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The 40-hour workweek is a scam - especially for creators
Hey Reader,
If you've been reading my work for a while, you might know that I'm all about helping you build a simple and profitable writing business that allows you to live life to the fullest.
That's a vague description because a good life means something different for each of us.
For some, it's the ability to monetize their craft and finally share their work with the world.
For others, it's taking their family on a vacation, not worrying about bills, or just having more flexibility and freedom in their daily lives.
For me, a good life is all about having time and energy for the activities and people I love.
And even though I genuinely love what I do for a living, I refuse to spend 40+ hours per week in my office.
I've already been working less than 30 hours per week for the past two years, but this year, I'm making a major shift by moving to a 4-day workweek:
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🎨 Everything creative is challenging
.. the question is, is it worth the challenge?
When I decided to write online, I knew what it could do for me:
- It could help me make money
- It could help me build an audience and business
- It could help me share my message with millions of people and impact my readers' lives
Writing on Medium didn't feel easy to me, but it was worth the challenge because it was so much easier than many other opportunities I had (like doing YouTube or building my own blog).
Doing creative work can be challenging, sometimes even daunting.
Every piece you write, every idea you share, is a part of you, laid bare for the world to see and judge.
And let's be real: Not everything you create will be great or even good.
Art is subjective and even the world's most popular authors have thousands of negative reviews on platforms like Goodreads or Amazon.
If you've been wondering whether the creative challenge is worth it, I recommend reading Show Your Work by Austin Kleon - I read the book three years ago and recently reviewed my notes.
Here's a section I love:
When you find things you genuinely enjoy, don’t let anyone else make you feel bad about it.
Don’t feel guilty about the pleasure you take in the things you enjoy.
Celebrate them.
Pick your creative challenge and be relentless about creating a life you genuinely enjoy, Reader.
Life's too short not to do what you love.
Big love from my screen to yours,
Sinem
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Write • Build • Scale with Sinem Günel
I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
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