Consistency over Perfection

Hola again, my friend,

Long time no see! A few weeks I started writing the second issue of this newsletter. I already had the topic in mind. It was about this cool concept I stumbled upon called “Luck surface area.” I read some articles on the subject, prepared the outline for the newsletter, and had an image in my head of how I wanted to present the idea to you. In a nutshell, I wanted to make this super well-crafted Pulitzer-winning article with graphs and gifs made from scratch.

Ambitious but not crazy. The problem, though, is that I’m not very skilled (yet) in design, writing, and motion graphics, and therefore to pull off something like this would take extra time and effort, which I didn’t account for initially and fell behind in my schedule for the release of this second issue.

Or that’s what I thought. Yeah, I thought the problem was that I needed more time to pull off this “perfect” newsletter when in reality, the problem was thinking that I needed the “perfect” newsletter in the first place. You see, there’s nothing wrong in wanting to do great work; that has merit in itself, and we should be aiming to do great things. However, what is even more important for me than creating a 10 out of 10 article every time is to be consistent with publishing this newsletter, at least once every two weeks. So that’s the goal in the near future. Proficiency will come with time.

I’m sure you in your life have your own goals, and like anything worthy, I’m sure it will require work. If you have failed to stick to the work in a consistent manner (just like me), I recommend you to give it a go to the following steps.

1. Define your personal goals and why they are important

2. To achieve those goals, create some projects (This step is optional, but if it suits your situation, I highly recommend it)

3. Define what the tasks/activities that get you closer to the goal or completing your project are

4. Design a system around it that keeps you accountable (Block time in your calendar, get a buddy that holds you accountable, eliminate distractions, etc.)

5. Be flexible and iterate as you progress

In my case, it would look like this:

1. Goal and motivation: I already explained this in my previous newsletter 😉

2. Project: Write a newsletter at least once every two weeks

3. Action: Seat my ass down and start writing, researching, and/or making illustrations

4. System: I’m blocking my calendar for half an hour in the evenings to dedicate to the newsletter

5. Review: Let’s review after a few weeks

So there you have it. It’s not just about consistency but putting your work and energy in the right place. So, let’s stay focused and make progress toward our goals 💪🏽

Have a great weekend,

Sebastian

Some Cool Stuff

• 📰 Article - Introducing ChatGPT and Whisper APIs: If you are a programmer or entrepreneur who can benefit from chatGPT capabilities, this is excellent news. If you are among the mortals like me, just be prepared for all the new products that will integrate generative AI, and we will be able to try 🥵

• 🎵 Song - La Primera Vez: If you haven’t already, I recommend checking La Primera Vez, both the TV show on Netflix and the Soundtrack. They are pure Latino 70s teenage love vibes 💕

• 📕 Book - The Millionaire Fastlane: Great book I’m reading right now. MJ DeMarco talks about how we can take three paths in life toward becoming millionaires.

  • The Sidewalk: Living paycheque to paycheque with no financial plan, blaming the government and everyone else for your lack of luck, and waiting for a miracle like winning the lottery or a (get rich quick) type of opportunity. You are most probably not here (Hopefully 🤞🏼).

  • The Slowlane: This is the most interesting one because this is the kind of path most of us default to. The idea is that most of us follow the plan of having a steady job, saving money, and investing consistently over 40+ years. We will finally become rich when we are 70, with a hip replacement, osteoporosis, and about to give the big Adios 🙃. The worst thing is that, according to him, this plan is not even as secure as we think.

  • And then we have the Fastlane: Honestly, I’m just about to read this part, but I think what he’s trying to say is self-explanatory. There’s a faster way to get to millionaire status than the traditional way. So if you are as curious as I am about what he has to say about the Fastlane, give the book a try.

  • Note: There are parts of the book that I disagree with, so as anything, take what you read from this book with a grain of salt. However, it challenged some beliefs about my current approach to my career/life/financial plan, for which I’m happy.

Quote of the week-ish