Back in 2016, I was thinking about starting a local newspaper. I wanted to use my writing skills, to create an online newspaper for the Indian community in my city (Canberra) and eventually roll it out to the whole of Australia.
At the time, a trusted friend cautioned me against it. She said, “Don’t start a community newsletter. It’s a thankless job. People will constantly complain, take advantage of you, and if they didn’t like anything you wrote, they will not let you live in peace.
I got discouraged and dropped the idea. Once I lost the initial enthusiasm for the project I never got it back. I still think it is a great idea and something I would love to do but I am too reluctant to start it.
We get advice like directives.
Do this.
And this.
Don’t do that.
And definitely don’t do that.
No one says, take what I say with a grain of salt. It may or may not work for you.
We’re led to believe that there’s only one surefire way to write a book or build an online business or create a marketing funnel.
But there is no surefire way to do anything.
Some people need to work harder, but others need to slow down.
That’s why someone else’s morning routine can’t work for you. If someone is able to do yoga, meditate, run several miles, and take a cold plunge, all before nine, you may not be able to do any of that.
We are drowning in the sea of advice. You don’t have to dive in deep waters to get in the danger of drowning. Just stand still in the shallow waters and the tidal wave of well-meaning advice will come and swoop you whether you like it or not. Sorry, you won’t be able to escape it.
But there is something you can do about it.
Dump the advice and do it your way.
That’s right.
The worst that can happen is that you will fail. But even failure will teach you more than not taking action.
Taking risks is essential for success. Most successful people are willing to take risks at some point. Ture they might fail in some endeavors, but they do succeed in others. Even if your success rate is less than fifty percent, it is better than zero.
Many talented people are risk averse. The very trait that protects them, prevents them from achieving their potential.
It's better to be overly confident than cautious, as confidence can serve your skills and vice versa.
There are two types of confidence: phony and expert. Phony confidence fools us into taking risks we don't understand, while expert confidence allows us to understand the risks we take. Over-estimating risk can be as costly as under-estimating it when it prevents us from moving forward.
Another thing you can do is, to treat it like an experiment.
When I started writing on substack, it was an experiment. I learned about this new platform from an online friend and decided to give it a go. Three years later I am still continuing. These weekly letters have become part of my identity now. Last weekend I was in Melbourne for a friend’s 70th birthday. A lot of people told me it’s something good I am doing and they look forward to my weekly letters.
Don’t start a business, start a project. That takes the pressure off you. Treat it like a hobby first. Learn while doing it. You will get better at it. Then you can take it to the next level. Alternatively, you will find out that you don’t like it. In that case, nothing is lost, only something gained. You gain experience and you gain how not to do it next time.
That’s all from me this week.
Neera Mahajan
HI Neera,
I wonder what would have happened if you would have launched the newspaper back in 2016 anyway? It's hard to know what could've happened. We all have a tendency to pay attention to advice given from someone we respect.
Maybe two or three years ago, I was reading posts of various people describing their writing routine. I was analyzing my writing routine and realized that some other author's way of managing their time would not work for me. For example, one author claimed he woke up at 5 a.m. no matter what and went on a 5 mile jog. Then came back home and sat down and started writing. He did this on a consistent basis. I knew that would not work for me. But when I read about Toni Morrison's writing habit...I thought...yes I could probably do that., She would write in 10 chunks of time throughout the day while babysitting her children and doing other chores.
Here is a famous quote I hear often. " If I can do it, anyone can!" No, that's simply not true. It's a great sales tactic, but one has to have the self-confidence to do the simplest of tasks. Not everyone can drive a car, because you can do it. We all have various reasons for being on this earth and we're all meant for different purposes. I know it all sounds complicated. Anyway, I'm going to cross-post your post. It's a good one.