5 Pieces of Advice from Sahil Bloom

Quotes from a Special Presentation

One of the best things about joining a cohort-based course is that the good ones are always looking for ways to add value. For Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi‘s Summit 21 course, alumni are invited back to listen to special presentations from guest speakers.

That’s how I ended up on a 1-hour Zoom call with content creator, entrepreneur, investor, and author Sahil Bloom. Here are five of the things he said that really struck me deeply.

Communication is a differentiator

He didn’t start out as a content creator. He started in a finance career. But he had an early advantage over colleagues who started when he did. He was used to writing, to distilling his insights about books he read in written letters to friends and family. This helped him easily communicate the benefits of an investment to people.

Too many people focus on being “content creators”. When what they should be focusing on is being good communicators.

No one cares about content. They care about connecting with the person who makes that content. They care about being inspired and motivated by the stories in that content. They care about finding solutions to their problems with that content.

Key takeaway: Don’t create content. Communicate.

Create space around your ideas

He doesn’t get an idea, then immediately start writing. He takes long walks and thinks in the sauna. Then he tries to explain his idea to someone in person. He keeps trying until he can see that the idea really hits people. Then he outlines the idea. And only then does he begin writing.

There’s a place for “hot takes”. Those thoughts you fire off in the moment, filled with passion for something you believe in. Sometimes, they’re your most popular pieces. But you can’t build a career on hot takes, unless you’re a talking-head outrage peddler. There has to be more substance to be a thought leader.

You want to let people see you raw and unvarnished. Sometimes. That builds connection for your authenticity.

But your ideas can still be authentic and also polished. Take the time to do justice to your thoughts. Allow them to grow and spread naturally. Then prune them into a pleasing shape. You don’t have to second-guess yourself or walk back controversial opinions for fear of what others will think. Believe in your words.

Key takeaway: Value your ideas enough to nurture them.

“To be honest, nothing changes.”

He noticed that if you were driven by comparison and jealousy, you would always be driven by comparison and jealousy. If you watched your metrics, wondering why you got 5 likes and someone else got 50, when you get 50, you’ll be wondering why someone else got 500. And when you get 5,000 likes, you’ll be wondering why someone else got 50,000. Unless you want to be eaten alive by jealousy for your entire life, you need to relate to your numbers differently.

Don’t think that other people are “better” than you, or that their success is stealing success from you. Instead, recognize that there will always be someone whose work achieves more than yours. Try to figure out what they’re doing that you’re not. Improve your work. Get passionate about the process of figuring out how to improve, not the rewards for having improved.

That’s how to have fun and also be successful. You have to be willing to learn from others, not be jealous of others.

Key takeaway: Don’t chase metrics. Chase improvement.

“Am I proud of this thing?”

He shared how heartbreaking it can be when you pour your soul into something and are incredibly proud of what you produce. And then nobody seems to care. He realized that eventually, the things he was proud of always got seen. So now, he measures the worth of a piece by how proud he is of what he created. Not how well it performed. And doesn’t check metrics.

There have been pieces like that of mine. I agonize over something, making it as perfect as it can be. Sometimes, it just doesn’t land with people. (I should do more explaining in person, first.) If I’m really proud of the substance, I’ll try again with different graphics, a different hook, and a different format.

If I believe in the value of the ideas (tip #2) and want to communicate them to my audience better (tip #1), I’ll take this as a learning opportunity. What underlying assumption did I make that was wrong? How can I fix that?

And if I can’t think of anything to fix, I’ll let it be. Because nothing ever really dies on the internet. The people who are meant to read it will eventually find it. I’ve had pieces that got almost no notice, then months later, suddenly took off.

Key takeaway: Produce something to be proud of. Don’t chase popularity.

“When everyone else zigs, you should zag.”

In any situation, there is always a simple, straight-forward, obvious thing that everyone else is doing to be successful. It is usually totally wrong for long-term success. He used the example of growth hacks, such as catchy memes. They may grow your followers, but they won’t grow a community of fans who buy your offers.

If you start out building authenticity and trust, when you make an offer, people will buy it. But if you start out as just fluffy entertainment, when you make an offer, people will drift away, because that’s not what they were following you for.

That’s not to say you can never post a catchy meme. Sometimes that’s really the best way to express how you’re feeling and what you want to say. But it should be rare. Do you want to be a thought leader or a meme follower?

Key takeaway: Act for your long-term goals, not short-term gains.

This week’s inspirational quote come from… Sahil Bloom. I know, big surprise, right? But he closed his hour-long session with a quote that just blew me away. So, I had to share it.

There are things we know we should do. And we don’t do them. Because they are so mind-numbingly boring!

But the goal is not to be constantly amused, excited, and entertained for every moment of our existence. The goal is to lead a meaningful life, where we contribute to the betterment of the world and of ourselves as human beings.

It’s not enough to find a way to do the boring stuff. You have to fall in love with doing the boring stuff. And the best way to do that, is to really, deeply understand how it meshes with your values. How it contributes to your WHY.

Wring every nuance of meaning out of the boring bits. And they’ll cease to be boring. They’ll become enthralling.

To your better life!

Jennifer Dunne, Caribbean Compassion Coaching