logged
I got sick, skipped town, and started a business
15 years ago I got super sick.
Like… thinking maybe I had cancer or something, maybe some other weird disease, and in my typical mistrust of the mainstream medical industry I thought, “What in the world am I gonna do?”
So I saw a homeopathic doctor who told me what I needed to know, and I did some internet research, and fixed it.
It took a while to get back on my feet.
But after that, I felt better than I had in my entire life. However, it threw off just about everything I had going in my life. Which is hindsight, wasn’t much. Playing in punk bands, hanging at bars, schlepping around construction sites.
The friends I had then are some genuinely good people.
But looking back, and I mean this without judgement, most of what we did together was hang out, drink beer, and smoke cigarettes. And when I got sick, I stopped showing up to all that.
And when I got well, I suddenly felt excited for life.
Maybe for the first time. Really excited.
And I wanted to share everything I was learning with the people around me, but none of them cared. They thought I had become a nuisance. Talking about eating healthy, living well, etc…
So I did what any reasonable person would do and I moved to a different part of town and found some new friends.
Friends that were more interested in the kind of things I was interested in.
This led me to new work, different careers, even starting my own business.
Being around different people literally changed me.
And if you’re a solo entrepreneur, it’s worth knowing that your environment decides about 80% of who you become.
Most people building a business outside of traditional work, spending time writing, growing an audience, are grinding alone. They focus on willpower, trying harder, showing up more, wanting it badly enough, and all that stuff is important.
But it’s 100x times, no maybe 1000x times easier to show up and do the thing when you’re surrounded by it.
Plus it’s more fun too.
If you're surrounded by people who think what you're doing is a little weird. A little risky. Who don't quite get why you're spending your Saturday writing emails or building a lead magnet instead of watching the game.
That shit holds you back.
It’s far, far better to just be inside a room where what you’re doing is normal.
Where people are posting, writing, building, and sharing what's working. Not because they have to, but because they want to. And it’s what they like to call, “Having fun.”
That’s what The Nature of Marketing is meant to be.
The fun zone for writers, list-builders, and solo operators who would rather build something weird and their own rather than something safe and forgettable.
I’m told the free tier is quite valuable.
And you’re invited:
Best,
Kevin Hood