Zach Hackett

I started investing with $75/month. Then $250. Then $750. Now $1.5k. Don't get hung up on the amount you start with. Get started and focus on building the right habits.

You don't lose when you fail. You lose when you quit.

Consistency + Iteration = Success

@THEROSSHARKNESS Thanks for sharing your story Ross. I resonate with this big time. Not doing any work but busy work. It’s been a struggle for me for a while. Essentialism is ironically a guiding principle in my life. I’ve lost sight of that. Your story put it back in view.

I shoot up out of bed. Half awake, half asleep but on edge. I was under pressure. I was stressed. “Okay, Ross, no fucking about here, you have to make this work” My morning pep talk for the past 2 weeks. I had just taken the risk and went full-time with my creator business - but I was feeling it. The responsibility, the stress, the pressure. All of it created by my own mind but damn did it feel real. I had just left my past life of working 12-16 hour days working 2 jobs, going to uni and building my creator business with the intention of going all in on my creator business and actually living my life. But I couldn’t do it. I had this undying compulsion to work as hard as possible for as long as possible. In my mind I had no choice, I had to make it work, so instead of working 2-4 hours a day, I replaced every spare hour where I should've been living life, with work. From 12-16 hour days to 8-10 hour days. “This wasn’t what I wanted, but fuck it, at least I'm working on something I care about.” That’s how I would justify it to myself. Plus, I thought if I work more, surely my audience and income will grow as well - right? Well, it didn’t. Everything started going backward, my audience growth slowed, my income fell and I panicked. My stress skyrocketed and the weight on my shoulders felt like the weight of the world So I did the only logical thing I could think of - work more. My solution to every problem up to now had been to work harder. Work longer. Work more. Work. Work. Work. Yet nothing changed. Audience? Barely growing. Income? Down. Stress? Up. This couldn’t be right, I was doing more so how could I be getting worse results? Hands in my head, I cracked. Spun around to my desk, opened my laptop, and went to my trusted advisor - the internet. I stumbled across a Youtube video about essentialism, “749 views”. I was desperate for answers as to what I was doing wrong so I said to myself “fuck it, let’s watch it” As I sat there, eyes glued to the screen and absorbing every word he said, it hit me. As a creator, I’m in the business of ideas. But great ideas require 3 things; High-quality input Stretching of the mind Space to think And I was giving myself none of them, I was filling my entire day, every spare fucking hour with things that didn’t need done. Things that made me feel busy but didn’t move the needle or contribute to my audience or income growth. Not only was I not giving myself the necessary ingredients for great ideas, but I was using every drop of cognitive energy doing shit that didn’t matter. So when it came to sitting down at my desk and getting results - I had nothing left. The quality of everything I was doing dropped. Ideas. Writing. Client fulfillment. Marketing. No wonder my audience growth was essentially 0 and my income had fallen off a cliff. I needed to change things up. I analysed my day, what I was doing, when I was doing it, what needed doing and what didn’t. I prioritised what needed done and what moved me toward my goals. Getting them done as soon as I woke up. Everything else? It got cut out. If it didn’t help me move toward my goals, it didn’t matter. Almost instantly my audience was growing again and my income flew back up. And the best part? I was working less, living more AND earning more. Because here’s the thing most people don’t realise. You can work 2 hours a day or 16 hours a day, but if you’re working on the wrong thing - it doesn’t fucking matter how many hours you work or how hard you work. Stop trying to get more things done. Start trying to get the right things done. - Ross “focus on what’s essential” Harkness P.S. If you enjoyed this, all I ask is 2 things: 1. Share it with your audience so others can see it 2. Drop me a follow @THEROSSHARKNESS as I explore the depths of Self-Mastery, creator business and a fulfilling life.

Me: I don't have anything to write about. Also me:

@heyeaslo I've been loving Arc. Phenomenal user experience.

This is the best browser on the internet.

@thejustinwelsh It seems there is confusion online between a tech startup environment and a solopreneur business. I wonder though, what did your first year or two look like? Does getting off the ground always require a slog, no matter the business type?

Myths of solopreneurship: - You work 10-12 hour days - You can't take a vacation - It doesn't scale My reality: - I work 11a to 3p most days - I took 4 days off last week - Revenue was ~$20k those days - I'll take 3 more days off next week Don't believe everything you read.

@thejustinwelsh I get a decent idea from your content, but how do you approach building intellectual capital as it pertains to your business?

A solopreneur’s best capital is intellectual, not financial.

@camp_wealth Love this mentality Rachael! The best form of retirement is building a life you never want to retire from in the first place. Here’s to the journey 🥂

I thought the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) was the best way out of the 9-5 I hated. Turns out, I just needed to find the job I enjoyed. I am still after financial freedom, but I'm no longer willing to sacrifice my daily happiness.

@chenellco Keep that in mind in the future too. When you've built a community instead of a list of followers, they'll understand when you need to take a breather. And you've certainly built a community 😁

Yesterday, I sent out an email being open about why I didn't publish a deep dive this week. In short, it came down to an unexpected move, getting our house ready for sale, time with family, and my birthday. This email has had the highest reply rate of any email I've sent. I love this community so much. Thank you for helping me push away the shame of missing a week. 🙏 One of my favorite replies: "Thanks for leading by embracing your humanity and push against the never-ending-must-hustle-to-the-point-of-unhealth-culture Humans first, family first, then content creators."

@ZakOnWriting It should feel like an extension of yourself.

@ItsKieranDrew copy

Over the past 4 months, I've made over $320,000 selling one digital product. I made a full video course breaking down the salespage copywriting strategies. If you'd like it for free, just: • RT • Comment 'copy' And I'll DM. (30 hours only - must be following for DM 🥂)

@ItsKieranDrew Work that feels like play is the dream. That's how you build a life you never want to retire from.

People will judge you for working too hard because they don’t understand that your work feels like play. Carry on.

@RubiksLive Thanks for the encouragement Alex 😅

Your content might not suck. Two key takeaways: • Low engagement doesn't equal terrible post. • Each post is a step closer to a hit. Build an audience that appreciates you. You might just make it ✌🏻

I used to love learning. Articles, books, videos... You name it. Didn't even have to be topics I cared strongly about. Until I realized that knowledge is worthless without action. Consume less, create more.

@ZakOnWriting What does "practice writing" look like for you Zak? My freeform journaling doesn't push me to improve my writing skills much.

@thejustinwelsh Relationships are everything.

Don’t chase followers — build a community. One is a number, the other is an asset.

@Invested_In_You Very nice! I stayed in Monteverde. Beautiful town. Hope you have an awesome time!

@ItsZachHackett Puerto Viejo (cocles) on the Caribbean side

Although I’ve posted beautiful photos, Costa Rica has been far from perfection: • Mosquitos • Hot & no AC • 7 hour drive from Airport • Power goes out sometimes But the beaches, food, and people make it. Traveling doesn’t get rid of problems, it just changes them.

@mnasante There were a few beach cleanup crews. I was supposed to lead one that I thought was cancelled as well. Didn’t find out it wasn’t until I showed up 😅

@ItsZachHackett It's funny, Abby and I were supposed to lead that event, then it got canceled because of the rain so we were sent somewhere else, I had no idea the beach one got re-instated 😅

I had a blast all morning picking up trash at a local beach in town. If you don’t have an outlet for service, you’re missing out on one of the most joyful parts of life. Generosity is more than money.