A sustainable way to grow longterm

[Alexander Mish]

Imagine a man.
He is standing on the crossroads. There is a path in every direction imaginable.
He asks “what do i choose”.
Some people say “do this, and you will be rich and happy”. Other people say “No, do this instead, or you are going to regret and suffer”. Imagine there is a hundred of these voices. A thousand.
This is what we are going through every day. This is too hard.

There is numerous ways to progress in life, but i see 2 distinctive ones.
Is to focus on gradual improvement, or is to focus on rapid growth.

On the growth path you progress quickly and noticeably. You grow and expand. But your foundation is weak.

I have a friend that achieved a lot for his age. But he is unhappy. He can’t fill the void inside. It is often because of insecurities we strive for more.

You can just leave all the problems and complaints lying in the dust. You can try to outgrow them, to run from them this way.
But at some point we encounter an obstacle - ourselves.
There is a limit on how much you can hold together. Things fall apart. Even more suffering awaits.

The other path is to focus on fixing problems in yourself and in your craft.

When you focus on getting better and showing your work, people will want what you do. You can get precious feedback and improve that way. When you become extremely good, the demand will outgrow the supply. People will ask you to get bigger, so that they could get your great something.

Your foundation is solid.

The method is to iterate. I used it in the creation of this text, and a video on this topic.
I made first draft of an animation, first draft of montage. Left it for a few hours, and thought “what layers of production can i affect?”. So i leaned into the story aspect, then smoothness of movement, then colours, then effects, then montage and so on. Each time i reviewed my work and made changes.

For the text the process is similar.
I created the first draft, left it for a bit. In the meantime i’ve reviewed my notes on writing. When i came back, i changed what i wrote. I deleted some parts. I added new thoughts.
I’ve read this text out loud. I’ve changed parts and entire sequences. This text is unrecognisable from the initial draft.
This is my way of becoming better

Try, fail, learn, iterate.
I am going to use this going forward, and let you know how it worked out for me.
Let me know what you think please, i would like to discuss a different view.

 

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[Elisa LoveHate]

Inspiring, thank you for sharing! I don't know if I have anything of value to add to your thoughts.
But it made me think about how I have the feeling that these days everything is moving so fast, that the quality of everything is being lowered because there's no time to produce quality; you have to produce as much as you can.

For example, I had this experience working with an influencer; I had to create content for her. There was nothing like anything you described. It was more important that I posted whatever thing came to her mind; there was never a moment to think and review the content, empathize with the audience, improve the quality the products she sells.
Despite this, she achieved a million last year.

Whether she is happy and fulfilled, I don't know; she sounded like, except for her body appearance. Probably that is an example of the growth process you mentioned.

 

[Alexander Mish]

Inspiring, thank you for sharing! I don't know if I have anything of value to add to your thoughts.
But it made me think about how I have the feeling that these days everything is moving so fast, that the quality of everything is being lowered because there's no time to produce quality; you have to produce as much as you can.

For example, I had this experience working with an influencer; I had to create content for her. There was nothing like anything you described. It was more important that I posted whatever thing came to her mind; there was never a moment to think and review the content, empathize with the audience, improve the quality the products she sells.
Despite this, she achieved a million last year.

Whether she is happy and fulfilled, I don't know; she sounded like, except for her body appearance. Probably that is an example of the growth process you mentioned.

Thank you for the reply!
The value you added is that i was interested to read your story, as other people might too!

I encountered these scenarios, yes. For that i answered myself that the world is not equal for everybody. Somebody can just have an unique set of circumstances, so that they get what they got. And my set is different. It's not bad, it's not good - it's just is.
Also, i have a friend that has an uncle - a serious businessman. He has the agriculture empire, billions of revenue, not joking. Friend told me that his uncle never thought for himself. His mode of operation was - encounter trouble - seek someone older or higher up, and do what they say.
I heard stories about how rich people can be just animals. It does not prevent them from being absurdly wealthy.
So i made it clear to myself - character does not correlate with wealth.
You can be an awful person, and be rich.
You can be a wonderful person, and be rich.
The choice is up to you, who you want to be at the end of the road.

About value again - your response and story is what moved me to formulate this thought

 

[Gigantic_brain]

Imagine a man.
He is standing on the crossroads. There is a path in every direction imaginable.
He asks “what do i choose”.
Some people say “do this, and you will be rich and happy”. Other people say “No, do this instead, or you are going to regret and suffer”. Imagine there is a hundred of these voices. A thousand.
This is what we are going through every day. This is too hard.

There is numerous ways to progress in life, but i see 2 distinctive ones.
Is to focus on gradual improvement, or is to focus on rapid growth.

On the growth path you progress quickly and noticeably. You grow and expand. But your foundation is weak.

I have a friend that achieved a lot for his age. But he is unhappy. He can’t fill the void inside. It is often because of insecurities we strive for more.

You can just leave all the problems and complaints lying in the dust. You can try to outgrow them, to run from them this way.
But at some point we encounter an obstacle - ourselves.
There is a limit on how much you can hold together. Things fall apart. Even more suffering awaits.

The other path is to focus on fixing problems in yourself and in your craft.

When you focus on getting better and showing your work, people will want what you do. You can get precious feedback and improve that way. When you become extremely good, the demand will outgrow the supply. People will ask you to get bigger, so that they could get your great something.

Your foundation is solid.

The method is to iterate. I used it in the creation of this text, and a video on this topic.
I made first draft of an animation, first draft of montage. Left it for a few hours, and thought “what layers of production can i affect?”. So i leaned into the story aspect, then smoothness of movement, then colours, then effects, then montage and so on. Each time i reviewed my work and made changes.

For the text the process is similar.
I created the first draft, left it for a bit. In the meantime i’ve reviewed my notes on writing. When i came back, i changed what i wrote. I deleted some parts. I added new thoughts.
I’ve read this text out loud. I’ve changed parts and entire sequences. This text is unrecognisable from the initial draft.
This is my way of becoming better

Try, fail, learn, iterate.
I am going to use this going forward, and let you know how it worked out for me.
Let me know what you think please, i would like to discuss a different view.

I like how you talk about long term growth but I feel like the intro to this made it seem like the hardest part is deciding which of the millions paths to take, or too many options to choose from as the main problem. How do you think people should narrow down these options and finally make a decision and stay with it?

 

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[Alexander Mish]

I like how you talk about long term growth but I feel like the intro to this made it seem like the hardest part is deciding which of the millions paths to take, or too many options to choose from as the main problem. How do you think people should narrow down these options and finally make a decision and stay with it?

Hm, thank you for an insight, i will structure into differently next time.
My idea is that people overcomplicate things in search of "the best" option. And i think there is only 2 - you either solve your problems, or you dont and suffer more along the way.
About how to narrow these options - is to experience them, and decide what you don't like.
That's it.
Other thing is how to experience them, there is not enough time in the world for that.
I am doing new things, going into the new places, meeting new people, even if i dont think that i will like it. Then, after the fact, you can decide what do you DON'T want to be doing.
For general knowledge, as well as super specific things - i learn from other people.
Through that you narrow down your list. And you dont have to wait untill the list is all crossed out. You can start something you are not opposed to right away, and drop it at any moment. It would do you no harm, and only good.
Tell me if i have answered your question, and if you have other questions!

 

[pmusu]

Imagine a man.
He is standing on the crossroads. There is a path in every direction imaginable.
He asks “what do i choose”.
Some people say “do this, and you will be rich and happy”. Other people say “No, do this instead, or you are going to regret and suffer”. Imagine there is a hundred of these voices. A thousand.
This is what we are going through every day. This is too hard.

There is numerous ways to progress in life, but i see 2 distinctive ones.
Is to focus on gradual improvement, or is to focus on rapid growth.

On the growth path you progress quickly and noticeably. You grow and expand. But your foundation is weak.

I have a friend that achieved a lot for his age. But he is unhappy. He can’t fill the void inside. It is often because of insecurities we strive for more.

You can just leave all the problems and complaints lying in the dust. You can try to outgrow them, to run from them this way.
But at some point we encounter an obstacle - ourselves.
There is a limit on how much you can hold together. Things fall apart. Even more suffering awaits.

The other path is to focus on fixing problems in yourself and in your craft.

When you focus on getting better and showing your work, people will want what you do. You can get precious feedback and improve that way. When you become extremely good, the demand will outgrow the supply. People will ask you to get bigger, so that they could get your great something.

Your foundation is solid.

Your story reminds me of the book The Fountainhead, one of my favorites. The resemblance comes from emphasizing the importance of individual choice and following one's path and pursuing one's vision regardless of external expectations.

The method is to iterate. I used it in the creation of this text, and a video on this topic.
I made first draft of an animation, first draft of montage. Left it for a few hours, and thought “what layers of production can i affect?”. So i leaned into the story aspect, then smoothness of movement, then colours, then effects, then montage and so on. Each time i reviewed my work and made changes.

For the text the process is similar.
I created the first draft, left it for a bit. In the meantime i’ve reviewed my notes on writing. When i came back, i changed what i wrote. I deleted some parts. I added new thoughts.
I’ve read this text out loud. I’ve changed parts and entire sequences. This text is unrecognisable from the initial draft.
This is my way of becoming better

Try, fail, learn, iterate.

You mention "fail and iterate". The question is, how do you know that you failed? On your craft, it's up to you, but in a business context, it would be putting your stuff out there and validating that customers want what you built. The risk is working too much on "making it better" without getting any validated learning from what better is. I'm reading the book Lean Startup and they focus on this concept.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Alexander Mish]

Your story reminds me of the book The Fountainhead, one of my favorites. The resemblance comes from emphasizing the importance of individual choice and following one's path and pursuing one's vision regardless of external expectations.



You mention "fail and iterate". The question is, how do you know that you failed? On your craft, it's up to you, but in a business context, it would be putting your stuff out there and validating that customers want what you built. The risk is working too much on "making it better" without getting any validated learning from what better is. I'm reading the book Lean Startup and they focus on this concept.

Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, that's a valid concern about failing. For me i use the "good enough" feel. Because you can never make your thing perfect, and it is unreasonable to try without constant feedback.
I dont know about lean startup, but there is a concept of minimal viable product - you decide what is essential in your proposition, and focus on that. You can add all other features later, if market responds to your mvp.
That is the "good enough" in business.

Do you have any stories about this?
What did you learn from "the fountainhead" and "lean startup"? How do you use it in life?

 

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[pmusu]

What did you learn from "the fountainhead" and "lean startup"? How do you use it in life?

The Fountainhead: The difference with being a "second-hander" (someone who craves approval and follows the crowd, letting others dictate their values and shunning originality). Think for yourself, chase your vision, and create something.

From Lean Startup: Build fast, test early, and learn constantly. This loop helps startups avoid wasting time and resources on features customers don't want.

 

[Kevin88660]

Imagine a man.
He is standing on the crossroads. There is a path in every direction imaginable.
He asks “what do i choose”.
Some people say “do this, and you will be rich and happy”. Other people say “No, do this instead, or you are going to regret and suffer”. Imagine there is a hundred of these voices. A thousand.
This is what we are going through every day.

Just to share a fictional story.

A Business school professor randomly selects 200 individuals of 20 plus year old fresh out of school hustlers and give them start-up capitals of equal amounts.

They are divided into two groups randomly.

Group A can select any fields of business ideas in the A category

-E Commerce
-SAAS
-Real Estate
-Traditional Trades

Group B can select any fields of the following

-Copywriting
-Social Media Marketing Agency
-On Demand T-Shirts Printing
-Content Creation Business (ebook, Youtuber, affiliate marketer)

If they fail and start again they can only choose the same business or business within the same group.

Then track their performance after ten years.

What do you think the result will be?

 

[Alexander Mish]

Just to share a fictional story.

A Business school professor randomly selects 200 individuals of 20 plus year old fresh out of school hustlers and give them start-up capitals of equal amounts.

They are divided into two groups randomly.

Group A can select any fields of business ideas in the A category

-E Commerce
-SAAS
-Real Estate
-Traditional Trades

Group B can select any fields of the following

-Copywriting
-Social Media Marketing Agency
-On Demand T-Shirts Printing
-Content Creation Business (ebook, Youtuber, affiliate marketer)

If they fail and start again they can only choose the same business or business within the same group.

Then track their performance after ten years.

What do you think the result will be?

Hm, it depends on what we consider a result. And also what do we consider a failure.

If we take the result as a flat cash income of the founder - I think people can make everything work. Every one of them is scalable, and has a potential offer leverage that you can use to stand out from the competitors.

But if we consider that someone wants to change their course midway - people in the first category are at disadvantage. Each of those options require specific knowledge.
While people in the second category can change with less time investment in relearning.

 

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[Kevin88660]

Hm, it depends on what we consider a result. And also what do we consider a failure.

If we take the result as a flat cash income of the founder - I think people can make everything work. Every one of them is scalable, and has a potential offer leverage that you can use to stand out from the competitors.

But if we consider that someone wants to change their course midway - people in the first category are at disadvantage. Each of those options require specific knowledge.
While people in the second category can change with less time investment in relearning.

How is specific knowledge a disadvantage? Thats the barrier to entry.

And content business and copywriting do require knowledge too.

In theory everything could create value and be made into a valuable businesses. But empirically winners are always clustered in a few common places, based on self-reported cases here and elsewhere.

I know Black Dragon is in marketing and copywriting, MTF is writing newsletters and there was a young man who had success with million followers on Youtube as he made good documentary videos. You can count using one hand.

The OGs of the forum members predominantly are from E-commerce.

I literally lost count on how many people made money off real estates here.

Discussing about why it could be interesting but we need to intellectually acknowledge the gap exists.