Motivation

A few days ago I found myself receiving, reading, and finishing a small pamphlet-sized book titled “Obvious Adams” in under an hour.

The book tells the story of a young man, who wasn’t particularly creative or quick-witted, yet, but still entered the advertising world, quickly made a name for himself, rose up to become vice-president of the biggest advertising agency, and surprised everyone with his incredibly successful, very profitable, yet all the while extremely simple and ‘obvious’ solutions, resulting in some of the biggest and best advertising campaigns of all time.

It’s not so much a “teaching you what to do” book, but much more a how to do it and, more importantly, how NOT to do it.

The message of the book itself is quite boring, somewhat logical, and completely “obvious” when said out loud. Yet still so very often forgotten, especially in the sales, marketing, and advertising industries.

I.e. analyze the situation, think about it, and do the obvious thing—don’t make it any more difficult than it has to be.

Speaking of.

The obvious thing to do for me would be to tell you to check out Email Valhalla.

After all, it’s only obvious that learning how to write better and more entertaining emails that get you paid is the best thing almost anyone in business can do.

So check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

For the past week or so I’ve been completing daily programming puzzles as a part of the yearly Advent of Code leading up to Christmas.

It’s going well so far—better than it ever has compared to my previous track records, at least.

But there’s a curious thing happening.

You see, most days, I finish the puzzle in under an hour, sometimes two. But once every few days, like yesterday, it easily takes me up to five or six (6!) hours to finish this one puzzle.

That’s six hours of non-stop staring at my screen, trying to think of potential solutions, translating it into code, checking for errors, endless debugging, discovering new edge cases, and going over the processes once again.

And yet, it feels like a breeze.

The hours fly by. I stay focused, hyperfocused, in fact, and would easily be able to keep this up for another six hours (and probably ever following day as well).

You might think this sounds miserable, and maybe for you, it would be.

But man, I can’t tell you how almost “natural” this comes to me. How ‘motivated’ and excited I am to finally get it to work, and ultimately how ‘happy’ and ‘at peace’ I am during the entire process.

Sure I might bang my head on the keyboard once in a while, but that’s part of the process. And even that is enjoyable in its own way.

This reminded me of some lessons I learned while reading Psycho-Cybernetics.

Just take the following excerpt taken straight out of the preface:

===

“Creative striving for a goal that is important to you as a result of your own deep-felt needs, aspirations, and talents (and not the symbols which the “Joneses” expect you to display) brings happiness as well as success because you will be functioning as you were meant to function.

Man is by nature a goal-striving being. And because man is “built that way,” he is not happy unless he is functioning as he was made to function—as a goal striver. Thus true success and true happiness not only go together but each enhances the other.”

===

This excerpt gives a new and helpful explanation as to why I experience these coding puzzles the way I do.

I picked up a new goal—one I’m genuinely interested in and determined to achieve.

The process of doing what man is “built to do”—striving towards a goal—is where you’ll find true happiness and success is to be found.

That’s why it’s so important to have goals, projects, dreams and aspirations.

What kind of goals?

The type where you’re creating something new.

This doesn’t have to be something completely new, that’s nowhere to be found in the whole wide world. But it has to be new to you. To bring to life a book you write, a song you composed, a painting you created, even a promotion you worked for, a deal you closed, a certificate or degree you studied for, a fish you caught, or something as simple as a sweater you knitted.

Creation is what we, as human beings, were meant to do.

And creation is what will keep you healthy, sane, and even thriving if done correctly, for decades to come.

Speaking of which…

If you’d like to learn my entire process for ideating, creating, and launching profitable digital products in 21 days or less, then I’d highly suggest you check out my course Product Creation Made Easy.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme

Last night I went to get some drinks with a few friends.

One of those friends had already previously expressed her long-time interest in writing her own novels at one point in time. We’d often chat about the act of writing a book and what type of genre/direction she’d want to go in.

