Thread by @dvassallo

It’s been a year since I left full-time employment to work for myself.

Here are some important things I realized since then.

Thread 👇

1. Uncertainty is very uncomfortable.

Even though I knew I was going to live off my savings for a while, I underestimated how tough it is to see losses accumulate month after month, and not knowing exactly when & how the losses will stop.

2. Redundancy makes uncertainty a lot less uncomfortable.

At first I thought it would be more efficient to focus on one thing at a time.

Now I prefer doing a few things in parallel. It’s less efficient, but there’s a lot of comfort in having multiple things going on.

3. Building an audience is both easier than I thought and more valuable than I thought.

Having people’s attention is a huge advantage.

And I believe almost anyone can build a decent audience in 12 months. (I’ll write more about this soon.)

4. Opportunity is perishable.

If you can’t afford to stop and think, you’re going to miss opportunities. And to benefit from luck, you must first recognize it.

When an opportunity emerges, you can’t just put it on the shelf. Be ready to abandon the plan and adapt all the time.

5. Increasing the odds of survival.

If you like the self-employed lifestyle, almost all your choices should be about increasing the odds that you can keep doing this forever.

You're not trying to maximize profits. You want to avoid having this lifestyle taken away from you.