Niall Doherty's Blog, page 199
February 16, 2018
Momentos: February 1st – February 15th, 2018
MOMENTOS
February 1st – February 15th, 2018
1
Reviewing my finances today. $6,448 spent in January. That’s about twice as much as I usually spend in a month. Made me anxious. But then I went through and looked at each expense and couldn’t find anything to regret. All money well spent. Plus, I earned $9,518 in January. So I came out three grand ahead. That’s a damn good month.
2
Took Gretchen Rubin’s four tendencies quiz and turns out I’m an Obliger.
“Obligers depend on external accountability, with consequences such as deadlines, late fees, or the fear of letting other people down. In fact, Obligers need external accountability even for activities that they want to do.”
Nailed it.
3
Considering quitting these Momentos. The end of February will mark five years, never missed a day. I like writing and sharing them, along with the photos and videos. It’s a nice way to document my life, and create consistent content for the blog. But I do need to free up some time and energy if I want to achieve bigger goals I’ve set for myself. Might be time to kill this darling.
Breaking our January coffee fast.
4
Travel plans shaping up like this for the year: Bulgaria (where we are now) > Moscow > Las Palmas > Spanish road trip > Gran Canaria > Moscow > St. Petersburg > Montenegro > UK/Ireland > Amsterdam > Copenhagen > Faroe Islands > Gran Canaria > Ireland > Gran Canaria > Southeast Asia.
5
My challenge this month is to keep a journal of all the complaints I make. Already I’ve become aware of two things I complain about regularly: being tired, and not having enough time. And when you really think about it, both those complaints are ridiculous. I can always sleep more on my flexible schedule, and I get the same 24 hours each day as everyone else.
6
Made my first big coaching proposal today. Didn’t receive a yes, at least not yet, but I came away buzzing nonetheless. She fits my “dream client” criteria, and so it felt great just to be on a call with her, listening, sharing, exploring, brainstorming. I was in my element. That’s the Zone of Genius stuff Hendricks was talking about. I know good things will happen if I keep spending time in there.
The start of another snowboarding day in Bansko, Bulgaria.
7
Still haven’t committed to a coach of my own. Had the decision made but then jumped on a powerful call this evening and came away with a different perspective. Now I’m on the verge of investing $15,000 for the next six months. It’s a different level, investing that much in growth. And yeah, it feels scary. The good kind of scary.
8
I read The 4-Hour Workweek ten years ago. I remember telling friends about it back in New Orleans, when I was still a 9-to-5er. That book really was a game-changer for me, got me thinking very differently about life and work. Reading it again now, as a somewhat seasoned veteran of this lifestyle design thing. Let’s see if it holds up.
9
One year since that fanciful flight to Prague to go see about a girl. It felt different from the start, glad I trusted that hunch and took a chance. We’ve been to nine countries together now, exploring hidden beaches, mountain shrines, big cities and small towns. Ryan Holiday once wrote that the best life hack is finding an amazing life partner. Seems he was right.
Bansko after a night of snowfall.
10
Last day in Bansko. It’s been good. We’ve been here long enough to find a few favorite places, become familiar faces. There’s Baba Vuna downstairs, a family run restaurant serving hearty local food. And the cafe across the road, Vlad there every day whipping up the lattes. Those looks of recognition, those knowing smiles… makes a place feel like home.
11
Minus five in Moscow as we zip along a snowy highway, cruising between plow trucks, over a white river. I’m not exactly excited to be back in this city, especially at this time of year. But I’ll get to spend more time with herself and can knuckle down and get a good chunk of work done. I’m off to a slow start on a 90-day money game. Time to punch in.
12
Another coaching call. Spent $600 on this one, for an hour of his time. And it was good, definitely worth the money. I could stick with him and pay the same each month. That would be the safe choice, the comfortable choice. But I don’t believe safe and comfortable will get me where I want to go.
Hello Moscow.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Sunday, February 11, 2018
13
Heard on a podcast today: scary and dangerous are two different things. Many scary things aren’t dangerous, and many dangerous things aren’t scary. One dangerous thing that isn’t scary is working a ho-hum job. You have to be careful with that. Because if you’re not, you wake up one day and you’re sixty years old and you wonder where your life went.
14
So I’ve gone ahead and committed to that six months of deep coaching. Sent the first $5,000 payment last night. Noticed before bed that a stress spot had broken out on the rim of my eyelid. Trying to breathe through the anxiety, not get caught up in negative thought patterns, scarcity mindset. Let the good feelings flow. Don’t Upper Limit yourself.
15
If a penny saved is a penny earned, then I “earned” almost $90 in five minutes today. How? By asking my Airbnb host for a discount. Almost didn’t ask, thinking I might be pushing my luck too far, but then remembered that I’m the same guy who wrote a whole blog post urging people to always negotiate. Actually, shit… I really should have asked for a discount on that $5,000 coaching fee as well.
