Fish At Your Feet
You don’t need to cast a long line.
There’s a bounty sitting there — Right at your feet.
Think big, long-term. Think tiny, right now.
Thinking tiny leads to actions you’ll actually take.
No overwhelm.
And many tiny actions become big results, over time.
What’s the smallest bit of value you can give to…
- Contacts in your phone…
- Businesses on your street..
- Media in your town…
- Clients from years ago…
- Friends in your community…
- Schools in your neighbourhood…
And how can you continuously add value to them (and never stop)?
“Enthusiastic Amateur”
In Show Your Work, Austin Kleon suggests adopting the spirit of an “Enthusiastic Amateur.”
This was a healthy concept for me because I became a “Stuffy Professional” early on as a music student.
The “Stuffy Professional” is bloated with ego — only on some grand stage can their art be experienced.
The Enthusiastic Amateur, on the other hand:
- Openly shares what they’re working on — more than willing to give anyone a ‘look under the hood’
- Is so excited, they don’t care what people think
- Can’t help but share what they learn, as they learn it
- Is energized more by process, than product
When I was in music school, I spent SO MUCH TIME in practice rooms, coachings, rehearsals, masterclasses, and lessons. Not once did I share any of that process.
Good Model. Bad Model.
The business model is either a growth propeller, or a growth anchor.
When powered by a good model, you can ask, “What will I produce today?” and know that whatever it is, you’ll build efficiently. Everything you produce stacks and adds value to the model.
With a bad model, what you produce is fragmented. One thing doesn’t necessarily serve another. It makes your activity inefficient.
(This is compounded when you have multiple businesses.)
A good model is usually a ‘complete solution’ to a problem.
A bad model is a partial solution. Partial solutions require far more marketing and selling. Complete solutions are ‘no brainers’ — simply ‘getting attention’ will result in eventual sales.
2022 Habits, Themes, and Goals
The biggest challenge I’ve had with goals is remaining aware of them. I’m using this page to openly visualize, and track my 2022 habits, themes, and goals. HABITS THEMES GOALS 📱 Phone in separate roomSmart phones zap focus and energy VIGOUR 📈 $50k MRR 🗓 Daily Scheduling SPEED 💪🏼 Exercise 360 Days 🎥 Continuous + […]
Simple content ‘filters’
Hey! Kyle here. Happy Xmas Eve. The following has been on repeat in my brain for the last 2 weeks: “Life doesn’t respond to your need. You can’t go to the soil and say, “I need a crop.” The soil just smiles at you. The soil says, “Don’t bring me your need, bring me some […]
No-brainer attention ‘arbitrage’
Hey! Kyle here. Every couple weeks, I share the best of what I’ve learned growing restaurants and local businesses. In today’s edition, I’m going to cover: 🚒 3 free channels that deliver a ‘fire hose’ of attention and awareness ✍🏼 A drawing I made about failure 🎧 A new podcast episode about how restaurants can […]
How to be everywhere at the right time
Hey! Kyle here. Every couple weeks, I share the best of what I’ve learned growing restaurants and local businesses. In today’s edition, I’m going to cover: 1️⃣ A personal update 2️⃣ 2 insights 3️⃣ 1 simple business tactic This is my dog, Vito. We got him fixed this week. A friend brought him this pillow […]
6 Reasons I Think Cold Calling Is My ‘ONE Thing’
After years of fighting it, I’ve come around to ‘Cold Calling’ as the answer to my ONE Thing Question. (i.e. “What’s the One Thing I can do / such that by doing it / everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”) Here are 6 reasons why I think it’s Cold Calling: → Most people are […]
6 Thinking Hats: How to Think in the Same Direction
Ever heard of a ‘clearing process’? It’s one of those things that should be taught in school. Two people have a ‘charge’ between them: resentment, conflict, different points of view, etc. And in comes the ‘clearing process’ 👉 a systematic ‘clearing’ of the charge between them. They start with the data, free of emotion, and […]
Brainstorming vs. Listening
In 2017, we launched Nimble Bar Co and decided to go galivanting across Canada with it. We had no idea what we were doing or selling. We thought we knew what people wanted. We got together and ‘brainstormed’. We figured… Restaurants need videos! We’ll make ‘em cool videos… People want fancy cocktails! We’ll go do […]