Writing this post in a Starbucks in Kalispell, Montana. Finally actually did one of those @macrobarista drinks: the killer caramel cold brew. Great account solving a straightforward problem: I’m on a diet but want to have those dessert-like coffee drinks.
The Pat Flynn Show: The Importance of Setting Goals Beyond the Gym w/ Dan John
One of my must-listens each week, along with My First Million and Not Investment Advice. MFM and NIA keep me tuned into what’s new in business, tech, and the internet. Pat Flynn and Dan John keep me tuned in on things that will still matter and be roughly the same a decade from now: stay healthy through movement and healthier eating. Technology might give us some advances, but it’s hard to imagine that working out regularly now will not pay off in the long run.
Some ideas from this episode: aligning fitness goals to something outside of the gym (working out for a specific trip has worked better for me than aiming for a general summer body), rolling dice during the paleo diet (1st roll for food quantity, 2nd roll for workout), randomness in workouts (Dan doesn’t need his workouts to be fun but understands it’s helpful for others), and the weekly kimchi purchases (1–2 gallons each week with oatmeal).
Long term, sustainable approach to eating: practice fasting (different from starving) and learn to appreciate hunger. Vegetables with every meal. Water for most hydration. And remember: it’s hard to eat it if it’s not there. (Aka don’t bring snacks into the house.)
New Teeth by Simon Rich
I’ve read all of Simon Rich’s books and will continue reading all his future books. This collection of short stories is about parenthood. Again, he does a great job of writing from different (wacky) perspectives. What if cartoon pirates raised an infant on their ship? What if a toddler was a detective? These aren’t questions that would have ever come to mind so I’m glad that Simon Rich could think them up.
Indie Hackers: 221 – How an indie hacker is competing with Buffer with Samy Dindane of Hypefury
What makes an effective MVP? Samy noticed that there wasn’t a tool available for Twitter threads. He built a tool in 3 days then shared it with a Telegram group of other builders. Didn’t have a landing page and was just manually signing people up to it. Eventually he saw that some people were using the tool more than he was. Good sign that there was something to it. He eventually added billing and got 20 customers paying $20 in the first few days (How’d it feel? “Fucking amazing man.”) Eventually looked for a co-founder to handle growth. From there they’ve grown it to $20k MRR.
Also, Courtland shares an analogy that’s making me very hungry: chicken-fried steak is not really available in Seattle even though it’s delicious—word spreads slower than you think and sometimes it doesn’t get far at all even if the product is great.