Tag: blog

THE 300 PEOPLE YOU INTERACT WITH IS ONLY 0.00000375 of 8.2 BILLION PEOPLE/GLOBAL POPULATION

THE 300 PEOPLE YOU INTERACT WITH IS ONLY 0.00000375 of 8.2 BILLION PEOPLE/GLOBAL POPULATION

You probably have more options than you realize. You probably have more reach. With the modern digital landscape, you can be influential because your ability to expand, grow and be recognized by a larger number of people is so much more ample. Meanwhile, your everyday life experience may be limited by the number of people you encounter and form both shallow and profound relationships with.

Dunbar’s number suggests that most people interact with and form stable relationships with 150 to 300 people in their life (and that’s a generous range!). The problem with these 150 to 300 people that we mostly see and interact with is that they provide a very limited “small pond” effect to our brains. This is a cognitive bias.

Thus, in reality, we interact with a VERY SMALL FRACTION of the global population. It’s impossible for our brains to internalize the vastness, the scale of it all. Instead, we rely on our limited understanding to gauge the world–especially OURSELVES IN THIS WORLD. Our thoughts regarding our opportunities, chances and options are simultaneously shrunk down to size.

We start to judge ourselves based on the overall tenor and consensus of how these 0.00000375 people in the global population respond to us. We’re constantly worrying about our character and how it is being perceived, evaluated, from the metrics coming from that very small population we are working with. For example, if we get fired, a few times (or even many times!) we assume our experience of ourselves is representative of THE LARGER REALITY.

If we blow it on our blog–with our you tube channel—with our social media posts- or even with something like the kiosk that we run at our local Farmer’s Market–WE ASSUME THAT WE HAVE A FIXED AUDIENCE or FIXED CLIENTS/PATRONS. You do not.

If you’re like me, your blog will attract some people from Pakistan one day and people from Iceland another day. Audiences change. People grow out of what you have to say. People find newer, fresher, younger faces or maybe they remember you and come back. You still have a chance to grow and have influence and success if you manage to hook even just a few people. You have to make people remember you.

Back to what I was saying earlier, if most of those people “in your current circle” think a certain way, have very different personality traits than we do, or are super judgmental, you’ll start to regard yourself through the same lens. Perhaps these individuals don’t make any outright negative statements–only little ones that diminish you or make you feel “you don’t have what it takes”, “You’re incomplete” or “You’re not there yet”.

Because of our cognitive biases, we project the opinions of a HANDFUL of certain people onto an entire hypothetical “public”. If our boss or work mates show disappointment for our idea, we feel like EVERYONE is disappointed with it. If a particular social group show’s aversion or dissatisfaction for your choices, it can feel like your’re just a general loser.

Often, we inflate the long-term impact of a single mistake.

We start to think that that circle of people defines who we are. Or, that must be the way the world is. But maybe we have it wrong. Maybe we just have the wrong 150-300 people in our circle from the get-go. Maybe we’ve been dealt a bad hand of people from the start.

Maybe someone like Steve Jobs had a bunch of “the right” people around him at the right time. Without that specific concoction of people, maybe he would have never had the sustained inspiration to carve out a successful path and put his ideas out there.

Afterall, it’s easier to try new things and throw our ideas out there with the right kind of people surrounding us. It’s much harder when we feel fear of what kind of half-hearted commentary we’re going to receive or worse, someone who changes the subject to talk about “the weather” a “recent event” or something very mundane like something they noticed about a particular street, car, celebrity, place. It can feel dismissive and boring at the same time.

My go-to thought when I’m feeling like I’ve been handed the wrong surrounding of people:

There are 8 BILLION people on the planet. Considering that number, my reputation is not at stake as much as I think. Like me, you need to NOT let those 12 job-related encounters–or even 30–establish your baseline identity or character.

To reiterate, maybe the successful people in the world had the right 150- 300 at there disposal from the very beginning. They had people who were cheerful, positive, successful themselves, happy, open to new ideas–philosophically minded, dreamers and willing to keep working at it and trying etc. Those are the kind of collaborators you want. If you don’t have them now, you can change things up. You can use the vast numbers of people who navigate the internet as a potential wellspring to draw from.

These are trite, already known thoughts. But the point is you must constantly remind yourself that there are 8 Billion people to exploit.

Maybe you can’t change things up right now. But at least you can remember THE LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS. That is, despite the common mantra “It’s a small world after all”. It really isn’t. There are 8 BILLION PEOPLE to exhaust your resources, time, attention and talents. There isn’t enough time in your life to remotely scratch the surface or all that’s out there. “The tip of the iceberg” platitude doesn’t even BEGIN to convey how FEW PEOPLE YOU’VE really interacted with or even more, formed a meaningful connection with or could have an impact on.

Don’t let those 5 people at your company/work determine who you are. Even if you’ve ruined your reputation at an entire company, remember there are literally millions of companies globally that you could reach out to or that may find your skills or personality admirable. BEEN IN PRISON? Guess what? If you’re out, there are TONS OF POTENTIAL opportunities if you’ve truly committed to a crime-free life and you have a willful determination to make something of yourself. There are literally thousands of countries where you could stake out your next project or business pursuit.

