The Beauty in Imperfection
Newsletter
My warmest greetings from the air – Itβs the middle of the night and Iβm en route from Los Angeles back to London for 48h to record some podcasts, sign a few hundred copies ofΒ Feel-Good ProductivityΒ to go in bookstores, and say hello to the family, before flying out again to continue the digital nomad adventure π
I wanted to talk this week about a video I recently released titledΒ Everythingβs Changing – Life Update.Β Itβs a 44-minute ramble where I share some updates on whatβs going on my life, and then spend ages pontificating about money, business, growth, happiness, fulfilment and the pursuit of a meaningful life.
Of all the 750+ videos Iβve made in the past 7 years, this seems to be the one thatβs had the biggest response, with thousands of comments from people all saying they really resonated with what I was talking about and grappling with, and theyβve been having similar thoughts and feelings in their own life. I even had lots of DMs from friends and fellow creators and entrepreneurs whoβd seen the video and said that it resonated with them in various ways too.
This was super surprising to me. I thought this video was going to be a dud that only the βsuper fansβ would care about. I didnβt think too hard about the title, we didnβt bother with a fancy thumbnail, the editing on it was very minimal, I didnβt think about βretentionβ, or βthe algorithmβ at all – I just decided to hit record, with no plan, and just speak from the heart. And somehow, that seemed to resonate with people.
My toilet time over the past few days has been spent going through the comments on the video, and feeling a glow of appreciation and gratitude for my wonderful audience, and a glow of delight that my unsophisticated, unstructured rambles produced such a nice response.
One key lesson I took away from the video was this – I spend a lot of time obsessing about improving the βqualityβ of my videos. From optimising the living daylights out of the title and thumbnail, scripting the βhookβ so that viewers know what theyβre getting, trying to find science and stories etc to back up the points Iβm making, trying to cut out any rambling or repetition so that the videoβs βconciseβ and doesnβt βwasteβ peopleβs time, etc etc. All that has served me over the past 7y of making videos, and is (partly) what has helped grow the channel to nearly 5 million subscribers (I think weβll hit that milestone before the end of the year!) Butβ¦ while thatβs all well and good, itβs nice to know that every now and then, something more raw and relatable and less βpresenteryβ can resonate with people too. And in many ways, raw and relatable and less βpresenteryβ resonates with people on a deeper, more emotional level, than just βhey hereβs another list of things that can help you improve your lifeβ.
Maybe thatβs why people seem to like these emails too? Theyβre not that structured, theyβre more raw, and the replies I normally get to these emails are often way more heartfelt and sincere than the comments I see on most of my videos.
My takeaway from this is that, as someone famous once said, thereβs beauty in imperfection. Iβd like to remember this more often, especially when I let the desire for a βhigh qualityβ product inch into the territory of perfectionism, which turns into procrastination, which turns into a recipe for angst and burnout when it happens too often.
You donβt have to strive for perfection all the time. Itβs okay to do things, and make things, that are βless goodβ once in a while. You might even find that βless goodβ in your eyes, becomes βrelatableβ and βauthenticβ in the eyes of others, which in many ways is βmore goodβ. Plus, itβs more fun.
Have a great week!
Ali xx
PS: Less than 2 weeks until the book is officially released worldwide! If youβve preordered a copy, (a) thank you! and (b) please submit your receipt / order confirmationΒ HEREΒ to get access to the βPlan the Best Year of your Lifeβ live online workshop Iβm doing on Jan 6th 2024. Lots of people have been very kindly sending receipts to my email inbox directly, but my inbox isnβt connected to the automated ticketing system so it makes it hard to keep on top of π¬ So please do send your receipt intoΒ that formΒ to make sure you get access to the event and all the bonus goodies weβre giving away β€οΈ
PPS: If you havenβt yet preordered a copy of the book, now would be a lovely time π You can get it in hardback, eBook (including Kindle) and/or audiobook (which I spent 3 days narrating myself) –Β more details hereΒ if youβre interested. And if you order before Dec 30th, youβll get a free ticket to the Feel-Good Productivity Annual Planning Workshop too!
βThe Newsletter That I Read Every Day
One of my favourite daily newsletters isΒ Morning Brew.
Morning Brew has all the latest business, finance, tech and global news all in one place. Instead of having to keep up across lots of different platforms and email lists, this newsletter has everything covered. Morning Brew provides quick and entertaining updates, and it takes just five minutes to read.
Itβs super accessible and completely free – I love having it delivered to my inbox each morning.
So if youβre interested in signing up, check outΒ this linkΒ and enjoy π
Thanks to Morning Brew for sponsoring this issue of Sunday SnippetsΒ π
β₯οΈ My Favourite Things
1 – Podcast InterviewΒ – Is it weird to say that one of my favourites for this week is an interview of me? Maybeβ¦ even so, a few months ago when I was in Austin, I had aΒ fun conversationΒ about writing, creating and entrepreneurship with my friend David Perell, for his fantasticΒ How I WriteΒ podcast. I re-listened to the interview we did (a few months after the fact) and found myself thinking βhuh this is some good stuffβ (mostly the things he said, not the things I said).Β You might like to check it out. I love his episodes withΒ Mark Manson,Β Sam ParrΒ andΒ The Cultural TutorΒ as well.
2 – Book –Β The PracticeΒ by Seth GodinΒ – This is really really good. Highlighted so many bits. If youβre a creator / creative of any sort, and you sometimes struggle with it (hint: everyone does), youβll love this book. Itβs a simple message, but Seth drives the point home in multiple ways that helped it seep into my soul rather than just staying in my brain.
3 –Β Podcast –Β Itβs another Mark Manson one, this one titled: β7 Life Lessons I Wish I Knew Soonerβ. I love Markβs stuff so much – heβs like 10 years older than me, and into the same general stuff (personal development, video games, etc) and is way more βsuccessfulβ than I am in the same general industry (self-help writer / creator). So almost anytime he posts something on any of his platforms, it resonates – itβs like having a really wise, rich older brother whoβs a little cranky at times (his whole online persona, although heβs much more chill offline) and gives great life and careers advice. I love it. Great episode, if you fancy having a listen.
π¬ My New Videos
π§ How to Be Effortlessly Disciplined: 5 Mindset ShiftsΒ – Being more disciplined is something that most people want but pretty much everyone struggles with it. So in this video I’m sharing 5 of my favourite tips to help you become more disciplined. Enjoy x
βοΈ Quote of the Week
βWithout effort, your talent is nothing more than your unmet potential. Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done but didnβt. With effort, talent becomes skill and, at the same time, effort makes skill productiveβ.
FromΒ Grit: The Power of Passion and PerseveranceΒ byΒ Angela Duckworth. Resurfaced usingΒ Readwise.