The 4 Essential Keys To Success (of which some are unpopular)
Oh! You did open this. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. ;)
Now, why did I think you won't open this?
That's because many people say they want stuff - but won't do anything towards them.
I bet some signed up for this Newsletter to make them *feel* they have done something.
But then they actually don't open the emails.
But you did.
You can be proud of yourself. You did something most people don't do.
Today, I want to write to you a bit about success.
Write about, what my hypothesis is and how one can achieve success in any area of your life.
Here are 4 steps to success... (of which some are unpopular):
1) Do the opposite of what most people do
Now, what on Earth do I mean by this?
Most people, are "average people".
An average person is;
- poor (has less than $1k at their bank account)
- overweight
- not disciplined
- not consistent
- having relationship problems
- sad and hate themselves (to an extent at least)
And so on.
Now, nobody wants to be an average person.
Everyone desires more. This is what we humans are. Creatures who want more. Who want to gather more.
This is what has led us to survive.
Now, you might be an average person reading this. But guess what? You don't need to stay as one.
The bar is set extremely low.
Most don't go to the gym. Most never stay consistent on social media. Most stay in relationships that they're not happy about.
Change is painful. But it's one of the guaranteed things in life. Along with taxes and death.
How do you want to spend your life? Being average? Depressed? Divorced?
We all don't start from the same place. With the same opportunities. But we can end up at the same place.
But we must be courageous. And keep going even when we make mistakes and fail.
The simple rule to guide your actions is this;
Do the opposite of what most people do.
Observe what you're doing - or what have you got done today - and think, is this something the average person would do?
If yes, change it. Don't necessarily feel bad about it. Just don't feel proud of being average.
It is badass to acknowledge you could've done better.
(Most people fail to take accountability for their actions)
Then, see how can you improve.
If you simply do things the opposite of what the average person does - you'll end up being better than average.
Do things the average person does -> you end up average.
Do things the opposite way of the average person -> you end up the opposite of average.
Simple. But not common sense. As Tony Robbins put it;
“Common sense is not too common.” - Tony Robbins
Before we get into the next step - I want to say I'm not saying I'm always doing the opposite of the average.
There are times when I do fail at that. And that's human. But you just must take the responsibility - and change that behaviour.
Now, let's go take the next step that is crucial to success.
2) Consistency
I'm 100% certain you've heard to be consistent. But are you consistent?
That can be an ouch moment. For many. Well... for most. ;)
Being consistent for 2 weeks isn't that difficult. But being consistent for 1-20 years is.
I won't say it's easy. It is difficult. But... again;
...The only way to become more successful than most people is to be willing to do something most people aren't willing to do. - Mark Manson
Being consistent doesn't need to be difficult.
All it takes is;
1) A good system
2) discipline
If you don't have a good system around doing things, everything will become harder.
Let's take this exact Newsletter as an example.
You might have heard that this week I;
1) announced I'll start to do weekly YT videos AND
2) that I'll have a Podcast... AND
3) More threads on X... AND
4) Keep going prioritizing art and my growth and so on.
(5, will start do more short-form content to IG - but this I didn’t talk about yet publicly).
How to heck do I do all this?
And when thinking I do 4-5 hours of work a day.
(Why do I do only that amount? Read a previous issue from here.)
I have a system. That I have been developing BTS for a few weeks now.
This is my secret system;
I write this Newsletter.
This serves as my script for the YouTube video.
I upload the YouTube video as a Podcast.
I’ll break down the Newsletter into Threads, IG Reels, and LinkedIn posts.
This Newsletter is the foundation of all this other content.
Imagine if I started to make separate content for all platforms—no way I could do that (right now).
Making systems takes time.
I wanted to start writing this Newsletter every week at first to get into the habit of doing it.
Now this is my 4th issue.
Making the YouTube video and Podcast still takes more time than I want it to take.
This is because;
1) It takes time to learn new things and
2) It takes time to get used to a system
This is the first week my system is working in a better way.
I've still not got it to work as well... but I'm working on it.
This is my plan how to get success as an artist... but there are many ways to the same destination.
Let's talk about that next.
3) Sticking to a plan
There are a million plans for how to get success. How to get fit. How to raise a "perfect" child. And so on.
Is there only 1 plan that works? No, of course not. There are many that work.
Many people (including me at times) do look for a magical thing that would spice up their current plan.
Now, finding ways to improve your plan is good... but what most people do is - that they throw it away.
They don't stick to it at all.
They hop immediately into TikTok when it seems like "the place to be". And so on.
