Beyond the inbox

How did building a newsletter contribute to your life professionally and personally?

“More than a few people have said it feels like I’m writing to them personally and that my ideas have really impacted them. That makes me so gosh darn happy.”

“Writing Extra Focus helped confirm the value I have to add to the world.

It’s helped me better understand myself and I’ve heard from so many people that it’s made a huge impact in their life.

It’s incredibly fulfilling!”

“It’s given me a sense of purpose and fulfillment like I’ve never had before. It’s also given me the opportunity to connect with like-minded people.

Just waking up everyday excited to build value for my community is the most underrated feeling in the world.”

“It’s been a huge, huge gift to me personally.

To know that my writing reaches people, that it moves them, and that they’re inspired to go run a race because I suggested it or I at least helped them find the motivation to do it.

I recently received an email from a reader who told me he’d never run a race in his life, but he signed up for the Big Sur Marathon in California – it’s 26.2 miles, by the way! – because I wrote about it. He ended up having the experience of a lifetime.

That really means something to me.”

“Writing Mostly Metrics has given me a sort of superpower - people think I’m smarter than I am. And it’s just because I put myself out there and try to make complex stuff in the finance world simple.

I’m really not smarter than readers. So I’m always blown away by some of the email addresses I see roll in.”

“Personally, it’s helped me get over my fear of hitting publish.”

“I enjoy the enhanced sense of curiosity that comes with writing.

Many of my best articles are inspired by my day-to-day experiences.” I'll be enjoying a TV show and think, "When do long-running TV shows typically jump the shark?" Or I'll be chatting with friends about how Nickelback stinks and wonder, "Why does everyone hate Nickelback so much?"

I relish the challenge of asking big, thorny questions and then attempting to answer these questions in a data-driven manner. I've always loved exploratory data analysis, so I'm effectively utilizing the newsletter to feed this passion (though I end up giving myself a gigantic homework assignment in the process).”

“I learn a lot every week from curating the content, so that is a major benefit. It has also helped me connect with a lot of interesting creators.

If I’m learning and connecting regularly, I’m winning.”

“It’s been great. I write about topics I enjoy learning myself.

So writing Life-Changing Concepts is the perfect way for me to make it a lifestyle.”

Most importantly, it led me to meet many like-minded and inspiring people.

A personal highlight was when Derek Sivers emailed me to let me know he liked my blog. We’re still in touch.

“I can write about things that I'm interested in and connect with people.

For example, I have two friends, Zeng and Arya, who reply to my emails every week. I call them my pen pals and it's amazing that we've been chatting for like over a year now. They know more about me than some of my in-person friends. I think it's really cool that you can become good friends with someone you know, for example, they live across the world from me and I feel like I can connect with them more sometimes and the friends that I have in person.”

“It's transformed my goals and allowed me to work on my own terms. 

I work on my own schedule and can be 100% remote.”

“On the personal front, it's been a remarkable ride.

I got to live the '4-Hour Work Week' dream (fun, but not for me), explored the digital nomad lifestyle in stunning locales, and connected with people who were once just inspiring figures on the internet.”

“I’m a firm believer in the compound effect (everything grows slowly and then fast all at once, with exponential growth), so the newsletter tests my discipline every day and also my focus and also my ability to try and predict where the space is going.”

“It’s become the key to making the most of my days.

I always know that I’m starting with it, and it gets me inspired and motivated to do great stuff the rest of the day.”

“On a mental health aspect it's done wonders.

I have a hard time sitting still and focusing on something for too long - so the fact that I can get a lot of research in while I’m on a walk or doing yard work is really critical to my being able to stick to it.”

“The Water Coolest (well, technically, what came before it) helped me get through one of the darkest times of my life. My dad killed himself in 2013, which was certainly pretty brutal to live through.

Starting the blog that preceded The Water Coolest (Entry Revel) in 2014 was an escape from everything going on. Plus, the whole situation gave me a not-so-friendly reminder that life is short, and you need just start doing that thing you’ve been putting off.”