Welcome to v365

An annual series of reflections inspired by Hamza Khan. Past instalments include 22 and 23. This is 24.

1. If You Want To Go Fast, Go Alone

Wisdom from 1/2 of an African proverb. This is how you get started. Building on your own is great for getting a lay of the land. The only person you need to seek permission from to execute is yourself.

2. If You Want To Go Far, Go Together

Wisdom from the other half of an African proverb. This is how you scale. You can only get your movement to a certain point by yourself. As your business grows, it’ll demand you to be in multiple places at once. Build a team to not only have additional labour at your disposal, but to also curate a diversity of thought in your organization.

3. Life Is Good, Life is Grand

Ultimately, life is what you make it.

4. Scared Money Don’t Make No Money

Risk is inevitable. You’re doing yourself a disservice by trying to constantly avoid it. Navigating risk is a skill that compounds with every obstacle you conquer. Risk and failure are both leading indicators of success– it lets you know you’re going the right way. Don’t avoid risk, learn to manage it.

5. Get Into The Habit of Action

People usually spend 80% of their time planning and only 20% of their time taking action. Action is a feedback loop. The more time you spend executing the more new data you’re presented to iterate upon. Don’t plan off assumptions alone.

6. You Can’t Do Your Job Well If Your Job Is All You Do

Your brightest ideas will come to you when you step away from your desk. Get up and break the tunnel vision.

7. Revisit The Fundamentals

We’ve been conditioned by the “insta” economy to seek hacks and tactics to reach our goals quickly. This has opened a window of opportunity for those who have mastered and continue to refine the fundamentals of their craft. You can’t build a house on a shaky foundation.

8. Time Is More Expensive Than Money

You can always earn more money, but you can’t earn more time. Spend each accordingly.

9. You Can’t Get Rich Trading Time for Money

If you earn off hourly work, there’s a cap to how many hours in the week you can get paid from. However, there’s no limit on the number of units you can sell of a product. Invest wisely.

10. Productize Yourself

In order to be in multiple places at once, you need to package your skills and opinions into a resellable product. This might take the form of a book, course, online videos, or evergreen social feeds. The key is to grant access to yourself to anyone anywhere in the world (at a price, of course). Most of us making a living currently by being in a certain location at a certain time to deliver our skills. Productizing yourself removes the needs to be tied to a physical space for a certain amount of time.

11. Don’t Copy Your Competitors, They’re Wrong

You don’t know what assumptions or reasoning your competitors are basing their actions off of. Your competitors could also be completely wrong. Don’t copy them.

12. Do What Others Won’t

To go where others aren’t.

13. Get Closer To Your Parents

The day they’ll no longer be with you is getting closer and closer. Cherish these times while you can. Let them eat the fruits of their labour.

14. Don’t Rely On Inspiration

Act on inspiration. But don’t rely on inspiration to strike when you got deadlines. Motivation won’t do work for you. Discipline will.

15. It’s Crowded At The Bottom

Everyone is chasing small wins. There’s less competition for the big wins.

16. Get Bread With The Team

Hire your friends. Success is a lot more fulfilling when you got people to enjoy it with.

17. It’s All In Your Head

You are your own worst enemy and your biggest fan.

18. Endurance Wins Races

You don’t want to go viral. Overnight success gets you sprinting from the starting line but panting before you can even see the finish line. Slow success is sustainable. Arrive at your goals at a breathable pace.

19. Change Is The Only Constant

So, our best bet is to continue to work on becoming adaptable human beings. You can either complain or change.

20. Say It With Your Chest

It’s always a ‘no’ until you ask. Don’t mince words.

21. Average Is Risky

If you’re following the same path as everyone else, you can be replaced easily. There’s a massive risk in that. In reality, the safest path is the one you blaze yourself.

22. You Know More Than You Know

You are a broker of information. What seems obvious to you is actually the culmination of years of experience. It only seems basic to you because you live with it everyday.

23. Develop Leverage

A unique set of skills, an audience you own, cash in your pockets– these are all examples of leverage. Leverage removes gatekeepers from your path. One of the greatest freedoms/powers is being able to walk away from something or someone consequence-free. Don’t let anyone have leverage on you.

24. Building A Network Is a Long-Term Investment

Build it before you need it.

Thank You For Reading

If you enjoyed reading this and found it helpful, it’d mean the world to mean if you shared this with a friend.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic and chat, too. Tweet me @astawadotca or DM me on Instagram @astawa.ca

Talk soon,
Astawa