These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
It bugs me when people make flawed arguments or false claims. I have an urge to jump in and set the record straight when I see that kind of thing. But it’s a slippery slope. Often I just end up arguing with fools, which makes me no wiser than them.
2
Slowing things down after a crazy work month. Sitting listening to a podcast in the morning, drinking tea. Reading a book, taking a long walk up into the hills. Takes some time to adjust to this. I’m restless, having to remind myself it’s okay to not be productive.
3
Going to the other extreme now. Instead of ten-hour workdays I’m binge-watching Game Of Thrones. Probably did about ten hours of that today alone. Never seen it before, finally understanding what all the fuss was about.
4
Well that’s a first for me: getting threatened with legal action because of a negative review. I guess it was inevitable, since I don’t shy away from reviewing controversial characters and their courses, and I don’t hold back on the criticism if I feel it’s warranted.
5
Fascinating how these guys can willfully mislead thousands of people, consistently, for their own financial gain… then get all butt-hurt when someone calls them on it. I wonder if they know they’re being shitty, or just have some powerful cognitive dissonance going on.
6
I compliment the lady on her shoes. She says she bought them in Rome. I’ve taken off my own shoes and socks. The lady has fired up something a bit like a dentist’s drill and is now using it to remove my toenails.
7
Finally signed up to support The Guardian yesterday. Only $5 a month, but better than nothing. I like to think these kinds of direct contributions will become more the norm, and companies like The Guardian can rely on them for funding rather than ad revenues.
8
Have a goal to go running at least ten times this month. Ran up a big hill today and felt it. I’m still very healthy and have good mobility, but there are niggling aches that let me know I’m not as young as I used to be. And yet, I’ll never be this young again.
9
Walking alone along drizzled streets in Tbilisi – proper Irish weather – listening to Eddie Lenihan talk about banshees and fairy rings, passing along old stories from people long dead. There’s a man who found his life purpose.
10
Morning now, rain a bit heavier, alone in a cemetery. There’s something significant about these places, perhaps more so with the rain and the solitude. Walking among dead men and women who built this city, a city that’s been good to us.
11
One of those days you read about on sales pages: most of my time spent reading, napping, walking in the woods… and money dripping into my bank account all the while. But for every day like this there have been a hundred spent hammering away at the laptop.
12
We live on the eighth floor. There’s an elevator, but you need a ₾5 coin to operate it. A negligible amount, but the inconvenience of it means we take the stairs most of the time. That one tiny barrier has a significant impact on our behavior.
13
Finished Game of Thrones. Enjoyed it overall. I heard many people were upset with the last season. I struggle to understand why folks get so upset about movies or TV shows. Always makes me wonder if they have much else going on in their lives.
14
On my ass after taking a tumble, checking to see if my hands are bleeding. I was jogging down the street, still half asleep. An old man’s looking back at me wondering what happened. Feeling a bit ridiculous is all.
15
This month feels like liftoff. Traffic is better than ever. Income looks to be following suit. And I’m hearing more and more from people I admire and respect, complimenting my work. All the time and effort I’ve put into this the past 18 months, really starting to pay off.
16
I try to surround myself with believable people. If I can’t trust someone to do what they say they’re going to do, or to be consistent with their word, it’s very hard for me to be around them. Of course, if I want that from others, I have to be believable myself.
17
I was sluggish last week, had a dose of the scutters and felt woozy while jogging. Turns out it was side-effects from medication I was taking. Been off it the past three days and finally back feeling like myself again. Feeling normal is underrated.
18
The plan was to move to Budapest this summer, but that’s all on hold now until we see how coronavirus shakes out. No point moving there if there’s a chance of another outbreak. If we’re going to be stuck indoors, we might as well stay put in Tbilisi.
19
Deleted the email app off my phone. I knew it was a problem for a while, checking it too much, making me anxious. That’s the thing with this affiliate business: at any moment, there could be a message in my inbox telling me I’m a little richer. But most times I check… there isn’t.
20
Many of us think we can take it easy once we’ve “made it.” But pro athletes show us how ridiculous that is. LeBron James didn’t chill out once he made it to the NBA. If anything, he started training longer, harder. You can never ease off if you want to stay top of your game.
21
I’m done reviewing affiliate marketing courses. It’s tempting to keep doing them because it’s relatively profitable and I can spot bullshit easily in this industry. But if I’m not careful eBiz Facts will become just another site about affiliate marketing. And that ain’t the goal.
22
Watching a documentary about Antarctica. Some people spend the winter there, four months of darkness, freezing cold, frequent storms. After a while, they start craving simple things, like a fresh apple. The unremarkable becomes amazing if you deprive yourself for a while.
23
As you get older, you figure out who you are, and you figure out how the world works. And you stop trying new things because you’re less likely to be surprised. This is a trap. We never fully know who we are, and we never fully understand how the world works. We only think we do.
24
People email me asking for advice on affiliate marketing. They’re usually online business newbies who’ve been told this is the easy way to get started. But it’s not. It’s pretty fucking hard. The people who tell you it’s easy are trying to sell you a course.
25
Another morning running in the rain. I take a break to walk through the old graveyard halfway up the hill. There’s something significant about this place, especially when everything shimmers and you’re the only one breathing.
26
Costs about €1 to have a taxi pick us up and drop us halfway across town. Then we walk up into the hills, through the woods along paved pathways. You can skirt the edge of town that way for several kilometers, then get another cheap taxi home.
27
SEO has become fun. I’ve gotten to the point where I can pull strings and see pretty clear results. Not all the time, but often enough that it now feels more like science than art. Hypothesis, experiment, measure the result, adjust, try again.
28
I love having an empty calendar. Most of my days are like that now. I still work a lot, but completely on my own schedule. Thinking we might even shift this weekend back a day or two so we can enjoy a road trip with better weather.
29
A line in the Irish Times recently: “The world has loved, hated and envied the US. Now, for the first time, we pity it.” I adored America growing up, stars and bars in my teenage bedroom. Moved there in my 20’s thinking I’d never leave. Now, every day that goes by, I’m evermore thankful I didn’t stay.
30
Slowly but surely, the grand vision for eBiz Facts is becoming a reality. The goal is to make it the absolute best starting point for anyone looking to make money online. Help them skip the scams and get the facts. Working hard to make that happen.
31
Been here three months but this was our first time getting out of the city. Rented a car and went to a national park up north. Spent hours basking in woodland and lakeside. I’m usually a zombie at the end of the day but this evening I feel ten years younger.