View from my Airbnb in Moscow.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Friday, February 16, 2018
Previous Momentos
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About
These are my Momentos, vignettes I write daily and publish twice a month. They're incredibly self-indulgent and I'm surprised anyone reads them.
There's one for every day since February 27, 2013.
The post Momentos: February 1st – February 15th, 2018 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
February 2, 2018
Momentos: January 16th – January 31st, 2018
MOMENTOS
January 16th – January 31st, 2018
16
It’s funny: I paid $1000 for this coaching call, and she’s pointing me in a direction I already knew, in the back of my mind, I needed to go. If I’d paid her nothing and she’d given me this advice free of charge, I’d probably have dismissed it, kept on doing what I’m doing. But since I invested so much her advice takes on an extra weight, and I’m no doubt going to take it.
17
Bulgarian dentist. The price is low and there’s no waiting room – he invites you in and sits you in a corner while he finishes with another patient in the chair a few feet away. And he says words like “arsenic” and “nerve extractor.” But hey, he came recommended, he seems like a good guy, and my teeth aren’t going to magically fix themselves.
18
First day snowboarding! Except it’s not, because there are gale force winds and all the lifts are closed. But it’s probably just as well. Turns out I need a down day, after being all go and very little rest since the start of the year. Plenty of duvet time and snuggles and a couple of movies was a perfect Plan B.
First day snowboarding
January 17, 2018
Momentos: January 1st – January 15th, 2018
MOMENTOS
January 1st – January 15th, 2018
1
Got a new morning routine going, based on The Miracle Morning. One part is affirmations. Best to speak them aloud, apparently. Which I did this morning, and noticed I was a little anxious someone might overhear. But why? If these are empowering beliefs I want to instill in myself, if they speak to who I am and who I am becoming, why should it matter if someone overhears?
2
Been emailing a subscriber back and forth a dozen times the last couple of weeks. Sounded like she couldn’t afford my course, spent time advising her anyway, trying to be nice. Today she replied to a blast about the price of my course going up, upset, saying I was only trying to make money off people. Done with this kind of shit. Not spending any more time helping people who don’t know how to help themselves.
3
Making more time to help less people. High-level people. Serious people. Folks who already have their shit together. Had Skype calls with two people like that today and it was bliss. I almost teared up on one call when the guy told me his motivation for building an online business. “YES YES YES!” I wrote in my notes afterwards, “This is EXACTLY the kind of person I want to work with!”
Running from nothing in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
4
Reading about Magellan, how he got that voyage underway. No easy task by the sounds of it. Took him years of planning and persuading. He had to keep going through multiple failures, rejections, even attempted sabotage. Patience and persistence is what saw him through. Patience and persistence.
5
The dude at the desk at the car rental place is always grumpy. I challenged myself to get a smile out of him today. Not sure if he happened to be in a good mood or if my positivity was contagious, but he sent multiple smiles and handshakes my way. Never seen him so happy. His name is Paco. We’re friends now.
6
Trying to get better on the coaching calls, listening and diving deep and asking what really needs to be asked and not worrying about getting paid. Just add value, help as much as possible. One thing I’ve found good for zoning in and getting present is to make a mental note of the color of their eyes. And to admit when I’m feeling uncertain or uncomfortable.
Had a lazy lunch here today.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Friday, January 5, 2018
7
We’ve made the most of this weekend. Friday road trip into the mountains, lazy lunch and a wander around a farm. Sleepy harbor town yesterday, sneaking up on rooftops to catch the sunset. Today an epic hike to the most remote beach on this island, up and over a mountain to reach, picnics in the sun, dancing on sand and surf.
8
A week deep into the new morning routine. So far, so good. Here’s what it looks like:
Toilet, 5-minute journal, habit spreadsheet
Big glass of water
10 minutes of exercise
10 minutes of affirmations/values/principles
10 minutes free writing (including reviewing/updating affirmations)
10 minutes of positive visualization
10 minutes meditation
Make breakfast, discuss plan for the day
20 minutes reading or online course while having breakfast
10 minutes planning the day (including bed and sleep time), quick email check
9
Decided to get myself a coach this year. Because it’s a bit hypocritical to be touting the power of coaching while not having one of my own. So I reached out to a lady who I think would be a great coach for me. Unfortunately, she replied that was too busy. So I waited a few days and then asked again. This time she agreed to one 90-minute coaching session. The price is $1000. I paid her immediately.
Sneaky dance on Gran Canaria’s most remote beach.
10
Steve Chandler, on motivation:
Do you think truck drivers have this same problem? Is there something called Trucker’s Block, where a driver wakes up and finds his mood isn’t right for driving today? No. A trucker drives his truck no matter what his energy or hope levels are. He has a schedule and a destination map, and he follows it no matter what.
