Subtle signs that your business is shipwrecked

How to get unstuck, find peace of mind, and win in the long-term.

An observation:

No matter how much content you consume, it never makes you feel content.

It never gives you confidence in your approach. It never makes you sleep easy at night knowing that you’re doing exactly what you need to do to grow your business.

More often, it’s the opposite.

A deep sense of insecurity that your business isn’t really growing. Sure, you’re getting a client here or there, you’re getting new subscribers trickling in. But each sale is just as hard as the last and you’re not building any momentum.

If anything, you feel like you’re running out of steam as you work frantically to hold everything together.

I wrote Entrepreneurship Ruined My Life to shine a light on this dreadful shadow of inadequacy that follows entrepreneurs like us. ERML was the first step. But the adventure continues...

That’s why I’m going to continue writing letters about business, life, happiness and the unique struggle that solo entrepreneurs face every day as we try to grow our businesses and improve our lives.

This newsletter is called Discipline and Desire.

The origin of this name is a story from Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero was traveling the seas, trying to find his way home, when he was faced with a predicament.

As the saying goes, he had to pass between a rock and a hard place.

And living on these rocks was a group of terrifying creatures called sirens. They sang the most beautiful songs, mesmerizing sailors into a trance. Any sailor who heard these songs would steer his ship towards the music, dooming him and his crew to shipwreck on the rocks.

So Odysseus, knowing his own limitations, ordered his crew to strap him to the mast and not untie him until they had safely navigated past the sirens.

The solopreneur’s journey is much the same. You are a hero like Odysseus, leading your people home.

On all sides you’re tempted with desires, quick fixes, and shiny objects.

Your ability to succeed is based on how well you can stick to the narrow path, avoiding these temptations and remaining consistent in the disciplines that will grow your business.

Your journey is one of discipline.

And while I can’t come over there and tie you to the mast...

My goal with this newsletter is to guide you safely around the rocks.

Any rational human will know that willpower alone isn’t enough to resist the call of your sirens. You have to steer far enough around them that the temptation never arises.

And so it is with my newsletter, Discipline and Desire.

Each letter contains a strategy, frame of mind, or tool you can use to simplify your life, regain your self-confidence, grow your authority in your niche, or directly make sales in your business.

And to jumpstart your path to success with Discipline and Desire, I want to give you free access to a course I recently created called “Win Today.”

This course gives you all the tools you need to organize your life, be productive, and win the day without falling prey to those pesky desires.

The concept is simple: If you can get a win today, tomorrow, and the next day, these small wins will add up to BIG wins over time.

This is how you win in the long-term.

However, this is also where a lot of entrepreneurs struggle.

Maybe it’s your constant nagging anxiety that you didn’t do enough today. You look at the growth of your peers and can’t help but feel a little jealous. You harbor all this anxiety and stress inside because it doesn’t feel like you’re making any progress.

To quote Gary Keller, “success happens so slowly that it feels like you’re failing.” And this wreaks havoc on the entrepreneurs who don’t understand this.

That’s where “Win Today” comes in.

By following this framework, you can rest well tonight, knowing that you did everything necessary to grow your business today -- according to some of the most successful entrepreneurs to ever live.

You will know that you didn’t squander this one and only opportunity that you’ll ever get to win today.

And that sense of peace is an amazing feeling.

Here’s a few of the things you’ll learn in the course:

Access to all of the routines, habits, templates, and trackers that I use to stay focused on what works and prevent me from getting distracted by shiny objects or algorithm updates. (Lesson 1)
How to find an extra hour (or more) every day that you don’t realize you’re wasting. Imagine what you could do with all that extra time. (Lesson 8)
A Dan Kennedy concept for finding money in your business that was already there but that you just missed. (Lesson 3)
The best morning routine (backed by neuroscience) that breaks through your writer’s block, helps you write well, and facilitates connections between ideas that you didn’t know you had. This is how I come up with ideas out of thin air. (Lesson 3)
A weird "feature" in the way we sleep that (when used properly) can help to leave your writing sessions with more ideas than you started with. (Lesson 3)
Gary Keller’s secret to building a billion dollar real estate empire and how you can apply this principle to your business to increase output, reduce overwhelm, and still have more free time than you do right now. (Lesson 1)
It hurts so good! You’ll hate that you love doing this exercise that provides you with laser-focused energy for hours. (Lesson 3)
How to get all the effects of the “Limitless drug” and be able to think and learn like Bradley Cooper… without the nasty side effects. This movie is based on a real drug that you can buy, but I will show you safe and effective ways to get similar results without any pharmaceuticals. (Lesson 2)
The funny thing about happiness is that the more you think about being happy, the less happy you are. (Lesson 4)
The tech that I use to manage my performance so that I sleep well, recover well, and I’m always prepare to give my best every day. (Lesson 2)
Why entrepreneurs stop doing what’s working to chase things that will make them fail. (Lesson 1)
I know this sounds counterintuitive. Why would you stop doing what's working?

