Be Like Bezos
As soon as I heard the news about Jeff Bezos leaving his CEO role from Amazon, I had the urge to read through article after article about his past.
One thing that really struck me was the image above, which I tweeted out last week.
“The only thing Amazon sold in 1995 was books. They sold ONLY books for three years. They became great at it. Then they started selling other things.
Just think about that for a second. Three years. They focused on being amazing at one thing…selling books online. During that time, Amazon tweaked its service until it knew its customers’ wants and needs inside and out. When it was close to perfecting the model, Amazon moved on.
And even then, Amazon only moved to CDs and DVDs. It worked on perfecting that for a while…and then completely transformed Amazon, the book and CD/DVD seller into the everything marketplace.
I talked with an entrepreneur recently who just launched his Content Inc. program. He identified the audience, but didn’t choose one platform. He simultaneously launched a podcast, blog, email newsletter, a YouTube channel…as well as Facebook and Twitter accounts. Oh, and he’s dabbling in Instagram. Oh, and just started testing out Clubhouse.
He was proud of the launch and wanted to get my feedback.
First, I congratulated him. Taking the leap is a big deal and is absolutely something to be celebrated.
Then I asked him if he wanted my honest opinion. You know, some people don’t. They just want encouragement…which I’m more than happy to give.
He told me he did indeed want my honest opinion.
I said that the odds were stacked against him. He asked me to go on, and I said that, when a content entrepreneur begins, they must focus on being great at one thing. It can be anything really. It can be a YouTube channel or a podcast or a blog or an enewsletter or an Instagram feed. I’m partial to the enewsletter because of the direct relationship with an audience and the fact that you are not renting land, but that’s okay. Any platform will do.
I asked him this:
Do you believe that you can be the best in the world at the seven different platforms you’ve chosen, simultaneously, to that particular audience?
He laughed. “Of course not,” he said.
To that I said, “Well, pick one where you can be, and consistently deliver on that promise for a year. Then come back and talk to me.”
This is a tough lesson. We all go through it. I remind myself of it almost every day. To slow down. Focus. Be a critical piece of your audience’s lives.
Jeff Bezos is the 2nd richest person in the world next to Elon Musk. He is wildly successful. He got there by focusing on being great in just one thing and did that one thing for three years. Then, after winning there, only then did he move on and diversify.
Maybe you should stop doing the many things you do so you can be utterly indispensable in one.
Greenlights
I reluctantly started reading Greenlights, the autobiography from Matthew McConaughey. For some reason, I just didn’t think it would be worth it. But my wife brought it home from the library and I gave it a shot.
Wow. This book blew me away. I now have to add McConaughey to my “man crush” list with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The interesting thing is that I think I learned as much about myself as I did about McConaughey. It’s part motivational, part poetry, part spiritual journey. His life experience is almost unbelievable.
After finishing it, here’s what I wrote down –
– Work on my relationship with God.
– Better understand others. I don’t have to be right all the time.
– Stay close to my family, especially my Mom and Dad.
– Take more risks.
– Chase my best self.
Uncommon Path
My friend John Lee Dumas (who’s a case study in my upcoming book), just released an amazing book called Uncommon Path. I highly recommend for anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Here’s the link to preorder (this is NOT an affiliate link).
Bitcoin Update
On December 3rd I asked you to take a look at Bitcoin as a long-term store of value. At that point, the price of Bitcoin was at $19,000. Today, it’s around $45,000.
This week Elon Musk and Tesla announced a purchase of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin as part of their monetary reserves. This is the first Fortune 500 company to announce such a move. I’m assuming more of these announcements will come. Some think Apple will be next.
Please don’t take financial advice from me, but with the United States printing money at an obscene rate (if the new stimulus goes through, the US will have added 40% NEW money into the system over the past 12 months), the value of the dollar is like a melting ice cube. MANY other countries around the world are doing the same.
Asset inflation is absolutely here (just look at the stock market and housing prices).
Here’s a four-minute CNBC video that might help if you’d like to know more. Again, not advice at all. I’m not a financial professional. But taking 2% of your asset holdings, putting them in Bitcoin, and then forgetting about them for 10 years wouldn’t be a bad move.
The following was an excerpt from Joe’s newsletter. Only subscribers receive the full version.