Pamela Slim: Body of Work (2013) 📙

Meine Notizen

Was ist ein “body of work”?
“Your body of work is everything you create, contribute, affect, and impact. For individuals, it is the personal legacy you leave at the end of your life, including all the tangible and intangible things you have created. Individuals who structure their careers around autonomy, mastery, and purpose will have a powerful body of work.” (S. 7)

The long game
“Viewing your life as a body of work is not a short-term game. You want to focus on meaning, skill development, professional network development, craft and mastery. There is no one right answer for everyone.” (S. 10)

The loathing scale. Ein super Konzept, um zu erkennen, wann man aus einem Job raus muss.

• „This is a quick indicator of how critical it is to make short-term plans to leave a job, versus staying on a more long-term path.” (S. 59)
• “Imagine a ruler from one to ten. One is the low end, and ten is the high end.” Und jetzt schätze dich selber ein: Wie sehr hasst du deinen Job?

Die drei Phasen der „loathing scale“ (S. 60f)

Phase 1: The chill range (1-4)

„In the chill range, you may not be in the best possible job for your skills, but there are a lot of things you like about it. You can comfortably see staying in your job for one or two years as you slowly work on your side business. The danger of the chill range is that you may be lulled into staying somewhere comfortable for many years if you aren’t given enough incentive to change your situation.”

Phase 2: The angst range (5-8)

“There are a lot of things that bother you in the angst range. You may not like your job. Or the company culture. Perhaps you have a really bad boss. Or you are killing yourself working extra hours and it is eating into family or social time. Physically, you notice your energy goes up and down. You have some high-end good days when you get stuff done, but overall you feel from slightly annoyed to highly stressed when you head to the office. In this range, you want to take your side business plans seriously, since small changes in your job can push you from the angst to the run-screaming stage.”

Phase 3: The run-screaming range (9-10)

“People in the run-screaming range feel physically sick walking into their office building. Symptoms include low energy, depression, high blood pressure, frequent respiratory illnesses, or other stress related symptoms. It is very difficult to work on a side business in this range, since you are either so exhausted or so angry that your best creative work doesn’t flow.”

“Hating your job intensely is not a business plan or a life plan. The body doesn’t lie. Pay attention to the loathing scale.”

The 20X Rule

“In business, as well as in other areas of life, you have to sow twenty times more seeds than you think is realistic or necessary to make things happen. You will set yourself up for heartbreak and mediocrity if you don’t radically adjust your expectations for the amount of old outreach and connections it takes to do creative work. What do you think would happen over the course of one year if

• Instead of reaching out to one new journalist a month, you reached out to twenty?
• Instead of reaching two prospective clients a month, you reached fourty?
• Instead of testing three new products a year, you tested sixty?

Chances are you would see some radically different results.” (S. 98)

Resistance is fierce
“Resistance is fierce, and there are days when it kicks my ass.” (S. 120)

Hallelujah anyway
Anne Lamott: “At my church, we sing a gospel song called “Hallelujah Anyway.” Everything’s a mess, and you’re going down the tubes financially, and gaining weight? Well, Hallelujah anyway.” (S. 123)

What is success?
“Personally, I define success as enjoying my life while I am living it. Which means living in accordance with my values, doing work that matters, being available to my loved ones, and staying focused and mindful in the present, instead of wishing for success in the future.” (S. 162)

My People

„For this business, my people were corporate employees who wanted to quit the job and start a business. I brainstormed a bunch of different needs, then grouped them in four major categories:

• Pillar 1 – Knowledge: How do you work through each stage of creating a business? What are the most efficient/effective ways to get things done? Whom can I trust?
• Pillar 2 – Encouragement: Giving up a job is mighty scary. Many people are racked with self doubt. So ongoing doses of “you are not crazy”, “you go girl/guy”, and “you are almost at the finish line” are very important.
• Pillar 3 – Community: It is very isolating to make a big change by yourself. The more positive, supportive people surround you, the quicker you will make progress and launch your business.
• Pillar 4 – Promotion: Once your business is up and running, you need exposure so your business is successful and you make enough money to quit your day job.

Once clear on what your audience needs, you can build a product service map that follows them along a clear and defined path.” (S. 194f)

In ihrem Fall schaut dieser “clear and defined path“ für ihre „people“ so aus:

• They want assurance they are not crazy for leaving a good corporate job.
• They have to figure out which business to start.
• They have to figure out if there is viability in that market.
• They have to produce and test a product or service.
• They have to tell their loved ones they want to make a major career shift.
• They have to build relationships with their market, and the larger tribe of supporters, peers, and mentors.
• They have to figure out their personal financial plan.
• They have to create an implementation plan and then make it happen.
• They have to give notice at the job and leave relationships intact if things don’t turn out as planned.
• They have to implement their sales and marketing plan, track their results, and make adjustments.

Create content that helps solve their problems

“Through a period of eight years, I shared hundreds of blog posts, videos, audios, e-books, events, webinars, classes, speeches, workshops, and a book to address the particular needs of my market.” (S. 196)

“Remember that much of your audience will solve their problem using your free material. But there will always be people who are willing to pay for more specific and individual support.” (S. 198)