MegaFishbein is a collection of lessons, life-hacks, and lifestyle: A journey of a creative hell-bent on perfecting his process.
Pathologically curious and never satisfied with the "norms".
During my latest snowbird road trip to Portland, OR to escape the summer heat of Phoenix, AZ, I met a man.
This man lived in a van.
I had just driven my car through a redwood at Drive-Thru Tree Park (aptly named) and had parked to relieve myself and stretch my legs. As I moseyed into the meadow, I noticed a man and two dogs walking towards me back to the lot.
He noticed my noticing and nodded a salutation.
I nodded back, “Beautiful beasts you’ve got there.”
“Wanna meet ‘em?” He called back.
The 2nd espresso hits the bottom of your belly like Molotov, exploding fire into your spirit and whipping energy up your spine.
“I’m ready!”
But ready for what?
“Ready to give my gift to the world, of course!”
But which gift? And more importantly, which world?
To whom shall you bequeath your first fruits?
Choose carefully, for this is how you build your life…
Total autonomy.
Yea, that’s we want. No one to tell us what to do. Ever.
No one setting a bar or a deadline, no one telling us when to start and stop work, no one dangling a paycheck in front of our noses like a carrot on a stick beckoning the cart-pulling donkey ever forward yet forever out of reach.
“I wanna be my own boss!” we say. “I wanna set my own schedule! I wanna call my own shots! I wanna be free!”
Mmmm, a delicious series of sentiments. What a drag it truly is that this fabled “bosslessness” doesn’t exist…
Your money or your life?
You may think the answer is clear, but take an honest look at your life. Most of us, yours truly included, choose our money. As I write, on April 24th 2021, it really does seem like something is in the water…
Let us know if this sounds familiar: You dropped out of Art School, partnered with your best buddy and fellow creative renegade, and set out to build your very own lean and scrappy agency structure. You threw yourself into the market, dazzled prospects with fresh ideas and an edgy attitude, and quickly acquired a small book of clients. Both you and your renegade partner burn the midnight oil grinding out graphics, strategizing social campaigns and cutting video ‘till your eyes bleed.
Some of you know my story.
For those who don't, I'm a pathologically risk-averse, hyper-calculated, bootstrapper.
And I don't have much reason to depart from this approach; I've built two self-supporting businesses over the last 6 years without loans, outside (or inside) financial investments, and without missing a single paycheck each time I transitioned from day job to biz owner.
But, here's the thing…
Wouldn’t it be great to know if your business idea was going to work before you dripped a single drop of sweat into it?
Wouldn’t it be neat if there was a way to test business ideas in their early stages in such a way that you knew with absolute certainty that all the hard work in front of you was gonna be worth it?
That would be really helpful, right?
Here’s the thing:
There kind of is!
You’re at a cocktail party. Someone approaches you and says:
“Hey, I hear you’re a _____ and you do _____ for a living. I have this problem I need help with. It’s right up your alley. Here’s my question:___________________?”
What do you do?
Mmmm, that’s a delicious dream.
So big! So YOU!
Can’t you just taste the juicy future?
Once achieved, this dream will forever mark that milestone in your life when you went from “meh” to MIGHTY!
Oh no, but it’s so far away...and there’s so many steps...and boy...the effort it’ll demand…
You know what, never mind. It’ll never happen…
"I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
For those of you who just read that and thought "Hell yea, get that money! HUSTLE FO' LIFE! GRIND OR DIE!"
Fuck off my blog. Leave now.
I'm sorry (deep breath). I do in fact hope you stay and read because it is you (you 12-hour-day, self-employed, workaholic you) who is precisely the individual that stands to benefit most from this post...
