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
Breakfast with a man who runs ultramarathons and climbs the world’s highest mountains. Lunch with a guy who built a successful SaaS from scratch. Dinner with a whole bunch of baller SEO types. Hard to beat Chiang Mai for this kind of thing.
17
The past two months I’ve been averaging less than 7 hours of sleep. Thought that was rough, until I met a couple who sleep 2-3 hours per night. I don’t know how they function, but they do. You think you have it bad but there’s always someone out there with a bigger struggle.
18
What’s worse: physical illness or mental illness? I’d argue the latter. Phil Graham had manic depression. Hurt the people he loved most. Couldn’t help himself. No effective treatment available back then, his only solution was to eat a shotgun.
19
Back to Bali. Time it right and it’s a spectacular place to fly into, volcanos at sunset filling the window frame. It was a good trip to Chiang Mai, and I’d be happy enough staying there, too. But, for now at least, Bali feels like home.
20
Email from a stranger tells me I’m doing affiliate marketing right:
“Just used your link for TASS. You were the first person I came across that seemed completely honest and gave sufficient information unlike the hoard of Wealthy Affiliates trying to get a quick cash grab. Go spend some of that referral money on a nice massage and enjoy your travels in Asia.”
21
Not sure what to do with the Freedom Business Builder group. Keep it as is? Pour more time and energy into it to add more value? Increase the price of entry? Make it free? Or donation-based? Brainstorming ideas with members.
22
Walking the loop in Ubud after dark. It’s low season now. The town is quiet, more humid. But you’ll still find the occasional busy bar with live music, still hear frequent calls of taxi and massage. Everything’s pretty much the same, but less white people.
23
Met a lady today who quit her corporate job five months ago and has been traveling the world since. It’s been eye-opening for her. And a good reminder for me. Easy to take the freedom for granted these days, almost ten years deep.
24
Cruising some back roads in Bali, taking in the countryside. We pass through one village with a whiff of coffee beans. Cross a bridge with a man pointing a rifle to the sky. Give and get waves from several children. See a truck run a red light and almost kill some folks.
25
Another internet marketing person whose work I admire signed up to my mailing list today, sent along some kind words. My newsletter is still relatively unknown, but it seems to be catching the attention of some key people. Must be a good sign.
26
My goal for the end of the year was to be earning $3-4k per month from affiliate marketing. Got a payment today that puts me over $4k for November. Delighted. It hasn’t been a smooth road, but this bus is definitely moving in the right direction.
27
Every piece of content we publish should be something we’re proud of. There’s too much thin, bullshit content out there online. Some of it earns good money, but that can’t be the sole measure of success. If you’re going to make something, make it excellent.
28
We don’t interact much with the locals here. Or the foreigners, for that matter. Pretty much keep to ourselves, focused on work, doing our own introverted thing. That’s a conscious choice, but there’s a part of me that feels we’re missing out on some of that important human stuff.
29
I like those first moments coming down the steps, sleep still in my eyes, horizon starting to glow, sounds of sweeping, sometimes a smell of incense, glimpse of a spectacular landscape half-painted by the neighbors, soon to be sold.
30
A little after six in the morning, walking by some rice fields, thinking: when you reach a new level, you tend to believe that’s your new default, that you’ll either maintain or keep growing. You never really consider that you might fall back down. But, of course, you can. Tokugawa Ieyasu must have been thinking similar when he said:
“At the moment of victory, tighten the straps of your helmet.”