My life from birth to 23

It’s been my goal to publish something everyday.

I like the idea of using a blog as a self-invention tool. But I’m so stuck on the mindset that it’s a self-promotion tool… That I never publish anything I don’t think be useful to you.

But I don’t think it’s possible to do that every single day. Unless I just regurgitate things I learn from books. I don’t want to do that. I’d rather link to them.

But I gotta publish something. Just because I want to. To start, here’s my life from birth to today, at 23 years old. It’s not written to help you accomplish specific things.

I hope you enjoy this piece anyway. And maybe even learn a few things.

1990

• I was born.

1994

• Mastered the multiplication table at 4 years old. Because my mom was rewarding my 7-year old sister every time she memorizes one table. I wanted ice cream too.

1996

• Got zero items right on an achievement test on addition. Because I multiplied everything. Teacher let me pass anyway.

1997

• Discovered Archie comics. The foundation of my reading and writing English.

1998

• Started competing in interschool Math competitions. Wow, I enjoy hanging out with people smarter than me.

2000

• Read Harry Potter. Fell in love with reading.

2004

• Spent most of grade school reading Judith McNaught novels.
• I theorize this shaped my character forever: I wanted to be like the heroines in the novels. A woman who was fiercely independent. Guarded to most, except for very few, special people. Defies expectations.

2006

• Cried out of joy in an airplane. I qualified to compete in international math competitions. Something I’ve been failing to do for 5 years.
• Realized being the dumbest person in the room is a good thing.

2007

• Spent the summer training with the smartest Math geniuses in the Philippines
• First international math competition in China. Only award my team won was “most friendly.” Oh well.

2008

• College.
• Got fat.

2009

• Getting fatter.
• Tried jogging. It sucked.

2010

• Ran for student politics. Got cold feet.
• Lobbied for everyone NOT to vote for me. Did not vote for myself. Won anyway.
• Did not enjoy it.
• Tried vegetarian diet. Fruits diet. Boxing. P90X. Insanity. Zumba. TRX. Other things I’m forgetting. Nothing fucking works.

2011

• Almost gave in again to peer pressure. This time, for student council president. Filed for candidacy.
• Made a very public withdrawal.
• Learned you shouldn’t do things just because people want you to. It’s OK to disappoint people. It’s OK to change your mind. One year later, you’ll see it’s not a big deal. You don’t have to do stuff, especially if they make you miserable.
• Discovered NerdFitness and Paleo. It works!

March 2012

• Graduated magna cum laude, a hard-won achievement.
• I needed a perfect grade in all my subjects. And all my professors historically do not give out perfect grades. At the beginning of the semester, I told them the grade I need. I asked what I had to do to get it. Throughout the semester, I checked in with them on my progress.
• Discovered the recipe for doing anything you want.
  • Be very clear about what you want.
  • Let stakeholders know you want it. Ask what you need to do to get it.
  • Do the work.
  • Follow up on your progress regularly.
  • Win.
• Communication is equally (if not more) important than being able and doing the work. Set and manage expectations.

May 2012

• Got my first job as an international management consultant. Without applying.
• Got my first moneyz.

August-October 2012

• As a benefit of my job, I got to travel around the United States (Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, California, New York, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, Florida)
• Monday morning flights with consultants and investment bankers. I see most of them are rich, fat, and miserable.
• This is not who I want to be when I grow up.

May 2013

• Quit my comfy job with a vague plan to be a freelance copywriter, a job I could do from anywhere in the world.
• Got a lot of crap for trying to do my own thing without any experience. Tried not to care.
• Joined Location Rebel.

June 2013

• I will spend 3 months studying copywriting (i.e. reading about it)
• Everything I knew about learning was wrong. I’d always thought I would do excellently in life because I was smart. But you learn and achieve by doing, not by reading. Being able to comprehend is not enough.
• If you’re intelligent, beware the cleverness disease.

July 2013

• Feeling stressed out about money not coming in.
• Started SEO writing. Got my first $ online: $7/article. I loved it.
• Quit after 1 month. I needed to experience earning money online… But I could do better than this.

Aug 2013

• Emailed Sebastian Marshall, my biggest online hero.
• He offered to get on the phone. Felt TERRIFIED and almost didn’t follow through.
• I followed through anyway. Life has not been the same ever since.
• Writing for $45/article now.

Sept 2013

• Entered Damn Fine Words (business copywriting course worth $1400) scholarship contest. With her big audience on Men With Pens, I doubt I’d win.
• I won.
• Freelance copywriter now.

October 2013

• Now I’m an online direct marketing consultant.
• Got a $1000 email autoresponder project.

December 2013

• Read Running Lean and discovered Lean Startup.
• I was spending too much time (months) studying marketing and copywriting, before selling my services. How do I apply Lean methodology to services?

March 2014

• Realized I didn’t enjoy working with clients as a freelancer.

April 2014

• Started a “Cambodia Cash” business, Location Asia.
• Even though I didn’t know shit about booking flights, lifestyle, or traveling in Asia. Thinking Lean now.

May 2014

• Pitched Kevin Dewalt, founder of SoHelpful, on “analytics services” to test a business idea. Didn’t know crap about analytics, but also didn’t want to waste time studying something I can’t sell.
• Copied and pasted sales copy from an analytics book, emailed him “I’ll do this for you, will you hire me?”
• He said yes.

June 2014

• Location Asia on track to do five figures.
• Saw SoHelpful as a rocket ship. I fired my clients and joined SoHelpful full-time as a marketer.
• Got a lot of crap from entrepreneurs because I “quit” my business.

August 2014

• Today.

Life is good. I have never felt more sure that my life is on track.

If you have any thoughts and questions (i.e. be more specific about how I did certain things), I’d love if you leave a comment :)