Daily Content Machine

Fearing failure is pretty common. It sucks to fail. It's uncomfortable to fail. No one likes failing. That's why I thought it was so strange to find out that there was even such a thing as fear of success.

We all want success, so why in the world would we be afraid of it? Isn't it what we're striving for?

I never considered myself someone who feared success. Maybe you don’t either. But after researching it, I found that there were deeper fears beneath the surface that I didn’t even recognize.

When you're laying on your deathbed, you're not going to wish you lived for more tomorrows. You're not going to be thinking about unimportant things or what other people thought of you.

Eventually you run out of tomorrows to live for and that’s when you realize all you had was now.

You spend all of this time catering to other people’s fleeting thoughts about you, only to realize you never actually thought about what you wanted to be.

Are you living for the next thing?

Is your life right now all about something that’s about to happen? Are you fixated on something that takes place in the future? Are you waiting for something to start, end, move, change, improve, or go away before you believe that life has started for you?

You need an external hard drive for your brain. Don't worry, it can be wireless, but you don't really realize how much you're using your brain as storage right now.

You're spending so much of your capacity trying to hold onto ideas. So much of your energy is spent not forgetting information and details.

The thing is, we don't need to do this! Right now, there's not a way to wirelessly transfer our knowledge to an external hard drive. Except... maybe there is.

You know what's the worst? Running out of topics. You're trying so hard to keep things fresh in your feed and put out new content, but it seems like it always comes down to the last minute.

It's the night before your newsletter or blog post goes out and you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off. I know because I've been there.

You're freaking out because you don't know what to write about and this post is due.

First of all, slow down and breathe. Everything's going to be ok.

Step 1: Write about how you messed up and talk about the importance of not procrastinating. Ok, now tomorrow's post is done, so let's set things up the smart way and prepare for the future.

We've been talking about writing these past few days and how important it is for your business growth.

In episode 78, we talked about the repurposing power of writing. No matter what you want to create, no matter what medium, it all starts with writing. Writing is one of the most important skills and powerful habits you'll ever build.

So I thought, "If it all starts with writing, why don't I start my day with writing?"

I always hated getting up early. Maybe you can relate. I'm a night owl through and through. I do my best work at night—at least, that's what I always told myself because there was no way I was getting up before the sun did.

But at the beginning of 2014, I had this thought: "If it all starts with writing, why don't I start my day with writing?" I decided just to try it. I decided to set my alarm for early and write as the very first thing I do.

Yesterday, we talked about Why You Should Be Writing and the many benefits of writing.

Today, I want to talk about getting better at writing on purpose. Yes, it's true that if you write a lot you will improve, but that's not the most purposeful way to get better. It's the slow way to improve.

Getting better isn't automatic. If you're not consciously aware of the bad habits you have, time and repetition is only going to cement those bad habits.

I used to think writing was boring.

I thought writing was something only writers did and I didn't consider myself a writer. Maybe you don't either.

So why write? What's the point? Who should be writing?

Well, I think you should be writing. Yes, you!

On yesterday's episode, we talked about why you need an accountability partner. We touched on the three forms of accountability, keeping commitments, and how to become more self-disciplined.

One of the three forms of accountability we talked about yesterday was partner accountability. In today's episode, we're going to talk about how to find an accountability partner.

I'm going to break down the "how" of finding an accountability partner into three sections:

1. Values

2. Levels

3. Places

How do you stay motivated? How do you become the person you want to be? How do you keep commitments to yourself and how can you achieve the kinds of things the people you look up to have achieved?

You want all of these things, but you can’t seem to stick with something. You want to commit, but every time you try to start something it doesn’t really go anywhere and you just give up and move on.

These people you look up to seem to be prolific in their output. They’re successful, they’re consistent, and they’re constantly putting things out without fail.

If you feel like you’ve wanted to get to this point and you just aren’t there yet, accountability is what is missing.

What if your friends were talking about you and your business as if you weren't in the room... but you were? They were sharing their true thoughts and opinions of you and your work and critiquing it without holding back. What if you could be a fly on the wall when your friends shared their unfiltered ideas about you and your business but you couldn't say a word?

This is the idea behind Unsolicited Advice.

Last month, Nathan Barry invited me to go on a business retreat with half a dozen other guys. It was a time to relax but also work on our businesses. The first couple days, we spent time doing individual sessions. This is where we shared what was going on in our business and each other person got to provide advice and feedback.

But on the final night, was had what Nathan called Unsolicited Advice. This is where everyone gathered in the living room and each person took turns being in the hot seat. If it was your turn, everyone else talked about you and your business. They shared their ideas uninhibited and talked about you as if you weren't in the room at all. You were not allowed to say anything. All you could do is listen and take notes.