You can just NOT do things

I’m on a plane back to Chicago from New York.

(Guess I like writing on planes lol)

Anyway, I figured I’d share my thoughts on a topic that I’ve been noodling on.

You can just NOT do things.

In January, I quit my job at Acquisition.com and moved back home to Chicago.

And contrary to what you might think, I didn’t immediately start my own business and “grind harder.”

In fact, I did the opposite.

• I traveled more (SF, NY, Miami, LA)

• I spent time with family 

• I caught up with old friends 

• I fractionally worked with and advised a few brands (Shelby Sapp, Stanley, etc)

• I worked on my 2nd book

And above all, I schemed.

We’re living in a time where it’s never been easier to start things.

• Start businesses

• Raise money

• Create products

Which means the easier it is to start things, the more alpha there is in choosing WHAT to start.

I wrote this reflection back in April after talking with a friend:

“I’m in a season of life where I’m being deliberate about what I choose to do. Nobody talks about the importance of project selection.”

As a recovering workaholic, my first instinct when I run into a problem is to just “work harder”.

I think, if I just put in more hours, wake up earlier, stay up later, skip meals, ignore friends, obsess over my problem… then it will be solved.

But realistically, for someone already working hard, you can work 10% harder, but never 10x harder.

Said differently, it’s hard to outwork someone working on a BETTER thing.

The restaurant owner and the tech founder both work hard. But one is geographically and margins constrained while the other reaps compound benefits.

Thats not to say you should only work on things that scale.

But for me, I’m entering a season of my life where I will have the most time, energy, and ambition.

It would be a shame for me to naively commit to a capped project because it pays the best in the short term.

Remember: the fastest way to get to $1m is often not the fastest way to get to $10m and beyond.

I’m perfectly willing to sacrifice the fast money for the big money.

A hill I’m willing to die on: Most of the decisions you make on a daily basis don’t really matter. What you eat for lunch. What flavor toothpaste you choose. Whether to go to the dentist at 2pm or 2:30pm. Tiny stuff that moves the needle maybe 1%.

But every once in a while, you get a decision that acts like a lever. One choice that tilts everything that comes after it. Where you live. Who you work with. What you work on.

These are the decisions that change trajectories, and most people don’t treat them with the weight they deserve.

I’m willing to spend a disproportionate amount of time deciding these things to get them right.

So after I quit my job, I did. I took time to scheme, strategize, and study.

Then, once I identified the key levers that I wanted to lean on… I went all in.

• I wrote a full book on my playbook to create opportunities.

  • Why? The more people I help, the more people associate that value with me, the bigger my brand grows.

  • The best leaders understand that their job is to build the team, and the team builds the company. When high agency people read my book and get value, some will want to work with ME.

  • Books are not immediate revenue-driving assets, they’re reputation-driving assets, that over time become revenue-driving assets.

    • Ps. For everyone who’s already pre-ordered their copy, I’ll be emailing you individually on Sep 20th to get your address and ship your book(s) to you :)

• I started a YouTube channel to document my learnings in real-time.

  • Why? In an age where building products is becoming easier and easier, the remaining alpha is distribution.

  • I asked myself, “If I only did ONE thing this year, that would make everything else I do easier, what would that be?” My answer? Build a brand.

  • Why YouTube specifically? Short-form content is like walking past a stranger on the street. Long-form content is like sitting down and having a meal with them.

  • I’m only a few videos in, and already I’ve gotten wayyyy more texts from friends, DMs from people I admire, and cold emails of people wanting to work with me.

    

• I started a writing cohort and priced it lower than most do ($500).

  • Why? If I know I want to be known as the best damn social media copywriter in the space, I already have the proof from working with the top names in the space AND building my own brand. The next step is being able to teach others.

  • If more people join the founding cohort and get results, they’ll tell their friends… which makes the demand for each following cohort bigger and bigger.

  • It’s also fun to get a group of people who are interested in similar things as I am.

• I started a business productizing my knowledge of building revenue media systems.

  • In 4 days, we went from $0 to $84,000 in contracted revenue. All from a few texts to friends. I haven’t pointed any of my social media channels to the offer (yet).

  • I’m world-class at building written media systems, copywriting, and content. My co-founder is word-class at sales, ops, and offer creation.

  • We both knew we’d get to our financial goals either way. But together, we’d increase the likelihood we get there faster, blow past our goals, and have more fun.

The overarching theme I’m trying to get at:

You don’t make quantum leaps of progress by simply “working harder”.

You make quantum leaps by identifying the key levers that when done well, make everything else irrelevant in comparison.

Oh, and of course… make sure you’re playing games you actually want to win.

A wise mentor once told me: “before you play a game, study the winners. If you don’t want their life, don’t play their game.”

Okay. I’ll hop off my soapbox.

Until next week,

Jay “You can just NOT do things” Yang

Author of You Can Just Do Things & Work With The Best

Ps. J-O-B

— (@)

President of Shopify, Harley Finkelstein on the desire to be liked:

“You don't get to change things and be liked by everyone. Pick one.”

Live as if you've already made it.

Work as if you've still got a long way to go.

A pattern I've noticed in the most successful people I know: they're not disciplined. They're obsessed. They don't have to force themselves to wake up early, stay up late, put extra hours in. They just do. It's part of who they are.

The joy isn’t in having, it’s in getting.

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