Pull to Eject

Clichéd December articles typically regurgitate the same chestnuts: how to turn your life around with New Year’s resolutions.

I’m not a fan of the glossy social media versions, but I have found that writing things down helps me move toward my goals.

But just writing them down doesn’t automagically deliver. Adaptation is key.

I turned 60 last Summer and naturally had milestone goals.

Newsletter Publisher was not on the list.

I rode my bike and lifted weights aiming to lose a few pounds by my annual physical. Early in the year, I chalked up hip and back pain to arthritis because - well - your actual mileage may vary.

By Spring, the scale had a lower number but I could no longer ride the bike and xrays determined the hip required replacement. Also not on my 2023 list.

During the last months of limping around and then later recovery from surgery, I listened to friends advice and started a daily writing practice.

From a lounge chair or the kitchen counter, I wrote down blog topics, digital product ideas and tested some modern software tools. I rehashed entrepreneurial mistakes I wouldn’t repeat. It was cathartic.

I spent decades wasting my interest (and degree) in writing on business proposals, grants and email. The practice isn’t perfect, but some of the writing has turned into the Launch Key.

Change is inevitable.

You’ve been thinking about doing something new for years. Whether its writing a book, or starting a side hustle, or consulting - or whatever. We all have ideas that we shelve for a host of reasons.

You don’t have to wait for surgery rehab to start something new.

Why Not Now?

Now go launch something 🚀 

ps - I hope you all are enjoying family and friends this Christmas and Holiday season. Mine was made a little better by Launch Key subscriber Merrill Gowdy who customized golf balls for me to launch straight out of bounds…

Modern Tools

After decades of using small to enterprise email campaign tools, I borrowed a page from my son’s side hustle and created Launch Key on BeeHiiv. Started by Morning Brew alum, this new-to-me email platform is the most robust and easiest tool I’ve used for newsletters.

I started with the free version and scaled up to paid once we had more than 500 subscribers. Organic growth, referral program, paid ads and now boosts to other newsletters will allow the Launch Key to go to 10,000 subscribers.

Spoiler alert, we didn’t hit that milestone in first 3 months ;-)

Old School Wisdom

I have shelves of journal books, full of handwritten meeting notes I took over the past 30 years.

But these James Clear journals have a little bit of everything allowing me to check off daily habit stack as well as long form writing and idea capture.

Free Knowledge

Ben Meer’s free System Sunday newsletter educates about innovative technology and systems thinking for smart living. 230,000 subscribers might just be onto something here.

Visual Crapshoot