimated, but crushed.
Apparently in Texas you have to get your car registered first THEN inspected. When I went to start that process, I discovered 1) an accident I never had had been reported against my insurance and 2) Progressive wanted to increase my premium by 257%! So now I need to find new insurance because that type of increase is unacceptable.
I’m about to finish negotiating my largest contract to date. Very excited to share more about this once the ink dries.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
-Albert Einstein
I shared something on LinkedIn this week that I’d like to share with you all too:
This idea of value continues to be top of mind for me.
Value is a complex word with multiple different meanings depending on the context. According to Merriam-Webster, when used as a noun, value can mean “relative worth, utility, or importance.”
At work we’re trained to provide something of importance to our employer. As business owners we’re told to provide something of importance to our customers. It’s no wonder that we’re trained to think this way with our families, friendships, and romantic partnerships too.
But this raises an interesting question: is it necessary to provide value all the time?
I think the answer is yes, but not for the reasons you might think.
In the construct of work and business, value is transactional in nature. You give something in order to get something in return, usually some form of financial compensation.
I think we need to move past that. Instead of transacting value, I think we need to make it our mission to give as much of our time, resources, and talents as humanly possible.
We don’t always get more by giving more, but by giving we find fulfillment.
This is quite a paradox when you think about it. We’re trained to understand our worth and value in financial terms but when you give of yourself selflessly with no expectation of remuneration in return, you expose yourself to the risk of earning nothing at all.
Now, of course, you can’t go and quit your job right now (well actually you can, but as someone who has done that multiple times, I don’t recommend it).
But you can control how much of your time you give in order to find fulfillment.
You can make it your mission to do more high-value work in your job with the expectation that your work is designed to serve others rather then enrich yourself.
This has been the rut I’ve been working through as I prioritize my time to grow different parts of my business. The thing I need to do – teach others how to free up more of their time to do more impactful work – is being siphoned away from other tasks like writing SEO content for blogs.
When I focus on the latter, I’m unable to allocate the time or energy to the former. Writing content that pays the bills meets my needs in the short-term but it leaves me unfulfilled over time.
This brings me back to the premise of that LinkedIn post I shared. What is value and how do you define it?
How do you know if you’re using your time to provide value for the people in your life?
As more and more of our time and attention continues to be siphoned away I think this is something worth spending some time thinking about.
What does value mean to you and how are you embodying it?
What I’m Currently Reading
The Plant-Based Athlete: A Game-Changing Approach to Peak Performance
P.S. Check out my recommended reading list here
My running gear:
Whatever clothes I can find at the thrift store
My crypto gear:
My productivity tools:
Task management:
TodoistScrapping this because Google launched a new to do list feature built into Google Calendar. It’s AMAZING.
Time management: Clockify
Email management: Unroll.me
Everything management: Notion
P.S. some of these are affiliate links including links from Amazon’s affiliate program. I may receive a commission from them. This is one way to support my writing and help me build sustainable income streams in 2024.