It’s been extremely hot in the past few days here in NY and my SleepCycle app that I use daily as a smart alarm/sleep tracker was unable to wake me up at 6.30. The sleep quality is down to 30% compared to my usual 75% and to tell you the truth it feels like the app reflects the reality. I do feel a bit shitty.
My brother told me to finally get the A/C… haha, maybe I should? ))
Honestly, the same story repeats itself pretty much every year. In the middle of the summer, my wife and I typically start researching different A/C systems that would work for our house.
Last year we even got a few estimates in the range of 10K, but then we started thinking about changing siding and adding new insulation into the walls first… which would bring the whole project into 25K range. Not to mention the driveway that needs to be redone and possibly expanded plus a new little project on the backyard which involves a treehouse for our little kido 🙂
Almost forgot, we also wanted to add a small swimming pool, build up a supporting structure for the future grape plants that would cover the patio from the direct sun, add some raspberry bushes (and strawberries please!) and redo the cracking brickwork on the front porch…
By the time we finish arguing about the final details and the costs involved, the weather usually improves and we move on with our lives.
It seems like right now we are going through the same cycle… ))
Don’t get me wrong, we do make small improvements here and there. Last year, for example, my father-in-law cut a hole in the piece of transparent polycarbonate, similar to the one shown in this video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu1u1HoBtUs ), only without a metal frame.
We then use it as a mosquito mesh replacement for our portable A/C when it gets extremely hot. Genius stuff. The cost is just $400 for the A/C + ~$50 for the frame, compared to 10K.
I’m thinking to improve it by adding the metal frame to make it easier to install/remove, the only problem is I’m not a very handy guy (to put it mildly)… working on that, slowly but surely!
Why did we install casement windows instead of regular ones? Don’t even ask…
Anyway, after owning a house for about five years I think slow strategic improvements is the way to go.
When we purchased the house we had zero prior homeowning experience, so we hired a general contractor to help us with the massive renovation. We changed pretty much everything (including floors and windows) in the span of four short months… Needless to say, we wasted a lot of money and learned our lessons the hard way.
Still remember my wife crying after arguing with our workers… She was the one in charge on the construction site while I was typing away in the comfort of the 29th floor overlooking the Hudson River.
About a year after we moved into the house we learned that our contractor Bobby, a big charming guy who magically showed up from his black Mercedes with a wide smile on his face only to collect a new check and disappear yet again, was involved in some shady scheme/pyramid. He basically took money for the new renovation projects and spent them to finish the old ones. Eventually, he did run out of money leaving his other clients with nothing but big debts.
We got lucky thanks to my wife’s persistent efforts to get things done.
I’m telling you all of this to illustrate that imperfect action always beats the perfect inaction.
That’s how you move closer to your dreams.
Some of my subscribers ask me “Sergey, I want to start writing, but I have no idea where to start or what to write about” and then they quickly transition into the next question “What’s better to use WordPress or some static site generator or …?”
In short – IT DOESNT FREAKING MATTER! Pick something that you know, even notepad for that matter and go.
Here the truth.
Just about an hour ago I had zero words on my screen. Zero. It was completely cold white and empty. I had no idea what I was going to write about and my mind desperately tried to escape into Email, Facebook, Instagram or hide behind some unimportant work items/meetings, just so I could postpone the writing process and relax.
No matter what you trying to do, it’s never easy to go from 0 to 1. Never.
Here is the trick that I discovered over time. When you block the distractions (that could mean turning off your phone) and actually start “doing”, that’s when the magic happens.
Appetite comes with eating.
Don’t overthink or try to figure out how it will fit into the long-term strategy.
Even Stephen King in his book On Writing mentioned that he had to force himself to continue writing even when he didn’t feel like it or didn’t like the original concept/character.
“Stopping a piece of work just because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea.” – Stephen King
The second super important factor that works for me personally is the deadline. About a year ago I made a promise to myself that I’ll be publishing an article every week and now that I have over 400 people on my list it adds yet extra pressure.
And it worked.
In the last year along I was able to write more than I did in my entire life.
After studying lots of successful people and going through multiple expensive hands-on events and coaching sessions I realized (or should I say confirmed) one thing – you have to start moving and doing. Not only that but doing something you never did before which will be hard by definition.
Even though a lot of people know what needs to be done, only a tiny fraction actually does it.
It’s much easier to turn on TV, hide behind work, flip through apps on the phone…
“I still have time. Age is just a number, I’ll get my lucky break one day. Let me just sit down and think it through a bit more.”
Been there, done that and let me tell you one thing, the thing that you know better than I am:
STOP DREAMING AND START DOING!