For the first time ever I missed the Monday because I forgot to schedule the newsletter. Here it is a day late. Lesson learned!

Another Excuse Newsletter

Welcome back to the Another Excuse Newsletter. It isn’t just another excuse, but a reason to start that thing you’ve been putting off.

What to expect this week:
👓Perspective - Yes and…
🔨 Tool - Google Interview Warmup
🍿Consume - The Grind to Success
📖Concept - Mimetic Desire

Latest Podcast Episode

Today’s guest is Jessa Molyneux.

Jessa is the founder of Her Nation. Her Nation is a network state building a representative suite of tools to deal with gender bias in AI. It's a complex and important problem that she's tackling and we discuss all the intricacies of the project.

In the episode, we discuss:

• What Her Nation is
• What a Network State is
• The importance of good governance
• The four pillars of her Nation
• Jessa's journey to get here
• Circumstances necessary to take action
And so much more...

You can check out the episode here.

Perspective

Yes and - a positive language model

Language is such an important tool.

Most of us can speak at least one, but we don’t think a little deeper about the influence and impact certain words have.

I heard about a very interesting trick when responding to anything.

You simply respond with the words “yes and” and continue your sentence.

By doing this you direct the conversation in a positive direction without anyone really noticing.

It also tricks you into being more positive with your response, by simply using these two words.

Here’s an example:

You’re dealing with a prospect and they tell you your services are too expensive. If you respond with “yes, but” you instantly belittle yourself and seem like you’re clamouring to justify the price you charge.

If you respond with “yes and”, you start giving reasons to justify your pricing in a positive way. It seems like you’ve given it some thought and you stand by it.

The “yes” part is also agreeing with the person. It shows that you’re on the same side.

This trick can also be used in networking situations. By forcing yourself to respond like this, you’re continuing and adding value to the conversation.

Next time you’re chatting to some people, give it a go.

Let me know how it goes!

Tool

Google Interview Warmup

Since the beginning of the AI hype, a tool like this was inevitable.

Google has finally gone and done it.

It’s exactly what it says on the tin. It’s an AI interview prep assistant.

Trained on hours of interview prep techniques and questions, the AI can give you feedback on how you answer the questions it gives you.

You can select your industry and what role you will be applying for.

Once you get feedback on how your interview went, you can go again and try to improve.

Most things are about practice and if you’re able to put in more interview reps without having to do badly in a real interview, I’m sure it will increase your chances of getting the job.

Many more tools like this will and are springing up.

Ones where it’s all about reps and feedback in order to improve. I’ve seen a few in sales, for example.

So if you’re looking for a new job, I’d recommend getting some practice. So by the time that interview rolls around, you nail it!

Consume (Read / Watch / Listen)

The Grind to Success

I’ve spoken about buying businesses with no money down before, but I think it’s such an important thing to know.

Many people aren’t even aware of it.

It’s something I intend to do relatively soon and listening to episodes like this helps me understand how the whole process works.

Yes, this is another My First Million episode, but the guys just don’t stop delivering amazing value.

The episode is about Sarah Moore and how she bought a multi-million dollar business with $0 and no experience.

They speak about how she did it, how much research she had to do and how she chose the egg carton business that she ended up buying.

There are some great insights in the episode like, what to look for when doing research, and how to negotiate a deal with no money down.

Hearing about how it’s done, what it takes and what to look for is really inspiring and helpful in getting a deal like this done if you plan to.

So if you’re curious, check out the episode above.

Concept

Mimetic Desire

No one wants to be rejected.

Mimetic desire is a concept that describes a shared desire within a group.

These desires are often related to cultural trends and themes and we’re more easily influenced by them.

The obvious mimetic desires we have are ones in fashion, music, success, or even self-expression.

We’ve been observing and mimicking others for thousands of years.

But if we aren’t conscious of it, we can fall into the trap of believing that other people’s beliefs or aspirations are ours.

Learning through imitation is one of the best ways to learn. But that’s what it’s good for, learning.

Not becoming our entire belief system and our aspirations.

I’m writing this more as a reminder to me than anyone else.

We’re so easily influenced by others. I mean, that’s what marketing prays on.

So, I want to take a step back and ask myself, do I like the things I like because I genuinely like them, or because I know everyone else likes them too?

Are the goals I’m working towards unique and what I genuinely want to achieve for my own growth? Or are they motivated by impressing others or simply because others are striving to achieve the same ones?

The answers aren’t simple, and they may take some time to peel back the layers.

But I think it’s worth thinking about.

You’ll be much happier if you’re doing things for you.

Thanks for Reading

Now start something!

P.S. Feedback is welcome and needed! If you’d prefer to send me an email and not respond, you can do so here: [email protected]

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