Momentos

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.

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Full archive here




1

Published my best survey sites article ten weeks ago. Looks like it finally hit the first page of Google today. That’s the tricky thing with SEO – takes a while to find out if what you’re doing is working. I was ready to write off the survey site stuff as a waste of time. But now, perhaps not.

2

I get a little obsessed with analytics sometimes. Especially when I’m tired. That’s when I end up checking how much traffic’s coming in, how many clicks I’m getting on what links, how much I’m earning from different affiliate programs. Very little of that info is any way actionable.

3

In Canggu, wake up to the sound of sweeping. They sweep a lot here in Bali. Head outside, kites in the sky, incense in the air. Short walk down the street to the early cafe. I’m their first customer today. Upstairs with a latte, emails back home, remembering my grandfather and the stars he made shine.

4

There’s a primal itch in guys that can only be scratched by spending time with a group of other guys. Hanging out with two good dudes here in Canggu, talking business, taking the piss, playing video games. I’d been missing that. 

5

You can get used to anything eventually. Driving in Bali was intense and exhausting at first. Now, more than three months later, I can drive an hour from Canggu to Ubud easy enough, chatting with my lady on the back much of the way. Gotta be careful what you get used to though.

6

Reviewing a bunch of affiliate marketing courses now. Started into perhaps the most popular one today – Wealthy Affiliate. Impressed with some of it, but annoyed by their greatly exaggerated claims. For example: 

“It is going to take less than 30 seconds to get a fully operational, profit ready WordPress website up and running online.”

7

Spent about 4 hours today going through that course and keeping notes. May sound tedious, but I love this work. It’s basically my job to learn new things. But that’s only the half of it. I also love the noticing, figuring out what makes sense and what doesn’t, examining claims, sniffing out bullshit.

8

Only five hours sleep but it’s one of those magic mornings. Getting to the gym right as it opens, scooting along that road, hint of orange in the sky, neighbors smiling, kids in uniform, baby in a father’s arms, old man jogging, puppies playing, and the constant sweep-sweep-sweeping, everyone keeping their corner of the world clean.

9

Listening to Bernie Sanders on Joe Rogan. I like the guy. Smart, reasonable, coherent, respectful. Doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. I hope America gives him a shot. Not sure how anyone could listen to Trump talk about the same issues for an hour and come away convinced that he’s the best man for the job.

10

Loads of energy the past few weeks, not sure where it’s coming from. Hitting the gym every morning has surely helped, haven’t been this consistent with it since 2016. Going all-in on my own thing must be a factor, too. This work and the crazy potential of it has me buzzing.

11

The stories that are out there, man. Three of them came my way today. A newsletter that pulls in $2 million a month. The guy who built and sold a website for $9 million, despite having no interest or expertize in his niche. And two friends who built a $1 million Amazon business from scratch in only three years.

12

~22 hours now combing through Wealthy Affliate, and I’m left disappointed. Mostly, it’s just very outdated. Much of the material hasn’t been updated since 2014 – an eternity online. It’s a damn shame because they have a really good affiliate program and I was hoping to write a glowing review. Oh well.

13

Scooting around Ubud trying to buy a SIM card for this 14-year-old. Booth is closed at the usual place. When will it open? Maybe in an hour. Maybe? Yes, maybe. Fine, on to the next. No English, the man says. Fine, further on again. Third time lucky, but they say to wait an hour for the card to activate. 4 hours later, it activates.

14

Several more hours reviewing WA today. I’m starting to get angry about it now. This course sucks yet it earns millions every month. I had a course that was far more likely to get students earning online, yet I struggled to earn more than $2,000 a month from it. Life ain’t fair.

15

Hefty bald white dude cuts me off dangerously on the scooter. He’s in a rush going nowhere, has to stop for traffic up ahead. I pull up alongside with the horn blaring, making sure he knows that’s not cool. His tough mug roars at me in a language I don’t understand, and I let him go.

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