So much so she even considered pursuing some form of creative writing education in the UK (don’t remember all the details—this was quite a while ago).

That said.

Like most people’s dreams, that’s all that happened; talking about the dream, never making any real steps towards accomplishing, or even starting, that dream.

Well. until now at least.

Apparently she started taking notes, creating outlines, doing research, brainstorming about ideas, learning about the trade, and picking up both writing and marketing tips and tricks from people she looks up to (or at least that’s who I’m assuming she got it from), even getting set up with useful writing tools and software to make her life easier.

Now, I’m still unsure how much writing has been accomplished already—if any.

But at least she’s actually fired up and making considerable progress towards her final goal—all of which is to be applauded and supported—I sincerely hope she goes through with it until the end, I really do.

All of this, however, reminded me of an important lesson.

Something I learned quite some years ago from (in)famous psychologist, author, speaker, deep thinker, and celebrity with an extremely engaged and almost cult-like following, Jordan B. Peterson. Love or hate the guy, I don’t care and that’s not what really matters here anyway. If you’re not wise and intelligent enough to realize you don’t have to like, or even agree with, someone in order to learn from, get inspired by, and broaden your perspective on how you view the world, then you’ve got much bigger issues to focus on in your life.

I’m not even sure if this is something I should attribute to Peterson, but it’s who I heard it from first and who comes up first in my mind whenever I think about this.

And that specific valuable lesson in the following:

You have no idea how little encouragement people need to drastically improve every single aspect of their lives. Yet most people still aren’t getting any encouragement at all.

Imagine how much better the world would be. How many more creative masterpieces, technological breakthroughs, or truly revolutionary thinkers we’d have if more people simply got told “I believe in you" or “Go give it everything you’ve got” at least once?

Truly a shame.

Anyway.

Let this be your reminder to believe in yourself and go give it everything you’ve got. You’ve only got one life. Nobody else is going to write that book you’ve been dreaming about, direct the movie you once envisioned, record the song you keep humming to yourself, build that life-changing product you once thought about when you couldn’t sleep, but never did anything about it because you weren’t sure if you were up to the task.

Well, I’m here telling you that you are.

Even more.

It’s almost laughably easy to produce and create anything you put your mind to in today’s digital age where you can reason billions of people all across the globe from the luxury of your home just by pressing a few buttons on your computer.

In fact, using today’s advertising technology it’s truly never been easier to reach anyone you want (you have no idea how specific and niche your target audience can be).

And I’ll show you exactly how to make that dream of yours a reality in my paid advertising course… once it’s finished, which will be sooner than you might think, so keep your eyes open.

In the meantime, consider learning how to write daily emails that get you paid and keep your readers reading day after day by getting my flagship course Email Valhalla today:

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla 

I’m so close to self-publishing my very first non-fiction book on Amazon.

More precisely, I plan on launching my book (paperback & ebook), which is about how to make the act of writing fun, enjoyable, and quick, this Monday. That’s assuming everything goes according to plan—I have no idea what problems might await me since this is, in fact, the very first time I’m trying this out.

All I still have to do is craft myself a book cover and write two or three more chapters I thought about last minute (read: an hour ago).

So far it’s been a boatload of fun (surprise, surprise) writing up all the chapters and figuring out how this self-publishing thing works.

I’ve had many revelations these past few weeks.

But one of the most important revelations has been how easy and smooth this process has been until now. I’ve put this off for so long, thinking it would be a real challenge, and something I wasn’t quite ready for, yet. I wanted to create a true “masterpiece” and get everything perfect.

Truth was, I just didn’t want to move out of my comfort zone and create something that’s not digital—something I have plenty of experience with.

But as with anything, starting is always the hardest part. Most things in life are a lot simpler than your inner ego scares you into believing.

So you can expect a truckload of more books from me in the future if everything goes well this Monday. Hell, you can expect a whole lot more stuff from me even if it doesn’t do well.

The only way to fail is to stop trying after all.

