#FtheHustle ~ 042 – The Value of Contrast

It’s been an interesting and busy week.

I left Costa Rica Sunday and am in California this week. This trip has served a few purposes and has been very eye-opening (all good).

The first reason was that I needed to do a border run.

Costa Rica recently passed a “Digital Nomad Visa” which will allow people who work remotely (like moi) to stay in the country for a year without having to do a border run (you literally leave the country, get your passport stamped, and can come back in for another 90 days).

I’ll be getting that process going when I get back, but this time, instead of doing a border run for my first 90-day stint I decided to come back to California to see family and unfortunately, attend a memorial service (I’m glad the timing worked because I really wanted to be there).

As I’ve been seeing family, friends, and running errands, I’ve had quite a few epiphanies (which are always fun). The cool thing is how these all relate to my business, which is why I wanted to share them with you.

It all comes down to contrast.

As much as I’d love for everything to work out exactly as I hope it will, that’s usually the exception, not the rule.

Sometimes things work out better than I hoped, but more often than not, there’s a hiccup here and there, a bump in the road, or sometimes, a major detour.

As much as I love Costa Rica, I’ve naturally had moments of wondering if it will be a permanent move, a few years, and even where I’d want to move back if I moved back to the states.

Coming back to California has completely validated my decision to move to Costa Rica.

Not for any negative reasons, but because I really like my life in Costa Rica.

I love the simplicity and ease in my life while still getting to do work I love (and yes, I’m bringing an extra suitcase of stuff I’ve needed back with me. My packing skills are second to none at this point).

Even as I’ve chosen to focus on being present and taking things one day at a time (i.e, not worrying about next year today), experiencing the contrast of being back has helped me appreciate Costa Rica in a completely different way.

So remind yourself that every time you try something in your business – whether it’s a new strategy, offer, product or new service: sometimes you have to try those things or experience them to get the clarity you need to get to where you really want to be.

Contrast is vital for creativity and growth, do whatever you can to enjoy the journey.

​

A Little Brainpower 🧠

I don’t know about you, but I love a little ‘behind-the-scenes’ story that shares the ups and the downs. In this article about Trends.vc, Dru Riley does just that. Read “How I built a paid community to 1000 in 10 months” here.​

Related: How to build an online community around your content​

​

Linkedin is probably the platform I understand and use the least (I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume simply “pushing” my content there doesn’t count), but I try to stay open to the possibilities. Tim Denning shares two Linkedin techniques in his article, “Two Simple Linkedin Techniques to Quickly Drive More Shares of Your Posts and Make Money.”​

Related: How to Create a Linkedin Newsletter (and Why They Matter) 

Tool Time  🛠

Probably the most interesting thing about looking for tools to share is that you start to notice trends. Courses and course platforms continue to grow at an exponential rate as do newsletter tools and resources, to name a couple of markets. Here are this week’s tools!

• Automation: If you’ve ever used Zapier and are a visual person, this might be a better alternative. Checkout KonnectzIT for automating workflows.​
  ​
• Email: not to be outdone by the rest of the AI writing tools, it looks like this one is specific to email writing. Try Warmer.ai for personalized emails.​
  ​
• Video: for all of you who do screen recording, this will make blurring out sensitive data super easy (pre-editing!). Try Blurry for 50% off!​
  ​
• Newsletters: If you’ve been wondering how to monetize your newsletter, head over to the premier newsletter advertising site, Swapstack. 

A little more humor from The Oatmeal 🤣

Next week I’ll be unveiling a slightly new look to the newsletter (thanks to the brilliance of Brennan Dunn & his ConvertKit templates). I’m excited to get the new referral section & rewards up as well as a few other new features.

I’ll also be opening the second cohort of Email Insiders VIP, so keep your eyes peeled for that. This is hands on with me as well as some one-on-one, so space is limited! I do a personal call with everyone interested so if you missed it last time and want in this round you can simply reply to this email now or wait until it’s officially open next week.

Have a great rest of your week! I can’t believe I only have 3 days left in California, but I’m looking forward to more of those Costa Rican sunsets!

Kim