11
And thus ends my run of weekly webinars. Did the last one this evening, live from Madrid. Two sales from it, and a bunch more thank-you’s. Glad I gave the idea a good shot but just wasn’t worth the time and effort in the end. I’ll likely do a webinar live on Facebook once a month going forward. I do enjoy the real-time interaction, just not every single Thursday night.
12
Spent several hours today in and out of shops, and a mall built inside an old train station. At one point I was walking along with a few bags of newly acquired goods and it dawned on me that I was on a shopping spree in Madrid on a random Friday afternoon… and it felt totally normal. Been telling myself for the past few weeks that I’m already a rich man. Today was further proof of that.
Big bubbles and kid giggles on the streets of Madrid in mid-January.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Friday, February 2, 2018
13
Reckon I’ll quit the cold showers soon. Haven’t had a warm one for nine months now, through climates hot and cold. There are definitely health benefits to it – physical and mental – but there’s only so much self-discipline I can muster in a day. With the new morning routine and stricter eating habits, an occasional warm shower would be a welcome indulgence.
14
Uber to the airport, a few hours east in the sky, and now we’re in Bulgaria, in the back of a minivan headed up a mountain where bears and wolves are said to roam. I passed through this country years ago, on an overnight bus to Istanbul. Didn’t see a thing, never put a foot on the ground. This time I’ll see plenty. Here for a month, to work and snowboard.
15
How can you ruin the day of a privileged man, who can come to the mountain for a month just because he feels like it, and spend his time frolicking around in the snow between bouts of productivity? Well, all you need do, is give him crappy internet access. Then sit back and watch as he goes mad with frustration.
This was our first evening in Bansko, Bulgaria.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Friday, February 2, 2018
Previous Momentos
In the comments below, let me know which of the above Momentos is your favorite. Which can you relate to?
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About
These are my Momentos, vignettes I write daily and publish twice a month. They're incredibly self-indulgent and I'm surprised anyone reads them.
There's one for every day since February 27, 2013.
The post Momentos: January 1st – January 15th, 2018 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
January 2, 2018
NEVER Ask A Client This Question
Work Online
NEVER Ask A Client This Question
by Niall DohertyUpdated: January 2, 2018
Actually there are two questions you should never ask a client.
The first:
What are you wearing?
Well, unless your name is Miranda Priestly…
But the main question you should never ask a client is this:
What now?
The problem with that question is that you’re falling into the employee mindset. It’s as if you’re saying:
Don’t make me think for myself! Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.
You can still provide value as a freelancer with that approach, as many clients will happily micromanage the be-jesus out of you so you never have to think for yourself.
But they’re never going to pay you very well for that kind of work.
To make serious money, you need to think of yourself as more of a consultant.
And that means being a lot more proactive.
Let’s look at an example…
Say you’re a copywriter and you’re writing an email series for a client. They gave you a bulleted list of what each email should contain and you got to work.
But now you’re halfway through and you realize that the sequence they created doesn’t flow very well and is unlikely to engage subscribers.
You could voice these concerns to the client and end with the infamous question:
So… what now?
Or, you could adopt the role of a badass proactive consultant, sketch out a few options, and give your recommendation.
Something like this:
…
So that’s the situation.
Here are a few options for moving forward:
a) We can stick with the planned sequence and see how subscribers respond to it.
This would require no additional time but as noted above, I don’t think the results will be as good as they can be.
b) We can add another email between #3 and #4 explaining [some crucial thing]. I can whip up a draft of that for you.
This would require an extra 2 hours of my time (and would therefore add $X to your budget), but I could have it done for you by tomorrow and I think it would be a big improvement.
c) We can start over and restructure the whole series.
Definitely an option but I think it’s overkill at this stage and it would set you back quite a bit on time and budget.
I recommend we try option b above. We could launch with that, then measure the response to see what additional changes would be beneficial.
That said, I’m cool with whatever route you decide to take.
What do you think?
Yeah, it takes a lot longer to write an email like that, but you save the client a lot of time and mental effort, which they will be very grateful for.
Give this a try next time you get stuck on a client project.
Don’t just ask them “what now?”
Be proactive and make a few suggestions yourself.
…
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The post NEVER Ask A Client This Question appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
Momentos: December 16th – December 31st, 2017
MOMENTOS
December 16th – December 31st, 2017
16
This town has more cats and dogs than people. Playing around with one dog on the beach this morning. They’re great creatures to say hello, but shit at saying goodbye. They’ll be all giddy and happy to see you, like you’re the most important person in the world. Next minute they’re off sniffing the heels of some random surfer like you never even existed.
17
We’re eight kilometers in the sky, looking down on the largest disputed territory in the world. Nothing but sand and rock stretching to the coast, strangely beautiful. Occasionally a random building there in the middle of it all for no good reason. My new friend in the next seat sees my eyes wide and says, “God made all of this. Do you believe?”
18
Mostly men on the streets of Laayoune. Occasionally a woman, old or middle-aged, wrapped up colorful. I’ve probably seen five heads of female hair since getting here. On a main street I find cafes selling cigarettes instead of food. A cart full of oranges. Little vegetable and electronic shops. Floors dusty and paint peeling. I walk past a butchers with the severed head of a cow hanging from the front wall, tongue sticking out. I buy four bananas for breakfast and head back to the hotel.
Check this place out. A friend scored me a day pass. Infinity pool overlooking the Atlantic. Wicked fancy!
Posted by Niall Doherty on Saturday, December 16, 2017
19
Sometimes the best response is no response. Especially on Facebook. Wrote out a reply to a controversial comment today, then deleted it. I wasn’t going to change any minds on there. Message from a stranger asking which country she should visit in Europe. No reply. Another comment ridiculing something I posted on my page. Ignore it. Better things I can be doing with my time.
20
“Don’t let the world decide how you feel.” Heard that on a podcast today. When you think about it, most of us constantly let the world, or circumstances, or other people, dictate how we feel. Why are you upset? Because he did this or she said that or this thing happened. When you can instead decide for yourself how you’re going to feel inside, regardless of what’s happening outside… that’s a superpower.
21
Back swimming at Las Alcaravaneras. Yesterday and today. Water’s been choppy, has me struggling a bit. Aiming for sixty consecutive strokes but best I manage is about forty. Coming out of the water I remember what Terry Laughlin said in an interview right before he died: the rougher the sea, the calmer you need to be.
Heading home for Christmas.
22
Above the clouds, between Teide and Toohil. Kissed my lady goodbye this morning, got to the airport early, as I like to do. Wrote an email to a few thousand people and sent it out. Waking up from a sky nap now, pulling out a pen and paper. I’ll write him a letter, a few dozen heartfelt lines, tears in my eyes a couple of times.
23
Standing on Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork. Basking in things. Hugs and smiles. Christmas lights. Wooly jumpers. Warm drinks. Frosted windows. Kids dressed up all cute, excited for the magic. A man on the corner with a guitar and a voice sings a good song that I tell myself I’ll remember and soon forget. But no matter. I’ll remember how it made me feel.
24
He’s been building this machine for a couple of years now. Evenings and weekends, chipping away. Pure craftsmanship. Every bolt, every rivet, perfect in its place. He’ll spend an hour crafting a bracket from scrap metal, exactly to measure, can’t buy anything like it. I’m not big into cars, but I can appreciate what he’s done here. The care, the precision, the attention to detail. Thing of beauty.
Christmas in Cork.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Saturday, December 23, 2017
25
A different kind of craftsman today. We’re having the big dinner out, first time. A magician comes to the table. He’s good, has us all enthralled. Notice the words, the gestures… years of work gone into this. He can measure up a table perfectly, knows which string to pull, which to leave untouched. A tough craft, must have endured lots of failure and embarrassment along the way.
26
Did some free writing and brainstorming today, decided I’ll make some big changes to 3M1K in the new year. Definitely raising the price for one thing. It’s way too cheap for the value it provides. And a low price attracts less serious, less committed students. I’m better off working with fewer, more qualified people. Thinking I’ll also open the doors only once or twice a year.
27
Complained too much today. Was focused on excuses for why things aren’t exactly the way I want them, instead of taking full responsibility and doing something about it. Got home and stayed up for three hours watching crap on YouTube. It’s like Jim Rohn said: don’t wish life was easier; wish you were better.
Evening at Cahir Castle in Ireland.
28
Been reading The Prosperous Coach. A lot of what I do these days is coaching, and I want to be better at it, make sure I’m helping people as much as possible and getting rewarded accordingly. One point made in the book is that, as a coach, you should be investing heavily in a coach of your own. If you’re unwilling to do that, how can you expect anyone else to?
29
Fortieth and final flight this year. Sudden burst of energy between listening to Terry Crews and reading about Ferdinand Magellan, I start planning out a new morning routine. A miraculous one. Spent a while writing out affirmations, something to read aloud to myself every morning, a nutritious breakfast for the subconscious.
30
Lying on the beach, talking about our plans for the year, what experiences we’d like to have. Throwing around ideas like jungle treks, snowboarding adventures, a month in Amsterdam, living in Thailand for a bit, etc. etc. We have to pause and appreciate how damn lucky we are, how much freedom we have. We can actually go do all those things and more in 2018. Nothing stopping us.