So that’s that for today. Just a quick announcement and hopefully an insightful and motivational lesson.

That said, while I haven’t got anything on how to publish books on Amazon (not yet at least), I’ve got plenty of experience creating and launching digital courses, including a top-selling product that’ll teach you exactly how you can do so too (and in 21 days or less from start to finish!)

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/product

I spent 3 hours working on a tiny logo for the new website I’m creating to host my blogs and products on.

Why did I spend 3 hours creating a logo (especially when the website isn’t even finished yet)?

There’s no doubt in my mind that I could’ve spent my time a whole lot better, working on more productive tasks, doing stuff that actually gets me paid, and creating content that actually adds value to other people’s lives.

In fact.

This is the first time I’ve ever taken time out of my day to work on creating a proper logo (or at least for this business).

I never bothered before simply because it’s not profitable. A logo doesn’t make or break a business. No matter how good the logo may look, it won’t help you increase your monthly revenue.

Most people would be better off focusing their attention elsewhere.

Improving their offers. Getting more traffic. Creating more products. Talking to more leads. Everything but creating a logo.

But here’s the thing.

I’ve been doing a lot of that already. For quite a while actually. And just recently I gained a whole new understanding of the direction I want this business to go—something that’ll no doubt change again eventually.

But I’ve got big plans, a grand vision, and a ton of clarity for now. Not to mention a lot of motivation (and discipline).

So what does this logo have to do with anything?

Well, it’s a token.

A sign of a new beginning. A new page in my adventure. The start of the next chapter. It embodies everything I’ve achieved, learned, and experienced so far. It’s a reminder of my past journey and, more importantly, everything that’s still to come.

Looking at it makes me smile as well put me in the right mood, the right setting, the world that I’ve built so far.

And if there’s anything I’ve learned so far about (online) writing. It’s that your writing transcends the pure literal meaning of the words you share.

Your readers quite literally get a glimpse of your vision, your feelings, and if you’re doing things correctly, then they might even be able to join that world (and if that world is built with care and dedication, then they might love that world so much they don’t ever want to leave anymore).

Anyway.

That’s a lot of high-level, big-vision, philosophical business advice.

So let’s keep it practical for this last bit.

None of this could’ve been made, realized, and built if it wasn’t for my religiously building a list, writing it every day, and plugging my products that help improve my reader’s businesses (and lives by extension).

If you’d like how to build and write to your own email list, then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.gumroad.com/l/valhalla

For the past few days, I’ve been busy learning game development (again) and creating music to go alongside it.

It’s been incredibly fun, exciting, and especially rewarding.

I don’t know exactly what it is, but every type of creative work is always extremely rewarding, no matter how slow your progress might be. Going from a few consecutive notes that sound nice to a well-crafted chorus with multiple instruments or going from a pixel on your screen to a moving character (both of which are only small parts of the final deliverable) gives you so much motivation to keep going.

It’s one of those few types of work where progress can actually be seen (and felt) no matter how insignificant it may seem.

Part of why I’m doing this is because I just genuinely enjoy doing so.

Another part is to develop the skills to build out my own universe of the novel I’m writing, bit by bit, in different media, and creating the entire feel of it myself, from the storyline to the character art, to the music, video game adaptations, cinematics, and much, much more.

All of which will boost my email game (and business) as well.

But this whole process reminded me of something important.

The more progress you see yourself making in the early stages, the faster (and better) your results will be. Now this might just be anecdotal proof for me. But I’ve never seen this not to be the case for me, or anyone else for that matter.

Working on something for months on end, without seeing any actual progress to be proud of is demoralizing for everyone and almost never helps to make a well-put-together final deliverable.

Which brings me to Product Creation Made Easy.

In it I teach my simple PCME framework that shows you how to create a product from start to finish, with a big emphasis on getting actual results early on, so you can see (and feel) the progress you’re making—helping you deliver a better end results and keeping you motivated throughout the whole process.

