One hack that can change your life

Image credits — Fuck it, ship it.

There was a time I had 2 articles on my blog. Literally 2. It stayed that way for years. I gave myself thousand reasons why I should not “waste” my time writing.

And then I started writing articles — regularly. Like once a day. And this happened.

My Medium Stats at the end of first month of “shipping” one article a day

From 0 views to 4000 views, from 2 to 200 articles across Medium, Quora, LinkedIn —a simple life hack helped me write 80000+ words in 6 months time. For some one who has not written anything before in his life, this is a BIG DEAL.

So what is this hack?

Shipping. Something. Anything.

Creating something, sharing it with people and producing value in the process. Some call it a blog. Some call it a youtube channel. Others might call it an app, business, startup. Whatever.

The ability to produce something and publishing it for people to consume — Priceless.

This is what moves the world forward. This is how we re-pay for the all the good things we have enriched ourselves with over years.

Where to start >

Creation. Focus. Plain hard work

1. Just focus on creating something — anything, a blog, a youtube channel, an Instagram travelogue. Create something that is meaningful to you, to begin with.
2. Keep learning and producing something that people will use to solve their problems, entertain themselves or improve their lives with. See a connection between what you can create and how it can help others.
3. Keep shipping, put your stuff in places where people will see it, get people to read/consume/use your creations, every day, every hour. Don’t worry about quality. Don’t be afraid of failing. Don’t be scared of humiliating yourself. As long as you have an intent to improve, you will get better.

I am not writing like 30 articles a month anymore but I do write 1 at least a week. And over a period of time I have written so much, I re-use content across platforms and see my “work” adding value again and again. My work has become an asset that gives “value” returns — for me and others.

I started writing for others — startups, companies, entrepreneurs. I help people to get started with their writing. I “sell” things with my writing skills. I have seen my writing go from “something I am trying” to “something I do for fun but still make money off”.

Is that all? is it all about consulting gigs and making money? Not exactly.

1. You learn — tremendously. You cannot create something without learning about people, the creative process and more importantly, yourself. That by in itself, is a full Return on Investment for me.
2. Creation makes you humble. Like crazy. You realize that “life” doesn’t owe you anything. Sometimes I bleed and cry to just write a word, to create one ounce of beautiful thing. But, at the end, I know its’ all worth it.
3. You understand that your “actions” make all the difference. Hustle more → learn more → understand more → apply the learning and see the results.
4. You are on a “life course” of learning what people want, why they consume what they consume and what they are ready to pay for. This one skill will set you apart from 90% of your peers.
5. You give a voice to yourself. We all have something to say to this world. Create something and ship it, see your words and actions and work make a difference in this world.
6. You are touching lives, literally. Every time some one messages me appreciating my words, it reminds me that I have help changed some one’s perspective on something. I have made a difference, in my own way.

Tell your story, inspire lives

The beautiful thing about “shipping” is that you never stop. Once you start, you get addicted. You have to produce something. You have to create something. You have to see people react to your work.

Is this a life hack or a productive habit or a “hustle” culture — I do not know. What I do know is that, “this” can change your life. For better, like hell!

Have you tried “shipping” things more often? how did it change your life? Share your story as comments!