Resources → The Newsletter • 4 min read

🎁 The secret to getting everything you want in 2023

That headline may be a stretch, but it gets at the deceptively simple answer we all avoid: we must take action.

Start that newsletter. Ask for an interview. Upgrade your equipment. Publish consistently. Tell your friends about your project. Commit.

Do one thing, every single day, that moves you closer to what you want, and you'll be amazed at how quickly the pieces come together.

💬 In this week's issue:

Goal-setting. Here's why you might want to skip the classic advice.
Progress. See how a bike trail taught one blogger a valuable lesson in consistency.
Attention. Discover how a master communicator hones their craft.

🎊 The counterintuitive way to hit your 2023 goals

As we usher in a new year, it's hard not to feel excited by the potential in front of us. In January, everyone seems to be motivated to shut down their bad habits and march toward the person they've always wanted to become.

But it doesn't take long for things to run amuck.

As John Lennon famously said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

So, if you've ever been frustrated by not being able to stick with your goals, here are a few actions you can take to make this year measurably different.

Forget goals, think systems. In the linked post, James Clear explains how we accomplish more when we take our eyes off the "thing" we want, and place them on the actions we need to do instead. For example, a system for becoming a full-time creator might boil down to writing 500 words a day — the latter of which is 100% within your control.
Small goals are better than big ones. For some, goal setting is just an excuse to get swept up in daydreaming. The sentiment of "aim for the moon because even if you miss, you'll end up among the stars" is lovely on paper, but terrible in practice. We need little wins to keep us moving in the right direction. So, what goal can you accomplish this week? And what if you did that 52 times in a row?
Leave room for magic. Goals are meant to be like compasses, guiding us toward the directions we believe are best. But sometimes, the point of one goal is to introduce us to an opportunity we would have never discovered otherwise. As you pursue your plans this year, be open to detours. You may very well end up better off than you planned.

🗞 Latest tips & stories

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6 types of newsletters you can start today
How to find untapped content ideas
11 marketing channels to grow your audience
10 formulas for standout newsletter names

🔑 The key to unlocking what's next

In 2022, Clint Fontanella set out to do two incredible things: complete a 2700-mile bike trail and blog consistently for an entire year.

After a mountain of effort, and a few bumps along the way, Clint accomplished both goals. The enormous Mexican bike trail challenged everything Clint knew about their hobby. But it also taught them an invaluable lesson: always question your assumptions.

Up until this point, Clint had preconceived notions that limited their publishing efforts. Did they really need a quiet library or coffee shop to dream up the next post? Did it need to be a certain length? Why couldn't Clint include more personal stories?

We all do this to some degree.

We limit what we want to create by what we think it needs to look like. We doubt our ability and intuition, and limit our future success because of our past failures.

Like Clint's bike ride, a successful blog or newsletter is a journey of discovery. We make progress not by building the perfect machine or riding each mile flawlessly, but simply by showing up — and doing a little better than we did the day before.

This year, remember that messy progress is better than perfect planning.

✍️ How to write content that gets eyeballs

Have you ever felt like some people have the magic touch when it comes to creating?

Whether it's videos that consistently go viral, or newsletters with wild open rates, some creators have perfected the ability to grab and hold an audience's attention.

Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle, is one of those figures.