Join My Journey: From Draft to Published - And How You Can Help!
✏️ ON MY MIND
Join My Journey: From Draft to Published - And How You Can Help!
Have you ever poured hours into a project only to leave it untouched? I know I have.
My Story: The Book That Almost Wasn't
In 2015, I dove into a side hustle as a career transition coach, juggling content creation, speaking at meetups, and hosting workshops. My biggest leap? A 40-week personal brand accelerator to write and publish my dream book, "Dare to Escape."
The Excitement and the Halt
I was on fire, writing 30,000 words in just a month. A landing page, an email list, and a stunning book cover by the talented Colleen Keith followed.
Then, unexpectedly, my project hit pause.
For seven years, it sat untouched in my Evernote archives.
Revival and Reflection
I revisited the book last year amidst solitude in Danang while my wife explored India.
Despite reworking the intro and receiving invaluable feedback from friends, I hit another roadblock.
Work, life, and emotional overwhelm stalled my progress once again.
2024: A New Chapter
I'm changing my approach this year, and I need your help. Here's the plan:
Building in Public: I'm sharing the 17 planned chapters as weekly essays with you, my Authentic Marketer newsletter subscribers.
Accountability and Improvement: This method keeps me on track and improves my writing skills.
Your Involvement: You'll get an exclusive first look and can offer feedback on each chapter.
Subscriber Perks: Paid subscribers will access the complete archives and engage in weekly chapter discussions, sharing stories and questions. You’ll also get access to my bonus worksheets and resources that I develop for each chapter and help improve them.
Collaborate and Create: As part of this journey, I will invite collaborators from our community and beyond to share their experiences and insights. (This will include recording interviews that will be published as bonus podcast episodes for paid subscribers.)
Who is this book (and series) for?
To Small Business Owners and CEOs:
While this series is primarily aimed at career professionals, it also offers valuable insights for you. By understanding the trends, mindsets, and attitudes shaping today's workforce, you'll better understand what motivates and drives your team or potential hires.
Staying on top of these ideas is essential to remain relevant and appealing to your workforce in an era of rapidly changing work dynamics.
To Career Professionals and Multi-Passionates:
It's time to explore how individuals are reshaping their careers for greater fulfilment in response to shifting economic, technical, and societal trends and how you can navigate this evolving landscape.
Preview of What's Ahead (Chapter Outline)
Here’s a breakdown of the chapters and how I envision this book flowing. This may change as we proceed.
Act 1 - Dissatisfaction
Chapter 1: Feeling Unfulfilled at Work?
The modern work dissatisfaction epidemic
The societal pressure of "success"
The cost of ignoring personal fulfilment
Chapter 2: Redefining Work in a Passion Economy
The decline of traditional job security
Rise of the gig and passion economies
Opportunities in the new work landscape
Chapter 3: My Career Journey
Early career aspirations and realities
Pivotal moments of change and realisation
Lessons from a salsa hustle, a FB ads business, and launching a content agency
My relationship with failure
Chapter 4: Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset
The mindset vs. skillset debate
Predictable world vs. stochastic world
The role of randomness and luck in success
Overcoming fear, embracing risk and uncertainty
Chapter 5: Money Mindset and Habits for Entrepreneurial Success
The transformation of personal money beliefs
Daily habits that foster financial growth
Overcoming financial challenges as an entrepreneur
Chapter 6: Aligning Business with Inner Wealth
Defining personal success and wealth
The pitfalls of external validation
Aligning business goals with personal values
Act 2 - Transformation
Chapter 7: Design a Lifestyle You Love & Work Backwards
Envisioning your ideal day
The importance of work-life integration
Setting boundaries for personal well-being
What does a lifestyle business even look like?
