The Baer Necessities

Insights and Learnings on Startups, Crypto, Creativity and much more from yours truly every Sunday

Howdy friends,

And Happy New Year to the 115 subscribers reading this email!

For those of you new here, I'm Jonah Baer. I'm a second-year Venture For America fellow, content marketer at Gilded, writer, avid mountain biker, and constant editor of my bio.

I decided to kick this email off with some stream-of-consciousness thoughts on New Years Resolutions and how I'm setting goals this year. Let me know if you want me to do more intros like this in the future as I typically hold back from longer intros like this!

I hate New Year's Resolutions.

For starters, the craze around New Year's Eve is overhyped and blown out of proportion. Don't get me wrong -- I love partying on NYE as much as the next person. But we put this pressure on ourselves to make it the ~ best night of our lives ~ which sets unrealistic expectations that almost always fall short.

To make matters worse, we wake up hungover on January 1 only to remember that we need to strive towards New Years resolutions. We feel this pressure to start fresh, set goals, and be a better version of ourselves (all positive things at surface level). Yet they have an underlying pattern of negativity: that you're not enough.

We all know that New Year's Resolutions only last 4-6 weeks before we abandon them. If you really want to achieve something big or start a new habit or quit a bad habit, why can't you do this any day of the year or any hour of the day? Just get started now.

Here is how I'm thinking about my 2021 plans:

1. Create Plans for 12-Week Years: I'm obsessed with this idea of 12-week years. Year-long commitments sound intimidating... 3-month commitments are short enough to be reasonable and long enough to achieve big results. I'm focusing on goals AND the systems (more on this below) that I can implement in 3 months or less. If something is worth doing for 1 year, it's worth working on in 3-month increments. I'm also setting a few overarching goals for the year (including what I need to do and what I need to stop doing) that will drive the 12-month year goals.
2. Focus on Systems, not Goals: I wrote about this in my first blog but it's an idea that's fundamentally altered how I view habits and goals. You don't rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems. If you have a goal to write 1 blog per month this year, but NO system to achieve that goal, then you're never going to publish anything. If you have a goal to lose 10 pounds, but no system to change your exercise and diet, then you will never lose that weight. Read Atomic Habits by James Clear if you want to learn about this idea of systems vs. goals and how to create effective habits.
3. Recognizing that goals and systems are flexible: It's your goal after all! If you find that the goal / system is not working for you, it's on you to change it. No one is forcing you to stick to that workout routine you hate. Find a workout routine you love instead and you will be able to sustain the habit much longer. As James Clear says, make your habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. If you want to quit a habit, do the opposite: make it invisible, unappealing, difficult, and unsatisfying.

Of course, this is after you do an past-year review. In this review, you would reflect on your previous year and create a list of the positives and negatives from your year.

TLDR: Don't make New Year's Resolutions. Create flexible systems instead in 12-week increments and get to work.

Alright y'all, let's dive into the big project I'm working on this month...

What I'm Working On:

Ship 30 for 30 Round 2:

• Wait, you're writing again for 30 straight days? Yes, I'm doing it again! I didn't think I would, but I couldn't resist publishing my writing everyday. One of my big goals this year is to write everyday and find my niche. I couldn't imagine a better way than to ship mini essays everyday.

• What is Ship 30 for 30? It's a challenge on Twitter where you write mini essays (250 words or less) and post the essay everyday. It's a great way to ship your writing if you're just starting on your writing journey.

• What are you writing about? Crypto, DeFi, and lessons learned from startups. I want to double down on these writing topics and expand them for larger projects down the road!

• When are you starting? The first essay drops tomorrow, Monday, January 4th!

• Where can I follow along? Twitter is the best place to see every essay. I might cross-post some to my blog, LinkedIn, and Facebook. But Twitter is where I'm sharing most of my writing these days.

• What if I want to start writing everyday too? You should! It's too late to sign up for Ship 30 for 30 this month but you can do this yourself by simply writing and publishing one mini essay / blog everyday. One of my goals this year is to empower more people to create online, so I'd love to talk to you if you're interested in writing too!

The Necessities

Listening - Favorite Podcasts in 2020 🎧

In the spirit of the New Year, I wanted to give you a list of my favorite podcast episodes from the The Tim Ferriss Show (as most of you know, my favorite podcast and most references in this newsletter). I know, I know, I really need to diversify my podcast listening habits. But Tim Ferriss just so dang good at what he does with longform interviews and brings on so many all-star guests. Every one of these episodes made me rethink so much of my life this year:

• Hugh Jackman on Best Decisions, Daily Routines, The 85% Rule, Favorite Exercises, Mind Training, and Much More

• Guy Raz — Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs, The Story of ‘How I Built This,’ Overcoming Anxiety and Depression, and More

• Naval Ravikant on Happiness, Reducing Anxiety, Crypto Stablecoins, and Crypto Strategy

• Jerry Seinfeld — A Comedy Legend’s Systems, Routines, and Methods for Success

• Seth Godin on The Game of Life, The Value of Hacks, and Overcoming Anxiety

• Matthew McConaughey — The Power of “No, Thank You,” Key Life Lessons, 30+ Years of Diary Notes, and The Art of Catching Greenlights 

And here is one more to grow on from The Joe Rogan Experience (recorded in 2018 but taught me so much important information about sleep):

• Matthew Walker on the Joe Rogan Experience

Re-Reading 📚

Atomic Habits by James Clear: Listened to this book on audiotape earlier this year but needed to pick up a physical copy to read and help me set clear habits this year (and get rid of bad habits).

Tweets 🐦

I spend way too much time on Twitter if you haven't noticed. That's why I give a rundown of my favorite tweets or threads from the previous week. Feel free to pick and choose what looks interesting to you!

• Miami isn't the next tech hub (@sweatystartup)

• How to Crush it on Twitter (@MarkShpuntov)

• Twitter tip using Advanced Search (@dickiebush)

• What single quote best describes your 2021 energy? (@SahilBloom)

• A framework for good writing (@Julian)

• Zapier's Insane SEO Strategy (@harveyhodd)

• Don't underestimate the value of a small following (@alexanderphan_)

Quote I'm Pondering 🤔

From Seth Godin in Tools of Titans:

"My suggestion is, whenever possible, ask yourself: What's the smallest possible footprint I can get away with? What is the smallest possible project that is worth my time? What is the smallest group of people who I could make a difference for, or to? Because smallest is achievable. Smallest feels risky. Because if you pick the smallest and you fail, now you've really screwed up."

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That's all I have for you today! I hope you enjoyed the Baer Necessities.

If you didn't, I'd love to hear why in the replies! And if you did enjoy it, do you mind forwarding to a friend or sending the link for them to sign up too?

If there is anything I can do to help with a problem you're facing or if there were any ideas that resonated with you in this email, don't hesitate to reach out! I promise I'll respond.

Cheers to the New Year and focusing on systems (not goals),

Jonah Baer

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