The other day, I saw this fun tweet from Laura Belgray:
And instantly, I knew I wanted to write about this VERY topic.
Because I think so many of us only see the perfectly polished versions of people online.
But y’all know me.
I practically LOVE embarrassing myself and putting my worst mistakes on display. So that’s what I’m doing today.
Yes, it makes for fun content.
But also my hope in sharing this kind of stuff is to give you permission to do things your own way…
Because anyone who tells you that there’s only ONE way to do things, is either lying to you … or has something to sell you.
So here’s a few of my ANTI-success habits. Things I do despite everyone in the world telling me I should be doing the complete opposite if I want to be successful.
- I keep the world’s messiest to-do list.
Some people use a crazy collection of apps to manage their schedule.
They pomodoro their way through their Asana task lists while meditating and sipping mushroom tea between each job.
Not me.
I’ve tried that stuff and seriously lose more time trying to tracking my behavior than I gain.
Instead, I’ve always just used a simple (messy) pad and paper. I write down all the stuff I need to do and just cross it off as I get it done.
Is it sexy?
NO WAY. (Sometimes I even spill my coffee on it. See below).
But it works for me and I do it anyway.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
- I check my email first thing in the morning.
I know, I know. This is supposedly bad for you.
But if I don’t at least glance at my inbox, I will go crazy for the rest of the day.
As always send your criticism and insults to “trash@kingsofoconversion.com”
- I regularly drink coffee until 5 pm.
You don’t give yourself a title like, “World’s Most Caffeinated Copywriter” unless you can drink your body weight in coffee every day.
Some days, I can’t sleep at night because of this mistake.
And some days, I feel like I need coffee even more than usual because I get bad sleep.
But the reality is I’m not perfect. Some days I just have to suck it up and get work done even when I’m tired.
And for me, coffee helps with that.
- Some weeks (even MONTHS!) I get so busy I don’t read anything.
There’s some stat that says CEO’s/successful people read 50+ books per year.
Despite my best attempts, I don’t know if I’ve EVER hit that goal.
Sometimes, I get so busy with work and life and everything else that I don’t read for weeks or even months.
What I’ve learned is I can make myself feel guilty about it or just really enjoy the books I do read when I get to them.
I choose option 2.
- I watch tv (almost every night)
“Successful people don’t watch TV!”
Who’s heard that before?
Well, I guess I’ll never be successful because my girlfriend and I watch some TV almost every night.
And we have LOTS of shows we love. Silicon Valley. Sex Education. Succession.
I guess I could be working on some self-development stuff.
But the truth is, one of my favorite things to do is curl up on the couch late at night and watch TV to end the day.
- I NEVER eat a healthy breakfast.
I’ve heard that some people wake up and eat a carton of eggs, a whole avocado and down a gallon of water before 9 am.
I can barely fathom that!
The only thing going in my body that early is coffee. See above.
But seriously, even if some people need that much food that early, breakfast has never been my thing. So I skip it.
I have way more I could share. But the point isn’t how many bad habits I have.
It’s that despite doing so many things WRONG by traditional standards, this works for me.
What works for you may be different. And that’s perfectly fine.
But I won’t believe the lie that every single successful person has the same 11 things they do every day.
People are different. People are weird.
But it’s in the quirks that so many of us end up finding our true selves.
(In fact, some of the best things I’ve done as a copywriter have come from doing the exact opposite of what everyone else said I should do).
At least, that’s been true for me.
What about you?
Want to unlock some free copywriting gifts?
Enter your name and email below to join my email list and see a proven way to instantly improve your copy, how to find high-paying copywriting clients, how to write a sales email (LIVE), and more!