Diminishing returns of self-help, Shipping your work, and FIRE starters.

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“90% of self-help books are bullshit.” - Jonny Watson, Propane Fitness.

I heard this quote last week on the Danny Miranda podcast—and it resonated with me.

I’ve consumed a lot of it while striving for self-betterment for the better part of 4 years. I’ve read a lot of the classics. I’ve listened to a lot of the greats.

Sure I’ve gained some important insights and extracted a few gold nuggets to improve myself—but much of it has been wasted.

Why?

Here’s the problem: the consumption of self-help has diminishing returns.

One book can change your life. Two books might dramatically improve it.

But we’re a consumption culture. We’re consuming self-help books/articles/podcasts like we’re binging shows on Netflix, leaving no time for application.

You can’t build 7 Habits of Highly Effective People if—as soon as you’ve closed the book—you start trying to build Atomic Habits while learning the Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck.

It’s going to be a mess.
It’s going to be a waste of money.
It’s going to be a waste of time.

The consumption of self-help has diminishing returns.

How To Self-Help (is this ironic?)

Last summer I read Limitless by Jim Kwik—a stellar book FILLED with practical, actionable advice. I planned on taking notes, absorbing it all, and applying it.

So I finished the book, and then—being the self-help junkie I am—went straight to reading something new and left behind much of what I had learned. On to the next thing! No application, no notes. Fizzle.

If I wanted to extract as much wisdom and value out of the book as possible, I should have:

1. Read a chapter

2. Taken notes

3. Re-written my takeaways

4. Taught/explained the takeaways to one person (or write a thread/essay about it)

5. Applied the teachings in my life

6. Read the next chapter and repeat.

Control your consumption and vet your intake. Your money can be replaced but your time cannot.

I’m not arguing against personal improvement—I’m arguing for it.

Tweet of the Week

Dylan T. 🚀 Grow Your Personal Brand @growthcurrency

creation > consumption

Growth Nuggets

💰 Side Hustle

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Ryan Robinson is a former failed entrepreneur—but now grosses over $25,000 per month in revenues by… blogging. Learn how to start building a successful blog like Ryan’s with his free course. Then read about his 55 Best Affiliate Programs for bloggers here. Like they say: the best way to make money blogging is by teaching people how to make money blogging.
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💳 Personal Finance

Financial Independence & Investing For Beginners
(Affiliate) A Twitter account I’ve got my eye on is @itsKostasonFIRE. He’s been publishing valuable threads filled with teachings around personal finance—and now he’s releasing an eBook on March 1st packed with over 90 pages of content to get your finances in order and on the road to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). I’ve already pre-ordered mine — get yours here 👉 bit.ly/TheRoadtoFIRE
|| Follow Kostas on Twitter

🎧Podcast

“Why you should ship every day” — Dickie Bush on Louis & Kyle Show
Dickie Bush’s path to internet success has been admirable. He went from a guy with little internet clout to launching his own writing course and getting a mention by Tim Ferriss—all within the past year. And it started with shipping his work (ie. writing online, consistently). He shares his path to success on this noteworthy episode of the Louis & Kyle Show.
|| Follow Dickie Bush on Twitter || Dickie’s Ship 30 For 30 Course (affiliate)

✏Write

“What My Morning Journal Looks Like” — Tim Ferriss’ Morning Pages
Conceptualized by author Julia Cameron—and popularized by Tim Ferriss—Morning Pages act as “spiritual windshield wipers”:

“Once we get those muddy, maddening, confusing thoughts [nebulous worries, jitters, and preoccupations] on the page, we face our day with clearer eyes.”

Think of Morning Pages as a brain & emotion dump before you start your productive writing or work. This blog post by Tim Ferriss explains the value in writing your Morning Pages. Try it out for a week and see what happens to your work!
|| Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter

📈 Marketing

Swipefile.com
Trading your email address for bland marketing templates sucks. Instead → try Swipefile.com for awesome real-life examples of everything from About Pages to Outdoor Advertising to Sales Pages. This list of over 1200 swipe files is curated by Neville Medhora from Copywriting Course.
|| Follow Neville Medhora on Twitter

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You made it to the end! I sincerely hope you found something here helpful, useful, or interesting in some way, shape or form.

I mean, you made it to the end so… I did something right—right?

Thanks again, I am honored you spent a few minutes here and if you did enjoy this read, it would mean the world for you to share it with someone you think would also enjoy it.

And if you didn’t enjoy it, let me know what I could do to improve! I love and appreciate constructive feedback.

Hit reply or send a DM on Twitter either way: @growthcurrency

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