“A master of patience is master of everything else.” — George Savile
We put things in boxes.
This goes here and that goes there.
But innovation occurs when the contents of one box spill over into the other.
Instead of working to keep your skills, worlds, and passions separate, figure out how to combine them.
Doing so unlocks doors you may not know exist.
Now, on to this week’s ideas…
1. NINE SURPRISING THINGS YOU CAN DO ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
“Every once in a while, social media platforms introduce a feature that’s actually super useful. Unfortunately, most people don’t even know these features exist.”
It’s tough to keep up with the constant “innovations” rolled out by social media platforms, so I put together a list of some features you may find valuable if you use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify or email (which, of course you do).
These nine surprising things you can do on social media platforms include how you can include more than one link in your Instagram bio, view your Twitter feed in chronological order, and see any ad that anybody runs on Facebook.
RELATED: Eight ways to maximize the value of your social media content.
2. HOW TO MASTER A SKILL
“To finally achieve mastery, you’ll need to learn how to manage distractions, how to reach flow, and how to embrace deep work, and recognize that it is deliberate practice, not just hours spent in front of a computer or a book that determines how fast you will achieve mastery.”
Have you ever thought about what it takes to master something? You will now.
Azeria Labs breaks down the process of mastering a skill including what it takes to move through the apprenticeship, creative/active, and mastery phases of learning to do something.
RELATED: Focus on mastery instead of metrics.
3. THE 28 BEST PODCASTS FOR CURIOUS MINDS
“Here’s Wired’s guide to the best podcasts you should be listening to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.”
Who doesn’t love a good list? This one should keep you busy for a while.
Wired recommends the 28 best podcasts for curious minds across a variety of categories including culture, documentary, tech and science.
RELATED: The 30 best podcast episodes of all time.
4. YOUR DREAMS AREN’T AS BIG AS YOU THINK
“Our dreams feel so big in our heads that sometimes the steps to get there do, too. The unknown feels vast and enveloping, like the night sky. But the first step, or the next step, never is. It’s a few hours of work.”
In case you haven’t noticed, I love posts that help people start or do things. This is one of those.
Deb Knobelman, PhD suggests your dreams aren’t as big as you think and explains why that’s a good thing.
She points out most people who get intimidated by their dreams fail to realize the first step toward pursuing them is often an easy one.
RELATED: How your dreams are holding you back.
5. THE 22 STRATEGIES USED TO SELL A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF ONLINE COURSES
“Build referrals into your business. Why should people be excited to share it? You don’t have to give them money and incentivize them — just think about why would they be excited to publicly talk about it?”
Back in 2013, Noah Kagan’s company made $1 million in sales from just one online course product.
In this 19-minute video he shares the exact 22 marketing strategies they used to drive those sales including niche sponsorships, pricing tactics, and Facebook ads.
RELATED: How to create a proactive dashboard for your business.
6. THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BEING ON TIME
“Give yourself something to be on time for — if you find that, deep down, you don’t want to be on time, this is a problem that needs solving in its own right.”
I bet the people you deal with would LOVE you to read this one.
Robert Bateman has put together the complete guide to being on time including tips on how to cultivate a punctual personality, gain control of your time, and manage your feelings around lateness.
RELATED: How to leave work on time.
7. 24 LESSONS FROM PUBLISHING THREE BOOKS IN SIX MONTHS
“A book is not a book. There are old ideas about what a book is. Much of these ideas are smoke and mirrors from the five-hundred-year-old publishing industry.”
You’ll learn a lot more from publishing three books in six months than you will from one in six years.
That’s what David Kadavy discovered and in this post he shares 24 lessons from publishing three books in six months including that your book doesn’t have to kill you, it’s as easy to publish a book as it is a blog post, and categories/genres matter.
RELATED: How a first time author sold 5,000 books in one month.
8. HOW TO DESCRIBE YOUR IDEA FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT
“You’ve spent all that time cooking your idea, why not spend an extra few moments plating it?”
The ideas that spread and stick with people are ones that are properly packaged.
Eugene Wei explains how to describe your idea for maximum impact using the example of how Jeff Bezos has turned the phrase “Day 1” into a memorable guiding principle for every Amazon employee.
RELATED: How to make people remember your brand.
9. NINE MARKETING LESSONS FOR PODCASTERS
“A great podcast from a brand is not a podcast about the brand. It’s about what a brand is passionate about, what stories it can uniquely tell, and what distinct point of view it can bring to a show.”
It seems everybody in the world has a podcast these days which means everybody in the world is also trying to figure out how to market their podcast.
Steve Pratt offers nine marketing lessons for podcasters including to target based on guests, market to new and existing podcast listeners differently, and rethink how you use Instagram for audio.
RELATED: How to use Facebook ads to promote your music.
10. WHY I’M DONE USING THE WORD “SHOULD”
“It’s a word rooted in negativity, guilt, and pressure. More often than not, it leads us down paths that won’t take us where we want to go.”
There are some words that represent things that are bad for us, and this post is about one of them.
I explain why I’m done using the word “should” including that it’s based on the expectations of others, comes from guilt, and actually doesn’t exist.
RELATED: 35 words you’re probably using wrong.
WANT ME TO SEND YOU MY SOCIAL MEDIA SECRETS?
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WHERE I FOUND THIS STUFF
I got some of this week’s ideas from Rahim Hirji, Storythings, and Trevor McKendrick — they’re awesome and worth checking out.
Image via Aziz Acharki.