Check it out here to learn more about it: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme

Because that’s exactly what I witnessed last week.

As you may (or may not) know, I’m a big bouldering fan. I’ve been climbing for just about a year now and I try to go at least once a week, sometimes more.

It’s a fun, engaging, healthy, and challenging hobby and one I share with many friends of mine.

But just last week I saw something I never could’ve expected.

There I was, practicing a new competition boulder my gym placed (I’m competing in my first ever boulder competition next week) when a friend told me to look behind me at someone who was climbing across the room.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw.

Up on that wall, I saw a guy who lost both his legs and one arm. All three of them replaced by prosthetics. Yet that didn’t seem to stop him from going climbing.

Yeah.

What a chad.

I doubt many people in the same situation would even dare to attempt the same. Hell, I’m sure a few people reading this won’t even believe me. But that’s fine. This isn’t for them. This is for you.

Because you know how much is possible if you set your mind to it.

You know that no explosion or accident (I don’t know how the guy lost his limbs, I didn’t talk to him, this is just me guessing) would ever hold you back from bouldering (assuming you’d want to go bouldering).

But seriously.

You should’ve seen it.

That said.

What’s your excuse for not making and selling the products you want and making a buttload of money while helping as many people as you possibly can?

And if you can’t answer that question.

Then check out Product Creation Made Easy and get started right away: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme

Here’s some (useless) thinking I was doing yesterday:

My dad’s initials spell out DVD.

So one of the funniest things I could do is only date women with the initials CD and start a little disc collection in the family.

Now this isn’t a marketing lesson.

In truth, this makes no sense whatsoever—other than it being hilarious (and if you don’t get my sense of humor, then that’s a you-problem).

But it made me realize that despite how absurd this sounds, I could probably achieve it if I wanted to.

If for some reason all I cared about was this one particular goal and I’d be ready to sacrifice everything and everyone else that comes my way, just to fulfill this one goal. Then, even though I haven’t done the math on this, I’m 120% certain I could achieve this goal.

But that’s not all.

See, the above statement isn’t just limited to finding (and seducing) someone with the initials CD, is it?

It applies to everything.

There’s all this potential inside of me, you, and everyone else walking this earth. An insane amount of potential energy waiting to be unleashed, to be used to achieve just about any goal in life.

And that’s the thing.

You have the potential to achieve anything—but not everything.

You can’t be picky.

You can’t say “oh I’ll do this and this and this, and oh how about this as well?”. No it doesn’t work that way.

Pick one goal and one goal only.

More.

Whatever goal you pick. You’ll have to accept the sacrifices that come along with it. You can’t be picky with those either. You can’t take the good without the bad.

Here’s an example.

I made it my goal to “Build a business of my own that allows me to work whenever I want, wherever I want, and with whomever I want by way of writing,” (writing because that’s what I like to do—I’m not much of a video person).

That’s it.

The moment I try to do something else is the moment I fail in both.

Yes I could earn more money doing regular workshops, yes I could earn more money creating and selling video content, yes I could earn more money working with high-ticket copywriting clients as a freelancer, but those aren’t my goals.

In fact, they’ll take me further and further away from my goals every time I try to do something else.

I’m not saying not to experiment—of course you should.

But be clear on what it is you truly want.

I’ve seen many people—clients, readers, and friends alike—get distracted in the jungle of opportunity, losing track of their goals, and never getting closer to reaching their goals despite already “working” on their goals for the past year and a half.

Anyway.

This, like most important lessons in life, isn’t exactly a practical one.

You’ll have to figure out what it is that you want on your own.

But in case your goals involve creating and selling (digital) products or courses online, then check out Product Creation Made Easy—it’ll show you how to ideate, create, and launch profitable digital products in 21 days or less.

It’s all based on experience and insights I’ve learned by working in the trenches myself and learning from other industry experts. Everything’s battle-tested and ready for you to use.

Check it out here: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme/