This week:
- How to take a sabbatical 😴
- The concept of a business utopia 💭
- Being prolific and why it matters 👨🎤
- How to pitch yourself as a podcast guest 🎙
A quick look behind the curtains
I missed last week’s Weekly, so I decided I need to cut down on the time I spend on these Weekly’s to make it easier to do on my Saturday and Sunday mornings.
To make me more focused, I decided to bring my laptop to a local cafe. My goal is to write and publish this Weekly before my battery runs out.
It’s a good thing I spend all week gathering links and resources, so it’s a matter of pulling it all together for you. Wish me luck!
1. How to take a sabbatical (and not go insane)
Sabbaticals are nothing new, but few people take the time to actually take one.
I realize for many people this seems like a completely ludicrous and unrealistic goal. But it might be worth considering at least once in your life. There might be a time when you really need one, or you might value taking a breath of air between this long thing called a career.
Last summer, my wife and I took a mini-sabbatical (kinda). Kait wanted a new job and we both wanted to move into a bigger home, so we decided to put life on pause and go live abroad for an indefinite period of time.
We packed up our belongings, put them into storage, and went to Europe for what ended up being three months.
I worked remotely, so it wasn’t really a sabbatical for me, but it felt a bit like one. Our routine was completely changed and we submersed ourselves into Portuguese, French, German, and Spanish culture.
At the time, there was a degree of uncertainty and some stress involved. After all, Kait was unemployed (by choice) we were essentially “homeless” (by design). We had to have faith that when we moved back, she would get a job she liked better and we’d move into a bigger home with minimal stress.
But with that uncertainty, there was also a renewed perspective about our lives. We explored new cultures, expanded our minds, and shook ourselves out of the regular routine that locks people in, often without our awareness.
Link: How to take a sabbatical (and not go insane)
2. The concept of a business utopia
In order to take a sabbatical, you need to have an underlying belief that you can design your life, at least to a certain extent.
This concept reminds me of a favourite idealist idea that I read about from Derek Sivers.
Derek, at the root of the idea, says:
“When you make a business, you get to make a little universe where you control all the laws. This is your utopia.”
If you’re an entrepreneur, the idea that you can create your business exactly as you want it is a fun concept. Much like the idea living your life by design, it’s fun to stop and think about what a perfect and ideal version of your business would look like, then go about creating it.
I looked up the concept and found him talking about it in two places, so I’ll share both links below.
Link #1: What’s your compass?
Link #2: Make a dream come true
P.S. I tweeted at Derek and hoping he’ll share more links to places he talks about the idea of a business utopia, so if he responds with more links, I’ll update this post.
3. Being prolific and why it matters
A few years ago, I read a book by Hugh McLeod called Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity. I couldn’t tell you what it was about, exactly. It’s been too long since I read it, but I remember it being good.
Essentially, his story is that he started out drawing doodles on the back of business cards every day. Not all of his drawings were great, but after a long enough period of time drawing and sharing them with the world, he built an audience and is now bona-fide “successful”.
Ok, so I obviously skimmed on a lot of his story, but that’s not the point. His art is great, and here’s an article highlighting 20 lessons worth learning about business.
My favourite is the one (below), which might be the main reason I am sharing this with you. There’s something magical about being prolific, creating a body of work that is so large that the value you create is undeniable
Here’s a quote from the article:
For example, among the 50 greatest pieces of music ever created, six belong to Mozart, five are Beethoven’s, and three Bach’s. But in order to create those, Mozart wrote over 600 songs, Beethoven 650, and Bach over 1,000.
Similarly, Picasso created thousands of pieces of art, and few are considered to be his “great works.” Edison had 1,900 patents, and only a handful we would recognize. Albert Einstein published 248 scientific articles, only a few of which are what got him on the map for his theory of relativity.
Link: These 20 pictures will teach you more than reading 100 books
4. How to pitch yourself as a podcast guest
I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a podcast for a while, and I definitely will when I’m ready.
Podcasting is a powerful way to spread your message to a highly targeted audience. It’s a far more engaging media type than the written word, for example.
So when I saw a tweet by Yann Ilunga, it caught my eye. In this 11 minute video, Yann offers advice and specific wording on pitching podcasters to be a guest on their show.
Give it a watch, it might help if you’re considering getting on other people’s platforms as well.
Link: How to Pitch Yourself Like a Pro (a Step-by-Step Approach for Podcast Guests)
That’s all for this week, thanks for joining!
– Kevin C. Whelan