My mantra for staying the course...or not
"If it's not a fuck yeah, it's a no"
As a published and self-published author, I’ve written a total of 3 personal finance and fiction books.
Two of these landed in Top 10 Amazon bestseller lists and one even hit the #1 spot in its category.
As an author, you’d think this book writing thing comes easily for me, but it doesn't get any “easier” per se.
It's mostly about finding, blocking out, and prioritizing focus and distraction-free time to get in the zone.
As a writer and creator, I know exactly when I'm in the zone.
It's when I start writing, and after 30 to 45 minutes, I’ll notice I've been steadily writing for that stretch of time with no interruptions.
If you’ve lost yourself in any activity that you’re really into, then you can relate: This is a truly freeing feeling.
When I hit a writing stride, the words flow from my brain to my fingers, which I’m grateful can type fast enough to get my thoughts down.
Luckily, I’m a fast typer.
Content entrepreneur | Agency Founder & CEO | Bestselling author Featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Bankrate, Cheddar TV, and HuffPost | Join more than 5,460 people who follow my unconventional lifestyle, travel, money, and career advice:
I took the summer between 7th and 8th grade to teach myself how to type, by using my mom’s “Gregg’s Typing for Colleges” book.
It’s one of the BEST skills, IMO.
But I do get lazy.
Some days, I use a dictation tool so I can talk my thoughts out and have the words transcribed for me. (I suppose this is today’s version of speaking notes into a tape recorder to listen to later.)
Dictation often backfires however, because it then takes me more time cleaning up and editing all the words I’ve just spoken.
If anything, it at least gets words on the page to kick things off.
Just start. And do it again. And again
For me, becoming a writer (and the loftier titled author) didn’t happen overnight.
It’s the result of experience, training, and discipline, combined with consistency.
Consistency is what keeps you and others coming back and engaged.
For example, the first time you hear your voice played back in a recorded video or audio clip, you may think you sound weird.
But by the 20th time you hear yourself, your voice inflections and tones become familiar.
You get more comfortable speaking and narrating.
Same with writing. Just start. A little every day.
What started as a young girl’s diary entries and then a steady journaling practice from young adulthood paved the way for a deliberate and consistent writing practice.
I’m reflecting on all this because this past week I ran into an old friend from New York who I haven't seen since 2017.
It’s been 7 years, but he looked great, like he hadn’t aged a day!
But our reunion also triggered a flashback to 2017 when I was working on what would have been my fourth book.
It was called “Adulting: Tips and tools to live your best life.”
Or something like that. I was still working on the tag line.
The premise was interviews with people at the top of their game, doing specific things very well, and their stories would serve as life lessons for being an adult.
This concept isn’t new; it’s basically what every podcaster does, or exactly what Tim Ferriss did with his book “Tools of Titans.”
Anyway, I had gotten pretty far with this project.
I’d interviewed lots of people, some you’ve definitely heard of, others you haven’t, who specialized in different verticals: Business & entrepreneurship, health & wellness, money & investing, and even spirituality & astrology.
Jordan Bach was one of my book interview subjects, and he was talking about his journey to becoming a spiritual and meditation leader, not just in the LGBTQ community but also as an inspiration for young adults.
I'd even gone so far as to secure cover art from the prolific graffiti artist and muralist Baron von Fancy.
There was a time when, if you walked through parts of New York below 14th Street, you would see his murals everywhere.
I suppose my whole purpose in writing and starting Adulting was similar to the premise of what this newsletter has become.
It's the stories, advice, lessons, and tips from the sum of my professional experience and current lifestyle.
Looking back at 2017, however, I had to shelve the book project because my then new company Scribe was really taking off, and I had to turn all of my attention and focus on growing that lucrative business.
Also, something about the title Adulting just didn’t align with me anymore.
I didn't really love what the phrase had turned into; today I find “adulting” cheesy and overused.
And it somehow has a negative connotation, like it’s “being an adult, begrudgingly.”
My thoughts today are that any wins in adulthood should be positively celebrated: love and relationship successes, work milestones, career development, finding out you’re really good at something, finding a passion or interest, working hard, making money to support yourself and being able to help others and loved ones…it could be anything that makes you proud of yourself.
If you’re no longer feeling it, like I did with Adulting, then it’s okay to stop.
Even a book project, if it’s not going in the right (creative) direction, or you feel like the quality won’t be there.
Because gosh, I would hate for someone to stop reading my book because it sucks:
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If it’s not a fuck yeah, it’s a no
I have a post-it note on my desk that says, “If it’s not a fuck yeah, it’s a no.”
I’d like to think this has become a mantra for any personal or professional pursuit.
It also recalibrates my “attitude of gratitude” and serves as a reminder that you, me, everyone…has free will.
What choices you make with that free will reflect your values and goals in life.
I’ll take it further:
“If this (business/job/relationship/situationship/party/car/house/investment) isn’t a fuck yeah, then it’s a no.”
85 and counting
Today, I’ve published 85 Substack newsletters, including this one.
Every Friday afternoon for almost 2 years, I’ve been popping up in your inboxes.
Thank you for being here! ❤️
I have no plans on adding a paywall as of now.
I may add options where you can pledge a donation for my city guides, money and investing guides, and work and professional tips about solopreneurship to starting and selling an agency and company.
I know there’s value there, and people who want to read it—I have the data.
I’m also about 80 subscribers shy of hitting 1,000 Substack subscribers, and about 500 shy of 6K total fans across my social channels.
Won’t you please share this newsletter with others, or follow me on Instagram (mostly stuff that reflects and expands on these newsletters) and TikTok (mostly random D-I-Y and beauty)?
I want to hear from you
On that note, I’d love to know: What would you like to see more of?
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Until next time,
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Fascinating!! Is there a particular time of day or night when the words tend to flow? I always did my writing late at night.
Loved this newsletter! 💕💕💕💕💕