Yo ,

OMG, how is it June 3 already?! 

The other day I sent an email out that it’s almost the half-way through the year, when many of us tend to start losing steam and direction.

It’s when we let our distractions get the best of us, and we find ourselves reacting to daily problems and we're simply putting out fires na lang, instead of keeping our focus on our targets and goals.

It’s like when you’re fired up and determined to do something very specific, but you get distracted, and you totally forget what you intended to do.

Let me illustrate that with a story. 

You’re starting to work on a crucial pitch for a potential client. It’s how you will help them get a LIFT sa sales nila by 3% through email marketing. 

Lift? Hmmm. 

Teka, parang may naalala ka bigla na need mo bilhin para sa kusina kasi you got scalded by hot oil when you were frying an egg. It’s been a couple of weeks at the back of your mind na, but you wanted to buy that metal thingie that lets you conveniently LIFT hot items out of the oven, or hot plates from the steamer... 

Pero you don’t know that they’re called, so you ask GPT.

You figure a little retail therapy won't hurt. Tapos, miraculously and suspiciously at the same time, an ad for Lazada’s upcoming 6.6 Sale pops up sa feed. 

You follow the link and…

Finally makapag-bake and steam ka na more often para healthier! (Or that’s what you say to yourself to rationalize this purchase that you have already lived all your life without, and survived fine naman. lol) 

It’s called a Kitchen Anti Scalding Gripper Tray Lifter pala. Nuks. And then you end up with the Silicone version, because why not. Smooth glass / ceramic can be used lah. 

Several hours later, you've browsed through countless other variations and competing products, filled your cart, and read the 209 na 5-star reviews, AND even felt a sense of fulfillment when you bought it… 

but the pitch remains unfinished.

And I know this kasi that person is me as I was writing this email. Aguy!

Getting distracted from our goals feels like this… but multiplied by the 155 days that’s already come and gone. 

No one is immune. 

This happens to the majority of us, including me. It’s just that some people spend more days getting distracted than others. 

I got sick a couple months ago, and just when I was making a lot of progress at the gym, I stopped going and di pa ako nakaka-balik. Without the guidance and accountability, I slipped back to some of my bad health habits uli, lalo na sa diet. 

(Sorry na Coach Anjo! Will make it up to you!)

But yeah, we just need to own up and be upfront about it. 

We know na just like our bodies - if we stop working out, our progress starts to stagnate. Same din yan sa freelancing business natin, if we stop doing the things that lead to our goal, we won’t get anywhere talaga. 

The simple answer here is this: We have to get back uli. We need to make that effort and take control over our circumstances again. 

So - here are some ways to get back on track. 

Some of these feel like they’re repeated over and over, pero it’s worked for me when I needed to get out of a rut. I hope they work for you too.

STEP 1. Recommit to your "The One Thing" yung TOT mo. 

This was the thing that you wanted to achieve nung start pa ng 2024. This dream of yours. The big hairy audacious goal. Or whatever you want to call it. 

Then, let’s reflect on why you set this goal in the first place. What got you all fired up and motivated? Connect with that and see if andyan pa yung spark.

Yes? Then determine if your goal still makes sense for where you're at now. For example, are you really still interested in becoming an email marketer? Hindi na ba? Could this be a reason why you’re not finishing your pitches?

Things change, seasons and priorities change, and YOU change. And that's okay! You're allowed to. You need to have this conversation with yourself. Mamaya you don’t see yourself doing it na pala. 

So yun na nga. 

You’ve decided na yes, you’re still 100% dead-set on email marketing and you’re also combining it with an income goal that will finally let you quit your corporate job.

Once you do this, break it down into bite-sized chunks of TAE and stick to them. 

Stick to your T.A.E. The Absolute Essentials

Wait what?!?

I mean, sure you’re probably feeling disgusted in your seat right now thinking: 

OMG Shoden is soo cringe. Akala ko pa naman I’m going to learn something useful from this guy. Uggh. 

We all take this for granted, but try not being able to poop. 

A doctor will always ask you if you’re able to poop normally. They ask mothers kung nakaka-poop ba regularly babies nila. They ask anyone who just had a surgery kung nakaka-tae na ba sila. 

Sure it’s gross, and it smells. But no one can deny that TAE is an indicator of health. 

And ikaw, if hindi ka maka-tae ng 5 days , you’re going to feel really really stuck up, and on edge. It’s super uncomfortable. 

This is why we say “Success!” kapag nakaraos na. Haha

So yes, TAE is important to all of us. 

And yes, I know that I’m making this into a core memory for you whenever you are reading emails. You’ll forever know me as the guy telling you to stick to your TAE. hahaha. 

Okay so now that we establish how important this is.. 

We need to quantity THE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS needed to reach our target.

For example, that monthly income goal we talked about earlier. Let’s say you want to earn 200k per month.

Now, here's the bit that almost all freelancers FAIL to do, and why so many of us don't hit our targets.

They simply set a goal and hope it happens. Pero hindi pwede 'yan! You MUST work out the number of LEADS you need to reach the income that you want. 

This bit is CRITICAL, so grab a calculator and do this right now…

If you have a connection rate of 5% (this means 5 out of 100 people that you connect with ends up talking to you), then how many people do you need to get in front of to hit your income target?

Let's do the math, if you want to earn 200k in 60 days, your offer costs 35k and you have a 5% conversion rate, then you need to get in front of 300 people per month to even have a shot at reaching your goal. 

That means 10 connections per day. This is your TAE. Just stick to it. 

Put it on your schedule. Your day is a good day as long as you connect to 10 people per day. Make it 15 if you don’t want to work on the weekend. 

If you're better at inbound than outbound, then you should be creating posts or content that will attract those same number of leads per month. Determine how many of those you need to make per day, and then the week and month will sort itself out.

When you win your day, you win your week. When you win your week, you win your month. And when you win your month, you win the year.

So, , here's your homework:

Let's get accountable...

What is your income goal?

What is your TOP TAE that you plan to get DONE in June, July, and August?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every response and am here to cheer you on!

I hope this little reminder helps you get back on track and kick your goals for the second half of the year!

Crush your week, 

Shoden

🎉 Pst. Don't Keep Me A Secret. I know you liked this email, so Refer this newsletter to your freelancer friends na gedemet! (kung naisahan ka dun sa mga pranks ko in some of my emails and gusto mo ng kadamay, share mo na!)

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😂 Random Corny Joke of the Day

Sinong pinay na beteranang aktres na myembro pala ng isang sikat na rock band?!

E di si..