I recently decided to stop working with a big new client.
I felt the project wasn’t making any progress. I wasn’t enjoying the work. And perhaps most of all, I didn’t really need the job, because I have other options.
Still, I took some time after it all ended to make a list of good things that came from this experience.
One was that I got turned on to a cool new gadget (the reMarkable tablet).
Another was hearing some good stories about how to build an 8-figure business within a few years.
And a third were some new book recommendations, including Mark Ford’s Automatic Wealth.
As you might know, Mark is a multimillionaire entrepreneur and marketer. He’s one of the guys who helped build up Agora into a billion-dollar company. And he’s a prolific author, best known in copywriting circles for the book Great Leads, and best known in non-copywriting circles for his book Ready, Fire, Aim.
From what I can tell, Automatic Wealth was Mark’s first book. It’s about — maybe you guessed it — wealth. What you need to do to get it. What you don’t need to do. And on that last topic, here’s a quote from Mark’s book:
“But if getting rich and successful were simply a matter of replacing negative thoughts and feelings with positive ones, why are some of the richest, most successful people that I know miserable, grouchy, and gloomy? Not all the time. And not in all circumstances. But as a general rule it seems to me that most of the people out there making the big bucks are more driven than dreamy, more testy than tranquil, and more hard-pushing than easy-going.”
You don’t have to be miserable to grow rich. But based on what Mark’s saying, if you are miserable, it’s not an impediment.
The thing is, as I’ve written before, I really don’t care much about getting rich. I make enough money as is, and my appetites are limited.
That’s not to say I’m not ambitious in my own way, about other things (a topic for another email).
And that’s why I wanted to share this quote with you. Because it applies equally well to achieving anything in life. To achieving moderate success. To just getting started, on any project, or any change you’d like to make.
You don’t have to be miserable, obsessed, or filled with negative thoughts to succeed at what you care about.
But if you are negative, a grouch, or even filled with doubts, it’s not an impediment. Not unless your job is to be a greeter at Disneyland or a radio DJ or a head shop owner.
Or who knows. Maybe you can succeed even in those careers, if you just get going. And if you just have the will to keep putting the one foot in front of the other, however grumblingly.
So much for inspiration. For practical marketing and copywriting ideas, get on my email newsletter.