The go-to newsletter for ambitious individuals creating alongside their day job. Each week you'll get a deep-dive on topics ranging from growth, decision-making, monetisation & business.
π 34% side hustle
β
PTCC: #27
In the mail π§
- Fun fact π€: Isaac Newtons nearly career.
- The story π: Your 9-5 is your competitive advantage.
- Small ideas π‘: Assumptions, bravery & opportunity cost.
- Mental model π§ : What you know about what you don't.
- Tweetspiration π€: Win a Macbook.
Read time: 2 minutes
π 7,700+ part-time creators.
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P.s. I know it's not Wednesday but I'm testing sending these newsletter out on a Sunday - seeing if people like it better :)
Fun fact:
Between the ages of 15 or 16, Isaac Newton was ordered by his mother to quit school and become a farmer. It was Isaac's former headmaster that managed the persuade her otherwise (source).
THE STORY:
A 9β5 gets a bad rap.
People will tell you the thing you need to do is to βquit the rat-raceβ to find happiness. Work for yourself they say, that's how you find happiness.
The trouble is, well actually many things, but the main hole in this argument is it neglects to understand why so many people stay in their 9-5s.
It neglects the million reasons why sticking with your 9-5 is a good thing, a sensible thing. And I want to talk about it, because I have a 9-5 and I like it.
My argument is different, my argument is that your 9-5 is your competitive advantage and here's why.
Imagine if everything was riding on this
For a good proportion of his adult life, Mark Manson wanted to be a best selling author. The year after his book hit the best sellers list he was miserable.
When you make it, things change (so they tell me anyway).
All of sudden you have an audience that rely on you, an agent expecting things of you & this thing you used to do for fun, then becomes your livelihood.
A 9-5 means you're not all-in on your passion project (yet).
The productivity play
When you work a 9β5, you can only give so much time and attention to your side hustle. Some people see that as a real problem.
To me? It's a blessing. It makes the whole thing a lot less daunting. Constraints force productivity.
It makes things super simple - you write or you don't.
If writing was my full-time gig Iβd never write a single thing.
They feed one another
A 9β5 allows you to exist in 2 worlds.
Your job thing and your part-time thing. What is amazing is that they feed one another. The better I get at writing, the better I am at my job. And what I learn in my job, I write about.
The mental shift is the perfect creativity spice.
Eggs in multiple baskets
All your eggs in one basket is an overrated tactic.
Not because of anything success related. I have no idea of the science if you quit your 9β5 and double down vs. keeping your side hustle. Not everything is about success metrics anyway.
It's more because of the variety it gives you.
You can be a teacher and an online writer. You can be a physio and blog about your thoughts on the world. You can be an accountant by day and write about your thoughts on philosophy at night.
You can dance between a few whys and enjoy them all for different reasons.
Itβs your pressure valve
When the pressure gets too high for writing online I can shift to my attention solely towards my 9β5 and let the pressure out.
The wonderful thing is, I can write what I want, when I want online because it has no ties to anything. If I make more one month great, if I go way below what I hoped, hey ho.
That sort of freedom allows for just one thing, the most important thing, enjoyment.
The pressure, disappears.
Use what your 9β5 teaches you
Working a 9β5 teaches you some good stuff. Structure is top of my list.
- You have to show up on time.
- You have to work to deadlines
- You have to organise your work.
A 9-5 is a routine.
And what's the hardest thing to master about writing on the internet? A routine.
If I donβt get up early, I wonβt have time to write. Itβs that simple.
Knowing that has meant that Iβve written consistently for over 1000 days on the internet.
Itβs not all or nothing
Iβll spend 2 hours a day writing online.
Honestly itβs incredible. It clears my mind, it helps me think, it makes me better.
But that doesnβt mean I need to give up a 9β5 I enjoy because of it. In fact, a 9β5 and a side hustle can work in complete harmony.
A 9β5 can be the biggest competitive advantage when it comes to writing online. It unlocks deep creativity and gives you the freedom to fail.
Small ideas:
- Everything is an assumption until tested.
- Business bravery is really an underrated skill.
- Decision making must take into account the time spent making a decision. Opportunity cost.
Mental model: What you know when you know
When you start off learning a new thing, after a few months you feel yourself thinking you know quite a lot. You know, you've got the basics, how much more can there be to learn?
It's at this point people stumble.
As they dig deeper, most will realise that a few months in they were just scratching the surface. As you go deeper into your learning, you'll learn how much it is that you don't know.
A good sense of knowing how well you know something is your awareness of how much you don't know.
Tweetspiration:
March 22nd 2023
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How I can help you:
Time is tight, I get it. It's why I've put together super-affordable courses to help you create alongside your full-time job. If you're interested in growing your Twitter, I'd recommend:
β β0-1k Twitter course - the exact strategy I have used to go from 425 to 8k+ followers in less than 4 months. Join 224 people using the course.
If you're interested in growing your Medium account, I'd recommend:
ββ The Medium Blueprint - The multi-layered system for creating top-quality content on Medium alongside your full-time job. The system I've used to go from 0 to $2k/month. Join 87 people.
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