Remember the doctor who killed Michael Jackson? Guess what? In 2023 he successfully opened his own medical institute in San Juan and also in Trinidad and Tobago. He is back to not only being a successful doctor, but developing thriving clinics.

The odds are in your favor because the global population is enormous. And don’t let me get started with your ability to use AI and use it to carve out even more bifurcations that lead to EVEN MORE OPPORTUNITIES. Imagine the global population surging with robots? That’s even more “people” to work with.

There are so many mistakes you can make with different people and yet still billions of more people to “try it out on”. And, if you were making some sort of cardinal, egregious mistake, that mistake will eventually be corrected or modified after so many iterations and interactions with different people. You just have to keep reaching out to more people.

To conclude, remember that your REPUTATION isn’t a single, monolithic thing. It’s really just a bunch of perceptions held by different people in different contexts. A gaffe in one area may be unknown or irrelevant to other people who are not in your direct circle. Most people–even that small group of 150 to 300 that you might engage with yearly–are too busy to care about your mistakes for too long because they have their own lives to dwell on and their own mistakes.There will always be TONS of people on the globe for you to work with and have an impact on.

LISTEN TO (THESE PODCASTS) BOOST YOUR OUTPUT!

LISTEN TO (THESE PODCASTS) BOOST YOUR OUTPUT!

You always have to ask yourself how much is this helping? How much of what I’m doing is working out in my moment-to-moment experience of consciousness? Constantly taking inventory of the things that CHANGE YOUR STATE and thus, YOUR MIND is going to be the driver of the good life.

It recently dawned on me that there are certain things that SIGNIFICANTLY and POSITIVELY impact my progress. I have also noticed that some of my activities have less of an effect or have slightly negative effects.

One of the activities that I have found to push me to mountain-top levels and take on new goals is listening to LONG podcasts from self-help, health and motivational speakers. These individuals continually interview doctors, body/fitness experts, successful entrepreneurs, writers–the entire gamut of professionals who exist today and are making both MONEY and having INFLUENCE. You can’t NOT trust them. They’ve figured something out. Even if they’ve had untold levels of assistance or won the IQ lottery, they can still offer guidance.

Just hearing these people speak will help me for an entire day. As I’m listening to the interviews I’m changing my physiology. What I place in my mouth and how much movement I attempt is dramatically altered for the next 24 hours.

And yes, 24 hours does make a dent. One week of eating and sleeping poorly can benefit from just 24 hours of changing my physiology. And, if listening to one or two podcasts from, say, Chris Williamson or Diary of a CEO does it, why would I not keep doing it? Tom Bilyeu, The Daily Stoic or Rich Roll have so much tantalizing and even controversial guests to volley back and forth with. Hard ball questions are frequently posed. Alex Hormozi has incredible videos where he’s just teaching and talking. Dan Koe as well. There’s Ed Mylett, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, Lewis Howes, Lex Fridman and of course, Sam Harris and Andrew Huberman.

The above are just a few of my favorites. They all have different perspectives and interview fascinating people. Obviously, there are dozens more I could name. I’ve blogged about this before, but I find the impact so startling on my life I can’t help but keep advocating for a podcast listening ritual. Listening to podcasts will truly enhance your life and your weekly output. You’ll probably try something different this week if you listen to a podcast.

When I go for a week or two without listening to a podcast, I notice that I’m just not as motivated. I’m not hearing the words. I’m not hearing the conversations. For me, auditory processing must hijack my brain and send me into response and “try it” mode. Everyone is different but I firmly believe that for a large number of people, listening–HEARING with your ears can be extremely life-changing. And no, you don’t need to do it a couple times. This habit has to be part of your weekly life. I try to listen several times a week.

The things that I’ve noticed DO NOT HELP ME or, they actually make me feel bad or maybe even wasteful (which isn’t a good feeling and does have a consequence on future behavior) are any form of scrolling over short-form content. Watching or clicking on short-form content. Very, very, VERY RARELY do short-form videos, reels or memes have any kind of a positive effect on my life.

I’m never helped financially, physically or mentally from watching short-form videos. I’m just thinking why did I waste my time? Or, I could have thought of the same thing or done the same thing but instead gave up my time to someone else’s sub-par creation. I’m sure you’ve had similar thoughts. You want to be DOING and CREATING. You don’t want to simply be the spectator and then feel bad about it later. You should be on your feet moving or in your mind thinking original thoughts.

So, take the time for podcasts. You can absolutely listen while multitasking (as everyone seems to do) and they’ll arouse that soft inner voice, that subconscious part of you that pushes you to do something slightly different. You’ll end up with a better week. Bonus! You won’t feel guilty about listening to them because you’re probably accomplishing something else on the side.

HAVE JUST ONE HIGH PERFORMING BLOG POST!!!

HAVE JUST ONE HIGH PERFORMING BLOG POST!!!

Did you know that just ONE HIGH PERFORMING BLOG POST ON YOUR BLOG can significantly impact your blog’s success in terms of Google search? Even if you have 50, 150 or even 500 LAME BLOG POSTS and only ONE of them is doing well, your blog will be ranked higher than other blogs. This means people are more likely to discover your blog in the long run.