Happy New Year, everyone!Here’s to plenty a magic and warm fuzzy feels in 2018.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Sunday, December 31, 2017
31
Pretty good year, I’d say. Found an amazing life partner, helped a lot of people, earned about $4k/month, visited thirteen countries, read a lot of books, asked a lot of questions, had a video go viral, got my work featured in prominent places… feeling wiser and more capable than ever as we start another lap and see lights explode in the sky. Onwards and upwards, my friend.
Previous Momentos
In the comments below, let me know which of the above Momentos is your favorite. Which can you relate to?
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About
These are my Momentos, vignettes I write daily and publish twice a month. They're incredibly self-indulgent and I'm surprised anyone reads them.
There's one for every day since February 27, 2013.
The post Momentos: December 16th – December 31st, 2017 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
December 28, 2017
52 Ways To Challenge Yourself In 2018
Lifestyle Design / Self-Mastery
52 Ways To Challenge Yourself In 2018
by Niall DohertyUpdated: December 29, 2017
Every month in 2018, I’m going to take on a different challenge.
One month I might give up coffee, another I might meditate for 20 minutes every day, another I might make myself get up before 5am every morning.
I posted about this idea on Facebook recently and received many great suggestions for different things I could try. The best are listed below (plus a few more I thought of).
Feel free to give a few of them a try yourself, and let me know how you get on.
Get up every morning before 5am/6am/7am
Watch the sunrise/sunset every day for a month
Go to bed every night before 9pm/10pm/11pm
Meditate for 5/10/15/20 minutes per day
5 minutes of breathing exercises every day
Intermittent fasting every day (e.g. only eat between 12pm and 6pm)
At least 10 minutes of exercise every day
Go for a run every day
At least 10 minutes of stretching/yoga every day
Eat vegetarian every day
Eat vegan every day (no animal products)
Say hello to a stranger every day
Compliment a stranger every day
No email until after 12pm each day
No internet after 6pm every day
Write 1000 words every day
Create a small drawing/painting every day
Send someone a thank you card/message every day
Publish a blog post every day
Publish a video every day
Plan out your day every morning
Keep a journal every day
Drink a big glass of water first thing every morning
Spend at least 10 minutes playing a musical instrument every day
Spend at least 10 minutes learning a foreign language every day
Write down three things you’re grateful for every day
Eat breakfast/lunch/dinner with no distractions every day
Write a poem/haiku every day
Complete a crossword puzzle every day
Spend at least 30 minutes reading for pleasure every day
Take a cold shower every day
Write down 10 business ideas every day
Make 5 sales calls every day
Put on some funky music and dance for a few minutes every day
No coffee/caffeine
No bread
No gluten
No sugar
No fast food
No soda
Cook all your own meals
No chocolate
No alcohol
No Netflix
No YouTube
No television
No Facebook/Twitter/social media
No complaining
No news
Free write for 5 minutes every day
Take and share a photo every day
No pornography
I will decide which challenge I’m taking on each month just a few days in advance, following this wise advice from a friend on Facebook:
For January, my challenge will be to plan out my day every morning, something I picked up from an excellent book called Deep Work.
What’s The Point Of All This?
Inevitably, whenever I announce something along these lines, I hear from a few critics and naysayers, like these two folks who posted on my Facebook page:
In case you’re also wondering what the point of challenging yourself is… well, it’s to learn and grow.
I’ve taken on many challenges over the years, tried many different experiments, tested lots of different habits. Some have worked out well. Others not so much.
I keep what makes my life better and ditch what doesn’t.
For example, I decided to quit drinking alcohol for an entire year back in 2011. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. Not that alcohol is inherently bad or anything; but on balance my life is certainly better without it. I now haven’t had a drink in seven years.
Maybe you’ll try doing or quitting something every day for a month and find it doesn’t improve your life. No big deal. Go back to how things were, but with better knowledge of yourself and what’s best for you.
As Socrates once said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
Challenges such as those listed above are a great way to examine your life, and discover new and better ways to keep it a life worth living.
Do any of the challenges on the above list resonate with you?
Anything else you’d like to try for a month?
Let me know in the comments below.
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The post 52 Ways To Challenge Yourself In 2018 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
December 18, 2017
24 Hours In Laayoune
Travel
24 Hours In Laayoune, Western Sahara
I’m in Laayoune, a city in Morocco.
Kind of.
Some say it’s a city in Western Sahara, which may or may not be a different country. It’s disputed territory, the biggest in the world from what I’ve read.
I flew here yesterday from Agadir, a city in Morocco proper. Security personnel kept directing me to the international departures hall, even though I was supposed to be in domestic. There were a few double-takes, everyone surprised that I was indeed flying to Laayoune.
Apparently they don’t see many people like me going there.
Waiting for my flight I found a cafe, looked at the menu and ordered one of the salads. The plain-clothes waiter laughed at me.
