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Reading time: 2:46 minutes
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Today is a special day for me.
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This issue is the thirteenth issue of Growing Tree of Life sent out without a gap.
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For three months I managed to send the Growing Tree of Life newsletter every single week.
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No matter what happened in my life —and there were BIG bumps on the road, I can tell you that— for three months I showed up.
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Every week I wrote, edited, and sent out an email where I shared tools and tips I personally use to improve my life. I did it in hopes that some of them may help you, , to improve your life.
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The fact that I have a 13-week uninterrupted streak is huge. It means that I created a mini-habit. And I have you to thank for that.
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"Wait a moment! What are you talking about? Thirteen weeks? This is issue #015."
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Yes. The streak is only 13 weeks long because after issue #002 my bipolar got the better of me. Being in a very bad place at that time, I skipped a week.
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But since then, knowing that you, my readers, will be looking forward to an email dropping into your inbox, I kept writing no matter how I felt or how much I was pressed for time.
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I made you, my readers, my priority No. 1.
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Why am I sharing this? What's in it for you?
How I started and continue to produce the Growing Tree of Life newsletter shows perfectly two mind-hacking tools I use to achieve the things I want.
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The first is "A) Start before you're ready."
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The second is "B) Create responsibility/accountability."
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A) Start before you're ready
The reasoning behind "Start before you're ready" is threefold:
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- Quality
- Audience
- Momentum
1. Quality
Often we are afraid to do something because we are afraid that we will suck at it.
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I've got news for you. Whatever you are going to do, you will always suck at it at first. You cannot learn something practical just from the theory. It's impossible. Embrace the fact that every master started as an apprentice.
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The best teacher is your own experience. You learn by trying to do something and you improve by addressing the mistakes of the first attempt in your next attempt.
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When I started to write the "Growing Tree of Life" newsletter I had no idea what I am going into.
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I knew nothing about the system I need to create. I didn't know what I will write about. I had no plan whatsoever. I just knew that I want to create a newsletter which will give its readers —you— tips you can use in your everyday life to improve your circumstances.
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So I started. I used a few different types of content. I learned a few things. And your feedback showed me a lot. Which brings me to the next point.
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2. Audience
Afterwards, I shared it with a few choice people. I didn't start with thousands of subscribers. Can you imagine the pressure THAT would cause? Starting before you're ready gives you the ability to select whom are you going to share your work with.
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You can ask for feedback. And act on it.
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Starting something doesn't mean sharing it with the whole world. It means creating the first "prototype" and sharing it with a few selected people who can help you to improve it.
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Just make sure that you will share it with people who are not toxic and who will give you their honest opinion in a supportive way. Many people will only criticize and many will just say nice things no matter what you do. Neither is going to help you. You need someone who understands that you are a beginner and take it into account in their comments.
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If the thing you want to do is just for you, you don't have to think about others. If you would like to present it to the world, the small selective audience is a perfect way to "test the waters". And it will give you something more...
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3. Momentum
Finishing the first "prototype", getting feedback, and making a better version has a huge boost value.
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Making something happen, albeit not perfectly, and improving it in the next attempt gives you confidence. I will stop here for a moment.
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Some people try something the first time and if it's not perfect they say, "I am not good at this". Of course that you are not good at it. YOU JUST STARTED! I know that school and its marking system have ingrained in you that you have to do everything perfectly. Stop that nonsense.
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The correct approach is to try, evaluate and improve. You can get better at anything over time. Excellence is 90% practice and 10% talent. If you think that you can't draw - you just didn't practice enough or you accepted what someone else said about you.
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You can do nearly anything* at a competent level if you put in enough focused repetitions. And you can do some things at a mastery level if you put in regular focused repetitions.
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(*I wrote "nearly anything" because for example, if someone has amputated legs they cannot run. Such impairment has an impact on things we can do. But very often we blame imaginary lack of ability, when instead we should be focusing on improving our skills.)
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Back to the momentum. Our enjoyment of activity grows exponentially with engagement and improvement.
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The more you engage, the more you improve, and the more you enjoy things.
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Notice that engagement comes first. If you do nothing you have nothing to improve. And you have nothing to gain momentum on. So, don't put things away 'till "someday". Because "someday" never comes.
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B) Create responsibility
This is a specific piece of advice for things which are repetitive or take a long time.
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If you want to start such a deed, the best support for you is to create an audience which will wait for updates.
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As I described above. The fact that I have you, my readers, on the other side of this newsletter kept me accountable even through very difficult times.
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This works in everything. It gives me an extra boost when I have someone waiting for an update on the state of my project.
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Do you have a dream you always put aside because you are not good enough or because you fear what others will say? Will you go for it to test the waters?
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PS: Thank you for being a part of Growing Tree of Life .
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What you can do next:
- Did you find the content valuable?
Do you know someone who could benefit from information like this?
Please forward the email to them.
- Have you been forwarded this email?
Do you like it?
Here is the link you can use to subscribe.
The Growing Tree of Life newsletter is sent out every Thursday.
Reading time is usually 4 minutes or less.
- Check out the Tree of Life Quest website.
- Do you have questions, comments, suggestions or complaints?
I would LOVE to hear from you.
You can reply to this email or use the Contact me Form.
- Follow me on Twitter for daily tweets about personal growth, life improvement and occasional threads with tips and tools you can use.
(Note: I don't post on other platforms too much. Yet.)
- If you want to unsubscribe from the Growing Tree of Life newsletter, the link is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Thank you for reading.
See you next time.
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Lubo
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