Chapter 8: Ideate and Validate
Brainstorming techniques and idea generation
Market research and validation methods
Pitfalls to avoid during validation
Placing small bets vs. going all-in
Chapter 9: Marketing on a Bootstrapped Budget
Leveraging organic social media strategies
The power of word-of-mouth and referrals
Cost-effective content marketing techniques
Chapter 10: Self-Funded Dreams, Data-Driven Decisions
Bootstrapping vs. seeking investors
Introduction to key business metrics
Making informed decisions using data
Chapter 11: Remote Work and Digital Nomad Insights
Tips for effective remote work
Lessons from a life on the move
Sourcing work while travelling as a digital nomad
Chapter 12: Be Heroic, Not Fearless: Managing Anxiety, Self-Doubt, and Burnout
Recognising the signs of burnout
Strategies to manage and prevent burnout
Building resilience and coping mechanisms
Act 3 - Breakthrough
Chapter 13: Talk to Customers... Then Talk to More Customers
The art of active listening
Gathering and analysing customer feedback
Iterating based on customer insights
Chapter 14: Pivot, Automate, Outsource, Relocate
Recognising when and how to pivot
Introduction to business automation tools
The benefits of outsourcing and delegation
Chapter 15: Maximize Strengths, Embrace Progress
Identifying and leveraging personal strengths
The growth mindset and continuous learning
Celebrating small wins and milestones
Chapter 16: Assemble Your Dream Team: Mentors, Partners, Peers
The importance of mentorship in business
Building strategic partnerships
Networking and building a supportive peer group
Chapter 17: Conclusion: Stop Dreaming, Start Doing. Make Your Vision Real.
Overcoming the paralysis of perfection
The power of taking the first step
Maintaining momentum and staying motivated
Bonus resources
Choose your path
Chapter 1 will drop next Friday, so keep an eye out for it in your inbox.
Free subscribers can view these essays for 48 hours post-publication.
Paid subscribers enjoy full archive access and additional benefits (see below). Your stories might even make it into the final book or as bonus material!
Your Feedback Matters
I value your input and would love to hear your thoughts. Together, we can make this book a reality.
Where to from here:
Reply - to provide initial encouragement, thoughts or comments.
Upgrade today for the full experience - join the community, comment on posts via Substack, access the entire archive of all past and future newsletters, and more. I’d love for you to share with our community the #1 project you’re working on right now (especially if it involves writing & publishing content) so we can support you, too.
I wish you a fantastic start to 2024. Let’s support each other to create the best year ever!
(Drafted with the help of ChatGPT-4 and edited by yours truly. Image by Dall-E.)
👍 3 THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION
1/ Watch: 2023, in 7 minutes
2023 was a tough year for quite a few friends that I spoke with over the holiday break. What I hadn’t realised was the extent of the challenges that people across the globe had experienced.
This 7-minute look back video by Vox (an annual tradition) offers a global perspective of what went down, the highs and lows, and what I appreciate most is that it ends with a hopeful message for humanity.
2/ Watch: “Lazy” millennials demanding work-life balance | 60 Minutes Australia
I found this video useful for getting different perspectives from both sides of the table - traditional employers and millennials themselves.
3/ Listen: The Hidden Purpose Behind Human Values & Judgement That Causes SUFFERING | Know Thyself podcast
What if what we see as flaws are actually assets?
In a world obsessed with perfection, Dr. John Demartini’s perspective on the "Know Thyself" podcast offers a refreshing take.
Dr. Demartini puts it simply, “We don’t need to get rid of any part of ourselves to love ourselves.”
What stood out to me most in this podcast:
How The Law of Attraction ACTUALLY Works - The Secret to the 'Secret'
Mastering Your Craft: How Dr. Demartini Overcame Difficulty to Live His Purpose
Reframing Trauma: From Victim of History to Master of Destiny
🔧 TOOL OF THE WEEK
Scoreapp
The smarter way to generate higher converting leads.
ScoreApp makes quiz funnel marketing easy so that you can attract relevant warm leads, get insightful data and increase your sales.
Anfernee Chansamooth
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