– No no no. There is no salad here.
I had coffee instead.
Flying out of Agadir, Morocco on Sunday.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Tuesday, December 19, 2017
On the plane I sat beside a wide man named Zachariah. I asked him if Laayoune was in Morocco or Western Sahara.
– Morocco, he said.
I sat looking out the window, watching the desert.
Sand and rock stretching to the coast. The occasional building down there, surrounded by nothing.
Zachariah saw me looking, remarked that God had made it all, asked if I believed.
– Sometimes, I said, and he laughed at that.
Flying over Western Sahara on Sunday, just outside of Laayoune.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Tuesday, December 19, 2017
When we landed in Laayoune, I walked from the airport to my hotel, took twenty minutes.
It’s a city of half a million people. All low buildings, dusty skies and dug-up sidewalks. The people seemed normal, the buildings falling apart. It was hard to imagine the same people lived in them.
I walked past one nice park and one nice building, both of them fenced off.
My hotel was fairly basic. They had photos on the walls of Venice, Berlin, Dubai.
The lady at reception spent five minutes showing me on a map all the things I could see and do in the city, then asked how long I was staying.
– I leave tomorrow.
– Oh, okay.
I asked if I could find something to eat nearby, assuming she’d point me towards one of the many cafes I’d seen on the street.
– There’s nothing good around here, she told me. You have to go to the center.
I was skeptical, but she was right. I walked around later and saw lots of people sitting in cafes, none of them eating. Just coffee and cigarettes.
At one cafe I asked if they had food and the guy told me they’d have it soon.
– How soon?
– Maybe in a month. Maybe in a year.
I walked for thirty minutes before I found a place serving something decent, saw several white vehicles along the way, UN printed in big black letters on the side.
It was dark. I felt safe.
After eating I went into a little shop and bought water and pistachios, asked the shopkeeper where I could get a taxi. The faces of a mother and daughter, customers in the shop, said we could share.
Took a few minutes to stop a taxi on the street. I sat in the front and tried to put on my seat belt but it didn’t work. The driver looked at me strange.
When we got to the hotel I tried to pay but the daughter wouldn’t hear of it. I thanked them and got out.
This morning I went out walking again.
Mostly men on the streets. Occasionally a woman, old or middle-aged, wrapped up colorful. I’ve probably seen five heads of female hair since I arrived.
I found one street busier than most. The same cafes. A cart full of oranges. Little vegetable and electronic shops. Floors all dusty and paint all peeling. I walked past a butchers with the severed head of a cow hanging from the front wall, its tongue sticking out.
I bought four bananas and had them for breakfast, went back to the hotel and took a nap.
Taxi ride yesterday in Laayoune.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Later I took a taxi back to the same place I ate yesterday. My driver spoke four languages and the seat belt didn’t work. Seems both those things are normal here.
I took another taxi to the airport, cost me fifty cent, arrived four hours before my flight. The place was almost empty. Five security guards at the entrance and one old man sitting inside.
I looked at the screen and saw there were only three more departures scheduled for the day, my flight to Gran Canaria up next.
The emptiest airport I’ve ever been to. This was the main part of it.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Tuesday, December 19, 2017
There was a shuttered cafe with a television on too loud. I turned it down, took a seat, and worked on my laptop for two hours while every fly in town dropped by to kiss me farewell.
When I got on the plane there was an old woman in my seat and we took off five minutes early.
We were barely in the air when everything below turned to sand, then to sea.
It’s supposed to be a 45-minute flight to Gran Canaria, but we’ll get there in thirty.
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The post 24 Hours In Laayoune appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
December 16, 2017
Momentos: December 1st – December 15th, 2017
MOMENTOS
November 16th – November 30th, 2017
1
Message from a friend:
You once asked “what’s one thing you believe that most people would disagree with?” And I don’t think I had a good answer at the time. But here it is: I fucking love dick pics and think they are beautiful. I’ve never deleted any, solicited or unsolicited, from my phone.
2
In the dream I’m counting money and a coin slips from my fingers and rolls away. It disappears down some steps and it’s dark and I can’t see where it went. I’m panicked as I grab a lamp and go look for it. I search high and low, cursing my luck, until eventually I find the coin at rest in a hole with several others. I fish them all out, then awake with a start to the sound of a goat outside my window.
3
Moved to a place closer to the beach today, will be sticking around Taghazout another couple of weeks. Went for a long walk down along the beach yesterday evening, between a sunset and a moon rise. It was beautiful. I saw little streams that had carved canyons through the coastline, and wondered if a lone tree ever felt lonely.
My office today
2 Books That Changed My Life
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2 Books That Changed My Life
by Niall DohertyUpdated: December 22, 2017
When I was 21 years old, I was a college dropout working a dead-end job at a department store.
