The Connection Newsletter 27 - Treat it like a job

The Connection Newsletter 27 - Treat it like a job

Hello!

This is edition #27 of

The Connection

, the weekly email I send family, friends, and future friends (hello!) Glad you're here.

Over in our corner of upstate New York:

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First, I wrote an article about how a friend turned

. How’d she do it? No hacks or tricks or productivity apps... she just always treated it like a job, even when it wasn’t one.

If there’s something about your life you want to change, or some pursuit you want to chase, the problem might not be the tactics, but the religion:

Next, onto the articles this week:

. “He” is Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja, and Mr. Blevins suggests the number is closer to seven figures."

The most fascinating thing is his mindset. For all intents and purposes, Mr. Blevins already won -- he gets to play video games and make an incredible living. But that’s not how he sees it.

"When I'm not streaming, I have time to reflect on all the growth, and I don't like that. I'd rather just be home playing," he says. "I'm like, 'I haven't played a celebrity in a while. I haven't done something big in a while. Is it because I'm slowing down?'

"So many people get content. So many people stop when they're at the top. They'll let someone take their place because they're relaxing. That's not going to happen."

“[I tell my wife] 'Honey, we're not going to have that much quality time this year, or even next year. But if we do this right and I continue to grind for a couple more years, we can set ourselves up, and our family and our family's family, for the rest of our lives.'"

. Always a good reminder: “Build an environment that intensifies focus.”

“If you want to achieve any result in your life, you have to design an environment that is conducive to the person you want to become. If you try to use willpower, there’s a good chance you’ll fail.”

Firas Zahabi (coach of UFC legend George St. Pierre) says that

. I’m paraphrasing, but he says: “Leave out the kettlebell. Do a few swings. If you’re working out and feeling too sore the next day, you’re doing it wrong.”

I didn’t realize this generational warfare between Baby Boomers and Millennials was a “thing,” but apparently it is.

. Ben Silbermann, co-founder and CEO of Pinterest, deliberately moved Pinterest away from being a social network years ago. In the short term it delayed growth, but in the long run, it may have saved his company.

“There’s a natural rate at which you can scale a company that’s healthy,” Mr. Silbermann said. “In technology, people are very, very fast to declare something a winner or loser, like, ‘That’ll never work,’ or ‘That’ll take over the world.’ The truth is always somewhere in between.”

. It turns out that it's not New York City or San Francisco that top the list for the highest level of median debt.

Instead, it's millennials in San Antonio, Texas who have $27,122 (of debt) per person, according to LendingTree. In this metro, the biggest source of debt for millennials is actually their cars. Typically, auto loans account for 43 percent of their total debt, the study found.

” Geo Martinez (140lbs) taps out Haisam Rida (~205lbs) at Quintet 2 with a mounted Marcelotine.

Thanks for reading!

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