WORK LESS WEDNESDAY
WLW #181
👋 Hey Reader!
This is issue #181 of Work Less Wednesday, where I share with you 5 things you should know about, in 5 minutes or less. That leaves you with 10,075 other minutes this week.
💸 1. New Article – Why “Charge What You’re Worth” Is Terrible Advice
“Charge what you’re worth.”
The worst four words in pricing.
In my latest article, I break down:
- How to practice healthy detachment in pricing (in order to charge 2-10x more).
- How people actually make a decision to buy something (most people have no idea).
- How you can charge what YOUR WORK is worth (not what you’re worth).
🤔 2. Why You Should Think Twice About Deep “Black Friday” Discounts – Article by Bryce Evans
Incredible article on Black Friday, pricing, discounts, and value from longtime client and friend Bryce Evans.
In the article, he discusses the unspoken problem with deep Black Friday discounts:
It keeps your best customers from ever finding you.
This article is written for his usual clients: float center owners, but the principles are for every entrepreneur.
📝 3. New Software I’m Testing – Help This Book
I’ve been doing a lot of writing recently.
And I’m always trying to improve.
One way to improve at writing is to get feedback.
So I’ve been testing this new tool, called “Help This Book.”
I originally learned the tool from the book “Write Useful Books” – a book about writing nonfiction.
The premise of Write Useful Books is simple:
Nonfiction books should be treated more like products than books.
That means testing their ability to provide an outcome BEFORE release, rather than releasing the book and hoping it helps people.
Help This Book is a companion software that helps authors in the process of “beta reading.”
It allows readers to provide notes in-line as they are reading, with prompts like: “Useful,” “Love This,” “Feels Slow,” and “Confusing.”
⬆️ I tested it with this week’s Substack article and I got some great feedback, that made the piece much better.
🎯 4. The Secret To Maintain Focus – First, Care.
Short article from Merlin Mann’s blog, answering this reader question:
Anonymous asked: ‘How do you maintain focus (on work, dreams, goals, life)?’
He responds…
You do one thing at a time.
“You might be amazed how many times–and over how many years–a given person can ask this same simple question, hear that same simple response, and still find themselves casting about for the great and arcane “secret” to achieving real focus.
Although, I must add one important “Step Zero,” borne of my own tedious experience.
Before you sweat the logistics of focus: first, care. Care intensely.
Specifically, if you discover, in frustration, that you’re pathologically incapable of doing one thing at a time, consider the possibility that you’ve been unknowingly trying to “focus” on two, twenty, or twenty thousand disparate things that you don’t really care that much about. Just consider it.
Because, in the absence of caring, you’ll never focus on anything more than your lack of focus.”
🖐 5. More Things I’m Into This Week…
🎧 Album I’m Listening To – Tranquilizer by Oneohtrix Point Never
📺 TV Show I’m Enjoying – Ken Burns’ The American Revolution
👽 Documentary I Watched This Week – The Age Of Disclosure
🎮 Charli XCX’s Substack Is Great – The Realities Of Being A Pop Star
💬 Quote I’m Pondering…
“Like all self-limiting beliefs, the I’m no good at…belief can over time become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The person who is convinced he cannot carry a tune will not try, and the more he doesn’t sing, the less chance he has of developing that ability. Keep telling yourself that you’re no good in social situations, and in time it will become the truth.” – From Code To Joy: The Four-Step Solution To Unlocking Your Natural State Of Happiness
How we can work together
When you’re ready, here are two free ways I can help you:
- 👤 My Substack. My weekly Substack inner entrepreneur discusses the internal side of entrepreneurship – mindset & growth.
- 🎧 My Podcast. Listen to or watch my free podcast The Rich Webster Show. It is an unfiltered look behind the scenes at my life and work.
And one paid engagement:
- 🧪 The Lab. I advise and mentor 6-7 figure Creative Solopreneurs. If you want to work closely with me (i.e. we speak 1-2 times a week), watch this video, then follow the instructions.