I was also crippled with shyness, I’d barely left Ireland, I’d never had a girlfriend, and I was still a virgin.
If you had met me then, you would have pegged me as a very passive person, someone who let life happen to him.
Back then:
I wasn’t naturally assertive.
I wasn’t one of those natural-born entrepreneur types.
I didn’t have any social skills.
I wasn’t super-smart.
I was a bit of a loser, to be honest.
Over the years though I’ve managed to shape myself into the kind of person my 21-year-old self would struggle to recognize.
Now:
I’ve been running my own business for 7 years, regularly doing work I love.
I’ve visited almost 50 countries around the world.
I’m very comfortable in social situations, even in rooms where I don’t know anybody or speak the language.
I’ve been dating the woman of my dreams for the past ten months.
And someday soon, I fully expect to lose my virginity.
What I hope you’ll take from my story is that it’s entirely possible to change your life and become whoever you want to be.
If you want to make a change, the first step – the most important step, really – is believing that you can do it, that you’re in control of your life and not some leaf blowing in the wind.
It’s only when I started believing that, at age 21, that I began living life on my own terms and making my dreams come true.
So what I’m saying here really, is that it’s all in your head.
Or at least that’s where it starts.
I read a fascinating article in The Economist recently related to this.
Researchers ran a 30-month experiment comparing folks who received psychological training (e.g. setting goals, dealing with feedback, facing setbacks, etc.) versus business training (e.g. accounting, finances, marketing, HR, etc).
The result?
An earlier, smaller trial in Uganda had suggested that the psychological training was likely to work well. It did: monthly sales rose by 17% compared with the control group, while profits were up by 30%.
It also boosted innovation: recipients came up with more new products than the control group. That suggests that entrepreneurship, or at least some mental habits useful for it, can indeed be taught.
More surprising was how poorly the conventional training performed: as far as the researchers could tell, it had no effect at all. Budding entrepreneurs might want to avoid the business shelves and make for the psychology section.
Speaking of bookshelves, when I think about which books have had the biggest positive impact on me psychologically over the years, two in particular come to mind:
The first was…
Feel The Fear And Do It AnywayI first read this in my early 20’s, and it completely shifted my thinking.
Growing up, I’d always operated with the idea that fear (or anxiety) was a sign that I was going the wrong way, that I should stop and turn back, find an easier path.
Or at least wait for the fear to go away before proceeding.
This book taught me to see fear not as a roadblock, but as a signpost, pointing me towards growth opportunities.
I didn’t have to wait for the fear to go away before moving forward.
I could feel it, accept it, and keep going.
A quote from Joseph Campbell sums it up nicely:
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
The second book that had a huge positive impact on me psychologically was…
The 4-Hour Workweek
There’s plenty to criticize in this book, but before reading it in 2008 I was still operating with the typical employee, tell-me-what-to-do-and-I’ll-do-it mindset.
After reading it, I began to see the world through entrepreneurial eyes.
Suddenly everything seemed negotiable, opportunities everywhere.
But perhaps the biggest belief this book instilled in me was this:
If something was possible for someone else, if other people were already out there doing it, then it was also possible for me.
I just had to adopt the correct mindset and the correct habits, think and act that way consistently, and I’d eventually get there, too. 1
These and other mindset shifts have made such a difference in my life that I dedicate a whole module and a dozen lessons to the topic of Mindset inside my 3 Months → $1,000 course, which helps people earn their first $1000/month online consistently.
Building a successful online business, just like achieving anything worthwhile, isn’t simply a matter of doing X, Y and Z and checking a bunch of boxes.
It requires a different way of thinking.
Because, as the saying goes:
If you always do what you’ve always done, or always think how you’ve always thought, you’re always going to get what you’ve always got.
So hey, do me a favor.
If you’re not happy with something in your life right now…
STOP doing what you’ve always done
STOP thinking how you’ve always thought
START doing and thinking differently, and become whoever you want to be.
The post 2 Books That Changed My Life appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
December 3, 2017
Momentos: November 16th – November 30th, 2017
MOMENTOS
November 16th – November 30th, 2017
16
Did my weekly webinar again this eve. Was disappointed last week, when I had 30+ people on and didn’t make a single sales. This week I had less than 20 people and made two. Small sample size so can’t read too much into it. But one change I did make was to stick to the script and not go off on mad tangents. Maybe that helped.
17
130 strokes this morning without stopping, a new personal best. Came out of the water thinking that I might be able to swim the length of the beach before the weekend is out. Had to catch myself there though, step off the hedonic treadmill for a minute. There I was thinking about the next goal without pausing to appreciate how far I’d come.
