Uncategorized

Content is the new currency.

I am building a publishing and media company under my name.

Why?

Many reasons. Here are a few (in no order):

1. Identity. Each piece of content I post serves as a reminder to myself of who I am and who I want to be.
2. Career Capital. Each piece of content increases my career capital. It is compounding (the is an idea from Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You).
3. Serendipity. Each piece of content serves as a building block for serendipity to occur.
4. Legacy. Each piece of content is wisdom for the next generation. It will outline my worldview so others can check it out.

Over the past 6 months, I’ve launched tweets (daily), this blog (2 posts/week), a newsletter (1 email/week), and a podcast (3/week).

Looking back at it, this a lot of content.

If I were to have attempted this all at once, it would have been nearly impossible. But instead, I’ve built slowly.

The specific process I’ve followed is similar to how a bodybuilder adds more weight to the bar.

Here’s how it’s worked: Once I have mastered shipping in one area, I move on to the next. For example, once I felt comfortable producing two blog posts per week, I added a newsletter. Once I felt comfortable sending a two blog posts per week and a newsletter, I added a podcast.

I am trying to push myself. But it’s not stressful for me to produce this much content, it’s actually enjoyable. I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing.

Does the podcast take away from the blog posts? It’s possible. But could the podcast eventually add to the newsletter as well? Well, it already has. Additionally, the podcast serves as a way to connect with people who are also building.

Set An Internal Goal

For the blog posts, the newsletter, and the podcast… I’ve committed to an internal goal.

What does that mean? It means that I am judging progress on an internal action.

• For the blog, I committed to 104 posts (every Monday and Thursday for one year).
• For the newsletter, I committed to sending out 100 issues (every Tuesday for two years).
• For the podcast, I committed to publishing 100 episodes (every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for eight months).

Then, I have given myself an “out.” I can stop after these markers if I want. Or I can readjust and set new markers.

What do most people do? They set external goals. Amount of downloads, website visits, newsletter subscribers.

I can’t directly control these things. But I can control showing up.

1. Start a blog.
2. Start a Twitter account.
3. Start a podcast.
4. Start an email list.
5. Use the blog to post original articles. Most will suck. But that’s okay. It’s free to fail. People will find you via Google and sign up for your email list.
6. Use the Twitter account to make connections with your audience as well as other writers. People will find you via Twitter and sign up for your email list.
7. Use the podcast to interview writers, as well as anyone else you find interesting. People who follow your guests will find you via the podcast and sign up for your email list.
8. Use the email list to eventually sell your book. 
9. Start selling your book when you have 100,000 people subscribed to your email list.
10. Assuming 10% of the people who sign up for your email list buy the book, you have your first 10,000 sales.

Tim Ferriss often asks guests: “What’s the best purchase you’ve made for $100 or less?”

It’s a clever little question because he’s looking for a tool, service, or resource that can help almost anyone.

For me, the answer is obvious.

It’s a timer (not an affiliate link).

The timer serves three main functions:

1. Meditation
2. Cold showers
3. A trigger for meditation and cold showers

Let me explain…

My days begin in the morning. I’ll wake up, rinse off, and see the timer on my dresser. When I see the timer, I immediately think of meditation. So I grab it and set it for between 45 and 60 minutes, and start.

People often ask, how do you meditate 60 minutes every morning?

It’s simple: the trigger is there. It’s not a decision I have to make.

Here’s what happens when we pull out our phones: We scroll. We check our notifications. We get distracted. Or at least I do.

So by having my phone in a different room – and relying on the timer – I get rid of the downtime.

We often think of talent as a good thing.

But talent comes with a price: we take it for granted. It coaxes us into believing we don’t need to work. Often, we are gifted this talent. So we don’t come to appreciate it.

The problem with talent is that over a long enough timescale, when someone has worked hard enough, they beat us.

I love the stories of Navy SEALs.

They all say the same thing…

“You know, before we went through BUD/S there were a bunch of dudes who looked like studs. Olympians, incredible athletes. We thought they were going to be SEALs for sure. But they were the first ones to drop out.”

Why?

Because all their lives those guys relied on their talent. But Navy SEAL training isn’t designed to test your natural abilities or talent (from what I’ve read, not experienced). It’s designed to test your grit.

