Make friends over the internet with people who are great at things you’re interested in. The internet is one of the biggest advantages you have over prior generations. Leverage it.~ Patrick Collison Follow People Who Inspire You. In September 2022 after several Facebook restrictions, I decided to quit the platform since I’m not one to be gagged. I need my freedom to write and say whatever I want. Moreover, Facebook banter consumed a lot of my online time and I figured it should be channelled to more productive areas. By then I had built quite a sizeable audience there with a community of many real-life friends that I enjoyed chatting with, but every beginning must have an end because change is constant. I had to challenge myself on what has become an addiction and I also needed to build elsewhere (on Twitter) for reasons I stated earlier here. I did quit. But that was till Messi lifted the World Cup in December. Having jumped back in, I had to stay on for the 2023 presidential election campaigns. But in January I decided to leave once the campaign was over. At least till I establish a stable source of income in Euros so that when and if I return, I’ll be in better control of my activities there. There’s definitely no way I’ll spend income-earning time on social media. Long story short I quit again. My last post was on 31st March 2023. And while I still engaged on Twitter, the lengthy political back and forth was largely absent because I had little personal relationship with most of my followers on the app. It was there I came across @Dankoe and others who have helped shape my writing and productivity. To be clear, there is absolutely no rocket science in what these guys tweet. But what attracted me to Koe particularly was his unique style of point-blank, almost narcissistic manner of lacing valuable philosophical and productive words together. He’s a man on a mission and really worth following. I set my Twitter notification for ALL his tweets, started reading his newsletters and gulped down every episode of his podcast. Now if I close my eyes and you read out his tweet I will tell you it’s Dan Koe. The one thing you can do is to follow those that inspire you. It’s not necessarily about what products or services they have to offer. Actually, some of them have no service or product to sell to you. Their products/services are those inspirational words/actions they offer for free. For instance, I haven’t paid for any of Dan Koe’s courses. Why? Because I know what to do but haven’t been consistent in doing it till NOW. It will be different for a beginner though. I mean I have over 2 decades of experience in business. Many of his concepts are not new to me. But I hear him now and the next thing I’m off to the gym to condition my body and empty my mind. Or I read his tweet and one line hits. I’ll go back to a story draft that resonates with the line to develop it further just like I’m doing right now. Don’t follow people because the digital platform allows them to give themselves the title “influencer”. A lot of them are influencing rubbish! Follow those who truly inspire you with the value they dish out regularly. It doesn’t matter whether or not they follow you back. If your messages start resonating with them, they will reciprocate. The journey toward improved productivity begins with writing, which is why our writing community was birthed in 2020. So in appreciation of the camaraderie and support, we have received so far I want to put these 3 points on marble to serve as your Holy Grail. Get your own domain. I have repeatedly said this and it gets easier each day. There are loads of alternatives to Medium like Substack, LinkedIn, Quora, etc. Curate your work and start building your platform. Write! Just do it! Don’t wait till there is a reward or competition. Reward yourself and inspire others by writing regularly. Stop worrying about the audience because you can’t have one without consistency. But if you write regularly, the audience will surely come. Share and engage. Sharing is caring they say and the icing is engagement. Learn and grow by supporting each other. Share ideas, resources, and publications. Engage each other and take advantage of this community. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It is necessary to repeat this here; “Make friends over the internet with people who are great at things you’re interested in. The internet is one of the biggest advantages you have over prior generations. Leverage it.” You should see your online community as a team. The main characteristic of a team is that they are driven by a common interest/goal thus everyone has each other’s back. If there is a need for a volunteer, all hands should be raised. If we have no competition we should have 3..4..5 publications weekly from writers. If no one is leading 3..4..5 others should lead. Don’t believe the other person should do it when you can and should do it. It’s always easier when we support each other and activities in a community of practice are periodic so why shouldn’t you volunteer? Take a conscious decision to set and work towards targets. The worst gatekeeper is your monkey mind You can spend an hour worrying about a task that will take a minute to complete. Make an effort instead. Reduce overthinking and start acting! I’ll leave you with two seminal quotes. Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day-if you live long enough-like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve. ~ Charlie Munger If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together. ~ Ratan Tata If you enjoyed this, please share it