Before You Pick Your Dream Side Hustle, Ask Yourself This One Easy Question
A short post that will help you figure out your next project
Before You Pick Your Dream Side Hustle, Ask Yourself This One Easy Question
Steve Wozniak wasn’t the only electronics geek running around San Jose in the 60s and 70s.
We’re not even sure he was the best.
In High School, Steve was suspended for building a metronome that mimicked the sound of a ticking time bomb. He hid the device in a locker and rigged the thing to tick faster when the door opened. (Tick-Tock).
The school’s principal found the device on the football field’s 50-yard line. A student heroically rushed the faux bomb to a secure location to keep the blast radius away from harm.
Steve got a laugh.
The police locked Steve in Juvenile detention to teach him a lesson.
He spent his time behind bars showing cell mates how to rewire ceiling fans to fuck with the Warden’s office lights.
Point is, Steve wasn’t a prodigy, but he loved electronics. He tinkered, and he did it more than most people.
He went on to form Apple Computer with his friend Steve Jobs while working a full-time job at HP.
That must be the most successful side-hustle ever.
His career illustrates what most people get wrong about side hustles.
It isn’t what you’re the best at, it’s what you do more than anyone else.
You’re Probably Overthinking What You Should Do
I looked hard for a side hustle in 2020.
At the time, I thought you can only monetize something when you’re an expert.
I was great at cold calling. Maybe I could make a sales training course? I was also a pretty good golfer. Maybe I could teach lessons at Top Golf?
It made me sick to think about spending my free time on more sales activities.
That’s the enlightening part about side-hustles. It better be something you love or else you won’t last 2-weeks.
I reframed the question. Instead of asking what I did better than people, I asked, “What are you already doing more than most people?”
The answer didn’t take long.
I read like a fucking nerd.
Biographies, business books, history, productivity, classical fiction. Doesn’t matter. It’s my favorite thing in the world.
Schitt's Creek on Sunday mornings may warm your heart, but rich coffee and a Steve Jobs biography is heaven for me.
I read more than anyone I’ve met in my entire life.
If you want to monetize reading, writing is a good place to start.
The Life Hack to Doing Something More
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, explains how:
“Every action you take is like casting a vote towards the person you ultimately want to become.”
The stoic Epictetus taught something similar when he said:
“You become what you give your attention to.”
I unknowingly reversed engineered their logic and ended up with the same result.
How’s that?
Well, I publicly called myself a writer before my first article.
Here we are. 150 articles later.
Did I engage in some psychological breakthrough? I don’t think so. It’s possible to become interested in something simply by showing up and paying attention to it.
Here’s what proclaiming myself as a writer did.
1.) I started forming habits that reinforced my idea of what a writer does with their day.
2.) It added social pressure. I placed the word “writer” in my LinkedIn and Instagram profiles. Can you imagine if I folded on the writing gig? Fuck.
Give yourself the identity of someone you want to become, then you’ll start paying attention to it.
You’ll cast votes towards that end.
Eventually, you’ll do it more than anyone else.
What Are You Already Doing More Than Others?
A side-hustle shouldn’t feel like work for work’s sake.
It should be fun, something you wouldn’t mind doing outside your 9 - 5.
That’s what Steve Wozniak did. What could be better than building machines with your best friend?
Most people want a fulfilling side-hustle, but do not know where to start.
If that’s you, observe your free time. What are you doing more than anyone else you’ve ever met?
The answer will point you in the right direction.