To make journaling worthwhile, ask yourself interesting questions.
Here’s an easy one: what is one thing I learned today?
You can’t claim to know something until you’ve tried to explain it to someone else. Today’s question challenges you to do just that.
Here’s my response today: your mess becomes your mission.
I just finished reading Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson. For my first pass, I skipped all the exercises. Now, I’m going back through it to put ideas into practice.
As with many marketing books, Traffic Secrets opens by describing the importance of knowing your customer better than they know themselves. Just as he does in DotCom Secrets, the first book in the Secrets Trilogy, Russell instructs us to define our “Dream Customer” or customer avatar.
Let's use The Louis and Kyle Show as a demonstration. Let's name our dream customer Chad.
What do we know about Chad?
Chad thinks that he wants to be an entrepreneur but is not sure if it is viable.
Chad loves learning but doesn’t find his classes intellectually nourishing.
Chad is interested in a healthy lifestyle but isn’t consistent about diet or exercise.
Chad wants to do something meaningful with his life but isn’t sure what to do to get there.
Chad wants to do more but he feels like he mismanages his time.
By personifying our ideal customer, Chad, by giving him a name, personality traits, and demographic information, Kyle and I can make decisions about our podcast by asking if “Chad” would like or dislike whatever we were about to try.
If you know much about me, you realize that I would meet all the criteria for “Chad,” and this is a common pattern for most people’s projects and businesses.
Russell gives vocabulary to this concept with the phrase “your mess becomes your message.”
It is a predictable cycle for entrepreneurship.
1-You have some problem (bad relationship, bad health, inconvenience, bad emotions, bad economic situation).
2-You reach a definitive breaking point. You are tired of the problem and decide to fix it.
3-You dedicate time and attention to solving the problem. Eventually you succeed.
4-You are really happy and want to help everyone overcome the same problem.
What was initially your mess, has become your message. By the time you hit step 4, you are a completely different person from where you were when you first identified your problem.
You went through a journey of learning, experimentation, and growth.
The problem is that the person you want to help (or sell to) is at stage 1.
When thinking of your dream customer, what they want in a product, and what marketing messages they will respond to, it is important to put yourself back in the shoes of your former self.
Relive the thoughts and feelings of your "mess" to craft your message.
Then, it is easy to know your "dream customer" better than they know themselves.
How?
You are just a few steps ahead of them.
That’s one thing I learned today.
What did you learn?
Journaling is a great way to document the good that happens in a day.
Here's everything I did today (that I can remember)
(for context I drove from Phoenix to Vegas yesterday to be home for fathers day, my roommate, Stryker came with me)
- Woke up at 6:30 and walked the dogs with mom, Stryker and our neighbor.
- Jumped in the pool to clean off.
- Went to the gym and did StrongLifts 5x5. Listened to Carnivore Aurelius talk about Stoicism. Very interesting take.
- Went swimming with my parents and Stryker.
- Got really good Greek for lunch with Angelo & Stryker. He shared some great stories.
- Hung out outside Krispy Kreme after lunch. Decided to download tinder again.
- Bought a coconut water at Whole Foods.
- Came home, swam again.
- Went grocery shopping for a mini 'dinner party.'
- My friend came over and we cooked tacos. (We really just watched Stryker do all the work).
- Ate dinner and caught up in the backyard.
- Went swimming again. Decided to delete tinder again.
- Drank 5 raw eggs throughout the evening to hit my protein target (currently 150grams per day)
- Did my reading for 75Hard and wrote the first half of this based on my reading.
- Watched some family guy with my Dad.
Journaling makes you realize how many little things happen throughout the day to appreciate.
This makes you a happier person.
I will also cherish these logs in a few months/years/decades.
Appreciate the good. Start documenting your journey today!