Boundless #28: My financials

Here's how much I make

Nov 20, 2018

#1 On Perfectionism

I was having a conversation with a friend this past week about her (not) taking action on a podcast she wants to make. She shared the overwhelming perfectionism that holds her (any many of you) back.

Never being a perfectionist (I've always been an 80/20 kind of guy - to the disappointment of past micro-managers), I've been able to steadily keep putting stuff out there despite embarrassment, criticism, and mistakes. Last week I:

Forgot to link to the quartz article (sorry, here you go)
Got a random e-mail about the article that said "Good stuff but poorly written ...way too many typos" (he was right, by the way)

A few weeks ago another person who admitted to "never reading or listening to anything you've created" said my work was insulting and offensive. Ouch

Each of these things hurt and it makes sense why people hold back hitting publish. It took me a week to really work through that last incident I just mentioned. I felt like shit. But there is another side of putting things out in the world. I am writing this from a friend's home in Ho Chi Minh (hey Khuyen!) because we started a friendship over shared writing and ideas on the internet.

What often holds people back is our mistaken mindset that as an individual we have to have the same quality as a big corporation. Our working world has convinced us that everything should be mistake-free (but if it is incredibly un-inspiring, no big deal!). But that world is fading away. It is splitting into thousands of tribes to steal Seth Godin's framing. It is no longer only Gilette, but 50 different razor companies. Operating as individuals, we don't have to be perfect, but we should focus instead on finding the people that want to go on the same journey as us or want to learn something from us.

Writing and creating publicly has literally changed my life. I keep meeting more friends, being exposed to new ideas and keep finding ways to get better and connect with people to add value. But don't take it from me, take it from Luke: "thanks for encouraging me to share that book list article. I've gotten a lot of really positive feedback about it!" (The Corporate Intrapreneur's Reading List)

So I urge you to get started. To the person sitting on a piece of writing they are scared to publish or a podcast they are scared to create or the drawing they are scared to share: your future friends are waiting. The people that need your help are waiting. And most importantly, your courage is waiting to make an appearance.

Let me know if I can help?

#2 How I Make & Spend Money

I was spending about $6,000 a month living in New York City in 2017 while also making a six-figure salary.

Over the last two years, I've completely re-vamped my financials and lowered my cost of living by 75% while also purposely lowering my income (lower income = less work = more creative time). People have found both hard to believe.

I realize I'm a bit crazy to put this out there, but in the spirit of furthering the discussion of self-employment and "making a living" I'm making my finances transparent.

Last six month self-employed financials

#2a Question Of The Week

What do you think of sharing your financials with the world? Should more people do it?
Join 125+ Others To Discuss On Slack 💡

#3 Screw The Cubicle?

Web • YouTube • Apple Podcasts • Stitcher • Google Podcasts
Overcast • Spotify • PlayerFM

Lydia Lee didn't take a single vacation day in five years because she wanted to pay back her loans while also making as much money as she could at work. She burned out (physically and mentally) while in Moscow on a business trip and knew she had to carve a different path. Hear about all the elements that helped her build her business (and a new life) in Bali.

#4 Basic Income Thoughts

"People often pose the question, If we just gave people money through a basic income, wouldn’t people stop working?

The answer is yes, they might. But they also might work on things that matter to them and the world. The types of jobs and activities that are not well compensated in our labor economy and instead have enormous payoffs in a deeper sense of creativity, compassion, and love."

A short article I wrote, Three Sacred Beliefs Holding Us Back From Basic Income

#5 Read, Listen & Learn

Five #goodreads This Week: Weekly Reads #97

Past Reads: How to write & share in public without looking like a fool (okay, not always)

Courses: I just enrolled in Charles Eistenstein's course Living In The Gift which is happening over the next several weeks about operating in a world of abundance and the gift economy. If you take the course, let me know and we can talk about our experiences (cost: gift/$0+)I started a WhatsApp group with my friend Jonny for anyone interested in this course and sharing our reflections - Join here