These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
Published my best survey sites article ten weeks ago. Looks like it finally hit the first page of Google today. That’s the tricky thing with SEO – takes a while to find out if what you’re doing is working. I was ready to write off the survey site stuff as a waste of time. But now, perhaps not.
2
I get a little obsessed with analytics sometimes. Especially when I’m tired. That’s when I end up checking how much traffic’s coming in, how many clicks I’m getting on what links, how much I’m earning from different affiliate programs. Very little of that info is any way actionable.
3
In Canggu, wake up to the sound of sweeping. They sweep a lot here in Bali. Head outside, kites in the sky, incense in the air. Short walk down the street to the early cafe. I’m their first customer today. Upstairs with a latte, emails back home, remembering my grandfather and the stars he made shine.
4
There’s a primal itch in guys that can only be scratched by spending time with a group of other guys. Hanging out with two good dudes here in Canggu, talking business, taking the piss, playing video games. I’d been missing that.
5
You can get used to anything eventually. Driving in Bali was intense and exhausting at first. Now, more than three months later, I can drive an hour from Canggu to Ubud easy enough, chatting with my lady on the back much of the way. Gotta be careful what you get used to though.
6
Reviewing a bunch of affiliate marketing courses now. Started into perhaps the most popular one today – Wealthy Affiliate. Impressed with some of it, but annoyed by their greatly exaggerated claims. For example:
“It is going to take less than 30 seconds to get a fully operational, profit ready WordPress website up and running online.”
7
Spent about 4 hours today going through that course and keeping notes. May sound tedious, but I love this work. It’s basically my job to learn new things. But that’s only the half of it. I also love the noticing, figuring out what makes sense and what doesn’t, examining claims, sniffing out bullshit.
8
Only five hours sleep but it’s one of those magic mornings. Getting to the gym right as it opens, scooting along that road, hint of orange in the sky, neighbors smiling, kids in uniform, baby in a father’s arms, old man jogging, puppies playing, and the constant sweep-sweep-sweeping, everyone keeping their corner of the world clean.
9
Listening to Bernie Sanders on Joe Rogan. I like the guy. Smart, reasonable, coherent, respectful. Doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. I hope America gives him a shot. Not sure how anyone could listen to Trump talk about the same issues for an hour and come away convinced that he’s the best man for the job.
10
Loads of energy the past few weeks, not sure where it’s coming from. Hitting the gym every morning has surely helped, haven’t been this consistent with it since 2016. Going all-in on my own thing must be a factor, too. This work and the crazy potential of it has me buzzing.
11
The stories that are out there, man. Three of them came my way today. A newsletter that pulls in $2 million a month. The guy who built and sold a website for $9 million, despite having no interest or expertize in his niche. And two friends who built a $1 million Amazon business from scratch in only three years.
12
~22 hours now combing through Wealthy Affliate, and I’m left disappointed. Mostly, it’s just very outdated. Much of the material hasn’t been updated since 2014 – an eternity online. It’s a damn shame because they have a really good affiliate program and I was hoping to write a glowing review. Oh well.
13
Scooting around Ubud trying to buy a SIM card for this 14-year-old. Booth is closed at the usual place. When will it open? Maybe in an hour. Maybe? Yes, maybe. Fine, on to the next. No English, the man says. Fine, further on again. Third time lucky, but they say to wait an hour for the card to activate. 4 hours later, it activates.
14
Several more hours reviewing WA today. I’m starting to get angry about it now. This course sucks yet it earns millions every month. I had a course that was far more likely to get students earning online, yet I struggled to earn more than $2,000 a month from it. Life ain’t fair.
15
Hefty bald white dude cuts me off dangerously on the scooter. He’s in a rush going nowhere, has to stop for traffic up ahead. I pull up alongside with the horn blaring, making sure he knows that’s not cool. His tough mug roars at me in a language I don’t understand, and I let him go.
