These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
Fell back down the Brian Regan rabbit hole. Hard to believe I Walked On The Moon is 20 years old now. One of the funniest sets I’ve ever seen. To be that funny AND appropriate for all ages is incredibly rare. Many folks say Regan’s their favorite comedian but he still feels underrated somehow.
2
Usually the case that their English is better than my Spanish, so we use the former. Today was an exception, was able to communicate with the guy at the clinic much easier in Spanish. I’m still doing the bare minimum to get better each day, but no doubt I am constantly improving.
3
Walking down this shaded path, heard a weird chirping sound right above me. Nothing there. A few seconds later I hear it again. Eventually figure out it’s a small bird dive-bombing me, letting out an aggressive chirp inches from my head.
4
Saw a young woman driving a fancy car with vanity plates. My mind leaped to assume she’s a spoiled rich kid, never worked a day in her life. But what do I know? Maybe she’s a young genius entrepreneur. But even if she is a spoiled rich kid, so what? Doesn’t make her a bad person.
5
I get emotional watching Olympic highlights. Peopled I’ve never heard of performing incredible feats, and you just know they’ve sacrificed a ton to reach that level. Like the Dutch woman down the stretch of that relay, or the Polish lady flying up that wall in six seconds, or the Americans bowing down to Brazil on the podium.
6
The two most visited countries in the world are France and Spain. And here we are in Andorra, nested high in the mountains between them, can drive to either in about 30 minutes. People think of Andorra as a small country, but it never feels that way with France and Spain on our doorstep.
7
A bit up from the lake, at our picnic bench that catches the evening sun. Pulling cards as we eat, taking turns to answer…
- What is one thing people always misunderstand about you?
- What do you take for granted?
8
The good news: in a few weeks I’ll hit $1 million total revenue since starting eBiz Facts at the end of 2018. The bad news: I just had my lowest revenue month in 2.5 years, and this month could be lower again. You always want the graph to keep going up and to the right, but I guess lean stretches like this are all part of the journey.
9
Listening to Matt G’s optimistic take on the future of SEO. I tend to agree, have been thinking to stop paying attention to Google and just focus on making my site as good as it can be for my target audience. Basically betting that everything else will eventually fall into place if I do my part.
10
Being idle isn’t for me. Didn’t have the head for work today but was content to busy myself with other tasks. Went and got the car washed, tried to fix the tire pressure, got a bunch of groceries, put together some furniture, put out the rubbish, batch cooked some stuff…
11
As great as the Olympics looked, and as much as I enjoyed watching them, I had no desire to be in Paris. Big cities, crowded places… just not for me anymore. If anything I seek out the opposite nowadays, prefer to be alone or in a small group, ideally in the countryside.
12
A recurring theme in my life: nothing seems to happen as fast as I want it to, but ultimately I tend to get what I want. It’s like my greatest weakness is impatience, while my greatest strength is persistence. And perhaps the key to it all is acceptance.
13
Used to be if you wanted furniture you’d go to the local furniture store and pick from whatever they had, no other choice. Now you have endless options to choose from online. But that actually makes it harder because you end up being more and more picky, anxious about making the wrong choice.
14
A bit obsessed with this idea today: what if we made the newsletter entirely about business ideas? Keep each section short and sweet, have at least 7 distinct business ideas in each edition. Only one way to know if that’s a better approach: try it and check the response.
15
So far my shorts have been a bit messy and all over the place, but glad I didn’t wait to start. It’s only by trying out some ideas and falling on my face a few times that I’m learning a better way. As Stevie Jobs once said, you can’t connecting the dots looking forward…
16
Leg cramp woke me up, couldn’t get back to sleep, but loving la madrugada, energy flowing, mind buzzing. I’ll probably be a zombie later today but fuck it. Right now I’m obsessed with the idea of having a personal website again, like the old days, might even register this domain I have my eye on.
17
Before we had screens, I guess people were starved for visual stimulation. Which would explain why more homes had complex patterns in carpets, wallpaper, curtains, upholstery. Now we have screens everywhere, visual over-stimulation, and more homes with a minimalist aesthetic.
18
Weird how I earned a lot more money last year, but my work has been a lot more enjoyable this year. Maybe it’s because last year felt like I was going through the motions, trying to do more of the same. But the same stopped working, forced me to get creative and try new things.
19
Woke up with a head full of memories, imagining a funeral that hasn’t happened yet. They say it’s a good idea to visualize your own funeral. Also a good idea to visualize the funerals of other people. People close to you, loved ones. Some day they’ll be gone, and you won’t be able to tell them anything.
20
Movies have become a regular part of my life again, and I’m very happy about that. I average about 12 movies a month now, more than 3x compared to a year ago. The key has been to watch movies in chunks, 20-40 minutes at a time. Because I rarely have time to watch a full movie in one sitting.
21
What are 10 cultural pillars in your life? Movies, books, songs, or events that changed the game.
Se7en would be one, the movie that sparked my love of movies. The 96-97 NBA season, Glen Rice going nuts, made me a basketball fan for life. Beyond that, I need to think…
22
Been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, first published in 1890. Enjoying the story, but so much tedious filler. Skipped several pages last night where he was droning on about different types of jewels, textiles and musical instruments. I guess people found that kind of detail fascinating 134 years ago.
23
Definitely working too much this week but can’t help myself. Been making changes to the website, lots of coding work, really enjoying it. This might be my favorite kind of work actually. I could hire someone to do a lot of it, but what’s the point of building a business if I’m not enjoying the journey?
24
Read about an entrepreneur who changed his name, never liked his old one, feels his life has improved a lot since the change, wishes he did it sooner. Got me thinking about my name, if I’d ever change it, and if so, what to? I have some ideas.
25
My goal is to be financially free, get the business to the point where I could sell it and never have to work again, or where I could hire a great CEO and spend very little time on it. Then I’d busy myself following my curiosity, learning things. Languages, drawing, Ju-jitsu, maybe start that arty podcast I have in mind.
26
He approaches in a panic. I tell him my Spanish ain’t great but he doesn’t slow. Around my age, well dressed. Something about his wife in hospital, money for the bus to Andorra. He asks for 20. I only have 50. Says he’ll pay me back tomorrow if I come to his restaurant. If this is a scam, it’s a weird one.
27
– What would you do if you were me?
– Figuring out things for yourself is the only freedom anyone really has. Use that freedom. Make up your own mind.
28
Been watching tours of fancy hotels and resorts on YouTube. I come away from most thinking it’s nowhere near worth the price. Big hassle to get there, and then they’re never as good as you hope. That place in Santorini was €2000 a night, don’t think I’d be happy paying more than €300 for it.
29
Giving myself more brain breaks. Preparing food today, just let my mind rest instead of listening to a podcast. Same while shaving this eve. And often when driving now I won’t listen to anything. Methinks it’s helping me avoid burnout.
30
My morning routine currently looks like this…
- Wake up 6-8am, no alarm.
- Toilet, wash under arms, brush teeth.
- Start listening to Spanish podcasts.
- Drink water with 2 powders.
- Empty dishwasher.
- Squat for ~12 minutes, use Spanish apps.
- Make breakfast.
- Run on the spot for 5-11 minutes.
- Eat breakfast while watching YouTube.
- Make coffee.
- Start work.
31
Clocked over 80 deep work hours this month, hadn’t done that in 2 years. It was a struggle to hit even 60 hours there for a while. So it seems my energy levels are improving. Several reasons why that could be, but hard to know for sure. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.