18
Guacamole party. (Yes, that’s a thing.) About twenty people showed up. There are times in get-togethers like this when find yourself alone in the crowd, maybe the person you’re talking to excuses themselves for a moment, and you get the urge to check your phone or otherwise distract yourself, instead of just staying where you are and enjoying the space in between.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Saturday, November 18, 2017
19
Getting everything packed up, will be gone for four weeks. Decided to leave the big bag here in GC and just take carry-on, see how that goes. I’m not quite the minimalist I once was, but I still lean that way. There’s great freedom in being able to pack everything you own in twenty minutes and head off into the unknown.
20
They have a siesta room at the Sala VIP lounge at Barcelona airport. I wake up from a nap, go grab some free food and coffee – yeah, I’m bragging – then boot up the laptop to see that I’m on the front page of the Irish Times website (still bragging). Amazing what writing your own press release will get ya.
21
Five things I didn’t know about Monaco before we went there today:
It’s the second smallest sovereign state in the world, after the Vatican.
With 38,400 people living in 2 square kilometers, it’s the second-most densely populated sovereign state in the world (after Macau).
About a third of the population are millionaires.
Residents pay no income tax.
Citizens are not allowed to gamble at the famous Monte Carlo Casino.
This counts as another country, right??
Posted by Niall Doherty on Tuesday, November 21, 2017
22
We’re down by the market in Nice, doing the French thing good and proper: coffee and croissants in the Mediterranean sunshine, as we watch the vendors selling fruit and veggies and flowers. Later we’ll head to the fanciest hotel in town, where they charge €8 for a common cappuccino, and sneak a dance in the royal lounge when nobody’s looking.
23
Been tough keeping up with emails while on the move this week. My 7 Years video has blown up like mad, approaching half a million views now. Easily the most popular thing I’ve ever put out in the world. Off the back of that I’ve been on invited on TV in Ireland twice, wrote that piece for the Times, and was asked to speak at a conference in Australia.
24
There’s a copy of The Road here in our Airbnb in Marseille. It’s a book I’ve put off reading for a long time, knowing how dark it is. But now I’m pulled in, been devouring chunks of it between walks around the old port and electric bike rides down the coast. It is indeed a dark read, but they say exposure to the dark helps us appreciate the light. I was grateful for a simple meal this eve.
Breakfast in Nice
25
The response to that video has been overwhelmingly positive. But of course there are some critics and begrudgers in there. I’ve also seen many comments along the lines of, “Wish I could do that!” Well… you can. I’m privileged, sure, but you probably are too if you’re reading this. Stop thinking of all the reasons why you can’t. Start thinking of all the reasons why you can.
26
The madness of Marrakesh. All those winding little streets crammed with food and knickknacks and humans. You come out into el-Fna to find fruit stalls and acrobats and snake charmers. I try not pay any attention to the latter. Ever since my owl awakening in Nara I’ve been wary of anyone trying to make a quick buck off a wild animal.
27
El-Fna is an even greater spectacle at night, like something from an Indiana Jones movie. Drum beats and chanting from all angles. The smell of street food. A little boy on a tiny stool selling cookies. An old man in a wheelchair with his legs all twisted. Lights in the sky. A monkey on a shoulder. Orange juice and carved wood and me there in the middle of it all.
Strolling around the street markets in Marrakesh this afternoon.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Sunday, November 26, 2017
28
Six little dishes. A friend for the road. Bus heading west. Dusty outskirts. Dry riverbeds. Desert landscape. A shepherd with his crook. Goats climbing trees. Men in cloaks. Moroccan salad. Dirt roads. Crappy apartment. Beautiful beach. Cats and dogs. Email to thousands. Dinner for two. Green tea. A halo around the moon.
29
People making good money online drop shipping cat furniture and fake light sabers. Nobody has a problem with that. I pass up lucrative freelance work and make less money helping people build online businesses so they can live their dreams. I get called a scammer. Reminds me of something Dan Pallotta said in a TED Talk:
We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interestingly, we don’t have a visceral reaction to the notion that people would make a lot of money NOT helping other people. You want to make 50 million dollars selling violent video games to kids, go for it. We’ll put you on the cover of Wired magazine. But you want to make half a million dollars trying to cure kids of malaria, and you’re considered a parasite yourself.
30
Sitting having dinner in a little French restaurant. It’s after ten. Just did another webinar. Veggie lasagne’s a bit burnt but still tastes glorious. It rained for a few hours this morning. Local guy told me it was their first rain for a year. The dug up dusty streets have turned to mud. A voice from the miranet has been preaching for 45 minutes now. Perhaps he’s talking about the rain.
Taghazout beach
Previous Momentos
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About
These are my Momentos, vignettes I write daily and publish twice a month. They're incredibly self-indulgent and I'm surprised anyone reads them.
There's one for every day since February 27, 2013.
The post Momentos: November 16th – November 30th, 2017 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
