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Welcome back to Retire & RISE {{first_name}}
Here is what happened this past week.
What I tried: Pitched a podcast and posted once on Reddit.
What came back: No reply yet, and no sign-ups.
Pitches: 1 (running: 1 of 12)
Money in: $0 (running: $0)
The full entry is here, including the contact form that only took 350 characters.
Three plain questions to ask about any idea before you spend a dollar or a weekend on it
Why "does it fit me" matters more than "will it pay"
How to set an idea aside without feeling you've failed
One short page to fill in this week, just for you
🤫 A Quiet Week, Written Down Anyway
One pitch, one post, $0. That's week one, and I'm writing it down anyway.
It isn't a surprise. Podcasts book guests weeks or months ahead. A first pitch has barely reached the inbox. But I said I'd show you the quiet weeks along with the good ones, and this is a quiet one.
It also taught me something worth passing on. When nothing comes back, the only thing holding you to an idea is whether it actually fits you. So that's today's topic.
❓ The Question Most Advice Skips
Most of what you'll hear about earning online asks one question: can this make money? That's a fair question. It's just not the first one.
The first one is whether the idea fits you, your week, your know-how and your patience. An idea that doesn't fit gets dropped in the quiet weeks, and there are always quiet weeks at the start.
🗝️ Three Plain Questions
Do I already know something about this? You don't need to be an expert, just have a head start. It could be something you've done, fixed, taught, or been asked about by friends. What I'm trying to get paid for is a skill I already have. I didn't pick something new to learn first.
Can I start without paying anyone first? If the first step is buying a course, a kit or a membership, slow down. A safe start usually costs time, not money. If someone says the real results come after you pay, that tells you something about who the idea is really for.
Would I still do it in a week when nothing comes back? This is the one my ledger taught me. If an idea only feels good when it's paying, it'll be hard to keep going. If you'd still enjoy the work on a slow Tuesday, that's a good sign.
🔍 Three Yeses, or a No
Three yeses means the idea is worth a small, careful try.
A no isn't a failure. It's information. Set that idea aside and run the next one through the same three questions. You've lost an evening at most, not a weekend or a dollar.
If you skip the questions, you might still pick well. You'll just find out later, and probably in a quiet week.
✏️ One Sheet of Paper
Take one sheet of paper. Write one idea at the top. Answer the three questions with one sentence each. Keep it private. It's for you, not for anyone else.
If you'd rather not start from a blank page, I built something for exactly this. It's called What Fits Me. It asks 12 plain questions about what you know, what you enjoy, and how much time and energy you have. Then it suggests two or three ways of earning that might suit you. Pick one, and you can download a free step-by-step guide for it. Nothing to buy, and your answers stay on your own screen. (LINK: https://retireandrise.org/what-fits-me/)
Become An AI Expert In Just 5 Minutes
If you’re a decision maker at your company, you need to be on the bleeding edge of, well, everything. But before you go signing up for seminars, conferences, lunch ‘n learns, and all that jazz, just know there’s a far better (and simpler) way: Subscribing to The Deep View.
This daily newsletter condenses everything you need to know about the latest and greatest AI developments into a 5-minute read. Squeeze it into your morning coffee break and before you know it, you’ll be an expert too.
Subscribe right here. It’s totally free, wildly informative, and trusted by 600,000+ readers at Google, Meta, Microsoft, and beyond.
This is how I support this newsletter.
🔢 Just a Number
If you'd like, reply with just a number: how many yeses your idea got, 0, 1, 2 or 3. You don't need to tell me the idea.
See You at the Bank 💰
Bob
A short story from my place – years on the road, and the slow honest search for a way home. No sales in it.
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