This life requires 10x thinking

If you want to achieve anything significant, you need to think bigger.

If you’re only working to 2x your current situation (finances, influence, status), it’s hardly worth doing. 2x progress requires you to do 2x the amount of work you’re already doing, and if you’re already running short on time and attention, doing twice as much doesn’t sound worthwhile.

What if you focused on growing 10x instead? There would be more work involved, but the reward would be greater and feel worth every extra drop of sweat.

The Hungry currently has just over 1,400 subscribers. If I wanted to achieve 3,000 followers by the end of 2024, I could do that by doing more of the same work I’m already doing.

However, if I want to 10x that number to 14,000+ by the end of 2024, it will require a new way of looking at the problem because what I’m doing won’t get me there.

Macro Thinking Requires Micro Thinking

Thinking about 10x goals can be scary. They seem so far away, and because I haven’t trained my brain to think that way yet, the goal seems insurmountable. The same goes for a climber standing at the base of Mt. Everest, and the only way to get to the top is one step at a time.

Big goals require many small steps to make progress, and this list above is my current list of micro goals to help me achieve my macro goal. The list is a catch-all of ideas that I write down unedited. Looking at that list today, there are a few I need to amend slightly, and before I choose any of them to tackle, I must consider how they will help me achieve my Macro goal.

It’s easy to create a punch list of to-dos and think you’re working, but like traversing Everest’s summit, if you go without a plan, you may end up in the wrong place or fall to your demise (a little dramatic for a newsletter, but you get the point).

If any of the goals above don’t help me grow my subscriber list, they are unnecessary until I’ve done everything that will help me get there.

Pay to Play

There’s one thing that’s not on that list that should be, and that’s paid acquisition (AKA: advertising). First, I will implement video ads on Facebook and Instagram to bring in new subscribers. I don’t have a substantial advertising budget right now, so I need to add more revenue opportunities:

• Open sponsorships for The Hungry

• Paid recommendations via Sparkloop

• Adding implementation services (consultation/cohort groups)

Each comes with its own list of micro goals, so I have to be careful not to get caught up in busy work that distracts me from the macro goal.

On the other hand, I don’t want to spend too much time dwelling on the decisions because any movement forward is better than stagnation.

Small Steady Progress

Looking at that list above (and all the things I’ve added to it while writing this post) can be overwhelming. I need to do so many of these right away; it can be paralyzing to think about them all. This is why one step at a time is important.

I don’t need to accomplish these micro goals all at once. Instead, I pick one and focus only on that. Of course, I have to balance that with all the content I’m making, but it will all get finished in its own time.