Howdy folks,

Today I realised we’re halfway through 2024 and it got me thinking how fast those 6 months went! Let’s not talk about those New Year’s resolutions 👀.

Instead, let’s just say it’s never too late to start again. It’s a new month, a fresh start & I’ve got 2 ideas which I believe can really help you either start/grow your business or get over that hump of taking on a task which feels too big.

1. Now not how. The lesson from a CEO of a $100m business

2. How to eat an elephant

By the end of this post, you’ll gain a practical method to taking action in your work & also an idea of how you can tackle your bigger goals in life.

Plus, I’ll leave a bonus freebie in here too that I think will be helpful for all of us Lifestyle Entrepreneurs.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

👨‍💻 Modern Entrepreneurship

Now Not How

@noahkagan is CEO of @appsumo (a $100m business). but things always didn’t work out

- Rejected by Google (2x)
- Fired by FB after 9 months
- Built 20+ startups that didn’t work out

So what changed?

1 piece of advice he talks about in his book Millionaire Dollar Weekend is all about - Now, not how.

Why you should always act now, not later

Instead of overcomplicating ideas. Creating long drawn-out business plans. You just focus on starting that idea - like right now.

I’ve seen this play out with the 100s of Digital Nomads I’ve met over the years.

How do they work?

They work fast, are productive & focus solely on getting results. Why?

Often they are Lifestyle business owners. If you choose to work in or run your own online business and decide to live on a tropical island or a big city you want to make sure you’re enjoying it.

The questions you start to ask are.

How do I charge more for my time? In what ways can I create more value to get paid more and not have to work more hours?

So that I can spend time focusing on my health, family, socialising, hobbies, having fun, traveling etc.

This is a contrast to how we are taught to work within most 9-5 offices.

If you work in an office as an employee there are few incentives for working better & faster. You just get landed with more work. Therefore there is a lot more “filler” work. Calls or meetings basically talk about ideas rather than doing them.

But you don’t want to do this. Your goal as a lifestyle entrepreneur is to create the biggest impact in the least amount of time so that you can make time for all the other areas of life.

What will you learn from acting now?

You will learn to overcome that uncomfortable feeling of overcoming fears, insecurities & doubt.

Procrastination is not from the lack of knowledge we have about a subject. It’s about our fear of failing or being in discomfort.

But understand your time, money & resources are valuable. You can watch 100s hours of videos, read books & listen to podcasts. But eventually, you’ll have to do the thing

It’s better to just start that thing now & learn while you’re doing it.

Will you make mistakes? 100% it’s part of the journey

we learn more from our failures than our successes - so start now.

Fail faster & more often.

Today’s challenge - do that thing now.

• Write that post for your personal brand

• Write that email asking for the sale

• Set up your own personal website

• Record that digital course you’ve been talking about

👨‍🎨 Life Design

How Do You Eat an Elephant?

Ever heard this saying? It sounds weird, right? But the idea behind it is pretty cool and feels essential to achieving the big goals in life.

So back to the question: how would you eat a big elephant?

One Bite at a Time

Here’s the idea & why it’s helpful.

Tackle big tasks by breaking them down into smaller steps

We all face those overwhelming projects or goals that just seem too big to handle. I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. When everything feels like too much, it’s easy to get stuck and not know where to start.

Here’s how I’ve learned to deal with it. Instead of letting the size of the task freak me out, I break it down into the smallest pieces. Nice small, digestible steps that feel easy to do.

Let’s give a recent real-life example

Take losing weight and getting into shape, for example. This year, I lost over 15kg. Honestly, the idea of getting into better shape felt like staring at an elephant. Or maybe I felt like an elephant myself.

But by breaking it down into smaller, manageable pieces, it became easier. I focused on small, consistent actions each day—like adjusting my diet or adding a bit more exercise. Slowly but surely, the weight came off, and I started feeling better.

Why does it work?

Once you start seeing progress that’s when momentum kicks in as well. You’d be so surprised with how good you will feel once you start doing that thing you said you were going to do. Better than that you feel the results & feel proud of yourself.

So, if you’ve got a big project, deadline, or goal, break it down into the smallest, simplest, and easiest forms. Do that daily.

For example:

• Writing a book? Start with just 100 words a day.

• Learning a new skill? Spend 10 minutes practising each day.

• Decluttering your home? Tackle one drawer or shelf at a time.

Focus on those small, manageable actions each day. It’s easier, and you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish without feeling overwhelmed.

One bite at a time.

🎁 Members Freebie

Stuck on how to start your next big project?

Lifestyle Entrepreneur Members get the Now, Not How: Action Planner Template for FREE to help you break down overwhelming tasks into simple, actionable steps.

• Define what you want and why it matters.

• Outline specific actions to keep you moving forward.

• Set intentions what you will do today.

I hope it helps you to start taking action today

🔥 Interesting Finds

Thailand Remote work visa - 180 days for $270

If you’ve ever wanted to work remotely from a fancy apartment in Bangkok or while munching over a Pad Thai while enjoying the tropical island of Koh Phangan.

This dream might have become a bit easier to make happen if this new remote work visa is as good as it sounds.

I’m a big fan of Thailand, but I’ve also seen a few of these Nomad Visa’s appear over the years. A couple of things to look out for if you’re interested.

love seeing more countries adopting nomad visas but things to watch out for

Does it have

1. A min bank balance?

2. A min salary?

3. An awkward application?

In countries that have opened up similar visas, it can be like $20k in bank, $5k pm salary & 2 months processing

Hope I'm wrong but it's a win for remote work culture regardless.

7 years ago this would have not been talked about. Just getting access to a cafe with internet was already a big enough win

📚 The Book Club

Here's what I've been reading or listening to lately alongside some little nuggets I've picked up through the week.

1. Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kegan

This book inspired ½ of this weeks newsletter. If you’re stuck with getting into a new business idea this book might just give you some ideas on how to start.

2. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Did you know that Yellowstone National Park in the USA is a supervolcano? If it started to erupt it would be pretty damaging not to the surrounding area but affect the world as a whole. Good job the last eruption 664,000 years ago.

Anyway, this is the kind of ideas I’ve been listening to before going to sleep these days.

🎵 Music to Vibe too

Found this track this week & added it straight into the 🧊 Vibe | Bali Beach Bar at Sunset playlist. It’s a mystical, tribal beat that will transport you to dancing by a beach fire in Bali at sunset. Otherwise - it’s a banger to listen with headphones and doing work too.

Come join the listening party with one of my curated Spotify playlists

• 🤘 Rock Out | Belfast in the 00s

• 🧊 Vibe | Bali Beach Bar at Sunset

• 🔋 Energy | London Rave at 3am

🏝️ Lifestyle Entrepreneur

This week marks the end of the AI vs Real Dog game. I’m sad I don’t have an excuse to look at cute dog images each week. But what I’m bringing instead is AI images inspired by the Lifestyle Entrepreneur life.

And that is it for this week's newsletter folks

Wishing you a great week ahead as always

Let's catch up soon

Matt

Stay awesome

🫶

P.s

If you found anything helpful, useful or interesting I’d love it if you could share your personal referral link to anyone that you think would love this newsletter. It’s free, and will only take 2 minutes but it would really help me grow this space.

P.p.s

Let me know what you think of the new freebie section 🙂 

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