Let’s reiterate: Never underestimate the power of just ONE high performing blog post. This happened to me a few years ago. I continually reap the benefits of that one single post. Everyday I’m getting views and blog traffic from simply having one high performance entry. People stumble on my blog via that one post…often, they check out other posts. That one post has served as a hook– and it’s become very effective for my blog, overall. After some research, I learned that this is a strategy that most of the prominent bloggers have used to attract a steady stream of viewers. These individuals have taken steps to further their “brand” with books, YouTube videos, podcasts or various items related to their theme that they can ultimately MONETIZE.

When you have a blog, you want at least one GOTCHA POST where people spend some time. It doesn’t matter if you have a ton of content that doesn’t resonate with very many people or if they’re thinking MEH. BORING. We all have that experience WITH EVERY BLOG OUT THERE.

 All you need is one high performing post. Additionally, you will need several other blog posts on your blog to establish your presence as a blogger—at least in terms of Google’s analytics and algorithm; this will help you stand out compared to other blogs. Those posts don’t have to yield a ton of engagement time or views. Just make your blog appear active, current and make certain it has some content.

Try to post at least twice a month. Make sure you’re writing posts in your own words! People can easily copy and paste your writing into an AI to determine if you’re legit or if you’re simply regurgitating copy and paste blocks of text from another AI generator. This tool is called AI Detector, and more and more people and companies are using these detectors to screen out computer generated writing from REAL human generated writing.

Something else I recently learned? Did you know that if you’re simply copying and pasting swaths of text from an AI generator, you’ll be NATURALLY PUSHED DOWN IN GOOGLE’s SEARCH ALGORITHM? YEP! The entire purpose of blogging is for humans to struggle with their thoughts, emotions and inner experiences–and TO WRITE THEM DOWN. Blogging is by definition the BLOGGERS THINKING. It’s your own thinking…what you’re currently learning and how you’re dealing with it. Writing is a wrestling act with your own thoughts and emotions and coming up with solutions in the form of WORDS. AI generators will not have the same human touch, that similar finesse with human experiences and situations in the human would. AI written content is quickly identified by complex computer algorithms and it’s pushed down in search. But if you’re a blogger you naturally adore the writing process, so this won’t be an issue for you! You’ll use AI to help you fully understand phenomena or learn the definitions of words and ways to improve your grammar. You won’t dump a bolus of text on a page constructed from another entity.

As you start to blog and write regularly, you’ll notice that you’re improving both your writing and thinking skills. You’re also developing a habit of writing! You’ll feel that surge of dopamine as you can both use your words to influence others and to simultaneously provide information about various topics. These topics INTEREST YOU. So, you’ll be motivated to learn and then watch and see if anyone else happens to enjoy your interests as well. You get to learn and write, learn and write! It feels like you’re building a memorable tower of knowledge that even you will go back to from time to time.

Anyone, even a SINGLE PERSON SPENDING TIME ON YOUR BLOG FACTORS INTO THE METRIC OF ENGAGEMENT.  If they happen to find your blog and then leave quickly, this prices into the calculation called BOUNCE RATE. A blogs bounce rate is how fast someone finds your blog and then leaves after visiting one page. When your blog has a HIGH BOUNCE RATE it means visitors are not finding what they’re interested in. They’re less engaged so they leave after one shot. Google’s algorithm will lower your blog’s presence in search. Fewer people will find your blog. You have fewer chances of getting big. You have fewer chances of reaping any money.

In my opinion, The BREAD AND BUTTER of BLOGS are VIEWS. Not subscribers, not followers. These come and go. It’s easy to get into an emotional tither when people leave or unsubscribe. You express a political or religious view and people leave. You say something dumb. You get boring. You feel awful when you lose followers and your motivation dips. You stop writing and creating.

But views? Daily views are a signal that your blog is still providing relevant content to those asking questions on various search engines/platforms. Keep track of your daily views and let that inspire you! That’s been my main go-to in term of motivation for blogging. At least I’m getting views, even if not from loyal followers or subscribers. At least the algorithm is favoring my blog and engagement is UP!

You can let people go their way if they decide, but getting random views REGULARLY simply by speaking your mind will give you the impetus to keep going…to keep writing. Why would you want to be a slave to AUDIENCE CAPTURE? This is the phenomenon when a content creator starts to feel anxiety because they have to fulfill the expectations and interests of their audience. They become trapped. As a blogger you know you need A TON OF CONTENT TO GET NOTICED. How can you continually generate content that ALWAYS reflects the interests of your followers?

You can’t have it both ways. Either you generate a ton of content on various topics where you’re shrill and vocal–some that makes you lose active followers OR, you focus solely on what you think your readers WANT TO HEAR. Don’t do that! Be yourself. If you’ve created one momentous blog post, you’ll still be discoverable. There are so many fish in the sea and there’s way more to gain than lose if you keep presenting YOUR OWN VIEWS.

Cheers to blogging and creating that ONE POST that gets you noticed! You’ll get YEARS of success from that one single blog post.