Everything came together during a month I’d set aside to launch and grow my new private label health supplement brand. The plan: make the grind work more bearable by spending the month working on the beaches of Thailand.
Here’s the full story of what happened on that trip. But in case you’re short on time, I’ll save you the long story: I realized I was building this site.
I didn’t quite now how yet nor did I have a clear timeline, but I decided I was going to make it my mission.
A Step Backwards
This site was originally imagined as a personal blog.
During my three months in Thailand in 2016, it was as if a supersonic reset switch had been triggered in my brain. The path forward was suddenly a lot more clear. The vague ties to my previous projects and travels suddenly became a lot more apparent. There was my first Blogspot blog¹, my first WordPress website, my old deleted Instagram account, my YouTube channel—even my journal I’ve kept since the early 2000s. Dots were connected.
This project has since evolved to become a community intended to:
- Share what’s working and what’s not
- Create a network of free-thinking individuals to inspire, partner with and learn from each other
- Share resources and influences, books, etc
- Help those who haven’t thought of certain options become more aware of what’s possible
- Ensure everyone has access to this information
- Teach how traveling and doing business are some of the best tools available for self development
- Help you build an income online or earn what you deserve to be making
- Figure out what the hell you should be doing next
- Allow you to skip lots of misinformation, trial and error
- Help you carve out your own niche
- Show examples of others doing extraordinary things
- Be a creative outlet, public accountability measure and a promise of continued learning (this one’s for me!)
¹² For the sake of transparency, it was called Blake in Busan: Peripheral Musings in the Pandemic Reverie (and I secretly hope it still doesn't exist on the internet).
Updates With Flâneur Life
The whole idea isn’t to idealize travel or say that certain lifestyle choices are superior, it’s merely meant to discuss options and uncover new paths. I’ve connected with so many people who dream to travel more and I feel really strongly that no matter your career goal or passion, there’s always a way to make a living from it (even if it takes time).
So, yeah. The overall vision of the site is obviously still being brought to life; it’s a slow, continual work in progress and I’ve accepted it’ll take longer than I thought.²
But there was never a clear goal for this site, and that’s the thing. Even the early iterations and vague ties were creations that I just felt compelled to build. I told myself I’d figure it out as I went along. Funnily enough, that’s just what the flâneurs of Paris would have instructed.
And that’s what I’m going to continue to do.
Truth be told, I have no intention of rushing to monetize this site. Some of my other projects have proven themselves more quickly and have taken more of a priority. I want to build this site the right way. The right way takes time.
I do sometimes wonder if launching this project was a bit premature. I’m in the middle of transitioning another business and working on scaling up a new project. Plus there are always several side projects on the go at all times. I can’t help it, it’s habit. When things break on this site or require my urgent attention, it’s hard to transition my focus quickly.³
So all that to say, Flâneur Life is still one of my main priorities and I’ll continue to build it up on the side.
In the meantime, I’ve found it really convenient to post small updates and tidbits on my Instagram accounts here and here.
² As I'm realizing things always do.
³ For example, this quiz thingy's broken. The pictures don't load, and I don't have time to fix this!
The Focus Going Forward
Going forward, I’ll spend my time:
- Continually working to figure out out what the hell I’m building here. The means time spent in the business plus time spent ideating, exploring and having conversations. I’ll document more of what I’m doing and through that process, things will continually get hashed out.
- Reminding myself that something is better than nothing.
- Getting more guest posts and case studies up. If you’re interested, please message me here.
- Getting help when I need it. I meant to hire people to help me grow this thing but so far it’s been mostly me and a few freelancers.
For now, I’ll use this platform for personal updates, guest posts and writing when I feel I really have something to say.
And if you haven’t stopped by for a while, here are some of the v1.0 posts I managed to get out this year. So far it’s been a lot of getting a lot of my early ideas down through remembering conversations I’ve had and questions I’ve been asked.
Posts related to psychology:
- Down the Rabbit Hole: 16 Movies That Make You Question Reality
- The Infinite Versions of You (and Everyone Around You)
- Inception Tricks for Beating Procrastination With Your Subconscious Mind
- Time Machine Advice to My Younger Self
Posts related to the location independent lifestyle:
- What is a Digital Nomad? A Guide to the Alternative Lifestyle
- How to Quit Your Job and Travel: Well-Beaten Escape Paths
- Freelancing vs Entrepreneurship: Where Should You Start?
Posts related to financial freedom and making money online:
- F*ck You Money: Calculating the Cost of Freedom
- How I Made My First Dollar Online
- 54 Inspirational Quotes About Financial Freedom (and How to Achieve it)
- 7 Scalable Online Business Models That Can Set You Free
- A Big Fat List of Questions for Coming Up With Business Ideas
Posts related to flânerie and the flâneur lifestyle:
- What is a Flâneur? An Incomplete Guide to the Meaning and Philosophy
- Flânerie Definition: What Does the Word Actually Mean?
Posts that don’t fit any of the above categories: ????♂️
- Nonconformity Quotes: Clues & Reminders to Follow Your Own Path
- How to Boost Instagram Engagement in 20 Minutes a Day [Detailed]
- 17 Eye-Opening Travel Words From Foreign Languages (For the Journey)
- Show Your Work by Austin Kleon » Summary, Quotes, Questions & Actions
I’ve been thinking I’d like to commit to a bare minimum this year. So far things have been too sporadic. Here goes:
I’ll post something here on this blog at
least twice per month
(even if if it’s short and sweet).
I just need to publish something—anything—once every two weeks or so.⁴
Practice makes habit.
Oh, and before I forget—thinking about all of this made me want to be better, sharper and more dialed in this year. And I’m ready to commit to it.
⁴ Thanks for the inspiration on this, Tim Ferriss.
My Overall Commitments for 2020
Here’s what I’m committing to overall this year:
- Focusing more on managing energy and less on managing time. You can’t do much with your time if you don’t have energy. For me, this means being sharper, doing more deep quality work, and mixing creativity with real execution and business decisions. More focus on health, less on time management. More listening to my body. More waking up naturally without an alarm clock. Power naps when I feel a lull. Exercise for energy management. Eating when and what my body actually needs.
- Thinking like a boss. When I’m at my best, I’m sharp and focused. I make quicker decisions. I’m relentless. I commit to thinking more about the business side of my projects and less about the creative (admittedly my fault at times). I’ll put more careful attention to considering priorities. I’ll defend my time more and outsource when I need to. Less distractions, less notifications, less small talk. More real, deep connections. Using my limited time wisely.
- Being minimal. The goal is to keep things simple and reset. To hold myself to a higher standard for rewards. That means choosing the cheap bottle of wine and being grateful for it. Eating the apple instead of the marshmallow.
- Getting uncomfortable. Screw the comfort zone. Exploration, experimentation and cold showers, baby.
- Working with more people one-on-one. Finally, I’m committing to working with more people directly in 2020. With Flâneur Life, that means building up more case studies and success stories.
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So that’s my humble commitment. Underpromise and overdeliver, right? I’ll hold myself to a higher standard to get there.
Have anything you’re committing to this year?
Let’s brew this thing,
Blake