Life seems a lot like that.

Some people are born more talented than others. 

And yes, eventually talent wins. 

But the fallacy is believing you can’t increase your talent.

In most areas, you can become world class by simply sticking with something long enough.

The disadvantage of talent is that over a long enough timescale… it loses.

I launched a podcast yesterday.

It was exciting.

A lot of work went on behind the scenes for the past month to make it possible (recorded 17 episodes in the past month). But it was still exciting.

The launch was magical in it’s own right. The validation of the idea and the feedback was priceless.

Here were some of the nice comments:

Just listened to @heydannymiranda's first podcast with @ComedicBizman. It was insane.

Felt like 2 older brothers were talking to me and sharing excellent advice. Got so much energy from it.

Here are my notes, hope they can be of value to you:

— Stephan (@stephankrijger) September 23, 2020

When you listen to @heydannymiranda and @ComedicBizman discuss life and business

You just can't help but feel energized.

Really enjoyed the podcast episode, you shared some great biz insights.

Looking forward to the reverse interview in a couple of months @heydannymiranda! 😉

— Dan📚🏖💷 (@Tweedtweets0) September 23, 2020

Listened to @heydannymiranda’s pod with @thedulab and feel so uplifted.

Just straight up ready to love everybody. Thanks for spreading the positive vibes, gentlemen.

— Mason (@CardinalMason) September 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/nazeefn_/status/1308911835278708736

All of this felt really good. Fired me up.

But at the end of the day: the success of the podcast is not about the launch. The launch only represents a tiny part of the actual journey.

So let’s apply this with an example: you start a new workout plan. You devise your strategy. Then you announce to the world that you are actually starting. Day 1. You’re really excited. You do your first workout with joy and enthusiasm.

But…

The plan only works if you follow the plan.

Meaning?

The launch is “easy.” The execution – doing it when you don’t want to do it, when times get tough – that’s the hard part.

That’s the part that matters.

Because whatever your plan is, there will be times when you want to go off course. When you don’t want to follow it. Discipline is all about doing what you need to do even when you’d rather be doing 100 other things.

My plan: publish Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for at least 100 episodes.

You can currently find The Danny Miranda Podcast on Spotify and iTunes.

Sleeping is something we do for a third of our entire life. So let’s think about the ways we can do it better:

1. No phone/laptop in the bedroom. Make your bed strictly for sleep and sex.
2. Have a routine before bed. This lets your mind know it’s time go to sleep. Journal, shower, stretch… it doesn’t really matter so long as it is consistent and your phone isn’t involved.
3. No phone/laptop within two hours of bed. Give your mind time to wind down and close the loops on open text and email conversations.
4. No caffeine after noon. Because caffeine has a half-life of ~6 hours, you need to give yourself time for it to wind down. This means if you have a 200mg cup of coffee at 2 PM, there still will be roughly 50-75mg in your system when you’re trying to go to sleep at night.
5. No more than two cups per day. This is dependent on the individual but this is a rule I like to follow. If I have more than two cups of coffee in a given day, not only will it make my energy levels look like a rollercoaster, it will also make it more difficult for me to sleep.
6. Exercise throughout the day.
7. Make the room as dark as possible. Consider a sleep mask if you can’t install blackout shades or make your room any darker.
8. 65–70°F (20°C).
9. Stretch before bed. Even a quick five minute stretch can make the world of a difference.
10. Stick to the same bedtime and wake up time – even on weekends. This is difficult in the modern world. But it’s a great way to get your body in a routine.
11. When you wake up, go outside or see the sun. This is a great way to let your body know its morning. If you wake up but don’t go outside or see the sun until the afternoon, your body is going to be confused.
12. Be weary of alcohol usage. Even one glass of wine or drink can increase your resting heart rate throughout the night which will lower the quality of your sleep.
13. BreatheRight Nose Strips. These have decreased nasal congestion upon waking up. Highly recommended.
14. Play Tetris. To be fair, I’ve never used this one. But Tim Ferriss recommended it, so that’s good enough for me.

It should go without saying, but these are the tips and tricks that work for me. Our bodies and minds are all slightly different.