But it’s true...

It goes back to what I was saying about Gary Keller earlier. And it’s the reason why so many entrepreneurs never grow.

You work hard, you do all the right things, you stay consistent, but you never get over that hump.

You never feel confident in your growth...

Your never reach the level that you desire.

Meanwhile others in your market seem to skyrocket past you, filling you with a weird combination of envy and depression.

You’ve put in the work, why does success keep eluding you?

Their content doesn’t seem to be any better than yours, why does it get so much more attention?

As it turns out, this difference isn’t something you can really see in other people’s content.

But it is something that both Steve Jobs and Walt Disney were experts at, and it was a huge part of their success.

Luckily, it’s a skill that can be learned. And I’ll teach it to you in Lesson 9.

But that’s not all you’ll learn…
The “One Ring to Rule Them All” in business. How to find them, bring them, and bind them to your cause, just like Sauron — except hopefully toward a good cause. (Lesson 4)
The best pumpkin spice latte recipe that tastes great, fuels your brain, and gets you ready to go for the day. And why I won’t drink anything else. (Lesson 3)
Why you need to create content first thing in the morning if you want to “find ideas” that you didn’t know you have. These ideas will be lost forever if you don’t start your day this way. (Lesson 3)
The “nuclear” option I've only used 5 times this year when I absolutely had to get a lot done. And how you can use this to have the most productive day of your career. (Lesson 6)
The tool I use to track all my tasks in just a few clicks per day… without getting overwhelmed or spending 3 hours per day managing my database. (Lesson 5)
The productivity model used by investment bankers at Goldman Sachs and Barclays who work 100+ hours per week and can’t afford any waste if they want to keep their jobs. (Lesson 7)
The one thing that destroys your productivity that most people do first thing in the morning… and a simple hack to completely avoid this problem. (Lesson 3)
And a whole lot more...

This training is delivered via the Andrew Ryder mobile app and is available immediately upon your subscription to Discipline and Desire today.

The mobile app is available on iOS, Android, and desktop. If you don't have app, no problem. You will be prompted to set up your free account immediately after you complete your purchase.

‍Discipline and Desire is published every 2 weeks and costs $20 per month ($10 per letter).

If you can’t take this information and use it to obtain some semblance of (1) clarity, (2) peace of mind, (3) audience growth, or (4) direct sales in value greater than $100 or even $1,000 then you’re not reading the issue properly.

‍There is no pre-published schedule. Topics will range from life and business at a high-level to nitty gritty details of how to grow your audience, write more interesting content, and be a better leader. If you'd like to request a topic, you may do that after subscribing.

‍There are no refunds, but you can cancel at any time for any reason. A good metric for whether or not you’ll like this newsletter is my book, Entrepreneurship Ruined My Life. If you found value in ERML, you will learn a lot from these letters. If you haven’t read ERML, I recommend doing that first.

‍You do not get access to previously published letters. Why? Because current subscribers paid good money for those letter and I’m not going to diminish their value by giving them away for free like a guru passing out free candy from the back of his van. If you want to get more letters, subscribe today so you don’t miss the next one.

If you’re up for it, click the button below to join Discipline and Desire today. You will immediately be granted access to “Win Today” via the Andrew Ryder mobile app and the next issue will be delivered to you in app as soon as it is published.

The mobile app is available on iOS, Android, and desktop. If you don't have app, no problem. You will be prompted to set up your free account immediately after you complete your purchase.

Click the link below to join today:

Check,
Andrew Ryder

P.S. A lesson I learned the hard way...

Continuing to do the same thing is only going to get you more of what you've got. If you're happy with where you're at, then don't change it. Seriously.

This is one of the biggest lessons I teach in Win Today. Don't change what's working.

But if you're not content with the results you're getting...

If you're frustrated that you're not growing...

Or if you're hanging on by a thread and aren't sure if you can make it...

The ideas in Discipline and Desire may be just what you need.

Click the link below to join today: