These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
I’ve mostly been a solopreneur these past fifteen years. And that’s worked fine. But I’ve been bringing more brains into my business recently and it’s helping a lot. I can easily get scattered and unfocused when left to my own devices, like a dog chasing several rabbits, ultimately catching none.
2
Found another “business ideas” newsletter. Their ideas are half-assed, some of them an outright joke. But they have lots of subscribers and a high open rate. Makes me wonder if people actually want realistic, practical business ideas. Or if what they really want is this entrepreneur porn.
3
Andorra la Vella has rows of cherry blossoms in a park by the river. I’m there watching little pink leaves float to the ground. They’re called sakura in Japan. During WWII, the Japanese government used them as propaganda, likening kamikaze pilots to the sakura, glorious and short-lived.
4
More than a decade since I’ve seen Good Will Hunting, but I remember all the beats, many lines. First time watching it where I’m closer in age to the Robin Williams character than Matt Damon’s. Hits different.
5
I’m not a foodie. I eat almost the exact same meals every day, preferring convenience over variety. Never have to think about what I’ll have for dinner. Makes grocery shopping easier, too. Just buy the same few items each time. I rarely eat out but when I do it feels like a big deal.
6
Two quotes from Ray Dalio that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately…
“If you know what your weaknesses are, you can learn to compensate for them.”
“Knowing and accepting what you’re like, and making the most of it, is key to success.”
7
Sitting in Starbucks, getting a few things done. Made a living this way for 10+ years but now it feels awkward to work from my laptop. 99% of the time nowadays I’m working from my nice home office, with my powerful Mac Studio, the big curved screen, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse.
8
I’m pretty good at trial and error, used to pride myself on learning that way. But I no longer think it’s a great way to learn. Much better to find someone who has already figured it out and learn from them. Easy to find those people now, too. They’re all over YouTube and social media.
9
Chatting with a guy who has built up a nice freelance business in just a few months. The key has been finding clients with painful problems that are quick and easy for him to solve. Sometimes we don’t realize how helpful we can be until we meet the right people.
10
Fairly confident now that I can build a great business via my newsletter and YouTube. But it will take time, probably several months before it’s anything to brag about. In the meantime, going to fill in the gaps with client work. Expecting some interesting opportunities to come of that.
11
A basketball coach once insisted I learn a new move at full speed. I said I’d prefer to learn slowly first, then speed it up. He said that wasn’t his way of teaching, do it his way or bust. He was a good coach so I tried it his way. Now I realize he wasn’t a good coach for everybody.
12
When Apollo 13 happened in 1970, the world was rooting for those American astronauts to make it home safe. The Pope led prayers for them, as did many mosques. TV stations around the world dropped regular programming to focus on the crisis. People were genuinely concerned. Doubt we’d have such a compassionate reaction today.
13
Quick walk around the old narrow streets in this little mountain town. I like to imagine what it was like for someone here a hundred years ago. A hard life, no doubt, but simple, few expectations. Perhaps someone 100 years from now will consider my life here hard but simple.
14
We’re talking into my phone, having a conversation with AI, getting it to ask us trivia questions and tell us jokes, jumping between topics, languages, voices, accents. Interrupting sometimes. The AI handles it all comfortably. This was impossible three years ago, and now it feels normal.
15
The more consulting calls I do, the better I feel about the value I’m providing. Other coaches/consultants have told me my rate is way too low, but I’m okay with that for now. The plan is to consistently sell out my availability at the current rate, then raise it.
16
Newsletter subscriber telling me the latest edition was way too techy. Went back and looked at the five ideas I shared: newsletter, VA, SaaS, pet sitting, online course. 80% non-techy if you ask me. But I guess as my audience gets bigger I’ll hear complaints no matter what.
17
One of those days where everything seems harder than it should be, every small task seems to take forever. Sent twelve test emails before the formatting looked right, still messed it up on the real send. Wishing I had a punch bag in my office for days like this.
18
Trying to get my YouTube channel monetized again. Google disabled monetization years ago, after detecting “invalid traffic or activity” on my account. No idea what they meant by that, appealed, got rejected, no explanation. Really frustrating getting stonewalled by big faceless companies like that.
19
When I was 21 living in an apartment in town, we would prank call the phone box on the street below, playing audio off my computer, clips of Al Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross…
- My name is Richard Roma.
- You just cost me six thousand dollars.
- What are you going to do about it?
- Oh, I’m gonna have your job, shithead.
20
First trail run in a while, up the hill, through fields and forest, occasional footprints in scattered patches of snow. Nine kilometers total. The first two are the worst. The last two are the best. I want to keep going but I make myself stop.
21
I make some money promoting affiliate offers in my newsletter, but turn down any I consider overhyped, too good to be true. Turned one down recently, then saw a well-respected entrepreneur promoting it in his newsletter. Not sure if my standards are too high or his are too low.
22
Watching Ernest Borgnine’s star-making performance from 1955. He only died in 2012 at 95 years of age. His life was a real underdog story, like his character in that movie. Jobless after WW2, his mother encouraged him to give acting a try. As he told it…
10 years later, I had Grace Kelly handing me an Academy Award.
23
I naturally shy away from confrontation, but had to confront that guy today. Took all my willpower to walk away without diffusing the tension. Needed to let that tension linger, so he’d take me more seriously. I think I did a good job with it.
24
This other business ideas guy has a massive audience. Charging $149/mo for a private community, 600 people in there = $89K/mo revenue. A friend who joined tells me “it’s shit… a waste of money… he is never there.” Shows how far great marketing can get you.
25
Looking at this all-in-one digital marketing platform, wondering if I could move my newsletter there. Beehiiv is fine but they keep adding new features I don’t need and increasing the price. This other platform is like a swiss army knife, could host a community on it too.
26
Someone complaining about ads in the newsletter, preferred when it was ad-free. Clearly a person who has never tried to run a business. And such a sense of entitlement: I want all this free information but don’t you dare try to earn money from all the time and effort you put into it.
27
Two hours chatting with YouTube support. They refuse to monetize my channel again. They blame me for the “invalid traffic” but won’t provide any details or specify what I could have done to prevent it. It’s like a parent punishing a child but never telling them why.
28
I like to eat while watching something, like movies or playoff basketball. So I prepare all my meals in such a way that I rarely need to look down at the bowl or plate. That means cutting and mixing everything up beforehand so I can eat with a spoon or fork, each mouthful pretty much the same.
29
Didn’t feel like going for this walk in the woods, but now I’m here and loving it. Just after the rain, makes the sunshine sparkle, brings out that earthy smell. Plenty of birdsong in the air. Can feel my brain becoming less clogged, optimism creeping back in.
30
Figured out the issue with my fingers, something called chilblains. Didn’t make sense that I’d get it in the dry mountain air, but it’s probably because I wash my hands several times a day with cold water, too impatient to let the hot tap run a while.