Don't do that. Make a plan. Commit to the plan. Work on the things you set to work on. Observe the results. Change your actions according to the feedback you get (from your results).
Stick to a plan long enough - and you have the best chance of "making it".
If you change your plan all the time, you have 0 chance of getting where you want.
So,
1) Make a plan (= a hypothesis)
2) Execute
3) Observe results
4) Change your plan or hypothesis according to results
It's simple. But it's not easy. But if you want to be better than average, that's what you need to do.
Now, the last thing about this issue. And I find this to be the most unpopular one... but extremely important.
4) Holistic approach
What does this mean?
My own hypothesis, is, that you can't just master 1 thing in your life. To become successful.
Most tell you to stay in a niche. To pick one.
Most tell you to get incredible at 1 thing and ignore everything else.
I used to think this was great advice... but I disagree now.
Let's say you pick photography as a thing you'll master.
You become incredible at it. Maybe, you become one of the best photographers in the world.
But... how come nobody knows your name?
How come, nobody can recognize your work?
Maybe... you suck at posting on social media.
Maybe... you have no clue how to pitch to clients.
Maybe... you have no idea how to market your services.
See where I'm going?
To get success in any part of life, you must be good at many different things.
You don't need to master everything. But you need to be good.
And guess what? When you take a holistic approach - you'll be unique.
You'll stand out. How come?
How many professional photographers there are in the world?
74.6 million (2021 - source: gitnux(dot)com).
Now, if you just knew how to click a camera - that probably won't get you recognized.
But... let's say you live in Germany. And you want to make unique photographs of little visited areas.
Will you find info on Google? A little bit maybe. But you won’t find everything.
There are things only the locals know.
And in this case;
not all Germans speak English. Around 56% do.
But in smaller villages, even fewer.
But if you know the language, you'll have an advantage.
You can have a chat with locals and find out unique spots.
Not everyone can photograph those same places as you now. Only those who understand German can find them - and have the vision for the photos.
And when you combine the unique places you find with unique colour grading, composition and so on - you'll be unique and stand out.
So whatever you're aiming for, understand knowing 1 thing isn't enough. You must learn many things.
Life is like a skill tree. You need to learn certain skills to be able to learn other skills. Only then the opportunity to learn them will be unlocked.
Understanding that is crucial.
You can only learn things that are not locked to you.
You must continuously learn. Expand your horizons. Discover new things. Step outside of your comfort zone. That's where the growth happens.
Winning is nice and good. But you don't learn anything from that.
This is a little cliche but it's true;
Failure is the greatest teacher of all.
I can give you a little sneak peek at the making of my Meme card.
Some are jealous for sure. But they might not be after they knew what I went through to make it.
I don't mean just waiting on top of a fell for hours at a time and freezing - and not getting any shots.
But also, getting rejected.
I applied for 5 weeks in a row. A new idea every week.
I stayed consistent. Didn't give up even though I didn't hear anything at first.
Then I got invited... but that's not it.
We had many different ideas for the card.
The first idea failed. I didn't get the shots necessary.
We moved to Option 2.
Guess what? That failed too lol.
I got the shot but it was too similar to another Meme Card.
I was CRUSHED emotionally. I had spent nearly my last money on that trip.
Then I suggested another shot I had been working on. I felt it had great potential to work. And it also aligned with 1 of the 5 ideas I submitted.
Then we went with that. But there was also many revisions. I was stressing will this go through or not...
But then in the end it did. It paid off. It became one of my favourite pieces to date.
I had also failed at another project at the start of the year. I made 2 pieces for them. And then they ghosted me.
That was dark time for me. Tough emotionally. Yet, I still kept submitting ideas for The Memes. And I got invited.
Rewards don't come easy. You must push yourself through your current comfort zone. That's how you expand it.
This issue has introduced things that many don't agree with at the start. I hope you're now seeing the importance of these things;
1) Doing the opposite of the average person
2) Consistency
3) Sticking to a plan
4) Holistic approach
Thank you for reading this issue. Right now, I'm in Paris. I'm networking (i.e. expanding my horizons).
Next week, I'll head to Lapland for 6 nights. I can't promise there'll be an issue next week because of that. But I'll see if can I make it happen somehow.
But, now I have released the 1st issue of Saturday Creative as a YT video and a Podcast. Make sure to subscribe on YouTube and follow on your favourite Podcast platform. That way you'll not miss those ways to consume these.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel here:
If you found this issue helpful, feel free to share this with a friend.
Make sure to subscribe to this Newsletter - if you already haven’t - so you won’t miss the next issues. You can do so from here;
I wish you an incredible Saturday,
Hugo
