These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
Some kind of festival blocking the road, looks like a bunch of folks sitting, praying. We’re forced to turn back and find a convoluted route home. Compensation: along the back roads we see a spectacular black and red sky crowning a rice field.
2
It was a year ago yesterday that a buddy jumped on a call with me and inspired the new direction. These past twelve months have been a rollercoaster, but I’m loving the work, getting better every day, and the finances are starting to come good. Onwards.
3
Some folks romanticize the grind. Others say: if you’re busy, you’re doing something wrong. The truth is somewhere in between. The grind can be romantic. And it can also turn you to dust. It’s a good weapon to have, but it shouldn’t be your only one.
4
Donated an extra $50 to Effective Altruism yesterday. Meanwhile, here in Ubud, I often walk past homeless people with their hands out and never give them a thing. Makes me feel like a dick, but my feelings aren’t important here.
5
We published three solid pieces of content today. Two of them I barely had a hand in. That’s significant. For the past 9 years my business has mostly been a one-man band. Hard for me to let go of that, but as the saying goes: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.
6
I usually fill up at the big station, but it’s probably packed at this hour, so I stop by one of those little roadside fuel stops and an old man pumps what looks like washing-up liquid into my scooter. He’s probably lived on this street his entire life. Wonder what it looked like when he was a boy.
7
Been averaging only 6 hours sleep this month. Set up office at my favorite cafe this morning and fixed some styling issues, then came home and slept for three hours. Going to try take it a little easier over Christmas. Been working crazy hours this year.
8
Today’s expenses:
- Coffee and breakfast at a cafe – $3.50
- Lunch, coffee and smoothie at another cafe – $13
- 90-minute massage – $14
You can live far cheaper here if you want, but those prices suit me pretty good.
9
Just published my round-up review of affiliate marketing courses. That’s the culmination of 300+ hours of work. Probably closer to 400, actually. Quite happy with it. Nobody else has published anything near as good or as thorough on that topic.
10
The older you get, the more confident you become that you can’t really be sure of anything. Although, I could be wrong about that.
11
Reading Una-Minh’s book. First impression: that lady’s more Irish than I am. Sure, I was born in Ireland and she was born in Vietnam, but she had far more of a traditional Irish upbringing, steeped in Gaeilge and ceoil and seanachaís.
12
Looks like the last few months are catching up with me now. I’ve been wiped out this week, barely any motivation to do the simplest of tasks. But that’s okay. Amazed that it took this long to hit a downswing. I’ll chill out and embrace it.
13
Kuala Lumpur isn’t even that big a city by Asian standards, but it’s too big for me. Or maybe it’s just the traffic situation here. Takes far too long to go anywhere. Give me a town or city I can get around easily on foot or by bike. Amsterdam is unbeatable that way.
14
Buying shoes is not one of my favorite things. I prefer a shoe with minimal branding, so I’m not a walking billboard. But it’s hard to find that sometimes. Settled for a pair of Adidas today. I basically paid €84 to promote them for the next few months.
15
My day:
- Lost luggage
- Sprinting through the airport
- Lightning striking a volcano
- Cat shit in the kitchen
16
Found an interesting YouTube channel today. It’s an MD breaking down sports injuries. Whenever a sports star gets hurt, he explains what happened and the expected recovery process. 182k subscribers. Even doctors can build a following and earn money online these days.
17
There’s a guy alone here in the cafe taking up a 4-seater table for the past few hours. If I’m alone, I always feel I should take a small table in case the place fills up. Not sure if he has a healthier sense of entitlement than me, or if I’m more thoughtful than him.
18
Probably a good indication of a person’s character is how they respond to criticism. Impressed with the chap I had a call with today. Gave his course a bad review recently and he responded far better than most, using it as a wake-up rather than label me a hater.
19
An American friend once said the thing that bothered him most about Trump getting elected was the message that it’s totally fine to lie, cheat and bully. Trump proved you can do all that and still come out on top. But maybe his crimes and misdemeanors are starting to catch up with him.
20
We tend to admire rich people without questioning how they got rich. But how you get rich matters. A lot. Saw a rich “guru” today who has probably helped and inspired a lot of people since he became wealthy, but he got there by selling fake medical cures. That’s not okay.
21
What brand have you seen advertised more than any other in your lifetime? For most of us, it’s probably Coca-Cola. Started reading a book about the company a couple of days ago. Fascinating stuff. More than 130 years old now.
22
Read about a site owner today who found out one of his writers had been plagiarising content for years. Didn’t have checks in place to catch it. Now the owner’s labeled a scumbag, his site’s reputation has taken a knock. So many things can go wrong.
23
One of those days: started and finished all of Stranger Things, Season 3. The Russians were the bad guys again. Has to be either them, the Brits, or the Germans. Can’t really use the Chinese or Indians anymore because you’d likely be accused of racism.
24
Resentment got the better of me, didn’t respond well when that angry old white dude came to our table. Ended up arguing and nothing positive came of it. If I could have a do-over, I’d tell him my name, then hear him out. Seek first to understand.
25
Did a little 12-step exercise today, reflecting on the past year, setting priorities for the next. Been a bit anxious in recent months, short-tempered. Gotta get back to the holy trinity: daily stretching, meditation, free writing. Even if it’s only a minute of each.
26
Paul Graham writes:
I had plenty of happy times before I had kids. But if I count up happy moments, not just potential happiness but actual happy moments, there are more after kids than before. Now I practically have it on tap, almost any bedtime.
27
Only spent about 20 minutes at the gym. My back’s been limiting me for a couple of months now. I’ve rested, been to the chiropractor, tried stretching more, doesn’t seem to be helping. It’s frustrating. Starting to feel like an old man.
28
We watched the four Toy Story movies this week. All very well done. There’s a clear shift in the fourth one, the first time they’ve had a strong female character featured so prominently. Read up on it and it seems that was a definite response to the #metoo movement.
29
Dreams of Valencia. Never been, but the more we learn about the place, the more we like it. We’ll do a quick trip in the Spring, feel it out. Could end up being our future home base. A bit easier to get to and from than Gran Canaria.
30
A decade ago I was a single man working 9-to-5 in New Orleans, happily watching several NBA games a week, getting drunk every weekend. Now I’m long-term sober and self-employed, living with my girlfriend in Bali. I was happy then. And I’m happy now. It’s been a good ten.
31
On the beach in Canggu for midnight, explosions in the sky. One thing I like about NYE is all the people full of hope and optimism. Regardless of what’s happened before, now is a time to look to the future, a future where we can be better, do better, live better.