16
People don’t need to learn online business so much as they need to learn critical thinking. If you’re adept at the latter, you won’t fall for scams, you’ll be better at evaluating opportunities, gathering information, making informed decisions, compensating for cognitive biases.
17
It’s 5am, in bed binge watching The Wire, half asleep. Something moves in the corner of the room. There’s the biggest spider I’ve ever seen in real life – about the size of my fist – creeping down the wall. I run downstairs to grab a shoe, come back 20 seconds later… and he’s disappeared. Oh fuck.
18
Atop a volcano watching the sun rise spectacular. 200 years ago, another volcano near here erupted, killing 100,000 people and casting the world into a year without summer. The effects contributed to Bolivar’s revolution, Shelley’s Frankenstein, Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, and the worst famine of the 19th century.
19
Cheat mode activated, put in a good ten hours of deep work today. Well into the evening I was getting lost in it, distractions bouncing off me like bullets off Batman. Not sure how much of that I can take credit for. Time will tell.
20
I’ve spent about 50 hours reviewing this course so far. Kinda ridiculous when I’m unlikely to earn any commissions from it. Hopefully I can earn a bit recommending better alternatives. But even if not, I’m proud of the work I’m doing. These guys are getting rich off bad information. My review should put a dent in that, one way or another.
21
Got through another checkpoint without being pulled over. They had their hands full accosting other tourists. Bali police will ignore a 14-year-old riding reckless without a helmet, but jump on anyone with white skin. Because technically you need an international license to drive a scooter here. Without that, you’re an ATM.
22
Been walking around town in the evenings. Through empty alleyways, across busy streets. By the park with a festival going on. Tents, live music, amusements. Down past that cafe with the pet mongoose. Around the corner with all the monkeys. Beautiful doorways, wilting penjors, talk of a fire dance.
23
Growing more confident by the day with eBiz Facts. The earnings are on the uptick, but it’s not so much about that. It’s about the work itself, cliche as it sounds. Now more than ever, I fell like I’m adding significant value to the world, and that good things will come of it.
24
Sitting with this chap I met years ago in Thailand. Since then he’s been down the rabbit hole on human trafficking, even helped find two girls kidnapped out of Vietnam and smuggled into China. He’s made a documentary about it all and now is here in Ubud writing the book.
25
Figured I’d get this review done in a couple of weeks, no big deal. Coming up on 80 hours spent on it now. Today all I needed to do was finish transferring the content over to WordPress, prep and place the images, simple stuff. Thought it would take four hours. Ended up taking eight. Ever the optimist, I guess.
26
We live at the back of a family compound. There’s a popular restaurant here, too. In the evening you have to squeeze past a line of people waiting to eat. Before you hit the street you pass some shrines, a cute dog, several caged birds, through a doorway guarded by orchids and monsters, down a flight of steps, stepping over flowers and incense.
27
A friend recently spent four days alone on a mountain in Sicily. No food, no water, no shelter. All the better to appreciate the little things. This morning I read advice from a master salesman, watched wisdom from a bodybuilder, then from an ancient military strategist. These are little things, too. Easy to take the magic for granted.
28
Some folks call it the best show ever made, finished it last night. I appreciate the layers, the realism, the nuance. Thomas Flight said it well:
“The Wire doesn’t try to grab and keep your attention, it requires it. But if you give it your attention, it will reward you.”
29
A question I like to ask people: are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the way the world is going? I definitely lean optimistic, in large part because I don’t keep up with the news, prefer to stay focused on my circle of influence. Ignorance is just ignorance, but selective ignorance can be bliss.
30
I love seeing people working regular jobs giving their best. Like the guys at the coffee shop I frequent here in Ubud. Nothing particularly special about that job, but they take great care with every cup, every plate, every customer interaction. Unremarkable things, done remarkably well. There’s beauty in that.
31
I watch a lot of flat earth debunking videos. SciManDan and Conspiracy Catz especially. There’s something fascinating about people who believe things so strongly despite all evidence to the contrary. There’s no reasoning with them, so about the best we can do is resort to ridicule.